BRITISH AND PORE ON. LONDON, May 8.

Otago Witness, Issue 2722, 16 May 1906, Page 23

BRITISH AND PORE ON. LONDON, May 8.

The imports of Great iJritain for the month of April increased by £3,771,000, and the exports increased by £2,894,000, compared with the previous April. Sir F. J. Lugard, High Commissioner of Northern Nigeria, has been summoned Home to confer with Lord Elgin relative to the recent punitive expedition against the Munshis.

The prosecution of Barnes in connection with the alleged mutiny aboaid the Dunfermline has been dropped.

At Mr Chamberlain's request, Mr Churchill will publish fbe correspondence between ,the colonial Premiers and the Imperial- iGovernment respecting the Colonial Conference.

Mr Bennett Peterson is now in London prosecuting- the claim of Thomas William Sheridan, of .Adelaide, to ths fortune of half a million left by Helen Blake, who died intestate in 1876. She was the widow of the late General Robert Dudley Blake. -Twa earthquake shocks hare been reported — one from. -Inverness-shire and the other from Connecticut.

May 9.

The Prince and Princess of Wales receiTed ovations at Portsmouth and London.

Mr Chamberlain presided at the Australasian Merchants* banquet, at which there were 250 guests, including a number of prominent colonials. The Hon. W. P. Reeves (High Commissioner for New Zealand) and all the Agents-general were present, also many leading merchants and bankers. In proposing the toast of " British-Australasian Trade," Mr Chamberlain said he thought it would do them a great injustice to think that they were solely interested in what the distinguished statesmen of the moment, in their rhetorical indiscretion, called the eoidid bonds of trade, which was the prime mover in the creation of the world's greatest Empire. Mr Chamberlain emphasised the importance of the heritance and responsibilities of the relations of the self-governing colonies, which constituted almost a miracle in con atitutional administration. The colonies were now nations worthy of us, and he hoped that we would be worthy of them. They had grown too big to be very careful of petty things. ' The Times states that the United States is likely to require a further sum. of £3,000,000 from Europe.

May 10.

The Peninsular and Oriental Company is establishing a direct service between London and Japan.

A fresh earthquake shock has been experienced in the island of Guernsey.

- While the German sailing ship Odysseuss was unloading benzine oil at Chibuklu, on the Boephorus, the Turkish officials, suspecting that there were explosives aboard, towed her to Kayak, 12 miles from Constantinople, detaining her beneath the batteries there for several days. Herr Manschall de Bieberstin intervened, but the Porte professed to know nothing about the matter. The Ambassador, accompanied by the captain and some sailors from the guardship Lorelei, rehoisted the German flag aboard the Odysseuss, towing her back to Chibuklu. On arriving at the Embassy Herr Bieberstein found the Porte'e representative waiting to furnish explanations, adding that the release of the vessel had been ordered.

Reuter reports that Sir N. Jordan (British Minister in Korea) will succeed Sir Ernest Satow as Minister in China in the autumn.

'- At the most representative national conference of religious den&ninations ever held it was resolved that those present concentrate their efforts in the direction <Jf securing a better observance of Sunday. " King Edward authorised the Archbishop of Canterbury, who presided, to express his sympathy and interest in their efforts and his earnest desire for their success.

The speakers included the Bishop of London, Lord Kinnaird, Mr Will Crooks, M.P., and Bishop Johnstone (representing Archbishop Bourne), while the Duke «»f Norfolk represented the Catholic laity.

Mr Jenkins {South Australian Agentgeneral) opened the Colonial* Missionary Society's Exhibition Memorial Hall. New Zealand, Westralia, and New South Wales have small exhibits of products.

The difficulty between Great_Britain and the Congo Free State respecting the Upper Nile has been settled. The lease of 1894 respecting Bahr-el-ghaza -.and Bahr-el-ghazal is cancelled except as regards the Lado Enclave, which is leased to King Leopold during his reign. Egypt guarantees the interest on the cost of the construction of a railway from Lado to the Congo frontier.

The Times' Ottawa correspondent states that the report that slavery exists in Northern British Columbia among the Indians, and that Indian girls are being sold at auction by their relatives, has been confirmed. One instance is given in which ■a son offered his mother for gale as a 6lave. The Department of Indian Affairs has taken drastic steps to stop the piactices.

May 11

, Herr Mausehall de Bieberstein has demanded an official apology in connection with the, Odysseus incident, with ample compensation for the owner and the punishment of those who were guilty of towing the vessel from Chibuklu to Kayak and detaining her beneath the batteries.

