YESTERDAY'S CABLES.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10160, 9 February 1911, Page 7

YESTERDAY'S CABLES.

The Minister of Defence .states that two submarines have been ordered for the Australian Navy.

The total cadet registrations for the whole of the Commonwealth will be -over 120,000.

Four sudden deaths occured during the voyage of the Orso'va, all from natural causes.

A good supply of artesian water has been discovered on the route of the Kalgoorlie-Port Agiista 'railway, Western Australia.

The shipments of meat from Argentine and Uruguay to the United Kingdom in January comprised 288,250 sheep, 64,500. lambs, 118,250 quarters of frozen beef, and 61,750 quarters of chilled beef.

There have been great storms at Frogmore, a township 220 miles south of Sydney. A bridge was swept away. Hundreds of sheep have been drowned, and a drover was struck by lightning and killed. Two hundred sheep were drowned at. Wilcannia (500 miles north-west- of Sydney), where seven inches of rain fell in four, hours.

An enquiry into the stranding of the s. s. Eastern has The pilot (Maxwell) "admitted .that ythe fault .was his, in attempting to pilot the vessel when he was unable to see the buoys. He admitted that the captain advised waiting until the rain squall cleared, and he should havo done so. He denied the truth of the second mate's evidence, contending ..that ho reported passing the red buoy. ' The enquiry was adjourned. , -

, The ice-floe has stranded near the island of Seibkar. Despite the fact that the temperature is 18 degrees be.low zero., the fisherman refuse to abandon their huts and horses. , They have secured an extraordinarily fine catch' of fish. The position is not dangerous at present. (A cable message on Tuesday stated that the entire fishing village established on the ice outside Bjorko Sound, Finland, consisting of 2-53 men, together with their huts, and horses, had been carried out to sea during a violent gale.)

The Financial-News,-, discussing the ',twenty-seven ..millions:, of Australian loans foreshadowed, .says that the main reason for this stampede to borrow money,; is thai, the referendum,is. giving the. Commonwealth power to assume State debts;.: The loans must be omitted gradually, so as to permit of theirs assimilation by investors without causing script indigestion among the underwriters. It would be well if the State Governments consulted, together as to the time of issuing the loans. The competing Governments Avould be well advised, if they made easy terms of subscription and did not-attempt to lower the interest beyond three per cent. They would be wise to attach sinking funds to future-loans. •