“THE MAIL'S" LETTER FROM LONDON

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIV, 20 January 1931, Page 4

“THE MAIL'S" LETTER FROM LONDON

*■' " doings in the heart of the empire ‘ \ ""■l POLITICAL AND SOCIAL EVENTS UNDER REVIEW ; T'.. -• ' ' *" 1 (From Our Own Correspondent.)

LONDON, 27th November. Mr Snowden’s blithe assurances of better times ahead, and a trade revival in the offing, may well be interpreted as voicing the last desperate hope of the Government. Political agents are agreed that Labour stock in the country is even more depressed than industry, and that in any election this side of Christmas the safest Socialist seat would be more likely to return a “rebel” candidate than one who would be of assistance to the present Ministry. Ih such circumstances, it is to time only that the Government can look for possible salvation, and that it will play for time may confidently be expected. Between the Education Bill, on which it is prepared to compromise regarding the. date of operation, and the Land Settlement Bill, which has the benediction of the Liberals, the Government hopes' to keep Parliament in a state of quiescence until Christmas. It is possible also that the compromising spirit may be shown to postpone the working of tthe Coal Mines Act beyond Ist December. Once Christmas is reached the Government will be provided with a “funk hole” in the prolongation of the Parliamentary recess. Something may, of . course, turn up by February, and that is about all the Government has to hope for. WHAT OF OTTAWA? One or two members of the Socialist Cabinet, Mr J. H. Thomas being certainly one, would fain have gone further than their colleagues thought fit to meet the Dominion statesmen’s fiscal hopes at the recent Imperial Conference. Meanwhile, there is great interest as to the possibilities of the adjourned meetings to be held next year in Ottawa. By that date many things may have happened to change entirely the Imperial attitude towards the preference plan. Either a change of Ministry here, or the absence of any material change in the economic position here, would place the problem in an entirely different light. At Ottawa, moreover, no constitutional questions will hinder full discussion of the far more practical and urgent economic ones. WAS IT SIR JOHN ?

is examining every avenue which seems ' to show a way to a greater use _ of [ cotton, and that no scheme is too iml probable to receive consideration. One • of the newest experiments is the cot- . ton road, on which a cotton fabric is ' used in conjunction with a binding and . surfacing mixture. An experimental , section of roadway has been laid at J Burnley, and is now under observation. ’ The idea is that the cotton road will , have greater resilience than a road ’ surfaced straight on to the concrete ! bed, and will therefore have a very ! much longer life. I am told that 20,000 ■ square yards of the cotton fabric are required for a mile of cotton roadway. ‘ WARSHIP’S CHRISTENINGS The little hitch which.occured at the recent launch of one of our warships, I when the bottle of wine used at the christening ceremony was not broken on the stem of the vessel until the [ third attempt, recalls an incident in ! one of the Royal dockyards in the early days of the Georges. That inci- ; dent resulted in a peremptory Admiral- ; tv order that hereafter the bottles , were to be securely attached to the 1 ship’s bows by a lanyard, and the order 1 has been faithfully observed ever since in sponsoring vessels of the Royal Navy. In fact, it has become the practice at all launches. On the occasion in question a Royal lady, who had been invited to name one of the King’s ships, hove the bottle with more strength than accuracy. It missed its object altogether, and caused considerable injury to one of the spectators. The accident resulted in an action at law against the Admiralty, and particulars of the case can still be seen at the Public Record Office. LAND OF THE FREE AND EASY A 1 Capone’s arrest has caused as much stir in America as the death of a President. Since the U.S.A. went “dry” officially, the drink traffic has developed into a big business, attracting all the criminal activities in the country, and almost rivalling in importance the film industry. Racketeering flourishes behind a maze of political corruption and official graft, and A 1 Capone, uncrowned king of Chicago gangster gunmen, ranks with America’s millionaire magnates. The disturbing symptom is the public myopia to all this scandal. Even now action lias been forced on the Government by a few business men, and the odds in favour of Al Capone getting off soot free are heavy. Charles Dickens seems to have been a fairly good judge of America. TOO MUCH PEPPER Pepper is essentially a speculative commodity. -. In Mincing, Lane, for every buyer who seriously wants delivery of the commodity, there are 20 who deal in it speculatively. Just at the moment all these speculators are in a line flutter, owing to the. fact that a record shipment is expected from the East which exceeds 2,000 tons. The result is that every speculator who is “holding” pepper has to find a real buyer within 10 days, or be forced to take delivery of af commodity, for which, of course, lie ,Ims. no conceivable personal use. There are not enough real users to go round. The reason for this situation is that the export duty in the exporting country was reduced in October, and the shippers, holding up shipments usually made during August and September, in effect have shipped six months pepper' in one cargo. ANOTHER SWEEP The Irish Free State Hospitals Trust Limited, encouraged no doubt by the great success; of the Manchester November Handicap “sweep”, have definitely decided to run another, in aid of the hospitals, of course, on tlie Grand National. As the Grand National is so essentially an Irishman’s race, for Irish-bred horses and jockeys have played a big share in its history, the “sweep” should appeal to Americans too, who are more interested in the National than they are in the Derby. I hear that £IOO,OOO is guaranteed, which is' £75,000. more than was originally guaranteed for the Manchester race, which in the end realised nearly £OOO,OOO. It is quite anticipated that the National “sweep” will top £I,OOO, 000. Many hope that there will be •tvi'Srvna flioTi in lnsf.