The Agents-general have proposed arranging a series of. lantern lectures on Australia in the middle class schools and County Councils' continuation schools. The first was delivered in Cambevwell Grammar School by Mr W. Clarke, of the New South Wales Agency, and proved a great success.

In connection with the death of Mr Clips. Spier, a leading member of the Standard Oil Company, who, it was stated a few days ago, had been shot through the heart by a burglar in his own house at Staten Island in the presence of his wife, it now transpires that extensive defalcations have been discovered. This occasions the belief that Spier committed suicide, arranging for the burglary to divert suspicion.

May 12

Sir Frederick Lugard (High Commissioner for Northern Nigeria) reports that the Emir of Hadeija was killed in the recent fighting. The British have installed Chiroma as Emir on probation, in accordance with the wish of the inhabitants.

May 13.

The returns show that 84,000 aliens landed in England during the fiict three months of the year. Of this number it is admitted that 46,564 remained.

May 14,

A semi-official statement from Berlin admits that the German troops trespassed on British territory in pursuit of the chief Morenga, because he was not disarmed, and might have returned at another point to German teiritory. The message explains that Germany has assured Sir Edward Grey that the trespass was disapproved, and that the commander has been again instructed to refrain from further trespass.

Following King Edward's example in 1876, the Prince of Wales desired that a thanksgiving service be held in Westminster Abbey to celebrate his safe return from India. King Edward, the Prince of Wales, all the Royalties in London, 250 bluejackets from H.M.S. Renown and H.M.S. Terrible, a draft of maiines and infantry, Lord Tweedmouth (First Lord of the Admiralty), and many others were present. The Dean's sermon dwelt on India's appreciation of the great Emperor's beneficent rule and his personal care for her welfare.

Ma* Coughlan (Agent-general for New South Wales), in a letter to Tlie Times, emphatically denies the statement that crime has greatly increased in Australia since the abolition of State denominational .schools in the cities. Statistics show that during the last 30 years the arrests made in New South Wales and Victoria declined considerably more than one-third, the greatest improvement taking place since 1890. As regards serious crime, the improvement has been equally satisfactory. The actual confiuees in the Australian prisons are considerably less in number now than they were 20 years ago, and Australian native-born people are far

less given to crime than those who have been educated elsewhere.

PARIS, May 13.

Madame Curie, whose husband died recently as the result of an accident in Paris, has been appointed to her late husband's Chair of Chemistry at Sorbonne. This is regarded as a triumph for women.

BERLIN, May 9.

The Kaiser has expressed a wish to visit the Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria at Schoenbrunn on June 6. The wish is attributed to Italy's leanings towards the Western Powers and the prospect of an Anglo-Russian entente.

ST. PETERSBURG, May 12

M. Isvolsky (Russian Ambasador at Copenhagen) succeeds Count Lamsdorff at Minister of Foreign Affairs.

TUNIS, May 12. Obituary: The Bey of Tunis.

[SLdi Mohamed el Hadi Bey wa& born in 1855, and succeeded his- father, Sidi Ali, on June- 11. 1902. The reigning family of Tunis, who have occupied the throne since 1691, descend from Ben Ali Turki, a native x>f Isle of Crete, who .made 1 himself master of the~ country, acknowledging, however, the suzerainty of the Sultan of Turkey, which hfid been in existence from 1575. The heir to the throne is Sidi Mohamed en Nasr Bey, who was born in 1855, and who is the son of Mohamed Pasha Bey. uncle of the deoeased Sovereign.]

MOROCCO, May 9.

The Morocco Pretender repelled an attempt to force a passage of the Maluya River, killing 30 and wounding many of the Shereefian army.

May ,10.

The Sultan of Morocco's Army crossed the River Muluya, and defeated the Pretender's- forces, killing and wounding one hundred.

NEW YORK, May 8.

A burglar shot Mr Charles Spier, a leading member of the Standard Oil Company, through the heart in his own house at Staten Island, in the presence of his wife.

A gang of burglars blew open Mr Joseph Leiter's cafe in his Chicago office, and stole twenty thousand sterling worth of bonds.

May 12.

Since the California earthquake the aspect of the great Yellowstone Park (Colorado) has greatly changed. The extinct geysers have resumed activity, and a new one has formed.

OTTAWA, May 10.

The Dominion Parliament requests the British Parliament to legislate in order to make it a penal offence to misrepresent the condition of the labour market with a view to inducing or deterring immigraton to Canada.

PEKING, May 9. Floods in the Huan district have caused great loss of life.

May 10

Mr Tichliang, President of the Board of Revenue, has been appointed Superintendent of Chinese Customs Affairs, and Mr Tongsha\ i has been appointed Associate Minister of Customs. All Chinese pik! foreigners in the various Customs offices will be placed under their control.