Papurau Newydd Cymru

Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru

Cuddio Rhestr Erthyglau

30 erthygl ar y dudalen hon

--OUR LONDON CORRESPONDENT.

Newyddion
Dyfynnu
Rhannu

OUR LONDON CORRESPONDENT. Every year, as the time has come round for the opening of the Royal Academy, there have been murmurs in art circles as to the system of managing affairs at Burlington House; but it is a long time since Parliament was asked to con- sider the subject. The notice paper of the House of Lords, however, has this week had quite a formidable string of suggestions upon it, these being drawn from reports of a Select Committee which sat in 1836, and a Royal Commission which inquired into it in 1863. Some of these recommendations especially affect artists, but all of them are of interest to art lovers and it is to be noted that certain among them have already been attempted to be met by the Academicians. The one of 1S63, for instance, to the effect that the Academicians and Associates then existing should send four works as of right and never more, and that Associates thenceforward elected should send no work as a right, and never more than four, has been revived very lately by the Academy itself, and something has been done to meet it. That, of course, is largely a matter for artists to consider; but the general public will be more interested to know that both in 1836 and 1863 it was recommended that, while the charge for admission, should continue to be a shilling, it might be raised on Mondays, but that Satur- day should be a free day. One fancies it will be some time before this last portion is acted upon. Those who wish the field of women's work extended will be interested to know that since female clerks were introduced into the Money Order Department of the General Post Office, they have shown themselves so com- petent for the duties to be there dis- charged, that there has been no hesita- tion on the part of the authorities in increasing by degrees the proportion of such members of the staff. Some of the work for which they have to be responsible nowadays is admittedly of a more conplicated nature than that formerly entrusted to them but the results are stated to have fully justified the experiment, and the female clerks are being rewarded for this success by comparatively rapid advancement. About half the work of the Money Order Department is now being performed, indeed, by women, the diminu- tion of the male staff being principally effected by means of transfers to other departments of the Post Office. This, perhaps, is not a very cheerful outlook for the male clerk of the future but no one is likely to deny that, if there is one branch of work which is likely to be suited to women, it is just such clerical employment as that provided by the authorities of the General Post Office. Tens of thousands of candidates for positions in the Government service have heard, and many have seen, the somewhat dingy and old- fashioned building between Parliament-street and the Thames Embankment, in which the Civil Service Commissioners so long had their headquarters. But that gloomy edifice in Cannon-row is now a thing of the past, for within the last two or three weeks it has been demolished, in order to make room for a new block of Government buildings facing New Scotland Yard. The Civil Service Commission has accordingly to take up its residence where, and Burlington House is marked out as the place of its future perma- nent home. That will involve depriving some of our greatest learned societies" of their old-accustomed rooms for lec- tures and, although they will, of course, be able to obtain accommodation elsewhere, they will lack the full flavour of Burlington House. The future of that famous block of "buildings, indeed, is one of the pro- blems that will have to be settled in connection with the establishment of the new teaching University of London; and more than one institution will be somewhat disturbed in con- sequence. Londoners of middle age and long memory have been greatly interested this week in the proposed co option to the London School Board of Miss Maude Lawrence, a daughter of the late Lord Lawrence, who was the first- Chairman of that body. The vacancy was caused by the resignation of a lady member for Westminster; and there is something especially pleasing, as well as signifi- cant, in this fashion of celebrating the great services John Lawrence of the Punjaub ren- dered to the cause of elementary education in London by becoming the Chairman of its first School Board. No one in the autumn of 1870 dreamt of the enormous work that lay before that body, and not even the keenest educa- tional enthusiast dared to hope that it would accomplish anything like the amount it has done. The streets of London to-day, far from perfect as they are, cannot be compared with those of thirty years ago; and, although we continue to be a very long way from the educational ideal of Germany and Switzerland and the United States, the late Lord Lawrence did much to bring the capital to the point in this particular it has now reached. There is an extension in London just now of the idea that public servants of various kinds should wear a uniform. The Trinity House pilot is henceforward to do so, his uniform being of naval cut and hue, with gold lace and buttons; and, as is bring pointed out, ,r travellers by sea will henceforward be spared the spectacle of a personage weaaing an incon- gruous chimney-pot hat coming on board to take temporary command. The idea, however, is now going a step further, for it is being pro- posed that the London County Council should provide a uniform for the drivers and conduc- tors of the tramcars and omnibuses in its posses- sion. There is something to be said for the idea, and there is little to be sentimental that can be urged against it, seeing that railway officials have always worn a distinctive garb. But it is not to be forgotten that the driver of a London omnibus loves to display a top-hat, which would seem somewhat absurd on the head of the driver of a tram-car; and that, if the change is to be made, this particular tradition may demand to be respected. I Business men are specially concerned in the resolve the Government have just taken to ap- point, as an experiment, two or three commer- cial agents at foreign inland commercial centres of importance. The sole duty of these agents will be to watch and report upon the extent and progress of trade in the specified districts and upon the opportunities presented for developing British trade interests. Cham- bers of Commerce throughout the country are accordingly being invited to make suggestions as to the localities in which the proposed agencies can be established to the best advan- tage, and these suggestions should be of value. It is not to be forgotten that of late years the Government has made more than one step in the direction of assisting traders with information in various forms. Not only has the Board of Trade done much in this way, but the Commercial Department of the Foreign Office is constantly circulating intel- ligence concerning tenders that are being asked for in various countries, and which our manu- facturers and merchants might otherwise fail to see. The old idea was that any Government interference must of necessity be a hindrance to trade but in the directions indicated there 2an he little doubt as to it being a help. R. j

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