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pean EE ----..----......--. .. .-.,]]} ei of celebration of BD hes oc By tribute to their Fitish sonnection, and of ty to the pe and the pire. thers, of their lo; Through their visit the Be a and M Baten the e best of relations in the gh an economic e sible, d Mr. ald - the Ramos of State and other important delogats of the United States, at the openin iagara ine express Rivet hee wu five 0 hb the United States and the ition in 1927 was most satisfactory. A record found at the that the ti tion, so would Ho, Canadians were given the 0) a Hwee given the" own mon- of the -will of the nations of or on Aug. 7, when the of the Peace Bridge over s of amity which assured crop in the west lent impetus to business and industry throughout the country and gave bright promise for the futur e. HANGE OF MINISTERS 1 : cant of Canada's new nationalist outlook which is bringing her | to Rog ia of exercising all the fuctions which mark fully-devel >) tions, as a member of the association of free nations of the British na: pire, t for the first time of an accredited Minister to the Sy bpointin her og from the United States of a minister resident 8 Ottawa, accredite by his President, Hon. Vincent Massey, the Canadian ted hi dentials to President Coolidge on Feb, 18, and Stee Henin Phillips, the US, Minister to Canada arrived in Then there was on September 15, Canada's election to membership on the e of Nations, Relations with the United States were further strengthened on Armis- h Arlington Cemetery a memorial to citizens of the United tes Day in a C.EF, pit Eh the Great War, was unveiled by Hon, Vincent Massey and Hon, Col, J. L. Ralston, Canadian Minister of Defense. On this occasion, Canadian troops visited the United States Capi tal Then on Nov. 25 Premier King visited Washington and on Dec, 6, The Governor General and Viscountess Willingdon paid an official visit re, Federal politics durin ance in Parliament "000, #01 some 327, WINNIPEG Qutside of Parliament the the year were very' ; eing ihe Jntrodustion of the Robb budget which 000 from the nation's tax bi CONVENTION " reat convention of the Conservative party jet, the chief event of at Winnipeg in October, held the arena of public interest The convention by ballot chose Hon, R. left vacant by the resignation of Hon Arthur Meighen, was thrown into a turmoil by an address delivered by B, Bennett to assume the leadership of the party e convention Mr, Meighen in i defended his speech made at Hamilton on the eve of the Bagot Bye secon, 4g which Bt Buin the holding of a geveral election before nada should enter a war. His opinions were quick! y repudiated by Hon, G. Howard Ferguson of Ontario and after the stormy brush between the 'two, the question did not again come before the convention, e Gove Representatives of th Government met in conference at Ottawa on Nov. 3 rnments of the Provinces and the Federal for ten days, GOVERNMENT CONTROL In Ontario on June 1, sale of liquor under Government Control went to operation Znder the direction of D. B. Hanna, Premier Ferguson's Yo with two other commissioners, Hong a, Er, LAWRENCE DEVELOPMENT A great deal of interest particularly in Ontario continued to be centred around the proposed development joint efforts of Canada and the United States, of the St. Lawrence Waterway by the The, plan was commended ident Coolidge by Secretary of Commerce Hoover, and during the ia Tyssident en, Ry reports were made on the project. Late in the year, the Fede the proposal under the control of a Government placed the direction of Canada's interest in Commission, THREE DISASTERS --<" During the year there were no great cataclysyms of nature but 'there were three catastrophic fires which took an enormous toll of lives. The try was shocked by the news of a fire in a Montreal theatre on Thats country some 78 children were killed in the panic, Twenty children were burned to death in a fire in an orphanage at Lac La Flonge, Sas- , on Sept, 19, and on Dec. 14, the Hospice St. Charles, an orphan- katshéwal. City ids yA by fire and more than 40 children lost thelr lives. EUROPE Fhe continued unsettled condition of post war Europe was reflected in the feeling of uneasiness which pre- vailed at the conclusion of the ses- sion of the League of Nations in une. The storm clouds were particu- ly black in eastern Europe. There was the long standing quarrel be: tween Poland and Lithuania, another between Jugo-Slavia and Albania, trouble between the states aloitg the Russian frontier