Evening Express

HUMAN WEEDS. The Degenerate. 1 DOERS OF CRIME. I BY LLOYD MEYRICK I The public mind gets curiously stirred 1 in the most incomprehensible way. The outburst over Rayner is a case in point. The motives that started and maintained the successful agitation for a reprieve are a little difficult to understand. I signed the petition because I always take every opportunity of helping on the case against capital punishment, but I must confess I fail to distinguish the parti- cular crime from one of ordinary murder. I welcome the reprieve solely on the ground that every such inter- ference with the ordinary course of the law must hasten the doing away with the death penalty. The robust sense of fairplay that exists in this country will never long tolerate issues of life and death being left to ill-regulated and baseless clamour. Scores of more deserving men than Rayner have been hanged without a whisper of agitation on their behalf. There was no limelight about their crimes, and the victims, like themselves, were humble and sordid. There was even no hint that they were parricides, but just downright, simple murderers. If the public are going to decide who shall or shall not be hanged, in common fairness they should struggle after justice. The conscience that sleeps when a drunken navvy kicks his worth- less and equally drunken wife to death in a fit of fury, and sees him compla- cently handed to the hangman, and yet becomes active when cold-blooded crime is cloaked in a lot of washy sentiment, cannot be entitled to any large respect. In the case of Rayner, neither the jury nor the judge- saw the slightest ground for a recommendation to mercy, and, if there is to be capital punishment, surely, Rayner was a fit subject. In this connection the saying of a Latin author may be quoted, "Index damnatur cum nocens absolvitur ("The judge is condemned when the criminal is acquitted "), as the reprieve was. pre- sumably, granted in spite of the express declaration of one of our ablest and justest judges. There seems to have been some vague idea prevalent that Rayner was a degenerate," but nearly all criminals belong to the weedy portion of humanity. All criminals are to be pitied; but what causes my gorge to rise is that such a flood of sympathy has been exclusively reserved for a very indiffe- rent example of the class. The criminal is almost invariably an abnormal being, and has mental, moral, and physical characteristics peculiarly his own. As far back as 1850 Mr. Hepjjorth Dixon wrote that the population of Mill- bank is always numerous and always changing, but its character remains sub- s-tantially the same. Year after year the visitor might drop in and see no difference. There is a certain monotony and family likeness in the criminal coun- tenance which is at once repulsive and interesting. No person can be long in the habit of seeing masses of criminals together without being struck with the sameness of their appearance. A hand- some face is a thing rarely seen in a prison-and- never in a. person who iiaa been a lawbreaker from childhood. Well-formed heads, round and massive, denoting intellectual power, may be seen occasionally, but a pleasing, well- formed face, never. Let anyone study a typical criminal in the dock of an assize court, and he will be convinced of the truth of these observations. The degenerates are the much-to-be-pitied burdens of civilisa- tion, and we must readjust our whole point of view with regard to them. Emile Gautier says that he knows that prisoners are not like the rest of the world. Their cringing and timid ways, the mobility and cunning of their looks, a something feline about them, some- thing cowardly, humble, suppliant, and crushed, make them a class apart. One would say, dogs who had been whipped, hardly, here and there, a few energetic and brutal heads of rebels. Nearly all those who have made a study of the criminal agree that he is the product of poor heredity, vicious surroundings, and a resultant poor physique. There is a crying need for more comprehension of the criminal as a class, and public feeling should not spend itself in unreasoning periodical outbursts. Prince Kra potkine has asked the bold question, Are prisons necessary?" and the whole method of our treatment of crime should be con- sidered. Very significant of the horrible mental vacuity in solitude is an inscrip- tion on the walls of a cell: 21,000 times have I walked round this cell in a week. 3,330 bricks in this cell. 131 black tiles, 150 red tiles in this cell. Such an inscription in itself is the most damning indictment of the old methods of punishment. Inscriptions are sometimes, however, written in a more waggish mood. 1\1.. Davitt found a book at Newgate with Good-bye, Lucy, dear," written throughout it, and at the end: Good-bye, Lucy, dear, I'm parted from you for seven long year. A poet of a more caustic school (Alfred Jones) had added beneath this:- If Lucy dear is like most gals, She'll give few sighs or moans; But sum will find among your pais Another Alfred Jones. The first reform necessary is the total abolition of the definite and predeter- mined sentence. The indefinite sentence is no longer new, either in principle or practice; all that is needed is its systematic extension. It has been adopted by several of the American States, such as Massachusetts, Ohio, Pennsyl- vania, and Kansas, and it was introduced at the famous reformatory of New York at Elmira by an Act passed in 1877. This Act took from the courts the power of definitely fixing the period of ooniff-iement in prisons until, in the opinion of the managers of the reforma- tory, they may be let out on parole for a probationary period of six months. Several thousands of criminals have passed through Elmira, and only a small per- centage prove recidivists. Before a pri- soner is paroled a suitable situation is, if possible, arranged for him. This system might well be adopted in this .Ii our ju d ge-s am country, as, although our judges are justly our pride, sentences are too often given harshly disproportionate to the crime. It is often a matter of luck as to whether a prisoner gets six or eighteen months, and the whole point of punish- ment for crime should be evenness, cer- tainty, and sureness- I have dealt with the subject afc greater length than I intended, but the class without votes in this country gets few advocates. Punishment at the best can only be rough and ready, and Society in protecting itself is apt to hit out rudely What is wanted is an infinite patience and an invincible calmness in dealing with those who are largely the outcome of our slums, our faulty education of youth, and the irregularities of employ- ment. I should like to see a great wave of moral indignation sweeping over the land-it would purify like the sea. To effect permanent good it should go to the root of (things, and include a whole class within the folds of its sympathies, of which Rayner is not the most attractive unit.

