LONDON TABLE TALK.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIV, Issue 178, 29 July 1893, Page 4 (Supplement)

LONDON TABLE TALK.

(Fbobi Oor Special Corbespondent.

London, June 16,

Me Sexton's Threatened Retirement. The thieatened retirement of Mr Sexton into private life created even sincerer dismay amongst the moderate Gladatoniana than amongst the Irish members themselves. Davitt has already tired of Parliamentary life, and Dillon and O'Brien retain but a shadow of their former influence. Sexton's elimination would have meant nothing less than the handing over of Ireland to the tender mercies of Healy and Co., and at this prospect even the most enthusiastic Home Kulers blenched. Fortunately, by Tuesday evening the differences between the leaders of the Irish party had—for the time being ab least—been arranged, and on VV ednesday Mr Sexton was back in the .House again. Parliamentary experts, especially amongst the Tories, declare the peace is not likely to be kept long. The root of the ill-feeling is due to other cansoa besides the little difficulty at the office of the 'Freeman's Journal.' There is, of coarse, the personal rivalry amongeb the leaders of this happy family, which has been smouldering ever Bines Parnell's fall, and this has been developed during this pasb week or so by the Concessions which Mr McCarthy and Mr Healy have at Mr Gladstone's behest urged the party to accept, sorely against the will nob only of tho Redmondites, but of the more, thorough-going Nationalists, whom Mr Sexton represents. In fact, there has been a divergence of views, opinions and ambitions which the enemy say 3 must sooner or later end in a split. Lord Salisbury's Great Speech. I need scarcely say the Conservative leaders have not failed to make the utmost of the dissensions amongst the anti-far-nellides. 'Can any sane being imagine that such a gang could ever govern Ireland ?' asked the St. James's 'Gazette,' and Lord Salisbury made this the text of a most powerful or—as the Liberals say—violent speech to a mass meeting at the Surrey Theatre on Tuesday evening. The report thereof runs to four columns of the ' Times,' bub the following telling and typical passage will probably suffice for colonial readers:—

1 VVhab is there,' inquired the Marquis, ' to lead us to think that the Irish Government of the future, the Irish Government which will no doubt be driven by Archbishop Walsh—(groans)—and Mr Timothy Healy—(renewed groans)—and other men like unto them, will be angelic, free from all the ordinary failings of humanity ? Mr Gladstone talks of our imputing to the Irish a double dose of original sin. He talks of our representing them as being not human beings in anything except the form, bub he entirely ignores tho teaching of every page of history which he will be willing to turn back. From the fm<t to the last there have been quarrels, and those quarrels have bean the re3itlt of the passion and the unreasoning of man ; and if pure considerations of self-interest, and if a perfect union of hearts and gratitude for the tergiversation of a past statesman should have influenced men, there never would have been any quarrels in the world at all. (Cheers.) Bub a step further. This is nob the case of a nation whom we meet for the first time. If they had dropped from another planet we might possibly try to assume that there waa something so perfect in their human nature that any future differences were impossible ; bub these are people who have been quarrelling with us tor something like 700 yearß. (Hear, hear.) I do not say who was in the wrong, In quarrels generally both sides are a litble in ■ the wrong, but setting that matter aside—ib is wholly immaterial—it is the fact that all the traditions of the Nationalist party in Ireland, all their recollections, all their passions, all their teachings havo tended to the hatred of England, and above all to the hatred of the men in thoir own midst who have sustained the cause of England. (Cheera.) And you te11... me that these feelings, bred into the race by generation after generation, that they will be swept away by the soft words—words whose sincerity is not believed—the soft words of a few years. It is treating us like children—(hear, hear) —to ask us to take thab view of human conduct, and to subject, not only our own interests, not only the thing which we hold dear, but something which is much more precious—the. intereets of men to whom our faith is pledged—and subject them to t he truth of an imbecile view of humanity i'iko this. But I may go a stop further. I am told,thab these are men who have a remairkable tendency for agreement (laughter), a great tendency to love us, and, in fact, .that they ore bubbling over with the milk of human kindness and with all the angelic passions which Mr Gladstone's conduct is calculated to rouse; but how is it that they are nob able to agree among themselves? (Cheers, and cries of " Sexton " and "Committee-room 15.") Quite bo. (Laughter.) Parnell, Davitt, Sexton—it is a remarkable Jisb. (Hear, hear.) I have not the honour of their acquaintance. (Laughter.) I have no doubt they are men of greab ability, bub it is remarkable that a party struggling for a principle, which they say they have aimod at for generations, fighting against superior odds, taking advantage of tho capricious action of a single abatesman of enormous power— it is odd that in such a crisis they should nob at least be able to effect union among themselves. (Cheers.) It shows an inveterate passion for tho shillelagh (lauehter), which no necessity, no considerations of expediency are able to extirpate from their minds. (Ckeer*.) _ Now, you will observe, I am anxious to bring you back to bhia poinb, that the matter wo have to consider is tho probability of the angelic theory — tho probability that these men who have fought us for centuries— theae men whose fathers, v/lien ws were quarrelling with Spain, took the side of Spain, when we were quarrelling with France took the fide of France, when we quarrelling with America took the side of America—that these men who have boen broupht up and nourished on hatred to Enf land, and who are in the hands of an organisation which certainly does not love England—should be converted so suddenly from their ancient thought and belief, thab you can safely trust to them a position in Parliament which, if they misuse ib, will enable them to wreck your institutions al together.' (Cheers.)