and the Soviet, and uprisings of the Socialists in Austria, But 8 the end of the year blues sky an to show through the clouds, Poland and Lithuania settled their difficulties before the Council of the League at Geneva, Treaties be- tween France and Jugo-Slavia and Italy and Albania had, while they re- flected feelings of jealously between France and , quietened the Ju- v-Albanish trouble, and Austria settled down again with the So- cialists represented in her Govern- t. FRANCE RECOVERS In France there was greater evi- dence of recovery from the post war conditions. Government became more and as a result the currency payments under the Dawes plan and at the same time stabilize the pur- chasing power of its currency both in the home and international mar- kets, However, it is pointed out that this was not accomplished through surplus production but by loans, so that the situation was not perman- ently improved. Instead the day of accounting was merely postponed, The country was rebuked during the year for excessive expenditure, and its Government agreed that the strictest economy would be necessary if they were to meet their obliga- tions under the Dawes plan of repar- ations. A two-minute speech that awake- ned angry echoes in France an England was delivered by President Von Hindenburg at the dedication of a German national war memorial at Tannenburg, East Prussia, which commemorates the German Field Marshal's victory in the early days of the war when the Russian invasion was frustrated, For the first time President Hindenburg repudiated publicly and officially the charge that Germany was responsible for the World War. What was more irrita- ting to many was the widespread ap- proval of the Hindenburg speech among the Germans. The sting in his utterances was, contained in the words, "The charge that Germany is guilty of the greatest of all wars, we the German people, repudiate in all its phases, Not envy, hate, nor eag- erness for conquest caused us to re- sort to weapons. War was a last re- THE OSHAWA DALY TIMES. TUESDAY, JANUARY 3,198 "1927 REVIEW OF CANADI Prime Minister of Great Britain, who, with the Prince of Wales, attended the opening of the Peace Bridge. MISCELLANEOUS LEAGUE OF NATIONS GENEVA NAVAL CONFERENCE After more than seven weeks al most fruitless labor the Tripartite Naval Disarmament Conference call- ed at Geneva on the invitation of President Coolidge, adjourned on August 4, "in the friendliest man- ner," Early in, February President Coolidge had extended invitations to a conference to Great Britain, France, Italy and Japan. France de- clined the invitation almost immed- iately. Italy first accepted with such reservations as to make her partici- pation useless and then declined, Great Britain and Japan accepted. The parley opened on June 20, and while at first agreements were reach- ed over the size of individual destroy- ers and destroyer flotillas trouble was began. Throughout the weeks of distussion that followed Great Britain adhered ties in cruisers while the Americans and Japanese struggled to lower that level. It was soon found that an agreement was impossible and the parley adjourned deciding that direct negotiations be carried on between the Governments, DICTATORSHIP IN SPAIN The dictatorship of General Primo de Rivera in Spain would seem to have been good for the country, and apparently feeling that the time 1s approaching when Spain might safely return to her old form of Govern ment, General Rivera has called a States General. The Parliament can hardly be said to represent the peo- ple yet for the dictator has the last word in the appointment of its mem- bership. VIENNA RIOTS Out of a clear sky on July 15, came the fiercest political storm that has swept Austria since shortly af- ter the armistice. Rioting, destruc- tion of public property and a general strike in Vienna growing out of So- cialist demonstration against what, in the party's estimation was a miscar- riage of justice, resulted in the deaths of more than 100 civilians and po- licemen and some five hundred in- d | jured, when the outbreak apparently got out of the hands of its leaders and was seized upon by Communists as an opportunity to attack the Goy- ernment. Peace was finally reached by allowing the Socialist Democrats a share in the Government of the country. RUMANIA One hundred and one guns boomed a salute to King Michael I, of Ru- mania at 4 o'clock on the afternoon of July 20, announcing to the as- sembled multitude that a six-year- old monarch had ascended the throne. The day