Papurau Newydd Cymru
Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru
43 erthygl ar y dudalen hon
"GET YOUR BACK INTO iT."I…
"GET YOUR BACK INTO iT." —M r. Lloyd George. • PREMIER'S GREAT SPEECH TO SAVE THE COUNTRY FROM INDUSTRIAL RUIN. THE NEED FOR INCREASED PRODUCTION. (By Our Special Correspondent.) House cf Commons, Monday. When 1 arrived :t ttie Hou-e of Common.? jn Monday afternoon it >.ru> apparent that great event, were afoot. V ii desirous cf gaining admissi<j:ito?e? the Prenuer' promised "opening- c, f the secret loi x friends sending cards of application for terviews with members, unci members. th* selves flitting1 here and there, from Loi;;)y to Hou-e, were everywhere in evidence. Precisely at five minutes to four Mi. Lloyd George, wearing a ijrev mornintr-coat suit, rose to address a j a eked house; and it was not until five minutes to seven exactly that he sat down, thus making for three s l? i n o i- 11- ?, e hours a continuous exposition of the posi- tion oll the country. NEED FOR HARD WORK. I One oi the leading points oi his speech was that Effort has got. to be quickened, tightened. Employers, managers, lore- men and workmen must get their backs into it to save the country. There was never a more fatal fallacy than that the less you work the more work there will be for others. :lr:iln::g a:r 1:):;S :jde".1 the Premier, \n' mi?ht record the Govern ment s trade policy as follows: Trade.—Import restrictions to be with- drawn on September 1. Control oi the ex- change to end. This, may have the effect r seme time of increasing^ the prices! food and ru.w material, especially of goods whuh come from America. The Board of Trade to be equipped with emergency powers to chck any sudden and undue importation of goods at prices altogether below the cc-ts of production here owing to the collap.-e ■ f the exchanges. Ariiiy. -ider--tt-,Ie reductions in the Army Estimates to be possibly effected. Mines.—The Government could not accept Mr. Justice Sankey's scheme for State pur- chase. They accepted in principle his scheme for unification and reorganisation. The Government accepted the policy of Star.' purchase of the mineral rights in coal. A fund would be established out of the pur- chase value to secure a oetter standard of iinusT among the miners. FORTY THOUSAND MILLION?. I The Premier said all he was asking now was that everybody, realising the gravity cf the position, would give a fair and impar- tial consideration to the suggestion., the Government put forward, realising that the future of the land depended upon the way these difficulties were met. The direct cost of the war to the world was fortv thousand millions, spent not in productive energy, but spent largely in de- struction. How could they expect the world to return to normal the moment that expen- diture was* ov<V? There ufc a shortage of labour; there was a shortage of material; there were great transport3 difficulties; and there .were toi,es of great accumulated stocks of manu Pic- tured goods in foreign countries which, on the signature of peace, rush this country and depress prices. Trade had steadily improved, but we have fetili our worst troubles to face. The outstanding fact was the alarming :Kiv*»r.e balance of trade. Before the war we had the greatest international trade in the world. We could not prosper—we could not even exi"t-without recovering, maintain-1 I Ll,- tr?i d e. Before t h iM.?. and incrt?-in?our trade. Before the war our imports exceeded exports by ilod,000.000. Last July our exports were -(-j.) ,noo,oo¡) and our imports £ 141,000,000. If that rate was maintained, instead of an adverse balance of £ 150,000,000 we should have one of £ 1,000,000,000. Taking the aver- age throughout the year, the adverse beianee, unless there wavs a great improve- ment. would be between £ 700,000,000 ,i tid £ 800,000,000. As far as receipts were con. cerned, from our foreign investments we were We have got to pav the adverse b« lance of trade of L I THE NATIONAL DEBT. I The national indebtedness was anothej I disquieting feature. Before the war our I National Debt was £ 1645,000,000, and we were disturbed bv it. Our interest on sink- ing funds was £ 24,500,000. To-dav our National Debt is fc?.StN).000,000. As against that we have the indebtedness of the Allies and the Dominions and India for but the interest and sinking fund together will come to £ 400,000,000. That i- our debt, instead of costing us • £ 24,(XX) ,000, will involve an annual charge of ^400,000,000. Pensions are an absolutely new charge of £lW).OOO,OOO per annum. To meet this condition of things—an ad- verse trade balance which is alarming, an increased expenditure which i.s inevitable, sinking fund and interest upon debt—there is but one. resource, that is, increased pro- duction. Vet we are .-pending more, we are earning less. We are consuming more, we arc- producing less. It cannot last. I NEWS FOR LABOUR. I Dealing with the question of labour, Mf Lloyd George went on to say that he did not suggest that the last word had been eairl about hours or about wages. 'There has been," he remarked, "an In- dustrial Couucil set up of representative em- ployers and representative workmen which has been sitting for months examining to- gether these various problem.s-the prob- lem ot hours and wages, of unemployment, and the problem of control. I am very glad to .-•ay that they have reached a fair measure ot ugreemefit upon two or tTiree of those problems. Amongst others, they have reached all agreement upon the problem of hü;n' and the problem of wages. "A measure has been prepared by the Minister of Lary-ur to deal with both hours and wages. lie introduced it to-day at the commencement of business. In .substance, it means a declaration of a l-i-'our week t" all industries of the country, with two or three exceptions; and it :1:"0 provides for a living wage for those who are engaged in industry in this coun- try. Tiio^e measures are, I think, the most important measures dealing with Labour problems which have ever been submitted to the judgment of this llou*o." FAVOURABLY RECEIVED. I It is safe to say that the speech created on the whole a favourable impression in the Lobby, and the chief criticism came from the extreme tariff men a.nd from the Labour members, some of whom smarted under the straight lecture which the Prime Minister administered.
