LONDON TABLE TALK.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIII, Issue 117, 18 May 1892, Page 8

LONDON TABLE TALK.

(FKOM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.) $?s#V'. ' LdimoN, March 20. Stead and Dilke. ■• , Mr Stead doep nob mind matters now when speaking of his arch-enemy Dilke. The gloves are at last 'well'off. Referring to a rather, feeble explanation by Harold Frederics, he says : 'Af tei -his nob even the most purblind Dilkites; can pretend to believe that the' hero of their choice is othar , than a perjurer and adulterer, more fib for a cell in a convict prison than for a seat in tho House of Commons." Sir Charles ought reajly ' one is beginning to think, to take legal action concerning charges 80 definite and clearly expressed. Arch/Eoloqical Discovery. The mind of the archteological world i 8 at present much exercised anenfc an extra' ordinary ' find''at.He'lsingfors, in Finland1b consists of a huge chesb with complicated fastenings of iron, which, together with, the details of its structure, point to an early date in the middle ages. On being opened tho chest was found to contain a quantity of ancionb ironwork and a large roll of parchments, which were ab once yivon into tho custody of M. Rizeff, one of tli6 chief magistrates of the town. The manuscript upon examination proved to be a complete, detailed treatise in Latin on steam considered as a force, and on its application— in short, a very accurate discourse on modern physics. The manuscripts begin with the words ' Sugcr prcsb. abb. S.'Dion dixil, . . ' The iron" work is stated to form a rudimentary steam engine, the cylinders, pistons, and obher parts of which had been taken to pieces, but are wonderfully fashioned, considering their undoubted antiquity. Each piece bears tho inscription ' Suger parent Oallice fecit.' This Suger was a woll known administrutor under both Louis VI. and Louis VII. During tho latter monarches absence in the Holy Lund, Sugor acted a6 Regent, and for his abio sorvices received, from the King bhe title ' Perede la Patrie.' Himself died in 1152 when on the point of starting for a crusade. It will, indeed, be an 'avengement of Waterloo' if it should ba proved beyond all doubt whatever that tho Marquess of Worcester. Savery, Newoomon and. Watt were anticipated by a Gallicean monk of tho 12th century* but it is said the .Chinese had steam engineß at an earlier date !

The Mad Member.

Mr Henry Jno. Farmer-Atkinson, M.P., whose outrageous conduct, in the House of Commons last session, and subsoquentlyat the Methodist (Ecumenical Congress at New York, you may romember my^telling you about, has at lasb overdone the role of eccentric. The police at Jfice thought it was time to etep in when ho began the other morning to throw furniture out of the window. Doctors wore sent for, and in the afternoon the honorable member, furious with passion, departed in safe care for tho local lunatic asylum. Whether it will be possible to keep him there,l don't know. . The old man can be sane ono ( ugh when he chooses, and' fits of passion are nob lunacy. . ,

