NEWS BY CABLE.

Otago Witness, Issue 3808, 8 March 1927, Page 49

NEWS BY CABLE.

pZ LIVERPOOL SHIPYARDS. ' RUGBY, March 2. The Gladstone dock at Liverpool, which has cost about £7,500,000, will be officially opened by he King and Queen next July. QUEENSLAND REVENUE DEFICIT. BRISBANE, March 3. The revenue returns for the eight months of the financial year show that the expenditure exceeds the revenue by £623,315. THE FRANCHISE IN BRITAIN. LONDON, March 1. The Daily Gazette says that Cabinet has definitely decided to bring in a measure next session enfranchising women from the age of 21, instead of 30, as at present. JOB CONTROL. SYDNEY, March 1Owing to the members of the crew of the Howard Smith Company’s : nter-State collier Age, at Newcastle, attempting to force job control-tactics, the owners paid the whole crew off and tied up the vessel indefinitely. PROPOSED WAR MEMORIAL. LONDON, March 4. Mr Baldwin, Mr Ramsay MacDonald, and Mr Lloyd George supported Mr Gosling’s Bill, which was read a first time, empowering the War Graves Commission to erect a war memorial to officers and men of the mercantile marine in Trinity square, Tower Hill. LORD RANFURLY’S SACRIFICE. LONDON, March 3. ■ Lord Ranfurly, owing to taxation, has decided to sell Northland House in County Tyrone, which has been in the occupation of the family for centuries. Lord Ranfurly was Governor of New Zealand from 1897 to 1904. TRUTH ABOUT RUSSIA. WASHINGTON, March 2. M. Alexander Kerensky arrived on Wednesday to expound his views of the Russian situation. He said that 99 per cent, of the Russians were hostile to the Soviet, which, although it had turned sour, was responsible for more good than the Czarist regime ever would have been.

WOMAN FOUND DEAD. MELBOURNE, March 2. In response to information given by a 12-year-old girl, the police went to a house in North Melbourne, and found the girl’s mother, Mrs Josephine Kotsiakos, dead, with two bullet wounds in her head. The husband was arrested on a charge of murder. INFLUENZA PLAGUE. LONDON, March 2. The toll of influenza continues to increase. The deaths totalled 1023 in London and the large towns compared with 759 a fortnight ago. The epidemic is waning in London, but Lancashire and Yorkshire are suffering grievously. ‘ UNLOADING OF SHIPS. ROTTERDAM, February 28. The International Transport Workers’ Federation, which includes Britain, Germany, France, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, and Norway, passed a resolution urging that only harbour workers should be allowed to unload vessels, thus preventing seamen from performing harbour duties. ARMY ESTIMATES. LONDON, March 3. The current Army Estimates are £41,565,000, compared with £42,500,000 last year, and £62,300,000 in 1922. The current year’s figures do not include the China defence force, for which a Supplementary Estimate seeks £950,000, of which £570,000 will be absorbed in sea transport. FRANCE’S WAR DEBTS. WASHINGTON, February 28. Mr A. W. Mellon (Secretary of the Treasury) announced that France • had agreed to make the first payment amounting to 10,000,000 dollars on her war debt on June 15, according to the terms of the unratified French debt funding agreement. If the agreement is ratified the amount will be credited to France.

A DISAPPOINTED PARTY. CAIRO, March 4. Mr Reisner, an American Egyptologist, invited a party, including Osman Moharrem, Minister of Public Works, to attend the opening of a sarcophagus discovered at Giza in 1925, believed to contain the mummy of Queen Hetepheres, the mother of King Cheops; but when the top of the tomb was raised, it was found to be empty. EXPERIMENTAL WOOL PACKS. LONDON, March 6. Two experimental Australian wool packs have impressed the Bradford merchants. A bale containing greasy wool was on the thin side, and was considerably torn by hooks, but a heavier 12-pounder containing scoured wool carried perfectly, and experts are. of the opinion that its adoption will materially heli) to overcome the fibre trouble.