Rawlins White, Martyr. MEMORIAL TABLET UNVEILED i I MEMORIAL TABLET UNVEILED Yesterday afternoon the Lord Mayor (Mr. W. S. Grossman) unveiled the bronze tablet placed in the wall outside Bethany Baptist Church, Car- diff, in memory of Rawlins White, the Cardiff fisherman who suffered martyrdom at the stake near that spot in 1555. There was a. large, devout company present, and the ceremony was a most impressive function, tie reading of Scripture, prayers, and hymn singing being followed by several speeches. The Lord Mayor, before unveiling the tablet, said that the ceremony was by no means an indication of any existing ani- mosity towards any religious section, and they were not there in any narrow partisan spirit. The man to whose name they were doing honour met his death because of his fidelity to his religion and his conscience, and they would be wanting in their duty if in Oardiff, wh,(Zre he suffered and died, they did nothing to preserve his memory. It was because men in the past had the courage to endure to the end rattier than yield that religious liberty now stood on so firm and stable a ba&is. The inscription reads as follows:- The noble army of martyrs, praise Thee." Near this spot suffered for the troth, March 30, 1555, Rawlins White, a fisherman, of this town. We shall by God's grace light such a candle in England as shall never be put out." Erected by two Protestants of this town. Among those who spoke were Alderman Edward Thomas, Mr. T. H. Thomas (Arlnnydd Penygarn), the Rev. Alexander Roger (hoc. secretary of the National Protestant Federa- tion), the Rev. E. Mansel Townshend (vicar of Llanvapley), Alderman David Jones, Mr. F. J. Beavan, Ac.

TRAIN ADVENTURE I Woman's Story Disbelieved I do not believe the woman's story. The prisoner is discharged," said Mr. Ourtis Bennett, sitting at the South-western Court, London. yesterday, at the conclusion of the evidence called in respect of an aldeg-ed assault in a train. Prosecutor was Elizabeth Wood, of Vic- fcaria-terwaioe, Queen's-road, Battersea. She said she met accused, Fred Gapper, a Peck- haan mam, in a public-house at Victoria. Tttiey travelled together to Battersea, and wthile they were in the railway carriage Gaipper struck her in the mouth- Mr. Curtis Bennett: YOTS drank with a maID. you never met before? Witness: Yes. Gapiper declared that the woman threat- ened to scream in the train if he did not give her a present. He refused, and as the train slowed down into the station she pulled the communication cord, saying I'll ehow you up somehow." They left the station together, and she said Are you godng to square it, or shall I give too in Charge?" JSe replied, "Give jgb ohtarryi.

I Matrimonial Agency A HAUL OF SILLY LETTERS Widow Confesses to be Fair, Fat, and Forty Some amusing disclosures associated with the matrimonial agency known as the Mre. Edith Ross Society, at Philadelphia, were made yesterday. James Marshall, 61 years of age, who generally wears a towering, flaring sombrero hat, is under an indictment for false pre- tences, the charge being brought by one Miarjorie Friel, who alleges that he married her, and appropriated all her goods and chattels, and that he has 100 wives scattered over the country, who are presuma,bly in a similar predicament. Mas. Edith Ross nominally ran this matri- monial bureau, but Marshall, who posed as her father, appears to have been the guiding spirit in the concern. When Majorie Friel invited the police into Marshall s home they made a remarkable haul. They seized no fewer than 2,000 letteirs, answering Marshall's advertisement: Wanted, a wife; wealthy, refined, elderly gentleman alone, generous; will be a devoted husband. Among tihese love missives were several from women, asserting that they had for- tunes of £ 20,000, who were pining for a home and children. One wrote: May this be your Valentine, dear, duoky, darling. Another said she had a husband, but was tired of him, and wanted a new one, with money enough to divorce the old. A widow oenfeseed to being fair, fat, and forty, buft sa,id she was lonely. One girl, in her teens, adnlitwd that she waa not beautiful, but she was virtuous, and "beauty was only skin deep, anyway." Farmers' daughters by the hundred wrote that they were sick of country life, servant girls pdeadad that they were weary of the kitchen, school teiaehers declared that they were tired of teaching tihe young idea to eihioot. Marshall had classified all these offers, those with dowries at the top, those with natural goodness at the bottom.

DYING MAN LEFT ON STREET An inquest was held at the West Ram Infirmary yesterday on Joseph. Wetherell, 55, a Leytonstone jeweller, who died from injuries received by being thrown from. his bicycle at Garnsboroush-road Bridge. Mr. King, a brother-in-law, complained that the deceased was left over fifty minutes on the pavement after being seen by Dr. Jekyll, divisional surgeon to tihe police. He urged that the doctor had acted in a most inhumane mann,er by leaving him and not seeing that the IadllhuIance was procured to remove a dying man. A dead dog would not ha"febeen kept so long. If the doctor could not have done anything for Wetherell he might have seen him removed to the infirmary. (" Hear, hear," from the jury.) It was explained that the constable on point duty had gone to the station with a charge, and that the ambulance which some- body went for was a private one, and was on the Flats at the time. The Coroner said he had no idea that any allegation was to be made against the doctor. If the jury wished the injcpiest could be ad- journed to hear his explanation. A Juryman: It is certainly very disgraceful to find that an injured person had to remain in the street all this time. (Hear, hear.) The jury returned a verdict of "Accidental death," and said they fully agreed with all the observations made by Mr. King.

WEATHER OUTLOOK A complete change has taken place in the atmospheric situation. Slowly, as was antici- pated, the anti-cyclone has moved to the east, and a deep depression has invaded our area. The reading of the barometer on the north-west coast yesterday had descended to 29.1in.; but the disturbance was advancing slowly, otherwise very strong winds and a much, greater rainfall would have been expe- rienced. These are certainly to be expected in the immediat-a future. Judging by reports from the other side of the Atlantic, two cyclonic disturbances axe anticipated within the next few days. Coineddently with these changes, the tem- perature has fallen from lodeg. to 20deg. in some places; and the sky has become over- cast, and at several of the seaside resorts little or no bright sunshine was recorded yesterday.

