BRITISH AND FOREIGN PAGE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 288, 29 August 1908, Page 10

BRITISH AND FOREIGN PAGE.

CURRENT TOPICS.

For s#m« little time past there has been nneasmess among Free: Churchmen-as to tho position.',of the Educationquestion; _ .'Mr. Asqurtb, in his' recent.- ; statement" ih tho Hous», detailed tho Government's plans' in reference to various measures, but no mention was made of the Education. Bill. . Consequently there is a feeling of serious'urifest as toj what is happening, or going to happen, as far ps education is conccraed } /and, tte'-im- ; |;ression is .getting, ..pbroad' ••=«tKer'-'tliit ( education .is vtodropped, or. that there aro,';tp'' ;lj(i s^riouS. : -;:.;concessions. Free ■ Churchmen' remember, jilisfc 4he education question was-one of the most prominent., issues at .the General Election/.and arp get l " say :tho.:loast of it,, very;dissatisfied at thi..prcsent inaction.- In order>io ascertain how matters .really...stand- at: the'mesent jufic-: ture,'sa '.the: "J?ai]y'; News' 1 - waited on the lUv: Thomas ; Latr, the 'secretary pf the National Free Church' Council; at . his office.' ate ebo.'.Jfemorial-Hall.'v Mr.'-'Law" admitted : that- he had received scores of letters cpmplaraingof tho unsatisfactoriiiess of the prosent . situation. "I'waijfc to assuror our Free'tChnrdi .friends, Law, /'that they,;need : bare no feat.as: to'-;tho; action of tho: Government. Wp7ar.o fully'-as--surediibotb fe:the prime Minister arid th#> Minister; for jESnestioa, that Bill wil] ; be dea]t'with, l in the paTljr; autumn. It willj.ini-factobe.'pneiof the principal-meas-ures of the Autumn session. It ,mil not be proceeded jritl. brfpre'tho'rece^'6imply be-cause-of. the of business which m-pst be accompfished before- August 1;; : But-the Bill will be proceeded"wit&'' as previously. s'? <? J?- s.ug-, gestionis to concessiepS at all, and,~whaiever may Happen, jt pr&sent ..there are no .'.Round Table Conferences' going on. •"' As' a : matter of-fact, ho'basis has been.found for, a, conference, so that the Government will go forward with their ir.easuro as it stands. They fully realise' that they'.are pledged to secure', •justice, and are in.no wise anxious to in. tho least: minimise or 'postpone tho issue."' Lord Morley and Mr! Balfour.,,

.' The; 1 installation - Viscount Morley 'as i Chancellor of :the • TJnitenrity of Manchester drew-from' him a characteristic specch on the new type of university of which ' Owens College, founded by the prescienoo of John Owetfs, "a homely: joan of business," was the forerunner. "■Though' John "Owens fore-' saw. -tho coming reign of science, -he did not quarrel • with the- old • learning, but arranged that both the old and' tho _ new knowledge should have a> place in the institution ta "founded; Lord: Morley refused to dogmatise on the question, of coapuluory. Greek, but said that on the day when-they were quite, sore that. "the ancients" had Bothimg to teach them worth knowing, on that day they had his consent as Chancellor to leave classical elements out of their. education, : but not before. Ho vu very -sure that day would not arrivo in a hiirry. Ho pointed out the broad interests implied in the bensfactions to the University during the past twenty-five years, which included music,, philosophy, theoJogy,. and (literature.'. -' Dr.Fairbairii was the'sole recipient of the -hon.D.D. at tho ceremony, while Mr. Balfour, Mr; Lord Curzon,' and Sir "Win. Slather, wero among those who wero mado LL.D.i Mr. Balfour, speaking at ,-the luncheon' afterwards, recalled the" fact—which ho supposed Lord Morley i had forgotten—that, as edstoT (>f "The Fortnightly Review)" ho had thirty-two' or thirty-three" years ago' prompted'. Mr. Balfour 'to his firsA Qitorary effort, . and thoTapprwiation. and : praise stowed rßpon thafo article .ho then' wrote iJarid j given him even-mots.pleasure than the'hon-' our- now . bestowed upon hiin. 'Mr. Balfour went on to mako tho very interesting confession that he would rathW'be'known ,a3 having,added to the sum of pur'k'nowlodgo of tho truth of nature "than anything olso he could imagine. UhfortmaWy,'his opportunities had lain in other directions, but surely tho happiest men were' those whom forune ha 4 given the leisure, the. opportun; ity,' . and,, above all, the genius" to pcnctrato into tho secrets of nature. . ' '

