BEYOND THE DOMINION.

King Country Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 147, 15 April 1909, Page 5

BEYOND THE DOMINION.

Castro and Venezuela There arr- indications thnt ex-Presi-dent Castro docs not intend to sit clown quietly under his sentence of exclusion from the State. A strong movement in suDport of the return to power of the fallen dictator has originated in the Orinoco distirct of Venezuela. It is stated that Castro has offered half his fortune to his supporters in tbc event of a successful restitution. He has loaded four steamers at Antwerp with arms and ammunition, and these will be landed in Venezuela at a point where their arrival is secretly awaited. A Reu'er message from Martinique states that ex-President Castro pretended to be ill when ordered aboard a French steamer at Fort de France, capital of Martinique, for Tencriffe, but he was not allowed to delay. On leaving he refused to dress, and the authorities placed him on a stretcher and carried him aboard the steamer clothed in underwear, complaining of an intolerable pain in the abdomen and kidneys. Obituary* The death is announced, from pneumonia, of Mr Algernon Charles Swinburne, the poet, in his 73rd year. The death occurred on April 10th of Mr Francis Marion Crawford, tbu novelist, in hrs 55th year. State Employment The I'olitical labour Council declined to replace its objective by that adopted by the Federal Labour Party at the last Brisbane Conference. The Council decided to add a new plank to its State platform providing for the establishment of State Mines, farms, factories, and shops to give employ ment to those requiring it under State supervision, the employees, as far as possible, to be consumers of their produce and to receive wages equivalent to the net totf 1 produced.

Japan and Corca The report by the Prince Ito on the administration of Corea discloses that the out of pocket expenses in completely reorganising the Empire amount to £14,500,000. When the military education of the youth was introduced, and the bulk of the disbanded army conducted a guerilla warfare the supresaion of the outbreak cost Japan £1,000,000.

The Naval Situation Mr Asquith has promised to carefully consider a letter, in which Mr t C W. Bellairs, M.F., and several members of both House*of Parliament suggest an inquiry into the scope and effect of the changes made in the navy during the last forty years. The signatories suggest that witnesses be guaranteed that their testimony will be treated as confidential, and will not affect their promotion. They urge that it is better to hold an inquiry before a crisis than after, as was the case after the Boer war.

"An Englishman's Home" The production of a German version of Major du Mauricr's play, "An Englishman's Homo," in Berlin, ended in confusion, the actors being hissed off the stage. The production of "An Englishman's I Home," at Sydney evoked tremendous | interest, crowds waiting at the doors ! for several hours. The scenes in the f play are thrilling, but critics consider \ the representation of tho British army | more of a travesty than a satire. A ! feature of the audience was the marked ; attendance of non-theatregoers.

| Schools Shooting Competition j The team representing the Lawrence Military Asylum, India won the Prince of Wales' Cup for the Schools of Empire rifle shooting competition, with a score of 516. Dover, England, was second with 509, Melbourne third, and Wanganui College fourth. The team chosen to represent Britain was eighteenth. The shooting showed a marked improvement all round.

Tom Mann's Trial The Labour Congress, representing 100,000 workers passed a resolution today protesting against the change of venue of Mr Tom Mann's trial from Broken Hill to Albury, and a deputation was appointed to wait on the Premier on the subject. Mr Peter Bowling, the delegate of the Newcastle miners, who moved the sesolu,tion, in dicated that if the Premier did not do | what they considered right, something else wqu,ld be done. He believed the j only power the workers bad today was that of paralysing industry. He had not advoctacd that, but if the other means failed they must try the last [ resort.

Niagara Frozen Over The Niagara river is frorcn from bank to bank. The companies using the water power of the falls to generate electricity have lost a quarter of a million sterling by the stoppage of power. Many works on the river banks and wharves and piers arc being crushed by ice, and railways have been submerged, the damage being estimated at £300,000. The great bridgo spanning the falls is threatened-