NEWS AND NOTES.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 94, 20 April 1912, Page 12

NEWS AND NOTES.

[The following items of intelligence have been selected from files received by the latest mail.] Reforms of an interesting and farreaching kind are likely to be introduced soon in Oxford University. It is stated that these reform* have been prompted and outlined by the professors and the other members of the faculty. The principles of the changes jire: — (1) That the university can no longer undertake to- act on behalf of the Church of England in the character of iia official representative ; and (2) that a« there are at present a number of its students who are not members of the Church of England, but who can nevertheless justly claim access to its highest degrees, such restrictions as exist should be removed, and it should be clearly understood that the examinations and degrees are only tests of knowledge, and are entirely independetit of membership in any particular religious body. The Marquis of Lincolnshire (formerly Earl Carrington, at one time Governor of New South Wales), replying in the House of Lords to a. speech of th« Duke of Marlborough, stated that the present Government had passed twenty-one Agricultural Bills out of twenty-two which it had brought forward. The Government had provided grants amounting to - £500,000 to the agricultural interest, -and Mr. Runciman had already obtained a grant of £80,000 for the Agricultural Department. The Government had 150 square miles of land let in small holdings ; the rents of the Crown lands, which were now under the administration of the Board of Agriculture, had been reduced in one instance from £18 or £20 to £4 or £5 an acre; and land which was formerly cultivated at enormous expense by the State) had been let to tenants, with the result , that £1200 more was being paid into the Exchequer .this year than waa paid a few years ago.' By the Budget of 1909, which had been denounced as atrocious and iniquitous, agricultural taxation had been relieved by £417,000 a year. It showed that, in spite of what had been said, the land policy of the Government had not depreciated the value of land, and he challenged anybody to contradict that statement. • A pitiful tale was unfolded at the Hove, near Brighton, by Mrs. Lodge, widow of' George Frederick Lodge, woollen manufacturer, who died in September last. She stated in evidence that for some years they lived at Huddei'6field, where her husband was partner in a firm of woollen manufacturers. The partnership was dissolved, and her husband received over £14,000. They made the acquaintance at Blackpool of three men named Wilson, bookmaker ; Seaton (or Crawley), estate agent; and Young, corn chandler, and went to race meetings with them. They afterwards drove to a bungalow in Hove, at Wikon'e invitation, the argument being used that the eea air would benefit her husband. The prisoners (who were remanded) were charged with obtaining, by- conspiracy, the following sums: — 3rd August, £1032 ; 6th August, £1000 ; Bth August, £4150 • sth September, £3825 ; and 19th September, £1000. Mrs. Lodge stated that neither her husband nor herself took any interest in betting till they became acquainted with the accused. At the adjourned annual licensing sessions for the City of Liverpool Sir Thamos Hughes, chairman of the Licensing Committee, said that they had been considering special districts in Everton where there- was more drinking among women, and more encouragement to women drinking, than in any part of the city. In this particular locality they were disposed, on terms, to continue certain fceensee for one year, the conditions being that no intoxicating 1 liquor be sold to women or persons under sixteen years of age for consumption either on or oil the premises except between the hours of 12 noon and 2 p.m., and between 5 p.m. and closing time on week day», and during the usual opening hours on Sundays. On behalf of the brewers, Mr. Rigby Swift, M.P., said they were not in a position to assent to the proposal, which required more con sideration. At the London sessions twt> labourers named James Roberts and John Walker pleaded "guilty" to breaking into the residence of Lord Salisbury in Arlingtonstreet, London. Armed with a very powerful "jemmy," the men climbed ever the railings in the Green Park, and thus obtained access to the garden. They tried to force several windows, and were at last successful in levering open, the window of a schoolroom. They ransacked several drawers, and placed articles ready for removal in a sack. An old man employed at the house found the men in the schoolroom, and, in reply to a question as to what they were doing, replied, "Looking for work." Lady Salisbury was in residence by herself at the time., and she was naturally somewhat alarmed. Both prisoners- were old offenders, and had convictions