The steamer Beckenham, owned by Watts of london, recently arrived here from Kobe to lout for South African ports, Her last engagement was to run 4 part of cargo of explosives, principally cordite ammunition, on behalf of the Japanese Government. The ammunition was mainly intended for the uso of the purchased cruisers Nisshin and Kasuga, The Beckenham took her departure from an English port shortly after the outbreak of war, and was 67 days on the road, before she finally delivered her valuable cargo consigned safely at the Kate Arsenal in the Inland Sea, Most elaborate precautions had been devised to secure the vessel's safety en route, She proceeded vid the Cape instead of using the regular route through the Canal. No stops were made at any coaling port, as she left with 3,600 tons of fuel stowe in bunkers and hatches. The track agreed upon necessitated the covering of some 16,000 miles, being 6,000 in excess of the distance by the regular route. Captain Raeburn states that the long trip was tedious and devoid of incident worthy of note; but he learnt on arrival that he passed Madeira about the same time as Russian cruisers were known to have been in the vicinity. It is ported that information as to the vessel cargo and destination leaked out previous to her departure, so further to disguise her identity the colour of the funnel altered after she put to sea, and in addi tion the name was remov bows. The owners ran no risk in chartering the ship, as the Japanese Goverament fully indemnified in the event of seizure by Russian war vessels. The captain states that he met half a dozen other shipmasters at Kobe whose vessels had just completed similar charters from Boston, New York, and elsewhere, A New Zealand Landslip.
'A serious landslip, involving the loss of eight lives, occurred in the Greymouth district of New Zealand on the 25th of May. The slip occurred at 2.30 am. ud gave but little warning. Mr. C grove, wh with his wife and family of seven children vesypied the house th: was buried, was awakened at that ho: by a heavy crash. He at once got his wife ana two younger children out, and "tried to get into the back of the house where the other five were sleeping. The {honse, however, by this time was collapsing, and his efforts to enter were useless. Before his wife could reach a place of safety another fall occurred, knocking her down and burying both herself'and the two children, and completely covering up the wreck of the house. This
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.