A LONDON DIARY

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 191, 8 May 1919, Page 3

A LONDON DIARY

', NOTES OF INTEREST TO NEW > ZEALAND READERS (From Onr Own Correspondent.) London, March-11. .Since my last letter the weather has Undergone an improvement, and oven in •London one can feel that' spriug is not • ' so'far away, /The fog 3 and drizzle have' L; given place to grey days with thin sun- ; shine and spasms of blustery westerly winds, aud the deaths froni influenza ; have dropped by some 30 per cent. V "Tho . Times" medical correspondent, however, y now tells us this is not due to tho milder i':-' weather, but to a mysterious periodicity ; which he has discovered in the opideinic. : Three-waves with periods of twelve -..weeks each. with ..intervals . of twelve : \ weeks between them have now visited; \f this country, and if. tho time-table is to bo maintained another should begin in April and; end in Juno,,'.",'."Tho Times" correspondent is careful-.to add, being a . wiso prophot: "There is.;no sorf of. oviy donee to justify any such anticipa- % tion." Tho picco do resistance in the newspapers during the week has been tho Coal Commission's inquiry-into miningconditions and profits, with Mr, Sidney Webb and Sir Leo Chiozza Money as ; champions of the miners' interests. Several heated passages have- taken place ' between the latter, and various witnesses with whose views he disagreed. "Tho {-, Times," under its now editor, Mr. WickVhnm Steed, shows indications of, having Ji general washing-up of soveral notorious war scandals. It has had Mr. Lovat .Fraser digging into the-amazing motor/repair depot at Slough, on which mil- .?' lions".have- been spent, and.which is still i feverishly being pushed ahead for _ what . purposo no man knowcth. Attention is also being directed to tho fact that the \. .-relations betwenn this Government and 1f the Cellulose Company have been quietly , buried in oblivion. It was of this con- : tract that .the Committeo on National ; Expenditure- stated "a more discreditable transaction has never been brought •to the notice of this Honso." This : - liiorning :I s see another special ■Rpondent ofi "Tho Tpes" has been pay'iug a visit to the National Shipbuilding Yards at Chepstow, which have yet to '.paunch theiii first ship.. One of the offi.'cVs at the yards in a "tragedy in 18 'spasms,"-- entitled "The Boat Builders/' .describes how the Navy 'acquired the :yaT/ds, and then called in the' Army to provide labour, and then tells how:— ■■' "The first hundred thousand laid down a drain, , '-- The second draft took it all up again; Then ,they held an inquiry and tried , to explain."

Homeward Bound. ' The shipping deadlock having come to an end,'some nine New' Zealand transports ' have been, dispatched in ns many days. The Division is being rapidly evacuated from the Continent, and in a week or two only various communication units, etc., will remain, their services having been requested by the Imperial authorities for tho time being. Pre-

' pactions are now in baud for closing 1 tho'' base camp at Rouen shortly. The 'Canadian riot at Kinmel Camp and the .disturbance in Aldwyoh on Sunday last provide evidence of an increasing restive'ness among > the overseas.troops on this 6ide, and I notice that within three days of the unfortunate Kinmel outbreak 3000 ; ' men had been embarked for Canada from i that camp. No doubt one result of these happenings will be to impress the Minis- • . try of Shipping with the desirability of losing, no time over the repatriation programme. In the House of Commons yesterday the following 'figures were given as to- the number of Dominion troops returned home since the armistice:. Canada—Ketumed. to Canada,- 73,439; evacuated from France and en route to United Kingdom, '13,671: total, 117,110. ''•' Australia.-Returned to Australia (in-

eluding' 1582 repatriated direct' 'from , Egvpt), 42,982; ' evacuated from Prance : and en rotito via United Kingdom,'22,l72: ~total; 65,154. ■ ~..,. . .-'"'.. ' .:New Zealand.—Returned to NewiZeai laud (including 932 repatriated direct < from Egypt), 1.7,243: total, 26,205. !■ South Africa.—4BlS repatriated, of ■ whom 3807 were repatriated from East Africa. Our Men in Imperial Units. A batch of thirty-nine ■ New Zealand cadets for the Royal Air Force is, return- , ing home in th 1 } Reniuera. and I hear : that a number of our officers .in tho 1 Motor Boat Patrol are leaving by the Tunisian this week to' catch the ■ Vancouver steamer. Altogether there are stated to be something over 3080 New* Zealanders in Imperial units who are entitled to .free passages back to the Dominion. At present'the Ministry of Shipping is allotting about ten berths per transport for these, and the watting list is understood to be a fairly formidable one. So far, from what I can gather by inquiry in London, the order of return is governed by priority of application for passago; Lieutenant H. F. Arkwright, of the N.Z.rI.F.. has been appointed to the Imperial Repatriation Office at Winchester, to advise on trie re-

