London and Thereabouts.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 15, 12 October 1907, Page 12

London and Thereabouts.

(SPECIALLY COMPILED FOR THE " DOMINION.") AN INTERESTING VISITOR. London, August 30. : Considerable) interest is being taken in the visit to this country of Mr. Aithur Barclay, President of tho Negro Ropublio of Liberia, wild arrived in London to-day from West Africa. Liberia is just'now at a very .interesting stage-of its development. In tho sixty years of its existence the Re-* public has : grievously disappointed many of the hopes entertained at the time of its birth. Eight years ago tho unpaid interest on a debt of £100,000 contracted in 1871 amounted to more than one and three-quarter times tho capital, sum, and tho reputation-of tho State financially was not improved by tho large amount of paper money put in Circulation. In the last few years, however, serious efforts . have been made to re-establish Liberian credit, and by an agreement concluded last year between the Government of tho Republic Mid the Liberian Development Chartered Company, a Considerable amount of British capital is beingen plowed in an attempt to. turn tho undoubted reßoufces of the country to. better account. Roads are, being constructed; tho Government bank has been instituted, and, most important of hll perhaps, tJie reorganisation of the finances and Customs service has been taken in hand by British officials nomi-, nated, in the first instance', by the British (Wernment. Individually) many of tho Liberians aro highly cultured and possessed of'great ability. Collectively, they'have not yet shown milch, genilis fbr self-government or for the extension of their influence over tho tribes in the interior. But, unquestionably) among leading men like President Barclay, thero is keen realisation of tho fact that Liberia must-be lip and doing if .slid is, to justify; her existence as ail independent State, and nowhere will the efforts to-provide su6h justification bo Viewed- more sympathetically than in this country, which; was the: first to recognise -,the existence of the Ri-public. President Barclay) it is interesting to note, fras born a British subject in the island of Barbados', and did not go to Liberia till he \Vas eleven years of age. , GIIEAT WYRLEY DORSE- . MAIMING. The district of Groat Wyrley ia again in tlie tlirote of excitement at the rieWs that .two,- further, outrages have been committed in the district. Early yesterday morning, in tho neighbourhood of Harrison's Colliery, Great Wyrley, a horse was' found killed and. Uuother- horse wounded. The police are activoly engaged in making inquiries into the matter. Two miners going to work at Great Wyrley Colliery found, a mare dead and. disembowelled by a nilieteeu-inch wound acress the , abdomen.. .A: second grey mare, in foal, was,seen, standing near, with a gash ten inches loilg aoross her stomach, and on arrival of Mr.. For'sjth, veterinary surgeon, lie found.that i i Was necessary to shoot her. One of the animals woi\ a silver cup at Walsall Agricultural Show. Both animals were . the property, of Messrs. Harrison) Ltd., Colliery owners and .farmers, who lost two cows in June, 1903, by the. same diabolical means..... v • ; The- resumption of the maiming has Srtisecl'the'.greatest consternationt .THjsl is the second case within a week. The police have up to the present lio cluo to the' perpetrator or perpetrators of the latest: outrages.',- Tho- wtfulids' Jo? semble those inflicted on animals sohid years ago. The poof mare which was found dead had ovidently Walked across the field- after being attacked, her course being discernible by the trail of blood. The field in which the outrages took place is about a quarter of ft mile fibmi where an animal fras injured last Week.,- - ■ ' ■ ' i' ~

Mr. this bAirister who took Such a prominent part iii securing the releaso of Mr. Edalji, : was seen iydsterclay in Lolidon' by; a' representative of tho Press Association. He expressed tho opinion that order to elucidate the mystery • of • the Wyrley butragos the Staffordshire police should : he aiped : by detectives 'from Scotland Yard. There. Was, he:saidj gravo suspicion lattaohirig .tb 1 certain persons in the locality! Mr. : Yelvortonadded that itiflhst) of cpursej be'most gratifying to the frionds of Mi'v Edalji to kriofr ithat ho sliadow ! of. suspicion Can bu iast upon hinij as lie .has beon in London the whole of the time the outrages havo been committed;' 'Questioned as to t the motives for. the outraged Mr. Yelvertoti attributed, them to lbvbbf fibudish butalityJ. Ho believed that' if Sir Conan : Doylo were to go down and act in the detective capacity of. Sherloik Holmes aild had the Home Office arid Scotland Yard at hiß bafck the culprits would not long escape detection. • ' , Tlie ReV/ S; Edalji, vicar of Gireat Wyrley and father bf.MiV;Gbo; Edaljij in