ENGLISH NEWS

Timaru Herald, Volume XCIV, Issue 14399, 22 March 1911, Page 6

ENGLISH NEWS

'SCME INTERESTING EVENTS. LONDON, Jan. 27. RAILWAI" DIiSAbT&R. An appalling railway disaster, in Srhicii eievcu people wore kdled and many ethers injured, has occurred on tho Tail \ ale i,.ailT.ay near i'ontypndd. Tho accident was strongly reminiscent of iae disaster near iiawes Junction, with which the past year closed so tragically. A loaded passenger train dasao-d into a, coal train which I was standing on the line, and both, trains were wrcckc-di Tragio scenes accompanied the disaster, the complete nature of the wreckage making the extrication, of the victims a work of ex- ' treice difficulty. Among those who ■were killed were Councillors T. George, T.-Harris, and W. H. Morgan, who were members of the Executive Committee of the South Wales Miners' Yed- ' eration, and were on their way to attend a miners* conference. A TERRIBLE COLLISION. -. The three first coaches of the passenger train were telescoped and derailed, while the- end.van of the mineral train was struck with such force thai its wreckage was thrown on top of the first and second coaches. The Metropolitan ■ Police and soldiers who are still stationed in the iihonuda Valloy :n view of the possibility or further strike disturbances, . were on the scene very rapidly. The cause of the accident has not yet .. heen' ascertained, bus it apparently could, only have- been due to one of. two ■ causes: either by a signalman's error the. _ passenger train was let into the Section where the accident occurred hefore the coal train had been given the signal io start, or that the driver of the passenger tram overran tho signals. The driver and stoker of tho train had c mira*culcus escape, being thrown clear of the., wreckage ay the force of the collision. MADMAN AT THE BANK. Borne exeitcmaut was given to the erery-day round of business ot the Bank of England the ether day when a lunatic appeared and demanded money. The man • went to the office of tiio casliier and presented a letter which declared that there --was a considerable sum of . money due to him. The letter con- "■ tained. a threat that if the money was .- hot paid a few people would be killed. . The Bank official saw at once the sort ot man hehal to deal with, and telling him that the detective on dnty was a Bank official him to accomnany the and . told him all his" demands would be satisfied if he did so.

