BY THE ENGLISH MAIL.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1002, 17 December 1910, Page 3

BY THE ENGLISH MAIL.

tONDON SUMMARY. MEMOKIAIi TO SIRS. SEIAYYN. ■ . London, Octobcr 28. I Ihe Bishop of LicMield has dedicated a memonql to the late- Mrs. Schvyn, the widow of Bishop George Augustus Fe-1-jvj'n, which lias ]>eeu placcd in the turjic-dral by the lion. Mr*. Legge and a committee of ladies. The memorial occu- , CPU trnl nicho on the reverse side of the rercdos of tho altar, over-looking-the Lady-chapel where Bishop u-P 11 s Monument is situated. It is a white alabaster Jigiire of, tho Blessed' Vir{JJ n » suggested by a drawing of a "Stahat idater by l (, ra Angelico in Jlrs. Jame®on s legends of tho Madonna." At the toot of.the.lignre are tho words "Stabat juxta crucem Josu Jfatez ejus," and on a tablet below is the inscription. The memorial was dedicated "to.the glory of uod and in pious memory of Sarah Harriet Selwyn" to be ever "a reminder of wave devotion, • and of unshrinking selfSilcrmce. ,, •

THE HARROW ' SALUTE. The R*>y. Lionel Ford, the new headKas.er of Harrow, is o man of courage. Uithm the, last week ho lias attempted one of the most difficult tasks a man may undertake —the abolition of a time-hon-oured custom at an English public school —and his success is a testimony to-tho force and- attraction of his personality, ror y cars the customary form, of recognition givtm ljy Harrow boys -to their masters,' and even to the headmaster himself, has-l)een ; an .uncersraonious upward jerk of the rjsht fore-fingpr,- which, .may best be described as a half-salute, since the hand. was • rarely raised higher than the waist-level. A week' a"o !Mr. Ford invited the boys to accord tho full semimilitary salute .to tl\eir masters., and to extend to himself, as their chief, the recognition formerly only given to Indies JJ.raismg the hat from the head. Even this latter conventional greeting takes a peculiar form at Harrow, since the familiar platter-shaped straw hr>ts are lipid on by an elastic'round tho back of the nead, and are therefore raised with a curious backward motion, the object being not to displace the. elastic. Dosnita the traditional conservatism of their kind the hoys have unanimously fallen in with the headmaster's suggestion.

HORSESHOES AS RENT. The quaint ceremony of tho payment of. miit rent was performed at the Royal. Courts of Justice on October 25 in pevpetiiatiou of two thirteenth century tenures. In 12(6 a Tneco «f' Woodland in Shronshire, called 1 "Tho Moo'v." was held bv Nicholas de I\rora, liaviug lyen granted to him by King Henrv 111. The '•ecords show that this "service" has heen regularly rendered for 700 years, the earliest trace of' it being found in a c™nty record of 1211. A hatchet and a billhook have always been tendered in payment. The other tenure, called "The Forge," a pieco of land situated west of Essex Street, between the Strand and t.lio river, was held by Walter Le Brun. }P tribute of "six horseshoes and their nails." It is believed that the part of the ground, now called tho Strand was formerly of tournaments in which tho Knights Temnlar took part. There an itinerant blacksmith had a temporary shed'ln order that ho might attend■ to the .shooing of the horses and mend broken armour. The King so admired. his dexterity that he c:avo him the-piece of land upon which'the smitliv was erected.-- For nver 5500 years "quit has been paid for this of land, the nmount"-being six horseshoes.-r-Both pvopertie<; hove into the posses-. Sion of City of London -Corporation, and the custom"of jiaying'the rent has been j«mv.lained v/ith the utmost pnsi sible fidelity 'to the original form of-.the ceremoiiv. Tn accordance • with • custom the and haichet have heen forwarded, to King Goorge. the fame having l>een accented by King Edward and Qupen Victoria in the first years of their reigns.

