VARIOUS CABLES.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXX, Issue 8467, 18 June 1907, Page 5

VARIOUS CABLES.

BILLIARD RECORDS AGAIN BROKEN. Received June 17, 8.33 a.m. LONDON, June 16. ' In a billiard match between Reece and Chapman, half a million up, Reece made an uncompleted break of 150,105, including 75,062 cradle cannons. NORWEGIAN WOMEN GRANTED THE FRANCHISE. Received June 17, 8.3? a.m. CHRISTIANA, June 16. The women of Norway have been granted the Parliamentary franchise. CHURCH UNION. Received June 17, 8.33 a.m. OTTAWA, June 16. The Presbyterian Assembly of Canada decided, by 137 to 11, to support the projected union of Presbyterians, Methodists, and Congregationalists, under the name of the United Protestant Church. THE SUGAR CONVENTION. Recei /ed June 17, 8.39~a.m, ; NEW YORK, June 16. News from Trinidad states that the Chamber dt Commerce and the Agricultural Society there have protested against Britain's withdrawal from the Sugar Convention, declaring that the action will extinguish the local industry. (Sir Edward Grey, Minister of Foreign Affairs, announced in the House of Commons on June 6th that Britain had intimated to the States concerned in the Sugar Convention that she was prepared to withdraw from the convention unless exempted ,from penalising bounty-fed sugar. Sir Edward Grey's idea with regard to sugar bounties is to enlarge the source of supply. He declared that he did not desire to see a revival of the system of bounties. Commenting on the action of the Government, the London Times argues in favour of the convention, under whiqh, it 1 states, the colonial sugar industry has revived. "But now," adds The Times, "the Government would crush out the cane industry and give Germany and Austria a monopoly, with power to raise prices. After running counter to the wishes of the self-governing colonies at the Imperial (Conference, the Government is offering up the, West Indies on the same altar of fiscal prudery.) SAFEGUARDING MUTUAL INTERESTS. Received June 17, 9.10; p.m. ' MADRID, June 17. France and Spain have exchanged a Note mutually guaranteeing the maintenan2e of the status quo in those,ports of the Mediterranean and Atlantic wherein they are directly interested. The Note does not constitute any alliance, and is not accompanied by any miltary convention. Great Britain and Spain have exchanged a similar Note, with a view to safeguarding their mutual interests. These two agreements have been communicated to Germany and the other great Powers. Received June 17, 9.10 p.m. PARIS. June 17. M. Pichon, interviewed, declared that the Franco - Spanish arrangement, besides seeking to maintain the status quo which, owing to the proximity of the respective possessions, could riot be modified without injuring the two Powers, was essential in their interests, and assm-es the security of communication with such possessions. The two arrangements were an excellent guarantee of peace. The newspaper Le Temps says that the agreement is purely diplomatic.