BRIIISH AND FOREIGN PAGE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 294, 5 September 1908, Page 10

BRIIISH AND FOREIGN PAGE.

CURRENT TOPICS. -» A Statue to the Queen. Th# first statue to Queen Alexandra has been erected at the London Hospital, of which she is president, and Lord Crewe unveiled; it. Lord Creiro said it was an Honour he would never forgot to be privileged to unveil the first statue to the ; Queen.; iWo had had a long lino of illustrious consorts—Hanover, Stuart, Tudor, 'Plantagenet —yet there was not one in that illustrious line who had been so enthroned ' in tho heart of tho nation as her Majesty Queen Alexandra: Sho had known sorrow in tho loss of beloved parents and, beloved children, whilst twice she had known the anxiety of .watching at.-'her. husband's -bedside, pnd it was fitting; there';, should ;.be: iuch' ; amemorial , to her : in; that\'hospital: for all time. It was not possible for tho painter or the sculptor to reproduce in its entirety the radiant grace which distinguished, the.. Queen, ..but it'.was surely/;a good ;.tbing, that, in those surroundings of .sarroTV; and. Buffering,; of courage and >patience, ><they" had erected an''abiding memorial ; to> tho. qualities possessed by the Queen— qualities which adorned our common humanity. ' The colossal bronze statue is the work of. Mr. George E. '.Wade, and is the first statue of the Queen, which has over been erected. Pno of the bronze relief panels represents, the-opening of the Finsen Light Department by her Majesty. Parliament.

' The British Prime Minister explained recently his proposals for the conduct of parliament. '!Tho autumn session is to begin on October-1%, and we suppose," writes the Guardian,'?; "continue if- necessary until a fow days before Christmas, as it did in 1006. : The autnnm session will clearly be -a heavy ono, the committee stage of the Licensing Bill alono probably absorbing, the whole available time .of about three weeks, and the Government will need all its skill in economising,, Parliamentary .time . if it is to pass all its chief Bills into the "House of Lords ih good enough time to forestall tho Opposition " policy—already.' pretty well advertised —ofj ■ complaining that the Second J Chamber' is not given reasonable time for ; its : deliberate and revisory labours. Tha Leader of the Opposition gently proteste against 'the pressnre of legislation jvhich was being forced through the House.' The protest had its comic sido, as th'o Premier naturally suggested, for. the present Government, has used no expedient for accelerating business which was not zealously used, if not actually invented, by Mr. Balfour him-, self." v '■ ' " " Education Trouble In France. r A French correspondent of tho "GuarHian" writes describing: the crisis which has arisen sin reference-to elementary education in: France. . The old toleration hav-i ing entirely vanished, committees of par- j ents have -'been constituted, and children refiise to read the manua.ls that are given I to them, to take any part in the lessons 1 or' to answer : certain questions—that is, 'they ■ strike, A teacher in the Cote d'Or taught his .-pupils, among other things, that there was no God, ' 'and if your : parents. teach you ;the contrary tell them from me that .they are simpletons.". Ono of "tho j parents; instituted an action against the teacher, which ended in a decision against the Goremmont.. Tho Minister for Public, Instruction i has consequently introduced-into. the Chamber a Bill, consisting ™of™one clause, providing that any person who shall incite .a, child to refuse tho instruction given or not to accept the books provided shall incur' 1 certain penalties specified in the Code. , It. is a law very easy to pass, but impossible' to rput into execution, r On tho: other hand, a Bill has been introduced'tov safeguard .the rights of . parents.' In the' legislationof 1882-1886 the 'intention' was' that the school should bo neutral ground, and the Government was aimed with powor to. make this neutrality.rosptetcd. •: It has not done so.. Toachers havo beon: aUo,w;e{l, io produce- trouble with- which tii"s;. oiie-; clause' Bill'is utterly unfitted to deal. Why Not Speak Out?

"We have every sympathy," says the *' Jam-e-Jainshed," "with thoso Englishmen, offioial and non-official, .frho' protest" against the almost' studied silence : ;of loyslist'section of the Indian leaders at the present juncturo. Hon. lir. Muir-Mackenzio,'-for' insMnoe, was perfectly justified'in the obse.« • ■'.•"'n' th'dfrf tip ■ made' in l the>Counbil • onthe; •■J-'jvfc.. It is cowardice,, to say the loas.v ; *:jit silont, with folded hands, and to pose as. the enemies of the men who have, sworn to stagger humanity by . their mis'deeds. Where is Bombay's protest, for instance, against the cowardly' ruffians who are perpetrating oiitrages aa'''hiivo boon reported from Bengal ?.);Qur letders .may J)b well warned against;/ .(••ba: i . i danger* j; olf.;rthfe. Bilence, of sitting oh tho fence, so to •'say.' Tho hour is ooming, and may even be said to be now, when the British; would;,be perfectly justified in saying"' thotej who' not openly,with us are against'us.'.

