BRITISH & FOREIGN ITEMS.

Hokitika Guardian, 22 August 1921, Page 3

BRITISH & FOREIGN ITEMS.

CABLE NEWS,

iUSTEALIAN AND N.Z* CABLE ASSOCIATION t COTTON-GROWING IN AUS- \\ TRALIA. INTERESTING REPORT. (1 LONDON, August 18. The Hon Crawford Vaughan, and M essrs H. C. Armstrong and \Y. 11. Johnson, the delegation which recently completed an exhaustive examination of ? the cotton-growing possibilities of Aus- , tralia on helm IT of British interests, •> have presented their report in Lont <h». ? The report emphasises the views of ! experts front every cotton country in the world urging the extreme importi ance of growers not rushing a heavy production of indifferent varieties, but exercising care in the selection of pure seed, and the eradication of poor crops. The standardisation of varieties is urged in order to facilitate the installing of ginning machinery to deal with the whole crop. j The professional services of Mr Johnson, late Director of Agriculture in Nigeria, have been engaged, and 11001 b. of seed specially selected in America hns been shipped to Australia up to date. Ginning machinery is being purchased to deal with the next ct'dp. Substantial capital has been found for an Australian Cotton-growing Association. The Empire Cotton Corporation views favourably the steps being taken. Messrs Vaughan and Armstrong are leaving shortly for America to visit flic southern growing centres. Mr Vaughan will then proceed to Australia, :iiid Mr Armstrong will return to London, and then go to Egypt to complete the collection of data. The Prime Minister (Mr Hughes) is cordially co-operating in the investigation.

INDIAN TRADE. 1 (Received This Dav at 12.25 p.m.) DELHI, Aug. 31. 1 For the first in fourteen months, the balance of trade, is in favour of India. The balance is partly due to the export of treasure. No wheat has been exported to Europe. ANOTHER WAGE CAT. NEW YORK, Aug. 21 The United States Steel Corporation announces'a further reduction of wages for day labourers in the steel industry which will become effective on August • 29. The reason is the prevailing low j selling price of steel compared with the ' cost of production. J AUSTRALIAN BOXER. i LONDON. Aug. 20: ' I Mr Lucas i>- negotiating with Car-, penticr with the object of arranging a ■ fight with Cook iii London during No-j vembor. If the negotiations fail. Cookwill proceed to America, where lie is sanguine he can fix big engagements. MR HUGHES’ WORK. j 'Received This Day at 10.15 a.m.) j LONDON, August 11. , Air Hughes efforts in England have ’ ended. For three months he worked 1 at highest pressure with only one brief j interval in Devon and Cornwall. The trip to Wales was nominally private ! hut it provided not a moment ot leisure. I'll,, visit was not so spectacular as former ones. Only lack of time prevented Air Hughes from making another glittering social popular success. His oratory and influence were in demand beyond human capacity, even | 1 had circumstances permitted him to • respond. The conference lasted fifty j days, with morning and afternoon sit- i tings frequently lasting after seven nf the evenings. The week ends were . • packed with detailed preparations of memoranda on most complex problem for submission to the conference <uw . consideration of arguments to suppoi.j them. Next to Air Lloyd George, Air j Hughes was the dominating influetcj j at me Conference. His opinions car- | l ied great weight, although he did not j always get his own way. For instance, | on the naval defence question, Air, Hughes advocated strongly that ii the Dominions asked the right to decide the t 1 foreign policy, they should pay their . share of the cost of Empire navy oil a . ; per capita basis. Numbers were against 1 him, however, and only a colourless resolution was passed, leaving Austin- j 1 lia and N.Z. to make their own ar- j langemeuts with Britain for the de- . < fenoe of the Pacific. j Mr Hughes was one of the first to j 1 suggest lo the conference the question .of disarmament. A quotation from one of l.is earliest speeches is now made available. It. reads—“ Let us give the world, weary of war, staggering beneath its crushing burdens, a lead, and invite United States, Japan and France to meet us. We cannot hope the world 1 will beat its sword into a ploughshare, 1 but at any rate it can stop building ; < more warships.” i 1 Mr Hughes’ determined clear advo- . < eftey of the necessity for improved im- ; 1 periail communications, strong appeal j for a renewal of the Anglo-Japanese . Treaty ayd his advice oil foreign affairs ' 1 and reparations, were reflected in the j resolutions approved. All" Hughes’ j attack on the proposal to hold a eon- , stitutional conference in 1922 was an ; exposition of the evils likely to attend i interference with the present loose ar- , raiigements and resulted in the idea living efropped. i Air Hughes leaves on Tuesday for , France. His tour includes Vi Hers Bret- . tonneux, Bapaurne, Pozieres, Mont. St. ! Quentin, Pennine, Churgnes together . with a dedication ceremony of the Australian divisional monument at Amiens Cathedral. j Air Hughes says—l regard it ns most I successful, if only from the viewpoint of j having prevented pertain things being j done. To have stopped the proposed ; constitutional conference is something of which one might justly lie prud.” A SWIMMER’S FAILURE. LONDON, August 21. Airs Hamilton gave up an attenn ‘ ■ swim the Channel three tinkv from DoaL , STRUCK A MINE. * LONDON, Aug 21. The sea is not yet cleared of floating ‘mines and a fishing vessel struck one near Bergen and was blown to piece*, The crew of three perished.