CHRISTMAS NOTES FROM LONDON

Evening Star, Issue 12418, 3 February 1905, Page 1

CHRISTMAS NOTES FROM LONDON

[From Ope Special Cobukspondeht.J

LONDON, December 30. The “ festive season ’ is now -a thing of the past, and I trow few people are sorry that it is so. Within my recollection there has not been a less exhilarating Christmas week than that now closing—not even those which were marked by “unfortunate incidents ” in South Africa* To commence with, fog of a kind wb have happily seen little of in London for some years hampered business and traffic to an extent that meant ruin for some, a grievous diminution of profit for many, and threw out of work thousands who would otherwise have at least had enough money to make merrv for a brief space, whilst it rendered the lot of the myriad of men, women, and children already on the verge of starvation more intolerable than ever. It is true that the fog only existed in a very miid form on the day. preceding Christmas Day, and that it has not returned since, save for very brief periods in some localities. But the mischief had been done. London, it is computed, had lost, one way and another, through fog’s agency several millions sterling, and that loss was of course reflected in a hundred-and-cme ways, but particularly in connection with charitable work.,

No one could help noticing the Irwk of cordiality everywhere. The old, old greeting between friends seemed to be given and accepted in a half-hearted sorb of fashion, and appeals to people’s charity on behalf of their less fortunate brethren met with a grudging response in places where you expected to find “the cheerful giver.” I do not wonder at these things. The weather has been enough to give Job a bad fit of the blues, even without fog. In its place we have had leaden sides weeping with Niobe’s persistence. Under foot, all over London, it has been a case of walking in an inch of thick black mud or in puddles of filthy stuff that clings to clothing “like granulated glue.” Of course, tho usual street cleaners have been holiday-making, and London being full of out-o'-works no one has thought to give the deserving poor a chance of earning a few shillings at street cleaning. Here was work which badly wanted doing, and could be done by any man or boy capable of wielding a shovel, shoving a broom, or manipulating a “squeegee,” staring the authorities in the face; but they naturally preferred to let the filthy streets be London’s shame for a few days rather than to give able-bodied paupers a change from the heart-breaking ahd unprofitable task of stone-smashing in the labor yards opened for the relief of those able and willing to work. On the whole, it has been anything but “ a merry Christmas.” Presumably with a view to giving a timely warning to our heads not to let our hearts control our pockets during the season of peace and good-will, the Income Tax authorities saw fit to become immensely energetic during the week preceding! The tax in question is Is in the £, only incomes below £l6O per annum being exempt from its operations, so you» can imagine how grateful we within its scope felt towards the Somerset House officials for their kindly bint,. CHRISTMAS CHARITY. The cry of tho workless has been in our cars for months past, and appeals for subscriptions to tins, that, and tho other deserving charity have been coming in of late with appalling frequency. Every hospital in the land seems to be on the vcrgfl of bankruptcy, every soup kitchen in existence short of funds, and every other charitable organisation more or less desperately hard up. On all hands yon hear the same story of appeals that have failed grievously to oring in anywhere near the amounts those responsible for them anticipated. Hospitals hoping for hundreds have received fifties, and minor charities, to .which Christmastide is usually harvest-time, have found themselves in receipt of shillings where they anticipated pounds. Yet the appeals made on behalf of the out-of-works have been well responded to. Without much difficulty the ‘Daily Mail* has raised nearly 30,000 pairs of children’s boots for the unhappy little ones whose' fathers, are unable to provide proper footwear for them to attend school in, and the ‘Daily Telegraph’s’ .shilling fund for the distressed of West Ham (it is said • that dose npon 50,000 decent workmen are unemployed in this district alone) was so successful on tte first three days after it was opened that the promoters. were able to spend no less than £LSOQ in jßxrvidmc Christmaadiimeßb

