LONDON LETTER.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 267, 10 November 1937, Page 22

LONDON LETTER.

REPAIRS, £750,000.

FARMERS IN REVOLT.

PROBLEMS FOR THE DUKE. (From Our Own Correspondent.) LONDON, October -'•2. M.P.'s came buck to work after their long holiday to find that during their absence builders ami decorators ha\e born improving the amenities of the House of Commons. The (lining; room of "the world's best. club" has been made much more comfort aide, and the reconstructed kitchen* should now be • bio tn meet all demands for out-of-the-way dishes. Kcpairing tho Hollies of Parliament is proving a long and costly job. Very largo sections of the outer stonework, crumbling under London's soot and fog, have to be renewed. The work has

already been going on for nine years, and it w ill not lie finished until 1042. By then it will have cost three-quarter* of a million pounds. i Tho Duke and the Nana. The Duke of Windsor has had to steer a very careful course during his stay In Germany. Although a voluntary exile from England, ho still respects public opinion here, and ho was aware that any marks of favour which he might show towards the Nazi regime would arouse advert comment in many British quarters. At the same time h« had to resect also tho wishes of his German llo«ts. There were some awkward moments when he had to reply to Nazi salutes. Generally he did so simply by raising his hat, but when indoor* or hatlesa he decided to respond with the outstretched arm. He also followed his hosts' wishes by staying in "approved" Nasi hotels, alt hough some of the Jewish-owned hotels are much more luxurious. The Duke was glad to escape an embarrassing meeting with Herr Julius Htroicher, the fanatical Jew-baiter, wihowas to have given him an official welcome in Nuremberg. It would have been a strained encounter, becauee the Duke has not forgotten Streicher's violent attack on his friends the Vienna Rothschilds, with whoin he stayed after his abdication. Fortunately Htreicher was persuaded to prolong his holiday abroad, and the Duke wim welcomed by a more congenial deputy.

Forma For Farmora. English farmers am beginning to grow restive under the Hood of documents and forms they have to till in owing to the Government's various marketing schemes. The climax was reached recently when 08,000 dairy farmers received a letter from the Milk Marketing Board asking them to answer 20 columns of questions. By way of proteet many of the farmers simply returned the forms uncompleted. Already over 10,000 of them have come showering buck on the Marketing Board. A more direct protest against this complicated officialdom in to be made by a deputation which will interview the Minister of Agriculture next week.

London Short of Polico. London is facing a serious shortage of policemen—so much so that in the city area pensioners are being called back from retirement to All up the gaps in the ranks. The reason is a curious one. It is that the ambitious constable now sens his brightest future in the country forces. In almost every other calling youth dreamt* of "getting to London." But many policemen, having enrolled in London, see their chances of promotion blocked by the new influx of "public 'school type" officers. In the country, where promotion is always from the ranks, the young constable has better prospects. Hence the large numbers who have resigned from the London polico to join provincial force*. Last year 1058 men left the Metropolitan Police and only 735 joined. Advertising is being intensified in an effort to fill more "than 700 vacancies. Most of these are for uniformed men, but numbers of plainclothes detectives are also wanted for the C.I.D. and the women police are 00 or 70 under strength.

Xaaier Army luu Meanwhile the Army fa still short ®f men. Recruiting sergeants have been paying special attention to country districts—somewhat to the annoyance of farmers, who do not like to see their best young men lured away to the colours. During this drive, however, many would-be recruits have had to be rejected because they could not pass the Army's educational teats. Consequently the military authorities •re now revising the testa to make them teats of intelligence rather than education. Arithmetic and essay writing are the main part of the present testa, and the authorities found that many otherwise bright young farmhands failed to come up to standard. In the towns, on the other hand, bad health and poor physique are the commonest reason for rejecting recruits. A "Royal" Ckriataaa Cmiaf. Tliis promises to be a very Royal and loyal Christmas as far as the shopa are concerned. Home manufacturers still have on hand large stocks of flags, banners and souvenirs left over from the Coronation. They hope to unload them at Christmas. In spite of this surplus, the flag and souvenir trade has already reaped a rich harvest. (Substantial sales of Edward VIII. souvenirs were made before the Abdication; then millions of people rushed to buy mementoes of "the King who whs never crowned"; and finally millions more bought emblems with the portraits of King George and Queen Elisabeth. Besides this, some firms engaged in Coronation trades raked in big payments from insurance companies hern use they had insured ngainst "any contingency preventing the Coronation' of Edward VIII." Gaa in the Cradle. The nnt.i-gas experts have now at last discovered ways to protect u* all from infancy to old age. They completed the circle tliis week when .">0 toddlers at Barnardo's Homes, aged four and Ave, were fitted with miniature gas masks. Infants in arms are now the only members nf the community who will not need to wear masks when the next war comes. For them the experts have invented n kind of rubber l>a". The mot ''cr > n-s t 1 • '■! j' seals it ip. ii ' _ 'i. jm in a i r with a bicycle ( limp.