APRIL FOOLS. I Two students from an American college were strolling by the side of a stream when one of them caugiht the gleam of a email metal box lying partly concealed under a jagged stone close to the bank. Their curiosity being aroused aa to its contents, they decided to investigate. The stream was two or three feet deep, the stone proved to be heavier than its appearance indicated, and the box was partly buried in gravel, so that considerable puffing, splashing, and damage to clothing took place before the prize was landed. Opening it, after consider- able trouble, they found within a flat piece of wood. at which they gazed in solemn silence. If my reckoning is correct," remarked one of them at last, "this is the 32nd of March." This is undoubtedly the day after the last day of March, Billy," responded the other gravely. The wood within the metal box was thus inscribed— "Have the kindness to replace me, without needless delay, in the nice, shiny metal box, and then carefully wedge us back under the big rock, so that we can catch the eye of the next fool that comes along!"

RICH ON £30 A YEAR I A man he was to all the country dear, And passing rich on forty pounds a year. Remote from towns he ran his godly race, Nor e'6I" had changed, nor wished to change, his place. --C,oldsmith. Speaking at the Easter vestry of Citonfert Cathedral Parish, Gal/way comity, Canon M'Larney, who has now entered on Ms 25th year w rector of the parish, regretted to say that during the last four years, in conse- quence of arrears of assessment, he had suffered a. loss of JS148 16s. out, of his small stipend of XZOO a year. He added that Goldsmith's country clergy- man was passing rich with X40 a. year," but he, Canon M'Larney, could beat that record, as he was passing rich with £.3() a year. The vestry unanimously passed resolutions stating that special efforts should be made to recoup these losses of the rector; that the annual allowances for house rent, with- drawn, should be restored; that the parish should receive a share of poor parish gramit, and that the graxrfts withxirajwn should be restored.

BAPTISED 200 BABES t The Rev. J. J. Rees, curate of Aberbargoed, has left the village to enter a new sphere of work at Holy Trinity Church, Newport. Coming to Aberbargood three years ago, Mr. Rees's first work was to carry out the arrange- ments for the erection of the new Mission Church. It is intereeting to note that during his stay he has baptised over 350 children in Aoor-bargood alone, over 200 being baptised at one service. ÅB a token of the esteem in which Mr. Reea is held by the parishioners, he was made the recipient upon his departure of some costly presents, in the shape of a solid gold albert, with cross pendant, and a handsome dress- ing-case.

400 PER CENT. INTEREST I At Tower Bridge yesterday the Rev. H. Williams, of St. John's Church, Tooley-street, the of the moneylenders, applied on behalf of a poor woomaai for a. summons against a moneylender. The Woman: Because I owe her a bit of money she c-ames into my kitchen two or three times a week and abuses me. Mr. Williams said the loan was being paid for at the rate of 400 per cent, interest. The Magistrate directed a police-constable to caaition the moneylender.

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Kidnapped Englishmen. GREEK SAILING VESSEL KEPT UNDER OBSERVATION It is now nearly a fortnight since Mr. Robert Abbott disappeared from Uskub, and nothing has yet occurred to give any inkling of his whereabouts. It is generally con- sidered that the capture was planned by Greeks and carried out by Albanians. The Albanians on whom suspicion has fallen are the same band who have long infested the neighbourhood of Salonika, and who last year carried off a young Moslem named Nafis, whom they detained some four months before consenting to part with him for the sum of £ T1,000. It is true that a Greek brigand band, under a chief named Karabatak, is also known to operate in the vicinity of Salonika, but they are thought to have their hands full at present with a prisoner in the person of an unfortunate Jew, named Simha, in the employment of Mr. Jahiel, a mine-owner of Salonika, whom they captured four weeks ago. On Friday last a letter was received from this band demanding LTI,500 for their captive, and threatening to cut off his head in case of undue delay. Simha's relations are quite poor, but they are now selling off their belongings in order to scrape together a sum of at least £ 50 or fM with which they have some hope of redeeming their kinsman. Some suspicion has fallen on a Greek sail- ing vessel engaged in contraband operations which anchored on the afternoon of Thurs- day, the 21st inst., at no great distance from Mr. Abbott's house, and which, notwithstand- ing the storm, sailed, or at least disappeared, during the night. Steps have been taken to keep this vessel under observation. Various motives for the crime have already been suggested. On the one hand, it is sug- gested that a Greek or Bulgarian politicaa, band may be using the captive in order to obtain by his ransom funds for revolu- tionary purposes. According to others, it is a Greek band which is taking vengeance on Mr. Abbott for having refused to subscribe to their funds. It has already been men- tioned that in certain Turkish circles the astute British Government is thought to have organised the capture in order to have a pretext for more efficient intervention in Macedonian affairs. Last of all, it should be noted that in various quarters the sugges- tion has been seriously put forward that, in view of the Passover feast, a Jewish ritual murder has been committed. A feeling of great anxiety prevails, espe- cially among Turkish subjects.—Press Asso- ciation Foreign Special.

Rayner's Sentence SUBSCRIPTIONS FOR HIS AILING WIFE A press representative who called upon Mr. Pierron on Wednesday was informed that a large number of letters were still being received, urging that the Home Secretary should b& applied to for a further reduction of sentence in the case of Horace George Rayner, the murderer of Mr. William White- ley. Many* correspondents suggest another petition with a view to securing that object. Subscriptions are still being received in small sums for Mrs. Rayner, the amount at present realised being about £58. Mr. Pierron desires to point out that he is prepared to receive and hand over any amounts which may be forwarded to him through the post for the assistance of Mrs. Rayner, who is progressing fairly well, but the doctor con- siders that there is some cause for anxiety in connection with the state of her heart, and he insists that she must have perfect quiet. Mr. Pierron has been granted permis- sion by the Home Office to see Rayner at Pentonville during this week, before he is removed to one of his Majesty's penal estab- lishments It is probable that Rayner will eventually be taken to Parkhurst, but he may spend five or six months in one of the other penal establishments before he is removed there. The petition forms for Rayner's reprieve are still coming in in great numbers, and the number of signa- tures in the forms dealt with up to the present number 550,OoO. Letters of congratu- lation to Mr. Pierron are also being received.

