A NOVEL INSTITUTION. A London Bureau of Universal Information.

Te Aroha News, Volume IV, Issue 195, 19 March 1887, Page 5

A NOVEL INSTITUT l ON. A London Bureau of Universal Information.

"Nothing- is so ca^y as the invention of yesterday " in a truiem of particular force when brought in connection with the universal kuowlcdgo and information office, aituated in Soufch&taplon-street, Blooms- i bury, which will probably bo better known to our readers from tho sight of elongated persons with lugubsious Leas, dressedjin coats reaching to their f . et, and carrying a lightly mads desk, walking along the main thoroughfares, for all the world like a serie3 of new and teviacd editions of the " Wandering Jew." Those men are perambulating branch offices of t!io central information offico, and any question given to I thorn in writing \» ill bo forwarded to beadquarters aud rop'iod to without lose of time. The history cf this lemarkublo institution is brief but curiou*, since it differs from all similar undertakings in the fact that it is neither a commercial concern nor a money speculation. The e-«tablisnment of a universal kuowleugo and information office is entirely due to Lord Truro, who started tho office vrifh the double object of benefiting tho public and providing a new opening foi the employment of women. lt lfc was my idea," said the founder of- tho bureau, in the course of an interview we had with him on a recent occasion, "to found a central office, where any person could have any question answered without delay, where researches into literature, science and art could be conducted, where all languages could bo written or transposed, calculations be made, and statietice be kept always availably." Such an institution is now in a flourishing state o£ existence, and its work is as various a 9 it is interesting. The system of arrangement is simple. Correspondents have been appointed in every town of importance throughout ,the world. Its interior working ia divided into departments, each comprising a range of subjects, from agriculture to Hindoostani, and from literature to engineering. A large staff, comprising over thirty persons, is kept on the premises, and among them are linguists capable of writing and translating every tongue, from Welsh to Japanese and from Portuguese to Greek. One is a practical chemist, another an engineer, while among the re*>t are artists, designers, ladies well up in the various kinds of fine work, tapestry, etc., and gentlemen of liberal education and literal y knowledge for general research. Besides these, some 200 others are employed on various errands. A large staff is kept making researches at the British Mueeum, another at the Guildhall Library. In short, there is no branch of knowledge, language or subject on which immediate information cannot be given, providing it is not a question requiring lengthy research. There are, however, two things which the office will not do, and about these Lord T^ruro, who, by the way, personally superitends the bureau every day, is very particular. The first relates to the questions of a detective or inquisitorial character. The Beoond rule lays down that the office shall n-.it interfere with any of the professions. The arrangements in Southampton-street are admirable, but although establidhed only in January, 1881, the work has outgrown the space allotted to it, and larger premises will have to •be shortly sought. Several hundred letters are received every morning, and more continue to poor in throughout the day. Every letter is at once attended to and put in the hands of the lady or gentleman in whose department the inquiry may be. The questions are next registered ia a book, and the

I answer when *ent is alao recorded Someof these queries are- exceedingly eariou?< and give un interesting insight into the benfc of people's minds. They comprise every subject, known or unknown langnagea to be trunsbtoJ it. to English and back again —and we r-i&y here note that a very large number of queries come from abroad. The payment, for ibc^o foreign questions is geneially made in money or stamps of th& country from vtnich the letters come, and in Una way Lcrt 'I ruro haa acquired a large and cu;i .m collection oi foreiga "soney and sto;.^*. Among thoee v.c saw were ilus.-ian rubien, Roumanian twenty lei pjycc&, Italian lire, * ftvman gulden, Americit) notcfj and Spanish dollars, to pay n (thing of rupees and postage stamps Th-3 question-, received in Southamptontirtct may be divvied into three classes — the ordinary, tec carious, and the ridiculouj, ih-jugh the i»»j' mentioned comprisebit a bmull nrimzry. Qaerieß respecting bair dyes, no.-c z^ouine 3 , quack medicines, etc, aio, of course, in the ascendant, but) of n moro thoughtful idnd are thoee such as pub by an inquirer wanting to know : ■' How can you tell tho difForence between a bloiv and a fall, judging from the effects only ? ' Another inquiring mind aska for the address uf "the headquarters oi -ho non-polygamous Mormons," Others demand a Hat of the different appointments in the gift of the government for which no examination is required ; the first mention oi tha medhi, and -where it occurs ; why Sfe. James is the patron saint of Cupar-Fifej and fourteen or fifteen men who deal in cot» ton-waste in Spain. One correspondent* writes from Japan to learn w the French fop opium caste," and another from Worcester aeks " who is in possession of two estates in.Santa Cruz." It is the ladies.however, wh<* distinguish themselves the most, and their queries are as various as they are instructive. A number have cent for correct costumes for fancy-dress bu'U', one even requiring that of the Queen of Sheba, a request which was meb with a v.uter-colour sketch of the damo in question correctly costumed. Tvvo difl'orent ladies ia different towns have a-ked for recipes k>r preventing blushing, a somewhat startling fact ; indeed, wo could have more easily understood a prayer for the aecret ot an imitation article, " Where," asks ono damsel, can "iDidrmation be obtained as to the falsetto singing practised in the Alps V and " what," write* another fair maid," " is the antidote for thopoisoti of a flea? ' The lequest for an ink that will vanUh after it has been on the paper eight or tec days can be easily understood and is ofren repeated, but what is meant by the petition to "the full particulars as to flirtation by postage stamp3 Iv v;q are at a loss to Jeara. Leaving the fan* pojc md quoting from tha general questions, we coll the following : " Who spoke in tho House of Commons uninterrupted for twenty-two hour- ?" " What are the duties of best man at a wodding ?" " How to enter ladies' sce'ety ? ' " What i^ bho avei age speed of a i've engine?" "Whera can a dumb p'ano be purchased?" st Ia there a copyright between England and Kuswa?" "Give tha names of architects practising in Copenhagen.' •'Give addresses of homes 201 ladies suffering from riipsxsauia," and ''- Do Bordeaux pigeonß 1 eally come from Bordeaux ?" From ampng the questions whidi may be characterised as absurd wo clean the following : " Does a house on fira burn up or burn down V* i query evidently emanating from a wag. Another fays : •' What ia the best way to make money ?" and yet another, who has evidently not jet joined General Booth's following, asks: "What can I do to ba STvea?" unfortunately forgot to incloso the necessaiy Btampa for fee and reply, The registers fr:m which we have quoted are kopt in strict privacy, but were they available they would give a better insight into the workings of the minds of the public than any eimilar records with which we are acquainted- Tho charges made for answering such questions us these vary considerably from 1 shil my for an ordinary query to several pound* for researches extending over a longthy period. The entire work ia conducted on pkia b'isineßS principles, and we can heartily congratulate LordTruro ont the conception ar><! tho carrying out.