VARIOUS CABLES.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXX, Issue 8412, 30 April 1907, Page 5

VARIOUS CABLES.

CANADIAN IMPORTS AND EXPORTS. Received April 29, 8.20 a.m. OTTAWA, April 28. The increase in Canada's imports for the year ended March 31st was £950,000 sterling. The exports increased by a million and a half.

PROPAGATION OF THE GOSPEL. Received April 29, 8.28 a.m. LONDON, April 28. The Prince of Wales, in laying the foundation stone of the new house for the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, testified, from personal observation, in all parts of the Empire, to the society's success in supplying its fel-low-countrymen in the colonies with religious opportunities which were impossible in the earlier days of the colonies' life without the generous support of the Home Church.

AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT OF IRELAND. Received April 29, 8.28 a.m. LONDON, April 28. The Right Hon. Sir Horace C. Plunkett, Vice-President of the Irish department uf Agriculture, has specially retained office at the request of Sir Henry Campbell-Ban - nerman and Mr James Bryce, late Secretary for Ireland, pending an enquiry by a committee into the Agricultural Department. He will retire at Whitsuntide, the Government yielding to Nationalist pressure as embodied in a resolution passed in the House of Commons. WOOLWICH ARSENAL. Received April 29, 10.25 p.m. LONDON, April 29. Three thousand two hundred and eighty-five'man will be discharged from Woolwich Arsenal during the next half-year until the personnel reaches the minimum of 10,000.

THE PREFERENCE QUESTION. Received April 29, 1.025 p.m. LONDON, April 29. The Morning Post contends that the arguments wherewith the Government meet the Premiers with regard I to the preference question should be published fully every day.

TH3 STANDARD APC LO3ISES. i / Received April 29, 8.28 a.m. LONDON, April 28. The Highways Committee of the late London County Council has withdrawn its libel action against the Standard. The newspaperj,has apologised and has paid the costs of the action. (This libel action by the members of the committee is chiefly notable for some comments made on it while sub judice, by Mr John Burns, President of the Local G6vernment Board. Mr Burns said:—"What is this charge against these twelve councillors? t know it, as we all know it, to be unfounded, unfair and untrue. The Standard knows that its charge cannot be brought to legal issue before March 2nd, and it skulks behind that fact. But there is a court —a tribunal that can try this issue straight away and at once. It sits at Whitehall; it is the Local Government Board." Steps were taken to have Mr Burns committed for contempt of court, but Mr Justice Darling made no order, though he castigated the Minister severely. His Honour said he did not remember a case where a Minister of the Crown had thought it consistent with his pub ii duties to take a side in a litigation between two persons in which his own opinion, his own deDartment, might be called upon to give a decision. His Honour concluded, however, that Mr Burns' action,"' would not prejudicially affect the jury, because "the very violence of the speech, the very grotesqueness of the suggestion that the proper person to try this ,case was the gentleman who made th« speech." would prevent its having that effect.)