ARTIFICIAL FOODS FOR INFANTS How Ventilation Affects the Phthisis Death-Rate Mr. W. W. Jones, M.D., M.P.H., the medical officer of the Gelligaer Rural District, makes a strong appeal in his annual report for a quinquennial census. This method he reg-axds as absolutely necessary in such a district as Gelligaer, where there are rapid increases of population, due to new colliery enterprises. The birth-rate during the year 19C6 was 39.7, compared with 38.8 in 1905, which showed an appreciable margin above 35.9 in Glamorgan, and 27.2 in England and Wales. The death- rate was 15.6, the lowest for the last six years, which compared favourably with the average rate for the last ten years, namely, 17.9. This rate is practically equal to that for the county of Glamorgan, which is 17.43. The infantile death-rate, the report con- tinues, was 143 per 1,000, compared with 146 for 1905, and 166 for Glamorgan in the same year. As far as he (the medical officer) was able to judge, the chief factors in. the main- tenance of the high infantile death-rate were improper feeding and careless exposure of infants to unfavourable climatic conditions. It cannot be too often urged," says Dr. Jones, that the natural and proper food for an infant is its mother's milk, and when that fails, good cow's milk, properly diluted and prepared, should be substituted. There are cases, no doubt, where this cannot be digested, and a measure of pre-digestion is necessary, but the who-i-esale reoour&e to artificially-pre-, pared infants' foods, many of which, although much advertised, are valueless, is to be utterly condemned." "The rate of deaths from tubercular diseases showed an improvement, being .9 per 1,000, compared with 1.3 in the previous year. The highest rates were in Bargoed and Tirphil—1.2 per 1,000. Of the tubercular deaths 16, or .5 per 1,000 were due to con- sumption of the lungs or phthisis, a much lower rate than last year, when it was 1.03 per 1,000. Believing, as I do, that phthisis has much to do with the question of the proper housing of the working classes, it is interest- ing to notice how much lower the phthisis death-rate is in Gelligaer, where most of the villages are modern, and practically all of the houses have thorough ventilation, than in older communities like Merthyr."

PRIMATE TO VISIT LLANDAFF Inauguration of Theological College The Archbishop of Canterbury (Dr. Randall Davidson) will make a special visit to Liandaff on 1-ursday, August 8, in connection with the benediction of the new St Michael's College buildings, and will preach at special matins in the cathedral at eleven o'clock. We learn that the Archbishop of Canter- bury and Mrs. Davidson, together with the house-party at Penllergaer, where they are staying, passed a very quiet day in the house and grounds on Wednesday. Rain fell at times during the morning and early afternoon, but Sdr John Llewelyn was able to conduct his guests to various points of interest. The distinguished visitors appear to be in the best 0'" health and spirits and to be enjoying the yisit. Penllergaer House is situate at the top of a delightful and weli- wooded ravine, at the bottom of which is attractive lake scenery. The Archbishop of Canterbury, accom- panied by the Bishop of St. David's, will visit St. David's College, Lampeter, on Saturday next. His grace will arrive in the course of the morning, and will be the gueet of the college for the day. Dr. Davidson will be the third Archbishop of Canterbury in succession who has visited St. David's College. Dr. Benson laid the founds tion stone of the Canterbury Buildings in 1885, and Dr. Temple preached at the seventy- fifth anniversary of the opening of the col- lege, in 1902.

AGED BRIDE AND BRIDEGROOM At the Congregational Church at Market Drayton, Shropshire, yesterday, the Rev. G. G. Macarthur officiatea the marriagle cere- mony of two of the oldest i nhabutants of tihe district, the bride being in her 71st^year oadj t±be laridcBiocnn in iMs SlBt year. i

I Disappointed Bride I TELLS A SAD STORY IN COURT A painful story of an interrupted marriage was told to the Brentford ma-gistrates yes- terday by a well-dreased young woman, who asked for a summons for defamation of character under the following astonishing circ umstances. While staying in the house of a clergyman at Ealing, she said, a man whom she thought was of good social position made love to her. He proposed marriage, and she acc-epted him, but her suspicions were aroused when he remarked that it eeemed a waste of money to buy an expensive wedding ring, and sug- gested that a cheap one would do. Her sister, however, found the money to buy a proper ring, and applicant found the money to pur- chase her intended husband's wedding suit, and I Even His Boots All the necessary documents were prepared, and on the day appointed for the oeremony applicant, her bridemaids, and witnesses went to a church at Ealing. With the clergy- man they waited some hours until the clock struck three, when the clergyman said the oeremony could not take place that day, as after the time mentioned it would not be legal. They promised, if possible, to return on the following day, and as they were leaving tbe church the bridegroom appeared. He said he would go through the ceremony on the next day, but applicant was so dis- gusted at his conduct that she refused to go on, although she was shortly expecting to become a mother. In consequence of the disgrace, she added, it would be years before she dared to return to her own home in the country. I had always behaved honourably until I Got Into the Clutches of this man," said the young woman, with some feeling. After the interrupted marriage she had been subjected to constant persecution by him. Not only was he constantly putting disgraceful letters and postcards through the letter-box of the clergyman's house, but he ha-d threatened to kill her, and had' made totally unfounded allegations against her moral character. He waited outside the house for her, and she was in fear that he would do her some bodily harm in conse- quence of her refusal to matry him. Mr. Hteldmann told the applicant that in that court' she oould not obtain a summons for defamation of character, but he readily granted her one for threats.

I Farm Murder Mystery. I A GHASTLY DISCOVERY A shocking murder was revealed yes- terday at an inquest held on the body of a farmer residing at Aspull, near Wigan. Two friends were passing the deceased's farm on Sunday morning, and on opening the door of the dwelling-house found him dead. lying face downwards. Medioal evidence at the inquest showed that death was due to a fractured skull, and that the injuries were so severe that they could not have been caused by a faJl or other amddmt.-The jury returned a verdict I of WiMul murder against some person or persons unknown.'

