NEWS BY CABLE.

Otago Witness, Issue 3828, 26 July 1927, Page 49

NEWS BY CABLE.

POISONED BY MUSSELS. SAN FRANCISCO, July 18. Six persons are dead and 17 ill through eating mussels out of season. WINGFIELD SCULLS. LONDON, July 21. In the Wingfield Sculls Collett won easily, with Guy second and Edwards third. RENT RESTRICTION. LONDON, July 19. Tn the House of Lords Viscount Gage announced that the Government will continue the Rent Restriction Act. NATIONAL BOWLING BOARD. LONDON, July 19. The National Bowling Board has agreed to invite New Zealand to send a team in Maj’, 1928, to tour the United Kingdom. i OBITUARY. » SYDNEY, July 21. The death is announced of Mr John James Lyons, the famous Australian international cricketer; aged 6-1.

ABOLITION OF VISAS. LONDON, July 18. Sir Austen Chamberlain announced m Parliament that negotiations were in progress with the German Government for the abolition of visas for British travellers to Germany. COUNTESS MARKIEVICZ. LONDON, July 18. Soldiers and police again surrounded the Glasnevin Cemetery, and detectives ming-led with the crowd at the graveside when the remains of Countess Markievicz were interred quietly. No attempt was made to fire volleys. ARMIES OF OCCUPATION. RUGBY, July 19. Sir L. Worthington-Evans (Secretary for War) stated in the House of Commons to-day that in the 12 months ended June, 1927, the strength of the Allied Armies of Occupation on the Rhine had fallen by approximately 3000. DR HADEN GUEST. LONDON, July 21. Dr Haden Guest leaves on Friday on a five months’ tour of Canada, New Zealand. Australia, and South Africa to study Empire problems, giving special attention to Marketing Board matters and migration. THE NATIONAL GALLERY. LONDON, July 19. Sir Joseph Duveen has offered the National Gallery the choice of any picture from the Benson collection, recently purchased by him. The Gallery selected Correggio’s charming early work. “Christ Taking Leave of His Mother.”

MARTYRS OF SCIENCE. RUGBY, July 19. Two devoted workers in X-ray research (Dr Pirie and Dr Williams) have been awarded Civil List pensions. Both suffered such serious injuries that they have been forced to relinquish practice. Both i men have already been awarded pensions by the Carnegie Fund. THE FILMS BILL. LONDON, July 21. The Films Bill passed the committee stage in the House of Commons after a prolonged struggle, necessitating the committee sitting for the largest number of hours in parliamentary histc y, and in which 300 divisions were taken during the autumn session. CLOSING DOWN. MELBOURNE, July 20. Tlie suspension of business by the Civil Engineering Company will mean that 1500 men will be thrown out of employment. The reason for the suspension, which is recommended to begin at the end of the existing contracts, is the unreasonable claims by the unionists. DOCTOR WINS KING’S PRIZE LONDON, July 17. Vernon, the winner of the King’s Prize, is a doctor, and formerly a member of the Army Medical Corps. He put up a remarkable performance, finishing up "with 12 bulls’-eyes after dropping to an inner at the last range, and in a most exciting finish he defeated the Canadian, Lieutenant Burke, by 1 point. FAMILY" ENDOWMENT. SYDNEY, July 22. The Executive Council, at a special meeting, gazetted the. Family Endowment Act, which will operate from to-day. The allowances will be payable and the tax on employers will be collected as from to-day. The first payment under the Endowment Acf will be made on September 1. OLYMPIC GAMES. PARIS, July 21. There is an outery over France’s nonparticipation in the Olympic Games, and there is a strong hope that Parli ment will vote funds in October so that France can bo represented. PARIS, Jniv 21. Following the. Senate’s adjournment of the question of the necessary vote of

credit, the French Olympic Committee has ! decided that France will not participate ‘ in the Amsterdam games. Moreover, the ’ Federation of Sports Associations hag de- a cided to prohibit members from in any way assisting in the organisation of the s .games. J s BRITISH FRANCHISE. t LONDON, July 21. ’ In the House of Commons Sir Austen Chamberlain informed Miss Wilkinson , (Lab.) that, although the Government was not introducing the Franchise Bill during the autumn session, it would be possible to make special arrangements for the preparation of a register which would enable enfranchised women to vote at the , 1929 election. SCIENCE IN WARFARE. MOSCOW, July 18. The Soviet Government is erecting an immense institute for anti-gas defence, which will unify all research and invention in military chemical science. It will be the duty of the institute to educate the commanders of the Red army and to take charge of chemical detachments ; but other sections of the institute will test at:d investigate deadly gases and the adaptation of bacteriology to war. HORATIO BOTTOMLEY. LONDON, July 23. Horatio Bottomlev has earned the maximum remission of sentence for good conduct and is due for liberation

