HOME NEWS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 764, 12 March 1910, Page 13

HOME NEWS.

INTERESTING ITEMS BY MAIL. London, January 28. On May 23 the Festival'of Empire will bo opened at the Crystal Palace. It has now been decided that from each State shall come two hundred specially appointed delegates, who will fcnVft part in the final scenes of the Pageant of London. Sir Pieter Bam has arranged with the executive committee for the inclusion in the festival of twelve families, one from each of the principal centres of Cape Colony, Natal, the Transvaal, Orange River Colony, and Rhodesia. The cost of the pageant is estimated at about .£50,000, but the estimate can only be a rough one, as many of .the actors will supply their own costumes. Each scene of the pageant is dealt with by a small committee, and up to a fortnight before the opening ceremony the various scenes will be rehearsed. separately, at the district [headquarters.'of the pageant. Some 15,000 actors will'take part. Among the curious "properties" which will be m, request during the pageant are a number of arrows with whistles attaohed, 60 that they' sound shrilly as they .rash through the air. They are modelled on arrows used by archers in the mediaeval ages to strike terror into the heart o£ * the enemy. -Work for a number of the unemployed will be found in connection'with the festival. At a meetmg of .the Central (Unemployed) ■?J ii stated that in connection with the festival the Central Body had promised to- provide ,551 . workers, .including 200 "painters, 100 painters' labourers, 30 ; scaffolders, 60 carpenters, 120 general labourers, 20 gangers, and 15 un-der-foremen and gangers. ' 8.-P. and the Scouts.

Lieufcenant-Geiicral Sir R. S. S.Baden. Powell, now acting as General Officer Commanding the Northumbrian Diviintends shortly to resign his commission in the ;Axmy; 'in;' order that he may devote more of his time to the Boy .Scouts movement, of which he Is the founder. Speaking at at, a °* local scouts, General Baden-Powell referred to the world-wide influence of the movement r for there were scouts, he said, in every corner of the world. The last place-he heard of a force being formed,.,was..Smyrna,. Asia v?f* , 7 a da y '°r «> before he had a letter from the Tsar of Russia stating that his staffofficers'. had started' the movement there; ( Now. boys in Russia had to be Scouts whether they liked it or not, and 'they: had ' to commenoe when they were at school. He.also received a letter previous' day/from 'the Governor of Canada, stating that the Scouts were so numerous that he did not know what to do with theni: all. •He pointed out to the boys that they belonged to a big brotherhood, and if any of them went ™'. th « oversea.: States' -they would find then- brother Scouts" ready to give them the right hand, of : friendship. Breach of Contract. In the King's Bench/Division ah action was brought by Miss Annesley Kenealy, a lady Journalist, daughter of : Dr. Kenealy defender of the Tichbome claimant, against Lord Northoliffe and the Associated : Newspapers (Limited) to recover damages for alleged wrongful dismissal from the;staff of the "Daily Mail." The defendants denied that the plaintiff was a member of the staff 'of the "Daily ZL-v that she was. only a ' Many amusing revelations \iere made in the oourse of the hearings. i? S j ? w ko ' was unrepresented, asked Lord Northcliffe what a oertain letter in reference, to .'left from the Hon. Sydney Holland oontaihed,. After so mi hesitation, the witness- stated 1 that hb thought the'writer said: "Why do you 86 ® u 7. Fawtes down to worry §i! j -kat er > Miss Kenealy asked Mr. Holland why he had thus referred to her. Mr. Holland replied: "Tou struck me as being dressed extremely unsuitable for a •visit to a hospital; yoa.were overdressed; you had a tremendously big-hat on,,'.the biggest. I have/evefi'seen;! an .'iniinense amount of jewellery, a' eonsiderable-sized wig,- and a very. bright. yellow. or pink dress, which was unsuitable either for your age or position, and certainly for the place, you were in."" The jury, without leaving the' box, returned a verdict for the defendants. Minus Death-Rate. _In_ajecent issue of the "Standard of Empire" mention was made of the . parish of Holwell, -Khere during the past year not a single death ; had occurred among the 380 inhabitants.An even better reoord has been attained by the village of Holywell, Huntingdonshire,'which has'a population of 113.- From Easter, 1905, for four years'there , was not a single death, and the only death since that period has been that of a stranger, an old man aged 70 years, who, being dangerously ill, came to the village to-be nursed, and died within a few days. Of oourse, the death must be reoorded as one in the parish, but it was not of an . actual, resident. Holywell is situated on the fiver Ousc, and is much frequented by .visitors and fishermen. -•