" Rejected." ' ,Tho given .by Mr.. Hald&no in.reference to the rejection of men whooffered themselves for • enlistment: ;in '.the • Regular Army' last- year sought' to command wido, at*, tention (says tho " Daily. Newslf thoy aro to bo accepted on their faco value they offer- a;.profoundly' disqtiiofcmg comment upon the-physical condition of tho race. . For-out of 34,000 men who offsred themselves. as recruits no fervor than 16,000 'were:.rejectod forphysieal reasons. That is-to say,'out "of' every-- two mon Who offered thpfcselves ; one was found to bo' unfit; < - Now-the'-standard' of' physical health which -is'-' applied'- is, of course, not abnormal, b'ut 'nemal. "It'is the standard'■ which evory well-reared arid wellfed child ought'to reach. No'doubt the nominal- value of the 'figures l is more than the. real value; Tho class of 'men who seek enlistment represent a standard below- the average - le vol-«f the physical "condition of tho couijtiT. They : come, "for. the most part,' from the slum districts, and ( have been handicapped from the beginning by lack of care, lack of air,' and lack. of food. They aro the product of a condition of society .which sanctioned universal' oducation,' but do- : nied inilversal feeding. Apart.from th'e';generS.l teaching of; tio ' figures,"-they revoal a, retoarkablo disparity between differtnf localities? ' Thus we fina that Sheffield has only half the' proportion of 'rejections that Man-' chosterl' and ; Diirideo return'.' Lpiidoir tmd/Qlajgow are rolatiroly high; in, tho proportkm of'ncceptiuces. We do not know moanioi;' 'of these' variations, though'they are drabtless capable' of ; s6me local ex^lnnatien,

The: British AsMclatiori. "W« or® glad, to learn .that,the arrange-, menti are well.advanced for. tie meoting of' tho British Association, which is to be held in Dublin et the beginning of next September," ss.ji tho "Medical Press." "It is now Gome thirty years' sines the Association visited tho Irish . capital, though six years ago it held its meeting in Belfast. Trinity College, tho B-oyil .University,- tho Royal Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons, and tho Royal College of Science, are opening their doors :for. tio meetinjs of the various sections,. and as . these buildings aro, all within short distance of'.each other, tho passage from one sect-ion to another will .b,e easy." ' Dr. Even Hedin. "Dr.rSven Hedin, : tho'famous traveller, concerning whose--disappearance in Tibet' there is considerable anxiety in Sweden comes of ah old family'which for tho last, century- and a half has been to the foro in the Swedish capital," says tho "Westminster Gazette." "His fathor was ; an. architect to the city of office front which ho''has -now retired. It was Dr.• Nordenskiold's triumphant entry into Stockholm ou board tho Vega, on April 4, 1880, after having compassed the North-East Passage, that first turned Hedin'il mind to thoughts of travel. Ho was a distinguished studont, and' after graduating he went to Baku as tutor in the' homo of -a Swedish ongin«sr. Whilo laid aside "by illiwas thero he taught himsolf tho Russian and th» Tartar languages, which he found: of inestimable service in Inter years when he was' travailing in Central Asia. Hediri's favourite books aro the Biblo and 'Ben Hur.'."

Thß Progress of Crwoatlon. Last year tlie ' number of cremations 111 the United Kingdom was 706—namely, at Woking,' „108, 'Manchester 96, Glasgow ,30, Liverpool,3-1, Hull 20, Darlington'B, Leicester 13,- Golder's Grs'ou 200, Birmingham 33, Leeds 16/ Sheffield 18, Ilford 18, and Bradford 113.. The practice of' cremation' in Englaud' praofciailjy .began, in 1885' with three cremations'at The number has gone. 011 'increasing'year' by year owing to'the opening of crematoria in many of the large cities and towns., In .2906 the largest number was recorded—namely;' 743, "says 'the "Times."

