Category: 100 Years Ago

3 APRIL 1925

New schemes of emigration and Empire settlement were referred to in the House of Commons by the Under Secretary for the Colonies. The Home Government, he said, attached great importance to the emigration of juveniles under proper safeguards, and looked with favour on a proposal that British schoolboys should be allowed to visit Australia.

Speaking at Windsor, the Earl of Birkenhead said that the Labour party was not yet fit for the responsibility of government, and that it had most plainly demonstrated its unfitness during the months it was in power.

Speaking at Durham to the National Conservative League, whose activities he had gone to inspect, the Hon. F. S. Jackson, the Unionist organiser, said that the country was up against serious difficulties, but he was justified in feeling that if they faced the facts they would be able to recover their position and hold their own as in the past. He was not at all sure that the Chancellor of the Exchequer was not so full of ingenuity as to find something that would relieve the burden of taxation they were suffering from. They must not gamble on that; he did not know for a certainty.

Vice-Admiral Sir Walter H. Cowan, Bart., has been appointed Commanding Officer, Coast of Scotland, in succession to Vice-Admiral Sir Reginald T. Tyrwhitt. The appointment dates from 30th June 1925.

The death is announced of Vice-Admiral Sir Michael Culme-Seymour.

2 APRIL 1925

Lord Salisbury stated in the House of Lords, in reply to a question by Lord Parmoor, that the defaults in disarmament alleged against the German Government included matters for which a time limit was prescribed in Article 203 of the Treaty of Versailles. While a great deal had been done by way of disarmament in Germany, there were substantial instances of unfulfilled obligations.

A socialist demand for the abolition of the death penalty in the Army, which took the form of an amendment on the Army and Air Force Annual Bill in Committee, was rejected by 320 to 136.

Replying to Sir Samuel Chapman in the House of Commons, the Under Secretary for Home Affairs, said the First Commissioner of Works was satisfied, after considering the evidence sent to him, that the execution of the Marquess of Montrose in 1650 took place in the High Street, Edinburgh, and had given instructions that the inscription should be altered accordingly.

Viscount Grey and Mr Austen Chamberlain referred to the problems of international peace and security in speeches in London.

A Cape Town correspondent understands that the majority of the South African Cabinet favour abolition of Preference to British goods.

Jerusalem University was opened by Lord Balfour, who declared that the opening of the University marked an epoch in the history of the Jewish race.

The death-roll in the German pontoon disaster is put at 84.

A New York banking syndicate is reported to have purchased the Dodge Motors Company for 175,000,000 dollars in cash.

1 APRIL 1925

Students of Paris University demonstrated against the appointment of Professor Georges Scelle to the Chair of Law, preventing the Professor from lecturing, and eventually coming into conflict with the police. Twenty policemen were injured and 36 students arrested.

Polling takes place in the Northern Ireland General Election on Friday. The situation is reviewed by a special correspondent.

Mr Joseph Devlin, who is standing as a Nationalist candidate for one of the Belfast divisions in the Ulster election, referred to the necessity for dealing with social problems. He declared that he would do what lay in his power to bring North and South closer together. Force was no remedy.

Mr Wheatley, speaking in Glasgow, referred to the “approaching industrial crisis,” and said he thought the Labour movement was not in a fit state to fight or negotiate successfully. He appealed for co-operation between the ILP. and the Trade Unions.

Ten thousand employees of Co-operative Societies in North-West England have been locked out because of inability to reach an agreement upon a wage question.

Socialist proposals for the devolution of Parliamentary work on Departmental Committees are advanced in two reports to be submitted to the conference of the Independent Labour Party. The first report advocates Responsible Committees, but the second report insists on the retention of the Cabinet’s collective responsibility, and argues for Advisory Committees only.

Among the subjects discussed at the Conference of the University Labour Federation, held at Oxford, were the nationalisation of banking, the currency question, and taxation.

31 MARCH 1925

Thirty-two miners are entombed in the Montague Pit, Scotswood-on-Tyne, as the result of an inrush of water. Rescue work is proceeding, but it is feared that eight of the miners have already perished.

Dr Jarres, the Nationalist candidate, heads the first poll in the German presidential election. But the aggregate vote of the parties of the right has decreased by 3,163,000 compared with the Reichstag elections in May of last year, whereas the Republican vote has risen by 1,641,000. Dr Jarres will probably be the right’s candidate in the second ballot, but it is not clear who will be the nominee of the Republican parties.

The Roads Improvement Bill was read a second time in the House of Commons. A second reading was given to the Administration of Justice Bill.

Mr Massey, the New Zealand Premier, underwent an operation. His illness is stated to be serious.

A bulletin regarding the Earl of Ypres reports “disquieting symptoms,” which give rise to increased anxiety.

The King, in a message of sympathy to Lady Rawlinson, says that by the death of Lord Rawlinson the Army is deprived of one of its most distinguished commanders, who in peace and war displayed the highest qualities of administration and leadership.

The first application under the new government regulations for the safeguarding of industries was the subject of inquiry by a Board of Trade Committee, when the Federation of Lace Embroidery Employers’ Associations asked for the imposition of an import duty on machine-made lace and embroideries.

30 MARCH 1925

Students of Paris University demonstrated against the appointment of Professor Georges Scelle to the Chair of Law, preventing the Professor from lecturing, and eventually coming into conflict with the police. Twenty policemen were injured and 36 students arrested.

Polling takes place in the Northern Ireland General Election on Friday. The situation is reviewed by a special correspondent.

Mr Joseph Devlin, who is standing as a Nationalist candidate for one of the Belfast divisions in the Ulster election, referred to the necessity for dealing with social problems. He declared that he would do what lay in his power to bring North and South closer together. Force was no remedy.