Poor Whites In Transvaal, , , "The Transvaal Commission' appointed- to study the serious problem of.indigence, which' plfccts the whole of South Africa, reports," says Renter, "that the number of '"poor whites is increasing'daily, and that the..increase is traceable to the prejudice ■ among the entire community against manual labour. A secondary o»use, .in Wib opinion of the Cominisaon, is thd' r -priinitive agricultural traditions and the fixed ideas that overy countryMan must own land. The Commission re-commends-a variety of remedial' 'measures, among wjiieh are included . Government., en-. courag«aeat «f white labour,- a lahd"ts«,' modilSoatiibns of the land laws, tho establish- ' jnent of a labour cblohy, 'to which, idlers and vagrants' could be committed, the fostering" of agricultural, and'industrial expansion, thq strict exclusion bf \nndesirabks, and, finally; the prohibition of Asiatic immigration.".After Thirty Years. Sir Eohert Hart/ Director-General of tho Chineso Maritime Customs, who,.recently re-,, turned to England 1'on" twelve'. leave after thirty years' "absence,' is qu'ictiy resting in London and finding now;things, to surprise, him every day after, his long sojotirn of half a century in the East. "The' two things which strike mo most in London," ho said recently, " aro in the nature of a paradox. One is tho enormous, speed .and volume of tho traffic in tho streets,' and the pace at which you lire. Tho other is tho surprising number of people who seem to havo nothing to do but onjoy thomselveß. Tho way in which the police govern the traffic is amazing. 1,,0f course, khe.tr their capaci-' tios in this directiop., but; I : did not realise until I saw it how'complicated thoir labours have become.: It is wonderful' that thoro. are" bo few aocidents." Sir Robert mentioned'an amusing difficulty ho has to encounter. He has so many'now. names and now faces to , remember, and it is not easy, after a score of introductions in as many miriutos, to fit tho right namo to' the-right;face. " That will lead you .to make allowances," ho said, "for the native Chinaman when ho visits Britain. Just'as all Chinamen look aliko to tho Briton on his first visit, and just as all Chinoso names sound 'the samo, so all Britons look > practically tho samo to the Dliinamau, and the difforeucos of namo convey nothing to his mind. I have lost my orientation, so to speak. I have not got 3iy point of view. Aftor spending .so many rears in China, seeing Chinese faces and hearing tho Cliineeo tongue at every turn, I have at times tho odd feeling of boing a stranger among you. It is, strange to walk down a street and meet nobody whom I know, and nobody.wbo knows me.. Even in circles with which I was most intimate a new generation has sprung up. So many of the prominent inen of Britain are known to me only by name."

liATEST; NEWS BY, OVERSEA' MAILS,

Paris. - '.- A good deal'..moro than local interest attaches to'tho project," just embodied in a /Bill that' heon- brought into the Fronch Chamber of -Deputies -with strong support from members of all parties, for the transfer from the State to tho city of tho fortifications of Paris, says tho "Glasgow Herald. "Til o walls which, at present completely surround the Fronch capital wero' only constructed in -1840.--They constitute a monu'_mont to-theprevisionj'pf M. Thiors, who insisted upon ' their erection, and who lived to.see thorn arrest, for.sevoral months tho conquering march of tho German invaders in 1870. • But for purpos{s>;of real defence they aro now hopolessly out of date, arid havo, indeed, been practically superseded by the formidable forts which engirth tho city. For several years past tho idea of removing them and utilising their area—including, of courso, that of tho wide external ditch — for, building sites antT",other purposes' has ;bcen' tho Munici-; a 'convention with the Government,'th(f object of which is the transfer to tho city of tho western and northern fortifications. Tho principal obstacle in tho way appears to bo a financial one?-' Tho;Goyernment ,; -'demarids a sum • of over'two and.alhalf millions sterling for thd land* ;and this is a higher price than are . prepared to J'pay.'"' "IF, 'however, tho v, 'Biil just introduced 1 be approved by the Chambers a much larger scheme than the one now under considera.tion. will he carried out. It contemplates the appropriation, not of. a mere section of thg walls and moat, but of tho wholo of them, -to uses, aud the project, though rather grandiose, would unquestionably, if carried out, bo of immenso benefit in tho way of enhancing tho beauty and improving tho hygienic conditions of Paris. What is proposed is to substitute for the fortifications, ft boulevard, 215 ft. wide, running quite round" the 1 "city,' while tho area rendered available would also permit of tho laying out of. at-least four-■ parks of about forty acres each, as well as a number of squares and gardens. The proposed circular boulevard wouldbe 'one -of tho noblest and longest thoroughfares in tho world; it would facilitate access to. all parts of tho capital ; and it would bo a featuro such as no other largo city,in Europe possesses. Its construction,- moreover, and the laying out of tho parks and gardens which are subsi;d,iary;,fea,tuves,,;of,,t.ho..;schome, would give to Paris what sho very much needs in tho shape of a larger amount of open breathing space. In. this" respect the French capital is much worse off than either London or Berlin. A Carnegie Prize.