before his grandfather, King Ferdinand died. King Ferdinand died as he had lived--fighting stub- bornly with characteristic Hohenzol- lern tenacity. In a white stone villa at Neuilly just outside Paris behind closed green shutters, Prince Carol spent the day of July 20 brooding. He might have been that day proclaimed King of Rumania. His renunciation of the throne had been followed early in January by an Act -/hereby King Ferdinand's successor was assured to be Prince Michael, Prince Carol's son or his royal wife Princess Helen of eece. A regency of three was appointed AVIATION The year 1927 ushered in a mew era in aviation. The period of experi- ment came to an end and practical development began. Airways became as reliable, as safe, and as comfort able a means of transportation as any other, and according to the latest fig- ures there are [ogg than 50,000 miles of oragnized air tes throughout . {the world today. Accidents involving injury to passengers have become the exception, and in Europe at least, air travel has become an established fact in the life of the ordinary individual. But 1927 witnessed something far more spectacular in the flyin world-- the numberless attempts to blaze an air trail across oceans. There were some eight actual starts made on aon-stop trans-Atlantic flights, and three were successful. Ten airmen CANADA'S TRADE The Trade of Canada veflects, a8 perhaps no other medium the from year to year. At the time of Con- tal trade with other countries was $119,792,000, t our trade amounts to $2,323,863,89. h of the Dominion our history, For than those of last iness within our Suring the past year, with a decided tone of optimism for the future. The following es show an increase in our total trade of over twenty-four million dollars, over Twelve months ended . 1926 Total trade ssseeeeenseressanss 2298993,820 Total Imports yeeavsersenernsee Total Exports to conduct the affairs of the coun- try, but Premier Ionel Bratiano, the strong man of Rumania continued to control the nation as he had done for days and months preceding Fer- dinand's death, In the months that followed sever: al alleged attempts to place Prince Carol on the throne were rumored, But they had never been confirmed. Chen on November 24 Bratiano was suddenly fatally stricken and his bro- ther Vintilia Bratiano was quickly appointed Premier by the Regency, Immediate steps were taken to pre- vent any steps being taken by the Carolist faction but there were none, SOVIET CELEBRATES The "Ten Days That Shook The World" in the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 were celebrated in Moscow on the tenth anniversary of that co- lossal event whose consequences still engage contradictory opinion among all nations, Pessimistic prophets of those past years are now ridiculed by Soviet enthusiasts, who claim that the great gain which overshadows every other achieved by the Soviet Govern. ment is the "liberation of the work- ing class." On the other hand, among the British press especially, there are those journals which admit that Rus- sia is not what is was under the Czarist regime for, they hold, after ten years it is evident that the pur pose of the Bolshevik pioneers to found a Socialist State is as far off as ever | the mon The tumult and the shouting of met when the discussions on cruisers | Soviet Russia's tenth anniversary were not sufficient to prevent the | Opposition from making use of the occasion, we are told, for a number tenaciously to her. tonnage necessi- | of violent public Bttacks upon those still firm in the seats of the mighty. Nor did they prevent the Russian press from noting as one of the most important events of the last six years of Soviet Russia's internal politics, the dramatic expulsion of Trotsky, Kameney, Zinovies, Radek, and other first-rank Communist leaders from the Communist party, as well as the arrest and exile of hundreds of their followers, This is the climax to the long and bitter struggle that has been going op within the Communist party between the Oppositionists, and { the bulk of the party headed by Jo- its Secretary-General, seph Stalin, his chief and Nicholas Bukharin, lieutenant, It was a bold challenge to the world that Soviet Russia tossed into the preparatory disarmament confer: ence at Geneva. Having come to at- tend this preliminary meeting, Maxim AN were far in excess of any other year, e fiscal year ended Oct. 31st, 1927, exports show a her decrease over that of the ------------ me of Canada's foreign trade revious year. Imports are ear, is