MISELLANEOUS ITEMS.

Hokitika Guardian, 6 March 1924, Page 2

MISELLANEOUS ITEMS.

LATEST CABLE NEWS

.SOUTH AFRICAN LOAN. [RECTKHS TkLKORAMS.J LONDON, March 1. The under" tilers receive about forty. _ per cent of the South African loan. FRANC FALLS. [l’ltl'TKllS ’J KI.KGHAMS.J LONDON. .March -I. The improvement in the franc, following the Macdonald-Boincaro correspondence was s hort-lived. To-da'p" it reached 10.ti.311. the lowest record. RYKOY KX ROUTE TO BRITAIN. [“Sydney Sun” Cables). BERLIN, March L* It - reported Rvkov lias pa.xssß through Berlin eu route to Britain. DOCKERS DISCHARGED. BERLIN, -March 4. Thousands of Hamburg dock labourers were discharged, refusing higTicr wages conditional upon working nine in-toad of eight hours daily. PI TTING OIL BACK. LONDON. March u. l he I Imioiiralile T. .1. Cochrane, Hiring before the Royal Society Arts, revealed the fact that during the war thirty thousand tons of oil at Sarawak in the Straits Settlements, for which there was neither transport not storage, were on Lord Bealsetui’s advice, returned to the earth. 'Fourteen thousand tons were afterwards recovered. Lord Bealsead following the lecturer, said that as thirty thousand tons of petrol was worth £410,1)01). it required some courage, to adopt this untried plan, but he was , glad that the thought had occurred to him. because tin,so dealing with eruptive wells, which swamped the conntry knew that they could put their surplus oil back into the exhausted wells and. probably later recover a portion of it. He proceeded to emphasise that the development of Sarawak has an important bearing on Singapore, because it was inconceivable that they would ever allow that wonderful oil Held to fall into enemy hands. Lord Bearstoad added that he saw with dismay the association el the Australian Government with the British, l invertin',cut, for the purpose of developing the oil of I’npna. ami New ~~ - Guinea. Ho said several hundreds of thousands hail Veil spent, without result. lie hoped that everyone would protest against the Governments entering into trade especially one with immense risks like that ol oil.

FIRE DISASTERS. REKIN. Mareli I. A message from TsingLm says that ollici.'d figures, published to-day, revealed tluil 300 were horned lo death, suffocated, nr died of panic, and 700 Others were injured last Friday, as the result of a lire which swept, the important town of Ulmw Run. -10 miles east of I’iiian. in the Shantung pt'(>CHINA AND SOVIET. REKIN, -March 4. I’ri'limimuy discussions between Dr Wang, lhe Chinese representative, and M. Karakhan, Soviet Envoy, indicate that the Russian evacuation of Mongolia will be followed bv China's reeogni- (] oa, i) 11 11 1 S' i\i el . and the fo I ill al Duelling o| a ( I,ilia Russian eonfcreni here. China feels that she is unable to recognise Russia, while Red troftfli'i are violating Chinese sovereignty in Mongolia. -M. Karakhan concedes this point and -Moscow is expected to shortly order the evuu-nai ion. NOT DEAD YET. TOKIO, -March 4. All Japan 10-dav discussed the marvel of the return to lift 1 of Prince Mutsuicata. after his death was announced. LI is obituary was published, and the .Emperor’s grief was proclaimed. The doctors found the pulse was still beating, and tlie patient continued to improve over the week-end, reviving ■ to an extent where his sons left his I,•'listen,!. His physicians to-day announced that another’s day’s crisis had Passed. AMERICAN HOPES. NEW YORK. March 1. Official circles, commenting on tho - AlacßeVniJil-Domcnre correspondence, intimated that whenever the Allied . powers approach the United States as a united Europe, prepared to make mutual sacrifices in. order to lind a solution of the ccoiiuinic problems from . which their people are suffering, they • will meet a sympathetic reception, ’lhe correspondence is considered an earnest etfort to reach a candid understaiid- , 1 ing. There is also some leeling that i Congressional approval might also be I conceivably nearer to the cancellation ! uf some part of the Allied debts if tlia European Rowers’ unanimity coupled with reduction of military establishments became an accomplished fact. MONEY BOYCOTT. } LONDON, March 4. | The House of Commons, resumed dei hat.' mi the second reading of the. | Trade Facilities Bill. Mr A. M. Samj i—l said that the Government should If, Ip Nyassalaml. Rhodesia, and oer-

tain parts of Australia to extend roton and tobacco growing. It money jvttv to be sent to the settlers in AusI i:alia, he said, they should he warned lbat tl.ev would be likely To lose it if | {,:•• v out ! Meted it to projects under i Hie Queensland Land. Act of 11)20. It i V •;. n very dangerous Act. and, until It was icjeided. and put on what many I would regard as an honest basis, lie 'in ! .-d Queen.l: nd would not get a single , shilling of the twenty-four million pei mis. She was now seeking for a. renewal of Iter past loans. Tbe i.'Jiw.vi'c.s greeted this assertion with cries of: “A financial bovMr Seuiuel letorted that the Queensland loans were held by small invesm a fid also by insurance offices, and that if anything went wrong with Queensland (in.nice, the Labourites would leel the loss of their insurance policies more than the Banks would feel their lc:--os. Mr Mills, a Labourite, here asked tin speaker:—"l- it in order to refer !:j i .<_■ Prime Minister of one of our Dominions as dish', iwu The speaker replied that Mr Samuel critic i'ing the politic-, of one of tii Dominions," but he ft!:*: speaker) [■( ;,j Hmt that tvn.s not desirable in this House. Mr S-tmin.'l said that nil that he ask*..,l r 'a- Government to do was to look n-kamse before lending any money to Queensland. The debate was adjourned.