NEWS BY CABLE.

Otago Witness, Issue 4033, 30 June 1931, Page 45

NEWS BY CABLE.

NEW ZEALAND PRODUCTS. LONDON, June 25. Sir Thomas Wilford, who was entertained at a banquet at the Mansion House, Bristol, emphasised the increased use in the West of England of products from New Zealand. FRENCH FRONTIER. PARIS, June 26. The Chamber of Deputies voted £20,000,000 in order to complete payment of the new frontier defences. Colonel Sabri said that world peace required France to keep a cool and strict defence of the Eastern frontier. TRAGEDY IN CANADA. OTTAWA, June 27. Seven children, whose ages ranged from six to nineteen years, were drowned when a rowboat was upset on the Riviere de Senvies, which they were crossing on a berry-picking expedition. A 10 year-old girl was rescued by men who saw the accident.

FOR GALLANTRY. RUGBY, June 25. Among those who received decorations at the investiture at Buckingham Palace to recipients of birthday honours was Mr Henry Leech, a member of the crew of the airship RlOl, who was awarded the Albert Medal for gallantry displayed when the airship crashed at Beauvais. GOLD HOLDINGS. LONDON, June 25. .. The weekly bank . returns afford an interesting comparison of the gold holdings. The German Reichsbank has £18.6,250,000, which is the bare, legal 40 per cent., while the Bank of France has £452,000,000, which is equivalent to 464 per cent., the greatest, in France’s history. NEW ATLANTIC LINER. MONTREAL, June 22. The Canadian Pacific steamer Empress of Britain to-day completed the fastest Atlantic crossing from Cherbourg to Father Point (Quebec). She did the trip in 4 days 12 hours 30 minutes, clipping several hours off her maiden voyage and nearly five hours off the Cherbourg to Ambrose Light record held by the Europa.TREATY OF NEUTRALITY MOSCOW, June 24. The Soviet-German treaty of neutrality has been signed, replacing the five years' treaty which wil] expire on June 28. The treaty mutually pledges both nations to observe neutrality in case of attack by a third Power. Each promises not to join in hostile coalitions or economic and financial boycotts against the other, either in peace or in war time.

BRITISH EXPORTERS. LONDON, June 26. Mr G. M. Gillett (Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade), in a speech at a wholesale clothiers’ dinner at Harrogate, pleaded for the adoption of group selling methods in the overseas market. British firms frequently fought one another as fiercely as foreign competitors, with the result that they . were failing to hold their trade. TERRORISM IN CHINA. SHANGHAI, June 27. It is estimated that 400,000 inhabitants of the Hunan province were mas sacred in recent uprisings among Communists and bandits. The menace prompted General Chiang Kai-Shek personally to accompany a large force for the purpose of exterminating the terrorists. Numerous towns have been reduced to ruins, and official investigators disclose that torture and other atrocities accompanied every bandit visitation. SIR HUBERT WILKINS. LONDON, June 23. The Nautilus has gone to Plymouth for repairs to her upper works. Sir Hubert Wilkins is determined to continue the voyage, via Bergen or Copenhagen. The crew say that they had an ex- . Ceptionally trying time ' towards the week-end, when they ran short of bread and meat. Sir Hubert expects to be in the Arctic regions in the middle of July and at the Pole in August. OVERDOSE OF VERONAL. :. ; LONDON, June 25. i: The Daily Express’s Vienna correspondent states that advice has been .received from Bucharest to the effect that Queen Helen is ill. She is suffering from an overdose erf veronal. The officials of the household explained that her illness was due to the accidental mixing of medicine bottles. It is reported that foreign diplomats, includ- : :ing. the British, have approached King ■ Carol and urged him to permit Queen . ! IjEelen to remain with her son. The King, however, is stated to be adamant.

UNSINKABLE LINER. LONDON, June 26. In the presence of Government officials an inventor, named Chartraih, after 20 years’ research, demonstrated a remark able model of an unsinkable liner li feet long. The officials were allowed to

use heavy instruments to riddle the model with holes. Three men also jumped on it, but it did not sink. • Mr Chartrain claims that if a vessel so constructed was even cut in halves both portion would float. The Air Ministry is impressed with the possibility of applying the invention to the hulls and floats of seaplanes. It invited Mr Chartrain to a conference. ROTARY INTERNATIONAL. ’ VIENNA, June 23. The annual conference of Rotary International has opened. Sixty-one nations are represented, and there are 700 delegates. Viscount Cecil, in a passionate speech, pleaded for disarmament. He said that Rotary meant the cultivation of friendliness. Rotarians were the cream of the professional and commercial classes. The success of the Disarmament Conference was vital to everything for w’hich Rotary stood. June 26. Mr Cummins has been elected Rotary governor of. Australia and Mr H. Guthrie (of Dunedin) Rotary governor of NewZealand.

OSTEN AND ZEEBRUGGE. LONDON, June 25. The final volume of the official-history of the British naval operations during the war reveals that the Ostend and Zeebrugge raids were not nearly so successful as has been believed. Of 115 shells fired on Ostend only 16 landed . near their targets, inflicting damage which was easily repaired. The belief that the Zeebrugge raid effectively bottled up the Germans is quite erroneous, for within a few days Ul6 went to sea past the block ships. The official history pays a tribute to the Japanese and their destroyers in the Mediterranean. They spent 72 per cent, of their time at sea, compared with 60 per cent, by the British craft and 45 per cent, by the French and Italian. TERRIBLE EXPLOSION. LONDON, June 23. Eleven people are missing, at least three were killed, and 19 were injured in an explosion at the Royal Naval Cordite Factory at Holton Heath, which demolished one building. A column of blood-red smoke mounted skywards, following the bursting of a sulphuric acid tank. The shock was felt over a radius of 20 miles. June 24. Ten people were killed and 23 were injured. Some of the victims totally disappeared. All of them worked in the nitroglycerine- department, where the explosion originated, and annihilation crashed upon them with tragic suddenness. The cause of the explosion will probably defy explanation. The shock affected houses for 20 miles around.