fop the needy in that area. This amount may not seem large for “a wealthy city like. London/’ as people are so fond of calling the metropolis; but a fund of this tand takes a good deal of advertising before n catches on, and this particular West Ham appeal has come on the heels of the rest, and the money raised through it must be spent in one specified locality; Apart, however, from private charity, Londoners are at present being very heavily mulcted m the cause of poverty through the poor rates. Much of the work done in the labor yards is certainly not of a reproductive character. Stone-breaking— the commonest form of work given to applicants for temporary municipal employ—is certainly not profitable to the community; indeed, it ia computed that_ stone ready broken by machinery to suitable size for road-making and repairing can be landed at almost any spot in London 1 at about hall the cost of labor-yard-brokea stone, in spite of. the miserable rates of pay given at these places. It takes a strong man | nmnsbuned to the task, to earn, more than half a crown a day at this sort of work, for though it may seem the simplest of jobs to hit a stone with a hammer, more than a little skill is required to become sufficiently expert at stone-breaking to earn a living wage. . . ,

London’s Poor Law bill for the i»xt year will be an uncommonly heavy one. Probably, taking the metropolis as a whole, it will amount to. fully 5s in the £ on the assessed valu.6 of the property contained in tne County Council’s area. A RAILWAY SMASH, It is seldom indeed that we m England get through the Christmas period wiuuout caving our nerves jarred by some serious railway accident happening within the limits of the lour kingdoms. This year the prevalence of log well nigh all over the country prepared us in a measure for a catastrophe of some sort, and, unfortunately, we were not disappointed. On Friday last the early morning newspaper tram which leaves Marylebone station on the Great Central Rahway ah 2.45 a.m. ran off the metals at Aylesbury station, and was utterly wrecked. Happily, there were only a few passengers, mainly railway officials, in the train, and with the exception of the driver and fireman of ■ ij m train and two other Great Central employees who were killed, the rest were uninjured, save for scratches and bruises. Their escape was truly miraculous, for the train, which was going at a very high speed at the tune it left the rails, tore along the permanent way until it encountered the md of the platform of Aylesbury station. It dashed up tho sloping end of the platform, and, having advanced several yards, it came to a standstill, and then fell completely over on its right side. The four coaches which were immediately behind the engine also left the rails, and when i)io locomotive stopped those coaches were telescoped and crushed into matchwood. At this moment Keadlo, the signalman, who had witnessed the accident received warning of the near -approach, of tho Manchester express—indeed, the thunder of its approach was already in bis ears. The wrecked train lay right across the metals upon which the express was running. Fortunately Needle's nerve hold good, und he promptly set the signals against the onrnshing train. Happily, also, the driver of the express kept his nerve. He had heard the crash of the newspaper train wrecking, and he caught sight of the signals just as they were jerked back to “danger.” He immediately crammed ■ on every ounce of brake power at his command, and, though the rails were slippery -with a heavy white frost, lie succeeded in reducing his speed to such an extent that when the express struck the wreckage it wee only with sufficient force to send the engine and tender off the metals, and to give the passengers a severe shaking. But for the promptitude of the signalman and the express driver, it is hardly conceivable that a soul in either train would have eecaped -with life. When daylight came the scene at Ayles-. bury station was one of desolation and destruction. The newspaper train engine—one of the most powerful type of locomotives in use—lay on the top of the platform, crowning a heap of wreckage formed of broken iron and brickwork. The whole of the paint on it had been scorched off, the boiler had been wrenched, from the carriage, the funnel torn off, and the steam dome smashed. The works beneath the boiler were i mere mass of twisted and bait ironwork. The tender also lay on its side, all its massive iron plates being ripped and bent. On all sides there was a midley of twisted iron and splintered woodwork, and for a hundred yards outside the station tire metals were strewn with bricks and pieces of wood, many of which were small splinters. The wrecked train carried many parcels and packages, and on the platform lay great heaps of newspapers which bad been gathered from the line. Many of tire parcels had been tom up and the contents scattered about. “LABBY’S” NEW BRITISH CONSTT--1 TDTTON. Wo have long known that our present scheme of representative government did nob meet with Mr Labouchere's approval, and some of us have wondered what he would do if he were invested with full powers to amend it. In the current issue of-‘ Truth’ he tells us at considerable length what he considers we require, and mates ten sug. gestions which may be thus briefly recited:— L Triennial election of Commons, with whom all Bills would originate. Orre^third of tho members of Parliament elected every year, a ballot to decide who should tit for one, two, or three yearn So that “if a Ministry in any year showed an abnormal incapacity or deliberately ran counter to the views of the electorate, there would be an opportunity to get rid of it.” 2. The House of Lords would! cease to exist It would be replaced by a Senate constituted of members of the House of Commons who have sat for twenty years, three ex-Judges, three financial experts, three manufacturers, three wholesale merchants, three retail traders, three admirals, three generals, three literary mwi - three architects dr painters, twelve artisans—elected., by the House of Commons. No Senator to hold any other post in tire Pnblio Service or receive any mark of distinction. Term of office, three years (one-third to be re-elected annually). Functions of the Senate: Discussion of all public matters; the passing of resolutions (quantum valenut); suspensory veto on Bills sent up by Home of Commons; Bills passed without modification to become law; if thrown out or altered to be brought up next session, when, if passed without discussion, to become law with Royal assent. ,3. Parliamentary franchise,■ subject to three months’ residence. On change of abode, transference; provided the elector has not voted for ttvo years proper dotxce to be given to the registration authorities. ■ ■ 4. Registration and election costa -defrayed by public funds. 5. There are at present 670 M.P.s. Half could do better work. 6. Redistribution based generally upon equality. 7. Annual elections always to be held on the same day. The majority to be collective. A second election that day week, the candidates being the two at the top of the poll. 8. All members .to receive ~£250 per annum and travelling expenses. : 9.. Not more than twenty members of the House of Commons to occupy paid posts in an Administration, and the saJary to be not more than £SOO per annum, except in me cases of the Premier and the Foreign Secretary of State, • «*}f

