The Astyrian Network

[Hindia Belanda]

Briefings from the Commonwealth - 5 February 2020

[Great Nortend]

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WEEKEND · 8–9 FEBRUARY MMXX · PRINTED IN LENDERT · THREEPENCE

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HOUSEWIFERY : A VITAL SKILL—MRS. G. C. Hetler

  SINCE it was popularised by Mrs. Harker over 150 years ago in “Mrs. Harker's Guide to Housewifery”, the “Five Cs” have formed a concise expression of what the fairer sex should concern themselves with—the housekeeping, the cooking, the children and the church. It is a testament to the efforts of the Rev’d Dr. Fengold, the Very Rev’d Professour de Rutland that since then, theological and liturgical education has improved so very much, for both boys and girls.

  To-day, over six monarchs later, Mrs. Harker's guide remains in print in its 23rd edition, and graces many a reading desk as the standard text-book for our girls studying Housewifery in the fourth and fifth forms. Indeed, it is the most popular supplementary paper for girls, taken by over 63 per cent of girls in board schools.

  Competency in the Five Cs remains one of the top factors considered by bachelors and their parents. In a survey of 1,000 working and middling class bachelors and their parents, over 33 per cent listed the attribute as the most important when deciding upon the suitability of a maiden as wife, behind only physical attractiveness, affection and compatibility. Furthermore, over 74 per cent listed it in their top five.

  Yet despite its wide popularity, self-proclaimed “reformers” such as Mr. Bakewell and Miss Lange-Fellows belittle this important subject, claiming that it has no relevancy for the modern woman.
Incredibly, both Mr. Bakewell and Miss Lange-Fellows retain housekeepers and we are informed by Mr. Jessup of the Morning Herald that Mr. Bakewell is known to employ a cook. Perhaps these reformers live in a society of ladies, all of whom able to afford a retinue of staff to be waited upon day and night.

  The situation for the vast majority of Erbonian families is very different. For many, even sending out collars and cuffs is beyond their wherewithal, not to mention putting out the the cookery and cleaning and mending and sewing and nursing and accounts and shopping. For these families, a woman with practical skills in all of the household departments is essential. This is achieved through a systematic and solid grounding in the art and science of housewifery.

  It is even, perhaps, more important for those girls who do not have the luxury of a betrothal and engagement or place at home. Nearly 40 per cent of girls leaving school enter into domestic or commercial service, nearly all thereof from the working classes. Apart from the muddled and unsystematic imbibing of knowledge from their own mothers, which is apt to promote unscientific and foolish practices, where else are girls to learn the skills necessary to secure themselves a place at a reputable household?

  It is true that many girls are fortunate enough to be invited to the manor house or to some other upstanding establishment for general training in their vocation. Yet even there, long gone are the days of the uneducated and dim-witted maid. Somewhere around three-quarters of staff agencies require girls to have at least a Fourth Form Report in Housewifery, if not a School Certificate.

  We can see in other countries where rigorous instruction in the domestic skills has lapsed, and women are forced to spend years studying the natural, physical and theoretical sciences, advanced mathematics, esoteric humanities and foreign languages. No doubt, these are valuable subjects, but they are of relatively little use in the ordinary running of a household, where the more practical analogues would seem to be cookery, accounting, the raising of children, and religious studies.

  Miss Lange-Fellows argues that women should be encouraged to enter the professional world as they do in such other countries, with the same pay as their male equals, and that the liberation of the woman is in the rejection of the ideal of the housewife.

  The lady fails to also point out that throughout history, women tend to only enter the public workforce in exigent circumstances. In these foreign countries to which Miss Lange-Fellows looks with such admiration, the cost of living has increased so greatly that the men are unable to support their families on a single wage. Consequently, the market for domestic staff has declined so dramatically that even well-off households rarely keep any staff, let alone a retinue of cook, maid and nurse.

  These women are forced to take jobs in other sectors generally in our country taken by more middling class young girls. The girls pushed out thereby are then forced to study excessively in law, medicine, science, engineering, business and commerce, bound to work till the end of their earthly lives, apart from their children, family and friends. Is this the kind of drudgery Miss Lange-Fellows argues for and even desires?