is accounted for by the rs has increased to a great extent that of last year. Twelve months ended Oct. 31, 1927 2,323,863.896 991,114,109 1,078,975,104 1,307,879,711 1,244,888,792 Oct. 31, Litvinoff, Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs and head of the Russian del- egation, rode roughshod over all es- tablished formulas,/and declared that the way to disarm is literally to dis- arm, This was a "peace bomb" for which the other Powers apparently were not prepared, At any rate, they went into a "huddle," put the propo- sal aside, and proceeded calmly 10 vote for the creation of a special committee on the problem of secur- ity. LAUSANNE CONFERENCE For some three weeks in midsum- mer 400 delegates representing more than 80 different churches from all over the world met in Lausanne to confer on the possibility of Christian unity, Both Catholics (with the ex- ception of Roman Catholics) and Protestants participated facing and discussing differences among Christ- ians touching matters of deepest and most sacred conviction. No one who went there supposed that it was pos- sible during the three week's session to frame any plan for complete union between the churches represented at that gathering. However, according to observers there was revealed a grow. | ing spirit of fraternity and those who attended found grounds for more than respect for the special history, character and service to Christedom of those churches which heretofore had held themselves apart from each other, CHINA It would be utterly impossible for any casual observer, to attempt to solve the "Chinese puzzle," Even ob- servers on the ground are unable to understand the situation in China. The strife has been described as the awakening of China and the out- break of its long nursed resentment against what they regarded as unfair treaties with foreign countries. Par- ticularly in the early part of the year did the anti-foreign outbreaks hecome serious, and Great Britain, France, Italy, Japan and the United States found it necessary to send troops and warships to protect their rationals. Nanking, Hankow, Shang- hai and Canton were the centres in which the anti-foreign outbreak took the most militant form and forces of the five powers were rushed to these sections. At one time there were some 175 warships of 5 countries assembled n Chinese waters News reached the outside world 'nm July that a great earthquake | ad devastated the interior province f Kiensu on May 23 = Kuward, Prince of Wales, who made his third visit to Canada this year, UNITED STATES The United States continued to ride on the crest of a wave of pros- perity throughout 1927. There were economists who denied that President Coolidge had a solid foundation for his optimistic utterances but the pros- perous condition of the country is strikingly reflected in a report is- sued by the Bureau of Internal Rey- enue showing that at the end of 1926 the 117,000,000 people of the country had an income of $90,000, 000,000, an increase of about $27,000, 000,000 or more than 43% in the five yess since 1921. And the report expressed the opinion that the end of 1927 would reveal a still greater increase, Congress late in the year struck from the nation's tax bill some $250,000,000, Crops with the exception of cotton were fully as good as last year, tex- tile industries showed improvement, the steel industry materially increa- sed its production as did the motor industry, there was a decrease in un- employment and imports and exports kept pace with those of 1926. COOLIDGE CHOOSES On Aug. 2, President Coolidge threw a bombshell into domestic pol- itics by giving out to the press from his "summer White House" in South Dakota this statement, "I do not choose to run for President of 1928." CHICAGO WATER STEAL Another chapter in the Chicago "water steal" was written late in the year, when Charles' Hughes, Master of the Supreme Court handed down a decision declaring that Chicago had a right under the permit issued by the War Department, to divert water from the Great Lakes, but the case is not closed there, for the Supreme Court of the United States still has to come to a decision and even after that an appeal might possibly be made to Congress. The chief event of the 69th Con- HARVEST OF CANAD Canada's Harvest shows a gratifying increase this year, over past years, the grand total of all commodities being five million in excess of last season's crops. One unusual feature of the crops of the Dominion for the past year is the fact that the harvest of oats is nearly