OCCASIONAL NOTE

Like so many of the wartime anticipations, the vaticinations of the pessimists as to the future of the old universities are already proving unjustified. When the January term commenced Oxford was already beginning to resume something like its old aspect. Balliol had 56 freshmen and its total complement of 130 undergraduates suggests a very respectable percentage of the pre-war strength of the college. The House with 64 men “up,” Keble with 80, and New College with 80, were all fast getting back to business. At Cambridge something like four or five hundred naval men were expected for a special course. Arrangements such as this will cause some postponement in the resumption of the old life but there is no room for doubt that it will return and that it will not differ greatly from the life of pre-war days. Whether the younger dons will hand down the old Junior Common Room traditions or whether they will be handed down by those – possibly freshmen – who were men in residence in 1914 and are now returning, does not matter much, so long as they are handed down by somebody. Men of the latter type should be in great request. Enterprising Senior Common Rooms may even elect them to scholarships or exhibitions, as in the old days they looked with favour on prospective “blues.” In any case the war seems to have stopped just in time to prevent the old undergraduate tradition from being lost, and that is a matter for no little satisfaction.

ESCAPES FROM CONTAI JAIL

MIDNAPORE, FEB 19

Before Mr. S.M. Bhowmik, Deputy Magistrate of Contai, the jemadar and four warders in charge of the Contail sub-jail, wherefrom eight of the accused in the Khedgree gang case escaped on the night of the 8th December last, were placed on trial for neglect of duty. Two warders have been convicted and sentenced to 9 months’ rigorous imprisonment each, and two to a fine of Rs 20 each in addition to a day’s simple imprisonment. The jemadar, Agni Rauthara, has been committed to the sessions.

LABOUR UNREST

The Ministry of Labour, in announcing that the Government is calling a national industrial conference on February 27th in the Central Hall at Westminster, states that the purpose is to provide an opportunity for members of the Government meeting representatives of the industries of the country in order to discuss industrial unrest and obtain the views of employers and workpeople on the matter. Invitations are being issued widely with a view to making the conference fully representative of the industrial community.

FARIDPUR EXHIBITION

The Faridpur Agricultural and Industrial Exhibition was opened yesterday afternoon by the President, Mr. J.G. Dunlop, I.C.S. Mr. J.C.H. Macnair and almost all the leading residents of the town and district attended the function. The following industries were represented in the exhibition:- Muslim cloth manufactures of Dacca, clay models from Krishnagar and Faridpur, ivory manufactures from Murshidabad, conch shell and button manufactures from Dacca and cloth manufacture from Faridpur. Among other exhibits the following many be mentioned:- Cutlery from Calcutta, bell-metal utensils from Beharampur, combs and buttons from Jessore, Calcutta pottery, soap, etc. The Agricultural Department has arranged a stall where the best seeds of the different crops will be shown and the best varieties of paddy have been exhibited under the supervision of the District Agricultural Officer.

POONA FAMINE COMMITTEE

A meeting of citizens of Poona city and cantonment was held under the auspices of the Poona District Famine Committee yesterday, Mr. Westrop, the Collector, being in the chair. The chairman of the committee described the acute distress prevailing in the district owing to famine and scarcity and called upon all to supplement the efforts of the Government to alleviate suffering. Mr. Laxumanno Gokhale, one of the secretaries, gave a brief account of the circumstances in which the committee was started and referred to the promise of a grant of Rs 15,000 and assurances of help in other ways from the Bombay Central Famine Relief Committee. He described the various ways in which the committee intended to afford relief and requested all to do their duty by the needy and suffering. The President in his speech alluded to the vast area over which distress has spread and the efforts of the Government to cope with the situation. He called upon all citizens to hasten to offer a helping hand.