BRITISH AND FOREIGN.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXV, Issue 16488, 2 March 1914, Page 8

BRITISH AND FOREIGN.

Sppss • ♦ • By Telegraph—Press Association —Copyright. - : i- : RUSSIAN IRRIGATION fV • SCHEME./ ;1: 'ST PETERSBURG, February 27. • irjJ The. Government has prepared a Bill i?. providing for the irrigation of the I Karabagh Stepple, at a cost of |; £1,000,000. An area of 81,000 acres will be devoted to cotton plantations, j DEATH OF CHINESE EX-PREMIER. PEKIN, February 27. ! Ex-Premier Chao-Ping-Chau Tufuh Chihli, Yuan-Shih-Kai’s . right-hand man, has died suddenly.' Poison isssuspected. THE FRENCH ARMY. PARIS, February 27. General Joffre, Chief of the French General Staff, has suggested a reduction of . the age limit of officers ranging from ii; captains to generals by two years. The cost of the proposal is estimated at V £400,000. CANADIAN LOAN. Canada is underwriting a five million loan, issued ui 4 per cent at £99. .-cape town harbour. ! '•’LONDON, February 27. Mr Nicholson, harbour engineer, in giving ;evidenco.; : before the Dominions Commission, said that in two years Capo Town would be able to accommodate 750 vessels of 38ft draught. This > was specially important, in view of diverting tho Australian mail service ; to the Cape route. ATTEMPTED MURDER. JOHANNESBURG, February 28. V . A native miner has been remanded on a charge of attempting to murder a white miner. While ho was asleep the “ ’native placed a cartridge under the- bedroom. The room was wrecked, and the white man was ini jured. ACCIDENT TO LORD ROBERTS. ■ (Received March 1, 5.5 p.m.) LONDON, February 28. Before leaving his residence Lord Roberts slipped on the kerb of a fireplace, and in trying to save himself his hand touched' the fire and was badly burned. After being bandaged and though suffering acute pain, ho was not deterred from hearing a deputation. RE-TRIAL AFTER FIVE YEARS’IMPRISONMENT. r ... ; BERLIN, February 28. ■ 1 Frau Hamm, after serving five and a half years towards a sentence of four- ■ teen years for killing her husband at i Flandersbach, Rhineland, has been re..'leased and allowed a re-trial. Two ■farm hands who had been in the em--1 ploy of tho deceased have been arrestod. The woman’s conviction is attributed to overzeal on the part of the .. . detectives.-• ■ r - 1 ‘ FRENCH .FISCAL REFORM POLICY. (Received March 1, 6 p.m.) PARIS, February 28. i d The Chamher of Deputies by 329 , votes to 214 approved the Government’s fiscal reform policy, notably tho relief of land from taxation. . AN ANTIDOTE THAT FAILED. ; ' CALCUTTA, February 28. Professor Fox, the Australian snake • expert, when giving a demonstration , 'at the Zoo of hi* snake-bite antidote, was r accidentally bitten and died. ’’ His experiments with animals had .• been eminently successful.