BY THE ENGLISH MAIL

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1409, 9 April 1912, Page 5

BY THE ENGLISH MAIL

LONOiON 6UMMARY

OSTOt SHOT IN. PARMAMKNT.

London, March 1. A. groat sonaitioa caused in tin. House oil ComtoOM on Tuesday cy-cuii.,; (February 27) Uy; a revolver shot, sudiiciuy ringing out in' tlio Oputrnl Hull, a strong, man in clerical dress, who Had been pacing impatiuntjy up aim down llio lobbj, was then scctt to be" holding a rovolvcr. Ho was surrounded and disarmed, wliilti ho muttered, incoherently of Iho "coming l'ovolutium." Alter a short struggle ho was taknn to Cannunrow l'olico Station, and charged with "wantonly letoiug oil' a firearm in Ui« precincts of tlio Houses of Parliament," At tlio polico .station ho .stated that, ho had written a book, "Tolst.oy oil the 'Is#. sinh," wliich lio hud desired to briny-to tlio uotico of members of Parliament. His complaint was, 110 .said, tly.,t tlio Government woro suppresuijig it, Therefore ho had tired oil' his .revolver as a protest. AVIATION AND DIOTJNCE. Tho most striking featui.-o ; 1U connection with tho Army Estimates tlu s venv iv Mint (ho increase compared -vi'/h s £yca"s J* S ° lC ' y /'"? tf ' fllß that Ai.O.MO moro is to on aviation, Duiing 1J1« \vi ii bo expended ou matters dealing with th o command of tin air. Lord Huidane, in, j t i s memornnduiii, says thai: it has been to establish a joint Army and N.r ,y fC ] loo l 0 f aviation at which ollicei's of J jofcin ,s*?rviccs will.bo taught to 11 y. It r < interesting to note, by l ho way, that franco and Germany will expend on avm< this year .£680,000 and JiitO.OOO respi (cibiv.oly. Tho Army Estimates show- a f 0 f 600,000, • ENDING/ "ix SUOKE. Smokers in 111 a 'United Kingdom last year, according. <j 0 vetwrnsj ju t i SSU(!I i consumed over t.irco million pounds of' tobacco more t h'jn in 1910, involving an lntreased- oxne,y,lit«rc of «7,622. I'he yours smoke lyji amounted to ,£'29,164,867. tins works / /jt, roughly, at about two pounds of to f.acco j )ev 1,55,1 0 { (h 0 , v ) 10 i 0 population I f, r the year, or, in money, a cost of 1-s. 10d. a head. The following [ table showr, the progressive use of tobacco sinco IS2l:— Ounces Ounces ,eoi ■ Per hoatl. periled. '!§?}-' 11 ' 7 1807. 32.91 }™1 10.3 1903 '. ,'!2.sn T 22.3 1909 31.60 1891 i.~ 20.0 1911 33.23, "SPIRIT POSTMAN." iiu amazing, story of spiritualism ,wat .mu ut tho South-Western Police Court when George Hamilton Izard aiid ' hit 'enfe wero chnreed with obtaining money t>y fraud from Thomas Syme?, a solicitor, who pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to misappropriation of clients' moneys. Through Jlts. Izard, Symes was supposed to get into communication with a ladv, who was .'known as "M.L.O."—"Jly Loved : .One" —who died in 190 G. It was stated ? that Symos wrote hundreds of letters to I "M.L.0.," which were put into the ' seance room, and would then disappear. So grtsat was the eorrespondoneo that a ■ "spirit postman," 11 Frenchman said to \ have been guillotined during tho French * Revolution, wns employed. Later Symes ' was said to have sent money to tho ■ "spirits." The defendants woro re* j manded. .■514,000,000 IN IMPROVEMENTS. ' Next July the King will cut tho'first sod of tho new South Albert Dock, on • which occasion Londoners will have the unique opportunity of witnessing a royal progress down the river''for the ceremony. Tho new dock is but part of a huge schemo for the development cf tho port of. London, the scopo of the proposals now before the Port Authority providing for a total expenditure of nearly.' fottrtten and a-half millions sterling, and covering tho area from the London i Docks to Tilbury. The South Albert will i bo tho first of two docks intended to ac- . commodate vessels of tho largest size, . and thus bring Tjack to London some of ■ its former prestige as the leading port in the world. Although the Port Authority's programme is an ambitious one, it is undoubted that the Port of London re- . quires many millions spent upon it if it is successfully to