BEYOND THE DOMINION.

King Country Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 114, 10 December 1908, Page 2

BEYOND THE DOMINION.

/ Following the carrying of a no-COTi-fidence motion in the Victorian Parliament, a dissolution has been granted to the Premier, Sir Thomas Bent.

Mr J. D. Archbold, vice-president of the Standard Oil Trust, has testified that the trust owns or controls companies with a capital of £65,660,000.

The education question \n England remains unsettled and the Bill introduced by Mr Runciman, President of the Board of Education, has been abandoned, owing to the opposition of the Anglican clergy.

Austria's action in annexing the provinces of Bosnia and Hirzegovnia has been severely criticised in Italy, where the proceedure is regarded as a grave breach of the Treaty of Berlin. Austria is increasing her army on the Servian frontier. It is said that Britain, France, and Russia are to address to Austria from representations regarding her actions.

Mr Harry Barnato, the lately deceased South African millionare has bequeathed a quarter of a -million to charities.

The Suffragette movement at Home continues and demonstrations against the Government have evidently become fashionable. The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr Lloyd-George) was announced to speak upon womanhood suffrage at a meeting of the Women's Liberal Fedaration in the Albert Hall, on Saturday night. ' The building was crowded, and it was quickly evident that the militant suffragetes were there in large force. As soon as the Chancellor attempted to speak pandemonium broke loose in various parts of the hall, women shriekinft the " suffragette war cry, " Votes for Women," and refusing to give the Minister a hearing. Finally, Mr LloydGeorge was compelled to abandon his attempt to address the meeting. A number of women who have served terms of imprisonment for causing disturbances at earlier suffargette demonstrations, dramatically threw their cloaks aside and appeared in prison dress. Several of the interrupters were very badly handled by the stewards during the process of ejectmen*. Between the bursts of interruption Mr Lloyd George succeeded in stating that the Government would draft an electoral Reform Bill, which would enable a private member to introduce a clause extending the franchise to women. If such a clause were carried by the House, the Government, would accept the responsibility of carrying it through the remaining stages. They were unable to introduce a Bill themselves, because a sincere and powerful minority of the Cabinet was opposed to the extension.

The death is announced of Mr A. Dobson, Agent-General for Tasmania in London. Mr Dobson was crossing from Paris to London, when he accidently fell overboard.