The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-11-22

way. The first step, of course was to get information. and for that purpose Herbert Samuel, president of the local government board, has appointed a spe- cial committee to examine the industrial and economic situation The registrar general has also started a special census of the refugees, with special reference to their age, sex distribution and economic efficiency. Fortunately the work of com piling information Is easy, for at the very beginning government committee with Lord Gladstone former governor general of South Africa, chairman. was formed to deal with the reception of the refugees and their distribution in England. This organization has full records, immediately available, of the numbers and present whereabouts of all Belgians.
 One of the sources of wealth to which many of the Belgians can be turned was apparent at once. That is market garden Ing and generally speaking, small cul- tivation. The Belgians are the L,St mar ket gardeners in the world, except, per- haps, their neghbors. the Dutch, and 1 this branch of agriculture has been sad ly neglected in England. Arrangements are now being made for securing tracts of suitable ground near the large towns where the refugees who have knowledge and experience in this kind of work may turn it to account. The government will probably supply them with capital, where | necessary, to start. It has not been de- cided yet whether system of tenancy l or peasant propretorship shall be intro- | duced.
 | Another branch of agriculture in which I the Belgian peasant excels Is flax grow l Ing. The finest flax in the world comes /. from the region of Courtrai, and the Ul- ster linen mills all maintained resident
 buyers there. Courtrai and it's fields are | now laid waste and Ulster is threatened
 with shortage of supply. The soil of
 Ireland Is eminently suited to flax grow ing, but the supply of skilled labor Is
 short and the Belgians can supply it. It is quite likely that the mixed Scottish and Irish blood of the northeast corner of Ulster may be further diluted by a 1 strong dash of Flemish.
 l Another direction in which the Belgians may help England Is in fine iron castings Some of the most delicate work in the world of this kind was done about Lege
 Many British motor firms, for instance
 imported the castings for cylinders from
 Belgium in the rough and worked them | up at home Already, l am told, num- | Der Of Liege iron .moulders have found work In British foundries
 Lacemaking Is another trade which will probably be introduced The Belgian
 women are famous lace-makers and ef- forts are being made to esta blish the Industry here. Fl. Gordon Selfridge, the tAngto-American storekeeper, has started ! a little Industry of this kind in connec- | ton with his store where a number. of l Belgian women are employed
 | These are only few of the lines in which Britain may be improved and re
 viyiffed by her welcome guests. Of course it.fs not to be supposed that any l but comparatively small proportion of the refugees will remain permanently but enough of them undoubtedly will stay to
 leave a decided mark on the national life. =,
 In the meantime Belgium Is living in lodgings Her capital Is half in France and half in London. The government has removed to suburb of Havre where it | has taken over as Belgian soil a little 1 district a few miles square. One side of a street in Havre Is Belgium-the other
 Is France. Within the enclave if a resi- dent wants to write letter to another he can send it for two cents, for 1t goes
 at the Belgian domestic rate. If he wants
 to write to some one in another part of Havre, however, he must use a five
 cent stamp. for he Is writing to foreign
 country. The ministry is established in a block of flats and Is carrying out It's busi- | ness regularly, while the King who has never left Belgium is with his army
 If Havre, however, Is the official capi-
 tai of Belgium, London Is the unofficial capital. The leading Belgian paper, lIlndependance Beige, Is now printed in
 London and is sold in the London streets
 by girls as it was in Brussels. In fact a member of the staff told me that many or the same girls have been found among the refugees and re-employed: Another
 Belgian paper, the Metropole of Antwerp
 has been literally given the hospitality or a London morning paper, It appears as page of the London paper, and is
 edited and prepared by it's own staff
 Irn ntf f1ta1 1Ixr n
 and position have come to London and Belgian society in the British metropolis
 Is now almost as brilliant as 1t was in Brussels. Most of the wounded soldiers of the Belgian army have been sent to
 England to be nursed and the Belgian uniform is almost as familiar in the Strand and the West End as is the Britist
 khaki. Louvain has moved to Cambridge The famous mediaeval university of Bel gium was destroyed by the Germans and Cambridge has opened her doors to her
 sister seat of learning College build. ings have been placed at the dsposa of the Louvain faculty and within the Hast few days practically the whole academic course has been resumed in thu British seat of learning. It was proposed at first to admit the Louvain students te the Cambridge courses, but 1t was seer
 that this would destroy the individualit, of Louvain. so the other scheme wal adopted The faculties of theology, sci
 ence, philosophy and law are now in full
 blast. Students are reporting themselves
 daily and are being accommodated ire, of charge in the rooms vacated by tn,
 Cambridge men who have joined th,
 colors.
 An even more picturesque suggestion
 is that the Belgian courts should be es
 abolished in London Most of the grea
 lawyers and judges arv snere, and 1t Il felt that 1t would be we'll for than t'