HOME NEWS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 641, 19 October 1909, Page 8

HOME NEWS.

SCIENCE AND THE MAN IN THE STREET. London, September 10. There are evident signs at the present time that physical science, is progressing too fast f or the uneducated,'.or semi-educated, • public to follon-, and the result is a sort of revolt, and a; tendency to stigmatise all the latest.results' as mere speculation, says Sir:.Oliver Lodge in* a letter, to "The .Tinies". on "Science', and the JL a , n .™ The leading articles in A h % - Times"- of Thursday, Angust 26, and the .Daily Mail' of Friday, August 27, for-'in-stance, on Sir J. Thompson's address at Winnipeg, he says, clearly represent this attitudethe. one, by implication, the : other explicitly, inefact is that a few persons who" ought to toon- better have from time to time expressed tne view, that, the' conclusions of modern physicists- are-, too highly speculative, if not altogether groundless. But- in reality the theories-are not speculation at all; they are deductions from definite data . . . and they can only be shown to be erroheous'by disproving, the data .or detecting a flaw in the reasoning. It appears, to take a generation or two lor. conclusions of any magnitude to sink in and become acceptable, and then they are acJ i-i ?$ ?° niucli by comprehension as bv .habit. Well, continues Sir Oliver Lodge, Hie question arises: Docs it matter ? Does it signify whether the.man in the-street is carried with us.in. onr advance ■ into the 'unknown, or' whether he : lags hopelessly behind and jeers? LS m «,"l Cl? to th ! nk that it; does "atter, ana that it is a real drag upon progress for ,the responsible and ex 'cathedra utterances or leaders, based Jipon strenuous personal work of the severest kind, to bo received as if they were casual and cheap speculation. For one thing, the public have a monopoly of the smews of war; and unless! they are able to iorm some conception of the' value of discoveries as they are being made, further progress is liable to be hampered in a very inff I . Il ? ,bl .t ? nd material fashion.' I honestly think that this is one', reason why England is developing a tendency to lag behind* and if. it lags.-in.pure science it will before W be behind m the application also «ut there is an influence-more subtle than .■anyone -to lack of funds;: for unless a man is so Keen-on his work that he can isolate himself Irom contemporary gibes/, or unlesif he lives :in the midst, of. a, small group'of mbre'or Mess appreciative experk,;ho can hardly fail to'feel discouraged, and. to regard his 'discoveries • as' comparatively .worthless, in thesenso that they are, made before their time-before/at any rate, tne mass, even of the semi-educated can assimilate, them. -. -. ' -~... ■ ■•■-;■.• • ■•

SECRET ROYAL WEDDING.

' Cmirif Herman Charles ; Ostheim,. elder son of Prince .William of Saxe-Weimer, who is cousin and heir-presumptive of the. reigning. Grand Duke of. Saxe-Weimar, has been raar° ned. at the resistry office of St.' George's; Han-, over Square, W., to a lady named Wanda lottero. ' Count Herman renounced, n month ago his membership of the grand ducal family and his right of. succession. The reigning, Date is a widower,of ■ tliirtyrthree. . Count iJL ■ P ce, ' ai! he then was) , Herman was 'in 1906 a,;lientenant; in ,-the. Cuirassier. Guards in Berlin, but was forced to resign and take . a lieutenancy in the 15th' Hussais at Saarsburg, in.Lorrame. Soon.afterwards hy was disioißsed from the army. His debts, am6uhting. to .£50,030, were paid by his-family. A decree.i.was. published by the Weimar District-Court last" Julv, placing Kiin' under the guardianship 'of tlio Master of the Horse. .This" was follbwed last Month by tne renunciation* of his family rights...'-. , ■'•.'• . ' ' '■• ■•;'■ • ';■•" . '

: .. PEER'S HEROIC SACRIFICE.-' , , : -' ''He .chanced , his 'own life, to.save'-'me, , ' was' thetnUutepaid to the late:. Lord 'de' Cliff ord by' an elder,.' farmer at' the inquest at East , Cliff, held; on the 'body .of the: dead 'peer. 'The' chauffeur,, in giving evidence,'-said'that He' was travelling up, fromShoreham. in 'a'motbr.car' with \Loru'Qβ' Cliff ord;r who was' driving.'There were.-seyetal- turns-in'-thevrpad, and tney.'gdt ■very.'clow.to' two.car.ts," which were- approaching witnont'eeeinpthomi -His lordship applied the brakes,, and the car skidded up'the' bank and turned over, crushing , the sideiof Lord-de Clifford's head. Mr.-.Bridger,-the :farmer, : said that, the car, could not-have-passed'owing to the nanowness of the.road. .When lord do Clifford -saw he conld notl pass he' made* for',the Dang; AiTSe chanced his own.life to savo> me. Tho.car .was only about six yards away at the' , time of the accident. A verdict of- ac-. cidental;'death was returned. '-.■'; - .'.:-<'

