THE PREMIERS IN ENGLAND.

Auckland Star, Volume XXVII, Issue 207, 6 September 1897, Page 2

THE PREMIERS IN ENGLAND.

THE BARONESS' GARDEN PARTY.

(By One of the Guests.)

Never, surely, was such an interestin"- assemblage seen even amid the hospitable glades and groves of Holly Lodge as that which brought the Jubilee festivities to a fitting close.

The place itself is interesting, a place of delight planted on London's northern heights, above and beyond the hum and roar, the smoke and dirt of the mighty city, and with the contrast accentuated all the more by the miles of dingy working-class streets through which one has to pass to reach it. On Friday, this rus in urbe looked its very best with the bands of the Royal Artillery and the Scots' Guards discoursing sweet melody on its lawns, over which there strolled statesmen and soldiers, princes and ladies fair, from the four quarters of the globe, such company as never met even in the gardens of Maeceno's palace or the Esquiline, or of Nero's Golden House in the most spacious times of Imperial Rome. Colonial bishops were there in plenty, including his sable Reverence from .Nigeria, to greet the venerable lady who has herself founded not a few colonial sees. It might, indeed, have been a gigantic meeting of the Church and Stage Guild to judge by the way in which the episcopal apron fraternised with the buskin and the sock. Sir Henry Irving was there in slouch hat, and looking- a good deal the worse for wear, while George Alexander and his gorgeously apparelled spouse posed as usual' as Society pets. Colonial Premiers, Foreign Ambassadors, Indian Princes, Imperial statesmen, and dames of high degree mingled in picturesque confusion all the golden summer's afternoon. No wonck-u- the grimy and toil-worn denizens of Kentish Town were all agog with excitement as the brave array drove past, for no other city in all the world, or since the beginning of time, could have brought together such a varied and notable crowd to any informal society gathering. It was nearly half past seven before the Baroness Burdett Coutts escorted the Duchess of Teck, in her pony chair, amid a bowing and courtesyitig throng to her carriage. After the departure of the Royal lady, the rest of the guests speedily dispersed, and soon a Jong line of carriages bore westwards once more that glittering throng- oi' Croat Britain's noblest, sons its the evening star arose over the heights of Parliament Hill. The only New Zealanders present were Air and Airs Seddon, and the Misses Seddon, Sir .John and Lady Hall and Mr Godfrey Hail, Mr and .Mrs Walter Kennaway, Mr and Mrs W. P. Reeves, Sir Edward and Lady Stafford, Sir .Julius and Lady Voge! and Miss Vogel. JUBILEE LOSSES. Harrod's Stores (Limited), which went in for extensive speculations in Jubilee stands, announce a loss of X 17,500. Mr Maskelyne is understood to have dropped nearyi as much over the famous eretion iv St. Paul's Churchyard, and innumerable smaller men are bankrupt. How so many shrewd business in"ii should ever have been led into expecting that any large section of the public would pay £10 to ~1."> for a single seat to witness the show is still a mystery. When experts quoted big prices to me a month beforehand J boldly predicted there would be plenty of seals to be had at from one to two guineas on the day. As a mailer of fact, of course, .Mr Maskelyne had to finally let his ten-pound chairs for two guinea apiece (one of which went, to the refreshment contractor for the luxurious lunch), and on the Surrey side excellent accommodation could be got as low as five shillings. One Australian 1 know paid four guineas for a corner in a Fleet-st reel window, and witnessed the show from the pavement, as there was no crowd worth mentioning, and he could see better. Mr W. P. liceves saw the procession twice, first amongst, the crowd in Trafalgar Square—in which lie got caught en route to Birdcage Walk—and secondly from the. Colonial Stand. He was not crushed in any way. After exhaustive inquiries into the explanation of the extraordinary slackness of the West End streets on this historic occasion it has been decided the reasons were complex. Firstly, the closing of the bridges and blocking off the East End banished the rough element. Secondly, the millions from the country never turned up. Thirdly, dread of disaster kept; hundreds of thousands of Londoners at homeland lastly the accommodation en route was absurdly underestimated. A GARDEN PARTY. The garden party given by Mr Herbert Lloyd, of the "Daily Chronicle," and Mr Lloyd at Coombc Farm, Addington, on Tuesday, to meet the representatives of the Colonial press just now in England was favoured by splendid weather and attended by several hundred ladies and gentlemen and ;i fair sprinkling of literary notabilities, including most of the editors of the London dailies, with their wives. None of the Colonial Premiers put in an appearance (which was ungrateful considering the painstaking efforts of the "Chronicle" to "interview" them), and the Hon. W. P. Reeves was the sole Australian Agent - General present. I noted, however, Sir W. and Lady Windeyer, Mr L. C. Jones, of Sydney, Mr Gavan Duffy, and Mr T. A. Coghlan and Mrs Coghlan.

The Colonial newspaper contingent invited included representatives of the "Argus," the Associated Cable Agency, the Adelaide "Register," Adelaide "Advertiser," Melbourne " Age," " Australasian," Brisbane "Courier," Auckland "Star," Lyttelton "Times," Wellington "Post," Dunedin " Star," Otago ".Witness," Christchurch 'Press," New Zealand "Herald," Sydney "Telegraph," Sydney "Morning Herald," and a whole host of others, but very few were able to spare an afternoon off for such a purpose.

The discovery of the remains of Mrs Nagle at Sutherland, New South Wales, has caused a sensation in that locality! Mrs Nagle was a well-to-do widow, who mysteriously disappeared five years ago from her home at Sutherland, and extensive search was made for her in vain. The general impression was that she had met with foul play, and detectives have more than once been sent to search the locality for traces. Two labourers, who were on a shooting excursion in a wild and rugged piece of country, found the skeleton of deceased under' an overhanging rock. From the disposition of the skeleton medical men have formed the opinion that the woman lay down under this rock and died. There was no signs of violence having been used. Detectives are investigating the case.