AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8372, 5 March 1907, Page 5

AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

FIRE ON A STEAMER,

Received March 4, 10.10 a.m

MELBOURNE, March 4

A fire started in the forehold of the steamer Kanowna, while she was v lying at the wharf. It was quickly, subdued. The vessel was not damaged. A thousand tons of cargo was damaged by fire and water. (The Kanowna is a steel twinscrew steamer, 6492 tons, 100 A 1 at Lloyd's, owned by the Australian United Steam Navigation Company, and registered at Adelaide.)

LABOUR CONFERENCE. Received March 4, 10.10 a.m. MELBOURNE, March 4. The Interstate Labour Conference has resolved that, to overcome the Taff Vale decision, the new British law should be followed. A motion protesting against prohibition of the use of union funds for political purposes was carried. LOSS OF AN AMERICAN SHIP. A TIMELY RESCUE. Received March 4, 9.47 a.m. ADELAIDE, March 4. The ship Barcore, from Puget Sound, reports picking up in latitude 47 north, longitude 128 west (in the ' North Pacific), the crew of the I American ship Great Admiral. A heavy gale was raging, when a mass of wreckage was sighted, consisting of the after-housetop of the Great Admiral. On it were 15 men and one woman, in a precarious position.

The ship was brought as near as was prudentj and with the ,aid of large quantities of oil a bokt succeeded in reaching the wreckage. After many attempts the crew of the boat succeeded in bringing to the Barcore all those on the wreckage, including the master, the mate, the mate's wife and twelve seamen. The cook and the steward succumbed during the first night on the wreckage.

The rescued people were in a pitiable condition. .They had spent two nights and part of two days clinging to the housetop, without food, water and shelter. Had it not been for ■ the wreckage acting as a breakwater, they would have perished, as the terrific sea must have washed them off. During a south-east gale the which was laden with lumber, was found to befmaking water fast, and was thrown on her beam ends. The ;,captain ordered that the masts be cut away. The crew then crawled on the after-housetop. The mizzen-mast snapped about eight feet above the house, and 'a tremendous wave swept the vessel and carried off the top part of the house, with the crew on it, into the sea. $ On the morning of December 24th the barque Andrew, bound from the Sandwich Islands to San Francisco, hove in sight. The shipwrecked people were transferred from the Barcore to her, and were landed in San Francisco. The r Great Admiral was owned and commanded by Captain Sterling, who valued the vessel at £25,000. She was uninsured. tl (The Great "'Admiral, 1,576 tons, was built'J at East Boston in 1869. Her measurements were: —Length, 214 ft; beam, 40ft; depth, 25ft. The Barcore, 2,129 tons, 100 A 1 at Lloyd's, was built in 1884 at Stockton, and is owned by the Romeo Shipping Company.)

THE ARBITRATION ACT

Received March 4, 11.10 p.m. SYDNEY, March 4,

The President of the Arbitration Court, in delivering an award, said that, in consequence of recent discoveries, the area of operations of the Court had been reduced almost to a vanishing point. The barque of Industrial Arbitration made a brave show at its launching, but the Act had been riddled and shelled, broken fore and aft, and reduced to a sinking hulk. No pilot could navigate such a craft. A SEVERE HAILSTORM. t Received March 4, 11.10 p.rn. SYDNEY, March 4 A hailstorm at Mossvale and Sutton Forest broke all the windows facing the storm. Hailstones pierced iron roofs, causing much damage by flooding. Fruit and vegetable crops were ruined. The ground was covered with hail to a depth of eighteen inches. THE TOWNS-DURNAN SCULLING MATCH. Received March 5, 12.32 a.m. SYDNEY, March 4. At the paying over of the stakes in connection with the Towns-Durnan sculling match, James Stanbury declared that if Towns would row him, he (Towns) would not row such an easy length against him as he did against Durnan. Stanbury added that he had lots of backing to row Towns in Australia. Towns did not reply.