BY THE ENGLISH MAIL.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1024, 13 January 1911, Page 4

BY THE ENGLISH MAIL.

LATEST,.LONDON; DOINGS. , ..TRAGEDY..-,'-.-..-.. , jA terrible-tragedy .'occurred; while the Cambridgeshire Hounds woro in full cry near Caxlon. Mrs. Grossman, the popular wife:of tho master,of iho liuut, .was. killed in consequence of a fall. The hounds "met at Dltisley Wood, near' St. Neo(s, ; and had- run. through • four .fields wlicn Mrs. Grossman's horse struck tlie top of a thorn fenco on tho C'axton Steeplechase. Course. Horse, and . rider turned a somersault,' and thd'animal'fob on Mrs./.Crossmaii, :.killing her instantly. Medical examination revealed tho "fact that a broken neck was the cause of death. The hunt was at once stopped, and all engagements of tho Cambridgeshire have been cancelled for the present. Mis. Grossman was very popular throughout Cambridgeshire,...

THE'CTRISTMASMNNEIt. y'; The :Ciiristnias dinner .this'.: year will bo' one ofithe'dearest ou.record.vowiug to/the abiiorrijal rise in tho^rice*of .'Ei'dceries;all round.:.: Every'pomnibd'ity'wbich : is .bbpght by-the.' hqusewii'o dui ; ing : : tho .'Christmas season; has.a'dy'anced, iii. price. yGhristnias puddings have ,advaiiced'.sincevlast-year from Ojd. to.lOd. perylb.v.sultanas, from 7d;-to candied peel, mincemeat, and. currants a gen'oral increase of id. in tho lb., while almonds and dried peaches have gone up Id.

EMPIRE PREFERENCE. At tho ono hundred and thirteenth meeting of the Tariff Commission, steps were taken to give effect to a letter from Mr. Chamberlain in which the veteran Imperialist suggested that they should follow up the work they had already done in ascertaining the lines on which interImperial trade can best be developed by a system of mutual preference. It was decided to issue as soon as possible before the Imperial Conference a report dealing with all aspects of the preference question. The commission reviewed the oral and written evidence already taken as to the effect of Empire preferences upon tho various branches of British trade, and it was decided to take additional evidenco frim representative witnesses and firms on points which havo .arisen in consequence. of .'recent,commercial developments within tfio" Empire and the policy of foreign countries. •'■'■':

TREASURY AND EDUCATION.

An official communication has been issued by tho Treasury stating tbat the Chancellor of tho Exchequer has agreed to increaso the total grant to university colleges by .£50,000.' It is stated officially that this decision is the outcome of. a conference, between tho Chancellor and a committee rof,representatives of the.'English universities-, and..colleges which participate in the grant: It was suggested that the Treasury, in distributing the grants, should take into consideration the output of each foundation, including tho number of students, the needs as to the remuneration of the staff and accommodation, and the development of .'• work which the universities could with further financial assistance undertake. The .Chancellor ■ agreed to tho increased grant on these lines provided that sufficient additional local support should be obtained to meet a proportion of tho cost of maintenance of the new developments.

