BY THE ENGLISH MAIL.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1425, 27 April 1912, Page 6

BY THE ENGLISH MAIL.

EFFECT OF THE COAL WAR. London, March )r>. The cfl'cct of (he coal war between mine-owners and miner has been disastrous lor and thousands of other workers who. have 110 concern at all willi the matters in dispute, hut have been thrown out (it employment by reason of the shortage of fuel. The terriblo pinch of poverty and sull'ering is becoming more acutely felt daily throughout the kingdom. The supply of milk is threatened, the prices of meat and bread are rising, and coal it-ell is being sold iu the streets of London to the poor ut' tho almost prohibitive price of .'llls, and -10s. a ton. Fishing in the North Sea has passed from u business into uu expensive pastime, and several of the biggest Grimsby steam trawl-owners have decided to lay up their ships one by 0110 as they empty their catches. ' Further reductions iu train services have la ken place, as tho companies are husbanding their stores of coal in anticipation of a continuancc of the dispute. This is n very serious feature, as many thousands of city workers have to rely upon the railways to bring them to their work every morning. Although the Commissioner of I'olico has authorised each omnibus to carry five pas-engers above the legal number, yet traflic to and from the alfected dis'j-icts has been heavily handicapped. MILLIONS OF .MONEY LOST. Moreover, thero has been a big reduction of tho London County Council tramway service, affecting all parts of London, chiefly, tho southern suburbs. Tho struggle to' secure seats is very keen, the decks of most cars being crowded with straphangers. At certain points each car leaves a crowd of would-be passengers behind, notwithstanding the permission for 15 passengers to "straphang."' As the result of diligent calculation it has been estimated that no less than .£5,000,000 in wages was lost during the first week of the strike, and mining, it is believed, cannot bo resumed in less than three weeks from how if it were decided immediately that tho striko should end.

WHAT THE NAVV WILL COST. The Navy Estimates for tho coming financial year havo just been issued, anil, compared with Inst year, show a reduction of ,£307,100. Tho total sum allotted to naval needs for the year is ,£41,085,400, against ,£44,392,500 last year. The following tables show the difference between tho new programme and that of last year:— Programme for 1912-1913: Four large armoured ships, eight light armoured cruisers, 20 destroyers, submarines and subsidiary craft (number unspecified). Programme for 1911-11112: Five largo armoured ships, four cruisers, 20 destroyers, six submarines. . New construction for 19121913 will cost .£13,971,527, against .£15,063,577. The personnel is to be increased by 20()0. Sir. Churchill, in an explanatory statement, remarks that-- the Estimates havo l>een-based on .the programmes of other Powers. Any foreign increase will mean supplementary Estimates both for men and money. THE VANISHED MISS I'ANIOIUEST. Scotland Yard has not yet succeeded in tracing Miss I'ankhurst, who for over a week has completely baffled all attempts to find her. Iter final challenge to the authorities—that if the Government want her they must find her—has been taken up by the jiolico, who are doing their utmost to get news of her present whereabouts. Many hints as to her probable hiding placo havo been received by the police, but they "have not yet been ablo bo satisfy themselves that any particular house in London or tho country shelters Miss Paukhurst. 'lhoso who know her best regard it as likely that she is still in London—perhaps f within a quarter of a mile of Clement's Inn, which i 3 still being watched by detectives. THE ROLL OF BARONETS. The right of Sir Hugh Sykes Mitchell, tenth baronet, to be entered on the roll of baronets, the preparation of which was provided for by tho Royal Warrant of February 1(1, has been before the Baronetago Committee of the l'rivy Council. Tho baronetage in this case was con-

ferred in 1721 upon John Mitchell, of Westshore, in tho county of Zetland. The father of the claimant, James William Mitchell, was.served by the Sheriff of Chancery in Edinburgh, as the only surviving descendant of Sir John Mitchell, tho third baronet, who died in 1753. The claimant, it was stated, relied upon that service. The committee hold that tho sorvico of 189G and a grant of arms ill tho samo year did not entitle tho claimant to be placed on tho roll without further inquiry. "ALL RED" CABLES. At the conference of the Association of Chambers of Commerce, Sir Albert Spicer moved a resolution to the effect that the association urged upipn the Government the necessity on national and Imperial grounds, for co-operation with the Governments of the Dominions, wifli a viewto the establishment of an independent and strictly "all British" Transatlantic cable and laiid : line with the Imperial Pacific cable. Both for political and commercial reasons it was not desirable that our communications from one part of tho Empire to another should have to pass through a foreign source. Tho motion was opposed by Sir John Barron, M.P., Parliamentary Secretary to tho Postmaster-General, who said that although wo did not own the cables, tlioy all began and ended on our territory, and therefore we virtually had control over them. The resolution was withdrawn.

