BY THE ENGLISH MAIL.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1048, 10 February 1911, Page 6

BY THE ENGLISH MAIL.

LONDON SUMMARY.. •TITO VICTORY'S DAGGER, . London, December 30. Kelson's flagship, tho Victory, was in serious danger of catching firo tho other day, when tho yacht-building yard of Messrs. • (tamper and Nicholson, of Gosport, near which sho is berthed, was destroyed. Tho Victory was enveloped in smoke, sparks fell all around her, ai tho heat of tho tiro was actually felt on board. The natal authorities saw the danger, and ordered tugs and , naval firo floats to surround tho ship in tho event of an outbreak. Tho Gosport firo originated in tho store, whero a largo quantity of petrol was kept, and is suppose*, lo "havo been caused by the fusing of an electric wire. Tho extent of tho damage is difficult to estimate, but it amounts lo several thousand pounds. Some of th. yachts on tho slips wero injured by tho fire. i ■ I ARMED BURGLAR., . A policeman named Ilaytread had a marvellous escapo from death while arresting an armed burglar, in tho Borough, who fired at him five times/ Tour times tho nian'missed him at closo range. Then, when in grips, the constable felt tho muzzle- of- tho revolver pressed to his temple; the burglar fulled the trigger, but providentially tho v cnrtridgo had jammed, and tho weapon missed fire. A courageous woman, Franoes Wright, helped the constablo by blowing his whistle for him and by striking tho struggling burglar over and oyer again. Finally, a sailor, Henry William Barber, came to tho, assistance of tho officer and tho desperate ruffian was secured. A crowd gathered, and then the. constable had to protect his prisoner from the attentions of the incensed people, on whom the recent shooting of policemen nt Houndsditcii had eyidently left a deep impression. \ •fiO.ooo A YEAR BEQUEST. Vice-Admiral Sir lledworth Lambton, who recently married the widow of lord Chelsea, will be tho largest beneficiary under tho will of tho lato Lady Mcu'x, who hns left to him tho uulk of her largo fortune.. It is believed that the net in como which will bo derived from tho legacy ho will receive will amount to .£20,000 a year. Lady Lambton herself will inherit a quantity of jewellery, including some priceless pearls. Lord Marcus Beresford, who was so long connected with Lady Meux's racing activities, has been left a valuable farm, while Lord Essex, who was a near rclntivo of :ho late Sir Henry Moux, also benefits under tho will.

AEROPLANE IN.FLAMES. Misfortune continues to dog the steps of Mr. Grahamo Whilo in' tho Do Forest flying competition. On tho 18th ho met with a serious accident, and now his new aeroplane, which was entered for tho contest,. was destroyed by a firo wh'ich burned down the temporary hangar in which it was stored on Swingnto Downs, near Dover. Tho machine was a new one, presented to him by Sir.Georgo White, and tho aviator had hoped to mako a flight shortly. His mechanics had completed tho fitting up, and friends of Mr. Grahamo White had arrived to mako tho necessary arrangements. Somo petrol, stored in clost proximity to tho machine, was set alight by a spark-from a fire. A fresh north-easterly 'breeze was blowing, nnd a spark from the firo blew amongst the petrol tins, and thcro was immediately a fierce outbreak.' Somo men in the,hangar had very narrow escapes, and tho aeroplane, and .'the wholo structuroat once became, 'a mass, of .flames, flaring high into the. air, ■,

