WHAT THE WORLD SAYS.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 5378, 10 May 1879, Page 3

WHAT THE WORLD SAYS.

I. have seen in, several papers this week that the Queen is. going to travel incognita. I humbly submit that the phrase ought to be "to travel incognito." The word. in that special sense is not an adjective, but an adverb. It has always- been employed as such by the Italians, to whom it be l longs, and the French, from whom we have taken it. Incognita would . havequite a different meaning;, ,and convey the idea that her Majesty is not known, instead of implying that, through a particular fiction of etiquette and for the sake of convenience, her rank is to be purr posely left aside. Fanfulla has ventured to allege that, in the course of the journey in Italy, her Majesty would proceed to Rome and have an interview with Leo XIII. It need, hardly be said;that the copyright of this piece of news belongs entirely to,' our lively contemporary. , -.--... „ Lord Chelmsford is universally allowed to be one , of the finest players at the scientific game of Krieg-spieLimthe whole British army. Moreover, he is a first-rate tactician on paper, and devised a system of manoeuvres in- an enemy's country which was so highly approved of at -headquarters that it was at one time seriously under consideration to embody it in the ; Queen's Regulations to form part of an officer's drill. The recent disaster in Zululandhas confirmed the officers ,of the old pre-scientific school in their prejudice against the high-pressure requirements of military education, which make examinations in science and languages the sole test of an officer's efficiency for service. They say triumphantly, " Your great strategist marches out into the enemy's country ' without rations for his men, leaving his camp unfortified and insufficiently protected. When the danger is discovered his forces were so scattered that he could not collect them in time to safe his camp,; and the army would literally have been starved if the Zulus had not been repulsed at Rorke's Drift and the provisions savedthere. The position could , never ' have been maintained against overwhelming numbers if the Zulus had possessed a gun' to batter down the feeble wall ; but the only two guns in the place were spiked before their eyes by Lieutenants Bromhead and Chard, to whose pluck and presence of mind the salvation of the army is due. It is a ludicrous proof of the absurdity of the examination system that this very Bromhead, whose brilliant services in the field have just been rewarded by a brevet majority, was plucked the other day by _ the board, of exa.miners, who. did . npt consider v him qualified by his scientific attainments for promotion to the rank of captain." . , :: Colonel Reilly,; who. has just gone. out to South Africa in command of the artillery, has been encouraged by Bromheada success to set ai; defiance the : Queen's Regulations, which prescribe that appointments on the Staff are to \ be limited to officers who haye ',' passed through the Staff Oollege. When Reilly.' went down to the Horse Guards, . on his appoint,ment ; he was called upon to .choose his brigade-major, and a list was put }ntb his hand of , .officers eligible for the appointment. He coolly answered, after reading it;. ," I will not have one of them, and I mean to take Poole, one of your, own adjutants, whom I can depend upon' in case of emergency." The authorities urged that, whatever might be the merits of Captain Poole, he had not qualified himself by examination at the Staff I College in tactics and languages. But Colonel Reilly was firm, and declared that, unless they could find him a qualified officer who could speak Zulu, it was qmte useless to talk about languages being any qualification. . And as toitactics, he said, "The Zulus do not. play at Krieg-spiel, and warfare in the bush is not conducted on the Prussian system. I will have, a brigadermaj or whose pluck and presence of mind are known to me. •' He eventually carried his point, and Captain Poole has gone with 1 him in spite of the regulations. The salvation of Rorke's Drift by a lieutenant, who had been plucked by the board <of examiners, threatens to make a revolution ; in the system of military appointments. - The Chief Baron is a dear old man, but judicially he is very exasperating. To a chronic Jitix de debouch and oonsiant lapses of memory he adds a poailivenesß ! of opinion which his remnant of powers, once great, does not justify." The other day, in a Revenue case, after talking himself into the conviction that he was undoubtedly right, and every one else, including his two judicial brethren, clearly wrong he turned on the Attorney-General, who was arguing, and said warmly, <.' I defy you to show it— l wish to use a strong expression—l defy you." Said the Attor-ney-General, hardly quickening one degree the pace of the pendulum-like manner with which he reads a statute or cites a case, "If your lordship means, thai it is impossible to show it, I take up the glove, and I think I have already shown it If your lordship means that you defy me to satisfy your mind, I despair of doing so, and will say no more." , Even Jack Holker, patient as he [is, can be goaded .into a report. . On March sth I read a letter of Mr Henry C. Dawson, hurriedly written in pencil from the Cape, giving a hasty account of the disaster at Isandula, and assuring his relatives of his escape among the famous thirty-seven. And that was : all. He omitted to relate, as I learn from a contemporary dated March 7, ' 'that he rode a distance Q$ 450 miles with

