FRANCE & GERMANY

Hokitika Guardian, 20 March 1923, Page 2

FRANCE & GERMANY

AUSTRALIAN AND N.Z. CABLE ASSOCIATION. FRENCH SOLDIER KILLED. LONDON, March 18 Essen messages report that a French soldier was shot dead while working : the central heating plant, situated m . the basement at the Essen station. He was shot through the ventilator. A French patrol rushed up and "rested three Germans whom they found near bv The fourth attempted to escape ! a nd the patrol fired, wounding him m i tire head. OCCTTATION~TROVING BLUNDER. p FEELING OnThE RHINE. (PARIS, March 18. | Herr Emil Hollstein, a German depute was arrested while addressing a meeting at the French Communist headquarters. PARIS, March 19. i It is understood that the French vernment is anxious regarding the power which the secret military oiganisations have revealed recently in Germany .and has asked the British Government what measures Britain ""I associate herself with in order to compel Germany to respect her obligations in the matter of disarmament, and to assure the functioning of the InterAllied Alissions in Germany ’ President Ebert and several German Alinisters have gone to the Ruhr frontier to meet leading officials, industrial magnates, and trade union leaders to 1 discuss tlic situation in the Ruhr. ■ Occasional outrages continue [ The French press upholds the Fol reign Office declaration of hostility to ’ attempts at mediation. The Government demand only direct German pro- . posnTs. ’ LONDON, A larch 18. - I At Essen, the French are actively' - seeking the person responsible for the ' shooting of a young soldier named '.March, who was working a heating i plant in Ruhr Railway Station. Some 18 Germans residing in the vicinity i were held up by the I*rencli in the | streets and searched, and also a taxi- ; driver, whose stand was opposite tlio | Railway Station. The French arrested jail of Essen’s ten taxis, which are 1 drawn up in a forlorn row under a French guard. So far the French have not imposed any penalties on the town. FRENCH WORSE OFF. LONDON, March 18. The “Daily Chronicle’s” Cologne cor--1 respondent, quoting by French official 3 . figures shows that the occupation of tlic j Hull!- has already cost France , 1 100,000,000 francs, besides entailing .the - loss of deliveries in kind worth r i £837,“00.

Frame lias received only 225,000 tons' of fuel from the Ruhr during the occupation whereas without the occupation. France and Belgium together, wonld have received 1,000,000 tons for the same period. ATTEMPT TO KTLI SEPARATIST LEADER. LONDON. March 18. Advices from Cologne report a sensational attempt to murder Herr Smeets. editor of “Rlieinisclie Republik,” and one of the leaders of the Rhineland Soparatist movement. A man obtained entrance to Herr Smeet’s house on the pretext of desiring an interview with him, and then fired a pistol wounding him dangerously in the head, and killing his brother-in-law. The murderer escaped. Smeets. last year, was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment for high treason but the sentence was quashed at the instance of the French. A Dusseldorf message states Herr Sineet was wounded in the head, it is feared fatally. His assailant fired lour shots, killing Smeets’ brother-in-law. The police have offered 1.000,000 marks rewa rd for the arrest of the mur^*t-r. authorities grant tiaie. PARIS. ‘March 18. The occupation authorities have granted German coal owners until the 31st to pay- the eon Flax, which was duo on October Ist. 1922.