Mr. Andrew Carnegie, in his rolo of Sector .. of the .University of St. Andrews, took a very' sensible aiid practical courso in offering prizes in.'.the session 1906-1907 for essays on "" International' ; Arbitration as a Substitute for War Between Nations," says tho " Northern Whig." Tho first prize has beon awarded to Mr. Ilussell Lowell Jones, M.A., a young graduato, whoso essay has just beon published;- The subject'is'an important oue, and in the discussion of it Mr. Jones has made a serious contribution to the literature dealing with international arbitration. What ho attempts to do is to find answers, to tho questions—(a) What has in past history been

done by international arrangements in tho causo of ponce? . (b), What is being done? (c) And what therefore may it be reasonably anticipated as possible to bo done? 1 While polemically or scientifically English published work is set down as of little or no value — entirely a matter of opinion—France is credited with having a flood of real work upon the problems arising out of war, while otlior parts of the Continent do not lag behind. LGlaiicing'.Uiackwards over tho stream ; of history as regards instances of .arbitral methods of solving international or mterburghal, or even interbaronial disputes, it is argued that the unified results must bo made to servo as instruments for the discovery of tho probable of arbitration initho near future and as tests of , the validity of any theory oiaminedi' takes up in turn, in a : way .-which indicates an astonishingly . wide familiarity with his subject matter, aspects such as the ago of war, tho first great age of arbitration—among tho Greoks, tho supremely intellectualfange the world ha? yctf Wolfed ;' ;thp Second groat ago of arbitratibn, " placed "iri" tho Middle Ages, the reorudescence of war, carrying us to tho third great age of arbitration?' The Study of Savages.

Professor J ; ,_G,. Frazer has mado a good • start'; in'' ofphis chair at tho University of Liverpool by'"his opening address on "The Scope of Social Anthropology," sayß "Nature." It is characterised by all the jlv.cidity. of .exposition ; ajid grace of style which wo are accustomed to expect from tho author af."The Golden Bough." Hin main object is to plead for tho systematic study of savages, who represent ■an arrested, or rather retarded, stage of social development. ■ Thoy are, ho is careful to point out, primifcivo only •in a not,in an* absolute, sense; that .'is,"[they 'are comparison with' ourL'solves, with primaeval 'man, of who'm'/wo ,: 'krioifc nothing, and, so far as we can see at present, are likely to learn nothing/ The government of mankind is ralyrays and ',-:ofery%libft!t,ossontially aristocratic, that is'to flarydull-witted majority always follows the keerier-nitted minority. 'In the'inental, no loss than in tho physical, sphere, the strugglo is internecine; bnt inStho ;'ona;, the "bettor "ijdoas, which we call '#'6 ttfith, jbarry ilho da£ Qenco, even in a jjyjg; wo find the lower clrbeos still following magical and other primitive practices-of tho samo kind. Dr. .i'taXoif;...closes a'.'j'elrlai'feble address by an .impassioned, ._appeal._f.or tho more careful Ertudy of that" savagery which is so rapidly disappearing. "How shall we of this generation look when wo-stand at tho bar arraigned on a charge of high treason to our race," we who neglected-to study our perialii;iiig ; follow-men, but who sent out costly expeditions 'to observe.th'o stars and to oxplore „tiie bajTpn..ice-bound regions of tho polos, as <-polar *ico-j would molt and the stars would 'cdaao t'o'sh'ino when we-are gone?" cSir. A.; R.' Waliaco;" "^Thft 1 . "CiarM" having stated that Dr. A..3y'-^£Jhicp,. v tho distinguished scientists was included .iii tho birthday honours,, Dr.. WaUace".'.writes' as follows in protest: "Iam.. sjirprise4>.'at your taking tho absurd' ' jn" .tho 'Table Talk' column' of tho 'Daily News' about me boing knighted 4-as'-'genuine 1' would accept such a gawd 1., and... so try to put myself beforo. .Charles: Darwin: and as if the 'Tablo Talk' is the placo in which 'Birthday Honours', aro announced:' I 'w'buld' not' trouble you to correct, it but that 1,, get. letters from my frionds asking about it, and this will increase them.' 1 -- Wigs for Solioitors. At tho annual, gencral .moeting of the Law Socioty.-"heldon ' July 10 at the society's hall, Chancery' Lane, London, Mr. W. WardHiggs raovod: "That tho wearing of a distinctive wig or head-dross by Solicitors acting 'as advocate? bo approved and recommended by tho society, and that tho necessary stops -bo -taken by-the council to bring the matter to tho notice of tho proper officials, so as to ehiiblo solicitors to carry out the effect of this resolution." Ho said it was compulsory upon tho solicitor who acted as advocate in the County Court to wear a gown, but unfortanately that gown was very liko tho costumo. of tho, Court ushor, anil there was often considerable feeling against it on that account. Tho costumo should bo one that was satisfactory and dignified,' and ho. felt that a distinctive head-dross would havo this cffect. Mr. Henry Manisty, a mombor'of council,'thought it would bo advisable to wait until certain reforms in con.lioction with tho County Courts, which would bo to tho advantago.of solicitors, had been effected. Each stop was a step of great difficulty in viow of tho attitudo and feeling of tho Bar'; and it was well not to add to tho difficulty. After a discussion tho subject was referred to tho pouncil to consider.