JUBILEE NOTES AND TOPICS

Evening Star, Issue 10398, 20 August 1897, Page 1

JUBILEE NOTES AND TOPICS

PERSONAL AND GENERAL.

[From Oub Special Correspondent.]

London, July 10. Mr Chamberlain has received much kudos for hia happy thought in recommending the colonial Premiers for Privy Councillorships, byt he disclaims the credit of originating the idea, averring that he got it in the first instance from the Hon. W. P. Reeves. The fact that when the Premiers’ visits were beginning to be talked about the New Zealand Agent-General was amongst those called into consultation by the Colonial Secretary and Lord Selborne. Mr Reeves then pointed out in course of conversation that whereas several of the Premiers would inevitably decline the K.C.M.G., all would be delighted and flattered to be made P.C.s. Mr Chamberlain seemed to think that notion impossible, and mentioned several serious difficulties in the way. These Mr Reeves combated. Finally, the Colonial Secretary said: “ Well, Mr Reeves, your suggestion shall have our most careful consideration. That is all I can say at present.” Apparently it was considered, and in the end determined on.

Mr Kingston’s friends were, I fancy, glad to find the story of his having accepted the K.C.M.G. incorrect. These rumors were most insistent beforehand, one man—who should have known—assuring me most positively the South Australian Premier was booked “ Sir Charles.” The Agent-General’s refusal of the honor excited a good deal of regret but no surprise. In all things ho is thoroughly consistent, and when he said a year or two ago “ I shall always remain plain Thomas Playford” I felt that he meant it. _ Personally—whilst regretting his decision—l think there is a homely dignity in “plain Thomas Playford’s” attitude which is not ineffective, and may win him increased regard in his colony. Here is a short but true tale of the reseat festivities. On Wednesday evening (the second night of the illuminations) I was crushing my way up Waterloo place, when I came upon three troopers of the New South Wales Lancers, surrounded by a heroworshipping river of jubilators cheering and shouting and chaffing. I thought the Australians looked ’ slightly wearied of the mingled “ jollying ” and applause, aud, knowing one slightly, squeezed close and whispered: “ Like togetoutof this?” “Wouldn’t we !” he responded. So I led the way into the Caf6Monaco. It was about ten, and the great hall held, perhaps, 1,000 persons, eating and drinking at the small tables. We hoped to slip quietly into a side overflow room. No sooner, however, were the Welshers’ hats and uniforms recognised than the word flew round. In an instant everybody present rose, and after cheering lustily for several minutes sang ‘God Save the Queen’ with immense enthusiasm. “ Well,” said the gratified but embarrassed visitors, “you have brought us out of the fryingpan into the fire.” And I couldn’t say a word, for it did look like a put-up job. The Diamond J übilee wag a sorry failure to two sections of the community—the common people and the speculators. The latter will long remember the occasion, having, from Mr Maskelyne in St. Paul’s Churchyard to small tradesmen in the borough, literally lost pots of money. Mr Maskelyne’s huge venture of pulling down Spence’s warehouse, building a temporary stand on the site, and subsequently erecting a new shop there for the original owners always did seem to many of us unlikely to be successful. According to calculations some 2,000 to 3,000 persons would have had to give £ls to £2O apiece to render the stand a paying concern. It scarcely seemed probable there were so many fools in England. This, indeed, the event proved. Mr Maskelyne admits that, commencing by asking £3O to £4O for his best seats, he had to descend to £lO and £3, and at the last disposed of 200 seats (including a champagne lunch, smoking room, and other luxuries) for three guineas each. The sum total of the famous conjurer’s losses are not stated, but he will be lucky if £5,000 covers it. To the common people, the respectable lower middle classes, the Jubilee was a failure, because they never saw it at ail. The south aide of the river and the East End being barred off kept millions away, and the newspapers frightened the rest. They continued dinning into people’s ears the terrible risks to be run on the great day till the public grew genuinely frightened. This is not merely my own opinion. George R. Sima (a singularly practical person) says : ’ For weeks before the Diamond Jubilee certain papers set themselves deliberately to unnerve and terrify the public. Every day the young men who look upon the headline as the highest form of journalism indulged in anticipatory “Jubilee horrors." On the very eve of the procession they came out with a statement that all the churches had been prepared as temporary hospitals. To this they added a warning that the stands were likely to be set on fire by people throwing down lighted matches. They also pointed out that if anybody fell down in the crowd four men standing with their arms on each other’s shoulders could make a space round the prostrate body. No wonder the public became alarmed, and thousands who wero eager to see and cheer the Queen fled from London on Jubilee Day as they would from a city which was about to be overwhelmed by a terrible catastrophe. After several weeks’ unlimited indulgence in the sensational sillibilli which to-day passes for “ news,” it is quite probable that the young gentlemen began to believe in their own horrors, and each one to hope that he might be the younger Pliny of the occasion, and earn immortality as the one writer who escaped from the scene of the tragedy to write a full, complete, and well-headlined account of the ‘ Last Hours of the City of Jubilee.’

