A LETTER FROM LONDON

Northern Advocate, 20 February 1926, Page 3

A LETTER FROM LONDON

l ' NEWS AND NOTES. (Special to "Northern Advocate.") LONDON, January 7. MINING ROYALTIES. I believe the miners have at last decided that in the scheme which they will shortly lay before the Coal Commission they will advocate the nationalisation, of mining royalties without compensation to-the existing ownI ers. The problem has been the sub- | ject of many conferences between the I Labour Party, representatives of the Trades Union Congress and the miners' lenders, but they totally un- ' able to reach an agreement. Accordingly the miners, though by no means J unanimous, have decided to take the responsibility of proposing- confiscation. The Socialist leaders will then be faced with the awkward dilemma of concurring in or repudiating that policy, knowing that in either event they will give offence. I believe the miners have not made up their minds whether they dare risk putting Mr. A. J. Cook in the witness chair. His ex- • travaganccs do little harm on the. platform, where he is immune from cross-examination, but subjected to that process there is no saying what ; indiscretions he may commit. 1 THE WALRUS AND THE ( OYSTERS. ,

A Treasury friend drops a hint to income taxpayers at Home that they will find the collectors a good deal I prompter and more pressing this year. The Inland Revenue authorities will never admit that they regulate their demands according to their needs and that when there is a substantial surplus in prospect they go slow towards the end of the financial year. They have a sort of floating balance of arrears, varying between 40 and 60 millions sterling, and it needs little effort to run it up or down according to requirements. Not to mention minor cases, I know of one in which a large concern owed to tlie Treasury over a million sterling, and was able and ready to pay before the end of the financial year. A hint was dropped to one of the principals that if payment were withheld till the middle of April no' writ would be issued. And withheld It was. The authorities naturally had no wish to see the amount automaticallj- swept into the sinking fund, and used for the redemption of debt. T.is year, however, Mr. Churchill will need ' every penny he can get to lessen his deficit, and taxpayers need not be ( surprised if the local collectors are unusually insistent during the next three months. 'IIOI'EY." Conservatives will be sorry to hear that the Marquis of Linlithgow has resigned the deputy-chairmanship of the party after nearly two years' work. It was generally understood that he would have again had a place in the Government when it was formed, but for his interest in the work he is now giving up. He wants to ' take a larger part in Parliamentary : debate and to attend to his personal • affairs. "Tfopey" as his friends call ]

him—a contraction for hi; second title— is one of the giants ol the House of Lords, but lie is by no menus robust and is proposing to have a holiday in the Sudan. In addition to his work for the party during the last two general elections he has been keenly interested in the succour of the South of Ireland Unionists, of whom he saw a good deal during his war-time tour of duty in that country. Lord Linlithgow has a ready wit. Asked, once at a meeting, "Where did you get your blinkin' estates?" he replied, "S«me as you got your blinkin' face—from Dad." "Dad," it may be remembered, was the first Governor-General of the Australian Commonwealth, and died while J still a comparatively young man, to the great sorrow of his friends, who anticipated further Imperial service from him. THE SCOTTISH COURT.

Scottish debutantes are naturally very interested in the announcement that one of his year's Courts is to be held at Ilolyrood, a suggestion which •was made when the Queen began to take an interest in the lovely, but much neglected old Palace, and herself supervised a great many alterations which have brought it up to date. Her Majesty paid a great deal of attention to the decoration of the reception rooms, and those who carried out her instructions remember that she 1

was most anxious that ancient and | modern should be so carefully blended that the character and magnificence of these old apartments so rich in historical memories should not be destroyed. Lady Anne Lindsay, the Earl of Crawford's second daughter, is mentioned as a debutante likely to have the honour of curtseying to the King and Queen at Holyrood Palace, and Lord Kinross and Lord Kinnaird each have daughters who are coming out, and will probably be presented in Scotland. Lady Marion Dalrymple, the Earl of Stair's daughter may also make her debut, at Holyrood. There are, naturally, a great many more daughters of Scottish houses to be added to the list, and, although the date of the Court has not yet been fixed, applications are pouring into the Lord Chamberlain's office. GOLD UNDER THE SEA.

Some eight miles off Boulogne, in the English Channel, there lies a neat .little parcel of gold worth £3500. The gold was being carried by air from Croydon to Paris, when engine trouj ble made a descent on the water un- ! avoidable, the aeroplane capsizing I when she hit the surface. The niachI ine was safely towed into Boulogne, but on her arrival it "was found that the force of impact had broken the "skin" of the compartment containing the bullion and that the gold was gone. As the crash took place at a spot where there is 150 feet Of water, underwriters have not so far attempted salvage operations, although they might be practicable with the new German diving apapratus. This "is said to be the first time that a marine loss from an aeroplane has been paid by Lloyd's.

AUSTRALIA'S COMMODORE

f The Dominion Navies arc coming' 3 into their own. For the first time, 0 the Australian Fleet is to be under - the command, after April 30 next, of - one of its permanent officers, Coinmo- - dore George F. Hyde. Since its for- ■ mation about 14 years ago, it has had ■ a succession of distinguished comman- ■ ders lent from the Royal Navy—- ; among them Sir Lionel Hal'sey, and ' the late Commodore J. S. Dumaresq, , whose" mother was a niece of Mr. Gladstone. But although officers serving permanently under, the Commonwealth authorities have at times been in charge of the Navy Office in Melbourne, none has yet succeeded to the command of the forces afloat. Commodore Hyde is an officer of much zeal and enterprise. He first went to sea in the Mercantile Marin, took a commission in the Royal. Navy Reserve in the 'nineties, was allowed to extend the customary 12 months' training in the Fleet to five years, and in 1905 to transfer as a lieutenant, R.N., to the regular service. He went to Australia in 1911, to command their first three destroyers. PRINCE'S WIRELESS SET. The Prince of Wales has just pur--1 chased a supev-wiroless set, entirely British made, wlrcli has cost hint" 80' guineas. A spseially •.jualilTecl engineer had to take the new set to St. James' Palace and explain its working, and last week he was summoned to go down to Sandvingham lo demonstrate it there to the Prince of Wales, the Duke of York, and Prince' Henry. All the Princes are keenly interested in wireless. LASHED TO THE RAIL. The last journey of the Dowager Duchess of Argyll to the Isle of Saints was, I am told, one of storm and' grandeur, never likely to be forgotten by those who accompanied her to the resting place at lona that she greatly loved. I like the story, fold by Dr. Norman Maclean, of LadyFrances Balfour, whose indomitable courage kept her alo.ie on deck, her chair lashed to the rail, when wind and wave had driven .everyone else below. The passipfo was one of four I hours' duration. I