people want to make money they should in ““'“ey-mahing,” says “Lobby.” t> , House is overworked, “ Home Wute all round ” is the only true solution, we ought to have one Imperial Parlia- / our l oca l Parliaments, taking the United States as a model. .

A RHODES SCHOLAR ON OXFORD. In the January number of the ‘ Comhili is an interesting article by oeo of the first Rhodes scholars from Germany, giving his impressions of the yuar which he spent at Oxford. Tho water (Herr Von Lmdeiner-Wildan) seems to have received a warm welcome, and is cordial in his praise. He was mostly impressed by the Oxonian cult of athletics, and says “Of all impressions I gathered from Oxford, first and foremost comes the wish to he able to' help in some degree towards the cultivation - and outusion'of the love and practice of athletics among our people and our young ■ men. Outside Oxford I .also had opportunity of attending athletic meetings. I believe, however, that athletics take their highest and noblest form as cultivated among undergraduates. I believe that in the rest of England athletics, owing to their enormous diffusion, are now in danger of becoming a professional calling. Who has leisure enough to tour the country for four months with his county team playing cricket, and at the same time attend to his business? The Oxford student engages in Athletics for their own sake—for the strengthening■ of his own body in the noble struggle to attain a purely ideal and inward success. Ibis cultivation of athletics from youth up has stamped tho English .character, tod in particular the character ’of English students, with the distinctive features of a firm and healthy self-reliance.” He goes on to say : Then, as to work, while the afternoon ia universally devoted to athletics, the forenoon in Oxford belongs in general to work; and though I assign absolute supremacy in athletics to the English universities, in the pursuit of knowledge X must claim the lead for our German institutions. This inferiority, however, is not so much the fault of tho universities as of the schools. In the programme of tho English higher schools classical education takes an overwhelming share, nearly two-thirds of the whole time and work being devoted to it. Yet, as in any case this time _is comparatively scanty, the young Englishman’s acquirements when ho conies to the University are, even ia this department, slighter than is "usually the case in Germany. But in other branches of learning—e.g., history and geography—one often finds a really astoonding ignorance. Astounding, above all, however, is the deficient acquaintance with his own language, whose literary treasures are unknown to the average English undergraduate. One thing, however, must be admitted—the Oxford student really has little time to pursue his scholarly education. A taste for athletics and an improved, knowledge of the English language seem to constitute the writer’s chief acquisition during his year.. But, as he says, very truly, Oxford is not England. It m theoretic, and the English people are practical. PERSONAL NOTES,

