GENERAL CABLE NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14589, 27 January 1911, Page 5

GENERAL CABLE NEWS.

' FROM THE AUSTRALIAN PAPERS. • " ALL-RED " STEAMSHIPS. It is rumoured in Liverpool that an "All-Red" steamship company is being formed with a capital of £2,000,000. LONDON TO NEW YORK. The Premier of Newfoundland, Mr. Morris, considers that Trepassey, at the southeastern corner of Newfoundland, to which a railway is being constructed, is the future trans-Atlantic port. It is distant 1700 miles from Galway, and with fast connecting trains he believes the maximum time of journey between New York and London would be reduced to three and a-half. days.

WHAT IRELAND WANTS.

Mr. Redmond has been unanimously elected president of the United Irish League. The league has adopted a resolution reaffirming that there can be no settlement of the Irish question till Ireland is given a full measure of self-government by means of an Irish National Parliament, with a responsible executive.

ERA OF WARSHIP BUILDING.

Official papers published disclose that despite Mr. Carnegie's £2,000,000 peace fund, the year 1911 is going to see all records for warship building broken. From February 1 next a new Dreadnought will be launched, on an average, every nine days. Of these fighting monsters Britain will own 11, Germany seven, Russia and the United States four each, France, Chili, and Japan two a piece, whilst Austria, Brazil, and Spain will each add one new Dreadnought to their navies. The total cost of this huge amount of war shipbuilding will be £140,000,000.

THE PLAGUE IN MANCHURIA.

The epidemic of bubonic plague in Manchuria is increasing in an alarming manner, principally owing to the woful ignorance of the Chinese authorities, who are attempting to cope with the disease by the most idle and superstitious measures. It is now abundantly apparent that the plague will become a serious international menace unless it is taken in hand immediately by one or more of the foreign Powers. CHAMPION WRESTLERS. The wrestling match between George Hackenschmidt, the "Russian Lion," and Oredemann, the American champion, took place at Minneapolis recently. Though Hackenschmidt won the first two falls, the struggle was keen and prolonged, and the excitement was intense. The first bout occupied 2h. 37j.m. Twice Hackenschmidt picked Oredemann off the mat and slammed him down with all his giant strength, but Oredemann twisted and avoided the. fall till he was utterly worn out. The second bout lasted only two and a-half minutes, as Oredemann, worn out by his previous exertions, was incapable of much resistance. Joe Gorbam, a ■New York wrestling match promoter, has offered a purse of £4000 for a match between Gotch and Hackenschmidt at Seattle. AWFUL PLIGHT OF SHIP'S CREW. Last week the three-masted wooden steamer Lakme, owned by C. Nelson and Co., of San Francisco, was employed in the coastal trade, became disabled in a hurricane, which quickly drove her towards the rocky coast in the vicinity of Cape Blanco, off the California coast. The master of the steamer Watson, seeing the perilous position of the Lakme, made two desperate efforts to reach her and rescue her crew of 15 men. But the storm was so fierce and the seas were so tremendous that both attempts failed. The Lakme continued to drift helplessly before the hurricane. As a last resort the crew threw oil overboard to smooth the water a little and loweied a boat, but it had scarcely reached the water when it was caught up by a huge sea and dashed to pieces. Later in the day, when the position of the disabled vessel had become critical, the crow succeeded in passing a line to the Watson, which was gallantly standing by waiting for a chance to assist. For a while it seemed as though the Lakme would be saved, but as soon as the line took the full strain of the tow it parted. All efforts to get another line aboard the Watson failed. The master of the Watson in reporting the occurrence said lie stood by as long as there was any possibility of rescuing the drowning men, but was eventually compelled to leave them to their fate.