THE EMPIRE.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 461, 20 March 1909, Page 12

THE EMPIRE.

LATEST NEWS BY THE ENCLISH MAIL. UNITED KINGDOM. London, February 6. Politicians aro still laughing over a ludicrous incident in which tho chief actor was Mr. Victor Grayson, the Socialist M.P. (says tho "Standard of Empire"). Ho was to have spoken at llio Portsmouth Labour Conference, but bocamo the victim of a practical joke, and was, therefore, absont. About one o'clock, on leaving tho Town Hall, ho was approached, in the company of a friend, to go for a short motor drive. Thinking lie would bo back in time for the afternoon proceedings, ho accepted. Ho was driven on to Pctersficld, whero luncheon was taken. He was anxious to get back, but no notice was taken of his objections, and it was not till lato in tho afternoon that ho arrived at Portsmouth, too late to attend tho conference. Ho said, when asked, that ho considered it was "a silly kind of joke." Mr. Fred T. Jane, tho writer oil naval affairs, and Lieutenant Wilson, lato of tho In. Army, admitted responsibility for tho "abduction." Tho incident had a delightful sequel, Lieutenant Wilson himseli disappearing on tho following day. It is stated that when ho reached Southampton aii ostensible admirer of his Portsmouth exploit stopped him, and whistling up somo confederates, informed the officer that they intended to thrash him. Lieutenant Wilson agreed to accompany the party to a secluded Bpot, where tho avengers wero invited to "come on." As Lieutenant Wilson held the boxing championship for All-India, tho attackors discovered that they had caught a Tartar, and some are said to have been badly hurt. Lieutenant Wilson declines to say whether the story is true or not. He did, however, say, "I admit that I lost my iemf>er, and forgot that I was not still out in bouth Africa." Lieutenant Wilson was one of tho "slaughter trench" at Wcpcner, and ran tho gauntlet of firo thrco times, carrying three of tho wounded to shelter. For this ho was recommended for the Victoria Cross. After service in India, Lieutenant ■Wilson left tho army and became manager of a Chinese compound in South Africa, having 4000 Chinose under hiin. In tliis capacity he had various lurid adventures, and was once flattened out and left for doad during a riot. A romance which may possibly lead to interesting complications is reported from Morton, a secluded village on tho Welsh border, near Oswestry. _ A Miss Evelyn Dorothy Hopton, a vivacious young lady, reputed to be an heiress, is said to liavo recently contracted a secret alliance with a young Cambrian railway porter, the son of a houso decorator. Liko her husband, tho lady is only 19 years of age. For a few years sho has been residing at tho villago of Pant. Her father is a retired British officer, and is said to bo big-game shooting at present in Uganda. He is a Protestant, J™' 0 the mother is a Roman Catholic. In 1902 the young lady was made a ward in Chancery. Tho marriago ceremony took "placo during tho porter's " dinner hour," one of tho witnesses being a local bird-fancier. Two years ago Miss Hopton was sent to a ttoman Catholic Convent at Brussels, from which sho escaped, and arrangements wero being made, it is said, for her to bo sent to another convent wben_ sho decided to get married. After tho service the couplo parted, tho porter returning to his duties, while tho brido went , home to break the news to her mother. At first Mrs. Hopton refused to be- •? ve ,r, daughter's statement, but tho girl showed her tho wedding ring. This convinced. When sho had recovered from her surprise, Mrs. Hopton . sent a tolcgram with the news to the family solicitor and dispatched a messenger for a Roman Catholic priest. Pending the arrival of tho latter the girl was sent to her room. When the priest arrived the ml herself admitted him, and then left tho house and rejoined her husband. The young couplo moved later to furnished quarters. ,i<ssH Among recent anniversaries was that of tho doath of King Charles I. Tho famous equestrian statuo at Charing Cross was decorated, as usual, by various Royalist, Jacobite, and Legitimist societies. On the front of the statuo a large crown of yollow and red flowers, sent by the Royal Oak Club, Edinburgh branch of tho Legitimist Jacobite League, stood out conspicuously. Attached to tho tribute was a silken ribbon bearing — ; Dedicated to the memory of iung Charles, who, near this placo was beheaded by the Cromwellian gang of traitors and rebels, 30th Jan., 1649."

Once again has the accuracy of scriptural accounts been verified; in tho most extraordinary • way,- by modern science. Tho latest example of this marvellous '.unanimity is shown in regard to tho sentence in the Exodus, "And the Lord hardened tho heart „ r i > an d hearkened not unto them. At a reccnt meeting of tho pathological section of the Royal Society, of Medicine, the president exhibited microscopic sections of the aorta of King Menephtafi, who is supposed to bo tho Pharaoh of tho Exodus, liiey were made from a piece of tho aorta sent to the Royal College of Physicians of London by Professor G. Elliott Smith, who unwrapped the mummy. Tho sections showed the condition typical of senile calcification of the aorta, and wero thickly coated with calcium phosphate.