INDIAN' STUDENTS; T Lord. of Penshurst, the. new Viceroy of India, whs the guest of Old Harrovians at the- Snvoy, Hotel on October 21; Lord ITnrdinge «iiiT it: was- unfortunate that the English, and Indian students in' the universities and' law schools did tiat mix more together. The Tndian r students were exposed to evil influences and temptations.that.eouhL-onlv be resisted successfully by a- <.tronr» moral sense of mht and duty. He had heard of regretiablo instances of'attempts .at sedition and disloyal propaganda ninon? the students. H« trusted tho poison had not sunk deen. These young men, when, they returned to India, whatevor their sentiments .might ; he' would bo tho .'flower of the educated minority in the-country, and -would,be.in a position,by .their ability. and learning- to exercise-influence .on many, whether for- right or wrong. -He only wished a "leaf could bo taken from the practice' at Harrow. School, where Indian boys were , treated by< the other hoys on a footing of : perfect equality. A little kindness shown to these-' young men would repay itself a thousandfold by the spread in India of a warmer spirit, of loyalty and devotion to the! Empire.

CENSUS OF "THE TRADE." One of 'the returns compiled from the British Census of Production for 1907 has been issued, giving figures of tho numl>er of persous employed and the value of the output ill the .liquor and tobacco businesses among others; ' . Persons' Net Value of Employed. Output: Brewing 85,222 41,140,000 ■ Spirit distilling ... 6,510 1,481.000 Spirit blending ... 1,121 305,000 Bottling 20,601 3,116,000 Aerated waters, etc. 25,653 3.554,000 Tobacco ■ 37,156 5,811,000: : " .£IOO,OOO FOR . ' Over iilOO,ooo is. left to charities under the . will of Mrs. Sarah. Hancock, ,of 39 Isottihgham Place. W., who«e pstate is valued at ,£250,379 gross. Besides legacies of. <£1009. each to the Roval Hosnital for Incurables, Putn-v, the Blind Asylum. • Jmchley Road,' N.W., the Agricultural Benevolent Association., the Middlesex Hospital, the Great Northern Hosnital, Hollov.-ay, aud "the Idiot -Asylum," the residuary estate, apparently about J3100,000, is divided equally between the Church Missionary Society,' the British and Foreign Bible Society, the London City Mission, and the London Society for Promoting Christianity among .tho Jews. Mrs. Hancock, \v"ho died in September at the age of seventy-eight, was the widow of Mr. James I.yno Hancock, vulcanised india-rubber-manufacturer, of Blenheim' House, Putney Heath, and. of Goswcll Road, E.C.," who died in 188-1, lcayinc a fortune of-X'304,532. LOED CUKZON AND WOMAN'S WORK. Lord Cnrzon, in an address at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, said it seemed to him that there- was really an immense field for the activities of educated and cultivated women in England in the near future in directions which did. not at present,-at any rate to any considerable extent, appear to have been tapped by them. He believed that there were various.openings in the oversea Dominions for.. women—openings as heads of institutions, as managers of households, as secretaries, and so on. He hoped, however, s that :woiucn would never forget the sublime principle that the highest ideal and conception of womanhood was, after all, to be found in the home. INSANITY AND DIVORCE," . i', Further interestirg cvidenco on. the subject of insanity and divorce' has been Riven before the Divorce Commission by Sir James Crichton-Browno. It will be remembered that a number of well-known medical men have given,evidence in favour of granting divorce on tho ground of insonity-of ar.y duration. Sir James said that to recognise .this would, in his opinion, encourage ininrudenco in marriage, conduce to tho instability of the matrimonial state, and still further imnair.thc sanctity of family life. Insanity was simply a bodil}' disease, manifesting itself in mental derangement, and if it was to be recognised as a sufficient reason.for divorce ho did not see why manv other bodily diseases should not lie so .also. let them once admit that any kind of disease might justify divorce, and they, might ultimately come to have smallpox aid lupus

as disfiguring diseases, epilepsy, and an- I gina pectoris as alarming diseases, and I leprosy and ozena 1 as disgusting 1 diseases, ! pleaded as grounds of emancipation'from 1 matrimonial bonds. MUMMY IN A CUPBOARD.. A mummified luiman body, apparently that of a boy fourteen years of age, lias been discovered in Nottingham. A year ago the wife of Thomas Shawcroft took over-a small grocery and provision 6hop in Station Street.' She states' that the previous tenant left a parcel in a cupboard, saying that she would call for it later. She apparently set great -store by it, and said that it must be taken care of. The mysterious parcel was left untouched until October 25, when Mrs. Shawcroft decided to see what was inside. Upon removing the wrappings she saw the mummified body. Dr. S. Tressider said'it was that of a boy of fourteen years. It is believed that life has been extinct at least 'twenty years. The police do not propose to take any action in the matter.