I THE "SUICIDE BUREAU" The Anti-suicide Bureau organised by the Salvation Army recently has dealt with something like 600 cases since it was founded, and, according to the officials engaged in this work, has demonstrated unmistakably the need which existed for some such insti- tution. The work which has been done has been remarkably fruitful in its results, and a network of agencies all over England, the Continent, Europe, America, and Australia has been built up. On Wednesday one of the officials, in an interview with a representative of the London News Agency, stated that on the previous day and again on that day a singu- larly large number of cases had been dealt with. I don't kow," he said, whether or pot the holidays have had anything to do with it, but yesterday we had about twenty appli- catioas for advice, and to-day we have had a number more. These have been personal calls at the headquarters bureau, and there have in addition been some 30 or 40 cases laid before us by letter, "The existence of the Anti-suicide Bureau," continued the official, seems to have become very generally known, and people seem to be recommending their friends who are in desperate straits to apply to us."

DEOLINE OF SCANDAL If, as Father Bernard1 Vaughan confidently asserts, scandals abound, they are not dis- cussed. Observant people have noticed during the last three or four yearsi a distinct ch-auge in this respect among women. There is not half, nay, there is proba,bly not one quarter, of the gossip that there used to be, the special kind of gossip that dealt with the faults and failings of other people by those quite secure from either fault or failing, in their own estimation. Noticeably, also, for somewhere about the same period neurotic and unpleasant novels have been much less persistently publisfhed and problem plays have ceased to gain the attention of the public. Prom all outward and visible signs (says the Daily Telegraph ") it would seem that we are reaching a more wholesome moral plane. The old proverb that there is no smoke without fire is true; inversely also, there is seldom fire without smoke. There- fore, it may be taken as an excellent sign of the times that ill-natured gossSp is no longer in vogue, and that c'ha,racters are not jeopardised by so-called smaJrt insinuations to anything like the extent that they were.

I AN M.P's ESCAPE Whilst motoring near Bourne End. Mr. rJ C. Leihmann, M.P., met with an accident. Mr. Lehmann, with his two young daughters and a niece, was returning to Bourne End in his motor-car. and was about to descend Hedsor Hill when the hand-brake snapped. He made every effort to stop the car by the foot-brake, but was unsuccessful, and the car, gain.ing speed, came down the hill at a great pace. With muoh presence of mind Mr. Lehmann turned and ran into a bank by the side of the road. His two daughters and niece were thrown out, and the car turned completely over. Very fortunately, it was a light one, and, although Mr. Leihmann was pinned beneath the steering gear-for he had remained at the steering wheel-h-e escaped serious injury. Several spectators of the accident were quickly on the spot, and they soon extricated Mr. Lehmaan, who, with the others of the party, was able to proceed home.

KING LOBENGULA'S SON Amcmg the new boys who have been enrolled for the summer term at Denstone College, Staffordsiiire, is a son of King Lobengula, the late chief of the Matabole in South Africa. Instructions have been given that the boy shall be educated according to the beet traditions of English pwbliosohool life, and it is believed that he will ta&e up in after life the profession either of a doctor or of a barrister. His education will be conducted under theauspices of Dr. Jameson, the Cape Premier. In this connection it may be re-called that Dr. Jameson, with the late Mr. Cecil Rhodes, bore the brunt of, and eventually suppressed, the Matabele rising of 1893, when Lobesngula's men engaged in a campaign against the British forces. Dr. Jameson was at that time administrator of Fort Victoria, an .attack upon which formed the beginning of hostilities.

QUEEN OF THE BRIGANDS A woman named Miarquerite Bois, known as Lucia, the Queen of the Brigands, according to the Paris "Matin," has been the instigator of a number of crimes per- petrated by a band of robbers in the south and west of France, who are now under arrest. This woman has had a remarkable career. Early in life she gained a reputation for recklessness and cruelty. When only ten she rode a horse that no one else could approach, and went to sleep in the stable with her head on its hoofs. At the age of seventeen she met a man named Branchery, who had already been implicated in several crimes, and married him. Lucia enticed him on to other crimes to satisfy her taste for luxuries. Under her guidanoe a band of brigands was formed, of which she was the acknowledged queen.

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Sunderland Sensation, j MYSTERIOUS GERMAN AND HIS 35,000 CARTRIDGES The discovery at Sunderland of 30,000 rifle ball cartridges was followed on Wednesday by the further discovery of 5,000 revolver cartridges in the cellar of a religious and social institute. All these were stored at the request of a mysterious German, and were consigned from a Continental port, and those who stored them were told the boxes contained mechani- cal toys for a person about to open a shop. The cartridges are of German manufacture. One of the theories held is that the ammu- nition has been stored by foreign Anarchists in preparation for a possible outbreak on the Continent. Meantime the German has disappeared, and the police are searching for him, and also for other oonsigrnments believed to be in the town. In connection with this affair Daniel Currie, careta.ker of the institute, is under remand, charged, on ouspicioc, with stealing the 30,000 cartridges, which were found packed in twelve cases in his house.

KING ALFONSO'S BABY I King Alfonso has signed a decree providing for the ceremony of presentation which has to take place on the birth of an heir to the Throne. Immediately after birth the Royal infant will be shown to the representatives of all official elements, both foreign and Spanish. Among the latter will be a dele- gation from the Principality of the Asturiae. The Meeting of Kings I In diplomatic circles it is stated that King Edward's visit to King Alfonso at Oarthagena will, after all, be considered as in return for the visit which the latter paid to King Edward in London; indeed, the ceremonial and display with which the visit is being sur- rounded give it an unmistakably official character. It is further declared that there is no question at the present time of a visit by King Edward to King Alfonso in Madrid.—Renter.

"WORSE THAN A HUSBAND" I Mother's Disheartening Description of Her Son Mrs. Harding, a Kilburo costermonger, prosecuting her son for robbing her at Wil- lesden on Wednesday, said he had been a total brute" to her ev4r since a boy—in fact, a hueband oould not have treated her worse."