Mr Wheatley, speaking in Glasgow, referred to the “approaching industrial crisis,” and said he thought the Labour movement was not in a fit state to fight or negotiate successfully. He appealed for co-operation between the ILP. and the Trade Unions.

Ten thousand employees of Co-operative Societies in North-West England have been locked out because of inability to reach an agreement upon a wage question.

Socialist proposals for the devolution of Parliamentary work on Departmental Committees are advanced in two reports to be submitted to the conference of the Independent Labour Party. The first report advocates Responsible Committees, but the second report insists on the retention of the Cabinet’s collective responsibility, and argues for Advisory Committees only.

Among the subjects discussed at the Conference of the University Labour Federation, held at Oxford, were the nationalisation of banking, the currency question, and taxation.

29 MARCH 1925

The condition of the Earl of Ypres was reported to have improved.

London County Council recommended the purchase of Hornsey-rise Training College for £12,000 to allow for the erection of block dwellings for 1,000 people.

28 MARCH 1925

At a formal sitting of the House of Lords the Consolidated Fund (No. 1) Bill was passed through all its stages, and received the Royal Assent, along with the British Sugar Subsidy, Trade Facilities, and other Acts.

The second reading of Mr Stephen Walsh’s Coal Mines (Minimum Wage) Bill was defeated in the House of Commons by 203 to 143.

Mr Ramsay MacDonald, speaking in London, referred to the condition of British industry, and said that all our trouble today arose from the economic ignorance of those who made the Treaty of Versailles.

At a joint conference of masters and men in the shipbuilding trade the situation was reviewed with reference to the recent orders placed in Germany, and to foreign competition generally. The employers made suggestions for a joint investigation into costs inside and outside the industry.

After a conference lasting fifteen hours, the dispute in the London printing and bookbinding trade was settled.

Lord Rawlinson, Commander-in-Chief in India, is dead.

Signor Mussolini, in a brief reference to the Protocol, said that he had always considered it not as a means of bringing peace, but as a well-thought-out machine for bringing about war.

Our Ottawa correspondent, in a review of Canadian affairs, refers to the Petersen shipping project, Church Union, and the liquor question.

The text of the Treaty of Alliance between Great Britain and Iraq has been issued. No contributions are to be made by Britain towards the cost of the Iraq army, and similarly the Iraq Government will not contribute to the cost of the Imperial garrison.

27 MARCH 1925

On the motion of Lord Desborough, Lord Carson’s Moneylenders Bill was in the House of Lords referred to a joint committee of both Houses. The Legitimacy Bill passed the committee stage with drafting amendments, and Lord Balfour of Burleigh introduced the Circuit Courts and Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Bill, which was read a first time.

A general discussion with regard to unemployment took place in the House of Commons, speakers of all parties dwelling on the grave industrial outlook.

Mr Baldwin, speaking in London, suggested that, in order to gain fuller knowledge of Imperial problems, a parliamentary delegation should visit Australia next year.

The Scottish Grand Committee considering the Church of Scotland (Property and Endowments) Bill discussed the clauses dealing with the transfer of right in parish churches and manses, sitting accommodation in parish churches, rights in glebes, the transfer of parish churchyards, and they were added to the Bill. The general clause that the requirements of the parish be a first charge on endowments was under discussion when the committee adjourned.

The Inter-Departmental Committee on proposed disciplinary amendments of the Army and Air Force Acts, in their report, state that they cannot recommend that the death penalty should be abandoned as the extreme penalty for the most serious military offences on active service.

The Marquis Curzon was buried in the family vault in East Kedleston Church, Derbyshire.

A Strasbourg telegram reports a mining accident, in which it is feared 50 men have been killed.

26 MARCH 1925

Debate took place in the House of Lords on the question of the reform of that chamber.

In the House of Lords a series of Bills dealing with the consolidation of the law of property passed through Committee. The Trade Facilities Bill and Sugar Subsidy Bill made similar progress.

The House of Commons again discussed the Rent and Mortgage Interest (Restrictions Continuation) Bill, and defeated Mr Wheatley’s amendment for rejection. Captain Garro-Jones’s motion on excessive coal prices was defeated. The Secretary for Mines said the Government would not hesitate to take strong action if they had reason at any time to believe that the merchants were exceeding the limits of reasonable profit.

During the consideration of the Summer Time Bill by a Committee of the House of Commons an attempt was made to exclude Scotland from the provisions.

A Bill to make compulsory the employment of disabled ex-service men has been introduced in the House of Commons.

The funeral service for the Marquis Curzon in Westminster Abbey was attended by representatives of all classes of the community.

A Paris telegram states that Mr Austen Chamberlain’s speech on the question of European security has created a somewhat disappointing impression in France. It is, unfortunately, the case, says the correspondent, that France does not trust Germany’s word.

An Ottawa message gives further particulars of the Canadian Budget statement. Mr Robb, the Acting Finance Minister, stated that the outlook was bright, especially in view of the recovery in the situation of the agricultural industry through the increased prices for products.

25 MARCH 1925

On the second reading of the Consolidated Fund Bill, Mr Austen Chamberlain addressed the House of Commons on the question of European security.

The Royal Yacht Victoria and Albert, with King George and Queen Mary on board, sailed from Leghorn.

The Prince of Wales, speaking as the guest of the South African Luncheon Club in London, said that he hoped during his visit to South Africa to gain a first-hand knowledge of their problems and to see for himself how they were being faced by the two virile peoples who formed that Great Union.

The Prince of Wales made a tour of inspection at Wembley, and expressed the hope that this year’s Exhibition would have great success.

Nominations took place in the Northern Ireland General Election. There were twelve unopposed returns. Polling takes place on 3 April.