an interview, said From/what I hear'of the character of the wounds the police caftiiot for a moment suggest that they weire'due to aCcidoiiti :My son was m'London.yesterdayj and last night he left for Yarmbuth, where ho ''is going to spond a short holidayi Mr. G. R. SittS, tfho, with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, was largely in- 1 strumental ill securing: the release of Mr. Edalji, remarked that the fresh outraged at' Great Wyrley Woro additional proofs that,the man who had suffered for similar crimes was innocent/and that the real delinquent was Still at large. "I havo.no doubt," ho Said, "that the .whole. of the brutal cutragos upon - auirnals which have .taken place in. that district havo been the acts of tho same person or persons,, and. tho occurrences reported to-day are, no doubt, due to the recurronco Of the particular mania of which he or they were the victims at tho time when Edalji was,sent tojgaol. The method of wounding appears to be exactly tho same, , and this fact further supports the theory I have givon you. It is, of course, a well known., fact that Criminals rarely uso different means for carrying out..their purpose. ThieVes and burglars have each their .particular method, and. a, murderer who employs poison rarely, if over, uses the knife 6r the pistol. A man's crime always runs in the samo direction, just as a mail's handwriting does.". BOOT AND'SHOE TRADE CRISIS. The most serious crisis in tho boot mid Shoo tfiide sinco tho groat lock-out of 1895 has arisen at Leicester tlirougVv tho finishers at Messrs,' Stead . and Simpson's going on strike becauso,' it is stated, tho foreman ■.'complained- -tb ono of their number .about the quality of his wont. No formal, notification ttns givoiv the fifm, and, even so, tho strike iVould be unjustifiable, as, under thorto'rms.of tho settlement of the ,1895 dispute, both sides entered into a bond i-,f"£1000 not to. resort to strike or lock-out, but to refer all disputes to boards of conciliation, . From tinio to time unauthorised strikes have, nevertheless, occurred, and from, tho action now taken it is bvidciit that the Manufacturers' Federation intond .to have settlod, once for • all, tho question whether.tho union can or cannot stop the' irregular .warfare. Messrs. Stead and Simpson's reply to the strikors was , to order tho immediate suspension of all other departments, and 500 hands are rendered idle, while, through tho secretary of

the Federationj the genoral _ secretary of the union, in contradistinction to the local branch officials, has been notified that, unless the'men resume work forthwith, a claim' for compensation will be made against the union's deposit under the terms of tho settlement. Furthermore; a specially convened meeting of tbo Leicester Conciliation Board has . been held, and a resolution passed ordering tho men to resume work forthwith, in which oveiit their alleged grieVanco shall be at onc6 considered.. Under the ordinary procedure tho workmen's representatives, who fully concurred in tho above, resolution, were deputed to convey its terms to the strikers. -it'present tho latter Show no sign of yielding ,and if it is fbund that the union cannot control . its members, tho federated manufacturers, already irritated by,these recurring strikes, may resort to extreme measures. ( No effort is .being spared l.y the union officials, however, to get tile men back to w'ork. The impenitent Mr, Quelch managed to reach his native soil in safety in the early hours of Saturday last. ' That was practically all he did accomplish, for tlio " great public reception " that was supposed to have boen arranged in iiis honour, on the strength of "Expelled from Germany" placards, proved, as tio most other Socialist functions when they are examined in detail,. a most diverting fiasco. Punctually, however, at 7J5, an anaffiiic-looking youth, about hiiieteen,' with a red tie, sidled on to the platform. Five niijiuteS later the real rush* began.. A fatherly-looking gentleman from Woolwich) with .a red Hag in hisbuttonhole, was an. easy 'winner, but lie was soon followed by a number -if others—Mainly youths, about twenty, of- foreign extraction, till thero must have been actually twenty., people gathored under the clock,, with minds beiit on. the heroisin of tho intrepid Quelch. ' " 1 . .' Unforbunatolyj Mr: Hi Quelch had 110 opportunity of meeting', this large' and. distinguished assembly, of friends. His . trail! was suddenly discovered to' be two hours late, and when this Was explained by a tall, thin man in a sweater and a pair of , grey trousers, who Btood on a truck, tho impressive and powerful demonstration was postponed until 9.20, some half a do?.en : officials breakilig into "Tlie Red Flag" song iis the people moved bfft At no time Was the crowd so large as the olio that ordinarily, collects, ill the St-fCets for a dbg fight; .