_ At a recent general assombly of Academic'an A s » n d Associates at the Royal Academy following elections were made:— William Goscombe John, sculptor; John Belcher, architect (Academicians): Jean Paul Laurens, painter (Hon. Foreign Academician); Bertram Mackennal, sculptor (Associate). Mr. Goscombe John's chief works aro,the Morpheus, tho St. John tho Baptist in tho Cardiff Art Gallery, and tho statuo of the King at Cape Town. Mr. Belcher has been an Associato of tho Royal Academy since 1900. Mr. Mackennal is an Australian whose "Earth and the Elements" ™ s - b c oUg j!tn y , Chantrey Trustees in IJ{J7 ror £300. Ho has done a largo amount of decorative work on tho Victorian Governniont buildings in Australia. M. Laurens is one of tho best-known Frcnck dcoorativo artists.

1 Si *7? a , for °g° nfi conclusion that once battleships became bigger and fewer, chhnces or promotion, or, at any rate, employment, would bo adversely affected in the case of naval officers. An order has been issued this week that in future, and in order to ensure young captains, no lieutenant of moro than twclvo and'a-half years' seniority shall bo eligible for pro-motion. A "critical ago" has been established, and the future period for possible promotion has been set at "not less than ten years' seniority or moro than twelve and a-half years." Tho assumption is that tap unpromoted lieutenant will retire at tiiii te-pn years with the rank and retired pay of commander. Navy men hold that the schpmo will, to put it bluntly, blast the career of. nearly /0 per cent, of lieutenants m the immediate future.

Sonic remarkable figures illustrating tho steady decline in tho birthrate of England and Wales are given in tho annual report of tho Registrar-General. From 187G tho proportion of births to the population has steadily fallen, and in 1907 it reached tho lowest point on record—being 26.3 per 1000 of the total population. In 1907 tho 'deathrato was the lowest on record. The excess of male over femalo births being constant from tho commencement of registration. Yet in the total population, estimated at 34,945,600 persons, the females exceed tho males by 1,186,000. .This is duo to the' heavier mortality among the males.

The largest- and most influential congress ever held in support of tho woman suffrage movement is to take place in tho last week of April. This will considerably surpass the suffragist congress held at Amsterdam, as it is expected that at least 21 different countries will bo represented. Tho demonstrations and meetings, which will bo held continuously, _ will culminate in a huge demonstration in tho Albert Hall, in June There is to bo a "white, gold, and green I fair," and a "special effort" week, while strenuous campaigns are to. bo carried on in tho university towns of Oxford and Cambridge.

Professor Arnold, speaking at tho Koyal Institution, predicted that a year hoiico tliero would bo on the market British steel with quadruple cutting power of any now known. The efficiency of tho present steel

would bo quadrupled by experiments nOfl in progress, l'rofessor Arnold said: {'It is a new steel," and, bo far as bo knew, it was a development from tho experiments of one particular manufacturer of high speed steol. "I liavo reason to believe," lie added, "that experiments in steel of the samo typo aro being mado in tho United States, but how far they liavo advanced 1 cannot say." Ho also prophesied an aluminium ago when tho present iron deposits were exhausted. Six men ivcro killed outright aud others injured by a terrific explosion which occurred while operations were being conducted for tho removal of a bargo which was sunk in collision near tho Cocltlo Lightship, threo miles from Yarmouth. It had been decided to blow tho sunken vessel up, nnil with this object in view a wrecking party proceeded to tho spot on tho Trinity ship Argus. Two 301b. charges of gun cotton had boon fixed by the wreck,_ but when it was fired tho resulting explosion was so terrifio that tho boat containing tho Trinity men was blown up, and six of tho occupants wero cither killed instantly or drowned, It is supposed that tho sunken vessel had on board a cargo of explosives. An observance of a most peculiar custom took placo this week in tho little churchyard of Wotton, near Dorking. For closo upon two hundred years a number of boys have gone on February 2 to the tombstone of William Glanvill, and, placing their hands upon, tho cold marble have recited certain prayers. Glanvill, who was _ a member of the Inner Tomplo, left sufficient money in his will to provide an annual presentation of fivo prizes of forty shillings each to boys who, on this morning of the year, should stand bareheaded around tho tomb, and recite from memory the Lord's Prayer, tho Ten Commandments, Apostles' Creed, read the fifteenth chapter of tho First Epistle to the Corinthians, and then write from dictation in a legible hand two verses from the same chapter.

