BRITISH AND FOREIGN.

Otago Witness, Issue 2284, 9 December 1897, Page 16

BRITISH AND FOREIGN.

London, November 30. After a search of seven years, James Bonwick, the Australian historian, has discovered the grave of Afimiral Arthur Phillip, first Governor of New South Wales, at Bath. Sir Walter George Phillimore, Bart., has been appointed to succeed Baron Pollock as one o£ the , judges of the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice. It has been ascertained that the shipment of gunpowder detained on the Thames under the belief that it was to be sent to the Indian frontier tribesmen is intended for Abyssinia, j Lord Brassey contributes an article to the "Nineteenth Century," in which he advocatea enrolling colonial seamen in the° Naval Keaerve and training colonial boys for the navy. Sir Charles Beresford concurs in Lord Brassey's suggestions, and urges that reserve sbips at colonial bates should be manned in time of wSr by colonial r«gerve* k assisted by crews of 'obsolete ship?, thus liberating tQ 8 seamen required to man the modern vessels at ftqine. ' ■> • Maj<rf-'general Sir Bevan Edwards* in a .letter to The Times, says that Great Britain it without an urmy reserve. The long-, service system, he add?, supplies men instead of boys.' ' "\ " " " '■ ' ThtLthird-clasV partially-protected cruiier Pbrpoise will relieve the Pylades on the Australian station/ December 1. Mr Gerald Balf our,, reply i&g to a deputation at Dublin, said so large a portion of the session had been mortgaged to the Irish Local Government, cjueation that the Government would not rein troduce the Agricultural Industries Bill. It is rumoured that the third-class battleship Swiftsnre is to be stationed at Sydney as a drilL guardsbip, and that; the third-class battleships Invincible and Iton Duke will be stationed at E.-quimault (British Columbia) and Colombo respectively. Dr Sydney A. Copeman, one of the medical inspectors of the Local Government Board, has? discovered that an admixture of glycerine destroys the microbe* in calf lymph. December 2.

A sensational money-lending case was ■ heard in the Queen's- Bench Division of the ■-'High Court of Justice, L9wis, a well-known West-End money lender, sued StcondLieutenant H. H. Clay, of the Second

Lifeguards; to recover a sum of LI 1,003 on two promissory notes alleged to nave been signed by him jointly with Lord William Neville, fourth son of the Marquis, of. Abergavenny. Lieutenant Clay (who istha only son of the late J. Spender Clayi, of Ford. Manor, Surrey,, and mho left, bis, son ; a considerable, fortune) "pleaded- in. defence tfaat .be- only signed the .notes as witness, nob as principal, ,;Tha jury ibellevedi his, story, aad found! a verdict, in (bis favourr "Lord 1 William ;Neville is ' at

present residiog ia- Spain. •' Eepiyiogr'tb a deputation, Sir Matthew Itfdley said, that the Government declined to introduce an early closing bill. A convention has been signed on behalf of the British acd French Governments providing for the. establishment of a parcels post betrweea Franca and India, alto between Franc* and Australia. Parcels are to be sent via Marseille*, and the weight is limited to- five kilogrammes, without declaration of valnei

-Baring the recent gales on the coast a Margate, lifeboat, was wrecked and 10 of her crew drowned;

A great Masonic ceremony was heldjn celebration of -the bi-centenary of the reap&ing, of Sfc. Paul's Cathedral. Six thou.-

Band Masons were present. The 1 P. and O. Qooopany hare declared a dividend of 2£ par cent, on preierred shares and 6| per cent*, on deferred share?, with a bonns of 3 pet cent.

December 3

The London Colonial Club entertained Sir Saul' Samuel, the retiring Agent-general for New South Wales, at a banquet. AIL the Agents - general were present except Mr Thomas Playford and Mr W. P. Keeves. These gentlemen sent apologies regretting they were unable, to attend. Sir S. Samuel .replying to a toast deprecated the- agencies being turned into large shop window*- in the crty. He considered .that the task of purchasing millions of railway "teaterial and- conducting- large financial 'operations were- quite as much commercial 'operations as the promotion of the butter trade. It was; he thought, unwise for the Government to promote trade in a manner entirely impracticable. Lord Reay and the Hon. Eyulph Stanley have been elected chairman and vice-chair-man respectively of the London School Board.

December 4.

Presiding at a meeting o£ the British Empire Trade League the Du&e of Devonshire said the Government should arrange for the enrolment of colonial seamen in. the Naval Reserve.

Addressing a meeting of Liberals at Guilford, Surrey, Mr Herbert Gladstone said if they desired to win the next election they must be Liberals first and Home Rulers and

"Local Optioniats afterwards. He added that the question of the House of Lords' power of veto was of. the first, importance. It has transpired that the crew of the Margate lifeboat, drowned during the recent gales, neglected the use of their lifebelts.

