Abergavenny Chronicle

NO MEETING WITH ENEMY. OFFICIAL DENIAL OF FINANCIAL CON. FERENCE. The following statement was issued by the Press Bureau on Saturday:— Reports have appeared in the British and neutral Press to the effect that a meeting of financiers recently took place in Switzerland to consider the effects of the war on inter- national finance and to discuss terms of peace. It is said that British subjects en- tered into relations with subjects of enemy Powers for this purpose. His Majesty's Government have no know- ledge of any such meeting, and no passports have been issued to British subjects for this or any similar purpose. In the event of any information reaching the Government that there has been any meeting with such an object between enemy subjects and British subjects, the appro- priate legal proceedings will be taken to vunish the offenders.

FARM LABOURERS' WAGES. I The Agricultural Wages Board, which is to be set up under the Corn Production Act and which will include equal numbers of employers and workers, will fix minimum rates for time-work and, if it thinks fit, for piece work also for men and boys and women and girls employed in farm, market garden, orchard, and nursery ground work. Permits of exemption will be issued to en- able workers who are infirm, or physically injured to obtain work at less than mini- I mum rates. Officers to be appointed to investigate complaints and enforce payment of the mini- mum rates, says the Board of Agriculture, will have power to examine wages sheets, and refusal to give information will render an employer liable to a penalty. When a minimum is fixed any agreement to pay or accept less will be illegal, and an employer paying less will be liable to a fine of X20 and a further fine of < £ 1 for every day on which the offence is continued after convic- tion. The Wages Board will have power to take proceedings on a worker's behalf. The Board mav set up district committees to recommend minimum rates. Some time may elapse before the Board and committees are established and mini- mum rates fixed, but any able-bodied man on time work who since August 21 has re- ceived, with allowances, less than the equiva- lent of 25s. a week will be entitled to re- cover the difference from his employer at any time within three months after the minimum rate is fixed.

DOCTOR co|II(its sinciDE. 'tS SUI -C i" DIE. I Dr. Richard Arthur Newton, a leading Birmingham medical practitioner, -who was found hanging by a rope in a lavatory at New-street Station, was said by his widow at the inquest on Monday to have been- a changed man since he met with a motor accident a few years -ago. A verdict of "Temporarily insane" was returned.

Owing to shortage of cargoes, Messrs. J. Currie and Co., shipowners, of Leith, have suspended their Leith and Newcastle sea. service, which they had maintained for seventy-five years. ..t. -"b

