LONDON TOPICS

Evening Star, Issue 22882, 14 February 1938, Page 7

LONDON TOPICS

NATIONAL FOOD SUPPLY PREPARATIONS FOR EMERGENCIES [From Oub Correspondent.] ‘ [Br Air Mail.] LONDON, January 13. It ■ is■. understood that Ministers aro now no longer anxious about the national food supplies in case of international trouble. The problem is being tackled from several different angles. It is noteworthy that very energetic steps are being taken to increase our home-growing pontentiahty. Not/mly are we going to develop the fertility or crass lands so that a change over to-wheat-growing could b© mad© quickly and effectually in emergency, but we are largely expanding _ our potato cultivation and also our pig rearing. There are also arrangements for food storage, The net -result is that those responsible, which means a special department, of the Board of Trade under a most experienced Civil servant, regard us as starvation proof for a period of six months even apart from the Navy’s protection of ships bringing fresh supplies by sea. WHAT THEY BELIEVE. Official opinion in London hesitates to draw definite conclusions regarding Japanese affronts to neutrals in China. The long sequence of outrages, followed by diplomatic apologies, suggests a lack of liaison between the Japanese army staff in China and the in Tokio. This was much emphasised when, ■ simultaneously with the last Tokio apology to us, there was published in certain Japanese militarist quarters a denial of the facts for which Tokio apologised.' There is no doubt, however, as to what are the impressions amongst intelligent observers on the spot. British and American newspaper correspondents in China are carefully removing from their cars all traces of either the Union Jack or the Stars and Stripes. They prefer to dispense with these supposed safeguards, because they are quite convinced they invite deliberate attack by Japanese airmen and others whose anti-British and antiAmerican feelings are red hot. These journalists, believe they, are less likely to he bombed or machine-gunned if the Japanese take them for Chinese. THE YELLOW PERIL. In the days when Kaiser Wilhelm’s chief obsession' was the Yellow Peril neither he nor anybody else imagined it would materialise, not from China ibut Japan. There is small doubt about the materialisation now, and the Berlin-Home axis is its European fulcrum. A level-headed missionary, who has spent nearly 30 years in the Far East, told a London gathering this Week-end that Tokio’s plans are complete to the last detail—even to. just where her fleet will meet and defeat the British armada. Japan has never known defeat, and her confidence ,is absolute.' She is out for the hegemony of Asia. The Dutch East Indies and .their oil resources will be her next move, and Hongkong is to follow. Her policy is penetration, apology where necessary, and biding her time ; The speaker further alleged that in the eohquefred Chinese territories Japan is deliberately* using drug facilities to dope the Chinese community. Altogether ah unpleasant picture. SO KIND OF YOU! Sir Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen, our former Ambassador to China, is , back in town again with Lady KnatchbullHugeesen. For a gentleman no longer quite young who has been machinegunned through the diaphragm, he looks remarkably well, and declares that he has almost completely recovered from his encounter with the Japanese apologists. When he and his wife arrived at Victoria station,on Sunday, the first person to greet thein, and tender polite inquiries, was Baron Tomii, Counsellor to the Japanese Embassy, who represented the Ambassador. Remembering all the circumstances in which Sir

Hughe so nearly’ lost Lis life,' there was something almost epic in the conventional exchanges between the former Ambassador and the Baron. “ So kind of you to come!” lisped Sir Hughe, shaking hands cordially. I question whether diplomatic history records a parallel to this railway station episode. But diplomats are traditionally great sticklers for precise social etiquette, and the Japanese especially are extremely sensitive' on the point. Tokio is a ■weird mixture of grim reality and suave artificiality. THE CARDINAL’S RETURN. The Archbishop of Westminster returned to London from Rome on Sunday with his ‘newly-invested cardinal’s scarlet hat. It was a’ceremonial occasion for London Catholics, and there was a great gathering to welcome Cardinal Kinsley, and to take part in the ensuing special service at Westminster Cathedral. Accompanying the cardinal was an invaluable private secretary, Monsignor Valentino Elwee, who has held ■ that onerous post for the past three years. He is one of six'handsome and gifted brothers, sons of the late Mr Gervase Elwee, the famous concert singer, who met with a tragic death in • railway accident. ’ One of these distinguished young men, Simon, is a fine artist; another /Richard, is a successful barrister; and Valentine, no doubt, has a notable church career before him. He was originally in the Royal Navy, and served in the Great War; but turned Trappist Monk until the severe regime proved too much for his health. He is Cardinal Kinsley’s most efficient aide-de-camp now, and gets through a vast amount of work. THE PRIME MINISTER’S HOST. Despite the slings and arrows of out- ' irageous death duties and supertax, there are still a few stately homes left in this island. One of them is Powis Castle, a thirteenth century domicile near Welshpool, where the fourth Earl of Powis/now a veteran of 76, is entertaining the Prime Minister at a shooting party. Lord Powis traces his descent back to Clive of India. For many years He has been Shropshire’s Lord Lieutenant, and his wide demesnes contain the famous Shelddn Oak, reputed to be the largest in England. His elder son was killed in the Battle of the Somme, and his second son, Viscount Clive, who is now 34, is heir to the titles and estates. Besides his country mansions, the earl has a town house in Berkley Square, and boasts that he was the first peer to have a name-plate on his London home. A century of assiduous cleaning by loyal domestics has well-nigh obliterated its lettering. BUNGLING BIG DESTINY. For the first time I have just read a coherent account, by a British officer, of Trotsky’s defeat of the White Russians under Denikin. It is a tragic record of comic-opera bungling and lunatic futility which presented victory

