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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1912-8-15, Page 611 -IE VALDE, OF THE DATE PALM xna dwellings ; i>ts and instil are made of the lams^1ta , y the fpots�nl]ss pre woven into ilaeeeta or used as MAN'S WEAIJTH IS RECKONED BY THE NUMBER. Date Palm Is to tho Arabs What Wheat Is to the Other, People. The date palm with its fruit is ono of 'the moat interesting trees with which the botanist is acquaint- ed. What wheat is in eine noun - tries and maize and rice in others the date palm is to the Arabs. Its native home is the region be- tween. Senegal on the west coast of Africa and the River Indust in Asia from about the fifteenth to about the thirtieth parallel of north lati- tude. At various times it has been carried outside these limits, but with little success as a fruit -bearer. As an ornamental tree, however, it will grow in many situation,, where it cannot produce teed, and lienee it is frequently transplanted from its native region. Along the shores of the Mediterranean it is a common object, for its leaves are in great request in the Christian countries of South Europe on Palm Sunday. It is the common palm of Pales- tine, being here also grown for or- ment, although it rarely ripens fruit, except at Jericho, which from the circumstance of its suocese there has acquired the name of "the City of Palm Trees." It is also acurious fact that its cultiva- tion has prospered in the isolated Canary Islands, off the Weak Afri- can coast. The date palm is a beautiful ob- ject in the landscape, growing to the height of E0 or 80 feet; not, says The Bakers Weekly, in that stiff, straight manner in which palm trees are so often painted, but slightly bent into graceful curves and sweeps, The trunk ie marked with the old scare where the leaves fall off when their work is done and is crowned with a spreading mass of from 40 to 80 leaves, each of which resembles a gigantic fea- ther. Easy of growth, its seeds germi- nate if casually thrown on the damp earth by some river or spring, or even in the fissures of the rocks where moisture lingers. In twelve years it will grow to the height of 50 feet with its crown of leaves and flowers. PRINCIPAL SOURCE OF FOOD. Imagination can scarcely picture what would happen if the date palm should be visited by ,such destruc- tion as sometiinee befalls wheat, rice and vines. Thousands of hu- man beings in Upper Egypt, Arabia and Persia rely upon it as the prin- cipal source of their food, and a man's wealth is reckoned by the number of date palms whioh he pos- sesses. In Fezzan for nine months of the year the natives live upon its delicious fruit. Those who, like most Europeans at home, only know the date from the dried specimens of the limit shown beneath a label, in shop win- dows, can hardly imagine how deli- cious it is when eaten fresh and in Central Arabia. In addition to being eaten fresh, half ripe or wholly ripe, the fruit is dried, either in a. whole state or pounded into Oakes solid enough to , be cut with a hatchet. In this form it plays an important part in the provisions for a journey: more im- portant. indeed, than the penuni- -o-e.gen of the American Indian, for not only is it the food of the men who traverse the sandy desert plains In Caravans, but it is also the susten- anee of the horses and camels. And from the stones thrown heedlessly away on each journeys no denbt many a palm arises in the waste to guide and cheer the travellers in future years. The stones, however. are not always rejected, but are ground up for their oil and the re- fuse is given as food to the cattle, MAKE WINE FROM SAP. But the fruit is not the only pro- duce of the date palm which is of use to man. The young leaves are eaten as palm cabbage and a wine is prepared from the sap. A single tree will yield three or four quarts daily for two weeks before the sup- ply fails and the tree withers up. The entire leaves afford thatch for fuel) the fibre supplies cordagge; the trunk yields wood for the framework of the house and for the furniture. As the data palm grew in Pales- tine in early Christian <lays as now, it is not surprieing that it has en- tered into folklore. It is said to have been one of the woods which formed the oross. Sir John Mande- ville, the famous traveller and won- dermonger, states that ceedar, qy- press, palm and olive furnished the materials. Notwithstanding this sad use,, it was regarded as one of the kicky trees to dream ed. MAKING SAFE INVESTMENTS 8' ROYAL IRISH CONSTABULARY. It Costs Great Britain Over $5,000,- 000 Annually. The Royal Irish Constabulary, in