Evening star., 1924-01-26
BY THE MARauIsE DE FONTENOY


Two of the most remarkable ap-
Ipointments in the new British cabinet,
presided over by James Ramsay- Mac
donald. are those of Lore Parmoor TO
the office of lord president et the
priyv council and Of Sir Sidney Oil
yier to the secretaryship of state Tor
India. Lord Parmoor was one or the
most intimate personal friends OF
Edward VII, acting as his attorney
general throughout the greater part
of his reign and who by reason of his
close and intimate relations with the
reigning house has for considerable
time manifested an exceptional De
gree of independence in his dealings
with his sovereign. He was formerly
, when still Alfred Cripps. a rabid tory
and renowned as the greatest expert
in ecclesiastical law of the United
Kingdom. But when he married as
his second wife a Quaker lady his ul-
tra-con servatism became impaired by
her influence. 1t assumed sort of
democratic taint and he developed
into a pacifist and has lately been
taking n prominent part in the cause
of pacihsm and in the movement TO
spend large sums OF money IN 1eeo-
ing Germany. He has pronounced
himself very strongly in favor of the
;re-establishment OF friendly political
and commercial relations with Rus
sia.
His Moscovite views are largely
due to the connection of his second
son. Col the Honorable Frederick
| Hcyworth CrippS. who won the dis
! itinguished service order on the pc
ninsula of Ga1lipoli. with the con-
Trust. The latter has concluded a
definite agreement with the soviet
government for the virtual recon
struction of Moscow. That is to say.
the trust. which is heavily financed
by British capitalists and which has
for its executive head Col. Fred
Cripps. enjoys extensive rights for
the leasing of property, for the pur-
chase and sale of building lots in the
old metropolis of Russia as well as
the contracts for repairing houses
and public editices and for the COM
pleton of unfinished buildings.
Col. CrippS is no stranger to Rus
sia. a man of thirty-seven, he spent
most of his adult life in business
there. representing first great Brit
ish financial concern at Moscow and
ultimately establishing and presid-
ing over the Anslo-Russian Bank of
Moscow and Petrograd, OF which Aus
ten Chamberlain. former chancellor
Of the British eXchequer, was one of
the principal directors. Col. CrippS
built up for himself a fortune of more
than a million dollars. every bit of
which was lost through the bolshe-
visit revolution and confiscatory legis-
lation.
1t speaks volumes for his pluck
and enterprise that, undeterred by
the treatment which he had received
at the hands of the soviet regime and
by the loss of all his wealth and
property. he should turn to his spoil
atorS and come to an agreement with
them in the expectation OF building
up new fortune. Luckily. he is Il
complete master OF the Russian Ian
guage and thoroughly acquainted
with all Muscovite ways. characteris-
tics and pecu1iaritleS and can there
fore be relied upon to know exactly
what he is about and how to come
out of the difficulties that may be
placed in his way.
1t is only natural under the cir
cumstances that his father. L0rd
Parmoor, with whom he makes MS
home when in England at Parmoor
near Henley on the Thames, and to
whom he is deeply attached, should
take a deep interest in the manifold
Russian undertakings of his favorite
son. and that his votes as one OF the
principal members of the new labor
cabinet should be in favor of a res
toration of commercial and industrial
relations between Russia and the Brit
ish empire.
Lord Parmoor in addition to hav-
ing been the attorney general of
King Edward while he was Prince of
Wales and to having served King
George in the same manner prior to
his succession to the throne, acted
in a similar capacity to the present
Prince of Wales until he became a
member of the judicial committee of
the privy council-that is to say, the
highest tribunal of the empire. He
still retains his connection with. his
future ruler as a member of the council
of his duchy of Cornwall, and thus is
frequently consulted about all sorts OF