to the Bolsjievists on - a- *oup_ plate. Who can assess the ultimate.historical consequences thus compromised .by simply incredible futility? One handicap was the antipathies of the various communities fighting with the Whites against;'the Reds. Lithuanians were with, great difficulty got to fight Bolshevists and Germans, but were at all times -eager to scrap with their allies the Poles. Again, when White Russians arrived at Kovno,_ and wanted to join Denikin as reinforcements, DenikiU was informed, and the volunteers sent by the only available route through Poland with the assent of the Polish authorities. None actually arrived. They were all ■ consigned . to Polish prisons. No wonder the writer of this amasing history concludes with the apostrophe — u Whatawarl” RABBI'S JUBILEE. The Rev. Dr J. H. Hertz, Chief Rabbi in this country, celebrates his silver jubilee this year. For 25 years Dr Hertz has been Britain’s most conspicuous exponent of. the spoken l word on matters affecting his race, and to mark the anniversary he is planning the publication, of bis sermons and addresses over the .past quarter ,of a century. Dr Hertz, like all Jews of his own age, has, lived through a period of history, that has seen Jewry , first at the height of its - status and influence internationally-—towards the end of the nineteenth century—and then, to-day, in a position so parlous that .it is no exaggeration to draw a comparison with the Middle Ages. Those who speak of the development of anti-Semitism are apt to think in terms of Germany alone, whereas the cult is even more intense in such countries as Poland, Rumania, in parts of Austria, and, ‘ of course, in Palestine. Jews are the first' to agree that: anti-Semitism, whose embers have never been cold throughout the whole history of the people, is. the result of the activities of a minority. It is the work and standard of conduct of such men as Hertz, Melchett, and Meyerstein that have done much to keep this objectionable psychological oppositiomsm below ground in this country) NEAR THING! Not often in these days does sensational news reach us three, months late. On the night of last October 10 the earth had its narrowest escape on record from a cataclysmic collision with a minor planet. This celestial body appeared to scientific observers to bo heading straight for us, an. - illusion

common in the case ■ of big shells glimpsed .head-on; but in, fact it flashed past the earth at a distance estimated between 400,000 and 600,000 miles. To the ignorant laity this may seem a pretty handsome safety-first margin, hut to astronomers it represents only about five and a-half hours on a'time measurement. The commendable sang froid with which , this startling news has been received may be due partly to the fact that it' relates to a crisis three months old and. partly to our habitual toleration of traffic, risks. The odds against a celestial collision, owing to the unimaginable immensity of space are tremendous. Far greater than against a single ticket winning the Irish sweep. Wfi are still a good insurance at Lloyd’s, But what a welter of problems and troubles might have been instantaneously resolved had that stray planet been an infinitesimal fraction of eternity latel

PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT’S FRIEND Two facts, may be. deduced from Mr Joseph Patrick Kennedy’s appointment as American Ambassador in London. One, that President Roosevelt, of whom ho is a very old and valued friend, desires the most cordial possible relations with Downing Street. Two, that he regards the economic and trade entente between. Britain and TT.S.A. as the paramount issue of the- moment. Mr Kennedy, who was born in Boston just on 50 years ago, and took his B.A. at Harvard in 1912, married a Boston lady in the year of the Great War and has nine children, four boys and five girls. By profession be is a banker and business executor, in politics he is, of course, a Democrat like President Roosevelt,. and he is also a Catholic. He is a member of nine American- clubs, including the Metropolitan, the Burning' Tree, and the National Press, and his New York office is in Rockefeller Plaza.. As he sails for England, so our trade delegation embarks for New York. ANOTHER SOLDIER JUDGE. Lord Roche’s retirement as a Lord of Appeal, at the age of 67. involves quite a little judicial reshuffle. Sir Mark Romer, the appeal judge who takes his place, is five years his senior in age. Sir A. C. Clauson. the chancery judge who succeeds Sir Mark in the Appeal Court, is 68 and an old Merchant Taylor’s schoolboy. He used to be standing counsel to the Royal College of Physicians. Lord Roche, by the way, was a Wgdham contem-

