BY THE ENGLISH MAIL.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1042, 3 February 1911, Page 6

BY THE ENGLISH MAIL.

.LONDON SUMMARY. ■THE DIVOKCD. COMMISSION. London, December 23. The DivDrce Commission has just concluded the taking of evidence in public. An enormous number of witnesses has been examined—lo2 within the last 20 days that the commission has sat alone. Mr. W. Stead, who gave evidence on the last day, said that lie thought marriage as a civii contract should bo dissolved for: (1) Misconduct; (2) Desertion for a term of years; (3) Failure or refusal to maintain wife and children; (1) Incurable insanity; (5) Penal, servitude. The State would be within its rights in discouraging divorce, in providing opportunity for the intervention of an official peacemaker or reconciler, in postponing the. degree absolute for one year or two, in imposing adequate penalties for breach of contract; and in disqualifying guilty parties from holding offices of public trust. A fraudulent breach of the marriage conV tract might, properly be treated like fraudulent breaches of other contracts, and all divorce cases shonld be tried by mixed juries of men and women. •> IMPERIAL EXHIBITION.

At a recent meeting of the General Committee formed to organise tho Imperial Exhibition which is to Iμ held in London in 1915, • a prominent Imperialist promised to contribute ,£SOOO towards the guarantee fund, provided another .£IO,OOO was guaranteed. The General Committee now consists- of over a hundred gentlemen of all shades of political opinion, amongst those who have lately joined being the- Earl of Plymouth, 'Colonel Sir Henry Pellatt (of the Q.O.R. of Canada), Sir J. H. Yoxall, JU\, and the AgentsGeneral for Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, and Tasmania. The- advisory committee, consisting of Lord Strathcona (High Commissioner for Canada), Sir Pietcr Stewart-Bam, Lord Blvth, Viscount Hill, and Mr. R. A. Cooper, M.P., are at present busily engaged arranging the preliminary details of the great enterprise. . .. •

CORONATION CLAIMS.. ■ The Coronation Court of Claims has held its first sitting, and has drawn up a. list of claims which it will shortly consider. The following, are the most interesting on the list:—Henry Scrymgcour Wedderburn, Esq.: To cany the Royal Standard of Scotland. Duke of Newcastle: To provide a glove for the King's right hand, and to support his Majesty's right arm while he is .holding the Soeptre. Barous of the Cinque Ports: To bear the canopies (if used) within .Westminster Abbey, or to 'be assigned ; a station therein in attendance on the King and Queen. James Thome Eoo de.Morley, Esq.: To tear the Eoyal Standard of.England. All the claims will, it is understood, be unopposed, except that of James Thorne Itcc de Morlcj-, Esq., "to bear the Eoyal Standard of England." 3lr. de Money claimed to be recognised as Lord de Morlej; a.few years ago, but tho claim was rejected by the House of Lords.

. A MOTOK DREADNOUGHT. The motor-driven Dreadnought, which,-, engineers only a few months ago ridiculed,' will shertly be a reality. This startling announcement is made in tho "Motor Boat," which contains full details "and sketches of motor engines which are being built for installation, in a Dreadnought of this'year's or next year's programme. In commenting on this revolution-in naval shipbuilding tho journal states:— "The design consists of eight-cvlinder engines, practically two four-cylinder • motors coupled in tandem, developing 12.000 h.p.; that is, l!i00 h.p. per cylinder. Three of these 12,000 h.p. units are. in process of construction, making an aggregate of 36,000 h.p. A speed of 21 knots is anticipated. They will be practically invulnerable, since the highest point on the engine will lie well below the water-line, one of .the .most, valuable features of the. equipment'."- to fighting efficiency,*-' the enhanced value of the motor battleship will be considerable." ' ■

UNEMPLOYED EMIGRATION. . At u meeting of the Central (Unemployed) Body for London it was stated that since tho inauguration of tho body—four years and. four months ag0—.£205.554 \had been received through borough councils from, tho rates. " : Of this sum there had been a net outlay for emigration and migration purposes of .£82.016. During the working year ended June 30 last 773 persons were emigrated. In their five seasons of existence the board had emigrated 0050 persons at a cost of just over About .£SOOO had been Tcpaid by the emigrants. ■ .

NEW' LONDON RAILWAY. A new London railway is proposed for the purpose of connecting the chief trunk lines with the Tilbury, the Victoria, and the Royal Albert.Docks. It is suggested that.tlio line should run round the north cF London, from Feltham on the west, Iwhero is would begin with a junction with the London and South-Western Railway. O.i its way it would cross all the other great railwaj;s, and junctions would Ire madft with them at various points. A Bill for' power to incorporate "Tho Greater London Railway Company" to construct the new'line has been deposited in the Private Bill Office at the House of Commons. The share eenital proposed is . with ths right to raise'a further .£1,833,333 by the issue of debenture stock.

" .; ■ BRITISH SEAMEN. An important notice has been issued by the Board of Trade to master?, officers, and seamen, warning them of the risks involved in accepting employment in foreign ships without ascertaining whether they will be. liable to summary dismissal, and without ensuring that proper provision is 'made in the agreement for the payment of their passage homo in the event of their being discharged abroad. Without such safeguards they nio.y. be liable to summary dismissal at a , foreign port without means of returning home or of obtaining otheremployment. . They shonld also take similar.precautions before- signing on for the run to a foreign port (e.g., in taking a British-built ship out to foreign owners abroad) under the impression that {hoy will experience, no-difficulty in obtaining employment there.,

NEW What with the floods and the violent storms thnt have recently swept the const?, it-would seem.that there is moro of England under water this season than there- has been for a very long time. The, most amazing transformation, perhaps, has taken place at Selsey, which has been completely severed from the mainland, save for a dyke some 20ft. thick, by an inroad of the sea. Nearly 5000 acres of pasture la'nd have been, submerged. It is doubtful whether it will ever be possible to recover all' the land which has thus suddenly been swallowed' up by the sea. Hurricanes have bson responsible for the wreck of several vessels in the Channel, and have done damage estimated at many thousands of pounds on the south coast, and many seasido resorts have been flooded.

CHARTERED COMPANIES. Speaking at the North Borneo dinner at the Hotel Cecil, at which he was , tho principal gnest, tho Earl of Crewe' referred to the success of the North Borneo Company. "Look around tho Empire," ho said, "it is remarkable, indeed, to see what tho work of various companies has been. Look at" America. There you see tho work of the Hudson Bay Company, whoso, territories now form'no unimportant part of tho Dominion of Canada. Look at Africa. There aro the two Nigcrias, with an almost unlimited future, duo in no small degree to tho Nigeria Company. On tho opposite coast you see tho East Africa, not tho least remarkable, which also started under a company. Iμ the south wo have tho great Rhodesia, Company. We look back with wonder and admiration at tho work of the great East India Company "— "Standard of Empire."