SUFFRAGISTS .IN COURT. Bow Street Court has been flooded during the, past few days by largo 'numbers ■of Suffragists arrested and charged with violence,''damage to property, and obstruction. The,gases form a.sequel to the disgraceful scene's witnessed 'recently,", when many windows woro smashed at the residences, of members of tho Cabinet and Government offices, and Ministers themselves': weio assaulted. In pursuance of tlie Homo Secretary's policy, in the cose of: those 'charged merely with obstruction 110 evidence was offered, and tho prisoners were therefore discharged, although the Magistrate: stated: "In niy opinion this practice is-simply'an incentive to further Violence."-. '.Those proved guilty of,, damage, to pVoperty'were given sentences-rang-ing from two months' imprisonment without; tlioioption of a fine to fines of JOs. with an., alternative of fourteen day's. HOME SECRETARY ATTACKED. Mr. Churchill .had an' unpleasant experience, in. a train while travelling to King's' Cross from Bradford, whei'o he • had .been'..speaking,;... He was passing through'tiie"corridor to' reach the restaurant car when ho was attacked by n man who occupied a seat in a third-class carriage. Tho assailant, it is stated, at.to..strjke the Home Secretary with a' dog-whip. The blow was intercepted by a detective, who, with tho aid of Inspector Parker, overpowered tho man. Tliero was a struggle, and the two detectives kept him in chargo for the rest of the journey, and guarded him from attack by resentful fellow-passengers. When Mr. Churchill reached King's Cross another attempt was made to molest him, his assailants this time being women, but bo was again protected by the detectives in attendance. '. ■,■';.■''. .-.•.-;,;•. -. '-V TRIPLE RAILWAY'; COLLISION. A triplo railway, collision bos occurred at Ormskirk, twelve milesfrom Liverpool. The Scotch express had'just cleared the station, travelling at a speed of over fifty miles an hour, when it dashed into a light passenger engine waiting to cross at the points. The driver of the latter, as soon as he saw tho express, put on steam in an endeavour to avoid a collision. Tho express, however, dashed into tho engine, and the impact practically wrecked tlie train. Just at tho momeut of collision a rail. motor-train, from: Liverpool cftinc' along, and dashed into a: derailed carriage of tho express, which completely blocked both main, lines.-: A passenger in the motor-train was killed, • but,. curiously enough, everyone else escaped with slight injuries. Tho accident was a. signalman's mistake;-; ','': , "" > ""' STEPMOTHER'S NEGLECT. .' In the Chancery, Division, Mr. Justice S'.vinfen Eady has found, that Mrs. Florence Harness, a former music-hall dancer, had neglected': her.' stepson, Mr." Douglas" Macrae, a- wealthy young maii"of weak mind. "There will be, d 'declaration," ho stated, "that she-is liable to account for ,£]B,B-17..paid-to.her as guardian. Against that she is entitled to a proper sum in regard to the maintenance of Mr. Macro© and his sister, and an .inquiry will be. made to fix that; sum. is quito iin-' possible to rend SDr. letters without seeing that tlie-lv?y's welfare was the la=t .consideration and economy the first. I can oidy: come to the. conclusion that 'Mrs. Harness failed in her duty as a guardian." ;; . .Ss...IId.; ;: PER;.VOTE. ; What does a General Election cost? The answer is given in-a Blue Book issued by. the Home Office to-day, so far as tlie actual outlay of. candidates and the expenses of returning officers arc concerned. Tho figures officially given avo for tho, election of last January, and show that, apart from the expenses of unopposed candidates, tho cost was ,£1,29G.352 9s. 10d:, Or only ,£12,233 less 'than the maximum amount allowed by tho Corrupt. Practices Act of 1883.. Tho„av.erage cost per vote polled in tlie-differ'ent kingdoms in January is worked out as follow:

England and Wales , 3 10 Scotland 1 5 Ireland .._. 2 11 , For the whole-of the United 1 Kingdom the average cost per vote polled is given as'3s. lid. There'.' were.;-. 1311 candidates for the (i"0 scats, -and .G\0G7,3!)1 electors went to the poll.

THE WELSH STRIKES. In order to protect: tlio euginemen who have remained faithful to the owners, and who have started pumping the water out. of the Hooded workings at tho Cambrian Combine's 'mine-at Uilfush Goch, it has been found necessary to bring out a force of ISO soldiers' A ainl 50 London police. The strikers havo realised that they can no longer compel tho inana'/jr to forsake the power-house- as they did twelve days ago, and they resorted to the intimidation, of women in order to bring the pumpsi'to' a stnudstill again: " ; Oue 'liiglit recently a mob nia'rohed itoltho.'- pust offico and smashed the windows, simply