PRINCE ALEXANDER OP TECK. London, November 4. Prince Alexander of Teck has taken up the work of his brother, the late Prince I'rancis, as chairman uf the Middlesex Hospital, and the Duke of Teclc will become a vice-president of tlje hospital. In. a letter announcing his intention Prince Alexander recalls Prince Francis's ambition of building up an adequate annual subscription and donation - list. "There is," says Princo Alexander, "a general feeling amongst his friends and those who take a practical interest in the great work which the Middlesex Hospital performs that no more appropriate tribute could b2 paid to his memory than by the establishment of an endowment fund which would produce ■ ,£7OOO a year, the amount by which the normal annual expenditure .exceeds the annual income." Prince'. Alexander has received- from the King a donation of- a.'hundred guineas and a like amount from the Queen.

NEW POET DUES. ; The new port dues for London have now come into operation for the first time, and a staff of 40 clerks.has been kept busily engaged by traders or their representa-tives-answering inquiries and'furnishing particulars as to thejjourse of procedure. Offices have been taken at 13 and 14 George Street, near the Tower. Bridge. The officials are stationed at desks on the first floor, and enamel tablets indicate the various departments. Business is being transacted on lines observed at the port of Liverpool, and experts, from t'no northern city are temporarily-at the disposal, of tho London-authorities. The deposit accounts are opened to overcome the "no credit" difficulty, and it is insisted that hills shall be presented before any shipment, inward or outward, is made.

■ FITT HOUSE. Pitt House, Hampstead Heath, has been withdrawn from sale at the Mart, Tokenhouse Yard, at J315.500. In Domesday Book tho house is named Wildwood Corner. Its recent history, however, commands great attention, for it was the residence of William Pitt. (the elder) during his frequent fits of melancholy. At that time he . was Prime .. Minister, but he shut himself off from all communication from'the. outside * world, although he was urgently called upon by the King and his-colleagues to attend to State matters. . The quaint,.little room which Pitt chiefly used, still contains the identical serving hatchway, fireplace, and cupboards which were there in His time.

BETTING -FRAUDS.- ; At Leicestershire .Assizes,. Lucien Stockvis, bookmaker,.-who .said that at one time ho and his' wife owned 30 racehorses, which van in the registered name ."Joe Drake/ 1 and H. C. Russell, bookmaker, wero cach sentenced to six months' imprisonment - in tho second division'. for' conspiring with- others ; to defraud bookmakers. , It was stated that the'-prisoners'lcftlled' at'.viilage-. post offices and arranged to send a largi - number: of telegrams., : Stockvis afterwards appeared with a number of telegrams backing ' horses, leaving' only the name of the ; horse-to bo. filled in. Several telegrams would be handed in and coded, theso being. to . hold .tho -. wire and keep the telegraphist e ( mnloycd. These, telegrams wero coded before the time of the race, when Russell, who would wait at a telephone near by, learnt tho result of a race he would tell Stockvis, and the name of the winner would be added to a -number of telegrams which' had-been coded when the first hatch was handed in. In this way very large sums wero won.

PARING BANE FEAUDS. . The, London' 'polico are inquiring into throo clever bank robberies. Two of them aro said 'to be' the' work of, tlio 'game, man, who'recently entered the offices of Messrs. Druinmond, bankers, Charing Cross, anil presented two cheques, of the total value, of *£250. They were apparently drawn by a well-known. customer of the firm, and, there being no difficulty about the signature, the money was paicf. The i same afternoon he visited ■ the Henrietta Street branch of the London County and Westminster Bank, and produced two more cheques of tho total value of ,£250, purporting to be signed by tho same gentleman. No suspicions were aroused, and tho money was paid. Ths>_ third fraud, was.perpetrated at an earlier date, at. the branch of 'Hessrs. Barclay and Co., in Victoria Street, where the sum obtained was <£G4O. Here a cheque had been abstracted from the letter-box of a firm carrying on business in the neighbourhood,'and the endorsement had been forged.

