BY THE ENGLISH MAIL.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1027, 17 January 1911, Page 9

BY THE ENGLISH MAIL.

LONDON SUMMARY, AN ECHO OF LUCKXOW. London, December !). The dentil lias taken place at Eastbourne cf Lady Conner, who was one of tho English ladies who endured and survived tlio perils of tho H%'o of LltcklHiv-'. A sjster of' Sir Henry Flower Every, ot ivgginton, slio married in 1852 Sir. (ntlerwurds Sir) George Couper, n young Indian civilinn, who, after the annexation of Onilh, was appointed secretary to tho Chief Commissioner. 31 r. Conner, during tho early part of the siege, served as A.D.C. to Henry Lawrence, and, afterwards on Ontram's staff in the Alambagh. A small room in the Residency was assigned to his wife and two children, and here, shortly after the investment, Mrs.' Caliper gave birth to a daughter, who, however, did not live till Havclock's force brought, succour to ' the garrison. Her husband; .Sir George, died in 1808.

IMPRISONMENT AND DIVORCE. Interesting-evidence- on the. "question as to whether a long term of imprisonment should be made a ground for divorce was given before the Divorce Commission b.v Dr. J. B.\ Cooke,, chief medical oEcer of Wakefield. Prison,' w-lio said that facilities l'or divorce would be an advantage in cases in which the return of the husband from imprisonment was dreaded by tho wife, and in which his actual return meant breaking up the home. Cases where tho influence ol* a good woman, was tho means of reforming tho liberated criminal were rare. From -the standpoint of mere expediency, lie inclined to tho view that tho balance of advantage would be to liu in the granting of facilities. . It was not so much mere long absenco from tho wife that should be looked upon as a ground of divorce" as tho'moral depravity evidenced by- the length of sentence-and-de-, gree of criminality. -EMPmr, COTTON.- . 'Speaking before tho Royal Geographical Society oil "Geographical Aspects of the Problem 'of- Empire. Cotton' Growing," Mr."J. Howard Reed said that there was a,great need for increased supplies of raw cotton being obtained from somewhere, and the continued commercial prosperity of a large portion of this country was of necessity greatly dependent upon its solution.' Various portions of the lung's Dominions rwero". climatically ■ well -'capable of contributing something towards the' largo supply needed, and some of tho States gave distinct and hopeful promise for the future. Tho energetic operations of the British Cotton Growing Association had produced eminently satisfactory results, but what had been accomplished was extremely small-compared with what was actually required, if tho great cotton industry of Great Britain was to bo saved. For eight years the pioneers of the Empire cotton-growing movement had been appealing for .£500,000,' hut the 6um was not complete.- - What was that sum in comparison with -the salvation of an industry worth to -the country over .£100,000,000 per annum? - - - •• - EMPIRE TRIBUNAL. ' " ' ■ j ' Judgment has been given by the Judicial Committee of tho Privy Council—tho Supreme Tribunal of Empire—in a ease in which tho Bank of Montreal appealed from a. decision of tlio Supreme Court of Canada. -The action had been brought originally by a Mrs. Stuart, who . sought to set'aside a series of -transactions with tho bank in connection with the Maritime Sulphite Fibro Company (Limited), in which she became involved "at the instance, of her husband. It was stated that the transactions hod ended in the transference to the bank of ..everything Mrs. Stuart possessed. Judgment was .given-in favour'of. the plaintiff in tho Supreme Court-of Canada, who held that she.wAs entitled to relief; Tho Judicial Committee has now dismissed tho appeal of the Bank of Montreal with costs, from . this decision. •. . IRVING STATUE. Sir John Hare has unveiled a memorial statue to Sir llenry Irving, which has been erected in front °f the' National Portrait Gallery' by. subscription from English actors- and actresses and others connected with the theatre in this country. The statuo is jn every way a worthy monument to tho great actor. It is of bronze, and stands about Oft. high upon a plinth of Portland stone, the same height above tlio ground. Sir -Henry: is. represented" in doctor's robes, in an attitude of declamation, holding a manuscript in hi? left hand. The plinth bears the inscription: "Henry. Irving, actor, born IS3B, died ISIOS. Knight, Lit.D. Dublin, "D.Litt. Cambridge, LL.D. Glasgow. Erected by English actors, and actresses and by others connected with tlio theatre in this country." ■UNCLAIMED* BANK BALANCES. A "VphiCo Paper just issued states that the unclaimed balances in Canadian chartered banks, in respect of which no transactions had taken place for live years and upwards amounted on December J'l last to .£124,153, wiiile the amount of unpaid dividends was JJIOOo, and there were also unpaid drafts or bills of exchange of the value of XB'JO. The umount of unclaimed bank balances credited to the "Unclaimed Moneys Fund" in tho Victoria Treasury under. Section 0 of the Unclaimed Moneys-Act, up to January 31, was.JJ2O72 Hi Bd. ( of which a sum of £121 10s. lOd. hos been disbursed, leaving unclaimed oil that date £2550 lGs. lOd. In South Australia tho amount of unclaimed balances paid into the Treasury up to January'3l was £14,270, of which £1400 was paid out. The unclaimed balances., etc., held by banks in New-Zealand on January 1 amounted to £1109, and tho total amount paid over-to the Government bv tho banks under flic Unclaimed Hc-evs Act, 1808, 1902, and 130S, is £IG,IUr. ' . CHURCH IN WALES. After four years and a half of investigation, the Royal Commission on tho Churches in Wales liavo produced their report.' The main report, now issued, is signed by the chairman and six other members, and occupies ' seventv-eight pages, while no fewer than 300 pages aro occupied b.v reports and memoranda from other members. The sitting accommodation was found to be 458,917 for tho Church of England, and 1,538,354 for .Nonconformists, or .i total of 1,997,271 for a population of 2,012,917. Roman Catholics have sitting accommodation for an additional ■ 21,850. The number of churches in Wales was given as 151G, with 318 mission rooms. Moro than half the incumbents have tinder £200 a year, .and more than a quarter under £150. It is added that the number of communicants increased in the four dioceses—Bangor,. Llandaff, St. Asaph, and St. Davids —from 105,419 in 1891 to 194,-104 in 1909. THE NIMKOD. Sir Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic exploration ship, the Ninirod,'Which' caino under the hammer at the Baltic Shipping Exchange, did not find a purchaser, and was withdrawn at £2075—0n1y £25 below- the reserve. The ship was* built on the 'l'ay in 1866, and for some forty years was in the sealing trade, becoming known' as a "lucky" ship by reason of her splendid catches. It is said that she was -a base, in her time, from which about 345,000 seals were caught. She was rebuilt in 1889, and in 1907-S she again underwent a thorough overhaul on tho Thames, preparatory to sailing on her famous Polar voyage. When she lay oft the Embankment last year over £2000 was raised in fees from visitors. EMPIRE TRADE MARK. Tho thirteenth annual meeting of tho British Empiro Leaguo has been held, under the presidency of the Lord Mayor, nt tho Mansion llouse. Proposing the adoption of the nnnual report, Sir Walter nely-Hutohinson (chairman of the executive) said that among the questions considered during tho year had been that of a British Empire trade mark. Experience had shown that the law, requiring foreign goods to be labelled "Made in Germany" and so on, had proved rather a good advertisement for them, and there was a general desire that there should be some means of identifying British goods. There were many difficulties to be overcome. Ono was that if they had a British Empire trade mark and could not defend it, it- i"ight do more harm than good. Another difficulty was that of deciding what were

