BRITISH AND FOREIGN. LONDON, October 10.

Otago Witness, Issue 2692, 18 October 1905, Page 27

BRITISH AND FOREIGN. LONDON, October 10.

The Daily Express states that Sir Alfred jHarmsworth is the principal defendant in a lawsuit which is expected to involve 33500,000. The plaintiffs are Captain Alexander Beaumont and his wife, who (allege that they were induced to transfer certain shares in the paper Answers for a bond, the real value of the shares being concealed. Lord Brassey appeals for a quarter of a million sterling for a national memorial to the late Dr Barnardo to enable homes to be erected to perpetuate his work. October 11. TEe Daily Mail states that Sir Alfred Harmsworth intends sueing the Standard and Express for libellous statements regarding the Beaumont case appearing in the Standard. The -Daily Chronicle states that. King Leopold of Belgium- is hurriedly preparing tha transfer of the Congo Free State to Belgium. ; ■ •„ The-' Scotch iron and steel makers have, looked .orders, ahead for ' months. Steel lias 'again advanced 10s,' making a rise of 20"s'-in a fortnight: There is an unprecedented inquiry for steel. Huddart-Parker's new steamer Riverina ©n her trial trip did 15 knots. . Mr William Redwood, M.P., on his arrival at- 'Queenstown, referring to his tour, declared that Irishmen generally did well in Australia and America, yet he was constrained not ttf advise them to emigrate if "they were able to make a living at Home. He added that Catholics and Protestants in Australia supported the Home Rule cause. October 12.' The -limes' Financial and. Commercial Supplement states that the revelations of the extravagance and mismanagement ol the Equitable Life Society, United States, '■will not affect the soundness of the. society's securities. There is no reason to believe that the "assets- are not ample to secure tha face value of all .contracts. . A 6-inch. shell exploded on the cruiser "Argonaut, -iff the<-Medway.- She had 3000' \Th'e magazine- was flooded.., An_,ijiqniry-is proceeding. , ■ _, * f For Dr Barnarjdo's memorial -a scheme -is orgaiusing'^for, raising r i q)iaf ter vof,, a million/ of nioney.-'*'to " free_- the,' institution 1 ; fcomjdebt and. constituting the Barnardo Ironies asja memorial to their founder. ' - ' * • i October _l3:_ ' TL'e Home ' Secretary informed "the Rev. Shapiirji -' Edalji that if his son's conduct continued good he • would he released in', October, 1906.' The 'father replied that he was wholly "dissatisfied with ■ the >v decision. The evidence proved an alibi. The prosecution had not* proved the case. His son was innocent, and entitlecl to an unconditional and .immediate release. The son was sentenced to seven years in October, 1903, for maiming cattle. The naval repair ship Assistance is stranded on a sandy beach between Cape Negro- and Tetuan. She is leaking, but there is lib immediate danger of her breaking lip. The' steamer Rescue, from Gibraltar, landed at Ceuta a party of the Royal Garrison Artillery, with life-saving apparatus. Some of the crew have been ■ already landed. Several warships are near to render assistance. . . King .Edward travelled from Ballater to Penrith, and is visiting 'Lord and Lady Brougham until to-morrow. ,Lord Knollys - telegraphed irom Edinburgh that the King iiad been suffering from a slight hoarseness, j fcut 4s ''now well. t - I ' An official- "message from' Brougham Hall in the evening stated that the slight cold was disappearing, and would not prevent the King keeping his engagements. Norman Battle has withdrawn the evi-dence-given by him at the last hearing ~of the charge against Hugh Watt, formerly a member of Parliament for the Camiachie Division of Glasgow, of attempting to procure a man' to murder the accused's divorced wife. Battle now declares thatf " Watt paid him to give concocted evidence. [At the last hearing _of tlie charge Battle testified .that, after seeing Watt leave No. 5 Regent street, "London, he saw two others emerge and overheard their conversation. One said: ''Be careful, Marshall, how you go about it." The other, who resembled Marshall (now in court), replied "Have no fear. Nobody will believe Watt. I shall *ake it out of him. You finish the statement you commenced yesterday, and keep 4 copy, or we are done."] Earl Spencer had a sudden seizure while shooting at North Creek on Wednesday. He was unconscious till yesterday afternoon. There was an .improvement in the evening. Earl Spencer is suffering from a small clot on the brain, but is progressing towards recovery. October 14. King Edward motored to Raby Castle io visit Lord Barnard. In connection with the Watt case John iightfoot, alias Norman Battle, has been iCommitted for trial on a charge of perjury. There is a rock through the bottom of Ihe naral repair ship Aesiota-nee, which is •tranded on a sandy beach between Cape iNegro. and Tetuan. Earl Spencer, who is suffering from a Email clot on the brain, shows no symptoms of paralysis of the limbs. Only liis speech 13 affected, and that ie improving. Major-general Hutton's new book, deal-