ROBBERY BY BAKERS. 'A proposal has been submitted to the London County Council to amend the lawdealing with tho salo of bread, so that thoso tradesmen who givo short weight shall be punished. A deputation of certain master bakers recently attended before tho Public Control Committee, anil pointed out that consumers of bread lost between .£-100,000 and ,£500,000 a year in respect of deficient weight. A large numlier of purchases were made by tho Loudon County Council inspectors for more than a year, and the bread was bought from shops, carts, and barrows. Of a total of 4040 loaves purchased, 1895 were of correct weight or over, while 2145 were short in weight. Tho total shortage was 2151b. 140z., oUlrs., and the total percentage of light loaves worked out at 53. CITY SHOOTING CASE. William Tebbitt has been remanded at tho Mansion House oa charges connected with tho recent city outrage, when Mr. Leopold de 'Rothschild was shot at and a policeman injured. Mr. do Rothschild, giving evidence, said he first know Tebbitt at the Great Central Synagogue. Ho was a well-disposed boy, and well brought up. Tebbitt wroto him a nice letter on his birthday, to which he replied. Tho prisoner's father was nnsious to get him a position in tho city, but instead ho went to Australia. Before he left ho called at Newcourt and saw Mr. de Rothschild. On occasion? the witness had twit him a small present. lie had last heard from the man in 1909, while ho was still in Australia. TIIE KING AND A CRIPPLE. A cripple boy, Idris Thomas, of Morrison, Swansea, who was taken to Buckingham Palace on Monday to thank the King for a gift to enable him to get artificial feet,-wns much disapuointed at not seeing his Majesty personally. The King, on hearing this, sent word that ho would receive the boy in person. The lad was taken to the palace on Wednesday morning, and was carried up to his Majesty's apartment by two friends of the family. The King entered into conversation with the lad, making many inquiries as to the cause of his misfortune. It appeared that ho had suffered from tuberculosis of the feet, and had Undergone no fewer than eleven operations. His Majesty gave Thomas a scarf-pin as « memento of tho occasion, and made many inquiries of him and his conductors as to the lad's future prospects. WEST END OUTRAGE. Three well-dressed men are alleged to have committed n daring robbery in Gloucester lioad, South Kensington, after gagging and ill-tic,• lling the occjipnnt of the house, l)r. John Messilet' Lang, who was alone at the time. About six o'clock the other evening the doctor answered a ring at Hie front-door bell, when, it is stilted, three men whom lie found standing on the steps sprang upon him. and, nft»i' *lrll(in|! Mm in the. face, bound him with. a fopo, In o, wini-uoiwciou* coadi-

lion the doclor was dragged into an inner riiiini, where ho remained helpless while the thieves ransacked (he limine. Tlie doctor's gold watch and chain and purso were taken from his packets. Silver plate and clucks were hurriedly packed, and Iho thieves 101 l the house without leaving any clue as to their identity. Till-: ACSTIIALIAX BUILDING. Rapid progress is being made in preparing the Straiid-Aldwich site fur th(j new central office, of the. Commonwealth of Australia. Although tho work of excavation commenced only last week, already a huge trench, twenty feet deep, has been dug on the western side ill the site near the Victorian Oovernnient building. As soon as tho site is ready tho fouudalion-stoiie will be laid, and this work of raising the handsome structure will be pushed forward as rapidly as pos-iblc. A CHELSEA MYSTERY. _ Hie death has taken place of Dr. John fianiucl Phone, a rich eccentric old gentleman who had lived the life of a recluse for nearly sixty years. Opposite (lie house in which he died in Oakley Street is another house belonging to him which has been shuttered and closed for many years. It is perhaps the most fantastically decorated dwelling in London; on its parapets, ledges, windows, everywhere where an ornament could be placed, all kinds of weird statues have been erected. At the end of the garden of (his strange mansion stands another, smaller, and built in the style of Queen Anne. Tho story is that inside this smaller house there is set in the diningroom a wedding breakfast. It has lain like that for years, and though all is prepared the breakfast is never touched, i'htj explanation is that half a conturv and more ago it was prepared for u wedding, but the bride died on her wedding morn, and in despair Dr. I'lieuo shut up the house and never opened it again. ".MONTE C'AliLO" WELLS. At Bow Street, "Monte Carlo" Wells and Jeanne Burns, who were arrested on a steam yacht at l'alinouth, have been remanded again. They are charged with being concerned in obtaining by .falsa pretences money amounting in the aggregate to about .&10,000. The application made to the police magistrate is for extradition to Paris, and the French Embassy socks to have tho money and property found in England handed over. About -WO,OOO lias been traced in England by the police. It was found in various banks and safo deposit.", and it has been claimed by the Ollicinl Deceiver in tho interest of Wells's English creditors. Among the documents produced at tho last hearing were a couple of affectionate letters from Wells to the woman, in which he said that he was about to give her JiISOO.

A.500,00 TRADE INCREASE. The Hoard cf Trade returns, jus?tissued, show thai: tho imports last month amounted to .£5!),715,7:£!, against .£36,071,239 in February of last year, an increase of J::i,G!S.4(j:i. The exports were against .£.15.653,120, 1111 increase of .1:1,837,209. Under the heading of articles wholly or mainly manufactured, the increases in imports last month included the following:—lron and steel and manufactures tlierof ,£87,732, other metals and manufactures thereof ,£212,009, silk .£41,437, other yarns and textile fabrics ,£29,920. Under the same heading principal increases in exports were:—lron_ and steel and manufactures thereof .£187,476, other metals aiul manufacturers thereof X 77.208, machinery jC115,293, and ships (new) .£137,853. He-exports for February amounted to Ji10,724,019, an increase of <£730,403.