NEWS AND NOTES.

Evening Post, Volume LXXV, Issue 45, 22 February 1908, Page 12

NEWS AND NOTES.

A "PASSIVE-RESISTANT" VICAR. Tho Vicar of Swansea, the Rev. and Hon". Talbot Rice, in enclosing a cheque for £59 8s 8d for the half-year's rates, informed tho Swansea Corporation that he- had deducted £9 12s 6d, education rate, aa protest against the action of tho local education authority. "For the past three years every possible obstacle," ho added, ''has been put in the way of voluntary schools' managers by a series of disgraceful actions, by which teachers have been deprived of their proper salaries, the efficiency of the taft sacrificed, and the law ot the land defied, and now, for over four months, the maintenance of Oxford-street National Schools has been altogether refused." The vicar concluded by saying that he withheld his rate with a view to* protest on behalf of the supremacy of the law. The Rev. Talbot Price is the first Anglican in Wales to tako this step. A RAILWAY "WRINKLE." A highly oiiginal and ingenious way of lightening a heavy train (says St. James's Budget) has been invented by a French railway. A large- number of Englishmen weie going out to Adelboden before Christinas to take pait in the skating, ski-ing, curling, and other joys for which that Swiss winter resort is now famous. The train was naturally a heavy one, too heavy for tho engine supplied. An ordinary company would have adopted the dull and commonplace method of substituting a more powerful engine or of adding a stcond. Not E.o the economical French company. The brilliant idea struck it that the train might be lightened and a few francs saved by uncoupling one of the luggage vans. This was done, and it was put into a siding to wait apparently until a sufficiently light train came along that could take it in tow without incurring any extra expense. That the travellers might meanwhile want ths contents of the van does not seem to have occurred to the authorities. After two or three days had been spent in the siding, and two or three scores of telegrams and telephone messages had been sent by tho distressed Britons, many of them ladies, the van eventually resumed its journey. This is not a solitary instance, and a similar disregard for the comforts of travellers is frequently shown by the Swiss railways as well. French is said to be the language that carries the best over the telephone. Tho diabolo craze has spread to the Atlantic. On tho giant White Star ships of the Adriatic and Baltic typo the sticks and spools have become part of the marine games equipment, and on the recent homeward voyage of the Celtic the sun-deck — that is, the topdeck — has been renamed the "diabolodeck." Despite all the efforts that are being made by philanthropic institutions and by private persons to alleviate the distress M'hich prevails in New York (says a correspondent in that city) the reports which come in from all parts of the city show that each day the condition of affairs in the poorer quarters is growing worse. It is clear that in order to cope effectually with the trouble not money alone, but a more ■adequate organisation is an absolute necessity. The city will have to find j fifty thousand beds if it is. to give shelter to the homeless wanderers who are crying for assistance. Excitement was caused in Sydneystreet, Kilmore, on Sunday night, says a recent Argus, by the appearance of a tigsr-snake on the footpath as a number of people were returning from church. The snake disappeared under the bar door o'Z an hotel, and, despite tho provisions of th& Licensing Act, the licensee, accompanied by a friend, entered the bar, and the snake was killed. The previous Sunday night the same snake was seen in an adjoining neighbour's place, playing with a baby, but the reptile escaped. The biggest leaves in the- world are those of the Inaj palm, which grows on the banks of the Amazon. They reach a length of 30ft to 50ft, and are from 10ft to 12£t in breadth. A French admiral has expressed the opinion that in constructing the Dreadnought we have made v great mistake. Still (observes Mr.' Punch) we shall have the satisfaction of having misled oi.r rivals, all of whom are busy copying her. •A Tunbridge Wells man, summoned for keeping a dog which had bitten a man, excused himself by stating that ths animal was in the habit of guarding his cart during his absence. By mistake it took charge of a similar vehicle belonging to' another man, and bit this man when he attempted to , mount the cart! While a priest named Tavel was on his way to celebrate a marriage at Contreglise, near Vesoul, he was stoned by a body of villagers. In the scuffle which followed one of the assistants was shot and killed. When the bride