ARISTOCRATIC AMOURS. That Thoughtful Cable-man.

Free Lance, Volume III, Issue 147, 25 April 1903, Page 8

ARISTOCRATIC AMOURS. That Thoughtful Cable-man.

AT frequent intervals the Press Association people of London, no doubt believing we are a spotless nation, who have no sins of our own, send us out a few nasty details of the amours of some of Britain's bluest blood. Does a countess run away with the groom, or a peer make an ass of himself, the subject is considered interesting enough to cable to the colonies, so that we may gloat over the morceau with as little delay as possible. • • On Wednesday night, we were reminded of the recent foibles of the aristocracy by a caible dealing with the plebian husband of ex-Countess Russell. It is safe to say that William Brown, the aristocrat's husband, would never havei reached the distinction of a cable message all to himself if he had stuck to his father's! trade. He would never have been heard of. But, so soon as, his sins become aristocratic by contract, he is inflicted on a long-suffer-ing colonial public. • * « Probably, the aristocracy of England sin no oftener than their servants. Peers of whom we know nothing, countesses of whom we had never heard before their sins were published, "honourables" whose sole distinction is in the fact that their ancestors did as little as they oould for some generations past, are trotted out pea- cable for our inspection. We have dirty linen of our own to wash mi New Zealand, and there is a disposition already in this country to have cases dealing with the social sins of gentle and simple persons heard behind closed doors. • * * If v, c must have the nauseating news about the frailties of the British ruling class, why not waat for the mail summary of the nastiness of society? Maybe, of course, the moral Press Association people imagine that the uncloaking of tihe sins of people the colonies care naught about will act as a deterrent to the nobility and aristocracy of the coloaues, by showing them how to avo'd moral pitfalls, and all that kind of thing. We submit that the laches of Sally Jones, of Whitechapel, and the pecadilloes of Bill Sykes, of Billingsgate, as news, should claim the attention, of the Press Association if it considers the downfall of a Crown Princess o the sins of a Sultana worth sending along. • » * The sins of either we are not in the least concerned with, and it is absolutely unnecessary to our well-being that we should blush for the conduct of people so entirely out of the colonial sphere of interest.. Cable news other than that dealing with curious happenings in high life is served up to us. Evidently, the cable gentlemen are convinced that we are a simple pastoral people, who believe in fairies — and tales of that description. Imagine the importance of that item which tells us that while at Malta a white dove was released from a sham Noah's Ark, that it hovered over Bang Edward (we suppose Providence was signalling peace), and returned to the Ark. Upon our word, it sounds like an old wife's tale from the Devonshire of a century ago. But, of course, it is true. The cable said so.