MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS.

Hokitika Guardian, 7 January 1924, Page 1

MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS.

AUSTRALIAN AND N.Z. CABLE ASSOCIATION. EMPIRE WIRELESS. LONDON, Jan. 4. Mr Bruce said though the present uncertain position of politics unavoidably suspends many matters, there is one question where there ought to he 110 read difficulty in. coming to a definite conclusion and that is on Empire wireless. I feel I cannot longer •e----niain silent on this subject. The Dominions have definite policies, Australia and Africa having arrangements for fully meeting 10quirements for diroot communication with Britain, hut it is essential that reciprocal stations he established here. Britain is proceeding with one Government station, which alone is utterly inadequate 10 meet l lie demands. There must he more. The Post Office has -aid so, Australia has said so, and at present in consequence of the dispute between the Best Office and Marconi, there is no prospect that more will he erected in Britain. Therefore, unless definite action is taken communion ions will he seriously handicapped. BROADCASTING WIRELESS. LONDON, Jan. 1. Colonel Lest range Malone ( Chairman of the Radio Association) interviewed in regard to the recent transmission of American broadcasting by a British Company, forecasted 192-1 would make television a practical possibility. He emphasised that presently it would he possible for one individual to address simultaneously people in Europe, Africa and America. Nobody could foretell the ultimate development of international broadcasting. He urged an international agreement to control and < i,-ordinate these transmissions and give a fair share of ether space to ill stations, any country which had firstclass programmes or news. The Radio Association has communicated with the League of Nations in that connection and a conference has been arranged for 192-1 under the auspices of the League to consider all aspects of the problem.

RAILWAYS TROUBLE. LONDON, Jan. !. A serious situation in the railways is threatened as a result of the locomotive engineers’ and firemen’s ballot, which embodies a provision empowering the executive lo call a national strike if necessary, in the event of the award being rejected, hut it is expected 4 lie Union will seek a modification of the award. Employees are angry over questions of extra pay on Sundays, overtime and mileage allowances, and they state engine drivers lose Rf's weekly and firemen twenty lo twentyfive shillings. The ballot resulted in 21 to 12 against acceptance of the Wages Board award. FATAL EXPLOSION. LONDON, Jan. 4. Rliosainman colliery explosion (c----eurred at midnight. Seven men were engaged driving a drift’ in search (f coal. They were til the surface getting fresh charges, at the time of the accident It is supposed that the explosives they were using became ignited. Six men were blown to pieces, portions ~f their bodies being found in the river, scores of yards away. The seven.n died at the hospital. The o\plosion shook tin: neighbourhood and was heard six miles away. THE DrX.M FOE’S CREW. BARIS, Jan. 4. Xavnl nut rori ties at Biaerln, Tunis, have 110 knowledge of the reported disroverv of bodies of members of the Dixinude’s crew. A message from Toulon says a commission fir-; inquirng into the loss ,of the Dixmude and lias begun its work. The first question being discussed is whether meteorological reports, especially from the south were communicated L> the Dixmude in good time. A GIRL'S MISTAKE. BARIS. Jan. 5. Berthe Berger. the W-yon.r-ohl daughter of a Siraslmrg restaurant keeper served a customer with a glass of brandy. A Her the first taste The man fell dead. The girl, thinking that she had made a terrible mistake with the bottle, became hysterical She ran and threw herself into a- canal mid was drowned. A medical examination showed the man died of apoplexy.

SEINE FLOOD. PARIS, January 3. 'Che Seine lia« risen another 18 inches, iuui, if it rises mu,liter 41ft. Paris will experience a flood equalling the disaster of 1010. The ruin that litis already 1 alien will raise the water level three feet by Saturday. Thousands of people have abandoned their homes near the river, where sections of the underground railways and many cellars arc full of water, causing electric light failures in many places. Along the quays the water is only from two to three feet below the parapet. and hundreds of masons continue to erect cement barriers. V large wine depot, was flooded, causing the casks to float into the river, whence Parisians rescued them, when police were not looking and bore them home for a carousal. Doctors in the suburbs 11 re making their rounds in boats, and, as the lamp-lighters cannot work, the gas lamps Tn the streets are burning day and night. The damge done is causing a revival of the demand to build reservoirs to take flood waters in the upper reaches of the Seine, and the cutting of a canal to divert the water trom tl,o Marne and Seine. It is estimated that the schemes would take a decade to complete. PARIS L'N'DKU Fl.no 1). PARIS. January JThe river Seine is still rising, hut less rapidly. The flood is expected to r-‘ri<-lr it' maximum to-morrow (SaturdaV) morning. Workers at St. Dennis arc being conveyed to the factories in

boats. Ml t l,e shops in Alfortvdle. above Paris, are dosed. Choisy is flooded. The trams are delayed. The population are evacuating a- quarter of the town where the water is four and a half feet deep. LONDON. January 4.

The “Dailv Mail's” Paris cone spondee t states' the city underground m flooded. The racecourse at Longchamps is like an immense swimming hath, and scores of the _ parimutuel booths resemble lake dwellings. , AIR MASSEY CRITICISED. VANCOUVER, -Jan. 4The Canadian Club gave a luncheon

to Mr Massey, who declared that he did not expect a party newspaper, such as the “Manchester Guardian to agree with him, but he felt its reference to the “petted sons” as being questionable in taste, and regarded as extraordinary the suggestion that he (Massey), went straight from Eng land’s hospitality to tell another Dominion that Britain knew not how to manage her own affairs. He said the newspaper, seemingly, contended that because the British people were hospitable to the Conference members, they should approve of everything that took place, or say nothing, apparently forgetting that what was taking place in Britain was of the utmost importance to the overseas countries of the Empire. Bart of the business of the recent Conference was to assist in lifting the depression from which Britain was suffering, realising that iJit- overseas countries cannot prosper unless Britain is prosperous. The representatives at the Conference had Ih-cii encouraging their countries to proceed with development work to aid in providing employment for the idle workshops iu Britain and for a million and a quarter of England's unemployed. “1 ant vain enough.” lie said ‘‘to think that the future of the Empire rests at least as much with the overseas countries as with Britain.” Though interested in the British elections, he said, he had never favoured any candidate, and never referred to one of the contending partis, “hut.” he added, “I did express regret-that t,herej wasvnot-m-ore patriotism. and less party spirit. Tin ‘Guardian’s’ churlish remarks do not promote the cause of Empire, nor tend to foster unity between its different countries.” DIXMUDE DISASTER. PARIS, Jan. 4.' The French Ministry of Marine says that hitherto there lias been no confirmation in regard to the position of the wreckage of the airship Dixmude, or of the discovery of two bodies of the crew. It has not been definitely established that a petrol can was niscovcrcd at San Marco that actually belonged to the Dixmude, though it is admitted that similar cans worn aboard the airship.