MISCELLANEOUS CABLES.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XIV, Issue 281, 7 November 1924, Page 5

MISCELLANEOUS CABLES.

It has been provisionally agreed that Franco-Soviet negotiations will begin on January 10th., 1925. Submarine K 22, going out for manoeuvres. struck the Portland breakwater. Her nose became embedded in the rocks_and the submarine remained agrourtd. for ten hours, when a' cruiser towed her off. The entombed men were released from the Croft mine, Cumberland, after 30 hours. All were cheerful and said that after they found the exits choked by a fall from the roof they fired detonators to attract attention. Though the prospects were black they exchanged jokes about politics and football, A double tragedy occurred at Dandenon. Victoria. The bodies of a middleaged couple. Albert Markley and his wife, were found by their son on returning last night from a visit to the city. They were in a bedroom with their throats fatally cut and a butcher’s knife near by. Marklev it is supposed killed his wife and then committed suicide- The cause i s unknown. Rain in the western districts of New South Wales, the heaviest. for some time, is causing concern, as it is interfaring with agricultural and shearing operations. Queensland wheat-growers ar e complaining of the excessive rainfall. Rust is evident among the crops in most districts and the untimely ram has aggravated the position. If it continues the prospect of a record harvest will be affected. All creeks and rivers in Queensland are rising fast and floods are expected. The terms of. reference of the commission of inquiry into the civic graft charges in Sydney have been extended to cover the questions whether there was any conspiracy, agreement or proposal corruptly to obtain money or any interference with the purity of the administration in connection with the regrading of a street adjacent to the Country Producers’ Selling Company’s new store; also, regarding a second relating to the erection of a petrol measure. The commission will inquire generally into the conduct of any alderman, official or person connected with these matters. The Port Nicholson has been refloated and taken to the inner harbour at Las Palmas. Notice if his intention to move a no confidence in the Prendergast Ministry when the Assembly meets on Tuesday has been given by Mr Allen, leader of the Country Party, consequent on the negotiations between the Nationalists and the Country Party, which are now unitel. It is expected that the Labour Ministry will be defeated when it comes, to a vote. The South Australian Legislative Council rejected the State Insurance Bill by 13 votes to six. Increases 1 in the prices of men’s felt hats are foreshadowed in London, due to the drowning s of rabbits owing to floods, combined with a falling off in imports of Australian rabbit skinsA telegram from Port Said states that the German steamer Hamburg, bound from Brisbane and Fremantle for Antwerp, collided with a dredger in the canal. The latter sunk in a siding. Traffic is not hindered. The damage to the Hamburg is unknown. The voyage of Captain Cook along the eastern coast of Australia is to be commemorated by the erection, by the Australian Federal Ministry, of suitable memorials on prominent landmarks. One will be at Possession island and the others nt Port Hicks. The memorials consist of brass plates with raised gold lettering. The representatives of the Australian freight committee asked the shipowners to reduce the freight on butter and cheese to th© same extent as the reductions recently conceded to New Zealand. The shipowners replied that the v were losing money and could got grant reductions owing to high port charges in Australia. Mr Marconi has returned to London after an absence of three months experimenting with beam wireless aboard iiis own yacht. He announces that the beam is now equally effective day and night over any distance. The girl students of Cardiff College (South Wales) arranged a smoke night.. The attendance was limited to girls over G 4 inches in height, and male attire was compulsory. Most chose ordinary lounge suits, but some appeared in plus fours. The evening closed with a mock production of tho film “"Why Boys Leave Home.” A census of British motor transport reveals that there are 300.000 commer* cial vehicles paying £16,000.000 in taxes and employing 65,000 more men than the railways.