on August 9. The Maidstone prison officials are determined that the liberation will be absolutely secret, in order to avoid a demonstration by the prisoners. His nephew says that Horatio is in splendid health, having lost his former excessive weight, and is amazingly confident of his power to reinstate himself. HILL 60 FOR SALE. LONDON, July 19. An uncanny form of land speculation is revealed in an advertisement offering to sell 15,000 square metres of Hill 60, which a British staff officer bought from the Belgians immediately after the war. The advertisement states that it is the only intact portion in the Ypres sector, with pillboxes and dugouts, and that it is ideal for the erection of regimental memorials. The owner estimates the land to be worth £lO,OOO. NEW ROSES. LONDON, July 19.

Mementoes of the Duke of York’s tour—three new seedling roses—were shown at the Royal Horticultural Society’s show. They are named Renown, Canberra, and Baby Betty, because the name “Princess Elizabeth’’ has already been used for a new rose. The Renown is a beautiful cerise bloom shaded to cardinal. Canberra is a pale vermillion with reverse petals of gold. Baby Betty is a deep salmon shaded to yellow. WHITE BREAD. LONDON, July 21. White bread is defended in a letter published in the Lancet and signed by six eminent doctors -nd scientists, including Sir Thomas Horder. They affirm that the case for wholemeal bread has been overstated. Although wholemeal bread is a good article of diet for many people, white bread of good quality is also •wholesome and nutritious. There are no good reasons for thinking that substitution of wholemeal bread for white breai in the national diet would materially improve the national health and physique. E’inally, the allegation that white bread is responsible for cancer, appendicitis, and other diseases is unwarranted and not supported b>’ scientific’facts.

PACIFIC- INSTITUTE. HONOLULU, July 21. Mr W. H. Cocker, barrister, f Auckland. addressing the Pacific Institute, said : ‘There has not >ecu enough time for the full development of a national spirit and consciousness in New Zealand. So complete has been the connection with Britain that the New Zealander is inclined to regard himself as a Britisher subject first and a .New Zealander afterwards, yet any attempt at dictation on the part of Britain would be strongly resented. The country is showing an increasing interest in foreign affairs. It may he that New Zealand is destined to play an important part in the protection and advancement of the Polynesian people of the South Pacific.” THE BASIC WAGE. SYDNEY, July 20. Industrial Commissioner Piddington unexpectedly countered the submission that the living wage declaration was invalid, by redeclaring the declaration of June 27 and fixing the basic wage at 1)4 5s per week. It is anticipated that the emplojers will now move in the Full Court for an injunction restraining the commission from proceeding further with the declaration, and that Parliament may have to be called together to pass amending legislation. The Industrial Commission has declared the temporary living wage to be £-4 4s weekly for adult male employees in rural industries, ou the basis of a man and wife.

LABOUR IN AUSTRALIA. LONDON, July 24. With an overwhelming majority the Seale faction of the Australian Labour Party secured control of the Unity Conference and adopted a resolution confirming Mr Lang’s dictatorship with an assured majority. The conference declined to hear representatives of the Conroy faction and carried a motion reaffirming the whole of the Easter conference resolution. Then, amid scenes of - remarkable enthusiasm, the conference carried a resolution expressing the utmost confidence in Mr Lang’s leadership. The conference adjourned till Easter of next year.

MODERN DANCES. HELSINGFORS, July 22. Tests conducted at the university show that a person dancing the CharLston expends more energy- than a stonemason or a lannd-ess. The tests were carried out with special apparatus. The floor, walls, and ceiling were lined with zinc plates. An analysis of the results showed that the waltz was the least exhausting of the modern dances. A person of normal weight expended in an hour sufficient bodily heat to raise five pints of water from freezing to boiling point. The shimmy, black bottom, and the schottisehe consumed between 281 and 333 calorics, the fox trot 335, the Charleston 536, and the mazurka 761. The exponents of the mazurka work even harder than a wood sawer, and twice as hard as a stonemason.

PREVALENT DISEASES. LONDON, July 22. “That Alexander the Great died of cerebro-spinal fever, and Ferdinand the First of Germany suffered adenoids are among the disclosures due to the unintentional preservation by sculptors vnd artists of past centuries,” said Sir. Humphrey Rolleston, addressing the British Medical Association at Edinburgh. Investigations showed that gout was not a modern disease, and six out of 24 Sultans between 1299 and 1695 were sufferers from this disease. Tuberculosis bad been identified in Egyptian mummies, and was very prevalent in ancient Greece, where it was one of the few infectious diseases. Smallpox had been traced in a mummy dating from 1100 b.c. Bubonic plague had also been recognised in Egypt, and Syria in the third century, B.c. Other diseases thought to be of modern origin were also virulent centuries ago.

