LONDON LETTER

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18468, 21 May 1928, Page 14

LONDON LETTER

“ Nothing Sinister.” The Zinovieff Letter. Budget Hopes. Queens in Gold and Silver. The Duke Enjoyed It. Saving a Castle.

(Special to the “ Star ” from Reuter's Agency). LONDON, March 22. For a brief space Parliament has Oickered into liveliness, and for the first time for weeks there was a full muster of members for the debate on the Zinovieff letter. There had been dark whispers that the Labour Party would be able to throw startling light on the transactions, but no revelations were forthcoming from the Labour ide, and it was the Prime Minister vho threw any fresh light on the mater. lie made it clear how the letter •ame into circulation, and to a large .xtent cleared up the mystery. There was no improper communicaion of the document to the Press, and .he explanation of the apparent lnvsery is simply" that the document be.arne known to the Government hro.gh one channel while it became

Known to the Press through another. The Communist conclaves do not appear, to be quite so secret as those who attended them imagine, and the existence of some communication from Zinovieff must have been-’ known to many, and consequently secrecy was at an end.

There was nothing in the letter which Zinovieff and his colleagues had not said dozens of times in their speeches, but it crystallized in a concise shape views which had been expressed at greater length, and undoubtedly it indue need p blic opinion 'far morq than any number of speeches. At the same

time it may be doubted whether it played such a vital part in the defeat of the Labour Government as the Labour members seem to think.

The Prime Minister, who had skilfully kept his revelation to the very end of nis speech, satisfied all but the Labour Party that- there had been nothing cither improper or sinister in the publicity given to the’ letter, and Liberals went into the Lobby with the G.overn-

nent against the Labour motion. _abo-r members, themselves, do not appear very happy, and Mr Ramsay MacDonald has still left us in doubt as to whether he believes the letter to be a forgery and when he would have published it, and the Foreign Office reply, if the letter had not been known outside the Foreign Office.

3udget Anticipations. After this spasm of liveliness, Parliament has again relapsed into the doldrums and interest will not quicken again until Mr Churchill, '-in the technical phrase, “ Opens the Budget.” It is q.-.ite obvious from the revenue returns that his expectations last year will be fully realised and very likely there will be a not inconsiderable surplus. For the coming financial year there will be a reduction of expenditure of nine millions. This, after all the talk about economy, can hardly be regarded as a great achievement. Ini view of the steady expansion of trade, Mr Churchill, during the coming financial year, can look forward to a considerably increased revenue on the existing basis of taxation. But the question is whether that prospective increase will be sufficiently large as to justify some remission of taxation.

Mr Churchiil has been at pains to pour, not merely cold water, but an icy drench upon optimistic anticipations which had found currency in the city as to a reduction of the income tax, or, indeed, any taxation. But if the Budget simply maintains the status quo the Chancellor will not find himself very zonular. It is difficult to imagine. Mr Churchill being hum-drum. Last year his hands were tied by the effect of the General Strike and the coal strike, but this year he is in a happier position, and if he does nothing at all for the taxpayer both his and the prestige of the Government will suffer.

Arrangements at Court. The King and Queen have decided to hold five Courts at Buckingham Palace during the season instead of the customary four. This will delight the debutantes on whose behalf application has been made to the Lord Chamberlain, since the chance of presentation this year is correspondingly increased. The dates of the Courts will not be an nounced for ,a few weeks, but it is regarded as probable that the first and second will take place during the first fortnight of May, the third about the end of that month, and the fourth and fifth towards the end of June. The extra Court -will enable the ceremonial department to clear off some oi the arrears of applications made last year. . . . The Prince of Wales intends to move into his new quarters at Marlborough House shortly after Easter. When he gives the V house warming ” dinner party to his bachelor friends he will be able to show them the first telephone ever installed in a private house in London. It was originally fixed up on board