I RIOTING IN IRELAND. I
RIOTING IN IRELAND. I SERIOUS DISTURBANCES THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE COUNTRY. I —— I SINN FEINISM RAMPANT, i The position in Ireland during the week- end was most grave, and rioting of a par- I ticularly vigorous character is reported from I' all quarters. Among the mnnv outrage- was a daring attack on Rocky Island, in Queen.-town Harbour, by hidden riHemen, who rested in ambush at Paddy's Rock. a peninsular cloee by. U Troops replied to the Sinn Feiners' ritiea with machine guns, and the liring continued for some time. Rocky Inland is a Govern- ment island which has been used for the storing of an-inunitiov., atirl i., the general opinion that the Sim: Feku-rs were trying to capture the place. At the other end of the countrv, in Lon- donderry, troops used their bayonets in a charge, and the crowd replied with atones. Riots and attacks by Sinn Feiners also took place in other parts, and tanks arrived in Dublin. A goods train was wrecked near Navan. Co. Meath, owing to the rails being torn up. Fortunately, no one was injured, bat 30 wagons were smashed. Soldiers with fixed bayonet- and police with batons were called upon to quell Lady Dav riots at Fintona, Co. Tyrone.
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Viscountess Rhondda has left Southamp- ton on a business tour in Canada which will last three months. "One of the greatest profiteering institu- tions in the country is the dining-room of the House of Commons," said Mr. Duncan Graham, M.P., at the Scottish Miners' Conference at Ayr. Major-General Sir F. H. Svkes, Con- troller of Civil Aviation, who travelled by air to Amsterdam on a visit to the Dutch Aircraft r-xhibition, returned to England bv 'plane. h David Startup, a nurserymen, of Bar- min". Kenft- ordered to pay a -voi'.nc' employee £J.23 compensation in re- spect of the (1Í ¡NJ. eye through a fall from a horse. "ylv l.'Vv«MM>id weighs over 1.1 • atones," said a waouwn tit Epping Court. Five bnndwd estm ;<"klWs are exacted in Clare. Membere of the Sr«,th N<*ts Farmer Union hedged th^nr^vo, not to bid for a n yf,rm "til ft ba* \H.'en oftered to the tenant Eft. a fair price. Mr. J. !W>ert Lewi*, M.IV. has opened a --hjcl, he has presented as a war menial to his native town of Caerwvs, Flintshire. The "London Gazette announces that Brevet-Colonel the Earl of Athlone, 2nd Life Guards and personal A.D.C. to the Kin°'. been appointed a Lrigadier- o-eneral. The Earl of Athlone is the third ()U of the late Duke of Teck, and brother of the Queen. For charging 4-d. iiitead of Jkd. fer hitter ?eer ?' the public bar and for not exhibit- ing :)ricc ii-t?. ?t?- ? -foiie- of the White Lion Inn, Eu-kley. Flintshire, has ?en onTIT,Ulitit.;hli-e, h as l?ee. Life assur-:I,ce politu? numbering 541,032 ard covering a t?tal of ?'1?0.?7.?'5C' were i?-ULU il Great Britain in 1?17 during which yea: cla una t nL. lillg ?.?',?.17 were :??d
-HAM PROFITEERS FINED I
HAM PROFITEERS FINED I Fines and cost totalling £ 301 were im- posed at Westminster Police Court in the case of a Food "Ministry prosecution as to dealing in hams. Mr. "Mortimer E. Webb, director of Webb, Sons, and Clarke, provision merchants, Kino-'s-road, Chelsea, was summoned for sellLn? hams at a price in excess of the maximum provi-ded by the Bacon and Ham (Prices) Order. There were ten summonses against Mr. Webb and ten against the com- pany. The defendants pleaded guilty.
DISMISSED POLICE.I
DISMISSED POLICE. I London police strikers cannot come back. Between 50 and GO letters applying for re- instalment, written by ex-sergeants and ex- con-stables of the Metro]>olit.au Police who were among the 1,000 dismissed for joining the strike called by the discredited Police Union, have been received by the Commis- sioner. General Sir Xevil Macready, who ,,iloner, Gener-i.1 Sil ,?evi l -Ninerea d y, ?.v h ,). "I am sgry for some of the men, but the dav that one of the men who refused duty is reinstated will sec me no longer Commis- sioner"
WHERE THE 110ADS A LIE 'MIOTICII."
