MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS.

Hokitika Guardian, 14 September 1923, Page 1

MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS.

iUSTRALIAN AND N.Z. CABLE ASSOCIATION,

lA!PORTS AND EXPORTS,

LONDON, Sept. 12.

The Board of Trade returns for August show the value of imports to be £33,743,000, an increase of £11,924,000 as compared with the previous August. British exports totalled £60,103,000, an increase of £599,000. SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONALISTS. CAPETOWN, Sept. 12 Speaking at the opening of tho Transvaal Nationalist Congress, Air Tiemnn linos strongly emphasised that the ideal of a republic- would always be tlie principle of the Nationalist Party and sooner or later a decision in favour of indcpedence would bo taken by nine-tenths of the people of South Africa. ASSEMBLY DISSOLVED. DELHI, Sept. V2. Lord Reading dissolved the Assem-

blv and directed that the general election be completed in December. The new Assembly is to meet in the middle of January.

AUSTRALIAN SUGAR DEALS,

TX BILLY HUGHES’ TIATE. MELBOURNE. Sept. 13. There is a Royal Commission inquiring into the late Federal Government’s ■dealing in sugar during 1920. Tn this the questions of the remuneration of Ttte agent employed and the brokerage lees paid are involved. Allegations have been made that considerable sums of money were paid to various persons connected with tho transaction, including £IOOO to a former private secretary of the exPrime .Minister., Mr Hughes. lit giving evidence, the Hon A lass or Greene stated that at the time tho contracts involved were made. Australia was depleted of refined sugar, amt he admitted he told the. Public Accounts Committee lie would have bought sugar from Beelzebub. Much interest centres around a file of papers connected with th.-e transactions. which has mysteriously disappeared.