LATEST MAIL NEWS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 772, 22 March 1910, Page 5

LATEST MAIL NEWS.

■INTERESTING LAW CASES. TRADE STATISTICS. •(PUBLIC 'BEQUESTS :■' £18,500,000 IN ' ■: :' FOUR YEARS. ; V ~ London, February 11. The value the bequests kit for public uses , under wills, proved in ftmii- ' aryjis over ;£1,000,000. Public bequests amounting to about £3.500,000 were left' under 80 wills in 1909; in 1908 rather more, than ; £3,500,000 was left ■under the same number of. wills.- In 1907 there were beauests for public uses.under 80 wills amounting to nearly £4,900,000, and: in 1906. £4,500,000 came.from 70. wills. Consequently there ■is a total for".the four years of nearly £16,500,000 "under; the wills, of 310 testators, whose estates were valued for, probate at £58,500,000. The bequests ; under' other wills during the four years'would probably bring, the •total;up'.to. £18,500,000, with a yearly average of some £4,625,000. - : Creat Railway Combine. ''■'~ ' .. An important railway combination, in which amounting to over £142,000,000 -is involved, was foreshadowed by Sir Charles Scotter, the -.chairman of the London and SouthWestern Railway Company, in addressing .the half-yearly: meeting of shareholders.. He announced that lately he had. taken part in three or four friendly interviews with Lord Churchill, the chairman, of the Great Western. Railway Company. : Hβ continued: "We have • discussed, the broad outlines' on which an agreement could, be made between' our .two companies which would do away with wasteful competition, and enable us to work as allies instead -of as rivals, and ': although up to the present time nothing has been .definitely decided, I shall be very much disappointed if before the end of this current half-year a. satisfactory agree-' ment has not been completed." The capital, of. the■ L. .and S.W.R. is £46,976,427, that of the G.W.R £96,049,703.. The receipts and. expenditure of the L. and S.W.R. are respectively £5,528,360, and £3,525,814, and of the G.W.R. respectively £13,742,913 and £8,731,125. .; !: ; ..- Another Lord Mayor. . ; _ . :

It has been officially announced that the King'.has \directed. that the Mayor of Norwich shall henceforward enjoy, the style and title of Lord Mayor,-in view of;the position occupied by Norwich as the chief city of East Anglia , and of its close .association with his Majesty. It is only within "comparatively .recent times that. the; title of lord mayor has been adopted for 'the 'chief■magistrate of the more important of the _provincial towns and of some of those, in oversea States. ' London has enjoyed the distinction since 1189-91, Dublin since '1665, and York for some centuries, whilo the title of "lord" is ■ given to the, Provosts ■of Edinburgh; : Glasgow, ' Dundee, Aberdeen, and * Perth. The following are the : dates of.the creation of other lord mayors:— ILeeds, Belfast, Liverpool,; Man-.. Chester, Birmingham, Sheffield, and Bristol ......'.....;......'...... 1899 Cork .:.... 1900 Sydney and Melbourne- 1902 .Cardiff ..........;. ;..„....... 1905 Norwich 1910 British Shipping In 1909. ; The total addition of steam tonnago during 1909,' according to Lloyd's re- ; gister of British and foreign shipping was 791,625, and .of sailing tonnage total of ,825,982, tons- gross. . Of the Tannage'added-to''theV-r'cgister about 94 per. cent., consisted .of new,j vessels, practically all built-in the United Kingdom. The largest item among the other additions to the register, were those of vessels bought from foreign countries for the United Kingdom—namely, 26,43S tons. The tonnage sold to foreign owners during 1909 amounted to 36-1,718. On the whole, during 1909, the number of steamers on the register of the United Kingdom ' increased by 171, an( i -the tonnage by 255,818. The number of sailing vessels decreased by 140, and. the tonnage by 104,608. The total number'of veseels on. the. register lias increased during the year'by 31, and the total tonnage by 151,210. .'.. ' ' : Board of trade Returns. The Board of Trade" returns show .' that the imports for January amounted to £55,921,154, against £53,500,364 in the' corresponding month of last year, being an increase of £2,420,790. The exports were £34,803,115, compared with ; £28,803,046, ; an "increase of £6,000,069. Under the heading of articles mainly manufactured, the principa/j'> acreases in exports last month were and steel and manufactures ti' /of, £656,802; ships, new, £1,736,193.J0tt0n, £1,332,095; wool, £634,607; Slk, £28,010: other , ■ yarns and textile fabrics, £180,694.

