FOREIGN NEWS.

Greymouth Evening Star, 9 October 1908, Page 1

FOREIGN NEWS.

parts in darkness. Paris was plunged into darkness for a short time on the night of the 7th of August, as the result of a strike of the electricians. After three-quarters of an hour the electric light began to reappear, spasmodically at first, _on the principal boulevards, and later in other quarters. Bv ton o’clock it was again in general use. The period of the evening chosen lor the strike was just when the theatres and other places nf entertainment were about to ring up the curtain, and the confusion and consternation resulting may be imagined. . , ' The decision to strike was arrived at by the men at a secret conclave, but the Government quickly got wind of what was croiiin- on, and detachments of military engineers were sent to the various electrical stations to supply the places of the strikers. Firemen were sent to the Central Markets and other quarters with flares. The strikers had forgotten to cut the current off in one district, namely, the 19th Arondissemcnt, which was illuminated as usual. , n Humorous incidents niny no noted, unc ingenious cafe proprietor who m some way or other managed to procure lamps of different kinds, so arranged them on the terrace of the cafe that at one end the customers were lighted bv oceylenc lamps and at the other by tallow dips. The sections in between were lighted by nil lamps and Chinese lanterns. At one or two cafes the proprietors exacted a special tax of a son or two of all customers who were privileged to have the local candle—the light which served for four or live tables— at their own table in front of them. In many of the leading cafes and restaurants fashionably dressed men and women dined and supped by the light of candles s ucv in the necks of bottles. „ TT^,T ™ DYING OF DROUGHT. \ W ail of anguish comes from the vast southern Italian province of Apulia, where the population is dyiim of the dreadful drought (reports an English exchange under date August 9thb No heavy rains have fallen for the last eighteen months, the wells arc empty, and the olive groves and vineyards present a rnectacle «t withcred vegetation. The wheat crops have failed. , , , The Ta voile re district is reduced to a squalid desert, while in that of Ban fresh water costs more than wine. Over niese vast tracts of nnwalered country no artificial supply exists. That gigantic undertaking, the Apulian aqueduct, rg niucli talked of and written about dump;[ the last twenty years, is still far from finished, nor in the most optimistic estimate will it be available for at least another eight '°Thn cities of Andria. Barletta Tram, and Bitonto arc littcrallv famished. 1 hey have sent clamorous demands to die Government for immediate free transport . it water by railways and warships. Hie Italian Steam Navigation Company have taken the generous initiative of dispatchinn- vessels'laden with sweet water Irom Venice, Ancona and Sicilian ports to rations points on the Apulian cotmG IN SUNNY SPAIN. Queen Victoria’s complaint against the terrible summer heat and the equally trying winter cold of the Spanish capita precipitates the question of the advisability of moving the Government to baredo!a. Latest indications arc chat die inatte may be compromised; that Madrid n. remain the autumn and spring capi -il, while Barcelona, may become the summei and winter capital. The reasons for keepino- the government at Madrid appear to be"largely sentimental and economic; iti. the old capital of the lo.m line of Spanish rulers extending back lor centimes, and the opposition to moving die government is deep rooted in national pride. The ,«• t if moving the scat of the knigdom won <1 be enormous, and the finances of■ nation are none too prosperous. Madnd is situated unfavourably from almost any standpoint. The surrounding plateau ). treeless, exposing the city to the scorching south winds in summer ■nultothc frigid breezes,that descend from the• nowcovered Sierra Guadamima m wnitei. In contrast with tills uncomfortable situation, Barcelona’s equable climate, due in l.ngc part to her position on the Mediterranean, appeals strongly to the Spanish love of eaL. Barcelona has long been the commercial centre of Spain. . ;c ,rr TRAIN IN A BLAZING sORLSI. The great forest at Algcirao csiugjit ill - bn the 13th August (reports United I messavp) owing to the intense heat whuh has prevailed for the past week The fire was just at its height when the express from Lisbon to Oporto approached the district. The train came through die valley at high speed, and. rounding the bend, the driver suddenly found loniscl acc t face with the burnnm area, d'lcio was „o time for him to pull up, nnd befo e he train had gone many yards fmthci it completely enveloped in dames. a passenger escaped henm burnt, and the train was completely scorched, and was just catching alight as it emerged out of die fire area On arrival of die >.mn at Oporto many of the passengers weie taken to the Hospital.