The Guardian from London, Greater London, England • 12

THE MANCHESTER GUARDIAN. WEDNESDAY. DECEMBER 31. 191g1 is EXPRESS EDITION WRECKED DUTCH Tj KINEMA HOLD-UP FAILS. uince tjeptClllDer tlie Allies uav T.

ic Inueer anv doubt crf-'iiiia iu imi.nnim they are determined to impose thoi deei-ortli upon her. Signor Nitti. the paper remarks, 1 ito i a pr worso OXLY THREE i. JOHN AEWFOUVDT frv. r.

AiiiBts oi tie crc-v cf V- -'AT. nuiuu van unci which bliotts, west of Cape ICC. Ihey are the only survivors of Posing the crew, and arc 'V "en for-; a Iesult of exposure on only portion of thAr.M JL v.at.-. The mpn -vj. i.it; i r- great heroism.

Those reSl-uM' Cf'-- i mate and two THE LEEDS BANK Mijor Albert Edward Redfern. th charged with the wilful i. eft-, Oatcs, the manager of th-of the Yorkshi Pi i 400, was brnusrht im "at 7.. r- Minenrtiarv Maetratf- i that the solicitors in th" or rni ind Bedfern, who colinnorl was i-arrrr5' yesterday, with his artr.s :ih.r;-'-'-... constables.

After tho brio; i carried from the dock. TirESTIACOTT'S DRY nixr.F" T.i -IEM0RIAL TABLETS in V. jJgCopper. and M.iTjlH A n.M.i" DEMOL. BEST Tl'BE TUO'1 1 1 piS for Tocth an Mouth.

rV1'' MOURNING. DBESSM AND DYED BLACK JOHNSONS- THE D1 ERS 409. OXFORD 110.UX orhT-Tm Branches duoishcut n': Aiir.ouncerr.enli iu this coluum s- All such aun'iuEcineiitJ raine and aildios of uU-r. i' fwlal orders iiiay Le titii. n.

BIRTHS. On Decrinlvr 'JT, at iu Oxi.nd. 1.. H- 1:011. ARXKIKU).

On tl.c ilr. and iiri. lr.i.l bates), of Merndali-, Chape, son. U- a. CARNKl.l.KV.

On the 20. 11 WitlmigtMU, to Jlr. Ln.l Mi-. I HUM1 Srtrucy), a daugliitr. KOMIUJWUt Oil lho SOU ui-t Mr WILLIAM KOMHOWhli.

wl' i Hurlior Uroughion son. XEEillLUl on 2iKh it tl: slure, tht; wife of Uiinam ST. tiEOKUK. On the luo-mi ui Birkenhead, the v.i: i' 'V tJKOIUih', oi a daughte'. WlllUEY On 30lh t-, Mr.

HIT" KV Oluy Hurtle). Slade v. MARRIAGES. 3RTERS CROMPTOX. On in- ITili Bt.

Churel-, Hio dp Jiii'jio, m.or.GK. ol Tlioinas and tiia late ills. liKVI.l!.-, ul l.iii.::-, St. AiiriL-s-ol-tlleJiea, ud Km du ir-p B1CKER'KN. onlv daughter (.

Mr. Jlr. J-! CKOIUTOX, liovercouit, Aiifdcii. illy yt. i BUIcTOX U1IJJOU1L At llw T.

-t December 29, by the Riv. N.ii lUai tou, U.H ID, only ton of Aii.v r. Springlleld IIuum, Ptiidlcbury, KLaa, ji.u'j-: the hue Andrvw UlIAK it'll, or.d Tho ILiu.ilt-n. CRObTW i On DeieniUr 2'J. in Y.i.g-Ai w.

leyur. Church, Rhyl, bv tho Hev V.ill.jni JAMES CILVltLBS CROFTS, Aidtiin- third daughter if tire latu Jclm li.U Hay, Greenliill House, Dingwall, FAlllLKV THOMAS. At tiiiln.lr.il, burgh, on the 29ih ij.v tlie Hov. J. A.

Thumron, minister ol the Tiuii Cdureh, iistod Iv the Rev. W. jS. Mathe'U, l'AIRLEV, younger foil of the lat. UiU-l Vairley, of bagcw, Southern Nigeria, an.i fcnci ot airs, tairiev, Loiimnn, 11 ji.umi, 4laiiKhter of Mr.

and Mrs. A. M. THOMAS, Bliulmrgi OARAWAY HAUR1S On Deeeinbor 5, at the Ciuirvli. Cheudle Ifujne, bv the Hcv.

IJ. Tj'wn, MA FRANK GARAWAY. of 37 i Ayrt's Jloatl, Old TraHi-M. ManoheKter, to DORIS Kill I HAltlllS. 2, mjt.

Walks, Grove Lane, Cbc-adie Hiilme. war MCIIAVRICK XICH0I.LS On Ibe oOll: at Street Chapel, Manchester, by tht- Km-. H. U. U.A., 1'.

ARTUUli McilAVKIl.K. younser m-plif of Mr. und Mrs. Arthur Vaoil, of Sbinchnirr, ALICE KICHOLLS, B.Se., jonnper daughter o. Mr.

C. C. Xteholls and the late Mis. Xicbolls, of Itol Grove, Cheshire. PEACOCK KATCLIFFF.

On PecrmbT 30, at H. Pfller's rariilB Church, 1 ilie Rev. Pratt, vicar of Patricrfift, THOMAS IiO'rTH, tmo.l pin of Mr. ami Mrs. John I'KAUK K.

of Winton, V) DOROTIiY 1IELEX, only child if Mrs. ud tt-e law Peter HATCUFFK, of Swiuton. Golden "Weddiso. HOPE SAXKEY At St. Barnalas's Church.

Anooati, on January 1. 1870, THOMAS HOl'E to ilAKl SAXKEY. Fifty years of joy and liarpneas, Bvr loved by their 12 children (susnnsand six daujOMrs) and 28 grandc-hildren, all living. Winshey, S3, Wilmslow Road, Chcadie, Br. ft DEATHS.

