BRITISH & FOREIGN ITEMS.

Hokitika Guardian, 23 February 1921, Page 2

BRITISH & FOREIGN ITEMS.

BY TELEGRAM —DRESS ASSN., COPYRIGHT

AMERICAN TARIFF. WASHINGTON, February 21. • Chairman Fordney, of the United States House “Ways and Means” Committee, has returned from a conference with .Senator Harding, (President-elect) and has announced that Senator Harding has tentatively approved of virtual re-enactment during the coming session of Congress of the Payne- Aldrich high tariff law of the Taft administration as an emergency. EX-SERVICE MEN. HAIG IN AFRICA. REUTER’S TELEGRAMS. CAPETOWN, Fob. 21. General Haig ncompnnied by 20 exservice men’s delegates representing Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, have arrived and were accord!od an enthusiastic civic welcome. Haig ! in a. speech said the Conference he ciad ' come to attend aimed at linking up all 1 sei vciemen throughout the Empire, preI serving the spirit of comradeship evolv- : ccl in the Great War so that the beneI fits for which they strove in the war should not be thrown away. After pay- | ing a tribute to the services of South j Africans in the war, lie said it was i singularly fitting that an important conference of ex-servicemen should he held in South Africa, where twenty years ago men from the Overseas Dominions gave the first great proof of the abiding solidity of the British Commonwealth of Nations.

. FRANCO-GERMAN TRADE COMBINE. LONDON, February 22. A “Daily Cli.ro uieTe’ 1 ’ states: —Berlin Committee of Industrial and Financial magnets under Herr gtinnes, ,tlie multi-millionaire industrialist, which is preparing reparation counter proposals, has evolved the general outlines of an astonishing scheme for a virtual amalgamation of French and German industries in thirty years for the production, distribution, and establishment of foreign credits. They claim that German exports will benefit without injury to French industry. WASHINGTON LABOUR CONFERENCE. DELHI, February 21. The Council of State has ratified the draft of the convention of Washington Labour Conference. SLTPLFMENTARY ESTIMATES. LONDON, February 21. The supplementary estimates for the year ending March 31st., includes the following additional items: Overseas Settlement £195,000; Stamp Duty, payable in United Kingdom on indenture and conveyance of property of the Pacific Phosphate Company at Nauru and Ocean Islands, £15,000; oil exploration in Papua, £30,000; Government’s contribution to lighting typhus scourge in Poland £2,672,000; Post Office £570,000 for purchase of Trans-Atlantic cable. AMERICAN CREDIT FOR FRANCE. WASHINGTON, Feb. 24 Mr Nicholas Keuv, Assistant Secretary of the United States Treasury, who is in charge of United States Foreign loans has told the Senate .Indicia! Committee that France asked and received an additional 300,000,000 dollar.credit fromJhe-United States in April, 1919, to cover her outstanding* committments to the United States and to Britain. Mr Kelly declared the United States had also financed the returfi of the Czecho-Slovak troops from Siberia. Senator Feed attacked the grants, asking why the United States paid France’s debts after the fight had ceased. Mr Kelly said that France wanted 68,000,000 dollars to cover the British claim against her, but it was decide! that only 18,000,000 were necessary. The United States then advanced this, leaving 50,000,000 further credit, from which France is now seeking to obtain 21,000,000. GEORGIA’S DANGER. (Received This Day at 8 a.nr.) LONDON, Feb. 22. Advices from Constantinople states; news from Georgia is scanty, but it is known Soviet troops are within eight miles of Tiflis, with which telegraphic communication is interrupted. The Georgian Legation denies the report of the fall of the town. The first boat load of Georgian refugees lias arrived. The British cruiser Cardiff, with Rear. Admiral Tyrwhitt, is standing by Batoum.

ALLIES AND GREECE. (Received This Day at 8.30 a.m.) LONDON, Feb. 21. British, French, Italian and Japanese representatives discussed the Sevres Treaty ami decided to invite Turkey to attend the Conference to-mororw. It is understood that French military experts strongly criteised Calogeropoulos's statements in regard to the disposition of the Greek Army in Asia Minor, and its morale. France opposes raising the embargo against" Greece raising a foreign loan to finance the army and also thinks the latter alone is incapable of successfully combating the Komalists. THREAT OF SOVIET OFFENSIVE. deceived This Day at 8.30 a.m.) PARIS, Feb 20. Count Tolstoy writing in the “Journal” says undoubtedly tbe Bolsheviks are preparing a great spring offensive. Seven hundred thousand troops are massed, mostly on the Polish fiontier and are expected shortly to invade Poland and possibly Roumahia. The Soviet are compelled to take the offensive as they could not live much longer without war.