At first view Christmas Day appears to be rather an inappropriate occasion to choose for the publication of the Admiralty's new scheme of naval education but Lord Selborne, if he has no apparent strain of genius in his composition, is clear-headed practical man of business, 0 understands the Press. He knows that Christmas Day is one of the very few days in the year when the London newspapers find it rather difficult to fill thir columns. Therefore a couple of weeks spo or thereabouts he offered to ply the editor of each of the leading London newspapers, in strict confidence. with a draft of his iomorandum, on the clear understanding that it should not be published until Christmas Day. The consequence is that, long as the document is, nearly every paper found space to publish it in full, while their naval experts, having had ample time to master t ails of the scheme, could devote still further space to its elucidation and criticiin. It would of course be impossible within the limits of a paragraph to summarise the scheme. On the whole it has been most favourably received as courageous and well-devised attempt to grapple with a complex and difficult question. Since our warships have become vast machine shops the duties of naval officers have absolutely changed, and this is the first attempt on a large scale to adapt the training of naval officers to the needs of the day. Probably Lord Selborne, as a civilian, has had very little to do with the details of the scheme; but he has had the responsibility of urging its adoption upon his colleagues and upon the country; and if only for the courage which this required he well deserves all the credit it will bring him. He has already won the reputation of being the most open-minded and unprejudiced of First Lords of the Admiralty.
Another Check for Unionism.
Bench Division of the action brought by After a lengthy hearing in the
the Toff Railway Company against the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants, for damages incurred through the great railway strike of 1900, the jury have, without leaving the box, brought in a verdict for the plaintiffs on all points. The amount of the damage incurred by the Railway Company has not yet been assessed; but the amount claimed was £27,000.' It is probable there will be an appeal; but if so it will be in the nature of a forlorn hops. The Trade Unions know that they are defeated, and that the public generally rejoices in their discom-future. The battle was really won last year when, in an action between the same parties, it was decided in the highest Court of Appeal, the House of Lords, that a Trade Union is e corporation which can sue and be sued, and which can be held responsible for the action of its agents. Mr. Justice Wills summed up dead against the Amalgamated Society. He expressed some sympathy with Mr. Bell, the Secretary of the Society, who now sits in Parliament for Derby, and who seems to really tried hard to settle the strike n yarly stage; but as regards the tion of the Society generally, he declared that there was overwhelming evidence that they had been parties to an unlawful conspiracy to molest and injure the Railway Company's business by unlawful means, There is, however, a certain amount of truth in the contention of the Trade Unionists that all this is "judge made law." It may pretty safely be said that there never yet was a great strike in which unlawful means were not adopted by the strikers; and yet, although there has been no change inthe law, it is only now, after many decades of strikes, that it has been discovered that the trade unions are legally responsible for the unlawful acts. But if it is judge-made law it is pod law, and if it results in rendering strikes all but impossible the workers will gain by it as much as the employers.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.