New Indian Knighthoods.' • It has been announced in the Gazette that the King, by letters patent : under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom, each document bearing the date of January 1, has conferred the honour of knightliood on Mr. Naravan Ganesh Chandavarkar, Puisne Judge of the High Court of Judicature, JBombay.; ...Mr. Alexander M'Robert, Ciiwnpore;- and Mr! Dorabii Jamsetjee Tata, "of Bombay.. Queen Victoria's Books. V Some of the late Queen's books from the Royal. library.at. Osborne have been sold by auction at., Messrs. . Hodgson's, Chaaoery Lane. Many of the volumes bear the Royal arms on the binding, and stamped over'-the titles are the words: "Sold by authority."- They were all the personal property of. Queen Victoria; no longer needed at Osborne House' owing to the changes made since the King gave it to the nation as a sanatorium.. The late Queen's studies in Hindustani when she became .Empress of India are shown in at least one volume in the collection. It is a book entitled "Histoire de la Literature Hindoue," whioh her Majesty prized. The, books number several hundreds, and their chief value lies in their association; i They inolude 143 volumes of the "Annual Register," complete' from the first volume in 1758 to the death of the Queen. "Babies" at the Zoo. The latest addition to the number of youngsters in the nursery at the Zoological Gardens is a-baby.~impophoo. The new arrival brings,'ihe.'.herd; of eland— or impophoos, as they are ■ called in Africa —up to seven,. and. adds' another to the many responsibilities of tho Zoo "nurses." Among the other babies in the nursery there are now a young Congo marshbuck, an infant white calf, tho smallest: Malayan bear in captivity, and twin gazelles. Mutiny Veteran's Death.' ■ The death- is announced of MajorGeneral T. W. Mercer, Indian Army, who died at Ealing at the advanced age of eighty-five years. He entered the Hon. Eaßt India Company's service as an ensign on June 11. 1842, when he was posted to the 46th,Bengal Native Infantry, continuing with that regiment during the 2nd Sikh campaigns in 184S and 1849;."He was present at. the aotions of Ramnuggar and Sadulapur, and at the battles of Chillianwnllah and Gujernt, for which-ho received the modal and two clasps. He served with the Bengal Sappers and Minors from 1549 to 1851, when he was appointed to tho Punjab Commission on the nomination of Sir George Edmonstone, K.C.S.I. In his capacity as a "military civilian," he was present at\ Ferozenur when the native troops mutinied: at that station. Peer's Daughter's Masquerade.

Lady Constance Lytton. a membpr of the Women's Social and Political Union, was imprisoned some time ago, it will be remembered, for causing a disturbance at Mr. Lloyd-George's Newcastle meeting. Two or three days later she was released by order of the Home Secretary, on the ground that she was in ill-health. Lady Constance Lytton, latar, in public, said that the real reason for her release was that she was a peer's daughter. Mr. Gladstone denied-this, and eaid it wm

•fo ;" .. t >rt V-- r '->n hnd p lvoqk .. . , . ••t'L'Ti, i*:ul Jkiv r-:-.!!'; 1 - !'• t- ibg might be uis4.s;rous to her. hi o?uo' lo .rove the truth of lier contention, Lady'Constanoe Lyttoa broke the windows of the prison governor's /house at Liverpool on January 14, disguised as a working woman, gave her name as Jane Warton, and said that her object was to protest against the way in which an imprisoned suffragist had been treated. She was sentenced to a term of imprisonment, during which, it is stated, she underwent forcible feeding. She 6aye that her heart ■ was not tested prior to the operation, • neither was her pulse felt, and that oa one occasion the doctor slapped her face. She has just been released. . Employment Frauds. The London Countv Council have in* serted provisions in tneir General Powers Bill for the next session of Parliament ; ' to 1 provide for the more strict licensing , • and regulation of employment agencies.\ ; 'v ; - The present powers, conferred by the Act ' of 1905, have, it is stated, proved insuffi- .V . cient to prevent -fraud and immorality, and it is proposed in the preamble to the now Bill that the Act. bo repealed. Under the regulations contained in the, > ; now Bill all persons carrying on employ? ment agencies will have to be licensed, • with a penalty up to JOSO and >£20 a diiy" as, the alternative. Agencies established by Parliament (such a*< labour exchanges) * ] and institutions Dot carried on for a • j profit may be exempted. . j "Faithful Unto Death." ' In memory of General Gordon, who wai 1 killed at Khartum on January 26, 188 V; .j his 6tatue in Trafalgar Square was de- 1 corated on January 23. One of th« J tributes was a beautiful wreath of arum -, - - lilies, chysanthemums. and forget-m^'o;v •; / nots, and had attached to it a card bear- ' inc .the .words: "Paithf ll unto Death." : "Irrom an old soldier at Khartum, with'V ;~v; a .fond hope that all who can will now 1 ' . i help to perpetuate Gordon's memory and . the spirit which. actuated him by con- ' , . / tributjng to the Khartum Cathedral' .Fund." - Among the other tributes were one from Sir John Knill, and one ia» scribed: "A tribute of affection from the workers and friends of the Bagged School ' s "Onion and Shaftesbury Society.-7-John <1 Kirk,. Director/' At (jravesend, where .v ] General Gordon spent 'several years, th® ' V.'- j anniversary was , observed by the local Ragged; School, with which the distil 1 '3 guisned. soldier was intimately acquainted* t It was in connection with this particular .7 . v j school that Gordon conducted a of 3 what ha called his "Gutter Kings." £200,000 Music 'Hall. . A . variety theatre is now in, course in erection on the site, where HenglerV Circus used, to stand in Argyll Street,, Ox- ■■'■■■ ford 4 Street, which, when ready for opening in- September next, will be the largest '' music-hall in Great Britain. It is being 7 built. for Mr. Walter Gibbons from de- • . ' signs by Mr. Frank Matcham, to seat '• about 5000 people, and when finished will,' including the price paid fpr the rite, have ' • cost «6200,000. Every part of the interior ♦ of the music-hall will be carpeted, and even in that portion of the house whew - the price of the admission is sixpence • ; velvet upholstered tip-up chairs will be provided. .Luncheon, dinner,« ,and. tea rooms have been arranged for,' and also a. hairdresser's shop and a reading-room.'• —"Standard of Empire/'