OVERNIGHT CABLES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18576, 26 September 1928, Page 4

OVERNIGHT CABLES.

(United-Press Assn.—By- Electric Telegraph.—Copyright.) Electricity in Britain. RUGBY, September 24. In connection with the clectncity scheme for the South-east of England .the Central Electricity Board has placed contracts amounting in all to about £1,000,000 for the construction of 132,000volt transmission lines in that area. The Central Electricity Board was established under last year’s Electricity Supply Act. The commissioners assume that the output in Britain will double every eight years, and that at the end of 1941 about, 450 units per head of population will be consumed. The standard voltage for grid transmission which it is proposed to establish has been fixed at 132,000 volts, and secondary transmission lines will operate at 32,000 volts. The first scheme adopted by the board covered an area of 5000 square miles in Scotland, and included Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, Dumbarton. The South-east England area, for which contracts for transmission lines have now been placed, includes London and has a total area of 8828 square miles, with a population of 11,500.000. It is proposed to reduce the number of generating stations from 135 to IS, and by a system of overhead lines to convey current at the pressure stated. It is estimated that when the scheme is in full working order the average cost of electricity, which now varies greatly in different localities, will be reduced to 1.25 d per -unit.—British Official Wireless. The Prayer Book. RUGBY, September 24. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Randall Davidson, whose „ resignation will take effect in November, will preside to-morrow for the last- time over a meeting of the Bishops. The meeting, at which it is expected all Bishops of the provinces- of Canterbury and York will attend, will give further consideration to the problem created by the rejection of the revised Prayer Book for the Church of England when the Prayer Book measure was defeated in the House of Commons. Discussions will continue over three days, at the end of which, it is anticipated, some very general line of policy will emerge, probably in the form of provisional resolutions which will subsequently be put before the dioceses.— British Official Wireless. Crowd Stampedes. MADRID, September 24. The majority of the fire victims were of the poorest class. The reason for the high death toll on the landing of the first gallery was that a cripple, supported on crutches and leaning on the arm of a policeman, fell to the floor. Ilis crutches tumbled crosswise and tripped the stampeders. Only the strongest were able to-escape over the struggling bodies in the smoke-filled staircase. The policeman was incinerated. Eighty-five bodies have been recovered so far, but the total number of dead is unknown.—Australian Press Association—United Service. The Ex- Kaiser. LONDON, September 24. The Berlin correspondent of “The Times ” reports that the Kaiserbank Association has opened a fund to celebrate the ex-Kaiser’s seventieth birthday, on January 27, “ on behalf of that Prince who, year in and year out, from dawn to dusk, has only thought, worked and cared for the Fatherland, and upon whose head mountains of abuse and calumny are still heaped.”— Times Cables. Automatic Gears. LONDON, September 25. Details of the new automatic gears for motor-cars show that they are controlled from the steering wheel, on which there is a quadrant marked “reverse,” “neutral,” “low,” “medium,” “normal” and “high.” to which a lever is moved, depressing a new pedal to make each change. The device is at present limited to Armstrong-Siddc-ley’s thirty and twenty horse-power models, costing respectively £SO and £35 additional.—Australian Press Association. American Aircraft. CANBERRA, September 25. A proclamation has been issued forbidding the importation of any aircraft not provided with a certificate of airworthiness issued by a State which is a party to the 1919 international Convention for the regulation of aerial navigation. This will mean preventing the importation of aircraft from the j United States, which is outside the { convention.—Australian Press Associa- ! tion. Opium Traffic. RUGBY, September 24. The British proposal for a League of Nations inquiry in the Far East on opium smoking and smuggling was adopted in the League Fourth Committee, after being v r armly supported by the British delegates. Dame Edith Lyttelton and Sii Malcolm Delevingne, and by representatives India, the British dominions and Siam. As the expenses of the inquiry may exceed j 200,000 francs, the British Government has offered to contribute 50.000 francs. —British Official Wireless. Russian War Talk. LONDON, September 24. The Riga correspondent of “ The Times” reports that M. Voroshiloff. j Commissar for War, speaking at Kieff. ! said that the Soviet had never .con-j sidered Mr Kellogg's Peace Pact seri- ; ously. It had signed it merely for tac- j tical reasons, to prevent other Powers •’ accusing the Soviet of Red ImperialM* Voroshiloff added that the danger of war was real. The Government had not exaggerated the danger when it had decided to strengthen the fighting forces. Without the Red Army, Russia would not exist a week. He regarded the technical equipment and training of the Red Army as equal to, and perhaps superior to, that of Russia’s neighbours.—Times Cables. Power Conference. LONDON, September 25. Sir Philip Cunliffe-Lister, President of the Board of Trade, at a banquet in connection with the world fuel conference, expressed his opinion that there was a great future for pulverised coal. He emphasised the fact that the interests of the coal producer and the consumer were practically identical. Undercutting should be stopped. He stressed the importance of the gas industry in industrial areas and announced that an inquiry was to be made into the use of coke gas for power purposes. The Government was considering a network of gas mains to supply gas for industrial purposes throughout the area extending from Leeds to Liverpool.—Australian Press Association. New Zealand Cricket, LONDON, September 25. “ Sporting Life ” thinks that New Zealand cannot reasonably be denied test cricket rank after the admission of the West Indies, and adds that the interchange of cricket courtesies is a tremendous asset to the Empire. The

paper trusts that New Zealand will lit included among the most favoured cricketing nations.—Australian Press Association —United Service. N.S.W. Coal Mines. SYDNEY, September 25. A conference of all unions engaged in the coalmining industry met to consider the proposals of Mr Bavin, the State Premier, to re-establish 4 the coal industry on a general profitable basis. It unanimously rejected Mr Bavin’s suggestions, and appointed a committee to make counter-proposals. A report of the conference will be presented to the Federal Council of the Miners’ Federation. —Australian Press Association. Ghastly Story. NEW YORK, September 25. A formula for a. mixture for chicken feed was found at the Riverside chicken farm near Los Angeles, where Gordon Northcroft is accused of the murder of four bOys. • The investigating officers disclosed that this formula contained evidence indicating with startling horror that the allegedly degenerate youth, after killing his % victims with an axe, cut up their bones and bodies and fed them to the chickens. The mixture listed so many parts of bran, wheat, bonemash “little

boys, 2h parts.” Colour is given to the authenticity of this recipe from the I fact that only shreds of the bodies of j the victims so far have been recovered, j —United Service. The Basic Wage. SYDNEY, September 25. J The Full Bench of the Industrial | Commission delivering judgment on an application by the Employees’ Feder- I ation lor a new inquiry to determine the basic wage and fix the standard of living for the State, expressed the opinion that under the Act it was only competent for the Commission in fixing the basic wage to accept the basis of man and wife only. The decision was a majority one. The immediate effect of the judgment will be that the inquiry to determine the rural basic wage, which | had been suspended, will immediately ! proceed. At the conclusion of that. ! inquiry the application of the employ- j ers in iion-rural industries for reopen- | ing the basic, wage question will be! proceeded with. It is pointed out in the iudg-1 ment to-day that if the basis of man and wife only were to be accepted as the basis for determination of the wage the present basic wage of .£1 4s weekly would be reduced by eleven shillings to £3 13s. The Commissioners

in a special joint statement at the conclusion of tli« judgment directed the attention of Parliament to the position.-—Australian Press Association. Parachute Descent. PARIS, September 25 Chevalier Willy Coppens, tlie onelsggod Belgian Air Attache at London, claims to have made a world's re cord parachute descent from an aeroplane of 6540 yards, near Villa Coublay. He landed uninjured.--Australia** Pres*