TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 12016, 18 October 1904, Page 4

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

. A few monthii ago tho Dollar." Hydney papers described and Dvgrce.s. a new business that had b?en started in Sydney for. tho purport- of selling degrees or diplomas, alleged to emanate from a colIfge in Chicago. According to a Chicago paper tho United States Consul at Sydney took the matter up, and., wrote, to this paper, complaining that American institutions of learning coming into-dis-repute in foreign countriesbecahse of the alleged operations of this college. Thii college, said the Consul, was.known as the National College, "Chancellor" Ft W. flarkins being advertised as its head, and tho prices for diplomas were quoted in Sydney'at from 75 to 125 dollars. The cheapest class of diplomas included those of Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Masters of Arts, and Master of Literature, and the most expensive class composed four, Doctor of Laws, Doctor of Medicine, , Doctor of Surgery, and Doctor of Dental Surgery. Upon receiving the Consul's letter the directors of this paper s«it;a reporter to interview; ''.Chancdlw" Barkins, whose premises were found to be the home of three "educational" institutions, 'National College,""Chicago Bwi-'j ness College," and "Institute .of Teoh-| hology." Tho "Chancellor" was found | to be. in the. basement with the plumber, and it was some time before -he. presented himself -The reporter caid he had-.a friend in Sydney, who wanted to get,a degree from the college, and asked what tho cost-would'he. "He wfll have.to take a course .for two- or three years, and it will he about 100 dollars a year," replied Mr Harkins. He would, however, prefer to deal direct with the Sydney gentleman, and if bis interviewer would furnish him with.tho name and address, the

I matter would be attended to.y;j"WWw.il' givebim a course by correspondence,** said Mr Harkins, ami then wne" will mail bim examinations questions, if he shows fitness,' and if he passes he vrill get loa\ degree. We are jery Careful." Behj*j.;a " Chancellor" is not the only followed by this enterprising gentleman, for the reporter iiotioed several newspapers lying in the college hall, addrewed to the Union Advertising Agency, and he also learned that there wens many "boarders in the building, which is Mr Haririr_*a property. The awakening of those reOne Class sponsible; for the manage- , Only. ment of British railways to the need of progress in the direction of steam, motor and electrio motor traffic was referred to in these columns a fow days ago. A further radical change in the railway systems of Britain is regarded as probable, namely, the abolition of distinctions of class in railway carriages. A London journalist was recently informed by a prominent official that the question of'ono class only was being seriously considered, and that the Midland Company were expected to take the lead in the revolution. It was the Midland Company which first among tho great companies abolished the second class carriage, and to-day its.third class carriages aro said to be the most comfortable in the kingdom. Most of the companies are'complaining of the decrease of first-clats passengers. The proportion of first class passengers, taken as a whole, is consistently decreasing, while the "proportion of third class passengers grows. On the Great Northern line during the first six months of this year tho first class passengers were only 2.31 per cent., and the second class passengers-only 3.35 per cent, of the total number. On the Great Eastern line the number of first class passengers decreased by 22,213 in six months, and the number of second claes by 49,176, while the third claw increased by 551,467. The Great Western line shows the greatest increase in the popularity of the third class, for in six months 1,358,740 additional third class passengers were carried, while the ■ decrease in the first class was 13,021. The system of one class is already in force on several motor train services, conducted by tho Great Western Company. "In all cases," says a London paper, "the keen- ■ ness of competition, not only from rival companies, but from electric tram-fay sys- . terns, and the demands of shareholders for i better dividends, are driving boards of directors to consider whether it would not be more profitable to introduce the Ameri--1 can system of one class only." I ■ > "Another historic English , A Curious estate was sold last month. Legend. This was Chartley Park, in Staffordshire, which from the time of the Plantageoets has been in the possession of the Ferrers family. H was 1 joined to the lands of the Ferrers, then , Earls of Derby, early in Plantagenet times. .. Support given to Simon De Montfort, how- . ever, cost the head of the ifamily a fine of £50,000 v anenormoussumin those days, and when the fine was paid, only two 1 manors, of which Chartley was one, re- - mained to him. In the time of Elizabeth, : Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned for a [ time in the mansion house at Chartley. The estate passed to the Devereux by marriage, and then to the Shirleys, who 1 were rewarded for their royalty by Charles 1 11. by - the revival of the Ferrers barony; [ The subsequent history of the house was' I uneventful, exoept for the fact that> tlie , Earl Ferrers of Queen Anne's time had fifteen sons and tweiye daughters,, and for 1 the murder of his steward by the notorious Earl Lawrence .This criminal ■ aristocrat went to Tyburn in 1760 attired , in white satin' and silver,' in. a landau I drawn by six horses.' At his execution a sinking platform was used for the first time in England, this being devised by the family so that their kinsman "might not «wing off from the cart like a plebeian cul- ! prit;" There is a curious legend connected with the famous- white cattle of Chartley, , of whom scarcely more than a dozen survive.. A birth of a black calf in the herd • used to be .considered an omen of. the , darkest kind. In 1322 one was born, and , the downfall of the house* ensued. . Tlie disaster was attributed to the black calf, which was instantly sacrificed. The pre- ' sent Earl Ferrers lias, however, no belief i in the superstition, for at his direction black calves have been deliberately bred , from the'. white cattle. Later the colour will be fined back to the original white, but that, of course, will, he a matter of ■. time, and meanwhile superstitious people < may find in the sale of the estate another ! fulfilment of the legend. •'<.'-