I MOTHER AND HOME. Do not worry over little things. It ia not helpful, nor businesslike, and no good ever results from the habit. Worrying can be overcome by exercising the will power. Women with sensitive minds worry over some trivial matter or some thoughtless re- mark, and dwell upon .it until they have magnified it into a grievous, intentional in. jury. Past errors and a gloomy anticipa- tion of disaster to come are other forms of the unwholesome habit. Be content to live one day at a time. Make the best of the day that is yours, and just leave the rest to Providence. John Wesley, who certainly lived up to the motto of taking no thought for the morrow, was once heard to say that he would as soon steal as worry. Give up worrying, and fill your life with sunshine I WATCH HER. The best daughter, the best wife, and the best mother, is the woman who does not try to excel in any great thing, but she who naturally excels in the little arts of femi- ninity. The woman who gets the most love and admiration in life is the one who under- stands how best to fill her role as a woman. She is loving and sympathetic rather than clever and noisy, home-loving rather than sporting—dainty rather than dashing- obedient rather than masterful-yet watch, her, and in spite of her quiet characteristics you will find that she gets all and more than her share of homage from men, women, and children alike. FOE WOMEN CYCLISTS. It is very inadvisable, because it is dan- gerous, for ladies who go shopping on bicycles to carry purchases in a net bag swinging on one side of the handle-bar. A slight swerve of the machine will set the bag swaying, and the centre of gravity is interfered with. Ladies would be well ad- vised if they had properly designed baskets firmly fixed to their handle-bars. I WHEN READY-Go. It is not everyone who knows the fine art of leave-taking in an appropriate manner. When you are about to depart, do so at once, gracefully and politely, with no dallying. Don't say, "It's about time I was going," and then settle back and talk aimlessly for another ten minutes. Some people have this tiresome habit. They will even rise, and stand about the room in various attitudes, keeping their hosts also standing, and then, by an effort, succeed in getting as far as the hall, when a new thought strikes them. They brighten up visibly and stand for some minutes longer, Haying nothing of importance, but keeping everyone in a restless, nervous state. After the door is opened the prolonged leave-tak- ing begins, and everybody in general and in particular is invited to call. Very likely a last thought strikes the departing visitor, which his friend must risk a cold to hear to the end. What a relief when the door is finally closed! There is no need of being offensively abrupt, but when you are ready to go, go. Two BEAUTY HINTS. I. Nothing is nicer to use as a cure for rough and sunburnt skin than pl., slices of cucumber. Cut off a thin slice and* rub the skin well with it, drying afterwards with a soft towel. An inexpensive dry shampoo, which will not only cleanse the hair tho- roughly, but give it a beautiful gloss, can be made by mixing two-thirds. -of cornflour with one-third of powdered orris-root. Rub well into the roots of the hair and brush all I the powder thoroughly out. SIMPLic CURBS FOB LITTLE ILLS. A tumbler of hot water often cures indi- gestion, and also helps to reduce flesh. A shooting corn, if wrapped up in an ivy leaf well soaked in vinegar will: cease 1 from troub- ling. Common salt and water make a capi- tal gargle for a sore throat, and this lotion also relieves tired eyes. For neuralgia, wring out cloths in water as hot as you can bear it, and hold them to the affected part. A pinch of salt placed on the tongue and washed down with a cup of hot strong tea is a fine cure for a sick headache. Heart- burn can be cured by. taking small doees of bi-carl>onate. jof soda. As much as will lie on a threepenny piece is the usual dose, and it should be dissolved in a wineglassful of water. WHEN USING POWDER. Now your skin. If you use powder and cream for your skin be sparing with it, and generous with fine oatmeal and cold water. Give- your face and neck an oatmeal bath twice a week, then splash cold water over the skin immediately afterward. If you will use powder, lay it on evenly all over the face, and then take a bit of chamois leather and rub it all off—therein lies the Frenchwoman's powdering secret. COMPLEXIONS THUS BtAUTlMBD. A lady who speaks with authority on matters of interest to her sex thus dis- coursed concerning the complexion. "It is amusing," she said, "to see what pain* women take to iniprove their oomplexions by methods which deal only with results and not with causes. For instance, I knew a girl with a skin eruption on her face who, having tried for months to remove it with washes and cosmetics, came, to me for ad- vice. I suggested that she was working from the wrong end, and that the proper plan was to remove the cause of the erup- tion—certain unhealthy habits of diet. The result was highly successful. No woman need have a bad complexion. Healthy habits of bathing, exercise in the fresh air, and plain diet will work more wonders than the reme.diesthat merely tinker at the com- plexion from outside. Nearly every case of sallow, pimply, or muddy complexion is due to the neglect of some sanitary rule. In such cases the first thing to do is to find out the particular failing and then to apply the natural remedy." To RENOVATE FUBiï. Furs will soon be looked over and got ready for the winter. White furs may be successfully cleaned ty rubbing thoroughly with plenty of powdered white starch. First shake the furs free from dust, then lay them on a newspaper on a table and apply, the starch. When quite clean, shake well, and brush with a clean soft brush. Dark furs. that have become dull-looking may be made to look quite smart Again by rubbing them over with a little brilliantine; use a soft clean brush to apply it with, and use it very sparingly. This treatment gives a gloss to the fur. To REVIVE' AN EBONY FlANO. A shabby ebony piano can be mkde to look like new with the following treatment. First of all take a camel's-hair brush and touch up any worn parts with black ink. If the places are very rubbed, it may be neoessary to paint with ink three days run- ning but each coat must be dry before another is added. When the last coat ia dry, paint over the ink a coating of linseed oil, and leave it to dry. Put some brown beeswax in a jam-jar in the oven until it has melted and is quite soft. Take a very little on, a rag and; work it over the pi ano. .While doing this, put an ounce of white shellac in a small jar, and stand it in a saucepan c ,f hoiling;wit. has dis- solved, take it away from the fite, and add enough methylated too make tt like thin cream. Put some on a soft rag, ana polish briskly all over the piano on top of. the beeswax. Then give a polish with a piece of clean chamois leather.