A 'French Anarchist named Broxette has been murdered ab Lacgacre, London. He was suspected of being a spy. It ia reported from Berlin, that, if Great Britain requited it, GfermaDy was willing to cede her protectorate rights, in New Guinea. A reply was given in the negative. The Vicar of Batbampton, a suburb of Batb, in a. letter to The Time*, appeals to the colony of New South Wales to take steps to worthily mark the last resting place of Admiral Phillip, as one of the makers of Greater Britain.

December 5

A., telegraph corps has sailed for the west coast of Africa, for the purpote of erecting a telegraph line 350 mile* long from L»goa to the hinterland.

Dr Jameson if roturniCK from the Cape to jEoglan<L

, , December 6. ' la connection with the proposal of- the Imperial authoritiea to convert or exchange the rifles used by the colonial forces so as to secure uniformity of arms thrpughoafc the Empire, the British* Army and Navy Gazette warns Australia not to accept any Government offer of a single-loading Martini instead of a magazine rifle, and states that Canada has already rejected 40,000 rifles of this type.

Pams, December 1.

Le Temps suggests that if the AngloFrench West African Dalimitation Commission should disagree the questions at issue should be submitted to arbitration. December 5. The French are supplying the Somalia ia E*Bt Africa with rifle?.

General Billot, the French Minister for War, made a statement in the Chamber of Deputies with reference to the Captain Dreyfus case. He said that Dreyfus wa» fairly tried and condemned in his eoul and conscienpe as a soldier. The chief of the'army at the time said he regarded the sentence as a just one. The Minister said tiuit an inquiry would be ordered into the* clrargeß made by Dreyfus's brother againefc. Count Esterhszy, commandant of artillery^ .who was declared to have, been concerned in ■the authorship of incriminating "clocunientp .produced at the, trial.. Th.4 -Chamber, by » majority of 172, approved of the statement made by the Minister fox War: . - :

Bbb'lin, November 30.

The Emperor, in opening the Itwchatsg, said that the navy was insufficient; to protect tke home ports and safeguard the ic creasing commerce of Germany.

December 1.

The Emperor in the course of a speech said Germany did not desire to rival the naval powers of the first rank. She must maintain by preparedce»s her sea prestige among nations. The measure to reform military penal procedure was, he said, necessary in order to mset disciplinary require" m«nts.

December 2.

An explosion occurred in the bunkers of the North German Lloyd's steamer Darmstadt at Bremerhaven, at the mouth of the River Weser. Eleven oE the crow were injured, and slight damage was done to the vessel.

December 3.

A disastrous colliery explosion took place at Kaiserslautern, Rheniih Prussia. Thirtyseven miners were killed and many injured.

The German Colonial Council have decided to inflict the death penalty upon persons guilty of inciting to sedition in the German protect crateg.

Vienna, November 29.

Sixty-three rioters have been arrested in the city during the last "two days. . A demonstration in, favour of Herr Wolff was made yesterday; 1000 persons partici? pating in it. ' November 30. , Baron Gaufcscb, wbo has undertaken the formation of a. new Ministry, will entirely change the personnel of the Cabinet-. - - > December 1.

A new Austrian Ministry is beiDg formed by Baron Gautacb, Minister for Education in the late Ministry. It includes five former Under-secretariei of the department who were not attached to any political parties. The following are allotted portfolios in tha draufcech Ministry :— Count Zano yon Whesereheimb, Minister for Defence; Herr Bejeck, Minister for Finance ; Herr ..Koerber, Minister for Commerce.

Racial feeling has been embittered oter the recent scenes in the Rsichsratb, and runs high throughout Auetria. Serioua rioting has occurred at Prague, where a body' at Czechs made (an attack on the Germans. The military were called oafc, and in suppressing the disturbance wounded 100 of the rioters and arrested SO others.

December 2.

Twelve battalions of Austrian infantry and a squadron of hussars were" despatched to Prague to cope with the rioters.'"* Business there was paralysed. The Czechs | wrecked and plundered the houses of the German residents; the university and schools' furniture was taken from the • buirainga and burnt in bonfires in the ; and the rioters attempted to storm a cartridge factory, but it was successfully ' defended by the troops, who killed some of the rioters. The Synagogue and the Jewish warehouses were plundered, and valuable archives stored' ia the Erusky Palace werq burned?. 1 ; Order was restored at midnight^' | and the main body of the troops were tbea\ ■ withdrawn, a .sufficient' force beirjg left to patrol the city and preserve, order. I ■ December 3.

Martial law has been proclaimed in Prague; The rioting continues, and seven battalion 3 of infantry were called out and fired upon the mob, 200 of whom fell. One hundred and fifty received wounds, mostly of a serious nature, and a number were killed. Ninety arrests were made. A^ forca of 3000 rioters at. PilseD, 52 miles from Prague, wrecked the German gymnasium and attacked the town hall, clamouring for the release of prisoners. The police were compelled to fire upon them, and succeeded in clearing the streets. Demonstrations against the Czechs have been made at Saatz and Innsbruck. December 4.

Latest reports from Prague state that order has been restored and,; that the city is quiet. During the late riots 200 were wounded and 10 killed.

December 6.

