, and though no
authentic information is obtainable, it is rumored that the
daring and intrepid airmen have made a rapid flight from
Berlin, and are proceeding to Persia on a secret mission
connected with the Bagdad railway.

(_From Our Own Correspondent_.)

BOMBAY, Monday.

The natives of the Mekran coast are again showing signs of
insubordination. The gunboat _Penguin_ has just come into
harbour, and her commander, Captain Durward, reports that
on Saturday he discovered a crowd of Baluchis in the act of
smuggling arms into an apparently innocent fishing-village.
He landed a party of bluejackets half a mile east of the
village, and swooped upon it simultaneously with an attack
from the sea. The villagers scattered in all directions,
but the ring-leaders were captured, together with a large
number of rifles and ammunition. The coup reflects the
greatest credit on this able and energetic officer.

_Later_.

The craze for aviation has at last broken out in India. Two
airmen made a sudden appearance at Karachi on Saturday, and
departed after a brief stay for the interior. They are said
to be in the employment of the Nizam of Hyderabad, who is
spending vast sums on his latest hobby.

BRISBANE, Monday.

News has just arrived by wireless from the gunboat
_Frobisher_, off Ysabel Island, that the crew of the
survey-vessel _Albatross_, which was wrecked there a
fortnight ago, are safe. The party, it will be remembered,
includes the famous geologist, Dr. Thesiger Smith. The
message is very brief, and a reference it makes to an
aeroplane is thought to be an error.--REUTER.

SINGAPORE, Wednesday.

The Penang correspondent of the _Free Press_
telegraphs--"The barque _Elizabeth_ put in to-day in tow of
a steamtug of this port, and reported an extraordinary
incident in mid-ocean. She was dismasted a fortnight ago in
a cyclone south of the Andamans, and while drifting, fire
broke out in the forehold, and was kept under with the
greatest difficulty. Her plight was discovered and reported
here by the driver of an aeroplane who was making a flight
in the neighbourhood, and the tug was immediately sent to
her assistance. Conflicting rumours are prevalent as to the
i