NEWS BY CABLE.

Otago Witness, Issue 3756, 9 March 1926, Page 53

NEWS BY CABLE.

MELBOURNE, March 5. Eight bales of sniafil (artificial wool) arrived from Italy, and will be distributed amongst the local mills for the purpose of making experiments.

BUTTER FOR AMERICA. WASHINGTON, March 6. President Coolidge has ordered an increase in the tariff duty on butter from eight to 12 cents per pound.

A LONG SWIM. BUENOS AIRES, March 6. Olinco Riquelme, an Argentinian, swam 27 miles across the River Platte, from Folohia, Uruguay, to a point near Buenos Aires, on Saturday in 27$ hours. FRENCH CABINET CRISIS. PARIS, March 6. Cabinet has resigned following a vote of the Chamber by 274 to 221, separating the tax payments from the Finance Bill, which the Government had made a question of confidence. . PACT OF DEATH. BERLIN, March 4. An extraordinary death pact was revealed when five housemaids at Wilhemshaven simultaneously jumped over a bridge into the harbour. Three were drowned and two were rescued. AUSTRALIA AND POPULATION. VICTORIA (8.C.), March 5. General Ailenby who is a guest of the Lieut.-Governor, being interviewed, said he was vastly impressed with the need for populating Australia. He found the British possessions throbbing with vigour and vitality. : SITE OF WEMBLEY. LONDON, March 3. The Wembley authorities have agreed to allow tile pavilions to remain as factories, excepting that of New Zealand, which has been removed to allow of street widening. The Palace of Art becomes a Government museum. WORLD TOUR IN YACHT. FREMANTLE. March 1. The privately owned yacht Surprise, in which Mr Godfrey Williams, of Wales, and a party are touring the world, has arrived here. The Surprise will proceed to Tasmania, and then to New Zealand, where several months will be spent in fishing. AUSTRALIAN SOLDIERS. MELBOURNE, March 3 Tho report of the Repatriation Commission which has been tabled in the House of Representatives shows that the total cost o* repatriation, including war gratuities and pensions, to the end of June last amounted to £164,139,106. THE LEIPZIG FAIR. LONDON, March 3. The Morning Post’s Berlin correspondent states that President Hindenburg visited the Leipzig Fair. Foreigners are buying this year more freely than the Germans. Important orders were secured for ‘England, Australia, America, and the Balkans. WOMAN’S BEAUTY. ROME, March 3. M. Worth, a Parisian dress designer, and Madame Worth recently had an audience wtih the Pope, who gave them a little sermon on women’s dress. He said that woman’s beauty should be cherished as a precious flower. Her clothing should cover her beauty, and not remove its veil of mystery and poetry.

THE SUFFRAGETTES. LONDON, March 4. I.adv Aastor, at a dinner m honour of Mrs Pankhurst, offered to relinquish her seat in Parliament if she would take it. Mus Pankhurst replied that if they wanted her in the House of Commons she would' ir«\ hut she would have to fight her own seat.

THE BARREL ORGAN. LONDON, March 2

Signor Mussolini, in an edict, has forbidden the issue of passports to Italian organ-grinders. There were 800 Italian organ-grinders in London before the war with monkeys or ‘lancing bears. Now there are only three of four.

PLAYGROUND FOR POOR. LONDON, Februarv 28

The Daily Mail states that Lord Rothermore, as a memorial to his mother, who died last year, has purchased for £165,000 the'site of the famous Bethlehem Mental Hospital for conversion into a permanent fourteen-acre playground and park in the heart of the southward slums. Tho hospi-. tal was removed to Paddington in 1924.

AN AMPHIBIOUS CAR. ROME, March 1

With a view to travelling from Rome to Washington by motor car, an engineer named Daini has built an amphibious car. He claims that it will travel with ease on land or sea.

Signor Da ini intends to depart overland from the Tiber. He will cross Behring Strait to Alaska without help.

WATER SHORTAGE IN MELBOURNE. MELBOURNE. March 4.

As a result of the continuance of dry weather, the metropolitan water supply has failed to meet the demand Mils summer. Supplies for garden purposes have been strictly prohibited, and several

public baths have had their supplies cut off and been forced to close. More stringent regulations are forecasted.

