DIARY OF THE WORLD'S NEWS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 152, 21 March 1908, Page 10

DIARY OF THE WORLD'S NEWS.

WEEKLY SUMMARY BY MAIL. , Tho' following weekly summary of the world's news is taken from the " Daily Mail" Overseas Edition of February S: — , j JANUARY 31. Mr. J. X. Morriman, of the Sout-li African party (Afrikander Bond), has acceded to the Governor's request'to form a Ministry in Cape Colony. Mr. Morriman, who is a son of tlie first Bishop ;of Gi-ahamstowii, has held ofheo several times, and was a member of Mr. Schreiucr's Cabinet before' tho Beer War. '

Replying to a .'question at a .meeting of:the Military; Committee, of tho Diet, General ' Terauchj, Japanes'o .'Minister of War,■ said' that Japan's, military preparations word directed not against any singlo nation, but against, eventualities in the Pacific, .where ... she had a' coast, line", from* Saghalieii" to ■ . Formosa., This reply ovo!;ed very little sympathy among tlio" thinking public in Tokio. - Several ;pr,ominent politicians condemn it ,as provocative,, most inopportune, , and -incompatible with the public utterances' of a Minister'. . ,I't is'thought,that General' TerauchiV chances of replacing . the Miiiv quis.Saionji as Premier are weakened. 111 the resumed debate 011 tho naval estimates in tho German Reichstag, the Gov- - orhmerit was ,askpd whether, lav view :pf • tlio, gradual detrition - of .the island-of. Heligoland, tlio costly .. scheme of cojir structing a harbour, for torpedo-boats was justified. Admiral von Tirpitz replied that an. inspection of the island had not ,-re--vealedj any cause for disquiet, and there! was no reason to apprehend that Heligoland would crumblo away and ..disappear.. Tho estimates were finally carried. '> :• A Fez ,message states that tho Ulemas (holy men) have authorised' the Shereef: K{fanni to .inform the Moorish', officials- in Tangier'.and' Rabat that if MulaiiHafid 'is not recognised he will confiscate, their pro- ■ perties and. belongings. 1 /-. '

1 FEBRUARY 1. : General Botha, referring in a speech at " Pptchcfstrooni to ' the settlement i of/the Asiatic question, said that 'it n£ces- ; sary to .consider the question from tho'.'lmperiar standpoint. ' Replying', .to'.'repre- . sentations-' from, Hot VolLv thp Premier said,that', fchp' Government ttero'.'domg. whatever .was : possible: for • pfficials' of the lato Republic,, but;, it /'wa*j i impossible- to ' increase tho ".top-licayyvCivil; Servico;'" TKe «> Ooverriippiit . would up Crown lands prpspect'iiig, tut- thpy would 'novo* -allow-open- prospectog'iiyhileVthpusands of' ■ Ran'd ; claims I remained 'unworked; • - r Sir MaUhyw'Natfan',\thb'Governor of Natal; ' '.Miv Moor,' the Premier, and Sir / Charles Saunders, Commissioner for Native' Affairs,', :started, for Zululand from Pietermaritz- . burg; An arnicd escort of the Natal Carbineers will join : the . party at Dundee, whcncqa trek will begin tnrough the most , important parts of Zululand, enabling the Governor personally to'view the 'Condition of'native affairs and. to meet all the . principal'.', chiefs. ; The ' Government of. Natal is offering a reward pf '£100 for the