BERRY. On ttc 28th at Wesfwrx.d, VTalkden (ita residenee of hi son-in-Iaur), XAT11AX BEIjBV, wM 76th year. Service et 2 30 this day iJneidi ot the Whittlebrook Wcsleyan Churehj uHerment three o'clock at St. Paul'a Church. Walkata.

OHAWICEOn (he 29th, at Waltham Cruw, WJJ TAYLOR CHAD WICK, eldest son of the lata Thomai Chadwick. J.P., ot The Grove, CROSSI.EY On the 29th at 30, Bolton RoM, PdleVon.aeed 40. THOMAS A. CROSSLET WW master Frederick Road School, ftrvw on fnjaj atst. John's diureh.

Irlama-o'-th'JIeHht. Inquiries Messrs. Coops, Pendleton. FORD-SSIimOn tte 29th inst. at 'J0 WHIIAM JJliXSTAX, beloved huaband lTtoij3tMnS M.

60 th ing director ot Mestm Si-uth 0nd lsiqr. "JJ Chester and Japanese Consul lor Manchester). tTrrnl StWooSfard Pi-'" Clrch this day (Wed-nday), twelve noon. Inquines to Kendal, Milne and. Co.

rS this day (Wednesday), at three clock. December 27, 19la. "rS.n1lnlln ud tsa imi 42 rears, thc.beiovcd son oi Benjamin Mount Street Mg readeBceol of the tote ou Friday. Jany Dsinuer Stw. SKILtlCORS-vO" J'2 WwT1 nORSUeWyca.

InUnnent st Southern Fred Keineli. WARat mssmUOa Monday, wecem 0t 86th year. uuvy Snrvica and interment at -r BiU at to 46.. wesiw DAVID, taer jemher. 0B0BCE www-- GEOEflB aJT.s STAt'ZMm .27 lust, It KMlata.

near, lntexnent uq ane. st. nnrdi. seed 7a- THE REALISATION OF PEACE. IMPORTANCE OF AMERICAN CO-OPERATION.

Paki, Tuesday. Commenting on the coming into force tlvit. tlie reatc Treaty, tne -j- Dl.0blcms olT peace ac a i 1 "wi tho llios to retain the collaboration of America in thp questions still to be decided. itcuter. ALLIED PRESSURE OX ITALY.

MONEY AND FOOD REFUSED. Rome, Tuesday." Commenting on last night's sitting in the Senate, the Corriere d'ltalia" says the only whv is Sienor Xnti London is that lie is determined to gcUle the Atiriatie question, although fully con- cotnPmpnt will be wholly un- Ac cnor Nitti stated, fi'jrectiy interesting Italian Stomachs. Exchange. U.S. CREDITS TO ITALY.

Washington-, Tuesday. The United States credit to Italy has been increased by $416,114, making the total to date $1,621.338,986. Exchange. A SOCIALIST MISSION TO GERMANY. The Berlin wireless says: "Tho German press publishes the names of the four members of the Commission which the Internationale's Executive Committee at its London meeting decided to send to Germany, in order to study the political and economio conditions and to report on them.

The members of the Commission consist of the Frenchman Mistral, the Hollander Vibaut, the Englishman Henderson, and the Belgian Huysmans." Wireless Press. JAPANESE POLICY IX SIBERIA. EFFECT OF KOLTCHAK'S RETREAT Reuter's learns from a Japanese source that some three weeks ago discussions were' bp.gun between the Japanese and American Governments at Washington with a view to a future policy with regard to Siberia, but so far no decision "has been reached owing to the absence from Washington of the Secretary for War. It is obvious to the Japanese Government, in viuw of events in Siberia and Koltchak's retreat, the whole situation must be reviewed by the Tokio Government. Japan has at present some 30,000 tioops along the line of the Trans-Siberian Railway, while the United Mates nas perhaps 7,000, including Engineers.

it is me oeienrnnauon-oi Japan to stem me flow of Bolshevism in the direction of herself, but whatever new action may be necessary must depend on the political and military posi tion, ana tnen will only be taken after discus sion and in co-operation with her allies. Japan is quite prepared to increase her force in Siberia, should this be regarded as necessary. All arrangements have now been made by the British, French, and Japanese Governments for the repatriation of the Czecho-Slovak. troops, who are now concentrated probably somewhere near Vladivostok awaiting their return. THE ABAB-PREXCH CONFLICT IX SYEIA.

Paris, Tbesdas. The "Journal," referring to recent occurrences in Syria, alleges that besides the incident at Baalbek other incidents occurred. Two French officers are siid to have been killed iu the Bekaa Valley The incidents occurred a fortnight ago, when General Gouraud had not yet at his disposal all the contingents that had to be supplied by General Franchet d'Esperey. The situation has. however, greatly improved lately, adds the "Journal." Reuter.

In French official quarters it is denied that there has been any serious fighting in Syria. There have been no hostilities of any description since December 12, when there was a fight lasting eight Iiouts Baalbek. Exchange. INDIAN TROOPS LEAVING FRANCE Marseilles, Tuesday. The last Indian detachments to leave France, amounting to about 7,000 men, are gathered to gether at Marseilles.

They will leave France in three batches in Januarv. Februarv. and March. Reuter. COAL PROBLEM IN 3ELOIUM.

Brussels, Tuesday. The Libre Belgique announces that the Government intends to draw up a contract of sale which will have to be signed by the mine owners in order to meet the difficulties in the distribution of coal due to the lack of means of transport, speculations. Reuter. MANCHESTER ACCIDENTS. Several accidents occurred last night in Man chester.

A man named Thomas Spencer, aged 43, of Greville Street, Rusholme, was knocked down by a taxi-cab in Stockport Road, and sustained a fractured leg and other injuries, He waa taken to the Manchester Royal Infirmary and detained. James G. Taylor, aged 35, of Queen Street, is also lying in the same institution suffering from injuries caused by being knocked down by a taxi-cab in Wilmslow Road. James English, aged 20, of Leigh Street, Ancoats, is lying in the Ancoats Hospital suffering from the effects of drinking from a bottle of liniment which he mistook for cough mixture; and Barard McLeslie, aged 14, of Malta 'Street, Ancoats, is being treated in the same hospital for severe scalds.1 His condition is fierioua FUSION OF ELECTRICITY -UNDERTAKINGS. At the meeting of the Stalybridge, Hyde, Mossley, and Dukinfield Tramways and.

