CABLEGRAMS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3043, 10 July 1912, Page 24

CABLEGRAMS.

BRITISH ANI* rOIIEION

LONDON, July 1

The King and Queen attended a command performance on behalf of the music hall benevolent fund at the Palace Theatre, which was wonderfully decorated with 3,000,000 roses. There was a fashionable audience. . Thirty leading stars of the halls took part. The queue numbered several hundreds from midnight.

When filling H.M.S. Thunderer's magazine at Devonport a 13.5 in shell slipped from the sling and felt 30ft on to the magazine floor. The crew were horrified and rushed to a distance, but though the fuse was dented, by a miracle it did not explode. Had it done so it would have destroyed the ship. Work was suspended to enable the men io recover from the shock. In the course of an interview with the New York Outlook Mr Lloyd George said that there were 2,000,000 idle rich people in Great Britain to-day. They lounged about London clubs, walked through the country with guns over their shoulders and dogs at their heels, and motoring and golf were the serious occupations of their lives. Their sole business was to enjoy themselves, at the expense of the great multitudes who were living arduous lives, without either sufficient food, raiment, or sleep. July 2. The National Liberal Club has abandoned its .reception to Mr Asquith on Friday owing to the attacks by suffragettes. Lady St. Helier and other influential ladies have formed a special insurance society for domestics, and similar societies are being formed in other parts. Sir Newton Moore has returned from Copenhagen, where he purchased the Mongolia, which Lady Moore will rename the Western Australia. ? uly 3. A Synthetic Rubber Company is forming with a capital of £500,000* Truth alleges that the output will not exceed a couple of pounds, and other newspapers criticise the prospectus. The Agent-general for New South Wales (Mr Coghlan) lias received 58 applications for the head-mastership of the Sydney Grammar School, 15 for the Chair of Chemistry, and 14 for the Chair of Botany. Committees are examining the candidates, who include several men with the highest qualifications. July 4. It is expected that the scope of Mr F. D. Acland's committee includes an in-

vestigation into the various systems ot land tenure, the transfer of land, the incidence of rating housing problems, and the leasehold system. The British Weekly states that it also includes the question of land courts to fix agricultural rente and terms of tenancv. July 5. Commander Same;, on a water plane . ' carrying a wireless installation and operator, flew from Eastchureh to Portsmouth over the sea—l 94 miles—in 195 minutes. He ended with enough fuel to carry him 200 more miles July 6. The body of the late Sir L. Alma i Tade.ma was buried in St. Pauls. Queen Alexandra sent a wreath. A party I of Academicians acted ag pall bearers. Many notable persons in art, literature, ; and diplomacy were present. J A demonstration has been given of. the ) Poulson system of wireless telegraphy. j Using continuous waves, messages were transmitted 600 miles at the rate of 100 , words per minute. The messages were recorded on a special tape. Some detectives in evening dress raided a richly-appointed gambling hell in Conduit street, London, and arrested 14 well-to-do persons. Following the precedent established at the Imperial Conference, Sir E. Grey discussed the foreign situation with Mr Borden (Premier of Canada). July 7. The sale of artificial flowers on the I occasion of the jubilee of the landing of ! Queen Alexandra in England netted j £17,000. The Daily Chronicle states that Sir Roger Casement has presented Sir E. ; Grey with his report on the Peruvian rubber scandals. The revelations, it says, are appalling. The Osborne family vault, on the 1 Duchess of St. Albans's estate, was broken into and a coffin opened. The act is attributed to the depredators believing a baseless rumour as to jewels in the vault. The Right. Hon. George Wyndham, M.P., will preside at a banquet on MonI day to celebrate Mr Chamberlain s 76th birthday. Sir Leander Starr Jameson . (South * Africa), Mr Foster (Canadian Minister of Trade), and Lord Selborne , will be among the speakers. Meetings to celebrate the birthday arc : to be held in many places. Tho White Star Line is building three additional oil-driven liners. The imports of the L T nited Kingdom for June decreased £434,304, the exports dej creased £1,140.819, and the re-exports decreased £J»,114,000. as compared with June 1911. At the instance of Viscount Churchill,

