BEYOND THE DOMINION.

King Country Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 125, 25 January 1909, Page 2

BEYOND THE DOMINION.

The Press Conference— The Standard, the Daily Mail, and the Daily Chronicle contain leading article on the subject of the JEmperial Press Conference, which they regard as marking a fresh strengthening of the ties between the Motherland and' ■*- the colonies. The Times remarks that after the Premiers comes the pres3, the unofficial mouthpiece of that public opinion which makes Premiers, and to which. Premier must bow, more than some of them are quite williDgiaracknowledge. :

Dinizulu's Trill— i At his trial to-day Dinizulu the paramuont Zulu chief, denied t the charges againsc him of encouraging rebellion. Dinizulu declared thatfhe had refused to allow the rebel chief Bambaata to stay at Usutu but had reluctantly consented to Bambaata's family remaining. He had been afraid /~ to inform Mr Saunders the British Commissioner of this, because be knew Bambaata was an enemy of the Government. Messina Earthquake— A suvivor has been rescued from the ruins of Messina after being buried for 23 days. Madame Melba proceeds to Naples to give a benefit concert on behalf oc the sufferers. The Mansion House fund in aid of the suffererajfroifc the recent earthquakes in Italy now stands at £115,000.

British Tariff Reform — Mr Joseph Chamberlain; although making only a slow recovery from his late illness, offers to become a candidate for re-election to Parliament at the next elections. Mr Chamberlain has written to Viscount Morpeth (Liberal-Unionist member for Birmingham South), stating that organisation is at the present time more than ever important, inasmuch as the issue will be clearly tariff reform, or perhaps as a substitute a socialistic platform, which would do more harm than good. The Conservative Central Office has resolved not to support the free food conditions at next election. The office unreservedly adopted Mr. Balfour's tariff reform policy as outlined at the Birmingham Conference in November, 1907.

Russian Revolutionaries— A secret tribunal sitting in Paris conden-ned to death, as a police agent, Azeff, the chief terrorist organiser of a Russian revolutionary society. Azeff is represented as having arranged most of the outrages and assassinations attempted in recent years, including a plot against the Tsar's life, and'it is alleged that hs gave details oc all these plots to the police. It is also alleged thst Azeff had Father Gapon executtd by the revolutionaries.

Russian Aerial Fleet— The Tsar has operfed an all-Russian subscription to raise funds for the construction of an airship fleet, which, in the time of war, would be plaeed under the A* Imiralty for purposes of defence.

Broken Hill Strike— The Proprietary Company has filed with the Federal Arbitration Court an answer to the union's claims. It contends that the wages ruling 1 at one mine should not necesarily lie rest, and states that if the old rate lie continued difficulties will be placed in the way of profitably working the mine, considering the amount and nature of the ore remaining in the mine, increased cost of treatment, the fall in the price of metals, and other matters. ~ Boxing Restrictions — Tommy Burns and a number of other boxers, interveiwed regarding the New South Wales Government's boxing restrictions, have expressed approval of the doing away with in-fighting. London Wool Sales — The woolbrokers on Wednesday last submitted a joint catalogue of 10,222 bales, the selection being an excellent one. There was--a. large attendance from all parts. Merinos -were very firm, and occasionally in sellers' favour. Shabby crossbreds sold at 5 per cent, above December rates, and choice sorts, suitable for America, at 1\ per cent, to 10 per cent, above. American support was strong on crossbreds, but weak on merinos. American Trusts — The Supreme Court of the United States has affirmed the decree of the Texas Court fining the Waters Pierce Oil Co., of St. Louis, .1,623,000 dollars, an.d expelling itjncom Texas, for violating the State antitrust law. A Huge Landslide— A sliding bog invaded the village of Ballyagr, The houses were partially buried under the mud, and the inhabitants of the /village had a narrow escape from : being overwhelmed. Hon. W. Hall-Jones^ The Hon. W. .Hall-Jones, who arrived in London from New Zealand by the s.s. Corinthic last week, has assumed office as High Commissioner.