Electricity Board last night it was reported that at the suggestion of Sir John Snell a anb-com-mittee had been appointed to' confer -with a eub-conunittee of the Ashton-undex-Lyne Corporation with reference to the formation of a Joint Electricity Authority under the Electricity Supply Bill, 1019. Alderman J. Bottomley, chairman of the Generating Station Committee, stated that Sir John Snell was agreed that the interests of both Ashton and the Joint Board's would be best served by supplying the district from one station. The Joint Committee accordingly were to formulate a schema under which they would be copartners with Ashton. and it would, be advantageous to all- the boroughs concerned.

MANX OLD-AGE PENSIONS. i i i of it i i I THE WEATHER. (From tho Meteorologioal Office.) On -Tuesday a new Meep proached our south-west coasts and moveo, i J1UAV.11CU Clilll'ii ww flOTlC, easterly direction across the country aus ins strong squally south-westerly winds in tne English Channel, reaching gale iorcc mouth in the evening. This casioned dull, rainy, misty weather over trie 'C. -I.

whole of the southern nan i I Isles. In Southern England the rainm" heavy. In the London area ana Jingianci generally tne -r above the' normal for1 the time of the year. rnTIMIlllCU i YESTERDAY IN MANCHESTER. Manchester Whit worth Park Mofporolngical Observatory, Tiiesriav.

December au, a Overrast anrl showery; moderate temperature, naro- mctcr luw. falling. Simile Temperatures To-rtay. Yer. I To-ctav.

W. Tlrv hnlh. Ph.tti. 45 0 49'9 Maximum Dry bulb, 9 p.m. 15 8 44 0 I Minimum Hamral' (in inches) 0'9 Sunshine (hours) ''J Humidity (percentage) 3 a.m 9 p.m...

WEATHER FORECAST. The Meteorological Office issue the following fcr the twenty-four nours eua.ng midmght to-night: times; poor visibility, some improvement later; N.K. or stn.ns winds, between h.ft niKlX.B.; rain or sleet at times; indifferent visl lulity rather eolii. further Outlook. unsettled weather.

Sunrises. Mom rises. Seta. To-day 8 26... 3 59 11 59 a.m....

1 a.m. For every ten miles north ot aiancnester suiisku ia by 50 seconds. LAMP-TIME FOR VEHICLES TO-DAY 4 29 p.m. A COUNTRY DIARY. December 30.

It is not often even in a century that there is such a lorn? spell of wet weather in the autumn and tho first winter quarter, and we still at tho pvc of the new vear have a rainfall and high temperature that keen the state or the country so uninviting mat icw win care for their usual long tramp on Xew Year's Day. The owls in our neigiiDOurnoou. uumi me barn owls and the tawny owls, have been hunting recently in daylight. Has the drench- iii" ram in tiie nignt-time tea to ims unubuai practice? A tawny owl on Monday noon took a rat in some grass in our meadow, and when disturbed carried its prey to the end of the field, where it finished its meal. Is.

AT HOME, ivr Afamlps. of Cromford. the oldest lead miner in Peakland, has just died, aged 80 vears. The British Red Cross Society have presented a motor ambulance to the Buxton Borough Council. The K.C.O.'s of the M2th Battalion (Dulwich) County of London V.R, upon isban dm ent voted the balance of their mess funds to SU Dunstan's Hostel.

Mr. James Rowlands, M.P. for the Dartford division of Kent, was taken ill just after the rising of Parliament and wa's removed to a nursinsr home in London. He is progressing favourably. Lieutenant Wood, the officer who was injured whilst rescuing a woman at Hammersmith on Saturday night, was fairly comfortable yesterday morning.

Mr. Edward G. Harman, C.B., late of the Treasury, has left for Paris, where he has been appointed to represent the Treasury for purposes of the Peace Conference. The traffic receipts of the L.C.C. tramways during the week ended December 24 were 84.936, against 69,173 in the pre-Christmas week of last year.

The Bakewell Guardians have received an application from a man 43 years of age asking for work. He states that he can do a hundred and one. things, including the reading of the Scriptures to the inmates of the Institution, and would give his services for food only. In lecognition of the services rendered by the Y.M.C.A. to Belgium, Mr.

Oliver McCowen, Associate National Secretary of the Y.M.O.A., has been created a Chevalier of the Order of the Crown of Belgium by the King of the Belgians, and Mr. P. H. Sitters has been made a Chevalier of the Order of Leopold. Through the Belgian Ambassador Mr.

C. E. Town, assistant secretary of the London Chamber of Commerce, lias received the insignia of the Order of the Crown of Belgium, conferred upon him by King Albert in recognition of his labours in aiding Belgian refugees and in other war work makirg for the alleviation of Belgium's sufferings. At Wirksworth. Derbyshire, yesterday Herbert Webster, farmer, and Charles Forrest, eame- keeper.

were each fined 13 for stealing two turkeys. The prisoners took the turkeys from a dealer's cart for fun. but afterwards Forrest sent one to his father fori a Christmas gift, the othur being sold. Forrest was awarded the Croix de Guerr9 and the Legion d'Honneur in the war. Twenty goods warcons broke loose vcstPTda- between the Grange Road sidings and Helm-shore Station, on the Manchester and Aecring-tou line, and, fouling the catch points on a heavy gradient, were derailed.

Five waggons were thrown down a steep embankment. The line was blocked for some hours, and but for the' action of the guard in stopping goods train from running into the wreckage both lines might have been, blocked. No one was injured. A verdict of wilful murder against some person or persons unknown was returned at Hartlepool yesterday at the resumed inquest on Ethel Scott, the five-year-old girl who was done to death on the sands and buried there. The police said there was nothing more definite or tangible to offer in the shape of evidence.

