Leicester Mercury from Leicester, Leicestershire, England • 1

THB HtCtSTXR MBBCUBT THURSO 4th JULY 1SML Extra Special ORDER CYDER NOW FROM Quart Flagons lOd 4pts only 210 per dox Kips 26 Strnlww MOTOR OIL mriismsuonicuiiiKOMiinMTMM OF THE AUSTIN MOTOR CGlLTDI Estab 1874 Registered a Newspaper) THURSDAY 4'tll JULY NET SALE at least FOUR TIMES that of any LONG MAY IT KEEP RAINING! THUNDERSTORM ENDS GREAT DROUGHT PEOPLE CAUGHT COATLESS LUNCH-HOUR RUSH FOR SHELTER AND TRAMCARS BESIEGED mmmrnmmmmmmmmmmmammimmimmmmmmmmm 'HE great drought ended to-day at lunch "time at any rate in Leicestershire with a vengeance Thunder and lightning accompanied the downpour and thousands oi people going home at midday were caught without their overcoats At once there was a combined rash for shelter and the tramcars hate rarely been so overcrowded And ypt everyone seemed to welcome the downfall As someone said: Long May it Rain RAIN THE SPOIL SPORT Cm petit or lor the Elementary School Sports suitably attired for all weathers returning from the igggm ground owing to the meeting this afternoon being abandoned mmb A 36 ipts From Branches ng Richard's Road Leicester Roihley Syston Kirhy Muxloe Swadlincote ARMED BURGLAR HOLDS UP BUTLER FLEEING SHOTS AT PURSUING SERVANTS ESCAPE TO DOWNS Aa audacious burglar who broke into Lady Newmarket house during the night held up the household staff at the point of the pistol while he made his get-away TTC7HEN found by the butler he pointed a pistol at him and threatened to shoot if he approached any nearer Meanwhile other servants had come downstairs but the burglar still holding them at the level of his revolver made a quick turn and rushed from the house with members of the staff hot on lus beds Several shots were fired by the fleeing burglar but fortunately no one was injured After the chase had lasted for some minuted the man was Jos after heading ki the direction of the grandstand on the racecourse Countryside Search When the Newmarket police were informed they immediately despatched an inspector and constables to take up the search A wide stretch of surrounding country was scoured So far nothing has been found missing and it is believed that the burglar after entering by way of the kitchen window was surprised before he had had time to explore the house Details of the remarkable audacity were given to a Mercury reporter by a member of the Marchioness household staff It was early in the morning he said that the butler's attention was attracted to the kitchen where a light was burning Face to Face As he' was unable to account for the light he made his way to the room and discovered the intruder The men were face to face but the burglar pointing a revolver commanded him to put lip his hands Other servants came down and were also held up before the intruder dashed off VISITORS Reception of Ambassador and Foreign Rulers 5 The King had numerous visitors to-day He first received at Buckingham Palace his four Indian orderly officers and took leave of them earlier than usual because of the forthcoming stay of their Majesties at Sandringham Then followed the reception of the new Japanese Ambassador the Maharajah of Rewa the Maharajah of Aiwa and the Sawbha of Mongmit kOn Saturday the King will Invest with the Victorian Order three of the doctors who attended him during his Illness and express his gratitude to them These are Sir Humphrey Rolleston physician In ordinary Dr Graham Hodg-' son radiologist and Dr Lionel Whitby baHeriohu-lst who were Included in the birthday honours WHAT THEY SPENT Expenses Incurred by candidates In Leicestershire constituencies at the General Election Sif Win Edge £1267 Is 5d Mr Hines (Loughborough) £847 18s Mr Lindsay Everard (Melton) £1559 18a Councilor John NUnto (Bosworth £15? 