TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 9811, 21 August 1897, Page 6

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

The effects oi the Queen* American Jubilee, as was to be|| Hostility anticipated, soon wore otm to England, some of the America!*!

papers, and they resumeJi| their old task of vilifyiug England witll renewed vigour. The particular cause oflj their hysterical and Jingoistic utterances* waa the friendly tone adopted by several ptomi-i nent Americans in London in their speeches! on public occasions. Hie Hon. WhUelawf Re.id (the special Ambassador from the! United States for the Jubilee celebration^ 1 Colonel John Hay (the Ambassador at the English Court), and MrChauncey M. Dc-peWij the well-known American politician, being, gentlemen and, in the case o£ tho two former, officially connected with the Jubilo^ celebrations, found occasion to say a few| pleasant things about the Queen and: the Old Country. At the Fourth of July banquet in London Colonel Hay; after remarking that the " Glorious Fourth" was a necessary and wholesome antidote to their American vice of modesty j a statement which i naturally caused some amusement, went on to say that the Americans had few quarrels. When they had been foroed to fight they had done sowithJ out much malice, and if they had not been so"soft spoken as they might have boen they had practised with reasonablo consiff' tency for more than a century the old* faßbioned doctrine of "peace ou earth, goodwill towards men." They desired, he said, peace and amity with % the whole world. "He need not say how sincerely tney desired it with the great people whose guests they were, and to whom thay were bound by so many ties, The affection that went out from their hearts to England simply proved that the blood in their Veins was true to the original spring. They were absolutely at one in their appreciation of the great and good Sovereign, who, in her long aud happy reign, had shown how com* patiblo were the highest qualities of ft Monarch with the purest virtues of private ■ life. Such a reign, however indefinitely prolonged, could never be too loDg for the happiness of her people." These remarks, which were greeted by a large number otrepresentative Americans with prolonged cheers, were declared by the New York Situ to be " flabby and ridiculous."

Mb Whitblaw Bhid w«w

An IeBS friendly in his remarks j Eloquent than Iris colleague had been. Speech. He said Amorioana had the. right to be proud of tho. Jubilee, and as proud of the wonderful history that made it possible. They ccmld have no jealousy of England's grefttiWM, power and world-wide renown. "If it.* Bß not theirs, it belonged to the family*" They might have family jars in the future, as in thep-wt. " God forbid it, aad God gr«nj that, if they came, they might show that they were at last, ©a both sides of the water, civilised enough, and' Christian enough, to settle them without fighting with their own blood." Americans might be some- , times sensitive and sometimes bitter* but too muoh importance should n0» be attached to superficial indications. "They did not judge a noble river entirely by tho drift and eddies on the surf** Below, the strong, steady current w* sweeping on, unmoved by surface coomotions. How easily any lingering bi&t*r~ neBS might be swept away had often «* seen. The genuine American feeling stirred Whittier's prophecy of the time—

" «When closer strand shall lean to strand While meet, beneath saluting flags* The eagle of our mountain crags The lion of our Motherland,' "

That waa the feeling, said Mr Retf m an eloquent peroration, that led the CtoJ Magistrate of his country to send him with a letter to her Royal (uid Imperial Majesty"ThePresidentespecijaiywish&lherMftj«sty ■ to believe that nothing conld ever permit the Government or the peoplft °f th ® United States to forget that, at ft critical period of their, history, the preservation « peace between the two nations was, *» they thought, largely due to the fff*&* influence exerted by the Queen with t«r aid of the lamented Prince Consort. After some further reference to thß _^°?" B ' < couched in language of glowing affe«*>* - Mr Reid concluded by saying " The souoa which a week or two ago had followed to sutt and kept company with the how* circled th© earth with a sweeter . th« martial airs of England. Itefoclea W»-

Mr th with n strain in whioh the whole V„„;,>.b'.i von race united while the world L. I ', ) l;uiiU«*—the strain of 4 God Save the Oaecn-" Referring to thi« speech the New YirfJi Journal declared that " England is our historic:! 1 enomy, not our friend. She is our rival » n, l tbo co-occupant of a continent m]yirh tons. Post-prandial oratory w \ Ju'mi-.-o (jam.mrtn cannot obliterate the { ( .„!]i." The question is, who represented M'.'.-r ti c vioivsof tho people of the United <jtH r - - l ' ,c <^ bW York papers we have mtoU'd " l ' '-l' o 0 ni'ivoy sent to England l,y the Amenutn President, speaking with a full !;n ••.;' I/" of the importance which _ on ],l ,ut.!oh to hia utterances. We sincerely fcopc the Litter.