CREDITS FOR RUSSIA. LONDON, March 2. In the House of Commons, Mr A. M. Samuel (Parliamentary Secretary for Oversea* Trade) announced that he would veto any application for trade credits to Russia. The Labourites thereupon moved a protest which was defeated by 197 votes to 109. Three Conservatives voted against the Government. BRITISH FILMS, LONDON, February 28. With a view to promoting the development of British films dealing with the achievements, ideas, and ideals of the British Commonwealth of Nations, and stimulating interest in pictures representing all phases of life throughout the Empire, an organisation has been formed entitled “The British Empire Film Institute.” THE MODERN GIRL. LONDON. Marc.. 2. The Bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney (Dr Deane) unhesitatingly declares that the modem girl’s dress is more sensible than that of any girls for 1000 years past. “They do their hair in a manner which might even convert St. Paul,” he said. “They also exhibit more fearlessness, which is necessary to meet the frequent attacks of modernity. Their. motives are based on national pride.” MUTINY IN GAOL. SYDNEY, March 6. Thinking one of their comrades had teen maltreated by warders 100 prisoners mutinied at Parramatta Gaol The attacked the warders, but when evidence was forth coming that the man had been knocked about, the outbreak subsided. There was a dangerous outlook for a time, but the firm attitude of the warders quelled the disturbance.

TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS. WASHINGTON, March 3.

The State Department informed the Australian Press Association that Britain had not yet accepted the proposal of the United States to waive visas in the case of non-immigrant passports, although 19 nations had already entered into reciprocal arrangements under which visas were waived or the fees reduced. Two nations even permitted American travellers to enter without passports.

EMPIRE PARLIAMENTARIANS. SYDNEY. March 6. A meeting will be held shortly of the Empire Parliamentary Association to consider arrangements for the tour of visiting parliamentarians in September. Britain will have 16 delegates, Canada eight, South Africa eight, New Zealand four, and Newfoundland two The British delegation will travel by way of Canada, arriving in Sydney on September 18. The tour will commence* in Brisbane. The intention is that a week shall he spent in each of the State capitals. The delegates will be the guests of the Commonwealth Parliament, which will bear the expenses of the tour.

VICTORIAN FIRES. MELBOURNE. March 4.

On Mount Plenty and in the surrounding districts gangs of fighters are still battling against the hush fires. The danger grows hourly, a strong northerly wind having materially increased the gravity of the situation. On Mount Plenty alone over £1,000,000 worth of mountain ash was destroyed. A plantation of pine . trees valued at £1,000,000 is almost in the direct track of the fire

The phosphate works are in danger and strenuous efforts are being made to save them.

The bush fires are still raging, but by great efforts the fire-fighters saved the phosphate mill.

THE LOCARNO PACT. PARIS. March 2. The Chamber of Deputies ..adopted the Locarno treaties by 413 votes to 77 LONDON, March 2

The Warsaw correspondent of The Tinier reports that the Polish Foreign Affairs Commission has resumed the discussion of the Locarno Pact The oppositionists are attempting to make ratification conditional upon Poland being given a seat on the League Council.

BRUSSELS, March 3. The Senate unanimously adopted the Locarno agreements and the adhesion of Belgium to the Hague Court of International Justice.

DASH FOR THE POLE. NEW YORK, March 2 Secret ‘‘mystery sleds” are being built in France for the French naval expedition to the Arctic, according to a statement by a prominent engineer who has just returned from abroad. He states that Daniel Martens, the Norwergian explorer, has invented a machine which operates on the tractor principle, the pulling wheel in front being equipped with rubber vacuum discs.

A telegram from Nenana, Alaska, states that the oil and gasolene for the Wilkins expedition will be transported by aeroplane from Fairbanks to the Point Barrow supply base on the Arctic Ocean. All attempts bv the snow motors to haul the supplies failed.

ITALY AND GREECE. ROME, March 6. Signor Mussolini had a conference with the Greek Foreign Minister, M. Roufoe. It is reported that the result of a complete understanding. M. Roufos said Signor Mussolini had declared that Italy was descirous of the inauguration of an era of cordial co-operation among all the Balkan States.