Mr Justice Swinfen Eady granted an injunction against a lady named Meadows, who was selling tickets in the Royal enclosure at Ascot to society people. It is not stated for whom Meadows acted. PARIS, July 2. The Italians captured a wounded European woman in the Turkish lines at Horns. She carried a rifle and 100 cartridges. July 4. I The Chamber of Deputies, by 459 votes to 46, agreed to a bill establishing a 10 hours' day for all employees in trade and industry. I July 5. The Matin states that the Franco-Ger-man Conference at Berne has reached an agreement finally settling the litigious points in connection with the Congo and frontier questions. July 6There was a remarkable Franco-Italian demonstration at Garbonna in honour of Da Vinci, the precursor of aviation. M. Poincaire and Signor Tittoni delivered speeches. July 7. The clerk of the Civil Court ordered M. Farman to indemnify a farmer for damage caused through his aeroplanes alighting on a farm and frightening the animals. He, however, disclaimed jurisdiction over aerial traffic, and declined to make silent motors obligatory. July 8. The Commission of Inquiry reports that the recent gun explosions were not due to spontaneous combustion nor to defective powder. „ BERLIN, July 2. The " Armour Plate " press characterise Lord Haldane's references to the Kaiser as barefaced flattery and a sheaf of compliments with a motive. His description of the Kaiser as half an Englishman only offends the German nation. While the members of ttie Broslau Card Club and their wives and families, numbering 150, were returning from an excursion at midnight a train dashed into a brake containing 30 people. The accident occurred at a level crossing. Eight people were killed and 13 terribly injured. Two members of the firm of Leopold, Peiser and Co., brokers, Berlin, have been arrested for falsifying books. Seven hundred thousand marks (about £35,000) has disappeared. July 7. A clerk named Schatz was sentenced to four months' imprisonment for turning the Kaiser's bust to the wall in a safe at Saarbrucken. He accompanied ' his act with insulting remarks.

i July 8. On the occa-sion of the Navy Congress | three German torpedoers, by permission' of the Dutch, will ascend the Rhine to Dusseldorf. THE HAGUE, July 8. The Government has revised the Coast Defence Bill, reducing the total cost to £1,000,000. The fortifications at Flushing are estimated to absorb £450,000. CHRISTIANIA, July 8. The Storthing has voted £833,000 for two battleships and £66,000 for submarines. MADRID, July 2. The battleship Espana narrowly escaped foundering at Ferrol owing to the opening of some valves. Two sailors have been arrested. LISBON, July 8. A bomb exploded in the domicile of a man named Cunha, who was recently acquitted on a charge of conspiracy at Costa Castella. Cunha was killed, and some others were injured. VIENNA, July 5. The Emperor Francis Joe<eph has surQueen Victoria's reign, and has established a record if the minority reign of lxiuis NLV is not reckoned. ST. PETERSBURG, July 2. Owing to an increase in hooliganism, 1000 police raided the slums and arrested 2000 people, including 30 well-known criminals. July 4. While the Riffe Regiment was at firing practice 40 of them were struck by lightning. Two were killed, and the others had to be taken to the hospital. BELGRADE, July 3. M. Tiifkovitch (Minister of the Interior) has been appointed Premier of Servia. CAIRO, July 2. Three Nationalists have been arrested for conspiring against the Khedive, Lord Kitchener, and the Premier. CONSTANTINOPLE, July 3. The Chamber hurriedly passed Shevket \ Pasha's bill imposing penalties on officers and soldiers participating in politics. | Shevket Pasha declared that such ' action was necessary owing to the . Monastir mutiny. i WASHINGTON, July 3. j Mr A. P. Andrew, an Assistant Secre- '• tary to the Treasury, has resigned. He J states that he is unable to work under j F. MacVeagh, the Secretary of the ' Treasury, in consequence of the latter'a idiosyncrasies and incapacity for giving a decision. July 7. A bill to penalise the desecration of the '

, Hag of the United States and the national coat-of-arms has been introduced in the House of Representatives. The object of the bill is to prevent the use of the flag for advertising purposes. OTTAWA, July 1. The Canadian-West Indian trade agreement has been published. It shows the important preferences which have been made between the two countries. Duties amounting to only four-fifths of those imposed on foreign goods have been granted to Canada by the West Indies on a. large range of manufactured goods and natural products. Canada, in turn, grants the West Indies an abolition of the duty on the characteristic products of the latter colonies. July 4. Mr Foster will leave for Australia at the end of July. He hopes that his mission will result in securing reciprocity with Australia. BATAVIA, July 2. The natives of Macao continue to molest the Chinese. There was a sharp fight, which the police were unable to quell. Many persons were wounded. TOKIO, July 8. It is reported that the British * India Navigation Company is purchasing the Indo-China Steam Navigation Company.