Of course, there is a shade of chaffing exaggeration here, but there is also a grain of truth too. ff the scare did not, as “ Dagonet ” suggests, wholly account for the absence of a swaying bank holiday crowd in the streets on Jubilee Day, it at least partially explains the phenomenon. Amongst the incidents of the Jubilee which were “not in the programme” may be mentioned the three defeats of the Government in the House of Commons on Monday afternoon. These were due' to what ‘The Times’ calls the “Puckish spite” of Labby and his friends. Moat of the bon. members-were at the Queen’s garden party at Buckingham: Palace. The member lor Northampton and a number of Irishmen were not asked, so they stayed at Westminster,' and combined to show their good temper and good taste by carrying some

absolutely futile votes against Ministers in a House which it would be almost ironical to describe as “ thin.” Parliament laughed good-humoredly at this rather paltry attempt to twist the national rejoicings over the Jubilee into the means of subjecting the Government to inconvenience, and the Opposition papers (with one exception) held their peace on the subject. The exception' was the ‘Daily News, 1 which avers; “The amusements of the day are an inadequate explanation of what occurred. When Mr Gosohen’s scheme for thp endowment of public-houses had to be dropped because the majority for it was only eight, the Tories accounted for the check by saying that they were gentlemen and went to Ascot, while the Radicals were not and stayed away. But there was something hollow in the excuse then, and there is something rotten in the big majority now.” Of the colonial Premiers Sir Wilfred Laurier is voted pbvsioally the most distinguished looking, whilst Mr G. "H. Reid and Mr Kingston are the best talkers. The latter, of course, has to be discreetly “ drawn ” to get him In form, whereas Mr Reid never seems at a loss for small change in conversation. Mr Seddon will make speeches and indulge in high falutin sentiment which “society” doesn’t understand. But he enjoys himself with such intense and youthful zest it is impossible not to like him. Sir George Turner people vote a trifle colorless, but Sir Hugh Nelson and Sir £. C. Braddon are popular. The Jubilee proper came to a close with the Coronation Day party at Buckingham Palace on Monday, and on Tuesday the exodus of foreign potentates commenced. Most of the latter are now away, to the infinite relief of our Court officials.

A disgraceful scene took place at Limerick on Monday, when the Jubilee presents of Australian meat were distributed to the poor. For reasons wholly inexplicable to sane individuals, certain notables had decided that your generous gift was an "insult to “ ould Oireland.” At their instigation a large crowd of women, girls, and children collected in groups outside the depot, and hooted and jeered those applying for this meat, forcibly taking it from them in some instances and flinging it on the roadway. One old woman, after receiving a quarter of a carcass, was knocked down by a girl, the meat taken from her, and treated in a most unceremonious fashion. The girl was arrested, but discharged. In all, for one cause or another, not many more than twenty persons ventured to face the hostile groups of females congregated all day.round the depot, and in the end the supply remaining was removed in the evening to some of the local bacon curers’ refrigerating rooms. There was a report that some of the- recipients of the mutton, while passing through the city, had the meat taken from them, the food then being pitched into the river.

The garden party given by the Earl and Countess of Onslow at Clandon on Wednesday was really far more of an Anglo-Indian than an Anglo-colonial affair. The display of Eastern potentates on the lawcs was magnificent, and the official element showed up in due force, but colonial Premiers were barring Mr Seddon—chiefly conspicuous by their absence. Major Guilford Onslow represented the New South Wales troops, and Colonel Pitt and several Maoris reminded us that tour host had once upon a time governed New Zealand. The Hon. W. P. Reeves and Mrs Reeves happened to be staying at Clandon at the time, and in the course of a walk round I met Bishop Cowie, the Hon. C. G. Bowen, M.L.C., the Hon. J. B. Whyte and his daughter, Mrs Newman, Colonel Pearce (Wellington), Mrs Julius, and Mr Loo Buller. Of course, everything was none in the best style and taste, and perfect weather rendered the affair most-en-joyable.