The jury suggested that a substantial reward be offered for information leading to the capture of the rmirderer- Th coroner concurred, and said it was a sad and revolting thing that this little girl should have lost her life in the way she had. Abroad. Bandits in stolen motor-cars committed six robberies in the streets of Toronto on Saturday and nine robberies during the week. There have been twenty deaths from sleeping sickness in Winnipeg since November out of a total of 65 cases. A Madrid telegram announces that the ex-Kaiser, in an interview with the President of the Republic of Peru, asked permission to go to that country to raise cattle.

It is officially announced that the Indian Government will continue the control of rice exports in 1920 owing to the failure of the crop in other rice-producing countries and to high prices. The United States Coal Administration has decided that 50 per cent of the amount of bituminous coal exported last October may now be exported through ICewport News and Baltimore. AlEeP1inR to aI by a representative of the Etoile Beige" regarding a report in a London newspaper that the Belgian Government proposed calling up next year one million men, the Belgian Minister of War denied there was any truth in the statement. According- to a Paris the Supreme Council has decided that the territory on the left bank of the Rhine occupied by the, American troops shall come under the jurisdiction- of the Inter-Allied High Ccirninission on Rhenish territories. A delayed Melbourne telegram states that General Sir John Monash was rapturously welcomed on his return to Australia by ex-soldiers, who bore him shoulder-high.

Replying to an address of welcome, Sir John said the' Australians' success was due to mutual confidence and sympathy between leaders and men. PROFESSOR EINSTEIN AND JEWISH REFUGEES. The German physicist, Professor Albert Einstein (says the Berlin wireless), in a letter to the "Berliner Tageblatt," champions the rights of the Eastern Jews who have migrated to Germany, especially to Berlin. Professor Einstein declares himself application of forcible measures against those' luiuiiKtuuis. a ii li esneeiaxiv to uiait Hiwnrf.i;..

The Jews who have wandered into Germany during the last few months are almnot. -nritii exception forced to fie from Poland owini? in the terrible conditions there. Professor Einstein hopes that many of the Eastern Jews who have flii ii i manent fatherland in a Jewish Wireless Pressj lsiidB. nnrl South VBle.inrt sinrnx iu veerinn to V. or N.W.

later, and probably moderating: thou some ili- Intervals; visinuuy "ady iZrmU.eo.nlnK colder Wales. N.W. KriElnml. and Northern Midlands. cv htiiI nun i i THE YEAR'S DRAMA IN LONDON.

The past theatrical year lias been largely and naturally transitional. While "town" v.as for so many a night's lodging between life and death tlio play came more and more to be regarded as the last course of a sound dinner; and in its role of mingled digestive narcotic it had necessarily to discard the bitter-sweets of reflection. Even musical romedy, thinnest of unities, yielded to the foliice of revue, now spectacle, now farce. As it result the serious-minded began to cry aloud nvcr the corpse of the British drama and to lament that this was a frivolous and a saucy generation. The laments still linger, but with the justification.

The pessimists must i-ither be blind or of the all-or-nothing persuasion who can see only iniquity while one musical show remains. Take, for instance, the uncommercial producing societies. Xot only lias the Stage Society carried on through the hard times of war, but it has now brought forth a child, the Phoenix, whose production of the Duchess of Malfi," though met with bitter criticism from some quarters, was an achievement of a peculiarly interesting nature. Wo can look forward to its -promised pre sentations of Elizabethan and Jacobean plays usually relecrated to the study with the knowlediro b. thev will be skilfully acted and produced.

Then the Art Theatre, with the noworful backing of Lord Howard de Walden, has made some striking ventures, the most memorable or wincn was a renderine: in stained-class am tudes and colours of a tenth-century religious play from the Iatin of a nun. And yet another body, the Curtain Group, has given two publio performances and found an outlet for the self-expression of the youngest generation. Over all looms the rather formidable fignro of the British Empire Drama League, with its network of committees and its general encouragement of every form of dramatic activitv. If it be argued that these be only the doings of a limited intelligentsia it. must be borne in mind that the Old Vic company offers to the Waterloo Road a new hnadccsnearean production every iortnignt that the South Side takes the offer with jividity.

From the Old ir. also camo the notable presentation of tho Trojan Women," which was so pasrerlv received that it con tinued its life in so confirmed a haunt of vaudovillo as tlio 11 nl born Empire. These, til rely, arc signs of life in abundance; it is only those who will not see who continue to beat tlio brea.st. Turning to tho more ordinary channels of theatrical enterprise, tlm facts are equally on-j cniiraging. Mr.

John Drinkwater's "Abraham. Lincoln bns run Mirnncrli ilm vear at tho Lyric, Hammersmith not an advantageous j'uaition for long lifo and not by any moans a tiny house to fill as some imagine. It would bo interesting to know. whether a verse-' play by a modern poet has ever run so before. At tho Court, another theatre with a awkward locality, Mr.

Fagan has jiiven with conspicuous success "The School lor Scandal," "Twelfth Night," ''The Merchant of Venice," and Lennox Robinson's 'Lost Lender." Tho latter, a diverting but inconclusive study of tho Irish question, had ino of tho most effective first acts in cur j.nodero drama, but it limped haltingly to its ciose. With Mr. Martin Harvey's Hamlet, at Coven t. and Mr. Ainley offering 'Julius Caesar," not to mention minor Ftngings of Othello" and "ltomeo arid Juliet," tho lovers of Shakespeare can hardly claim that they Lave been neglected.

While musical comedy has been moving towards light opera and the Gilbert and Sullivan season lias been an unqualified success, comedy has notably reformed itself and re-ns-sumcd its role as a critical and satiric force. During lho war wo were told to laugh, although there might be little enough to laugh at, and a result tho provision of comedy liccnme a grocer's business, a concentration on the art of manipulating sugar. Such a pungent, frank, and genuino niece of satire as Mr. Maltby's "Temporary (ientleman" would have been nuite impossible. Its suc-i ess has been happy omen, afld reveals a public taste for wit that has a sting and for jests that are very far from superficial.