> palriation of New Zealandors,- and it is ■ vnderstood that in future priority of passage will be on the same basis as in tte N.Z.E.F.. '. '• .Another class of passenger whom tho Imperial Government is carrying back free.is the munition workers from New Zealand. A well-known New Zealahder here tells me he was very much disgusted to hear tho other day that an ablebedied young New Zealander who had come over and taken up munition work, at a high salary, with the quite obvious intention of evading military service, was now being sent back with a free first-class passage out over the heads of shoals of active service men. This man, morco«e'r, had the effrontery to try and bag one of the best berths in the ship. The Government is giving tho workers attached to the New Zealand Bed Cross and Wiir Contingent ' Association, first-class -passages to tho Dominion for '£25, and it certainly does not seem quite tho I thine; that young men who have been . earning big money and -""trench-dodg-j ing" in munition works' should be sent , . out on more favoured,conditions. The Soldiers' Poll. Preparations for tho licensing poll next month are well advanced, ilr. Cecil Wray, ot the High Commissioner's Office, is chief electoral officer at this end, and has arranged for some twenty booths - in tho dopots in England, and more in France to deal with what remains of the , I'orco there. Sinco January v 31 ballot boxes have been placed on every transport sailing, and the senior military ofI licer on board appointed to take the : j poll. Tho principal questions to bo settled hero have been the eligibility of I New Zealandors in the Imperial- Forces, I the Y.M.C.A., etc., to vote. In all cases ! thoy havo been ruled out, as evidence of qualification is the production of a New '; Zealand Army pay-book. The Y.M.C.A. , staff aro attested as members' of the I N.Z.E.F., but are unpaid and consequentj ly can produce no pay-book. To admit \ them would be to make a special regulal tion which no one hero has power to do. Tho result'of tho soldiers' poll will • doubtless bevknown some time before this reaches you. From what I gather considerable interest is being taken in the ■ issue, and there is a fecjling among a . large section that,tho object is to secure ! a' catch vote before tho • soldiers- set . homo again and arc able to make their. . views fully • effective. I listened to an 'interesting djscussion, among a miscel- . lancdus collection of New Zealand of- , -fleers at tho Hill Street Club the other evening. The gonoral opinion was clearly •against prohibition, but there was quite a majority in favour of prohibiting tho salo of spirits, but permitting light wines, etc. The closed-in bar. was condemned, and thero was strong support for the sale of light wines in cafes on tho Continental principle.

Scientific Research. ■ Bishop Sadlier, of Nelson, who returns by the Rcmuera. on Tuesday, has just completed several busy weeks of work in connection with tho Cawthron Institute of Nelson, of which he is ono of tho trustees. The Bishop has got into touch with leading scientific institutions in London, Cambridge, Manchester,! and elsewhere, has familiarised himself with the lines on which they aro working, and has interested their directors in tho possibilities of the Cawthron Institute with its landeomo endowment of

I understand that His lordship returns impressed with the. desirability of appointing a Now Zealand scientist as director of the institute This does not mean to say that ho considers wo lend the- world in scientific attainment—very far from itbat that an outside man, however eminent, would be so much out of touch with local conditions as to handicap the institute seriously for some time. As a result of his inquiries the. Bishop is convinced that wo must bestir oursolvcs if wo wish to keep up with scientific progress. We flatter Ourselves in New Zealand that wo are up to date, but in theso matters wo certainly are not. Incidentally I may mention that some work in which Bishop Sadlier was particularly interested was that of Professor JJcndy, of tho University of London, and formerly of Canterbury College, in:connection with tho wheat weevil. Professor Dendy is still busy with his investigations, but has already established a 'number of important facts.

Army Chaplains. One important'- change effected by Bishop Sadlier during his term, of service as senior Church of England chaplain with-the Expeditionary Force was tho establishment' of tho Chaplains' iioard. Beforo Jhis came into existence nil appointments of chaplains were made direct by tho military authorities, and the principle was to give representation to tho Church of England, Presbyterians, Soman Catholics, and Nonconformists in every camp, oven though it might con--tain no more than ISO or 300 men. Now all' appointments are made on the recommendation of tho board, and tho system adopted has been not to appoint more than one chaplain, .to a small Ainit, and a-s far as possible to take into consideration the prevailing sect in the unit. Thus Otngo battalions almost invariably £Ct Presbyterinn padres, Aucklnnders Church of-England, West Coast ones frequently Methodists, and so on. In each case it was left to tho ohaplain/to arrange with officers of denominations who dosired services' apart from the general service to organise -them. Bishop Sadlier states that this system has worked excellently, and he has never heard of one denomination trying to take advantage- of another under'it. It is his, intention on his return to urge the establishment of a board in Now Zealand in connection with the Territorial' Fotco. One of-the most urgent tasks of such a board would bo to overhaul the present list of chaplains in New Zenland, and purge it of the names of men who have either died or left their districts years ago.\ Owing to tlrfe shortage of chaplains with tho force Bishop Sadlier is actyug as chaplain of the Kemuera on tho Toyage out.

