NEWS AND VIEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 10970, 26 January 1899, Page 3

NEWS AND VIEWS.

THE EMPEROR FREDERICK. Hkrb vox PosnnxuEß, whose industry hat already produced some very useful collections oi Bismarckian documents T.d letters, lias published in Germany a similar work. dealing with the earlier part of tiie Emperor Frederick's life, (run his li'r.L in 1831 to the eventful year 1862, when l?'slmirck was for the lirst time culled to iffiie. Ihe work, which is written by Margarets von 1 Whinger, consists of 4?9 clmlyprinted octavo pages and contains a li'jie number of unpublished .etters to and Irrm the Emperor,as well as other correspondence -ml documents, both of a private and of a public character, which enable one to follow Hutu year to year, and almost ironi dr>v to day, the growth and development cl the young Prince from infancy to e->:iy n :-n----liood. The author for the most part wisely allows these documents to speak for themselves, merely supplying the narrative required to connect them, and occasional ixplanations with regard to the circumstances and personages referred to. The political student, will probably not find any important " revelations" m these pages, but they shed here and there an interesting sidelight upon the inwardness of a great- and noble character whose full influence was never destined to make it-self felt upon the Fatherland it was so diligently trained to serve. Herr von Poschinger's book shows us above all how thoroughly the home surroundings of his childhood, the confidence and affection of his illustrious parents, the elevated teachings of those specially charged with his education prepared the young Prince for the permanent happiness of married life upon which he entered when he wedded the Princess Royal of Great Britain and Ireland. Within four weeks of his marriage he wrote to his aunt, the Dowager Empress of Russia, that he was convinced " the spirit of the so-called honeymoon will continue to dwell about our home life." and we know how completely his prediction was fulfilled. The high sense of Royal duty, the soldierly spirit of discipline, the steadfastness of purpose, the intellectual ability, the breadth of generous sympathies, of which Herr vou l'oschinger furnishes us with copious materials to follow the gradual development in the child and in the youth, were cut off before they had yielded their full harvest, but the record of their early promise, as set forth in this volume, can only derive additional interest from the remembrance of the cruel fate which set upon the noble brow of Friedrich der Weise the crown of martyrdom together with that of Empire.

FIRE RESCUE IN LONDON.

An illustration of the efficiency of tho newly-introduced system of conveying the telescopic fire-escape to the sceno of a tiro by means of horse and van was described at an inquest in London, a few days ago, concerning the fire at the premises of Messrs. W. F. and F. H. Hudden, tinplate workers, 27, Clerkenwcll Road. On that occasion one of the employees was suffocated.

The fire-escape, it was stated, reached the premises from Farringdon Road firo station within one minute of the receipt of the alarm from St. John's Square, and "-as pitched against the front of the building in another minute or two

The result of this speedy procedure was that three men who had been in jeopardy were rescued.

Superintendent Lester, of the fire brigade, explained that the escape, the invention of Commander Wolls, the chief of the brigade, was built on the telescope principle, and that it was conveyed in a van to which a horse was kept harnessed day and night. The Coroner: This is an extremely rapid procedure, and a great improvement upon the comparative slowness of the handtrundled escapes formerly used.

EMPLOYERS' COMBINATION.

The first meeting was held on December 16, in Westminster Palace Hotel, of a .newly-formed employers' organisation. It it to be styled the Employers' Parliamentaiy Council. Lord Wemys? presided, and was subsequently elected president for the year. Among those present were Sir Wm. Lewis, Bart., Sir Benjamin Browne (Engineers), Mi. Geo. Livesev (Chairman South Metropolitan Gas Company), Mr. G. A. Laws (general manager of'the Shipping Federation). Mr. Alex. Siemens (Engineers), Mr. M. Shepherd (London Central Association of Master Builders). Mr. C. W. Macara (president of the Federation of.Master Cotton Spinners), Mr. W. Tatersall (secretary Cotton Employers), Mr. Joseph Johnstone (Scottish Furniture Manufacturers' Association), Mi. A. W. Last (Master Bakers and Confectioners), and Mr. J. S. Jeans (British Iron Trades Association).

The industries represented at tli6 conference were: —Shipping, engineering, cotton manufacturing and spinning, shipbuilding, bleaching and dyeing, furniture manufacturing, agriculture, coal and iron trades, building, docks, boot and shot manufacturing, silversmiths, printing and allied trades. The ooject of the organisation is to natch all proposed legislation dealing with the relations of employers and workmen, and endeavour to have this legislation moulded in accordance with their views, and so to better secure them against attacks by trade unions. The proceedings were private, but it is understood that a constitution was drawn up, and an executive committee formed. The latter will again confer before the opening of Parliament to draft a programme.

ODD ACTS OF PARLIAMENT.

Mr. H. T. S. Forbes, in the Cornlift Magazine, has compiled a collection of the odd Acts of Parliament. In 1461 an Act was passed to reduce the number of attorneys in the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk from 80 to 14. A statute of Henry VII. (1489) forbade the slaughter of cattle inside any walled town. In 1712 apothecaries were exempted by law from serving the offices of constable, scavenger and other parish duties, and from acting on juries. In 1792 an Act was passed to prevent the forging of certificates of character fur servants. The first year of James I. saw a statute which inflicted a penalty of 10s upon innkeepers who suffered the company to sit tippling. In Henry VIII.'s reign legislation Iked the price of beef and pork at per lb, and that of veal at Jd, and ordered that French wines should be sold at 2d a quart, and sack at 3d, but limited the number of wine sellers and taverns in London to 40. In the year of Edward Vl.'s accession to the throne an Act made all beggars and idle persons slaves to those who apprehended them, and allowed their masters to fix an iron collar round their necks, but this statute was repealed three years later. The burning or flogging of female offenders was abolished in 1/90 and 1817 respectively. An Act of 1553, the same writer points out, prohibited anyone worth less than 1000 marks keeping more than 10 gallons of wine in his house. Charles 11., of all monarchs, supported a Hill for the suppression of profane cursing and swearing. In 1695 a tax was levied upor bachelors and widowers for a term of five years to afford funds for prosecuting the French War, and in 1701 a shilling was levied on each advertisement in the newspapers, which shows tjiat- some modern suggestions for increasing revenue are not so novel as is generally supposed. Anothei project, of modern legislation was anticipated so long ago as 1714, when the rate ol interest o loans was fixed at 5 per cent. When more was extorted the lender was rendered liable to forfeit treble the value of the loan, the original transaction being declared void. These later instances show that there is nothing new under the sun. It is curious to read of rewards offered bv the British Parliament in former times, just as Victoria is non trying to stimulate inventions in mine ventilating. Under an Act of 1714 one Harrison received £20,000 for producing ? chronometer which allowed the determination of the longitude in any part of the seas. In 1745 a reward of £20,000 was offered for the discovery of a north-west passage through Hudson's Straits to the Pacific, and in 1760 £5000 was provided for anyone who should approach within one degree of the North Pole.