. MR AMERY’S TOUR. LONDON, July 19. In the House of Commons, in Committee of Supply on the Colonial Office vote, Mr J. H. Thomas (Labour) tendered good wishes to Mr L. S. Amery (Dominions’ Secretary) on his tour. Mr Thomas recalled his own experience on retaining from a similar tour to find himself oui of office. He confessed that he hoped Mr Amery would have the same fate. Mr Thomas complained that the House had had no opportunity to iiscuss the decisions of the Imperial Conference, oi which it knew no more than the man in the street. He congratulated Mr Amery on a most successful innovation—the Colonial Conference. The vote was adopted. LONDON, July 22. After 45 minutes’ hand-shaking, a party headed by the Lord Mayor and members of Parliament cheered Mr L. S. Amery as he departed from Waterloo for Southampton to embark on his tour of the dominions.

SINGAPORE BASE. HONOLULU, July 20. Mr Walter Nash (secretary of the New Zealand Labour Party), addressing the Institute of Pacific Relations, said that New Zealand was part of the British Commonwealth of Nations. A true perspective of New Zealand was impossible unless it emphasised the close relation existing between the Dominion and the Mother Country ; yet New Zealand would strongly resent interference in its internal affairs on the part of the British Government; but in matters of foreign policy New Zealand rarely questioned the attitude adopted by Britain. “Opinion in New Zealand,” continued Mr Nash, “supports the declared policy of Britain in regard to the Singapore naval base. The policy of New Zealand is to foster and encourage the natives to use their own land and to adjust their customs to something- approaching the standards of the present day. All the parties in Parliament agree that the interests of the natives are paramount. We look at our problems through British spectacles.”

EASY DIVORCE. LONDON. July 21. The Riga correspondent of the London Times says that in five months 9681 marriages have been registered in Soviet Russia, and that there have been 7255 divorces as a result of the new law enabling the annulment of marriage at the desire of cither party, without giving a reason. The proportion of divorces to marriages has risen in 12 months from 26 per cent, to .75 per cent. The Soviet’s first campaign was the de-' structiou of the religions ceremony, forcing the people to recognise tl.e Soviet’s monopoly. They next sought, in 1925, to abolish even registration, making cohabitation the sole form of marriage. The attempt broke down because the peasant women said it was hard enough to keep husbands already. The proposal was temporarily withdrawn, but was again introduced and became law in 1927, with the concession to peasant women that marriages and divorces may b. registered I if both parties agree.

A CHARMING IMPOSTOR. BRUSSELS, July 22. Stephane Otto, described as Europe's “King of Imposters,” is again in the hands of the police. The accused had been posing as a B;*ish officer, but he was unmasked before he found victims. Possessing a persuasive tongue and perfect manners, Otto has had a remarkable career. Once he pretended to be an. envoy of the Prince of Wales. At another time he said he was an attache of of the King of the Belgians. His greatest exploit was the decoration of an American general /Allen) and his whole s.<uff at Coblenz, with fake medals. The hoax was discovered only when General Allen sent a letter of thanks to the King. Otto is well known in London, where he was imprisoned. He also windled his way through Europe, even sorrowing money from the former Sultan of Constantinople. He was arrested in Germany early in 1927 when posing as an officer of the Interallied Disarmament Commission. .He was born in Belgium and served in the French Foreign Legion. ONE LONG THRILL. LONDON, July 18. Miss Cordery was welcomed to London at the end of her 11,000-mile round-the-world tour. She said that it had been one long glorious thrill. There were onlytwo serious mishaps—a punctured petrol tank in Western Australia and a crash at Algiers, when a tram ran into the motor car. Official Auto Club tests show that the car performed splendidly. Speakers paid a tribute to the ingenuity, pluck, and endurance of Miss Cordery and her three companions in carrying out their all-British accomplishment. Lord Dewar, epigramaticallv commenting on motor development, said that the kangaroo appeared to be Nature’s abortive attempt to produce a safe pedestrian. Miss Cordery stated that an attempt to bring opossums and other pets from Australia had failed, owing to casualties on the journey. She had nightmare memories of Australian routes, though she would not have missed the experience for worlds. She was not yet contemplating another tour. PACIFIC INSTITUTE. HONOLULU, July 20. Mr Lionel Curtis, honorary secretary to the British Institute of International Affairs, presented a paper to the Pacific Relations Institute discussing British ideals and aspirations. It stated that the world owes to England the principle of commonwealth. This principle he defined as the Sermon on the Mount reduced to political terms —namely, a society organised on the theory that the ’-ty , which each member owes to the rest is • beyond measure. Mrs Catt, in an address, said that the making of money had become a substitute • for war instincts in the United States. ; She declared that the powerful groups in ‘ America were economic Imperialists. 1 HONOLULU, July 19. The British and American members of 5 the institute held a round table discus2 sion on Chinese affairs and expressed con--1 Cdence that their Governments would 1 recognise China’s right to tariff autonomy when a National Government had been 2 established at Peking. The British delegates said that Britain was eager to aid China and co-operate in a solution of the tariff issue.