THE QUEEN AND HER SISTER I Queen Alexandra and the Empress Marie on Wednesday again spent most of the day at Buckingham Palace, but at 4.30 they drove out with the Princess Victoria, did some shopping, and visited Westminster Abbey, where they spent half-an-hour. It was Queen Alexandra's first visit to the abbey since the Coronation. Their Majesties were received at the Dean's Yard entrance by Canon Duckworth, sub-dean of the abbey, to whom, in the absence from London of the dean, fell the honour of conducting them. Few of the visitors in the abbey, with whom they mingled, appeared to recognise their Majesties at first, and there was no attempt to interfere in any way with their obvious desire to be treat-ed as private personages Their Majesties spent some time before the altar, and Queen Alexandra indicated to her sister the approximate position she occupied during the Coronation ceremony. The various monuments were inspected before reaching the Royal tombs, the object of the visit.

STRUGGLE IN COURT I An extraordinary scene was witnessed at I Nottingham yesterday at the conclusion of a case in which George Clarke was charged with keeping four dogs without licences. He was fined 58.. with costs, and made an unsuccessful attempt to obtain time to pay the money. A minute or two afterwards Clarke was men struggling violently with the dock officer, to whose assistance cainb two other officers. They attempted to force the man down below, and in the midst of the uproar he loudly exclaimed, "I miemnt to pay. J meant to pay." Eventually the money was found and the defendant was liberated.

THE CLAVERING DISASTER Judgment was given on Wednesday at the Board of Trade inquiry regarding the strand- ing of the steamer Clavering at Teesmouth on January 31, whereby nineteen persons were drowned. The Court found that the vessel stranded through the wrongful act and default of the pilot, Ernest Harrison; that the master, J. Scott, was deserving of severe oensure for not exercising more diligent supervision, but that no blame attached to the other officers. Pilot Harrison was ordered to pay L10 towards the cost of the inquiry.

SUTTON TRAM DISASTER Major Pringle, one of the Board of Trade inspectors, on Wednesday visited the scene of the tram accident at Carshalton, having pre viously had a long consultation at the depot at Sutton with the chairman and general manager of the tramway company, Driver Woodley, and the surveyor to the local authorities. At the scene of the accident several tests of levels and gauges of lines were made.

BERLIN WRECK HEROES The Committee of Lloyd's have decided to bestow the silver medal of the society upon G. Jansen, Jan Van Ree, Klass Ree, and M. Sperling, as an honorary acknowledg- ment of the four men's extraordinary exertions in contributing to the saving of life on the occasion of the wreck of the steamship Berlin at the Hook of Holland on February 21 last.

SHARP DROP IN COPPER A heavy full in the price of copper took place on the London MetaJ Market yesterday, the closing quotation being £ 92 a ton, as compared with zC97 on the previous day. The fortnightly statis-tics published yesterday showed an increase of 150 tons in stock and of 1,730 tons in visible supplies. Much of the fresh supply of copper is coming from Aus. tralia.

I BISHOP'S FARM BURNT OUT Twenty horses and cows were roasted to death by a fire which broke out at Hill l Farm, Copford, near Colchester, on Tuesday night, whilst stacks and barns to the value of about £ 1,000 were destroyed at the sanie time. The buildings were owned by Bishop Harrison, of Galway.

I THE CONGO QUESTION The Rev. Thomas Law, secretary of the National Council, has sent a letter to the 900 Free Church Councils in England and Wales, suggesting that on Sunday, April 14, special sermons should be preached having reference to the position on the Congo.

I BAKER RUNS AMOK In Dublin on Wednesday a baker residing in a tenement house made a murderous attack on his wife with a razor, cutting her throat and slashing her breasts and other parts of the body. The woman lies in a. very precarious condition.

SNOW FOLLOWS EASTER SUNSHINE The brilliant sunshine of the Easter holidaye has been foJowed in North Wales by a smart fall in the temperature, accom- panied by a considerable fall of snow. The Snowdonian range along the west coast was on Wednesday heavily snow-capped.

I THIS MAN STATES— Mr. W. F. Warren, 36, Melbourne-roafl, Tilbury Dock, Essex, writes: I can assure you the first box I took did me more good than all the medicine I have bad from my club doctors for six weeks." Holdroyd's Pills are a positive cure for Backache, Lumbago, Rheumatism, Dropsy, Wind, Kidney Disease, Gout, Ac., Is. ld., aJl chemists; post free, 12 staanps.—Holdroyd's Medioal Hall, Oleok. fceaton, Yorkshire,

New Golf Course MR. BALFOUR OPENS WARMINSTER LINKS Mr. A. J. Balfour opened on Wednesday the new eighteen hole course of the West Wilts Golf Club at Warminster. The course, which was laid out by J. H. Taylor, of Mid-Surrey, lies along the southern slopes of Salisbury Plain, amd possesses numerous natural hazards. Mr. Balfour is spending the Easter vacation with the Hon. Percy Wyndham at Clouds, near Salisbury. At Clouds there is ail. excellent private links, and the company staying there includes kindred enthusiastic golfers, with Mr. Balfour, the Countess Grosvenor, and Lord and Lady El-cho. It is notable that on Mr. Wyndham's links the holes have rather extraordinary names, each, being called after a politician, so that we find the Gladstone, the Chamberlain, the Salisbury, and others. In the ceremony on the Wiltshire Downs Harry Vardon (Tot- teridge) and James Braid (Walton Heath), the open champion, were engaged, and after the formal opening a foursome was played between Mr. Balfour and Braid and Mr. G. H. Aitken, the club captain, and Vardon. On the outward journey Mr. Balfour and Braid played much the better golf, and when the turn was reached they were three boles In hand. Homeward Mr. Aitken and Vardrrn squared at the fourteenth, but their opponents regained at the next hole. The round ended with Mr. Balfour and Braid winners by 2 up amd 1 to play. In the afternoon Braid, after being three up at the turn, defeated Vardon in a single by sax up and five to play.

