ENGLISH EXTRACTS.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 13, Issue 1052, 28 May 1869, Page 3

ENGLISH EXTRACTS.

(Continued from tho "European Mail.") Elopement in High Life,— This event, which has been a subject of conversation, was mentioned in obscure terms in a London evening paper, but the absence of Captain Vivian during the discussion on the army estimates, on an occasion when of all others he might have been expected in his place in Parliament, lent confirmation to the rumour thafc he was the victim in the unhappy affair. Captain Vivian was born in 1818, and is, therefore, iv his fifty-first year, but to judge from his appearance uo one would suppose him to be more than forty at the outside. He is a haudsome ancl very gentlemanly-mannered man. He served in the 12th Hussars, but retired from the army so long back as 1843. For several years he has given constant attention to his Parliamentary duties. He has nofc been a frequent talker ; but whenever he does speak he speaks well, and is listened to with attention. As War Lord of the Treasury much was expected of him, but whether the terrible blow he has received will incapacitate him from official work for somo timo to como remains to be seen. The hon. and gallant gentleman's first wife died in 1855. He was married to his present wife, the lady who has just eloped, in 1861. She is daughter of Major Rowley,, of the Bombay Artillery, and it is stated thafc her age is about twenty-eight or thirty. The Marquis of Waterford, with whom the lady has eloped, was born in 1844, aud consequently, is in his twenty-fifth year. He is son of the late Marquis, who was a clergyman, and uncle to that Marquis of Waterford so well known in the nighthouses of tho Hay market, and who broke his neck in the hunting field. It is stated thafc Mrs. Vivian has carried off her children with her. Much sympathy is felt with the hon. and gallant captain. In many cases it is not easy to account for elopements. One would imagine that Captaiu Vivian was a husband of whom any wifo might be proud. The process of "disestablishment" is about to be applied to the Hudson's Bay Company. Its hundreds of millions of acres are no longer remote and inaccessible, as they were when Charles 11. , of happy memory, handed over to Prince Rupert ancl his associates this region, equal in extent to a third of the whole American continent. Canada on the one hand, ancl American settlers in Montana oil the other, have pressed upon its southern borders. Canada has openly demanded that a monopoly shall be set aside which has no better authority than an unconsidered grant, thoughtlessly made by the Crown more than 200 years ago, ancl desires that the territory of the company shall be annexed to the dominion. The terms which Canada offered, the company refused to accept. The uufortunate compauy has had not less difficulty to contend with on the other side in preserving the peace between the native Indians within its own borders and the neighbouring American settlers. The Indians made inroads upon the settlers, ancl cither tho American troops pursued them over the border, or tho American authorities bocame entitled to satisfaction under the Extradition Treaty, which the Company was altogether unable to aflord them. This of course became a matter of concern to the Imperial Government ; ancl placed thus between two fires — the dominion on one hand, aud tho Government on tho other, — its seems certainthat the Company will have to retire. The terms offered by the dominion were scouted by the Company, and there waslittle probability of any agreement. At last the Government interfered to cut tho knot ; ancl certain proposals have beeu made by Earl Granville. These aro that the Company shall surrender to Her Majesty all the rights of government, the fee simplo of the soil, and the monopoly of trade which it has hitherto enjoyed, and that on the payment of 300,000^. by" Canada to the Company, Rupert's Caucl and the Indian territory shall bo transferred to the Dominion ; certain reservations of land, however, iv situations adjacent to the Company's stations, being permitted. This is a compromise, and as such will, no doubt, be unfavourably received by both parties. In tho event of its rejection, Lord Granville states that he will recommend Her Majesty to refer to the Judicial Committee of tho Privy Council the whole question of the rights of the Crown ancl the Company in the Hudson's Bay- territories. The Company's shares have receded to log:* The Oxford and Cambridge boat race has been won, for tho ninth year in succession, by Oxford. Year after year Cambridge has como up, in the most plucky mauner, only to be beaten ; and the records ofthe race are, year after year, the same. Cambridge begins well and is worsted at last by superior endurance, which really means a belter and more scientific style. The nice came off on March 17, over the old course from Putney to Mortlako ; and as ifc began about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, instead of early iv the morning as of late years, ifc waa at- J tended (we will not say witnessed) by im- j mense crowds of people. Cambridge, as usual, lost the toss for choice of stations, .!

