Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-08-25
10 MOON GOSSIP
Wide Speculation as to Successor Of
the Late Chief Justice.
l1 NILES OF UNDERGROUND CABLE
Victoria and Eugene Have Had
Their Annual Meeting.
EDUCATIONAL EXPENDITURE

EDUCATIONALE EXPENDITURE
Special Correspondence Of The Evening Star.
LONDON, August Is, 1900.
Clubs and chambers, in which men love
to talk Oracularly on matters about which
they know little or nothing, are buzzing
with discussion as to the successor OF the
late lord chief justice. The position Of per-
manent chief Of the judges of the queens
bench il one which any lawyer might
be glad to fill. In one respect 1t has an ad-
vantage over the lord chancellorship it
self. The keeper of the great seal holds his
office only SO long as his party is in power.
The lord chief justice can only be removed
by her majesty, acting on Joint address
Of both houses Of parliament
Sir Robert Finlay, the present attorney
general. and Sir Edward Clarke are most
talked Of as successors Of Lord Russell.
The court Of the lord chief justice Is the
most capacious in the great building in the
Strand Mr. Inderwick, @. c., in his valua-
BILE little book on THE Kings Peace" speak
ing Of the royal palace of Justice, with its
dignihed and symmetrical outline, and Its
narrow, inconventent and labyrinthine pas
sages, remarks that it's combination OF ex-
ternal beauty and internal confusion pre-
sents a great similarity to the system OF
judicature for which 1t provides home.
If the smile be pushed step further. 1t
would appear that the architectural ar
rangements also indicate the superior posi-
ton which the lord chief justice holds
among his brethren. The apartment as
signed to him is larger than either of the
appeal courts. The seat which the lord
chief justice occupies is now large ana
handsomely carved armchair. which has
taken the place Of the padded bench 1ound
in the old courts. On the screen at the
back Of the chair Is massive carving OF
the royal arms. The chain Of office has
been worn in succession by Lord Colertdge
and moTd IF .Ss of s is ,houk
what they exactly mean no one seems TO
know.
Hundreds Of anecdotes and incidents In
the life OF Lord Russell are now being told
in the papers, as he was one OF the most
popular public men in England
Underground Wires.
The post office has recently completed the
great undertaking on which 1t has been en-
gagged ever since the beginning Of 1S97-the
laying of an underground electric cable be-
tween London and Birmingham, in place OF
the usual overhead telegraph wires The
laying of 120 miles OF underground cable Is
neither an inexpensive nor easy task. The
nearly three and a half years work Is
proof of the labor involved, and the APP
proximate figure Of 100000 gives earnest OF
its expense
1t is calculated that this heavy sum will
eventually be recouped by the reduced cost
Of keeping the cables in repair over the old
system, which involves damage by snow
storms. wind and rain. and keeps a large
stan constantly at work. The new cable
has no fewer than Seventy-sfx wires, Sepa-
rately wrapped In brown paper and inclosed
in a leaden casing two and a half inches In
diameter, fitted on at high pressure. rms
in It's turn is inclosed within three-tnch
iron pipe, and the whole laid at a depth
Of two and q half inches below the surface
of the roadside.
This innovation has been brought about
largely by the Immensely Influential pro-
vincial press Of this country. So much de-
lay and inconvenience has been caused to
the country papers by the breakdown of
wires In the severe storms that frequently
have cut them off from all communication
with London that 1t became imperative for
news purposes to inaugurate some better
system than the present one. Thus, the
post Office has, after much elaboration and
urging, taken step in what is undoubted
ly right direction; so perhaps by the time
wireless biography Is perfected England
may reasonably expect to have her pres
ent system under ground.
Paris show Not Making Money.
There Is no doubt that the Paris ex-
hibition will be a financial failure The
truth Is that the world Is at present more
interested in South Africa and China than
in the peaceful pursuit OF industry, and
this explains why there has been no such
rush to the exhibition as in 1889. The
paucity of visitors is not due solely to the
absence of British. Neither America nor
Russia nor the continent as q whole has
sent as many people as were expected
and the meager attendance must be attrib-
uted to the circumstances OF the year in
which it has been held. 1t is probable that
there will be considerable influx of Wis.,
itors from this country In September and
October, and the London chamber of COM
merce is moving with the view of getting
manufacturers and merchants in this coun-
try to go over and see some of the
markable mechanical inventions and APP
planes which are to be seen at the ex-
hibition.
The financial losses which will result
from the exhibition may seriously shake
the position of the French government in
the autumn. The French are too much dis
posed to blame the government for every
thing that goes wrong. and 1t Is quite pos
sible that the financial troubles that will
follow the exhibition may be put to the
credit OF the government.
Among the English exhibits at the exhi-
bitfon there is one of an exceedingly in
teresting kind that seems to have escap-
ed general notice SO far. 1t Is a specially
prepared account of THE Work of the
London School Board" and contains some
comparative statistics that help one to
realize something of the magnitude of ed
ucational work in the metropolis. After
promising that London has a total popu-
lation more than double that Of Denmark
or of Greece, this record tells us that the
child population of London standing in
need Of elementary education is larger than
the total population of any European CITY,
except Paris. Berlin St. Petersburg, Mos
cow and Vienna, and is more than double
the whole population of Bristol, Dresden
or Prague
The total sum raised within the admin
istrative area of London for municipal
purposes including education. is equal to
the total revenue of Saxony of Portugal
while the sum expended in London upon
elementary education is equal to the total
national expenditure of Denmark Norway
or Switzerland. Since the passing of the
elementary education act in 1870 the num-
Der of school children for whom accommo-
dalton has to be provided has nearly dou-
bed rising from 455 600 to 7S5, 600 penny
rate when the school board first began its
work brought in fS5, coo, now 1t produces
ESQ, 600, the ratable value Of London hay-
Ing gene up from twenty to thirty-six mil
lions.
The British Great Seal.
England has a newly designed great seal
which is a work of art compared with some
of the stamps in use in various govern
ment departments. The seal represents the