porary of such brilliant • men as the late Lord Birkenhead, Sir John Simon, Mr 0.. B. Fry, and Mr F, M. Hirst. Finally the new chancery judge in Sir A. 0. Clauson’s place, Mr Fergus Morton, is. of younger legal vintage. He was born in 1881, is a Cambridge graduate, and served with captain’s rank in the Great War with that gallant regiment the Highland Light Infantry. He did not take silk till 1929. He must bo the first judge in the Chancery Court who has worn the plaid hreeks of the H.L.1., and probably the first who has handled hand grenades in action. He is a first-rate golfer and should-he-a'hot favourite at Bar tournaments. He collects pictures by Scots artiste, and tells Scots stories quit© as well as , Lord Horne* OLD CONTEMPTIBLE®. The Old Contemptibles’ Association has now finally. closed its ranks. No further applications for enrolment will be entertained, except in very special circumstances. There are about 13,000 survirors who have been definitely traced, and the association is doing good work, not only by affording facilities for fraternising, but by relieving causes of undeserved distress. Considering that the • original Expeditionary Force numbered about 100,000 men, the fact that only 13,000 are on the association’s registers speaks rather dramatically for their Great War epic. But the youngest August, 1914, regular must now be well on in the forties and a great many a deal older than that, and the Contemptibles suffered tragic casualty losses during Mons and the subsequent big battles on the western front. They were our Tenth Legion, and their cheerio attitude to Fate set the standard for many a gallant Kitchener recruit. The whole British Army of 1914-18 adopted their stoic philosophy, their rapid fire, and—their lurid language. HISTORY BEHIND THE PAINT. The R.A.’s winter exhibition of seventeenth century art is proving a great attraction at Burlington House. Quite apart from the ■ actual paintings and other art exhibits, there is a rich mine of history behind it all. Take Daniel Mytens’s fine portrait of Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel. It was largely owing to this nobleman’s immense wealth and tremendous enthusiasm that the fashion for collecting art objects arose in England in the seventeenth century. He was not only an eminent diplomat, but also a great vir-,

tuoso. His agents scoured Europe and the Near East for art and antiquarian objects. A clergyman, William Petty, founder of the fortunes of the Lansdowne family, was chief of these emissaries. Arundel’s rival in diplomacy and collecting' was the Duke of Buckingham, who contrived to get him twice put away in the Tower. In those days great nobles carried things with a high hand. TEST. Another interesting Burlington House exhibit is the bust of King Charles I. It is modelled' in lead and gilded over, and is reputed an excellent likeness, of the ill-starred monarch. It usually occupies a niche in the fortifications in High street, Old Portsmouth, and was erected to commemorate Charles’s safe return in 1Q23 from'a tour in France and Spain with the Duke of Buckingham. It was erected at the Royal expense, and cost . £SO. At one. time the Governor of Portsmouth decreed that inhabitants must salute the bust when they passed it, and contracts made beneath it were legally binding. Local superstition avers that misfortune will befall Portsmouth if the bust is ever removed. The truth of this is now being for the first time tested by its loan_ to the Piccadilly institution for exhibition purposes. If bad luck does ensue, even to the extent of the local Soccer team coming unstuck, lots of nervous people will be-confirmed in their, credulity! VELAZQUEZ’S SLAVE. A portrait with an interesting his-tox-y is Velazquez’s ‘Juan de Pareja.’ The latter was the artist’s servant and slave, acting as his colour-mixer and studio attendant. But the slave picked up art technique to such purpose that Philip IV., visiting the studio and being greatly impressed by one of Juan’s paintings, persuaded Velazquez to make him a freeman. Juan’s veneration for the master was such that he continued in his service, and after Velazquez's death in that of his daughter. He was 45 when his genius was first discovered'. Four of his works are known, but he may have painted others now regarded as Velazquez’s. Grinling Gibbons’s baldacchino of Archbishop Tenison’s throne is noteworthy, apart from its artistic merit, because this was the cleric who attended Monmouth on the scaffold and preached' Nell Gwynne’s funeral oration —presumably in St. seventeenth century great artists were often employed as important diplomats, and many of the Court beauties whom their genius immortalised had more influence than eminent statesmen.

OSCULATORY PRECEDENT. Something tells_ me we are likely to have brighter police courts in London. Due sensation has been aroused in interested social circles by the report of the Hull stipendiary, obviously a warmhearted! emotionalist, revoking a gaol sentence on a prisoner whose wife kissed him as he was being led away : to the cells. A precedent like that, must make wide appeal to our Cockney sense of melodrama. Cohorts of wives, ail attired in their best bibs and tuckers, may be thronging our suburban police courts, ready to redeem their lawful' snouses from! durance vile by kissing them in a thoroughly film-like manner. Even bachelors may discover ways and means >of claiming osoulatory benefit. How different from. an episode. told mo some years ago by. a Brixton police sergeant. They had a notorious wife-beating drunk in the cells one Saturday night. His spouse was seen to .stop outside the cell window, which faced a side street, and inquire huskily; “ Are ye there, Bill?” From the barred window came a sullen “ Yus.” Whereon, exclaiming “Oo blooming ray!” the lady did an ecstatic cakewalk down the street.