EUROPE.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XL, Issue 13, 28 March 1908, Page 10

EUROPE.

. Wilding won .tlie.South of .France lawn tennis championship, .beating . Ritchie 3 sets to love. ■ , ; .. .i' :. : ,i

The French Chamber of. Deputies has resolved to transfer,the remains of Zola, the celebrated novelist, to the Pantheon.

Wilding and Ritchie beat the brothers Doherty by three sets to one for the South of France lawn temris 'championship at Nice.

[Felix Modma, an anarchist has, been arrested pCSevilfe for secretly burying 18.'out. of fapty in the epurse of Jjd yeafs. ' .” ' The ‘Prefect of llic ' Seme fiaa ted to the Paris ipypicipality scjibmo to, beautify the city, at a. .cost of . 24 milft'.»?l “tirat’ tOjMW i? 0 k Bjl i£s^p(ii.<)Q9) /) of war treasure kept in the Julius Towgywt Spandau, a fortified town about nine

miles from Berlin, for the Empire’s current necessities; insisting that it must be kept available for a trine of war. Press and Parliament are at conflict in Berlin. During a debate in the.-Reich-stag, a deputy .referred to the “immortal soul of-the negro,’’ which evoked laughter and cries of “Oh!” from the Press gallery. Herr Groeber referred to the reporters as “piggish louts,” whereupon 32 journalists demonstratively withdrew, and refused to return until adequate satisfaction was granted. Echoes of Port Arthur. The duel between General Smirnoff and General Fock, arising out of the former’s statements at the Port Arthur trial reflecting on General Fock’s honour, took place with pistols to-day. The duel was fought at close quarters and General Smirnoff was severely wounded. General Smirnoff’s second shot travereed General Fock’s coat. General Fock’s third shot wounded his adversary in the abdomen. Several ladies were present. General. .Stoessel’s. death sentence has been commuted to ten years’ imprisonment- in a fortress,- with loss of- rank. ■ Russian Affairs. The Czar, in a rescript id the army and navy, states that the heroic defence of Port Arthur amazed the whole world, but the record of resolution and valour that the garrison had established was suddenly- closed' by- the- disgraceful surrender. The ’ 'recent eoiif t-nfartial,’ ' the Czaf adds, had punished the guilty and reestablished the unforgettable,heroic deeds of the Valiant garrison, which were written in the splendid pages of the annals of Russia’s warriors. The Defence and Budget Committees of the Douma have by 19 votes to 14 rejected the votes for the construction of battleships, but have approved’ of votes for torpedo-boats and submarines. Admiral Roshdestvenski, in the course of an interview, justified the Douma’s refusal to creat-e a powerful fleet. It, would be better, he considered, to expend the money on the army. If Russia began to build battleships Japan would immedi--ately seize the rest of Saghalieu. the mouth of the Amur, and Kamschatka. M. Stolypin ( State Secretary of the Tsar) has decided to accept the decision of toe Defence and Budget Committees of the Duma in regard to the rejection of the proposed building of battleships. Wreck of a German Liner. The German-Australian liner Laeisz, bound from Sydney to Hamburg, struck a rock and foundered in the Red Sea. The crew took fo the boats, an.d were rescued and landed at Aden. It is stated,that after.the .captain, set the course he retired to rest, and the officers misunderstood the course. The vessel struck, a rock in latitude 22 degrees north, .longitude 35.