.AERIAL'• MOTOR-CABS.. '. • Mr. Grnhame White, in a statement printed in "Tho Times," declares... that next summer Uiero. will be air cars capable, of-travelling through tho air at tho rate k>f 100.' miles an • hour with' comfort and safety.' ''Ready 'Wfrials in tho spring," ho says, "will bo tho first of a typo of' machino ono might call tho air car., It will bo a strongly-built monoplane. ,A 100-horse-powor engine will. propej it. It will havo a bodylike that of a motor-car, with four comfortablypadded teats, well protected- from " the wind. Tliero is no. reason at all; why any wealthy motorist should not purchas.o such a ninchine as this, have an 'aerial chauffeur' instructed ...to pilot it, if ho does not want to learn to N drive himself, and enjoy acroplaning in a thoroughly practical way." EXPLORER'S BEQUEST.'" , ".'./'' A most important collection of African birds is shortly to bo presented to the British Museum, in accordance with the •wishes pf tho lato Lieutenant BoydAlcxaudcr, tho well-known traveller" andornithologist, who met with a tragic death near Lnjco Tchad on April 2. Tho collection comprises about 40D0 specimens—somo of which aro exceedingly rare and of the greatest interest to -collectors. Tho bequosi will form part of the ornithological collection ni tho National History Museum; South Kensington. TAXI-CAB ADVENTURE. ' An extraordinary story was told at the Westminster Police Court, when Hubert Lowe, a taxi-cab driver' was fined. .£lO for reckless driviuz, JCS for refusing to stop after an accident, and ordered, to pay .the police costs. It appeared that Lowo was hired in Piccadilly by a Miss Mary Halton and a Mrs. du Croz and ordered to drive, to Kensington Palaco Mansions. They noticed that he was driving very fast,.and presently ho dashed straight into a refuge in tho middle of the road. Two windows of tho cab were broken, Miss Halton was badly bruised, and Mrs- du Croz's cj-e, cheek, and tongue were very severely cut. When Miss.Halton got out of the cab to seowhnt had happened, Lowo jumped down from his seat, slammed tho door, and drove away at top speed. Mrs.du Croz knocked at the window for him to stop, but Without effect. Ho eventually pulled up, but the lady refused to get out of the cab until ho gave her his name anil number. Ho offered her £2 if sho would let him go. She still refused to alight, and ho started his engine again. Sooner- than bo carried further away, she jumped out, and Lowe drove off. it was only with considerable difficulty that tho man was traced. A RECORD TRIP. A wonderful; record -in the way of ocean travel has been achieved by the Cunard liner' Mduretania. Tho Atlantic leviathan has steamed to New York and back in twelve days—or, to bo absolutely accurate, in 11 days 23 hours. Prom beginning to end the story was ond of supremo effort. In tho face of terrific gales tho Maiirctania ploughed her way magnificently to New York, and' exceeded her own record by only five hours under. the worst of adverse conditions. In the wonderfully short period of. 32 hours tho great vessel was cleaned, provisioned, and coaled, and waiting for the mails. As sho left tho shores of .tho United States on tho Saturday Captain Turner declared: "Wo shall get her to Fishguard two minutes before midnight on Thursday." Finer ' weather favoured tho return voyage, which was completed by her arrival at, Fishguard nearly two hours in advance of the time predicted by tho captain.

200-YEAR-OLD OFFENCE. The London County Council's campaign 'against unlicensed users or armorial bearings, which has led to many remarkable, prosecutions during the past few months, reached its climax recently, when Guy's Hospital was summoned at tho Tower Bridge Police Court. It was Rravcly poiuted out that • although the arms of tho founder had been displavcd outside tho hospital for nearly 200"years, no license had been paid. In addition the hospital hod been Euilty oi' using tho arms on certificates granted to nurses. For these offences a fine of 10s. was imposed. ' MINISTER ROBnED. While travelling from Dover to Calais on his way'to SwitMrland, Mr. Birrell, tho Chief- Secretary for Ireland, was the victim' of an nudocious robbery. It appears that on leaving Calais Sir. Birrell discovered that his pocketbook, containing notes and cheques to tho tune of J6IOQ.

had disappeared. Ho thcu found that his pockets had becm ransacked, and a valnablo pearl tiepin hn<l also been taken. So thoroughly had Iho thieves dono their work thnt the Chief Secretary lnndcd in Paris with only a few shillings in silver and some coppers. On tho cross-Channel hoat Mr. Uirrcll was, it was reported, tho object of particular attention by a group of persons, some of whom engaged him in conversation. In fact, t\vo who were especially friendly in their approaches saw him off by train for Paris. It was somo timo after ho had been in tho train that tho right lion, gentleman'made the alarming discovery.

