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j -. GENERAL NEWS NOTES OF THE DAY. n In a decision handed down Thursday. JuiL-e Jam s A. reighton of the Saminmnn Circuit Court hoi. Is that State Treasurer lluss.-l ami State Auditor Brady are not personally liable to the state for money disbursed under acts which may later ■ !«■ held unconstitutional. The decision is made in of the Fergus suit, in which the validity of all ap-11 propria! ions made by the last assembly to make up a ■ deficiencies in state departments are attacked. It • is also held that the revenue of the state is all • the revenue and not merely the revenue obtained • by taxation, as Fergus contended. On these two in 11 points tbe court sustained the contentions of Attorney General Lucey, but the general demurrer r of the attorney general is overruled and there is » no ruling on the important question of the right of the legislature to make deficiency appropria-f of tions. It was upon tilis question the entire matter e hinged. In overruling the general demurrer, the g court holds that there may be reason for granting of f the injunction on some of the items in the Fergus g bill, and that the matter cannot be disposed of e by demurrer. The attorney general has not de-s cided whether or not an appeal will be taken on the demurrer, or a reply ha filed to the bill. in J From Chihuahua. Mexico, yesterday a dispatch said: The body supposedly Villas proved not to , be his. The report that the bandit leaders corpse , had been exhumed was positively stamped as false today, by General Luis Gutierrez, military commander here. This and official American reports * that Villa is in Dnrango State, uuwoiinded. were disclosed together with a Carranza order of April I 15 prohibiting Halted States aviators flying over • Mexican cities and barring the American forces " from using the Mexican telegraph or telephone lines. Scores of shots were fired at the American , wl lade a flight over the city Wednesday. Resentment of the Mexican soldiers and populace against the continued presence of the American 1 troops is becoming aa general that Carranza military authorities declare they will be unable to control the people unless the expedition is soon withdrawn. Consul Letcher reported to Washington i that the Iarral incident was not an isolated ease. Other attacks on American troops by the inhabitants of Mexican towns are believed to have occurred. The French report of yesterday reads: West of the Mouse the attack undertaken yesterday by our troops : in the region of Le Mort Homme Dead Man Hill progressed during the night. In addition we seized ! a trench on the northern outskirts of the Caurettes wood and made prisoner four officers and 150 , soldiers. Fast of the Mouse a violent iHimbard-iiient of our positions was followed ut the close of the d.;y by a powerful offensive action by tin- e:i:--my on a two-kilometer front lictween the Tliiamont farm and the ptai of Vaux. The Germans who I had gained a loot hold in our lilies south of Fort Douaumoiit and north of the pond were completely thrown back by our counter attacks during the night. Two machine guns and a number of prisoners fell into our bands. West of Douaumoiit. in the sector south of H.iiidremoiit wood, we likewise mad-- progress. We received some wounded French prisoners and captured a score of Germans. The night was calm on the west of the front except in the region of I - lretre wood, where our artillery was quite active. A dispatch of yesterday from Boston said: Seven thousand bluejackets at the Charleston navy yard were put in overalls today for the purpose of making the thirty war vessels in the harbor ready for sea .it the earliest possible hour. It was authoritatively stated that virtually every ship would Is- at tin-top notch of etiiciem-y in fifteen days. The enlisted men are Ix-ing employed lxcause of the diflicnlty of obtaining sutlicient civilian mechanics. Half of the 7.000 had been recalled from furloughs and shore leaves. "it is a measure of preparedness." it was otti. ially explained, "the necessity of which was increased by the fact that we have beea handicapped for months by a shortage of civilian workmen and material. If we are to make these ships ready for sea at -an early notice repairs must lie completed soon and it was found that the only way to accom-pilaa this was to put the bluejackets to work." The vessels to be overhauled include six battleships with a total of about 5.000 officers and men. ten torpedo-boat destroyers, three scout cruisers, one submarine and several auxiliary ships. From Berlin yesterdays report says: French troops have penetrated German trenches in Cau-rette wood in a heavy attack, but elsewhere on the Verdun front all French attacks have been re-inilsed. the war office announced this afternoon. The French attacked vigorously north of Verdun on the east bank of the Mouse, in an attempt to recapture the stone quarry south of Haudremont village, but were beaten off. Another enemy attack in the Caillette woods, farther east, also broke down. Fighting for French trenches south of Fort Douaumoiit continued throughout last night. In