“THE MAILT LETTER FROM LONDON

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXVI, 29 July 1933, Page 4

“THE MAILT LETTER FROM LONDON

LONDON, loth July. The. rise in the price of sterling on the Now York exchange is inopportune for en gendering in the City tile good faith which would be desirable with regard to the part that America is going to play in the World Economic Conference. The niovoJiuj.it is suspiciously like a deliberate attempt by the American authorities to engineer a decline in the dollar. All normal factors point at the present moment towards a strong dollar, and the abnormality of its decline is accentuated when it is borne in mind that the £, while appreciating against the dollar,, has made ini corresponding advance against gold. The movement, may actually he quite fortuitous; but the coincidence of its occurring on the beginning of the conference is bound to make some people wonder whether America is jockeying for position—an action hardly in accord with the noble sentiments of the Macdonald-Roosevelt. proclamations.

THE RUSSIAN DELEGATES Although two of the four principal delegates from Soviet Russia to the World Economic Conference —M. Litvinoil and M. Maiski—arc of Hebrew extraction, the proportion of Jews at tlie head of affairs in Moscow is much smaller than it was before Trotsky was exiled. M. Litvinolf knows Britain well, and lias a lluent command of English while AI. Maiski, who is the Russian Ambassador to the Court of St. James, lias a similar linguistic attainment. The two other members of the Russian delegation are economic experts. Much speculation, is rife as to the attitude tlie Russian delegation will adopt in relation to the problems of the Conference and the endeavours of a “capitalist” world to invigorate an economic system of which Moscow disapproves.

FRANCE AND ITALY Those who have a close knowledge of the cross-currents of diplomacy, assert that the main value of tlie new pact, initialled by Britain, France, Italy and Germany, it that it may -establish a better understanding between Italy and France. It is common knowledge that uneasy relations have prevailed between these two countries for two or three years, principally because of Italy's attitude of veiled hostility towards the Little Entente Powers, who are France’s special proteges. It is this attitude of mutual suspicion that has made it impossible for France and Italy to arrive at an understanding over naval strengths. By subscribing to the FourFt,\ver Pact, the two countries undertake, in concert with Brit pin and Germany to consult as to any difficulties talit” may crop up in Europe. This agreement to co-operate renders a breach between Italy and France much less likely. We have had all sorts of pacts before, but the new' pact—to adapt a famous advertisement —has “a little something some others haven’t got.”

'« . TOWER CHANGES Recently Field-Marsliall Lord Millie was installed with full ceremonial as Constable of the Tower, but two more ceremonies remain to be fulfilled in respect of the two’ remaining appointments, namely, Lieutenant of the Tower and Major of the Tower. -The present Lieutenant is General Sir Edmund Ironside, who has, however, been promoted to tho post of Quartcrnmster-General in India. His place at tlie Tower is to be taken by General Sir H. H. S. Knox, who went out to France in 1915 as a staff officer, and soon found himself in command of a division. I have a recollection of Major Knox, a-s he was then, going out in the dead of night to look for a brother staff officer, who was subsequently found lying wounded near the front line. The third appointment, that of Major of the Tower, is shortly to be vacated, by Colonel Dan Burgess V.C., who is to take things quietly for the future in a little house he has purchased near Bristol. He is being succeeded by Lientcuant-Colonel Favicll.

LORD RIDDELL’S DISCRETION Lord Riddell’s intimate friends are intrigued, not so much by all the stories he tells of the distinguished people who iigured in tlie war period, hut at the number of stories lie has thought lit to suppress in his War Diary. Some of them would have proved extremely piquant, .but Lord Riddell is too good a journalist not to realise that it is too early to retail them except, perhaps, .over the eoffee and liqueurs. Certainly there can have been few men jn a better position to see all that went on behind the scenes between 1914 and 1918. Lord Riddell’s health nowadays is not quite so good as it used to he, and he is able to give less attention to affairs than was his wont a year or two ago. But lie retains all his vivacity, and is one of the best after-dinner speakers of his time. His great regret is that he now iinds little opportunity for his beloved game of golf.

GENERAL SIR CAMERON SHUTE General fSi r Caiucron Shu to, who has! left London with Lady Shute on a fishing trip to Iceland, js generally regard-' ed in military circles as one of thej ablest soldiers in tlie British army. He 1 has tlie reputation of heilig a martinet, ! hut one readily forgives a certain aus-' tei'ity in the ease of a man who displays 1 in times of crisis th e qualities of real leadership. Towards the latter part of the war General Shute had command of an army corps in France, and until the armistice this particular corps under his leadership covered itself with distinction. Those who served under him during.'that .period testify with enthusiasm to General Shiite’s remarkable strategic, attainments, and .this enthusiasm was echoed in the highest quarters. But his pre-occupation with the problems of waging war did not pre- , vent him from taking the-closest interest in all matters appertaining to discipline, in those day lie was a great stickler for military etiquette, as more than one junior officer learned to his cost. FRUIT TRANSPORT. The railway companies have cause to regret that Mr Chamberlain’s tax on heavy motor vehicles does not come into operation in time for this year’s fruit seasbn. It is in fruit traffic more perhaps than in any other matter of transport, that the are finding it almost impossible to compete with the road users. This is particularly the ease in the Kent and other, home county ■