WHERE THE 110ADS A LIE 'MIOTICII." The roads in Central Asia are a little worse now than they were in former days, and a caravan bound from Teheran or Bag- dad to the interior may be many months on the way. This fact has made it necessary for many a merchant to know just how his goods ought to be packed and shipped, so that they will be in the proper condition for loading on camel and mule back in the desert towns, whence they start on their strange voyages. A shipper of goods for export iuto Far Eastern countries must know just how much a camel can carry, and over what kind of a road it will have to travel; for in many ,-ave l for iii -iii ii v places the roads are over mountain sidoa that are so narrow that the size of the pack- age is of the utmost importance.
CURLY-HEADED MEN OBSTINATE.
CURLY-HEADED MEN OBSTINATE. "I never like to see a curlv-hoaded man on the jury when I am defending a criminal," said a well-known criminal advocate. "My experience is that curly-headed men art; almost invariably self-willed and obstinate. and are sure to dissent from the verdict of their colleagues. "I have tested this over and over again, and I am always willing to lav odds that when a jury disagree, three times out of four the dissentients are the curlv-headcd ones. I su ppose this vein of obstinacy is due to their being pampered and spoiled as children, which gives them an undue conceit. of them- selved aud their opinion."
I NEGROES NOT BLACK.I
I NEGROES NOT BLACK. There are nearly ten millions of natives in Central Africa who are not black, and who do not look much like the other savages in any way. These natives are of a peculiar yellowish copper colour, and their skuils are much larger than those of the negroes. Some scientists think that thev arc descen- dants from European or Asiatic" races that wandered into Africa thousands of years ago. Others say that they are aboriginal in- habitants of the country, and that their light colour is due to the fact that they are gradually improving and growing beyond the negro type
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To keep the Cobmy free from rallies the Governor of the East African Proteetorato has prohibited the importa-ti'u of cats and dogs. Associated with Sir Thomas Lipton when ■ he lK'gan business in Giaisynv, Mr. Frank Keihill has died at 'vVray-cre-eut, Tolling- ton Park. N. V
! A NEW PERSIA.I I
A NEW PERSIA. I AGREEMENT PROVIDING FOR II PRACTICAL "ASSISTANCE FROill I I ENGLAND. I SHAH'S EXPECTED VISIT. The main points of an agreement com- pleted between Great Uritain and Pcrsia. are:— German, Russian, and all other foreign influence in l'ersia removed. < £ 2,000,000 British ioan for financin g re- forms. 0 Officers, munitions, equipment for new policing force. lt.,uiis, L,.(Itt i lzuctit for ucw Expert advisers to the Persian Adminstra- tion. Co-operation in road, railway, and com- munications generally. The Agreement particularly emphasises that the arrangements do not in any l'ierh-;e make Persia a Briti.-h Protectorate. The policing force, which will be organised with the help of British officers, will do away with the old-style Persian gendarmerie. Great Britain further promises to co-operate in assisting Persia in her claims for com- pensation for war damage and the ratilica- 1 ion of the Persian frcnticr where justifiable. British influence in the East now extends over Persia, Mesopotamia, Arabia, to Egypt and India. It is reported that the Shah is at present 011 his way to England.
SUICIDE'S 55 FEET LEAP. I
SUICIDE'S 55 FEET LEAP. I Mr. Alexander J. M. Morrison, a retired barrister, GO, jumped from the fourth storey of an hotel, 55ft., and was killed. At the iiKjiiest, Private Hammond, Grena- dier Guards, said that he saw Mr. Morn .-on standing at a window on the fourth floor of Leicester Court Hotel, lJ¡¡e(' Anne's-gar- dens, W", preparing to jump. Some friends brought blankets, and wnen the man jumped they tried to catch him but without success. A verdict of "Suicide while of unbound mind" was returned.
HEBE OF THE TEA-SHOP. I
HEBE OF THE TEA-SHOP. I Patrons of the ubiquitous tea-shop will breathe freely. Large firms who own numbers of tea-shops are prepared to listen to the waitresses' de- mands, Miss Jewson, organiser of the > ational Federation of Women Workers. The demands are 35s. a week minimum, a it-hour week, and a week's holiday with full pay. There was considerable unrest among the girls, continued Miss Jewson. In practically every case waitresses were first engaged at 10, or 15-s. a week, and there was very little ri.->e, while they were oil the premises 10 or 12 hours a day.
NEW MINISTER OF AGRICULTUREI
NEW MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE I The new President of the Board of Agri- culture and Fisheries in succession to Lord Ernie (better known as Mr. Prothero), who bus resigned, is to he Lord Lee of Fareham. Colonel Arthur Hamilton Lee, who was created a baron last year, represented the Fareham division of Hampshire us a Union- ist for 18 years. He is 50 yearts of age. In 1917 Lord Lee presented to the nation, subject to life interest, the famous Chequers E.,tate in the Chiltern Hills, with the man- sion house and itri contents, to be the future official countrv resideuce of the Prime Minis- ters of England.
PETROL BLAZE AT BRISTOL. t
PETROL BLAZE AT BRISTOL. t Two trucks loaded with drums of benzol and petrol caught fire on the G.VV.R. sidings outside Bristol. The guard promptly uii- coupled the tracks from an oil tank which was next to them. an-d they were shunted into an open space. Traffic was interrupted for .some time by the fire, and some passen- gers who were held up completed the jour- ney to Bristol station on foot.
