The Wide World.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLIII, Issue 7, 18 August 1909, Page 7

The Wide World.

The Federal Budget. THE Federal Treasurer (Sir John Forrest) delivered his Budget Statement in the House of Representatives last week. The total revenue for the year was £14,349,835, a decrease of £671,890, compared with that of the previous twelve months, Customs and excise yielded £10,843,985, a decrease of £801,367, and Post Office, telegraph, and telephone £3,409,000, an increase of £108,911. The expenditure was £6,419,364, and the balance handed back to the States £7,930,471. For the current year the revenue was estimated at £14,555,000. The returns from Customs and excise were set down at £10,800,000, and from the Post Office at £3,550,000. The estimated expenditure was £7,067,621, and the amount to be handed to the States £7,891,480. These figures show an estimated shortage for the current year of £1,200,000, and the Government propose to ask Parliamentary authority to raise this amount by the issue of short-dated Treasury bonds,, to spread over four years, commencing in 1912. It was considered that the estimated deficit was merely a temporary shortage of funds. The Defence Estimates for the current year total £1,585,000, an increase of £624,000. The principal increases are £12,000 for a cordite factory, £42,000 for a small-arms factory, £52,536 for guns, mountings and ammunition. Sir John Forrest stated that the Defence Bill would provide physical training for all schoolboys from the age of 12 to 14, and from 14 to manhood elementary military training. In connection with wireless telegraphy, it is proposed to make £lO,OOO available for connecting up the Pacific Islands. Over half a million is provided for new telegraphs and telephones, and a similar sum for the two following years, at the end of which it is expected that the service will be in thorough order. The sum of £1,560,000 is available for old age pensions for the current year. It is expected that this will be sufficient, but in future a quarter of a million more will be required. Anomalies in the tariff are to be considered. Sir John Forrest declared that but for the near approach of the end of the Braddon clause decade, new taxation would bo imperative. Sir John Forrest threw out the suggestion, in the course of his speech, that the

States should refund the £6,059,000 they had received during the last seven years over the statutory three-fourths ' they were entitled to. lie strongly commended the offer of a Dreadnought, or an equivalent, and, dealing with the question of where the money was coming from, declared that the revenue of Australia was all available for such demands, and with respect to other claims that might arise in the future members would be fully informed, when the time came, of the means that would be adopted to provide funds. Guarding the Frontier. Russian frontier guardsmen stationed near Prozelarka, on. the .Silesian boundary, fired upon a German balloon which was crossing the frontier into Russia. The guards compelled the descent of the balloon, and in the descent three of the aeronauts were killed and a fourth seriously injured. Germans state that the Russians opened fire before the balloon crossed the frontier. The Silesian frontier incident has been contradicted officially. It is stated that the aeronauts were merely detained, and their passports having been examined they were allowed depart. The King at Marienbad. His Majesty King Edward arrived at Marienbad, the Austrian health resort, on August 12. The Emperor Francis Josef telegraphed to King Edward as follows:—“On the occasion of your arrival at Marienbad 1 greet you heartily, and send you. as an old friend, my best wishes for the success of your cure.” King Edward replied in the following terms:—“Deeply touched by your kind telegram. I am glad to be again in your beautiful country, and hope you are well.” King Edward’s medical attendant states that His Majesty’s health is most satisfactory.

Mr. Cody's Aeroplane. A successful trial was given last week to a new aeroplane constructed by Mr Cody, who has made a series of experiments, in the military balloon factory at Farnborough. On this occasion the .machine mad*

