LONDON LETTER.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 157, 6 July 1939, Page 26

LONDON LETTER.

BIGGEST FARM SHOW. PALESTINE ABSTENTIONS. GERMAN PREPAREDNESS FOR AIR RAIDS. (From Our Own Correspondent.) LOXDOX, June 9. The Kinjr and Quwn will waste no time in reswminjr their normal activities when they return from North America. One of their (ir«t visits will be to the Centenary Show of the Royal Apxicultun<l Society. This is beinj: hold in Windsor (ireat Park, at the invitation of the Kiiijr, who i« president of the society. Tfie. exhibition, occupying 120 acres, will be the litest of iU kind ever held in Knjiland. or for that matter in Kurope. Visitors, including many from (lie Dominions and Colonies, will see some of the Home Countries' finest live stock —at least 3000 entries are exacted.

No fewer than 1(13 cattle clause*, represent inj.' about 22 different breeds, will bo competing for the prize money, which iiiiioiintM to .€7:580 for oattle alone. There are 110 classes for horses, 106 for sheep, 82 fur pigs and 14 for goats. .Many of the championship trophies, are boin-r presented by the ivinpr and Queen, wh(, have arranged to pay two vieits to the show.

Cabinet Unity. The failure of .Mr. Hore-Belisha and Mr. Walter Klliot to vote in the recent division in the House of Commons on the Kovcriiment'x Palestine policy has liocn tin , subject of much adverse comment in the country an<l it is understood Hint (lie Premier has intimated to the two .Ministers that he n-jrards their abstention as a breach of duty. Xo further action k likely, but Mr. Chamberlain is insisting on the observance of the doctrine of collective responsibility of the Cabinet. In plain words this means that a Cabinet Minister must either support the major policy of the Government or resign. KfforU' are being made to ensure a greater degree of unity in the future. A.R.P. in Germany. The Germans have a reputation for thoroughness, and in the matter of air raid precautions they appear to have lived up to it. Refugee* from Germany have told Briti-h authorities how the Nazis are safeguarding their population from possible attack by enemy aircraft.

Every house of a certain size has its own air raid warden, who is usually a man too old for military service* or not infrequently a. woman". He or she is given official status by the police and in all air raid precaution matters must l>e strictly obeyed by all those living in the house. A warden failing to perform the allotted duties i* liable to imprisonment.

In Britain it i* only in recent months that much attention has been t>aid by the average member of the public to the (|uestion of air raid precautions; in Germany compulsory training has been earned on for three or four years

New Use for Car Parks. Tn Britain a number of car parks have been built underground, to serve the double purpose of providing accommodation for motor ears and sheltering the public in the event of air raid*. A considerable development of the idea is expected, though the plan was at first rejected by the civil defence authorities. Underground oar parks equipped for conversion to air raid shelter! are to receive a suUidy from the Government and in many localities help will be forth' <•<»."»? from the bigger shopkeepW. In <-ne town a local shop has offered to subscribe £1000 a year for 15 vears «« <...s It expects to profit by "aininrr ;™i zr f,om th - -«*

£2,000,000 Charity Frauds. Tt is estimated that f2.000.000 a rear do someth.ng to end the abuse.

Evidence h «« I"*" produced' showing I'ou one man made nearly £4000 a year out of a so-called charity/and in anothe case a society collecting funds for a worthy cause gave just 2*d out of every pound received to the charity. Lar~e n«>ni bers of importer., adepts at writing convincing beggmg letters, have been e.\j)osed .but many continue successfully ■Lr rTI e , h ? rtS and ******* of the ••naritably-minded.

How Much Sleep? From time to time doctors pronounce on the question of how much sleep Unman beings require, and periodically people, such as Kdison confound the experts by revealing that they can live healthily and happily on considerably less slumber than the suggested minimum. The. British Institute of Public Opinion has just carried out an investigation into the sleeping habite of representative samples of adult men and women in Britain.

Eight hours' sleep appears to be the general rule. Of all the people asked, i-i per cent slept for at least this length or time. Women, apparently, are slightly more lie-abed than men, the percentage being 79 ae compared with 65 Or perhaps they were more ready to admit their fondness , for that extra half-hour! The wealthier the person the more inclined he or she was to insist on the eight-hour quota, and there was a tendency for the amount of sleep required to drop as age increased. Channel Tunnel. Will the tunnel under the English Channel, between England and France I ever be built? Talked about for venerations, started and then abandoned, the Channel tunnel is once again occupying the minds of advocates in both countries who urge its construction for military, strategical and commercial reasons. Plans recently drawn up by French engineers are the most ambitious ever advanced. The estimated cost for a road tunnel 30 miles long and 22 feet wide ' is £42.000,000, and it is claimed that l an average of 1000 vehicles could pass! through in an hour.

If the Governments agree on the project the necessary funds, it is believed would be forthcoming from private' backers, who reckon that an income of £2,000,000 a year would be derived from passenger and freight traffic.