: Miss Jeon. Dunsmuir (Dunedin) has been, spending her Christmas holidays as the guest of Mr -and Mrs James Adams at “ Dunmore/’ Friem Barnet, N. Miss Dunsmuir has just completed a term of voice training under Signor Steffani, and has, X am told, made decided progress. She will probably remain in this 'country for another three months, and before leaving for New Zealand she hopes to take a few finishing lessons under that noted vocalist and teacher of tinging, Mr Charles Santley. Mr J. Henderson (of the Taieri), who came Home by the Paparoa last August, is studying electrical engineering in London with Messrs Inder and Henderson, consulting engineers, of Cornhill, EC. The members of the firm are both New Zealanders, belonging to Dunedin, and the latter of the two is Mr J. Henderson’s brother. It is probable that Mr J. Henderson will remain three or,four years in this country. Callers at the Agent-General’s office this week: —Mr Adam M'Cracker (Dunedin), Mr B. C. Hacon (Wellington), Mr P. J. Garvey (Wellington), Mr P. P. Garvey Wellington), Professor H. B. Kirk (Wellington), Mr B. D. Godden (Auckland), .Mr H. 0. Craddock (Christchurch). Mr Thomas Wingfield (Auckland) is a recent arrival in london. He came via America on a business visit, and intends remaining about a couple of months. Professor H. B. Kirk (Victoria College, Wellington) has been spending three weeks cm the Continent, principally in Germany, and has now readied London. Ho goes to Scotland next week, and will return about tie middle of January to the South of England. Professor Kirk’s chief object in visiting Europe is to see as much as possible of biological laboratories and museums, and of the means of university education in general He leaves England by the Orient steamer 0 rentes at the end of January. Mr H. 0. Craddock (Christchurch), who came Home in the autumn of 1900, and was for a time engaged in scholastic work at Highbury House,' near Hastings, whence he went to the Kingswood School at Bath, has, after four years at that well-known educational establishment, relinquished tuition in order to study for the degree of Bachelor of Divinity at the University of London. Mr Craddock is at present quite uncertain as to when he is likely to return to New Zealand. THOSE PATENT MEDICINE REGULATIONS. The mail which arrived from New Zealand last Saturday brought news of the new regulations concerning the sale of patent medicines in New Zealand. The effect has been immediate and unmistakeable. One after another the proprietors of the leading patent medicines have instructed their agents in the colony to withdraw all New Zealand advertisements after the expiry of the period of grace. They decline absolutely to comply with a regulation which requires that the exact proportion of the ingredients used in their patent medicines should be published on the wrapper. To do this, they sav, would be to destroy the value of them patent rights by publishing their secrets through the world. They prefer to loss their New Zealand trade rather than disclose the formulae on which their success depends. I was shown to-day a letter from one of the leading pill manufacturers in England, whose name is a household word from China to Peru, and whose business is reputed to be worth at least £95,000 a year in profits. He pointed oftt in his letter that to publish the formula upon which his business had been built up would be a ruinous proceeding, for it would instantlv be copied all over tho world, and lie value of his patent would vanish. Failing a relaxation of the stringency of this new regulation, he finds it will actually pay him to wind up his New Zealand business. All the other letters I have seen axo to the same effect. .