London Evening Advertiser
- Water and Cars Take Heavy Toll
- Asquith Is Expected To Retire
- South Africa Blast Kills 118 Workmen
This partial reading of the London, Ontario evening paper covers three items. A provincial roundup listed a run of fatal and serious accidents across Ontario: people struck by trains and automobiles, cars overturning, a drowning from a rig at Cargill and two fatal gun accidents. A London cable relayed the Daily News report that Lord Oxford and Asquith was about to give up the Liberal leadership, citing his recent severe illness and a coming Friday speech expected to settle his position. A dispatch from Natal reported that a Friday-night explosion at the Durban Navigation colliery at Dannhauser had killed 118 men, the whole night staff of No. 2 shaft, while gas slowed the recovery of bodies.
This edition gives three excerpts from a partial OCR reading of the page. The accident roundup begins mid-sentence with an illegible place name and breaks off mid-word. The Asquith report stops in the middle of the Daily News quotation. Columns cut at the page edge, including the Conservative caucus story, the Hyman funeral column and the Italians deportation story, are not reconstructed. The background sources consulted say nothing about Ontario level-crossing rules or about labour conditions for African and European miners in Natal, so the commentary does not cover those questions.
Translation
Water and Cars Take Heavy Toll
[?] Clair flats, near Port Lambton. Daniel Mills of Brockville was fatally injured when struck by a train. Mrs. John Lawrence of Preston was killed when struck by an automobile. Louis Pilbean of Blenheim was instantly killed when the car in which he was riding was struck by a train. Ronald Stansel was drowned at Cargill, when he fell into a stream from a rig. Mrs. Isabelle Canon was killed near Ottawa when the car in which she was riding turned over. Leonard Corley of Swansea, Ont., was instantly killed when the gun he was cleaning exploded. Peter Slate of Wellesley, one of the Thousand Islands, was killed when a shotgun, falling from his brother's hand, was discharged. Mary and Daisy Molyneux, sisters, of Woodstock, were injured when an automobile ran into them. Four men were injured at Orangeville when the car in which they were riding turned over. Alfred Rochleau, Windsor, was seriously injured when his automobile col-
Asquith Is Expected To Retire
Lloyd George Supported and Opposed—Reading and Samuel Mentioned. London, Oct. 11.—The Daily News, always a supporter of Mr. Asquith, openly gives expression to the increasing gossip among politicians that the retirement of Lord Oxford and Asquith from the leadership of the Liberal party is imminent. Lord Oxford will deliver a speech on Friday on the subject of the Liberal party in national affairs in the present, and it is expected that the speech will determine the position of the party so far as he is concerned. "Lord Oxford recently had a severe illness and he is not yet completely restored to health," the News says, "but it is unthinkable to the rank and file of Liberals that the political wound which, to some extent, has been healed in the last two months should again be
SOUTH AFRICA BLAST KILLS 118 WORKMEN
KILLS 118 WORKMEN Explosion Wipes Out Night Staff of Mine Near Dundee, Natal. Dundee, Natal, South Africa, Oct. 11.—The death toll of an explosion which occurred Friday night in shaft No. 2 of the Durban navigation colliery at Dannhauser has been definitely set at 4 Europeans and 114 natives. The victims numbered the entire night staff in the shaft. Efforts to recover the bodies have been in progress for the past two days, but the density of the gas in the shaft has hampered operations.
Context
Why Asquith's retirement was expected in October 1926
The Daily News item reprinted here spoke of Lord Oxford's "severe illness" and of a wound in the Liberal party that had partly healed over the previous two months. Simon Mackley's account of the Liberals and the General Strike explains both points. Just days before the National Liberal Federation's annual meeting in June 1926, Asquith suffered a serious stroke. He remained leader for a few more months, but his health was clearly failing, and he resigned in October. The record of his offices dates the end of his Liberal leadership to 14 October 1926, three days after this issue. The paper's forecast, that a speech later that week would settle his position, was therefore borne out almost at once. The "political wound" the News hoped would stay closed was the quarrel with Lloyd George, which had broken out again over the strike that spring.
