CURRENT TOPICS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXXIII, Issue 15921, 6 May 1912, Page 6

CURRENT TOPICS.

The French town of Aubervilliers has just seen the end of an ambitious theatrical experi-

A TKAVIXTiING THEATRE.

ment. M. Gemier, a well-known entrepreneur, conceived the idea of establishing a great travelling theatre, and a few months ago he -created the National Theatre of the Roads. The construction of :the theatre was a costly business, since it consisted of numerous motor-vans, which carried a complete stage for a company of eighty members, all the scenery required for the production of a largo repertoire of pHys and a tent that was capable of sheltering an audience- of more than 1000 persons. It was by far the largest travelling theatre that had ever been constructed, and the cost of its preparation was £26,000. The tent and the heavy materials for the stage were drawn by eight large "road locomotives." and a number of motorvans, which were furnished quite elaborately, provided lodgings for the actors and actresses. M. Gemier set i out with the idea of visiting every j town and village of importance in his ! own country, and his scheme included j a foreign tour on a large scale, British | and American seasons being planned, j One season in France, however, sufficed, to reveal the hopelessness of the undertaking. The travelling was expensive and sometimes dangerous. "When the theatre was leaving Boulogne a few months ago some of the motor-vans got out of hand and careered wildly down a hill, escaping serious disaster by a miracle. In many, of the towns that were visited the audiences were too small to pay the expenses. Though the theatre had no rent to pay, the method of travelling was excessively costly M. Gemier persevered for sixmonths and then realised that success was impossible. On reaching Aubervilliers ho decided to put an end to the venture/ and all the property of the theatre was sold at auction. The sale was a very poor one. The motortins realised loss than one-fourth of the amount M. Gemier had paid for *i and the whole return for the : Sal outlay of £26,000 was £s2oa A M Gemier already had lost n good i S , o 'f monev during the season's tour his venture ended disastrously.

HISTOBICAI' . I.ETIEB9.

London is the scene of many sales of historical treasures, but of all the curiously valuable relics

f the P aßt wnicll have found tlle >r i - into the auotion rooms, few have |

been more interesting than two letters that were offered for sale last month. One of them is a letter that was written by Anne Boleyn's father to Cardinal Wolse'y, on July 30, 1519. Sir Thomas Boleyn was Ambassador at tho Court of Francis I, and he wrote to the Cardinal urging that a meeting might bo. arranged between Henry "VTn and the King of France. The reason for the suggestion was that the British King held a very strong position in European -politics. " The coinon bruyt amonge wyse men here," wrote Sir Thoinas, " and specially amonge all Princes ambassadours that be here resident, is how the ordre and gouvernance of all xtondomo restyth now in the plesure of the Kings highnesse, for they say pleynly yf the King's grace be dysposed to have peas amonge Princes there is nother Emperor nor King that dare wtouthym wege or enterprise war.'' This letter was the first step in the negotiations which ended with the meeting of the monarchs on the historic Field of the Cloth of Gold. The interest of the second letter is personal, rather than, political. It is an original letter, written with his own hand by Oliver Cromwell, on January 23, 1642. Tho Protector was then only a captain. On his march to Cambridge, Cromwell wrote to one Robert Bernard, warning him that he was suspected of Royalist leanings. " Its true, Sir," the letter runs, "I knowe you have beene wario in your carrages, beo not too confident thorof, subtilitio may deceave you, integritie never will, with my hart I shall desire that your judgment may alter and your practise. I woud only to hinder men from increasinge the rente, from doeinge hurt, but not to hurt any man. Nor shall I you, I hope yon will give noe cause, if you doe I must be pardoned what my relation to the publike calls for." Cromwell apparently had ideas of his own concerning phonetic spelling, and his masterful spirit already was revealing itself.

IN' A EEBEL TOWN.

Nanking was a city of excitement, during the days when it was the re-

publican capital of China. The rebel soldiers were gathered there in thousands and were armed with Mauser rifles. Many of the men had no knowledge of the range and power of their weapons and the deathrate among the inoffensive citizens rose suddenly. Bullets flew in every direction at all hours of the day and night and the popping of the rifles was unceasing. Mr David Fraser, a correspondent of the '"Times of India," was in Nanking at the time and he wrote that many of the republican recruits did not know one end of a rifle from the other. They were constantly study- :' ing the working of their new arms and i the process entailed the firing of unpremeditated shots into space. Other soldiers who prided themselves on their wider experience never missed an opportunity of shooting at the sparrows that perched in trees and on the rooftops. They were not troubled by the fact that the bullets would cOmo to earth about two mifes away with force enough to penetrate a thick wooden wall. On cold days the republican soldiers used their rifles to warm their hands. They would squeeze " clips" of cartridges into the magazines and fire shots in rapid succession into the air. Then they clasped the heated barrels contentedly, while the bullets found billets in some part of the city. The military authorities were compelled at laat to issue an order that no soldiers should carry weapons when off duty, and the people of Nanking were able to emerge from the cellars. When Mr Fraser first reached the- city, the streets were strewn with headless corpses, the results of a decree against looting. republican army had been permitted to sack the Manchu quarter, but its leaders had put a limit to the disorders and the penalty for disobedience was summary execution. Men who were caught in the act of robbing the empty houses were made to kneel by the roadside and were beheaded with one sweep of a sword. The bodies wore left as a warning to other evildoers. The correspondent mentions that the republicans possessed a motor-car, which was used by the commanding officers. The car was often to be seen rushing through the narrow streets at headlong speed and it caused the deaths of sev- ; eral people. The chauffeur was finally placed in gaol by the provisional government on a charge of criminal care- { lessness. !