consequence of the Home Rule bill, is now a muoh-dieeuased pollee forge. Many people have only a vague idea of its existence and know nothing of its inner workbag. It is a semi -military force. The rank and file are armed with the Lee-Metford ri9e, eword-bayonet, thirty rounds of ammunition, and Webley revolver. It consists of one Inspeotor-Gen- eral, one Deputy, and three Assis- tants. These reside in Dublin and have their offices in the Castle. From. here the whole pollee force of the thirty-two counties is con- trolled. In addition to the above there are thirty-six county inspec- tors, whose position corresponds to that of chief constable in England and Scotland. There are 198 district inspectors, serving under the county inspectors in the various counties, and about 10,000 head constables, sergeants, acting -sergeants, and constables. The district inspectors are the low- est commissioned officers, and are comprised of two classes. One half join the force by competitive ex- amination as cadets, the same as in the army, The other half are pro- moted from the ranks, some by competitive examination, some for good police duty, and last, a goodly number by private influence. The latter is the least popular officer with the men. The force oasts the nation over $5,000,000 annually. The officers' salaries—county and district in- spectors—and allowances are ex- tremely liberal in comparison with the rank and file. A youth, after passing his examination, is sent out to a county district, and commences at 5600 per annum. This may look small, but then, take his allow- anoes, which total up to more than hie pay. He gets 050 for the up- keep of a horse—that sometimes does not exist, 226 for a groom, 5160 for lodging allowance, $60 for his office, 516 for stationery, etc, Not a bad job for a young fellow who has only to sign his name to a few documents daily, written and tabulated by a head conetabie, per- haps of over thirty years' service. Now for the other side. The effi- cient constable who acts as clerk to the district inspector commences at $196 per annum. He remains at about $5 per week until he attains fifteen years' service. If he is for- tunate he attains the rank of a ser- geant with more pay, and when on the eve of retiring on pension, say at twenty-eight or thirty years' ser- vice, he may be promoted head con- eteble on the "minimum wage," less than a district inspector is al- lowed for his horse and groom 1 A FACT AND FANCY. The umbrella is a Chinese inven- tion. Nothing is more regular than ex- tra expenses. The Sultan of Johore on state occasions wears jewels worth $12,- 000,000. The ancient Hebrews abominated dogs, the ancient Egyptians wor- shipped them. No beer is allowed to leave the best German breweries until after it has been made three months. It costs a lot of money to keep the school of experience going, Exolusfve of twenty -year-old ves- sels, Great Britain has 55 battle- ships, Germany 88, Franco 21, end Japan 15. PROVIDINO A SINKING FUND TO OPP• SST DEPRECIATION, The no Chemise witil an0tnheriianee -When Holding industrial 0pmmon Stooks p Sinking Fund le a Valuable Ad. )unit--Partlautariy eo it 001000ny le ISageged in Mining. The artlolee contributed by "Inventor" are ter the vole purpose of guiding. pros• pvotive lnveetors, and, it possible, of ear tag them trot, toeing money through placing it in "Wild•gelt' enterprises. The impartial and reliable charaoter of the information may be rolled open. The writer of these 'alleles and the publisher of ibis paper have no interests to serve to oonueetien with this matter other then those of tate reader. (By "Investor.") la a Paper recently it was announced that the eseoutore of a Canadian estate had decided that large holdings of a eta' twin industrial stook would have to be sold because ,be bonefiotary of the estate persisted in treating the entire dividend from the stock as Snore°. Tho exeoutore contended that as the stock was that of an laduetrial oompauy the owner 'should set aside as a sinking fund part 01 the annual return on the stock, Theoretically the eseoutors were entire• lir ooreeot In their attitude. Praotically It woad depend a great deal on the ac- ture of tho businesses in which the oom• Deny was engaged. As a rule, however, their proposed cotton was admirable. In. dui/trial companies depend for their sue cove on a greet many things which can be altered by polities, ntituro, finaooe and the whim of the populace. By politica through tariffs andtaxes; it the tariff on the products) of certain of oar industrial companies was lowered or wiped out the shareholders would find their securities