bufc at, first took a slight lead, and was n good half-length ahead afc Hammersmith Bridge; afc Ohiswiek they had lost this advantage, and both boats were abreast; and eventually Oxford passed the winning flag at Mortlako three lengths in advance of their opponents. The race was ihe quickest on record, having been rowed in twenty minutes and six seconds. The victory of Oxford has of late come to be looked upon as a foregone conclusion, and the betting ranged from 2 to 4 to 1 in their favour; but if sympathy and good wishes could havo been of any avail, Cambridge would have been tlie winners. The fortitude the Cambridge men have shown in submitting to such long-con-tinued ill-fortune, and the monotony ol Oxford's constant success, made every one wish that the light blues might once again have a good turn. Ifc was nofc to be, however. The Cambridge crew were unfortunate in losing tho services of their original No. 7, who was taken suddenly ill and had to retire. His place was supplied by an excellent oarsman; bufc in such a race condition is everything, ancl afc so short a notice, a casual substitute was very unlikely to be in proper training for a four miles' struggle. Some reports of the race attribute the defeat of Cambridge to this cause, and say that after a mile or two the rowing of No. 7 became uneven and ineffective. Ifc may have been, probably was, so : bufc the real cause of the defeat of Cambridge seems to lie in their faulty style of rowing. Oxford has a short, sharp stroke; the stroke of Cambridge is much longer. The Oxford stroke moves little water aft, and most of the force exerted by the oar is consequently transferred to the boat; that of Cambridge is to a greater extent lost upon tho water ; and if the crews were in all other i*espects equal, this difference must give Oxford tlie superiority in so long a race. This seems to be now understood ; ancl Cambridge have this year taken a new coach, Mr. Morrison, who greatly improved them during their short practice on the Thames. With the advantage of so good a tutor, there is no reason why Cambridge should hot next year turn the tables upon Oxford, and it is quite certain that no victory would be more heartily welcomed. The weather for some clays before the race was severely cutting and cold, and Mr. Mellor, No. 7 of the original Cambridge crew, was attacked hy quinsy, and forced to retire. It was reported that he had died, but we are glad to say the report was untrue. Shock of Earthquake in Lancashire. — A distinct shock of earthquake was felt in Manchester and its neighbourhood on Monday evening, March 15. At Pendleton the direction of the shock appeared to be from east to west. At Todmorden the disturbance was felt at a little .after six o'clock. It lasted a few seconds, and was accompanied by such noise as drove the people affrighted from their houses into the streets. A tremulous shaking was also felt in Rochdale ancl the neigb- ! bourhood. The various accounts differ only by a few minutes as to the time of the occurrence. It is likewise stated that Lochaber was visited by a smart shock of earthquake on the same day. The above telegraphic report may be supplemented by Uie following details : — The shock was severely felt at Accrington about four or five minutes past six, Greenwich time. Accounts vary as to tho direction taken by the earthquake wave, some describing it as from the north-east and going south-west, and others tho reverse. A low murmuring noise was heard, ancl this was followed by a shaking of the windows ancl the upper portion of the houses. Indeed, the general impression produced on people's minds was that the house of their neighbour was falling in. Large numbers of persons ran out of their houses into the street, ancl as nothing could be discovered., a report spread that lhat the gas works had blown up, and people rushed to'the spot. Afc the railway station the shock was severely felt. The pointsman, who occupied a stone building raised a considerable height, and adjoining some arches, ran out; much frightened. The oscillation of the building was very perceptible. The station manager, who was writing at the time, was violently shaken, ancl thought a collissiou had occurred. Mr. Thomas Jones, the librarian of Chatham's Library, Manchester, writes as follows to a local paper •* — " On Moncbiy evening, afc five minutes after six o'clock, an earthquake was felt at the Chctham College, Hunt's Bank ; ancl the effect was distinctly perceived in different rooms above ancl below." Another correspondent of a Manchester paper says : — ■" On Monday evening, at ' live minutes past six o'clock, a shock of earthquake, or something very liko one, was felt in the neighbourhood of Rochdale road. I was at tea afc the time, ancl each ancl all in the house felt a heaving sensation of a very perceptible kind. The sofa I sat upou and the floor might have been raised two inches at tho least, ancl our bell rang for the space of three or four seconds.'' New System of Telegbaphy. — There is a new system of telegraphy now at work in Paris. Ifc is on a small scale as yet, and therefore is only a beautiful toy, but it is going to be tried immediately on a French line. What an amateur sees is his message set up in type, ancl two little railway carriages travelling backwards and forwards over ifc— a regular up and down line, tlie return train always slightly brushing the type. Walk to the other end of the line, ancl there is your text in j remarkably clear print. The Emperor has examined this telegraph, and the Di-rector-General of Telegraphy has orders to give every facility for -the practical testing of ibis latest improvement. EnqljVnd's Fighting Strength at Sea.