lIAI.S. Thunderer 50 years ago, and so interested King Edward, then Prince of Wales, that he had it transferred to Marlborough JJouse. For a long time he dusted it himself as none of the servants would touch it. Princess Mary, who is now in Egypt, spent much of her time in the Ranchi reading books of travel and novels. When the Queen went to India the novels of Mrs Flora Annie Steel, Mrs Alice Perrin, and Mrs Maud Diver, were among the volumes dealing with the East which she read during the voyage. Queens in Gold and Silver. The Afghan legation at 31, Prince’s Gate, was completely transformed on the occasion of a banquet given by the King and Queen of Afghanistan to their Majesties. Crowds assembled outside the legation, which was decorated with small replicas of the standard of King Amanullah and the flag of Afghanistan, and cheered the guests. The first to arrive were King Amanullah and his consort. There was a special cheer for the Duke and Duchess of York, and another for the Prince of Wales, but the greatest welcome of all was given to the King and Queen. The room in which the banquet was held had been specially prepared by knocking down party walls, thereby turning three rooms into one. Curtains of green srailax veiled the pillars dividing the sections of the room, and masses of hydrangeas, azaleas, and spireas of various shades made it look like a fairy bower. Pale blue iris, dark clove carnations, and double orange tulips decorated the long table of three sections, at the centre section of which sat King Amanullah, with the King on his right and the Queen on his deft. The Queen wore a magnificent dress of very pale gold metal brocade, embroidered with crystal and diamonds. Her head-dress was a diamond diadem with swinging pearl drops, and her other jewels were pearls and diamonds. She wore the collar and star of the Afghan Order, presented to -her by King Amanullah. The Queen of Afghanistan, in a dress of silver lame with diamond embroidery, and wearing very pale rose stockings and silver shoes, sat on the left of Queen Mary. She wore a diamond tiara in her hair and diamond and rtiby bracelets. The Prince of Wales was next to the Queen of Afghanistan, with Princess Hurya Tarzi next to him? the Duke of York being next to the Princess. The Duchess of York sat on the right of the King, with Prince Henry next. Royalties Seeing London. King Amanullah has been taking full advantage of the sunny, spring-like weather to see as much as possible of London. He prepares his programme for the day quite, early in the morning, with the result that he is able to leave for a sight-seeing tour immediately after breakfast. King Amanullah admires the London parks, so much that he abandoned a visit to the Tower in order that he might walk to the ornamental lake at Regent’s Park and study species of flowers with which he is not familiar.

The display at Lulworth Cove by the mechanised units of the Army has never been equalled, while the King has also witnessed a splendid demonstration by the Royal Air Force, v He has made a descent in a submarine while attending a Naval review, and he and the Queen intend to make a flight over London in an air liner. His Majesty will certainly take back with him lasting impressions of his visit to this country. Queen Souriya misses the companionship of her little son. Prince Rhamatullah. The Prince, who is only six years old, accompanied his parents from Afghanistan on their Journey to the Continent, and was left with his nurse in Paris. In the experience of the Scotland Yard officers who are detailed to watch over distinguished visitors, Londoners have never shown so much interest in any foreign Royalty as they have done this week in Queen Sourij-a. When she and Queen Mary attended the command performance at Drury Lane the box office had to refuse 2000 applications for stalls—a number large beyond precedent. The Duke as a, Savage. There is a fundamental difference between the Savage Club and the Press Club, though each derives a great deal of support from journalists. If the Press Club has a notability as its guest, the world knows about it.' The Savage Club observes privacy so far as its house, dinners are concerned, and when the v Prince of Wales was ..made a Savage tne leaders of the club held a conference to decide whether the fact should be announced. No publicity was given to the proceedings the other evening when the Duke of York was made a Savage. Yet it was a merry occasion, and the Duke entered into the spirit of the everyng when he struck the table with the Savage club before proceeding to address his brother Savages. This club is a fearsome-looking weapon used by savages in equatorial Africa. After his initiation the Duke wrote an appreciative letter to the authorities of the club expressing his delight at the evening he spent there and his satisfaction at being elected a Savage. Three successive Princes of Wales have been made .Savages, but King Edward and King George resigned when they reached the Throne. Formerly an actors’ dinner was served at the club at half-past six, in deference to the theory that it was bad for the health and the work of an actor or a singer" to dine within two hours of appearing on the stage. Later theatres and concerts, however, have led to the abandonment of that early meal —one further example of how London changes. The Meter Speed Record. The craze for speed continues, and one wonders what speed,will eventually be attained by motor cars and aeroplanes. Captain Malcolm Campbell, the racing motorist, announces that the English “site” he has in view for his projected attempt on the world’s kilometre speed record is the stretch of sands near Saltburn and Redcar. He is anxiqus, however, to learn of other suitable .stretches of sand in the North of England and elsewhere, as before the attack is made on the record the most careful investigation must be made of all possible courses. The principal condition is that there should be available a ten-mile stretch of hard, dry sand. “T am most anxious that the attempt should be made here,” said Captain Campbell. “It is one thing to bring back a world’s record to England, and quite another—and I think a far better one—to pull off an achievement cf that sort actually in the country. It is quite likely that my attempt will be made on the North Yorkshire sands. I hope to make the attempt by the early summer at the I latest.”

In the. view of many authorities, Captain Campbell was exceedingly tinfortunate not to have officially secured the kilometre record while he was at Daytona Beach, Florida, for when he broke the world’s record there it is virtually certain that at the same time he covered the kilometre faster than it has ever been done before. The tapes were not on that occasion, however, laid for timing the speed over the shorter distance. Captain Campbell thinks his car capable of achieving higher speeds than it attained at Daytona, where he drove at the rate of 206.9 miles an hour. A Revolution in Shipbuilding. British shipbuilders and shipowners are watching carefully the working of all the big, new motor-ships, because many are adopting the view that the reciprocating engine, can no longer be an economic source of power on the ocean now that the costs of running a steamer are so much higher than they were before the war—wages of the crews being up 150 per cent, bunkers 120 per cent, ships’ stores 140 per cent, and repairs 150 per cent. What is now sought is an. efficient system of driving a ship which will not impose too great an overhead charge by its first cost, and which will reduce costs while giving the speed that modern shippers demand. When such a system is put on the market, the shipbuilders will be as busy as they were in the ’eighties of last century, when steamers with compound engines were converted to triple expansion.