DECLINE OF BRITISH SEAMEN Some attention is given by the British CCnsul-General in Belgium, in a report he has just iss/ued on shipping ab Antwerp, to the gradual supersession of the British sea- men by foreigners. Last year at Ant-wexp- a port at which rather more than haJf the shipping is British—the British seamen dis- charged numbered 4,665 and the foreigners 10,453. Of the men engaged in their place only 3,408 were British, the remaining 11,935 being of foreign nationality. Thus, of the seamen discharged 69, per cent. were foreigners and 31 per cent. British subjects, while of the -n engaged to replace them 77.8 per cent. were foreigners and only 22.2 per cent. of British nationality. Tihese figures refer to all classes of sea- faring men, including officers and engineers. If the statement be confined to the term seamen" as strictly interpreted, it is found that of 4,839 sailors engaged at Ant- werp only 462 were British, and of 4,522 fire- men signed on only 182 were natives of the United Kingdom.

NEW G.W.R. SLEEPING CARS What are described1 by the "Grea.t Western Railway Magazine" as "absolutely unique" new sleeping-cars are now being built at Swindon. The most important deviation from standard practice lies in the under-fraanes- wood, instead of steel, being employed for the eolebars and head-stocks, and the bogies being also mainly framed in wood. The great value of this change is trat it will facilitate the passengers' sleep as the trains speed on their way. With the view of reducing the noise to a minimum a double floor is being provided, the intervening epaoe being filled with hard-raanimed sawdust. A large number of minor imiproromenits winch will conduce to the comfort of the pasisengers have also been introduced. The interior of the cars is finished in walnut and sycamore, with moquet tapestry of handsome j design.

THE LADY DOCTOR The medical superintendent and the mafo and female assiistamte at tihe Sheffield Work- hKxuse Hospital have resigned in consequence of friobian between the Local Government Board inspectors and the medical staff. During a meeting of the board yesterday Mr. John Bar Ley declared that their lady doctor occupied four rooms, and that the special servant who waited upon her had another room. If they had a, male instead of a female doctor only one servant would be needed. Mr. John HadfieM urged that lady doctors were nothing but expensive toys. It was decided by ten votes to nine to erngage a lady assistant, one of the lady members of the board voting against her sex.

ACTRESS'S COMPLAINT A young German baker named Jacob Gotz, of Hall-place, Paddington, was charged yes- terday at Marylebone Police-court with com- mitting an assault on Marjorie Hubert, aged seventeen, an actress, residing with her mother, at Maida-vale. It was stated that as the prosecutrix and her mother were on their way home at eleven o'clock at night the accused behaved in a vulgar and insulting manner. Police- sergeant Dowson was called, and the pri- soner was given into custody. The accused, who denied that he behaved as the prosecution averred, was committed for trial. Bail was allowed.

SEPARATED FATHER'S VISIT A,t Gravesend yesterday Wolfram Court, am electriciaiii wlas charged on remand with being at a; house for an unlawful purpose. Defendant, who is well connected, had been separated only a week from his wife, and entered the premises to see his children, afterwards attempting to cut his throat. He was accompanied yesterday by his mother, who undertook to taike him to Hastings. He said ho was sorry for what he had done, and on promising not to attempt his life again or to molest his wife he was acquitted.

MARY ANN'S PROMISE "Your face worries her,- remarked the ma gistrnates'-clerk to a police-officer yester- day a.t Bristol PoliceKxxurt, when Mary Ann Carroll (56), was very unruly in the dock on her 77th cliarge of drunkenness. She declared that she worked hard amd always paid for her drink. When sentenced to a month's imprisonment she shouted, "That's won't hurt me," and then, turning to the officer, remarked, God help thee when I come out. I'll finish ye. Mark my words, now."

A DAY OF DESPAIR Seven cases of attempted suicide were heard ait Birrairigbam Police-court yesterday. The defendants in nearly every instance said they had been reduced to desperation by poverty. At an inquest at Birmingham on Elizaibeth Gilman, wife of a tram motorman, it was stated that deceased had suffered from a painful illness, had fallen into debt, and ipawraied her husband's clothes. Sihe poisoned herself with oxalic acid.

CARDIFF MAN DIES OF LOCKJAW A Single man, named Ivor Thomas, of 45, Hajbersihon-street, died to-day at the Cardiff Infirmary from lock- jaw. Thomas was employed at the Dowlais Works, and some time ago a splinter of wood ran into his hand, and caused blood- poisoning.

MARK TWAIN'S TURKEY STORY When I was city editor of the I Virginia Oity Enterprise,' remarked. Mark Twain at a dinner in New York, "a fine turkey was one day left at the office. Turkeys were rate in that thigh altitude, a'nd we all hankered after this bird. But the t ditor claimed it. He took it home and had it cooked for dinner. The next day, as ho was expatiating on the turkey's rich!nes3, a. letter was handed to htin. He opened it and r.eoo-' Mr. Editor—Sir- Yesterday I sent you a turkey whiioh has been the cause of miucih dispute amomg us. To settle a, ibet, will you kindly state in to- morrow's issue wthat it died of?'

BLINDED AT TENNIS Mr. Josepih Howard, a brother of. Mr Howard, owner of the horse which recently won the Grand NationaJ, met with a serious accident at Rowley, Staffs. While he was playing tennis a hall struck Ibåm and burst his eye, eratftreHy destroying theeasfot.