compete against Ilia modem docks and facilities afforded by its chief Continental rivals. • I". ' . AN AVALANCHE OF COAL. Two -little-children -were killed owing to tLe collapse of a wall and an avalaneha of coal at Bankside, Southwark. In view of the threatened strike, over 2000 tons of coal were stored at the spot, where tho works of tho City of - London Elcctrio Lighting Company aro situated. Owing to heavy rains it is supposed that tho coal shifted, and tho wall, unable to withstand, tho pressure, collapsed. The bricks and many tons of ■ coal fell; into White Hind Court, burying tho two children. There were many other youngsters playing in tlio alloy, hut they escaped. Firemen, police, and some 200.other6 helped to clear away tho fallen coal in the search for the buried children. But it took an hour and a half's hard work to extricate the bodies from tho debris. PARAFFIN V. PETROL. ■ A hundred miles for a shilling is chea\ travelling even 111 these days of low fares; hut that will bo tho astonishingly low cost of driving ii motor-car winch uses crude paraffin, instead of petrol. Experiments have teen successful, and if Scotland -Yard authorities -sanction tho : use of paraffin, instead ,of paying Is. 3d. for his gallon of petrol, tho taxi-cab driver may buy crude paraffin at-3d. per gallon. Even if he finds difficulty in getting crude oil, he may purchase the best for Bd., and still make a fair saving. Motor lorries can aJso .bs fed by tho cheaper fuel, Tho saving to London's motor traffic would, it is stilted, amount to nearly a million. Tlio discovery that paraffin may bo usedi in place of petrol has been made by Mr. 13. "Constautincsco, a young Rumanian engineer. NEW THAMES TUNNEL, Commenced, about two years ago, with Parliamentary sanction, the neiv tunnel under tho Tlisir.cs, connecting North and South Woolwich, is now practically completed, and will ho ready for traffic during tho summer. Tho cost was estimated nt .578.560, and it is understood that that figure has not been materially exceeded. Hitherto Ihe only way of crossjng tho river has been by means of a free'ferry, but tho sorvieo 'wasr insufficient to deal adequately with- the traffic, and it wns not practicable .to increaso it, Tho tunnel extends from Nile Street, 011 tho south' side of tho river, to Stanley Road, on tho north side, and it has been constructed immediately near the spot where tho ferry plies from banl; to bnnlc. It is 1055 ft. in length, tho inside diameter being lift, 9n., with a. floor Bft. 9n. wide. ANOTHER- GAIETY ROMANCE. Lord Victor William Paget, brother and heir-presumptivo to tho Marquess of Auglossoy, is engaged to marry Miss Olivo May, of tho Gaiety Theatre. Miss Olive May is playing tho part of Lady Rosabello Merrydcw, Lord Bicester's fiancee in tho now Gaiety piece, "Tho Sunshine Girl." Last year sho played the part of Doris Bartlc in "Peggy." and earlier played tho leading part in "Our Miss Gibbs" during the absenco of Miss Gertie Millar. Lord Victor Paget', who was born ill ISS9, was educated at' Eton and Sandhurst, and is now a lieutenant in the Royal llorso Guards. He is an ardent sportsman and motorist.

HOSPITALS ,\ND A WILL. ; Tho lato Mr. James Cook, Woston-supeis Maro, formerly town clerk of Bridgwater, ono of tlio best-known advocates in the West of England, loft an oslalo amounting (o <C 50,000, the great.bulk of which hi bequeathed to charitics. At tho nice!:Ing of tho governors of tho Taunton anc Somerset Hospital, Mr. H. ,T. Baicock, honorary treasurer, said tho three institutions which Mr.'Cook benefited by lea*, in? bofovoon thorn (ho residue of his citato worn tho Taunton and Somerset and tho Bridgwater Hospitals, and Ino Weal of England .Sanatorium, at Weston-super. Maro. Tho amount divisible between thorn would bo about .£35,000. II was, however, desirable that arrangement should bo mado for granting Mr. Cook's widow, aged 74, an annuity out of this residue. It was agreed that the committoo should bs give® power to nvrango jointly with the othar legatees for the pa£msut flf thfl