NOTES FROM LONDON

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXI, 18 November 1926, Page 8

NOTES FROM LONDON

■ ~ EONDQN. 23rd Sept. Like sonw of his former colleagues, and others who h?ivd hold high office, abroad in . recent-' y?;iUS,-'.il<.. ia. likely, ttujt. Lord Readily-wtMflku-"up-important wink in t!ie City. This will cause no surprise in view of his early business training; an experience in the commercial life of London, that served him so well in ln's wonderfully successful career al the Bar and in politics. If Lord ."Heading is to take up, as is believed, somol'uiiportnnt directorships, ho will bo following the example of his old colleague and former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr Reginald McKcnna, who has presided ior the last few years over one of "The Big Five", tho Midland Ilank. Since Mr McKenna gave up politics for the City two or three, other ex-Ministers have engaged in business, tho most recent case being that of Lord Buekmaslor. an ex-Lord Chancellor. The present GovernmenT", by the way, is fortunate 'ui~pOSSPssing p ~some big busisuch as the Prime Minister himself, Sir Philip Cun.liffe-Lister, the •President of-the Board of Trade, and Sir Arthur Steel-Maitland, 'Minister of Labour. '.-■•-•"' LORD JtOSEBERY , There is much'sympathy with Lord Rosebery, health has not been good for some time. . A. recent report states that life, now has to keep to his room. jAs is well known, the distinguished ? statesman lias; long suffered from insomnia, which led to his. complete withdrawal- from the political arena many .years ago. This year he lias been unable to pay his usual visits, particularly'. to Mentmbre Towers, a' favourite country' seaV in -Bucks. This is a stately pile overlooking tho Vale of by the late Lady Rosebery's -father. /Baron Meyer de Rothschild. Lord. Rosebery made Mentmore one of the inchest treasure houses in tho kingdom v lt contains a. priceless collection, rf enamelß.'and inlaid French cabinets; it is graced/by a marble staircase only equalled in "beauty by that of Stafford. House; aiid:Jn "the hall is a chimneypiece which originally Ruins' house at Antwerp., Many other, interesting relies-are to be seen there, including an ebony,; cabinet, which was given to -Marie de Medici-T>y. the city or Florijlj(s,::on her.ma'rri'age to Henry the Fourthv ■- . \ STHE THREE GRACES" .

. Orie*bf "the most famous pictures painted by Sargent is' that known, as •'Th£..Three.Graces", the sisters of the late Mr George Wyndham, M.P., whose brilliant political career was so lamentably cut short some years ago. .Th0...'.: .picture. now. belongs to Captain .Guy Wyndham. «f Clouds, Salisbury, 'a: nephew of the {three ladies. Who. sat" for -the -paintingv-Ladty Elcho, Mrs -Tennant (sister .in-law of Lady Oxford). and'.Mts Adeane. It was the, sensation'of the Royal Academy exhibition in 1900, and was again on view on London- early this year in the .Sargent memorial exhibition at Burlington House. '.• The' "Wyndham Group" is now. in a-Bohd, Street - 'gallery,, where it is for sale,, and as-there ig such a-demand in rocetrt -years for;large pictures in ' the United States the; likelihood is that a wealthy American..will become.the possessor of,it. .It. is.said that £25,000 has already been, offered for the work, which measures 7ft. by 9ft. 6in.

...; NO SPEED LIMIT The., Government are hopeful, but not'sure, of-passing their new motoring Bill.in the autumn session. Except for its title, the details of >£he» Bill have, nowbeen arranged and a draft''was lent to Northern Ireland for guidance in framing recent legislation Vjhere. In future, we shall all look to Ireland for legislative, tips, for it wilpbe remembered-that;the Free State, with' accurate knowledge" of- bur own Chancellor's intentions, first introduced the betting tax. The new Bill will abolish tho speed limit,'reliance in future being placed" oji charges of driving to the public danger. Exception will be made, in: the case, of heavy vehicles, and "probably local authorities will bo given a measure of autonomy in regard to certain streets. Applicants for licenses, will be required to show some

GOSSIP ON CURRENT TOPICS

STATESMEN AND. BUSINESS

(From Our, Cfcnvfcppndst)

fitness to- drive. It is intended that cyclists and probably horse-drawn vein r'ics should cany rca,r lamps or other danger blgiiiaJSj AIL this is. m the draff. but, the Cabinet has not "yet given lis final approval.