three flights, one of a mile and a-half at a speed of 30 miles an hour, the steering apparatus working well. Mr. Cody recently accomplished a circular flight of over a mile at Farnborough, hut the machine rose and fell in the air all through the flight. This Mr. Cody attributed to the fact that his motor was not powerful enough, and he therefore altered it to enable an eighty horse-power motor to be installed, and it is with this that the tests recorded in the cablegram have been made. The aeronaut corps will shortly experiment with the Wright machine, while the War Office, a-lso, has an eye on the Canadian aerodromes, which have made several successful flights. Mr. S. Hordern Dead, The death occurred on August 13 of Mr. Samuel Hordern, principal of the firm of Anthony Hordern and Sons. His death was unexpected, though he had been ailing for some time. School of Agriculture. The Government propose to increase the endowment to the University from £lO,OOO to £20.000 sterling, provided the Senate establish schools of agriculture and veterinary science. Swim Through London. Taylor, the Chadderton swimmer, and winner of several championships at the Olympic meeting, led throughout in the annual race through London from Richmond to Blackfriars Bridge, a 15 miles swim, and won by nearly six minutes. His time was 3h. 28m. 51scc., while Jarvis, who was second, occupied 3h. 34 m. 38see. There were 32 competitors. H. Taylor is easily the best of the amateur swimmers tn England, and last year he had a great run of victories, the young Australian,F. E. Beaurepaire, was the only swimmer who was capable of beating him- The swim through London last year was won by Jarvis, who was also the victor the year before, his time being 3h. 36m. 24see. The exact distance from Richmond Lock to Blackfriars Bridge is 14 miles 968 yards. In the last race Beaurepaire collapsed through cramp, and was nearly drowned. Germany’s Deficit. Germany's deficit for the year ended March 31 is £18,800,000 sterling. The taxes on imports fell £4,900,000 below expectations. The “Berliner Zeitung” says that the naval policy is untenable financially. Herr von Linem, Prussian Minister for War, has resigned on the ground of illhealth, and will be succeeded by Lieuten-ant-General von Heeringan. Over the Alps, M. Spelterini’s balloon Sirius crossed the Mount Blanc range from Chamonix, and descended near Locarno, on Lake Maggiore. It travelled 100 miles, over 18.000 ft. high, the lowest temperature recorded being 58 below zero. The balloon was a day and a-half in the air. Chinese and Japs. Owing to a family bereavement, the Chinse Consul-General for Australasia left for China on a brief visit by the Japanese mail steamer. The Chinese residents in Sydney were so indignant at his travelling by a Japanese vessel that they refused to see him off. The Lords and the Budget, Sir Edward Grey (Foreign Secretary), ■peaking last week at Leeds, said that the merit of taxation was to place it on the shoulders of those who could best afford to pay it. That was the test of the Budget, which was beginning to be more and more popular. The outburst against it was in an inverse proportion to the knowledge of what was really intended. The Marquis of Lansdowne’s claims that the House of Lords must see that the people were properly consulted, to protect the people’s right to have a say on the subject, represented a very nice function if only performed impartially; but under the Constitution the House of Lords was a Weapon —a great gun if one liked to so term it—which could be pointed only against Libera) measures, and was in the hands of the Conservative party. “Will they fire the gun or not he remarked. “They are debating in their own

minds what will happen if they do fire the gun. Will they destroy the Budget or will the recoil be more injurious to themselves ? “Whatever the Lords do, when an appeal is made to the country it will be an appeal on this free-trade Budget, and against the alternative of tariff reform.” The Budget proposals, he added, were fair and reasonable, and he had no doubt what the verdict of great centres like Leeds would be. Fate of the Waratah. There is still no news of the missing Lund steamer Waratah. The liner Insiziva reports passing four objects, supposed to be bodies, off the Bashee river, on the east coast of South Africa. It is also reported that bodies are being washed up at the mouth of the Great Fish river, further south. It is feared that the bodies came from the missing steamer Waratah, and that she has been totally lost with all hands. Measures are being taken to search the area where the bodies are reported to have been seen. Owing to the news brought to Capetown by the Insiziva reinsurances on the Waratah have gone up to 90 guineas per cent. A steamer has gone to the Bashee Liver to search. The reason why the Insiziva did not investigate as to the supposed corpses was the roughness of the weather and the heavy deck cargo. The captain of the Insiziva, on being interviewed, said he was satisfied that what he saw were human bodies. Two were dressed in white and two in dark clothing, but he thought it undesirable to pick them up on account of there being lady passengers aboard. It is officially stated that the rumour that bodies were seen off' the mouth of the Great Fish River is unfounded. Reuter’s Agency reports that vessels which have arrived at East London saw pieces of a whale yesterday off the Bashee River, followed by flocks of birds. A tug that was sent from East London to search for the supposed corpses off the Bashee River has returned, and reports that off Mazeppa Bay she observed birds hovering over floating objects resembling bodies, but an investigation revealed the fact that they were dead skates. Otherwise nothing was seen. The police are patrolling the coast. Reuter’s East London correspondent telegraphs that the search made for bodies by the tugs proved fruitless, except that floating objects of a most deceptive appearance were seen resembling the bodies of women attired in dressing gowns, and which on investigations turned out to be dead skates. The Cape Government is appointing a Commission to inquire into the arrangements for dealing with shipping casualties on the coast with a view to providing reasonable facilities for saving life and property. The Admiralty has been approached with a view to securing the services of an experienced naval officer to assist the Commissioners. Mountainous Seas. The s.s. Marere, which was in the vicinity of the Cape about the same time as the Waratah, reports that gales raged with great violence. Mountainous seas swept the Marere’s deck. Thaws Appeal Refused. The appeal of Harry Thaw, who is incarcerated in Matteawan Asylum for the murder of Stanford White in the Madison Square roof garden, for release from the institution, has been refused, on the ground that he is still irresponsible. Seventy-seven witnesses were examined, and the evidence of forty-nine were read. The New Hebrides. Information has reached the Presbyterian Chureh authorities that over 20 French surveyors are engaged in surveying land in the New Hebrides, and that a large number of British settlers hava been served with notices that certain areas are claimed by the French. With a view to conserving the interests of British and Australian missionaries and natives, the Presbyterian Church 06 Victoria, in conjunction with Burns, Philp and Co., are sending a couple of surveyors to the New Hebrides to survey mission lands and the holdings of such

