OFFICIAL WIRELESS

Hokitika Guardian, 20 June 1928, Page 4

OFFICIAL WIRELESS

[Special to Press Assn, by Radio.]

FRENCH BATTLEFIELDS

BRITISH PILGRIMAGE IN AUGUST.

RUGBY, June 17

Although 11,300 people will be taken by the British Legion to the battlefields of France and Flanders on a pilgrimage in August, this number represents only a fraction of those who would go if accommodation were available.

The pilgrimage officially opens with the- ceremonies of homage to God 011 August J, the fourteenth anniversary of the British entry into,the war. The Prince j of- Wales will make his headquarters at Lille, and among others .staying there will be Marshal Foch, Marshal Retain, General Gonraud, General Weygand, Earl Jellicoo (president of the British Legion) and Lady Haig and her son. On August 6 there will be a. memorial service and parade at Ypres. Never before lias such a concentration of pilgrims taken place.

The next scene will ho at the Mcnin Gate Memorial to the memory of 56,000 British, dominion and colonial troops who gave their lives in. defence of the salient and who have no identifiable graves. GUARDS REGIMENTS. RUGBY, June 17. Tho Army Council has decided to use Guards regiments for service overseas, and the first battalion of the Welsh Guards will go to Egypt for a short tour of garrison duty instead of a line battalion which would normally be detailed. GIFT TO HOSPITAL FUND. ANONYMOUS BENEFACTOR. RUGBY, June 17King Edward’s Hospital Fund, which distributes from voluntary subscriptions £250,000 annually to London hospitals, has received a gift from an anonymous donor of £IO,OOO, which is believed, from circumstantial evidence to come from a subscriber who has previously sent several gifts of a like amount. TREATMENT OF CANCER. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE. i RUGBY, June 17. Distinguished physicians and surgeons from all parts of the world will attend an international conference, arranged by tho British Empire Cancer Campaign, to be held in London next month. Some subjects to be discussed arc: The relative values of surgery and radium in the treatment of cancer in various sites; tho etiology of cancer; occupational cancer; the geographical and racial prevalence of cancer', and public action in regard to cancer. SIR. A. MOND’S NEW TITLE. * RUGBY, June 17. iSir Alfred Monel, who was given t:. barony in the Birthday Honours, will take the title of Lord Melcheat of Landlord. < obituary. VISCOUNT HA MBLEDEN. RUGBY, June 17. The death has occurred of Viscount Humbleden, aged sixty. He was a son of the late Mr W. H. Smith, nho was for several years 'Leader of the House of Commons.

William Frederick Danvers Smith was the second viscount. He succeeded his mother, the first Viscountess Hamblcden, in 1913. lie represented Strand in the House of Commons from 1891 to 1910. lie was a L'eut-enant-Colonel in die R'.val Ist- Devon Yeomanry, and served durii g the war in Egypt and on Gallismii, His l.eir is the Hon William Smith, who is twenty-five years of ago, R ADIO IN ENG [.AND. RUGBY, June 17. The first annual report of the British Broadcasting Corporation states that, the cost of wireless programmes in 1927 was about £7 an hour. There were more than GB,OOO hours of transmission from all stations, music occupying albout two-thirds of the programmes. The year’s income of the corporation was over £900,000, of which over £BOO,OOO came from licenses, and the total expenditure was £770,000. Licenses .number about 2,400,000, and showed an increase during the year of over 200,000. Lessons by wireless are growing in favour in the schools, 4000 of which, are known to listen to London and Daventry. Referring to experimental work, the report states that although undue expectations of Empire* broadcasting for the near future are to be discouraged, there is little doubt that the prospects are encouraging. THE NEW SPEAKER. INTERESTING RITUAL TN PARLIAMENT. RUGBY, June 17. The change of Speakers in tho House of Commons which occurs this week is accompanied by an interesting ritual.

After, question time to-morrow tlie Speaker, Air J. H.' Whitley, will officially notify the House of his intention to retire at tlie end of Tuesday night’s sitting. The Prime Alinister will thereupon give notice of resolutions expressing the House’s appreciation of tho Speaker’s services and asking the King to confer “some signal mark of his Royal favour” on him.

These resolutions will be moved after question time on Tuesday, and at the close of Tuesday’s sifting members of the House, headed, by the Primo Arinister, and the principal officials will file past the chair and hid farewell to the Speaker. In the House on Wednesday Captain Fitzroy, at present Depnty-Chair-i)inil of Committees, will be elected as tjie new Speaker. The resolution will be proposed by a Conservative, Sir Robert Sanders, who was himself at one time considered to be a likely candidate, and seconded by a Labour member, Air Powerman. The vote will most likely J, be unanimous. Tho House will adjourn immediately after, with the summoning of the House of Commons to the House of Lords bv Black Rod for the King’s approval of the appointment to be signified. *