TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume XX, Issue 58, 9 March 1889, Page 4 (Supplement)

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

i-STrom Our' London Correspondent.)

London, January 18. Siß/CB KIUAk1 Webster has i^rivafcely infciniated to the Parnellite counsel that he *s quite as anxious as they can possibly be to come to the question of the forged letters, and will push on to that end now as rapidly as possible. The principal witnesses in this parb of the cafie have, on dit, been instructed to be in attendance next Monday week, and admittance cards for that occasion are already at a premium. The Court just at present is nob particularly crowded, though the proceedings are far from dulL To hear the pale, podgy-faced, red-haired convict Delaney relating the ghastly story of the Phcenix Park murder conspiracy on Tuesday afternoon was an experience thrilling enough for even the hungriest searcher after " sensation." Ho is a repulsive beasb to look at, but he eeemedto be belling the truth ; indeed,ibis 'difficult to imagine what inducement he could have to lie, as the man is in prison "for the term of his natural life," and suffering from a mortal disease. 'Several of the leading "Invincibles " will follow Delaney, and'(as I have told you before) the " Times" hopes exeat things from their disclosures. MR STEAD LEAVES TEE "PALL MALL GAZETTE." Mr Yates Thompson, the proprietor of the " Pall Mall Gazette/ is one of the lundesb, mosb good-natured and most easygoing men in London. Clever himself and well able to control the literary parb of the paper at a pinch, he has yeb always given his editors a perfectly free hand. With John Morley Thompson he was " hand and glove," but Stead (despite his brilliance) has ■ been a sore trial to him. You will scarcely .believe it, but one of the last men in the "Pall Mall Gazette" office to know about the Maiden Tribute Commission was the proprietor. He happened to be in Liverpool when the first outrageous article made its appearance, and his feelings as he read it baffled description. Naturally, ho thought his paper was ruined. Even when the success of the coup (as a newspaper move) became apparent, nothing: reconciled Thompson to it. So, too, with the persecution of Sir Charles Dilke : Thompson considered Stead unnecessarily vindictive, lb . is, in fact, on this very subject they have now come to loggerheads. Stead refused to curb the ardour of a contributor, upon which Thompson (much to his editor's sur- ; prise) intimated that they bad better part. As a matter of fact, if Yabes Thompson can keep Stead's "sub," Mr E. T. Cook, the ■ great man himself will never be missed. It : is Cook who has so extraordinarily improved • the general features of the "Pall Mall 'Gazette" and "Budget." The latter, . more especially, has been his particular : care. It had at .one time only a very mode- : rate circulation ; now you see it everywhere. The " Star" celebrated its first anniversary yesterday with a double nuijaber of eight pages. In a triumphant leader it details its various achievements during the twelvemonth, and boasts that its circula- ; tion now exceeds by 50,000 that of any other ; London evening -papei\ : Mr Frederick Greenwood, late of the " St. ! James Gazette," has not found a berth 'jet. THE CONNEMAEA SCANDAL. The scandal at Government House, Madras, has set all India by the ears, and will ; not improbably lead to Lord Connemara's ; recall. Various stories are current as to . the amount of provocation Lady Connemara received. Lady Eva Quin, the cause of the ; esdandre, is gloriously handsome, and Lord ■tJonnemara (bhe ladies say) made himself •;■" a perfect fool" about her. His lordship ; declares he merely asked his A.D.C.'s wife to do the honours of Government House I whilst Lady Connemara was unwell, and . that her ladyship, instead of being grateful, : exhibited a fit of unreasoning jealousy. Of ■ course, however, there must have been more ; than this, for the angry wife would never j have gone the length of leaving her hus- ■ band's roof. Captain Quia, it is fair to say, : took Lady Eva away at once. She has • been tiger-hunting since, and according to : the " Pall Mall Gazette," shot six with her own hand. THE WIEDEMANN CASE. A new trial has been moved for in this • case, so that we may after all learn the truth about it some day. Meanwhile, I think the fact should be known that when : Miss Wiedemann first threatened to make : her case public Lady Walpole (who is rich) offered her £5,000 to desist. This was apart from the merits of the case, and purely with a view to avoiding a pub :lic scandal. Miss Wiedemann refused the money and made the scandal, but ■ repenting later, offered, to cancel proceedings for the £5,000. The Walpoles, of course, replied that it was too late. The I case must ry>w be threshed out. The " Pall Mall" has not so far been able to rouse ; public interest in Miss Wiedemann's alleged woes, and very little money has been subscribed to the fund for pushing her case. People cannot swallow the story wholly. It doesn't " ring " true. THE SALVATION ARMY.

