The Washington times., 1901-07-24
FOREIGN TOPICS.

l
their mail deliveries .s-om any point in
London a man can write a letter in the
morning and get an answer the same day
and IL not too far of he can do the same
In the country. depending. of course, upon
the promptness of the person to whom
| the letter is addressed This rule win
| apply anywhere within 100 miles of the
Bank of England. There are hourly col
| iections and hourly deliveries In all parts
| or the city. the business as well as the
residence quarters. The average number
of deliveries In cities OF over 10000 in
| habitants is fourteen day. Within the
city limits letter is carried by the ordi-
nary mail service about as promptly and
as rapidly as telegram with u.s.
There is letter box at every corner.
A person mailing a note at o'clock is
sure to have II collected before 10 in the
morning and delivered at its destination
anywhere within the limits of London
before L. and if the reply is posted be-
fore l o'clock he will receive 1t within
three or four hours at the furthest. This
quick postal service has been a great OBJ
stacle in the way of telephones. There
are probably fewer telephones in London
when compared to the population than in
any city of the United States. Many peo-
pie do their marketing by post. My lady
makes out her list between and 0 o'clock.
writes 1t on a postal card to her butcher,
baker. or grocer, and the goods are de-
livered before noon.
The parcel post deliveries are quite as
prompt. the rate Of postage is low, and
the service is extensively used by mer-
chants for small packages. London is so
large that the ordinary delivery by wag-
ons would be slow and expensive. Hence
merchant finds it cheaper and more con-
venient to pay the postage, and there is
a basket in every shop to receive parcels
intended for the mail. Boys weigh them
and put on the stamps. take them to the
nearest box or postal station at frequent
intervals, and they are always delivered
the same day, and often before the pur-
chaser reaches home. II you go into a
book store and buy a magazine or an IL
lustrated paper it is customary to request
its delivery The clerk writes your ad-
dress upon wrapper and passes it over
to lad. who wraps IL. puts on the stamp.
takes 1t to the mail box at the next cor
ner, and within an hour it is on its way
to your house.
In the programme for the British naval
maneuvres this year one feet. to be
named X, will be cruising of the north
coast of Ireland when the maneuvres be-
gin. II is to be considered to be in pos
session of that country and of the Scilly
and Channel Islands. The fleet will con-
sist of eight battleships, with thirteen
cruisers and squadrons of torpedo boats
stationed at the islands.
Meanwhile Fleet B, of twelve battle
ships and fourteen. cruisers, with auxil-
iary small craft, will be cruising in the
North Sea. and is understood to possess
Great Britain. The field of it's operations
lies between the forty-seventh and fifty
sixth parallels. 1t Is to aim at 'the COM
mand of the English Channel and of the
approaches both to 1t and to the st.
Georges Channel, KS ultimate aim being
to stop the trade in those waters and BIS
to cover IL.
The admirais will be left free to do their
best and will not be tied down by orders
which limit them to fixed course and so
disable them from making the proper
counter move to the motions of the Oppo-
nent. There are other Instructions nam
ing the ports which are considered SAFE
from attack and the coalfng stations. But
the essence of the programme Is that
Fleet B and Fleet x are to try which OF
them can obtain command of the waters
between England and France on the
south, and England, with Scotland below
the Clyde estuary, and Ireland on the
west.
Hamburg boasts of the best system of
docks and warehouses and the best sani-
tary arrangements, water supply and
sewerage of any city in the world. The
superiority of the latter is due to the en-
ergy and genius of a young American,
DIR. Dunbar. of st. Paul, who has become
a citizen of Germany and is at the head
of the sanitary department of Hamburg
During the century just passed Hamburg
suffered from fourteen fearful visitations
of cholera. The last epidemic. which oc-
CURED in 1892, threatened the health of
all Germany, and Prof. Gaffke. Of the
University of Giessen, was called to take
charge of the quarantine and sanitary
arrangements. He brought with him as
an assistant one of his students. a young
American, who had distinguished himself
as bacterioiogist-a Mr.. Dunbar-who
remained during the terrible scourge,
and after 1t was suppressed was employed
to carry out the recommendations made
by Prof. Gaffke and DIR. Koch, who repre-
sented the imperial Government in aiding
and advising the local authorities in the
struggle to subdue the plague.
The death a few days ago Of Eric James
Lascelles closed a most romantic career
Under the name of Eric L.eith. he worked
a travelling caravan show in the prov
inces of Britain for almost two years.
Ic was the son of the late Earl of Hare
wood, and brother of the Countess of
Desart. Though he could have occupied |
many brilliant positions in the CONNER |
cial and social world, having both station |
and money at command, he preferred |
Bedouin existence. Until the |
day of his death he received an allow
ance of $l25 per week. so that he did not |
need to turn Snowman for a living. Be |
fore he had his big car built he spent |
some years as steward on a boat running |
TO Bombay, and for some time he was |
heard of as ranching. Among his pos
sessions was found a letter from his sis |
existence
The caravan was built at a cost of s., SOC |
Ind the carving on the exterior Is a fine !
work OF art The nobleman gave exhibit |
lions of moving pictures and automatic |
figures. He became a familiar figure at |
county fairs and wakes, and OF the pro- |
Drietor of the caravan the country folk |
new little except that he was 'extraor- |
iinary civil like" for his business Last |
week doctor who was fetched by his |
servant found him lying dead in the cara
ran. According to his verdict he had been |
suffering from epilepsy and a succession |
If seizures. accelerated by intemperance, |
lad caused death.
Sir Reginald Wingate. who succeeded
Lord Kitchener as the Sirdar of the
Egyptian army. is now on his way to
London from Cairo to lay an exhaustive
,eport on the Soudan provinces before the
British Foreign Office. Throughout his
Journey into the Soudan he was accom-
panied by Slatin Pasha and Captains
Markham and Bailey. Some idea of the
advance that has been made
n transportation facilities in Egypt may
'e gathered when il is said that the party
performed the journey from Roseires. in
he Seminar province, near the Abyssinian
rnntiar and bet md L