The Guardian from London, Greater London, England • 1

CITY EDITION vjJLAaji NOHNERSPHNGS Jjjy THAN SPBNGSW THE GUARDIAN Manchester Saturday January 22 1966 mm CapauleeUcl Stratford Lane Gas supply crisis in Midlands likely to last Labour looks at election chances By our Polities! Stiff Niagara on the rocks From CLYDE SANGKt New York, January 21 Planning how to patch up ttw Niagara Falls that la unusual Job that facta the United Stats Amy Corps of Engineers in the bobuu ahead. For more than a year than has been crowini cooeara sfewt the state of the Assrtea Fatif. Altar large rock aMw la iin 1954, boulders bfsst pUtag up under tbe fsilss sad ta putcet they are new ataabad 100ft. hJjh. Shiest tha Ms at their peak are awrtr aaaci than 105ft- Sdab.

laoal Tipton goes out of action yet again BY OUR OWN The TlDton cas nlant REPORTER went out of action again yesterday and officials arc now talking about the possible duration of Ihe West Midlands gas supply crisis in terms of weeks rattier than days. Any vague hopes of a full-scale resumption of work on Monday by industries which have been stricken by gas cuts sank again with the Tipton breakdown at 1 p.m. yesterday. The latest breakdown occurred 18 hours after the second stream went into production. The failure was have drinks with Mr Wilson after all' Papas news item Liberal leader going to meet Sir Hugh Beadle By PHILIP RAWSTORNE Mr Grlmond.

the Liberal leadstr. veaterdav iharalv criticised Mr Heath's rejection of tbt InvlUtion to an Informal meeting at Downing Street with the Prime Minister and Sir Hugh Beadle, the Rhodealan Chief Justice. A statement Issued by the Liberal Parte London said Mr Grimond cannot undentand the reported unU have mmsm that their stain scare at pvMe Inni hM 4 cascade or as at rttHds. Tbe Csnsdlana faced a sSsallsr Broweni at mm mm orsesiwa FaO ui Ae IMm, and solved it ky dsesjsfiji tbe lardu tf th feBi IMa made tht lew assca eten The Anwrieaa Ttmrn mm never so spsnamisr, niiderstsadjMy, flaMet wants tkM i. fafl tssWjKs-repuU.

Bo bse Mb Gasetie a year en mmmbm! a cunpaiga fer.ceasrp tton, a cafsisM that within a rear I GovtroBMrat ua rtr sss anmy. Grainlee agraeaMe This week ttaMgaMfe wanted tnesn no aUst ColenalwonasTfoaT nseiasw from Sanater Jsrtta, (is nave a nalar mmfi en assorted ciBaina war lea doaar to the sersw ar flva to abi minen come each year In saaa el Anttnff tb stvants' sed mm Liner ancison wttk enjine troubla The and llntr CUM (14.000 ton), bound trees tha Far East to Loedte wttk ISO paueniacs. has rlsT ilea art assrlna trouble and wai anctorad last night in calm weather et Dsasnsr nesa. She will bt towed tt uravasena, ana ts ssq arrive at Tilbury thli iovui woort iai rciucidnce oi mr neaui to attend. The meeting of British party leaders with nugn aoes noi, ranrte, reiudlce their oositions but could lead to effective action to end what It a national rather than a party crisis" Mr Grimond will travel to London from Orkney tods for the meeting tomorrow.