British settlers as avail themselves of their services. When the survey is completed a legal expert will proceed to the islands, in ordder that the British claims may be properly presented before the joint Land Court. Super-Dreadnoughts. The "New York Tribune” states that Mr Geo. Von L. Meyer (Secretary to the Navy) is considering the construction of a 30,000 ton battleship. The General Navy Board recommends this type, and it is expected that the construction of the first will be authorised by the next Naval Appropriation Bill, Earthquake in Japan. A severe shock of earthquake has been felt in the southern portion of Japan. The towns of Osaka, Kyoto, and Nagoya felt tile shock most severely, and in these considerable damage was caused. Many buildings fell, and a number of people were killed and injured. So far as at present ascertained, the number of killed is 30, while 82 have been seriously injured. Beresford’s Allegations. The sub-committee of the Imperial Defence Committee appointed by Mr Asquith has issued its report on the recent allegations made against the Admiralty. It declares that during the time covered by Admiral Lord Charles Beresford’s allegations — namely, April, 1907, to April, 1908—no danger to the country had resulted from the Admiralty’s arrangements for war, whether considered from the standpoint of organisation or distribution of the fleets, number of ships, or the preparation of war plans. "We feel bound to add,” says the report, “that the arrangements were quite defensible in themselves, though not ideally perfect, and were in practice seriously hampered through the absence of cordial relations between the Board of Admiralty and the Commander-in-Chief of the Channel Fleet. “The Admiralty does not appear to have taken Admiral Lord Charles Beresford sufficiently into their confidence regarding the reasons for the dispositions to which he took exception. Admiral Lord Charles Beresford, on the other hand, appears to have failed to appreciate or carry out the spirit of the Board’s instructions, and to recognise their paramount authority.” The committee inferred that there were differences of opinion among officers of high rank on naval strategy and tactics, and look forward with much confidence to the further development of a naval war staff from which members of the Board and flag officers and their staffs at sea may be expected to derive common benefit. The “Times” considers the report of the sub-committees has lowered the public estimate of Lord Beresford’s judgment. Some Unionist papers maintain that the condition of the Navy during the period under review was shown to be unsatisfactory, and point out that, moreover, every member of the sub-committee is a member of the Government. The “Chronicle” says that nothing could be completer than the vindication of the Admiralty, yet something is amiss —firstly, the uncertainty about policy; secondly, personal feuds, which, if continued, would threaten more serious dangers to the country than any Lord Beresford imagined. The most severe criticism of Lord Charles Beresford that has appeared for a long while past is published in thia Week’s “Observer,” a London Sunday journal edited with conspicuous ability by Mr. J. H. Garvin (writes our London correspondent on July 9). After referring to the way Lord Charles has nonplussed

his admirers by proposing a programrn® of Dreadnoughts smaller than the present Government is prepared to provide, the “Observer’’ proceeds:—“lt is time to be plain, and to make an end of sentimentalism in this business. Under a strong sense of public duty, we have exposed the utter weakness and inconsistency of lord Charles Beresford. We have resisted, without hesitation, the mob-olamonr on behalf of a music-hall hero. We have laughed at the preposterous claims made on his behalf. We have admitted his pluck. We have denied his ability j and we have prophesied his collapse. And we have done this not heedlessly—for the task has been painful indeed to anyone who has ever liked him—but because his success would have meant the ruin of the navy. Our view of him—figurehead rather than leader of faction in the fleet —has been based upon the fact that Lord Charles Beresford can be turned inside out in any controversy whatever by any, cool and resolute antagonist. “He is eloquent, and he can be kind? but he is a confused and superficial thinker. We gladly admit his past services, but the part he has lately played has been purely mischievous; and it has exhibited all his defects. He contradicts himself in every utterance. He has not one atom of serious force and construe" tive ability. He is the very last man to be pitted against German thoroughness, whether in peace or war. It is our firm conviction that if he were at the Admiralty he would muddle its administration, and that if he had supreme command in action he would probably fail and lose the Empire. He would be remembered as the Sir Redvers Buller of the sea.” British. Dreadnoughts. In the House of Commons last weeK the First Lord of the Admiralty (Mr. Reginald McKenna) announced that the four additional Dreadnoughts would be built by contract. Two of the first four Dreadnoughts of the peace programme are being built in Government yards and the other two in private slips. There are nineteen slips in Britain on which Dreadnoughts could be constructed.