LYMPNE FLIGHTS A day at Lympno gives one a firm conviction that it will be only a year or two before we shall all be running about in our two-seaters—not cars, but 'planes. While I was there a couple of airmen dropped down from the skies with the utmost unconcern, having breakfasted at home in St. Austell; Cornwall. They had run oved'to Lympno "in the bus." Tho whole atmosphere breathes a casual .familiarity with aeroplanes suggesting that they are nothing more formidable than' motor bicycles. In a race for baby aqroplaneß Oapt&lm Broad was nearly banging the ground with one of his wings when he- turned the corner. I asked him afterwards if ho know that Ids left wing was almost on tho ground. "Oh, yes," he replied. "You can almost sense where the; wings of these little 'buses are going, just as you sense the width of a car."

. ! . A HALE OLD VETERAN Walking in Lullingstono Park, Kent, yesterday, I met its owner, Sir William Hart Dyke—a truly remarkable man. Born in 1837, only three months after Queen "Victoria came to the Throne, ho entered his ninetieth year last month, but he looks not a day' more than seventy. After a brief conversation ho passed on, and J was both amazed and amused to observe tho agile ease with which this veteran climbed over a fence. This physical fitness at an advanced ago is doubtless the outcome or his prowess at tennis and racquets in the not so long ago. In fact ho was one of tho guiding spirits at Prince's right up to tho war. He. first entered Parliament for West Kent,in-1865—the year of his Majesty's birth —and retired from public life in 1906. He! was. Disraeli's last Chief Whip, and- also filled the offices of Irish Chief Secretary and Vice-President for Education. Nowadays his principal preoccupation is the management of hia beautiful estate at Lullmgstone, where the vandalism of post-war motorists frequently occasions him grief.

SWIMMING THE CHANNEL

There are not likely to be many attempts to swim the Channel next summer.. Except for the purely sporting amateurs, who swim just for the honour of the achievement, the majority of .Channel aspirants hope to make money out ofi their swim. This can be done by taking out an insurance policy at Lloyd's against the "risk" of success—the underwriters paying if the Channel'is crossed. Policies fixed last spring were taken out at comparatively low premiums', in several cases insurances being fixed to pay a loss of £I,OOO for a premium' of £IOO. Now, however, Lloyd's underwriters realise that swimming the Channel is not as difficult as everyone had thought it was, and tliey are refusing to issue policies. The result is likely to Tie a falling off in Channel aspirants.

MAKING CHICKENS PAY "Love in a. cottage" the romantic vista painted by so many Victorian novelists has been' translated into more prosaic terms by a young couple in one of the outer London suburbs. He is a very young ex-Captain in the regular army, jhe is the daughter of, a Midland, manufacturer who has kept his threat to make, her no allowance if she married so impecunious a young man against fcis advice. The young man gave up the army—two could not live on his pay—and' they are now living in an old wartime hut converted into a very comfortable if less than commodious residence. He has turned pig breeder and chicken farmer. By hard work and long hours he is making., the enterprise pay and is actually supplying poultry and eggs to his own Mess. Next week sees the 'birthday of; the stony-hearted father-in-law who is to receive as a birthday present a couple of chickens with an inscription reading trussed by your ioving daughter." For the voung wife takes her share of the work.

TRYING THEM OUT A friend, of mine, a, young City solicitor,' who has a fairly, wide circle of friends in Town, declares he has discovered a new "acid test" for his friends. He has acquired a small cottage in tho- country for week-ends in a quiet part of Kent' where there is no gas or electric light, and water has to be "won" from a well. He entertains there on a small scale each week-end and he has found that, his friends show up in an extraordinary way under so primitive a. test. A girl, who in town is a real "high-brow," and an admit-, ted authority on modern literature, turned .out to be the quickest washer-up on record and a mistress of the broom, while another friend, who prides herself on her well-run household, did not know how to make tea properly. A man friend who talks a lot in town of his "camping holidays" was entirely useless in command of a. primus stove while a well-known philosopher rigged up a pump for the well before breakfast. "A country cottage," says my friend; "is the finest test of character in the whole world."