Evening star., 1909-05-02

| toria ascended the throne the duchy in
come was about e1a.OOo. AT the kings
| marriage in 1865 it had increased to zoo :
90. and last year the prince received
over eSO.OOO. The estates are under eN-
cellent management ani the tenantry are
| treated with every consideration. indeed
| the duchy authorities are considered
| among the best landlords in the west OF
England.
In Cornwall the duchy property is
about $1,000 acres in extent. in Devon
nearly 10000 acres. and in Dorset aV'
acres In addition to the rentals from
| these properties. there are various mineral
and other dues payable to the duke. The
charter which made the estates the per-
petual property of the heir apparent to
the throne was passed in the reign OF
Edward H. and his son. the Back Prince.
held his court at Restormel Castle. now
mass of ruins lying near the route
which the prince and princess propose to
traverse in journeyng from Lostwthiel
to 'Liskeard.
One man, and one man only is quail
fed by long years of intimate knowledge
to write the full, whole life of Swinburne
And that man-who. of course. is Mr.
Theodore Watts-Dunton-is the last who
will be able to say what others must say
of him. For to tell that which is the
simple unadorned truth. England and the
world OF literature owe an ineffaceable
debt of gratitude to Mr. WattsDunton.
Mr.. Watts-Duntons Iifework In literal
~ saving the WonQeT10l poet TOT liiS IA
tion should give him a high place in the
esteem of his fellow-countrymen quite
apart from any consideration OF his lit
erary qualities. For many. many years.
with a degree of self-abnegation which
can scarcely be realized he gave himself
up 10 the devoted task of standing be-
tween the poet and his temperament. He
rescued SWinburne from the weaknesses
of his own character that seem indissolu-
bly, connected with the highly wrought,
and hvnprSen Stiya mental onnin-
ment of the poet.
The service which the critic rendered
the poet can never be completely known,
for Swnburne is dead and Mr.. Theodore
Watts-Dunton would not tell even if he
could. But this history of wonderful
friendship. shrouded. as it is sure to be.
with certain intimate details and facts Of
prime Importance wrapped In neces-
sary mystery. should be. If it is ever
written. ore of the great biographies o;
the world.
1t is said in some OF the newspaper no
tees that Swinburne's political views
changed with his years. This. however.
is very partial truth His republican
ism and nationalism alike owed their
origin to the same cause.-the italian rev.
olution working mind that dotted
on Eizabethan England Like Milton,
whom he admired he had drunk in the
spirit of revolutionary Italy and from
first to last he was hiStoricmnded rad
ical, who could once in way write
sentimental ballad on the Jacobite exile
from the 'bonny strand of Northumber-
land and vet never changed his hatred
of czars. priests and peers.
Perhaps the two men whom Mr.. Swim
burne most disliked politically were Car
lyle and Gladstone. The hatred first
showed itself prominently when the poet,
breaking from his older radical traditions.
attacked Mr.. Gladstone then supported
by Carlyle. over Bulgarian atrocities. H.
took the opportunity of this agitation to
tell Carlyle that he never attacked
despotsm until il was crushed. and that
if he had lived in the days OF Cromwell
he would have been a cavalier. Mr.
Gladstone he probably disliked on reii-
giouS grounds.
In these days when the house o. lords
is again a question to the fore. 1t is
worth while remembering his bitter at
tack on the house of lords. Clear the
way, my lords and lacqueys, you have
had your day was distinctly topical
poem, perhaps the best $50 farl strictly
revolutionary poem in the language. 1t
was published in 1854 In the Pail Mall
Gazette. then edited by Mr.. Stead. in
connection with the Hyde Park demon
stration held to protest against the re-
fusal of the house of lords to pass Mr.
Gladstone's reform bill TO enfranchise
the agricultural la borer. Not a year later
Swinburne was the chief songster of the
unionsts who were protesting against
home rule.
Electrical Traction.
The most important development in
electrical traction which London has re-
Gently seen is the electriication of that
| part of the London. Brighton and South
Coast railway which serves South London.
| 1t is nine miles in length running through
South London from Victoria to London
bridge. The current for operating the
trains will be obtained from the London
Electrical Supply Corporation al Dept
ford The system adopted is the single
phase alternating high tension. involving
the use of the overhead conductor In
consequence of the very high pressures at
which the current will be supplied e. 700
volts, only 100 or 14O amperes will be re-
qured per train. Current is collected by
means of a collector bow from the over
head wire. which is supported at intervals
of ten feet from two robust steel cables
At present the rolling stock consists of
eight trains each made up of three
coaches. the first and last being a third
class carriage. fitted at one end with the
guards and at the other with the
motorman's compartment. The center
coach is not equipped electrically and is
entirely devoted to first-class passengers
Every precaution has been taken against
fire risks. the sides, roof and bottom of
the coaches being entirely covered with
sheet aluminium and the bottom further
covered with heavy asbestos sheetng in
addition to Stag wool fitted in a large
space left between the floor boards. Each
coach is mounted on two pressed steel bo-
gieS with 42-inch wheels and S-foot wheel
base. The overall length of the coach is
sixty feet. Besides ordinary hand brakes
Westinghouse airbrakes of the most mod
ern type are installed throughout the
train. The contractors for the whole of
the work. with the exception of the
coaches. are the Allgemeine Elektricitads
Gessellschaft of Berlin. 1t was stipulated
that everything that was possible should
be of British manufacture with the re-
suit that. with the exception of the cleo
trical equipment of the trains, the whole
of the work has been carried out by Brit
ish workmen with British material.
L. II. MOORE.
Am T0 SyuYMNEpS