THE WAR.

Taranaki Daily News, 13 December 1915, Page 7

THE WAR.

EARLIER NEWS. PERSIA. CONTINUOUS INTRIGUES. BY SWEDES AND GERMANS. Times and .Sydney Sun Services ■ London, Doe. 10, Russian reports of Persian intrig'ies accuse a Swedish colonel, majors, and captain of liaying conspired with tJie Germans and nearly cajoled the Shall to leave Teheran. The Germans have erected at Burugil a large munition fac .tory, and 800 gendarmerie have been collected at Hamadan with large supplies of munitions, and 250 Austrians have 'been sent to Ispahan, where the tribes are armed. Turkish and German agitators have penetrated to Afghanistan und India, calling on Moslems for n holy war. Swedish and German conspirators tried to secure control of the Teheran arsenal containing stocks of Russian niuuit'cns. This was nipped in the bad.

ON THE SEA. MEDITERRANEAN DANGERS. HIGH INSURANCE RATES. London, Dec. 9. Owing to the activity of submarines, Lloyd's are charging 40 per cent. war risk through the Mediterranean, and lometimes more. THE GERMAN FLEET. "A PIECE OF ARMOR." Times and Sydney Sun Services. London, Dec. 10. A representative of a German journal visiting the fleet describes it as anxiously guarding the North Sea and rßaltic. It is a piece of armor covering a vulnerable spot, and without its aid England might have brought pressure on the Dardanelles and terrorised the whole of the Balkans. Joining tlie Allies forced England to pay regard to America, Without our fleet England's chance of forcing peace with us would be ten •times greater than it is to-day. It is not Germany's place to provoke a decisive battle at sea. It would be heroic, but not war. »

BRITAIN. THE RECRUITINU BOOM. London, Dee. 10. The surprising rush of l-ecruita throughout the country is largely attributed to the procrastination of eligible men until the eleventh hour, and iu n minor degree to the serious outlook in the Balkans. The scenes at Birmingham and Glasgow were unprecedented. A large proportion have attested as munition workers. Lord Derby states that his report will be handed to Mr. Aaquith on Sunday. A BY-ELECTION'. London, Dec. 10. The election for Cleveland, rendered necessary by the appointment of Mr. Herbert Samuel to the post of Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, resulted: Samuel 7312, Knight 1453.

AUSTRALIA. THE RECRUITING QUESTION, Brisbane, December 11. Mr. Hughes, replying to the Industrial Council's demand fo> the withdrawal of the recruiting scheme, said he resented strongly anything in the shape of a threat. He feared they did not realise the gravity of the issues at stake. They spoke as if there was some means of preserving their liberty by an attitude of indifference and aloofness, as if there were no war. Mr. 'Fisher had pledged his party to support the Empire to the last man and last shilling. They had been elected to power on that policy, and he was going to carry it cut. After some further straight talk, Mr. Hughes said he could not understand talcing action at present for conscription. No conscription could be introduced without Parliament being given the opportunity of stating its opinion Information in possession of the Government fully warranted the steps taken. FARMS (TOR RETURNED SOLDIEBS. Sydney, December 11. Mr. Ashford states that three thousand farms, of which a thousand are reserved for returned soldiers, will be made available in 1916. OBJECTION'S TO COMPULSION. Adelaide, December 11. The Council of the United Labor Party has decided to advocate the compulsory gathering of wealth in conjunction with compulsory personal service, but will oppose compulsory personal service without that of wealth, AUSTRALIAN CASUALTIES. Sydney, December 11. Casualty list 122 is as follows:—111, Driver P. J. Cox and Private A. R. Treacher; in hospital at Holiopolis, Private A. Leiteh; in hospital in London, Private Levin. Tt is now stated that B. H. P. Hogan and C. .T. Brown are in hospital at Malta; returned to duty. Privates J. Hoar and A. -T. Higgs. HINDERING MUNITION WORK. Sydney, December 11. There is a strike of engineers at the Broken Hill Proprietary steel works at Newcastle which is holding up shell-mak-ing. The blacksmiths are supporting the strike. The secretary of tlie Blacksmiths' Union, having failed to induce the men to obey the executive's order to resume work, dec-lares that unless there is some influence similar to that which is at work in American factories, he cannot understand these strikes. The men are fighting a better battle for the Hermans than for unionism.

•MILITARY CANTEEXS. Melbourne, December 11. The military authorities lmve decided to extend the dry canteen system by establishing Its own canteen:? in Egypt And at tin {rout, If posiible