MARKETING EMPIRE PRODUCE. LONDON, March 6. The grant of £1,000,000 to assist in marketing Empire produce has become the bone of contention in Cabinet, according to the Evening Standard, which learns that the grant will be reduced to half a million during the current year, following the decision to make it available to Home pro, duce in addition to overseas.

LIVE STOCK RETURNS. SYDNEY, March 4.

The stock branch of the Agricultural Department estimates that the number of live stock in the State at December 31 last was as follows: Horses, 502,976; cattle. 2,582,988; sheep, 40,761,504. The returns show a decrease for the year of 21,000 horses, of 40,000 cattle, and an increase of nearly 2,000,000 sheep.

THE SALE OF MEAT. LONDON. March 3.

At the annual conference of the National Federation of Meat Traders at Sheffield, Alderman Wvles, of Coventry, raised a storm of protests by saying that he did not know anywhere where meat was sold so disgracefully as in London, where it was sold in a gutter under shocking conditions. The conference carried a resolution dissociating itself from these views. Alderman Wyles thereupon tendered his resignation from the executive council.

MASQUERADING HOUSEBREAKER. LONDON. March 6.

An extraordinary disclosure was made when Joseph Luckman, aged 18, was charged with housebreaking, that he had acted as a lady’s maid in various London homes, and had given complete satisfaction. When arrested he was attired as a fashionable young woman. He was remanded for medical examination. There are 13 charges of theft against him. The police allege that Luckman stated that he did not care as he had had a good time.

A FALSE SECURITY. LONDON, March 3.

A statement has been issued by the Navy League commenting on the Admiralty's statistics. It declares :

We are treading the same mistaken path as our ancestors did after earlier wars in turning aside from a further consideration of our great heritage of sea-power. The nation must be awakened to the fleet’s precarious conditions and see that building is increased in order to avoid our relegation in a few years to the unevitable pposition of a third-rate Power.

RECIPROCAL TRADE. SYDNEY, March 3.

Mr J. Allan, the Victorian Premier, was a passenger by the Ulimarou He said he was disappointed with the Dominion as a customer fm Australian products. It was puzzlin'- that there should be a duty of 35 pei rent on Australian boots and fruit, whereas the duty on British boots and fruit was 25 per cent He said he made inquiries, hut he did not get much satisfaction. He saw much Italian and Californian fruit while in the’Dominion.

. Mr Allan said he thought there should be an Australian Trade Commissioner in New Zealand.

AN AULD LIGHT IDYLL. LONDON, March 3

The comandment, “ six days shalt thou labour,” is taken seriously in Glasgow Because Norman MacKenzie, an eldei of the Patrick Highland Church, worked on Sundays in the capacity of deputy harbour master, he was suspended by the Kirk Mission -

Mackenzie.appealed to the Fiee Church presbytery who urged the Session to recall the suspension The Session replied that if MacKenzie’s work was a necessity they would have to find something in the Bible to convince them.

UNEMPLOYMENT IN BRITAIN. LONDON, March 6

In the Mouse'of Commons by 184 votes lo 132, rejected the second reading of the Labourite Mr Lee Smith’s Prevention of Unemployment Bill, after a delate, interesting as revealing the Labourites’ remedv for the unemployment trouble. The Bill proposed an annual grant to he made to a National Employment Board, consisting of principal spending Ministers, empowered in times of depression, to anticipate ordinary expenditure, and also to prepare national and colonial development schemes, hut to withhold operations during prosperity, and build up a cash reserve.

NAVY ESTIMATES. LONDON, March 5.

Leading items in the Navy Estimates for the year ending February 2 are; Salaries and wages, £14,718,000, compared with £14,890,000 in the previous year; repairs and maintenance, £5,480,000. compared with £7,030,000; personnel, £v,489,000, compared With £7,887,000; contract work, £7,427,000, compared with £6,10 4,000; armaments, £3,436,000 compared with £4,372,000; victualling and clothing, £4,432,000, com pared with £4,333,000; air ami, £681,000, compared with £1,320,000.—A. and N.Z. Cable.

