A BELGIAN FILIBUSTER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 14925, 24 February 1912, Page 2 (Supplement)

A BELGIAN FILIBUSTER.

TALE OF ADVENTURE. The Brussels Gazette prints a remarkable account of the adventures of a filibustering expedition which set sail from Antwerp last October. A steamer flying the Belgian flag, with a mixed cargo, left Antwerp for Port Stanley (Falkland Islands). It was rumoured that the vessel was cairying arms for the Portuguese Royalists, but inquiry revealed nothing irregular. Tho crew of the steamer have now returned to Antwerp, and give the following account of their extraordinary voyage : — At Lillo (Belgium, on the Scheldt) 250 tons of powder, five Spanish and two English passengers were taken on board. When the vessel was again at sea the command was taken by one of the Spanish passengers, named Arricos. A stop was made at Dacoon (?) to take in coal and stores, and then the vessel was headed for South America. The Belgians then learned that tho vessel had been chartered by Paraguayan revolutionaries, that Arricos was a brother-in-law of the President of Paraguay, that three of the passengers were Argentine pilots, and that tho cargo consisted of four big quick-firing guns, 6000 rifles, uniforms, and other war material. The aim of the expedition was to seize the Paraguayan towns on the Rio de la Plata. When the South American coast was sighted the four quick-firing guns were mounted. At tho mouth of tho Rio de la Plata the Brazilian flag was hoisted and the vessel repainted and rechristened. The vessel's name was again changed, and she was once mere painted another colour. At the point where the Rio de la Plata forms the frontier between Argentina and Paraguay tho crew were paid off. Owing to a dispute on the subject of their pay. tho Belgians who have now returned are going to take proceedings against the Belgian, owners.