BY THE ENGLISH MAIL.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1067, 4 March 1911, Page 3

BY THE ENGLISH MAIL.

o > , 10ND0N SUMMARY, KING EDWARD MEMORIAL STATUE. London, January 20. It is now practically certain that the proposed King Edward memorial statue will 1» erected on a site near to Buckingham Piilace. Hitherto the chief difficulty experienced has been to determine a spot where tlio memorial will bo teen daily by King George as well as by thousands of his subjects. The two sites receiving the most attention until now have been Parliament Square and .Broad Walk, loading from Buckingham Palace to Piccadilly. While Parliament Square would have been an admirable situ as regards the number of people passing the memorial daily, it is too far from Buckingham Palace. The committee arc now expected to recommend as an alternative scheme a site in the Mall, immediately opposite Marlborough House, the residence of his Majesty ivlien l'rinco of Wales. AN OFFICER'S HONOUR. At the Whiteliill Petty Sessions Major Hugh Westmacott, late of tlio Welsh Regiment, was charged by Mr. Trevor Hill, an ex-lieutenant of the Queen's Bays, with assault. It was stated that Major Westmacott applied for a post in the United Service Assurance Company, where Mr. Hill was employed. Mr. Chambers, the managing director, asked if anything was known about him, and the complainant said that Major Westmacott had been expelled from llio Malta or Gibraltar Club for cheating at cards. The defendant got to hear of this later, and meeting Mr. ]lill at Borden Camp assaulted liira. Major Westmacott admitted that he caught the complainant by the throat and thrashed him until he was tired. Evidence was given to the effect that the defendant had never been expelled from the club at Malta, but a written statement from an ofiiecr at Gibraltar refuting tlio complainant's statement was not allowed as evidence. The Bench said they thought the assault was justified, A flue of 3s. and costs was imposed.

CENSUS OF PRODUCTION. Exceedingly interesting figures are given in a Bluo Hook which has just been issued containing statistics relating to tho census of production taken in 1007. Tins is tho sixth return. Tho industries dealt with includeßacon-curing factories, output =£15,000,000; butter, cheese, and margarine factories, output .£10,102,000; clothing, handkerchief, and millinery factories, output ,0)1,188,000, persons employed 410,601; boot and shoo factories, output ,£22,059,000, persons employed 12(1,501; laundries, output £9,314,000, persons employed 130,053.

TWO NEW LEVIATHANS. Two great battleships, (ho largest ever designed for tho British Navy, were begun when__l.hß first keel plates were laid of the King George V at Portsmouth and tho Centurion at Devonport. No official particulars with reference to tho two ships have been made known, but it is believed that tho Centurion will be approximately (iOOft. over all, with n beam of 80ft., and a displacement of between 23,000 and 2-1,000 tons. Each vessel of the class will have ten 13,5-inch guns, arranged along the centre line, giving a bow and stern 'ire of four guns and a broadside lire of all ten. Three 21-inch torpedo tubes will be carried. Increased armour protection will be another characteristic of the-ships,. 515 VESSELS LAUNCHED. Lloyd's annual summary of ship-build-ing for 11)10 shows that during the year 500 vessels (exclusive of warships), of 1,113,1G0 tons gross, were launched in the United Kingdom. Of this number 173 were steamers and 27 railing vessels. The warships launched amounted to 45, of 131,(i)5* tons. The total output, for tlio year was, therefore, 515 vessels of 1,277,811 tons. The output of mercantile tonnagd'in (ho United Kingdom during 1010 showed an increase of 152,103 tons on that "'of last year; but was the lowest total recorded by Lloyd's for thirteen years, with the exception of 1008 and 1000. With regard to war vessels, tho total for 1910 was 8115 tons more than in 1!)09. As ill 1000 and 100S the oversea Stales provided the largest amount of work for (he shipbuilders of (he United Kingdom. EMPLOYMENT IN 1910. The "Hoard of Trade Labour Gazette," just issued, .contains an articlc on employment, wages, prices, and disputes in 1910. Tho general decline in employment which began about the middle of 1007, it states, continued throughout .1908. A slight but continuous improvement cliaracterirejl nearly the whole i>f 1009, but tho uptrtrd movement did not begin to be considerable until the early months of 1910,'' since when, employment has on tlio wholo been fairly good. Returns relating to 700,000 members of trade unions show that the mean of the percentages cf members returned as unemployed at the end of each month of 1010 was 4.7, as compared with 7.7 in 1909, 7.8 in 1008, 3.7 in 1007, and 3.G in 1000. CLAPHAM TRAGEDY. A dramatic story was told at the South-Western Police Court, when Steini? Morrison was charged with the murder of Leon licron, on • Claphani Common early on the morning ,cf January- 1. It was stated by the,counsel for the prosecution that for'two'months Morrison had been an associate of the murdered man. On December 31 Morrison, lie continued, left a parcel with the waiter at a Jewish restaurant, saying ha would tako it away with him in the evening. He said it was a flute, but the waiter knew that that was wrong, as tho parcel was (co heavy for a flute. , Between 11.40 and midnight tho same evening .Morrison and Heron left the restaurant together, the accused carrying the parcel containing a bar of iron. About one o'clock they were seen together in Whitoehape! Road by two women who know them both well.

