OUR LONDON LETTER

Taranaki Daily News, 4 December 1926, Page 8

OUR LONDON LETTER

NEWS FROM HOMELAND. THE SOCIALIST PROGRAMME. (From Our Own Correspondent.) London. Nov. 14. It was stated recently, with an air of authority, that at the next election the Socialists would make the nationalisation of the coal mines the first, and in effect, the sole item of their programme. There ie -no such intention. The Socialists believe that they will increase their hold in the mining areas when the next apepal to the country is made, but they see that they cannot obtain an independent Parliamentary majority unless they make some impression on the agricultural areas. Their difficulty in framing a. programme, apart from the fact that Mr. Lloyd George has to a large extent anticipated them, is that they have so few men with practical experience of farming. The Socialists are essentially an urban party. They have made a certain impression oil the agricultural labourers, but, generally speaking, the collective ideals of the party made no appeal to the independent spirit of the men on the land. Mr. Ramsay MacDonald’s tactics are to imitate those of Sir Henry CampbellBannerman 20 years ago, and secure a return to power with the fewest possible number of definite commitments, and trust to the errors of his opponents. Some of his followers who want "Socialism in our time” will not be content) with such Fabian procedure. THE AUSTRALIAN PREMIER. From a talk I had recently with the Australian Premier, I gather that he is not at all worried about the constitutional questions which will come before the Imperial Conference. He believes that common sense will settle most of them, and that merely theoretical rights and claims are not worth wasting time upon. He is mueh more anxious about the development of trade relations between the various parts of the Empire. The Mother Country, he holds, is not retaining her position even in the Dominions. where she has a preference, and the only consoling feature of the situation is that the causes are remediable if science and organisation are devoted to the problem. Mr. Bruce, who is a fine type of what we should call “the English athlete,” is again showing himself a ready and fluent speaker, with a breezy and emphatic manner, and in any beauty competition among the Imperial delegates would be an easy winner. Except that he wears no eyeglass, he is curiously like a robuster edition of Mr. A. E. W. Mason, the novelist.

EX-KAISER AND BISMARK. Wilhelm Hohenzollern continues to give us interesting peeps at himself as the Apostle of Blood and Iron. In the early eighties, the All Highest commenced his studies of civil administration. and he was frequently invited to breakfast by Bismarck. On one occasion Lord Rosebery was also a guest, which reminds me that Lord Rosebery presented Bismarck with the original of Tenniel’s famous cartoon “Dropping the Pilot.” In those early days Wilhelm literally sat at Bismarck’s feet, as the following passage in “My Early Life’’ indicates: “After the meal he (Bismarck) used to lie down on a couch and smoke his long pipe, which I have often been allowed to light for him.” A touching picture that, with a suspicion of grim humour. HEAD OF THE NAVY. On October 31, Lord Beatty will complete seven years in the post of First Sea Lord., and rumour is very busy as to whether, after his recent illness and operation, he will remain over that time as the professional head of the Navy. In the ordinary way, five years is the limit up to which a naval officer on the active list may serve in a shore billet, or seven years in the case of a member of the Admiralty Board. But there has