At Lismore-circus, Haverstock Hill, Gladys Glencroas, nine, of 136, Allcroft- road. Kentish Town, was killed through being run over by a horse and van. Hearing a hissing noise- while he was ùu- screwing the cap of a bomb which he had found, fourtteefiti-year-old buy of Eton, named Charlie Bampitoik rushed fzom the room, and a moment later the bomb ex- ploded, completely wrecking the apartment. Mrs. Bampton and a child had left the room a few minutes earlier-.

I DRESS OF THE DAT. I A NEAT SHIRT BLOUSE. I One of the first necessities of the autumn wardrobe, so far as the average woman is concerned, is a neat and smartly cut shirt blouse, a workmanlike garment in which one can conveniently do one's household duties, attend to dne's war work, or wear for busi- ness purposes; in short, a thoroughly useful and practical blouse. Now here in our sketch is an admirable design for such a shirt, simple, easy to make, and yet very smart in appearance. A word as to the best materials to use for this design. If you can afford it, there is nothing nicer than a heavy wash- able Crepe de Chine. It may now be obtained in striped effects, which are specially woven for shirt blouse use, as well as in white, ivory, and plain colours. Very nice, too, are the various spun silk materials, such as Spunella, Spungola, etc., nearly all of which wash and wear admirably. Then, too, there are the heavy makes of Jap and [Refer to X 822.] I China silk, which are always nice, and which wash most beautifully. In silk effects, too, there are several meroerised materials, such as Lewisca, which are most durable, and which wash remarkably well. In less expensive stuffs there are Yiyella, nun's veil- ing, Aza, delaine, blou^te flannelette, and a whole host of serviceable "union" materials. But to turn to the details of our blouse. It is made with a small strap yoke on each shoulder, the edges of which are neatly machined. The shirt fastens straight down the front, with buttons covered with the material. Neat little revers and a simple collar turn back from the cpening, the edges of which are machined to match the yokes. All the fullness of the shirt is gathered on to the yokes, both front and back. The sleeves are quite plain, and are put into a seam at the shoulder. They are gathered at the wrist, and set into fairly deep bands, which are finished by pretty little turnback cuffs. COLOUR SCHEMES FOR AUTUMN AND I WINTER. There can be no doubt, I think, that the colour schemes of the coming autumn and winter will tend towards great quietness v of tone. A dark shade of green, variously known as hunter's green and Robin Hood green, will be much to the fore. So too, will the ever popular navy blue. Then there is a most beautiful dark tone of dahlia red, for which great popularity is predicted. A warm; tone of brown—very much the shade of an autumn leaf, promises to be much in evidence, and very becoming it is. Black, I am sorry to say, is likely to be much worn, quite apart from any question of mourning; a pity. I think, when so' much black is worn of necessity. Low toned checks, in black and white, grey and black, grey and brown, and dark blue and grey, promise to be popular. So, too, do the useful pepper and salt mixtures, of which there seems to be an endless choice. ¡ A CHILD'S HAT. I I The hat shown in our illustration is an ideal one for a little girl. It is. quite simple, a wreath of marguerites being the only trimming required. Small roses, for. get-me-nots, or a wreath of buttercups I would do equally well. But the chin strap of black velvet ribbon with the knots at the side gives it quite a smart effect, so that the little girl who wears this model will have a chapeau quite as chic ae the one her mother wears. And one can imagine no- thing more calculated to fill a child's heart with delight than this! POCKETS. I Pockets are still as, indispensable as they have been during the last twelve months. In many cases they form the most striking and decorative feature of the coat upon which they are used, and they are oertainly as varied in style as it is possible .-for pockets to be. Some are straight and square, some are cut slantwise; some have huge flaps, others have none; and whilst some, nay most, are gigantic, others are comparatively small. THE NEW SKIRTS. [ Skirts at the present time are very pretty, except thoee with peg-tops that are very exaggerated. The modified forms are very graceful and smart. A straight skirt gathered at the top often has big pockets that stick out on the hips that give the cor- rect .width there without looking, over- balanced. Some of the ekirts, with the full- ness draped at the side to form looae-hang- ing sort of pocket affairs at the side, are particularly smart. Sometimes pleated skirts are pleated right from --the band. Others are pleated from a hip yoke, and this hip yoke has a good many shapes. Some- times there is a panel back, and front, with just a little yoke at the i;ide. Sometimes it is turreted round, or in points, or in scallops. A WORD ABOUT HATS. I Much latitude is allowed us in hats just now, and really it is safe to say any shape is fashionable so long as it suite one. The trimmings are of the most simple; many straws are being worn that are quite plain with a single hat-pin of enamel or dull beaten aHver run through. On others, of the closely fit-fink description, to be worn with tailor suits, beaded flowers or butterflies are applied as motifs. A very smart little turban hat seen recently was built of navy blue chiffon, closely folded and swathed, and a swallow on the wing-carried out in dull steel beads in front, which looked very chic. jiPaper patterns can be supplied, price 6id. Wnen ordering, please quote number, en- close remittance, and address to Miss Lisle, 8, La. Belle Sauvage, London, E.C.

