NEWS BY CABLE.

Otago Witness, Issue 4032, 23 June 1931, Page 45

NEWS BY CABLE.

ANNIHILATING distance. LONDON, June 10. A new-7000-mile combined air and rail Service through the heart of Siberia, bringing London within eight days of Shanghai, "frill operate from June 22. FREE STATES LOSS. LONDON, June 20. _ Owing to foot-and-mouth disease from Ireland all movements of cattle and feheep have been stopped in Britain. The Free State will lose £200,000 per week frhile the embargo lasts. VENEZUELAN POLITICS. CARACAS (Venezuela), June 19. General Juan Vincente Gomez, a former President, and a dominating figure in Venezuelan politics for more than 20 years, was to-day unanimously elected President. WIRELESS LICENSES. RUGBY, June 19. The number of wireless licenses issued by the Post Office increased by over 38,000 in the last 12 months, the total being 3,711,000. These included 23,000 issued free to blind persons. BIRMINGHAM TORNADO. LONDON, June 15. The tornado left 1000 Birmingham bouses in a dangerous condition. The Entire staff of the public works was mobilised, and the whole of the police force is guarding unsafe property. Hundreds of shop fronts were battered in. LONDON TRANSPORT. RUGBY, June 16. The London County -Council to-day approved the provisional terms offered by the Minister for Transport (Mr Herbert Morrison), by which, under the London Passenger .Transport Bill, they will receive 8i per cent, of rhe special class Stock in exchange for their tramways Undertakings.

WHALE ON VESSEL’S BOW. LONDON, June 15.. . A 40ft whale dropped off the bow of the Red Star liner Western Land bn her arrival at Plymouth. It is believed that it was implied on Thursday afternoon, when the liner encountered a school of whales and one dived directly on the ship’s course. No shock was felt, and the whale was not discovered until the Vessel anchored. CARNERA AS A SOLDIER. PARIS, June 16. . The military authorities have issued a warrant for the arrest of Camera, who is at present in America, for failure to Undergo military training. There appears to be no doubt that when Seeking work in France he became natur alised, despite his protestations on his recent return home that he was an Italian and would remain an Italian. PRINCE GEORGE. RUGBY, June 16. Prince George will travel by aeroplane, seaplane, and motor car during the third of his industrial tours in England, at the end of this month. He will fly from London to Torquay on June 24 and then visit the principal towns in Cornwall by either seaplane or car. The tour will include a visit to the estates of the Prince of Wales in the Duchy of Cornwall. VIOLENT STORM. WARSAW, June 19. A barn in the village of Sierpce, in which 24 soldiers were sheltering from a storm was struck by lightning. The ammunition exploded, killing six and wounding 18. Three children playing in the street were killed by the same stroke. Four were killed in a terrific storm in the Lodz district, where the crops weie ruined and the live stock killed.

MILLIONAIRE’S WILL. LONDON, June 18. Lord Trent’s will, which was proved at Jersey, does not disclose the amount of his estate, but the sum of £350,000 has been left to charity and the residue to his widow. A codicil announces that he had abandoned British domicile and taken up domicile in Jersey. The fortune is estimated at between £2,000,000 and £3,000,000. No death duties are payable in Jersey. LEGISLATIVE COUNCILS. LONDON, June 20. Leave to appeal in the case the At-torney-general of New South Wales v. A. K. Trethowan and another, has been granted by the Privy Council. Leave is thus given to appeal from the judgment of the High Court of Australia, which, like the Supreme Court of New South Wales, decided that the Leglislative Council could not be abolished without a referendum and the majority of the electors favouring its abolition.

