BRITISH & FOREIGN HEWS.

Hokitika Guardian, 16 June 1921, Page 3

BRITISH & FOREIGN HEWS.

AUSTRALIAN AND N.Z. CABLE ASSOCIATION

RECONSTRUCTION

COST OF WORK IN FRANCE. (Received This Day at 10.40 a.m.) LONDON, June 14. The “Morning Post’s” Paris correspondent interviewed M. Boucheur w o said France has already spent twentytwo thousand million francs in reconstruction work,, plus three thousand million on repairing r oads, railways and canals.' Over 15 hundred miles,o. ninety per cent, of the ruined railways have been reconstructed and 36 hyn dred millions had been spent on restoring factories.' That is eighteen per cent of the total loss made good. Of 47 hundred thousand people who inhabited the devastated areas 41 hundred thousand have returned. Out of six liu dred thousand houses destroyed, a quarter of a million have Teen rende ed habitable and eighty'per cent, of the land has been cleared of all project and is again under chops; 2o liundr million francs were spent on restoring agricultural land. He insiders .Motion should be done by locaht'e, under control of the cental Govern m ent. Fortunately the prices of coal and labour are falling, so reconstruction is possible. It would be a mistake to employ German labour as jt would b e paid in foreign money, which is fata . Boucheur is engaged in a series of conferences with Rathen, the German Minister of Reparations, which are likely to have important results.

DR ADDISON RESIGNS. 'Received This Day at 10.40 a.m.) LONDON, June 15. Dr*Addison, Minister of Health has resigned, owing to the attitude* of economy campaigners towards his salary.

ENGINEERING LOCKOUT. (Received this day at 11.30 a.m.) LONDON, June lo Negotiations in the engineering, wages dispute have come to a deadlock. Failing a new development to-day, 1 500,000 men will he locked out at midnight to-night. The proposed reductions are the equivalent of 16s weekly for artisan time workers 12s for labourers, and £1 for pieceworkers. The employers agree to extend the reductions period from June to SeptemThe men’s union requested suspension of the lockout for a fortnight to enable them to take a ballot. The employers refused, also withdrawing the extension*, period. The men are anxious to avoid a stoppago and will ballot notwithstanding the lockout.