RAILWAY CLERKS..I
RAILWAY CLERKS. I Unless a satisfactory settlement is soon secured drastic action may be expected from the railway clerks. The general t-ecretary of t he R-ailway Clerks' Association, Mr. G. A. Walker, at the Birmingham conference, referred to the resolution passed instructing the executive committee of the association, in the event Df later offers not being acceptable, to re- quest the President of the Board of Trade to arrange a meeting immediately with the ;xecutivc committee of the association in )rdH' that a definite settlement may be reached without further delay. The conference agreed also that members of the association will support the executive in whatever steps the nxeeutive think neces- sary, even to "withholding their labour to jctfure a satisfactory settlement."
CAPE DESPAIR, t
CAPE DESPAIR, t A strange history attaches to the name of a certain place in Quebec, now known as Cape Despair. This title- would naturally suggest a tragedy, but, as a matter of fact, juile the reverse was the case. In olden times, when French influence and speech were predominant, it was known as Cape Hope, or, in French, Cap d'Espoir. But this latter term proved rather too much for the British settlers who afterwards same there, so they translated it iuto what they considered the nearest equivalent—Cape Despair.
A GIANT TREE.I
A GIANT TREE. I Sicily boasts the largest tree in the world. It is known as "The Chestnut Tree of a Hun- dred Horses," and is situated at the foot of Mount Etna. It has five enormous branches, each as large as an ordinary tree, issuing from a trunk which is 212 feet in circu:nfe2> ence. A large hollow in the trunk is capacious enougli to contain a flock of sheep. Its name originated in the story that Que 11 Joan of Aragon with her nobility and their retinues once took refuge from a violent storm under its spreading branches.
IDEADLY SUSPENSE. f
DEADLY SUSPENSE. f "More dreadful than the guillotine-ttie ase of which was recently revived in France -was the practice of keeping a man in gnorance of the actual day on which his > leath sentence was to be carried out," re- t narked a warder from the famous La Roquette-the prison for the condemned. "The unhappy wretches used to lie awake ill night, fearful that the dawn would see them called forth to die. One man I recollect "ould never get to sleep before six o'clock in the morning, when he used to say, I am safe for another dav 1
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Gravesend Gas Company have decided to r the price of gas from ixs. Gd. to 7s. a thousand ieet. Merthvr Tvdvil is infested with rats. One thousand have been destroyed in the town in the past few days. Men of the 6th London Eegt. who have served over-seas (exclusive of those who applied to take part in the London march) are asked to send addresses to Captain Pyne, 57a, Farringdon-street, E.G. 1, for the letter of thanks. German wireless announces that General Lmail von Sanders, the German commander of the Turks, is to be allowed to return to Germany and that the repatriation of Mac- en sen, who-is at Salonica, is ceiiig bv the Allies.
THE MINERS BEATEN, i
THE MINERS BEATEN, i TERMINATION OF DIFFICULTIES AND "WILD MEN" SNUBBED. ENGINEERS' PLOT FAILS. At a maes meeting of Barnsley miners it was decided that work should 00 resumed ind it is expected that a similar decision will be made at the meetings of the other tranc hes of the Yorkshire Union. Meetings in the Doucaster area were over- (vhelniingly in favour of returning to work ;he poll being unanimous at several of the argest collieries. In Pontefract district the neu voted in favour of the strike con- ;inuing. to rav, the finish of the York- Needless to say, the finish of the York- ihire deadlock will have a epeedy effect on s he London coal trade. Most of the big sierchants have sufficient orders on theii DOOICS to keep them busy for two or three 21011 ths, but they have been unable to obtain ;he necessary coal with which to fulfil the iemandri of the consumers. It is estimated that the Yorlco-hire strike las CCt-ft the Union 1300,000. In spite of the rumours which have been prevalent to the eifect that an extensive engineering strike would be embarked upon with a view to paralysing valuable indus- tries, the Labour Correspondent of the 'Daily Sketch" states:—I learn that at a conference of the Federation of Shipbuild- ing Trades and the Amalgamated Society of Engineers^ the malcontent section were ;reated by the majority of the delegates xitli a contempt almost amounting to icorn. The bone of contention ifl a matter of lours. Engineers are now working 47 hours 1 week, and are asking for 44. The em- d 1 overs are at present adamant in their re- fusal. declaring in some cases that they have jvidence (sometimes photographic) of time .vasting. It is more than suspected that the jovernmcnt has given the employers to inderstand that they will be quite safe in IIiiL- a halt to such concessions at a time when increased rather than les-sened output is the emphatic need of the nation. It was considered advisable, in view of :hp serious statements made by certain em- ployers, to make efforts to obtain facts and igures to test the allegations.
"LIGHTNING" TACT ICS TOI BECOME…
"LIGHTNING" TACT ICS TO I BECOME ILLEGAL. The Minister of Labour says the suggetlo tion is being carefully considered that in the interests of the general community legislation should be introduced to make strikes and lockouts illegal without a week's notice being first given in writing, where- upon a prompt public inquiry could be held and a report made immediately.