worth but little. The bondholders would alone nee is» most of the profits. Nature could affect industrial companies In many ways. Pulp and timber oompaniee be, fire oould conceivably be wiped out. Bloods might destroy mills, though this possibly is soeemly applicable to any but the emai• lest single plant industries. Finance could affect an indnetrial company through its bankers and through the mar• ket for its securities, and finally, on the whim of the people many industrial com- pantee depend for their business. Pat - eat breakfast foods are examples of publics whims. Pew of these retain their pop,• larity for more than s few months or years. When one owns an industrial common 'stook, or even the preferred of some of the companies engaged in a precarious bnstness-I have in mind Amalgamated Asbestos, which, of course, went up be, fore even a large sinking fund could save the ehareholdere-it is always well not to treat the whole amount of the diet donde as'inoome. Part should always be treated as capital and put by in a sort of sinking fund to reinvest as it grows large enough in this war -it the balding is large, two per cent. of with five receive ed in dividends sbould be Raved. Thus, from a ten per Dent. dividend six per sent. could be spent and four per cent. put by to bo treated as oapital. I1 after ten or twelve years the company was still "in the ring" the sinking fund would have amounted to euffiotent to offset a very subetantlal depreoiation in value and would, through reinvesting the income from the sinking fund, amount to the par value of the investment in a few years more. Of course, whore the sum in. vested is small it iv scarcely worth while bothering about it in this way. It le wiser to sell the stook if one cannot al. ford to take any chanes with one's capital. In the oaee of mining etooke this is, of couree, the rule. It is figured out that the life of the average mins ie ten year's. One should, therefore, put by at least ten per• cent. of the ooet of the mining stack every year, if. the mine is a cam. paratively new ono and a greater pre- eaution if the mine ie older, always pro- vided ft pays sufficient dividend's. Of course, anyone who buys non•dividend Paying mining stocks is s gambler and won't be interceded in this sort of thing. But 1f you must buy minis stooks buy those paying dividends, and figure that ten years will exhaust the supply of ore. If at the end of ten years the mine is still working yon are so much to the good. If, alas, it bas shut down YOU lose, ss you probably will. GET ACQUAINTED WITH YOUR NEIGHBORS. tor Altst HA,VN SEEN IT. (, d!enitl!e rettaiesr �lt a+fs bat not been anut: These are suns.- r et ti 1 Hotel. The mail foe Rist arrived. TORONTO CORRESPONDENCE If yon are genteel In appearance and eourteoae to your manner, 7011 will be welcomed In every home ie your locality, who, yobs are showing samples of our ere perior toilet goods, household necessities, and rellatle remedies]. The eatiefaotloo whish our goods give, places the asters under an obligation to you, which wine for you the same respect, esteem, and in. timate friendship given the pmleet, phyet- °tan, or pastor, and you will maks more money from your spare time than you dream of, besides a Moat of frieuds. This is your opportunity for a pleasant. profitable and permanent buelness. Ad. dress. The Home Supply Co., Dept 20, Dter• rill Building, Toronto, Ont. There are more than seventy pyr- amids in Egypt. Use your own discretion; that's what it is for. More than a million tiny globules of fat are contained in a drop of milk, matairaoaterateateas Savo Money and Increase its Earning Power WE have issued a, Book- let describing the fe PERIODICAL PAYMENT - PLAN" for the purchase of stocks and bonds, This Booklet showshow you can create oapital through a small monthly savings. It also shows how these savings are protected and how they are available for use at any time if required. Write to Investment Department. THE METROPOLITAN SECURITIES AGENCY, eiillersto t6° 8t. Jamie et., MONTREAL. tit ltfemrtain link QUEBEC INTERESTING BITS OP GOSSIP FROM TN8 QUEEN CITY. The World's Watking 0nnnpion--Liberate In New Ontario -Taoist Rases --Tae City's Many Parks. CyPioal °attics of the Toronto street oars atteeh great sigitfioan00 to the feet that the one lone world's ohampiehshlp To. roma eeoured at the Olympic GamO' wee that for walking. But that 'single °halo• *neap was very mush worth while. Wa1klt,g may not be °onsldered much of a sport or even an anercippe, but it is very mash of both, of George Goulding, world's champion, walte. From the m0• meat lee etrikee kis yaps