BY THE ENGLISH MAIL.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1102, 15 April 1911, Page 12

BY THE ENGLISH MAIL.

LONDON SUMMARY. SUIT OF ARMOUR: INTERESTING LAW CASE. An interesting law ease in connection with a suit, ot armour, three centuries old, made of wonderful steel work inhid with gold, which by rusting for many years in an at'ie ;>t Holme Lacy, has been occupying tlio attention of the Chancery Divi-ioii. Tin , ,'irmour, which hns been valued at sums varyin? from ,£2OOO I" Jy>n,m, was lo have been sold will) Die other treasures .it Ihq Enrl of Cheslerfield's historic home in February, 1910, but on the second dny of the sale" it was disposed of privately to a Mr. George Harding, an art dealer. Tlio price paid was £mo. The action was brought bv JUrd Chesterfield, who asked for' a declaration that tho sale was procured by fraudulent misrepresentation, and asked that the sale should bo set aside. Lord Chesterfield stated that Mr. Harding's son, who carried the business through, said that he was acting not for himself nut for a particular client. The armour was to have lieen sold by auction, but young Mr. Harding, it wns alleged, stated that if his client was to buy at all the armour must be sold t'. him privately, and that if it was not .old to him privately ho would not bid at the auction. The reason alleged for this was that the client was a collector who was anxious that the price he gave for things in his collection should nut bo known'to the public. It was stated for the plaintiff that the representation about a client was made with the object of obtaining the withdrawal of the goods from the competition of the sale by auction. Lord Chesterfield thinking that he would get a better price than if he sold the suit by auction accepted ,620(10 for it. The defence denied tho allegation. Tho judge ordered tho delivery of the armour to Lord Chesterfield as against the return of the sum of. .C2OOO, with interest at 5 per cent. LESSER PUNISHMENTS. 'A Bill embodying important alterations in thb criminal lair has boon introduced into the House of Commons by Mr. Llewelyn Williams. It is proposed to abolish all capital felonies except murder and being an accessory to murder before the act; to raise the age of liability to capital punishment from sixteen to twentyone; and to abolish sentence of death in esses of infanticide by mothers where the infant is under four weeks old, and lo substitute a term of penal servitude for not more than fifteen years, or ten years if the accused is between the ago of eighteen and twenty-one, or detention under the Children Aot if she is under eighteen. It is also proposed to' revise the maximum terms of penal servitude. <U regards adults, psnal servitude for life is only to be inflicted for manslaughter or where a sentence of death is commuted. NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL TRAINING. At a conference on industrial training, held at the Guildhall, under the presidency of the Lord Mayor, a resolution was passed, urging the Government to provide by "legislation, free to all scholars, a national system of industrial, professional, and commercial trainiii", to .which the children shall pass as a matter ot course (unless the parents are prepared to undertake their future training), and without interval, for a definite period, to be thoroughly trained for entry to the particular calling for which they are best fitted, such training to bs under fully qualified instructors. Sympathetic messages were received from 'the King, the Prime Minister, and Mr. Balfour

TOSSING THE PANCAKE. The old-time custom of "tossing tho pancake was observed on Shrove Tues day, at Westminster School, in the presence of a number of tho scholars' parents and friends. The origin of the custom is lost in antiquity, but it seems to have been general at the great schools in tne sixteenth century. Seventeen boys competed one being: elected for each form. At half-past ■ twelve the chef arrived, cla<: in his white, overall, and took up his I position. behi,ndhHio bpys, the headmaster 'giving the command, "Eyes front!" The pancake was then thrown up in tho air by the chef, and a great struggle ensued. George Fursdou, 17, on the .Modern side of the school, emerged ' the victor having secured, if not the whole, at least the larger part of the pancake. He was then escorted to the Dean by the beadle and the cook and received, at the hnnds of Dr. Eobinson, the customary guinea.

WHAT THE ARMY COSTS. The actual gross expenditure for Army services during the year ended March 31, 1910, was ■£30,6. , 5G,i5G-t]io estimated expenditure being ■£30,65!) 1 9.5D. The main surplus is on armaments and engineer stores, the sum being ,£363,114. The biggest excess of gross over estimate occurred upon the Territorial Force— JC3Bl.2-J4. The Army Estimates for 1911-12, which have ]ust been published, amount to .£27,690 UOO a decrease of J270.0C0 compared with the preceding year. In an accompanying memorandum Mr. Haldanc says thai recent experience has disclosed a disquieting lack of elasticity iu the supply of duly qualified candidates for entry to Sandhurst, and the conditions of. entry have been .simplified, and a. number or prize cadetships will bo instituted. The strength of thfl lerntorial Force on January 1 fast was 3586 officers an( i 257.15G of other ranks which falls below that of the correspondin? date in 1910 by five officers and 4SSO men. In the Estimates .634,000 has been provided for, new dirigibles and 'aeroplanes and for the expense of the balloon factory at Aldershot, while £2SfiW is taken for the construction of a, large new shed at I-arnboi'ou?h, and the improvement of that at Wormwood Scrub'jv .21,000,000 FOR A PATENT. Mr. James llodgkinson, an engineer, of baliord, has sold the United States rights of a new patent Icr the making of salt to an United States company. The Cana-' dian rights have been purchased by the Canadian Pacific Railway. It is claimed for the invention that it will produce five or six times as much salt as is produced by the present, process. The main economy is effected by the utilisation of waste steam and hot from one pan to precipitate the brine in the subsequent pans. It is possible, it is said, to produco all the commercial varieties of salt by a simultaneous process. Mr. Hodgkinson is nearly seventy years of age. FIREMEN KILLED. Two firemen were killed and oue injured in a fire which broke out late at night on the premises of n firm of rag merchants in Southwark. From the beginning it was seen that the conflagration was a serious one. A brigade call was circulated, and in a short time two hundred firemen were employed, with some thirty or more engines, in fighting the flames. The highly inflammable nature of the contents of tho building enabled the fire to make rapid headway. As soon as the heat permitted, members of the brigade up tho escapes and into the building. While several men were exploring tho ruins a weakened staircase (ell on them, killing nnd burying two before they could gain shelter. V rescue party was at once detailed to go to their'assistance, and in the course of their resultless endeavours another one was injured. DEATH OF GIPSY LEE. Gipsy Lee, the famous fm-tunpleller of the Devil's Dyke, near Brighton, who read the Queen's hand, has just, died in a lunatic asylum at the age of 70. Gip : -,- Lα for many years was a notable figure at the Dyke, and from far and near visitors ca:no (ii consult tho old woman. She claimed to have told the fortunes of hundreds of people who af'.rrwards became famous, and her proudest boast was (hat she read tho hand of the Queen, when Princess May of Teck, and" predicted that she would be engaged to two heirs to tho British Throne. Slip earned ,£25 one day by declaring to Sir Joseph Hawley that he would own two Derby winners, and Lord Henry Gordon-Lennox was informed by her th.it he would marry a wealthy ur.tiHod lady. WORK OF THE BRIGADE. In (he annual report, of (he London Fire Brigade issued shortly before by Lieutenant Sladwi, the chief officer, states that the total numbsr of fires, excluding chimney fires, attended by the brigade during 1910 was 3205. Of this number 48 were classed as serious, which