The mystery surrounding a correction officially made to Mr MacDonald’s speech at the ,Lord Mayor’s banquet has never been cleared up. The reporters present took down the Prime Minister as stating that Dominion selfgovernment was the goal of India’s self-respect and contentment, but that phrase was afterwards changed by an official correction issued much later to “freedom in self-government,” but not before "the original version had caused some sensation in India. I learn that the correction followed an urgent inquiry by someone who was listening to the Prime Minister’s speech on the wireless, and was somewhat startled by the allusion to “Dominion” selfgovernment. It would be interesting to know who the inquirer was, and whether Sir John Simon includes listen-ing-in amongst his recreations, R.A.F. REMOUNTS Even the most ■ implacable pacifists on the Government’s back benchers can hardly object to the decision to spend about £(100,000 on R.A.F. remounts. The 250 new machines on order arc essential, both for national security and the safety of R.A.F. pilots tliemBelves. The normal risks of R.A.F. service are high enough, without adding to them, as sometimes has been alleged, by retaining old and risky ’planes in active service. A large number of the new ones will bo Hawker Furies, judged the fastest fighting ’planes in existence. These are single-seaters, capable of 200 m.p.li., and with great acceleration in their climb. These qualities make them specially useful for defensive purposes in beating down bombing raiders. ARMY COMMISSIONS There is a pronounced shortage of candidates these days for commissions in the army, and it is evident that the army as a career will have to be seriously considered by the authorities. It is possible that this shortage is due to the usual decline of interest in military affairs after a war, as has been the case previously, and now ]ias been

strongly reinforced by the pacifist propaganda of the last three years. Again, the class from which the greater number of officers is drawn is not a rich v one, now poorer than it lias ever been before, while the uncertainty of the strength of the British army, particularly if Indianisation is to be introduced on a large scale in India, where half the British army is stationed, makes it difficult for parents to risk sending their sons to Sandhurst or Woolwich if they run the danger of being “axed” in the prime of life. Lastly, although the financial return from the army is sufficient, it is not by any • means comparable with tlie returns of civilian employment. It seems that it will require a wave of patriotism to bring back the army as a popular profession. UNEMPLOYMENT FIGURES In the present economic depression there is a natural tendency to clutcli at straws, and the current week’s decrease of a mere 1,350 in a total of over two-and-a-quarter millions unemployed may be hailed with some relief. It is apparent, however, that the small improvement is confined to temporarily unemployed, and the total of wholly ia eftll nn flwi illPr/lflOO

unemployed is still on tlie increase. Such relief work, as the States has been able to effect_would explain tlie slight improvement in the general figures, but, on the other band, there is some sign that trade conditions are faintly reviving. We must hope that this is confirmation of tlie expert diagnosis that bottom has now been reached in the depression, and that, however slender the evidence, a reaction is really setting in. A big responsibility now rests on the railway interests. COTTON ROADS A Burnley man tells me Lancashire