-.; At; ,Holb'orn Viaduct stet-ibn -tivo hours later a crO\td came; .tbgether 1 again—but,'with; the exception of Jack Williams, Mr.. Quelch f jun.,; and perhaps half a dozen others with red tieS, it : was ill ho sehse the same croffd that had Valiantly struggled from their'beds BtationWards at 7.30 a.m. " Those ComH rades have gone to Work so as to draw their pay," proudly, one; of the Labour leaders. i'.Thesoi" he added, with a comprehensive' wave of the hand iii : the direction of the idle 'passerigersj the men attracted from the streets ,:oUtside,' and- the ' vigilant porterS)' " these—are others l" , ■ They Were others—but) all the same) half a dozen Socialists can make a lot of nbise), and when a ponderous and sleepy-look-ing man,', With ' a;''rather,; ",sei ;igreen Countenance,' Came, from, the Flushing train , to the . barrier, followed' by Mr. Will Thome, M.P. ( and Mr. Harlcy. and ~ proved, to be the editor. ~br,. " Justice ,in •person) prio. , could distinctly detect. Cheers,. . and later one SaW a red haridkerchief Wftved ;from. the end Of a. Walking-stick. . Tho' real tun began in/the, streot outside) When the Impenitent WaS, by prior,arrangement,, hustled ,to a COnvenierit pomt, and, stalwarts oil either side, .Was grouped for the base uses of the Press photographers. .. . . ' .

, •If money - can be. found; there is every prospeSt that, the al ffesco,school opened a short time ago ,by tho Lbnj doii County Cbuticil oil the grounds or thb Wbplwi&li 'C&-operativd'• Society ;at Borstal Woods will not only be c6tl- ; 1 tinned', but other places tit.'; the Batiie kiiid opened .in other districts to deal with anaemic,' ill-jiourislicd ' Children sulfering from Wliat is. called, "town, 'conditions."'. Not" billy, have the child' • reii admitted . been... greatly "'impi'bvcd in health'-although; the . , Unsettled Character of .thp/weathcr. ' has hot aU lowed full >dvailtagebeifig tikbli :or the bpon air tliby enter into, their, studies and .their play with a zest, quite alien to. the unfortunate youngsters brought .up • in'.; Slumland,i who no'ver see the couiitry except- on an occasional day at the' cbfit of. some philanthropic organisation! Wheli tlib school closes at the end of Septeirtber"it Will 1)3 possible to rriako stilt', istical Cb'mparisoiisi' as all the yoUng* stbrs are weighed find measured on entry:.' Children suffering from severe .organic disease afe not admitted^ ' ALIEN IMMIdRATION. • 'l'hb Alibn Immigration Board in London , have Some . curious casCS to deal with''oil tlib part '6f foreigners who, hot having the necessary Capital, adopt various expedients ;to be allowed to obtain a foothold in this tountrjV Where, apparently). thoy. t fancy ~ the cannot-fail to inakb a living. It'is not often that the Board, have to deal with a. woman whose solo reason for claiming admission* .iii the. absbneo ..of, the hbbessary capital. Was .that, she had como all the way , from Russia in the hope that she might get an Eng* lish hiisbandi The girl, .Who. gave hoi; age as i hihbteeii. and hw . occupation as a tailoress, failed tb ltiako any iirif. pression ;on thb nierfiKers .of the Immigration Board! They admitted; tho other day, a girl ,Who, said,she oamo to London to get married to a countryman of her. own who had t found em-, ployiient,in the. Metropolis; ybut if, they: were to open the portals, to for* eigners who coifio in; search of feiig* lish husbands, the Act might, as Well be, abolished. .In tho case of another Russian woman, accompanied by a. son' two. years old,, who said she was 'v her ; way. to, America'; in. search of 1. . husband, who had written that lie would never return, the Board temporarily detained her for the production of certain documents; to establish her bona lidos. An, old