LOOKING BACK.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 220, 17 September 1938, Page 21

LOOKING BACK.

CRITIC OF DRYDEN.

LONDON WINE MERCHANT.

ROMANCE OF MATTHEW PRIOR (By MAX WHATMAN'.) There was once a fashionable wine merchant in Cannon Row, London, who took his orphaned nephew into his business. The aristocracy frequented his premises, and many were attracted to the vonng nephew, who often greeted his uncle's distinguished guests with a quotation from Horace or Ovid. The lad, whose name was Matthew Prior, was befriended by the Karl of Dorset, who made a contribution towards the cost of hi* education at the famous school of Westminster.

In 18<>8 Prior, who had more than fulfilled the expectations of his patron, won a scholarship and went to Cambridge. The Karl of Dorset then arranged for him to take u post as secretary to the Karl of Berkeley, Ambassador to Holland. His next appointment was as secretary to the Embassy at Paris, and in this post he found favour with both Queen Anne and Louis XIV.

In 1701 Prior entered Parliament, and as a Tory was employed in the preliminaries to tile ]>eace of Utreolit, going to Paris as Ambassador in 1712. With tlie Queen's death in 1714 eaine the triumph of the Whigs an<l Prior, returning to K tig land, was imprisoned. In 1717 he was exempted from the Act of Graee, hut wa<<, none t lie less, subsequently discharged. He ttien retired to his country estate, where lie died on September 18, 1721. Prior is also remembered as a poet, his verses being witty and most human in their sympathies. Perhaps his outstanding achievement in letter* was a parody by which he yreatlv annoyed the famous Diyden. Memorial to Mr. Massey. Every visitor to Wellington is familiar with the severely classical memorial which is so striking a landmark on the lonely headland of Point Halswell. Here rest the remains of the Rt. Hon. W. F. Mawy, Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1012 to 1925.

A long procession wound its w«v from Wellington to Point Halswell on September 19, 1930. The occasion was the unveiling of the memorial by the Governor-General, Lord Bledkloe. Other speakers were the acting-Prime Minister (the Hon. E. A., now Sir Alfred, Ransom), the Leader of the Opposition (the IU. Hon. J. G. Coates) and the leader of the 1-abour party (the late Mr. H. E. Holland).

"Beneath our feet on this lonely promontory, in sight of ships arriving from the Homeland, as well as of the capital of the Dominion which he served with unswerving fidelity ami unflagging zeal, rest the human remains of the great practical Imperialist. William Ferguson Massev," said Lord Bledisloe. in opening his speech before the ceremony.

The memorial, which was erected by contributions from private sources as well as from the Government, 19 built of New Zealand marble, mostly from Taknka, and is a worthy monument to a great New Zealander. France Takes New Caledonia. When a French warship recently visited Akaroa the ship's officers were interested in the story of the famous race to the settlement and the narrow margin by which the Britomart had forestalled the French frigate L'Aube. The French officers «aid that not all such races for territory had resulted in favour oi the British and quoted as an example New Caledonia.

Captain Cook discovered New Caledonia, but it was annexed by the French, -who took possession of it on September 20, 1853. The first to settle on the islands were French missionaries, who arrived in 1543. The group was then claimed for France, but on British representations the claim was renounced. In ISSI a landing party from a Franch vessel was attacked by natives and all but one of its member* ♦slaughtered. France was now determined on the annexation and the flag was raised at the scene of the massacre in 19n3. Simultaneously, the commander of a British vessel was negotiating with a native chief on another island of the group. The chief, however, sided with the French and the British claim was finally withdrawn. For more than 30 years the French used New Caledonia as a penal settlement, but the introduction of convicts ceased in 1898. Even so, at a census taken in 1901, there were still more than 10,000 convicts on the island, compared with 12,000 free Europeans. An Incompetent King. "He was perhaps the most incompetent of English Sovereigns, and his reign was in every respect a failure." In these terse words historians sum up the career of Edward 11., who rei<nied from 1307 until shortly before his death on September 21, 1327. At the outset Edward failed to maintain his father's hold on Scotland, and his defeat in 1314 at the battle of Bannockburn decided once for all that all the northern kingdom was not to be conquered by England. Meanwhile, he aroused strong opposition in England by entrusting the government to unworthy favourites—notably Piers Gaveston, Earl of Cornwall. In 1310 the nobles in Parliament appointed lords ordaincrs to govern in his name.

tor some years after Gaveston's fall his cousin Thomas, Earl of Lancaster' practically ruled the kingdom. To offset Lancaster's power, the King promoted the Despensers (Hugh the elder and Hugh the younger) and in 1322 he felt strong enough to challenge Lancaster, whom he defeated at the battle of Boroughbridge. The Despensers then became supreme. Like Gaveston, however, they aroused hostility by their greed, and in 1325 many of the barons joined Queen Isabella and her paramour, Robert Mortiimer, Karl of March, in a conspiracy against them. In the following year the Despensers were made prisoner and executed. The King was then formally deposed by Parliament on the grounds of misgovernment. He was imprisoned in Berkeley Castle, where he was probably murdered, although the manner of hfs death has never been proved. Tunney Wins Again. A crowd of more than 150,000 gathered at Chicago on September 22, 1927, to see Jack Dempsey try to win back the world's heavy-weight boxing title \vhich he had lost to Gene Tunney a year before. It was a sensational fight, but Dempsey was unsuccessful, losing on points in a 10-round match.

Jhe highlight of the bout was the seventh round, when Dempsey floored the champion, who stayed down for a count of nine. Dempsey later claimed that Tunnev was knocked out, having been down for 15 seconds. The official reply to this statement was that Dempsey did not back away to a neutral corner and thai the referee, ia accord-

ance with practice, did not begin to count until Dempsey, who had been standing over the fallen man, had moved awav.

Towards the end of the fight Tunney seemed to be getting fresher all the time, while tlic challenger, weakening fast, finished in obvious distress and bearing striking evidence of the punishment he had received.

Tunnev won tlio title from Dempsey ,m September 23 of the previous year, and on that occasion was given little chalice of victory, the betting being seven to two in favour of Dempsey. Tunney proved n surprise, winning every round except one, which was drawn. Dempsey wa« lucky to avoid a knockout and sportinglv admitted that the better man won.