heard what had happened she refused to allow the priest to tie the knot, and the marriage was performed before the registrar only. The Abbe Tavel is commonly reputed to be a "schismatic," and his supporters and the "orthodox" have been for some time in a' constant state of war. The Tokio correspondent of The Times says that the Japanese press points out that the restoration of the open door in Manchuria is entirely duo to Japan's exertions and sacrifices. She is therefore entitled to be credited with a sincere desire to carry out the policy she affirmed at so great a cost. All the causes of complaint are to be referred to the incomplete equipment of the railway, tho result being delays and discomfort which are misconstrued as evidences of a continuance of the military regime and of national' discrimination. These defects, it is stated, will soon be remedied. The Rev. Cecil H. Fardoll, of Llandenny Parsonage, Usk, Monmouthshire, •writes to a morning paper that some years ago, finding that a caged bullfinch, which he placed out of doors ©very morning, was visited daily by the wild birds outside, he prepared a second vacant cage, which was* promptly occupied by a splendid wild cock bullfinch. This bird was frightened one day by a dog, and, the cage door being open, flew away. Four months later a gentle tap at the window was heard. The bird had returned to captivity. He again occupied his old cage. A correspondent writing from St. Petersburg to a Home paper, on 31st December, says : Evidence of the remarkable vitality of Count Tolstoy has been afforded by the quickness with which he was able to resume his literary work after an accident that would have furnished a legitimate excuse for idleness. While the- count was out riding recently, his horse put its forelegs into a snow- filled ditch, and the rider was thrown. He dislocated his left shoulder and a peasant carried him home. Tolstoy resumed his writing immediately after tho surgeon had attended to him. Reuter's correspondent says the aged wrfter was able to Jake a walk of five veists (about three ...iles) on Christmas Eve. Count Tolstoy is now engaged in compiling a new system for teaching children tp^ea^

The Times correspondent writes under date LisMm, Bth January: — Published statistic* show an alarming increase of crime in Lisbon, the record for la&t year being 75 per cent, above that for 1906. "Graver still, 159 charges were made against the police cf complicity in criminal offences. All tho leading journals comment on this to-day. The: Times reports that on the 9th January theie was an interesting debate upon the pioposed harbour constructions at Heligoland, for which £1,500,000 was asked. The Centre, Deputy Herr Erzberger raiser 1 the question "whether it would' not bo better to blow up the. whole island." After tSe Secretary of State had made a. confidential statement with Tegard to the importance of the proposed constructions, tho vote for tho further development of Heligoland as a naval station was carried against a small minority, which was entirely composed of Social Democrats. A good story comes from Alsaco through- an artistic publication to the Journal dcs Debats. Some years ago the municipality of Schlestadt offered the Kaiser the ruin of the noble castle- of Hoch Konisberg, which had been dismantled' duiing the Thirty Years' War, and had since remained untouched*. The Kaiser gratefully accepted' the gift, and he and his architect set to work to reconstruct it according to tho data afford j ed by the best contemporary and modern authorities on mediaeval fortification and warfare. At last, at heavy expenditure, it stands restored. Meanwhile, a. publisher at Strasburg has discovered an early wood engraving which, after careful examination, has been decided unquestionably to represent the castlo in its original form. It need hardly be added it is totally unlike tho restoration. During the sale of the effects of Lord Brampton by Messrs. Collins and Collins at the residence of the late judge in Tilney-street (says a Homo journal) a somewhat remarkable discovery was made. Among articles in an almost obscure portion of the catalogue were a hot-water jug, a decanter, and an inkbottle with silver mounts, and there was nothing to indicate that flicy were anything more than oE mediocre value. It happened, however, that the auctioneers' expert, upon examining the things, found that they were of seventeenth century work. One "of the dealcis at the sale offered 10s 6d ; then there was a bid of ten guineas, followed by others, until tho articles for 400 guineas. Land reformers (writes a contributor to the Otago Witness) are- in danger of forgetting that the private ownership of largo estates, if it be an