The new Vedrenrio-Vernon management at the Little Theatre holds out hopes for unknown and this should cjiahle youth to haro a chance in a field that i particularly its own. Of course, it would bo idle to dcnythat there is still V.nst. lUlhlu- fiimc wni jwi jtina and thrills but they are no longer monopolists. With a Bennett play at tho Aldwych and a Milne, play coming to the New, comedv is being saved from the invasion of farce and being restored to its just position in letters. The real is not artistic but economic.

There are plenty of authors, could they be heard; there is an appreciable audience waiting to hear them; and them are numbers of talented and experienced actors eager and able to interpret any thins that is fresh and sincere. But there are not theatres. Here, too, the housing shortage ts doing severe damage. Where there "is shortage, cornering begins, and in the theatrical world the scandal of tho dav is spot ulatine in bouses and subletting at rack-rent-. Thus the actual producer "of a plav finds himself so hard pressed bv ono or more syndicates sitfin- so to speak, on his head that nc nas.

to maim sure of playing to capacity every wizht if he is to make only a reasonable proht. This ho can most easilr do br putting on a musical show or a play by author of long-established reputation. if an ventures on original work of cood quality h- mav make it run in a way that would have paid bun in the old days, but which wonH bo nun in these times of intricate sublet inc. Hence the wonder is. not that we have had few experiments during thc past year.

but that we have had so many. The question of raising the prices of seats has. been canvassed; but thw volicy must be very carefully considered bv the manager who has ambitions bovond musical cowedy. The public that wants Vood plays is just the public that has lost, "not gained, by the war. and thus the shows that can carry a ns0 are the trivia! and the spectacular.

But the uncommercial producing snc.cties have taught us one valuable lesson namely, the immense possibilities of simple hivmls and Iwck-rhiths skilfully lit The old cl.ibor.ite scenery with its realism that was never real lias had its day, and the voim-er 0. ana improve their plays by resort to simplicity. And this lor the speculating syndicates and the house-ivonopohsts, they can only K- dealt with as v-'eir brethren in other "industries can He eve-ceme by the restoration of real competition. As soon as economic and indus- Tr-ol nfl ,,,11.,. nciiiun or six mnre uMin-s ui i-rauai lxmcion.

tiie Imrden will re from the hack of the snhJoce 1- the meanwhile the drama has reached a stae u. aim its ana we can look forward to the commo- vear J. a iiveiy mierest but also with a i.ut.f. Ivor Brown. LORD MILNER'S MESSAGE TO EGYPT.

OBJECT OF THE AMISSION. Cairo, Moniay. In a statement issued to-day Lord' MilneT say3 tha; his Mission has come to Egypt with the object of reconciling Egyptian aspiration and British foreign interests. The Mission i anxious to establish the friendliest relations between all classes of Egyptians, and thprofnro invites Egyptians as a -whole and Individuals to approach it and speak candidly, 65 an -understanding can only be leached by this means. The statement has been Well received ltry tne Effendis.

Egyptian police armed with truncheons are patrolling the etreets and maintaining order. 'Exchange. wji ii-mcvo ine necessity tor the p-ice el j-ents. which has always hcen heavy when one considers what can be hid 'or the same monev in other a A NEW MESOPOTAMIA. OUR ARMY'S CONSTRUCTIVE WORK.

Sir John on Mesopotamia for the Army Council is published to-day. The report relates to three subjects: (1) The administration and finance of the schemes for the development of irrigation and agriculture in Mesopotamia, and their control on behalf of the Imperial Government; (2 the question whether expenditure in Vnjnnnfnmia chuTsed ultimately against Imperial Army funds was duly confinedi to such service? were necessary for the prosecution of the war; ami 3 the extent to which civil funds ean immediately or eventually be called upon to bear the cost of various schemes developed in Mesopotamia which will largely benefit the civil population. Sir John Hewett states that the sehPine for agricultural development in 191B. started with the two-fold object of providing the necessary supplies for the army and the preservation o. the civil population "from starvation, was devised in the summer of 1917.

shortly after the most fertile nrt of the country had edme under our control." Cultivation had been a standstill there bv military operations, was threatening the civil population, and tne army required 90.000 tons of cerefi.ls. ne scheme was designed to provide thesw supplies after meeting theSieeds of the civil population. As there were no civil funds available tine ni- reeded had to be -provided from arrnv innnj. of which the- audit dffleer certified that 1Zj.9o6 bad been recovered or was unlcr recovery. The loss was therefor-? 21.436.

The cost of the original irrigation works was nifi ti, S- to netween KWnnn ennnnn nA vipl-d Of WnPat and barlev was probably between 260.000 ana 300.000 tons. It is estimated that -the cost of importing this amount of grain irom amua would have been over two millions. There were other advantages besides c-indfinr. the authorities were able" to succour and feed a large number or Armenian and East Svnan refuses, ana n-political advantage resulting from the Arab cultivators realisms that the administration had interested itself'in their well-being- was grerit. A subsidiary n.irt of the scheme related to the cultivation 'of" fodder and vecetibles in divi brirro.in unit "nrdens.

which pro duced in The last six months 1918 nine and frdder and SoO.OOOm. of vegetables. Thouch the amount of eeveals obtained for the arrnv was less than had been Virmort it 4 nsHmntniV that. 264.115 W.15 Saved in 191R bv Inn-il ruirnlmse. Tn iciicr ivicrntinn ivnrlcs were undertaken on the Euphrates and several canals at a rot of 581.267.

r.r 191.066 less than tup cimi.n... cprrind out from army Funds wMoh win hp of permanent benefit to Improvements at the port of Basrah 1.077,818). Provision of a river flrct. f9.20.354. 743 miles of railway (cost Rnnf.

bridm.s r117 B74V Tplfenrnnlin nnrl tplpnbones fvalued at 239.334). "Water" supply systems at Basrah. Bagdad tmw.nli on1 TTinnVi Onst f.O.fi.GGG'). Electrical and mechanical works at BasTah and Basdad (valued at Tn addition mnnv roads WCl'e Constructed, includintr a concrete' road 4i miles in length at Basrah, a stfp necessitated by the serious effect of the heaw Tains on ordinary roads. An hotel 10.147 was also built at Basrah to accommodate officers passing through.

