NOTES AND COMMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 10124, 6 May 1896, Page 4

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

In his book " Fifty Years of the Making of Australian History," the late Sir H. Parkes gives somo interesting particulars of his career. The first thirty years of his interesting and varied life are left untouched, the story opening with young Parkes'a arrival at Port Jackson in 1839, with a young wife and an infant of a few days old. The young emigrant found colonial life as hard as ever ib can have been in England: "Finding nothing better, I accepted service as a farmlabourer at £30 a year, and a ration and ahalf largely made up of rice. Under this engagement I worked for six months on the Rogentville estate of Sir John Jamison, about 36 miles from Sydney, assisting to wash sheep in the Nepean, joining the reapers in the wheat field, and performing other manual labour on the property. At the end of the half year I applied to be released from my agreement, being anxious to try my fortunes again in Sydney, and the superintendent, a Mr. Gale, who at all times treated me very kindly, acceded to ray request. Returnin to Sydney, I obtained employment tit in a wholesale ironmongery store,. ■• in an iron foundry, and, shifting as best I could, I worked on among the unknown crowd of struggle™ for several years, during which period I made the acquaintance of several young men who afterwards achieved positions of fair distinction, including Angus Mackay, Minister of Education in Victoria in later years, and Charles Harpur, one of the earliest of Australian poets."

Here is an interesting little insight into character in the shape of a judgment upon Bir Henry Parkes written by himself:—" I believe myself to be a proud but thoroughly unselfish man, with a fervent and unchanging love of my fellow-creatures. I am proud of my strength to stand alone, of my power to resist forces brought against me, of the conquest* I have made by my own energy »nd perseverance; *»"•. I feel no pride in place or position, or in the possession of the gi'ti of fortune, which indeed have been few with me. I have never known what it is to feel envy of others more favoured than myself, and I have never withheld my last shil!!«g from those who needed it more than L The influence of thaw feelings will explain much in my conduct which men have misunderstood."

lb waa stated the other day that Mr, Beit along with Mr. Rhodes was seriously implicated in the Jameson raid. The firstnamed is now a resident in London. His mansion in Park Lane, writes Mr. Lucy, is making rapid advances, and promises to eclipse in magnificence the neighbouring homes of the Rothschilds and others of our old nobility. Not many years ago Mr. Beit was a diamond merchant in a small way in the neighbourhood of Hatton Garden. : Paying a business \ .ait to Kimborley, he determined to stop thore. He sored briskly on to Johannesburg when the Eldorado began to open up its treasures, and speedily became rioh beyond the dreams of avarice. He n»nks with Mr. Robinson and Mr, Bamako as one of the three richest men in South Africa. Like them he has come to London resolvod, as he humbly puts it, to pitch his tent thore, and for the rest of his days to live under its lowly shelter. Park Lane being probably the costliest residential quarter of London, he bought a house there, pulled it down, and is now building up a palace. Soon after he had acquired the property an adjoining site came upon the market. One

day Mr. Bete "",... , , ' „ w«, indeed, |hls "h Nation With charade!? *« lw " chaße ; *asforsale. S enquired , the site l • ~ j \ftuswered t a man of business," and vr£?, .„ „„ _ ~,.JL ~ .tbemorni ?an offer of £io,0!X), which m, , . :„ . ... ,•<.<• «.tfe about a submit to our client. "tl „„„ , £50.000. will yciu.v, *»"*; "Done, said the &%A and L „i,.-_. ' , r ,jand/>e cheque forthwith passed "f uld L vw do> . said Mr. Beit, who tell B £«f oruw to have Barnato living I r ,» There undoubtedly would ba; 6r l monotony about the arrangement giy tell Qren upon the spirits of PH if Thus circumvents] J Barnato hoi leased what he calls O'Ouse, which, as one of the historic |i ns 0 f Loudon, is, he contends, mujjjra worthy of attention than your ne«-ilt villas. Like his brother millionaire Barnato has [ been the architect oB own fortune' His earliest visit to Soaffli was in the capacity of an itineran&! er . Be had his little strip of carpa performing dogs, and other parapq| a pertaining to sleight-of-hand. Trslg about the country be happed os» m Tiddler'* ground, picking up goldlsilver by the bucketful. It is to Mr.fpato's credit that, sitting now at the heaL table long consecrated to a belted eihe his preserved all his native simpllof manner. A short time ago, enjoyinglpnyi! e of sitting next to him at dingl observed (says Mr. Lucy) that anions early acrobatic feats he had left all bai's" on the strip of carpet over which hipped into a colossal fortune. f

The fate of the political piers in the Transvaal has not yet bee&cicled, the Boer Executive having nofcke to any decision regarding their hence? of imprisonment Powerful iijnce is at work in order to obtain lenj treatment for them. It is not expel that Sir Hercules Robinson will leaves Cape for England until the autumn. Ekto's mines have been closed. In England Radicals, led by Mr. Laboucbens nodoaare agitating for the cancellation of Company's charter, and the r*al of ilr. Rhodes'name from the list of ivy Councillors. Or. Leyds, President Iter's son-in-law, has complained to Sir ißoblnson that the mastering of Brfo troops at Mafeking is causing disqo in the Transvaal, as it is commonlbelieved that an invasion of the Tkvaal is intended. Incredible though ibay appear the British agent with a iipicious nan.3 backs up Dr. Leyds' coniint, and makes the astounding suggest/ that a joint commission should be cpinted to inquire into the matter. Is=bs to us tbat the time has come tea Sir J, de Wet should be relieti of bis duty of representing England) tie Transvaal, and that the position shjld be filled by a capable British official of whose nationality there could be noinbt. The suggestion that the bewaring De ! Wet makes stamps him asstterly unfit for his post. Serioul difficulties are being experienced by le transport department of the Souda/ expedition owing to the intense heat priiiling. Th« English press regards the rial and acquittal of Captain LotbaireJhe murderer of the British trader Stokl as a farce. The extraditioi of Dr. CoraUus Herz has been refused >y the Engli-J Courts. II will probsibb bo remembired that the French Con.» sentenced hia '0 five years imprijonmeit in cooneciion with the Panama fnuds. The Wegi Australia! three per cat. loan of three-quarters of i million has been a brilliant success, Th( average price obtained was 100 16s 5d Compared with-.hig result our own thre< per cent. loan ioks like a miserabli failure.