NOTES AND COMMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 10013, 27 December 1895, Page 4

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

The Governor of Victoria, Lord Bra?sey, gave a picnic at Government House, Melbourne, recently, to between 4001 and 5000 of the more advanced scholars attending the public schools. Hitherto the well-kept lawns in front of Government House have been reserved for tho feeb of ladies and gentlemen of the bon (on, and nothing uiora exciting than a chattering festival, called a garden party, with well-gowned women and frock-coated men, has been witnessed within the haven of correct social custom. Buti the vice-regal grounds were given over on this occasion to a multitude of children, bright and happy and well dressed, who made the haunt of society resound with joyous childish laughter for threo or four hours. The spirit of statelinees and solemnity which has usually cast its pall over Government House functions had, says 0110 report, evidently takon a holiday on this occasion, for thoro was nothing of restraint or formality about the way in which these juveniles enjoyed themselves. And if tho children disregarded vico-regal dignity and its associations, so did the occupants of Government! House themselves. Lord and Lady Brassey did all they could to encourage the children to make themselves thoroughly at home, as it were, by participating in their enjoyment. Lady Brassey was particularly active in making the youngsters thoroughly at home. She chatted familiarly with them, rounded up the competitors in the various races, and acted as starter, judge, and general control■er of the girls' sports; whilst Lord Brassey L'aptainFreeman T!nmas,anc! Lord Richard Nevill wore most active in promoting the pleasure of ths boys,

The youngsters were regaled with good things in a marquee capable of holding 1000 at a time. After the first batch had been fed the tent was closed for a quarter of an hour while an entirely fresh relay of plate, crockery, and edibles was made by an array of 51) waiters ami '20 attendant?. In this way all the children obtained their rill without incurring the rush and scramble foi food usually associated with juvenile panics. The naturo and qantity of this Gargantuan feast will be beat obtained from the particulars of tlio food provided. The bill of fare included over two tons of cake, 25,000 pieces of pastry, 4000 sandwiches, 3000 sausage rolls, 3600 ilb packets ol ollies, 5001) ices, 353 dozen aerated waters, 520 jellies, 3cwt of cherries, 15 cases of oranges, 150 pineapples, 150 dozen bananas, to say nothing of tea and breud and butter and other delicacies. The teachers wer« entertained privately at Gov«rnraent House by Lady Braesey.

In relation to tho uso of tho term "cognac" and the names of othfr foreign spirits on bottles containing colonial products, tho Victorian Minister of Customs lias received a letter from a resident in a country district supporting- the views of the department on the abuso of these terms. The writer makes the following remarks i—■ " In London I was a distiller and rectifier of British brandy, and also an importer of and dcalor in the bests cognac brandy, which I obtained direct from the house of Goddard and Company, Cognac, and sold m cogu&c,

, (iistinction'from a great) variety of brandies made other districts of France tbich wero not termed cognac, but took .jj C j r names froa thoir native places, as' i brandies so-audo.' I therefore consider the application of ' 10 tornyiognac to colonial (.'rape iritl is an incident swindle, ji, London I made Jritishjbrandy out of t „ e most inferior if Irifl whisky, and ,ip;ilie I it t0 the oubliana under the n)lll0 of 'B IT, moaning Bitish brandy, SI 14, lid per gallon. Tlk spirit was (ji-iXed, and so rectified from every jmpjrity before compounding and colourj„, that tiie publicans fre|W admitted ih.it tliev .-old it as real crenac." He ,1,1., that " my father and hie seven sons J( . re ill distillers and brewers u Scotland, i:1 l I am the last of the 3-1." It is ijj.-iitfudy coot for this gentiuan, who f.ini-.'.-ses to having made tho worst j r i f !i whisky into British brady, which tv.,6 5 .J •'>" real French cognac to talk of ; j, O -c of tho term cogna 011 pure .v..-: .' 1 K'raP'i spirit, as an 1 impudent ihi;.die." While his letter 'as in the band? of tlni Customs authrities, the (it-jvirnnuiit s;ized seven cases J imported • •cunder French labe , beoause ; i- tut brandy at all, bub ta artificial [pint-

TV-re has lately been an eatery in tor the recall of Mr, ii.Vard, the i; .u..-.-ador to London, bocai.-} it was s that in his public he had relied on the Government of thl United 5 au-. Mr. Bayard is a thouJiful and M lain. The last speecll of his w-'s.vi we find in the papers wi| at the rj-' s of the Edinburgh Phijsophical In-tu it sen, tho subject being " Individual }:cc. ssi; the (Jerm of National ('regress an.' l'er.uaiience." in the cour-i of his Mr. Bayard said:— The fledom of it? 1:. uiaal members was the essential 0; tiia freedom of tho Stale. The movement of the day was toivatl3 State «.) ■; i..-, n as an opposing force to ujtoeracy. Br, o.i.'ier, he held, was despotismhnd fatal to tea individual freedom of mai's mind an.i -j.il, which was the instrumeijality by :lie world had been raised f(>m brub.i.) i ,1 barbarism toils present standard of rniiisaiun. Was there, howevir, not cause :o fear lest between the upier and :: x si-, ttier milestones the twin desjotisms, iLi.iUry absolutism and socialistic t/ranny, t;,c freedom of tha individual eight be ground to death ? What could p.ovont 1:1.1: bat insistence upon a distribution of t-- -0-.vers of government into independent de:.i:tuients and a careful restriction of y.u:e powers to public uses only ' Frame Keiety as tuey might, it was by personal cVaetetistics and individual quaitios that i:_- a.'hirs in the end could be decided. Aat.vr.icy, plutocracy, oligarchy, socialism, ir :r.jo-ruie, each and all were equilly fatal to wed-ordered government, of vhich the ti. i was the personal liberty aid happi-i.i.-j lI too individual. A society in which '."C L'jse.'uial unit was a free man.

Ir, the course of a speech at York the I':.nee of Wales referred to tlx dispute be: ween America and England in cennection with t;ie Venezuelan frontier question, and expressed his belief that the crisis would be arranged in a manner satisfactory to both parties, and that tne warm friendship which jad existed oo long between the two great English-speaking races would con--nine. His Royal Highness's timely and judicious speech has bscu favourably revived in America, as interpreting the sentiments of tne Queen. It is a most unusual circumstance to find the Heir-

apparent publicly alluding to a question of foreign policy of so delicate a character as that which is now engaging the serious attention of the Cabinets of London and Washington, That he should have done so on this occasion, after consultjug, no doubt, with Lord Salisbury, em-pna.-ises the gravity of the situation. His speech will, it is to be hoped, tend to allay the bitter and dangerous spirit which President Cleveland's message hi; aroused in America, and tend to speedily restore the friendly and cordial relations which ought always to exist between England and the United States. Severe lighting has taken place in Armenia. Nfcus fiom Cuba states that a desperate engagement has been fought between Marshal Campos' troops and the rebels, siren hundred of whom are said to have been killed. It is reported—but the report licks confirmation—that the commit:«eof inquiry in connection with the America k up dispute has given its decision against Lord lJunraven. Two disasters on the Irish coast are reported. A Liverpool schooner waa wrecked at Dungarvan, and twentyone of those on board were drowned, By the capsizing of a lite-boat which was proceeding to a wreck at Kingston, Lf:<ren of the crew lost their lives, sir E. J. Harland, whose death is announced to day, was born in 1831. He was "•Jseated at the Scarborough Grammar School and the Edinburgh Academy, He head of the shipbuilding firm, Harland -nd Wolff, Belfast.