Britain.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume VI, Issue 349, 7 February 1917, Page 5

Britain.

THE POISON PLOT.

CONSPIRATORS GIVE EVIDENCE.

London, Feb. 6. Witnesses in the conspiracy trial confirmed the previous statements.

Booth said that Mrs. Wheeldon had volunteered the information that the poison was stolen by a young man employed at Guy’s Hospital. She added that the phial given to Booth contained enough to kill 500, and that if Booth required a microbe he must ask Mrs. Wheeldon. Booth asked how she proposed to carry out her scheme, and Mrs. Wheeldon said that the best opportunity would be to catch Mr. Lloyd George while golfing at Walton Heath and fire a poisoned arrow from an air gun. She proposed to send Mr. McKenna a skull with a needle protruding. The court was adjourned. PRISONERS IN GERMANY.

AMERICA’S GOOD WORK.

[AUSTRALIAN AND N.Z. CABLE ASS’n] London, Feb. 6. Lord Newton, interviewed, said one cannot overestimate the Americans’ work on behalf of war prisoners. The rupture temporarily cuts off prisoners until some other neutral takes up the worK. It is estimated that Austria and Germany hold 1,500,000 Russian prisoners, 400,000 French, 50,000 Belgians, and 35,000 British.

THE COMBING OUT.

ALL EXEMPTIONS CANCELLED

[AUSTRALIAN AND N.Z. CABLE ASSN.] (Received 7, 8.55 a.m.)

London. Feb. 6.

The Press Bureau states that Mr. Neville Chamberlain (Director of National Service), in accordance with the War Cabinet’s decision, is instructing every Government department to cancel forthwith all exemption of men up to and including 22 years of age front general military service, but scheduling as temporarily exempt those employed in the production of steel, agriculture, mines, quarries, railway shops, transport and ship yards. COLDEST WEATHER FOR YEARS. [“ THE TIMES.”] (Received 7, 11.30 a.m.) London, Feb. 6. Britain is snow-bound, the weather being the coldest for 20 years. There are ten to twenty-six degrees of frost. LONDON NEWS ITEMS. rAUSTRALIAN AND N.Z. CABLE ASSN.I Mr. Pluck, father of a recently executed rebel, was elected for North Roscommon. 1 AUSTRALIAN AND N.Z. CABLE ASSN.I Sir T. Mackenzie presented 850 wounded at Walton with a pocket diary provided by the New Zealand Coy.

Sir T. Mackenzie desires a spot to be selected for soldiers’ graves at Brookwood, one of the loveliest spots in England consisting of old park land and fern clad slopes. Mr. Hoover announced that in the event of war. the Belgian relief headquarters would be transferred to Holland.