BRITISH AND FOREIGN.

Otago Witness, Issue 2523, 23 July 1902, Page 28

BRITISH AND FOREIGN.

LONDON, July 14.

The Coronation bazaar on behalf of the Children's Hospital, Ormond street, realised £29,000.

July 15,

The Union Bank balance srieet shows the deposits to be £15,418,747, cash investments £5,053,381, bills aud other securities £14,498,977. The estate of the late Mr Charles Marcus Wakefield, of Wellington, NewZealand, has been proved at £56,325. The strengthening of the British , Mediterranean fleet is complete. The numbers have been increased 25 per cent., aud the fighting strength 40 per cent. The Bisley meeting commenced in brilliant weather. There is a record number of entries. July 15. The Waikato, when spoken, had been drifting for a fortnight. The crew were well . A Victorian loan of one million, bearing 3 per cent, interest, is being issued at 96^. It has been underwritten. John North, the well-known English professional billiard player, was killed by an ornuibu9 in London. M. Waldeck-Rous-scau, the late French Premier, and his wife, who are touring, accepted an invitation and dined with the Kaiser aboard the Hohenzollern at Odde, Norway. Mrs Seddon is shortly removing to the seaside. Her family's anxiety is decreasing. The appointment of Lord Hopetoun's successor will not be considered while Mr Chamberlain is incapacitated. The Thames Valley Land Company's directors have considered the advisability of disposing of the New Zealand estates to the Government. They have cabled their decision to the Assets Realisation Board, who will communicate it to the Govt-rnmeut. Russian official circles interpret Italy's rapprochement with France to Russia's and Austria's renewal of the understanding with Russia iv 1897 m regard to the Balkans. The evidence is that the policy of the three Powers in allowing such freedom of action to :the individual States is a great factor in the preserva- ' tion of peace. July 16. Wireless messages from Cornwall have reached Marconi. Skageu signals from Cornwall reached him clearly at Kronstadt, the intervention, of land being no obstacle to the receiver. The* magnetic detector used beats all others in sensitiveness, and prevents the interception of messages. j Sir Henry Irving and Miss Ellen Terry , will tour Australia next year. The Prince of Wales and the Duke of Connaught attended a memorial service to the late Lord Pauncefote in the Chapel Royal, St. James's. The manager of the Zanzibar Company informed the Subsidies Committee that Great Britain was losing five millions annually owing to want of direct steamers to the East Coast of Africa. The s.s. Rangatira had a collision at midnight with a barque off Dover. The latter lost her mainmast and port lifeboat, besides sustaining damage to her bulwarks and hull. The barque was ( towed to Gravesend. July 17. The Rangatira's No. 3 hold was flooded. The Daily Mail states that George Bowley, an Australian, aged 15 years, swam and rescued two ladies, whose boat had capsized on the Avon. The fleet is preparing to return to Spifchead for the Coronation. The Japanese squadron is also returning. Mr Chamberlain attended Mr Balfour's first Cabinet meeting. Mr Chamberlain has sent a cheque for 50 guineas to the Charing Cross Hospital as a token of the attention he received there on the occasion of his recent accident. The Australians and New Zealan-der^ fire for the Mackimion Cup on Friday. ' The Australians did excellent practice in the Kolapore Cup, .securing the best J average among the New Zealander» am! other colonial shot«. j The Admiralty is. placing contracts on the Clyde for 10 highspeed scout boats, i These will be smaller than the destroyers. Lord Charles Beresford, speaking at North Shields, said that be was opposed to subsidies, inasmuch as the Americans were able to double ours, but it was expedient that they should help the Canadian route, which favoured the British i Combine in the Atlantic trade. | A tug has been sent from the Cape in search of the Waikato. July 18. Russia proposes a conference of the signatories to the Sugar Convention to consider the protection, of commerce against the artificial depression of prices by export bounties aud trusts. Lord Cadogan has resigned his position as Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. | The Marquis of Londonderry retains his present position as Postmastergeneral. The Countess De la Warr, hecoud daughter of Lord Brassey, has been granted a decree nisi