evil, is not an unmitigated one. A striking instance of this came to light in Victoria, at the Decsmber wool sales, when 20£ d was obtained for greasy merino wool, and for comebacks ISJJd. These- pto record prices, and come from flocks depasturing on second-class land in the Western district that the Bent Government proposes to acquire, and cut up for subdivision. This would mean the dispersal of flocks thafc have been brought to the highest degree "of perfection and that produce a wool that the whole world keenly competes for. The Times reports that Mr. H. Samuel, M.P., Parliamentary Secretary to the Home Office, received a deputation lepresentative of boards of guardians and various philantropic associations, who opposed the recommendation of tho Poor Law Unions Association that in the proposed Government Bill for the amendment of the Infant Life Protection Act homes where a single infant is kept for weekly payment should be made subject to registration and inspection Lieutenant-Colonel Lon^, ?>!.]'., and several others having set forth the views of the deputation. I\lr. Samuel, in reply, said tho question waa one over which controversy" had raged for some years. It was an unselfisn conflict between two different sides of philanthropic' opinion, and, as tho problem was one of some difficulty the Government proposed, at the beginning of next Session, to ask for the appointment of a Salfct Committee to investigato this single controveislal point as to whether one-child homes should be subject to inspection. Lord Cromer (bays an English paur) owes much of his great Buccess in life to his remarkable power of always getting to the bottom of things ; nothing escapes him which concerns his affairs and those of the country or people of which he has the conduct. An illuminative anecdote "appeared a few months ago illustrative of his capacity in this rebpect. While ho was in Egypt, ho received one day a report from ono of his principal officials,, which commented severely on the work of a subordinate — a young lady — and recommended her dismissal. Many Governors would havo adopted such a report without question, and would have unhesitatingly acted upon their underling's advice in so comparatively trivu 1 a matter. Not sc , however, Lord Cromev. He was not »h« [ man to lightly ruin tho prospects in life of even a lady clerk. 'Ie fnuun ! time, in the course < i ais busy oificial work to make enquiries about the girl, and learnt that she had been the subject of the unwelcome attentions of the official ir question, who, when repulsed, ] wrote with incredible baseness an untrue report upon her actions. Needless to say, it was the official and not the lady who was discharged. Hysteria of the crowd was almost unknown as an English complaint a few years ago. It attracted comment as an | objectionable novelty, on the historic occasion which produced the verb ''maffick." I Iso such word had hitherto been required. But the malady seems now to be well established ; and the press is commenting very seriously not only on the frantic demonstration of joy which j greeted the acquittal of a reprobate ' youth whose own folly and perjury had involved him in a charge of murder, but on the tendency to glorify the worthless and unmanly creature. The Saturday Review, in an article headed "The Hero of Camden Town," says that neurotic emotion has become really a serious symptom now. "The prime offender," it says, "is of course the press ; wo must say press generally, for the newspapers which resist tho temptation to make gain by practising on public pruriency are too few to qualify the charge.. The papers season their criminal reports much as low-class publicans, if they are not slandered, put salt in their beer to stimulate their customers' thirst. The cfoject in both cases is exactly the same. If a case has no peculiar morbid features, it is passed by as uf>ele.ss for the purpose of increased circulation. The test appears to be, Can a mystery bo manufactured? Is there any immoiality? Can a big name be hinted' at? Or are disgusting pathological conditions probable? If yes, we have in a jiffy the full-blown sensational case, from which dignity, decency, and justice naturally retire. The lino worked is generally sympathy with the prisoner ; though real regard for the accused does not enter into the matter, He must be interesting— that is, he must bo suspected of having done something horrible. The man or woman in real want who is tempted to steal a bit 13 paid no attention lo at all. He may go to prison unwept, for ho has not done or been charged with doing anything abnormal." AH this so-call-ed sympathy is mere neurotic excess. The public intoxicates itself with if as it- mi&ht .with, chugs,,.