LATE CABLES

Evening Star, Issue 18504, 11 December 1923, Page 6

LATE CABLES

tress Association—By Telegraph—Copyright, FOREIGN POLICY. HALDANE REASSURES FRANCE. LONDON, December 10. (Received December 11, at 12.30 p.m.) Interviewed by ‘ 1.0 Journal's ’ London . correspondent, Lord Haldane declared that | Franco would bo mistaken if she supposed j that the accession of the Liberals or of j Labor to power would mean a rupture with Franco. The Liberals, like the rest of the country, keenly and sincerely desire an understanding with Franco, and fumed at taking, in concert with Franco, measures calculated to set Germany on her feet. The keynote of their policy to France would bo to avoid anything that might lead to a war, in which Britain was bound to bo involved. There must be an understanding in regard to the Ruhr programme, embodying guarantees to Franco and ensuring the establishment of peace. He wins of opinion that Britain would be prepared to conclude a pact with Franco which would give Britain the moans to intervene in the event of a repetition of the 1914 situation.—Reuter. ITALIAN POLITICS. MUSSOLINI FORCES ELECTIONS. ROME, December 10. (Received December 11, at 12.30 p.m.) Cabinet has unexpectedly decided to prorogue Parliament, A dissolution will follow, ns Mussolini considers it beneath his dignity to accept an offer of authority from {in Assembly not enjoying the confidence of the nation. The Senate has approved a decree, already passed by the Chamber, giving full effect to the "preliminary Italo-Russian Agreement, signed on December 26, 1921. —Router. RAILWAY CRASH. DRIVER IGNORES WARNINGS. NEW YORK, December 10. (Received December 11, at noon.) Ten persons were killed in a sensational railway wreck of the Twentieth Century, Limited, near Buffalo. Just before daylight the first section of America’s greatest train was speeding westward at sixty miles an hour, when the driver saw an automobile across the track ahead. The chauffeur leaped out, and was not seen again. The train crashed into the motor car, which derailed the locomotive. The second section of the Twentieth Century was successfully halted half a mue back. The third section of the train, however, took no notice of the caution signal two miles back, and, when it reached a position half a mile behind tho second train a man burned a “stop” signal in the face of tho engineer. Notwithstanding all these precautions, the engineer of the third section of the train (John Patterson) crashed into the rear coach of the second section, killing nearly all the sleeping passengers. Patterson admits that ho saw the signals, and cannot explain why ho disregarded them. lie has been on this run twentyfive years, and has never before had a serious accident.—Sydney ‘ Sun ’ Cable. EGG SHIPMENTS, OCCASION FOR SPEECHES. LONDON. December 10. (Received Dec, 31, at 11.35 a.m.) Mr Massey was present at a luncheon, presided over by Sir James Alien, to celebrate the arrival of the first commercial consignments of Now Zealand eggs in England. Tho shipments consisted respectively of 1,600 and 1,500 boxes, and were made under tho auspices of New Zealand cooperatives. They arrived in excellent condition, and realised for the producer 15d and 18d per dozen respectively. Owing to the shortage of English eggs the consignments were welcomed by tho market, which could have absorbed much larger shipments. The eggs arrived in equal condition to to-day’s eggs. _ The speeches emphasised tho possibilities of an extensive trade with New Zealand. Tho co-operatives’ representative j stressed the, fact that not a single penny for the purchase of the eggs would return I to New Zealand, as tho whole amount I realised would return in goods, thereby stimulating Empire trade. Mr Massey declared that there was plenty of room on the English market, and, despite the result of the election, plenty of room for the country within tho Empire itself. (Laughter and cheers.) He, however) was in no way discouraged by the elections. He did not care two pins for British parties, but ho did care lor the Empire. He forecasted extensive development in the egg trade. —Reuter. GREEKS AND THE CONSTITUTION. ATHENS, December 10. (Received December 11, at noon.) A Royalist mass meeting during the afternoon on the ruins of Jupiter’,s Temple was attended by many thousands, including a number of women, with tho avowed purpose of demonstrating the people’s will for the maintenance of the present regime. After speeches which were enthusiastically received, a section of the crowd tried to rush the Ministry of War. Some of the guards fired, and three or four persons were killed by stray bullets, including an employee of the Revolutionary Administration. The crowds then dispersed. The city is normal.—Router. RESTOCKING A LIBRARY. PARIS, December 10. (Received December 11, at 12.50 p.m.) On the motion of the Japanese representative, Professor Nitobe, the International Commission for intellectual co-operation is appealing to universities, literary and scientific bodies, and private persons all over the world to give books to restore the foreign collections in tho library of the Imperial University at Tokio, which was destroyed by fire after the earthquake. It is suggested that the books be seat to the Japanese Embassies in the respective countries.—Reuter. WOODEN SHIP CONTRACT. . LITIGATION IN UNITED STATES. WASHINGTON, December 10. (Received December 11, at 1.25 p.m.) The Commonwealth of Australia won an important decision in a suit arising out of a wooden ship contract when tho .Supremo Court granted the Commonwealth Government a writ certiorari, permitting a rehearing before the highest tribunal. This case, which has run tho gamut of the inferior courts, is several years old, and is extremely overgrown with legal details; but the issue in its simplest form is as follows :—Patterson-M.''Donald, a shipping company, which had been building wooden ships for the Commonwealth, became bankrupt before completing its contracts, and a special master in bankruptcy was appointed. The Commonwealth advanced certain claims against the company for the ships not completed and for tho undertaking not being fulfilled; while the company presented apposing,claims against tho Commonwealth. Those conflicting claims were taken before a board of arbitrators, who decided that the Commonwealth’s just claims amounted to 9,575,000d0l and tho company’s claims to 9,688,000d01. Tim Commonwealth brought an action seeking to set aside the arbitrators’ award, but the court refused the Commonwealth's petition, and the Commonwealth appealed to a higher court; but again without success. The Commonwealth finally appealed to the United States Supreme Court for a writ certiorari, stressing the point that, as a sovereign friendly Power, Australia was justified in asking for a rehearing of the entire case. The Supreme Court acceded to jhia request* and, it is noiw es-

pcctod that several months will elapse before the matter will come on for final issue. Another interesting feature is that the company attempted to secure a verdict m several courts making the difference between the respective claims—namely, 313,OOOdol—stand as an enforceable judgment in the company’s favor; but it did not succeed in tibia.—A., and N.Z. Cable,