BY THE WAY.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume II, Issue 229, 1 December 1888, Page 3

BY THE WAY.

The Times apologising 1 Will wonders ever cease ? Some little time ago the Times accused Sir John Pope Hennessy, Governor of the Maur tins, of tampering with a report Bent H-me of certain speeches delivered in the colonial assembly by his political opponents, and in which his policy as Governor was roughly criticised. Sir John sued the Times for libel, and claimed a solatium in the shape of damages to the modest amount of £20,000. The Times pleaded justification, Which was tantamount to the alleged lib-1 being true. However, the case has now been settled by the Times apologising—which is of course an admission of error—and paying all costs. For the King of Journals to admit an error is a great thing, but to get a certain sec' ion of Londoners to believe that it can possibly err is a still greater thing.. Indeed one reverend gentleman has given it as his firm opinion that if the Times were to say one thing and the Bible another, 500 people would sooner take the word of the Times where ten would believe the Bible.

I was sorry to see that the Industrial Exhibition in connection with the local Library was not so well patronised as it might have been. This may be due to several causes. Possib’y the inclement • weather had something to do with it, or more probably it may have been the counter attraction. I think the Library Committee were, to say the least, unwise in attempting to put anything local against an outside show. There is always a certain amount of prejudice against the local article, and to try to cope with a minstiel show was very short sighted policy. It is a well known fact, however we may deplore the seeming depravity of taste, that a minstrel entertainment attracts a larger audience than he best opera. What chance then had the local Exhibition against such a rival ? That the Committe did all in their power to make the thing successful I quite believe, but against such odds even the most energetic must have quailed.

However, apart from the Exhibition altogether, I do not think the Library Committee go the right way to work to make their institution popular. No doubt they do their best and mean well, but still it is evident that there is something wanting. As a library it contains a good selection of books, periodicals, and newspapers, but there seems to be a tendency to close it to those who need It most. I refer to the young men and women and the working men. Ido not know how many subscribers the Library boasts, but I think the majority will be of that class who can best afford to buy books. I should rejoice to find that lam mistaken. Not long ago the Committee judged it best to raise the annual subscription. I should think the policy ought to be to decrease rather than increase it. Doubtless it will be pointed out that the membership of the Library has increased with the change. But I would rather credit that to increased energy on the part of the officers. Again a poll tax was placed upon non-subscribers who might wish to read a paper. For my part I would sooner donate a small lump sum to the library than pay what is apparently a tax on knowledge.

There is a suggsstion on foot to make parliamentary prevision for the Prince of Wales* eldest ion. It appears that the close on £150.000 the Prince now draws from the Exchequer is not sufficient to provide for his family wants. This latest proposal does not seem to meet with unmixed favor, and a Ute Home paper irreverently suggests that if he wants more money he should apply to “mamma.” The British Royal Family already draw over £BOO,OOO from the pockets of the taxpayer. Besides this the Queen has an immense private income derived from various sources. In the face of this it is no wonder that there is a certain backwardness in mooting the matter in Parliament. So after ail there may be something in the news that *• enormous economy is being effected in the Queen’s household and the Royal Hunt has been abolished.” How much this will save of the Royal Civil list of £385,500 or whethar the saving will be effected io that department does not appear.

It is nevertheless possible that Truth’s assertion that “ the sum saved is to be devoted to making provision for Her Majesty’s grandchildren,” IB only a piece of quiet sarcasm. Truth is a radical journal which is not at all backward in poking fun at Royalty. Here is a Ute essay on its part:—“ When the Queen is at Balmoral, a guard of honor is always stationed at Ballater. It is not easy to understand what is the practical object of this arrangement, as Ballater is nine miles from Balmoral, and the soldiers are never employed at or about the Castle, where all the gaarding is done by policemen. I hear, however, that this very superfluous ‘ guard of honor ’ has recently been utilised in quite a new way, for the other day there was a deerdrive in one of the royal forests, and forty soldiers were ordered out to drive the deer. It is something new to hear of soldiers being employed as Highland gillies, and I apprehend that the innovation will hardly meet with the approval of the military authorities.

The news that the aeronaut Baldwin intended to visit the colonies must be important or it would never have been cabled ’ Baldwin is a young American gymnast whose special feat is to ascend in a balloon to the height of say a thousand feet, and then by means of a patent parachute to drop safely from that height to the ground. The parachute —which when closed resembles very • much a baggy umbrella—is fixed in such a manner that it is easi y detached from the balloon, and at the same time making a rent in the side of the balloon, thereby preventing the Utter from escaping far. The balloon is a careless one, the aeronaut simply sitting on a rope, and at the proper moment clutching the rone of the parachute he frees himself from the balloon. For a few moments he drops straight downwards with fearful velocity. When about 200 or 300 feet from the earth the parachute begins to expand and the aeronaut with a series of angular movements drops gracefully and safely to the ground. The descent is said to be a very thrilling sight. Once indeed it was thought Baldwin would fall in front of a passing train and be crushed to death, but he cleverly evaded the dangerj alighting a short distance away. MARK.