SUGAR FOR BEES.I
SUGAR FOR BEES. I The Board of Agriculture has arranged for the supply this season to bee-keepers of sugar frvr the autumn—winter feeding of their stocks. Bee-keepers arc entitled to 101b. of sugar per stock kept, and they can draw this amount at any time up to Decem- ber 31, 1919. In every county there is an Agricultural Executive Committee, and in most cases a sub-committee is assisting bee-keepers in co-operation with the local bee-keepers' associations. Bee-keepers should apply in the first instance to the secretary of the County Committee, and if they are in doubt on this point they can obtain a list of the local authorities concerned in the distribu- tion of the sugar by sending an unstamped post-card asking for the list to the Board of Agriculture, 72. Victoria-street, S.W.I. On application the local secretary will supply to the bee-keeper a registration form, which must be filled in and returned to the secretary. He will then issue a certificate for 101b. of sugar per stock. On the receipt of this certificate the loc-al Food Committee will hand over the necessary coupons and these can be exchanged in turn for the sugar at the local grocers.
THE CHURCH AND HOUSING. I
THE CHURCH AND HOUSING. I The Archbishop of Canterbury, in a met- Ea.e printed in the Canterbury Diocesan Gazette," says:— The most urgent of the questions facing us in these days of reconstruction is the question of housing. Even before the war the deficiency in housing accommodation in town and country alike was very great. Now it is immense. Th'e overcrowding in some regions, both urban and rural, ought to fill us with shame. It is, of course, a fruitful source of immorality i. well as disease. We have too long acquiesced uncritically in these conditions. Drastic reform is neces- sary, and clergy and churchmen and church- women everywhere ought to press for such reform, and do everything they can to secure generous and systematic improve- ment. The Housing and Town Planning Bill, 1919, has now passed into law. and every effort should be made to master its provi- sions, so that the advantages which it offers may be widely used.
LINCOLN'S BISHOP DEAD. I
LINCOLN'S BISHOP DEAD. I News to hand from Worthing states that I Dr. Edward Lee Hicks, Bishop of Lincoln, has died there from heart failure. Dr. Hicks, who was in his 76th year, had in June last placed his resignation in the hands of the Archbishop of Canterbury, to take effect in September. Before being appointed Bishop of Lin- coln in 1910, Dr. Hicks served in a canonry of Manchester Cathedral, which carried with it the cure of the great industrial parish of St. Philip, Salford. Dr. Hicks was a man of broad views and Liberal sympathies, and a great worker on behalf of temperance and social reform. He was also one of the greatest English authorities on Greek archaeology and in- scriptions, and delighted in his leisure time to decipher and reconstruct the text of a rubbing from some newly-discovered monument.
MINE MAGNATE BEREAVED. I .-I
MINE MAGNATE BEREAVED. I I Mrs. Nellie Joel, of 19, Upper Brcok- street, whose death is reported, was the wife of Mr. Sollv Joel, the millionaire Rand magnate. She was very popular among the large numbers .whom she lavishly enter- tained at her husband's place at Maiden Erlegh, ? Reading.
"LIVE RAIL" TRAGEDY.I
"LIVE RAIL" TRAGEDY. I At a Hammersmith inquest it was stated that Edward Arthur Nixon, a seven-year- old schoolboy, had been electrocuted while trespassing on the West London Railway at St. Quintin's Park. A verdict of "Acci- dental death was returned.
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"Accidental death" was the verdict at the inquest at Brixton on a baby aged seven months, who picked up a piece of lettuce, swallowed it, and had a fit. While her mistress was on holiday, Ophi:1 Fowler, 68, housekeeper, threw her. self from the tower of a residence at Fair- mile, Cobham, Surrey, fell 75ft. and wai killed. "Suicide while of unsound mind' was the verdict at the inquest. Signor Tittoni, Italian Foreign Minister, visited Malines to give Cardinal Mercier th [talian war cross. Furnishing Marylebone's new town hall will cost J2i;5,248. The band of the Grenadier Guards is on tour in Canada and U.S. Three tons of cake were efcten at a Swin- | loji ^'uldren's fete attended by 20,000.
