BRITISH AND FOREIGN.

Otago Witness, Issue 2649, 21 December 1904, Page 31

BRITISH AND FOREIGN.

The JBobert Burns Bible, containing the birth .entries of all' the family, was sold at auction 'to-day -for J81560.

■LONDON, December 12.

The JSsng, in "-"heartily commending the Mansion -Souse' Unemployed Fund, contributed 250 -guineas, *he Queen £200, and the Prince ,vi Wales £150. Lord Iveagh, on behalf 6i the Peabody trustees, contributed £5000, Lord Rothschild £3000, and the Duke of Westminster £2000. December 13:

King Edward, replying to the Newfoundland patty'-s acknowledgment of the great boon conferred."by the Anglo-French treaty, said its conclusion was a source of much gratification, ffle was very glad the benefits 'were jso warmly appreciated. Parliament been prorogued' till January 17. liord'TJayleigh presents the value of the Nobel prize received! by iim to Cambridge Uniyersity; \ Because some Egyptian pilgrims in Mecca appealed to Lord Cromer against the Grand Sheriff's abuses, some of -the JPrench papers accuse,- Great. -Britain of trying to su ■titute the Khedive's ;f or the Sultan's rule •; in Arabia. *-* : Sir Donald '011X116 lias given £25,000 to the '{Edinburgh University for lectureship ! endowments, the money to be especially devoted to -original research. " y December 14. The debts of Mr JDowie, of 2W City, hava been paid. ■; Sir. Godfrey Lagdon, the Transvaal Secretary for Affairs, reports that since the war the natives are less amen--able and less -respectful to Europeans. He advises stricter supervision. Sir T. Sutherland, president of the Peninsular and Oriental Company, at a meeting of the •company, said that owing to the Commonwealth's attitude they might have to consider abandoning the mail contract and diverting the splendid liners Inow running to Australia to a direct service between -Britain, China, and Japan. He would not dream of abandoning the Australian trade, but it was possible to cany it by means of large cargo vessels, via the Cape, carrying a certain number of passengers at comparatively low rates. There were indications of a larger trade with India, China, Japan, and Australia.

The Admiralty is withdrawing from the Mediterranean fleet the Duncan, Cornwallis, Albemarle, and Montagu,_-and adding them to the "fleet.

Dr Gore, of Worcester, has been translated -to.fKe new Bee of Dr JJiggs, Bishop-suffragan of Southwark, succeeds Dr Gore. Archdeacon Diggle has been appointed Bishop of Carlisle.

.Stojan, who stole th 6 famous Icon of Our Lady of Kazan, was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment, and "his accomplice to 10 years. Lord George Hamilton will not again stand for Ealing.

A trial trip by" electric traction on the - Metropolitan railway irom Baker street to~Harrow proved 'a great success. The line opens in January.

Reuter's Washington correspondent states that negotiations are pending with a view to appointing an Anglo-American Joint High Commission to discuss Canadian reciprocity.

Mott, secretary of the Argentine Meat Preserving Company, was sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment for embezzlement.

A statistician, writing to the St. James's Gazette, says t&at the British imports of Australian wines for the 11 months of 1904 increased by 31,732 gallons, whilst all others decreased. The French imports declined by 1,289,000 gallons.

Wade and Donovan- were executed for the murder of Miss Farmer on October 12 in the Commercial road, liondon. "The ■woman .was bound, .gagged, and choked. Wade continued callous to the jend, and made no confession. Donovan, as he walked to -the scaffold, declared that no murder was intended.

The religious revival in Wales has lulled the revolt against the Education Act. The chapels are crowded night and day, and there is extraordinary ferment in the conereizaiJana.

December 15

The directors of the National Bank of New Zealand have declared a dividend at the rate of 10 per cent.

A gas explosion wrecked a shop in High Holborn, and injured 20 persons.

December 17.

It is the Orient Company's intention that vessels shall not call at Marseilles and "Naples after March. "

The Globe, commenting on the Ysabel's at Jaluit, acquits the Berlin authorities of complicity in the Colonial Administrator's policy of pinpricking, and trusts Count yon Bulow will disclaim the policy."

December 18,

After 21 days' hearing the jury, after two and a-half lours' retirement, acquitted E. T.\ Hooley and J. H. Lawson on a charge of conspiring to defraud A. J. Payne of large sums of money by inducing him to purchase shares in the Siberian Gold Mining Company. On a second charge, of circulating false statements in connection with the construction of the company, Lawson was found " Guilty," and sentenced to 12 months' hard labour, but was released on bail (amounting to £12,000) pending the decision of a point of law.

The Admiralty has ordered from Vickers, Son, and Maxim 10 additional Bl class submarines.

