57. _Dangers of Ballooning._
On Nov. 24th, 1908, the following paragraph appeared in the morning
papers, dated from Breslau:
"While a balloon, belonging to the Silesian Aeronautic Club, was
sailing along at about 100 metres distance from the Russo-German
frontier on Saturday over Krotoschin, Sarotschin, and Zockow, 15 shots
were fired at it from Russian territory, probably by frontier Cossacks.
The weather was fine and the German flag hung from the envelope. Nobody
was hurt, only one shot striking a sandbag, and the balloon landed
safely on German soil."
58. _Family Honour._
In February, 1906, Carlo Waddington, the son of the Chilian envoy at
Brussels, shot at and killed Balmaceda, the secretary of the Chilian
Legation. The cause of this action was that Balmaceda refused to marry
Waddington's sister, whom he had previously seduced.
59. _An Ocean Chase._
Recently in the Firth of Clyde the Fishery Board's cruiser _Vigilant_
observed a foreign trawler operating, it was alleged, within the
three-mile limit of Ailsa Craig. The trawler made off, and a stern
chase of over 20 miles, lasting about two hours, followed. The
_Vigilant_ fired several shots, to which the trawler paid no heed, but
ultimately the cruiser caught up the fugitive and compelled her to
stop. The mate of the _Vigilant_ boarded the trawler, the captain of
which refused to accompany the _Vigilant_ to Campbeltown, and, after
the officer had obtained particulars of the boat and the crew, the
trawler left for Fleetwood with the week's catch. The _Vigilant_
proceeded to Campbeltown and reported the matter to the Crown
authorities.
60. _The "Maori King."_
The vessel, the _Maori King_, was purchased in March, 1906, by Messrs.
Ginsburg and Co., a Russian firm. To enable the vessel to sail under
the British flag, all the shares in her were nominally transferred to a
British subject named Dow, who registered her in Shanghai as a
British-owned vessel. Subsequently she sailed under the British flag
from Vladivostok to Guaymos, in Mexico, carrying 921 Chinese coolies
and 217 Russians. In January, 1908, the British consul-general in
Shanghai seized the vessel as liable to forfeiture under Sec.Sec. 69 and 76
of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894.