THE LEONARDO DA VINCI OUTRAGE.

Taranaki Daily News, 29 January 1919, Page 5

THE LEONARDO DA VINCI OUTRAGE.

REVELATIONS AT COURT MARTTAij

AN AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN PLOT,

Received Jan. 28, S.SO p.m. London, Jan. 20. The Daily Chronicle's Milan corrospon dent reports that Bturlliiig disclosure* were made at the court iiiardal at Genoa for the trial of half a dozen persons concerned in blowing up the dreadnought Leonardo d:i Vinci, in tho roadstead o{ Tarnnto, by a clock machine in the rauga» > nine, on"August 3, 1010, with the loss of •25S of the crew.

The originator of the plot was Cavaliere Gaeta, Austro-Hungarian Consul at Naples. It is alleged that the plotters include Arconte, deputy chief of the torpedo defence service at Madali aa, and vriscuolo, secretary to the Leonardo 'da Vinci's commander.

Austria entered into a definite contract with tho conspirators in February, .1018, assigning half a million sterling as tht price of blood, including two "hundred thousand to the arch plotter. The principal fiends gained access to the battle* ship, on the pretext of selling war loan bonds.

Apart from the depositions of wit' nesses, damning evidence against the prisoners was derived from documents from the Austrian espionage opces in Zurich, and sold to the Italian' Government. The documontg are in the handwriting of the notorious Dr. Mayer, hoad of the Ausiro-Huntrarian spy department in Switzerland, and contain a minute description of tho accused traitors and their movements, and (hose of their accomplices who fled from justice, together with the details of moneys paid them for this and other diabolical crimes perpetrated in Italy.