Tbn TPnort. suffffests 2.070.358 as the pro portion of the cost, of the various schemes which should be recovered from the civil authorities. It adds that the only feasible KiiffD-pstion fnr navment seems to be that when the future status of has been determined by the Peace Conference, the Treasury should receive an equivalent in Mesopotamian bonds for the assets taken over by the civil administration. Sir John Hewett also eomes to the conclusion that thei-e is no ground for the suggestion that army funds were ornnnrior wit. 1 tnn ripsire to orovino tor aner- peace developments, and finds that they were uniformly expencieu lor i.ne coimon anu.

em ciency of the Mesopotamian force. ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS' DISPUTE. The dispute which has arisen at the generat ing station of the Stalybridge, Hyde, Mossley and Dukinfield Tramways and Electricity Board with the shift engineers was referred to by the Mayor of Hyde (Councillor E. Bury) at the monthly meeting of the Joint Board last night. Councillor Bury stated that eight members of the staff had resigned since their last meeting.

'I hese men were making claims which the Com mittee could not admit, and the- claims were eo unreasonable that tlie senior members of the staff resigned from their union rather than be parties to them. The Committee nevertheless. at the suggestion of the Ministry of Labour, agreed to arbitrate on the claims, but the men refused this proposal, and they left the service of the Board. The staff which remained loyal had been able to keep the station going with the exception of the Friday 1 I. lnt Councillor T.

Cooper (Labour): Is the dispute at the generating station settled, and if so upon what terms? The Mayor of Hyde replied that the men had resigned, and there was nothing- left for the Board to do but to restaff. The men's union are recommending their members not to accept positions at Stalybridge under the present conditions, and some of the men who have remained loyal to the Board have threatened that if the 6hift engineers who are concerned in the dispute are replaced-they will come out on etrike. LINERS MADE INTO "TRAMPS." Mr. Edwin F. Stockton, president of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce, lias written to the Shipping Controller, taking exception to the policy of diverting regular liners, or the steamers chartered by the Lines for regular services, from their regular routes, as not beinjr in the hest national interests, and askim? thD, the numerous members of the Chamber who are deeply may nave an assurance through him that the entire question will he carefully reconsidered in liie light of his representations.

He instances -the case of the Aherlour, which, he says, is now giving rise to anxiety amongst Manchester merchants interested in trade with Egypt. He understands that this vessel has ''been engaged in the Alexandria trado for more than six mouths, and should leave Manchester for the same destination early in the Xew Yea. He hopes that the Shipping Controller will see the importance of the matter as it affects the trade of the Port of Manchester. WILL OF MR. A.

HACKER, R.A. Mr. Arthur Hacker, R.A., of 178, Cromwell Road, London. S.W., who died on 12th November last, aged 60 years, left estate of the gross value of 51,742. 12s.

with net personalty .607. us. 4d. The testator left 500 to the President and Council of the Royal Academy of Arts, London, as a contribution to the capital of their Benefactors' Fund to the Tate Gallery the portrait of his' mother, painted by him, and his pictures and prints to his sister, Miss Adeline Hacker, for her in her able discretion to give souvenirs to friends who may wish to have them, and generally to dispose thereof ia ac. cordance with his known wishes.

MARRIAGE FEES INCREASED. With the approval of the Ruridecanal Chapter the scale of marriage fees at the Blackburn and district churches has heen advanced in order, as it is explained, to meet in some -measure the increased cost ot living, "which affects" the clergy just as it does their parishioners." Only the charge for marriage by Bishop's licence remains unchanged, the other fees being increased by about one-third of the old rate. NEW JEWISH BATTALION IN PALESTINE. Reuter says that according to a telegram from Jerusalem, received by the London Jewish Cor-tespondence Bureau, a new Jewish battalion was formed last week, to consist of members nf the three' demobilised Jewish battalions. The! battalion will be under the command of Colonel Margolin.

tToiessor Weizmann, the president of the Central PnmmiUAi. tho 7.inri Jf, a EnBland atter a stav of tnree months. an 1 1 THE EEECHAM OPERA. "THE MAGIC FLUTE." Mr. Eugene Goossens conducted "The Magio Flute" in place of Mr.

Percy Pitt last night, and foT the greater part of the performance did exceedingly well with it. keeping the zest of rhythmic movement which Sir Thomas Beecham has imparted to the reading of the work, and Keeping- the pace also a finely melodio style. He had a poor period earlv in the second part. where the slowness and seriousness of the tempted the singers here and there to take rhythmical liberti es where severity of Thythm is above all essential- Mr. Goossens here became unduly careful, tentative, and yielding, and, as at all times when singers -will have more than the composer gives them, gTandeur was lost.

On the whole, the1 performance was unusually good. Mr. Maurice D'Oislv now maintains a vehemence and ardour blended with a most judicious emphasis, connection and disconnection, that together malt a the quest of Tamino as clear to the understanding of the listener as it is possible to make it. His can only be called a masterpiece. One of the finest stretches in the whole work was the discourse between Tamino and the Speaker (Mr.

Austin) at the approach to Sarastro's dwelling. The tvo characters and their different points of view were kept abso lutely distinct in the manner and intonation of every phrase, and though this distinction demanded the change from a quiet to an impulsive rhythm with every exchange, the whole was managed so as to give a perfectly rhythmical impression. We do not remember to have heard Mr. Austin in this part before, but his art certainly lends a great deal of propriety to the whole scene. Miss Agnes Xicholls undertook the part of the youthful Pamina, and, of course, carried also a technical art to the task which brought out many new beauties.