HuDgary hasr agreed to renew a provisional Ausgleich or arrangements for meeting the joint expenditure of Austria and HnDgary for one year, pending a settlement of the question of the recent troubles wbich have arisen in connection therewith by the Reichsrath.

Sir Petersburg, November 29. , The four daily newspapers have been forbidden to accept advertisements, and official warnings have been issued to other journals-. December 1.

Bassia has submitted three candidates fo* tbe Governorship of Crete to the consideration of the Power*. Two were rejected, and the claims of the third, a connection of the Prince of Montenegro, are being con^ sidered.

December 5.

The Russian Government are purchasing large supplies for the army at San Francisco, The suDDlies are intended for Vladivostock.

December 2,

December 3

- -, ; December 1. Eleven persons were' killed in a oollision goods -and passenger trains. The accident is supposed to be due to the blunder of the pointsman. Athens, November 29. The Powers are arranging a four million francs loan as security for the Cretan customs and to defray the Cretan Governor's indemnity. Several officers belonging to the staff of the Duke of Sparta, who acted as com-mander-in-cnief of the Greek Army, have been court -mar tialled for failure of duty during tne Turko-Grccian war. December 2. The committee appointed by the Greek Chamber to investigate the management of the late war have recommended the dismissal of 100 officers for neglect of duly. December 3. The Greek delegates at the conference convened for the purpose of arranging the terms of peace have accepted the Tarkish protocol, and it is expected that the treaty will he ngnei. forthwith. December 5. The treaty of peace between Turkey and Greece has been signed. December' 6. The treaty of peaca signed between Greece and Turkey will be ratified in 15 days. Rome, December 1. The ex-Premier, S'goor Crispi, has demanded a parliamentary inquiry into the charges of his alleged complicity in the Bank of Naples scandals. . ' , ; December 2. The Budget Speech delivered in the Chamber of Deputies anticipates a surplus of seven million lire. December 3. Signer Crispi, in supporting his demand for an inquiry into his alleged complicity in the Bank of Naples scandals, made an eloquent defecce against the charges.- His dignified bearing and his disdain of compassion greatly sfiected the Cuamber, some of the members weeping convulsively. The scene was strikingly dramatic. The Chamber appointed a committee to irqaire into the charges. December 6. Marquis Rudini, Premier, intends to resign, with a view to organising the Cabinet so as to harmonise with the Liberal majority in the Chamber of Deputiep. A destructive storm at Naples wrecked 25 merchant vessels. - The French and Italian Governments agree to Russia's nomination of Yoivode Bozo Petrovitch, President of State and Council of Montenegro, as Governor oE Crete. Madrid, December 2. Serious symptoms of a Cailist movement have become apparent in Sptun. December 3. Priests who are assisting in the Oarlist movement refuse to admit the Pope's authority in politic*. Senor Sagasta declares that the movement requires.cjose attention. ■ ' Christiania' December 5. - A fire' destroyed a publisher's premises, 'ctoing'cfamage to the extent of 400,000 kroner (over Ii 22,000). - PEB.TOBIA, December 3. Herr Klofze, who was mentioned some time ago as the probable successor to Dr Leyds as Secretary of State of the Transvaal, speaking here, said the Uitlanders ought to have a share in the political privileges of the republic and be granted equality at law with the inhabitants of the country. i Capetown, November 20. George Goodwin Crouch Smith,, an Australian, described as holding Lord Brassey'a (? Earl Grey's) passport for travelling in South Africa, stuck up the StandardUankatr Claremont, a suburb of Capetown, shot .the cashier to the heart, and wounded the manager. Upon the police entering the bank Smith committed suicide. December 3, Mr Cecil Hhodes intends to visit E a rope, consequently will not be a. candidate at the forthcoming elections in C3pe Colony. "Washington, November 29. The Government have officially declined to agree to the proposal by the Canadian Govern-, ment to hold a joint commission for the pur- ! pose of considering the pending disputei between the two countries. I

December 3.

President M'Kinley'e message to Congress nrges the speedy annexation of Hawaii, and states that circumstances do not warrant any interference with Cuban sffaira. * . • ■ New Yobk, December 6. . Lieutenant' Peary, who in 1894 conducted *n expedition for the purpose of examining the land stfetching northward from the coast of Greenland, has arranged to start another expedition .in July next. He expects to be absent five years, having obtained leave of absence from his duties in the American navy for that period. Lieutenant Peary has been provided with L 30.000 by a New Yoik friend towards the expenses of the expedition. He proposes to take a surgeon as his only European companion, the remainder of the party comprising Eskimos. He intends to leave the ship at Whale Sound, on the north-west coast of Greenland, and from there push along the ooast to latitude 81, where he will establish a base of supplies ; thence follow the land to the termination of Greenland, making a dash for the Pole when a favourable opportunity offers. Ottawa, November 29.

Upon the expiration of the present Canadian mail arrangements the postal charge on letters to England will be reduced to 3c per oz.

November 30.

The reduction in the Canadian postage rates to 3 cents per ounce will involve a loss ©f LIO.OOO yearly.