eight millions of bushels greater than that of wheat. The increase in the harvest of wheat over that of last year is nearly thirty-one million bushels, There were very slight decreases in the harvests of barley and potatoes, but these were more than offset by increases in other crops. Barley Rye .... Potatoes and p gers are g hope for thejr safety has been aband- oned as a result of attempts to cross the Atlantic since May. And out of 43 who started long ocean flights 'throughout the world, some 21 lost their lives. Of the three successful non-stop trans-Atlantic flights, that of Capt. Charles Lindbergh, made solus in his single-engined monoplane, the Spirit of St. Louis, was, the most spectacu- lar. He flew from New York to Paris a distance of 3,539 miles in 33%; hours on May-20-21. On June 4-6, Clarence Chamberlin with Charles Levine as the first Atlantic senger flew in umbia, from New York to Eishleben, Germany, in 423; hours. Then on June 29-July 1, Com- mander Richard E. Bryd with a crew of three flew a giant, 3-engined Fok- ker monoplane from New York, land- ing in the sea 200 feet off the French coast at Ver-sur-Mer, a distance of 3,600 miles in 42 hours. Two flights across the Atlantic from the east to the west were attempted and both failed. In the first the great French aces, Nungesser and Coli, were lost The attempt was made by Capt. Leslie Hamilton, 3 Minchin, with Princess Lowenstein- Wortheim as pagsenger, and their plane was last as it flew over Ireland headed for Ottawa. In the one trans-Atlantic attempt made by Can- adians, . T. B. Tully and Lieut. MA , fost their lives. Worthy of note was the 25,000 mile 4-continent flight made by Command er Francesco de Pinedo, of Italy be- tween Feb. 13-June 16. The Pacific too, took its toll of adventurous avia- tors while it dealt kindly with but a few who were successful in reaching Hawaii. The following official comparisons for the past two years: figures 1927 Bushels 444,282,000 452,421,000 98.242,000 16,070,500 79,879,332 give 1926 Bushels 409,811,000 383,419,000 99,684,100 12,113,900 81,136,606 -- MICHAEL I, f Roumania, who succeeded his grandfather to the throne. gress was passing of the McNary- Haugen Bill for farm relief and its subsequent veto by President Cool- idge. Considerable progress was made toward better relations with Mexico and a further stage in the control of the Caribbean by the U.S. was reached .in May by the virtual es- tablishment of . a protectorate over Nicaragua. TWO FLOODS What has been described as the greatest domesti. disaster in the hist- ory of America occurred in April and May when the Mississippi River re- inforced by the flood waters of the Arkansas and Red Rivers, overilow- ed its banks flooding an area of some 3,000,000 acres. New Orleans itself, was saved on April 29, by blasting a gap in the levy at Poydras. The total loss has been estimated by IH. C. Hoover; sec- retary of commerce, at more than 1300,000,000, Little less catastrophic were the wtumn floods in New England. Af- ter a brief period of almost tropical warmth, Western New England was visited on Nov. 3, by a deluge of tor rential rain. The many hill streams already higher than usual from Aut- umn rains, began to rise rapidly. By the next morning New England found itself without warning in the grip of a flood which soon assumed unparalleled proportions. Houses were swept away bodily or left standing two-thirds deep in water. Their occu- pants succeeded in most cases in es- caping to places of safety but the toll of lives was heavy. Some 132 peo- ple lost their lives and thousands were rendered homeless. SACCO-VANZETTI CASE Much disorder and controversy, not only in the United States but throughout many parts of the world, was occasioned by the Sacco-Van zetti case. The history of the case goes back to 1920 when two men, confessed anarchists, were found guilty of murder and sentenced to death. Many appeals followed almost all based on the claim that there was a prejudice against them since they were communists. But all failed and on August 23, Sacco and Vanzeiti were electrocuted. Far more astonishing than even the legal events, was the world wide campaign to secure, arouse and give ~xpression to sympathy on behalf of the prisoners. There were communist demonstrations throughout the world and many foreign Embassies of the accord with the attitude adopted by the and early in October a final settle- 5 SL 1. CI 1 HTX 0 ER i Am 2 ---------------------- D WORLD EVENTS . England has shown a remarkable trade recove following 