SOUTH. ATLANTIC ISLANDS. .7 RIO DE JANEIRO, June 15, The British cruiser Georgetown and a Brazilian warship are eteaming to-

day for two dots of land in the middle of the South Atlantic, to lay claim to hitherto unobserved islands which were reported on Saturday by the master of the British steamship Lelande in latitude 27deg 20min west, longitude .50deg north. The French may also be interested for the sake of their air mail route to Brazil. THE KING AND QUEEN. RUGBY, June 16. The King and Queen, who were accofnpanied by other members of the Royal Family, received a tremendous ovation when they drove from Windsor Castle to Ascot course in the customary royal cavalcade, with scarlet-clad postillions and outriders. Beautiful weather favoured the first day of the meeting. LONDON, June 17. For the- first time since 1924 the King and Queen are giving a ball at Buckingham Palace at the end of July. METHODIST MINISTRY. LONDON, June 18. Following lengthy discussions, a joint committee of the three Methodist Churches which was set up to consider the question of admitting women to the ministry came to the conclusion that '* any woman who believes herself called to the ministry should be accepted as a candidate. The committee is unaware of any function of the ordained ministry for which women are disqualified merely on the ground of sex.” DEVIL ISLAND CONVICTS. LONDON, June 15. A book just published declares that the Devil Island convicts who participated in the war were promised, if they served with honour, that they would be pardoned. Three hundred volunteered and received their baptism of fire at Verdun as members of the Foreign Legion. The survivors, instead of receiving a pardon, were returned to Devil Island. The author condemns this French breach of faith. He gives the actual names and incidents, and says that' it is one of the most inhuman acts ever committed.

NON-INFLAMMABLE PETROL. LONDON, June 17. The Daily Express states that two French experts (M. Henri Bardel and M. Ferrier) have invented a non-inflam-mable petrol, which eliminates the danger of fire either in the air or after a crash. Both are men of independent means. They declare that they do not intend to take a penny for their discovery. Their chief desire is to eliminate death from fire in aviation work. The petrol is made by special treatment, and a demonstration in which lighted matches and red hot bars were dropped into the petrol was entirely successful. THE CANCER SCOURGE. LONDON, June 20A decoction of mistletoe, which was the sacred plant of the Druids, witii mystic properties, has a curative effect for cancer, according to Dr Werner Kaslin, the Swiss scientist. Lecturing before the Society of Arts he stated that an injection of a preparation of mistle toe in advanced cases secured complete cures or a far-reaching improvement. VANCOUVER, June 20. “ Cancer killed more Americans in 1930 than any year previously. There were 8125 cancer deaths in New York alone,” says the Spectator, an insurance publication. ASCOT RACES. LONDON, June 19. The last day of the Ascot race meeting was again attended by the King and Queen and several members of their fam ily. The Royal procession was cancelled, and cars were used to bring their Majesties and their guests from Windsor Castle. The principal race of the day, the Wokingham Stakes, was won by Mr W. R. Smith’s Heron’s Lea, with Mr Sear’s Tommy Atkins second, and Lord Glanely’s Lansdowne third. The total turnover of the newly-in-stalled totalisator during the four days’ meeting was £228.000. AUSTRIAN GOVERNMENT. VIENNA, June 20. Monsignor Ignaz Seipel has formed a Ministry composed of Christian ists, Pan-Germans and Agrarians. It is hinted that he will be strongly supported from France owing to his known hostility to the Austro-German Union. June 21. Monsignor Siepel had completed the formation of his Cabinet when the attitude of the pan-Germans upset his plans. Herr Karkburesche (Governor of Lower Austria) formed a Cabinet with Dr Schober as Foreign Minister and Dr Redlich as Finance Minister. . Other portfolios are occupied by members of the Ender Cabinet. IRRIGATED LANDS. LONDON, June 19. An experiment of interest to orchardists and agriculturists in the dominions ■ was witnessed by a party of experts which visited the Rothamsted experi-

mental station. The experiments, which were witnessed by a New Zealander (Mr H. M. Richardson), arose out of the belief that irrigated land sometimes lost its value after irrigation, due to the effect of constant water on soil which was accustomed to only a small amount of rain. It is hoped that the investigators will be able to inform prospective irrigators whether or not land is likely to respond to irrigation, thus saving much need less expense. MR ANDREW MELLON. RUGBY, June 17. Mr Andrew Mellon (Secretary to the United States Treasury), who has just arrived in London on a private visit, called on the Prime Minister at the Hous« of Commons this afternoon. June 18. Mr Andrew Mellon (Secretary to the United States Treasury), who is in London on an informal visit, was visited at his hotel to-day by Mr Montagu-? Norman (governor of the Bank of Eng land), who remained for luncheon. Mr Mellon, who had a talk at the House of Commons yesterday with Mr Ram say Macdonald and Mr Arthur Hender son, had a further interview with these Ministers this afternoon. THE ALLIED FORCES. LONDON, June 19. General Pershing’s book “My Experiences in the World War ” is causing considerable controversy. It contains such references as: “The Allied mar power rapidly dwindled to a dangerotr degree. Its morale almost reached break ing point. Training with the worn-oui British and French troops had a detri mental effect on our men.”