British goods, nnd to what extent raw material or half-manufactured material wns to be considered ttritish material when worked up by the British manufacturer,

INTERESTING SALES. Two sales of interest to collector.* of. mnnu;:cripts and luce have taken place in London during tho last few days. At Sotheby's a remnrk.lblo series of Merer dith manuscripts, some I GOO pages in 'ill, realised .tlGSO—mere th:in XI a page. The lots included a large porlion of an unpublished version of "One of Our Conquerors" and of "The Tragic Comedians," and' 05-page.s of "Diana of the Knrlier in (ho sale Bryoit's manuscript of his Ode fo i Napoleon Tetched JiißO. The lato Sir William Abdy's wonderful collection of lace fetched about ,21(1,(100 at Chrisfie's. Hardly within living memory have such, rare .specimens como up for sale. One lace fiouneo of old Italinn gold and thread fold 'for .£7-10, and .£SOO and .£6OO was paid for very short lengths of lace. . . . . SPAIN'S LIBERATOR. . •A delegation of Spanish journalists from Santingo de Oompostelo, Cialicia, has visited St, Paul's Cathedral and lnid.on; t|io tomb of the Dul;e of Wellington in. tho crypt a wreath of. bay and laurel. On. streamers of blue and white (the" colours of Galicia) were the words "The. Press pf Santiago (le Compostela to tho Duke, of Wellington." The.inhabitants of Galicia,' in which Coniniw is situated, were among tho Duke's most useful Spanish allies. The visitors .were showirovoHho building by Archdeacon Sinclair, .Senor Don Lo--pez, who placed the wreath on the tomb, referred to the Duko as one .of the. great heroes of history, and spoke of the admiration with.which he was regarded in Spain. -' BRITISH. EAST-.AFRICA,; ;'. Colonel Sir Percy Gov-' 'ernor. of British. East .'Africa; a meeting of the?londoh " Ghaiiiber-' : 6t' Commerce, When Major E. : H-: M; lectured on . "Trado Prospects-'in British ■ East. Africa and Uganda,"--siid'Hliat liehad coma' to the conclusiou ; that British East .'Africa Kyas tho gem of the ; British colonies iiv Africa. V Tliere-was veal highland scenery, and it was possible to hunt two days a'wMk hiuTindulge in polo'four I days , a week. ' The pleasures of golf we're not forgotten for-tho Sc'ofeman'.'j With regard to the production of/wheat, Sir Percy said that 'one could already £>?e the spectacle of";a-J200-acre field of wheat. The time was bo\v : coming wlien_ tha-plant-' er',' settler,-' and merchant, were"- going- to' .reapVn veryi : rich, harvest niid a reward" for their-past work.' The idea that East* Africa wns a'land of sleeping sickness-was nonsense. INCREASED TRADE, v .'. .. The Board of Trade returns'for Novem-: ber-show .that ..the imports'.amounted ; to •£62,091,443, an increase..over the : ligures for the same period last-year, of >£2,479,901, andlof J!l4,lß6,9G!i'Ovev . November, .1908.Tho .oxportsJ-for. tho-month.; amounted Jo ■£3G,897,425, an increase over November, I 1909, of =£3,575,970, and of £7,750,010 over the. exports for November, .190$. For' tlie- . eleven- months ended November ,30..th0 imports totalled X 609,359,309, an.increase over the corresponding period ofiast year of X 45,368,653,. and of JC72,984,707"0ver the', figures for.. 1908. The exports for the eleven, months amounted to <£393,165,701, an increase,when compared with.the same period of last year, of JM8,576,154, and of .