INTERESTING ITEMS.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 7, Issue 226, 10 June 1915, Page 3

INTERESTING ITEMS.

ANNEXATION OF BELGIUM. Herr Dernburg, the Kaiser's agent in America, has declared that Germany does not intend to annex Bel- j gium, but is willing to restore its in-j dependence after the war. Can this be taken as a preliminary offer of a basis of peace? Certainly there is reason for not wholly excluding the idea, AlsaceLorraine is not • mentioned in Herr Dernburg's argument, although that interpretation is possible. There are those who think, though, that this announcement has really been' inspired by German-American intriguers, in the vain effort to turn the tide of American public opinion, which, as all the world knows, is running strongly against the Power that has outraged civilisation by its brutal disregard of all laws human and divine. (News has since been received by cable of Germany's formal annexation of Belgium.) A RAID THAT FAILED. The great Zeppelin raid on the City of Light has failed. On Monday last, when the night was beautifully clear, and the silvery rays of the new moon lti up the sky, five Zeppelins put in an appearance over the Oise district, but were compelled to turn back before reaching Paris, two of them at Ecoulen, one at Mantes, while two others, attacked by the defence artillery, passed over Compeigne, and with, drew after dropping a dozen bombs, several of which did not explode. When over the forest of Compeigne one' of these cigar-shaped dirigibles was struck by a shell, staggered in the air, dropped very low, and disappeared. The Parisian population, although -warned by firemen and policemen mounted on tari-autos, as on the previous occasion, was, as usual, perfectly calm A RIDICULOUS FIASCO. Ccunt Zeppelin has achieved the height of his ambition! After, raiding Antwerp, the east coast of England, and Calais, his airships hav e at last paid their visit to Paris, the Mecca, of the world. Instead cf leaving the indelible mark of their coming, instead of lealing death to hundreds and sowing devastation far and wide, instead of blowing up historic monuments and leaving the inhabitants cowed and trembling, they have merely killed one man and, a dog, wounded a dozen persons, destroyed a factory, and damaged a few houses It is satisfactory to know'that Germany is making as little progress in her land operations ;is in her campaign of murder from the skies, and her fight with her submarines against merchantmen. She is now trying to escape from the fate she lias inflicted on others. A brutal robber has been foiled and thwarted in the continuance of hitherto nnhcardof cruelty and terrorism. He now whines, ''Help me, or I starve! 1 '

BOY OF THIRTEEN HANGS HIM« SELF . At Hardwick Hill, Br Asplin, Dep uty Coroner, held an inquest coiiceriiing the death of Colin ; WUliam Chanv berlayne, aged IS, sou oiU.Mr HteEJj' Fitzroy. ChambeilaynA J.P. The boy was on the previous Thursday foyji3 dead, hanging from a hook in the wardrobe door, H e had been 'studying lor the Navy, and had only returned horns for the Easter holidays on Tuesday, His school reports %vere highly satisfactory, and ho was of. a very bright and happy disposition., He was, however, fond of playing pranks, and had frequently been seen making grixaasfis with a cord round his neck. An opes elasp knife near seemed to show that the boy intended to use it te cut himself down, but this he failed to do. The Jury returned a verdict of "Deatli by misadventure." BIGGEST OILWELL IN OLD WORLD The enormous oil well in the Maikop field, of Russia, may now fairly be said to be the biggest in the whole of the Eastern Hemisphere. It continues to flow strongly, and the pressure of. the accumulated oil twice burst tiss earthern reservoirs built to hold it The inhabitants of three neighbouring villages were called in to repair the breaches and throw up new embankments. Much oil was, of course, lost, but a cable dispatched the day zixtr the well began to flow states that S-OOi--000 poods (nearly 5,000 tons) had b <*:•;> saved and was in stock. The we'/l if under British ownership.