always been a proviso that special circumstances may. justify an extension of the appointment in particular cases, ana everything depends on whether the Government consider that such circumstances obtain at the present time. One special feature of the case is the comparative youth of Lord Beatty. For war service in the Soudan and China, he got ahead of his contemporaries by about ten years, and so became a rearadmiral at 39. Now, after 10 years as a flag officer, he is still only 55, and so can remain another ten years on the active list. PRINCE AS CABARET PATRON. Several of London’s better known cabarets have been visited by the Prince or Wales since he returned to York House last week. The Prince is very fond of this kind of gaiety, as indeed he is of .dancing and, when his public engagements allow of it, he often finishes up an evening at a restaurant or club. Very little notice is given to the management—sometimes none at all—and other people who may be supping and dancing often have no indication that the heir to the throne is present until they catch a glimpse of him on the ballroom floor. Lord and Lady Louis Mountbatten are mast frequently his companions on these occasions, and they generally take with them a party of young people, so that the Prince has a variety of partners. His favourite dance tunes are known to most of tile leaders of the orchestras, and one or other of them is played ae soon as it is known that the Prince is on the floor. PRINCE KEISAL AND ARAB HORSES. When Prince Feisal left London I asked him through a member of his suite what incidents of his visit left tlie greatest impression, on his mind. He unhesitatingly said that what would live there with the liveliest gratification and joy was the visit to King George . on Saturday. One engagement which ; gave him unalloyed pleasure was his visit to Lady Wentworth's Arab ponies in Kent. The instinctive understanding ; and sympathy which exists between the i: native Oriental, particularly the Arab I ■ and kindred races, and their horses, and h their natural love for these animals. .

was clearly shown at this visit. The Prince, who is a very keen horseman, walked unhesitatingly up to the animals, and stroked them in such a way as at once to gain their confidence. They rubbed nose* affectionately on the Prince’s cloak and in other ways showed a perfect and inetanteous attachment. I understand that, as a result of the visit, there will be an exchange of animals between the Prince's and Lady Wentworth's stables. WHAT TO INVENT. This is. the week when the inventois of the world come to London. On Wednesday the International Exhibition of Inventions opened in the Central Halt, Westminster. The hall, which only last week was a miniature Grand Guignol with the Medical Exhibition and the latest surgical instruments, is now a schoolboys’ paradise. But even though there are some thousands of the latest patents on show at the Central Hall? there twe still some things left to invent it seems. The Institute of Patentees lias just published a booklet, in connection with the Exhibition, setting forth all the more urgent needs to which inventors should rivet their attention. The proper conduct of the world requires the invention, we are told, among other things of a noiseless aeroplane, an electric toaster which will, if possible, turn off the current before the toast is burned, a process to eliminate rust, a method of conveying speecn direct and readably to paper, and a great many other things. r o>f a like nature. “These things may seem impossible,” save the secretary of the Institute. “They are not. The day is not far away when we shall have a great many of them.”

All who are interested in the theatre and in literary subjects generally will regret that these initials will disappear from the newspapers with the death of their owner, Mr. A. B. alkley. Readers of his sprightly reviews of new plays, and his sparkling essays, had difficulty in realising that during the greater part of his working life he was an important official in the Post Office. Indeed, it is understood that but for his devotion to the drama and literature, he would have reached the highest post in the department. In his early days as a critic he was responsible for perhaps the shortest theatre notice on record. The title of the piece was “A Dreadful Night,’’ and Mr. Walkley comment next day was “Just so.” To the last he retained his freshness of mind, and delighted in new experiences. His account of his first visit to a cinema and his first ride in a motor ’bus (his previous experience had been limited to handsome c*bs and taxis) were a perfect delight. BRIT ANN TA BEAD LES. Many gallant naval commanders, past and present, will note with interest this week's meet of the Britannia beagles in honour of a fine old Devonshire sportsman’s hundredth birthday. This splendid old chap has drunk his cider and hunted his cob through three reigns, and was bird-nesting when William IV was King. It is a real sporting country the Britannia beagles hunt round the Dart, and 1 do not want much finer sport than a run with a pack. Farmers, gentry, buxom Devon matrons, doctors, lawyers, and a crowd of naval cadets make- up the meet, and, up arftl down those abrupt hills and valleys, a sound wind is needed to keep with the fun. And how the merry badinage Hies. “Hello. Vai mer, what be up to was the greeting I heard .addressed by one red-faced sportsman on foot to a sturdy yeoman on a stout Devonshire pony. “Beagling, can’t ee zee?” was the reply. ‘AVay you were flapping yer arms,” came the broad report, ‘T thought maybe you were trying to vly.” HUNDRED PER CENT. CRITICS'. It is amusing io hear the adverse criticism of hundred per cent. Americans on their new Embassy at the Albert Gate. This fine mansion has a frontal decoration of well-sculptured Red Indian heads, which are not only the best possible advertisement of the Embassy to strangers, but, with their feathered bandeajx a la Fennimore Cooper, make quite an artistic frieze. But some Americans complain that it is absurd to place Red Skin heads on the American Embassy, and argue that portrait heads of past Presidents, or typical modern American ones, would have been preferable. How pleasing it would have been to have the American Embassy decorated with genuine hornrim smooth-jowled Yankee heads. 1 shunM like to see the notion carried out, giving full play to his sardonic touch, by Mr. Jacob Epstein. The Hudson Memorial wouldn't be in it. <« K.’S CLOAK There is mourning in some of •the cosier taverns of Fleet Street; there is mourning in those clubs where distributes gather, and in Essex Street where the ‘‘anti-e very thing” weekly used to live; there mourning, lam told, even in some West End drawing rooms. For G. K. Chesterton has lost his cloak. It said that even G. K. himself is stricken with sorrow at the loss. Yet t can hardly have been to highly valued its owner as it was by the rest of :he world. It is as though one of the fights of London had been taken away, it was such a cloak. A cloak such as Sherlock Holmes used to wear —mysteri>us. and all-enveloping. It was a cloak vhich had a name, and was common>lace years ago, but in these latter days t has become known only as G. K. flies terton’s cloak. Ho left it apparntly in eo-me cab or restaurant. And t is gone. Perhaps some tramp on a ret country road is wearing all winowingly one of the sights of London trapped about his shoulders.

