MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS

Hokitika Guardian, 10 February 1922, Page 1

MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS

lo'sxnAtrkN and ir.z. cable association. THE RO’YAB NAY A. LONDON, Feb. 7. Owing to tlie decisions reached at Washington regarding the reduction o' naval armaments, recruiting for the I Koval Navy and the Royal Marines i has been stopped except for hoy s**a- , ( men, v.ho are limited to forty a week. | , The Admiralty is offering free d>s-| ; charges to TSOO stokers. | WORK OF CONFERENCE. NEW YORK, Feb. 7. 1 M r Balfour, Lprd Lee, and the other ' n embers of the. British delegation sailed ! by .tlie Ar^iiitaiiia. Mr Balfour, in a statement, said it had been a privilege to share m tlie ( Conference whose collective efforts had surely left the world better than they found it. They had diminished national armaments, increased national security, removed long-standing causes «l

offence, substituted' goodwill for suspicion, and made peace less costly and war less profitable.

i MOVIE MORALS. : SAN FRANCISCO, Fe... 7. j* According to a Los Angeles telegram, 't another sensation has developed in cm. [ nek ion with the murder of Taylor. I Among the dead man’s .fleets was 1 found a letter from Mary Milos Mioter. j the well-known film star, reading: I •Dearest, I love you.” Then i olio wet! ja ' row of “kisses.” The letter was | ; signed, “Yours always, Mirty. ’ I GAINBBGiVoUGH “BITJK BUY.” | NEW YORK. Fell. S. i Gainsborough's “Blue BoV, wliith ( arrived secretly by the_ French liner : Savoie, was admitted into tie United j States without payment of C ustoms ! duty, because tlie painting is more than I one hundred years old. j it will shortly be placed on. public i exhibition ,the receipts for admission i being devoted to charity.

WHEN WTLL IT BE. LONDON, Feb. 8. The “Morning Dost” says: Persistent rumours are circulating in several foreign capitals that a postponement of the Genoa conference has become inevitable. On tiie contrary, the news from Italy tends to show preparations are being pushed forward in order to enable delegates to meet oh the dat ( , fixed, British ararngements are also proceeding on the assumption that the conference will open on March Bth. It. bad been hoped in British circles that an Anglo-Freiicli pact' might bo concluded before the Genoa' Conference opens, because of the) impression which might die made on Eastern nations if Franco and Britain appeared with a united

ENGLISH PRESS. COMMENT. LONDON, Feb. 9. The “Morning Post” (Tory) says: j “Tlie French plan .for the postponement of the Genoa conference ip-being pressed more energetically, There are two obvious grounds for this. First, there is. a considerable vagueness respecting the conditions under, which the Bolsheviks will lie summoned to the Conference and the French desire to confer with the other nations attending. This wduld change such, vagueness into eertanty. The second ground is that the Slates bordering Russia, namely, Finland, Latvia, Estlionia., Lithuania, Poland, and Roumania, who are deeply concerned in Europe’s economic reconstruction, and whose presence at Genoa is essential, to the problems which will come before tlie conference, are anxious that their position shall be assured against tlie Bolsheviks’ encroachment. Tt is riot surprising that the French desire a three months’ postponement of the conference. The British attitude in regard to this has not yet been determined.

dIaW sentFnc,es Committed. LONDON. Feb. S. ft is officially announced that the cjcatli sentences in connection with the Londonderry Gaol murder case have been commuted, in one case to life, and the others to 15 years. PENSIONS FOP. CLERGY. LONDON, Feh. 8. The National Anglican Assembly has approved of a plan of compulsory insurance for a Clergy Endowment Pension. ALIiENBY’S RESIGNATION. LONDON, . Feh. 9. The “Daily Express” states Lord Allenbv has already tendered his resignation in case the Cabinet does not accept his plans. The resignation is suspended, pending interviews with the Ministers. Lord Allenbv, whose plans were approved by Sarwat Adly Pasha, recommends that the protectorate he revoked and that constitutional Government he established before any plans are arranged with Britain.