every mused, to his body scams to be In motion -his hands, arms and body all 'sem to be helpleg hie lege along, Not that be has the ungainly pumIl•haudle jerkiness which some walk• ors bink gives ori speed, for hes mo• tions dee every one graceful and he moves forward with a speed that l lmpreselve, so impreeslve that it generally seta the nerve of aq y oorapstitor. QClrlding'e Style has been orltieleed, bat the beet authorities say it is a perftetly legiti- mate walk. He is probably the Best the world Ma seen. And that's eemsthlee for Tbrento to be proud of. No wonder t gave him a warm woloome home. SOME POLITICAL AMENITIES. The idea ofleader of the Opposition taking lite whole party on a trip throelgh New Ontario was a novel. one, and Dir. Rowell bea boon resolving a good dual of non-partisan praise for conceiving and earryin out his dog•da1' AOC To take 116 r eeentatjve old OntatNo oithseoa, even t thdy are voto•htlnttgg, into New Ontario. cannot help hitt 56 good foe both Old and New Ontario. The govern- ment, too, is getting credit for the spirit it Allowed in con/Motion with the under. taking. A Temlakamtng and Northern Ontario Railway privets oar was pleoed at the disposal of lir. Rowell, and gee• ernment effiolale at various' volute were instructed to look after the comforts of the party. The growing interest in the hinterland is further evidenced by the Toronto Board of Trade's second expedition into it la foroe. YACHTING HAS FEW CONVERTS. With international yacht rooms et To. ronto and at Chicago, the that week in August sees the climax in the season's interest in yachting. For mime reason or other yachting does not 1n010500 in po• pularity here. There is doubtWes math more money invested in pleasure boats in Toronto tban over before, but That is be. cause every once in a while some miilieo- airs takes it into his head to spend 8100,- 000 on a steam yacht, aua expensive motor boats aleo are inoreasigg iu number. But in the old-fashioned dinghy's and other sailing craft where every map works for his passage, therm is not muoh advance. Possibly aootdeuts have held popularity iu obeok, An amateur in a sailboat is about as awkward and as dangerous a combination a0 one ever sees, and the occasional fatal upset that happens always results iu a lot of sailboats being put on the market, and makes a lot of other peo- ple decide to find sport some other way, despite the many natural advantages of. fared by Toronto's bay. TORONTO SPREADS WESTWARD. There are many people living who re- member when it was quite an expedition to visit the Hnmber river, which Sows In. to Lake Ontario some See miles west of the foot of Tonga street. In the old days excursion boats ran from the harbor to the Humber mouth. That woe long be- fore the "Banish the Bar" era, and if the ashes of some of the Humber buildtnge recently destroyed by fire could talk, they could tell of many gay goinge•on, when the merry -makers from the then distant city arrived in force. Now we seem to be within reasonable distance of the time when the whole valley of the Humber from its mouth up to Lambton Mille, two miles north, will bo taken into the city limits, and at the same time will come in the intervening territory, whioh bulimiea the settlement at Swansea and Runnymede. Ms. Home Smith, one of the most far -seem and en• ergetto of the younger oitleone, hast with tho backing of a syndicate, bought up nearly all the property on both bank, of the river, Tho high ground on the banks will make attractive residential ,item, com- manding ae it does views of the beeuti- fell Humber Valley panorama. and of the lake. A year ago he offered to present the illy with the bed of the river and tho low-lying ground beside it. Be attached certain conditions whioh the civic au• titoritles balked at, but now the time seems ripe for Toronto's next big saner atlon scheme to go through. When it does they say that the author of the Idea will stand a good chance of going into the millionaire class. One of Dir. Home Smith's conditions was that the city would oonstruot and man. Iain a driveway up the Humber Valley. This would connect with the sea-wall and boulevard, which some day, it is hoped. will decorate the city's waterfront from the Exhibition grounds westward, and would provide one of the longest and moat picturesque pity driveways to bo found anywhere in the world. Now, Acting Mayor Church has Improved on the plan with the euggeetion that at the mouth of the Humber a new city park should be established. The site, he says, should be as large as Queon'e Park, whioh contains 37 acres. The looatlon is excellent, and if