PAPER PULP. SYDNEY. July 21. The Institute of Science and Industry reports that its investigations regarding the production of paper pulp were highly successful. They showed that the use of certain varieties of Australian timbers for the commercial production of paper was a promising proposition. The work of the institute had aimed mainly at the production of soda pulp for high-grade papers. More recently the sulphite method for newsprint had been investigated, and had given such promising results that the production of newsprint was being undertaken in Tasmania on a one ton per day plant, and if the results continued satisfactory the establishment of the industry on the basis of an expenditure of £5,000,000 to £6,000,000 in the course of the next five or six years was assured. Very promising results had been obtained from Pinus insignis pulp, which was found eminently suitable for the manufacture of strong brown paper. Large quantities of this timber are available, and the council is arranging for further tests, which it is believed will lead to commercial exploitation on a large scale. OVER SEAS SETTLEMENT. LONDON, July IS. In the House of Commons, Major Glyn asked Mr Amery whether he would consider the reorganisation of the Overseas Settlement Committee for the purpose of enabling problems affecting Canada. Australia. New Zealand an.l South Africa to receive special attention. Mr Amery said that he had no reason to suppose that particular problems were not receiving special attention. The committee tried to be in close liai a wjth the migration authorities of the several Governments. He did not profess to have the fullest knowledge of the details, but he believed that more satisfactory work could be done by one committee with one executive head dealing with the different organisations in England. Although the Overseas Committee generally ’ealt with the migration authorities of each dominion through .its High Commissioner, it also dealt directly on occasion. An example at present was the case of the. Canadian Minister and Deputy-Minister in England. He was satisfied that the present committee was most successful. There had 1 been no complaints.

LARGEST DOCK IN THE WORLD. RUGBY, July 18. Gladstone Dock, the largest, dock in the world has a water area of over 58 acres, ringed by three miles of granitei aced quays, on which huge warehouses have been erected. The new dock, which has cost over £7,500,000, is situated at the extreme north end of Liverpool’s seven lineal miles of docks, with their 37 miles of quays. Nearly 2500 men have been employed for many years in creating the new dock on a site which was formerly waste. July 'O. The King and Queen at Liverpool opened the Gladstone Dock, a system which has cost £7,500,000. The total length of quays at which vessels can be moored is three miles. The entrance to the lock is a triumph of engineering, making the docks accessible to the largest ships afloat at any state of the tide. ' - q .-yside sheds provide 601 acres of floor space. The King, dressed as an admiral of the fleet, stood at the salute on the bridge of the steamer Galatea as the vessel cut the silk ribbon across the entrance to the lock in the presence of tens of thous..nds of cheering spectators. Their Majesties afterwards returned to Loudon. DIFFICULT TIMES. RUGBY, July 2.2. The Prime Minister devoted his Lincolnshire speech yesterday exclusively to the Government’s agricultural policy. Referring to criticisms that the policy had encountered he said that it must be remembered that agricultural depression was world-wide, and he did not know any country to-day where the situation was considered satisfactory. In the United States, in Canada, or the Continent, and even in Denmark, the agricultural industry was passing through difficult times. In the United States, the Government itself had sought to solve the problem, but it was estimated that there were 3,000,000 fewer persons on American farms to-day than seven years ago. The country which perhaps was most successfully pulling through was Canada. The experience of these foreign countaries and of the dominions was confirmed by the findings of the conference of agriculturists from all over the world, which recently sat at Geneva. They reached the conclusion that the depression prevailing arose from the inequality between the prices of agricultural products and of manufacturing products.

Mr Baldwin mentioned various ways in which the British Government had helped farmers, and on the question of credits announced that the Government was working out a scheme which they intended to submit to Parliament next year. Ho could not anticipate details, but believed it would render farmers real issistance and give them in that direction added security ana added confidence. The problem of relieving agriculture was an economic and not a political one, and ho did not believe that the agricultural industry would benefit by schemes for nationalisation and control. He expressed the opinion that better marketing was the principal key of the whole situation.