Maidstone has experienced flooding which is said to be the worst for nearly 10 years. The Medway rose 80 rapidly overnight as to invade the main boiler house at the Corporation Electricity Works. "The Severn rose 10 ft. above summer level at Worcester. The tideding in the valleys of Wales and Monmouthshire has resulted in a number of landslides and about 5,000- miners have been thrown out of work. The railway bridge on the Great West-jem Railway at Arthog, near Bar-mouth, Merionethshire, has been shifted from its position by heavy fas and the railway line submerge fed. Breakdown gangs were at work fall day yesterday repairing the damage. Near Newport (Mon.) a landslide partly buried a coal train with two engines.
The telephone services have been considerably disorganized by the gales, and wires are down all over the country.
There was further heavy rain on December 1, with the result that the total rainfall for 1924 record-led in London was just over 33 inches, which has only been exceeded twice this century. In 1903 the record total of 38.10 in. was reached. In 1916 the fail was 34.01 in.
'A Good Christmas, The weather dominated Christmas time and the New Year, but on the whole it was a good Christmas with relatively. little distress, with the public apparently able to pur-ichaso on a generous scale and wi a very noticeable exodus of families to.the country and seaside. London itself was very quiet and there were unusually few people to be seen. There was practically a public hol day from Christmas Day, the Thursday, to. the following Monday, though there was much less outdoor life than usual.
New Year's Eve was celebrated by the usual hotel and similar festivities, but these have very largely become pure advertising and possess no particular features, apart from their extravagant charges. Fortunately, there have been fewer Christmas. accidents and mishaps than usual, though four out of a party of six people travelling from Cardiff to Church Stretton were killed when their motor ear skidded and plunged over the side of Stoke-say Bridge, Craven Arms, Shropshire, into the River Onny, 30 feet below. One of the victims was blind. The chauffeur apparently approached too quickly a dangerous "S" bend. The railways were free from mishaps, but their services were poor, which perhaps explains this immunity The Post Office broke down badly at Christmas time with the delivery of letters and reels, and throws all the responsibility' on the public for posting ate, Meantime there defi of, a9 lions for the nine nionths of the financial year en next April, but it is quite possible that this will be made good before the end of the period, though there is a surplus it will be very There are a certain amount threatened industrial troubles, but none have assumed an acute phase yet and the trade outlook ix Supposed to be fairly good. the whole, therefore, the New Year starts under substantially encourage ing conditions. We can do with bet ter times.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.