TO STOP PROFITEERING
TO STOP PROFITEERING IMPORTANT AMENDMENTS IN NEW BILL TO REGULATE FAIR TRADE. "SOCIALISM MOST MUDDLED." By a very important amendment agreed to by the Government in the clauses of the new Bill which has been introduced to put a stop to the excessi ve profiteering which is only too prevalent, the Board of Trade, on any investigation into prices, cost and pro- fits, may issue an order fixing maximum prices. In answer to criticism that this practi- cally recast the Government's Bill and was "Socialism of the most muddled kind," Mr. Bonar Law said the power to fix prices might be desirable in particular cases, but there was no intention of dealing with profiteering by fixing prices throughout the country. On the other hand many members urged that fixing prices was the only way to pre- vent them soaring. CLAUSE I. When the matter was deliberated upon in the House of Commons much discussion was 1 indulged in on Clause I., which empowers the Board of Trade to investigate complaints and take proceedings. Mr. George Thorne moved to leave out tho Board of Trade and lay the duty on the tri- bunals to be constituted under the Bill. Sir A. Geddes resisted the amendment on the ground that it would remove Ministerial responsibility. Mr. G. Thorne moved that the investiga- tions concerning cost and profits to be un- dertaken should be made in public. Sir A. Geddes offered to consider an amendment to Clause IV., which would have the effect cf making it possible for cases which arose on complaint and not on the initiative of the Board of Trade to be dealt with in public, if the tribunal thought fit. Mr. Holmes contended that the result of such an amendment would be to assure pub- licity in respect of cases against the retailer and small trader whilst the manufacturer, wholesaler, and large concern would be heard privately. A division was challenged, and Mr. Thome's amendment was defeated by 212 to F, I COMBINES AND TRUSTS. Sir Alfred Yeo moved an amendment pro- viding that the investigation should be "from the source." He believed profiteers were the great combines, rings, and trusts. Sir A. Geddes thought the object would be better achieved by the amendment in the name of Mr. Kennedy Jones that the mves- vestigation should be into the cost "at all stages." This amendment was accepted. DECLARING PRICES. An amendment was moved by Mr. i. Thomson empowering the Board of Trade, after 'invest igation, to declare the price of an article which would yield a reasonable profit, or tix maximum wholesale and retail .prices. Sir A. Geddes said he accepted the prin- ciple of the amendment. Sir E. Wilde said the effect of the amend- ment would be to relieve shopkeepers of great anxiety. Lord R. Cecil condemned the proposal as placing the whole trade of the country un- der the autocratic domination of a multitude I of local committees. Sir D. Maclean said the proposal was rank Socialism—Socialism of the most muddled kind. The Attorney-General said the words which the Government would accept, if the Committee thought desirable, were: "On any such investigation they may, by order, fix maximum prices." This pow^r would be limited to the Board of Trade. RECASTING THE BILL. Major Hill Wood thought it a strange procedure of the Government to accept an amendment which had the effect of practi- cally recasting their Bill. It would surely have been simpler to have introduced a one-clause Bill giving the Board of Trade power to fix maximum prices. Mr. Bonar Law said the power to fix prices might be desirable, in certain paI-, ticular cases, and therefore the Government were willing to accept the amendment in the form suggested. But it must be clearly understood that the measure was not intended, in any sense, to be an attempt to deal with the evil of pro- fiteering by fixing prices throughout the country. This would be made plain in sub- sequent parts of the Bill. Mr. T. 'riiomson accepted the Govern- ment's words, and moved his amendment in that form. It wan carried by 132 to 95. SOME EXAMPLES. The following brief reports of profiteer- ing" cases will illustrate to what a pitch the practice has reached:— A flagrant case is that in which William Blown Chamings, Mayor of Okehampton, and a member of the local food committee,. was lined C50 and jM5 costs, on sixty-three summonses for profiteering. Lt was stated that the local food committee had asked the Ministry not to prosecute Mr. Chamings, who, by the way, had previously been warned. Frank Franks, butcher, London Fields, war, fiticd 120, with £5 costs, for charging Is. lOd. per pound for imported loin chops, instead of Is. 7d. Raymond Latchain, provision merchant, of Highbury Park, was fined £10, with 10 guineas costs, for profiteering. Edmund Beechey, Leadenhall Market, was fine £ 10 on each of three summonses for charging excessive prices, with Y,20 costs, and £100 on each of two suiiimonses-X250 in all. BILL PASSES THE COMMONS. The Bill, having been read for a third tune, has now passed the Commons. Colonel Archer-Sliee declared that the Bill was attempting the impossible. When the people found how they had been fooled their wrath would turn against the Government. Sir J. D. Rees thought, the Bill would have a soothing and satisfactory eifect on public opinion. Mr. A. M. Samuel said bo had no hope of the Bill reducing the cost of living, but it < would tend to serve as a bogey to wrong- doers. AMENDMENTS. During the final Committee stage Mr. T. Wilson moved a new clause to the effect that the Board of Trade should obtain informa- tion as to the nature, extent, and develop- ment of trusts, companies, firms, and com- binations in so far as they tended to the creation and monopolies and restraint of trade. lie also proposeù that the Board should have power to suspend the operations of such organisations and to impose penal- ties. The first part of the clause, which empowered the Board of Trade to make in- vestigations as to trusts was agreed to. On the sub-section of Clause 1, dealing with the conviction of a company of profi- teering, the addition of the following words to the clause was agreed to: "Or other per- son directly responsible for fixing the prices of these goods." It was agreed that the Bill should not apply l-o articles sold by public auction or competitive tender or to articles for export.
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All the street-sweepers except a few who have been dismissed having returned to work, the strike in Paddington has col- lapsed. As he has to leave the rectory at Michael- ■ mas, the Rev. A. R. Read has asked Hovo Corporation to let him erect an Army hut bungalow in the rectory grounds. The chains which formerly barred the way through the Arc de Triomphe, Paris, through which "the victorious Allied troops marched, on July 14, are to be restored.
"FALL-IN THE FIRING PARTY!"
