LONDON GOSSIP

Dominion, Volume 23, Issue 256, 25 July 1930, Page 2

LONDON GOSSIP

* Totalisator & Bookmakers r EMPIRE FREE TRADE J (By Nellie M. Scanlan.) Dominion Special Service. London, June 14. ’ England is afraid that the totalisator will go bankrupt. It is a new institution in this country.—a country which hates change. The high hopes of its supporters that it would attract £20,000,000 a year, leaving a profit of £900,000, are far f 'em being realised. The only hope of saving the totalisator is to persuade the bookie to back - with it The Act under which it operates is framed to prevent the totalisator taking, bets which are not made on f the course. But if the bobkies take , the bets about town, and then shift some of the responsibility on to the > totalisator, the new, expensive and ela- > borate totes may survive. It is estimated that it costs £lOOO a day to oper- ■ ate the machine, and the commission ! charged is about 8 per cent. Did some- ! one suggest abolishing the bookie? Yes, but this is England. , Prime Slhiister’s Salary. Mr. Ramsay MacDonald, the Prime Minister, receives a salary of £5OOO a ■ year, out of which he pays £l2OO in income tax. This does not leave much for the upkeep of such a position. Mr. MacDonald may secretly agree with the suggestion that the salary should be ' raised, but in view of the present position of unemployment and trade depression, he can scarcely ask for a rise. There is a likelihood, however, that the House will take the initiative, when Mr. MacDonald will say , a grateful “Thank you!” The Lucky Lawyer. On Derby Day at Epsom a barrister was robbed of his pocket-book containing nearly £6O. Later in was returned to Him by registered post, with a note saying: “As it is a superstition among thieves that it is unlucky to rob a lawyer, my gang is returning your belongings. Keep your eyes open in future. The leader of the gang.” Lawyers seem, to have all the luck these days! Presentation at Court. To the socially aspiring to be presented at Court is the final trjjimph. The Royal Imprimatur sets the seal on much endeavour. The person to be presented does not make application to the Lord Chancellor; if) is the person sponsoring her, or making the presentation who does that. Most colonials are presented by the wife of the High Commissioner for their Dominion, and mothers who have been presented, sponsor their daughters. There is an unwritten. law that the lives of the persons to be presented must have conformed to a certain standard. '■ It is twenty-seven years since the pre-; sentation of a lady has been cancelled by public Gazette notice. The brief announcement in the “London Gazette “that the presentation of Mrs. Christopher Courtney has been cancelled,’” caused a social sensation. Captain Courtney is a high official in the Air Force, and the presentation was made by Lady Salmond, wife of the head of the Air Force. Mrs. Courtney was presented last month. Before her marriage to Captain Courtney in 1926, she was the divorced wife of Arnold Grayson, The- unwritten law still holds at Buckingham Palace. . Whitsun Tragedies. Whitsun is one of the big summer holidays, when the whole world goes gay. This year it was marvellously fine and warm. You could have fired cannons down the London streets, they were so empty. The whole population had transferred itself i> the parks or the country or the seaside. On popular country roads, and highways from the sea, the traffic crawled inch by inch, and at midnight, the full moon looked down on the lines of cars. On Hampstead Heath, a fire-eater attracted a large crowd. and when he spat out flames, several children caught fire, and now four little ones lay in hospital in a serious condition. At Herne Hill, another outskirt of London, Cork and Dublin played a hurling match. After the match five hundred supporters gathered outside a public house and continued the argument It developed into a free fight, and thirty police had to charge with drawn batons to stop the riot. . Black Prince Festival. Edward the Black Prince was born 600 years ago, and the commemoration of this event is being celebrated at Canterbury Cathedral, which contains his. magnificent tomb. After the passing of these centuries, his armour and gauntlet still hang above his tomb. The festival will last for seven days, and part of it consists of Shakespearean performances, in the Cathedral precincts, with the lovely old building as background. _ Among tlie singers who are taking part in the musical portion of the ceremonies is Dame Clara Butt. 1 Once the Canterbury Pilgrims arrived ou foot, and the old Pilgrims’ Way is now a speeding motor road. To-day they come by car. Political Situation. The political situation in England is extraordinarily interesting. Labouring people are still waiting for the milennium that the Labour Party promised. Unemployment is steadily increasing. . The price of produce is down; farmers in Britain and overseas are facing a bad time. In Australia, finance is causing anxiety. On all sides one hears murmurs and complaints. , , Free Trade within the Empire, adapted to suit the needs and conditions of different Dominions and industries,. is gradually being regarded as the solution. The next British election will have that as its great issue. This is a rital moment in the affairs of the British Empire—as vital as the war. It is a fine thing that editors from all over the Empire are meeting in Loudon now; it is opening their eyes. So much depends on what they tell you, and they are learning much in tliis intimate interchange. The results should be invaluable in facing the new issues and forging new links.