NEW EOG SIGNALS. ■Trinity House is having two of our coastal lightships fitted with a new fogsignalling apparatus of which great things are expected. If the experiment works well, and proves in all respects a success, the system will be adopted for all our lightships. It has been tried with good results for some time by the Dutch authorities, and us capable of .-.till further improvement. The appara-

tus consists of a submarine oscillator combined with an ordinary aerial wireless. The underwater oscillator makes over a thousand vibrations per second. This will transmit a definite warning note, it is calculated, for a distance of 20 miles to all vessels equipped with a hydrophone. By comparing the rapidity of the submarine signals with those of the overhead wireless, the former travelling at a little over a mile a second and the latter as fast as light, the navigating vessel can easily locate the lightship and her distance. Thus science looks like overcoming one.of the fewremaining real perils of seafaring. HIGH FLYERS. Among other fascinating subjects regarding which careful note is being taken by the regular pilots of Imperial

people might imagine that insect® did not venture more than a few score, or at the most hundred, feet above the earth. But apparently this is.an entirely erroneous notion. While piloting a big Handley-Page from London to Paris the other day, Captain WHeockson, when travelling at a hundred miles an hour and at a height of 6000 feet, heard a smart crack on his windscreen. And there, flattened on the glass, was a dead wasp. On the other hand, Captain Horsey, while flying at a height of only 2000 feet less than Captain Wilcoekson, could hardly see his course be cause a swarm of tiny green flies obscured his windscreen, against which they had become casualties in a headon collision. These facts give us rather a startling impression of 'insect activities far above the earth’s-surface..; Airways is that of insect flight. ( Mcst

TIMERS BUT NOT RATS. It is strange hew the most eourageenfpeople have their peculiar little fears. Mr. Mitchell Hedges, the explorer, who returned this week from one of his expedition® to Central America, told me that his colleague, Lady (Richmond) Brown, who has accompanied him on his adventurous journeys for several ygars, has not the least fear of any wild creatures. With her rifle ami spot light she will go alone into the jungle at night in search of a lion or tiger. She has taken part in. battles with giant shark®, and lias narrowly missed capture by 8n alligator. She has befriended all kinds of weird creatures, from a wild eat to a turtle, never suspecting that they might turn on her. But she j.ns one great fear. When I talked to her: in her suite at the Savoy MoteJ