LONDON LETTER.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 43, 20 February 1935, Page 19

LONDON LETTER.

ELECTION PLANS.

LLOYDS PAY MILLIONS. NOVICE TO RECORD BREAKER. (From Our Own Correspondent.) LONDON, January 3. The latest move in preparation for a general election comes from the Labour party. Headquarters have instructed the local branches to adopt candidates immediately and.draw up their plans of campaign. Already there are 4uo Socialist candidates in the field, and it looks as though they will outnumber the candidates of all other parties when the fight comes. But since many of the Labourites are contesting quite hopeless seats, their effective force is smaller than the present figures suggest.

Meanwhile the Conservatives are also making energetic preparations. Mr. Baldwin, has given a hint of the lines on which the election will be fought. "Vote Socialist, and you will bring about a grave financial, constitutional and imperial crisis," is likely to be the Conservative battle cry. On the positive side, the return of prosperity under the National Government will be stressed.

Date of the Election. Fixing the date of the election lies virtually in Conservative hands. It depends on two things—lndia and the trade outlook. Not until the India bill is passed this year can there be any thought of an election. After that, trade will be the deciding factor. If the present "boomiet"' shows any signs of being checked, the election will be held in the autumn of this year, before a downward tendency can assert itself. If conditions continue to improve an appeal to the country may be put dff until the spring of 1030. Millions Mean Nothing to Lloyd's.

The decision of the French Appeal Court.regarding the insurance money to be paid on -the burnt-out liner Atluntique will mean a. loss of £1,700,000 to London underwriters. But payment of this huge claim will not break any iirm. Lloyd's has paid out much larger sums without turning a hair.

• • In these days, when a single vessel may be insured for several million pounds, colossal risks are an essential part of the marine insurance business. No one firm would take such a risk, but Lloyd's "pool" of reserve is almost inexhaustible. Losses such as that on the Atlantique are spread over so many firms that none of them is very hard hit.

Fame In Two Years. : . . • Few people can hope to win fame in; any field of achievement after only two years', experience. Kenneth Waller.who has just, added to his laurels by 'a record flight from Brussels to the Congo and back, is a surprising exception. It is only just over two years since he learned to fly. Nor has he had 8.. A.F. experience, like most of Britain's air "aces." . ,

Waller has made two other great flights in the past year, besides his latest dash to the Congo and back. The first was when he flew to Australia and back to make a preliminary survey of tho route, of the air race. The second was when he and Cathcart-Joncs made such remarkable time for the LondonMelbourne and return journey. Unlike some other airmen, Waller shuns the limelight. He has a job as a flying instructor at Lyinpiic, In the intervals

of making record flights ho is teaching novices the art he himself learnt only a couple of years ago. Much Ado About a Penny. A London magistrate gave a decision this week which affects practically every one of the ten million people who live in and around the metropolitan area. The case was fought over a penny tram fare, but it has received as much publicity as some of the biggest financial cases of recent years. The central figure of the case was a woman who forgot to pay her fare on a tram. The conductor forgot to ask her for it. To meet such instances of forgetfulncss the London Transport Board have a by-law which declares that it is the passenger's business to pay, even if the conductor does forget. Otherwise, say the board, they would be cheated every day. But the magistrate held that such a by-law was illegal, and that it was the conductor's job to collect the fares. So the woman who forgot to pay left the court with five guineas costs. But a magistrate's decision is not final, and it may be thai the case of the forgotten penny will be fought in higher courts—perhaps all tho way to the House of Lords.

More Inventions. The number "of new inventions patented is often regarded as an index of the nation's prosperity, for in bad times there is generally a slump in the market for now ideas. If there is anything in this guide the prosperity prophets ought to be cheered by 1934's record." During the year the Patent Office received 37,000 applications —an increase of over 1000 on the previous year. The flood of inventions is not quite so overwhelming as it sounds, for most of the new '"gadgets" are merely improvements in articles already in use. Inventors have been especially busy in devising collapsible and folding furniture for the tiny flats and houses in which more and more English people now live. A great deal of ingenuity has also been' expended on new hair-waving appli ances. Presents to the Zoo.

All "kinds of people present animals to the London Zoo—from members of the Royal family, who, thus dispose of wild animals sent them by admirers in the Dominions and Colonies, *to ladies seeking a comfortable home' for pet parrots and monkeys. But the biggest donor of all is Mr. St. Alban Smith, who lives in Malaya.

Mr. Smith specialises in snakes of all kinds. This year the zoo has gratefully acknowledged receipt of no fewer that 100 reptiles from Win. A new year present of two more crates of snakes is now on the way. For ten years Mr. Smith has been sending snakes to London in almost regular moTtthly consignments. The zoo authorities wish they had such generous donors in some other parts of the Empire.

Miracle of Mental Healing. The miraculous cures which modern psychological treatment can sometimes effect are illustrated by a case reported this week from the London Institute of Medical Psychology. The patient is a girl whose name is being kept secret. She came tor treatment a year ago, suffering from "anxiety hysteria." i She had been backward from childhood; and at 24 her intelligence was classed as "extremely low."

Under the guidance of psychologists the girl's mind began to clear. She was put through a series of intelligence tests to show the progress of the cure. Preliminary tests showed that her intelligence was now far greater than' that of the average working woman. . The next test proved her equal to taking university honours degree. Finally the highest test of all indicated that her mental level was higher than that of the average professor.

The psychologists are convinced that had the girl been treated as a child she would have had a groat career in front of her.