CASE OF SMALLPOX. SYDNEY, March 5. ' The Changte’s case has been diagnosed as smallpox. On her arrival at Sydney from China on Friday the steamer Changte was held in quarantine owing to a rash being discovered on a Chinese passenger. The port medical officer was unable to diagnose the rash, and the vessel was detained pending its development. ALIEN PROPAGANDA. LONDON, March 5. Mr Baldwin, speaking at Cambridge, ■ emphasised the danger of alien propaganda, based on class hatred, growing up in England, principally from Russia. He said the Labourites had done their own people a disservice by failing to explain when Bolshevism first obtained po-wer in Russia what it really was and permitting their followers to believe that Bolshevism had been a Labour triumph comparable with what might happen in Britain if Labour gained power. OUT OF HARM’S WAY. SYDNEY, March 2. The two men, George Harris and Henry Morton, who was convicted of vagrancy in New Zealand and sent back to Australia, were met by the police on their arrival by the Ulimaroa and placed under arrest. They were ’ subsequently remanded on a charge of vagrancy. The police are anxious that they should not be at large during the Royal visit. KING’S NEW TITLE. LONDON, March 3. The Royal Titles Bill provides that his Majesty may in six months after the passing of the Act alter the style of titles appertaining to the Crown as seems fit. The Bill also alters the style of the present Parliament to “The Thirty-fourth Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.’’

ELECTION METHODS. MELBOURNE, March 4. ' The report of the committee appointed by the Federal Parliament to investigate the electoral system recommends the abolition of the compulsory signing of newspaper articles, and that no vehicle shall be hired on behalf of any candidate, or political organisation on polling day except for the exclusive use of incapacitated voters. WHEAT POOL. SYDNEY, March 4. Mr W. F. Dunn, Minister of Agriculture, announced that the ballot taken among the farmers on the question of the formation of a compulsory wheat pool for a period of three years was negatived by 4334 votes to 3437. Only 41 per cent, of the farmers to whom the issue was submitted voted. OBITUARY. LONDON, February 28. The death is announced of Bishop Ridgeway. The death is announced from Malta of General Sir Walter Congrieve. WARSAW, March 3. The. death is announced of Michael Artzibasclieff. the Russian violinist. MISSION HOUSE ATTACKED. SYDNEY, March 2. News has been received from Darwin that natives armed with spears came over from the mainland and attacked the Mullingimby mission station on Crocodile Island. Only one of the missionaries was wounded, and that slightly. The missionaries bravely fought attackers and overpowered them. Several who were taken prisoner, were brought to Darwin, where they were lodged in gaol. LUXURIOUS BATHS. GENEVA, March 1. Workmen who are excavating for the new League building discovered on the borders of the lake a luxurious series of baths of the Antonine period. They were badly damaged by successive invasions from Germany, but were reconstructed in the fourth century.

The Antonine period—covering the reigns of the Roman Emperors Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius Antoninus—extended from 138 to 180. BANKING MERGER. MELBOURNE, March 1. A further bank merger is announced. The directors of the Royal Bank of Australia, Ltd., has announced that their organisation, subject to the approval of the shareholders, has come to an arrangement with the English, Scottish, and Australian Bank, Ltd., to take over all the liabilities and assets of the Royal Bank of Australia from April 1. The English, Scottish, and Australian Bank has agreed to pay £750,000 in cash, plus 125,000 £5 shares, paid up’ to £3 each.

BLOW TO TRADITION. LONDON, March 1. A new era in Royal entertainment was opened to-day, when the Queen was an informal hostess at a tea party in the picture gallery at Buckingham Palace. All classes were represented among the guests. They were amusing themselves examining the pictures, when their Majesties walked into the gallery and parted when they reached the centre, the King going to one side and the Queen to the other. Each shook hands with .the known guests. Everybody, including the Socialist guests, was delighted at the informality and homely conversation of their Majesties.

