BRITISH & FOREIGN NEWS

Hokitika Guardian, 24 February 1925, Page 3

BRITISH & FOREIGN NEWS

[RECTEIIS 4’ei.EGRA.MS. 1 FINANCIAL REFORM. BERLIN, February 21. >'<‘W hills promise financial rc forms, including new income and pro perty taxes, with allowances tor child ren. The income tax is 10 per ecu for the first CIO, Id per cent for tin next .0400, 20 for the next 0400, am one third of all incomes over 02,.400. THE CONTROL ATAXIA. A DIAAIOND BOARD. (.Reuters Telegrams.] (Received this day at. 9.45 a .i„A CAPETOWN, February 23. The Government Diamond Control hill introduces an important innovation in its economic policy by giving the Government power to set up a State niunopjly oi sale and export of diamonds. Tho bill creates a Union Diamond Board of three members to be a body corporate, to have right to Iniy, sen and hold stocks of diamonds. The sale or disposal for export of diamonds is prohibited except through the hoard.

NEW WAR HORROR. LONDON, February 23. Shoals ol pilotless aero da nos, foiltrolled by distant enemy wireless stations. pouring volumes of death dealing poison gas bombs over a defenceless city, is the terrifying picture the Daily Mail ’ aeronautical correspondent draws of the next war. He asserts the "recent Anglo-French experiments reveal that every problem of pilotless living has been solved, thus creating a most terrible weapon for the destruction of man ever handled. Equilibrium, is made automatic by gyroscopes which respond instantly to the tapped out orders of the operator located in a sate position in a secret station. Even after the ’plane has passed out of visual range the operator can still control it because the plane automatically emits tell-tale wireless signals indicating its exact position.

The correspondent points out that engines and propellers can he adapted to function at heights unattainable by a human being. The production of machines will not he limited to the necessity of training crews. 4'herc is ■nothing to prevent an unheralded visitation to some great centre of population which will be blasted into eternity at a single tap of a distant operator’s kcv.

-FIREM EX ELECTROCUTED. BERNE. Fob. 13. During fire drill at tho Conzen mine. Sarga-us, a firemen’s ladder touched a high tension cable and four firemen were electrocuted. EGYPTIAN At UR DEM GANG. PRACTICES AT PYRAMIDS. 'Received this day at 8.of) a.in.) CAIRO, Fch. 23. 44 ie examination of those suspected of tlio murder of the Sirdar (Sir Lee Stack) disclosed the fact that the same gang some time ago were practising bombing under the shelter of the pyramids. where one was accidentally killed and buried in the desert. 41ie deceased’s mother was heavily bribed to silence, hut now has corroborated the story of the police who are searching for the hotly. WEMBLEY EXHIBITION. LONDON, February 23. i lie financial results of the British Empire Exhibition are outlined in an official memorandum showing at the close of the exhibition last year the expenditure was £3.900,000 sterling and receipts £2,100.009 sterling. Lloyd’s hank advanced to the exhibition authorities eighteen thousand sterling, while there is also a liability of one hundred and fifty pounds sterling for the balance of entertainments duty on admissions. The exhibition guarantee fund was 1207 thousand sterling from the Government which has agreed that a bill he submitted to Parliament raising the Exechcquer guarantee to eleven hundred thousand sterling, provided there is sufficient support from the Dominions, colonies and exhibitors secured to ensure a satisfactory exhibition in 1925 and other guarantors consent to a continuance of the guarantee. The Government also requested measures should he adopted to .strengthen the financial administration of the exhibition.

LABOR DECISIONS. (Received this day at 9.45 a.m.) LONDON. February 23. Northumberland Miners Council i Newcastle passed a resolution uuanimouslv urging on the executive of the Federation of Great Britain the absolute necessity for tailing international action in regard to the contlict in the milling industry in Britain. It also passed a resolution to he sent to the annual conference of the .federation in favour of stepis to rc-estabiish the triple alliance of railway workers, transport workers and mine workers.