Tag: 100 Years Ago

27 JANUARY 1923

Winston Churchill confirmed that he was not intending to rejoin the Unionist Party, saying about the rumours that “this statement is quite untrue and unfounded. I am still continuing the rest which I was ordered by my doctors, and have not given any thought whatever to the political situation. I should also like to contradict the rumours that I am seeking to stand for various seats. These rumours are all equally without foundation”.

The Reparation Commission refused to grant a moratorium to Germany siding with France and Belgium.

Telegraph wires connecting Dublin and parts of the South of Ireland were cut, including disruption to Cork, Limerick and Tralee. A passenger train from Dublin to the West of Ireland was derailed and wrecked.

26 JANUARY 1923

The German Railwaymen’s Union in Essen sent a strong message to the French Government telling it to withdraw from taking control of German services in the Ruhr Valley. They said that there were growing safety issues and ordered their workers not to support the French authorities in the occupied region.

A general strike began of boatmen on the Rhine, causing a suspension of all freight traffic on the river.

A committee appointed by the Bishop of London recommended demolishing a number of city churches that weren’t well used to raise more money by selling off the sites. Opponents of the idea complained that many of the churches were designed by Christopher Wren and had significant historic interest, with a decision to be made by the future Church of England Representative Assembly.

Dublin authorities confirmed that they had executed two men in Waterford for illegally possessing ammunition and firearms. The two men, Michael Fitzgerald and Patrick O’Reilly, brought the number of people executed to 50 over the last three month period.

25 JANUARY 1923

The court martial took place of six German coal mine owners who had refused to assist with the French authorities who had occupied the Ruhr Valley. Although the court fined each of the coal mine owners, the judges accepted the defence that they had just been following the orders of their own Government in not to assist the French.

The French took control of the railway network in the Ruhr Valley following the strike of all German transport workers in the region.

Lord Peel, the Secretary of State for India, said that there was potential to review the Government of India Act to allow for greater democracy in the country and for the Constitution of the Legislatures to be developed. He also added that a Royal Commission was to be appointed to examines the services in India, including the Civil Service and the Police Service.

24 JANUARY 1923

Speaking at the Lausanne Conference, Lord Curzon stated that the Mosul Question should be referred to League of Nations and that the UK would abide by whatever decision was made by that body. The Turkish Government rejected the proposals as their policy was that the majority of people in the disputed territory wanted to become part of Turkey.

The GPO announced that they were not allowing holders of broadcasting receiving licences to move their ‘sets’ from location to location. The announcement came following how enthusiasts were moving their equipment to hold parties at the homes of others, which the GPO said was not allowable as licences were issued to a particular address.

There was excitement as there were preparations being made in Egypt to penetrate the wall of the Inner Tomb of Tutankhamun which would reveal his body for the first time to archaeologists.

23 JANUARY 1923

Ramsay MacDonald, the Leader of the Opposition, said to an audience of over 2,500 people in Aberdeen that the French were nervous of German strength. He argued that this caused the problem that when the German economy started to grow that the French would want to limit that expansion in fear of the potential military rearmament. MacDonald also called for the allied nations to support the League of Nations to ensure that all nations across Europe would start the process of becoming disarmed.

After some localised strike action amongst German workers in the French occupied Ruhr Valley, a large scale strike action began in the region.

Marius Plateau, the editor of the French journal Action Française, was assassinated by Germaine Berton in Paris.

22 JANUARY 1923

The six German miner directors arrested by the French were sent under military escort to a trial in Dusseldorf, as strikes in the mines amongst German miners began. The German Government also issued orders saying that no state official should offer assistance or support to the French authorities in the occupied territories.

At the Scottish Independent Labour party’s meetings in Glasgow, the French invasion of the Ruhr Valley was condemned.

The Irregulars in Ireland destroyed part of a railway viaduct at Malahide near Dublin, causing a disruption in the rail services between Belfast and Dublin.

21 JANUARY 1923

Businesses in Essen struggled to open following the French invasion of the Ruhr Valley and the seizing of Reichsbank premises. Other banks also closed, saying that they were unable to open because they were reliant on the Reichsbank infrastructure, whilst German staff refused to work in the now French controlled bank. It was also announced by the French authorities that the Director of Postal Services in Essen had been arrested for failing to comply with French military orders.

At the annual general meeting of the National Farmers’ Union it was complained that the population wasn’t drinking enough milk and that there should be efforts to reduce its price to make it more affordable. It was also reported that milk was being poured down drains in a bid to keep the price up and some farmers who tried to reduce their charges were met with opposition from suppliers of other services.

Army Headquarters in Dublin announced that they had discovered a 70 foot long tunnel which was being constructed in a bid to help prisoners escape from Mountjoy Prison. Individuals arrested for their involvement with the tunnel construction included Michael Doyle, Arthur Ring, John Daly, Michael McCann, Thomas Carne and Donal O’Donnell.

20 JANUARY 1923

Philip Lloyd-Greame, the President of the Board of Trade, spoke in London saying that it was essential that the Government should try to get a final settlement and the most out of Germany. He added that it was a misfortune that the recent reparations conference had failed to reach agreement, but at least countries differed as friends.

Roland William Boyden, the US observer to the Treaty of Versailles, caused some concern amongst the allies after stating that the terms imposed on Germany had been demonstrated as impossible to deliver.

French troops in the Ruhr seized a number of German coal mines and took control over several branches of the Reichsbank. The German government condemned the actions as French authorities stated that no coal would be distributed to the rest of Germany until reparations were resolved.

Wilhelm Cuno, the Chancellor of Germany, told Federal Governments to reduce the gluttony of excessive food and alcohol being consumed by the population, many of whom he said were in distress at current events. He suggested measures including prohibiting the sale of drinks to minors, punishing drunkenness and introducing early closing hours at licensed venues.

19 JANUARY 1923

It was announced that Stanley Baldwin, the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, would sail to the United States on 20 January 1923 to discuss the growing political issue of the British war debt owed to the US.

A meeting of the Cockburn Association was held which raised concerns about the impact of the proposed Scottish War Memorial on the skyline of Edinburgh. It was agreed that the matter would be debated further and proposals brought forward of alternative memorials, although it was felt that the location at Edinburgh Castle was appropriate.

The French Government said that they were taking action against six owners of coal mining operations for refusing to obey military orders. The French military had taken land over in the Ruhr Valley and made demands of the coal mine owners with the German Government saying that they were plunging the area into a state of famine and risking an uprising.

There was a strong demand from Germany to purchase British coal, with the depreciation of the mark not being a problematic factor with relation to making payments.

18 JANUARY 1923

The French Government said that they didn’t plan to extend their military intervention into Germany following the taking of the city of Dortmund the previous day. They said that they wanted economic reparations as had been promised in the Treaty of Versailles.

The French, Belgian and Italian Governments issued a joint statement confirming that they were intending to benefit financially from the German state forests on the left bank of the Rhine.

Arthur Henderson won the by-election held in Newcastle East which had been called following the death of the Labour MP Joseph Nicholas Bell. The result was:

Labour : Arthur Henderson | 11,066 | 45.7%
Liberal : Harry Barnes | 6,682 | 27.6%
Conservative : Robert Gee | 6,480 | 26.7%

The previous result at the 1922 General Election had been a Labour gain from the Liberals:

Labour : Joseph Nicholas Bell | 10,084 | 43.1%
Liberal : Harry Barnes | 6,999 | 30.0%
National Liberal : Gilbert Stone | 6,273 | 26.9%

Majority 3,085 13.1