KING'S APPEAL.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 140, 15 June 1936, Page 7

KING'S APPEAL.

NATIONAL UNREST. * Grave Strike Situation in Belgium. NEW CABINET'S TASK. United Tress Association.—Copyright. (Received 9.30 a.m.) BRUSSELS, June 14. The strike situation* in Belgium, is so grave that King Leopold urgently summoned Dr. van Zeeland (Catholic party) to the Palace and again asked .him to try to form a Government. Dr. van Zeeland promised to do his utmost to have a Government which would "face the situation fearlessly." The King personally appealed to the leaders of the Catholic, Socialist, and Liberal parties to support the Prime Minister. Subsequently, Dr. van Zeeland formed a Cabinet consisting of six Socialists, three Liberals, and live Catholics. The Socialist leader, M. Vandervelde, is Vice-President of the Council. The new Cabinet's programme, selected from the best of each party's programme at the recent general election, aims at simplification of legislation and finance, completion of economic reconstruction, cleaning up of politics, and control of munition works and monopolies such as electricity.

The Ministers will consider the workers' demand for a 40-hour week in especially dangerous and unhealthy trades, but Dr. van Zealand urges that it should not be generally adopted until other industrial nations have internationally agreed upon it. The strike fever is spreading. The Government lias mobilised a reserve corps of gendarmes to prevent the "occupation" of factories. Troops have taken over police duties in Antwerp where 15,000 dockers and 2000 diamond-cutters have struck. A coal strike at Liege has spread to the large fields around Mons. After a fruitless conference, at which the coal owners rejected the miners' demand for a 10 per cent increase in pay, tho miners announced that a general strike would begin on Monday. Antwerp tug hands have joined the striking dockers and refused to assist to load vessels leaving port.