BY THE ENGLISH MAIL.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1241, 25 September 1911, Page 6

BY THE ENGLISH MAIL.

LONDON SUMMARY, THE WEATHER AND THE HARVEST. London, August 11. Wednesday, August 9, was the hottest day this year, and constitutes a record. At one o'clock it was 95 degrees in the shade. Only on two occasions for seventy years lias the temperature, even in July, exceeded this figure. This was on July 15, ISSI, when the reading reached 'J7 degrees, and on July '22, ISCS, when Hie temperature registered 9G degrees*. The lons-continued drought is having most serious effects in many parts of the country. Many reports affirm that the harvest is ruined, "burnt up," and that the fruit crop will bo in a similar plight for the same reason. There is a shortage of milk, and a famine of water for domestic purposes i≤ causing; much distress iu many villages in the southern counties.

SALARIES FOR M.P.'S. Payment of salaries to members of Parliament at the rate of JMOI) a year apiece (except for paid Ministers, officers of Die Pioyul Household, or officers of the- House) will cost the country iJ252,fi00. .Altogether, according to a Supplementary Estimate, just issued, as a White Paper, tho Government needs .£613,711 more than was shown in the Estimates issued in ths spring. A sum of XMOO will b« devoted to the Australasian Antarctic Expedition in addition to the original estimate, of J!GI,GO3 for scientific investigation. No estimate was made for expenses under tho Unemployed Workmen Act in the spring, but the Supplementary Estimate allocate.? .£IOO,OOO for this purpose. Tho grant to the King and Queen in aid of the "expenses they may incur on the occasion of their visit to ' India" is set at ,£l£o,ooo, but the grant will be audited .by the auditor of the Civil list, and any unexpended balance will be surrendered to the Exchequer.

IIK. BOTHA HONOURED. The Right Hon. Ikniis Botiia, Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa, received the freedom of Glasgow ou August 3. The visit was confined to five hours, the Prime Minister leaving nt noon for London, and the function, which took place, in the Council Chamber, ■β-os of a semi-private nature. Mr. Botha, who remarked that he had never felt better in his life than he did now, inndo an interesting acknowledgment in English. They in South Africa, he said, were looking forward to a period of great, development. They had turned their backs for ever upon racial strife, and the troubles which had retarded their progress so terribly in the past. Both races were working together harmoniously for the welfare of their country. Ik spoke highly of tils part taken by Scotsmen in the development of South Africa.

A STRANGE ACCIDENT. An extraordinary accident occurred in Grosvenor Square on August 5. A pairhorsed hotel omnibus was being driven down from Duke Street when the hors.-s took fright. Tho driver was unable to stop them, and pedestrians had to run in all directions to escape injury. The horses dashed across Grosvenor Square, and tho driver, seeing that a smash was inevitable, leapt from the box, receiving a severe scalp wound. Tho horses ultimately came into collision with some area railings wrecking about twenty or thirty feet of tno railings, and part of the coping. They fell 12ft. or 15ft. into the area, with the omnibus on top of them, one of them being killed and the other so severely injured that it died shortly afterward?. torlunnWy there were no passengers in the vehicle.

DOMINANT THIRD-CLASS. The importance of the third-class pasronger on Kie British railways is'shown in a Bluc-Book which has just been issued by the Board of Trade. This fact is emphasised in the following table, comparing the paswnsers of each class, excluding season ticket-holders, for the last two years:— r . , , 1810- 1909. First-class 20.705,Q00 29.418,000 Njcond-class .... -J5.U8.000 30,796,000 ilurd-class 1,248,793,000 1,201,869,000 Total 1,306,729,000 1,2C5,05U30 In 1900 third-class passenger receipts suffered a. decrease, but last year they made a new rec0rd,33,500,000 more passengers or that class being carried than in'tho previous best year. 1008, entailing an increase of .CI 277,000 in fares. A marked recovery in first-class rcccipts-which had i'SS° • / Or thc ihrcc 3' ears Previous to lOO'J—is also shown.

wM,000,000 SCHEME. In order to make the. dock accommodation ot the 1 names sufficient not only for present ncods, but also for tlio requirements of tho future, the Port of London Authority has decided to undertake vast schemes of improvement which will practically transform the port. Improvements to be undertaken at once will includo tho building of a great new dock, and will involve an expenditure of nearly .£4,000,000. But these constitute only tho first and most urgent branch of a much larger programme. The new deep-water dock, which is to be known as tho South Albert Dock wil greatly augment the provision lor tno largo modem steamships which iorm an increasing proportion of the tonnage using the port. Tenders will bo invited before the close of the year, and it is probable that a beginning will be made ear y in 1912. The construction of the dock will occupy about five years, and its estimated cost is .£2,105,000. The new dock will be slightly smaller in water area and quayage than the Albert Dock, but it will be considerably deeper and the entrance lock will be-250ft. longer and «. wider and lift, deeper than Jl entrance- lock at tho Albert Dock- The dock will have a length of -IGOOft., a width of 700 ft at its eastern ond, and a width of oOflft. at its western extremity. There is to bo a dry dock which will be ultimately of the samo dimensions, nnd the general equipment including, transit sheds, cranes, and other facilities for the rapid handling of cargo will be of the best and most modern description. Many other improvements are to bo effected, especially at the South-West India Dock in view of the increasing trade with New Zealand in meat. When tho London Docks have been improved 4000-ton ships will be enabled to load and discharge their cargoes within half a mile of the City boundary.

VANDALISM IN WALES. The Royal Commission appointed to inventory the ancient and historical monuments of Wales and Monmouthshire call attention m their second report, just issued, to the fact that the remains of the catflc of Dyserth, in Flintshire, a structure dating from Henrv Ill's timo arc m serious danger. The castle, is built on a lull, the northern side of which slopes gradually, but towards the S ? U 'l o l ', £ alls abr «.l'Uy a distance of about 200 feet. This precipitous face of the hill is being quarried. "Tlio quarrv ime, the Commissioners state, "takes in miieli ot the interior quadrangle of the castle, and at the date of our visit it m u 0n1 Jp, 55 / eet d i s(: ? nt from f>o north wall. The faco of the rock cleared for quarrying operations extends beyond tho line of tho ruins on either hand, and is Mill? worked along its full extent. Any increase in the output, however, will accelerate the disappearance of tho ruins In any case, the complete destruction of the castle, would appear to be only a matter of tune."—"Standard of Empire" i