Mr William Johnston, the Conserva* tive member in the House «of Commons for Belfast, is dead. Hamond bin Mahomed bin Said, Sultan of Zanzibar, is dead. The Great Northern Steamship Company are building five 21,000 -toa steamers for trading between Seattle, China, and Japan. The Imperial Government have placed! £10,000 at the disposal of Jamaica to make 6 per cent, loans to sugar estates, so as to ensure a continuation of their cultivation until the Brussels Convention becomes operative. The Times foreshadows the probability of Lord Halsbury (Lord Chancellor), and Baron James of Hereford (Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster), and Baroni j Ashbourne (Lord Chancellor of Ireland) ; retiring in favour oi younger men, and the promotion of Mr Wyndham and Mr Austen Chamberlain to Cabinet rank. Sir E. Barton opposes Earl Meath'a suggestion to declare an Empire Day holiday, on the ground that there are already too many holidays in Australia. Mr Seddon, Sir W. Laurier, and Sir A. H. Hime support Lord Meath. I July 19. ' Mr Chamberlain advises that the Royal assent will be given to the Federal Immigration Restriction Act. Bir E. Barton sails for Canada on August 16. Whether Mr Seddon returns by way of Canada depends on his wife's health. Mrs Seddon will be removed to Rair.sgate on Tuesday. ' Great Britain offered to take over next year a number of warships in cour«e of construction for the Chilian Government. An Anarchist named Barber, from Paterson, United States, has been arrested at Piedmont, having in his possession documents threatening the life of King Victor Emmanuel. A photo of Bres=ci, the assassin of the late King Humbert, was found in his pocket. j The Daily Chronicle states that the j Pope is intensely displeased with the Cardinals' conduct in the negotiations regarding the Philippines. He has overruled their decision not to withdraw Spanish friars in favour of those of other nationalities, and declares the American: demand reasonable. He has expressed! his readiness to treat with Mr Taffc (Governor of the Philippines) personally iv the matter. Silatin Pasha, who is in London, on being interviewed, said that it was useless to extend the Cairo-Cape railway southward to Khartoum. He favoured an improvement of the steamer service between the Uganda posts and beyond. The rains would interrupt the railway from Khartoum to Uganda. . Sir E. Barton made a reassuring statej ment concerning the drought in Aus- , tralia. He corrected the alarmist impression that the whole Continent was involved. July 20. At the instance of Mr Seddon the War Office has abandoned the charge of 10s per 100 rounds hitherto paid by colonial teams competing at Bisley. There is but little business being done in the Victorian new loan, which is quoted at a slight discount. The sugar planters of Jamaica are dissatisfied with the Imperial Government's bonus. The agitation for the annexation of the islands to the United States has been revived. Cholera is reported to be raging at Moosha, near Assiout. A cordon has been established around the infected ( area. j Mr Balfour, speaking at Fulham, said I that Mr Chamberlain by his personality had breathed a new inspiration into colonial affairs. No one henceforth could regard the colonies as mere paper names. They were the glory of Great Britain. If the Imperial Conference resulted in an increasing prosperity to the colonies iii a time of peace, they would be a yet greater strength in time of war. The conference would, even if there were no formal agreement or discussion, bind i the different portions of the Empire more closely. Wax and parchment would be valueless unless the decisions were backed up by those sentiments of the great populations concerned which alone could make them effective. July 21. The recent utterances of the Marquia of Lansdowno, emphasising the maintenance of the status quo in the Mediterranean, has excited the disquietude of the Italian Government organs, whose comments show a desire to hasten the occupation of Tripoli. Cardinal Moran is visiting Ireland. Responding to the Bray District Council's address of welcome, he declared that the people of Australia were in sympathy with Ireland, and proud to learn that Ireland was holding her own, and hopeful with regard to the future. BERLIN, July 18. The directors of the Prussian Mortgage Bank have been sentenced to imprisonment for terms ranging from nine months to six years, and to pay fines ranging from 1000 to 15,000 marks, for i-suing false balanco sheets. VENICE, July 14. The campanile of St. Mark, Venice, collapsed, but without loss of life, the piazza having been previously cleared. July 15. The campanile of St. Mark subsided gently, The belfry was bxtried by the ruins 100 ft lii&U. The copper angel aur-

July 21

mounting the spire was broken against the church gate. The falling masonry buried the loggetta of San Lovino, injuring seme works of art. The great campanile of St. Mark in the equaTe at the west of the church was founded about 900 by Doge Pietro Tnbuuo, sind finished in 1131, or Eoon after. It was a very ma*sive square tower of brick, 325 ft high by 42ft square, on » stone base, simply decorated with slight pilasters. The ascent to the ton was made by a series of inclined planes instead of stairs. The upper part, an open latern with a pyramidal roof, was added in the sixteenth century ; on the apex ■»7S.s a fine colossal statue of an angel, formed of plates of gilt bronze on a wooden cone — a work of the end of the fifteenth century. The Venetians are largely subscribing to rebuild the campanile of St. Mark, which had long been in a dangerous condition. It fell on Monday, after an earthquake was felt at Salonica. VIENNA, July 16. Mr Pierpont Morgan's Trust has offered the Austrian Council of Industry to build and run ships for the Austrian trade. July 21. With reference to the Italian newspapers' agitation for the occupation of Tripoli, the Vienna newspaper Wiener Allgemeine Zeitung suspects that France and Italy have provided for eventualities by delimiting their respective spheres. ST. PETERSBURG, July 14. Seven Lutheran clergymen in Finland have been deprived of their livings for refusing to read the ukase concerning conscription. July 15. An overcrowded steamer sank on the River Bege. Thirty persons were drowned. July 16. The Czar has appointed the King of Italy honorary colonel in the 14th Dragoons. July 17. Router's messages state that Italy's advances to Russia are intended to reassure France as regards the renewal of the Triple Alliance. CONSTANTINOPLE, July 14. It is denied that Turkey demands the recall of the British Consul at Basra, and it is further declared that the original accusations emanated from rival Powers. July 20. The Sultan has decorated Ibn Rashad, King of the Arabian Highlands, known as Newd Reward, for struggling against the Wahabis, a sect of Mohammedans occupying the interior of Arabia. The significance of the honour lies in the fact that Rashad has been engaged for years in a struggle with Mabourouk, the Sheik of Koweyt, who supports the Wahabis, and is well disposed to Great Britain. WASHINGTON, July 17. Notwithstanding America's offer to accept friars of other nationalities than Spanish in the Philippines, the Vatican declines to withdraw the Spanish. Mr Hay (Chief Secretary) has therefore suspended negotiations, and ordered General W. H. Taft (Governor of the Philippines) to proceed to his post. NEW YORK, July 14. Dumont and Maxim compete in an airship speed contest at St. Louis (Missouri) for £20,000. July 15. The steamer Portland has arrived feafely at Alaska. Our previous cablegram* notified that the Portland had been, caught in the ice pack and was drifting towards the Arctic regions, with some 100 passengers on board. A rfcvenuo cutter sent in search failed to find any trace of her. The Portland is a wooden ecrew steamer of 1421 tons, and was built ?n 1885 by the New England Shipbuilding Company, at Bath, Maine. She is owned by the Alaska Commercial Comnanv. and