In" his speech at tho banquet •jfho tendered by the National Colonial Liberal Club to the Colonial *§3#miers. Premiers, Lord JR. »sebery is reported as saying—"Wo are apprehensive, after what we have read, that m m*y nave t0 c l° Ke series of cerewhich liavo distinguished this epoch Ly a S'tato fun oral, which shall convey tho dyspeptic remains of the colonial Ministers, | fcru?t> to ii national resting place in Wesfcjninster Abbey." Lord Roscbery need have had no apprehensions on this score about cne premier at least. No man who had undergone tbe training afforded by the country ■-Unnquets which Mr Seddon has experienced to such numbers would succumb to a round hi mere festivities. But there are other Premiers concerning whom Lord KoEcfccry's remarks almost appear to have a .• gloomily pr-vphctio flavour. Sir George f STtirner has reached Melbourne in such bad I .Health that he will have to undergo an Operation, and Sir E. "N. C. Bi_d£on has alw* returned a good deal tho worse for kye/vr. W« wish both these statesmen well fcut of their indisposition, hut one can[hot help thinking that it will be fexcecdingly annoying for both of thorn if the fcccitlent of a few weeks robs them of a State ilfuneral such as that mentioned by Lord ■Sosebery. The Premiers certainly had a ■tough time in London. Tho Pall Mall wGazeUe waxes humorous over the multiplicity of their engagements, and i(ives the ■following alleged extract from the diary of I cine of thorn as an indication of what they had to go through day after day:—"The Countess of 'a lecture on the secret of .'joaking pancakes, at 10.30 a.m. See Mr ■Chamberlain at eleven. That allows only half an hour for the pancakes. Sit for photograph for tho Daily Flatterer at 1L45 — three-quarters of an hour in which to discuss Imperial matters of moment. Back to the Cecil at 12.30 to receivo a deputation of tho Mile End National League. Lunch a*> 1.30 with .at Matfield. Pack to town at 3.45 to inspect tho troops at Chelsea Bar. racks. Throe gardrti parties at 4.30— Lady 'a, tho Duchess of 's, and 'Mroaess . '&•■ Finally decide on the duchess's, as it is the nearest to the Cecil. Dine witJi H.K.H. at 8 p.m. Six receptions •or that evening—-all at ton o'clock. Can't do it. Look in at Mrs Good worth's for ten iiinutes, and then, beat of all, repose at hiklnigUt, flavoured with anxiety at the of the same ceaseless whirl tomorrow." This is PaU Matt exaggeration, but tho reality was almost as bad. On the day of the National Liberal Club's banquet, or instance, the Premiers had to get through numerous private interviews early in tho morning. They then received d deputation from the Australasian Chamber of Mines, witnessed the presentation of medals to the colonial troops by ■tbe I'rinco of Wales, went to receptions fin the afternoon, one in town and the other wt Osfcerly Park,,.* Attended Her Majesty's

| h<aS\w }n irw ; tft viaihg» Mid were, present Lftoiwarda at a reception held on tho stage [by Mr and Mrs Beerbohra Tree—a fairly go<>d day's work, it will b« admitted, and pven then ohly one out of a number of similar days.

IThs dispersal by auction at ' A Sotheby's rooms in London, f Notable in July, of the late Lord Book Sale. Ashburnhanvs fine library i wa« one oi the events of the Benson. It was attended by bibliophiles of all sorts, and waa remarkable for the *' record " prices obtained for many of the folumes. It ia not, perhaps, for ordinary tnorfala to understand precisely why one edition of an old book should be worth its tveight In gold and another edition go for tho price of a '*yellow-back" novel, but everyone can understand why the productions of Caxtoh's press and thoaeof Wynkyn do Worde, Gutenberg, and other early English and German printers should be eagerly Bought for. The highest price obtained dnrisg the sale of the first part of tho library, lasting six days, was that pji,id for a eplendid copy of the Gutenberg or Mazorin Bible. This particular >copy is printed on vellum indouble column!!, and ia adorned by many iSnely painted initial letters and marginal decorations. It was printed in 1450-55 by JGutenberg and Fust, and ia the first {printed edition of the Bible, and the first book executed with metal types. The Mazarin Bibles are, so to speak, the royalties among ancient books, and this copy passed into the hands of Mr Quaritch for £4000. Other old Bibles sold on the same day, which was entirely devoted to Bibles, included a perfect copy of Tyndalo's Pentateuch, a very rare book, sold for £270, two other old Bibles which fetched £1000 ami £1500 reflectively, and a copy of the ;;** Treacle Bible," so called from the reading ,ol the verse in Jeremiah "Is there no KUyacloinGileadf'dETO. Another day the foyers and connoisseurs present revelled in the sight-of a number of Caxtons in splendid preservation and of great value. Caxton's first editionof Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" *e*Hsed £720, and another edition, printed *» Wynkynde Word*'«press, brought £1000. Wl Lovat's copy of tho " Book of Chivalry," one of the rarest of the Caxton 'woks, for which Lord Aiihburnham paid *55, was bought for £346, and the person *ho obtained another equally famous Caxton .".£«* for £660 thought he Had a bargain, ; ,"though its former owner onry gave £150 1.. .* w 't. A third day waa devoted to mar*«Houaly beautiful old Breviaries and Preach j*x>ka, dating back to the fifteenth century. w«of the features of another day was the J™ 6 of ft first edition of our old friend p**erti •* Arithmetick," which, although "fere are only two or three perfect copies in went for £24 10s. It would be •""possible to mention a hundredth part of *** interesting old volumes which changed I* 0 "* at this historic, sale. It is evident ',**t such books are, or wero, a very valuable ; from a financial point of view* * w 1 ** 6 reßalt °* the s Bl6 * whioh brought in *W»000, showed a profit of over 100 per ***• on the original outlay. The collection * as made during comparatively recent years, *> that the Earl must have bought with disi $*tion and a large amount of good fortune. sH*Ppily most of the almost priceless ;.--' t *une3 appear to hive found English Itohasers.