0 alizing effects of the Eeneral slike. ar end of 926, the de: ficit, largely as a result of the strikes, stood at about £146,000,0 but at the end ofthe financial year, April 1, the budget deficit had reduced to £36,693,794, and at that date the trade recovery had commenced. Realization that Great Britain could not maintain her position in wo trade by the old fashioned "coal and cotton economy" brought about adoption of greatly improved methods allowing more even competition wit the rest-of the world. The year, it can be said, saw the beginning of Er land's recovery from post war conditions. Unemployment presented almost as great a problem as ever duri the year but labor disputes were few. An outlet for a portion of the su lus population will likely be obtained through the working of the Briti mpire Settlement scheme, TRADE UNION BILL The introduction in the House of Commons of the Trade. Union B which aimed a hard blow at general strikes, caused a good deal of prot from the Labor party and there were several stormy scenes during Comme debates, but the bill passed in a slightly amended form. The suggestion that Moscow exercised an influence over British "was given the lie when the party officially declared that it had no tion with the Third Internationa BREAK WITH SOVIET Both diplomatic and trade relations with Soviet Russia were complet severed by Great Britain in May. The drastic action followed seve: patient warnings to the Soviet by Foreign Secretary Sir Austen Chamb lain, that the spread of Bolshevist propaganda in Great Britain must ste and the sensational raid on the London offices of the Russian firm Arcos Limited, which disclosed the propagandist schemes. Late in the year at Geneva a Soviet delegate conferred with Sir Aus Chamberlain and the Soviet made a bid for resumption of relations b there was no definite result, ] LORDS' REFORM Early in the year a scheme for the reform of the House of Lords outlined but in July it was dropped. Premier Stanley Baldwin expl that the scheme had been introduced "merely as a basis for discussion criticism." LORD CECIL RESIGNS Following the triparties naval disarmament conference at Geneva, Lo! Robert Cecil, representative of the British Government at the League ¢ Nations resigned his seat on the British cabinet regarding the Gene Parley. "I believe," he wrote in his letter of resignation, "that a gene reduction and limitation of armaments is essential to the peace of world , . . . further I am convinced that no considerable limitation of aments can be obtained except by international agreement." POLICY IN CHINA The firm hand of the Baldwin Government was nowhere made moi apparent than in its handling of the Chinese situation, At all times it ready to adopt peaceful negotiation but when the rights of British subjee in China were menaced, prompt steps were taken to protect them, h attitude was reflected in the words of Premier Baldwin at a time wh anti-foriegn, and particularly anti-British feeling, was running high China. "Nothing," he said, "will change the Government's determinatic to achieve the end desired by negotiations but the Government declines be overruled by cither the norih or the south in its care for British liv And the cost of the British military expedition to China, to guard the li and rights of British subjects was $20,000, PRAYER BOOK REVISION The two schools of thought in the Church of England--the High the Low Church groups--came to an open disagreement which may ha Common Prayer for 205 years were proposed at a meeting of the Synod of the two great Archdioces, Canterbury and York. The changes were included in an "alternative" book which provided fi the permissive use of the new forms of service, That is the new provisio in the rubric were not dogmatic but it was left to each parish to decid whether it would use the old or new forms of service, In spite of vehement objection and after two days of stormy deb {the Church Assembly accepted the revisions and they were sent on the Houses of Parliament for final approval. It was not until December that the Bill making provision for the r sions came before the House cof Lords and after three days of heat debate it was approved by a vote of 241 to 88. The next day the bill we to the Commons where it suffered defeat by a vote of 238 to 205. PREMIER DOMERGUE Premier Domergue of France, made his first official visit to En May 16. He was greeted by King George, and members of the Hou of Lords, and Privy Council, Cabinet, since he was not ii far reaching effect, when in