LONDON BOMBED AGAIN

Press, Volume LXXX, Issue 24188, 22 February 1944, Page 5

LONDON BOMBED AGAIN

INCENDIARY RAID DAMAGE AM) CASUALTIES REPORTED (N.Z. Press Association— Copyright) (Rec. 11.30 p.m.) LONDON, Feb. 21. German bombers, in a short, fierce raid on London last night, scattered incendiaries indiscriminately and caused fires in many areas. The raiders concentrated on one London district where, for some time, high explosives and incendiaries fell at intervSls and caused casualties, some of which were fatal. One bomber, apparently closely engaged by fighters, dropped a stick of high explosives on a main road shopping centre, killing two men and a girl who were in the street. There were about 10 casualties when a public house was hit. Three schools, a Catholic church and convent, flats, and houses were among the buildings hit in the London area. Blast blew out windows over a wide area. One London factory went up in flames. The raiders which got through to London met a very heavy barrage. Three German aircraft were destroyed. It is now known that two enemy aircraft were shot down over Britain in Friday night’s raid. Six more were shot down over their bases. BY-ELECTION IN BRITAIN INDEPENDENT LABOUR VICTORY REBUFF TO CHURCHILL GOVERNMENT LONDON, Feb. 13. The West Derbyshire (Liverpool) bv-elcction was won by Alderman Charles While (Independent Labour) with 16,336 votes, against Lord Hartington (Conservative and National Government), who polled 11,775. The Independent Agricultural candidate (Mr Robert Goodall), who lost his deposit, polled 233 votes. The election was caused, by the resignation of Lieutenant-Colonel Hunloke (Conservative), who at the 1938 by-election had a majority of 5524. The seat had been held by Lord Hartington’s family for 60 years, with only two breaks. Alderman White’s win in the West Derbyshire by-election by a majority of 4561 votes is a distinct rebuff to the Churchill Government. The result of this by-election caused much excitement in the lobbies of the House of Commons. Members were astonished at {he size of Alderman' White's majority. The Government made special efforts to retain the seat after its close call in the recent Brighton by-election. Alderman White’s return raises the number of Independent members in the House to 15, “The Times” says that the Independent’s victory repeats the clear warning already given in other constituencies that it is hard for a candidate to win without a programme. It is not sufficient to put to the electors the sole aim of a military victory. A candidate with purposes for the future gains the ear of the public, which is more eager to hgar of the uses to be made of the victory that all are equally resolute to win. In the Kirkcaldy (Scotland) by-elec-tion, Mr Thomas F. Hubbard (Labour and National Government) polled 826? votes against Mr Douglas Xpung (Scottish Nationalist) with. 6621 votes, and Mr Henry Hilditch (Christian Socialist) 1126 votes. Mr Hilditch loses his deposit. The result in the general election of 1935 was:—Mr Tom Kennedy (Labour) 19,457 votes, Mr Albert Russell (Conservative) 15,086. Candidates for the Bury St. Edmunds by-election are: Major E. M. Keatinge (Conservative and National Government) and Mrs Corbett Ashby (Independent Liberal). Polling will take place on February 29. This is the first contest here since 1929. “The result of the West Derbyshire by-election has confounded prophets, but while it is claimed that Alderman White is a strong supporter of Mr Churchill there is therefore no international significance in the result,” says the “Daily Telegraph.” Captain Charles Waterhouse, Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade, however, said the result would encourage the Germans to hang on in the hope that England would crack. He described the election tactics of those opposing the Government candidate as filthy and reprehensible. The result showed democracy at its worst. The Duke of Devonshire, father of Lord Hartington. said: ‘T think the electors resented anything in the nature of dictation and quite wrongly thought there was dictation here.’’ The “Daily Mail,” recalling Mr Churchill’s personal appeals for the Conservative candidate, Lord Hartington. says the constituencies intend to maintain their ancient right to think for themselves. “We are fighting for democracy, and this is a people’s war, which Whitehall sometimes forgets,” adds the paper. “The Times” Parliamentary correspondent says that the result is recognised as an awkward rebuff for the Government, which cannot be explained merely by West Derbyshire’s politics or the electorate’s assessment of the personal merits of the rival candidates.