Princess Alice's Husband,

There is libblo to be said concerning the late JDuke of Hesse, save, that for the greater part of-his life he was what the.: French call 'a ro respectable et conven-. able' papa.' Possibilities of a 'quaint character, however, lurked beneath , 'llia Sereno Highness' subdued demeanour.. You remember the' afiair'of'Madam' de Kalomine, • and how tho Queer, suppressed 'that 'impossible and altogether unsupportable woman.' On dit Her .Majesty , was nover soon in a worse temper than on the morning when, she learnb 'Louis' had given her 'beloved Alice ' a successor. What the Duke wont through in the course of a longthy interview with his mother-in-law one can. only speculate. He c.ime out with his tail (metaphorically speaking)between his legs, and lie never saw his newly-married wifo again. General Booth's Triumph. General Booth will, I foar, find that his victory in the House of Commons last Thursday evening has been dearly bought. Public opinion—especially strict moderates like myeelf—stands aghast ab the voting. After reading the debate carefully twice over, I confess I do nob understand the figures. To Liberals, at least, I thought the principle of ' local option ' was dear, yet here we have their party over-riding a town's deliberately-expressed desire. ' The Ea3tbourne people, on a careful poll (one man one voba), vpted 10 to 1 against-bands; on Sunday. Now, I have been to Eastbourne lately, and I think I understand the feeling there, and should like-youto understand it, too. The issue ab stake 13 ; of far more general importance than people think;.' We ought not to let tiheSalvatipn Army ride roueh-shod oveita,^reaji;ppnGipls.4il?e )&$\ option any more than wo' sljoiild permit the_ Jesuibs to" do so. To begin _ with, let me explain that Eastbourne (in cpntra-dis-tinction to Brighton and Hastings) lays itself oub specially to attract invalids and visitors, who desire, above everything, to be quiet. The hotel-keepers, tradesmen and the Duke of Devonshire have spent a 100 of money to secure the resort this unique (for a seaside place within two hours of London) reputation, and tilltwo years ago ib was well deserved. Precisely why the Salvation ; Army ' invested ? Easbbourne ib would be .hard to cay. There are no slums, few poor folk (none uncarod; for), and endless churches and chapels, 'The soldiers and lasses were, however, hospibably received on tjie whole, and granbed a .piece of land to hold meetings upon.. Even the band on Sunday was not objected to at first, though I'll tell you how ib ebruok me. It was a sunny July morning, and the tired business man (or invalid) sab by his open window listening laziJy to the' church bells, wondering ab the intense blue of the calm sea breaking almost noiselessly on the beach below, drinking -in the delicious ozone, and, above all,"revelling intensely in the all-pervading atmosphere of peace and quietness. But suddenly—ye gods!, what's that? Has pandemonium broken loose ? ;No ; 'tis simply the Salvation Army's Sunday procession !. On ib comes, an odious brass band, an amalgapa of discords accompanied by a score of soldiers and lasses, led by the lieutenant walking backwards, and allyolling 'Tommy Dodd'lustily. ! Come to Jesus, come we cry. Com* to God. Come to God. We believe in God Most High, Come to God, Come to God. Words of holiest imporb wedded to a tune reeking with ob«cene associations. The "tag, rag, and bobtail of the procession; indeed yelled out' the'filthy words, annoying the Ar»y.,»nd .ftguupg 'AffT»9* 'ApMfel