The charges which Mr Llewellyn Davies (a well-known hard-working Broad Church clergyman) has brought against the Salvation Army are exciting unusual interest. 'Mr Davies began by challenging Mr Railton (head of the Army at Lisson Grove) to show what he and his men had achieved during their three years' bombardment of ;ihe district. " Show me," he asked, " permanent instances of solid reformation in a given area and in a given class. You profess to bring salvation to people too degraded for any other religious agency to ■touch. The neighbourhood of Lisson Grove is bad enough for anything, and your machinery has been at work there for a considerable time. Where are your converts ? Where ore the men and women permanently reclaimed from bhe worst inhabitants of this district, and now setting a good example to their neighbours?" Railton's sole answer was, "Look at the Army itself, all these people were once possessed of the .devil; they are now not merely clothed and in their right mind, but going about the streets in uniform preaching instant Salvation." "Oh," said Mr Davies sensibly, " that is no answer to my question ; I asked you in effect to show me what your engine produces and you give me one of the revolutions of the driving wheel. I never questioned the power of the Salvation Army to attract recruits. What I challenged was the quality of the recruits in the first instance, and the permanence of the influence which the service exerts on those engaged in it." * On the subject of General Booth's manner of dispensing charity Mr Davies says : —"I see with dismay that it is intended to open a ' food depot' in this locality, 'to supply 4,000 meals per day, or 1,248,000 per year,' at a charge of from id to Id. If we knew how much the meal is worth, we could calculate how many farthings the Salvation Army is about to give to each applicant. It would save some time and trouble, and, perhaps, be still more acceptable, if the gift were made in the form of copper, 1 say deliberately thatlcan thinkof nobhingwhich would more certainly injure the poorest part of our population than this distribution of pennyworths to all comers, and I solemnly protest—though it must be in vain—against the action of those who are about to plant this mischief among us. To feed the poor like animals, with penny-a-liners standing by to report how hungrily they eat, is an insult to their Belf-respect, and cannot but weaken what self-respect remains in them. Where relief is to be given, the better way is to give respectfully to v he head of bhe family

an amount; worth having. The religious persons who dole out food to the very poor without regard to character, are doing what the best and most experienced friends of the poor—including women of he tenderesb human sympathies and the most ardenb .Christian devotion—concur in deploring." The reverend gentleman concludes his note of warning thus: "When I came, more than thirty years ago, from Whitechapel to Lisson Grove, I received the distinct impression that the poorest of the East London poor were less pauperised than the poorest of my new parishioners. Bub our rich neighbours in Paddington and Mayrlsbone have beepmemuch wiser in their charity, and East London has attracted the distributions which are set forth in countless 'Christmas appeals,' aud I imagine that my old judgment should be reversed. Mr Booth's 4,000 meals a day threaten to bring Lisson Grove down to the lowest level of Southwark and Shoredibch." I will assume for the moment that the motives of the Army are pure and high and noble. Motives count for nothing when blundering honesty implies a serious injury to the community. Booth's funds are freely subscribed by the public. If the mere bestowal of such funds bo calculated bo destroy the self-respect, of the poor, and to increase the ranks of professional pauperdom, then let the public interfere and set the matter right. In my humble opinion, the bestoval of allfundsso acquired should be under the control of a Government official for that purpose appointed. The police are, I am given to understand, favourably disposed towards the Army on the ground that they do good among the criminal classes. Probably were they to confine their labouis to the criminal classes, their operations might be permitted to pass without criticism; If there be any force in the arguments of Mr Davies, it is clear that the new departure of the Army is calculated not to convert criminals, bub to create them.