CABLEGRAMS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3005, 18 October 1911, Page 25

CABLEGRAMS.

BRITISH AND FOREIGN. LONDON, October 9. H.R.H. Princess Christian launched the King -George battleship at Portsmouth. Australian win© was used for the ceremony. October 10. The Postmaster-general's annual report displays a general expansion of business. The revenue for the year was £19,739,061,and the expenditure £14,271,376. The Municipal Council of Johannesburg having sued Mett>rs D. Stewart and Co., of Glasgow, and their guarantor, Mr W. Beardmore, for failure to complete the installation of that city's electrical plant, the Court of iSession at Edinburgh has decreed that Beairdmore and Stewart are jointly liable for £115,134 (the amount of Beardmiore's guarantee), end- Stewart and Co. for £225,043 in addition. Emanuel College (Cambridge) has awarded Mr W N. Tienson, of Sydney, a university exhibition of £SO. October 11.

Mr Wickham has been appointed as Board of Trade Commissioner in New Zealand. • - A.fire at Messrs Lovell and Christmas's cold store warehouse in West Smithfield

burst the pipes of the refrigerator, <and the fumes overcame a dozen of the firemen, who Aver© rescued with difficulty. They afterwards recovered. The damage was small

HiM.S. Orion's recent broadside practice, weakened the mountings of the 4in guns, which are placed too near the barbettes.

There is considerable congestion in the docks and railways as a result of the recent strikes. Muoh of the merchandise for Australia has been delayed for several weeks. Sir Robert Peel has been committed for trial for obtaining credit at the Midland Hotel, St. Pancras, London, and not at the time stating that he was an undischarged bankrupt. October 12. A fire destroyed the Anglo-American Oil Company's store on the Manchester ship canal. - The damage is estimated at £30,000.

The flaming oil crossed the canal, and set fire to the jetties.

During 1910 seven great industries paid £3,700,000 in compensation to workmen, eighty-five per cent, of the cases were .those of miners. A land-owners' convention at Dublin "protested against the interruption of land purchase ,as disastrous to the country's welfare. It urged an amendment of the 1909 act.

The s.s. Tongariro takes 450 assisted passengers to New Zealand, and the Mamari (in December) 400, including 100 domestic servants.

The White City Maoris will leave on November 11. They have not been paid for two months. Some of them are housed at the Crystal Palace. They begin a series of performances at the Palace Music Hall on Monday in order to provide themselves with further means. The passage money has been already deposited.

October 13. Cardinal Logue presided at a requiem mass in memory of the late Cardinal Moran at Dublin. Many prominent Roman Catholics were present.

October 15. The health of the British navy throughout the year shows continuous improvement. There is a notable decrease in cases of tuberculosis. | In reply to local petitioners, the Home Secretary, Mr Churchill, declined to interfere with the sentences passed on the , Tredegar rioters during the recent attacks ' on Jewish residents and traders. A Coronation gala performance in His j Majesty's Theatre realised £4500, which will form the nucleus of King George's pension fund for actors. A man named Devine, described as an ' artist, was arrested for brandishing J against the police a loaded revolver and a dagger on High Holbein. He has con-

feseed that he attempted to shoot the detectives after he had raided a shop in Oxford street. At Sir Edward Grey's instance, Misa MaLecka, whose arrest in Russia gave rise to much correspondence and inquiry, has been released at Warsaw on bail. PARIS, October 9. An infernal machine at Toulon wrecked a cafe, and injured five persons. There were several subsequent explosions, which created a panic. There are no clues to the perpetrators. October 11. The Government slaughter-houses are arranging, to cinematograph the bacteria of diseased meat in order to improve the instruction in sanitary inspection and for the benefit of butchers. October 12.

A judicial inquiry has opened to ascertain whether the increased prices of corn, sugar, and milk are due to monopolies. October 14. The International Maritime Conference adopted the principle of fixing the sole responsibility on the ship-owner for officers' mistakes in navigation, and the joint responsibility on the owner and charterer for officers' commercial mistakes'. October 15. M. Renucoli, editor of the Depeche, Nice, was grievously wounded -with a sword thrust in the chest, as the result of a duel with a local confrere. STOCKHOLM, October 15. It is announced that M. Maeterlinck has received the Nobel prize for literature (worth about £8000). BERLIN, October 15. Renee Thirion, a French teacher, has been sentenced to six months' imprisonment at Leipzig for espionage. The Social Democrats have arranged to hold 28 meetings of protest against deaT food. ST. PETERSBURG, October 16. The Russian Black Sea fleet has left Yalta under sealed orders. WASHINGTON, October 13. The Wright brothers announce that they believe they have discovered the secret of the vulture's flight. They expect that the present methods of flight will be re* volutionised. October 14.

The Government has won its suit against the Bath-tub Trust, and its dissolution has been ordered if not appealed against. NEW YORK, October 13. Women's suffrage in California waa carried by a majority of 2000 votes. SAN FRANCISCO, October 15. President Taft-turned the first sod of the Panama Exposition, which will be opened in 1915. He emphasised the statement that the completion of the Canal would double the power of the United State* navv. ' SEATTLE, October 13. Receivers have been appointed for the Western Steel Corporation, with a capital of four millions sterling. The petitioners are the Metropolitan Trust Company of New York.