the Woevre region and southeast of Verdun artillery engagements are now going on. The Germans are counter attacking against the Caurette wood positions and the fighting continues. In the region of Dead Mans Hill the French were repulsed with heavy lossi s. The port of Archangel has been closed to all vessels except those carrying exclusively cargoes for use by the Bussian government, according to cable advices received in New York by shipping interests. It was learned that the steamship Hallbjorg of the Russian transport line, which was scheduled to sail yesterday, did not get away because part of its cargo was commercial. Clearance papers were refused, for the same reason, to the steamer Trym. It was assumed in steamship circles that the Russian government had decided that the import movement of munitions was of sufficient quantity to require the entire capacity of the port for its own use. Plans for the organization of a ?20.000.000 corporation to operate the proposed steamship line under the Spanish flag, between Vigo. Spain, and New York, wen- an meed in New York by the local Spanish-American Chamber of Commerce, which confirmed recent nqiorts that the Spanish government would in June grant legislative sanction to the project. A fleet of eight fast passenger and freight vessels will be operated, according to the plans, and th** Spanish government intends to guarantee the corporation earnings of five per cent. It is proposed to have the line financed with American capital. After being chased half the length of the Mediterranean by a submarine, the Italian steamer America arrived at New York Thursday from Naples, with 1.255 passengers. On April 0. while steaming through the Mediterranean, a wireless message was received from a British patrol boat Ball a submarine was operating in the vicinitv. The commander of the America changed his course and steamed for the coast of Spain. Keeping in | touch with shore stations, the officers of the I America, by constant change of course, finally 1 succeeded in eluding the under-water craft off: the coast of Algiers and escaped to the apea sea. I The recent attack of th- Turks on the British , forces along the Tigris in Mesopotamia was mail--by alH.ut 10.000 men and cost them heavy losses. An official .•.count of. the. battle, supplementing earlier n ports from the British commander, was I CilCB out in London yesterday. "The enemy." it says, "made his attack with some lo.ouo men. i oiiiprisim; one whole division and portions of two others. They came on in dense formation and pene- : trated part of our front. Within B00 yards of the front of « ae of our brigades alone 1,200 to 1,500 dead Turks were counted." Major General Leonard W 1 of the regular army and Major Gen. ral J. F. OByan and Adjutant Gen- I ttal Stoti -shiiry of the National Gcnd and Folic- I Commissioner Arthur W Is of New York conferred with Governor Whitman at Albany Wednesday night. It is understood that the question under discussion was concerned with precautionary meas- l iii-es to be taken in New York City in the possible ; a event of a break between the Hatted States and Germany. • t A Cop-nhagen dispatch to the Kxchange Telegraph J company of London s;,ys Danish ship owners have beea informed that in future the Hritish govern- j ment will not allow Danish ships to make contracts for carrying oil unless lei-niission of the British an- :! tliorities is received in advance. Failure to regard this rule will result in a refusal by England to supply coal. Certificates giving the required permission must be signed by British consuls. Th.it marines had been ordered to guard the big German -owned wireless stations at Tuckerton. N. J., and Sayville. L. I., was officially admitted r at Washington. The reason was not announced, but it was suggested the move was made ■ both to protect the stations from any anti-German ib-iuoiist ration and to permit of American seizure i of them in case of a break with Germany. The British government is considering the hn- position of a tax of one per cent on the dividends paid on American money invested in Pritish enterprises, as a reprisal for the assessment by the Hatted States government of one per cent on dividends derived by non resident aliens from American securities. The Daily Express says the item probably will appear in the next budget. Orders have been received at the League Island navy yard for the commanders of the battleships omiectii ut ami Kansas to be in readiness to sail within twenty -four hours, it was said yesterday afternoon. The collier Hrutus. one of the largest ill the service, left last night for the Pacific coast. The coming of Russian troops to the western front has beea talked of by military people for two or three months. The reason, as now explained! is that it is easier for Russia to arm and supply fighting material to Russian troops on the western front than on the eastern. Yesterdays baseball results — National League: Pittsburgh 8, St. Iyiuis 0; Philadelphia 0, New York 2: Brooklyn 10, Boston 3. American League: Detroit 3. Chicago 2; New York 5. Washington 3; Philadelphia 3, Boston 1; St. Louis 11, Cleveland 1.