..:; GIFTS TO THE' v 'The Quildhall-'.iibrary-ihas.- ; had-»another windfall inMe shape.-oi-'a' , second present of fike art boolis from.Mr. Pier'pbnt.Morgan. The works deal with the art of the miniaturist and the disappearing North American Indian. Thofirst volumes,. printed 'at Mr. ..Morgan's.. iapense, were presented by him a.year ago! and '.consisted, of three, valuable'catalogues of early printed books in his possession, three volumes cataloguing and illustrating his collection of .nSiniatures, three, volumes reproducing'lhp-most.' important .of his/pictures, and. the first two .'Volumes, of .Mr. Edward -Cnrtii'e exhaustive wort oo the North , American Indian. 'The eecond: has just arrived .at the .GuildhallT-inclndes a .fourth volume, of miniatures, filled'with, exquisite reproductions of the ohoicest examples of master miniaturists, and the additional volume Continuing.the series on the Nprti American Indian. When this'latter ■work is. finished/the cost of, Uncomplete set of voluMs,will be ;£6OO, a'record for a'modern publication.' '• . .'... ,- . . .....'•■,..■; '

' THE KING ANDTHE; BOY'SCOUTS.'.With ■ that-rare tact which is his,' King Edward has/set hie seal of approval upon the great, movement .for raising* Boy ,: Scouts, ofwhich General Baden-PowelU the hero of Mafe-V king, is .the-head; -Saturday,- September 'i~ was' known: as ■ "rally"" day ecpnte'->at:-- the' Crystal/Palace, where, over ll,00() took'-part in: the-.battle' , , of 'Sydenham.' The" sent ,bv ! the : King: was as follows:—"The King ; is glad-to-know'.that the' Boy. Scoots'are holdingtheir first 'annual - parade. ■ Please' assure' ■'he'boys that' the-King takes .the 'gteafest interest in them, and tell them- that 'if .'he - all■ ypon them-later in.life,,the. sense of patrioticresponsibility and.happy duty which they ire acquiring as boys will'enable them to do their duty-as men; should any dange'r.threaten the Empire." ' . •-. .- ■■ : ■•; . ■;-■'• : . '> .-■ ■' ... ,-. ', ' •'•'WO"LIVES IN PERIL. -. ' Ppnr, hundred passengers on the steatnor Duchess of Kent; which plies between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight, .have had a narrow escape from , a serious disaster. While Hearing Portsmouth Harbour, tho Transporter, a steel screw steamer of 1200 tons,'bore down on her, and owing, probably, to the strong current,'-crashed'into, her, on the' port side,' cutting a. largo hole, 'through.' which-water poured.into' the 6alooai The 'situation, was a. dangerous one,.as the Duchess of''Kent waj some hundreds.'of yards distant from the'beach . and-in deep water. ' The vessel's 'head wasturned;: aid''she .went full speed for the beach, being ,by' that time dangerously-'low in , the water.' Sho, grounded in shallow:'.water, -fortunately, yeiy' soon,' and: the■ passengers, were' got. ashore safely.' A few'minutes' , delay wodld' nave. 1 ended in her sinking, in deep 'water ivith ' all on board., ■ By a curious coincidence the day was the ! anniversary of the sinking: of 'the Princess Alice, when. 700'were'drowned. .". '''.'■■>■ 'HEADMASTER FINED, .-j • The'niaiimunipenalty-ra'fine of £s—was imposed at'Feltham bn'lir.'Cyril Marsh Neaves,headmaster of the national schools'at Ashfoi-d, for' flogging, one' of hi£- pupils,-a-boy of ben, named, Albert Edward Darling.'" The flogßinß;' it. was stated, .was administered 1 on .August '30, becahse .the..' boy- had' done a drawing' lesson' unsatisfactorily. ' .Darling, was 'placed' over a' desk, arid held- by', an assistant while Ne'aves;.broke a- cane 'over him; 'In corisequencei the boy had, been .unable, to sleep 'at nights. A warrant officer attached, to the Court said ;he- had seen "boys flogged 'by the miigistrates- orders, but he described this ca6e : ns."a brutal.and'cruel .outrage." ,;Jlr.'. Neaves, hbwever, said the boy. wae punished for'in- 1 6olence, and four strokes' were administered. The 'chairman ,of .the/ Bench said ..the magistrates were-unanimous in convicting. •

■-~'..-' .A NEVVi BRIDGE.;, i . The- question of constructing .a new bridge across the Thames between Blnckfriars and' Southwark. .will again,; it is understood, come before, the' Bridge .House Estates Committee of the City Corporation, at'an early:date The committee, it may bexremembered, reported in favour of a .scheme, which wae estimated to cost nearly ,£2,000,000, but fhe Court of Common Council referred back the report for further . information on certain details from tho' engineers.- By a section.,of the council the view was hold that the necessities of the case might be met by confining'the scheme'to the ...rebuilding of Southwark Bridge. The 1 engineers, .it is stated,, have furthor reported oh this point. As a result, the original scheme for an entirely, new bridge is likely to be adopted when the matter ■ comes before tho council.—"Standard of Empire." ' -