AID TO PEDESTRIANS. . LONDON, March 1. Sir A. Conan Doyle, writing in the Daily Express, advocates small balloons or hydrogen knapsacks as aids to pedestrians. He says that what is needed is a balloon which will turn a 15st man into a sst one, so that he can walk, without fatigue. The Daily Express has organised a series of so-called jumping balloon tests at the Edgware aerodrome on Saturday next, using balloons of 18ft, with a lift of lOst.

QUEENSLAND FARMERS. BRISBANE, March 3. The Arbitration Court reserved judgment in an application by the Australian Workers’ Union and other organisations for an increase of the basic wage from £4 5s a week to £4 15s. The Government and the Graziers’ Association opposed the application. Counsel for the Graziers’ Association, addressing the court, said that ti e estimated loss of sheep in the recent drought in Queensland was £6,000,000, with proportionate losses of cattle. TROTSKY REAPPEARS. MOSCOW, March 1. Al. Trotsky made his first appearance in public since his dispute with M. Stalin. Addressing a meeting in the Trades Union hall he declared that the Russians should not only sympathise with the Cantonese, but he would gladly drown in Shanghai River the foreign Imperialists who were daring to check the victorious course of the Chinese revolutionaries. He added that the lands bordering on the Pacific would shortly be the scene of the most important events. FALSIFIED BOOKS. SYDNEY, March 4. Buddee was convicted of embezzlement and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment. An amazing fraud was revealed when William Buddee, a clerk employed by Messrs W. D. and H. O. Wills, Ltd., pleaded guilty to embezzling a small sum. Counsel for Wills stated that defalcations had been going on for ten years, and the firm had lost £4OOO yearly without knowing it, owing to falsification of the books. The defalcations amounted to £39,000, and the accused told the court that he had lost it all at the races.

PASTORAL WORKERS. SYDNEY, March 4. The Graziers’ Association has served claims upon the Australian Workers’ Union for general decreases in wages of employees in the pastoral industry. The claims will form the basis for securing a new Federal pastoral award, which will then be binding upon all members of the association. Every endeavour will be made to have the claims dealt with before the general shearing season commences. The Australian Workers’ Union strongly opposes the claims. The secretary stated that they had apparently been framed to cause trouble in the industry, as the object seemed to be in applying a Federal, award to break down the preference clause obtained by the union in the State courts. SOCIETY DIVORCE CASE. LONDON. March 2. A sensational divorce case has commenced at the Edinburgh Court at the instance of the 22-year-old Countess of Kinnoull against the Earl, whom she married in December, 1923. The marriage was one of the events of the season, the bride being a granddaughter of Sir Frederick Wills, the millionaire tobacconist. The earl, prior to his marriage, was alleged to have been engaged to Mrs Surle, an ex-chorus girl, but the family hurriedly packed him off.to South Africa. When he returned he married the countess, whose mother, Mrs Margaret Hamil-ton-Fellows. died in October, leaving the countess £2,000,000. BRITAIN AND AMERICA. WASHINGTON, March 3. The British Ambassador, Sir Esme Howard, in the course of an address, deplored the idea that England and the United States, standing together, could direct the world. He said: ‘‘l do not believe in any such general systematic unity of action between the English-speaking nations as wold be likely to create a combination against us of all the rest of the world.”

Sir Esme declared that neither Government desired an entangling alliance, and he appealed for unity of heart and understanding. He said: “We have to spend large sums on armaments. Let us do so without reference to the armaments of others, only considering our own necessities for protection. There can be no unity of heart if we eye each other with suspicion every time the other builds a new ship or devises an engine of destruction.” SEVERING THE BONDS. * LONDON, March 5. That England is in danger of becoming the home of secret divorce as a result of the enforced newspaper secrecy is stressed by the rapid increase in cases. At the beginning of last year’s session the cases numbered 452, and at the beginning of the 1927 session they numbered 488, while since then it Has been found necessary to issue a supplementary list of 282 undefended cases, which have been notified during the last two months. Furthermore, undefended cases are now tried at the various assizes throughout the country, and the figures are at present not available, though it is known that there is a big increase.

