ROYALTY AT WORK.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 125, 28 May 1932, Page 4 (Supplement)

ROYALTY AT WORK.

HELPING HOSPITALS. THE DUCHESS OF YORK.

(By XELI/B M. SCANLAN.)

No matter how many tradee and professions may be slack at the moment, Royalty is working overtime. It is difficult to discriminate when there are so many hospitals and charitable institutions serving- a great and human purposo in this big city. To list them all would be as tiresome a task as to try and find out the component parts of the British Empire, as I lightheartedly tried once upon a time. But one by one they come under the eye of the- Queen or other Royal ladies. Recently the Duchess of York had tea at the Queen Charlotte Hospital in Hammersmith, and nursed triplets, taking them up one at a time, with a special affection for Michael, who bears her brother's name. The Queen, Princess Royal, and Duchess of York are untiring and practical in these hospital rounds, and Queen Mary always wants to see the kitchen.

The New Mode. The Duchess, by the way, keeps well to the front in matters of fashion. Her new brown coat and dress had a large collar of beige fox, but it was the sleeve, that feature which has given such scope to designers this year and which will date your last year's or next year's garment, that showed her enterprise. It was the last word in pouched elbow. Her little brown cap of straw had a wreath of beige and brown Marguerite daisies. Very soon the Duke and Duchess of York will move to their new home, Royal Lodge, Windsor Park.

Princess Elizabeth is already well known for her industry with a garden broom. She is an indefatigable worker in the autumn, sweeping up the fallen leaves from the garden paths. A practical interest in gardening is a Royal characteristic, and Queen Mary, although she may not plant the seeds and pick the weeds herself, is famous for her love of gardens. And the Princess Royal has made her gardens at Harewood Hall quite renowned. Now the little Princess is to follow their lead. She is to have her own garden patch, but she will plant the seeds herself, and poke the tiny rock plants between the cracks in the crazy paths.

Easter brings to England the first real touch of spring. Duck and ducklings were a ceremonial dish, but this year it may be replaced by patriotic lamb. Ducklings are half the price of four or five years ago. Then people cheerfully paid 15/ or even £1 for a bird. This year they are 3d and 4d per pound cheaper than last year. Strawberries, too, are cheaper. This Easter, the little one-pound box is only a guinea, as against 45/ last year. These prices may seem incredible, but the supply is limited and never equal to the demand. But they are for the rich. The first; of the "protected" lettuce, those grown under tariff protection, are coming on to the market. Cucumbers, too, are just in, and only 6d as against last year's 1/6. And this season English tomatoes have reached London in time for Eaeter. In previous years we were dependent upon the earlier Continental countries for these luxuries. A Free Country. New Zealand is the freest country in the world to-day. In your days of depression remember that., and draw comfort from it. It has not the cleavage that is so apparent in Australia. It has not Canada's friendly menace of a powerful neighbour, always exerting an influence across that unprotected border. Nor has it the Dutch and native problems of Africa. I have lived in countries old and new, in republics great and small, and seen a little of the Soviet experiment. But nowhere in the world has a man the freedom, the political, personal, and economic freedom, that is to be found in New Zealand. Times may be bad, money short, the price of produce low. This is only a temporary , setback. Already the cloud is lifting in England. Already some of the firms and even a local body who had made a 10 per cent cut in wages have promised to restore it on April 1. Strange things are happening, and their repercussions cannot exactly be gauged, but all the tendencies appear to be towards strengthening the British Empire and making more equitable our interchange of trade and commerce.