The Morning Post say’s: “ Such pas sages are not merely not generous, bui they are demonstrably unfair.” The Daily Express, Without comment reproduces a map which reveals tha - British and French divisions alone held the sector where the Hindenburg line was severed in September of 1918, which virtually ended the war. EMPIRE TOURS. LONDON, June 17. Mr D. G. White, of Christ Church Col lege, Oxford, is due in Sydney on August 8 to arrange for the tour of schoolboys Among the notable schools to be repre sented are Eton, Harrow, Marlborough. Winchester, Charterhouse, Repton, Radley and Sedbergh. Mr Montague Rendall, chairman f the Public Schools’ Empire Tours Committee, recently stated that he had completed arrangements for a six months’ tour of Australia by boys from the public schools. The party will make the outward journey in August via Panama, and will return via Suez. The participants will probably number 30, and their ages will range from 17 to 19. Each will contribute towards the expenses of the round trip to the extent of £l7O. INCREDIBLE CHEAPNESS. LONDON, June 20. The Evening News says: Within a radius of 100 yards of St. Paul’s it is possible to buy cotton socks for 4d, shirts for Is, women’s jumpers for Is 3d, sports shoes for Is, glass tumblers for 6d a dozen, soap for 4d per lb, and dressed fur at a less cost than the raw furs. London is fast becoming the world’s centre of dumped goods. There incredible cheapness is making it impossible for British and dominion manufacturers to compete. Hundreds and thousands of English men and women unknowingly wear Japanese underclothing, eat from Japanese tablecloths, wear Czechoslovakian shoes, and cat Russian sweets sold wholesale at prices lower than manufacturers pay for sugar. The brightest spot is the wholesalers’ boycott of Russian butter estimated at 10,000 casks stored in warehouses.

IMPRISONED IN MUD. LONDON, June 19. An unusual drama was enacted on the bed of the Thames at Dag-*nbam, where a jetty is being constructed. For seven hours a diver was imprisoned be neath 15 feet of mud, with the lifelines passing the jagged edges of a steel cylinder weighing 100 tons, which was being sunk in the mud to provide the foundations. A diver descended to ascertain what was preventing the cylinder from sink ing. Shortly afterwards the cylinder sank abruptly. Simultaneously there was a sharp tug of the diver’s safety rope. Those above realised that th” diver had been sucked down and buried in the mud. Other divers descended and worked continuously to locate their comrade. After seven hours he was released and brought to the surface, still conscious. His face was swollen and red. He ex plained that his greatest trouble was the pressure of the mud on his body. CATHOLICS AND LABOUR. LONDON, June 17. “It will be generally admitted that very few British Labour people—certainly not the Roman Catholic Labour people —would deny the right of private ownership or preach class war, which the Pope’s ' encyclical strongly condemned,” said Cardinal Bourne, in an address at Edinburgh when answering questions from Catholics regarding the British parties to which they might belong.