TORT OF LONDON. Tho first annual report of tho Tort of London Authority for the year ended March 31 last, just issued, states that the total amount of Port stock authorised under tho'Act was .£27,547,007, of which •£22,5i)0,-158 was issued, that amount having been paid as tho purchaso price of tho dock undertakings. Tho total capital expenditure was JC23.025.165, and temporary loans to tho amount of .£522,700 wcro raised. Tbo surplus revenue for tho year, after meeting all charges, is returned at .£57,929, and, savs tho report, it may bo observed that tho gross earnings of tho authority show a considerable increase over thoso of tho acquired busi-ness-in 1908, and, having regard to tho difficulties which net unusually attend the merging together of such largo undertakings, tho net :esult of tho first year's operations may be regarded as satisfactory. OLD TEMPLE BAR. Thcro is a possibility that the City of London may now regain possession of historic Temple Bar, which was sold, or given, to Sir Henry Meux 33 years ago, and re-erected by him as ono of .the entrances of Theobald's Park, Hertfordshire. Templo Bar, as it now exists at Theobald's Park, was designed by Sir Christopher Wren, and was built in IG7O. soon after thr firo of London. It stood across Fleet Street, close to tho end. of Chancery Lane, on tho site now partly occupied by tho Griffin which guards tho - entrnnco to Fleet' Street, Tho "City Press"-states that the realisation of Lady Metis's estate will probably lead' to the sale of Theobald's' Park, and suggests thnt the City Corporation should buy Templo Bar and re-crect.it in Epping Forest. REVENUE INCREASE. Tho Exchequer receipts for the period from April 1 to December 21 this year show that, with three months of tho financial year still to run, 1 tho Budget has already brought in a sum which not only wipes out last year's arrears of .£30,000,000, but tares tho Chancellor with X 13,151,085 in hand. Up to December 25 last year . tho total Exchequer receipts amounted to .£92,881,517. Tho total' receipts . this year up to December 2-4 amounted to «C13G,0t4,C32. This gives an increaso of J313,1G0,085 over last year's receipts for tho nine mouths. .' ROYAL AUTOMOBILE CLUB. In February the palatial now premises of tho Royal Automobilo Club, which have- been erected upon tho sito of the old .War Olfice in .Pall Mall, will bo ready for oponing. Sumptuous as many of London's clubhouses are, this latest addition to them. will unquestionably stand foremost with regard to accommodation and equipment. The . cost of tho building has run into a quarter of a million sterling. , The frontage is 230 ft. long, nnd tho average- depth 150 ft. In addition to tbo rooms usually found in club promises, there are a Turkish' bath, gymnasium, photographic studio, which includes onlarging and dark rooms, and threo racket courts. Tho third and fourth floors are occupied entirely by bedrooms, numbering 100. v • / HEALTHIER ENGLAND. The medical officer of the Local Government Board, Dr. Arthur Nowsbolmc, in his annual report reviews the.public health during 1909. During tho year, he states, tho death rato of England and Wales per 100Q u of population .was 11.5, as compared with 11.7 in 1908, tho'lowest death rate previously, recorded. The infant mortality'was 109 per 1000 births, as.compared with-120 in 1908. Since tho beginning of 1909 a bnllotin hns been sent weekly to, each port medical officer of health, containing it summary of tho occurrence and progress of the chief oxotic' diseases in tho ports of other countries, and thus'giving warning'of possiblo importations of disease. Tho' indigenous diseasss of the country aro similarly kept under close observation by : means of tho information contained in the weekly and quarterly returns iss.wl by the Registrar-General and the corresponding weekly returns of cases' of notifiable diseases issued by tho board.— "Standard of Empire."