Tne statement said he bad accepted tbe Inquiry into rear-jet air liners Washington, January 21 An Inauir it to be carried out In tot US Into tha safety iet-lioers. follows tne crash of a Boeing 737 tt Salt Lake City, 1 to Which Tha plans hustled about MO feet short the newsy and caught Ire wheat Use asaie 1 aiding gear catlap sad and ruptured fuel lies la its besfr Tba Ftrfwal Aviatiea BAC-llf i fig ffiffj il ad alaetrlcai avatasaa An not naanaa uaaaaaaea eves ahaf) taattaf Brttlak More Tetneraefe Oar Air CsfivsjawBdssst ssrHse: Any advantage that the eniriMs are comparatiTtlv Mated If tbe FAA irtvfsUiaUoa can help to eliminate any dsater than tt should be imtverully wakone. Thu Krltiih Alrm-aft ImiumMm has sold maey Oae-Etevw lets us us. Popular Britain About 250.000 West German tourists will visit Britain this year, a snusa Bmoassy omciai toed travel aeenta st a "British situation in RhodeKi and con wiim-, RrTm slder the further steps needed to WIIon in Mr Brtn-resolve the crisis dt4tiil similar wiw wmui put, we plant out of action at the end spot developed In a boiler intake nf the first stream. I That fault having been put rignt atter nearly two wccks, the first stage was restored to production on January 11 and broke down four hours later wheD a header pipe fractured.

This has still not been repaired. The hopes of the West Midlands Gas Board of overcrowding Its supply crisis were hinged to a considerable extent, and with nn Mrl- mnflrtaiop. nn the second stream. This managed to' produce one muuon cudic teei or gas an hour, and then stuttered Last nlehL a spokesman for the board said that to get it going "am Dialled a malar recon struction However, engineers would be workine round tne clock to try to complete repairs on the I installation by early nest week i Because of the cult. riD.ODO British Motor Corporation workers have been laid off at Birmingham, Coventry, and Oxford.

Gas sudoIIge in 45D-S00 other firms have been disconnected Board meeting Meanwhile, the Coleshlll oil pasificiiion tvorks, which broke I do.n on Thursday morning, was working again yesterday at holi I capacity The C2s board onlelal ain that engineers vould not be able to establish the full extent of the trouble at CoIeshJII until lato in i the night or some time today. The overall nosltion remain 1 most serious," he went on. 1 "There Is little chsnce Of anything like a full resumptl-m of gas supplies to industry on Mon- uay special meeting ot ine board has been called for today to review the situation. The Rover Conpany, whose general manager haj described the cuta as "disastrous," laid oft 3000 men yesterday ProduC'on of Ihe Rover 2000, the Land Hover, and tha three-litre ranee was halted. Another 2,500 men have been told not to report for work at other Rover factories on Monday because of the shortage of components from outside suppliers hit by the gas culs Father and son die at steelworks A father and son.

working as filters nn a ilnrn lintr had held nitrogen, died after day at the Richard Thomas and Baldwin steelworks. Ebbw Vale Raymond Glyndwr Thomas M8), father of five children, and Thomas John James Thomas (221, falher of four children, mcd In the same street at Penman Road. Argoed. near BIJCKHOOJ The men, employed by a firm of elocrriral ponlmptnr. hart been removing Insulation material in a space between the lop of the tank and the roof ui me ounoinK understsnds that he la attending Thla may emerge am week for something mare thsn Ihe detail when the Government soda) chat which Mr Heath Is expected to make Its state-apparently expects and to which cjUs In tbe Common about The Labour Party'i electoral prospects were discussed at a 90-mioute meeting in the House of Commons yesterday between the Prime Minister, otber Government leaders, and parly's organisation chiefs.

With toe political temperature Mill run dc high, particularly over KbooVila, and further report! from the pollsters on tbe party ratings, tbe meeting aet off inure apcviuauon aouui a aiarii election. Whet Indications can be cleaned seem to show that Mr Wilson, who bu so far misted pressure from some of his cJosest colleagues for an early election. Is now finding the prospect more tempting. Tie Gallup Poll yesterday showed that Labour's lead in tbe Esit month bad been almost aired, from 8 per cent to 41 per cent still enouch to return the Government with a more comfortable majority but a disturbing tread tbat must raise some doubts about Labour's ability to bold Hull North. In contrast to this In the "Daily Telegraph," an "Eeono-mitt poll of four constituencies HitehJo, Kelghley, Tavistock, and West Bromwlch flndi that voters nave moved farther left iloce the election.