is tho lowest amount, since statistics have been available. The number of deaths by fire—namely, 83—was lots than in tho previous year, nnd is the lowest slued 1!)00. Of the 7" fatal fires, 18 were duo to children playing with iin; or matches, 31 were attributable to persons' clothing coming into contact with fire or gas cloves .and five wore raiiscd by sparks from fire;-.. The cross amount insund against fire in respect of properly in the county of London (iiirinß the year 1909 was .•51,033,271,027. The mimh:r of journeys mad a by appliance* of the brigade during 1910 was ii:i,C9fl, and (lie lotnl distancn covered was 131.552 miles. Tho number of accidents to members of tin? brigacln recorded during 1910 was 231, of which one proved falal. THE HORSE SHOW. .£50,00(1 will be spent upon the schems of decoration and other preliminary expenses for the International Horse Show, which will bo held nt Olympia from June 12 to June 21. Tor this occasion Olympia will bo transformed into an Elizabethan village. On each side a terrace of oldfashioned gables, with lattice windows ami quaintly carved woodwork, will extend from end to end of tho building. At night the windows will bo illuminated. J- no competitors will enter tho arena through a pair of heavy oak gates, just by the Lowlhor Arms," and tho Royal box itself will be panelled in oak belieath a gigantic gable, which will form a canopy overhead. A terrace of oak)?n i', lcad to the arena > a »d will 06 flanked on either side bv banks of (lowers. A big gala, festival will take place on Coronation Bay, when all officers com- £,,, n F 1 ' 10 .? 110 "' will take part in » grand riding display. RECORD IN A SACK. Interesting evidence was given at a re VnL ,\ nS ° "! e I l oyal Emission on lubhc Ifcoiids b> Sir Henry Maxwelltil e> deputy-keeper of Public Records. llio first week 1 was at the office," he said, 1 saw that there were 108 sacks (■bout the sizo ot coal sacks in.a corridor on the top floor. I asked what thev were and was told they wore unsortei miscellanea of Chancery. I had them tortwi, and out of them came an agreement between John and tho barons at Runyr.iode. I am afraid there are not ike y to be any more discoveries of that, kind, because this sorting is nearly completod now. The agreement referred to is not, of course, Magna Charta, but a subsidiary document of great importance and interest. ARMADA TREASURE. _ Some interesting relics recovered during, the last six months from the Spanish Armada galleon sunk in Tobcrmory Bay in 158S are now on exhibition in London. The articles reclaimed by the. syndicate include a sword with hilt encrusted with shells, numerous coins, a cosmetic pot, stone cannon balls, and lead bullets. The wrecked galleon, behoved to be the Admiral of Florence, was suppesod ,to have treasure to tile value of thirty millions on board, with tho Royal crown, which was to bo used for tno intended coronation of Philip II as King 0: England. It is hoped to recover this crown before the Coronation. Tho rights of salvage, by permission of Charles I, were made over by tho Duke of Lennox and Richmond to Archibald Marquess of Argyll, and the "Pieces of Egypt" syndicate now operating has obtained its intriost from tho present Duko of Argyll. KILLED BY A WHIRLWIND. ,A fatal accident took place in a terrific gnlo at Bradford tho other day. The victim was a schoolgirl of sixteen. Tho tragedy occurred in tho playground of tho Hanson Higher Grade School, which is situated on tho uplands to the northcast of the city, where tbo full force of the gale was felt. A number of girls were in the schoolyard waiting for the school to open, when ono of them, Marv Bailey, was caught by the wind and lifted ii the air to a height of about twenty feet, bhe fell with a crash to the concrete paving, where sho lay unconscious, A doctor was summoned immediately, but tho girl died an hour later. An idea of the force of tho wind can bo 'gained from the fact that the caretaker oi tho school had to hold lo the railings when ho went to unlock tho gales.— "Standard of Empire."