The Senior Wrancler.

The feature of the examination for this year's Cambridge Mathematical Tripos is that no fewer than ten ladiea appear amongst the successful students. Two are wranglers and one—Miss Johnson of JSewn-ham-stands between five and six on the list Her companion, Miss Stoney, stands 'equal to 17. All the others with two excaptions hold rank with Senior Optimes. It is a great achievement and recalls that year of wonders, 1890, when Philippa Fawcettbeat the senior wrangler himself. As usual, the Younger Ladies' College (Newnlam) defeated its elder sister Girton decisively, seven out of the ten feminine mathematical celebrities coming from the former abode of the graces. The Senior Wrangler for 1893 would, it was anticipated, be either tho Speaker's ■eon (Mr Thomas Peel, of Magdalene) or Lord Russell's younger brother (the Hon. B. A. W. P«,ussell, of Trinity). Both, however, were beaten by a comparatively dark horse in Mr G. T. Manley, of Christ's College, who belongs to Hull and was educator! at the Wakf-tield Grammar School, to which he naturally affords a grand advertisement. Mr Mauley's people are not

well off, and he has supported himself at) College entirely on exhibitions and scholarship?, of which he held three worth together £160 per annum.

The Wormwood Scrubs Tragedy,

What a three-volume novel Geo. Gissing could make out of the Wormwood Scrubs murder. Police-Constable Cooke would be the hero with a blameless record till a low trollop tempted him from the path of virtue and tied him to her vicious side. He in time grows to hate the woman and the life he is leading with her, and longs to escape. His superior officers helo him, and Cooke is transferred to another part of London. For a time he succeeds in shaking the creature off. Brighter days seem dawning when she finds and follows him, preys upon him, libels his character and assails him in furious fits of greed and jealousy. Cooke haa formed a new attachment to a virtuous girl, who returns his affection. The old mistress dogs him and meets him m a lonely place. Irritated beyond endurance, he turns and strikes her, she utters an intolerable taunt and threatens him with exposure, professional ruin, and the sacrifice of his engagement. Ab this he becomes insane with pasaion. It is a fierce joy to rain down blows with his truncheon on this accursed fiend's head, and it is not till he has staggered away from a bleeding corpse that the unhappy man realises he is a murderer. And yet Mt Frederick Harrison and other learned gentlemen assure us confidently thab nobody can write romances becauae there ia nothing romantic to write about. The Marriage Mug. One of the mosb amazing advertisements in connection with the Royal wedding emauates from the ' Universal Provider,' at Westbourne Grove. 'Ib is my intention,' Mr Whiteley cries, with an effervescent loyalty which transcends the cold rules oi grammar, 'and with the gracious perrnismission of Their Highnesses, to mark this auspicious occasion by the introduction of a China mug as a Royal wedding memento, following closely upon the line 3of that de> signed by me, nnd so universally in demand at the time of Her Majesty's Jubilee. lam encouraged in this direction by the indications which already exist of a desire to regard the occasion as a public festival, and for which such an articlo would be specially appropriate.' It seems incredible that fustian rubbish of this sort should take with anybody, but I am assured by a shop walker ab the Grove it doos, and that many thousands of those 'fourpenny 'arpenny ' mugs, representing the Duke with a preternaturally curled moustache, and Princess May, with a swelled face, are sold daily. The mugs, of course, children buy chiefly, but ' for adults a cup, saucer, and small pinto (11-id the set) have been similarly designed, and they go off equally well. Vivisection. The thorny vivisection controversy has caused a vaet amount of ill-feeling in many circles during the past year or so, and it is quite on the cards that it will.be responsible for a serious secession from the membership of the Socioty for Promoting Christian Knowledge. A short time ago— a few weeks at the outside—the Society published a book by Professor Frankland, of Manchester, in which