The New Party The Hythe by-election, made necessary by the death of Sir Philip Sassoon, was remarkable note for the personality. of one of its candidates, 'Mr. Harry St. John Bridger Philby, {han because of the result. which was a foregone conclusion. 'Mr. Philby, vat one. time Indian. civil servant, was' originally uplrant for election to Parliament asa Social {st but towards the end of June, Mr. Leon MeLaren_ was chosen' as socialist candidate for Epping Forest, whereupon Mr. Philby lett the parly and appeared In. Hythe asthe pioneer Eandlgate forthe newly-formed British "Peo EiCgavert io Moslem, & fervent Arab publica e's Party. Mr. Philby is an_author-explorer,
and personal adviser to King Ton Sand. His connection with the Arab movement dates from 1915, when he was appointed Polital Officer in Mesopotamia, After the war he commenced exploring the deserts and was the rst Euro-can to. penetrate the southern provinces of Weld. Nine years ago he became a. Moslem, Joining the Wahabite "sect, noted for its puritanical outlook on life and. the" rigid asceticism. of its members. He is the only European with a house in Mecca, which was presented to him by King Tbn Sand. The British People's Party, which has only been in. exis fence for about' two months, has as its chairman the Marquis of 'Tavistock, and it is reported that the idea' of contesting Hythe was not fo much with the hope of Mr. Philby being lected as for the purpose of advertising itself. {ls two main. planks are isolation anda form of social credit, but far from being pacifist it denounces any policy which might involve the risk of Britons Aighting anywhere except strictly in selt-defence In its most limited interpreta lon, 'The British' People's Party may have suleeeeded in making itsel¢ known by contesting such a forlorn hope.as Hythe, which is strongly Conservative, but it is an expensive advertisement at that, for securing no more than. 876 voles, Mr, Philby must of necessity forfeit the Aeposit which all candidates must furnish ae= cording to law, prior to an' election, Future of Coal Comprehensive plans have been announced by the control of prices and dis event of war. A. rationing scheme will be introduced to ensure a more economic utilization of coal, and operating Uhrough existing marketing. schemes spithead prices, will be controlled 19. prevent profiteer= ug. In Its greater aspect, this Is another inication of "Britain's "Intention to" gear' up national resources with national effort If the emergency dictating these measures eventuates, In another senso. it wilt have an Important bearing on the future of the coal industry Which has represented a serious problem since the wider use of all fuel. At present the Industry continues to exist through a more alionallzed system of production bolstered by marketing schemes which ensure a fair return fon Investment. but although there is a tendency to regard it as Industry on the decline, in national emergency It still becomes one of Britain's greatest assets and, therefore, 1s worth Protecting. Although advocates of all fuel, for Instance, point to the increasing number of all burning' vessels afloat and being built, coal is by no moans an obsolete fuel, and Its' import= neo increases in proportion to the continuity and accessibility of supply as affected by con~ ditions to be experienced during war-time, store supplies of all sumeient to fuel "British hips for any lengthy period independent of foreign supplies is almost impossible, and therefore imports from abroad must be' maintalned—a big convoy job for the British Navy Which Itself is all-fueled. During war-time con: ditions, to reduce the strain on this source of supply' there might be a. return to coal fuel, While the British mercantile marine alternates between all and coal dependent upon the class of ship and other conditions, the British Navy continues to be the largest individual user of all. For some time coal fuel advocates have been conducting a campaign for a coal-fired navy in view of restrictions to be encountered regarding all in the event of war while unlimited stocks of coal are close at hand. Th the 1939 Navy estimates the Admiralty's view was clearly and definitely stated in the states ment!
During the past year considerable time hi een devoted to de in favours of rauirn Ye these investigations on the major counts, Weight. and. space required and oper lon, return {0 coal-burning would, impose suc! to be definitely tine But this does not discourage the advocates of coal who offer the availability of supplies and the more eficiont methods of coal utilization devised in recent years to counter the Ad-Iirally's argument. Necessarily, Britain must maintain command of the sea in war-time, but the inter-related question of fuel to enable this worthy of more consideration as a vital nnatioual problem in the opinion of these ad-Yorates, many of whom are distinguished flag oticers' who speak with an authority equal to that of the Admiralty.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.