._Indleative of a general improvement in world conditions and an increase in shipbuilding encouraged by. these conditions are the September returns of Lloyd's Register of Ship~ ping. At the and of September there were 681 merchants vessels of 2,111 497 tong gross under construction in the world—excluding Russio—and of this total nearly 50 per cent, were under construction in British" yards. The British total: was 928,571 tons as against 424,204 tons in German yards and 15,801 In Japanese yards. A Iitte over half the vessels under construction were motor ships which, Tevealed a total tonnage of 1,247,300. 'A comparison with statistics for' recent building periods shows a large Increase in activity. 'The September returns were 160,000 tons greater than the tonnage of new ships on hand fat the end of June and over 900,000 tons more than the total being built a year ago, 'The tendency in the individual tonnage of vessels is clearly' indicated in the comparative table 'While the preliminary work on sister ship to the Queen Mary is now being undertaken and she is expected to be even larger than' the present Atlantic: record holder, the majority of the new vessels are less than 15,000 tons, only 14 exceeding that tonnage and only one of 40,000 tons for over although four, are in. the 20,000-24,000 tons class, "Incidentally, vessels under inspection by the Society's surveyors with a view to ossification at Lloyd's amount to 268 vessels of 1,368,042 tons, or nearly' 65 per cent,, of the whole, The anniversary of the March on Rome has now become the really Important national festival: for Nallans. Their community in Shang-bhat on Oct. 28 celebrated it in due form and the usual compliments were ald by other nationalities as the @ressing of warships in the Whang-Poo showed. Signor Mussolini has, a3 was to be expected, Invoked the spirit of the adventure which he so Successfully Jed to stimulate Italian pride in the national record, Events the last year have Infortunately raised controversial issues which still keep Italy on the moral defensive, Time may mellow the asperities thus generated. Italy can count more confidently than she seems to realize on felendship in quarters to which she 4g inclined to show a bristling front. There is no desire to question her adoption of the ered of which IL Duce is the high priest. Neverthe Jess the principle that each nation has a right to choose its own political forms must be firmly upheld and i¢ Ju Great Britain for example the dex of Fascism is as distasteful as that of Communism, that does not detract from. the admiration which 1s. felt for Signor Mussolin's achievements in regenerating modern Italy. On the delicate questions which arise from the disagreement between Ttaly and the League on the Abyssinian problem it Is sufficient to hope that the healing processes of internation: compronhise will In due course give a solution. Signor Mussolini's ref~ erence to that estrangement is not Htogether happy, for he seems to forget that whatever may have been Waly's policy in 1995, she was aligned with the other members in 1031 In a courage ing attempt to uphold the
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.