The Law Times fears that the absence of publicity will mean that the Divorce Court will be more and more freely resorted to. NEW DIAMOND DIGGINGS. CAPETOWN, March 5. The Grasfontein diamond rush is the biggest ever known. Twenty-five thousand runners lined up for the start in the presence of a similar number of spectators, and the first to reach the area was the South African champion runner, Len Richardson, who was offered £lOOO for his claim, but who refused. Twenty thousand licenses have been issued, constituting a record. WAR RESPONSIBILITY. BERLIN, March 3. To mark the completion of the publication of the War History the Reichstag staged a propaganda demonstration against the “war guilt lie” under the auspices of the societies and women’s committees interested. Dr Marx contgratulated the Germans on being the first to attempt to discover the truth. Nobody could now maintain the accusation that Germany had disseminated world-wide hatred laden with war propaganda. Dr Schnee and Herr Bartholdy endorsed this view. President Hindenburg contributed a commemorative pamphlet calling on the world frankly to respond to Germany’s confession of faith. Dr Stresemann invited an impartial world court to try the question of war responsibility. RESIGNATION FROM LABOUR PARTY. LONDON, February 28. Dr Haden Guest, a member of the House of Commons, has resigned from the Labour Party. In a statement he said that his immediate reason was a complete and fundamental difference of opinion regarding the Labour amendment on China. ‘‘l discussed the matter with the local executive, and could not reach a compromise In fact, no compromise is possible on such a question,” he said. Dr Haden Guest has not decided whether to resign his seat, but he says that he certainly does not intend to join the Conservatives. LONDON, March 1. A meeting of-the Parliamentary Labour Party carried unanimously a resolution requesting Dr Haden Guest to resign his seat without delay. THE LAWS OF NATURE. WASHINGTON, March 2. Dr Hugh Cumming. Surgeon-General of the United States, has branded gland operations as fallacies. He said that rejuvenation was a myth. Inevitably old age must be fully realised, but prolongation of life with a reasonable retention of physical and mental vigour might be reasonably expected to follow a care-fully-lived life. Dr Cumming pointed out that most efforts to delete tthe imprints of advancing age were designed to preserve and bring back a youthful appearance. Scientists had been zealous in their efforts to replace the burnt-out glandular elements, I hoping for rejuvenation. The result of these experiments was interesting and suggestive, but at present there was no evidence to warrant the assumption that glands from outside sources would cause the rejuvenation of the entire human body.

ALLEGED CONSPIRACY.

NEW YORK, March 4. The jury in the second trial of Daugherty and Miller, after deliberating for over 70 hours, convicted Miller of conspiracy, but was unable to agree to a verdict concerning Daugherty. The latter’s indictment is now quashed. Miller is expected to appeal. The Federal Grand Jury in New York, in October, 1926, indicted H. M. Daugherty and Thomas W. Miller for offences alleged in connection with the return to a German copper magnate, Richard Merton, of about £1,400,000, which had been seized by the Government. The charge was that Daugherty and Miller authorised the payment o.f this amount without such investigation as would be involved in the proper discharge of their duties. It was charged that a huge bribe had been paid for the authorisation of this transaction, and that it was divided between Daugherty, John T. King, Miller, and the late Jess W. Smith, who committed suicide after the oil deals. After a trial lasting over a month the jury disagreed, and was discharged without a verdict. SOVIET JUSTICE. LONDON, February 28. Mr Havelock Wilson, annoyed with Mr A. J. Cook’s Moscow friends over their imposing ten months’ imprisonment in Russia, without trial, on a British seaman named David Scott, asked Mr Cook to inquire at “his spiritual home” and ascertain the cause. Mr Cook wrote asking the object in calling .attention to the matter, -upon which Mr Wilson wrote challenging him to defend the action of his Moscow friends -in a public debate at Edinburgh in connection with Scott. “Think it over, Cook; you’ve been making wild, extravagant statements for years about Moscow. My health is not good, but it is my duty to inform the workers of the real truth about Russia. The odds are in your favour. I’m sixty-nine and you are forty, but I think some,, of us old ’uns can give you a good run for your money. LONDON; February 28. Air, Cook has declined the challenge to debate the Scott case.

