12 OCTOBER 1907, Page 15

[To TEE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR. "] SIa, — Mr. Willett ' s proposal for

interfering with the clock, quoted in your issue of August 3rd, is a reforth which will probably never be adopted, because the practical man will condemn it as fanciful. But those who have experienced the effect of a change in standard time will bear me out that the practical objections to such a change are nil, while its advantages may be great. Three years ago, in Selangor, we adopted Singapore mean time as a standard, the effect being, as we are so near the Equator as to have very little change in our seasons, that we secured some twenty minutes extra daylight throughout the greater part of the year. The population of Selangor does not include many theoretical astronomers, and few foresaw the effect of the change ; hut that effect was immediately appreciated by all. The golfer, who had hitherto left office in time only to enjoy nine holes during many months of the year, can now always squeeze in eighteen. The less energetic, who indulge in a short drive after tea, now find themselves at the club in time for three rubbers instead of two. Presumably we rise earlier, but we do not know it. Trains do not collide and labourers do not

Jugra, Federated Malay States.