WORK "BEHIND THE LINES" FOB OLDER MEN. An interesting statement on recruiting and national service was made on Saturday by Sir Auckland Geddes, Minister of National Service, to a deputation from Glas- gow tribunals and advisory oommitteea. Sir Auckland Geddes said Great Britain would be divided into recruiting regions, of which Scotland would be one. The chief of each region would be a civilian, who would be assisted by trained people in the purely technical work. The Ministry was not going to take all the young men from civilian occupations, and to leave only the older men. That was not pos- sible—not even desirable. A good many people had said, Why not take the young men first, by age classes, as France and Ger- many had done? Well, the answer to that was that in France and in Germany the authorities had had to return large numbers of men from the front to civil life. To raise men purely on an age basis was not really a possible way of recruiting in a modern highly indus- trialised State, and he doubted if an Army formed on those lines, would be a good Army. As soon as young men were put on monotonous tasks, such as sitting by the roadside looking after a stock of provisions, day after day, standing guard over a cul- vert, a railway siding, or a canal, or looking after horses month after month in a reserve park behind the lines, great difficulties arose. Men deserted their posts so as to get into the firing line, and there was much dis- content amongst men in the rear. So much so was that the case that, in his opinion, the Government who made the experiment would soon have to arrange for older men, say of about forty years of age, steady solid men, to do the work behind the lines. A long- drawn war between nations wholly mobilised could only be won by living healthily and by employing healthy armies, healthy in body, and with a healthy public opinion in them and behind them, to fight on and on until the enemy nation collapsed. NEW MEDICAL BOARDS. The National Service Ministry was being reborn, and would be divided into eight de- partments. two of which would deal with the internal machinery of the Ministry. One of the greatest and most important sections would be the Statistical Department, which would survey the whole field of man-power, collect information from every source, and systematise it. There would be a Trade and Commerce section, which would deal with reserved occupations and exemptions in principle and detail. Then there would be the Labour Supply Department, which would ascertain the labour needs of tho country. To deal with the needs -of the Government there would be a special committee. The work of labour supply would be entirely separate from the recruiting side. The medical side was to be reorganised. There would be a Central Medical Advisory Board, which would be responsible with the Ministry for medical standards, tests, and grades of physical efficiency. Suitable medical men would examine recruits, who, after being examined, could, if they cared, try to upset the decision before the local tribunal. Re-examination of the men on appeal would he undertaken by the assessors of the appeal medical board. The decision of the assessors would be final.

PACIFISTS AND WAR SAVINGS. I Regarding a statement that pacifists are endeavouring in large industrial districts to create doubt concerning Exchequer bonds and war loans by saying that the redemp- tion mu?t be delayed ibdefinily by the heavy cost of the war, Sir Robert M. Kin- dersley, the chairman of the National War Savings Committee, states:— "There probably are some people who are saying such things, but their number is absolutely insignificant, and the War Savings Committee trusts to the commoia- sense of the nation. It is perfectly obvious that if such efforts have been made they have met with no success at all, but, on the other hand, have rather helped us, because our sales during the last three weeks have considerably increased. The sale certificates afe now round about a million a week. To suggest that the man who has put hie money at the disposal of the State is to be pena- lised is absurd. Rather, in my opinion, will he benefit as compared with the man who has not put his money to patriotic pur- poses."

