Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-01-16

characteristic census OF PaddfngtOn, q
western quarter OF london. SHOWING that
for every man who goes to church there are
ten who go to public house. Mr.. Stead
in this connection chafaeterizes the Mega
tive policy of closing public houses as worse
than useless. Whats he wants are other
places, social houses, INTACT, without drink.
History is made vivid by special CORE
spondent'' article, descriptive of King
Charles rs incursion into the house Of COM
mons in search of the becalcitrant five, and
terday. The method might be commended
to writer's of school history books.
London's Postal Traffic.
Official statistics whiclnI have just obtain
ed show the present Immense proportions OF
the London postal trafilc.a In twelve months
no fewer than one billion, i've hundred mil
lion letters. book packets and newspapers
are posted in the metropolis; the number de-
livered here in the same period is one bill
lion one hundred millions. and the number
coming to London to be sorted prior to be-
ing dispatched to the provinces to British
colonies or to foreign countries reaches the
astounding figure of three hundred millions.
Thus the total number of letters dealt with
in a single year is not less than two billion
nine hundred millions. The official definf-
ton of letters includes book packets and
newspap ers. but the largest proportion OF
this traffic consists of correspondence.
may add that in the course of twelve
months nearly one million parcels are also
handled in London. SO that the grand total
of the annual postal work represents close
upon four billion letters, book packets,
newspapers and parcels.
The Population Of London.
There is much confusion abroad as to the
population Of London. Greater London ex-
tends fifteen miles from Charing Cross. and
contains a population of 6,5sl 80. 1t in
cludes the whole of the counties of London
and Middlesex and parts of the counties OF
Kent. Surrey, Essex and Herts. Greater
London is extending SO rapidly in every d.
rection that the circle must be Increased.
and before many years have passed the
population will reach 10,000,0O0. for the IN
crease of population will be in greater
ratio in the future than it has ever been In
the past.
Experiments With Oil Fuel on War
ships.
For long time past slight experiments
with Oil fuel, which have been more or less
successful, have been made in the British
navy, and with the advent of the new year
the admiralty have resolved to institute
series of exhaustive trials with view OF
seeing whether'a substitute for coal is to be
found in OIL Many of the vessels in the
service from first-class battleships down.
u,
furnaces for the purpose Of testing the value
of the proposed new fuel, and it Is contem-
plated to run ships producing steam in this
way against those with fires made up of the
usual Welsh coal. with view to seeing
whether a given speed can be maintained by
the former. The most minute reports are TO
be presented to Lord Selborne and his col
leagues, and it is possible that the events
of the next few months may be fraught
with the greatest importance to the navy OF
the future in the matter of fuel.
The manuscript of Milton's Paradise
Lost" to which I made reference in a
previous letter, is to be sold on the after
noon of January Is. This definitely disposes
of the paragraphs which have appeared
from time to time in certain of the London
newspapers as to sensational private offers
having been made to the owner of this
precious literary relic, The event will at
tract great crowd to Sothebys well
known auction room, and in order that the
occasion shall be invested with the due i'm
portance which should attach to so remark
able n proceeding has-seen decided that
the Paradise Lost" manuscript shall be
the only lot offered ON that particular after
noon. 1t is expected that there will be a
battle of the giants foriits possession.
- So l.. H MOORE.