When they reached the Threadneedlc- , street entrance two other detectives j joined them. At the corner of Dow- , gate-kill lie suddenly drew a revolver , and was about to level it at one of the ; officers-when ike tliree, threw them- ] selves on him and overpowered him , after a struggle. WORLD'S WORKERS. Theßoard of Trade has just issued an interesting abstract of foreign labour statistics. The most striking fact shown is that agriculture, which in foreign countries finds employment for 31.4 per cent, (highest) to 10.1 per cent '.(lowest), can only give work to 5.6 per cent, in the United Kingdom, which is an easy "last.-"' Tho following table shows the percentage of the population employed in various trades and occupations in the foreign country with the highest percentage and in the United Kingdom : United. Foreign. Kingdom. Agriculture 31.4 5.6 Commerce 5.4 5.0 Transport 2.4 3.6 ■ Mines and Quarries - 3.0 * 2.2 MetMs and machines 2.7 3.5 . Building and constrnction ... 3.4 3.0 Textiles 3.2 :.. 3.1 Dress 4.1 3.2 THE CORONATION. Preparations are uixtaay Ocing made for the entertainment, of tne U'cops -viio will represent tiie (jyeisea. istauis at the jGoronation. in IUU2 the Mocu.eriand's hospitality* : was organised by an influential committee, to whom -MajorGeneral Lord Ukeylesmore acted as kon. secretary. ' Interviewed by a Press representative recently, Lord Ciieylesmore said: ; 'l am starring the Dominions' Troops entertainment committee again. in 190:3 the committee were greatly indebted to the proprietors and managers of the London theatres and music halls. No fewer than 15,000 complimentary tickets were received. Over 3000 tickets were given for ' Paris in London" at Earl's Court, the Zoological Gardens invited over 3000 men, and free admission was also given at Madame Tussaud's, Maskelyne and Cook's, and similar entertainments. Those of the officers who desired attended at Epsom Races, Newmarket, and other racecourses, Henley Regatta, and the cricket matches at Lord's and tho Oval. ' MOTHERLAND'S HOSPITALITY. Apart from providing brakes for trips all over London, we sent a contingent of Greater Britons to Edinburgh and Glasgow, and thev were then entertained by the various niavors at Brighton, Eastbourne, and po'rtsmoivik. Some were taken to Etou, where they had tea in the old College Hall. Then we chartered a spseial steamer for the naval review. As the troops were quartered at different places r,uts:de London, I took a house in Dover-street and furnished it as a club for the men. I do not know whether th;s will be necessarv this time, as the Union Jack Club will helo. Thi, year's programme will be practically the" same as the last one. Tho number <-,f Oversea troops at the Coronation will be. Tonghly, _from 1500 to POOO. Last time, in conjunction with the committee. Pnt-rtninments were given the men by the Lord Mayor, the Citv Com-nnn-ics. and the Brirrade «f Gunvrls. and similar r-rsvn cedents will doubtless be made th : <= to« t ." HOMECOMING SCOTS. Scotland will be both oroud and v busy this year, when 4000 of her sons j who have spent tho major portion of then- lives oversea wili come home to take part- in the Coronation celebrations. Many cf those who will make the journey left Scotland when in their infancy; others were born in the New World, and will see the land of their ■ parents for the first time. Tho idea originated in only of last year, and immediately local committees were formed all over North America. The first estimate of the nnmbor of homecomers was 3000, but that wll be exceeded by at least another thousand. Two steamers of the Allan Line, the Grampian and the Hesnerian, have been chartered to bring home the Scots, and it is Deli&ved that another vessel wil! havo to bo requisitioned. U \ JitusX<A v isiru-tci). '■ When the project, became itnown in other BriiiiSli outsiae oaua.Un," snxi Mr. Ojuu-er, oi Cuppers '-Lours, ivno is matting ue arrangements in the Home country, ■• i rtctuveu. applications irom Soui-n. Africa, Australia . Mid India, asking tiiat arrang-iuijnts should ba mad* tor tiieni to jum tiuir Canadian brethren. Xneie was nob time, however, to ao unytiniig m tuas respect, but i havo no tioubt that :n tho eoursa a few years Skoib lrum nil the- Dominions wilt join and imj- u •Visit to their nativo iauu tog-other." A committee hn» been formed :n WcoUinid to inake arrangements lor giving the visitors a real Scottish we!vS;i:c. They v/iU act in a bdy for a week after their arrival, and during that time thev will be received bv tlie civic -authorities of . Glasgow-, Edinburgh, Ayr, Dundee, Aberdeen, and other Scottish towus. Thry wili visit the Burns eoiirrtry, tho • historic town cf Stirling, with the ad- _ j.-.oent battlefield of Bannocklium, and tr.ps to Loch Lomond and the Trossaclis > will bo arn.nvsd. KING GEORGE'S COINAGE. h The designs for the new silver coinage of King George have now been ' finally ?ettl?d. A change has been , made in the reverse sides of tho florin and sixpence. In the case of the formor- ' U*S 225 vov i". SVSKSJIUI figure of Bri-

umira inir..'uii«'f l l in Um' h,l.- reign make- v;:v i.ir ill.- liiii.'-lmmniml <levie- tl'-Miii- l"n.in ill,, (lavs of Chad's 11.. of tlir .-h'vi.is oi Copland Ovpeated.i, Scotland, and Ireland, arranged in the form v! a nc-,, with tiie Star ot vho Garur in the c'-iitre and a sceptre in .-•m-h ,-inglf. T!io reverse of the -sixpence .','. Woutit.il. cscfpt for flic word oxpie-sing ns-value, with that of ihe si.iliiii.;. mid the pavevl-y-st-vieken design ji liklihad disgraced the. coinage- since the accession of William IV. lias been abandoned, it is to bo hoped for over. The crown is not mentioned in the proclamation, and is, therefore, not intended to he i.'sucil, at any rate for tho present. EMPIRE POSTAGE. In a letter to "The Times," Mr 6. D. Love writes: —"It would bo a splendid innovation if tho postage stamps of all .British Colonies, Dependencies, and Protectorates were to have, impressed upon there. the words 'British Umpire Postage' The idea is that all tho postage stamps of the Empire might ho of one- design, tho only difference being the names of the dominions from which they aro issued and the amounts. Tho stamps could be uniform in colour throughout the Empire, the Id. stamp of tho "United Kingdom being of the same colour ss tho Id stump of New Zealand or the 2c. stamp of Canada, and so on. Tho United Kingdom postage, stamps should also hear the words 'lsritish. Empire Postage,' for at present fhey give no indication of the country of origin. It is understood that Mr. Henniker Heaton intends to bring tho matter ber -'re t.ln> "members of the Imperial Conference in May." BOKII WAR SEQUEL. In tha King's Bench JJivUion is b=!i>S hc-;i: t ! an e.cTiou bruuijht by Mr Robert Edmondson, formerly sergeantmajor (if tho 3otli Company of the Middlesex Imperial Yeomanry, against Mr. ii. S. AiiiuiT, the editor of "The Times" History of tho War in South Africa. The plaintiif complained of statements which is was said Mr Amcry wrote and caused to be published in the " Wolverhampton Express and