specie (£36,000 more or less), attended only, by. two soldiers, one of whom fled on the first approach of danger ; that chesvpam ten rivers, but saved his charge after all fatigue and danger. The enters prise, and pluck of Mr Pawson have been highly eulogised by his superior officers, a^nd- hie has', been specially tecommended .home by Lord Ohelmsford." So I should think; What splendid fellows we are, we ; other !. J"■ ; " •' ':,';' . The for the Encouragement ;of Boxing held its first meeting lately at St. Jamea Hall,, and may fairly be called a success. Mr Charles Buller and! Mr Hwfa Williams, the managers, had; certainly collected all the available talent, and the talent, kept in admirable order by Billy Shaw, did its best to amuse us. In' fact, in the opinion of the majority they were kept in too good order, if anything ; for directly " business " was meant the . contending parties . were separated by the M.C., to the great discontent of the. spectators. It was curious to see what a thirst for blood there was among the white-chokered crowd, for the cries of f* Let 'em. alone!" when Billy Shaw parted the combatants were vociferous. But as the managers were responsible for. "accidents," they were of course quite right in drawing a line, i One or two of the spars were excellent, but I expected to see more science than! was exhibited. It struck me the men wanted' a "gallery." The white ties applauded j but their applause lacked the fervor of that of "pals." Whether the association will revive a taste for boxing T can hardly say, but at least the attempt is praiseworthy. The net profits divided by the eight partners in Bass and Oo.'s brewery last year amouuted to £420,000. ; „ , _ It ,is worthy of remark that the less a President of the French Republic is personally of a military man, the more he increases his military staff. Marshal M'Mahon, who had not perhaps i that "habit of victory" of which GeherarChangarnier. boasted, but who was every inch a soldier, was content with two aide-de-campa. M. Thiers, who : considered himself worth Sny man in point of strategical knowledge, but was non^ the less a civilian, had a military household composed of three officers. M. Gre*yy, j who; is every inch a lawyer, makes amends, for ;;the deficiency by appointing in his household a representative of nearly every class of the service — namely, a i colonel, a major of artillery, a major of cuirassietirs, a captain of the staff, a lieutenant in the navy, and a sub-lieu-tenant of foot. I was wrong the other day when' il stated that the use of what may be called "live jewellery" originated with an American lady. That was only true of its present shape, and in connection with live "beetles." The idea itself, undoubtedly an original one, belongs to Mdme. Musard, who startled Paris, some ; ten. ; years ago, by appearing at a " representation de gala " with a live snake around her shapely arm. The snake was bound with a thin chain to a splendid diamond bracelet, and at once became a subject of intense excitement to the audience. Several weak imitations in the shape of live lizards, &c, made their appearance, in the following days ; but the fashion did not take, and it . soon died out. It is not a. subject for congratulation that it should be revived now, as it is obviously a cruel one. \ It seems a pity that none of our splendid Wesi India regiments have been sent to the Cape. That color does not influence them is shown by many a raid they have made upon their black cousins in the ' islands they garrison. For soldierly look and; air we have nothing finer in our service.