16s lid Councillor A Stubbs (Melton) £274 SMrdS4SHm (Bosworth) £1116 13s 81 Mr George Nlcholls (Harborough) £860 17s lid Mr Guy Dixon (Melton) £73 13s 1929 one penny: other local daily paper PREMIER TALKS TO HIMSELF! Webb Comedy Of Sound Film Mr Ramsay MacDonald was the cefltral figure at a gathering of Labour members of Parliament and friends who witnessed the Downing-street film at a West End cinema in London to-day Mr MacDonald lighted a cigarette and then listened attentively to his own voice introducing to the by means of the Talkies the members of his Cabinet Mr Bernard Shaw looked in amusement When his old friend Mr Sidney Webb stepped forward in the film and was described by the Premier as still Mr Sidney Webb Mr Shaw chuckled and cheered with the rest When Miss Margaret Bondfield stepped forward and received the encomiums of Mr MacDonald the women in the audience warmly voiced their feelings of affection and regard Another Talkie represented Miss Bondfield at the House of Commons surrounded by the women Labour members of the House MISS WILLS WINS Comfortable Victory English Girl Over Two Anglo-American matches Miss Helen Wills Miss Elsie Coldsack and Miss Helen Jacobs Miss Joan Ridley were the chief attractions in the lawn tennis championships at Wimbledon to-day it was expected that the outcome of these semifinals on the centre court would! Be a meeting of the two American in the final on Saturday both Miss Goldsack and Miss Ridley are very fine players and everyone hopes that at the end of the day's play England would have a representative in the fin of this event for the first time- since Mrs A Godfree won the title in RESULTS WOMEN' SIXCRE8 Son finals ML Helen Wills boat Miss Goldsack 6-2 60 BITTEN BY BULLDOG Bitten by a bulldog Mrs Simpson 189 Brunswick-street Leicester had lo be taken to the Royal Infirmary this afternoon A record price of £5450 was paid at Sotheby's to-day for a Kilmarnock Burns (1786) the library of Mr James Mann Castlecraigy Peeblesshire PERHAPS the worst pessimist was the man at lunchtime todajLwho complained that England was -a perfectly beastly country always raining The rest of the community got quite excited when the first real drops began to fall Some of 'them seemed to have forgotten what rain was like The Mercury forecast last night promised rain but nobody seemed ta believe it A gardener who has been ruefully regarding his pmched plot for the last fortnight looked at the Mercury panel gazed mournfully up into the sky tapped a convenient barometer 4 1 A1 1 a1 6 4 1m and then shook his head he said the glass is No Silver Lining Even the dull clouds of jearly morn: ing were not generally regarded seriously which accounts for the way usually careful Leicester people were caught without their coats It was during the lunch hour rush thaMhe downpour reached' its htaximum intensity People hurrying' to their hfirnes were quickly drenched and every shop doorway was packed with shdterers who quickly realised that it was no good waiting for the silver lining So they made a dash for the trams It these vehicles were as well patronised every day the the enthusiasts Would be on the losing side Trams Besieged At the Belvoir-street stop the trams were almost besieged by intending passengers hoping to get home with the minimum of wetting But as most of them were already in a half-drowned condition it didn't seem to matter very much either way -'-The conductors grinned as they shovelled three-halfpences into their capacious money bags As a direct resa't of the rain the local gardens should show an immediate improvement The long-continued drought has been growing daily more serious To make the situation really easy however a good soaking downpour for at least twenty-four hours is necessary Every Little Helps Leicester water authorities were also welcoming the coming of the rain The local reservoirs as well as the Derwent sources of supply have teen causing great anxiety and although the actual rainfall cannot be regarded as more than a sop it has become a question of little So overcome was a large tree at the corner of- Mayfield-road Leicester that it gulped In a few leavesful of reviving rain and then sank slowly to the ground Probably the dry weather had loosened the roots and the I unexpect moisture had made the grtnind umpire Ito support the weight At aijyrfe it caused some inconvenience to traffic on the main Iondon-road Conflicting Emotions Motorists were tom between conflict-ling emotions As citizens and pos-Jsibly wardeners they welcomed the irain but as drivefs they found condi-itions very treacherous Wise drivers THUNDERY SHOWERS This weather forecast says Thundery showers will occur in all districts with bright intervals iiiiiiiHHHiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii slowed up somewhat to meet the new