The Sackville Case. The Sackville peerage case, which, was beard in the Probate Court, '■ was marked by a dramatic surprise, when a letter,was received from the petitioner, withdrawing his petition, "although* , it ; breaks my heart, as the judge refused an adjournment to enable him to procure fresh evidence from Spain, and as his counsel and solicitor had retired from the case. It will be remembered that the petitioner, Mr. Ernest Henri jean Baptiste Sackville-West, asked for a declaration that he was the legitimate son of the second Lord Sackville and a Spanish dancer named, Josef a Duran de • Ortego. He contended that there was a marriage some time between 1863 and August. 1867. The defendants, or persons cited,- were the Attorney-General, the Dresent Lord Sackvillo (a nephew of the second Lord Sackville), and others. They maintained that there never was a marriage between the petitioner's father and the dancer, and further alleged a marriage between Josefa and a Spanish dancing master, Don Juan Antonio Gabriel do la Oliva, on January 10, 1851, at Madrid. The judge, however, took no notice of the request of tho petitioner, and continued the hearing, finally reserving judgment. [A cablegram, dated February 14, stated that' the petition was dismissed.] . • .

''La Milo" in the Dock. Considerable sensation has been ■ caused by the ease, before the BonStreet magistrate, in-which Mrs. Pansy Eggena—who. is known on the music--~«V««, hall stage as "La Milo," and whose i^9t \ wrt jepresentations of statues are famous — abused with' Ferdinand Eggena and Percy, Easton of conspiracy to obtain jewels worth £7000 by false pretences from Mr. W. E. Wood, a Brook Street jeweller". The 'counsel for the prosecution said: "Mr. Wood parted with jewels worth more than £8000 to Eggena,- who asserted that he was the owner. of twenty-five motor-cars, listed at £20,000, which were- stored at tho Motor House, Euston Road, and gave an order for the delivery of these -j/ cars to Mr.- Wood. -Eastpn, the di- / ■ rector, signed an acknowledgment of ' the receipt of the cars, and stated that he would hold them at Mr. Wood's ■ disposal if the jewels were not paid for by January 10. When- tho time for -tOie payment of the money arrived,Jlr. Wood applied for it in vain. Applications were, mad ealmost daily until jWens and the woman disappeared. Jnen Mr. Wood asked Easton to deliver the motor-cars to Mm, but Easton stated that he had- given them. to.

Eggena on a properly-signed order, and that he had notified Mr. Wood. As a matter of faofc, Mr. Wood received no such notification. The prisoners were remanded on bail. The Roller-Skating Craze, The' interesting question whether rol-ler-skating in the street is legal has been raised at the North London Police Court. The police applied for summonses against five boys, who, it was alleged, had caused an odstruction by ■skating on footpaths, but the magistrate refused to grant the ■ summonses. "I do not know that roller-skating on the footpath-is an offence, in law," he stated. .."If it.becomes a general nuisance the police can apply to the county council to make a by-law prohibiting it, but at present if seems to me that it is no 'more.an offence than running on the footpath.".' Skating in the street is a common practice on the Continent, but in London tlio only people who ;carry the craze to that length aro small boys.

Sequel to "Bombs by Post" Case. . A tragic sequel has followed the extraordinary evtradition case in which Dr. Martin Ekenberg, the distinguished Swedish scientist, was charged at Bow Street Police Court with attempted murder by, sending bombs to Sweden through the post. Dr. Ekenberg, while awaiting extradition, died in Brixton Prison. His death is ascribed to a clot of blood on' the brain, and his illness was sudden, though it was known that he had been suffering .for a considerable time from mental trouble. The career of Dr. Ekenberg, who was an authority on the chemistry of soap and explosives, was one of exceptional brilliance;' He had installed in his; house at Clapham Pa.rk one of the most perfect laboratories in the world. He~ invented many compounds, and two at least—a carbonising process' and certain milk extracts —are well known in the world.of commerce. .. .' C.P.0.! Extension. In March 500 of the post office employees at St. Martin's-le-Grand will enter into temporary occupation of the.new King Edward's buildings, now' nearing completion, on the site of. tho old Bluecoat School; ' By August next this huge block of buildings v will be ready for the occupation of the 4000 employers at present quartered in the old East building.' The King Edward buildings cover about two acres, and wjll provide accommodation for at least ' 6000 workers'. The old building was the original Central Po3t. Office, and has been in existence for nearly 100 years. ... The Controller of • the London Postal Service' and his administrative staff, the foreign letter and newspaper sorters; and'those engaged in'the work for the East. Central postal district, of London have been employed in. the old building. The "new buildings will cost £ 06,000. The number/ of persons employed in tho postal buildings at St., Martin's-le-Grand has increased from about 1500 to nearly 11,000 during the life of the old building bow to bo forsaken. :...- ■•■ ...