A WHITE ELEPHANT. LONDON, March 6. A white elephant is sailing to-day from Rangoon by arrangement with the Association of Burmese Christians, for four month’s exhibition in the London Zoo. The animal will be paraded daily, but in accordance with its semi-sacred character, visitors will not be allowked to ride upon it. The last specimen brought to England was in 1883, by Barnum, whose agents were, before receiving the anjmal, compelled to sign an oath to love and protect it, otherwise by the sin of neglect they would not escape hell.

THE EMPIRE’S DEAD. LONDON, March 2.

The House of Commons agreed to a supplementary grant of £48,000 as a contribution to an Endowment Fund, which ultimately will approximate £5,000,000,/ ami thus assure an income of from £200,000 to £250,000 per annum for the maintenance of the Imperial war graves.

Mr Ronald M‘Neill (Financial Secretary to the Treasury) explained that the measure was rendered necessary by an agreement made last year between the Imperial, dominions, and Indian Governments, under which the Imperial Government would provide 82 per cent, of the cost of the upkeep of the graves.

PRINCE CAROL. PARIS.. March 6.

Zizi Lambrino’s summons against Prince Carol, claiming £IOO,OOO as “an abandoned and outraged wife” was served today. The president of the civil tribunal is asked to request Prince Carol to appear at the court. Amongst Lambrino’s letters to be used at the trial is one from Carol, dated August, 1919, in which he says: “I desire this letter to remain with you as my recognition of the' fact that I arr the falher of your child; also, that notwithstanding the anulment of our marriage I have not ceased to consider myself your husband.”

BRITISH SHIPPING SERVICES. LONDON, March 5. Shipping circles are not inclined to take the big faster-ship scheme too lightly, but they declare that they are not alarmed. They assert that ships of the size and speed proposed could not possibly pay in the Australian trade, and recall the Imperial Shipping Committee’s examination of the subject and its conclusion that 16 knots is the utmost average speed economically possible in view of the nature of the trade offering. Some express the opinion that a faster line would only be possible at an enormous loss, which would kill a new company or necessitate heavy subsidies from the Australian taxpayer.

AFFAIRS IN CHINA. PEKING, March 5.

Feng Yu-hsiang has been appointed Pacification Commissiener of Chih-li, Honan, and Shensi. A mandate appoints General Cilia Tehyao Prime Minister with a new Cabinet.

Reports of fighting in Honan and around Tientsin show that Wu Pei-fu and Chang Tso-lin so far have gained considerable successes in combination against Feng Yuhsiang. The Wu Pei-fuites, after capturing Kaifeng, pressed on and captured Chengchow.

Yen Wi-chun Turon of Honan, has suffered a decisive defeat. His troops are reported to be scattered westwards. His whereabouts are unknown.

SOVIET JUSTICE. LONDON, March 3

The Riga correspondent of The Times slates that the trial of 96 judges and lawyers accused of bribery and corruption resulted in 70 convictions, the sentences ranging from two to 10 years. The court, in explaining the absence of death sentences, said it was due to the fact that the offenders were of proletarian origin The correspondent states that the trial disclosed the sorriest picture of the administration of justice by untrained judges. Many of the accused were almost illiterate. The most prominent figure was Demchenko, who was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment. He was long known a* the “King of Liberators,” because he contrived to iclease accused persons who were able to pay a certain price.

MUST DOCTORS TELL? LONDON, March 2

The question, “must a doctor tell?” was answered when l)r Kingsbury was fined £35 at the Mansion House for refusing to disclose the name of a drug addict whom he was treating. The Lord Mayor, in entering the conviction, said it would probably be a test case. Dr Kingsbury, who gave notice of appeal, said it was the sacred duty of a docto/ not to disclose the confidence of a patient, adding: “T never shall. Every doctor in London is behind me. Tho patient is gradually recovering from the drug habit.”

The prosecution pointed out that Dr Kingsbury was obtaining 20 grains of morphine a week. There was a danger of doctors becoming a channel by which drugs could be supplied.