recorded against them since 1887. Roberts was sentenced to three years' penal servitude, and Walker to twenty-three months' imprisonment with hard labour. Mr. Thomas Russell, president of tne Incorporated Society of Advertisement Consultants, stated at the Albert Hall, Leeds, that the speculative nature of commercial advertising wat constantly mad© an* objection against it. Failures thtough advertising were talked of. But where were these failures? More bankruptcies were, he contended 1 , caused by the want of judicious and progressive advertising. He showed lantern slides of advertisements in 1863, and pointed out that the principal firms represented were advertising still, and on a much larger scale. Practically, all the advertisers were itill using posters, but there were much better posters now. The most striking example, however) of the permanence of advertising ,was The Times, in which a number of firms were still advertising whose predecessors had advertised in that newspaper 130, 120, 100, and 80 years ago. The demand for automatic pistols' is increasing. At the annual meeting 'of a Birmingham firm of gunmakere.the chairman stated that recently the company had received an order on account of the British Navy for high-velocity automatic pistols. The company had also executed orders for the London * Metropolitan and City Police, who had adopted the .32 automatic pistol. The- arm for /.the Navy had been adopted after the most sxhatifltive trials extending over a tfetfy long period. During the past year provincial . gunmakers had been passing through, a period of considerable 6trees. The- Home trade was limited, though the foreign trade continued fairly good. During a discussion in the South African House of Assembly, on Mr. Oreswell's motion urging the withdrawal of facilities for recruiting natives for the mines from outside the Union, Mr. Burton, Minister for Native Affairs, slated that he had notified the, Chamber of Mines iv June last that, unless the appalling mortality among Natives from Tropit^l. Africa ceased, recruiting there would be prohibited. The Minister said that the mortality in the cdbe of one mine was 391 per 1000 per annum, and in others from 75 to 150 per 1000. The question of the reimportation of Chinese labour was referred to in the course of the debate, but it was indicated that the Orange Free Stato was ppp e««d to Chinese, labour-

The Val Cavargna, near Menaggio, is the smugglers' high-road from* Switzerland to Italy. An army of Customs' officials is stationed in the valley, but they cannot guard every point at once. Moreovei", their movement are closely watched and reported by the people, who are all in' league against them. They are often put on the wrong scent by misleading rumours, and then a dozen or bo smugglers by as many pathless ways steal over into Italy. Sometimes disaster overtakes the smuggler, when he has to drop his bale and fly. He is then fired on by the officials, but carbine practice in the dark and in such a country is apt to be somewhat uncertain, so he generally gets away uninjured. An electric searchlight, which plays on the Val Cavargna all night from a gunboat stationed on Lake Como, testifies to the zeal of the fiscal authorities and the profits of the smugglers. In reference to ex-President Roosevelt's attitude towards the Superior Courts in the Untied States, Mr. Arthur Lee contributes a spirited defence to The 'Times, in the course of which he states^: "Both Houses of the New York State Legislature recently passed a law t<i tameay the notoriously insanitary conditions prevailing in the city bakeries. These conditions were injurious to the workers and dangerous to the public. The Supreme Court, however, by a majorityof one, declared the law 'unconstitutional,' on the ground that men, or women, must not be deprived of their 'liberty' to work under insanitary con-, ditione if they are willing to do so. Similarly, the Now York Court of Appeals has recently declared that the principle of workmen's compensation, although _ adopted by the Legislature, is ' unconstitutional,' on the ground that an employer's property cannot be taken away ' without due prdbeßS of law.' In other States the Courts have taken & diametrically opposite view on this point, but in New York, as a result of this decision, the workers have to go unprotected, and the Legislature is powerless to help them. I can quote numerous other cases if space permitted." Not only Stationery Office officials but Cabinet Ministers used formerly to enjoy sundry little perquisites now no longer legitimate. At one time, for instance, each Secretary of State received on _ his appointment a silver inkstand, which he could retain and hand down as a keepsake to Ms children, but Mr. Gladstone, when Chancellor of the Exchequer, abolished, this little perquisite, and the only token of office an outgoing