' .£600,000 FOR SLUMS. The Housing of thoV.Working, Classes Committee of the London County Council have prepared a scheme : 'for. the demolition of some of the, worst slums in London—the Tabard Street district of Bermondsey. The committee state that, nothing short 'of the demolition of all the old houses and the complete rearrangements of the streets ivill suffice to remedy the sanitary defects of the areasl Four thousand five hundred and 'fifty-two persons will be displ.acel by the clearance. The average death rate per 1000 in one of the districts to bo swept away during the period IDOS-D was 39.1, as compared with the general London average rato of 11.5. Five acres of' the cleared area are to be laid out as a public garden, with houses for some 2450 persons surrounding it. The total costs of.the scheme will be close on .£600,000.

RECORD TORPEDO -PRACTICE. • Remarkable, fleet- torpedo practice was mado l)v the vessels of 'the -Homo Fleet during' their stay: at Invergordon. The vessels wore ordered to form Into two divisions ami strnim away from' each other. When about ten miles apart, they .were ordered to turn- and rattaclc, one • division being the target for the torpedoes of the other. The two divisions approached to within about 5030 yards, and then each ship in the first division discharged three torpedoes. Eac]}. weapon' found its-mark— 100 per cent' of hits being recorded. The most remarkable part, of the practice was that the speed of tho "enemyV ships was unknown. MISS NIGHTINGALES WILL. Miss Florence Nightingale, who died on August 13; left' personal. estate worth X"35,(H9. In her will l , she has not forgotten the soldiers to whom she devoted her life. She has left to-the'managers of the .reading-room at Herbert Hospital or at Kctley or'at Aldershot, or at some .other place where soldiers may see them, jewels given her. by Queen Victoria, .a bracelet from the Sultan, and tho other medals and orders, together with ail engraving of the ground round Sebastopol, al.-o tho bust of her given to her by the soldiers.- - Subject to numerous bequests, tho residue of tho estate is left to the children of the late' William Shore Nightingale in equal shares. "BABES IN THE ■WOOD." Everyone has heard of tho "Babes in the AYoud," but- most people are unaware that'tho story has a local habitation. Attention is qallod to this fact by an nppenl ,by the Rev. C. Kent, rector, of Merlon, Norfolk, for hinds for the preservation' of Tompson Church, which lies in the land of the Babes. An old manor house which has been known from time immemorial aa the "Wicked Uncle's

House," and which- once-contained-cary-ings of the babe?, . the robins, and ..tho uncle, adjoins' '■ the church// andt riearyby' is ''Wailing AVoo'd," the - reputed "scene' of the tragedy. The reputed uncle is commemorated "by a* tablet in' the neighbouring Merton Church, and the rector of Merton proposes to' place , a memorial of the Babes , in, and restore, Thompson Church, which was founded in. 13*19, and is fast falling into decay." He asks "lovers of the old ballad,- childl'cri-.w.ho have en-' joyed the pantomime, and theatre -managers who have benefited by it to aid him in his task. A sum of «£IGOO in all is required.

MILITARY AIR CORPS. Thero is every indication that the Army Council has at-last awakened to. the fact that aerial , craft will .play an. important part in the warfare of .the" futuse'.'" A British military: aiiv corps lias been formed, and two junior officers and about a dozen sappers are under canvas at Durrington, Salisbury Plain,, conducting experiments with a Bleriot - monoplane, which was a present .from, the' Duke of Westminster to the Army l .Council.;....Tho experiment will be of- an extensive nature. Flights by night. and.the .reading oii flashlight signals, wireless telegraphy; and dis-patch-carrying .will all-form., part of the programme of tho new .corps.*. It is - also proposed -to'.forio a dirigible branch , of the Air Corps.

3,000,000,000 IETTERS. . According to the fifty-sixth annual report of the; Postmaster-General for the year ended- March 31, last,- nc-arly 3,000,000,000 letters,;B7i,ooo;ooo .halfpenny.* pack-, cts, ; 'BliG,ooo,ooo. postcards, nearly; .2,000,000 newspapers, .'.arid' 118,000,000 parcels: were delivered. The newspaper", figures - alone show a decrease- compared with' tho previous year.. ,-Sidce. 1900' the .number'of letters per. head of tho populatiohrdelivered" in the United Kingdom has increased from 57 to 65. Undelivered packets were estimated at over'3I',OQO,COO, or;ari. increase of 2.1 per cent, while the amount of cash found in addressed .or, unredressed -packets reached the enormous-total-of-nearly■ £650,000. The total number,.of"telegrams' sent was 87,000,000, or an increase: of 2.4 per cent. , : . .