CANADIAN POLITICS. OTTAWA, March 2. The long-sought adjournment of the House of Commons until March 15 will be accomplished on Wednesday afternoon, as the result of a motion of closure carried on Tuesday by a majority of 13. The motion was introduced by tbe Acting Government Leader, the Progressive Independents voting with the Government in support of the* motion. Since the closure appeared in.the Canadian House 13 years ago it has rarely been applied, and never before to a debate on the Address-in-Reply. The Address from the Throne was carried by 111 votes to 102, a Government

majority of nine, and the House automatically adjourned till March 15. In the interval the Government will prepare its parliamentary programme.

NEW ZEALAND COMPANY SUED. LONDON, M*ich 6. Raymond, the proprietor of the Imperial Food Journal, has brought an action in the High Court claiming damages against the New. Zealand Co-operative Dairy Company, and Wright, its European agent, for allegedly procuring the withdrawal of two advertisements.

Plaintiff’s counsel, in his opening statements, said that Wright took exception to a statement that his company got a premium of 2s per cwt on its butter, and threatened to cause the withdrawal of the advertisement of two firms selling the butter and they were subsequently withdrawn.

Raymond, giving evidence, said he believed from information he had obtained that an advantage of a 2s premium had not accrued to the butter producers.

DOMINION TAX LEVIES. LONDON, March 5.

The Associated British Chambers of Commerce, after considering representations from various chambers in regard to the income tax now levied by the Government of certain of the dominions—namely, Canada, South Africa, and New Zealand —upon British manufacturers through their agents, carried a resolution expressing the opinion that such taxation, if insisted upon, would seriously handicap the development of Empire trade; and trusting that his Majesty’s Government would arrange for this important question to be discussed at the forthcoming Imperial Conference with a view to a common policy being adopted throughout tfye Empire. A copy of the resolution is to be sent of Mr Baldwin, Mr L. S. Amery (Secretary of State for the Dominions), and Sir Philip Cunliffe-Lister (President of the Board of Trade).

INFLUENCE OF DIET. LONDON, March 3.

Dr W. S. Fenwick, of Harley street, speaking at a conference of the Institute oi Hygiene said that the inability to learn was not always the fault of the head. It might be due to the body, as the result of malnutrition or an idiosyncrasy by which poisons were absorbed into the general circulation, and exerted a specific influence on the brain causing drowsiness. Nearly 18 per cent of middle age indigestion had its origin in school life. For instance, the statutory cold tub might induce a disturbance and should be limited to those for whom it was suited. Somnolence and yawning were particularly apt to occur on days when the scholars were given peasoup, custard, or suet pudding. Hiccoughing and stomach cough were often due to hasty eating. Many children had food idiosyncrasies as a result of the monotonous repitition of nursery fare.

THE FORBIDDEN CITY. LONDON, March 3.

The Daily Mail says that a grim secret of Lhasa was revealed to the Indian agents of the Crompton Company, engineers, of Chelmsford, by Tibetan runners.

The Crompton Company desaptched 300 tons o felectrical machinery foi election in the Forbidden City in charge of a young Tibetan peer named Ring-Gang, a condition of the contract beiiin that no Englishman should enter Lhasa. The machinery was safely reported 400 miles from the railhead at Kalinipong, after which there was a long silence. Tho agents now report that bandits, who are alleged to be representatives of the new Tibetan Government, met Rin Gang »v ; th a muie caravan in a mountain pass, assassinated the party, and threw the whole of the machinery over a precipice. RinGang was a relative of the Dalai Lama and was educated in England where he studied engineering. The sequel to the news is that the British Everest expedition has abandoned its projected attempt in the autumn.

THE BAXTER CASE. MELBOURNE, March 5.

