The sharp fall in the pound during the past few days has caused tote disturbance tthe publi than experts, in. The latest quotation, as Tyne, was $8298 on New York, giving the pound a value of 13s, 6d. It recovered later to §3.312. "But, in February, 1920, it relapsed to $3.20 at which time commodity prices were throe times What they are now and Government expenditure was expanding." Continental selling—the, French and Dutch bears—drove pound down, and" American buying steadied. The Continentals 7 to be atvaid of currency inflation, butt am aanared th ger of thats Dente say oral volume os exe cts. in negligible that, of 11 years ago, while the brighter tone on the' Stock Exchange in recent days shows that there is no lack of confidence. The money market is so restricted, that 4 little selling an the behaviour of numbers lain But wages and hours are the main factor in the high costs of production, and they cannot be discussed while the 1919 agreement stands, This statement is undoubtedly Prompted by the great public feeling which the Federation's notice to the operatives had aroused. Tt seemed so gratuitous. Here are mills reopening, full times being worked, orders coming in at last. Why seize the moment of reviving prosperity to plunge the industry new strife, I do not pretend to understand the issue. But the operatives' case is very human. The old 554 hour Week meant work at the mill from 6 a.m. to 8.30 then half on hour for breakfast, work again 9 to 12.30 and an hour for dinner, work again 1.30 to 5.30. On Saturday work from 6 to 8.30 and 9 to noon, Not much fun from Monday to Friday! The 48 hour week eliminates that spell before _breaktas and, thus making a longer evening possible, has altered the whole habits of the Lancashire working class household for the better. A new generation is growing up which never knew that horrid spell before breakfast. No other industry in Lancashire works such hours and the cotton tatives see no reason why they shoul Who can blame them?
size of the damages £16,000 awarded to Mr, Charles Chapman, the racing trainer of Lavant, in 'Sussex, in his action for libel against the Stewards of the Jockey Club in the Don Pat case, has astonished the bli. perhaps' more than the actu:
'The Stewards, the Earl of Harewood, Earl of Ellesmere and Earl of Rosebery had. published (a de-Tin the Racing' Calendar, wdaqualiing Don Pairs ined by Mee Chapman for alifying 'Don' Pat,
a race at Kempton' Park, in. the summer of 1990, on. the ground fis being doped and. warning Ar. Chapman off New-Market Heath.
Mr. Chapman, who is @ young trainer who had' begun to build up fa considerable business, contended that "any ordinary person would take the. published matico to Imply that he: had doped the horse:
The defendants tried to. rebut thie and said that all they implied was that he had been negligent When "in a responsible where he should have exercised Merling. he found. thet. the: buying rage oka matt fee fame Freedom existed. in other cou
Sanlne and eve s0 to other cur= more tatering to. the" boun the" abio'ot "exchange would As a side issue of the pound, n0- thing ig more remarkable than the conversion to protection of Mr. Lambert, National Liberal Member for South Melton, and one of the oldest most ardent free-trader: He attacked the Government's restrictions on fruit and vegetables, vehemently. more and various manufactured articles, Nothing was employ and the pound so low, unless we could "increase "our "exports we should never be able to. pay for what, we bought. He insisted that the Government's measures did not go nearly far enough—a feeling by the way Which seems generally shared.
The Federation of Master Cotton Spinners' Associations has put out an. explanation of the "notices. Issued to the operatives last week, 40 terminate the wages und hours geeement of 1918 action taken by is, ft says, was merely like the cines haTehte Soe 4, vee ata te "Mons ton any' means involve a crisis in the more care.
'The jury, however, took the plaintiffs view. 'Their' assessment of damages was £3,000 for pub: Veation to the nows agencies, £3,000 for publication to "The Times" and }£10,000 to the Racing Calendar.
Mr, Birkett, K.c., for the Stewards, immediately' gave notice Jof appeal and asked for a stay of Jexeeution. But Mr. Justice Hor-ridge, whose summing up certainly seemed to show that he shared the view, was—decidedly:
ey" on the subject and insist ed that in any event £500 must be paid at once to Mr. Chapman who of course has suffered much loss through being warned off.
It may be recalled that last year there was much scandal about. doping. The Stewards hold so high a Position, and have so great a charge, that they may have come to think that their position was as Privileged as that of a judge. Clearly this is not so. Whatever may be the end of this action, it is a very interesting question how affect the Stewards' future deck ions.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.