BRITISH & FOREIGN ITEMS.

Hokitika Guardian, 27 March 1922, Page 1

BRITISH & FOREIGN ITEMS.

AUSTRALIAN AND N.Z. CABLE ASSOCIATION. FATAL AEROPLANE CRASH. OBSERVER’S DARING JUMP. LONDON, tyarch 24. An aeroplane crashed from 1000 ft. above the Mansion training school killing the pilot. Corperol McCausland, the observer, waited till the machine was thirty feet from the ground when he jumped and escaped with slight injury. This is the fourth occasion on which AleCauslnnd has escaped death by jumping from crashing aeroplanes.

TIPTON FACTORY EXPLOSION. LONDON, March 25. Astonishing revelations are being made in connection with the Tipton factory explosion, where 50 girls were victims, 18 dying. The Chief Inspector of Explosives gave evidence that the floor of the shop was of concrete, but it was impregnated with gunpowder. The girls wV>rke<] in boots with nails in them. The atmosphere was permeated with dust from the powder. Other evidence showed that there was no guard in front of the stove used for soldering purposes, and the burning coke constantly dropped on the floor. At the end of the day’s work, bore would be in each box, which 24 of the girls used, 36 pounds of loose powder. A boy took this powder and put it into a neighbouring canal. The girls were emptying cartridges of powder.

ALLIES AND RUSSIA. LONDON, March 24. The Allied Experts at a conference after a lengthy debate, recommend the recognition of the Soviet, Government of Russia, immediately after the Genoa Conference, and also that Such recognition should not be dependent on any probationary period on the part of Russia. The French delegates strongly opposed the recommendation. The conference is now drafting a general treaty for submission to the Genoa Conference, which includes the creation of a Russian Debt Commission which would act as accountant for the creditor nations. BRITISH BYE-ELEOTTON. LONDON. March 24. The Chertsey bye.election resulted: Mr Richardson (Unionist) 11811; 'General Gough (“Wee Free” Liberal) 9490. BRITISH ENGINEERS’ LOCK-OUT. LONDON, March 25. The ballot of the British engineering workers on the employers’ demand has been held. It lias resulted as follows : For Acceptance 49,503 Against Acceptance 164,759 Majority Against 115,256 The result of the ballot will probably mean that the lock-out will be applied fo all the unions in a bulk by the employers. The Engineering and Shipbuilding Federation have decided to advise all their affiliated members to cease work on Tuesday until the result of their ballot on the bonus cut (cabled on March 17th) is known. The etigipeering negotiations, will be resumed on Monday.

LONDON BUTTER PRICES

SHORTAGE CAUSES RISE

LONDON, .March 24

There is a shortage of butter supplies in London, which is causing anxiety on the Government market.

Importers say that the arrival of steamers Surrey and Morctnn Hay with 57,000 boxes of Australian butter, and of the Maliana with 13,000 boxes of New Zealand butter, will have little effect in remedying the shortage, as a large portion of the consignments has 1 1 e'en hooked en route, and very little of the remainder is expected to come on the open market. Two steamers with butter from New Zealand are due in the next few days, hut, on the other hand, an absence of shipments from Australia next month, owing among other tilings, to the allocations of s pace in them for fruit, is likely to aggravate the conditions. At the same time though, supplies will he now arriving from Ireland, and possibly also from France. The official prices of Australian and New Zealand butter at noon to-day were respectively 170 s and 180 s per hundredweight wholesale, which is a furtheral 1-round increase.

BIRTH CONTROL ADVOCATE. TOKIO, March 25. The Birth Control Advocate, Mrs Sanger, is ill. She has cancelled all her speaking engagements. BILL FOR COMPENSATION LONDON, March 25 A bill for payment of compensation for Sinn Fein outrages has just been : presented to British taxpayers, and it amounts to £1,997,500 It is for compensation to be paid to victims apart from £750,000 paid to the Northern Government as campensation for damage to life and property in Ulster. There is another £1,000,000 also payable to the Northern Government as a contribution to abnormal expenses. SECRET PAPERS TAKEN. LONDON, March 25. Scotland Yard is investigating a mysterious raid on the Irish Office Intelligence Department at "Westminster when all the documents and files were searchd and some important con fidential documents were removed re. cently from another department.