LATEST. MWS' BT - OVMSM-MMiiS;

Woman .Suffrage Movement. In tho "Nineteenth Century and 'After," in an articlo 6n"'W r oin4tl'and tho Suffrago," J)y Lady Lovat, the "folliiU'ing passage occurs: "It is only proposed sorfar to givo tho franchise to the woman who has a stako in the country:'in other wordi}- to the'widow or spinster who, thougJi",-9JV v owner of property, is debarred by tho present stato of tho law from giving effect to her. opinions on public matters in which' her 'interests ore involved. in a sense, an anomaly, and presses severely on individual cases, is . doubtless true,. but, it may bo asked, are ; ore urged on tho 1 'plea ~ffia£ : "logically""they' lmvo a right to register their., vo to JJie most fitted, to givo Atlmititcdjj' 'the faddists—tho women who neglect tho of claims wliich suf- ; foring; humanity forces «pon them in order ,to for 'our' dumb friends'; tho Sf" th'e'""lates"t fashionable craze, JjS.JfSS or table-turning; the rabid,anti-vivseciioriist—are in tho ratio ' .of .'ton -to tho class whom -have. cut off from.t^b^th^'^mpaiuonship•'of the masculihe a'jfact'whicli has 'givoiv riso to 'the"-popular'''Sijiifg 'that most men- should ;" I ?J r -,:Few, indeed, would woman is at : her best living in tho- normal condition of things as at her side whoso cheerfully accepts. But to refuse tho francliiso to tho-'shrieking sisterhood' and'tlieir co'mpeors, and grant it .tQ^tho.iparrictl,.woman,-is a proposition worso "than 'impracticable; "It is unthinkable. If -abroad now, truly in such an* eventuality Great Britain would be in a ;bla2e'."'" 'Als6;.'iV6ul(l"tli£'world bo a gainer 4Sr ft.fetf-'-niDt:.:;.,'For in the majority of cases' tho married woman would follow riex.iusband's'.lead,»and- in' the divided house]b'6ldMt*w6uld'*bnt' a(ld't'o"tho many dobatable subjectsjs,n;:w}jich;,T)iaii;. : and wife 'may differ. To add to thoir numbor is hardly to benefit at large."

New Oral Professor. It is announced that"the Rev. George A. ;Cpoke, formcrly r .Ee]lp.w ,of Magdalen College, ■ilia's' been elected' to tho 1 Oriel Professorship Interpretation, of- Holy Scripturo at ;Oxford. i» j:lace,;Of, the Rev. T. K. Choyno, rfellow'of Oriol, resigned. Mr. Cooko was a ["'scholar of Wpdlmm.Collogo, and took a secloud class liri. the honour school of Theology. ;In,. JB|3B, he. gainod. tho Pusoy and Ellorton Hebrew Scholarship, the Junior Kennicott Hebrew. Scholarship, and tho Syriae Prize. .Ho rlecturor at .St,' Johnls College, and ,aftowards chaplain ,and: Fellow of Magdalen College. .-The stipend of tho professorship 'consists,of a .cauo'nry in Rochester Cathedral, :thp;;valup_ of;.which exceeds £COO por annom,' and a residence is ; attached.

Tho Foroshoro.. Ws' aro glad to see' (says' tho "Church Times"), that action'is likely to be taken in coriseijiienco of 'a recent ruling in regard to'proprietary rights in the foreshore. Tho popular notion'has'prevailed that everywhere there was right of access to tho sea, but, if -the Courts are right, -it looks as though that right wiis limited to"tho towns and ports which have .secured it .for thorn solves. The question-has been broiight to the front by ffie 'prosecution for'trespass of a man', who ■is it'oo 'poor to carry his case to an appeal, arid a fund has been started'for. tho purposa of-seeing him through; :It is.'certainly desirable tnat the law should.'now bo doSnitcly interpreted/by the highest judicial authority. If it. should turn out to' bs the case that the fringe of the sea which surrounds our shores is" private; property,;;we. shall' at all events ■know, where we' aire, and perhaps steps will life, taken to ' secure''for '.tjio people of these isl&n ; ds"th'6 tight of rt'dcess "to tho sea.