MID-OCEAN SHOPPING. \ One pi the most notable features of the new giant-store that .is being built for Messrs. Whiteley' and 'Co. :; in Queen's Road, Bayswater, is that. it will ; be fitted up: with . wireless telegraphic apparatus, so' that oassengers on homeward-bound ships will be able to do their shopping long before 'they are in sight -of ~ land. On the roof there will be an Italian garden, mid on an upper flqor the shoppers' children will .be provided . with a sandy beach, and buckets .and spades and nurses, while their ..mothers make purchases below. The new shop will have a frontage of 600 feet, and a; depth of 350 feet—the biggest in .the world. Built of white granite, with. two tiers. of Corinthian columns, it will be constructed round three domes, and the ccntral' dome is-to bo a reproduction of :the famous one at Santa Marie della Salnet, in Venice, arid rising to a height of 150 feet.'-

CORONATION ROBES. Notices dealing" with: the attendance of and the robes to be-worn by peers and peeresses at the coming coronation hare just been issued. Peers are warned that their robes or mantles be of crimson velvet- edged with miniver, :the cape furred with miniver pure and powdered with bars or rows of ermine, according to their degree, the mantles or robes to lib worn over full Court dress, uniform, or regimentals.' Tho' coronet of' a .btiroh is to have on the circle, dr. rim sis silver balls at equal' distances; viscount's coronet sixteen.. silver.balls;', earl's.coronet .eight. sil-„ ver balls';' marquess's coronet, four gold strawberry-'leaves' and" four silver : .balls alternately ; duke's coronet eight gold strawberry leaves. • I FAMOUS 'WAR ARTIST.. " _ The. ds&tlx,.js announced of Mr.' Melton! Prior," the celebrated war artist and' correspondent of . News." , Sir'.', MelM .Trior. 'rSprSIM the "Illustrated' London News'l'in,2l campaigns. His record in the'field: included the -.Ashanti war of 1873;. the Carlist rising, 1.874; .Turkish,. litfSr, Basuto, Zulu, and Boer wars; tho Egyptian campaign of 1532"; tho Sudan and Nile expedition; the Burmese war; the'disturbance in South Africa' in 1836; and the ; '(JraecoTurkish war. 1872 until'lßß6 Mr. Prior was for one .'year.'only-without seeing service. In addition',- -he attended every State ceremony which occurred daring his brief stays in England. He went to Athens with tho Prince of Wales's suite in 1875, and. accompanied the Marauess and Marchioness of Lome on their first,visit to Canada.' Mr. Prior, went through Canada ' with' the Prince of Wales to the great Delhi Durbar, with the Somaliland expedition and to the Russo-Japanesa war.'.":

FIBEMAN EAEL'S WILL. The -will y has' >been proved of the - late Earl of Bgfrtpnt, the value of the estate being Probate has been granted to - the -widow,-to-whom - .all' the property is left. -Lord Egmont,. who... was ■ the eighth' earl, was born in New. Zealand, and sent to the/Worcester training ship to bo educated- for the Navy. Afterwards ho shipped as an, ordinary, .seaman, serving on various : merchant vessels, for twenty -Then , he .joined-the.'. London Eire i Brigade .andsubsequently.,' became. vestry hall, keeper, at Chelsea/* succeeding to tho peerage on (he death of'a distant cousin in 1897.'.' . : ' ' " ' SOLDILRS OF EMPIRE Preparations aro being made' to send King Edward's' Horse! (th'e. King's' Colonials) to Canada next year.*/It: has-not been dccided^.whbther'.the,'tour, will 1 have financial.,- help -from ;jthe-'Hoitfe .'Government or not, but the undertaking" will; be independent of such help,"sin'ce'.a band pf rich Londoners aro prepared to foot the., bill: Anglo-Canadian opinion favours the addition to-the parade ofTa 1 - compositeforce of Life Guards and Blues, but this is a matter that is beyond;.the pow.er of a comniitteo. of patriotic civilians.— "Standard of Empire."