BY THE ENGLISH MAIL.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1075, 14 March 1911, Page 2

BY THE ENGLISH MAIL.

LONDON SUMMARY. AUSTRALIAN EX-MINTSTER'S ACCIDENT. London, February 3. In His King's Bench Division, the Hon. Daniel O'Connor, described by his counsel as n prominent Australian statesman, who lind twice been Postmaster-General of New South Wales, sued Mr. A. H. M. Kilby to recover compensation in respect of injuries received through being knocked over by Mr. Kilby's motor-ear in Oxford Street as he was on his way to High Mass in Spanish Place. Mr. O'Connor said that after the accident a "great, big, strong fellow" threatened to pull Mr. Kilby out of the car, and was expressing himself freely, when Iho plaintiff reminded him that Mr. Kilby had a lady with him. Then someone uijgested that he should 1)3 driven to a hospital, "but I said: 'Don't do that; take me to the church,' for I thought I was going to die." Before the accident, proceeded Mr. O'Connor, he was regarded as one of the strongest men for his age in the world. Alter it, however, he suffered from sleeplessness and awful dreams of motor-cavs running into him. He had not now the strength.or the. appetite of a child. He used'to be able to hear perfectly, but could not do so since the accident. Under cross-examination by Mr. A. Cohen, the plaintiff said a policeman inquired if he were hurt. "I thought it a silly question to ask," Mr. O'Connor added, amid laughter. Counsel: "Do you swear that you looked up and down the road before* crossing?"— Mr. O'Connor: "Most positively, if this is the iast moment I have on'this earth. (Laughter.) I have seen many escapes and much murder by motor-car drivers." (Laughter.) His Lordship: "Have you seen murder?"— Mr. OOonnoi , : "Yes." (Laughter.) "How many?"r-"At least, five. I saw a man killed not three weeks ago clown at the Bank, and one close to this very building, and -I-,have read of more than twenty." (Laughter.) The case was settled on terms that were not disclosed. A NEW NAVAL BASE. It is stated that since last year the Admiralty have been concentrating their plans for making Harwich one of the most important bases for submarine? and torpedo-boats. The need for such a base on the east coast has become more and more apparent, and there is no harbour more suitable for such purposes than Harwich. It has a narrow entrance, which foreign pilots would probably find difficulty in navigating. There is no harbour between Newcastle find Shecrness in which such vessels could lie snugly hidden by forts and make swift dashes out to sea. It is understood that the port is to bs under n rear-admiral, and that before summer comes 9000 bluejackets will be stationed there. THREE PER CENT CONSOLS. Thres per cent Consols were foreshadowed by Sir Felix Schuster, ono of ' the City's most prominent bankers, in a speech ho delivered it the half-yearly meeting of the Union of London and Smiths Bank. He was discussing the heavy depreciation in British gilt-edged securities, and he put forward four suggestions which would provide remedies for restoring Consols to the position they' once held as the world's .premier gilt-edged security. They were: The conversion of the- stock, into three per cents. That tho .dividends should be paid free of Income tox. The granting of greater facilities for' transferring, the stock. Tho issue of bearer bonds of smaller amounts tha.i ,€IOO. STANDARDISING FOOD. The Local Government Board has decided to anply to Parliament for powers to fix definite and legal standards for food and drinks sold in this country. Its am is to lay down minimum limits of puiity rither than maximum requirement. ,It wili bo necessary, even when the Standard^ 1 ai'e d«rded ; On, to feet'ud : -a permanent court of reference, to which nil questions may be referred. All the ■technical'advisors of the board are agreed on the need for this message to cope with tho widespread abuses which exist and , other countries, notablv Canada and Australia and' the United States, have alicady given a lead in tho matter. ?RESS CENSORSHIP The relations between the Admiralty and the press ar.s uudor the serious consideration of the Government. There is reason to'believe that a modified form of censorship is contemplated by. the Cabinet'in relation to naval intelligence, and if the- measure is sanctioned by the Houses of Commons it will cimo into 'existence in time of peace. Furthermore, there is a probability, as the proposed Bill is not n party measure, that, the Admiralty will take it in charge for Imperial reasons. Any Bill of tho kind promoted bv the Secretary nf State for the House Department would bo tho tariret "f «ttaok for political reasons. It is believed that if th» Admiralty promotes the Bill os a strictly non-narfv measure Unionists will raise no objection on political grounds. ' THIRTY SECONDS TOO LATE. . The jury at the innuest on tho eleven victims of the Tuff Vale Railway disaster have returned an open verdict, saying that the evidence was of such a conflicting chnractc- that they were unable to locate the blame definitelv. They added a rider censurng the driver (if the mineral train for his delay in sending us fireman, back to .tho signal-box when h? whs detained. Arthur Hulehings. signalman at the last signal-box passed by the tram, sa.d (hat ns it was pa«rt»l.is box he received a "blocking back" signal. He was greatly alarmed, and did not know .