. arrest of Diniaulu's. agent Cakijana. " : The'Supromo. Court ' ,of- Jamaica has delivered'judgment dismissing' .both, motions . for a 'now trial made' on behalf of tho insurance companies -ill. the two itest- >cases ■ heard - beforo a jury last: year. •;,: In. the , -case of Pairsey^torsos"the.SjtSottish'-''Union; : '..judgment, was.-.-'unanimous, while-,in :the :. ipase of 'the General Commissioner's versus . • the .Sun. Office, the Chief Justico. dissented,' ; '.favouring !a new",trial,'.,: An., appeal to tlio Privy Council follows. - *' ; , '; FEBRUARY 2. T'ho ontiro American.; battleship flpet arrived -- at. Areuas'.(Chili). -. All. tho.:ships j ~aro - in . perfect' .TJj'p 'run.;from • ; Janeiro;, >ift'^lumn','d!TiT : sions in line, and .■tliprp,,Ti i ero.,no.' mishaps or'-, br'ejik-dbwnsV. vplE.i Bahia.' ,'.Blanpa an : Argenjiino..,'',s.ijua4.ron. ,' off^ur'/" pfuisers , ' camo . oiit '.to,, greet ..tho. fleetj •' aid , sajutod ;; Admiral ; Evans '.with' -: thirteen. ' guns and . . the Ampripiin"; jlag with twentyrohp -'gunsV Tlip fleet , will await the arrival .'of tlio torpedo flotilla.-.from Ayrc's and* the cpal-shjpsi '.. .. ] It is correct that ..the Turkish . Government : ' intends, to ooinnience. irrigation- work ■ in ;. Mesopotamia. . A beginning is to bp made , , iVith ..tlie .construction, pf .a. dam- on tlio .. Hindio, Ca.nal, andwe].;, are officially •• in-. ; formed that the, contract wjll ibp' afrarded on", March, ,12. - i ' Mesopotamia';,' was once : ' tile' finest .{mra-praflticii}a' <: .^otqiitry' \ world, aiid could be . almost restored .to ', that position, '/thinks. Sir ,AV. ] Willcocks. • tho great expert, ' should ' irrigation be - carried out: on a largo scale. V; '/'.■;,' '•" It is reported from -Am Sefra (Algiers) that : company, of. the First:. Regiment: of tlio : Leginn (French) which .was prb■:ceetline; to > tako up .'garrison -. duties /at ■ Fort Hassa, was surprised and scattered, ..by a.snowstorm.: I'fio majority of the men ': succeeded in reaching,the .native village of .Fort Hassa in a pitiable- condition j but "th" o' , bodies of twenty-one of their comrades were • afterwards',: recovered from, thesnow^, aiid the search for. those of, tlio:other iinen whp' are missing still] continues'.

FEBRUARY-3. A j despatch . from ... General ■ d'Amade, V com-. . -juandiilg .the.-Frefcch Forpes/iii .'Morocco', ~ reports that, the, column',; commanded by Oulonel'Bputegourjl lias fought a brilliant engagement, with ..the Mzanib'as . at'i/arksipat, to the s'outh.'of. Bu lieahid; The'column, which had been entrusted with the task of assuring the safety, of, the post of .Bii Reshid and of pacifying"'the' . .Shawias', was attacked athalf-past twelve . in the . afternoon and ! surrounded on' all . sides by a considerable body of the enemy, both' mounted'• and 'on foot, forming, ap- ; parently the full "strength" of t-lie tribes of , the country .'id the 'Shavfia , Hintorlaiid. Thp lighting was .continued with' great vig- ■ our lor., more than two hours, and the . .Moors retired after sustaining very, heavy losses,' Colonel Dputegourd remained oii : thb fleld until three . o'clock withbut "being "subjected. -to 'further molestation','' and : .lie ,- subsequently returned to Bu Reshid "after having effected" a junction with two comv panics ajid ail. artillery detachment brought up by Lieutenant-Coionel. Brolard. to rein-. ' force;- him.. The Morpccan goumiors, Jor tribesmen ill the" French service,' were un- . der lirp for :the first time aiid behaved ad- • .mirably. '• Tho- excavation : of'. thp Panama , "Canal" 'is .'pt-cceqdihg.under tho supervision of Colonel ; Uoeth'als and the other, army engineers" anil continues" to., maintain' Yiiotable: Figured published by tho Canal Commission siip-.v that in January 2,713y5GS cubic yards ' ; of. material' iverp removed.' This'is 'the ■ 'highest record of. work' yet reached under American control,- exceeding .by " over: -500,000 cubic yarfls tho results in December, when the two-million mark was first -.passed. : >, ■ . FEBRUARY !. V v ; \ Thp speech for tho prosecution. in thp trial of..Generals St'oessel, Fock, Smirnoff, . and Reuss at, St. Petersburg for tho". part they , respectively -played, in -the events 'leading ..lip to tho surrender of Port Arthur'was ;de|ivered and occupied tlio whole'.sitting ,of tho . Court,' Among t-lidso present were the Duke of, Mecklenburg, General Kuro;patldn, tho Minister of Marine,, a number .'of prominent generals, and many diplomatists. The Prosecutor demanded, tho death sentence upon G-eik'rals Stoessel, Reuss; and Fock, but: this' created no sensation, as it. ! ' ; is7gen'pr»!ly' understood that'even if the . death' sentence is -passed it will bo com'-T muted. Tho Prosecutor also demanded that General Smirnoff , should be dismissed tho , service and Iks sentenced to ton ■ years' imprisonment in . a fortress. ' Ho declared it was General 'Stoessel's duty to . hold oiit'to tlio last, whereas tho cvidenco • proved'that' lie had loiig contemplated surrender and had deceived. tho lsar in liis ' telegrams,'' being aided ■' aiid - abeUfd by .Generals Reuss and Fofck. ' : . ■