JTheodore Angier has revived the project for a second British Suez Canal, to cost £6,000,000. The route selected is from Alexandria to East Suez. The sanction of Egypt has been asked.

December 19,

In a terrific gale on the 9th an immense wave nearly engulfed the ship Invercargill on a voyage irom Sydney. JEight of the crew were washed the length of the ship and nearly overboard. The saloon, cabin, and forecastle galley were filled and everything -within destroyed. The lifeboat and compasses were carried overboard, and the cargo shifted. Much had to be jettisoned hi order to -right the ship. The captain rigged a steering gear and reached Queenstown. The crew was In a terrible plight. - Senator Stewart, writing to Mr Ramsay M'Donald, states that Mr Watson's views on preferential trade are purely personal. Th© Labour party in Australia has taken no action in the matter. f PARIS, December 14.

It has been found that M. Syveton, who recently attacked General Andre in the Chamber of Deputies, committed suicide in order to avoid a domestic scandal. December 15.

The Syv,eton mystery deepens. The body was placed in the study after being asphyxiated." Some sensational arrests are expected. One report is that Syveton committed suicide to avoid the exposure of an intrigue with liis own stepdaughter. BERLIN, December 13.

At Freudenberg a mother and three children and two grandchildren were murdered -.'he house was then burnt. The relations have been arrested on suspicion of enmity towards the victims.

Herr Barkmeyer, secretary to the secret department of Krupp's shipbuilding yard, who was recently arrested for selling plans of battleships, has been released at Kiel.

The German-Australian steamer Duisberg, when leaving Hamburg for Australia, collided with a steamer. Her bows were stove in, and apparently her stem broken. She returned to port."* Count Yon Bulow has accepted the mis-

sionaries' offer to induce the Hereros to submit, and has promised them accommodation and sustenance, especially the women and children.

December 15. The Germans captured 15,000 cattle belonging to the Wubois in West Africa.

December 18. A building in course of erection at Bremerhaven collapsed, killing 13 workmen. VIENNA, December 14.

Prior to the hour of opening the Diet the Opposition, seeing a number of Hungarian Guards near the President's tribune, stormed the platform and destroyed the furniture. They used the wreckage to assault and expel the Guards. The sitting of the Diet was not held. A prosecution has been initiated.

December 19. The Hungaria" Diet will be dissolved in January*.

ROME, December 16.

Italian experts declare that St. Mark's, Venice, is in imminent danger of collapse unless the foundations are restored.

NEW YORK. December 13,

Mrs Chadwick, who was arrested in connection with frauds in obtainfng money from banks and financiers, entrusted Reynolds, treasurer of the Wade Park, Bank, .Cleveland, with securities representing five millions sterling, and secured loans elsewhere on Reynolds's affidavits. Reynolds kept silence to protect Mr Carnegie, "whose child Chadwick represented herself to be. Mr Carnegie" denies signing anything for two vearS.

December 13. The Anglo-American Arbitration Treaty has been signed at Washington. The Senate still raises difficulties to the ratification of the Anglo-American Arbitration Treaty, fearing that the Panama Canal will be affected.

The Grand Jury indicted Mrs Chadwick for forgery and uttering. The Globe states that Mrs Chadwick dined and wined certain financiers, allowing them to associate with young girls under compromising circumstances, °and then blackmailed thorn.

December 14. A fire in the retail district of Minneapolis did £600,000 worth of damage. Three persons were killed.

December 15. The Arbitration Treaty between America and Italy has been signed at Washington. Mr J. D. Rockefeller's Christmas girt to the Chicago University is half a million sterling for a school of engineering. December 16.

Six waggonloads of children proceeding to a treat were precipitated 50 feet, owing to the collapse of a bridge at Oharlestown" West Virginia. Twenty were drowned. An explosion occurred in the engineroom of the battleship Massachusetts at League Island. Five were killed and two injured.

December 17,

Mr Donne, the New Zealandi Commissioner at the St. Louis Exhibition, sails for home on the 22nd. He visited President Roosevelt, who expressed great admiration for New Zealand's Labour legislation and old-age pensions. He thought older countries could learn much from New Zealand. He hoped to visit the colony at the close of his Presidential term.

December 18

The De Forest Company has established ethei-graphs between Kansas City and Cleveland, a distance of 800 miles.

The Glen Island, a steamer of the same type as the recently-destroyed General Slocum, was burned at Long Island Sound. Nine persons were killed. A tug rescued the survivors from open boats. CAPETOWN, December 13.

A parly of Chinese on the Witwatersrand attacked the kaffirs' location. Three kaffirs and three Chinamen were killed, and eight kaffirs and' 25 Chinamen wounded. December 16. There are now 19,316 Chinese on the Rand.