Illustrated London Letter.

Auckland Star, Volume XXII, Issue 95, 25 April 1891, Page 4 (Supplement)

Illustrated London Letter.

(From Our Special Correspondent.)

The Royal Sovereign. I should be afraid to say how many yeara it is since Her Majesty attended tho launch of one of men-of-war. Portsmouth will, no doubt, therefore, be in the gayesb of gala dresses in honour of an event which will be all tho moro auspicious by reason of its rarity. The addition of two such fine vessels to the premier navy of tho world as tho Royal Sovereign and Koyal Arthur is rendered still more important and significant by tho conditions with which tho functions are surrounded, and it is to bo hoped that their future career will bo as glorious as that of tho illustrioua lady who gave to the mightier ship its baptism _of water. The Royal Sovereign is an important addition to our ironclads, as she is one of the seven first bnttle-ships now in course of construction, carrying their weightiest armament) in barbettes. Her displacement with all her weights aboard is at least 14,150 tons. Her longth i 3 580 feet between perpendiculars, and she ha 3 a 75 feet beam, with a draught of 27 foot 6 inches : thus making the new battloship larger than her immediate predecessor, the Trafalgar, and equal to the oarly ironclads, the Achilles and Black Prince. Ab tho water-lino the Royal Sovereign has an armour belt having a maximum thickness of eighteen inches. The plates on the barbette towers are 17 inches thick, and all tho principal armour is protected a double skin of teak. For arms she carries in her towors four 131-inch 67-ton guns, and her secondary armament comprisoa ten 6-inch S-ton 100-pounder quick firers and seven tubes lor the discharge of Whitehead torpedoes. Altogether, if the Royal Sovereign reaches her estimated highest speed of 174 knots, and taking into eoneideration her coal-carrying capacity of 900 tons, she oujrhb to prove one of tho most formidable warships ailoab. .. ...........

The venerable Earl of "Albermarle, one of the most distinguished of the survivors of Waterloo, has passed away. While he lived, and as we saw him moving amongst us, a hale old man, Waterloo seemed an event of but recent occurrence. It waa almost impossible to imagite thab this sturdy old hero won his spurs in that memorable victory, seventy-six years ago. Neither could it bo believed on appearance that he had attained the patriarchal age of ninety-two. At sixteen he was gazetted ac an officer of the 14th Regiment of Foot. He passed through the ever-famous fight of June 18th, 1815, unscathed, and entered Paris shoelces, and in rage. Hβ afterwards travelled extensively, and paesed all the grades in the army, becoming a general in 1874.

General Booth has inaugurated his great echeme of reformation by formally opening a receivine-house for ex-prisoners, to be called "The Bridge." Situated at King's Cross, the Army will here have ample opportunities for successfully mounting the first rung of their ladder—in fact, the officer in charge, Captain Thomas Hopkins, who courteously showed me over the promises, stated that a great number of applications had already been received from prisoners, past and present. " We have also had," said the captain, " many piteous letters from mothers and wives, imploring us to receive their erring relations, and only this morning we received a letter from a man, just convicted of robbery, entreating us to meet him outsido the gates of Holloway Prison when ho has served his term of nine months'

imprisonment!" Captain Hopkins is a kindly officer, and has had a largo exporience in tho various shelters of the Salvation Army. " The Bridge " itself is a large, many-storied house, builb to accommodate aboub 50 men, who will receive food and sleeping accommodation, as woll as money payments, in return for work done at various industries, executed on tho promises. Thero are baths and a washhouse on the ground floor, and great care will bo taken to ensure personal cleanliness. Tho two dormitories, of which illustrations aro given above, are the only rooms yet completed—the first ono being for ex-prisoners just received into bhe house, and whose cleanliness is nob above suspicion. They ar6 there kept until, in tho opinion of tho Army officials, a thorough change has been effected, when they are admitted into dormitory No. 2. No doubb tho much more comfortable appearance of "No. 2 will do a great deal towards making the now inmates of "The Bridge " anxious to secure a clean oubwarrl appearance ; and as " cleanliness is next to godliness," tho Salvation Army will bo very near securing the goal which they are striving so hard to roach. Ib ie characteristic of the "General," though somewhatdisappointing to opfcimisb philanthropists, to find thab such little faith is placod in the new scheme of social redemption as to warrant all portable articles in this novel home being branded " Salvation Army property." Moreover, no money is kept on tho premises, the General evidently considering himself tho only "safe" man to be trusted with this useful commodity.

Mr Frederick Greenwood, tho former editor of tho " Sfc. James's Gazette," ia having a shot at another paper. With a tamo capitalist to look on, and do nothing more serious than eign the harmlees necessary cheques, this is always tho beet way of getting into print, and that, too, without one's copy suffering any idiotic curtailment or bungling correction, according to the author, at the point of the editorial blue pencil. Mr Frederick Greenwood's now venture ie to be called the" Anti-Jacobin,"a title which is said to explain itself, and is therefore, I presume, either connected with pigeon fancying, or launched in antagonism to the musical director of the Alhambra. There was, I know, an "Anti -Jacobin " once, which Canning founded and Gifford originally edited, but, aa that was a ferociously virulent sheet, on a par with the later "Satirist and Age," Mr Greenwood would hardly care, I should imagine, to take ib for a model. No, lam inclined, as at first, to think that the new " Anti-Jaco-bin " will be all about pigeons, and in this view the capitalist will, perhaps, join me hereafter. Critics of the policy of the new venture are exercising themselves to know who is tho Jacobin, or which is the Jacobin Eartyagainstjwhich MrGreenwoodjwilldireot is " anti-crusade." Judging from the first number the public may buy the paper and take their choice, though there are those who will unkindly hint that if Mr Greenwood's former reputation goes for anything, the programme will be " Anti-Gladstonian " or nothing.