How the Asquith–Lloyd George feud shaped the succession
The subheading "Lloyd George Supported and Opposed" reflects a decade of rivalry. David Lloyd George replaced Asquith as prime minister in December 1916, and the two then fought for control of a declining Liberal party. They led their followers into the 1918 and 1922 general elections as opposing factions. The General Strike of May 1926 reopened the split. Asquith concluded that the strike must be abandoned immediately, while Lloyd George laid the blame squarely on the Baldwin government. Once Asquith resigned, Sir John Simon lacked the support to take the post, and Lloyd George assumed the leadership. The paper's mention of Reading and Samuel records names discussed in the press that week. The sources consulted here do not show either man actually competing for the post.
What happened at the Durban Navigation Colliery
The Dannhauser blast was a methane explosion on 8 October 1926, the Friday named in the Dundee dispatch. It is recorded as the worst mine explosion in South Africa's history. The later figure for the dead is 124, six more than the 118 the paper called "definitely set". When the paper went to press, gas in the shaft was still holding up the recovery of bodies, and the sources consulted do not explain the difference between the two counts. The colliery gave its name to the town of Durnacol, an acronym for Durban Navigation Collieries. The mine opened around the turn of the twentieth century, and at the height of its activity some 5,000 people worked there. The paper split the dead into 4 Europeans and 114 "natives", and the later total of 124 is given without that racial breakdown.
Ontario's rules for drivers when this accident list ran
Most deaths and injuries in the roundup involved automobiles. Some cars overturned, pedestrians were struck, and in two cases trains hit people or the car they were riding in. Ontario still had no driver's licence when the list was printed. The province introduced one on 1 July 1927, about nine months after this issue. The Marmora Herald reported in June 1927 that every motorist would then have to carry a licence costing $1.00, valid until the end of 1928. According to the Marmora Historical Foundation, the provincial ministry responsible for transport began in 1916 with a staff of 35. A reader in London in October 1926 therefore saw this list of deaths and injuries before Ontario required drivers to carry a licence.
Original
Water and Cars Take Heavy Toll
[?] Clair flats, near Port Lambton. Daniel Mills of Brockville was fatally injured when struck by a train. Mrs. John Lawrence of Preston was killed when struck by an automobile. Louis Pilbean of Blenheim was instantly killed when the car in which he was riding was struck by a train. Ronald Stansel was drowned at Cargill, when he fell into a stream from a rig. Mrs. Isabelle Canon was killed near Ottawa when the car in which she was riding turned over. Leonard Corley of Swansea, Ont., was instantly killed when the gun he was cleaning exploded. Peter Slate of Wellesley, one of the Thousand Islands, was killed when a shotgun, falling from his brother's hand, was discharged. Mary and Daisy Molyneux, sisters, of Woodstock, were injured when an automobile ran into them. Four men were injured at Orangeville when the car in which they were riding turned over. Alfred Rochleau, Windsor, was seriously injured when his automobile col -
Asquith Is Expected To Retire
Lloyd George Supported and Opposed-Reading and Samuel Mentioned. London, Oct. 11. - The Daily News, always a supporter of Mr. Asquith, openly gives expression to the increasing gossip among politicians that the retirement of Lord Oxford and Asquith from the leadership of the Liberal party is imminent. Lord Oxford will deliver a speech on Friday on the subject of the Liberal party in national affairs in the present, and it is expected that the speech will determine the position of the party so far as he is concerned. " Lord Oxford recently had a severe illness and he is not yet completely restored to health, " the News says, " but it is unthinkable to the rank and file of Liberals that the political wound which, to some extent, has been healed in the last two months should again be
SOUTH AFRICA BLAST KILLS 118 WORKMEN
KILLS 118 WORKMEN Explosion Wipes Out Night Staff of Mine Near Dundee, Natal. Dundee, Natal, South Africa, Oct. 11. - The death toll of an explosion which occurred Friday night in shaft No. 2 of the Durban navigation colliery at Dannhauser has been definitely set at 4 Europeans and 114 natives. The victims numbered the entire night staff in the shaft. Efforts to recover the bodies have been in progress for the past two days, but the density of the gas in the shaft has hampered operations.
Source: Holding institution