BY THE ENGLISH MAIL

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1143, 2 June 1911, Page 6

BY THE ENGLISH MAIL

LONDON SUMMARY,

AN ELECTION PETITION CASE. London, April 11. Remarkable scenes marked the close ot tho election petition case at Exeter, which resulted in Mr. St. Maur, tho Liberal member for .tho county town of Devon, being unseated, ,Duke, K.C., becoming the M.P. At the last election Mr. St. Maur was declared elected by a majority of four. . Mr. Duke,, however, brought a petition on various grounds— but not alleging corrupt practices against Mr. St. Maur—demanding a scrutiny of the votes and claiming the. seat. The hearing of the petition was marked by a number of extraordinary disclosures on the. part of witnesses. Some said that they went to the Unionist side and made statements—for which they received 2s. —that they had been paid for distributing Radical hand-bills, a fact • which would make-their, votes for the Radical candi-. date invalid. Many, admitted they had made diametrically opposed statements to the Radical and Unionist sides, and received 2s. from each of them. The result of the petition was that the Unionists won the seat by one-vole. EARL'S LOST HEIR. The mystery of the fate of the Hon.' Francis Patrick Clements, tho brother and heir presumptive of Lord Leitrim, who disappeared in May, 1907, has deepened. It was thought possible that Mr. Clements and an unknown man who hanged himself in the Landslip, near Ventnor, in August, 1907, were one and tho same, but this theory has been disposed of. The unknown man was buried in the churchyard of St. Boniface, and the body was exhumed recently in the presence of Lord Leitrim, Professor Pepper, and the chief constable and deputy-coroner of the Isle of Wight. After the body had been examined, Lord Leitrim stated that it was not that of his brother. Mr. Clements, when he wns last heard of, was working as a stoker of a boat which sailed from Southampton to New York. Since then it has been reported that be died in Kansas City, and that ho was a cowboy in Texas. HUGE EXPORT INCREASE. The Board of Trade returns for March show that tho imports amounted to ,£58,513,022, as against ,£58,105,917 in the corresponding month of last year, an increase of .£131,075. The exports amounted t0'.£10,863,912, as against .£31,391,558, an increase of .£6,172,351. Among the exports of articles wholly or mainly manufactured, the chief increases were: JC326.G60 in iron and steel and manufactures thereof ,£116,272 in machinery, .£361,181 in new ships <£3',102,766 in cotton, .£438,137 in wool, .£267,119 in apparel, and .£339,811 in chemicals, drugs, dyes, and colours. For tho quarter just ended the imports amounted in value to .£177,278,189, against .6165,163,533 in the corresponding portion 'of la 4 year, an increase of ,£12,111,656, whilethe exports were valued at .£111,217,BG3 for the three months, against ,£1b0,888,5W ) an increase of £13,361,320. THE BACON CIPHER. Dr Orville Owen is still keeping up his search in the River-Wye at Chepstow for"the mysterious documents which ho alleges wifl prove that the works ■of Shakespeare were written by Bacon. No fewer than eight "holes" have been tried, and from time to time pieces ot wood, ■what is described as "cement," boulders, and dressed stone, alleged to show, the marks of tools, have beeu exhumed, "made ground" has been revealed, with a couple of springs, and a "rift in the bed of tho river has been'met-but not the expected treasure. The results, however, appear to give satisfaction to Dr. Owen, and two additional holes are now being made, and tho explorers are tryin" to follow the "rift." . It has been suggested that the logs and concrete found may be connected with the old bridge which is reputed to have formerly crossed the river near the point of the pro sent operations Dr. Owen, however, mainlainsthaf he is 200 ft. or 300 ft. below the old Roman ford with which the bridge is supposed to have been connected. FIGHT IN A SIGNAL-BOX. \ (hrilling fight in a lonely signal-box ,vs de=crib»d at the Brulgcnd Police c'niu-t when two colliers namnl Thomas nnd Ballinser were each fined .El for (resinning on the railway line, and sentenced to "six weeks' imprisonment for attacking David Watkins, a signalman. Watkins snid he was signalman at tho 1-fos ihnk cabin a lonely post on the Great Wes(ern main line lo Fishguard. It appeared that Ballinger entered the signal-cabin drunk, and Watkins tried to assist him •dons: the line. "Suddenly he turned and "attacked me," said Watkins. "Thomas c-iiue u|i and 1 returned lo the cabin, but Balliiigor followed me up the steps. 1 entered the rabm and held the door closed. Then the telephone bell beyui signalling the Neyland goods train, and I had to leave (he door to answer (lie rail. Immediately, the two men rushed in and threw me dnivn. I managed to I'rra my-f-elf and return the telephone ring, but ihey attacked me again. At length 1 heard the goods train approaching, and with great difficulty 1 managed (o han? out a danqer signal lamp. Ballingp'r kicked the lamp down, but the driver nf the train noticed the struggle and came to my- asiiitance."—"Standard of liaujire." ]