INTERCOLONIAL. MELBOURNE, October 10. Jack Donaldson (Victoria) and A. B. Postle (Queensland) have been matched to run over 80, 100, and 110 yards on November 13. The total trade of the Commonwealth' for the last year was £134,505,000, an increase of £18,015,000 compared with the previous year. The average per head of population was £3O . Bs. The import* amounted to £60,014,000, and the exports to £74,491,000. . The Sugar Commission will hold its first meeting at Brisbane on the 25th inst. October li. The numb3fr of maitfrlagea in the Stat« last year was the highest on record, ana the birth rate 24.20 per 1000, which i? the lowest on record. The death ?at£ showed a decrease of 18 per 10GO Bind 1901. The Irish, envoys eddresesd a very large gathering in the Town Hall last evening. The collection amounted to £IOOO. October 12. At a meeting of the Chamber of Maim-

faeturers alarm was expressed over the fact that under the Wages Board's limitations no apprentices could be taken" on in the various trades for some years. A committee was appointed to deal with the

question. The abnormal increase in the railway revenue continues. The first three months of the new year show an increase of £187,000 above last year's corresponding period. The House of Representatives adopted a 4ft B£in gauge for the transcontinental railway. Many members supported a sft 3in gauge. , The census figures indicate that Victoria wall lose and Queensland gain one seat in the .Federal House of Parliament. October 13. The Federal House passed two months' Supply. The Select Committee appointed to inquire into the fixing of a wheat standard recommends that, a committee of seven be chosen each year to fix one. The Imperial Government has cabled its. condolences over the deatli of Mr Batchelor.

The annual report of the Postal Department shows that there are 13,223 employees and permanent officers whose salaries aggregate £1,707,000. October 14. The number of. old-age pensioners in the Commonwealth is 82,953, who draw £2,054,364. October 16. Amongst other things that the Sugar Commission has been asked to inquire into is the permanence of the industry under white labour conditions. SYDNEY, October 9. Miss M'Kenna, who was shot by John Roche on September 27, is dead.^ October 10. The council of the Chamber of Manufacturers supports the proposed British Empire Exhibition in London. The whole of the southern districts of the State are experiencing the finest of seasons, and the outlook for tih.3 year's crop is most promising. Madame Melha reappeared last night after her illness, and scored a splendid success in " Faust." /. Stanley, an accountant in the Customs Department, =was sentenced to three years' hard labour for embezzling £1376 belonging to the department. October 11. A natural aphis dettroyer in the shape of a small parasitical fly has appeared in the Bathursi orchards. It is reported that. it completely annihilates the aphis. October 12. The Baptist Union passed a resolution emphatically protesting against and asking the Government to refuse permission for what they characterised as degrading and brutalising boxing contests. Another resolution strongly condemned the ne temere decree.

The Melha Grand Opera Company scored a splendid success in the first -production in Australia of the opera "La Tosca." A Japanese' delegation has arrived to investigate the possibilities of a development of trade with Japan. October 13. There is a severe outbreak of pleuro among the cattle in the West Darling district. The Australasian Philatelic Conference has been opened. Mr A. T. Bate (Wellington) represents New Zealand. There was another disorderly scene in the Assembly through the Speaker ruling / that Mr Wade's question regarding the release of Dixon, one of the Lithgow • strike leaders, was out of order. The Opposition hotly resented the ruling. At the Employers' Federation dinner, the President of the Chamber of Commerce advised, employers to consolidate in order to meet trouble of a more acute kind than in the past, which was looming ahead owing fo the march of unionism. -> October 14. At the Philatelists' Conference, it was resolved to ask the Postmaster-general of the Commonwealth and New Zealand that the new issue of stamps be kept uniform in respect of gauge, perforations); and other respects. October 15. The Coronation Cadets have returned from London. They were warmly welcomed on their arrival. October 16.

Phenomenal rainstorms were experienced at Broken Hill to-day. A number' of the residents were flooded out, and considerable damage was done. The rise in the dams was the biggest experienced for 30 years. The Philatelic Conference discussed the question of stamp forgeries, and appointed a committee of experts, to whom the supposed forgeries were submitted. A fire early this morning gutted the premises of Smith, Copeland, .and Co., tarpaulin manufacturers, Clarence street, and damaged the adjoining properties. The loss is heavy. The damage is estimated at more than £20,000. The Hon. Mr Carmichael says the Government will have to impose further taxation to enable them to wipe out sweating in the public services. The Baptist congregation at Sefton Park, starting to work at 7 in the morning completely finished a new church in time to hoH the evening service in it. The united charities' collation in tho city street* rcriliied ov<?r £2OOO, which ia a record.

I ADELAIDE, October 11. j Mr Watkins hopes to repair his aeroplane in time for its despatch by the Aurora for Dr Mawson's expedition. October 14. The Temperance Alliance Conference carried a resolution in favour of making the closing hours of hotels the same as in other trades. Mr Holmes, of New Zealand, declared that the vital question at ] the forthcoming Dominion elections was not pclitical, but whether they should have license or no-license. j. PERTH, October 10. j The new Ministers have assumed office. ; Sixteen candidates at the election lost their deposits. i . October 12. | The Premier has announced that the ! Government will do everything possible ]to assist agriculture. He has outlined an 1 extensive programme.

October 13. The Soadden Government has raised the minimum wages of all railway workers to 9s a dav. BRISBANE, October IC. The steamer Torilla has landed 1610 immigrants, which is a record for the State. A youth named Gould was sentenced to death at Oloncurry for the murder of an Afghan named Rushen. The two had camped together, when the Afghan disappeared. Some of his belongings, along with some bones, were found an a fire. October 11. The Government has expressed its intention of standing in with 'the other States in connection with Dr Mawson's expedition. HOBART, October 10. A scheme is afloat for reviving the whaling industry. It is proposed to establish a station at Port Davey.