Birthday■•Honours. ■ :• If j'the 1 list'of ; birthday liouours Is somewhat less-banal than-usual (says tho "Guardian"), it is not destitute of that element ofr humour, to which.-wo liavo of late beconio accustomed on. these • occasions. • Tho Govbriiment which swore-by the nino gods to destroy tho. power.of>the House.of Lords has sont four .more "of" it's supDofters to breathe the ■ tainted';atriiospherd''pf privilege and to sit-in close-proximity-to men who have the temerity'to"'put a'check upon "tho legitimate ast»i'nltioii'!S"of; the ''."people." • It is .an in-structive'-spcctnclo-to'-thoso who''are still confiding' enough" fo'. b'eli'evo that tlicro was over any '.'Biiipcfi t'y - 'or genuineness in what wo onco ventured' to ; despribe as tho late Premier's "private war"' with tho Upper House/ A batch of tciV baroriotb/five of them mcm-bers-sittihg' oli-'tlii? Government benches, is a ''gratifying'' indication 'that' politics is riot' quite the ungrateful occupation that it is sometimes represented I 'to' Be. The knighthood conferred upon ■ 35r7 Murray gives us especial pleasure. The;[accolade has never been better earned bjf,pursuit of the arts of peace than by tho editor.of'"N.E.D." But there is painfully little real distinction in this list; of fourteen hprit'ary and thrce-nnd-tw'enty personal-titles. ■ -

Motor. Tfaffw in. Lpndcn. :-Mr. Gladstone, recently received tho influential nominated by a Mansion House-meeting- -to- put - before liim tho case for.,,groitor> control over motor traffic in London. • Disavowing.-.any -hostility to tho traffic, members of tho deputation urged that oometningtshould bo dono to limit the speed in populous districts, and to schedule certain streeits .eo ,that ; : tho .polico would have power to': prevent riotor "vehicles- going along them. Mr: Gladstone 'pointed' out that those mat-' fcers were really within the sphere of tho munioipal :. Why did not the Oit-y' Corporation" and 'tho County Council in conoert ask the 'Local Government Board for powers to fix speed limits for tho wholo of London'? Giving - figures, Mr. Gladstone : showed that < the- police. had •• been thoroughly 6iibi^ti6".iii'"deal{iig' , '\Vith motor traffic offenoeai''''"The" 'question'"'of motor-omnibuses running at, dangerous speed, in order to make iip--titsej' : avoid. ; 'fines'i'aud so forth, was re* ceitiffg"tKS serifrtis itWfttion of tho Commissioner of ; Police/and ' himself. Mr; Gladstone, at the -beginning- of his reply, reminded tho' doputatibii "tTmt. motor-omnibusea had~bec6hift'airintegral part of London life; they were cariying passengers at the rate of 200,000.000 a year; and the peoplo who used them .daily had'gained'half an hour or an hour of additional life and leisuro through tho rapid transit from work to their homes. It- was perfectly clear, therefore, that action with' regard - to. them .'should 'bo 'taken with' very'great caution,, Child Labour in Egypt.

Tho Political Committee of the Now'Roform Club has called tho attontion of Sir Edward Grey to 'tho grave'abuses in tho employment of 1 child labour in tho cotton ginneries of Egypt. ; 'l'he memorandum states that ther4 is reliable evidence to show that the women and children in these mills work for fifteen or sixtoen hours a day/ that at tho height df tho soason evon the children are put on a night shift oi-twelvo,hours, and-that other abuses prevail," notably tho absence of any mechanical ventilation to copo wiili tho cotton dust,'and the use< of whips or canos by tho overseers. Hitherto the Anglo-Egyptian authorities Ijave argued that tho capitulations screen foreign owners of factories from Egyptian legislation. The committeo {joints out, however, that thoro is a poßsiblo and adoquato method of procedure, if o.ffences algainst 1 a _ factory Act are treated as police ofFeneos, liable to a fine not exceeding £1 in the oase.of each worker: wrongfully omployed. For such legislation the assent of the Powers would'not bp necessary. There- is already a precedent since . steam-engines, ov.cn when owned ,by foreigners in Egypt, are subject to regulation, and inspection. Tho committeo aisks for an inquiry into the facts and into the legal remedies that are possible. On behalf of Sir Edward Grey, Mr. Louis Mallet has replied that a report, is. oxpccted from Sir,,Eldon : Gprst "as to tho measures which appear to tho Egyptian Government practicable as-a. means,of improving tho conditions of labour in Egyptian factories, and remedying any abuses which'>may now bo attached to them."