the entire project be worked out Toronto will have reason to be proud. TORONTO'S PARK SYSTEM. This is the reason when the city gets the full benefit of its breathing space& Queen's Park, whioh is probably the best known booause of its accessibility and the location there of the Parliat» ent build. Ings, is by no means the largest park in the city. That distiuotion falls to High Park in the west end with its 336 0.070a, ohlefiy in their state of natural beauty. This was the magnificent gift to Toronto of the late Mr. Howard, -who lived on the property and whose quaint old rest donee, with monument near by, keeps green his memory. It is not altogether satisfactory to know that descendants of the city's benefactor are not tar removed from poverty; for the property, if put on the market now, would yield a etnpead• ane 811m. High Park to traversed by a network et roadways, and has been spoiled for many oitlzens in recent years by the ad• vont of motor oars, which make the wind- ing paths a nightmare to the mothers of impetuous children. Then there is Exhibition Park, with its 234 sores, and Centre Inland Park with 818 acres, Riverdale Park with its de- 'eloping e• eatinginspootin t become iy the for children. It hos 108 acres, Then there are literally dozen's of smaller park areae. Alexendor Path on Dethuret street, with ite sloven acres, was formerly the residence of Sir Casimir Gyowoki, and le a delightful re. treat, Tho Allan Gordons at the corner of Bliorbourno and Carlton, with its .eta• the of Robort Burse and plant houses, has 10 aores. Bellwood's lark In the west end, with 6 aores, is in itself te delightful bit of aooner0. The Grange, Goldwin Seeth'0 tormer residence, contributes; 6 sores in the heart of the city. Then there are some 30 acres in the ltosodale ravines and a great number of other open epawA; rend gardoes running from half an sero u1 600a storms of park land. he On thus warerm 'Sumner gtthee deiapfilzed, Per. tolerly whenheb n CHILDREN LIKE RIVERDALE, r' • LOOK PORI TH aUE'PRCKA C ©,cAR6f.o4o' I SEE MAT,,LABtEL,ON, �A tAo 1S 131.0e. IW !OTHER' COM EVER USED O ROYA us YL AST `...li3ENE Mt ER:THE COLORS SLUE `• tri.w.GigarcisTCO u-Dt ‘TA&ipNTO"m 6yNT. Reenian and Syrian boars, kangaroos, wolves, monkeys, llamas, reecoons, doer, birds of various kinds, inoluding eagle's, stark'', enema, parrots, peafowl, wild fowl; alae several alligators and a large number of reptiles. Needless to say, they constitute a never -failing seuree of inter. est to the younger generation and to the grown ups too. Every afternoon and Sun. day Riverdale le crowded with tbousande of ehildren and their guardians. CHURCHYARD A DORMITORY UNIQUE BEDROOM IN HEART OF LONDON. Children Regain Health by Study and Sleep in Open Air of Burial Ground. Open air schools in the parka where, summer and winter, in sun- shine and mow, weakly and con- sumptive otildren are taught their lessons are nothing new in Lon- don; but a churchyard hardly strikes the popular imagination as a suitable place for little boys to sleep in, peacefully and healthfully, undisturbed by any dreams or con- sideration of ghostly visitants. Yet there, in the heart of Greater London, such an amazing church- yard exists, where little boys not only slumber happily night after night, but where they are winning back their health. The churchyard belongs to the Church of St. Nicholas, Deptford. It faces 'exactly the Deptford Health Clinic. And thereby hangs the tale. The idea of utilizing the church- yard in this strange fashion occur- red to Miss McMillan, of the clinic. For a long time Mies McMillan has been doing good work among the children in this rather unpromising distriot. A little while ago it came to Miss McM•illan's ears that there were some little boys in London County Counoil's schools in the vi- cinity, who would be very much better if they could get soma fresh air, especially if they could manage to sleep in the open. Then the great idea came to her. A FAMOUS CHURCHYARD. The Riverdale Pe4rk Zoo ie the epootal delight of "Danny" Lamb, formerly an diderntan, and new the nitre atrtoe mem. her of Torontorli hoard of Wens* Com.' mtlsion0rs, By iiurohasoe, gifts and trades h0 has built 0 ,a eolleotion that la already the ohildren'e delight. Ho has an elephant, sit Mond o Cana tiger, lo Verde, polar boars, ("mutilate Japanese, terested in gardening, too. Theold churchyard has not been utilized for burials for over a century, and its appearance is being entirely changed. They have comfortable beds, and blanket sacks in which they can button themselves up tightly when the nights are chilly. They enjoy hot