OCCASIONAL NOTE

Sir Daniel Hamilton generally finds something original to say at the annual co-operative functions in Calcutta at which he has been a steady participant during the past two or three years, and in his address to the Bengal Co-Operative Organisation Society on Wednesday, he threw out the interesting suggestion that the noblemen and zemindars of Bengal should organise themselves into a co-operative society, in order that they might not find themselves left high and dry. Sir Daniel’s remarks about his fellow- zemindars and the co-operative movement amply confirm the suspicion that has been growing for some time, namely, that this influential class has hitherto refrained from yielding the movement any adequate support, and this fact goes a long way to explain the paucity of results in Bengal as compared with some of the other provinces. Knowing what one does of the Bengal zemindar, it is entirely in keeping with his character that a movement aiming merely at the protection and betterment of his tenants fails to appeal to him as it should. But a movement having as its object the prosperity of his own body might be a very different proposition, and it is quite on the cards that the sprat thrown out by Sir Daniel Hamilton on Wednesday may catch a number of whales. The idea is, of course, that if the landlords can only become really interested in the co-operative movement, even from selfish motives, they will soon emerge from their apathy and eventually prove a tower of strength to the cause.

SUIT FOR PROVIDENT FUND

A peculiar suit was decided by the Registrar of the Calcutta Small Cause Court on Thursday, in which, Mrs. Dunford on behalf of her two minor sons, Harold and John, claimed from Mr. A. Kiernander, the Organist of St. James’ Church, the sum of Rs 8-8 and Rs 6-4 respectively, as Provident Fund, belonging to her two children. Mr. W.J. Mendes, pleader, who appeared for the plaintiff, said his case was that the defendant approached the plaintiff and offered to pay her two sons eight annas each, if they joined the choir at St. James’. She agreed, and her two sons were paid eight annas each monthly as remuneration for six months. The defendant deducted four annas from each of their amounts monthly for a year and a half, and placed the money from time to time in the Choir Provident Fund. The plaintiff subsequently withdrew the boys from the choir, and when she applied for their provident Fund money, she was told that under the rules, the amounts had been confiscated as the boys were withdrawn without the consent of the Chaplain. The plaintiff is going to apply for a new trial.

GOVERNMENT S OFFER TO MINERS

A conference of the Miners’ Federation of Great Britain at Southport decided by a two-to-one majority to exclude the Press; hence the discussion of the Government’s terms was held in private. A communiqué was subsequently issued merely stating that the Federation had passed a resolution that the Government’s terms are “not a reply to our demands,” and ratified their rejection. The conference subsequently ratified the executive committee’s decision to reject the Government’s terms and instructed the executive to submit a proposal regarding the next step to be taken with the object of pressing the demands.

GRATUITIES TO THE NAVY

The Admiralty announces that gratuities are being awarded to the Royal Navy and Royal Marines ranging from pound 720 to pound 200 for Admirals and from pound 140 to pound 20 for other officers for the first year’s service with increments ranging from three pounds to ten shillings for each additional month’s service. Officers of the Naval and Volunteer Reserves receive a gratuity of one hundred days’ pay for the first year’s service and fifty days for the subsequent year.

BELGIAN CLAIMS

M. Hymans, Belgian Foreign Minister, presented Belgium’s claims before the Peace Conference committee. Belgium desires the abrogation of treaties providing for an attitude of neutrality and demands the rectification of the Dutch- Belgian frontier and freedom of navigation of the Scheldt estuary from Antwerp to the sea by the restitution to Belgium of the Dutch zone on the left of the Scheldt, also a portion of Dutch Limburg along the right of the Meuse from Maastricht to Roermonde, also the return of the German districts of Montjoie and Malmedy the population of which is purely Walloon and was Belgian until 1815. M. Hymans submitted that Luxemburg should elect to join France or Belgium in order to guard against a repetition of the German invasion. He did not refer to the Belgian Congo question.