AUSTRALIA

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 163, 16 December 1914, Page 5

AUSTRALIA

AN INTERESTING CASE. "' jj IN TBE AUSTRALIAN PRIZE COURT. Received 15, 9.50 p.m. v Sydney, December 15. 3 The Prize Court is hearing the appli- t cation of the Commonwealth Govern- a ment to have the ship Zambesi and cargo, }'■ captured by the warship Encounter off * Rabaul, declared a lawful prize. The petitioners' claim sets out that the * Zambesi was a British-owned vessel, under charter to the Pacific Phosphate a Co.; that on August Cth the master re- s ceived, through the agents of the com- . pauy, and on behalf of the Kaiser, orders £ to proceed from Nauru Island to Rabaul witli the agent of the Kaiser, carrying , important telegrams in relation to the v war, and on arrival at Rabaul to hold himself and his ship at the disposal of the German Government. The respondent in the case declared ' that at the time of the departure from . Nauru the agent of the charterers of the Zambesi and her captain were unaware that war existed between Britain and Germany. The captain of the Zambesi gave evi. dence that he was unaware of the war until the officers of the Encounter came j aboard. ], Other evidence, including ex-German officials at Nauru, supported this. £ At the time of the capture the German p agent aboard gave one of the Zambesi's crew a bundle of telegrams to throw a overboard. Instead, he handed them to r the Encounter's officers. c The hearing is unfinished. HIGHER PRICE OF BREAD. Received 15, 9.50 p.m. Sydney, December 15, A Board has been constituted to administer the* Wheat Seizure Bill. Proclamations have been issued, authorising increases in the price of bread. A GENEROUS GIFT. Adelaide, December 15. f The Judges and members of the '. t South Australian Bar nave subscribed s £SSC for the presentation of a motor L ambulance to the British forces. |e EXPEDIENCES OF TOURISTS. Sydneyv December 15. a Mi J. Clegg and the Misses M'Nicoll of Dunedin, who arrived by the Ventura, • relate exciting experiences since leaving ; London at the end of July. They travelled to Paris, Nice, Genoa, Barcelona, and Rio do Janeiro, where they boarded the Indian Prince for New York. The \ Indian Prince was captured and sunk by the Kronprinz Wilhelm. They spent eight days on the Kronprinz Wilhelm and were treated with every consideration, transferred to a collier, and returned to Rio de Janeiro. They left again for New York and passed within 20 , miles of the Karlsruhe, but reached ' •New York and caught the Ventura. ' NEW ZEALAND'S i-TAVAL POLICY. ! AS IT APPEARS TO AUSTRALIA. j Sydney, December 15. ' The Herald, in a leader, commenting on the New Zealand elections, trusts that the system of local navy units will not be decided by a party vote. It says: "Our experience has taught us that only local navies can secure the safety of the Dominions. We arc prepared to admit that we stand to gain considerably if the people of New Zealand decide to follow our course, in everything thathelps to consolidate the influence of the white races in the Pacific. The j strength and efficiency of our fleet will I be enormously increased if the Dominion j and Commonwealth agree to a common , policy." i -