localise the 'postmistress's ■ father t was working'at tho engines which ar« saving the mine from inundation. Tie wives of the other men who went back to the power-house have.been so.frightened that many'of them 'during tlic'past'few days hnve stood iu Hie drenching rain at the lpinc-head calling, to their husbands to gp home aild so prevent their houses from being attacked. 912,837 PAUPERS. A While 'Paper just published snows that. £7,439,381 was spent on 912,837 paupers inEngland and Wales during the halfyear ending March. 25. The chief items were: Indoor pauper.-', .£1,912,302; out-re-lief, .£1,656,014; lunatics, .£1,259,367. The oo s t for London was J:1,906,3i7, and for England, -and Wales outside. London .£5,583,031. There.has been a net increase in- expenditure of 0.3 per. cent, while the aggregate number of persons in receipt of relief in England and Wales' was 1.8 per cent lower than in tho previous year. In London, where tho number relieved was 116,316, the decrease was greater, being 2.8 per cent. ■ '~ , HUN ON "SALOME." h Though, the announcement that the. •long-banned opera "Salome" is to be pro-' duced on December 8, and that the boxoffice at.CWnt Gardens'would be open ;at,ten o'clock for the sale of seats, • wasnot; made officially until a 1 late hour'off ;Mpnday night; u considerable crowd'as-. ■sembled ou(side,.tho theatre'-by 8.30 a.iu.' on. Tuesday;, and :between ■ nine and ten ■ q clock tho street';'outside tho main en-. :trance became packed with cars, carriages, and taxi-cabs. Within an hour and 20 minutes after the opening of the box-office not a seat remained to be sold m any.'part,,of.:.the house for the.first performance. Many had, in consequence, to bo refused seats. When all the scats had. been sold, several persons readily offered .£5 for a.stall, but those who had Irought stalls were disinclined to sell them even'at that price. BOER WAR ECHO. In the King's.Bench Division, Mr; OF. h. .bmith, K.C., appearing. for the de-' lendaut, asked that the .action of Edmondson v. L. S. Amery should be allowed to stand out of the list. The plaintiff, it was explained, is. an ex-Army officer, and the defendant is tho editor of The Times History of the War," whoso marriage to a sister of Mr. Hamar Greenwood took place recently. Damages for alleged libel were claimed in connection with Mr. Amery's candidature for' Wolverhampton at the last general election. It;was stated that the alleged libel was of the most serious character, as it was alleged that the defendant had attributed to the plaintiff cowardice upon the field of battle. The. plaintiff and Mr: Amery were candidates at tho general ' {lection, and the Judge allowed the case to stand out till next term, ,;: DISASTER IN THE THAMES. Eight lives were lost owing to . a disastrous collision in the Thames .below the'Nore. The■■ barquentine Gratitude, of Rochester, while lying at.anchor, was run into and sunk by the collier Lord Stewart, inward bound. Of the . crew of ten on board, only two escaped. So extensively damaged was the barquentine by the force of tho collision that sho ■foundered within two minutes. Tho two survivors jumped overboard, and wero afterwards picked up by the collier. The remainder of tho crew were carried down iu the ship... After.the.collision the.Lord Stewart stood by until there was no hope of ifurthcr rescues. The survivors were landed at Gravcsend. ' A VALUABLE FIND. With the exception of the ,£12,000 paid iii:l9os for a panei of tapestry after a design by Bouctar, tho £6600 realised at Puttick and Simpson's for a panel of Arras or Burgundiaii .tapestry is. probably for a single piece unexampled. Tho Arras panel was discovered some weeks, ago by a firm'of auctioneers in the old' Jncobean. mansion, Longford Hill, Bude, the: property . of the Misses ,;Bra.y-,moii ancestor of l whom, seems to have bought in'lß4B for. £2 at. the sale of the belo'neings of the rcctorof DancHilph, Cornwall. There seems'fo'be little doubt that" tho panel, 13ft. 4in. by 14ft. 9m;,';forms part of "the. series of nine illustrating the seven deadly sins, originally the property of Cardinal. Wqls-ey, three of which, still hang in tlie great watching or guard chamber of Hampton Court Palace.--. A NOVEL CAMPAIGN. Probably the first campaign on record to b& fought by Marcomgram is that which . Captain. Edward S. Grogau,' the African explorer, is making against Mr. Josiah Wedgwood at Newcastle, Staffordshire. Captain Grogan had just started on his way home from East Africa, where.ho has extensive estates, when the dissolution was'decided on. Since then he has been sending daily Maroonigrarns encouraging his supporters. These messages are posted up in the constituency immediately on their receipt. The candidate is expected to reach this country to-day (Friday), and will' have about three days in which to work before the poll. , .".- -EMPIRE FRUIT.--. ■■■/,. Sir Edward Grey has opened an important exhibition of Empire-grown fruit at the Royal Horticultural Hall. This season • of' the year brings more, particularly .thcjruits.of Canada, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, and tho West Indies into the metropolis; but, although these countries will, therefore, receive most prominent representation, there will be exhibits from all tho States. Considerable interest attaches to the, British Columbia exhibit of 800 boxes of apples, the nick of their orchards, as it consists entirely of prize fruit lroui the Cuuaui.ui. -National Applp Show, held in Vancouver during tho first week in November. Since tho Horticultural Society commenced the shows, testimony has been received as to their practical value, both to the growers and the customers. For instance, Nova, Scotia was represented at one, with, the , result .that, shortly afterwards, consignments of fruit were sent to London. : -LADY'S TRAGIC-END. A verdict of suicide whilst temporarily insane was returned at the inquest on Lady Bois,'the wife of Sir Stanley the well-known merchaut, who died at.tn. Welbeck Palace Hotel, Welbcck Street. It appeared:that Lady Bois's health hud hot been good since she underwent an operation, n year ago. She had suffered from "nerves,"' and had delusions regarding her child. Lady Bbis was found lying dead on' tho ltoor with a revolver, near her. Sir Stanley Bois is at tho present in Ceylon, .where he has . been on business for soino time. . WESTERN AUSTRALIA'S.GOLD. . Speaking before the colonial section of the Royal Society of Arts on the progress and prospects of mining in Western Australia, Mr. A. Montgomery, State Mining Engineer of Western Australia, said that out of a mineral production valued roundly at .£95,000,000 about .£92,000,000 had been due to gold. Speaking of the value of tho Western Australian mines from the stockholders' point of view, the speaker said, taking the amount of dividends paid by Western Australian' gold mining companies in comparison with tho total production, the average return had ■been 22.1, per cent, of the total produce, and the dividends had ranged from 18 per cent, to 26.1 ner cent. The very profitable nature of tho gold mining industry was well shown by stating that the average value of gold produced per man employed, both on surface and underground, was ,£ltt in 190S and .£ll3 in 1909. Tim mineral-bearing country extended from north to south right across the continent of. Australia for 1300. miles. \ 'SOLID PETROL. Highly successful experiments have been carried out in London by a Rumanian engineer named Constantinescu, with regard to the solidfyiug of petrol. In appearance solid petrol is a transparent, yellowish jelly, which, when lighted, burns gently nud evenly. Many experiments have been conducted with a view lo its use on motors. No smoke, no smel), absoluto safety, no carburetter troubles (for with solid petrol the carburetter is eliminated), and power at two-thirds the present cost are some of the joys promised to motorists. . Solid • petrol '.can,.safely, be carried in cheap woodsn boxes, or even wrapped' up in