— On the subject of tho reduction in the naval estimates, in connection with a possible war with France, or with the United States, a daily contemporary remarks :— " What wo look in vain for in Mr. Childers's statement is a consistent and defensible theory of what the navy of Great Britain ought" to be. Taking one class of ship with another, our naval strength is, ' perhaps, about equal to that of France. Ought this presumed equality to satisfy us ? It is something, of course, to know that if wo had to light France alone, ancl could concentrate all our maritime forco in the Channel, the chances would not be against us. But it will be seen that this hypothesis involves two [ very questionable assumptions. . If England is again involved iv a great war — and the main reason why the Admiralty exists. is the possibility that she may be so involved — she may havo to fight singlehanded. But it is veiy unlikely that she would have to fight with a single-handed enemy. Whether our love of non-inter-vention and the general tone of our diplomacy will ultimately keep us out of war may bo questioned ; but there can be no doubt that it is admirably calculated to keep us out of allies. In proclaiming our indifference to European ' complications'' we arc apt to forget that it may not be in our power to bo equally indifferent to European combinations. A policy of entire abstention from Continental affairs is a policy which dispenses with the aid of friends; ancl consequently ifc requires, more than any other, an adequate supply of physical strength. Supposing France and Russia wero on one side, and Great Britain were alone on the other, what

i would be the probable history of the i con! est? Again, in measuring our fleet ? with that of any other Power, it must ; always be borne in mind that it can- ;• not be completely concentrated in the i Channel without involving consequences i almost as disastrous as defeat. We shall havo to protect our colonies and our commerce ; and to do this effectually we may s bave to detach a far greater number of • ships than may be required oh -the part . of tho enemy to put them in serious peril. I A small squadron, of which the destina- , tion is unknown, may give ample employment abroad to two or three squadrons of i the same size just at the moment when every ship is urgently wanted afc home. ? The omission of this element from tho calculation is very conspicuous in Mr. i Childers's reference to the United States. , 'They possess,' he says, 'no sea-going armoured ships, bufc they have an immense ' fleet available for defensive purposes.' Perhaps this is exactly what they wish to have. It must not be assumed thatthe want of sea-going armoured ships is, under all circumstances, a weakness. In a war between Great Britain and the United States, the policy of the latter might bo to undertake no offensive operations against our fleet, but to confine themselves to the defence of their own coast, and to the destruction of our mercantile navy. For the former purpose Mr. Childers tells us they are well equipped. What he does not tell us is how they are off with regard to the latter. The example of the Alabama abundantly shows what a few- fast cruisers may do in tho way of destroying commerce, and our turret ships with their 25-ton guns and twelve knots an hour would be about as competent to deal with them as a rliiuoceros would be to overtake a greyhound. At present all we know is that a war with the United States is not, unhappily, an impossible event, and that the kind of warfare which would most harass us is also tl..j kind which would best suit American interests and the American character. In these two facts there is sufficient cause for anxiety." Relics of Maet Stuabt. — Her Majesty has accepted certain relics, bequeathed to her under the will of the late Lord Belhaven, of great historic value, as souvenirs of the ill-fated Mary Stuart, from whom the Queen is directly descended. They consist of a beautiful ebony cabinet, which, about 200 years ago, came into possession of the Belhaven family through a grand-daughter of the Earl of Mar, to whom it was presented by the Scottish Queen; of a purse, the work of Mary's own hands ; of a lock of her hair, which is of a light colour, and of a piece of unleavened bread, understood to be a fragment of that used by Mary in some of her religious rites. The Colonial Society had a very successful inaugural meeting on March 10, when about 200 gentlemen dined together afc Willis's Rooms. The prime mover in the establishment of the society, Viscount Bury, occupied the chair. A full report of the proceedings will be found at page 15, and ifc will be seen that a number of very distinguished persons were present. Mr. Reverdy Johnson was among the number, and made a pleasant speech, in which he held, out to Canada- the prospect of annexation to the States.- Mr. Gladstone responded to the toast of " Her Majesty's Ministers," and well expressed . . the object of the Society when he spoke of it as seeking " to promote in the present, and to haud down, from generation to generation, that great and noble sentiment aud tradition — the unity of the British race." The assemblage was a remarkable one, and iucluded representatives from our Colonies in every part -of the globe : as Mr. Gladstone said, there was "no degree o£ latitude or longitude upon the whole surface ofthe globe, which had not sent its contribution to the meeting." Lord Bury delivered the Inaugural Address of the Society at the Institution of Civil Engineers, on March 15. Disturbances have taken place in various parts of Spain. " Rioting," as it is called, of a very serious character, has broken out near' Xerez, which has not been subdued without great loss of life. As usual, " tranquillity" is said to be restored, but it is more than doubtful if this is really true. These outbreaks aire now openly attributed to Oarlisfc bands, and reactionary influences appear to be extensively at work. General Prim has announced in the Cortes that the Monarchical party had a candidate ready, who would be declared at the proper time. It is supposed to be the Due de Montpensier." The ex-King Ferdinand has again declared that' he would not accept the throne, if the Spanish Cortes were unanimous in offering it to him. Sale of Rossini's Personal' Property. — The first day's sale in Paris of Rossini's snuiF-boxes by no means created the excitement among amateurs of curiosities that wns anticipated. Two of these Royal gifts alone went for no higher than £4. There was a ring of splendid diamonds which fetched 140 guineas, another set with a tablo diamond, which went for £120. At the second day's sale a gentleman bid for a watch which subsequently proved to be of copper ; on the contrary, a pistol of Louis XV>, sold for being adorned with saucepan metal, proved to be mounted in gold. The reports from Cuba are much more favourable.