MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS.

Hokitika Guardian, 1 May 1920, Page 3

MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS.

iJ.y Electric Telegraph—Cr.jyright./

CRUISER CHATHAM. LONDON, April 29. The cruiser Chatham will be paid off on 16til July and will be recommissioned directly a crew is obtained voluntary j to servo in New Zealand on the same terms as the men lent to the Australian 1 Navy. The. Chatham did splendid scr- J vice in the war, including blocking tho Konigsborg. i

CUNARD COY. LONDON, April 28

At the Canard meet in 7, Mr Booth, (Chairman) said lie was quite prepared for a slump in freights. When the storm was over tilings would be better. Let us hope the news will definitely ■break the vicious circle of rising wages and rising prices. The Aquitania. is being converted for oil fuel. Two vessels have been recently launched aud eleven others are being constructed. All would be oil burners.

OPERATIONS AGAINST AFGHANS.. DELHI, April 28.

An official British military statement in connection with the Afghans states they made raids on the Chitral boundary, 300 aimed Afghans taking part. They captured the village of Da.mbat, four miles within the boundary. Other detachments of regular and irregular forces occupied Barash on the right bank of the Kumar River Other bodies of regulars concentrated on the border. The majority have since withdrawn and it is explained that some indications show the movement is the outcome of an old family feud, but the fact that regulars ; anticipated shows they are acting in concurrence with the local Afghan authorities. Meantime negotiations with them remain suspended.

A NAVAL BASE. HONOLULU, April 29

Two engineers and 11 quantity of surveying and boring plant have arrived’ on route for Fanning Maud to investigate,' on 'behalf of tho Admiralty, the possibility of making Fanning Island a naval base,

SLUMP IN FREIGHTS., LONDON, April 29.

The chairman addressed the Cunard Company’s shareholders and predicted a great slump in freights shortly. rr he Companies, he said, were ready to “Lice the storm.” He hoped it would iome soon, and thus cheek the rising pi ices and wages and prevent a further fall in the £1 sterling. Eleven Cunard steamers, he added, were being, constructed all of them oil burners.

TWENTY WOMEN BEHEADED CAIRO. April 38,

Tile heads of 20 women were discovered at Tanta, near Cairo. They have been each lured to a house Gif' pretence of meeting a \veftlthy. ftdmirer. They were tficn gobbed and hilled,

WAR PRISONERS MISSING. LONDON, April 28. The British Military Mission nt Berlin, has reported that only 222 prisoners in Germany were not accounted lor at the time the Mission’s enquiry clusod. No similar body was searching fur-, records of the death of British prisoners in Turkey, A list of prisoners unaccounted for has been presented to tlie Turkish Government. Statements inferring to a few .men haev been received. These are of smalt value, and ’’ is feared the Turkish records are to imperfect that there is practically no chance, of obtaining further infonpajiftll, PHOSPHATE DISCOVERY, deceived This Day at 8 a.m.) PARIS, April gft, Important phosphate deposits have

been discovered in Morocco and arc , estimated to exceed 10,000 million tons. ] An Anglo-Ttalian Syndicate is acquiring a concession. , 1 ■ , CONTROL OF CHOF.SIv. (Received This Day at 8 a.m.) 'LONDON, April ?S>, The Australian Press learns that + he control of' cheese is to he removed on Ist May. The Fowl Ministry lias decided not to purchase ilie Canadian output. Tlie question of purchasing Australian , and New Zealand’s output is not vet decided. It may possibly be arranged , on the same basis as butter. The general opinion of the produce trade is that Australia and New Zealand have made an excellent bargain in butted. At the

present retail prices it is estimated tint they will receive about twenty-seven pence per lb f.o.b. j SHANTUNG QUESTION.. | (Received This Day at 8 a.m.) TOKIO, April 30. | Tlio Foreign Office lias instructed Af"n ister Obata at Pekin to again vooti j negotiations with China for the return of Shantung . JAPANESE WIRELESS. ■ (Received This Day at 8 a m.i HONOLULU, April 30. According to a cablegram from Tvkio direct wireless with United States and Japan will begin on Ist. May, when the new high power Jn pauese fetation at Saranoniaohie will he opened. FRENCH RAILWAY STRIKE. 'PARIS, April 90. Tlie Railway Confederation lias ordered a railway strike, to begin on Saturday the Ist of May. AN ACCIDENT. ' (Received this day at 9.20 a.m.l LONDON, April 99. Four out of the six were drowned aboard an instructional flying boat which crashed into the water at Felixstowe. Another batch of Sinn Feiners Kvo been brought to London. Soldio.'s escorted sixteen motor lorries to Wovm- ; wood Scrubbs.

POpKERS’ PROTEST. (Received tins day at 0.20 a.m.) LONDON, April 20. Four thousand Liverpool dockers struck to-day as a protest against the imprisonment of Sinn Feiners at Wormwood Scrubs. Work at the part was hardly affected. In a raid on the police barracks at Rush, the Sergeant in charge was seriously injured and later died.

THEATRE PROTEST. (Received this day at 9.30 a.m.) .LONDON, April 30. Disturbances have occurred at Garrick Theatre which recall the old Price ( riots at Covent Garden in 1909. Miss I Taylor, Messrs Cochrane and Hartly j Manners profess to ho at a loss to divine the cause, though they were certainly planned, as stink bombs were dropped in the stalls. Scores of coppers were flung on the stage and snuff pellets affected many occupants of the stalls. Justice Horridge who was present suggests a Sinn Fein plot, but probably the real cause would be disclosed to-day. Details are unprocurable owing to the late hour.

PECULIAR POSITION. 'Received this dav at 0.20 a.tn.) LONDON, April 29. London branches of Railwaymen numbering 50,000 men passed a resolution on Saturday to “work to rule” until they receive a full extra pound weekly demanded. This variation of a “stay in” strike will result in serious dislocation and delay to traffic and complete confusion in the service. A similar resolution was passed at Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow and Carlisle. The movement is not supported by trade Union officials.

COMIC ORDERS. (Received this day at 10.35 a.m.) .LONDON, April J). A “work to rules” strike would result iu chaos and comic opera, effects „s on London Station, as the rules book contains 300 pages. One typical rule instructs guards to obtain from statiomunsters an intimation that '< l is right before starting a train -and to see every door is shut.

A SWINDLER ■ LONDON, April 59

Charles Hease was sentenced to five years imprisonment, sentences to be concurrent, on each of two charges of obtaining ten thousand and attempting to obtain fifty thousand and sixty thousand sterling from woollen merchants, by falsely representing lie uad se c urecl aeon tract to purchase from the Government 15J million yards of surplus cloth. The surprising feature wis the disclosure that Hease, who was on friendly terms with several members of the House of Commons repeatedly used the smoke rooms, writing rooms and dining rooms in the Houses of Lords and Commons for business interviews with other strangers. The Jury m a rider drew attention to this laxity.