LONDON TABLE TALK.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIII, Issue 36, 12 February 1892, Page 3

LONDON TABLE TALK.

(from on;; sPECiAL|coiiRH S p OXD] , ; _- T^

London, Nefy ear ' 6 j) a y_ jr^

A S kasonad^Cheistmas. To all, save Londonef Father Christmas came in bhe guise of preformed characterInstead of the ram |d B | UB jj assoc j atei j with so many festivfseasons during the ! pasb decade, Englandfhisyear experienced i and enjoyed a hard hoarfrost. It got in on tho 21st, and the country into a silver fairyland, ujon which a red sun shone mistily. The Jooded fields became sheets of ice, over whjch hilarious skaters (well lined with tur *f and sausage) new singing with comforbjand joy. The keen air exhilarated one ffltter than tho finest champagne, so tha*" |l.en tho short afternoon "closed in, and |he merry party sat blinking round thel .i re i„ the dusk, 'twas 'generally allowed that never had they known such a perfect Christmas. The frost last&l till Friday nighb. Then, as after.the laft stamping round of Sir Roger, tired dajicers were lapping 'Good Nighb' cupsjbf hot and fragraab soup, the drip, drip, qripof rain was noted. Father Christmas hadretired and taken the frost with him. /vdjy different wa3 the state of affairs in London during this delightful time in the country. For five days and five night| the metropolis was plunged in tho gloouvbf a worse than Arctic fog. Ab times the darkness could almost be felt, it seemed so dense, and drear, and cold. The streets were filled with the hoarse shoutings of tpe drivers of vehicles, which, preceded by fetches, moved slowly and painfully tdong. Business came almost to a standstill,the Uieatres wereempby.even the 'Telegraphs Christmas gusher failed to find a bright sido to the picture. Fortunately (as I have explained) with Christmas night came the thaw, and Box-' ing Day proved tins enough bo permib of any amounb of Christmas ai the G.P.O. Whab the aggregate of Christmas conespondenco througlioub the country totals, there seems fro be no way of ascertaining. In London during the four days constituting Christmas, ab the G.P.O. this year fifty million letters were dealt wibh, and a proportionate number of parcels, the additional lot of the latter passing through ab this period being over a million. On one afternoon alone tho number of parcels containing puddings filled 40,000 pestoffiee baskets. The ez.ra sbaffatSb. Marbin's for Christmas, exceeds 4,000, but, notwithstanding, thl sorting of the night mail of Thursday (Christmas Eve) was not got through till 3 p.m. the following day. No sooner had tho heavy Christmas correspondence been got through last Friday than the ordinary-mails for the Cape, India, and Australia had to be made up. Amongst curious Christmas parcels, I see mentioned an open letter from a little girl to Santa Claus, asking for ' peace, happiness, joy, and (underlined) a bottle of scent !' A bundle from Germany bore the mystic legend, 'When in a parils ' (translated after a time 'wearing apparol'), and a Nice florist addressed a box of flowers : ' Hoping yourself and wife are well, from you* old pal B. A.' ! Evidently, the sender knew not English,' and had rashly copied this from his correspondent's letter, believing it the address. Another box of flowers, labelled 'Mons. Jacques, yours truly,' reached its destination, the recipient being recognised as a prominent Regent-street florist;; Waterfobd Election. Tho defeat of Michael Davitb by the Parnellite leader, at Waterford last wegk, was a nasty surprise for the INationalists. and will materially hearten up their opponents. English Home Rulers sigh, for, of course, this Parnellite victory means simply prolonging the civil war in Ireland and playing into Tory hands. Waterford was known bo be Parnellite centre, but Davitt's powerful personality would,the Nationalists believed, easily overcome fealty to the doad. They reckoned without Mr Redmond. Thisyoung man has brains, and if ho and his small party can win (as seems now quito likely) a few seats at tho general election, they'll be a thorn in the McCarthyito side. 1 • > A Rival to Clutterbuck. From the north:of England* comes the new.s of the misdoings of auother pious person—a Blackburn solicitor, magistrate and churchwardeJ named Whatley, whose defalcations as bhetrusbee of a widow lady exceed, 'tis said, £100,000. Two Useful Lives. The deaths of Sir Thomas Chambers (the Rocorder of London) and Sir William White (H.M. Ambassador at Constantinople) remove two well-known figures, the one from city, tho other from diplomatic circles. Neither were specially interesting men. bub both were exceptionally useful. Sir Thomas, for more years than the junior bar can remember, presided at the Old Bailey, and a soutfder Criminal Judge (till be grew old and deaf) has never been known there. Sir VVilHam White was a self-made made. 'Accident placed him first of all in a small consular appointment at Warsaw. Of thiihe made such use that in 1875 (after holding various intermediate berths) ho rose to bo Consul-General to Servia. This was the beginning of bis acquaintance with the rulers and politicians of the minor states between Russia and Turkoy, and it served to give him a series of object lessons! in a subjecb which is essentially an aggregate of details. Here, and later at Bucharest, where Sir William was appointed fMinisber, ho was in the thick of a? seething mass of petty plots. In 1865 Sir William temporarily replaced the English Minister ab Constantinople. Whilst lie was there a critical moment came, §ervia and Bulgaria quarrelled and foughl Servia had the worst of it, but as she had powerful friends find backers, and as-(the craven King had a sharp-tongued wife, ib was no easy matter to make wounded wide consent to the humiliabion of defeat." At any moment this miserable little conflict mighb have become tho prelude to a general war. Sir William White compelled them to shake hands almost in suite of themselves. His success marked him out for tho highest promotion. In 1836 he becnine H.M. Ambassador to the Sultan, and Jver since the ' unspeakable Turk' has been is wax in our hands. Sir William was jijst seventy. He died at Berlin, where hfwas spending Christmas, of influenza.