Four fcimar'oi] Sunday did visitors living on the parade "suffer this hideous nuisance. The Army wore begged to go fco and return from their ground by a short direct route, instead of taking the circuitous one via the Parade. /The Mayor even offered them the Town Hall when the distracted lodging-house-keepers began to complain their rents wore falling in consequence of the nuisance. But no ; the Army would not give way. Mr* Booth .said., it was a great principle that; was. at' stake. . The;bands and the processions must be continued at all costs. Then the special'by-law forbidding Sunday bands-and processions was enforced. The Salvationists resisted, and, "all the recent troubles'.ensued. . Rowdies from Brighton and Hastings now come over to Eastbourne, every' Sunday •• for the .fun !' Visitors have been scared away in hundreds, and, o the-Prince, and' Princess of Waled only arrived) 'tis stated, jusb in time the other day to prevent a heavy further fall in rents.' Tho'House of Com mons has now abolished the clause in the Eastbourne Local Act which enabled the Corporation' to iorbid bands and proceseions on Sunday. Roman Catholics (as Admiral Field forcibly pointed out) have to submit. to a .very strict special Act, prohibiting processions in tho street. That is. the law'of the land. But what is sauce for the .Catholic goose is not sauce, apparently,' for the Salvation gander. Admiral Field.asked why Mr.Booth made ho attempt at bands or processions in Glasgow. ; There were real slums and A genuine submerged tenth in that city. But the General knew too much to .trample on the religious convictions or-'prejudices of the Scotch. In tho.same wise' way, I fear, many honorable,.members preferred not to arouse the hostility of, the' Salvation Army on tho eve.of the general election.' General Booth let If be Clearly understood^ that the Army would oppose uncompromisingly any honourable member who voted againsb them in the Eastbourne matter. .'l'm not going rt> risk losing my seat solely in order to save Eastbourne from Sunday bands,' is the way one high-priucipled M.P. put it. HALF-A-MiiiuoN Coal Miners Oct. Saturday, March 12tb, will remain for ever.a .'red letter day' in the annals of the nineteenth century (no matter the sequel to the day's, happening), for on that day was seen the begin uing of the greatest industrial crisis of. this or any other country. On Saturday the miners of nearly all Great Britain's coalfields ceased work as one man, and to-day the.re are at-least three hundred thousand .men idle by their own choice. There are two separate and distinct .organisations involved in the present crisis. In the one case there is a strike, or rather a ,-lock-oufc of all the Durham miners, consequent on their refusal to accept a ton per cent, reduction in wage—s per cent, now and 5 per cent, additional on May Ist. The. other contributory to the emergency is the Miners' Federation (a very powerful and splendidly organised corporation, as the unanimity of its indiyiduals.show) which has determined to.anticipate the probable action of,the Masters' Association by ' playing,' i.e., calling up all its members to cease work for a specified period (a week in the present instance), and thus reducing the output and keeping up prices, and obviating a reduced ' scale of wages. The enormous power of the Federation is best shown by the fact, that on Monday.only three coalproducing areas, in Great Britain were at work—Scotland . (excepting Sterlingshirc), Northumberland,; , and' ~ South Wales. Whether the ■.Federation's action, will in tho - loast i benefit ' its members in a point upon ivhjch there has. been much diversity of. opinion in, nil classes.; -..But.anyhow the public generally are the sufferers by the- dispute,, and the working man the chiefes.b of them. For the last fortnight the mechanic has been paying Is 9d to 2s per cvyt for his household fuel, which is a serious consideration in this bitter weather. This, however, is not tho worsb featurp of the crisis., -All great manufactories in which coal consumption is •a" matter of primary importance in tho balance-sheet, and which have been rurininc at small protit3, must now cease work for the time boing, and by thia means thqusandswill be thrown outof employment. In Cheshire the miners' holiday has already caused a suspension of operations at several salt"works," arid in Lancashire some of the big factories are preparing to ' shut up. shop.' In • Lincolnshire one or two ■ iron companies have damped down their furnaces, and intend ceasing operations ac the end of this week. Dozens of minor stoppages might ,be quoted, but sufficient has been said to show'what misery and suffering is likolv to arise throusrh tho action of the Federation and tho Durham strike. Through fche latter affair there is likely to be trouble at the .London docks, for tho Coal Porters' Union has docided not to handle any eeaborne coal from Durham which may be won from the pits by free labour. ■

far in the the future, when despotism and oligarchies shall havo ceased from, troubling, when rational government shall be everywhere in beneficent action, when heroic industry, occupying its rightful position, shall be in the ascendant. When the idle of every grade shall be taught to subsist happily on the fruits of their own toil, according to the precepts of the Apostle Paul, and when the millions of men, sucn as are now trained to make desolate this beautiful earth, shall .be the -willing labourers in replenishing it, and.making ib glow with' fertility and ."beauty,, adapted in every way to riourish and delight the great human family. Possibly, we may, even now, be travelling ovsr the 'early 6tarrea that lead to. this happy future. There is something ominous in the fact that the great army of workmen aro disaatisfiod; that already they have tnadb.the ruling few uneasy ; that they are conscious "of,possess•ing a force which, when united and wisely directed, is capable of hot only ameliorating their own condition, but of effecting great social and political changes in their several countries. Added to this' is the fact that there exists an international sympathy, a tie of brotherhood, between the workmt>n of different nations, that overleap the boundaries of kingdoms to sympathise, consult and advise with one another. Who can tell wh'ereunto this may grow? Should this , sympathy be thoroughly roused,., and sustained with ennobling, ardour, it ' may have a paralysing' 'influence upon those great military forces, waiting bub the word of command, to despoil whatever opposes. But the industrial systems of the present day require something more than that they should be unimpeded. There is over-trading—reckless trading and trading ao that the masters become rich, very rich, millionaires and multiplemillionaires, according, to our friend, while their servants in the majority of caeeß stagnate in comparative indigence ; many receiving their discharge as soon as the first adverse breeze ruffles the commercial atmosphere. Does this state of things not reg uire a remedy ? Cannot some one of those masters who have gained such renown and wealth by their skill and enterprise step to the front and devise a more satisfactory method ? Greater difficulties have been overcome, or where should we be? —I am, etc., 4 Sentinel.