In the Public Eye

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 65, 17 March 1928, Page 27

In the Public Eye

lijdy Bailey. '■••\-'-'';-' ■'■■■■ :' "■'■'• \ '"■ ■■"■■■- -sThe example'of. the birds,- tie bats, andHhe insects has always been a Bubjectiof envy among mankind, and in.the mythologies of both East and West we find tales of legendary' flight creeping, iifV where practical flight., was1 inipos- .. sjble.;1' Solomon ;~is ■'■■ reported _to have given to the, '"Qiieen of Sh'eba' '."a vessel by ,'. which "she might ride upon the winds, which he had made of the wisdom God- had given him," "and ,Manco Hnella, "founder of the .first . Peruvian dynasty,-: is;-'ia}fcip;."haveTflown'":from". Heaven to Earth with his wife, both these v legends, proving, that, if woman ■htijk no£ ao"tually- t flown..un.til 'the} present; century- she -has been sufficiently interested to have her name allied with the desire for flight. In? these days, how•yer, flying is a; reality,, and to such aitiextent has the emancipation of wompt been achieved that to-day there areimany women ■holding pilots'' certificates who are reported to be as skilled>jh the control of airplanes' 'as'1 are men; • To-day women face death and clanger over land and ocean, but we hear but little of the valuable wort these pioneers of the sex have done in tjiefcause of aviation. Duringthe pasffew'syears many vomen have been pasBen'gers over long flights, but-more rev cently the number of feminine a vial tors-has increased to such an extent that^the fourteen light", airplane clnbs in-y-Jingland are turning^ dijt .literally • dozens of certificated women pilots. Indeed, six or seven starterajis no uncom^' mdii; thing in the " ladies'.riice" which;; is/npw a feature.in mast airixace meet-' iiigS; Of all the women whbjrisk ■ their livesi in the higher itmosphere^none.-are reprted to be mor|. daririgSt%ji:-Ea'dy BaHey, second wifei-iof Si*v;Abei£ailey, th'e>well-knowa Soul?h\ African financier •nli": politician. Before her marriage.: ■M'^waE the Hon\ Mars^esteiu:aj';bnly daughter of Ijor4.;Bo^s.Wore,;.andj;6ven jrjpr'to her marri^gesh,e was-deeply interested in the -uysteries;-of ait' travel. li^Sy Bailey, with> Mrs. Geoffrey de Hayiiland, who accompanied herj'Udlds. the-height record^ :f or. Ught airplanes and;-also for women -aviators, this.-pair laving ascended over the Staglane Aerodrome (England) to an altitude of 18$00 feet On Friday of last week lady Bailey started out on a lonely flight from London to the Cape,' and if 6jisessful will be the first woman to make an, unaccompanied flight over so giieat- a distance. During the past week messages have been received recordingithe progress of her flight, and withinlthe next few days New Zealand should 16"4r of her safe arrival at Capetown. BiE:James Eric Drummond. ■ JEiast week the whole of the British Efepire, and possibly the whole of-';-''the civilised world,' express&|>V>feelings of dismay when it va«. ; lumi'ared that Sir James; Erie j Drummond had resigned the oficeVof Secretary-General of the League of Nations, which ..he/ had capably. "filled-sincb 1919.-----Fortunately. it was, only a canafdj- and the' whole of the Eei; r pire was abl'"to breathe freely again when it learned the truth.. Last year, when a similar.-.. rumptir ■ .was.. |Sent ; "..roun6^ the/-.;world, to be denie.d is.] : i.exa.ctlj;.'tne: Raitte manner, a Londbli remark-' «idV:that if the SecreEaYy^General-:"ever-" harboured any such intention'the. repre^: sentatives of 55 States would rise up ijt;;;immediate and unanimous protest, Sir Eric, alone of all the Secretariat officials, holds an appointment without any time limit, and at tli^agg of fifty-one he is in 'tKe "prime of-ißis vigour. The wor,st,thatfmajf ; . be* falK him is to betomp/EaflVoJ'B.eHhy,." wl|ich would happen if his half-brbther should die, but even an-'Earl-'edtalS-'1 re-."----iriaju Secretary-General. No .one;will dispute the right of Sir Eric Drummond to'-the foremost place in the gallery of League of Nations' personalities;"'!.or no man'living has done more to make the League what it is to-day—ra;powerful; infinenee for world peace.;, Few people. K£gV. anything of the'.'first.'BecretaryGeiieral when his name appeared—to' th6'surprise of the world, for the secret' haiij^been well kept—in the second anii^'is';to the Covenant-"6n;'the'day''that' dod.ument was approved by the Paris Pbace Conference in April, 191& v : D.6\yn to ;that time Sir Eric: Drummond. .had be'# ; Ja Foreign Office-official,.