NOTES AND COMMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 10037, 25 January 1896, Page 4

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

It was announced some days ago that tho Pope had appointed the Very Rev. Jacques Maher Vicar-Ueneraf of the diocese of Port Augusta, Southern Australia, as Roman Catholic Bishop of Port Augusta, in succession to Dr. John O'Reilly, who was lately transferred to the Archiepiscopal See of Adelaide. The new Bishop of Port Augusta was born in the parish of Ballyneil, Tipperary. He was ordained priest in 18G8, and arrived in South Australia in Decembor of the same year. He filled various positions at Kndina, Mount Barker, Adelaide, and Kapunda, and was then appointed to Pekina. When the Port Augusta diocese was formed Father Maher's merits found quick recognition. One of the first stops taken by Dr. O'Reilly when he took charge of the Port Augusta diocese in 1887 was to appoint him Vicar-General. He played an important part in the strenuous effort made by the Northern clorgy and laity for the liquidation of Church debts, and, noxt to Bishop O'Reilly, 111681100034 of the work was largely due to him. Upon Dr. O'Reilly being appointed Archbishop of Adelaide, Father Maher was placed by him in tho responsible position of Administrator of the diocese until his successor was appointed. The Bishop, in the capacity of Administrator, attended the Australian Plenary Council hold in Sydney in November last.

Mr, Lucy, the well-known English journalist, referring to the doath of Mr, Sala says Poor Sala has nob long survived the pitiful breaking up of his household gods, the salo of his library, and the dispersal of the ourious things he had picked up in his varied travels. After a long life of incessant hard work these final twelve months have proved a crown of thorns. As Sala admitted in his recentlypublished autobiography, although he has worked hard he has not through a long career bean underpaid, flow the financial collapse came is a matter at which the general publio may well marvel, and of which las personal friends do not care to talk. Sala's writing had in it that quality of apparent ease which is responsible for overcrowding journalism with incompetent hands. It seemed so easy to do that Jack, Tom, and Harry felt sure they could do it. The fact is, Sala was the most painstaking worker that ever held pen in hand, Ho occupiod more time in selection and study of his theme than an ordinary loader writer requires to finish his morning or evening task. For many years of his later life he wrote at home his daily leader for the Telegraph. The actual dictation of the column and a turn usually occupied him an hour and a-half. But the preliminaries began at half-past eight in the morning, tlio hour at which he regularly sat down to breakfast. He had all the morning papers before him, and looked them through in search of not 01113 subject for a social leader, but a scries. In his survey of mankind Sala would sometime? cutoutaa many as twenty possible topics. On further consideration and pains', taking comparison, he wOuld reduce these to live or six. Eaoh extract was pastod on a sheet of paper with a. few linos indicating his proposed method of treatment. Tho parcel was 'despatched to the editorial sanctum in Fleet-street, and the editor

made bis oholce. By • this' time the whole morning had sped. There remained tho afternoon for the composition of the article upon the topic which represented tho survival of the fittest. Thoae who think newspaper articles are " knocked off" between whiffs of cigar or cigarette will perhaps refiect upon the lost labour spent upon the nineteen topics of the day finally disrated.

Prinoe Henry of Battenberg's selection for active service in the Ashanti campaign was at the time bitterly resented by military men. Writing a fortnight' Christmas a London correspondent said: There is a good deal of feeling in military circlos about the selection of Prlnco Henry of Battenberg for service in the Ashanti expedition. Tho War Office lias been bombarded with requests from distinguished officers for appointments on active service. The immense majority of them weromoro or less politely sot aside upon thegroundof there being no room; yob here is a foreign courtier, who has dona no service with the army, picked out for a prized staff appointment, and goes gaily off to tho war amid salvos of royal farewells. It is a characteristic inc> dent that tho public, desirous Of finding some one to abuse for this unfortunate episode, incontinently fix upon Mr. Chamberlain. It is thab statesman's misfortune that whenever anything shady is done, whether in Parliamentary procedure or administrative business, men shake their heads and whisper "Joe." A moment's reflection would show thab the Secretary of State for tho Colonies has nothing to do with the personal appointments of ft military expedition. The initiative lias, doubtless,come from Prince Henry himself, bored, as ho may be with the peculiarly depressing circumstances of domestic life, and anxious to get a little excitemenb and an exceptionally.long leave of absence, all at the public expense. The Queen's consent gained, the rest? would follow as a matter of courso. Nevertheless, it is a pity that Lord Wolseley's new command should thus early bo marked by an incident which offends soldierly instinct, and enforces a prinoiple dangerous to the efficiency of the array. All this resentment has, however, been wiped away by tho death of the young Prince. Ho took the risk and has paid the penalty ; and it may be that his untimely death will have important consequences for the Queen, whose favourite ho was, has been prostrated by the event, and is said to be far from well.

Not a little attention, writes a London correspondent, has been attruobed here by a forecast which has appeared in one of the morning papers of the next French quinquennial census, which will bo taken in 1596. People who have read Mr. Benjamin Kidd's Social Evolution" will remember the great stress which he laid on the important political and social results of the decline in the numbers of the French people, and the inevitable weakening of their influence in the councils of the world. Tho calculations now published estimate the present population of the United Kingdom at something like 1,000,000 in excess of tho population of France. What this means will be understood if a glance is taken back at tho beginning of the century. During the war against the first Napoleon there were, roughly speaking, seven Frenchmen to every four inhabitants of the British Isles—that is to say, there was a population in one case of about 27,000,000 to a population of about 15.000.000 in tho other. This disparity, however, steadily shrank until when the British census was taken in 1891 it was found that we were only half a million behind the French in numbers— fact which is scarcely surprising when it is noted that between 1881 and 1801 Great Britain added 3,000,000 to her inhabitants and France less than 700,000. Since 1891 there have been several years in which the deaths in Franco have exceeded the births, They did this in 1892 to the extent of 20,000, and in comparing the population of the two countries it is to be remembered that there is a vast annual emigration from Great Britain to our colonies and elsewhere, while the emigration from France is practically nil, Curiously enough, there are more marriuges in France than in the British Isles, while there is no reason to think that there is greater mortality from disease. The children simply are not born, and the nation is consequently dwindling. It is no wonder that the more thoughtful class of French writers are beginning to take a gloomy view of the future of the race.

The Pall Mall Gazette publishes a sensational piece of news, to the effecb that Turkey and Russia have contracted a secrot allianco. The report, however, is discredited in British and Russian official quarters. There is a growing feeling in America in favour of a friendly settlement of the Venezuelan dispute, and a strong disposition to discountenance the Jingo spirit which is being displayed in certain quarters. The United States Government advise Venezuela to end the dispute. The Russian navy is being increased pari pasm with tho British navy. Her Majesty the Queen is far from well. The death of Prince Henry of Battonberg ha? been a treat blow to her. The Canadian House of Commons has passed a resolution of condolence with Her Majesty. The Belfast strike has ended.