BRITISH AFFAIRS

Southland Times, Issue 18852, 18 June 1920, Page 5

BRITISH AFFAIRS

ARMY ESTIMATES. ESTABLISHMENT AND DISTRIBUTION ! (By Telegraph.—Press Assn. — Copyright.) 1 (Reuter’s Telegrams.) i LONDON, June 16. i (Received June 17, 11.20 p.m.) ! A White Paper detailing the Army Esti--1 mates for 1020-21 shows that the peace j establishment of the Territorial army is 236.000, and the war establishment bSI.OOO. It also shows that the distribution of the Army is as follows: —Home. 150,000; (,'olonies-, 15,000; Rhine area, 16,000; Constantinople. 21,000; Egypt, 30,000; Palestine, 22,000; Mesopotamia and North-west Persia. 70,000. Mr Bonar Law stated that the Government fully realised the necessity of cutting down military expenditure wherever poss- ! ib!c. There was no question of increasing our commitments in regard to Mesopotamia and Persia. On the contrary, the Government were endeavouring to reduce them. IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. j [ AUTUMN SESSION INEVITABLE. LONDON, June 16. Mr Bonar Law announced that an autumn session was* inevitable. LOUTH BY-ELECTION. INDEPENDENT LIBERAL RETURNED. (Reuter’s Telegrams. 1 LONDON, June 16. (Received June 18, 12.20 a.m.) The by-election for the Louth Division of Lincolnshire, where activities were interrupted by the flood disaster of May 30, resulted as follows; Mr Wintringham (Independent Lib. I 9850 Mr Turner (Coalition Unionist) . . 7354 At the general election in 1918 Captain IL L. Brackenbury (Coalition Unionist) was returned with 0,035 votes. Mr Timothy Davies (Liberal) receiving 7,559. BUTTER AND CHEESE. NEGOTIATIONS WITH NEW ZEALAND. LONDON, June 16. (Received June 17, 8.15 p.m.l In the House of Commons, replying to a question whether the Co-operative Wholesale Society was endeavouring to purchase New Zealand’s output, of butter and cheese, Sir W. Mitchell Thomson said he had no information regarding (he precise tenor of the Society’s negotiations, but the Ministry of Food was prepared to negotiate for the exportable surplus of butter to March 31, 1921. on lines similar to those of previous contracts. The Ministry intended to maintain the existing restrictions on private dealing in imported butter. The Government had decided to lake no further contracts for imported cheese, as the supplies wore expected to be adequate to meet the demand. WELSH MURDER MYSTERY. DEATH OF A SOLICITOR'S WIFE. ARSENICAL POISONING ALLEGED. LONDON, June 10. (Received June 17, 8.10 p.m.t A remarkable murder mystery has developed as the result of the exhumation of the body of Mabel Greenwood, who died in June last year. She was the wife of Harold Greenwood, a solicitor, of Kidwelly, Wales, and sister of Sir Vansiltart Bowater, who was Lord Mayor of London in 1913-14. The evidence nt the inquest showed that there was arsenic in (he body, though the doctor at the rime of death certified that the cause was heart disease. A sensation was caused when a chemist gave evidence that the husband purchased two quarts of "weedicide” in 1917 containing 36 per cent, of arsenious oxide. The Coroner summoned the husband to give evidence. As there was no response tlit? husband was arrested and charged with murder. 'there was no suggestion of foul play at the time of death, but the husband in September unexpectedly married a Miss Jones. Gossip started in the village owing to the 'hort time that his wife had been dead, and culminated in a general demand for exhumation. COTTON GROWING IN THE EMPIRE. BRITISH ASSOCIATION’S ACTIVITIES. (Reuter's Telegrams.) LONDON. June 16. (Received June 17. 11.20 p.m.) The annual mporf of the British Cotton Growing As-oe-ation contains encouraging details of the Association's activities. It emphasises the urgency of extending the cotton-growing areas within the Empire, especially in view of the decline in production and increase jn the consumption of cotton in the United States. The Association dealt with 30,881 bales in 1919, compared with 29.190 in 1918 and •15.057 in 1915. The results of the war began to he fe'£ after 1915. but the value of the cotton handled in 1919 was a record, namely, nearly £1,500.000. COAL OUTPUT. THE EXPORTABLE SURPLUS. LONDON, June 16. Mr Bridgeman stated that in view of the rale of output and the inland requirements the controlled coal mines, in agreement with the representatives of the exporting districts, had fixed the total coal available for export from the United Kingdom at 1,750,000 tons.

FAMOUS FLOTILLA LEADERS. BROKE AND BOTHA SOLD TO CHILI. LONDON, June 16. (Received June 18, 12.20 a.m.) In the House of Commons. Mr hong .stated that the flotilla leaders Broke and Botha had been sold to Chili, for which country they were originally built, in accordance with the contract made with the Chilian Government when the Admiralty took the ships over. The historic name? and records of these ships would be borne in mind when names were allotted to future ships.