Lord Jellicoe's Tour. A reference to Lord Jellicoe's tour was made by Mr. Long, Eirat Lord of the Admiralty, at the conclusion of his speech on the Naval Estimates this week. The speech as a whole is discussed in the "Daily Mail" under the heading "Footle," and that candid journal declares that Mr. Long would probably be the first to admit that he knows nothing about the Navy, but was pitchforked by Mr. Lloyd George into an ofßco for which' he has no apparent qualifications. , The speech certainly threw uo new light on the Admiralty's nrecise intentions in dispatching Lord Jellicoe on his tour. "The object of that distinguished Admiral's visit to our Dominions and to tho Indian Empire," said Mr. Long, "is to try to. secure .greater f-.nd moro efficient co-operation in the future between tlhe Navies of the Empire and tho Navy here at home. .'. . The only plan wo have laid, down, and the only plan we can lay down, is that the Navy of the future must be able to show tho British flag throughout the British Empire."

Free Legal Advice. With the shipment to New Zealand some weeks ago of 48,000 wills, the work for which the Legal Inquiry Bureau at Headquarters was originally established came to a close. Captain C. A. L. Treadwell, of Wellington, who is in charge of this branch, is still kept busily occupieii with the other legal work which has developed. Leases and agreements are drawn up for Headquarters, soldiers ,conrt-mar-tialled on serious charges: are defended, ppwers of attorney drawn up, and opinions given on a large -variety of matters 'brought up by Headquarters and individual soldiers. Some fifty'charges of seduction brought by women against members of the force havo been dealt \vith, and the' necessary steps taken to protect the good, name of New Zealand and assist women so far as legally possible in these matters, while at tho same-time protecting jsoldiers from imposition jind blackmail. "A nuipber of men have been detained here until the charges against them aro satisfactorily disposed of. Preliminary steps have also been taken in about twenty divorco eases. It is interesting to aote that in the 48,000 iftlls drawn up in tho force the percentage of errors necessitating the redrawing of the will wa3 only 2.47.

Trade With New Zealand. The Federation of British Industries on Monday entertained at luncheon at Princes Restaurant twelve members of the New 'Zealand Expeditionary Force who are making a tour of British industrial centres under its auspices. The High Commissioner was represented by Mr. A. Crabb, and Major E. H. Northcroft, Director of Education, replied to the chairman's speech on behalf of the deputation. Most of the time' will be spent in and about London, Sheffield, And Leeds. The member,*? of the deputation are: Lieutenants L. ,T. Bowc, M.C., E. 8.; W. M. Dawn, W.1.E.; and S. Kenelly; 2nd Lieutenants E. F. .Caterer and A.' B. Matthews; S.-Sgt. W. E. Worsfold, Sergeants Thelming, J. ' ,T. Donovan, J. H. Young, J. G. Templeton, E. Farrell, and Corporal J. L. Stewart-Wright.

Combating Venereal Disease. Colonel Myers, Director'of Medical Services, represented New Zealand at the dinner given this week by Hie National Council for Combating Venereal Disease in honour} of the American and Overseas representatives ot\ tho campaign against tho disease. Lord Sydenham, who presided, said they must expect widespread disease following on the war, arid effective measures must be taken to safeguard unborn generations. Lieulj.-Col, Snow, who is in charge of this work' in tho American Army, and ex-General Secretary of the Social Hygiene Association in America, explained what is being done there. An .administrative policy was adopted covoring the folloiving points': (1) That continence is compatible with •health and is tho best preventive of disease; (2) that! the use of nlcohol is detrimental to efficiency and moral and an important factor in promoting prostitution'and disease; (3) that education and recreation are of great value in reducing the temptations ind dangers of | sexual promiscuity; (i) that there should be a, special legislative and administrative section in'the Army and Navy to reduco exposure to a minimum or the I development of infection after' exposure, and to provide adequate treatment and control of infected individuals. These proposal?, Colonel Snow stated, wero rapidly put into effect. America went further than Britain in making the repression of prostitution a public health measure. Experience in ihp American Army showed that ,a much larger percentage of young md'n led continent lives than was commonly supposed, and ho believed there was great hope of a lcvoliingup in tho standard ',of sexual morality.

Imperial Migration. A furtho/ 1 meeting of the Dominions' High Commissioners, tho Agents-General, and tlie Colonial OIKoo was held Hi is week for further consideration of the new Imperial! emigration scheme, Captain Donne again represented Now Zealand in the.absence of the High Commissionor, who is still confined to bed. No details aro yet avnilablo as to the proposals. I notice that Miss Talbot, Director of tho Women's Branch at (he Board of Agriculture,'stales that a.Government committee, of which she is a member, has just been set, up to consider migration within the Empire, and is making plana for tho future settlement in tho Dominions of carefully-selected women from war service, including tho Land Army. Women who wished to engago in land work in other portions of tho Empire than Britain, Miss Talbot declared, would hnvo facilities offered them. A now typo of immigrant, it is evident, is about' to appear. Our prospects of obtaining domestic servants on the old lines from Britain aro not bright. I sea that of 10(51 unemployed women at Kingston only 206 wanted domestic work, and only ono would live in!