arrived

i 3 registered at San Francisco. Her dimensions are : Lengih 191 ft sin, breadth 36ft lin, depth 20ft 2in. July 16. ' Gates, who formed the maize corner" in Chicago, underestimated the supplies. He has agreed to a settlement. The profits of the " corner " are • now estimated at one million dollar*. The powder magazine exploded in the Daly West mine (Utah). Twenty-seven bodies have so far been recovered. Many were terribly injured. July 17. In pursuance of the decision of the court-martial, President Roosevelt reprimanded General Smith, who retires. Mr Roet, the Secretary of State for War, supplements the reprimand with a statement that notwithstanding General Smith's sanguinary order very few natives were killed in Jamar. j Harry Dewindt's expedition, which is travelling by land from Paris to New , York, has arrived at Dawson via Siberia and Behring Strait. Dewindt left Parjs early this year, expecting to arrive in New York in August. July 18. The freight from New York to Natal 1 is 10s per ton, or 2s 4d below the lowest i intermediate boat freights from England. July 21. 1 John William MacKay, millionaire, president of the Commercial Cable Company, and one of the owners of the Bonanza mine, is dead; setat 71. The saddle between the craters on Soufriere, St. Vincent, collapsed, block- ! ing the throat of the volcano. The im- ' prisoned gas and steam has caused a number of subterranean explosions and earthquakes. A panic ensued. Business I is suspended at Kingston. j The damage by the Martinique disas- ! ter is officially estimated at £8,000,000. I The New York Times states that the Houston line of steamers has contracted for a period of years for all shipments between Great Britain, America, and South Africa for the British South African Company, the* Rhodesia railways, and De Beer's affiliated companies. The principal construction firms in America have formed a 60,000,000d0l trust, and secured important contracts for builumors in London. A great fire at Guayaquil, Ecuador, destroyed the railway station, Customs Houses, and 90 blocks of buildings is*the principal streets. The damage is estij mated at 5,000,000d01. There were many fatalities. OTTAWA, July 20. The Canadian imports for the year ended June 30 are valued at 202,792,000 dollars, and the exports at 211,725,000 I dollars, as compared with 190,415,525 ! dollars and 19G,487,G23 dollars respectively for the preceding year. luMBAY, July 21. A man, believed to be H-ana Belli Mahdu, of Shankarpur, who figured as a prominent leader in the Great Mutiny in 1858, has been arrested at Lucknow for preaching sedition. The Canadian Government is Jivitiug tenders from Liverpool shipowners for 18-knot steamers between Vancouver, Australia, and points of call on the Pacific coast; also, commodious and quick cargo steamers. HONGKONG, July 14. Foreign Ministers are agreed that Tientsin shall be evacuated shortly. Chinese troops v, ill be excluded from within a radius of 20 kilometres, while the limitation of Chinese police within ■ that radius has been eliminated. ! The prospects for the restoration of the Tientsin railway are not promising. Suyu Fen, the Chinese Minister of Railways, threatens to resign, owing to the rather divergent view-, held by Great , Britain, Russia and France,

July 17.

Several deaths from cholera have occurred in the Forbidden City. The Dowager Empress 1 is alarmed. Cholera is spreading to the Chinese garrison in Peking and Pao-ting-fu, and also in the interior. July 19. The radius of the exclusion of Chinese troops outside Tientsin has been fixed at six miles. Yuan Shi Kai accepts the conditions of the agreement. ♦

July 19.