COMMANDS IN BRITAIN NEW APPOINTMENTS (8.0. W.) RUGBY, Feb. 20. Air Commodore W. C. C. Bell has been appointed air officer commanding, Royal Air Force Balloon Command, with the rank of acting air vice-mar-shal. During the last two years he has commanded a balloon group, and. before that, a balloon centre. He is the first Auxiliary Air Force officer to attain the rank of air vice-marshal, and to be appointed to a Royal Air Force command. The United States Navy Department announces that Rear-Admiral A. G. Kirk has been named as commander of the United States task force operating as part of the Combined Naval Force in England. Rear-Admirals J. L. Hall and John Wilkes have been placed in command of units of Admiral Kirk’s task force. Admiral Hamid Stark is commander of all the United States naval forces in the United Kingdom area. AXIS ESPIONAGE IN ARGENTINA ALLEGATIONS MADE BY GOVERNMENT (Rec. 10.20 p.iii.t BUENOS AIRES. Feb. 20. The Argentine Government in the first of three reports on Axis espionage allege that Germany used Argentina as the base for a vast hemisphere spy network that transmitted information about the army, war industries, and other vital United States security data to Berlin. Three Axis espionage organisations operated in Argentina. General Fredrich Wolf, German military attache, was the leader of one ring. His organisation included a number of Argentine, Spanish, and German citizens. • The Buenos Aires correspondent of the Associated Press says that shortly after the report was released the Information Secretariat announced that the house arrest of General Wolf and the Japanese naval attache and his assistant has been lifted. The attaches were released because of their diplomatic status. Their freedom could not affect the police investigations. They would have complete freedom of movement until arrangements were made for their repatriation.

AUSTRALIAN COAL BILL SENATE OPPOSITION MAY CAUSE DELAY REFERENCE TO VISIT BY HON. P. C. WEBB (Rec. 12.30 a.in.) SYDNEY, Feb. 21. The introduction of the Commonwealth Government's new Coal Bill may be delayed by its temporary rejection in the Senate. This has Been indicated by the Leader of the Senate Opposition (Senator McLeay), who said the bill centred on consideration for miners and disregarded the claims of consumers, mine owners, the war, and the nation. Defeat in the Senate would the bill until July. Opposition senators defeated in the last, elections will have to give up their seats in July to Government supporters. After that the Government will have a comfortable majority in both houses and will be able to pass the bill. A strong section of the Miners’ Federation is expected to oppose the probable appointment of Mr Norman Mighell as Coal Controller. Under the terms of the new bill the controller will have sweeping powers over the coal industry. Mr Mighell, whose work as Coal Commissioner has been highly praised, is believed to be the Government’s choice for the new appoinlthent. The Miners' Federation officials' objection is on the ground that “such great powers should not be vested in one man unless he has a thorough working knowledge of the industry.” The new bill indicated the persistence of the Government irf a policy of “covering up weakness with expediency.” said the secretary of the Northern Colliery Proprietors’ Association (Mr R. W. Davie). He added: “It is freely rumoured that the Government was influenced in its decision by reports given to it from the New Zealand Minister for Mines (Mr P. C. Webb) on the effect of Government control in the Dominion, where the Waikato mines were taken over following a strike. Mr Webb reported that there had been no strike since, and that records in production had followed: but while Mr Webb was giving this glowing account of Slate control things were not going too well at Waikato. where output from January 5 to January 31, for 19 working days, was 43.470 tons, compared with 58.103 tons for the same period in 1943, This was a falling oft of 25.26 per cent, on the

APPOINTMENTS TO UNRRA BRITISH REPRESENTATIVES (8.0. W.) RUGBY. Feb. 8V It has been officially announced that the United Kingdom will be represented on the Council and Central Committee of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, by Mr Richard Law. Minister of State. Mr Ben Smith, Minister for Supply in Washington, will be the United Kingdom's representative on the Standing Committee on Supplies, and take Mr Law's place when necessary. The chairman of the standing committee for Europe is to be Mr Ernest Brown, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. As chairman, he will not vote. The United Kingdom’s voting member will be Sir George Randall, formerly Ambassador to the Jugoslav Government in London. He will have the rank of ambassador. Sir George Sanson, advising Minister on the Far East at the British Embassy in Washington, will be the British representative on the Standing Committee in the Far East as long a 6 this committee continues to sit at Washington. Mr Feonev, of Soviet Russia, haj been appointed Deputy-Director-Gen-eral in charge of the Bureau of Supplies in the European regional office, with headquarters in London. Mr Sokolowski, of Poland, has been appointed financial adviser to the Director-General, and Mr van Gelder, of Canada. Deputy-Director-General in charge of Finance and Administration. LOSS OF EMPRESS OF CANADA LONDON. Feb It is officially announced in Vancouver that the 4iner Empress of .Canada was torpedoed and sunk off Freetown, British West Africa, last year. Four hundred lives were lost, most of which were victims of sharks. Canadian newspapers point out that an Italian communique claimed that an Italian submarine sank the Empress of Canada on March 15. 1043. but the loss was confirmed for the first time on Saturday.