ing with military subjects, insists on the adoption in Australia of the Militia system as the only possible solution of the national military problem. The Broken Hill Syndicate, which Bold 100,000 shares in the South Blocks to the Eake View Company, has declared a dividend of 175 per cent, on the pound shares, and 3500 per cent, on the 13-shilling shares. The shipbuilders on the Clyde have almost sufficient orders on hand for two years. A great revival is noticeable in the engineering industries in Lancashire. Baron Hayashi, who was interviewed, said he did not think that Australia wus likely to be troubled by Japanese immigrants, as Manchuria and Korea required development, and could absorb from five to ten million more people than Japan could spare. October 15. The Czar and the Mikado signed the peace terms on the 14th. £ Sir Robert Reid, in a letter to The Times, insists that it is to Great Britain's interests to make private property immune when captured at sea, unless it is really contraband or destined for a beleagued fortress. October 16. The unexpected flooding of the decks' of the steamer Campania by a big wave swept fivs of the, steerage passengers overboard and injured 30 others. Mr Georgia James Wilson, an undergraduate of. Cambridge, 6on of an Australian clergyman, committed suicide. He was staying with his uncle. Financial difficulties were the cause. Wilson left a letter asking the coroner's jury to r.etum a verdict of felo de se, as he was. perfectly sane. TEe jury, however, returned a verdict of "Suicide while temporarily insane." The Yorkshire woolcbmbers are complaining of the amount of vegetable matter such as cotton and bits of bagging found in Australian wools, especially scoureds. PARIS, October 14. Gaillard, the murderer of Miss Cary, an English governess, near Mont Valorem, in Paris, on June 20, has been sentenced to penal servitude for life. J [Miss Cary was strangled to death in 'broad daylight while walking near Mont Valerein. Numerous • suspects were arrested, and the police finally ran to earth - a named Gaillard, who „ had • , in. his - -.possession, : the victim's" watch and "moheyl He 'confessed that he com--initto'd"th'e' crime during ,m irresistible fit v ot" dementia due to drunkenness.] '"-•'." ' ' ' October 16., '- communication has been established between' the 'Eiffel Tower, Chalcms, Verdun* rSti ' Methould, and the Eastern ■ -frontier '.of. France. " '„ Experiments with a- steerablei balloon ' have showed that it is possible to use it to reconnoitre -military operations between Poul' and Nancy.- Th,e. balloon travelled at the rate of 22 miles an hour. BERLIN, October 12. The- Kaiser and Kaiserin, the Duchess of Albany! and Prince Arthur of Connaught (representing King Edward) attended the Duke of Saxe-Coburg's wedding at Glucksburg. VIENNA, October 13. j The commander denies the truth of the alleged mutiny on the Austrian warship Panther. He also describes the disciplinary punishment that was given as of no importance. BUDA-PESTH, October 10. The Hungarian Diet has been prorogued until December 19 without the Premier meeting the House. The Emperor Franz Josef's despatch proroguing the Diet admits that the attempts made to form a new Government on the basis of securing Parliament against disorder failed. ■ October 13. I Count Andrassey, in a manifesto, declared that the Hungarians could not tolerate a non-parliamentary government, nor even j supplement the Government if the latter ' were conditioned by the possession of a personal programme on the part of the monarch. He admitted that the request for Magyar words of command was only the beginning of a gradual development of a , national army and responsible government. | ST. PETERSBURG, October 11. A The Viedomosti boasts that Norway's ' leanings have always been Russian, but they have hitherto been cliacked by Sweden's predominance. N-ow that Norway is able* to develop common political and economic interests, it urges Russia to negotiate for a naval base and for a general understanding. October 12. With a view to arriving at a mutual understanding between Great Britain and Russia in Central Asia, the Russ insists j on specific declarations defining the special interests which the Anglo-Japanese Treaty is intended to protect. i CONSTANTINOPLE, October 10. The brigands who captured Mr Wells, an Englishman, in July have sent one of his ears to the British Consul at Monastir, and threaten to put him to death unless a ' ransom of £5000 is paid by the 14th inst. October 16. A Bulgarian named Exarch has strongly advised his countrymen in Macedonia to follow Britain's advice as the only disinterested power. 1 The Porte has reiterated its refusal to < accept the Powers' financial control of Macedonia on tlis ground that such a 6tep would constitute an interference with the I internal administration of the Empire. WASHINGTON, October 10. President Roosevelt strongly advises the x Yale, Harvard aad Princetown Universi-