lady With only oight shillings in her possession gained her point because the Board feared; that, if thoy sent .her back to Russia tho fatigue of thb journey 'wbtild datiSe her death. .She gave her ace as (J3, but the Chief officer, told the' Board that she was nearer 80. FomaW aliens seom to bo tho most difficult class 'with which tho liilliftigratioii Hoard have to deal., ,'. . , . . BRITISH HOYS FOR MERCHANT l ~ :i . SERVICE. The report of tho committee appointed byth o President of thb Board of Trade in July, 1906, to 'inquire into tho question of' the most' practicable scheme' for the supply and .traiiji)ig_pf boy soamen of British .nationality 'for, tho mercantile marine,;states that the were explicitly " assured by, witnesses representing the' Admiralty that, so.far as tho nuvy is cpneerncd. 'a schcmo for increasing thb liumbbr; of British boy seamon entering tho mercantile inarino wbuld not under presont conditions servo aliy Useful, purpose.' The present Reserves are regarded ( by the Admiralty ns adequate, and, owing to tho tbndoncy of tho work on board a warship-to become more and more of a highlv skilled nature, the utility of the mercantile marine a* a recruiting ground, for the Navy wdl, in all probability, in tho future bo limited. With this stntomcrtt' bofore' them the committee feel that; they Would not be justified in recommending a system of Stato grants to shipowners, ill return for the omplovment of British boys in their vessels. Thoy are hopeful, however,, that tho tendoncy to a decrease in. tho foreign element which has bebil shownin recent statistifcs may bo Miutalnbd by other means , such as .the improve-

f - --U ' ./ ment of sea life generally and the' n<M language test, for • which/.prbvurfoil Bl made in the Merchant Shipping Act at last year. ■ Tho committee consider, that boya ; would be carried more generally in merchant vessels if someilissurance existed that tlicy would remain in the employment after: becoming-suffictently useful to recoup the shipowner for' the initial loss said'to'bo incurred in respect of them; also, that, if shipowners gave a more oxtendod trial to the indenture system, they would find the employment of boy seamen to be attended with more satisfactory results. In View of tho fact that tho period of sea servico qualifying' a Soanian for ; the rating of A.fl. hna been redufced from four to threo years by the Merchant Shipping l Act, 1906, the committee do Hot think an apprenticeship for. deck hoys fof a; longer poriod to be sis a general rulai advisable; but,, in the case of boys in-: tonded to become officers, an apprentice^ ship for at lt?ast four years is mora suitable) as that is the period bf qiiali-f fying servico required 1 for a second inato's certificate.' The-coriitrtlttee ar<j further of opinion that tho rate of pay, under the deck-boy's indenture ihbuliL ■ bo progressive, with a botiiis .on complex' tipil of hisi' term of '• apprenticeship. Having regard to tile disinclination shipoWiiers to take Untrained lads in their , vessels, the ' Committee belietp tliat tliii object' 6f eriftbtlfa^iflg : boys, m follow, the Sea as a balling Can be,be|t achieved through the agonCy' of trailing ships; aikl they recommend a fcai- '■ itatioli grant bf £20 in respect) (if'each boy prepared for the. sea Service ;ia , such vessels') the grant being made only on production ( of certificates showing that the' boy-is bf satisfactory'- character" arta physiqtiC) Mid being conditional on the boy s' bqiflg for: ~t)i'o years tb tli(T trairiihg institutipm, " aild payable after the'b'dy has 'serfed for oho. year at sea,' It is also rtbbmmended that half the ; time'j served' 1 jo a trainihg iiistittttioti'hppfbvetl rot jtne purposes of a gtttht 'felidiild count towards, the qualifying foir - 'Aiß. rating. - I '. : ,' ' X STRANGE HOMErK?'