will, at an inclusive charge of 10s each bo shown over the aerodrome, and have its manifold marvels and novelties explained. The latter experience alone would well be worth the money. SANTA CLAUS STRAIN Most people who have thought about it at all have probably surmised that the man who is Father Christmas in the bazaar of a West End shop has a nice easy job. I learn to-day that this is not so. It is so exhausting, and places such a strain on the performer, that breakdowns often result. One large shop, because of this, employs three men to act as Father Christmas, working two-hour shifts in turn. In a • two-hour shift the West End Father Christmas will probably have to shake , hands with at least 350 children, and ' answer innumerable questions. He has , to have his wits about him all the [ time, and be a person of imagination, I because the modern child is exceedingly . suspicious, and asks searching queries that have to lie answered satisfactorily, i Only a very quick answer turneth [ away childish wrath. ! MODEL COACHES , The models of the Spanish Galleon, which everyone was buying five years airo, arc not as fashionable as decorative objects as they were, and their place is now being taken by models of . coaches. Those are reproductions of famous coaches, made with exactitude | to scale, and measure about 14 inches i in length. One of the most successful i is a model of the State coach, used ’ when the King opens Parliament, , which is one of the finest examples of the eoachmaker’s art. It was built in . the 18th century, the golden age' of , coachbuilding, and has panels painted , by Cipriani. There is also a model of • the original London-Edinburgh mail . coach, which made its first journey in i 1785. , MAN WHO “BROKE THE BANK” 1 A copy of Air Charles Coborn’s book | “The Alan Who Broke the Bank,” has been accepted by the Prince of Wales. Mr Coborn describes London life from ’ 1852 to 1925, and the volume contains ) some entertaining pictures of the East , End in the author’s youth. The last , time I met “Charlie” Coborn was at ' a certain high-brow Club, where poets had been reading their own works with intellectual unction. Equally esoteric musical items were included in the ; evening’s programme. Then Frances McAlluni introduced her father, Charles 1 Coborn. The metamorphosis of that audience’s psychology remains a delicious memory. They made him sing four times the song that gives the ! title to his book, and by the time he had given them “Four Little Fingers and a Thumb,’ ’and “Two Lovely Black Eyes,” they were completely humanised. I LAYING DOWN MANUSCRIPTS The young author, who makes a success with one of his novels, is often | pleasantly flattered by a cash offer for the original manuscript. Dealers in books, especially in America, have been so much impressed by the high prices realised by manuscripts that they are “laying down” manuscripts, like vintage port, in the hope that they will appreciate in value. There are many factors that decide the value of a manuscript. The fame of the author and the literary merit of the particular work are important, but the actual appearance of the manuscript is also most material. A holograph manuscript is more valuable than one that is typewritten, while both are “improved” if the author has made irrelevant notes in the margin. One “gem” consisted of a novel by a popular author with irritated notes by telephone conversations in the margin.

more prizes than in tne last sweep , and duplicate first, second, and third i prizes. It would make undoubtedly for the increased popularity of the “sweep” I THE-LUSITANIA MEMORIAL Trouble has .arisen in Queenstown i , over tlie erection, of the memorial to i the victims of the ill-fated Lusitania, 800 of whom lie buried in the local . cemetery.'Mr Vanderbilt, in conjunc-Y ; tion with other American citizens, com- . missioned an Irish sculptor over a year , ago to prepare designs. These were • approved, and Queenstown’s local ■ authority offered a site in the pri'nci- ; pal square of tlie town. Tlie site faces i the landing stage for the tenders that . meet the Atlantic liners. Tims the memorial would immediately confront disembarking Americans. But tlie shopkeepers in the square protest that its erection there would mean loss of trade i owing to its obstructing the view of i business houses situated immediately - behind the structure. In consequence of f the local wrangle that lias arisen, Air - Vanderbilt and bis friends have drop- . ped a broad hint that it would perhaps 1 be better if the memorial were transj ported across the Atlantic, and erected j either in New York or Washington as i nrimrmllv infnmlpfl.

originally intended. “BLIPPING’ OVER LONDON I should have thought this tlie wrong season of the year io start tlie latest innovation by ihe Croydon air experts. This is no iess a venture than daily arcoplanc “blips” over loud. The Imperial Airways will convey any party of 20 by charabanc from any part of London or the neighbourhood to the Croydon Aerodrome, and arrange to tour them over London on a circular tour of the metropolis in one of the cross-Channel air liners. The main object of tbc experiment is to stimulate air-mindedness amongst Hie general public, ,but I should think, given a favourable time of the year, such an opportunity might invite a lucrative patronage. At tlie same time such parties