The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-03-19
ENGLAND LAW
 VERY BARBAROUS Public Indignant Over a
 Recent Case TOGO AT CORONATION Famous Admiral Will Represent Japan, Together With Prince
 Fushimi-Barnes Wants
 to Abolish Lords

has been long noted TOT not only It's strict enforcement of law, but for its bar barous sentences and punishments. The Judges, as a rule, show no fine sense of discrimination which American and French judges display in cases where there are mitigating circumstances. Attention has been called in parliament 10 the case Of Annie Woolmore, wife of a laborer al Lambourne, who was sentenced to imprisonment for neglect of her chill oiren. The cottage and the children were exceedingly dirty though, according to the doctor, the children were in good health. It was also in evidence that the woman was sober. that she had been i'll, that there was no water supply in the cottage or nearer than one mile. These circumstances taken in conjunction with the sentence. have excited widespread in- dignation, the result of which will be not only a remission of the barbarous sen- tence upon the poor woman, but an in quiry into the conditions of housing ac- commodations in the country districts. The old ticket -of-leave system for which England has long been noted and which has been the subject of novels. dramas, poems, legislative inquiry and action, has been done away with.
 Hereafter discharged convcts anxious to make a clean start will not be brought into direct contact with the police. Heretofore the convict has been super vised by the police on the one hand and cared for by philanthropic societies on the other. and there has been no cooper alton between. The new scheme is to combine into a central body the societies which have hitherto aided discharged prisoners and to give this body authority to deal with the convicts and funds to carry on the work. It will be responsible for the convicts whose interests it serves, and the police will have no more deal ings with discharged prisoners so long as they keep from further crime.
 Admiral Togo, hero of the Russc-Japan- csc war, will represent Japan, with Prince Fushimi, at the coronation. This will be the admirals first visit to England since he won worldwide renown. but he is familiar with the country, for is he not an old Worcester boy?
 Togo afterward went through a course at the Royal Naval college, Greenwich, and while there was converted to Roman Catholicism and baptised at the Catholic church, Greenhithe. Oddly enough his examiners in those days failed to credit him with any special gifts; indeed, he was the victim of all manner of chaff from the Britishers on the Worcester. He. grew in popularity, however, until at length he became a general favorite. Togo will be accompanied by General Nogi, captor of Port Arthur. Nogi was the most pathetic figure of the Russo | Japanese war. It was he who, having lost both his sons in the war, wished that their funeral should be postponed in order that his own could be associated with it for he hardly dared hope to come out of Port Arthur alive. They called him 'Nogi the Ruthless, yet his, tears fell fast as he gazed on the frightful slaughter which he was obliged to ask his men to accept in order to succeed
 Indomitable in the field Nogi was the idol of his army. In front of them he never gave any indication of the mental sufferings he underwent, but for all his cheery ways during the day sometimes when night came and he believed himself alone, he would sit with his head bowed on his hands, the tears yelling through his fingers"
 In recent statement George N. Barnes, a labor representative in parliament, sup plements his arguments against con- tinuation of the house of lords or at tempting to conciliate that body in any way. Of reforms for toilers and children
 
 he says:
 1T am glad to note that schemes for sickness and unemployed insurance have been formulated by the government; but after all, these touch only the fringe of the problem of poverty. I look forward with hope to the production during this parliament of more far-reaching plans of social amelioraton and reform I an not ungrateful for what has already been done during the last few years. Parlia- ment has done little towards a better preparation of the children of the nation | for the battle of life: 1t has recognized |
 in the wages board bill, the principle of minimum wage, and has made a start | with old age pensions. But growing | host of men and women want to press | forward more quickly towards the time | when no child shall lack bread, no man | shall lack work and when the old shall l crown life of labor with an age of | ease. That, to my mind, is the moral of | the elections; that, to my mind, is the | mandate to the government
 Another practical joke has been per- petrated by Horace DeVere Cole, the | young man who fin the character of tho | Sultan of Zanzibar was publicly reviewed | by the mayor of Cambridge, and who | last year made the world laugh at the ex-
 
 were taken so seriously by the officers of the Dreadnought. MT. Cole, Locker Lampson, M. P and friend were dis !! cussing how easy 1t was to be arrested.
 There is no difficulty about it," said Mir Cole. 'See how will get MT. Lamp son arrested So, unnoticed, he deftly
 inserted his watch in I.ampson's pocket and when the unsuspecting victim had gone on a way in the street he raised the cry, Stop. thief!' The police stopped Lampson and declining to treat the mat ter as joke. took the names of both, with the result there was police court sequel at Marlborough street. Cole was accused of "using insulting words and be- havior, whereby a breach of the peace might have been occasioned. Magistrate Denman said he would bind Cole over for good behavior. Sir Henry Maxwell Lyte in giving evi dence before the eroyal commission on public records, referred to the discovery in sack of an interesting document connected with Magma Charta. He said that when he first went to the record office, a quarter of a century ago, he noticed 100 sacks in one of the corri- dors He had them sorted, and in one bearing upon the agreement between King John and the Barons which was signed at Runymede.
 Judge Willis has made an addition tn tie list of things he has never done. Hearing a man at Southwark court say Buck up,'' the judge said. Tt is vu- gar phrase. I have never heard it in good society It Is shocking. Why does