THE OLD COUNTRY.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLII, Issue 19, 12 May 1909, Page 6

THE OLD COUNTRY.

Work of tke Suffragettes. The Speaker of the House of Commons '(the Right Hon. J. W. Lowther), in reOj>ening the galleries or the House of Commons, closed owing to recent suffragette disturbances, announced that he did so under specified conditions. If these conditions were violated the galleries would again be closed. Promising. Captain J. W. Dunne, ol the Royal Engineers, is the inventor of an aeroplane .Which has been tested with the greatest

secrecy amid the hills of Scotland, secure from observation. The aeroplane, it is said, made many successful flights, including one of 12 miles. This was the reason why the Wrights were not approached earlier by the British War Office. Captain J. W. Dunne, however, disclaims having accomplished a Hight of twleve miles in his aeroplane, and states that the War Office has resolved to confine tis experiments to dirigible balloons. The Government has appointed a committee under Lord Rayleigh to advise the Admiralty and War Office upon the construction of balloons and aeroplanes, funds being granted for experiments. The new type of British Army dirigible balloon made a successful flight from Aidershot last week. By-elections. At the election for the Stratford-on-Avon seat, decided last week, the voting was:— P. S. Foster (Tariff Reformer) .. 5374 — Martin (Radical) 2747 Kincaid Smith (retiring member) 479 Mr. Kincaid Sinltn resigned, but sought re-election, over the policy of compulsory military training, but the real issue of the election was tariff reform and a strong navy. Mr. Martin, the Radical candidate, is an ex-Canadian. The by-election for the Sheffield (Attercliffe division) seat in the House of Commons, rendered vacant by the resignation of Mr Batty Langley (Liberal), on the ground of ill-health, resulted in a Labour victory. The voting was as follows:— Pointer (Labour) 3531 King Farlow (Official Unionist) .. 3380 R. C. Lambert (Liberal) 3175 A. M. Wilson (Independent Unionist) 2803 The Labourites attribute their victory, besides the Tory split, to the serious unemployment at Attereliffe, and the consistent Labourite advocacy of the Right to Work Bill. The Liberals are deeply disappointed. Electric Gun-Layers. Sir Percy Scott has invented an apparatus for the direct control of big gun fire, and the invention has been tested at Portsmouth. It is intended for training a group of guns in any direction without gun-layers. The Price of Wool. Keen competition exists in the wool market ,and Americans and Germans are good buyers. Best merinos are now 10 per cent, higher, and fine to medium crossbreds 10 to 15 per cent, higher. Following were the average prices realised for the fleece portions of the clips named: Tekoa, 12Jd; Ngakonui, 13 l-8d; Whararoa, 8d; Kaingaroa, lid; Puketoi, 13 l-Bd. The total catalogued to date is 46,420 bales, and sold 45,128 bales. Imperial Conference on Defence. The Earl of Crewe (Secretary of State for the Colonies), speaking last week at the Liberal Club, and referring to the Empire Defence Conference to be held

in July, said he was not prepared at the time for an absolutely ripe, full and complete discussion of the whole question of Imperial Defence, as it could hardly bo expected that South Africa would ba able to speak with certainty on the subject until union had been accomplished. On the other hand there had been so many incidents of importance —the fine, soul-stirring offers of New Zealand and Australia, and the not less hearty movements towards the improvement of Imperial defence in Canada —as to entirely justify them in endeavouring to arrive at some at any rate provisional conclusion, afer talking the matter over in a friendly way. Proceeding, he said that his view was that the sooner they could approach towards common organisation in matters of defence, the better for the Empire. Such thing sas an Imperial General Staff, and a certain assimilation —he would not say identity—of organisation for the purposes of defence between the systems of the Mother Land and dominions, were all steps in the right direction, but local elasticity was not less necessary. They could not do anything more unwise than attempt to impose upon the great self-governing colonies a scheme which would be unpalatable to them in the sense that each Dominion must work out its defence in its own way. He was glad to know that the Government’s action had the approval of both sides of polities, because this was certainly a matter in which they should desire the country to aet as one. The statement was received with cheers.

The “Daily Chronicle,” referring to the Conference, declares that the idea of federation in defence appeals to a sentiment common throughout the Empire. Capabilities of Krupps. The “Pall Mall Gazette,” commenting on Germany’s race for Dreadnoughts, said that Krupps have ten pits for the construction of heavy gun mountings, enabling them to make gun mountings sufficient for six Dreadnoughts a year. It adds that Krupps are adding eight further pits, enabling them to fit up eleven Dreadnoughts a year with big guns. The “Gazette” declares that the British Government is unaware of the extent of Ki upps increase in their plant. Trouble Ahead. The Miners’ Federation has instructed its members to refuse to accept the reduction in wages when the Eight Hours’ Bill comes into operation. Scottish employers propose to pay their men 5/6 a day instead of 6/-, while Lancashire owners have agreed not to reduce wages for six months. Willing to Learn. The General Staff of the British War Office is circulating a translation of the Kaiser’s orders for the training of the German army. A Concession. The Council of the University of Oxford has agreed to the principle that Greek shall no longer be a compulsory subject for the Arts degrees.