Minister can take with him is hie des-patch-box. The wife of a Minister who had long occupied an official residence, on being evicted, eaid with a pensive sigh : "I hope I am not avaricious, but I _ must say, when one was hanging pictures, it was very pleasant to have the Board of Works carpenter and a bag of nails for nothing. "- Mr. Edward Blake, the distinguished Canadian and Irish politician, who visited New Zealand and acted for the Government in connection with the Midland Eailway case, died in Toronto early last month. He acted as leader of the Liberal Party in Canada for some years previous to the selection of Sir Wilfrid Laurier, but left Dominion politics to enter the House of Commons in the Home Bule interest. In 1892 Mr. Blake, who was once described by Lord Rosebery as "the most brilliant orator and one^of the most capable statesmen in Canada," accepted the invitation of the leaders of the Irish Parliamentary party to occupy a seat in the British House of Commons, and his advent into Imperial politics was made under the most auspicious circumstances. He was elected for South Longford by 2544 votes against 347 for his Conservative oppoent. He was very successful in obtaining funds for the Irish Party, and himself contributed most liberally. After fifteen years' devoted service for Ireland in the House of Commons, Mr Blake's health broke down, and he returned to Canada. Mr. Blake, who was a Protestant, married, in St. Paul's Cathedral, the daughter ~of Bishop Cronyn, of Huron, who was an Irishman. Mr. Blake's brother married another daughter of the Bishop,, and Mr. Blake's sister married the Bishop's son. At the London Police Court a Frenchman named George Marck, described at> a lion, tamer, was summoned, at the instance of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to AmmaLs, for cruelly terrifying three lions at the Finsbury Park Empire Music Hall. Mr. Polhill, who appeared forHhe prosecution, said it was not suggested that the defendant beat the animals or caused them physical pain, but the Legislature cvi- , dently intended, by the Act of last year, that animals should be protected from mental suffering. William Clayton, an inspector of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, described the performance, 'jailed "A Terrible Dream," and said that he thought the animate were terrified. The liona were about three years old, and were in splendid condition. Defendant stated that he was the holder of the. medal of th« Parisian Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and was the only trainer who did not use a whip or fork or any instrument likely to hurt the lions. He used his hands only. The revolver used in the performance was fired as a signal for them to do certain things. The Bench/ in dismissing the summons, with £5 5s costs against the society, said the Act of 1911 was a very wide- and in many respects a very admirable one, but it was one of such a drastic character that it had to be administered with a strong dose of com-mon-sense. It would be monstrous to convict the defendant of cruelty within the meaning of the Act. It is stated in Ireland by those in favour of the Irish Parliament having control of the Customs that the farmers of that country could double the value of their land if they were able to get free entry at New York and Boston for Irish potatoes, onions, baled hay, and mackerel, there being large quantities of those commodities available for export. The present duty on potatoes exported to ,the United. States— 2s cents a bushel — means that the produce of ai single acre of Irish potato land would pay £18 of duty, and the produce of an acre of onions exported to America would pay nearly £40 duty. It is claimed by some of the Nationalists that if an Irish Parliament had power to bargain with Washington, and could get Irish potatoes and onions free-listed, the prosperity of the new body of Irish proprietors would be assured, business would become brisk, and the fcouthem ports of Ireland would swarm with steamships carrying Irish produce to the United States. Mr. Commissioner Hanson, of the Board of Works, explained to a commit tee appointed to -the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture in Ireland the system of purposes adopted by his board. The total sum lent last year was over £20,000, the average loan being about £75. The security few the loan was the land held by the applicant. More than £6,000j000 had been ad\anced, and out of that sum only £30,000 had been written off. There was still outstanding £1,600,000. On an average one in thirty-three of the debtors had to be sued every year. Canon Willis, president of the Moyne Credit Society, County VVkklow, stated that since hie society' was, formed in 1905 they had no losses, and last year they lent £1533 The society paid 4 per cent, on duposts, und charged 6i dsi- cent, to borJS2LVk- . <