The new 26,000-ton liner now being built by Ilarland and Wolff at Belfast for the White Star Line is the first of a Western ocean type that is likely to become popular and profitable in a few years’ time—the big motor liner of moderate speed which carries a big cargo and a large number of cabin class passengers. In this work the Diesel engine shows its best, and the trials of so large a ship will be of great importance.

An additional reason why the new liner will be remembered quite apart from anything that she herself may do, is that the company has chosen the name “Britannic” for her. The first of the name was launched in 1874, and was one of the first liners that Harland and Wolff built for the White Star Company. She and her sister ship, the “Germanic,” which still exists under the Turkish flag, were famous recordbreakers in their day. The second “Britannic” was completed in the early days of the War, and was at the time the biggest British merchant ship. Saving Durham Castle. Great interest is being taken in London in the scheme for the preservation of Durham Castle, especially among those who are generous supporters of the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest, the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, and similar organisations. The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings also has had the question of Durham Castle under consideration. This society does not generally assist in raising funds, though in approved cases it lends its name to appeals; its chief purpose is to place its intimate knowledge of ancient buildings and the technical experience of its experts at the service of those who desire it where work of preservation of restoration is contemplated. On its present working committee are the Earl of Crawford and Balcarres, Professor Lethaby, Professor E. W. Tristram, and a number of artists and architects especially interested in this class of work. The fact that the Durham Castle scheme is one of preservation, not of restoration, particularly interests this society, which was founded fifty years ago with a working committee that included William Morris, Thomas Carlyle, John Ruskin, Holman Hunt, and ■ BurneJones, with the avowed object of preventing the appalling things that were then being done to historic buildings under tfic name of “restoration.” Though the National Trust employs itself actively only in the case of propeties that are handed over to it, the preservation of Durham Castle is naturally a project that excites the keenest interest of its supporters. One scheme in which it is now concerned is that for acquiring Longshaw Lodge estate in Yorkshire, and the protection of Stonehenge is another of its immediate tasks. It is generally acknowledged, however, that Durham Castle is an historic monument of national importance, and that its preservation is urgent. England's Rugby Triumph.

Defeating Scotland at Twickenham in the Calcutta Cup match, England finished up th&ir International Rugby season with an unbeaten record, having won all five encounters against the Home countries, France, and the

“Waratahs,” thus equalling the performance of Wales nineteen years ago, when the Australians were touring in this country. England’s striking success in this series has been largely due to the magnificent defence of their back division, and on Saturday this was again very much in evidence, the determined tackling saving the side on several occasions when a Scottish score seemed inevitable. On the other hand, the English threequarters failed to take advantage of the many opportunities afforded them by the wholehearted pushing of the pack, backed up by the brilliant work of A. T. Young at scrum half. Their passing bouts were of too stereotyped a character, and seldom looked dangerous. The home forwards gave a superb display both in the scrummages and in the loose, while T. W. Brown, the young Bristol player who came into the side owing to an injury to K. A. Sellar, was a great success at fullback. He played with any amount of confidence, and tackled in deadly style, while his touch-finding left little to be desired.

Laird, who scored the first try, played an excellent game at fly-half, his defensive kicking being very helpful at times. The Scottish pack put up a splendid fight, especially in the first half, while the three-quarters were speedier and more accurate in their passing than the English line. A. 11. Brown, of the Heriotonians, the only new cap in the Scottish XV., proved a useful partner to J. B. Nelson, and at full-back, D. Drysdale gave one of his best exhibitions.

Photo-Telegraphic Illustrations. News illustration has expanded in a remarkable way in the past few years, and now nearly every daily paper not only has its picture page, but inserts illustrations to stories in the news columns. There was a surprising development this week when it was announced that in a short time the daily papers would be able to avail themselves of the telegraphic transmission of photographs.

This is an achievement of which scientists, engineers and newspaper producers have been dreaming for years, and the fulfilment comes in an instrument which produces accurate results. Events the world over will be brought nearer in visualised form, and the Post Office is considering the institution of a photographic service between London and the Continent, linking-up with the system now working between Vienna and Berlin. This system, known as the Siemens Karolus Telefunken, has been in operation for some months, and is being adopted over here. It is a reasonable possibility that within a few years it will be as simple to transmit a photograph by wire as it now is to send a telegram between the capitals of the I world.