PROSECUTIONS. CASE. - ' At two o'clock, or seine time after two o'clock, a -cabman, wlw had since described the accused mid tlic other man, f-aid lie drove them, oil the prisoner's direction, to Lavender Gardens lrom Milo End Koad. Here he was stopped about 2.45 in die morning by the prisoner, who, with the other man, got, out. Mr. Muir said that another man called Stevens identified Morrison as the man who engaged him to drive him from Clapliam early 011 the Sunday morning to Konrtiiigtoii Church, whero he left and took a taxi-cab from thero to l-'insbury Gate. There the prisoner was joined by another man, who so far had not been identified. Since that timo up till his arrest the prisoner, who was known to carry a. revolver, had not been seen at the restaurant. Since then that revolver had been deposited at the cloak-room at St. Marys Railway Station in a falsa name, together with a lot of cartridges. The police had found at the accused's lodgings a bowler hat, inside the linini; of which was the cloak-room ticket for the pistol. The prisoner was remanded for a week. TIIE EAST END BATTLE. Tho inquest on the two .bodies found in the ruins of tho house in Sidney Street after the siego on January 3 has como'to a conclusion. Tho verdict found was to the efi'eqt that the bodies were these of the men known as Joseoh and Fritz; that tho first died as tho" result of a shot from an unknown soldier, and that it was justitiablo homicide; and Hint Fritz-died of suffocation. The jury added that such an occurrence showed that more stringent orders should bo framed to deal with criminal aliens coming into the country." Tho jury also associated themselves with tho commendation made by Mr. Churchill, tho Homo Secretary, in his ovidcnce, of tho polico and firo brigade. HOME SECRETARY AS WITNESS. Mr. Winston Churchill, tho Home Secretary, in the witness-box, gavo his version' of tho affair. 110 denied tho report that lie had overridden the polico authorities 011 the scene, and said "that ho did not take tho control of tho'operations out of tho hands of tho polico officers in command, nor did he interfere • with- their orders in any way. Tho identity of tho t*o aliens, ■ it was stated, was greatly helped by the evidence of eome keys that

wore found in tlio ruins of tho house. Evidence was also given that it would have probably meant loss of lifo or limb to any fire brigade officer who tried to put out tho lire at No. 100, Sidney Street while tho aliens, were still actively defending tlio place. Few fresh facts of im» portanco were elicited. THE CLOCKS OF LONDON. "Tho loss in London through inaccurate time-keepers'is appalling," says a report by the British Science Guild on the subject, "and we are behind other countries and some of our colonies in the matter of maintaining our publicly-exposed clocks at the correct time. An interesting instance is cited. During one week recently, the guild states, Hie time shown by nil the clocks exposed to public view ill tho lino of streets between tho Mansion House and Victoria was compared onco daily with ilie standard time. Tho mean error for all the clocks for tlio week was found to be two minutes. One public clock was thrco miinit.es slow on two days of one week; another four minutes fast one day, three slow on two days, two slow on one day, and one slow or one day. BJJ3LE TERCENTENARY. A most interesting exhibition is now lifting arranged by the British Museum in. connection with the forthcoming observance in March of the tercentenary of the Authorised Version of the English Bible. i It is to bo organised personally by Dr. Kenyan, the British Museum librarian, and will illustrate the history of the Bible in England from tho earliest times down : to and beyond the year 1011, when the ; Authorised edition of .Tames I appeared. I The manuscript section of the exhibition ■ will include numerous examples of Hebrew ' and Greek origirals and Latin and Early ! English MSS. The printed section will \ start with a ccpy of the fir>,t example : of a portion of the Bible printed in England, this being Tyiulale's New Testament produced in 1.V21!. Other examples of ' printed works will show nil editions liroducod by private individuals from Tyndalo's time down to tlio first edition* of the Authorised Version produced in 1011, HOMELESS-IN LONDON. According to a report by the medical officer of the London County Council, a census of homeless persons was made oil the night of February 18 last, when 2747 . persons of this class were found, showing an increase since a previous census in 1005 of SGG persons. Figures are given relating to tlio years 100!) and 1910, showing that 140 more men obtained free food and shelter in the later than the earlier year, and the number of men, women, and young persons apparently under sixteen years of age found in the streets was in tho later year greater by 210. There was thus an increase in the number of actually homeless persons of 350. PLATFORM OPERATION. A passenger at the little railway station of Larlcslowii, near Warrington, Laiicu-' shire, fell between the station platform and a moving train in the early morning. Tho train was immediately stopped, but the man was wedged in such a fashion that it was impossible to extricate him. A medical man was summoned, and ha decided that the only method of extricating the man and saving his life.was by amputating one of his legs. Instruments wero fetched, and preparations for the operation were begun. There was lit tie light, and porters stood around holding station lamps. It was found impossible' even to give the sufferer chloroform,, and ho remained conscious throughout tlio, operation. In spite of the cramped position in which the surgeon was compelled to work and the lack of light and appliances, the amputation was quickly and successfully finished, and the man was removed to hospital.