£45,347,698 over, tho corresponding period of 1908. . STATE OP PAUPERISM'; The monthly statement of- pauperism in England, and Wales for October gives somo intcicsting. figures. The number of paupers in reccipt of relief (exclusive of lunatics, casual paupers, persons re-, cqiving outdoor medical relief only, and patients in the fever and small-pox. hospitals of tho. metropolitan asylum district). is given as follow:—In England'' 1 and 'Wa1e5,.'775,028, or 21.5 per thousand' of .the population, as against .793,918, or". 22.2 per thousand in the sflmo month in 1909; in London 120,488, or 24.7 per thousand of. the inhabitants, as against 124,138; or 25.7 per thousand last year. The ratio ill England and Wales is tho lowest sineo 1903, when it also stood - at. 2L5, and in London it is. tho lowqst l since. 1900,. when it was at 24.8.' ' THEFT BY CHLOROFORM.. . An amazing highway robbery, resulting ill the capture of £191, has taken place in the broad daylight only a stone's throw from Piccadilly. A'commissionaire named Brown was returning to the St., James's Club in Piccadilly from the local' branch of' Lloyd's Bank, with JJI9I in gold-and silver in a bag for the payment of the club servants and odd bills. While in St. Jnmes's-Passage, behind tho Ritz Hotel/ his shoelace-became undone and her stooped to- do it up; - While doing so' his" cap was suddenly knocked off by someone from behind, and'his head was enveloped in some kind of. a covering, saturated in chloroform. For a few minutes.he was rendered unconscious,\ and, when ho recovered lie found 1 that tho handbag and tho money were . gone. WOMAN AND A WHIP. A remarkable scene at a Lingfield hoiise was described to the .Oxted Magistrates when Mrs. H. Eagles was summoned by Mr. I.udwig 'Selbach, who -livos ..in..,an adjoining house,- for- assault- and- wilful - damage. According to the evidence there had been a dispute about-' a boundary-fence,-'irhich culminated in-,Mrs. Eaglos attacking the plaintiff v'itli a.whip. Ho was driven from his house.',; ailil' with his son, a gardener,- and another servant, took shelter in a cowshed, whero. they, locked thomselves-in., Mrs. Eagles eventuallv discovered the-' party in the cowshed," and, .calling them cowards, challenged them to appear. - She broke four Nvindow panes, and finally, a constable had, to bo fetched to remove her from the premises. Mrs. Eagles was fiuad. two sums of 20s„ mid costs fQivfho damage" nnd (issault, and ordered w pay tho damage. PROSPERITY -OF. NATAL. ~; At n 'dinner given to -Mr.-; Walter Orcenacre,"' ex-Mayor of Durban, by Natations' ift London, at the Savoy Hotel, Kir Wnltcr'l'e'ac'o" presiding', "Mr; "R." C." linssoll,"late Acting Agent-General, said; "Durban has been transformed ■ from , a few scattered houses in bush and sand bv tho wand of' the commercial magician into ■ olio of tho most, valuable assets, of the Union—ono of the. most prosperous seaports of J;liC"Empire. Sugar; coal, : mealies, and wattlo bark-now yield .profits nnd returiis : far beyond the • hopes atul dreams of-the most optimistic.'- Tho rubber vinos'- of : Zululand will, -T lint confident, contribute-in ho small;' degree 'to the .growing prosperity .of our province. There seems to' be money iiv everything;"; EMIGRANTS "BY POST; Two -littlo girls, aged six and five years, respectively, tho daughters of ; -English par.ents residing in Strathcona,. Alberta," travelled recently all .the. .wav'.from England unattended, the .Canadian Government's Emigration Office" 'fay?.' * They were' put on-rthe train "at 'Shoffield—r.-ith-a broad leather belt, surrounding tho waist of each, with painted letters reading. "To Mr. 31'—- H ," Strathcona*. Alberta, per srf. Empress of Britain,- care nf Canadian Pacific Railway." The little pilgrims arrived' safely with a cartload of tovs given to them by the passengers. —"Standard of Empire.'