LORD RHONDDA AND THE BUTCHERS. I c Lord Rhondda received a deputation from the Meat Trades Federation at Grosvenor House on Monday, evening, when various points dealing with the recent Meat Prices Order were brought up for consideration. The butchers urged that in some cases farmers were charging too much for cattle and strongly advocated a system of pur- chase by live weight and fixed prices. They also. recommended that cattle should be graded. Lord Rhondda said that the remedy for high prices was to a large extent in the hands pf the butchers. Higher prices were charged owing to competition among them- selves. The maximum prices for meat would be strictly enforced, and there was little reason to doubt that the prices for cattle would soon adjust themselves.

IIOY'S FAMOUS NAMES. I X small band boy, named Baden Powell Buller Shann, was handed over to an escort as an absentee from the Middlesex Regiment at Hull on Monday. The Magistrate: You have got historic names. Try and live up to them. I)o your duty like a soldier and a man.

KILLED ON WAY HOME. As the Scotch express was passing through Atherstone, Warwickshire, Sergeant-Ma]or John Anderson, Highland Light Infantry, who had just come home on leave and W am on his way to join his wife and family, fell from the train and was killed.

BUKEIS BROTHER KtUED. I Lord Robert Manners, D.S.O., step- brother of the Duke of. Rutland, who wae oolonelof the Northumberland Fueilers, has been killed at the Front.

ABOUT WHALES. J Whales are some of the most wonderful and interesting of the denizens of the deep. They are, of course, by far the biggest of the fishes known to man, and it is highly improbable, in the light of modern deep-sea investigations, that there is anything larger in our great oceans. Some folk express the opinion that they do not believe the Won- derful story of Jonah being swallowed by the whale and cast up on the shore alive, be- cause whales are known to have such tiny throats. It is perfectly true that ROm;' whales have a very small swallow inded, their food «x>nsieting of most minute fishes and tiny insects that infest the ocean. On the other hand, however, there are gigantic whales which can swallow a full-grown squid, a huge creature, some of whose enormously long suckers have been found to measure more than twenty-four feet. A whale which can swallow such a creature can easily dis- pose of a man quite whole. Whales have great intelligence. Although their ear, situated near the eye, is as small as a quar- ter of an inch in diameter, it has been proved that they can hear the flap of a sail half a mile away. The females and the bull whale are extremely attached to their young, whom they will protect against all danger and harm till the last drop of life has ebbed from their vast bodies. Big whales have been known to measure over seventy feet long. What we generally call whalebone— the filonder, pliabie subounce- gro wo in the leviathan's vast jaws,. and, is really a filter which prevents anything the huge fish rejects as food from slipping down the throat. Whales are now harpooned by a gun; the old-fashioned harpoon, aimed by I hand, is a thing of the past.

