NEWS OF THE WORLD.

Mataura Ensign, 17 December 1910, Page 6

NEWS OF THE WORLD.

BRITISH ELECTIONS. Bt ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH. COITRIGHT. PER UNI :'EIj PRES9 ASSOCIATION. LONDON, Dec. 16. None of the Unionist working men candidates have been elected. Mr Asquith (Prime Minister), speaking at Rexford, ridiculed the suggestion that the elections had proved inconclusive. "Are we," he asked, "to resign when our constituents have given us a niiaority of over 100? If so who will carry on the King's Government?" He added: "Mr Balfour says that it is a shocking thing that the Government is at the mercy of the Irish. The Liberals are perfectly capable of taking care of their own reputation and are riot going to be coerced into any action of which their consciences do not approve." A CERMAN SENSATION. BERLIN, Dec. 16. A sensation has been caused by the arrest of Count Giesbert Wolff me :ernich, aged 24, and his alleged associates, Captain Newton and Juhus Stein ma nn, described as international cardsharpers. The three won £IOOO from Herr Bactthus, a German officer, at a London hotel. Wolffmeternich denies the charge of complicity and states that he himself lost considerably. BATTLESHIPS COLLIDE. BERLIN, Dec. 16. The battleships Sehwaben and Elsass collided at Kiel (the German naval station on the Baltic) during a fog. Two of the Elsass' guns and part of ler plating were damaged ,n, l( j tj, fi Schwaben's deck was seriously damaged. It will take, a couple of months to repair the vessels. WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY. ROME, Dec. 16. An invention by Professor Jacovi'sllo, of Parma University, of an improved appliance for the production of Hertzian waves is likely to revolutionise wireless telegraphy. The invention secures an intenser arc, continuous waves and increased wave length, and signals are received with extraordinary force and clearness. THE PIGTAIL TO CO. PEKIN, Dec. IG. The Assembly has memorialised the throne requesting all diplomatists, officers, students, soldiers and sailors to remove their queues, which are stigmatised as "pigtails," in commemoration of the nation's subjection by the Manchus. LOSS OF THE WARATAH. LONDON, Dec. 16. At the Waratah inquiry Mr Laing, representing the Board of Trade, in opening, said that the Board had received no adverse reports after the first voyage. The vessel was valued for insurance at £150,000 and was insured for £130,000, with an additional policy on disbursement of £50,000 in the event of a total loss. It was untrue that Captain Ilbery had told the captain of the Mongolia that "this was to be his last voyage unless the Waratah was materially altered." The captain of the Mongolia had never met Captain Ilbery. He would call a man named Sawyer, who had left the Waratah at Durban because he thought she was top-heavy and who would relate his dream. Mr Barry gave evidence to the effect that if the vessel lay right over on her side so that her masts were parallel with the sea she would still have a tendency to right herself. The Waratah had fine righting powers. It would take 290 tons placed at the side to give her a list of 15 degrees. He was of the decided opinion that no list would account for the vessel's loss. Captain Hben£» rectified the list of 15 degrees hy.'njgjving the coal. That might have

been done to allay the passengers' < fears. ' Commander Lyons fan assessor) .mg-l gested that if the vessel's tanks filled during a heavy swell such as were ex-j perienced in that part of the world itj would be very dangerous. ' NEW SOUTH WALES POLITICS, j SYDNEY. Dec. 10. A sitting of the- Legislative Assembly! which commenced yesterday evening still continues. The Government, de-| termiued to push business, declined to! adjourn, and the Opposition started : stone-walling. The r.tmosphere was: electric and during the day there were several small scenes. The Hansard staff: is taking reduced notes instead of .1 verbatim report. j The Electoral Amending Bill was; passed. An attempt to void postal j voting failed. The only important alteration is that Saturday has been! abandoned as polling day, the new pro- 1 vision being that any day can be fixed lor elections, but iiiat there must be a half-ho'iday. | Tue .'■...timatos were then taken., and. 1 with frequent applications of the clo-j sure, fair progress was made. | Several members spoke in favor of 1 increasing members' salaries. Mr McGowen (Premier) said that it was a surrpise to him how country members managed to subsist on a paltry £3OO. It had been suggested that he should introduce n Bill to increase the rate by £IOO or £2OO or submit the matter to a referendum. He favored a referendum and would submit the matter to Cabinet.