BUSYBODIES

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXI, 13 January 1938, Page 4

BUSYBODIES

A CENSUS OF LEISURE <Bv Air Mail-From Our Own Correspondent) LONDON. 16th December. | It never rains but it pours. We have j just had a rare ado about the Government’s Bill to authorise registrars to catechise parents of new-born babies and put them through the hoop regarding their private lives and the habits of their relatives. Now. on top of this affront, comes the announcement that a census of leisure is about to be taken in this realm. They are calling it a "benevolent inquisition”, but I notice the date fixed for the formation ot the central committee was last Mon- : day, the 13th. It may prove an unlucky one. The idea is that, acting under the aegis of this ill-omened central committee, a whole legion of subordinates, who are apparently to be unpaid amateur enthusiasts, will go round asking everybody rich and poor, old and young, what leisure they enjoy, and also how they enjoy it. In accordance , with the reports they elicit, they will return people as Al. 82. or even C 3 in their recreation habits. This is expected to furnish valuable information for ; social service organisations and community centres.