COMMENT ON CURRENT EVENTS POLITICAL AND SOCIAL HAPPENINGS THE DOLLAR'S SUSPICIOUS BEHAVIOUR ' (From Our Own Correspondent)

LOW DOWN

fruit-growing districts, where distances from Covcnt Garden arc not great. From field to market is performed in one operation by the motor lorry, whilst by the railways there is cartage to the sidings, collecting and shunting of trucks .to make up the trains, and finally cartage again from the London goods yard to Covent Garden. On such short runs as from tlie Kent fields, several hours can be saved by motor transport. A few years ago the railways from Kent to London handled on tlie* average a thousand tons of market produce per night at this season. This year the railways consider they have had a good night if the total reaches 800 tons. i ' • A

Naturally it is the big fruit grower who makes most use of the road. Either alone or in combine he can afford to have his own fleet of motor vehicles, each perhaps making two or three trips to town per day. Not content merely to compete wjth the railways, many of those growers have been taking a rather meau advantage,, It has been the custom of the railways to carry returnempty baskets at merely nominal charges. Recently, however, they have been discovering * that the number of “empties” is out of all proportion to the number of. full baskets they have brought to town. The fruit growers have been dumping their empty baskets on the railways to be carried at noil-economic rates, while they have been loading up their own empty, lorries with general freight for the country, which they can thus afford to carry at much below railway rates. Now the railway companies, aware of the game, are charging full rates on “empties” consigned by road users.

BAROMETER OF CONFIDENCE Activity lias again become pronounced / in the London salerooms, which are in f themselves an interesting barometer of national confidence. When things are / slumping, tlie owners of valuable pictures, objects of art and rare manuscripts hold them up until higher prices are more likely to be obtained, but such reluctance is noticeably on tlie wane and old masters, exquisite pieces of old English silver and rarities of all kinds' are once more coming under tlie hammer. The economic .depression in the United States has made a great difference in the matter of high bidding for the past year or two, but the return , of confidence in that country, conse- ) quent upon tlie firm handling of the situation by President Roosevelt, is , making its effect felt, in Bond Street ■ and St. James’s.: American collectors : aer once more in evidence.

UNDER THE HAMMER The case of Sir J. M. Barrie reminds us that there are in Scotland sentimentalists as well as Aberdonians. What will the former have, to say about the auctioning this month at Christie’s rooms of the historic Monymusk re : liquary? This small rectangular casket, plated with pale btpnz'e: and,silver, was used fov relies of St. Columha, and has now left its ancestral keeping-place in Scotland for the first time in 12 centuries. In early days it was always carried in high ritual before Scottish armies when they went forth to give battle to the foe. It is reputed to have figured thus in the case of Robert the Bruce’s Bannockburn j army. Scotland must not be too insistent on the heinousness of our keeping the Stope of Scone in our Abbey, if they themselves voluntarily submit the, fit. Columba reliquary to the ordeal; of an English auctioneer’s hammer.

ALL SOULS’ WARDEN So many eminent outsiders have been mentioned as Warden of ;All Souls, Oxford—perhaps the most desirable academic post in the world—that- the selection of a resident member of .the . university, in tho person of Professor W. G. S. Adams, has caused some surprise. Professor Adam has not spent his life in cloistered seclusion. He has not merely lectured on the problems of government, but has taken an aceive patr in them as private secretary to Mr Lloyd George duringthc latter,years of the war, as member of various public commissions, and as a delegate to tlie universities of China. Sir William An- ! son, when Warden, combined its duties with membership of the. House of Commons, but I doubt whether Professor : Adam’s political views are the,! same as Oxford’s. The friends lie made when in Downing Street rejoice in his appointment. | WIND UP! Scotland Yard may make light of the ; matter, but smash-and-grab raids arc | getting on people’s nerves in London. I had tea with a county cricketer recently in a Ludgate Hill cafe, and the I place was closing when wc left. "Just ; as we got outside, my friend exclaimed ■ that he had left his papers behind, and made a dash back to retrieve them from the downstairs smoke room. • The manager, who had .been checking the takings in the cash, register as my hefty friend rushed in, came to mo white-lipped, “Ask your friend not to do that again, sir, will you?” he pleaded, adding that he made sure it was a car bandit who suddenly dashed in, just as he was holding a big, wad of notes in his hand. . I told my friend about tlie consternation, he had caused when he returned, but he merely smiled jovially ■ at,- the , still: lierve-shocked manager, and ejaculated:; “Gad ! If I.had noticed, I’d have had' that wad!” • > > STAGE ARMIES . An.amusing discussion lias been .in progress as to the last time , this country was invaded. This was during the Napoleonic wars, when a French naval force landed at Fishguard, now the G.W.’s port for Ireland, and Was repelled by local yeomanry. Tradition will have it that the French raiders Were also scared off by Welsh women, who lined the cliff in their scarlet cloaks and tall hats, and were mistaken for red-coated soldiery. Actually . a British naval raid was frightened off, during the same wars, by a priest at Ile-de-Hroix marshalling Breton villagers, in similar attire, and marching them up a hill like a stage’ army. The Fishguard episode sticks m my mind, because the late Lord Oxford ; was so astonished at the last Jeveo held* by King Edward, by an elderly Territorial Colonel of the local battalion with tho battle-honour “Fishguard” on his eartouche. “Who’s the old gentleman',” asked Lord Oxford, “who is advertis-, ing the G.W.’s new route to Ireland?