BY THE ENGLISH MAIL.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1088, 29 March 1911, Page 17

BY THE ENGLISH MAIL.

1 LONDON SUMMARY, OVERSEA TROOPS AT THE CORO- - NATION. London, February 17. One of the most interesting features of the Coronation will undoubtedly bo the presence nf Oversea troops from all parts of the Empire. The Canadian contingent is to consist of nearly 1000 officers and men. It is considered that at any rate the foreo to come over should not. be less than .'IOO mounted troops, 150 artillery, and .100 infantry. The detachments will include Canadian Dragoons and Hussars, Mounted Hides, Canadian Highlandor.--, and Rifles, Grenadiers, and Light Infantry. The whole contingent will bo under the command of Lieut.-Colonel 11. 11. M'Lean, A.D.C., JI.P., commanding the 12th Infantry Brigade, and the second in command will bo chosen from among the. l'rench-Canadian officers. Another interesting piece of news in connection with the cercmony is that f'ne difficulty which arose over the completion of the Hall improvement has been practically settled, and (here is now little doubt as to the uso of the Admiralty Arch for the Coronation procession.

"PUBLIC ACT OF FAITH." A remarkable sight will be witnessed ill London on Good Friday afternoon when a large procession of some 200 clergy and 3000 laity, headed by the Bishops oi London and his suffragists, will march from St. Jlartin's-in-the-Fields to St. Paul's Cathedral. The Rev. A. G. B.' West, vicar of St. Duustan's-in-thc-East, secretary of the Evangelical Council, who is organising the procession, states that it is meant to bo a public act of intercession'.in which all Churchman can take part. "The idea is to make a public act of faith," he says, "aud to intercede in unison on the great day of Atonement for England and tho Empire. The present year is destined to be a memorable one, and this is fo bo the first of a series of schemes which wo in the Church are preparing for Coronation time."

BRAVEST MAN OF 1910. The Stanhope gold medal, which goes to tho person accredited with tho bravest act of the year, has been awarded by the 11 oval Humane Society to Frank Fraser, chief engineer of the steam trawler lionside, of Aberdeen. Shortly after midnight on-August 27, the Donside was ou the Viking Bank, 225 miles from Aberdeen, the night being pilch dark and tho weather rough. Although there was a heavy s.ea running the captain decided to shoot the trawl, and when he thought all was clear shouted to let go, and John Fraser, a dock hand, was carricd over the side. Hearing the cry: "'Man overboard!" Frank Fraser rushed up from below, plunged into tho sen,' and reached the man, who proved to be his own brother. Both drifted astern, but a rope was thrown, which Frank Fraser managed lo grasp, but his hands were greasy with oil from the engine, and ho had the utmost difficulty in retaining his hold. It was only after fifteen minutes' strenuous exertion that they were got on board.

NATIONAL THEATRE SITE. There is a possibility that' tho proposed National Theatre may be built in Spring Gardens." Tho silo would be a very suiiable one, owing to its central position and convenience of acccss. The Shakespeare Memorial Committee has presented an' influentially signed petition to the London County Council, pointing out (hat the removal of tho'offices of tho council to tho new county hall, now being erected on the Thames Embankment, will leave an excellent' site vacant. They, ask for an option of Iho site of Hie present London County Council offices "on the most favourable terms," for the purpose of erecting therein the proposed National Theatre.

.£1,500,000 SCHEME. In five years' time it is hoped that the termendous task of electrifying tho main lines of tho London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway will bo completed. . The preliminary steps havo already been taken, the line is being surveyed, and specifications prepared. When the scheme is completed, Brighton will be brought within 45 minutes of Victoria and London Bridge. The cost of making Brighton practically a suburb of London is likely to be a million and a half sterling. The initial expenses of tho specification are considerable, for this work alone will take the engineers two years to complete.

LORDS' REFORM. Ono of (he most important speeches do. livered lately was that made by Lord Curzon, of Kediestoii, at a dinner of the United Club, at the Hotel CVcil. He suggested that a House of Lords consisting of 300 members .should be set up. He stated that he firmly believed that if they allowed G75 hereditary Peers to select 100 members out of their total number, they would pel tli? pick of (ho existing House of Lords and n very valuable, trained, and serviceable element in their Second Chamber of the future. .Room should be found for those eminent men who, whether as Cabinet Ministers in (his country or as occupying great posts abroad ill the dependencies or Dominions. hail acquired renown in Iho ferries of the Slate, and who in the House of lords would lend to its proceedings that dignity , and influence which was one of the main sources of its authority.

TICKET-OF-LEAVE ABOLITION. On April 1 tho old ticket-of-leave system will pass away, and a new Central Association tor (ho Aid of Discharged Convicts will begin its. work. The association has been established through the influence of the Home Otlice, and will have a Government grant. Its general council will include two representatives of each of tho societies which have made a point of aiding discharged convicts. Under the new scheme representatives of these societies will be admitted to the convict, prisons, where (hey will bo able to make arrangements for the future of convicts who desire help. On discharge .from prison a convict who keeps in touch with the society, and "runs straight,7 will bo freed absolutely from police supervision. ]f he afterwards misbehaves,

or is not sinccto in his efforts to abstain from crime, ho may again bo brought under tho strict system of police control, CRIPPEN'S WILL. Sir Samuel Evans, tho president, has decided in the Probate Division that Miss Lo Novo could not benefit under (lie will of "Dr." Hawley lfarvcy Crippon, wlic had bequeathed all his property to Mist Lo Neve. Ho said that tho Court had in special circumstances, discretion t< pass over a legatee. Crippen had beet couvieleil of the murder of his wife, the sentence of dentil had been carried out, and there wore special circumstances in {his case. Therefore lie would pass over Crippen's legatee, and grant letters of administration to (hp solicitor of tho sisiel- - Mrs. Criinieii, Mrs. Theresa llnnn. Tlin representative of a convictcd felon claimed to bo entitled to the est a teller only claim being one. resulting from a felonious act. It was clear that thehw was that no person could obtain or enforce nnv rjghts result ins from his own crime; neith'er could his representative.