She recalled, it may be. something of the tragic grandeur now partly lost in the vocal reading of Mozart. Finest of all to our ears was her utterance of Tamino's name as Pamina and Tamino, both stand veiled before Sarastro in the temple. She sang also gloriously in the beautiful music of the mad scene where she meets the three genii in the wood. Miss Xelis repeats an old triumph as the Queen of Night, taking the notes in altissimo with so much ease and brilliance that we gain the impression she must have several other notes above the high which shines with such starlike radiance.

Mr. Foster Richardson fills out the low notes of his voice with siu-h musical fullness that we feel always his iee grows finer than ever. The solemn air lsis and Osiris was -perfect p-ieee of art: iirm and yet so beautifully soft in its rhythm that it set the unique gift of Mozart's genius beauty that flowers into sublimity before us in its fullest glory. In the second solo his insertion of false accentuations and the use of a generally disconnected text made such perfection impossible. Mr.

Heather is greatly missed as Monastatos. Tho two trios of ladies" voices were most ably led by Miss Stanford and Miss Lemon; Mr. Ranalow sang with all his usual merriment and gusto, and Miss Tyas as Papagona sang with all tho delightfully fluttering birdlike quality which she so aptly imparts to the inimitable duet S. L. THE TUESDAY MIDDAY CONCERTS.

There was some uncommonly beautiful playing by Miss Charlotte Elwell and Miss Lucy Pierce in Schumann's minor Violin Sonata, given at the Midday Concert yesterday. The work belongs to the composer's gloomy-closing years, but there is little in it either of technical exhaustion or of spiritual lassitude. It is bathed in melody which keeps the secret of Schumann's tenderness while yet surrenderingand gladly surrendering, as it would seem all of romanticism's darker and more introspective habits. The music at times uiive.i on tnai simplicity in tne curve of melody and the progression of harmony which comes into the work of nearly very great composer in his declining years, as though the vision gained in keenness because of decreasing turbulence of mind and of emotion. The writing, for the violin is not always grateful.

Schumann never nlavcd anv stringed instrument, and therefore knew it only, as it were, second-hand. Much of hi3 violin music is really for the piano unless the fiddler can bring to it a rare combination of flexibility and stressfulness. Yesterday it was astonishing how easefully Miss Elwell n'rade her music flow into pure song song that now lmgered with a dying fall and now took wings in a swift and circling flight. She is a player essentially gracious in style. Her tone has "no great warmth she gives us.

rather, a bouquet of tone. There is a little lack of contrast in it, but the technical control of her instrument is so far advanced that time alone is needed to bring in a grateful iang9 of colour. In no detail is her playing so assuring as in the perfect veracity of its intonation, even during ewift and intricate passage-work. Miss Elwell obviously made many friends at yesterday's recital. Miss Pierce gave the piano part of the sonata flawlessly.

Her playing is now acquiring the velocity which loses nothing of detailed emphasis needed on the way. The piano, in this work, has plenty, even if not all, of the richly intermingled harmony, almost orchestral in fullness, which made so large a part of Schumann's contribution to pianoforte writing. Miss Pierce opened all the floodgates, and the current was strong and prodigal throughout. The work of the two artists had admirable balance; the performance must, indeed, be written down as one of the happiest achievements of the season. x.

C. CLERGY AND THE TITHE RENT CHARGE. The reply was issued yesterday of the Chancellor of the Exchequer to a deputation he recently received on tho question of the rating of the tithe rent charge attached to benefices of the Church of England. He states that questions of assessment must be dealt with by the Ministry of Health, aud that he will pass on to his colleagues that part of the case which affected them. Mr.

Chamberlain acknowledged that in the matter of the Tithe Act of 1918 it was curious that at the time when the Government were endeavouring to make wages approximate to the cost of living they should have upset that verv arrangement already working under the Tithe Act of 1836. The Chancellor continued: From the circumstances of the Treasury rxxsition at the present time I do not vMk willingly anywhere. I do not want to send you out- or ine room tutu King mat am -going to do something wMcli most probably I should not do. I do not want to raise false hopes, hut I would like to take a little more time tn consider before giving a definite and final answer. THE CARDIFF HOTEL FIRE.

The King has awarded the Albert Medal to Mr. Walter Cleall, a demobilised soldier, of Cardiff, for his gallantry in saving the life of a maid at a fire at the Eoyal Hotel, Cardiff, last August. The girl was gesticulating for help from a window on the sixth floor, and Cleal, who was among the crowds entered the building and carried her to safety along a narrow parapet. RAILWAY APPOINTMENT. Mr.

H. D. Langridge has been appointed to the position of district traffic manager of the Manchester district of the Great Central Railway Company succession to the late 3Sr. George J. Gibson.

The Manchester district is- an important one extending from Manchester to Nottingham, including the various branch, lines, viz to Hayfield, Macclesfield, Stalybridge, Oldham, and the M. S. J. and A. line.

Mr. Jjangridge nas oeeu assistant aistncs tratuo manager for eome years. MAN WITH riSTOL SECURED IX PAY-BOX. When Mr. Stephen Arthur Edwards, manager of a picture-house at Deptford, London, was engaged on Monday nigbt making up the cash, with the aid of an assistant, two men appeared at the pay-box door, and ona of them, presenting an automatic pistol, demanded money.

The assistant rushed out in scareh. of the police, and the manager, getting the armed intruder between the pay-box and the door, managed to shut him up, whereupon the second man disappeared. A -police sergeant arrived, closed with the intruder, and after a short struggle arrested him. The pistol was subsequently found on the office floor. Yesterday the alleged "hold up" had its sequel in the appearance at Greenwick Police Court of John Pratt (20) of Carrington House, Deptford, who was remanded charged with being armed with a loaded pistol with i ntenu to rob the manager of the picture theatre.

Station Sergeant Buchanan said that about 10 30 on Monday night he heard screams coming from the picture theatre, and haw half a dozen persons in the entrance. The manager, Mr. Edwards, was at the door of his office. Edwards made a statement, and witness called out "Open the door." The door was opened, and lie rushed in, and found that the prisoner-was the only person in the office. Having secured him, witness asked for his revolver, and the prisoner replied.

