BRITISH & FOREIGN ITEMS.

Hokitika Guardian, 11 April 1923, Page 3

BRITISH & FOREIGN ITEMS.

LATEST CABLE NEWS

— ■ AL'STRAI.IAN AND N.Z. CABLE ASSOCIATION. WAGES SKI fLKMKNT ACCEPTED. LONDON. April 9. Up to Saturday 6,,‘TiO -eanaii accepted the wages settlement and only 152 struck. A considerable mind or ol men iejuined the Sailors and firemens Union. PALESTINE S(. HEME. TO IRRIGATE .JORDAN. I.ONDoN A pul 9. A plan to I'eriili-e the Plain cf the River .lord Ili bet ween the lake 01 Geiicza ivlh and the Dead Sea, has been [ rniioiindctl by the Victoria institute. The .-,1 ii'Uiie includes, canal- or both sides of the liver .lordan, and parallel with it, wiii li will he furnished with sub-ciitiiiTs fm the distribution of water to the neighbouring plains. It is propr.se! to erect a hydro-elec-tric plant on the western shore of the Dead Sea w.ueli 'would receive energy from the Mediterranean through a liiiim'l under Jerusalem. The authors of tiie -rheme say Ile.lt the canalisation s-lieine is at lca-t two thousand years old and it would imike the desert once more (low with milk and honey. The hydro-elect rh- plant would be used to extract magnesia potassium and otiier minerals I'run the Dead Sea. LINER HELD UP. PARIS April 9. Tie; objection of five of her stokers to pay income tax litis pievontel l.a Frame the largest french Trans-Atlan-tic liner fn.in leaving 1.0 Havre. When the men refused to pay the revenue authorities garnished their wage- to the extent of from tliiily 10 lorly Irunc.s apiece. The stokers referred the mutter to their trade union rod as the ; whole engine room stall’ made ceiiimi ii j cause with the stokers the pas-engers were disembarked and scut to Paris. GREAT MONUMENT. TO VERDUN HEROES. PARIS. April 9. A jury lias selected a design for a monumental tomb for the heroes 01 Verdun, following m the advice of .Mar sbtil Pet a in. that the monument should be simple, yet great, as the soul oi the Fro licit soldier itself. The monument will cover fifteen acres and "ill he visible for many miles. It will consist of an imposing colonnade gallery, several hundred feet long, surmounted by a tail tower. It will -Hind on Thiamont Ridge at the ten of a broad stairway cut in tbe hillside and a I errm'e I stairway will extend in a sweeping 11l rve along iho whole i'ronl oi the

iiioniiniein. encircling a vast platform, when will enable great crowds t assemble oil the occasion of public ceremonials. The relic; and the dead will be. deposited within, and the entrance will lie surmounted by a “laiiterne das molds. ’’ There will also be ('lmpels ol all the Ghristiau denominations, and also a mosque. WITCHCRAFT CD \KCK. AN ITALIAN CASK. ROME. April 9. A curious needs,moll of witclirrall has been broiigitt against an old woman in Milan, whom a mother accuses 1" causing la r son I mhorto to be possessed by the devil for three years. Umberto was unable to sleep properly. This, she alleges, was due to hi; eating, a bewitched pear, wlii'-li the old woman gave him. The mother says that be tore he ate the pear. Umberto was obedient, and religions, but now be uses bad language and "mashes crucifixes. Priests bad tried to ex-

urci.se the devil, hill in ' am. I.'CU a blessing liv tin. Ordinal \n l'l>'-.h*ip o! Milan was unavailing. the "hi has just olit a iveil imiliio protection against the angry mother. . | A KIND Firs Ci.AIM. LONDON', April 10. The Phyllis Lett ease (cabled on 2(1 March) has been settled, the defendants agreeing to destroy the records and not to issue any master records unless giving the date on which the songs were sting and to pay a libel a! portion of Miss Lett's legal expenses. (Plaintiff sued the Pathc F lores Coy for damages for issuing records made ton years ago, which were not of the quality of present day solos'). MADAME BIMINIIAHDT. (Received this day at 11.-hi a.in.) LONDON, April 10. The King, Queen Alexandra and (he Prime Minister were represented at .Madame Uernlmrd's memorial services ill Westminster Cathedral. Ihe Lord Mayor. .Madame Melba, and loading actors and Heiresses attended. Bishop Butt celebrated mass. PLAGUE IN DIM.III. II FNDEEDS OF DEATHS. (Received this d.iv at 11. Li a.m.) DELHI, April 10 Heavy plague mortality in Delhi lias caused a panic in the city and the inhabitants are fleeing to the neighbouring villages. The streets are almost deserted. Between sixty and one hundred deaths are reported daily. The health officer advised the closing of all schools and colleges. Over LjOO deaths took place in -March alone, and over .‘SOOO since Ist January. Fresh cases are being reported every hour. The authorities hope the heat in May will kill (he epidemic. Madras also reports the epidemic is increasing. There were LsOO Ire-h eases and (500 deaths las! week. OFFICERS SHOT ON FRONTIER, LONDON, April 10. Major Orr and Major Anderson of the Seaforth Highlanders, were sniped and killed while walking four miles from Landikotal on Sunday evening. Their assailants are unknown. Friend!v tribesmen brought the bodies to the frontier. BODY STOLEN. LONDON. April 10. 7. An extraordinary burglary occurred at an undertaker’s establishment in Fitzroy Square. London. Two or three men removed a lead coffin on a harrow, tlu- police finding the roflin in an adjoining. street. It contained the body of a Belgian lady, awaiting removal to Mausoleum. Belgium. The body was not disturbed and it is not clear whether the burglars knew the contents of the coffin or were nimbi., to remove the booty. BTC DECREASE IN CRIME. LONDON, April Pi. At the opening of the Belfast Ascizes, the Lord Chief Justice, commented on the extraordinary decrease in crime compared with the corresponding period of 1922. The murder charges hail fallen from !)."> to nil. attempted murder from o 9 to nil. arson from 12 to nil. malicious injury from 97 to one, robbery 130 to nine, firearms’ offences from. 40 to 3. DEATH FROM POISON. (Received thL day at 10.10 a.m.) “London. April :io. Mrs H.VTidmau, widow of the Socialist leader, was found dead at Hampstead, with an empty bottle beside the bed, which is believed contained poLon. Deceased was a prolific speaker and writer on behalf of Socialism. She took a prominent part in the suffragist movement, and has been much depressed since her husband’s death.