conditions Although accompanied by some thunder and flashes of lightning the fain was not of' that tropical intensity which was expected after such a lengthy dry spell Ft was sufficiently powerful to flatten some of the more tender seedlings bUt the majority of plants are now sufficiently hardy to stand up bravely As one man tersely expressed it the end of the drought is Beautiful raining my A Water Spout Just before the rain came to-day a water main burst in Earl Howe-street Leicester and a column of water was sent as high as the houses For over an hour several thousands of gallons of precious water as wasted and in some of the houses where bedroom windows were open curtains and carpets were drenched A waterworks official informed the Mercury that whilst roadmen were working in a drain trench a ferrule blew out of the main A HOLIDAY Conference Mystery Solved The strange disappearance from time to time of delegates to the annual conference of the Museums Association at Worthing has been leading to a certain amount of whispered discussion and eyebrow raising An explanation came to-day when oat of the members was followed Looking rather like a gulltly schoolboy he crept up some stairs entered the gallery and gazed-with rapture on a large slutted snake several slutted animals wax models pictures of skeletons that sent shivers down the back mlcroseOfws and other things delighting the eye of the true curator And the secret was that -the true curators could not leave the museum or the atmosphere of It for any length of time Many of the delegates tiavt been truant" during the discussions either to go to this gallery or to wander around the Worthing Museum on a VISIT Greeted by Cheering Crowd at Portsmouth The Sultan of Zanzibar visited Portsmouth to-day He was greeted by a booming salute from ill guns fired trorn the naval saluting battery and the standard of Zanzibar was broken over the Admiral-Superintendents bouse Crowds lined the streets to welcome him and he smilingly acknowledged tiie cheers A guard of honour from the Royal Naval barracks greeted him before ha went to inspect the Victory Later the party visited the Wrestler and the submarine L5 afterwards going over the Berengarla at Southampton Parliament SEQUEL RAG Mob That Broke Up Meeting Questioned in the House of Commons this afternoon regarding the recent dis turbances at an anti-vivisection meeting in-London the alleged refusal of police officers present to eject offenders Mr Clynes said the whole incident was under im-estigation by the Commissioner of Police In response to the request for police assistance 12 officers were sent Mr Thurtle Have any representations been made td authorities of colleges to which the unruly students belonged Mr Clynes: I am not able at the moment to reply to that Clynes slated that during the past two years 18 members of the Metropolitan Police had appealed to the Home Secretary Against decisions of the Disciplinary Board In nine cases appeals had been dismissed and the remaining four were still under consideration Insurance Benefits Asked if the Government Intends to Introduce leigkrtatfou to Increase unemployment benefit payable to young men and girls Miss' Bondliehl (Minister of Labour) stated site had the point ufirtpr consideration together vMth other' pro-visions or the Unemployment Insurance Act with regard to rale and conditions of benefit but was not at present in a position to make a statement on the mat ter RAZOR SCENE Man Alleged to Have Struck at Face Walter Cantv (52) was charged at Reading to-day with attempting to wound William Henry Flitter manager of a Reading lodging-house It was stated in evidence that Flitter refused to give Canty a bed ticket last night because he was under the influence of drink Canty it was alleged went to the kitchen and took a razor out of a bag and attempted to slash Flitter When arrested Canty said cut his throat when I come out of stir -i prison) Canty was remanded in custody WAGE'S AGREEMENT The National Union of Raihvaymen's Conference at Southampton to-day decided to Instruct the Executive to give three notice to terminate the agreement entered into in August of last year under which wages were reduced by 2i per cent Mr Cramp stated that the NUR Executive would now meet the other twb railway unions.