"I have not got it." Vjtness subsequently found an automatic pistol, containing one round, in a corner of the offino. When charged the prisoner said: "I wanted some money. I did not mean to kill him. I wish you would Rive me the -pistol: I-would do myself in." In. his possession ware eight rounds or ammunition, six wlncn titted tne pistol.

WOOLCOMBERS ABANDON OVERTIME. TWO SHIFTS ADVOCATED. (From our Correspondent.) Bradford. Tuesday. Some months ago the operatives engaged in the woolcombing branch of the textile industry agreed to work overtime until the end of the year.

This decision was only arrived at after much persuasion by the men's leaders, who were influenced by the arguments that a refusal would mean a restricted output of tops, and a consequent lack of employment in other branches and an increased price in the cost of clothing. Sinco that time employment has been un usually good throughout the Industry, and prices of clothing have soared to dizzy heights. nit uuii'iiiuuers union uis now ueiweuu tuu and 500 unemployed on its" bouks. and thev have' unanimously decided to abandon overtime at the end of the year. interviewed to-uay, a prominent official ot the union said thev bail taken into the in dustry about 400 monldnrs, who had expressed tho intention of staying at their new work.

At tno same time thev had between 400 and 500 unemployed- Machinery chirinsr the dav turn was fully occupied, but thero were many firms, mostly spinnei-coiiiDers. who reiusea to work their machinery at night. If this was done work could bo found i'or another 2,000 opera tives, and the workpeople could be found. If overtime were abandoned it mean a sught loss of nroduction. but thr loss would be insignificant as compared wit'- the increase which would follow if all the available machinery were worked on two shifts.

So far as ne coulu see. it was pure conservatism which -prevented the two shifts beine intro duced into many of the firms who were now only working during the daytime. A WAB-PRISOXEBS CANARD. The Secretary of the War office states that a report has been received from the British Military Mission in Berlin to the effect that there is absolutely no truth in the statement that there au- t-tui a number of Allied prisoners of war in Camp. Qucdlimburg is one of the best-kuown camp, in which Russian pri soners of war have been confined, and it lias been visited frequently by representatives of the umisli JMifeiou since tne Armistice.

The report referred to above was circulated from Belgium a feiv weeks ago. A Belgian Soulier was alleged to have stated that he had just returned from Qucdlimburg, and that a number of Allied prisoners were still confined there. LORD CURZO.N ON COALITION SPIRIT. Lord Cuizon, in the course of a New Year's message to the Primrose League, says: "Although the war is over it cannot be said that peace as yet prevails. The nations and the States that have survived or been created by the war are very slow in crystallising into their new shapes.

Never was there a time when a powerful Allied policy was more required. The Coalition Government continues in power, and has not so far been seriously weakened. But even more important is the Coalition spirit, -which takes little account of party, eoiH'cntrates only on principles, sets before elass unity, and aims at a solution of our difficulties not by conflict but by cooperation." NEW CHESHIRE MAGISTRATES. The names of the following have been placed on tba Commission of the Peace for Cheshire: Thomas C. Goodwin, of Leighton Grange, Crewe, farmer; Philip Durning Holt, of Sib-herslield Hall, Ohuiton, near Chester, cotton broker; Rowe Morris, of Tne Lache.

Chester, farmer; ard Charles Richard Wooldridge, of Winchester House, Crewe, builder. RUPEE TE WAR GRATUITIES. The Secretary of Stale for India has decided that war gratuity shall be payable at Is. 4d. to the rupee to those officers who, being in India or Mesopotamia on August 4, 1919, either drew gratuity there in rupees or would normally have done so had the machinery and circumstances enabled them to draw it on that date.

Officers who received the gratuity in India at a rate less favourable than Is. 4d. the rupee should apply to the Disbursing Officer in India from whom they drew the original payment. Those who were in India or Mesopotamia on August 4, but were unable to draw it before they left, should apply to the Accountant General. India Office, on forms which will be supplied by him on application, or which may obtained of the army agents.

Any letters on the subject should be headed Gratuity Exchange." Applications will be dealt with as expeditiously as possible, hut priority of treatment will he accorded to officers who have not yet drawn any gratuity. RAILWAY ENGINES DEMOBILISED. A large number of London and Xorth-Westera Railway locomotives which have been in and other theatres of -war entered Crewe railway works yesterday after fiv years' foreign service. The company sent 111 powerful engines to the war, and 69 have now been demobilised. Manv of them show unmistakable sums of warfare, and one bears in paint four blue and red cnevrons ana tnrse goia stripes.

DEATH FROM FIRE. An inquest was held by the Manchester City Coroner yesterday on George Frederick Downing, a retired cashier, 77 years old, of 106, Higher Temple Street, Chorlton-on-Medlock who died in the Infirmary on Sunday. It was shown that he was left in his bedroom with a lighted candle, and that afterwards the bedclothes were found to be smouldering. The medical evidence was that death was accelerated by the fumes of the fire, and a verdict of accidental death was returned. "We are asked to correct the statements made in a -paragraph in Monday's issue that Mr Downine was an old-age pensioner, and that ho was smoking in bed when the accident Happened.

POKE WINES. Italian Ofanet (Cbiantil 4Q. TVi inrt 62- Doz-; also Fine Selection of Champagnes aixt Ftecoh Wines. Place yoat order early and avoid disappoiut- GfeAncoats Manchester (Tbona 8019 (Xty)-(AsTxj ously a resolution that 1m paid in the island on Tl "111! 1 1 ananimo should scale of ltoper week and on the' other oondi-1 regard to old-age pensions in the United It was -understood that the increases should date from January 1,1920. TROOPS HQMB FROM THE EAST.

Fifteen hundred officers and men landed it WSmm Plymouth yesterday, fjgin.lthe P. arid 0.ylinert Cfeledonte. The md jbzityu fcad returned front -j Mesopotamia and TnHia nini. a orpnt torn Constantinople, Russia- Salonika, and i Egypt..