February the first changes in the Book g BRITAIN'S POSSESSIONS FLAG QUESTION UNSETTLED INDIA 4A Controversy on the question of a distinctive national flag for South Af- rica became at one time so bitter as to threaten public order especially in Natal. Early in the year the Nation- alist party proposed a national flag but the suggestion was not pushed until Premier Hertzgg and his asso- ciates returned from the Imperial Conference where the autonomy of the nations within the British Em- pire had been stressed. General Smuts, leader of the South African party saw in the first propo- sals of the Nationalist party a men- ace to relations with the Motherland and he vigorously opposed the change. However, all the parties saw the necessity of complete agreement India have been disquieting, F support for the arguments advane against granting further powers the Indian peoples, were provided the incessant strife and conflicts b tween the Hindus and the Mohamn dens; Communal riots in almost ev, Province of India with heayy lo of life, attempts to impede the wo ing of the Government machine other incidents marked the year, b apart from this the progress of dia during the year was satisfacto Some small disturbances on North West frontier floods ca! great loss of life and property an outbreak of cholera increased anxieties of the Government, But there was a substantial crease in the surplus of revenue only ene black spot marred the is dustrial world of India, the conti ued depression of the Bomba 'ng industry, : IRISH FREE STATE While the Cosgrave Government the Irish Free State bad two : political storms to weather during th year, it succeeded in guiding # economic affairs of the country nitely in the direction of, prosperi Trade with Great Britain was creased substantially and that the Upited States and Canada ed improvement. The great linen dustry, for some years in a condition, was started on the road! recovery. n I There was a general election June 9th, and it was necessary the Cosgrave Government to seek support of other parties to hold fice. Two days later the world shocked by the news of the tion of Kevin. O'Higgins, ic President of the Free State Co as he was walking to mass. The publican organization denied th they or their followers were i cated in any way. Towards the ot fhe obth when the new me 0 ail were being sworn in, I Valera and his followers polos} great deal of disturbance by refs to take the oath of ji to King, but they were finally bro around. On. October 11, Preside Cosgrave went to the country agi a working majority but barely got it. His party was ret by a majority of six. ment of the flag dispute was reached. The agreement provided that there should be two flags of the Union of South Africa, one, the Union Jack to denote the association of the Union with the group of nations constitu- ling the British Commonwealth of Nations; and the other, the national flag of South Africa, the design of which consists of three horizontal stripes--orange white and blue, On middle of the white stripe are the Union Jack and the Transvaal Vierk. leur horizontally with between them but in a vertical position the Orange Free State Vierkleur. On the Houses of Parliament, the principal Govern- ment buildings in the capitals of the Union, in ports and on Government offices abroad, the Upion Jack is flown along with the national flag. Che Union Jack will continue to be flown on ships while in towns other than capitals there was no sudden change in existing conditions. Warm tribute on all sides was paid to General Smuts, General Hertzog and Tielman Ross, who steered the' way to agreement through the great- est difficulties, : al AUSTRALIA Australia's progress during 1927 gave promise that the Commonwealth was entering an era of prosperity similar, if not as great, as Canada's. Significant of her advancement was the opening of her new capital, Cran- berra, by the Duke and Duchess of York. The Government, capably led by Premier Bruce, concentrated their efforts toward the development of trade with the rest gf the Empire, and it was to a great extent success- ' Worthy of mention was the devel- opment of civil aviation in Australia. Distant parts of the island continent were linked by some 3.000 miles of organized airlines and plans for ex- ion on a large scale have been NEW ZEALAND The destiny of New Zealand, is most inseparably linked with that Australia and last year, as in United States were stormed. past the country showed parallel gress. . a Ld made for 1928 Unfortunately the events of 1927