In the House of Representatives a case in which a New Zealand citizen was recently sentenced in the Dunedin Police Court for having in his possession Communis ‘ literature was the subject of a series of questions to Mr Bruce, who replied that it was a fact that in the case of Kenneth M'Lean Baxter the magistrate had suspended the sentence on condition that Baxter left the Dominion When it was brought under the notice of the Ministei of Home and Territories that Bax intended leaving for Australia authority for his entry was refused. Notification "was telegraphed to New "Zealand. Baxter, however, had made all arrangements for his departure, and had his furniture on board a vessel which was about to leave New Zealand, and ho was unable to* get it off He had previously resided in Australia for seven years. His wife was a native of the Commonwealth. Baxter was restricted from landing in Australia, but in view of his wife’s health, which involved a serious operation at an early date, ho would be permitted to land on temporary exemption for six months, which period the department would be in close touch with him. A PUGNACIOUS MONARCH LONDON, March 4. It is now revealed that Colonel House’* intimate papers omit a letter to President Wilson describing an interview with the King on April 30, 1915. Colonel House says that he talked with t>i' King for neaiiv an hour and adds: “He is the most bellicose Englishman bo far I have met. I had hop«B that he might talk concerning peace plans, but he evidently wanted to impress me that he had no time to talk peace. His idee

seemed to be that the best way to obtain x permanent peace was to knock all the ight out of the Hermans. He spoke kindly of the Germans as a whole, but as for his dear cousin the Kaiser’s entourage he de nounced them in good sailor-like terms He is most pugnacious monarch that’s loose in these parts. The publishers say that they omitted the letter because it adds nothing in the shape of historical knowledge, being only an expression of the King's intense patriotism. Another phase in Colonol House’s reference to his visit to the King is: “I showed him with some diffidence a cartoon of Wilhelm hanging at the yardarm. The King thoroughly enjoyed it. The more I soe of the King the better I like him. He is a good fellow and deserves better fate than being a king.” OBITUARY. LONDON. March 3. Sir Sidney Lee, who was best known for the work which he performed in compiling, at the request of the King, a full biography of Edward VII, the first volume of hicb appeared last year. The second volume dealing with the events of the reign was expected to be published shortly. Sir Sidney Lee was born in London in 1859 and after being educated at the City of London School and at Balliol College, Oxford, he became a university lecturer on various subjects of a literary nature. Prom 1891 to 1917 he was editor of the Dictionary of National Biography and from 1913 to 1924 he was professor of English language and literature in the University of London. He was the author of a number of publications, mainly of a biographical character. LONDON. March 6. Rev. Alexander Carlyle, chaplain, and lecturer on, political science of the University College, Oxford. After a visit to the ex-Kaiser at Doom in November the Rev. gentleman caught a chill swimming in the C9rpentine in which he has bathed, winter and summer, for 12 years. He immediately arran;;ed everything for his own funeral except the date. He visited the crematorium and paid the fees in advance. He interviewed the organisk, whom he instructed to play tlie “Merrv Widow” waltz after the service, which he desired to be cheerful, with no mourning. ARTIFICIAL WOOL. LONDON, March 2. An important question has arisen regarding the comparative inflammability of artificial wool. Tests show that there will be considerable fire hazard in clothing containing a large percentage. It is suggested that even a cigarette touching the fabric is sufficient to ignite it. The public is accustomed to the degree of safety provided by woollen outer wear and the new introduction, it is felt, may lead to serious bodily injury, , March 3. Addressing the annual conference of the Graziers’ Association the president, Mr Waddel, expressed the opinion that competition from sniafil need not he feared by the wool-growers. He said that although little was known of the possibilities of sniafil he thought there was no doubt that the raw material would hold its own at remunerative prices. The failure of wool to do so would mean disaster to the Commonwealth. “In my opinion,” Mr Waddell said, “the threats that wool will be replaced by artificial silk and artificial wool have perhaps served a good purpose, insomuch as they will have demonstrated very clearly ♦hat it would be an unsound policy for the wool-growers of Australia to organise with ifhe idea of fixing an unduly high level •i values for their wool. Wool substitutes cannot be produced without cost. I think we should feel confident that the consumers will be prepared to pay a good premium for wool in preference to either #f them. The'greatest encouragement substitutes could receive would Le for wool to be artificially held at such a price as to force people reluctantly to use inferior articles for clothing, consisting entirely or in part of such substitutes.” , A motion to encourage the greater use of wool and so ensure its supremacy against all contingencies was carried.