NEWS BY CABLE.

Otago Witness, Issue 3275, 20 December 1916, Page 44

NEWS BY CABLE.

GOVERNMENT TAKE OVER IRISxx RAILWAYS. Apparently a strike on the Irish Great Southern and Western railway system is inevitable. The men have refused the owners' offer of 2s weekly, and increased their demand to 6s. The company has notified the discontinuance of its goods traffic. Mr J. H. Thomas, M.P., has annonuced that the Government has decided to take over the Irish railways. The men must not stop work. This will enable immediate negotiations to be opened. Any strike would be fatal to the men's interests. PHOSPHATES IN RUSSIA. The Russian Minister of Agriculture reports the discovery of huge layers of phosphates, and states that agricultural machinery is increasingly demanded. THE SLINGSBY ESTATES. The House of Lords unanimously rejected the Slingsby appeal, with costs. The estates are stated to be worth over £1,000,000. The claimants are the alleged father and mother of a little boy, who the present holders of the estates asserted was the offspring of a single girl in America and had been adopted by the claimants for the purpose of securing the estates. At one stage the claimants succeeded, but on appeal this verdict was upset, and it was against this decision that the claimants unsucessfully appealed. AN EMPEROR'S WILL. The late Emperor Francis Joseph bequeathed 60 million kroner to invalided soldiers and families of the slain, and 20 million kroner each to two daughters and a grand-daughter. The beneficiaries are the Archduchess Gisela (married to the second son of Prince Luitpold, of Bavaria), the Archduchess Maria Valeria (married to the Archduke of Austria-Tuscany), and the Archduchess Elizabeth (only child of the brto Archduke Rudolf, Grown Prince), who is married to Prince Otto of Windischgratz. SHIPPING COMPANIES. The report of the Orient Steam Navigation Company shows that the profit for the year was £238,215. The directors recommend a dividend of 5 per cent., that £25,000 be placed to the renewal account, and £98,614 to the general reserve, and that £96,996 be carried forward. Lord Inchape, presiding at the Peninsular and Oriental Company's meeting, protested against the establishment of the Australian Government's line of steamships. He said that if that example were followed and extended it would inevitably kill private enterprise. GENERAL ITEMS. The Queen granted an audience to Lady Ward. , . ' Canada's consumption of liquor and tobacco shows a great decrease since the war. It is officially stated that the Old Bailey records of crime have been further reduced, but bigamy has increased owing to soldiers' separated wives making alliances with others in order to secure separation allowances. Reports from El Paso, Mexico, state that Villa has sent a representative promising to cease his depredations and to stop killing Americans it President Wilson will make peace with him. A war book, ''Light and Shade," by two New Zealanders, Malcolm and Is'ocl Ross, is a leading success of the Christmas season. Already a second edition has appeared. The Times highly commends tho work. American newspapers are discussing the possibility of a boxing match between Georges Cai'pentier and Lcs Darcy if they come to America. An exciting electioneering campaign is in progress in Denmark, and will last some weeks. The plebiscite on the question of the sale of the Danish West Indies resulted in 283,000 votes in favour and 153,000 against. Less than half the electorate voted. The United States Navy Board recommends battleships-of 42,000 tons, mounting 12 16in guns, and of 23 knots, costing 26,000,000 dollars each. The mills of the Quaker Oats Company and tho courthouse at Peterborough, Canada, have been burnt. Five persons were killed and 50 injured. The damage done is estimated at £600,000. An Ot'der-in-Council empowers the Board of Trade to abolish the statutory maximum for railway fares and other statutory requirements concerning the railways. AUSTRALIAN NEWS. Soap has been declared a necessary commodity, and tho price was fixed at that prevailing in August, 1916. Heavy rains have been responsible for floods in ali the southern districts of Tasmania. The prohibition against the sale of firearms, ammunition, and explosives in New South Wales without written permission has been withdrawn. Tho revised estimate of the sugar crop is 220,000 tons, or between 40.000 and 50,000 tons under the estimated consumption. The union factory engine drivers throughout Australia have given an ultimatum to the employers that unless their demand for increased wages and shorter hours is conceded by Monday a strike will be ordered. At tho annual meeting in Sydney of the Australian Association of British Manufacturer's, the president said that the Imperial Government was preparing a scheme for a travelling exhibition of goods manufactured in Great Britain, to visit Africa and all the principal ports of Australasia. The experiments for obtaining rennet from calf veils have proved so satisfactory that in all probability the new industry will be developed. Chcesomakcrs have proved that 30 veils, costing 30s, yielded as much rennet as they are now paying £4O to import. Moreover, the cheese made from local rennet is entirely satisfactory in quality. INDE PEN DENT WORLD'S WORKERiS. The Labour Council has resolved to ask for the appointment of a Royal Commission to inquire into the whole conduct of the I.W.W. cases bv the Crown Law Department, the commission to bo asked to express an opinion as to whether it is compatible

with the interests of justice for such prominent conscript ioniets its Messrs Hughes and Holman to be allowed to create the impression that I.W.W. men are guilty beforo the\- are tried. Georgo Wilson, one of the men who escaped from Tamworth Gaol., who is a member of the I.W.W. and is at present serving- a sentence of six years, has been remanded on a charge of murdering George Pappageorge, a Greek-, who was found dead in his cafe in George street on April 5, his head smashed with a cleaver, his neck tightly bound with a rope, and his cash register rifled. NEW SOUTH WALES MIXERS. It is unofficially stated that as a result of the miners obtaining- the bank-to-bank concession the price of coal will be increased 3s a ton. The proportionate increase in the miners' hewing rate has not yet been fixed. Mr Justice Edmunds denies that the increaso in the selling price of coal has yet been ascertained, but he states that it will not be more than 3s per ton.