"FALL-IN THE FIRING PARTY!" IMMEDIATE AND DRASTIC GOVERNMENTAL ACTION NEEDED WITH LABOUR LEADERS. I GENERAL STRIKE THREAT AT 0 LIVERPOOL. Whilst we naturally do not seriously OOVOo cate that capital punishment should be ■ meted out to those misguided persons who are fomenting general discontent among the working elates, we certainly think that. in the interests of the country, the Government should adopt some drastic measures to "settle," once and for all, many of the Labour leaders who are directly resmmsible for the state of revolution to which we are speedily running. During the whole of the year—Peace year at that—strikes seem to have been the lis-order of the day. And when we have practically beaten the miners and bakers at their foolish game news of further serious discontent comes to hand. We are the first to admit that all differ- ences between capital and labour should be settled a* soon a-s possible; but granting that it does not allow for the whole of the community being made to suffer for the glorification of a few. During the week-end .'< fresh crisis developed in the railway world, owing to the delay in securing a settlement of the wages question, and officials of unions declared that unless an early agreement was reached it would be difficult, if not impossible, for them to prevent drastic action being taken. "PROCRASTINATION." I I PROCRASTI' In an official statement issued by th& sxecutive, the associated society say:- As an executi ve committee we have made every effort to facilitate a settlement, but with very poor results. "We find our-?elve? up against a mcst un- satisfactory situation ?lotilht about by procrastination on the part of the Govern- ment in dealing with the matter. "The Government have had sufficient time to arrive at an agreement. "We are hopeful that in view of the letter sent to the Board of Trade something in the interests of peace will be done imme- diately. "Our members complain that the offer of Lhe Government is wholly inadequate, and that the suggested revision of the war wage gives no benefit, and is merely a jugglery with figures. "The railway-men affected include not cnlv the steam men, but the electric train men its well, and they are spread all over the :ountry." I CAUSE OF THE TROUBLE. The cause of the dispute, which affects, it is said, some Siy.OOO enginenien, is the I recent wages offer by the Government on a standardised scale, which has been rejected by several of the branche? of both the men's unions, notably at Liverpool and Manchester. The negotiating committee, including Mr- J. 11. Thomas, M.P., secretary of the National Union of Railvvaymen, and Mr. J. J. Cooke, president of "the Amalgfamated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Fire- men, were in consultation with officials at the Board of Trade ou Wednesday. The committee authorised a letter to be sent to Sir Auckland Geddes, President of the Board of Trade, requesting a further interview, when the executive of the National Union of Railv.aymen would be called to discus* the position. POSITION SERIOUS. The letter from the associated society to Sir Auckland was as follows:- I am instructed to urge that no obstacle shall be allowed to interfere with the holding of a meeting at the Board of Trade offices f with regard to wages] witii a view of a definite result being reached on that day. I am also requested* to inform you that my executive are of the opinion that if further progress cannot be reported to the disaffected districts we fear that we shall be unable to restrain the men any longer. May I anticipate the favour of a very early reply either by telephone or by letter to this address? GEORGE MOORE, Assistant General Secretary. UNNECESSARY SYMPATHY. Now, however, comes the most serious part of the mtuation. It is reported that at a meeting of Labour leaders representing practically the whole of the trides of Liver. pool, it was unanimously decided:— "That in order to secure the reinstate- ment of the police who have gene on strike, and for no other reason, a general stoppage of all workers in the port of Liverpool shall tako place on Wednesday next (this week) for three days. The decision, if carried into effect, will throw hundreds of thousands idle and paralyse the trade of the port. And wh\ r Because a certain body of men cannot exactly obtain what they want or what they think they want, is no earthly excuse tor them to terrorise aud paralyse members < f the community and trade generally.
ILORD GREY FOR U.S.A. LORD…
ILORD GREY F OR U. S A LORD GREY FOR U.S.A. SPECIAL PEACE MISSION TO WASHINGTON. ? GOOD FOR BOTH NATIONS. I j Mr. Bonar Law, in the Commcii3, stated that, pending the appointment of a perma- nent Ambassador to the United States, which will be made in the early part of next year. Viscount Grey of Falhxlon has con- sented to go OIl a mission to Washington to deal especially with the questions arising out of the peace. He felt sure the House of Commons would share in the warm apprecia- tion which is felt by his Majesty's Govern- ment at this patriotic action on the part of Lord Grey, which will ill the opinion of the Government be of the highest value in its influence upon the relations between the two Governments and people:
I A TALE OF THE SEAS.
I A TALE OF THE SEAS. On arrival at a south Irish port. the British steamer War Khan reported that when 200 miles off Brest she received an "S.O.S," aud proceeded to render assist- ance. On sighting the vessel she asked what assistance was required, but there was no response. In the circumstances the cap- tain of the War Khan sent an armed boat's crew- to board the other ship. When they got aboard they apparently found the crew drunk. Some of the officers were in irons and the captain was laid up in the cabin in a badly injured condition. Assistance was rendered to him, the officers released, and the mutineers placed in frons. The name of the vessel was so mutilated in course of transmission as to le unde- cipherable.
I MR, CHAS COBORN..
I MR, CHAS COBORN. Mr. Charles Coborn, who became famous as the singer, some years ago, of the well- known song, "The Man Who Broke the Bank of Monte Carlo," is about to bid fare- well to the music-halls, after appearing in them for fifty-five years. Lord Leverhulme, Sir Oswald Stoll. Sir Alfred Butt, Sir Walter de Frece, and many music-hall managers are co-operating in a testimonial matinee to be given to hiln at the Alhambra on Friday, October 24. Mr. Coborn is now being filmed at Monte Carlo in a picture play based on his famous song.