  I find it hard to believe that we women innately desire to work as their men-folk do. Certainly, we are kept in pleasant freedom at home, free to attend Mattins, Mass, Nones and even Vespers daily, visit friends and take recreation, yet with time to cook three meals a day and keep house with the innovation of labour-saving devices such as the electric iron, the washing machine and the gas range. We have it much easier than the women that preceded us—why would we wish to throw it all away for a hectic life of work?

  

[Great Nortend]

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WEDNESDAY· 19 FEBRUARY MMXX · PRINTED IN LENDERT · THREEPENCE

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BISHOP ADMONISHES PRIEST

  THE Lord Bishop of Lendert and Cadell has issued an informal monition to the Vicar of St Michael and All Angel's, Fottering, the Very Rev'd Mr. Peter Halifax, who is also Dean of Fottering, over a sermon which he preached at the Mass at Candelmas. The sermon, which promoted the unorthodox practice of the ordination in holy orders of ladies, caused consternation among the congregation, parish, deanery and nationally. The diocesan bishop, Cardinal Dr. Alan Gough, was forced to publish letters missive affirming the Church of Nortend's doctrine on the matter, which restricts ordination to males only.

  Mr. Halifax's sermon has not been published; however, the general gist of it appears to be that there is no reason to not ordain women to the diaconate, there being historical precedent for deaconesses in the early Church. Dr. Gough in his letters missive acknowledged that deaconesses are present in the history of the Church; however, he stressed that they only existed in times of necessity owing to the fact that under persecution it was not always possible to find suitable men to ordain. He also emphasised that there is no historical precedent for the ordination of females to the priesthood in the early Church or in any of the Catholic Churches, and that it would be contrary to law, history and practice.

  The Regal Post understands that Mr. Halifax is known locally for his more Protestant theology. He is alleged to habitually forego the wearing of the massing cope at Mass, which is referred to in published notices as the Communion. Furthermore, parishioners have previously cited Mr. Halifax to the Consistory Court over his neglect to say Mattins and Vespers daily in church, for which he received a formal monition. It is believed that Mr. Halifax had agreed to abide by the Canon law requiring the same, and that he received no further punishment.

  

[Great Nortend]

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FRIDAY· 28 FEBRUARY MMXX · PRINTED IN LENDERT · THREEPENCE

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FIRE ABOARD CITY AND MET—TWO DEAD; SCORES INJURED

  A FIRE broke out yesterday evening on the Fitcherden line of the Lendert-with-Cadell City and Metropolitan Railway which claimed the lives of two gentlemen. The fire was discovered in the second second class compartment of the fourth carriage of an down train from Halton Street Station soon after departure from Pomleed Road Station as the train was travelling through the underground tunnel to St George's Street Station. The fire quickly engulfed the compartment and spread into the adjoining compartments, suffocating the passengers with acrid smoke.

  The two passengers who perished were seated in the compartment where the fire first began. It is alleged that the emergency cord was pulled by a passenger; however, owing to the narrowness of the tunnel, it was impossible to stop therein, and the train was forced to continue another half mile to St George's Street Station, whereat upon arrival evacuation measures were put in place. The carriage was quickly isolated by uncoupling the train at the aft and fore thereof and hand-extinguishers used in an attempt to lessen the flames.

  It was reported that several managed to pull some of their unconscious fellow passengers from the adjoining compartments. The senior porter Mr. Allan Smilders and the station-master Mr. Richard Channing were seen heading into the compartment to rescue those left behind, with only a handkerchief to stop the smoke overwhelming them. Firemen arrived within three minutes of the train's arrival and quickly managed to douse the flames, removing the severely charred corpses from the second compartment.

  It is extremely fortunate that there were not more casualties, especially given the reported ferocity of the fire. The two gentlemen deceased have yet to been identified by the constabulary at the time of printing. Twenty-six people were immediate transported to St Benedict's Hospital five miles away in Hadgrave in ambulances for serious burns and smoke inhalation, whilst another twenty-four or so were treated at local hospitals for smoke inhalation, minor burns and injuries.