While there baa been a swing to the Tories of 41 per cent In Uwowes age Tory Yes' The overall situation thus remsinc, for the Immediate future st least, aUBhtly more1 favourable to Labour. Thli is supported by the continuing optlmiatic reports from party workers Id Hull and the notable reluctance of tbe Tory leaders to show any desire for a country. w)de flint in March Ironically, according to tbe Economist survey, two thirds of Tory voters would welcome a spring poll but thrtoquaxtari of the Labour voters do SMt want on. Comsemtit Central Office is convinced, that at least another su months It needed to project Mr Haetti and tbe new though Borne of the notes may have been a bit off key In the last law days. At the top of the public's worries is, perhaps surprisingly.

Rhodesia. And this is coupled with a widespread desire for more change In the country'! attitude and purposes. Mr Wil son, who Is becoming increasingly exasperated by what he regards as the Opposition's continual undermining of bis position on Rhodesia, might And this stouter electoral platform than even he yet considers it The allefsttona about attempts to keep Mr Heath and Sir ll.n Beadle, the Rhodes! in Chief juhjc. span were followed up He described the Prime Minister as a back politician primarily concerned with Ms own personal prestige." And Mr Joseph Codber called Kr Wilson "a national disaster," and a weird and frenzied puppet Jerked by by the necessity to appease th African members of the Common-wealth over Rhodesia" If fuch attacks continue- and Mr Wilson finds ihi- nimrtouan problem becoming) more d'flicult to handle, the Tories may find uivuiKivei coaiiengea in ci country. Power points The other Important factors to be considered in the Government's political outlook arc the gas and electricity cuts, the prices and incomes Held, and the allied threat of he rail strike Ministers are now busily focusing public discontent over the recent power cuts on to tbe failure of tbe Conservative Ad ministration to make adequate investment in the gas and electricity industries Mr Wilson, in a sneeeh tonlcht at Eeelstnri.

is expected to reinforce this counter-attack. And. wiih the urosiici-i ui a siium maw ana Lee prodding engineers in thi west Miaianas to more vigorous action, the Government is optimistic about avoiding the brunt of the Conservatives" onslaught in trie commons next week I labour accused of "election bribes," page 31 On other pages Croiiwotd I Finnic and tmfuitry liUUKHnff Harrv Whswell Home nrwi 2. 1. 11.

SC i.fKjrri ana limn Oversell new Radio tiniw Revnsldt'a Mucdlinv Spom report Travel A TV and radio Wealbtr fore cm Classified advertising Coal to the rescue MORS thin 100 lame will import 3,000 tori of coil tram Wool ley colliery, near BiRutey. to hard preiied Midland gaiworks and electricity power elation thli About 2,000 tnn will bo otnjt to tha Nechetl and Windnw Street gaiworki at Birmingham, and tons to the Huidty power station, StaBordihire. Another 2,000 to iu arc total lo loc.il power atationi. Coal lifts ot this vtr were out at the ordinary, NCD id list nuiii Industry to get 'good forecasts' By our own Reporter The chairman of the Gas Council, Sir Henry Jones, said last night that It was hoped to produce today reasonably good forecasts of the gas supply available to industrialists in the West Midlands for the nest three weeks or so Th fault which had made necessary the shutdown of the Tipton Mo. 2 stream might be mill ar lire Sir Henrv went on.

no one coma say now tons II would iaae ra repair unui uie nlam hid (nnlnl down anil an examination had been made The other unknown was bow ions would take to carry out repairs trouble with the pumps at this plant wlilch caused Thursday's irmiblM Oni of the two reform ing tiniu there was now back on stream, but the other had suffered some damage in the No breakdowns There was also certain maintenance work in the West Midlands area which had to be dans today. This could cause short. ages, but with reduced demand oe very apparem The general causes of nnwr sunnlv difficulties summed up the presi confer ence oy tne Minister ot rower. Mr Lee, as: underestimation of demand live years ago gas as well as electricity a number of lata deliveries of narii jnrf plant, and malfunctioning of plant The Mimsler cmpnarised that II out of 12 Gas boards had come through Hie winter mi fur ullhnni breakdowns Sir Htnrv added his nraitn Fnr the high output of the 11 boards, and for the men of the West SI Id-lands, who had heen working day and night The chairman of the rnrtr.it Electricity Generating Board Mr Stanley Brown, paid tribute to Torn to back page, col. 1 General Ironsi sets up a military council Lagos, January 21 General Aguiy; Ironsi, the Nigerian military ruler, tonight announced the formation of a Supreme Military Council and a federal Executive Council, with himself as president of both.

