LONDON LETTER.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 273, 17 November 1936, Page 10

LONDON LETTER.

KING AND MARRIAGE. j: ' . : • ' ; . NEW JOB FOR AIR "ACE." MR. THOMAS IN RETIREMENT. (From Our Own Corroßp"" , lcnt.> LONDON, October 28. King Edward is beginning to suffer the penalty of being the popular and democratic monarch of a free country with a free Press. Irresponsible writers feel themselves at liberty to say what they like about liim, and his private life is being discussed in a way . that must sometimes make him wish for the summary powers of a dictator. Readers of -two Sunday papers this week were startled to read in one.the headlines "The King May Marry Before Spring," and in the other a story that Hi 3 Majesty was planning to make a tour of the Empire by air after the Coronation. . The latter report was immediately denied from Buckingham Palace, but the marriage story ■ was apparently regarded as too gross to merit contradiction. For 20 years, as Prince of Wales, the Kin" was "engaged" innumerable times by rumour. But he has shown quite clearly that he has no intention of marrying. He is a man who knows his own mind and who has quietly rebelled against many of the old conventions of Royalty. It may well be that he resolved long ago not to enter a marriage in which his affections were not involved. Nothing lias changed since he came to the Throne. If he had been willing to make the customary Royal "marriage of convenience," he would doubtless have done so long ago. J. H. Thomas Emerges. Mr. J. 11. Thomas, the former Dominions Secretary, seems to have lost little of his personal popularity since ho retired from public life following the Budget leakage scandal. This week he emerged for the first time to make one of his characteristic after-dinner speeches at the American Club, and both the Americans and their English guests gave him a warm welcome. "Jimmy" Thomas has spent liis enforced retirement at his seaside house — the £15,000 house which figured so prominently in his evidence before the Budget tribunal. He scarcely ever comes to London, and golf on the local links I is his onh r recreation. He lets it be known that he is working hard on his memoirs. No R.A.F. Air "Aces." The Royal Air Force is not a training ground for "aces"; its aim is to produce all-round airmen rather than to encourage individual prodigies. This policy—so different from that of many other countries—is brought home again this week by the' announcement that Squadron Leader F. R. D. Swain, who lias just set up a new world's altitude record by flying nearly 9J miles high, has, been transferred to the humdrum duty of teaching cadets at Cranwell. Italy and France, by contrast, believe that their national prestige is best served by keeping their "aces" in the limelight. One or two outstanding airmen are allowed to devote themselves almost exclusively to record-hunting and are practically withdrawn from the ordinary service for this purpose. policy of all-round experience was strikingly illustrated in the Schneider Trophy speed contests. Each year an entirely now I team was chosen, the previous year's winners having gone back to "their ordinary R.A.F. duties. The Rising Trade Unions. While the political Labour party is suffering from a bad patch of distention and seems to have lost (at least temporarily) a, good deal of prestige, the tiade union wing, is forging ahead. Membership is now close to the 5,000.000 mark, and well over a quarter of a million new members joined during the past year. ° There is no doubt that the trade unions will continue to grow ever more .rapidly. At least as long as re-anna-.nient is in progress, they are in a powerful position— and they know it. The necessity for maintaining rapid and uninterrupted production is a big factor of their side in any threat of an industrial dispute. Civil Service Authors. Perhaps because its members are debai red from taking any part in politics, the British Civil ' Service is unusually prolific in authorship. Whitehall's writers recently- formed the Society of Civil Service Authors, which Jiow has 70 members, and is to hold its first annual dinner next month. The most distinguished of the Civil Service authors is Humbert Wolfe, one of the finest living poets and. incidentally, very near the top of the departmental tree at the Ministry of Labour. He often speaks for Britain on Labour questions at Geneva. But few of these writers have thus distinguished themselves both at their hobby and at their job. Most of them are quite humble cogs in the Civil Service machine, though they include some of the most noted writers of "thrillers." Private Air Raid Refugees. After gas masks —bomb shelters; While the Government is giving orders for 40,000,000 gas masks to protect the civil population of Britain from gas, enterprising firms are offering to build bomb-proof shelters for householders who fear more destructive missiles in the next war. It is reported that many people have already ordered these shelters to be constructed in their gardens and cellars. The cheapest shelter on the market costs £150. Those who cannot muster the cash may buy it on the instalment plan, paying month by month. People who contemplate digging themselves in for a long seige can have food stores and first-aid cabinets fitted in the shelter, and a w-ireless set to receive any cheerful programme that may be broadcast at such times. These more luxurious shelters may cost up to £300. Roads of Ruin. We are continually being reminded that a quarter of a million people are killed and injured on the roads of Britain every year. But one aspect of this mass tragedy is often forgotten. Even a slight accident may, mean more than bruises and broken bones. It may cost the victim his job, break up his home and ruin his life. This is because most pedestrians are not insured. If they are injured through the motorist's fault, the latter pays damages. But if the pedestrian is to blame for the accident—as he is in most cases—he gets no compensation. To meet such cases the new Public Safety Association has been formed. For a penny a week it offers £100 insurance. Admittedly this is not much, but it will be enough in thousands, of cases to tide over the period of disablement until a road victim is able to earn his living again.