CANADA. The annual report of the Council of the Montreal Board of Trade says of fcbo commercial situation that the uncertainty which hung over the horizon at this timo last year has almost entirely disappeared, and in its place there is renewed confidence and easier money markets. A year ago tho banking institutions of Canada found it necessary to put on the financial brakes, whereas to-daj money is plentiful throughout the Dominion for tho extension of legitimate business, and the largo textile corporations report present trado conditions as excellent. As a rosult of correspondence between Fredericksburg, Virginia, Lodge .of Freemasons' and Antiquity Lodge of Montreal, it has been declared that the "Breeches Bible," owned by the latter lodgo, is not that on which Georgo Washington was sworn when ho was mado a Mason. Tho book used on the occasion mentioned is in tho possession of Fredericksburg Lodge. _An action to unseat tho members of tho Financo Committee of tho City Council for having voted money to pay tho Mayor's expenses in connection with tho Jacques Cartier tercentenary in Franca has been dismissed in the Superior Court by Mr. Justice Charbonneau. Mr. Joseph Thompson, Commissioner of Industries for Toronto, is quoted as saying: "Nearly every United States business man I have had anything to do with lately has inquired with groat interest as to the probability of tho Imperial preference being established. If tho Imperial preference is decided on, there are plenty of American manufacturers who will come ricrht over hero, and establish branch factories." Tho Salvation Army of Canada has applied at Ottawa for a charter so that it may take over the Army property which-now all stands in General Booth's name. • Mr. Arthur L, Wood, R.N., has been appointed second officer on tho Canadian cruisor Canada. Mr. Wood belongs to Sheerness, England, and has been in Canada for about. fourteen: yearsi i He- is a son, of Dr. Henry C. Wood, of ; tho .Hospitals and Ele^^nqtho t j|iiperial-NaV, and,.'honorary physician to the King. Mr. Wooa has two brothers serving _as captains in tho South Lancashire Itegiment, now doing duty in India, and one brother who is flaj; lieutenant on H.M.S. Dreadnought. .The New Brunswick Government has under consideration the erection of a provincial sanatorium for the care of tuberculosis patients. It is probable that tho New Brunswick Government will adopt a more stringent policy for tho protection of fish, forests, and big game, all of which assets aro rated higher year by year, ;ind protection in tho matter of fish game is found to be an excellent investment. Lumbermen report that mooso are more plentiful in New Brunswick now than evor before. It is stated that the architects of Winnipeg have in preparation plans for over twelve million dollars' worth of buildings in 1909.

SOUTH AFRICA. The Natal Government has selected Dr. Hatch, Ph.D., to report on the mineral possibilities of tho State. Dr. Hatch is well known in tho mineral world, having made an exhaustive report on tho minerals of India. Mr. Robert Russell, 1.5.0., of Natal, fornierly Superintendent of Education in Natal, is now occupied in the publication of a fresh edition of tho State, entitled, "Natal, tho Land and its Story." Mr. Russell proposes bringing tho edition up to the time of tho end of Dinizulu's trial. The Government has agreed to accept membership of tho British Chamber of Commerce in Paris in sympathy with'tho efforts which are being 'made to extend Natal's trado with France. Speaking at a meeting of the Witwatersrand Rifles, of which he is Colonel. Colonel Schumacher announced that preliminary arrangements had been completed to send a team to Bisley this year. Tho official returns of tho rainfall of tho Transvaal for January show that it rained on twenty-five days of tho month. The total amount recorded was 19.98 inches—6J inches above the previous record for any 0110 month. Many farmers suffered severely, while tho damage to house property in Johannesburg is estimated at over £150,000. A man named Vaustaoden was killed by lightning. Every particle of his clothing, includihg his botfts, were burnt off his body, and steel watchcliain and the money in his pockots were melted. Twenty Indians have been sentenced to three months' hard labour, or a fine of £50 «heli, for not producing their certificates. Twenty-four natives have been rescued alivo from the Witwatersrand Gold Mine, which wns flooded by tho bursting.of dams during tho recent heavy rains. They had undergone tho horrors of entombment, without food for eight days, and were, as can be imagiucd, in a sorry plight. Tho statement of the revenue of Cape Colony and expenditure for tho five months ended November 30 last shows a surplus of £91,588 on transactions in November, resulting in the reduction of the accrued deficit from £528.413 to £43(3.825. Tho revenue for November was £524.756, and for the five months £2,717.815. The expenditure was £433,1CS and £3,154,040 respectively. The Natal Government entomologist lias issued instructions to the effect that on and after April 1 next all consignments of potatoes showing any trace of diseases known as whito rot. scab, black rot, gall-worm, or potato tuber-moth are not to bo permitted to enter Natal. INDIA. Revised rules have been laid down, with the approval of tho Secretary of State for India, for regulating (he financial nowers of tho Government of Indin in the future. Tho nox rules ver.y considerably extend (be powers hitherto enjoyed by the Government of India in tho matter of public expenditure. Tho efforts of the Salvation Artnv to introduce tapioca _ flour as article'of diet among the native population in North' India promises to be_ successful. They nro likely to be further aided by the concession recently sanctioncd_ by the Railway Board, under which sun-dried tapioca is now classified as grain on certain railways, thereby reducing tho freight.