To the military council he appointed the heads of the NsEorian Armv. Wavv. and Air Force, and the military governors ot Nigeria lour regions Major lljssan Katsina (North), Lieuteirm Colonel 0 Ojukv.u (Ljsi), Lieutenant-Colonel A Uji (West), and Lieutenint -Colonel D. A Eioor (Mid-West) The executive council, which lull perform the functions cxer-i seil liy the foimer Council of i Ministers, is composed of the 'Mr Heath will Scene over RC sermon at Abbey By onr otrn Reporter Members of the Free Pres byterian Church of Ulster, who had flown over by special plane, demonstrated outside Westminster Abbey last evening while Father Thomas Cor- ley, of tbe Society of Jesus, was addressing the congregation within Tbey carried placards proclaiming "Protestants, awake to the dangers of unity with Borne" aod were led by two ministers, Itif Rni Dr PsMlov and thn Rev John Wiley. The service was one or a series neing neia at uie Ahhnv to mark (h.

nrsint Week of Prayer for Christian Unity st wmcn tne speakers are mcraotri of ilcnomlnstions other than the Anglican. Russian Orthodoi. nicinouisi, a no capxisi aaions Ui era After the as Father Corbishley was talking to friends tomb of the Unknown Warrior, Mr Matthew Arnold Perkins. general director of the Nattanal Union of Protestants, Joined the Kruup anu ucKan to argue inn Father Corbishley had no right to speak publicly there Then he shouted "The Church of Eng-Innrt tvfnrmrl and Protestant. Toe Queen has sworn to preserve ine rroiesiani reupon Police escort Vergers closed around him as he continued to shout and edged him, resisting, to the west door.

From there polfce escorted him out of the Abbey precincts. Roman Catholic nuns were among the congregation of several hundreds at evensong before an address In which Father Corbishley urged his hearers to lose any self -consciousness that a Roman Catholic, a Jesuit, was preaching in Westminister Abbey "this greal Christian shrine" Strike halts Bourse dealings Paris, January -1 The Bourse, the Paris Stock Exchange, was at standstill today stockbroker cries and marking clerks tUged a one-day strike to support demands for more pay The strike, involving stuui i.jij'j men, was siapea oy all ffitir trade unions represented in the stock exchange A dele gat on of union representatives cilloil tonight at the Finance Ministry to press their claims neuter. nnil nM-sonnl rrnns Mr Jaili pp.L.81 calling up papers armed telephoned his father, CXempt Mr taek wa, com (he Home on nhnnt naluralis.ilion when escort called to take him to London A capiain at u- n. mented "It was perfectly clear in Washington mind trial Mr Jock was rlirrhte for enilst- ment He was ordered to report on January 17 He sent back his papers, siaunR nc an uul to comply eal custody He relumed votuntarllv with the chief petty officer When he arrived here. the legal nilicer telephi Washmfiton; while he was ihi- hnv wc I know whether he has gone for supper, sonc ior wain, or son back to Leeds We want to giv.