OUR CHILDREN'S CORNER BY UNCLE RALPH. POOR BOBBY! "Well!" said Bobby Simpson. "If I couldn't play better than that, I wouldn't play at all! But, of course, girls never could play games Annie and Nelly and Fanny and Jessie stopped their game for a minute. Then Annie smiled and whispered to Nelly. Neily laughed and whispered to Fanny. Fanny chuckled and whispered to Jessie, and then they all laughed out loud together. "Come and show us how to play, Bobb_v!" they said! and Bobby came. They played at Blind Man's Buff and Bobby was Blind Man. He couldii-t catch anyone. First someone touched his hair. He turned round and someone pulled his sleeve. Then he nearly fell over. He began to get quite cross. He thought he should catch some one directly. Then he" couldnt't hear any sound at all. He called out: "Annie!" No answer* "Fanny! Nelly! Jessie!" No answer. He pulled off the handkerchief. They had all gone! From a window up above came Kelly's voice: "Girls never could play games, Bobby!" HIS FIRST PARTY. "Now, Gerald," said Margaret, as she but- toned his glove., for him, "you must be very good, and when any little boy or girl wants- to play with your toys you miUit let them." "Not with my engine, Margaret?" said Gerald. "Or my sailors, or my drum! They won't want to play with them, will they?" "P'r'aps they will," said Margaret, "and If they do, you must let them. Because it's your party, you know." "I don't think I likes parties, Margaret," said Gerald. "Don't let's have it." Margaret laughed. "It's too late now, she said. "Here they come!" They all came in at the door-Phyllis and Jack and Ursula and Frances and Chris- topher and Peggy and John and Joseph and Dorothy and Marjorie and Eric and Althea and Barbary and Nancy and ever so many more. Oh, how Gerald did enjoy himself! He. found that it was just as much fun to let other people play with his toys as to play with them himself, and at the end of the afternoon, when every one had gone, he said to Margaret, "Oh, I do like parties. Let's have another THE HOP SCHOOL. Perhaps you did not know that all kan- garoos had to learn to hop? Oh, but they do. And the way they do it is by jumping over a. skipping-rope. When they can jump, over that quite easily without touching it with their tails, then they, may begin to hop properly. Each little kangaroo is very glad when he has learnt how to hop prolwrlv, for a kan- garoo who can't hop is thought to be very .lazy or silly. Hopper and Skipper were two little kan- garoos who used to practise with a skipping- rope as hard as ever they could. But little Jumper was the funniest. When he was a very teeny tiny kangaroo in long clothes he- used to watch Hopper and Skipper learning, and he used to cry to be taken out of his. mother's pouch. And when he did start learning, he learnt so quickly that he could hop properly long before Hopper and Skipper. Wasn't he a clever little chap? SAUL AND DAVID. Many, many years ago, away in a far-off country, there lived a king called Saul. He was not a very good man, and he used to get very angry sometimes, and when he wae very angry it used to do him good to hear some music. So one day there came to him a yduug man called David, who played so well on the harp that all Saul's anger went away; then Saul became very fond of David, and made him a captain in his army, and David became a great man. But soon Saul began to think that people were getting to like David too much and not like Saul enough; and then he used to crow ag ain, and be thoiight he v ?ould very angry again, and he thought he would like to kill David. Then one day David brought his harp again and played to Saul to try to make Saul's anger go away as it had done before, but this time it was no good. Saul got more and more angry, and at last he snatched up a spear and threw it at David with all his might. Luckily David slipped out of the way, and the spear did not hurt him. But after that David went away from Saul, and Saul sent after him and tried to kill him. But David always escaped, and when Saul died, David became king. GAMES. They had played at "Mulberry Bush," and Three Dukes," and "Poor Jenny is a-weep- ing," and "Jaguars," and then they didn't know what to do next. It had to be an out- of-doors game., because they were all out of doors. So the Very Big Girl said "Let us. each make a suggestion!" Then the Smallest Girl said, "Oh, but, Miss Muirhead, I can't, because I dion'fr know what it is!" Then they all laughed, and the Very Big Girl said that what e meant was that they were each to think of some game, and then tell the others and see ifey liked it. Number 1 thought of "Three Dukee** again. Number 2 said "Hide and Seek." Number 3 wanted "Honey-pots." Number 4 thought "Trees" would be nice. Number 5 voted for "Mulberry Bush." Number 6 said "Cobbler, Cobbler" wasr. best. Number 7 couldn't think of anything. Number 8 didn't mind what it was. Number 9 said "Lilladay" was very good (only she was the only one who knew it). 'b.L. "'T- 1r. -nuu inumner iv maae the best suggestion. She said, "I know! Let's play at I had m. little do! And they all said, "Oh. yes!" So they played that, and they did enjoy it. Because it is such a good game, you know. WHAT WERE THEY TO DO "Whatever is the matter with Walterr said Molly. "Why? said Letty. ::I[ in the schoolroom just now* said Molly, "and he was bending his head down on the table, just as if he W«re crying." "But big people don't cry," said Letty. "Oh, they do sometimes, when they're; very sorry for themselves," said Molly. "I know I've seen Aunt Jane cry." "But grown-up men never do," said Letty. "Well, I believe Walter is crying now,- said Molly. "Come and look They both crept quietly along and gently pushed open the schctol-room door. There he was, just as Molly said. "What shall we do?"" said Letty. "Shall we go and tell him we'll kiss the place and make it well?" cc Yas," said Molly. "Tha.t always does me good." So they went up to Walter and put their hands on his arm. He started up and rubbed liia ^yee. "Dear me," he said. "I think I must have dropped off!" He had been asleep all the time!