{' ■' . Mtt. : .!Katboriite the; Awerf" can rival to' Mrsi BeSant in the 'JhtxHsophib inbvomeiit, wlio arrived in Eftgland, recently,; Is'milking tho Temblfl 5f the IJrdthorhqftcl iii" AVenUti R6t)Q|: I SL I John's , The greater portion b|f, this hafldsomo stonb bUliciillg, Sthndiiig . ill : gr6'ilnaSj' is : giVeil'-bVef tb elasS-ffiotas, reeeption^roomd, 1 ; aildj Children ; Come ' f 'for lrislrtifctidn in .bxactly. the .same. tfi/'aS they ifeb.ito , anjp other school. -'. In the heart.'W the New Fofest is be foundod aR' EngJ lish. Temple iof Theosophy. become possible ..owitig to 'the ; giftl'ix> the Sect by tbe jlonV, 'Herbert ..or; the fanioUs ''Old llouko'' which for so.long the but eccentric, essayist)''' beroii Herbeft..., ' ; , I.:-. : HetC) if -afiyhrcre in broad 'a'Dd:S|\lsy , England, the xloisfcercd life to perfectibh. ; Not/another''hur(ikn ' habitation is in sight.'* ' -{The ;liptiseiiit'' Self id the- strangest homo sheltered,(a- •! B' tariff cutter's c6ttage stood on .theiiW, >M 1 this.-. ; Mri. Herbert bbughi;" 'ptil{ed[ • dovVnj retaining' only .flreplaS®) ' wliioh was lleceSSary< tue tioii bf the turf-e'utting vßght^'iyrllicli the. original oWnef had y twenty years' residence. '- MkJ Heiv "' bert , buiit Cottage; '/ ; ;hS thought lie required' themj* he.'|lUt. ..other, buildingSj, until ,iißw i the;, 1 Oad-; House'' is * a quaint 1 cblloctib)v of! sCat,. 1 tered cottage dwellingsi, ttfhi6hw t fritli\;''. severe silnplioityi,' , i ■■ Almost, the first thing the visitbr' :', nbtieos—it'can{'indoed-,. betprov ■ the.house itself is visiblfrf-is a ftueer towef ' bf,'' glass' 'atid .'»bbdj( I bufe ®qstly. gMfej.^-VhiCh,rises above wemifi'bifflffiif^.'Eieh storey ' . of. the to.wer, is .smaller, than the one J beneath it,; and Cadi had' its bWfi peculiar the lifetime' of Mr. Auberon Herbert The - lowest ' and .' ' largest storey,is .fitted' jwith -a.-;carpentet's 1 bench) 'andi Cbhtains 'a cbiiiplete ■ outfit bf carpenter's tools. .' The Second storey has : oiily li Chair alld ii"; table, and here Mr. Herbert used to read and ■study. Tho third Storey i was ;,Used as a sort bf observation toWCf.. ; , ■ , ' Perhaps the most remarkable, thing . in this .temftrakble house' is' the Colic©. tibn of stories which v bveiywhere abbutj in, strong Wooden bbScs ( in tin canisters) oh plates and saucersj and qVen in. match botfeS. That Mr. lleri bert. had idea about, these stones is te'ri>ain,',biit'wiiat it ,Was can- , not .be; ascertained. . There; are ■ books i bverywhere in the 'Old Houst l ,, and : : ,in the biggest-room' an' tegaUj, a har- . lnoftiiUri) aud several Valuable'Wblins^. In the grounds there are otlier evi- ' denCes ot Mr. Herbert's: eccetitric W&ys. i Tlifeti caravans'; Btaria oil trestles just boybnd 'the gateW&ys., Each Van, is ■ furnished with, a feW.SimplC iiedessafies. ' hud in one 'bf them'Mr.V Herbert-lived . almost. continuously throughout the summer. Oii a'lawn; behind -the main ! building, there ire" twb Jbtfud Wooden structures'about, seven feet nigh),lbbking like gigantic tuns.:', -';Th<it Wo all : iloorS)- Much can' be, lifted oft by 'means • ; of two' handles; so i'thSt they -.can be wrtojß-.. , foronce. : These were fitted with tables . and chairs, and Used , for opon-air ' s In an bbscuro cofner'pf the. gfoniids this Wonderful iM ; gifted/^ffioti'lies '. buried. ' Only a grassy .mound^markS ; th'e.'spot of 1 his, btoial.'iThereiisj no '■ monument or anytlulig upon' Which the 1 customary inscription aftd epitaph Can ; be: recorded. ,- But that.he iB npt.foN , gotten is prtived by . the fact that .' ; bveVy day buncheS. -of : adorn the mound, placfed there by the ! dead, man's faithful old hbusekeepci',