A LETTER FROM LIVERPOOL. [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.]
Sin,—It is obvious that Liverpool is quite in love with its Iady Lord Mayor. Not every great city might care to entrust this high office to a woman, but it is not every city which possesses a Margaret Beavan. She is performing the com- bined duties of Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress with enormous success, and it is difficult to say whether her administrative capacity and clever oratory or her feminine charm and dainty appearance are the most admired. Not quite five feet in height and every bit as active and good looking as when she began her work in the Liverpool slums twenty odd years ago, Miss Margaret Beavan continues to live up to her popular iffekname of- the " Mighty Atom."
' This month (May) was selected as the most suitable oppor- tunity for celebrating the 25th anniversary of the granting by King Edward of the Royal Charter of the University of Liverpool. Until 1903 we could boast only a University College. The chief events of a memorable week were the thanksgiving service at the Cathedral, the dinner at which the Chancellor, Lord Derby, presided, and the honorary graduation ceremony, when amongst those receiving dis- tinctions were the Earl of Crawford and Balcarres, Chancellor of Manchester University, the Right Hon. H. A. L. Fisher, an ex-Minister of Education, and the Right Hon. Sir Archibald Salvidge, the protagonist of the Mersey Road Tunnel Scheme. Another celebration with which Liverpool is directly concerned is the centenary of the birth of Josephine Butler, who, tortured in her girlhood by thoughts of the terrible sufferings inflicted on women and children by the American slave trade, took up her residence here in 1864 and entered into the miseries of drifting and helpless humanity. Tributes to Liverpool's heroine have been paid at a commemoration meeting at the Philharmonic Hall by such representative people as Dame Rachel Crowdy, Miss Ellen Wilkinson, M.P., and the Rev. G. A. Studdert Kennedy.
Liverpool is making a strong bid to obtain the International Schneider Cup Race for marine aircraft in 1929. On the only two occasions on which the race has taken place in this country the South of England has been the venue. It is vital that an interest in aviation should be developed amongst the teeming industrial population of the North. A course based on Liverpool would show the race to a larger number of people than any other course in Great Britain. The suggestion is to fly from Liverpool to Blackpool and back. A short slipway would be built from the wall of the Gladstone Dock into the Mersey and a portion of the spacious dock sheds set aside for accommodating the machines. The course has been inspected by Captain Wilson and the late Flight-Lieut. Kinkead. The only doubt they expressed was whether traffic on the Mersey Would be a source of danger when the planes were at anchor. It is hoped that further investigation will convince the Royal Aero Club that there is ample room for mooring on the broad stretch of water between the Gladstone Dock and the channel used by shipping.
A chance meeting during the War at a military camp on Salisbury Plain between Mr. Francis Brett Young, the novelist, and Mr. William Armstrong led to the writing of The Furnace, at present being well received at the Playhouse, the home of the Liverpool Repertory movement, to which, as producer and joint-manager, Mr. Armstrong has given such talented and devoted service. The Furnace was tried out privately by the Actors' Society in 1918, but this is its first public presentation. It is based to some extent on the same theme as Mr. Brett Young's novel The Iron Age, and, in addition to being producer and part author, Mr. Armstrong sustains one of the chief characters.
Mr. T. M. Newell, Engineer-in-Chief to the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board and designer of the world's largest dock, the Gladstone, will retire• on reaching the age limit in July next. One of the chief engineering posts in existence will thus become vacant, for when Mr. Newell was appointed in 1913, the salary was £3,500 a year. Values have altered since then and the salary is, of course, greater now. It is not yet known what figure will be fixed for the new appoint- ment, but it will obviously be one to arouse world-wide interest.
With a view to obtaining some indication of the political tendencies of young women added to the register by the Equal Franchise Bill, the Liverpool Daily Post, a paper of Liberal traditions, recently organized a test election amongst working women under thirty years of age. Twenty-five of the biggest employers of female labour in Liverpool co-operated in the test and the ballot was strictly. secret. It was assumed for the purpose of the experiment that only three parties were in the field—Conservative, Labour and Liberal. The result was a more than two to one victory for Conservatism over Labour, with Liberalism a poor third, and a substantial Conservative majority over the other two parties combined. Amongst the " spoilt " cards was one from a factory lass who marked a kiss for each of the parties " and six for Mr. Baldwin." The result of the test may stagger those of Die Hard tendencies who have made such an outcry about " the flapper vote," but it causes little surprise in Liverpool where for years the monthly Conservative rallies for working women have been so largely attended that often hundreds are unable to gain admission. But, of course, it has to be borne in mind that not every centre has the same organization as the Tory stronghold of Liverpool.
The Mersey Road Tunnel continues to make good progress, and the -civic chiefs • of Liverpool and Birkenhead met and shook hands beneath the river when the great break through was accomplished last- month. The work goes on day and night, and the scheme is likely to be completed some time in 1930. It is estimated that two million vehicles will use the tunnel in its first year alone.—I am, Sir, &c., YOUR LIVERPOOL CORRESPONDENT.
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