Star "in January, 1910. Tho words omplained of were:—"So much for the British soldier. Now for Mr. Edmondon. On June 24 an engagement took ilace at Lillifontein, in the OrangeiYee State. During the action a small Kirty of Yeomanry disgraced them;elve-> by running away without drawng rein for nearly 20 miles. In eonselueneo of this the sergeant-major in command of the party was removed ;rom his position. This was Mr. Edmondson. The incident is mentioned 'n 'Tiie Times' History, vol. 4, p. 201." Tiie plaintiff, who was one of the first mm to volunteer for service n South Africa, denied the allegations. £,1,690,000 LOST. According to a circular issued by Mr E. Le-adain Hough, senior, official receiver, tho gross liabilities of the Charing Cross Bank—as estimated by Mr. A. Yv. Carpenter, who traded as the Charing Cross Bank—are £2,555,512, of wliicJi £'2,830,791 is expected to rank for dividend. The assets are estimated to produce £1,131.557,' leaving a deficiency of £1,6'99,'233. The principal liability is placed at £2.813,102 in respect of 18.96b' creditors unsecured. The official receiver says that the bankrupt has expended large sums in acquiring claims and options for the acquisition of .gold-bearing land in the Transvaal, and has spent- about £70,000 in connection therewith, upon which no value is placed in the statement of affairs. The official receiver says the bankrupt has during the past ten years put money into a number of other ventures, some of a highlv speculative character. ; PA UPliftS AND PENSIONS. .Interesting figures showing tho mcoroi the propiieey mat,tho removal of the pauper disqualification tor old age pensions would bring about tho doom of the Poor Law have been collected by tiie " Local Government Chronicle."' Inquiries were sent to every workhouse m iingland and Wales asking for the number of persons over 70 years of age in the institution, thenumber who had claimed pensions, and the number who had been granted pen- < sions. . Replies were received from nearly three-fourths of the total number, and these show that while the number of inmates over 70 years of age in the institution, the -number who had claimed pensions, and the number who had been granted pensions. Replies were received from nearly three-fourths of tiie total number, and these show that while the number of inmates over* 70 years of age was 27,090, only -1465 have put in claims for pensions, and of the 2004 cases in which pensions were granted many afterwards withdrew their claims, while nearly 200, after trying the experiment, gave it up in despair, and returned to the workhouse. INTERRUPTED WEDDING. A cuarge ol b:gamv at Sheffield on Saturday against, a. young labourer naemd Albert Butcher was the sequel to a remarkable scene at a wedding at St. Luke's Church. Butcher was being married when his mother hurried into the church crying: •• Stop the weddiug; he's a married man." The bride and bridegroom, who were on their knees, stood up dumfounded. The man's mother produced a marriage certificate and gave it to the clergyman, who read it- and ordered the removal of the ring from the bride's ringer. After the wedding Butcher went to the bride "s house, but the party were pursued by an excited crowd, who threw orange peel, old rags, and other missiles at them. Butcher afterwards rejoined his wife, from whom ha had been separated for eighteen months. The accused was remanded for a weak on bail. CLAPHAM MURDER CASE. At the South-Western Police Court St:nie- Morrison has appeared again on the charge ot murdering- Leon Boron on Clapbam Common. The first witness, a. girt named Eva Ivlitterman, stated thai sua hail vmet the prisoner lour or rive times after ihe dale of the murder. A dramatic sceuo took place when sho said that the first time she saw Morrison n £5 piece was attached to :: watch-chain lie was-wearing—Heron, it will be remembered, was said to have worn such a com. The prisoner hers interrupted excitedly, and exclaimed: :: By telling fes you are taking mv life away." IM.n rison's counsel stated that the dci-.-nce iva-s that the crime was one of vengeance, and not robbery. Tho mutilation of the hedy threw a vivid light on the whole affair." After some fur'her ev : dence the prisoner was again remanded. THE HOUNDSDITCH MURDERS. The case for the Crown was outlined at the Guildhall Police Court this week when the three men and two women charged in connection with tli? mm-d-or (if three City policemen on Decemhir 16 were brought up again. On behalf ot the prosecution Mr. Bodkin said that they alleged complicity in the murders -on tho part of the men and charged the women with being accessories after tho fact. All the prisoners : were charged with being concerned in I the attompt to brc-nk into tho jeweller's shop in Houndsditch which preceded [ tho murders.