the kid eien break anil wha do'" Mr Jack was slill adrift last nigliL ma ADMIRALTY TENDER MCCP BARRS-STROUI 17x ORRWULYl 111 day, tt would cortafnly Mkafecee any incUuattoo to already had towaras rejecssnf um innssnost. ft was oottetaMt ttat soon after tbe diKUStiotu on Thursday and asaln to spetdMa reeur- compromlst in a iet-to and the terms for a settlement Of the crista Tbe statutory which would give the Govero- meni power to Dsn a wwe ranae "ld ARtftSSZ Sir Hugh had further talks Commmwoalth aiattnau met Sir Alec Doufjas-Homa. Second African reprieved A second African Rhodealan imri imio i ii, attempting to set fire to an occupied Mil Id Inf. has had his semen co commuted to uie live, th Commonwealth Hi-1 Queen's decision rtjeeted end VS annoyance, page and Suicide of US prisoner in Russia Washington, January 21 Newcomb Matt (27), an American who was serving a 6nstm sentence in the Soviet mon, has committed suicide. The State Department announced tonight that Soviet officials had notified the American Embassy In Moscow that Mott had commuted suicide while being transported from the prison ha Murmansk to the place, not yet specified, where he was ta serve out bis term Hit, body was at Kirov, about 500 miles north-east of Moscow Mott, who comes from Sheffield, Massachusetts and worked for a US publishing houie, wai sentenced In November to 18 months in a corretme labour camp for Illegally entering the Soviet Union Intn a point on the Norwegian border He said nt the trial that he had lost his way The State Department has asked the US Fmbassy to insist upon a full investigation Its spokesman said It is a mailer of deep resret that the numerous appeals to the Soviet Government for a more reasonable humam tartan disposition of this caie were not ceded before it came lo this trsjric end Renter.

Empty desks Five hundred children a quarter of the school population hate been absent this week from junior and infant schools at Ley land, because Of 'flu and colds WmV III LIMTWEIIIT RAVAL OFflCU'S HHE SIMlTie HMBUE-TIIS FMTUnC MICE Sir Hugh unconvinced In these circumstances, It may oe mat Mr tieain reiusai which had not been changed last ntght-was not solely prompted by his anger over the lapse In meeting and his conviction that Mr Wilson had tried to prevent Sir Huch from seelne him until the official talks were over. it appears that tbe Government has failed to convince Sir Hugh tbat it would not be right for tt to open negotiations wttta Mr Ion Smith. Nor do there anoear to have been any agreement over resolving difficulties raised by Sir man wiii iHuiuuniE nini Council that might take over from If this emerged as It surely would In Mr Heath's long dls- Spanish ban on NATO planes excludes UK Madrid, January 21 Spain has told all NATO Nations except Britain that it will not permit their military planes to fly across Spanish territory when bound for Gibraltar It was stated In official quarters loniflht that Britain was not alTeucd by the measure because Spain regarded Britain as the proprietor of the base, even though it challenged British contiol of Gibraltar It is reported that the Notes lo the NATO Embassies stated that Spain will not in future rwicedc facilities for NATO planes to fly over Spain or to refuel in Spain when en route to Gibraltar. Two such requests for facilities had already been refused The Notes, delivered last niht and today to the Emboss es. stressed that these measures ucrc being token to preient iws an face of the prenl situation In Gibraltar Iteuter Lord Layton in hospital Lord Layton, aged 81.

the economist and former deputy leader of the Liberal Parly in the House of Lords his been admitted to Putney Hoipiial London He is a former lircctor of Reuters Ltd and of neuters" Trust. US pursues student By MICHAEL PARKIN i Amat-iion cdirlont at Leeds Universltv. Mr Bruce Jack, ased 22, was escorted from his home 3t Leeds yesterday, petty nicer ot tne uijuea otaics Navy for allegedly falling to comply wilh his calling up papers There un-. an immediate out- cry Mr Jack Siraw, seirelnry Df was nlarminc that student at a British university "could be picked up in ihk wav bv foreign mllitary police" The National Council for Civil Liberties eot in toucn with me Home Office who suuKcsted to callers that Act, 1952. miKht prove useful Mr Straw said last nicht that Mr Jack, who had nreviouslv studied st Leeds, decided to losicn from a course at the iTn.i jrtiif return lo I eels Before leaving, he chei uilli a United States Navv ind icsrnci that a'; a full-time he would not he habit fnr naval sen ice On Deeemlier fi fur uhat 1r Straw describes as academic 1 the Deputy Inspector 1 I Polici I Gone.