The Cardinal added: “Doubtless there are some Labour people who are technically Socialists, which a true Catholic cannot be. A Catholic must walk warily. While accepting a party’s policy he must guard against a theory of action which is in conflict with the teaching of the church or that is contrary to the dictates of his conscience, which he must assert frankly and courageously.” The _ Cardinal emphasised that a Catholic could not ally himself wholly with any party’ which- was largely compose of non-Catholics. THE FRENCH NAVY'. PARIS, June 18. The Chamber of Deputies adopted, by 410 votes to 168, the estimates for the 1931-32 naval programme, the Government accepting an amendment halving the proposed credit and suspending the laying down of the proposed battleship of 23,000 tons. M. Paul Boncour, on behalf of the Socialists, criticised the battleship. He said that France need not be afraid be-" cause Germany launched the Deutschland. Italy could build a 23,000-ton vessel, saying she was responding to France’s initiative, and France would be unable to take a bold line at the Disarmament Conference if she was weighed down by the battleship. The Minister (M. Dumont) said that the building of the battleship would not limit the possibilities of a discussion on disarmament. M. Harriott resigned the leadership of the Radical Socialists owing to 40 of his followers voting against the Government on the Bill, contrary-to his instructions. SOMETHING LIKE A HOAX. LONDON, June 18. Dr Marie Stopes has accepted an invitation from Signor Mussolini to lecture in Rome on birth control. Signor Mussolini is expected to preside. Jt will be interesting to observe the Vatican’s reaction to the Duce’s move, in view of the Pope’s recent condemnation of birth control.

The invitation, as cabled and featured in the evening papa’s, appears to be a hoax. Dr Stopes, when interviewed affirmed definitely that she had received an invitation. The Daily Telegraph’s Rome correspondent, however, cabled: “ The invitation is a hoax. If she confirms it, she herself has been hoaxed.” The correspondent adds that any such action would be illegal in Italy. June 19. Dr Marie Stopes ridicules the idea of a hoax. She persists in her declaration that she has been invited to Rome by Signor Mussolini’s right-hand men. “If there is too much opposition from the Vatican,” she said, “ the Duce may change his mind, but I do not believe that he will be scared from doing something intelligent. My invitation came after I had served a writ for libel on Cardinal Bourne.” CHINESE TREATY PORTS. SHANGHAI, June 17. The report of Mr Justice Feetham, an internationally-famed jurist, regarding the International Settlement at Shanghai, has been issued. Mr Justice Feetham was lent by the South African Government. He was formerly chairman of the Irish Boundary Commission, and was specially invited to study the difficult extraterritoriality question and render an open minded report as to whether the abolition or retention of extraterritoriality was advisable.

The report comprises 300,000 words. To-day’s section vitally affects foreigners residing at Shanghai and the treaty ports generally. It declares emphatically that the abolition of extraterritoriality is unthinkable at present. Likewise the maintenance of the foreign military defence force is essential.

Mr Justice Feetham states that the Chinese must not secure a majority vote in the administration of the International Settlement, owing to the inevitable interference from the military, from the Na tional Government, and from the Kuomintang. If the Chinese gained control of Shanghai there would be no guarante® that the incidents of 1927 would not be repeated. He suggests that foreigners should be granted a charter by the Chinese Government. Although admitting that the abolition of extraterritoriality will eventually be inevitable, he adds that the question of the rendition of the settlement must be considered in terms of decades, not years. MOTOR CYCLE RACE. RUGBY, June 19. Speeds considerably exceeding those reached in previous years were attained at the Isle of Man when the Tourists’ Trophy senior motor cycle race was -on tested with the keenest rivalry by 56 competitors, representing entries from nine countries. Circuits of 38 miles had to be covered seven times, and included mountain passes of extremely steep gradients and sharp elbow corners. Fresh circuit records were established every few minutes, several exceeding 80 miles an hour. Foreign machines seemed unable to. maintain the strain of the pace involved, and the race resolved itself into a duel between Home competitors. It was eventually won by Percy Hunt on a Norton machine, with an average speed of 77.9 miles an hour. Norton machines were also ridden by Guthrie and Woods, who were second and third respectively. Two Rudges, ridden by Nott and Walker, were fourth and fifth.

Hunt beat last year’s winning time by over 10 minutes.

The event was marred by the death of F G. Hicks, one of the mdse famous riders, "whose machine skidded, throwing him on his head as he was making an attempt to overtake the leaders. Hicks held many world’s records. He took first place in the French Grand l’>x two years ago, when British riders won ail the prizes. There were also so. ei al minor casualties. Tolley (New Zealand) retired in the second lap, and Bray (New Zeaiani) retired in the fifth with engine trouble.