qiled paper.. It-is pure petrol,'containing 1 per cent, of foreign matter, and this mutter can, if necessary, bo used over ngain for tho solidification of further petrol. Tha .solid can. bo tur.ned to a liquid by a pressure of the hand.

PIONEER OF AN INDUSTRY. Tho death has taken nlace at -King-ston-on-Thames of Mr. Thomas Humber, a pioneer of the cycle industry mid founder of ■ the famous firm of bicycle and motor-car manufacturers. His life was a romance of trade and invention. Some 40 years ago Mr. Humber saw a picture of a velocipede' in a newspaper. His interest was aroused, and he began building the machines. Although each took two months to make, he . sneedily obtained orders, and little by little the nresent important industry, employing lianv thousands, of .hands, grew out of. tho business founded by Mr. Humber in a shed, with a boy for 1 his only assistant.

ECHO OF LUCKNOW SIEGE. Sir Anthony Dickson Home, F.C.. K.C.8., the last survivor of a party of eleven avio held a house in Lncknow during the Mutiny, against the rebels for a day and )a night, has just celebrated 'his eighty-fourth birthday. Sir Anthony was with a. guard of 150 men who were unable to. force their way.through to the Residency; with the main body of HaveIbck*s relief column. He: was engaged 'in convoying, tho wounded/to safety when tho native .bearers could no longer stand ..the..continual fire from the sepoys, and raii away;' With ten soldiers Sir Anthony dragged' some of the wounded into a house. The wounded left outside were massacred. For a day and a night the brave little party held tho house against ruoro.than-a" thousand mutineers. They were" saved by a relief column from the Residency. This adventuro won Sir Anthony his V.C.

. GREAT MANSION FIRE. Aqualate Hall, an old mansion dating from 1633, near Newport,'Shronshire, has been destroyed by fire. Some members of the family of Sir George Boughey were in residence at the' time, and had to leave their bedrooms hurriedly early in the morning to escape'from the'flames. The greater part of the furniture was saved, but the valuable library was destroyed, as well as several outbuildings.— "Standard of .Empire," December 2. '