CANADIAN WHEAT. OTTAWA, June 23. The Dominion Bureau of Statistics has issued a grain outlook summary on instructions from the Minister of Trade. It declares that without discounting the unfavourable factors the present situation is more encouraging that it has been for some months. Low European wheat stocks, decreased acreages in many countries, and unfavourable crop prospects in North America are factors which might bring about an increase in price. Depressing factors are huge stocks in Canada, the world depression, and reduced buying power, the reigning self-sufficiency of European unporters, the large United States winter wheat crop, the sharp falling off in the export demand this month, and the uncertainty of the Russian situation. June 25. In a statement in the House of Commons the Prime Minister (Mr R. B. Bennett) indicated strong doubt as to whether a dominion wheat board could be established, as requested by the three prairie provinces. The Prime Minister stated that the recent decision of the Privy Couneil'on newsprint declared that the dominion had no authority to fix prices or to take over the sovereign powers of the provinces.

TRANSPORT SYSTEM. OTTAWA, June 25. The appointment of a Government commission to investigate the general transportation situation in Canada was suggested by Sir Henry Thornton (president of the Canadian National Railways) before a parliamentary. committee on railway and shipping. He" said that a national transportation policy could be devised not only concerning the rail ways, but the St. Lawrence waterways, the highways and bus traffic and general shipping. The commission should be composed of business men, economists, and men schooled in industrial and trade matters. Some decision should be reached as to whether the Canadian Government merchant marine fleet of 30 freight ships should be continued. “ We should either go into business with effective weapons or get out of it,” Sir Henry said. It was folly to continue as at present, with the boats deteriorating and becoming antiquated. “ Personally I recommend that we get out of the business,” he said

When Dr Peter M'Gibbon (Conservative) asked in connection with the suggested commission if the amalgamation of all transport systems should be Considered, Sir Henry said he would not define its limits or reference.

Before the committee on the previous day Sir Henry said that Canadian National Railways was considering a scheme of pooling the passenger ships on the Pacific coast with those of the Canadian Pacific, and extending the pi esent services of the two companies to ban Francisco—now extending from Seattle to Alaska—with majiy services between.

ROYAL AIR FORCE PAGEANT. LONDON, June 27. In glorious flying weather nearly 1,000,000 people within and without Hendon aerodrome witnessed an unexampled Air Force pageant, which, for the distinguished attendance, the skiful perfoi mances, and the smartness of dressing, ranked as an Aerial Ascot. The Duke of Gloucester flew from Tidmouth, and Prince George, Princess Ingrid, and members of the Cabinet also attended. Wonder followed wonder, from bombing displays to aerial duels. The movements varied from drill to the refuelling of a giant bomber in midair from another plane, complete accuracy in the evolutions being maintained while tin planes were flying at 150 miles per hour. ” by a pair of aeroplanes the pilots of which deliberately did everything wrong, enthralled the crowd. An autogyro hovered in the wind, mill-like, while a tail-less pterodactyl with painted eyes and a mouth like a Chinese dragon circumnavigated it with exaggerated wings. A “gugnunc,” which is almost uncrashable, dropped like a plurnet from the sky under perfect control, and new Fury Fighters gave a royal salute while flying at a speed of 214 miles per hour. Six parachutes gracefully descended from three huge Vikings. ’ . One of the star turns was the cata pulting of a Virginia night-bomber, which weighed nine tons. A most dram atic display included the destruction of a naval gun which was supposed to have shelled London, damaging St. Paul’s and defeating its defending aeroplanes. Ninety per cent, of the airmen who paiticipated are between the ages of 19 and 21 years, many of them being mere toddlers in wartime. The pageant was truly a festival of Britain’s most daring youth, whose feats were marvellous.

CORNISH SENSATION. LONDON, June 23. Annie Hearn collapsed in the dock after the judge's summing up, which lasted four hours and a-ha If. She waited 54 minutes while the jury considered its verdict, which was that she was not guilty of the murder of Mrs Thomas. The judge directed that the indictment in connection with Miss Everard be abon doned, and Mrs Hearn was discharged. Two thousand people outside the court awaited the verdict. Mrs Hearn was charged with murder ing her sister, Miss Mary’ Everard, aged 52, and her friend, Mrs Alice Thomas. She nursed and fed Miss Everard for seven months prior to her death. During the hearing of the charge the prosecutor read extracts from Miss Everard’s diary, beginning in January, 1930, and detailing her sufferings until she died in July. Referring to the date May 8, Mr Devlin said that Miss Everard became suddenly ill that night, and Mrs Hearn called in a neighbour. Miss Everard said to her that the medicine was overstrong. “ It’s poison,” she added. “ I have had a full dose. I can feel it creeping over me, and my hands and feet are numbed.” Previously she had only had part doses. Mrs Hearn said it was emergency’ medicine to relieve ex trenie suffering. A post-mortem exami nation revealed .77 grains of arsenicin the body, and it was also present in the hair, the nails, and the skin, showing that it had been administered over a long period. A post-mortem examina tion revealed in Mrs Thomas's body’ .85 grains of arsenic. Mrs Hearn subse quently disappeared, and went to Tor quay seeking a situation and wearing spectacles, which she had not beforeworn. Mr Devlin said that Mrs Thomasattended a picnic along with Mrs* Hearn and Mr Thomas. She was offered sand wiches, and took the top one, as would 99 persons out of 100, after which she became ill, but recovered. Subsequently Mrs Hearn cooked a meal of mutton for Mrs Thomas, who afterwards died.