Applying for an increase of salary, I Dover's town crier said he was eighty-four, had held the post for fifty years, and that town crying had fallen fiff during the war. An applicant before the Pensions Tribunal was sent to hospital seven days after join- ing the Army, and was discharged after serving eixty-two days. He 'had never been in khaki. For charging M., instead of the legal charge of 3d., for a glass of milk supposed to contain about a pint, Cabins, Ltd., 362, Strand, London, W.C., were fined At Ifow- I street Police-court AS 9a. and < gttfiiea i

I OUR LONDON LLTTEB. ] It [From Ovr Spedial, Corrupood"al I Summer time has come to an end. The summer itself ended early in July, and now the "time" has gone as well. We have put back the clocks and spent the extra hour in the way that seemed good to us. Most of us, I fancy, spent it in bed. Surely, never was such an important change in the condi- tions of our daily life effected with so little difficulty and inconvenience as. this summer- time arrangement. After more than five months of the new time we have slipped back to the normal, and to the vast majo- rity of us the only noticeable difference is that the darkness seems to come earlier in the evening. The clock evidently has a stronger influence in our lives than we would have believed before the first Summer- Time Act was passed. This year the effect of the Act was to secure 163 extra hours of daylight, the benefits of which from the point of view of health and outdoot work and recreation are incalculable. The wing in lighting and heating alone during the five months is stated to amount to £ 2,500,000. It is refreshing in these days to find any- body speaking respectfully of the power of the House of Commons. It has long been the fashion with those outside to sneer at it. "Talking-shop was one of the mildest names for it, and "The Westminster Gas- house" was considered to be singularly apt. Since the war began there have been people who thought we shculd get along better if there were no Houee of Commons at all. Mr. Neville Chamberlain, however, is not one of these. His experience as National Service Minister has taught him respect for the House of Commons. He finds that it exer- cises much more control over affairs than he had imagined. He is seriously thinking of following in the footsteps of his father and his brother, and entering upon a Parliamen- tary career. He was not a conspicuous suc- cess as head of the National Service Depart- ment, thougHwtthat was not altogether his fault; but he has gifts which should stand him in good stead in Parliament. He would probably have little difficulty in obtaining a seat, as Birmingham would be only too glad to send another Chamberlain to the House of Commons. Others besides housewives have their little worries over the sugar question. In hun- dreds of offices in the City the problem of how to get sugar for the afternoon cup of tea is being discussed daily with becoming gravity. There is hardly an office in the City without its tea club, and the members, male as well as female, are not at all cheer- ful at the coming introduction of sugar cards. According to present arrangements there are to be no cards for tea clubs, the members of which will therefore have to take their tea unsweetened or bring up a lump or two a day from their home allow- aace. This may seem a mere trifle, but there are people in the City to whom it is not by any means the least important of war-time problems. j In less than ten years, says Sir Thomas Beecham, every provincial city in the king- dom will have its own opera house, with its own regular company, composed entirely of English singing and English speaking artistes. It seems a bold prophecy, consider- ing that not one town, not even London, has such a thing at present. Still, Sir Thomas Beecham has a fine enthusiasm. He has done great things for music in this coun- try, and if anybody can inspire the cities of the kingdom each to have its own opera house and its own company in the Continen- tal manner, he is the man to do it. He is just starting a new season of grand opera in English at Drury Lane. He has shown by his magnificent productions in past years that it is not necessary for the performers to sing in a language unintelligible to the mul- titude "n order that opera should be an artistic success. There are more speech-makers in the Army than in the Navy. The sea service is still, as it has always been, the silent ser- vice. It would be interesting, though, to know what is said in the ward-rooms of the Fleet when field-marshals and generals talk of the probability of an invasion of our shores. Sir Francis Lloyd, appealing for recruits for the Volunteers, said the other day that "we might have to fight over here." He argues that the Germans, check- mated on land, may attempt to land an army here. Sir Francis Lloyd is not, of course, alone in this belief. Many people believe that the enemy may try it as a des- perate last resort. It is reasonable to sup- pose, however, that they would have tried it long ago if it had appealed to them as a practicable operation. At any time it must have been attended by tremendous hazards, and the difficulties have certainly not diminished in three years of war. If they should decide after all to risk everything in the attempt, they would find the Navy readier and stronger than it has ever been to meet them. Though Sir Francis Lloyd's desire to get men into the Volunteers | is one we all share, one cannot help thinking he might have suggested that at any rate a good part of the army of invasion would never land. The Pleasant Sunday Afternoon movement which was initiated some twenty-five years since as a means of appealing to the great mass of men who found no attraction in the ordinary church services has passed through the usual stages of ridicule inseparable from new departures. A few years ago the gatherings were organised into what is now known as the brotherhood movement, which before the war had an enrolled membership throughout the country of over three hun- dred thousand men. Its leaders include many men of high character and the broadest human sympathies. Mr. William Ward has hitherto performed the duties of j secretary. without remunerationi. but with ? the growing importance of the movement,, it '1 has for some time been .evident that a full- time paid official of outstanding personality, with peculiar qualifications for the work, was urgently required. Such a man appears to have been dis- covered in the Rev. Tom Sykes, a Primitive Methodist minister, who has achieved a great reputation in Newcastle as a preacher and leader of men. He has been loaned by his Conference to the Brotherhood for five years, and has been officially welcomed by a very noteworthy gathering in the Memorial Hall. Mr. Sykes is a fine specimen of the burly, vigorous, hard-headed, clear-thinking North-countryman. His practical knowledge and deep sympathy with working-class movej- ments.is illumited with a glowing vision of lofty idealism, and while fully alive to th. gigantic nature of his undertaking, he is very sanguine of arousing the "social con- science" of the manhood of the country, so as to make its influence effective in the great after war reconstruction of Society. A. E. M.

