LONDON LETTER.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 139, 15 June 1938, Page 17

LONDON LETTER.

THE AIR MINISTRY.

WHAT GERMANY WANTS IN SPAIN. ANTI-STAIJN BROADCASTS. (From Our Owd Correspondent.) LONDON, May 2C. Sir Kingslev Wood, the new Air Minister, has a tremendous reputation for getting things done. Organising ability is the secret of his success in politics. But, as is often the way with organising geniuses, he is not a man of " personality." Sir Kingslev Wood is the hero of no anecdotes; there is nothing about him that inspires jokes or stories. Round-faced, short and plump, he speaks in a squeaky voice with a touch of cockney in his accent. Without giving the least impression of cleverness he has become so indispensable tnat no Conservative or National Prime Minister could think of leaving him out of the Cabinet. At the Ministry of Health and the Post Office Sir Kingsley has excelled at jobs requiring business ability rather than political adroitness. Now he has gone to the Air Ministry he will need both.

I Germans In Spain. Little has been heard lately of German intervention in the Spanish War, but private commercial news reaching London firms shows that German enterprises are quietly consolidating their position in the Basque country, which fought so desperately before yielding to Franco. Unlike Mussolini, Hitler is iess concerned with winning battle® in Spain than with! winning industries and raw materials. j The Basque country is only a little > corner of Spain in area, but in importance it is a very large slice of the nation. It represents more than half the mercantile capital of Spain, over 70 per cent of the country's iron and steel output, and about the same percentage of the explosives industry. More than half Spain's merchant marine and 30 per cent of her fishing fleet are Basque. These are the things that interest Germany, while Italy is helping Franco to win his last battles on the opposite coast of Spain. Wealth In Land. The "landed gentry" are usually supposed to be taxed almost out of existence in England to-day. Most people are surprised, therefore, at the announce-

merit that the Marquis of Bute haa cold ground rents covering half the city of * Cardiff for about £">,000,000. As this deal shows, there is still wealth in real estate in city areas. Until recently the 1 Marquis also owned most of the Cardiff docks. He sold this property for < £2,000,000. Several of those who own < London land—such as the Dukes of J Westminster and Bedford —are also mil- ■ lionaires. It is the rural landowners who are generally in difficulties. The Marquis of Bute owns vast country estates as well ' as city land, and he is evidently disposing of the latter so that he may keep up the dignity of the former. He owns • three castles "and five other mansions, and patronises the arts and crafts in feudal sty!e. Not content with preserv ing the art of the past, he employs carpenters, wood-carvers and weavers to beautify his homes. The Marquis will soon be capitalising another large slice of his property. He is the largest individual owner of coal royalties, which are now being compulsorily bought out by the State. Stalin's Army Enemies. New light is thrown on the mysterious anti-Stalin radio broadcasts by a message from Berlin this week. A leading Russian exile there argues that the broadcasts must be part of a campaign against the dictator by Soviet Army officers. He rules out the suggestion, often put forward, that the secret radio station is located outside Russia— either in one of the border States or 111 Germany. This Russian emigre and his comrades have been making a close study of the broadcasts. Their tone indicates that the broadcasters are Communists who disagree with Stalin's policy, frequent mention of executed Army leaders suggests that the campaigners are an Army group. Still stronger evidence for this theory is the fact that the secret radio station moves to a different place every day. In Russia, it is argued, only the Army would have means of transpoit - or the technical resources to conduct a travelling radio station. Another Elusive AnimaL Another creature almost as elusive as the Loch Ness monster was discussed by a learned gathering in Ijondon this week. The Society for the Preservation of the Fauna of the Empire is much concerned for the mouflon, the little wild sheep of Cyprus. Not only is this smallest of'the wild sheep being shot, but it is dying of starvation because goats eat all the available food. The society sent Sir Thomas Cornyn-Piatt to Cyprus to investigate the plight of the mouflon. He has returned without having seen one. When challenged, he said he had met someone who had seen a mouflon, but he did not think there were more than 18 of the creatures extant. Profits From Arms. Somerset House, where all lists of company shareholders are deposited, has been known to provide some very damaging material for political campaigners. Just now it is the scene of feverish activity by people combing the lists of shareholders in armament and chemical firms. Opponents of rearmament are looking up those who are drawing dividends from it. They find that eight religious organisations own shares in arms firms, two bishops are interested in explosives and a prominent Y.M.C.A. official derive# part of his income from the building of battleships. The Church replies, logically enough. that if rearmament is right, it is not wrong to invest money in firms which are performing the vital duty of national defence. The Monster Mystery Again. For five years the Loch Ness monster has been an intermittent mystery. Now a man has come forward determined to tackle the mystery on business lines. He is a naval officer, Captain D. J. Monro, and he proposes to form a company to finance a thorough investigation of the monster. Does the dragon-like ereature which people claim to see in the mist-covered waters of the Scottish lake really exist T If so, what is itf With the latest scientific equipment, rangefinders and sounding gear Captain Munro is determined to answer these questions. Ha will search for the monster just as he _ Would for an enemy submarine. It will ■ cost money, but what worthier cause 1 than to satisfy the world's curiosity t