Two Anniversaries, ... The ninety-eighth, anniversary of the birth of Charles Dickens was not' allowed to pass .unnoticed by his. many admirers. -.During tho day large'crowds visited his grave in AVestminstor Abbey. In commemoration of the anniversary of the birth, of the late . Sir Henry Irving, a number of ■' wreaths -\were placed .on . his grave .in the Poets' Corner at Westminster Abbey.'Amongst the floral tributes was a beautiful laurel' chaplet,' decorated with light-blue ribbon/and bearing the. following inscription: "In loving memory of Sir Henry Irving from six old Lyceum Pittites,' , ' while another wreath; bears,■ the,inessag©: "From the Garden of dear Memories." Fatal Landslide.' % v ''"" " : " "r""' ■ Owing to the recent heavy snowstorms and floods in the North pffEngJand, a higlrhank at West Wylam, near-Newcastle, gave way, .and collapsed on to three cottages at.its foot. There were altogether ten people in the destroyed dwellings,-and the landslide took place so suddenly that none.of the inmates had time to escape, and three of them, -women, . were lulled. ■~ It is estimated that the weight of the earth which fell on the cottages was between 400 and 500 tons, and tho terrific force of the impact is .shown by the fact that a .mangle in one of the houses was driven through a wall two feet thick. Women Clerks for ,East Africa. .

.The Postmaster-General has sanctioned an innovation in telegraph work by inviting applications for six appointments for women at Nairobi, British East Africa. -One of tho successful, applicants will act as supervisor and matron, and her pay will be £150 a year, rising to £200, with an.additional £20 a year for her duties as matron. The other five will receive , , salaries of £110, rising to £150 a year, and furnished apartments wil be provided for them. Free passages to Mombasa will be granted, and after thirty months' service three months' leave will be granted on full pay and' three months on three-quarter pay. At tho end of three years' service the clerks may, if they wish, return to the home service.

A Minister of Defence. It is stated in well-informed quarters that a proposal has been'made, and will receive l , early consideration by the Cabinet, for the amalgamation of the Admiralty and the War Office'under a single Minister, to be styled the Minister of : Defence. The. . advantage claimed for the proposal is that it would produce a co-ordination between the two services which has been frequently called • for in the past, and on many occasions found wanting. As things are at present, there would be in the case of war no official link between the Admiralty and the War Office except the Premier. Under tho proposed arrangement the new Minister would be at once the link and the head.. ■ ■ • . Lord Rosebery as Plaintiff. In the Chancery Division a remarkable case has been heard in which Frank Bradley, an ex-footman, was sued for the return of £60,000, which was given him by his employer, the late Miss Louisa, Cohen and tho late Miss' Lucy Cohen. The plaintiffs, who aro relations of the ladies and executors of Miss Lucy Cohen's will, were Lord Rosebery, Lord Rothschild, Mr. Arthur Lucas, and Mr: Arthur Cohen, K.C. Miss Cohon bequeathed £350,000 to Lord Rosebery's children. It was stated that Mr. Bradjey was originally footman in the ladieS , service, and .that later he became a sort of confidential agent to them, with a salary of £1100 a year. Mr. Bradley received the moneys in dispute at various times, on one occasion, for instance, he is stated to have received £15.000 to build a house with. Tho plaintiffs • allege undue influence on his part, which accusation the defendant denies. Mr; Bradley is also asked for an account of money—said to be £220,000 —which passed through his hands on the ladies' behalf. When the third day's hearing began, Sir E. Carson announced that his lordshio would not be further troubled with tho case, which must, from the nature of tho questions involved, have been a protracted one. The defendant, acting under the speaker's advice, given after very careful consideration of the principle involved, had agreed to forego his legacy of £10,000 under Miss Lucy Cohen's will, and a further sum mentioned in his counterclaim. The plaintiffs on their side had. agreed that ho should retain, the gifts lie. had received from the ladies, and his annuity of £100 under the will of Miss Louisa Cohen. Sir E. Carson added that he understood there had been no charge against Mr. Bradley's honesty, TEe

matter at issue had arisen out of the equity doctrine with regard to the circumstances in which people in a ficuciary position would receive gifts. The judge, in making an order that all proceedings should be stayed, added that it was plain. and obvious that_ it was the duty of the executors to bring this action.

Labour Conference. The alrgest conference of the Labour party ever held has been opened at the Central Hall, Newport, Monmouthshire. No fewer than 440 delegates attended the opening. Mr. Keir Hardie, M.I 3 ., waSj at the outset; moved to the chair. In the course of his addTess, the president* said: "At all costs, we must maintain our complete freedom of action, both.in the House of Commons and in. the constituencies. The treatment meted out to our candidates by the Liberals during the recent contest was not of a kind to predispose us towards any undue friendly relationships.—"Standard of Empire."