POSTAL REFORMS, The General Post. Office has satisfied itsoil' by experiment of the'practicability of issuing stamps in rolls, and these are to be issued shortly, ..The Post Office lin'vo' for some lime been-notified of the demand by large firms for .stamps in strips, instead of in sheets, and that is what lias led to the new issue. The strips will lw supplied by the Post Ofliee ready rolled on a core, for convenience in use, and each strip will contain 1000 stamps. These are meant to be placed 111 n lctier-stamp-ing machine, which will bo instrumental in savin;; time in offices where the correspondence is heavy. Another device which may soon be placed in post offices and public places is ail automatic stamping machine. For the convenience of small users of stamps the General Post Office authorities are planning to isstio shortly books of stamps costing exactly the value of the stamps contained therein. In order to make up the cost of this inform the Post Office now let out the space on the oiled interleaves between' tho stamps for advertisements. TELEPHONE CHANGES. Over COO men are now busily engaged making an inventory of _ tile National Telephone Company's equipment,' in view of tho acquirement of the undertaking by tho Post Ofliee at (he end of the year. About 400 of these officials represent llio company, and the remainder arc working with them on behalf of the Post Office. Their task is to prepare a list of all tho belongings of the . National Telephone Company, with a view to fixing their value on December 31 next. The year 1912 will be well advanced before the work is completed. An agreement may bo arrived at as to the purchase price of the company's assets as the first outcome of the inventory, but, failing this, arbitration proceedings would liave to follow, at a cost of many thousands of pounds. An idea of the magnitude of the task with which the valuers have to grapple can bo obtained from the fact that over .£16,000,000 has been invested in the company, and that its employees number over 13,00(1. By the coining transference (he size of the Post Ofiice stair will be increased from 00,052, the figure ol' March last, to about 115,000. 7300 MILES BY WIRELESS. Another wonderful record in wireless telegraphy has just been crcatcd. In October, last a message was received at Clifden from Buenos Ayres, a distance of, roughly, 0000 miles. At tho end of last week a message reached Liverpool from Punlu Arenas, in South America, the most southerly port in the world, and travelled a dislauej of about 7300 miles. The following table shows how the* distance from ■ which messages have been received has increased since 18%:— Miles. IRflli (Salisbury Plaint 1J 1R97 (Salisbury Plain) 4 1501 (Polrlliu b Newfoundland IROO 19112 (I'oldu la Canada) 2000 1009 (Sept.) (Kalian stramer Princess Mafalda to Clifden and • Glace Hay) 3500 1009 (Oct.) (liuenos Ayres to Clif(lon) ' 6000 1911 (Jan.) (Punta Arenas to Liverpool) 7300 "OUR ttt)RLD-WIDE EMPIRE." An interesting lecture on "Our Worldwide Empire" was given before the Royal Colonial Institute at the Whitehall Rooms by Mr. W. Herbert Garrison. Lieut.-General Sir J. JJcvan Edwards presided. Mr. Garrison said that pride ill the British Empire was legitimate and justifiable, for tne Empire was the greatest agent for good in the world to-day. The Empire was five times the size of tho Persian Empire of Darius, three times tho size of tho Chinese Empire, half as largo again as the Russian Empiro today, fifty-two times the size of France, three times the size of Europe, and moro than ono hundred times (ho size of tho Motherland. The Empire occupied about one-fill h of the globe, and had a population which represented one-quarter ot tho entire human family. Trade had followed the flag, and tho British ticonlo wcro tho watchdogs of tho nations. Among thoso present wcro Lieut.-General Sir Ed-, ward Hutton, Sir Godfrey Lagdcn, Mr. E. P. GiieriU (Governor of Borneo), Mr. J. U. P. Murray (Lieutenant-Governor of Paptta), and Dr. John M'Cnll (AgentGeneral of Tasmania).—"Standaru of Empire."