baths, too, every night before going to bed, Beet of all, in a re- markably ?Short time their health has improved amazingly. A visitor recently asked the boys if they would not like to return to their beds at home, and there was a great chorus of "No !" They an- swered that they would never want to Bleep indoors again. REMINDER OF BYGONE PERIL. A Traveller's Interesting Experi- ence In Spain. Facing the Clinic is the church- yard of pit, Nicholas. It is a fine, airy ohurchyard with plenty of open spaoe and some splendid trees, a rarity in the Deptford diatrict. It is a famous churchyard, too, for through it Queen Elizabeth usually peened on her way from the river to service in the ohuroh. It was here also that the admirals and com- manders heard a last service before sailing to do battle with the Span- ish Armada. Peter the Great, too, lodged at one time only a few doors away. Miss McMillan broached her idea. At first there was some opposition from mothers, who looked upon graveyards nes creepy places, given over to a, ghostly population and particularly to be avoided after dark. Nor was the possibility that the ghosts might be illustrious re- assuring. But Miss McMillan is a power In Deptford; gradually she overcame all prejudice, with the re- sult that now sixteen boys sleep night after night in the pleasant cllurohyard of St. Nicholas just as if they were in the green heart of the country. Not only are the boys receiving their ordinary schooling in the ohurchyard, but they are being in - BRITISH CABINET MYSTERY Through the hilly country of the Basques, Mr. Harry A. Franck made his way on foot with few ad- ventures, but with many intereeting experiences. At the close of one day, he tells us in "Four Months Afoot in Spain," he began to clam- ber upward into the mountains that rose high in the darkening sky ahold, The night grew black, for the heavens wore overcast; but he who marches on into the darkness, if he is not confused by any artifi- cial lights, may still see moderate - well. It was two hours, perhaps, after nightfall, and the road, its edge a sheer preoipioe above unfathomable depths, was winding ever higher round the shoulder of a mammoth peak, when suddenly I saw a man, a denser blackness against the sea of obscurity, standin'g stock-still on the utmost edge of the highway. "Buenas tardes!" I greeted him in a low voice, almost afraid that a hearty tone would send him top- pling backward to his death. He neither answered nor moved. I stepped closer. "You have rather a dangerous position, vended, senor i" Still he stared motionless at me through the darkness. I moved quietly forward, and thrusting out a hand, touched him on the sleeve. It was hard as if frozen! For an instant I recoiled, then with a sud- den instinctive movement passed a hand quickly and lightly over his face. Was I dreaming? That, too, was hard and cold. I sprang back, and rummaging hastily through my pockets, found one broken match. The wind was rushing up from the bottomless gulf below. I struck a light, holding it in the hollow of my hand, and in the instant before it was blown out I caught a few words of an inscription on a pedestal; .1103.1.011011e o.�? Oumulative Preferred Stook ACES-B®LIDEi r4ccREA Y LIMITED (Carrying a Bonus of 40 % Common Stook).' Price and full particulars will 'b a gladly forwarded on request. CANADA SECURITIES CORPORATION LTD, M 1, .Toronto, London, dim Erected to the Mem— Thrown ever this precipice— Bandits— Night of— but before I had made out date or name I was in darkness again. ▪ K+ MINISTERS ARE ALL SWORN Tie SECRECY. Cabinet To -day Rules the Country, But It Has No Legal Status. Sidney Low, the English writer, calls attention to the fact that the British Cabinet has really no stand- ing in law though it i$ actually the the body which rules England, Ho makes several interesting state- ments in describing the situation. The British Cabinet has long been one of the mysteries of that greater mystery, She British Constitution. To be quits exeot, indeed. it is not correct to call it a part of the Bri- tish Constitution, for, strictly speaking, it is unknown to the con, stitution. The Cabinet to -day rules the country, but it has no legal status, It was not until some ten or twelve years ago that the word "Cabinet" appeared on the notice paper or other official document. A Cabinet Minister takes the some oath that every Privy Coun- cillor takes, "to be a true and faithful servant unto the King's Majesty, es one of his Majesty's Privy Council," and to "keep se- cret all matters committed and re- vealed unto you or Chat shall be treated secretly in Council." The