The Northern Guardian. — 1898-03-15 (Hartlepool, Cleveland, England)

CURRENT TOPICS.  Owing to the tremendous number of applications for Lipton shares the bankers have been unable to complete their lists, and some days mist elapse before all the cheques have been cleared. It is expected that letters of allotment and regret for the Debenture Stock will be sent out by the end of this week. The Preference Shares will then be dealt with, and afterwards the Ordinary Shares, so that it is anticipated that in a little Over a fortuight's time subscribers will all know Vie result of their applications.  The growth of the 4issur Zealand frozen meat trade is strikingly shown in the official statistics fur the six months ended December 31st last. In the half-year ended June 30th the total shipment -were 43,593,10'31b. of mutton and 2,129,1401 b. of beef, but for the last half-year the totals were 60,030,5211 b. of mutton and 6,111,1841 b. of beef. It is announced that four steamers of 9.500 tons, expressely designed for the frozen meat trade, are obout to be bulb., for one of the great exporting tarns.  The President of the Spanish Commission on the Maine has communicated to the Press what {purports to be the finding of that Commision. Tv balance of evidence, according to this finding, is in support of the internal explosion theory. It is affirmed that there was no trace found of any submarine mine, and that all the indications dis(proved the possibility of the destriction to the hull being due to an external cause. That there will be a conflict of opinion between the ,Spanish and the United States Commissions is an accepted fact at the State Department.  The Education Department issued yesterday the Code for 1898 of regulations for day schools, with a scparate volume giving to the inspectors the revised instructions applicable to the Code of 1897. These instructions have been largely cceast, and each inspector as instructed to inspect the ordinary working of the efficient schools, as experience has proved that this, supplemented by careful periodical examinations under the direction of the managers, is a more real guarantee of a proper distribution of public money than an annual examination with all its attendant drawba.cics.  The temporary withdrawal of Lord Salisbury from the Foreign Office became known to many members of the House in the course of last evening, and was the subject of general expressions ot regret. It is recognised that in putting the Foreign Department, during his absence, under the direction of Mr Balfour the best arrangement in the circumstances has been made. There is, howe‘ler, a considerable apprehension that -.Lord Salisbury will be compelled to give up pernianently the work of the Foreign Otlfice, and in that case the appointment of his successor would. it* the present state of affairs, be an event of e,-trenio importance.. It is not believed that Mr Balfour would care to take the seals of the Foreign Office, and an impression exists in some quarters that the position would be offered tG Lord Cromer.  A. London correspondent writes that a more sensational surprise than the news of Mr Woolf Joel's murder is not to be remembered. Everyone was talking of it last night, but the news arrived too late to have a serious effcct on the ,Stock Exchange. The grimmest elements of tragedy and the saddest phases of pathos are connected with this crutl murder. Only last year his uncle, whom be has succeeded in the direction of affairs of the Barnato combination, committed suicide, and now he is murdered shortly after being joined in South Africa by his wife and child. Till then fortune had been lavishly kind to him. At 21 he was a director of the De Beers Company, and would have been one earlier had he been legally qualified. He was reputed to be one of the richest young men in England, and spent money lavishly, but discriminatingly. Latterly he had taken to the turf, and had spent great sums in purchases at the 'Woodstock sales. One of his achievements was, two or three yearn ago, when he broke the bank at Monte Carlo. and on his return to England invited his friends to such a banquet at the Savoy as even that home of zury has rarely witnessed.  A memorandum prepared by the Labour Department of the Board of Trade for lasi month was issued yesterday. It is based on 2,290 returns, viz., 1,648 from employers, 508 from trade unions, and 134 from other sources. The state of employment showed a marked improvement, compared with a month ago, though rot quite up to the cf the corresponding month in last year. The labour market has been very little disturbed by dh.putes, and the changes in wages have also incen comparatively unimportant. In the 116 trades unions making ret erns with an aggregate membership of 166,362, 20,517, or 4.4 per cent.. were reported as unemployed at the end of February, compared with 4.96 at the end of January. and with 3 ggr cent in the /15 unions, with a membership of 453.114. trom which returns were received for February, 1897. Employment in the engineering and metal trades, though much itoj roved, is still affected by the recent disputes. The percentage of nuemployed union members in this group of trades at the end of February was 7.0, compared with 6.4 in January. The perrErtage for February, 1897, was 2.0. 'The properbra of unemployed, however, has been ihereased by the inclusion of a rertein number of members of engineering unions. who, during the previous Tooltha, have been omitted as being on strike ur 'locked out. If these were excluded the —petcentag,re of unemployed would be 44.