  It is not currently known what the cause of the fire is; however, the Fire Brigade has tentatively suggested that it began on the floor of the carriage. The train in question was an electrical train, and investigations are proceeding to determine whether the cause was electrical. The City and Metropolitan Railway said in a statement that it deeply regretted the incident and would be reviewing its maintenance and emergency procedures in the coming weeks. It praised the swift actions of platform staff at St George's Street Station, and especially Mr. Smilders and Mr. Channing for their heroic efforts in entering the flaming carriage and rescuing passengers which put themselves in harm's way.

  Fitcherden Line trains which were suspended last evening, will begin running again this morning.
  

[Valkea]

[Del Monsa]

[Great Nortend]

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WEDNESDAY· 18 MARCH MMXX · PRINTED IN LENDERT · THREEPENCE

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INLAND QUARANTINE PULLS US TOGETHER BUT APART

  THE extension of quarantine measures to the whole of the country in a valiant effort to defend the country from the vanguard of the Marimba flu has mobilised the latent war-time mentality of our people. With quarantine passports issued by the King's Clerk, the Regal Post is able to report on the actions taken to safeguard the population as hundreds are infected with the deadly flu abroad.

  Every town and village is under lock-down and members of the Royal Army, Home Service, Constabulary, Navy Royal and Home Fleet stand picquet at all hours to control the ingress and egress of all persons at the perimeter of each quarantine region. No man may enter a quarantine region without lawful reason under new regulations issued by the King's Clerk in His Majesty's name. Millions of emergency passports are being printed, as all men require a stamped authority to enter a quarantine region. For now, the list of valid reasons is long; however, their main purpose at the present time is to ensure that the movements of persons is well recorded in the event of an outbreak.

  In infected regions, rationing will be implemented for the first time since the Great War. Already, Sorredge, which has three persons with the Marimba flu hospitalised at St Mary's Hospital, has issued ration books to every person by household in the event that the infection escapes into the wider community. This will be coupled with stronger quarantine measures, including mandatory curfews, the closure of all non-essential shops and businesses, and limits on the movement of people. Under the Clerk's regulations, in the event of a localised epidemic, only one person per household shall be permitted to venture out into the street per day, and he or she must wear gloves, a mask and clothing covering all parts of the body which must be washed thereafter.

  For now though, communities are banding together in the fight to maintain the health of all. Hoarding has been strictly forbidden by responsible grocers whilst anti-infection bye-laws are being passed to prevent close contact amongst members of the community by maintaining at least a two-yard distance between persons. Many parishes have also extended bye-laws to the forbidding of the giving of handshakes with un-gloved hands, and the staggering Mass times to allow for greater spacing between persons in pews. Parishioners have been encouraged to attend on other days than Sunday, or to attend Mattins, Nones or Vespers in lieu.

  Hospitals all across the country are preparing for the worst, and factories are busy manufacturing the necessary medical appliances for the treatment of flu victims. Already hundreds of people are presenting to hospital with symptoms of the common cold and hospital authorities are urging patients to stay at home and call for their general practitioner rather than taking a journey to hospital and risking spreading infection as they go. Laundries are also being overwhelmed with cuffs and collars as men and women rush to clean them from potential disease. Ladies have taken to wearing veils again, and mouth-masks are a hot commodity for the prevention of infection.

  Despite the lack of epidemic in Great Nortend proper, quarantine measures are already taking a toll on the oeconomy and business. Trade is severely disrupted, and transport services have been drastically cut back to stem infection. The Eastern Main Line, for instance, has been reduced to a three-hourly stopping service each way from its normal hourly stopping service. Many branch-lines are only running morning, noon and evening, and omnibus routes shut entirely. In Lendert-with-Cadell, trams continue to run, but mouth-masks are now common sights on the streets.

  The Government has reiterated the imperative duty of all subjects to act in the greater good of the country in such times of crisis. We are enjoined to stand firm against the Marimba flu, yet not forget the deadly consequences of complacency.
  

[Del Monsa]