entire body of the Privy Council is supposed to advise the Sovereign on affairs of state ; but to be made a Privy Councillor to -day is practi- cally an empty honor. It is re- garded as a high compliment, but if a Privy Councillor is not a mem, ber of the Cabinet he hears no secrets and performs no official functions. SECRET COMMITTEE. All the executive and political funotions of Privy Counoillors have passed into the hands of those of them who form the Cabinet, whioh is really a secret eammittee of the King's servants, who in prectioe oolleotively rule the country so lou as they remain in office, "But)" as Sidney Low writes in an article in the London Daily Mail, "no act of Parliament ever gave them these powers, which could not be asserted or defended in any court of law, They are due to description, accident and cus- tom. "Technioally the Cabinet as a Cabinet can do nothing. It cannot even write a letter or issue a sign- ed order. It has not indeed the means of doing so, for it does not keep a clerk or a typewriter, it has no office, nor bas it any money wherewith to buy a sheet of note- paper, The most powerful and im- portant committee in the world is without a staff, a secretary, a seal, a minute book or a fixed location, "When a Cabinet Council sits it has no agenda before it, nor has it any resod of what was done at its hast meeting. No one keeps the minutes, and it is still deemed a little contrary to etiquette for any Minister to take a note of the pro- ceodinge or indeed to write any- thing at the meetings at all. "In fact the Cabinet Council ie still treated as if it were nothing more than a casual private consul- tation between a few of the Privy Councillors. IS bears the traces of its ancestry, for it was born over the dinner table. IN QUEEN ANNE'S TIME. WISE SAYINGS. Many a man's beet friends are those who know him least. Virtue is its own reward, and many a man who sticks to the right gets left. When a bank selects a runner it does not always pick out a fast young man. Sometimes a man can utilize his mistakes as a by-product of experi- ence. No man is a hopeless fool as long as he hasn't been fooled the same way twice. Some of us are so unlucky that just as we feel we are getting to the top the bottom drops out of things. It is She common lot of man not, to get an uncommon lot. Some people won't even lend their moral support without charg- ing interest for it. Even when they have nothing to do some People don't seem able to do it satisfactorily. Practice makes perfect. The more fault a man finds, the more expert he becomes at it. There's ear difference between be- ing useful and being used, The fellow that shoots off his mouth doesn't always hit the mark. Even the high flyer has to come down to earth sooner or later, The trouble with a goof, bit of reform is that it fs badly in need of reforming. Solna people get se acceStomad to looking on the bright side that they can't see the other sidle at all, Beauty is only skin deep. A girl may hove teeth like pearls and be as dumb as an event, "It originated in the reign of Queen Anne in those famous Satur- day dinners at whioh a select group of the Privy Council assembled to discuss the affairs of their party without the presence of the Queen and of colleagues whose presence was not desired, The Cabinet has always kept to the tradition. It is a secret committee of government and a •secret coanmittee of the domi- nant party in Parliament, and where the one function begins and the other ends no one can say. "All its members are collectively responsible for the acts of one of them; but there are no means of knowing what the decisions of the Cabinet are at any moment till they aro embodied in action, or how many of the Ministers may dissent from the opinion of the majority, or whether indeed it is the majority or a ,minority that 'Tally directs tho policy." The recent promotion of Sir Ru- fus Isaacs, the Attorney -General, to the Cabinet is a double novelty. Not only is there no precedent for an Attorney -General being a mem.- her of the Cabinet but never be- fore has the official announcement' of the oonforment of Cabinet rank mentioned, as it diel in the case of Sir Rufus Isaacs, the words "his Majesty's Cabinet." This anpoint- melut, therefore, marks a further development in the acquisition of a corporate existeneo by the Cabi- net. Prepare for, an emergency and the chances aro that it will fail to show up, • It's a pity men can't get out of freebie as easily as they can get out of work. In every thousand of the wage- earning population in the United liiligdona foz'ty-two darn loss than $4,50 a week.