Two, soyids(descendants of the Prophet), ono sartip (colonel), . ,-iiid,. one. serhaug (captain),; who;' wero four of tho ring-

leaders in the December disorders were "" publicly whipped at Teheran 'and scut for v'lmprisqnijierit £o, Kalaatri-Jfadiri, in the province .'of Khorasan'.- . ° Tho British troops havo boen ordered to evacuate the Cliunibi Valley. * ' FEBRUARY 5. >.. w j . Germany's military balloon airship, had tho unique experiencS cf attempting, to battle, its way- through; a snowstorm of such , ' severity that its occupants, three, officers, decided tp attempt a-prompt .landing. The wind 1 ,- however, blew 'so styorigly . that the - airship Was deflected'" from its course, and was in momentary danger-:, of smashing , against' buildings in the villago'of'KuurstoinYaldo. ' Tlio basket of tho airship finally hit the ro'of of ia•'barn with sucli ' !• force that it was ripped -.off.. Villagers hurried to the scene, 'and were ablo to grab' the rapes hanging from the basket, and to 1 bold the airship fast. ' A landing was then, accomplished without difficulty, and tho' . .-.airship ..sent back to its headquarters .'at , Tegul by railway! '■"/ :

Mr. Henry;■ Farman, winner of the 1 DoutacliArchdeacon aeroplan'o iprize, has arrived at .Lyons with 0110 of .the constructors'of his* aeroplane, ,tho brothers ; Volsin, range, : if. possible, .for further trials on -tlio " Grand Camp of. Lyons, the hugo military • esorcisjng. ground' outside, tho, town; -The space is. largely aiid flatter than the Issy parade ground,V \yhero the Deutscli-Archr deacon prize'.;\yas''-wop. The chief:'diflj-' culty. in " transferring the experiments from . ■ Paris- to Lyons: lies, in tho'great expense' of 'taking' t he aeroplane-to pieces for .transport by rail; putting-it together-again, and- . constructing the necessary " sheds;. "It is. ; antipipated . that these, obstacles': yjill' bo overcome! and. that the nexVnotable experiment in aviation will be beside the second . city ot France. ~ :

, . FEBRUARY 6. Ex-Judge Hargis; who was. '-a'--,leader of one . faction, of- a lCcntupky fetid wliich has- cost; spore fif -li'ves t and who .'with, his'.friends." •t. £40,000 in; hiimielf against: ' ■■■charges of- murder, dead 'at liis , . store at Jackson, Kentucky,. ,:-. .The death' was not/due to the feua* butjtothe result . . , . of'ordentig Jiis. soil Beech from home. In-view of tho unsatisfactory situation in ■ the;' border .regions-., near Russia's,..'Cauv' casian' ' frontier ■. and. . tho .. reported, concentration of Turkish troops on ..the North- • ' Persian frontier, 5000 Russian: troops have, •been' sent .from the ; Northern Caucasus to . the frontier.; ■'■':' ''; ;^^'■- A • sorious-. epidemic , of influenza lias . .broken , - out . among' the; troops of / tlie; : garfisori-tof majority of '.the : .;llaye ovbr -20■ per• cent;on".-tbo: gicltvlist." . •.'l'hero; are .350; ni'eii;' iii; hospital;-and.-the ./ deaths niunber thrco'or four daily/.', j: . i-V. - Tho statement is made at Montreal that" ;"' Lord Strathcona- has abandoned his ad-" ; vqcacy. of Halifax, as an all-the-year port, .' 'and " will" support tho conteiition..ipf'. | Canadian' Pacific Railway , that Quebec ia . a proper summer port for- the fast steamship line. ;A.;fnember : of Parliament ex-' .-presses the belief that thb Canadian Pacific Railway,- .will • adopt .Halifax.'-;as.' a,.'''winter, i /port,- and will ..keep. Quebec' as .'a 17 ' summer: •- port. : .The scheme, is said .to: includo' the'

doubling of tho lino- between Quebec ' and ' ' Montreal, ,with faster; trains,- ?aiid';.tlie; i .placing of'two, or. three steamers v of greater, ;' i speed) .thaii; the Lusita'nia aiid Mauretania, >,oil the' Atlantic service, { In' this way it is'' '.claimed tliat t-he Canadwii..Pacific.'Railway .'/. jjrp.iild have, a' splendid ;: ; All-R^/route : -be-.' tween . Europe ami tho; Orient'.;* -i' ! ' . Tke,)l'Giornalo.d , ltalia' I (Roriio) states..that; V;ithp ancient, cathedral'of Spoietb threatens]'. . to becpine a ruin.owing to a gradual sinkT.' ing of t-heslbpe on. which it..is built. , A,' , special . .;..commissioni.i lias .. examined V-. 'the', ; ,i building I ,and,, has ..drawn'; up'...a ...report...tos- ! the /Ministry! ofj.'Public': .Jnstriiction.'.cpnr" ;.;.taimiig the t-eclmical suggestions . / for. its preservation'.* . .. . :0' /"; ; : XV.