-.one .of. tlioSe of&eials who^cateh „tlie .Pub'.iie. JSye.. le.sa;l;han most of-their colleagues', since' hiiiVwhole career hajl.,been ••spent .in. Loi'don and none of it in any Embassy abroad. But his responsibilities had been great, and for.two years..ir.'more, before the Great War he" was "lent as1' private secretary to the, Prime Minister,. the?. Earl of Oxford" and-Asqiiithj: then jusi Mr.' Asquith, after which he; serveivinder two Foreign Ministers, Lord Gfeiy and Lord Balfour, in the' samet. capacity. The misgivings—and there "were.many —about tho. appointmeno of a i diplomat purei-and'simple to Genevalavfe been dissipated long since, for Sir Eric has succeeded in some mysterious way in acquiring all the virtues of dipIpinacy and avoiding all its vices. He is:'::discreet without being too tortuous; he ;'is genial ■without ii.:eyer'being insincere"; he is deeisiv-e without ever being dogmatic; he is scrupulously fair, and of Ja '.courtesy which knows no kind of discrimination of" persons; '■'■ Bir^ptto Niemeyer. .!j|he appointment last year of Sir Otto E.^rNlemeyer to an important post in th'e.vßank of. England did not come as a/great surprise to' those who., know Bomething of the trend of big financial, movements of" Encland and Europe. Sir' Otto. was appointed :in 1D22 as Controller of Finance to the Treasury, in succession to Sir Basil Blackett, on the latter's appointment as Finance- Member of the Viceroy's Council, and- he' was also a member of the Finanwat uommittee 01 tne League of Nations'; Educated at St. Paul's School and Balliol College, Mr. Niemeyer, as ie};then was, entered the British Treasury in 1906. He was in charge of the Finance and Budget Division from 1919 tp.l92l,.when he was appointed DeputyController of Finance. Sir Otto.is now 45' years old, and was knighted in 1924. H,e.;has served on numerous, commit-' tees and commissions, including several advisory positions with the League of Nations. It is understood that this isf the: first occasion on which a high'official of tho Treasury has joined the st^ff of the Bank of England, and when thV.'appointment was first announced it';gave rise to a greati deal of conjecture, but none of them have been proved to be correct. In the process of:'organising the internal administra-. tion of the Bank of England since the ■war, new posts were created as a re-»ul,t-bf.,clianged financial -cpiiditions,vre— BUlt'ingr'froin-.;the-big money: deals which • were ieventuating "ati the :time, and it

..was jone- Of; these "Offices that Sir Otto, took over,^.He.did'.not, however, take up' his' diitieV'until just prior to the New Year, as he was unable to imrnedi-. -ately-sever his connection with the Treasury. Early in January of, the present year, Sir Otto was sent by the bank on an important financial mission to the United States, being allotted an office in : the Federal Reserve Bank at New .Yorky: to enable him to carry on his- negotiations,.-dealing mainly with certain • heavy exchanges of gold between Great Britain and America. ; King Amanulla. In.the early part of this week King Amanulla, of -..Afghanistan, arrived in London- during the course of the world tour-.which he- commenced some time, ago.."■' TParis maintained to the full her tradition of stately hospitality,in ■welcoming- . ■ -the - King -and Queen of Afghanistan as ..the guests of the. Bepublici. arid; it .seems that -England vill not be in any. way be--hind her neigh- . bouring State, judging by "Lon-- • ,'donfs reception. '■• Ambanulla- -is' now in the third' month of his remarkable voyage of exploration, the'first' of his dynasty 'to cross the ,'sea.since Afghanistan, freed from the dominion of ' Mogul -an d-jPer-sian'conquerors'j.took iis separate "place among -thie . kingdoms of the wo.rld , a hundred and eighty years ago. The King, when he took. possession of the throne and proclaimed the complete independence of his country after the. ; assassination of Hanibullah in -1919, ■gave proof of the ;vigour., and; l-esblu-: tion needed in the government of the ) Afghan people. He soW showed that •;he had other qualities not hitherto conspicuous' in the record1 of his house, and in eight. years' he has made many ■changes. By a' treaty concluded with "England in 1921 he established peace on the basis of British recognition oi • his country's complete political,. sovereignty, and thus put an end to the long history of uneasy relations which have thrice flamed up in war. A keen observer of the signs of the times, he 'nMreas"thev lesson of the, rise of the; ■nejf Japanjs'.a.nd.s-he: set ojit to brjng Afghanistan into Jine witfi. tfie civilisa.: tion which he sees everywhere dominant." .: He has already accomplished enough ■tojpshow that he has the resolute epiriisof innovation i-whicK is making; the j East a changed:land: ' Kirig AmanuEaOias now gone-to.'the -West to. see with his own eyes what Europe, has to show that is worthy of ■ adoption or adaptation by his own country. Hehas shown that he is