NOTES AND COMMENTS.-

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11724, 5 August 1901, Page 4

NOTES AND COMMENTS.-

. ♦ - Meetings of the Executive Committee for the national commemoration of King Alfred have recently been held at the Mansion House under the presidency of the Lord Mayor, and among those present were Lord Avebury,. Sir Frederick Pollock, Mr. Frederic Harrison, Lord E. Fitzmaurice, M.P.; Mr. G. Shaw-Lefevre, Sir Edward Maunde Thompson, the Hon. G. C. Broderick, Warden of Merton; Mr. J. K. J. Hichens, and the Mayor of Winchester (Mr.' Alfred Bowker). :It was announced that the King had graciously consented to become patron of the national* commemoration, which will be held in the second 01 third week of September ;at Winchester. ; The statue executed by Mr. Hamo Thorneycroft, R.A., will be then unveiled. : The statue, it was hoped, would have been ready for unveiling early in the summer, but owing to its unusual size, it has been found • impossible to have the work completed; earlier than.-, September. The two rough-hewn granite blocks which will form the pedestal, one of which weighs 40 tons, and the other 30 tons,'are, however, now awaiting transit in , Cornwall. \ From the photographs whichi have 'been taken of the plaster-cast of the statue, the statue will together with its base, form a very imposing monument. The committee have decided to hold at Winchester, ;at the time of the commemmoratiohi a meeting of learned societies; and ; the f Royal societies of England and the leading Universities of Great Britain, America, and the colonies have been invited to be represented by delegates on that occasion. The majority of these have already' most cordially accepted the invitation. The sum of - £1500 is still required in order to complete the permanent memorial and the work already . undertaken. Among recent subscribers are the University of Pennsylvania, £100; , and the Colonial Dames of America (first "• instalment),\ £20. The corporation of Winchester ,- are \ acquiring 35 acres of laud for the ' purpose of a public park and recreation ground. ; This spot will include 'a portion of the site of the once famous Hyde Abbey, where King Alfred and his wife and the first King-Edward were V buried. v;; Excavations : have been begun under the auspices of the Mayor;'. and tie foundations of the eastern apse of the I abbey have been already uncovered. ■' ; '' Mr. Robert Cromie, 'of • Belfast, who is a j member ■■ of the Astronomicaly. Society of \ France, recently received ■ from the French' branch ;of the Alliance des Savants ■; et \ des j Philanthropes de tousles Pays" a circular j inviting his adhesion to a movement for arbitration in the Transvaal war.. This contained the following remarkable passage :— "If the voice of the peoples, in. default of the Governments, does not succeed in imposing arbitration upon perfidious Albion with a view to the conclusion of an honourable peace with the South African ' Republics, the robbers of gold mines will be con- j strained, in order to triumph at any price, to give themselves . up more than ever to a war of ; extermination, of nameless savagery, of abominable atrocities, which will fill the world with horror and disgust." In reply to this circular, Mr. Cromie regretted that its diction made it impossible for him, " as it ought to be impossible for all Englishmen of whatever politics or sympathies, to sign a petition so" admirable in its ; object but so unfortunately described.' % He; could only believe that its fantastic phrasing was the actual and".-immediate,?if l subconscious, re;sult of " horror and disgust" lat the ghastly ruffianism of the Continental troops ~in China. He feared that the appeal, which was ill-considered in argument and wrong in fact, was liable tc do great harm in the hands of the unintelligent, and he sympathised sincerely with, the alliance in having contributed to a result which he, was sure was far from their- intention.. Sir Henry Jackson, the new Governor of the Leeward Islands, has been Colonial Secretary at Gibraltar for the past eight years./ Before going to the "Rock" he had been nearly .20, years in the colonial service. ■■'■ He began his career in the Royal Artillery, but : in s: 1874- went; out. to Trinidad as ; A.D.C. ■ to the then Governor , Sir / Henry Irving. Later on •: he ■ acted in the same capacity to the late Sir John Glover when that officer was Governor of Newfoundland.» Then he went with Sir Arthur Havelock:t«; Sierra Leone, following '. that Governor back to Trinidad when he. was promoted there. In 1885 he was appointed Commissioner of the Turks Islands,: and five years later became Colonial Secretary of the ; Bahamas, from which place he went to Gibraltar. Sir Henry's promotion to a Governorship has been, well earned, and he ought to go far before he leaves the service. ;-':; Considerable importance is attached to a speech on the United States Government's colonial policy, delivered at th& Wesleyan University, Middletown, > Connecticut, by Mr. C. r Emery Smith, .the Federal Postmas-ter-General, who is popularly supposed to voice the sentiments of the Administration. After vigorously defending the Government's colonial policy, Mr. Smith proceeded as follows : —"There is no danger of the United States following in the paths of England, Germany, and France as a colonising Power What we have recently done has been done involuntarily. We accept; our responsibilities, but ■ do not seek new conquests. Moreover,.,the world is already fully partitioned. Asia and Africa are covered by spheres of European influence, but the Monroe doctrine , protects • Central ) and South America, where fwe - want i; nothing >; • ■ but branches of , a American brotherhood. We do not want a policy of territorial aggrandisement, and for the reasons I have stated such a policy is barred if we did." Some method is being sought to prevent the abuses of the French jury system.; The verdicts of the different Assize : Courts in Paris and the provinces tend to encourage crime of all kinds. M. Berenger, with other eminent legal f; economists, does/not accuse the juries'of erroneous or perverse leniency:: ; ; French : legislation; in its present form makes the juryman the representative of society, the' judge being the representative of the law. ■c In giving his verdict the juryman; is: and : ought to be unaware,; of the after application. The thought of this [ leads to timidity, especially in certain cases | in which crime is committed through provoj cation or passion, or where the prisoner being guilty has been long in prison on remand with excellent antecedents. All this leads to illogical and diijconcertjng acquit* to!*, ! r ■.-,■■■>:.';.: : - •..-. •■' ■■: ..;'■": ■''■.■■ ••■',','-. '.■..•' ;---'■.-■"!. '"■::■■■■. v; : :>v'£,«-s' < ■;'.:. v :; ";.,;;;. V' -. :'',:;'';■;■■:■-. '-'".■■ i ; ■■■■;'■,-::. ; :-;':".;;;;';. :: >vi; i .;.?'/l,;4:';;-;;;ivv.;;' ,;