With the sanction of the Local Govern- ment Board, two women have been appointed sanitary inspectors in Camberwell, each at a salary of X125 a year, rising by annual in- creases of E10 to a maximum of C175. rMSijor W. H. Prescott opened a fete at Bruce Castle Park, Tottenham, in aid of the fund for a war memorial institute for dis- abled men, which the inhabitants are pro- viding at a cost of £ 8,000. Tottenham has contributed 30,000 men to the Army and Navy.

FOR MECHANICAL SCIENCE. I Mrs. Elizabeth Dack Denning, of Car- green-road, South Norwood, London, S.W., widow of the late Alderman Denning, of Croydon, left estate of the value of £ 169,719. She bequeathed to the Public Trustee all her freehold property in trust for a "Frank Denning Memorial," for the advancement of education in mechanical science in any part of the United Kingdom, with preference for those persona who reside in Croydon.

"GO TO rltt\tF.b." ———— J A B2 man, aged thirty-six, told the House of Commons Tribunal on Monday he was em- ployed as a salesman by a firm of clock- makers. Mr. Bettesworth Piggotti re- marked: "We do not think you are doing work of the slightest national .importance." Captain Anstey: "If I were you, I should go to the R.F.C., who seem able to employ everybody." A month Was allowed in which to obtain national work.

NOT TOO OLD AT 72. I A solicitor told the City of London Tri- bunal on Monday that, apart from the man applied for, there was only the principal left, a man seventy-two years of age. The chairman (Mr. T. F. Rider): A man of seventy-two ie not an old man nowadays. He would have been considered so once, but he is not old now if he is only seventy-two.

BREVET LT.-COL CARTER. I The "London Gazette,, announces the fot-I lowing promotion: Ma?or (temp. Lt.-Col.) R. M Carter, F.R.C.S., Indian Medical ServMice (with effect from April 26 1916) Colonel Carter is the officer who exposed the medical muddle in Mesopotamia and wae denounced by hie superior officer as a "meddlesome, interfering faddist."

Lord Parker has accepted the position ot independent chairman of the Midland Rail. Way Conciliation Board. Mr. Vinoe, a well-known local Nonconfor- mist, died suddenly in the pulpit while preaching near Reading. ',w Through the Women's Trade Union l League, over 100 wages settlements ffere ar- ranged during tl^e past year. A motor-lorry driver was stated at the Shoreditch Tribunal to be earning £ 4 15s. a week carting beer to Government canteens