I Ship on Fire at Sea. I Crew's Terrible Experience I LONG FIGHT FOR LIFE I A heartrending story of the perilous adven- tnres and hairbreadth escapes of the crew of the Carnarvon Caetle, a Liverpool ship, which was destroyed by fire while on a voyage from Liverpool to Melbourne, comes to hand with the Australian mail. Leaving Liverpool on November 3 the ship was found to be on fire when she was 90 days out, and had reached a spot about 850 miles south-west by south of Cape Leeuwin, West Australia. Captain Evan Jones, her skipper, has de- clared that there W86 a sudden report like a distant gunshot, and the whole ship was instantly aflame. For five hours tihe crew, who numbered 27, fought the flames with exhausting energy, but their efforts were unsucoes&ful, and they had to fly to the boats. The captain and sixteen men took to the lifeboat, and the cthief officer and ten men took their places in the other, and there they watched the Carnarvon Castle, filled with a cargo of spirit and Highly-Inlfammable Material burn practamlly to the level of the waters. Seven days they estimated would bring them within sight of land, but it actually required a journey of 24 terrible days. For a few days the boats kept company; then they lost sight of each other. Iheir supply of meat gave out, the water was soon exhausted, and at last, having been without fresh water for seven days and meat for four days, several of the men became delirious. Too terrible for words were their sufferings as they tossed about on the ocean. When at last, on February 23, the mate's boat sighted Roth nest Island and met a fishing-boat with a bottle of water on board, the raving men nearly swamped the boat in their mad rush for it. Later in the same day the captain's boat reached Cape Naturaliste in a sorry plight, and a Government steamer took them to Fremautle, where they re-joined the men of the mate's boat in hospital. Two of the men in the captain's boat had succumbed on the water, and another, an apprentice, Died Soon After Being Landed On tha,t dreadful journey the captain's boa.t more than once was saved from des-truo tion only by a miracle. A number of sharks expectantly followed the boat day after day, and one huge creature nearly overturned the boat. Rising out of the water, it raised ita hungry jaws to the gunwale, but an appren.. tice, with rare presence of mind, snapped a lifebelt round its snout, and the monster disappeared—lifebelt as well. An extraordinary incident took place just before the captain's boat reached land. The frantic crew, with the young apprentice dying before their eyes, sighted a fishing- boat m,ann.ed by foreigners. As the fishing, boat drew near they shouted to the foreigners, pointed to the unconscious youth, and made an agonised appeal for fresh water. The foreigners, without troubling to pause, looked wonderingly across the short distance that separated them from the ill-fated sur- vivors, and nonobalantly sailed a.way, with- out offering the slightest help.

Body of a Collier FOUND IN ABERDARE TUNNEL About four o'clock yesterday afternoon Wm. Harris, a collier, of 49, High-street, Cefn, was found lying dead in a tunnel covering an old tramway of the Cyfarthfa Works, between the Aberdare and Swansea Roads at Penheol- gerrig. On Tuesday deceased attended the football match at Penydarren Park, Merthyr, and late at night be called at the house of his brother-in-law, Richard Harris, at Penheol- gerrig. and then proceeded in the direction of his home. It is presumed that in the tunnel he stumbled and fell, and no succour being at hand he lost his Ufe.

ILLICIT TOBACCO TRADING At Qbertseiy yesterday afternoon the Cotq- iinmir,iiexs of IniBand Revenue summoned William Wallace, a trailer, for selling two pounds of tobaicoo at Byfleet without bvdng z hoensed dealer. It was explained tihat tie OcnxbmassiomrarB bad had brought to their knowledge the fact that many travellers for firms were habitually engaged in supplying persona with tobacco, and they were determined to stop it, the prosecution being taken under the Tobacco Act, 1842. The defence was thoit Wallace sold tobacco wthdeh had been returned to him from another customer. His solicitor urged that the Act was obsolete, and was intended to stop smuggling. Defendant was fined £20 and costs.

A SENSATION OF THE '60's. The remains of Major William Murray, of Ossemley Manor, Milton, near Leamington, were cremated at Woking on Wednesday. Deceased, who was 87 years of age, formerly belonged to the 97th Regiment and the 10th Hussars. His death re-calls the great Northumberland-street (London) tragedy of July, 1861, which has been described as the bloodiest hand-to-hand fight on record. Major Murray was inveigled into the office of a mad money-lender, who shot him twice, after which a terrific combat ensued. With the aid of a pair of tongs and a large bottle the major felled his would-be assassin, who died from his injuries. At the subsequent inquiry a verdict of Justifiable homicide" was returned.

UNUSUAL WAY TO DIE At Islington on Wednesday a verdict of "Death by misadventure" was returned at an inquest on the body of Emma Wills (72), of Hornsey-road, N. The medical evidence showed that death was due to suffocation. Deceased must have fainted and fallen to the ground, her head going into a coal- scuttle, the edge of which pressed into her neck and prevented her breathing. Had anyone been present to lift the deceased up when she fell in all probability she would have recovered.

I "IRRESPONSIBLE GOSSIP" The following semi-official statement is pub- lished at Dresden:—The report recently appearing in a Vienna newspaper regarding an alleged intention of the King of Saxony to marry again is based upon irresponsible gossip.—Reuter.

I FUNERAL OF SIR HENRY ELLIOT The funeral of Sir Henry Elliot, formerly British Ambassador at Constantinople and Vienna, took place on Wednesday afternoon at Aldington, Dorset, the remains being interred in the village churchyard. There was a large and distinguished gathering of mourners, who included many relatives of the deceased. Among the numerous floral tributes was a wreath from Lord and Lady Minto.

ABERDARE BREWERY FIRE A serious fire broke out on Wednesday evening in the refrigeratmg-room attached to the Rock Brewery, Aberdare. The flames rapidly extended to the first and second floors, but owing to the promptitude of the fire brigade they were quickly subdued. A l&rgo iqt uantity of woodwork waa destroyed, and H is feared that some valuable machinery has received damage. The cause of the fire has not been ascertained. The damage is assessed at between £ 400 and LSOO. and the loss is covered by insurance.

I MOTOR FATALITY NEAR AYR Mr. M*Nichol, a farmer, of East Mainehill, was killed by a motor-car at Minishant, near Ayr, on Tuesday night. He had entered an inn, leaving his horse and trap on the oppo- site side of the road. The driver of a motor coming along sounded his horn, and Mr. M'Nichol ran out to stand by the horse. He was struck by the car, and died some time after being conveyed to tne infirmary.

I MINE OWNtR'S DEATH The news was received in Bolton on Wed. nesday of the death of Sir William Hulton, Bart., J.P., of Hulton Park, near Bolton. The deceased, who received his baronetcy in 1905. owned Hulton Collieries, and was actively identified with many departments of publio life in Lancashire. i.