The Washington times., 1901-07-14
FOREIGN TOPICS.

NStu III 81 faui Cathedral 10 commem-
orate the opening of the June term of the
courts. This is an ancient custom. and
the service was attended not only by tn,
Lord Chancellor. the Lord Chief .Justice
the master of the rolls, and the other high
judicial dignitaries of the Kingdom, but
also by the officials of the city of Lon
oon. IL was an imposing ceremony
| upon their arrival at the cathedral the
distinguished guests formed procession
LED by the lord mayor, preceded by the
sword and mace bearers and followed BY
the members of the judiciary, the alder
men, the sheriff. the members of the
court OF common council and other city
oihciaIs. all wearing their most gorgeous
robes and carrying bouquets OF flowers,
Whlch, according to ancient custom
were presented to them by the members
OF the Guildhall At the entrance TO choir
the procession was met by the Bishop OF
London, the dean of the chapter and
other clergy OF the cathedral. who escort
| ed the dlgnitarieS 10 seats of honor The
sermon, preached by the Bishcp of Step
heS, was appropriate to the occasion from
| the text James les: He that Iooketh
into the perfect law"
In few weeks the women of Norway
will be ready to take part in the local
elections as ful-hedged voters bill
comforting the municipal franchise upon
| women has passed both houses of the
! Norwegian Parliament (Storthing) and
| will become a law at the end of the pres
| ent session.
| The Norwegian women are not entirely
new to the franchise. Since 1895 they have
| exercised the right to vote on questions
concerning the local regulation of the
| liquor traffic, and have been potent fac
tor in shaping the liquor policy" of their
| respective communities. Encouraged by
their experience and success in this lin
tied field, they have carried on an intel
ligent, vigorous. and persistent campaign
for equal rights, and have made headway
rapidly. The adverse majority in the
StOrthing has grown smaller and less de-
termined with every session. indicating
that success would be sure to crown their
efforts In near future: Victory came
sooner than expected. They were pre-
pared for just one more defeat and hence
were taken by surprise themselves when
their bill on May 10 passed the lower
house by vote of 6S to II. 1t met with
a temporary check in the upper house, but
has since safely passed all stages of leg
islation, and only awaits the Kings sig
nature to become law. The King viii
sign It, as a matter of course.
While the municipal. or communal,
franchise is general for men. Ii is based
upon a certain minimum income in the
case of women. Under the new law a
woman is entitled to vote If she pays
taxes upon an income of at least 5W
crowns GI06) in cities. In the case of
husband and wife who have all in COM
mon. the wife rs entitled to vote If the
husband pays taxes upon an income OF
at least 300 crowns in country districts
or 400 crowns In cities.
A Parliamentary paper mas been issued
giving return of the estimated costs OF
the wars in South Africa and China and
showing how the expenditure is to be met
A f-gn ~,
lS99-19Oo amounted to e23 900, in lsOo-l901 |
to aes, ,737. 900, and the estimate for 1901 |
1862 is G56, ,O7O,0O0, making a total on this
account OF G142, ,s07, COO For China the sup |
ply grants in 19OO-19O1 came to e3,5 coo, |
and, with a sum OF e. 10000 the estimate |
for I9o1-19O2 the total under that head is |
G5. $50, 600 To this total and that for |
South Africa have to be added f4,S50. 600 /
charges on the consolidated fund in re-
spect of interest, etc, on war debt includ-
ing the estimate for 1S01-1902 of 10000,
and this makes a sum total of fl53, ,3l7 600,
or s765, $4,000. The amount provided or to I
be provided out of revenue is put at &45,-1
271 900. and that provided. or to be pro-
yided, by loan. is G10S. .0l6,009
The new block houses il South Africa
are rapidly and simply constructed a
train out from Pretoria will dump some
where upon the yeldt dozen of soldiers
few "niggers." a small load of scantling
iron sheeting. and a wagonload of stone
ballast and cement. The workmen rapid
ly nail the framework of wood together,
giving il a six eight-sided form.
Thereupon are in turn nailed sheets of
corrugated iron, pierced with loOphOleS
for rifle fire. But there is a double wall
of corrugated iron attached, the outer one
being fixed ten inches from the inner.
The space between the iron walls Is
filled with the ballast and cement, which
is shoveled in and wetted down, and soon
Hn~s rata tfae- ~
structure. A single or double roof, on the
same lines is sometimes added Earth is
thrown up from trench TO strengthen
the base of the blockhouSes to resist shell
fire and an ingenious wire ENHANCEMENT
prevents anyone trying to rush the work.
Moreover, If the contest is too protracted, I
the Beers may have to flee from the
and fire of an armored train.
A French deputy has announced his in
tention to bring in a bill during the pres
ent session of Parliament making il not |
1nly admissible but legally obligatory for
women to sit as jurors. He proposes that
all juries shall be required to consist of !
six good men and true and six women :
similarly qualified. Exactly the same OBJ j
legations as regards the attendance Of |
persons called to be jurors will be bind
ng on "citizenesses" as on citizens and
he same penalties for failure to obey a I
will be authorized by law. At v
er securing the right to take legal de- I
yrees and be called to the bar French
women, If the bill mentioned above shall y
,ass, will have the prospect of being re-
luired to discharge in courts of law du- ;
les which many men hitherto have re- :
,arded as rather Onerous than otherwise =
md have sought oftener 10 avoid than
o assume. 1t must be said, however =
hat the prospective jurywomen of France
lobly rejoice at the privilege which the '
lew measure, if passed, will confer upon -
hem and show no disposition to grum- 4
lie in advance at the burden which may >
e laid upon their shoulders. :
Living marionettes are now among =
he most popular stage performers in e
ONE of the provincial towns IN Germany il
nd France. as well as I'm Paris and Ber- p
N. The performance begins with an
venture, played on a phonograph, and d
fter that a tiny actor appears and either T
ngs or recites In the most approved p
ishion. Other actresses and actors fol- !;
W. and occasionally acrobat gives an " y
shibition of his skill Finally farce or /,
ght comedy, interspersed with dances "
nd songs is given. and nothing could u
2 more natural than the manner in which
ne wee little Thespians perform their
sVeral parts. The transportation of the
wing actors into little creatures not
rger than dolls is simply the result of