No kcTOBS Dead. Though the riituary for 1891 contains tho names of scleral dramatic authors, bo wit, Messrs Paferave Simpson, Gilbert a Beckett, Robeitfßeeco, Maddison Morton, and W. G. Mills! it is again nobeworbhy (as in 1S90) that acrffs and actresses, notwithstanding their faring lives, seldom figure in tho role of wrfb MrMantalini would call a ' demuition dafnp body.' Barry Sullivan and W. J. Flordnee are positively f-he only prominent actorf who ' vveno out in 1391, and I can think of no actresses. Literary men and wornfe. on the contrary, were mowed down. Here are a few names :A. W. Kinglake, [fno..- Laley, Mary Linskill Jessie FotherJll, A. C. Ewald, Russel Lowell, J. D "Moreil, Professor \ oung, Jno.LangCManihesterExaminer ),Madame Blavatsky. Henjy Sampson ('Pendragon ) and Jas. Ranciipe:

Lkgalised Llbkl and Impertinence.

Tho three cefebrated cases-the Russell separation suit/the St. John divorce, and the pearl slander case-which havo of late occupied the attention of the Lnglrsnspeaking world, have drawn close attention to the otiensiveand impertinent methods of cross-examination which prevail m tho *%glish courts of justly. has been

a very warm correspondence in tho 'Times' on tho subject, and it is evident) the days of bullyragging and terrorisintj by counsel must soon cease. At presont, protected by ' privilege ' and acting upon ' instructions,' counsel scatter irrelevant, and, ottimes, baseless innuendoes in such a fashion that the witness-box has become as serious a terror to honest citizens as the felons' dock is to the rogue. The right of cross-examination, says the 'Daily Graphic,' is no doubb avaluable one, and it would be impossible for the most experienced jurist to lay down any hard and fast linos as to the limits within which the exercise ot that right ought to be restricted. Circumstances alter cases, and the combination of circumstances which occur in the law courts are infinitely varied. Ab the same time, thero is a general feeling that the privileges of counsel have of late been vory much abused. To appeal to them to put their questions with more consideration for the feeling of hostile witnesses would, no doubt, bo labour lost, bub one may, at least, express a hope that our judges will mora frequently interfere to protect witnesses from irrelevant aspersions upon their character. This mild expostulation haa been repeated in varied and stronger terms by many people in letters to the papers. Ib is to be hoped that for the sake of justice our leading legal luminaries will take note of it, for at presenb it is difhcidb togeb men and women to face the ordeal of the witness box except under compulsion of subpoena.