vivisection is spoken of approvingly. Remembering the terrific storm which arose in the Church Congress last year over this question, very little surprise can be expressed that Professor jrankland's work has given dire offence in some quarters. But though one may .sympathise with the emotions .animating anti-vivisoctionists it seems goiwg a little too far to make an expression in favour of vivisection contained in a work published by the Society the ground for withdrawing support. The committee responsible for the Society's publications, must, to n, certain extent, be guided by commercial consideration and must be allowed considerable latitude in its discretionary power. If no books were to be published of which all parties in the Society did not approve, the kind of mowledge promoted would resemble the fabric of the 'all inclusive' church, consisting entirely of doors and windows. If tho absolute truth was known, this vivisection affair is perhaps only to be made a stalking horse, under cover of which many persons dissatisfied with the Society will sever their connection therewith. The Society is too big for complete harmony. There is a numerical limib to the coheaiveneES of mankind, and when that poinb is reached disruption musb follow, be the body the S.P.C.K. or the Freemasons —which last grand corporation affords an excellent illustration of my meaning. Magnetism in Animal Life. The chief amusement of the doctors and scientists of England and America seems at present to run chiefly in the direction of trying to discredit the discoveries, and to controverting the theories of their German confreres. For original research the English medico seems to have no stomach, but let any Continental professor start a theory or announce a discovery and the Englishspeaking fraternity are on the track like hounds aftora hare. If they chance in the chaso to pull down a half-formed theory or kill a ' discovery,' all the world knows of their work in a few days, but if they run to earth something new and true they are eilent—bhat is, silent so far as the ears of the laity are concerned. German theorists claimed recently that magnetism increased the resistance to conduction in motor nerves and caused paralysis. To test this theory, Mr A. C. Konnelly of the Edison Laboratory, and Dr. Frederick Peterson, of the College of Physicians and Surgeons, made some very interesting experiments, and their report) to tho American Electro Therapeutic Association, embodying the results of these experiments, which seem to have been very exhaustive, is against the German scientists. According to the Americans, electro magnetism has no influence upon tho human body, nor upon cats, dogs or frogs. In tho course of live frogs no influence of tho ningneb on blood cells, or the movement of the blood could he found, and when a email dog was placed in a cylinder between large field magnets, and kept there for five hours undor the influence of a strong magnetic current, the animal when released betrayed none of the symptoms he should' have exhibited according to the Gorman theory. He came out in fact just as lively as whon he wont in. Then a boy was placed between the magnots and a magnetic current turned on. The currenb was strong enough to balance a heavy bolb in the air, and to _ contract wires of iron and to hold chains so firmly that ib required the efforts of several men to detach them, yob it had no visible effect on the lad. En parcnthese-he must have been a boy of high courage. Finally, the experimenters themselves took turns in lying down upon a board placed between the polos of a huge magnet, with the currenb alternately turned on and off. One observer held the wrist of each subject and, took sphymographic tracing of ■the Dulse. Another observer noted the respiration, and a third turned the current on and off. The result of a long series of tests caused the experimenters to conclude that the human organisation is in no way affected by the mosb powerful magnets known, and that the brain and nerves get no sensations or impulses from the magnets. They deem ib possible, however, that some day magnets may be invented where the number of reversals to tho second are high enough and the force strong enough to produce effects on the nervous system.