γ-hat to do. Jf he had had time ho wojld have moved the advanced start stoftce 1 ***«- ■& OBITUARY. Several distinguished people have died during the last few days. Perhaps the most prominent was Mr. John MacWhir-■er./-A., w-ho died at his home in Abbey Koad. bt. John's Wood, after an illne='s lasting some six weeks. Mr. MacWhirter who was famous as a landscape painter,' lad enjoyed an enormous vogue in England. Perhaps his most popular picture was _ June in the Austrian Tvrol"-an exquisite study in blues and-grevs. Lord \\interstoke, who has died at tho age of 80. was the head of the great firm "of tobaeconists-W. D. and H. O. Willsami was 6no of the loaders in the great obacco war of ten years ago when the Jnitccl btates invaders were defeated 'cv tho British manufacturers. NAVAL AND MILITARY EMIGRATION. A meeting of the Naval and Military Emigration League will bo hold at the Koyal United Service Institution, Whitehall. S.AV., on February 8.. under the presidency of Field-Marshal Earl Roberts. I he objects of the league are to give advice on emigration to ex-Service men; to find openings for them in the oversea Dominions; to advance, when necessary, the money required to enable them to emigrate, and to look after them when they arrive at their destinations. More than 1200 pensioners, time-expired nonpensioned men, and Reservists have received advice porfonMly oi- by letter since the league was formed. Of those over 200 have emigrated to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. Both before the league's formation and since the "Standard of. Empire" has consistently advocated the service of the very aims it serves. HOUNDSDITCH CRIMES. Evidence given at (ho Guildhall during tho hearing of. (he charges against the five Russians who arc 'accused of complicity in the murder of three Cily police officers in Iloundsditch showed that it was only bv a verv narrow margin that the dealh roll hud not a further addition to it. A woman living in the bouse facing II Exchange- Buildings, described how. on Ihf night of Hie crime, .•■,he heard "crashes." The following morning she found n smnll hole in the woodwork infront of the house and while sweeping the floor later on came across n bullet. The leg of a, chair was splintered 'by the bullet, It appeared that her mother was

sitting in the chair when the noi&o was heard, and that afterwords the witness found a hole in her skirt.

CORONATION CLAIMS. Tho Coronation Court of Claims has been sitting at the Council Office, Whitehall, under the presidency of the Lord Chancellor. As the result of their deliberations a number of claims which were allowed on the occasion of tho Coronation of King Edward were again allowed. With regard to the claim by Lord Grey tie Rutliyn and Lord Loudoun to carry the Great Spurs and by Lord Hastings ro carry the Second Sword as well as the Great Spurs, the Cxirt found that Lords Loudoun and Grey de Ruthyn had established their claim to carry tho Spurs. 11 was held that Lord Hastings had not established his claim. Sir Marteine Lloyd's eloim "to have a place in tho procession of their Majesties, after tho lords and preceding the baronets, and to carry the lung's silver harp as Lord Marcher of the Barony of Kernes" was disallowed. .€11,000,000 FOR DOCKS. A great scheme, of dack reconstruction and extension is. under the consideration of the Port of London Authority, which, it is estimated, will eventually cost ,£14,-12 fi,700, while the urgent portion of the work, which it is recommended should bo placed in hand at once, will involve an expenditure of .£3,890,700. The urgent work may be summarised as follows:— .£335,000 will be. spent in improvements at the London docks, where the net effect will be. to increase the usable quayage from Gl2O to SSIO lineal feet. The AVest India Dock-, will lx- made .suitable for larger vessels than , at present at a cost of ,£960,000. £12.700 will be spent in drydock exteusion at Ihe Millwnll Dock, while the construction of a new; dock able to accommodate Hie largest ship afloat is proposed for the South Albert Docks at a cost of ,£2,339,000. The preliminary work for a new dock at the North Albert Dock should cost ,0250,000. SECRET STAGE WEDDING. With much secrecy Mi's ZenaDare, the well-known musical comedy" actress, was married at the registry oflice in Harrow Road to Captain the Hon. 51. V. B. Brett, U.V.0.. of the Coldstream Guards, who is one of the aides-de-camp to General Sir John French, Inspector-general of the Forces. There were only two witnesses, and later in tho day the Hon. Mrs. Brett left London for Cardiff, where she is appearing at the Cardiff Empire in "The Model and the Man."