IROYAL MATRIMONY.,
I ROYAL MATRIMONY. When a member of a Royal family desires to enter the bonds of matrimony, he invari- ably consults the Sovereign on the subject. In this respect he is .not, like humbler mortals, his own master. Precedent dic- tates that he must obtain leave of the Monarch to marry. If he is unable to do so, and persists in carrying out his project, he incurs the Royal displeasure and is forbidden to appear at Court. Many of the privileges he formerly en- joyed are withdrawn, and to all intents and purposes he become just an ordinary citizen, though he retains his title. In Russia, if a member of the reigning house marries con- trary to the order of the Czar, he is com- pelled to leave the country.
I COMPELLED TO CONFESS. I
I COMPELLED TO CONFESS. I Chinese judges refuse to convict a prisoner until a confession of the crime of which he is accused has been wrung from him. This rule is upheld on the ground that adherence to it prevents any possibility of the punishment of an innocent man. The explanation is pre- posterous, the fact being that every person under arrest is tortured until he does con- fess. To avoid the horrible cruelty that is inflicted with the object of getting an admis- sion of guilt, many prisoners acknowledge themselves the authors of misdeeds which they never committed. They prefer to go to gaol rather than to be tortured almost to the point of death.
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Health Ministry urgee local authorities to stock coal. Dr. Lovell Drage, of Hrrtfie7d, coroner for St. Albans, died from blocd-p0!sonin?. "ur. W. B. P?ct. of Lo?ghborough, left ?8,:U-'2. Lieut. Wci&s's (France1 new height record -—30,G-0 feet.
FATAL ACCIDENT, WITH NINETEEN…
FATAL ACCIDENT, WITH NINETEEN VICTIMS. A fatal tram accident occurred at St. Pancras, by which one man was killed out- right and 18 people injured. The tram waa on the Hampstead-Holborn route, and at the curve in Goldington-crescent it left the rails, mounted the pavement, and crashed into the railings of the green. It then appeared to rebound a couple of feet. and crashed on to its side, pinning down three pedestrians. In falling, two feeders were struck, and the wire fusing set fire to the front part of the car. When the men pinned beneath the caT were released, one of them, Alfred Henry John Jackson (40), caretaker, of Golding- ton-buildings, was found to be dead. His body was badly burned. Both driver and condtfibtress escaped in- jury. Robert Curson, of 58, Graf ton-terrace, Kentish Town, died later frcm his injuries. All the others injured who were detained are doing well.
I A TELESCOPE'S TALE.
I A TELESCOPE'S TALE. A ifsherman w F" watched two men through a telescope changing seats in a boat off the Isle of WigM "aw the craft I saw tlie craft turn over. He and his brothers, at once roweJ out b their assistance, but they had disappeared. The bodies were recovered, and at the in- quest a verdict cf "Accidentally dpowned was returned.
I A WOMAN'S CRUELTY.
I A WOMAN'S CRUELTY. "Very seldom do I get a case of cruelty to a child of this kind," said Mr. Wilder- force at Old-street, sentencing Eliaa Dav, 37, to three months' imprisonment for strik- ing Dori s Vaughan, aged seven, across the face with a. poker. Dr. Llewellyn said tho child had a burn on her face as well as a broken n-cse.
ILORD INVERCLYDE DEAD.
I LORD INVERCLYDE DEAD. Lord Inverc l yde, head of the Canard Lord InvNclyde, head of the Steamship Company, has died at Glasgow, aged fifty-six. He was a great authority on all shipping matters, and had made o special study of Iigdithou.se construction. His only son, the Hon. John Alan Burns, succeeds to the barony.
IKINGS PLUNGE INTO SEA.
I KINGS PLUNGE INTO SEA. I At the Santander Regatta King Alfonso's sailing yacht Giralda IV. ran on a sand bank. The King promptly jumped into the water, along with the crew, and assisted in righting the cra.ft.
I A WONDERFUL "LAKE."
I A WONDERFUL "LAKE." The Pitch Lake, of Trinidad, is aeconstcd 3ne of the wonders of the world. Yet there is nothing very wonderful in its appearance. One traveller has likened it to the Sfc James's-nark lal;:e-Wlf'n the water has been drawn oil, and the bottom is in process of being cleaned. It is a "lake" by courtesy only, for the pitch is of such consistency that one is able to walk upon it without danger or difiiculty. It even supports a railway, along whi2h the chunks of asphalt, when quarried," are hauled in trucks to the shore. Alongside the railway, when night falls, run two long parallel troughs or trenches. These represent the spaces whence the day's output of pitch has been dug. Next morning they have disappeared. The pitch has closed upon them and filled them. This process has been going on with more or less regularity ever since the days of Sir Walter Raleigh, who caulked Ins l>híps there, Walter Raleigh, w h o caulked h is n h ina there, and yet the lake remains at tne same level. The quantity annually removed is about one hundred thousand tons.
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American strikee are fizzling out. Prince Henry and Prince George are in >stend. 16i tons of brass Army buttons arc foi ,ale. A bull badly gored a cattleman on an Arbroath (Forfarshire) farm. The cholera epidemic at Mukden Average.- 150 victims daily. A number of troops invalided from Meso- potamia have arrived at Plymouth.