BRITISH & FOREIGN ITEMS.

Hokitika Guardian, 8 November 1922, Page 2

BRITISH & FOREIGN ITEMS.

IUSTIIALIAN AND N.Z. CABLE ASSOCIATION,

PRINCH OF WALES. LONDON, Nov. 3 The Prince of Wales lias cancelled his engagements for a few days, owing to the swelling of liis ankle. His horse fell while crossing a greasy road at the Malmesbury hunt. AI r NIC TP AL EI AUCTIONS. THE LABOUR LOSSES. LONDON, Nov. 5. Tlie filial returns of the London and provincial municipal elections show that Labour lost 313 seats, of which 185 were in tile provinces. KAISER’S WEDDING. PHOTOGRAPHER FAILS. ■LONDON, November 6. The ‘•Mail’s” correspondent at Doom states:—“The Dutch military author!ties, in deference to the wishes of the , Kaiser, held up an aeroplane chartered by tb “Mail” to bring back photographs of the wedding. The plane was not allowed to leave Holland till the following day. The machine arrived at 'Amsterdam, from Croydon, on Saturday. but the photographer was not allowed to continue his flight. He therefore continued his journey to Doom by train. His pilot parked the aeroplane at the Utrecht Aerodrome. On the following morning, the Colonel in charge of the aerodrome refused to allow the machine to depart, stating that an order had been issued that no foreign aeroplane, should be allowed to fly from Holland on the Kaiser’s wedding day. This order later was withdrawn. The pilot was then told that the order had applied to him alone. BANKRUPTCY PROCEEDINGS. LONDON, Nov. 6. At a meeting of creditors of McGregor Company, Army Bank Agents, the Official Receiver, said that- during the war a large temporary staff, whereof the majority were incompetent, had been engaged, resulting in heavy losses. Cheques had been honoured which ought not to have been, and customers were allowed to draw without authority.- Liabilities . were estimated at £BOO,OOO and asset's at nearly £276,000. Sir James McGregor’s separate estate was estimated to produce £SOO. The absence of balance sheets, lack of supervision and book debts were culpable features of the failure. An advance of £60,000 had been made, on small security, twenty years ago to a person jvho was dead and in- = solvent. Twenty-nine thousand pounds lmd been advanced to another against a person against whom a warrant for arrest had been issued whilst £20,000 had been advanced to another against a security of cigarettes, which was practically valueless. Many of the Bank’s debtors were bankrupt or untraeeable. At a meeting appointed by a committee of inspection, the Trustee said lie hoped to pay the first dividend of half-a-crown in the pound shortly. The meeting passed a resolution, declaring the War Office had a moral and legal obligation to make good the losses, owing to its failure to exercis'v' projje-r business supervision.