NEW COAL AREA. A phenomenal development of the South Yorkshire coal area is in progress, and the next five years will see large tracts of land near Doncastcr dotted over with collieries and largo industrial undertakings. Doncasler is destined to bccomo tho centre of the coal industry of South Yorkshire. It is predicted that within a. few years there will be 10,000 pit employees, mostly in the neighbourhood of Donoasfer, with an increased population of 130,000. Moreover it is safe to fay that, there are no frier than fwolvo new nits in prospect at the present limo within the Doncastcr district,

DEVONSHIRE STATUE. The Marquess of Lansdownc imvelied a statue of the laie Duke of Devonshire which has been erected at the. Whitehall end of Horse Guards' Avenue. The statuo has been executed by Mr. Herbert Hampton, and is of bronze. It shows tho Dtiko of' Devonshire in his Gaiter robes, and stands on a high pedestal nf stone, quarried at Darley Date, on the Derbyshire properly belonging to his family. Tlio pedestal and statue measures Ss(t. At lite back of the pedestal the Cavendish arms are cut in stone. The .statue faces tho Horse Guards.

1,408,883,518 PASSENGERS. According la ;i Blue Book just issued by luc ijUlldo it Tralnc JjSi ;iiicli of liio Board <if Trade, 110 iewer Hum 1,408,Eb3,518 passengers wore carried hv railway, tramway, and bus in Circa tor London during the year 1900, as compared with V! 2,•1G5,G82 passengers ill 11)03. Tho <ic\c-loj>-ment of Ihe electric railway is another interest in;; point lo bo noted. The., number of passengers on the electric railways increased from 222,703,(157 in 19011 to ■102,801,'J50 in 1909. The most rcmarkablo' increase on a single railway was that of the Great Northern, Piccadilly, and' Bromplon Railway, which carried 800,120 passengers in ICCS and 117,191,725 in 1909. In that year the capital issued for nil tho electric railways amounted to and the receipts from all sourccs were ■£2,882,875.

IMPROVEMENTS IN WARSHIPS. ' The .scout Dartmouth, which has just been successfully launched from the Vickcrs Company's naval construction works at Barrow-in-Furness, servos as an admirable object lesson ol the recent advance in gun-pjwer and speed in scout cruisers, where lightness ami limited dimensions aro necessary. The scouts built seven years ago had a displacement of 2950 tons, and yet only steamed 25 knots with difficulty, while the armament, consisted of 12-pounder guns, although there worn fourteen of them. The Dartmouth is of 5250 tans, but, in her case, there arc eight Gin. guns, and tho speed will be between 20 anil 27 knots. One round from her guns means the discharge of 8001b. of projectiles, against lfiSlb. in the scouts of seven years ago. The Vickcrs Gin. gun, with which she is equipped, has a mur.zlo energy of over 7000 ft. tons against about 700 ft. tons for the 12-pounders in tho early scouts.

,£200,000,000 RENTAL. The gross estimated rental for England and Wales in 1908-9 was ,£2GG,9U,890, and tho rateable value ;£215,:)09,512, an increase of 1.5 per cent, in the year in Iho first case and 1.2 per rent, in tho second. Those facts are given in the annual local taxation returns, which havo just been issued by the Local Government Board. Tho increase in London in the gross value amounted to ft.G, and tho increase ill tho rateable value to 0.5 per cent. As between 1908 and 1909, the rateable valuo of agricultural land in England and Wales, which had shown a persistent decrease since 1597, increased by nearly .£59,G00. Between 1905 and 1909 the increase for England and Wales in tho gross value (or gross estimated rental) of property 1 amounted to upwards of .£18,G00,000, and tho increase in rateable value to upwards of ,£12,500,00!).

IX THE AXCIEXT WAY. Festivities lasting several days marked the occasion of the christening of Viscount Milton, the heir of Karl Fitzwilliam. at Wc.ntworth Woodhouse. More than 700(1 invitations to luncheon were sent to tenant farmers, workpeople, and employees on the estate, and it is believed Uiat nearly 100,000 people from Sheffield, Rotherham, and other neighbouring places visited thft spacious 'park. For their entertainment gorgeous displays of fireworks were given. A feature of the festivities was the roasting of a whole ox, which had been bred on the estate. The baptismal ceremony ioolt place in the private chapel attache! (a 'Winitworth House, and the. hislorio scarf worn by William the Conqueror, which has been in the possession of tho Fitzwilliam family since the Initio of Hastings, was brought from Milton Park, Peterborough, for the ceremony.—'"Standard of Umpire."