i STOCK DISEASE, i , LONDON, Feb 8. , i Mr Boseawen in the House of ComI mans, stated that the number of stock slaughtered owing to the foot and ■ 'mouth disease were now 8500 cattle, • TOGO sheep, and 2500 pigs. The cattle slaughtered amount to only one-eighth per cent, of the country’s total. Th.e ! Board' of Agriculture believed that 1 slahlitering.. which was successfully. ; adopted in the United States in 1014-15 P was the only sure cure. ‘ LONDON, Feb. 9. f The foot and month disease has reach|ed London. Tli e outbreak is in cattle > jn lairs adjoining the Islington market. Apparently the .infection is. from Essex. Film STAR’S Marriage. NEW YORK, Feb. 8. it to s Angeles. Pauline Frederick - u the cinema star, lias married. Dr C. A. ; Rutherford, a wealthy Seattle physi- ! cian. I' . IRISH FLOUR. MILLS. . ; LONDON, Feb. 8. 1 1 liaH'ininn's flour mills, in the west of ".[lreland, which the workers on .lamiary “Glh took into their possession and conducted. have now been handed over by The Irish Republican Army to the i owners. ■ .i During the time the employees bad ' 5 control £7OO worth of goods have been Isold, wherefore h owners ary claiming ‘ ;an indemnity from the provincial eminent.

BRENNAN’S LATEST. RISES VERTICALLY. LONDON, Feb, 8. Louis Brennan, the inventor’s helicopter made a successful flight at Farnborough. ft lifted a pilot plus 250 pounds of. cargo and petrol, went for an extended flight. The helicopter rose vertically. ,H> hovered aliove sonic time and then descended within the aerodrome. , Mr Brennan states the helicopter will soon be ready fop public flights

*.U(JKriAN!)TKA«EO?.

INQUEST ON VICTIMS. AUCKLAND, February 8, ‘ The inquest into the death of four painters killed at Endean’s buildings on February Ist was concluded to-day. • George Burrows gave evidence that the three beams on which planks were laid were 6x4 Oregon placed on flat, as the foreman, Charles Courtney, one of the deceased, said it would obviate the danger of rolling. Witness assisted to ..erect the scaffolding. The inspector '.came in and talked to the foreman. M it ness did not hear tlie conversation, but gathered it was. nlxmt the scaffolding. After dinner the foreman said: “AW right; the scaffold has been passed. We will go to work on it.” Witness said. Ken Taylor, one of the firm’s principals visited the job after the hearer beams had been placed in position. When the scaffolding had been completed the men were given other work pending the arrival of the inspector Witness, with others, handled the beani which collapsed, and saw nothing wrong nor did he hear the others make any comment. Trestles were placed on tlie platform after the inspector left, but I' at the time of his visit they were standI ing by ready for use. (> Harry Otley gave similar evidence. He did not hear the conversation with the inspector, but beard him sa y on 'leaving: “Yes; all right.” ’ Hugh Gresham, Inspector of Scaffolding, said he told the foreman to put the 6 x 4 beams on edge, put in another and place supports under the beams near tlie handrails. The beams were ithen on flat. A swinging stage was in position. Nothing was .said about strestles and be did not know it was intended to use them. He instruefe ! •the foreman to place a fourth heam between the beam that broke and the . beam which was not used. Tlie planks , were not long enough to cross three (beams and he thought that, with a ifourth, the planks would be placed across them all. The foreman agreed ito comply with the instructions, but from a subsequent inspection he was satisfied this had not been done. He did not give the foreman permission to use the scaffold on carrying out his 'instructions. He could see knot maiks 'Witness thought tlie foreman, when 'leaving asked him if lie would inspect 'the scaffold again. Ho replied: “Yes; I all right.” This was not in reply to a question by the foreman whether he could go on with the work. He had 'not passed the scaffold, and could not say why the foreman had told the men 'it had keen passed. For some considcr!able time he had not issued certificates under clause 3 of the regulations.

George Henry Lightfoot, officer in charge of the local office of the Labour Department, expressed the opinion that the broken beam had been placed weakside down, and that it would not have broken if placed on edge. Police-Sergeant Hawke said he called on the inspector the day after the accident. The latter said he had passed the scaffolding. The inspector said the gear consisted of six 9 x 2 planks, two trestles and one swinging stage. He made no comment about the foreman not carrying out his instrucTions. | Mr Lightfoot explained that Gresham forwarded a report to the Minister |prior to the sergeant’s visit, in which he ! stated he had not passed the scaffoldling pending certain alterations. The Coroner returned a formal verdict that death was due to a fall from a scaffold due to the breaking of a. beam which was obviously not of sufficient strength for the purpose and had not been tested. He added he regretted there bad been a misunderstanding between the inspector and. the sergeant as to whether the scaffold had been passed. It was unfortunate that following the accident, the inspector appeared to have said nothing about his instructions not being followed, and he appeared to have made some remark suggesting that the scaffold had been passed.