286 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK oh. 



fact been considering such a system at the 

 moment when the strike broke out. 



With Lady Lubbock he attended the British 

 Association meeting at Newcastle, staying at 

 Jesmond with Mr. and Mrs. Robin Hoare. He 

 read two papers — one explaining the differences 

 of the forms of the leaves in the two English 

 species of Viburnum (guelder rose), the other on 

 the peculiar form of the oak leaf, quite unlike 

 that of any of our other trees. 



One of the objections urged against his Early 

 Closing Bill was that it might be inconvenient 

 to working-men. He sent a copy therefore to 

 Mr. H. Broadhurst, M.P., Secretary to the 

 Parliamentary Committee of the Trades Union 

 Congress, and asked him to be so good as to 

 ascertain the views of the Trades Unions. Mr. 

 Broadhurst replied that " his Committee had 

 expressed approval of a general effort being made 

 to shorten the hours of shop assistants, and that 

 they would be glad to offer Sir John such assist- 

 ance as they could give." Far from considering 

 that working-men would be put to any incon- 

 venience, the Congress, when appealed to, agreed 

 to support the measure. 



On October 30 he took the chair at the London 

 Chamber of Commerce dinner to Lord Dufferin. 



November 8 he was at Stockport opening the 

 new Technical School, and on November 14 gave 

 away the Heriot-Watt College prizes at Edinburgh. 



A week later he and Lady Lubbock started on 

 a hurried visit to Rome, where, under the guid- 

 ance especially of Professor Lanciani and Pro- 

 fessor Pigorini, they saw all the most interesting 