ties to modify the inter-university football matches, eliminating brutalities. NEW YORK, October 11. Inquiry by the Investigation Committee has elicited the fact that the New York Mutual Life Company contributed to the Republican campaign funds 15,000d0l in 1896, 3500d0l in 1900, and 40,000d0l in 1904. October 12. Four members of an Italian secret society known as the " Black Hand " murdered an Italian butcher at Brooklyn for refusing to pay lOOOdol blackmail. OTTAWA, October 11. The Dominion Budget shows a revenue of £14,236,125 and an expenditure of £12,661,000. October 12. Sir Wm. Mulock (Postmaster-general) is retiring from the Dominion Cabinet on the ground of ill health, October 14. ■ Mr Aylesworth, an opponent of the nationalisation of telegraphs and telephones, has been appointed the successor of Sir Wm. Mulock as Dominion Postmastergeneral. CAPETOWN, October 10. Thre.e Transvaalers, who were armed, were arrested at Schuit Drift, and imprisoned at Kenhardt, on a charge of stealing 200 cattle. The animals have now been restored to the Germans, to whom they belonged. Lord Selborne, High Commissionre in South Africa, speaking at Kingersdorp, said that he would never be satisfied until every teacher was able to teach both Dutch and English. The Boers at Krugersdorp have petitioned for the repatriation of the Chinese on the Rand, and have also urged the appointment of a commission to inquire into their treatment and the reasons for the desertions. October 12. Chinese marauders attacked two homesteads at Bocksburg. Two were wounded, and the others fled. October 13. The Labour parties Save severed their connection with the Het Yolk on the Chinese question because the Boers denounce the principle of oiift vote one value. HONGKONG, October 11. The British steamer Labo struck a floating mine off Shao-hing. Fifteen of her passengers and crew are missing. TOKIO, October 10. The naval review in Tokio Bay on the 15th inst. is expected to be of an imposing character. All the European fleets will be represented, also all the Japanese ships /engaged in the war, including converted cruisers, transports, and surrendered Russian ships. October 11. The Japanese seized off Fushan and Mihema two more German vessels bound for Vladivostock with contraband cargoes. October 12. ( Admiral Noel and 1300 officers and inch were feted at Yokohama. October 14. The Mikado entertained Admiral Noel and officers of his squadrdon at the Imperial Palace at Tokio.