AUSTRALIAN FINANCE. MELBOURNE, March 3. Speaking in the Federal House of Representatives to-day, Mr Bruce outlined the financial proposals in connection with the States. He said that these would be embodied in an amended States Bill, which would provide for the abolition of the per capita payments to the States as from the end of the present financial year, and that the Federal Treasurer would pay to the States in proportion to the number of their population any surplus revenue in his hands at the end of each financial year. The Treasurer during the financial year for 1927, would make payments to each State in equal monthly instalments of the followingamounts :— . New South Wales ... £2,978,343 Victoria 2,152,615 Queensland 1,131,646 South Australia ... 721*269 - Western Australia ... 483 750 Tasmania 267,367 The whole idea behind the Constitution continued Mr Bruce, was that there should be co-operation between the Commonwealth and the States in all theiU activities. At present a deplorable spirit of antagonism had grown up, and the Federal Government wished to prove that it was anxious to bring about harmony between the States and the Commonwealth. The whole matter would Ife discussed at a conference between the States and the Federal Government. The per capita payments would cease from ’ the end of June next. REFORM FROM WITHIN, r v LONDON, March 1. In the House of Lords, Viscount Burnham asked the Government to establish Standing Committees, to which all Public Bills should be referred. He declared that the scanty attention at present given to Bills was a public scandal, and lowered the reputation of Parliamentary government. Lord Carson said there was more experience, knowledge, and ability in the House of Lords than was possible in any elected Assembly; but it had practically ceased to function for the promotion and revision of legislation. There were 700 peers; but only 50 or 60 did the House’s work. The sole reason was that nobody took it- seriously. If a peer tabled a motion the usual comment was, “What a bore!’’ The members of the House should make the most of themselves, and take the job seriously. The Marquis of Salisbury replied that there was a small chance of the Government accepting Lord Burnham’s proposal; but it was willing to consider a remedy in view of tlie last-minute rush of Bills from the House of Commons. Lord Darling said that their lordships must refuse to pass Bills that were received too late for revision, and tell the House of Commons: “It depends on yourselves when you get away to Margate or elsewhere. We can amuse ourselves in London without going on holiday till the Bills are properly considered.” Lord Burnham did not press the motion*.

STAGE AMENITIES. * ;i LONDON, February 23. An ironical three-act sketch —her own little tragedy—enacted by Mlle. Pechy at the Coliseum, opens with the-.actress receiving a theatre manager, who announces: “I have bad news for you—your accent, you know. We are most particular in our theatre,” to which Allie. Pechy replies: “It’s an outrage,” and dissolves in tears. The second act consists of her singing in English for the purpose of convincing the manager that she is capable- In the final act she awaits the verdict attired in mauve pyjamas, trimmed with swansdown, repeating English phrases, such as “It is not a fine day.” The telephone rings. She is rejected, and turns to the audience, and repeats the disconnected, guide-book English, and adds: “I’m very well, thank you,” and sinks into a chair. In the meatime Alis Aloncrieff is packing Daly’s Theatre. Aliss Gladys Aloncrieff’s engagement at Daly’s Theatre was the cause of a remarkable. dispute between the management and Allie. Pechy, the star of the Budapest Royal Opera, who appeared in the part in the provinces and expected the role in- the West End. Allie. Pechy was told that Aliss Aloncrieff was replacing her because of her knowledge of English was insufficient. To this Allie. Pechy, who was in bed, said excitedly:! “I will play or I will die. I have worked, all night to learn English. The British public does not know me, but on the Continent lam somebody. I will not be treated like a chorus girl. I gave up opportunities in Vienna, Budapest, and Berlin to come to London. In Alanchester they stood up and cheered me. I am the show. Without me it will be a. failure. London must see me. I shall not return until I appear before them.”