- Captain Brett is grandson of the-famous Master of the Rolls, Sir Balio! Brett, who was created Baron Esher in 18S5, and was raised to a yiscoiinty on his retirement from Hie Bench in 1897. THE BOY SCOUTS MOVEMENT. According to the second annual report of the Boy Scouts movement, initiated by Lieutenant-General Sir Robert BadenPowell, there are now considerably over ■a quarter of a million Scouts throughout the world. The report states that tho movement is now very largely organised' throughout England and Wales, extends over the whole of Scotland, and has spread through Ireland. In the Overseas States the movement has been widely taken up, and nearly every British possession or dependency has now several scout centres. The figures for the United Kingdom are r.s follow-.—553 associations 3898 troops, 3951 scoutmasters, 3707 assistant scoutmasters, and 100,298 scouts—total 107,986. As'the returns from the Dominions are at the present incomplete, exact figures cannot be given. From about half the Dominions a total of over 15,009 is shown, so tho oversea total should be somewhere about 30,000. THE KING'S PARDON. . The King has granted a free pardon to James Attwood, who was born at Clutton, in Somersetshire, in 18C5, and deserted from the Marines twenty-six years ago. Attwood has been living at Philadelphia, and. has never returned homo, fbr fear of arrest. Attwood has not scon his family since-1860, when he ran away, to sea as a, boy. ot.fif&en^jHejlias .bp.ej),, hungering to return homo- for- five years, .but his case was not covered by the Accession amnesty granted by King George. In several ways the man tried- to. get a pardon, and finally wrote personally" to the King, regretting his act, and explaining that he could not give -himself up, as he had a wife and seven children dependent upon him. The King interested himself in the case, with the result that Attwocd has received a free pardon. Tho man took part in the Egyptian war. THE FLYING FISH. A strange-looking object, which its inventor, M. Rovaud, has christened The Flying.Fish, has just been launched at East C'owes. The Flying.Fish is anaero-motor-boat of the hydroplane type, driven by air propellers. There ars two practically flat, floats resting on the surface of the water, one at each end of tl\e machine. Somo feet above the surface of the water, resting on supports connected with the flouts, is a boat-shapcd : hull or carriage. There is a large air propeller at the stern, driven by a 56-h.p. Gnome engine, and a small rudder at the bow. , Tho machine, is about 20ft. lons, with accommodation for two people. It is hoped that it will skim over the. surface of (he .water, at great speed. THE GREATEST BATTLESHIP. Britain's biggest and most powerful warship has been launched at tho yard of tho Thames Ironworks Company. She will be the one thousand two hundred and twenty-seventh worship built .on the Thames. By the time she. is finished the Thunderer mil have cost nearly two million pounds sterling. The new Dreadnought will be one of the 600 ft. class, her length approaching that figure, and in breadth she is a few inches short of 90ft. She will have 23,500.t0ns displacement, and a horse-power of 27.000, capable of driving her twenty-one knots, with a couple more for a spurt.' Her boilers will l>2 Babcocks, and her machinery Parson's turbines. She will mount ten 13.5 in. guns. Where the other battleships launch 8501b. 'per shell, the Thunderer will fire 12501b. . But her great,strength will be in having her five pairs of guns trainable on any given point, so Hint 12,5001b. of metal will leave her at each complete difcharge. Beyond tho big guns ■ there are twenty 4in. guns. . KING CHARLES I. In commemoration of the anniversary of his execution, the statue of Charles I in Whitehall was decorated on January 30 with a number of wreaths, the iioral tributes being rather more numerous and elaborate than hitherto. The decorations included the following: "From tha Society of King Charles tho Martyr. Saneto Carole Martyr Beate. Oro pro nobis." "In loyal memory of the Martyr Monarch and of Bonnie Prince Charlie, from Lady Muriel Watkins. 'The fayra white rose hath faded from the garden where it grew.'" "In loyal and reverent memory of King' Charles I, Saint and Martyr, from the Forgct-me-Not Royalists' Club." "In faithful remembrance of King Charles the Martyr, from the Legitimist' Jacobite League." A beautiful wreath was sent by the Orders of the White Rose and St. Germain and its inscription endtd with the word "Remember"-uttered by Bishop .Tuxon before the executioner's axe foil. — "Standard of Empire."