not prepared to accept Ocoidential culture as a whole, and he has already formed a very clear conclusion as to which portions will '-prove acceptable,to his people.. He has: gone to Europe to learn and; to judgfe »for' himself. But he also has another ! purpose in view. He desires to show that Afghanistan is not an'uncivilised country, but-one which is,determined to occupy its rightful place in the world's affairs. King Amanulla has, substituted for the absolute despotism which previously «'*'xisted,in. Afghanistan the elements, of government. Ho has given his^ country a Reformed judicial system, »and he has built up a well-traine3 'army 'on the European 'modelj wii/hf modern-equipmontv iPlans have been'drawn up for a new capital, a fine city along Western lines, and he has done taany other things which will 'serVeto place" Afghanistan among the .chief. ; nations of the world, including the "emancipation of "women; "and. the ''generail''education''of- the"'people. A ruler with xsoti'inipressiv.ev.a,;,record of ■practical,vp£rf oftaancg, in>ithq-,field of. good'government- ;cannt|J;.; p.elp, bjit, make a..big "appeal' to /'the' British people, and of that.King Amanulla and his consort, Queen Soufayaj; have already received ample-evidence. Rear-Admiral E. K. a. B. Evans. " The re'dent promotion'of Captain E. ,B. ;<3v-.B..*Eyana,. -Y.C.,:.better, known as ..^'jpVans, o'f'tlie^Brqke,'',''fo,ihe_ position 'p'f'lteiar-^3mira'l,?-rcminds''-NewrZealand-■'e'rs l;that-'ne*h'aß something in- common with:the Dominion; having visited Wellington ■ a. n d .Christchurch on several;, occasions' in connection ,q.with-' -.-Antarctic , exploration,.' and '' - b'ecauao '■lie married a '■CMist'c h-u"r c h ■■lady, daughter of "a ' well ■'- .known Christchurch law--1 yer,' the Mr. ,!':-;T.i:-'Gi;.':-:Eussell. ..Unt'.QrtunatelyvShe ; ...d.ied.; i in : , 1913,.- with- . out, issue, .and .three years '.aftepv^rds he married" a-'-ijea'ritiful; i>.ane.: f rptii',;<3hris-.tiattia,--by/who^i lie^haa .two sons. It has not fallen 1o the* lot of many men i-t this workaday world to experience' ;tlie ,amoi}nj;,,of,ad.yen,turo that-has fallea. "to tho;lot';of"Admiral Evaiis.; • Evenas, a, boy .atschoolhe was not consent with the •humdrum, -but'-was everlastingl ■]y, seeking, hazards, which often led he and his bfotKers into , deeper waters t>an-'they" fia'd ■ thought;:-for. ' They «x-i perienced adventures in the East End of London, skirmishes, in .-.South Lon-. don; and' explorations in many ■■other' parts.as.;thoroughly carried out as were Stanley's in D~rke_st Africa. There were three, brothers in most of these adventures, of which Captain Evans was the middle spoke in many incidents. His schooldays' were filled" with "ups-, and; downs,' 1 that period -when.he attended the Merchant Taylors' Lower Schoolj afiwell as later at Warwick House S'chool,-from which he graduated into the Boyal Navy as a sturdy little ruffian in 1897. His adventures then began afresh, having for their venue many parts of the Mediterranean during the period of the war between ( Greece' and Turkey. , The greatest happenings in his life .'of adventure, however, apart from those associated with thu Great War, were'when he sail-. Ed the South Seas in the Morning, under * Captain William Colbeck, to seek Captain Scott - and the Discovery. . The, Morning paid a, call to New "Zealand during the, coursa of this journey, and it was .during this period that Captain Evans made friendships in Christchurch which'still continue. How. the Morning found the Discovery and succoured her is ancient history, as is Captain Evans's final visi'tifiJ'thl' Antarctic :,aa commander of Scott's "last 'expedition. The story of this last visit to the icy wastes of the S.qu^luPjOle Jiave been read over and over' again,' "and many people remember Captain Evans returning to Lyttelton with the sad announcement that Scott had fallen before the icy blasts of an inhospitable land. When the Great War. . broke , .„'. put,., .Captain., Evan1' was fanting in Canada," but he answered the »caU and joined up wi his old-time mistress to harry the Germans' in ''the' English- j: Channel. -As leader of ''th^ Dover Patrol,;command-, ing, such ships as the-.-Broke'jand ti/: Swift, allj'fast destroyers, he and his ships e-.rn'ed aaame which will go down in history as an epic of those strenuous, d"VB. The war over, Captain -.EvanS. continued in command of f the.V"iittle ships/ cariyingrrout'po'lice'vvork in the O'liria SeaSj;but'thos'e day? are over no-v and histlfli-js cfeat^amdng'tlie armoured levia"tlians' v"as'-ris only right with a man verging on the fifties, who has learnt-his: calling-in the • strangest of places-and under the most trying of con^ ditioiis. ■ .-'-•- - ■'■' ' ■■•• .- - -