LONDON CHAT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11825, 30 November 1901, Page 5 (Supplement)

LONDON CHAT.

[from OFR own correspondent.]

London, October 18. Preparations steadily continue j for next wear's coronation, and for the subsequent development of the British Court into one of the most brilliant in Europe, if not the most brilliant of nil. The King is determined that there shall be no shortcomings j in this respect, and that London shall have tlie lion's share of the revived Royal splen- j dour which had fallen off so materially in the previous reign, owing in the first instance to Her lute Majesty's bereavement, md, latterly, to her advanced age and increasing infirmity combined with disinclination towards pomp and display. The cev j {flinty of gay times to come -yearly rejoices tie hearts of Londoners generally, who dearly love ? "show," and of the tradesmen jn particular, whe are gleefully anticipating "good times" and increased expenditure as a result of the more frequent and expensive Boy&l and other festivities which &I 3 expected to prevail henceforward. It is announced that as the King a:.J i..j;jL cl the peers, heralds, and State officers who jT9 concerned in the preparations of the coronation ceremonies and arrangements, and who, having been out of town tor some we«ks, are now returning*to Lqndon, there will be a sitting of the Special Coronation Committee at Whitehall next week, 'and that frost that time the sittings will take place frequently. It is also stated that the quaint lolsmnities of the Court of Claims are to be relived on or about November 1. With tto Lord Chancellor as president the Court wll go into the genealogical, territorial, aid other claims of a number of persons who are petitioning to be allowed to perform various ancient oilices at the coronation. Since the adjournment these petitions have been gradually coming in. " One of the problems which is agitating,the minds of some of the peeresses is whether they will be allowed a page to attend hem at the coronation. One of the high officers engaged in the preparations stated yesterday that this point has not yet been definitely settled, Pages have been allowed on previous occasions, but it is pointed out that in the broad lapse of more than sixty years the number of peiresses has greatly increased, and pages may lave to be sacrificed to the demands of gpa'cf." This will be sad indeed! I deal with the verdict of the conn-martial on the ill-fated destroyer Cobn. An eye-witness thus described the final scene in Court:— As is customary, all the »fficers composing the Court sat with their cocked hats on while Mr. G. P. Martin, Deputy-Judge-Advocate of the Fleet, readout tne finding;. The hilt of Mr. Percev'i sword was turned toward him, which shoved, as soon as the Court was opened, tha' ho at least would be acquitted. It follnved that the other survivors, who were ranged alongside to hear the verdict, would be found blameless also. The president, haiing returned his sword to Chief Engineer Pecey, said: ' The Court desire to express thrir opinion that the handling of the dinghy •af-er the accident is worthy of all praise, aid Torpedo Coxswain Frederick Barnes deserves great credit for the way in which he acted on that trying occasion." One feels a lime sorry that only the "surviving officers' are acquitted of blame. Thai seems a little hard on the memory of Tie commander. Lieutenant Boswortb-Smith. whoso gallantly stuck to his ship, refused rescie, and went with her to the bottom of the sea. like a true British sailor. For, as the Cobra did not strike anything, was on her proper course, and.simply collapsed in J the heavy sea through her own structural weakness, surely no blame should even impliedly attach to her brave commander, who is aot alive to make his own 'defence. The ony reason that suggests itself for the seemingly pointed exception of non-survivors fron absolute acquittal of blame is that possibly the Court deemed nim imprudent for continuing on his course in such stormy neither. But he appears merely to have obeyed orders, and surely would have been , htu censurable had he, " on his own," turned tail before a rough sea which his vessel had ben sent out to face! It is a general remirk that he has been somewhat ungenerously treated bv this reservation. By the by, Mr. Hanbury, the Minister for Agriculture, speaking last night at a Unionist meeting, made some very suggestive observations touching the pestilent influence of " smart society women" in relation to War Office appointments. Mr. Hanburr said "No Government could be trusted by the people who did not put War Offce reform in the very forefront of its programme. (Cheers.) We could not afford to be caught unprepared. If we were to -wage successful wars it must bo by careful preparation in time of peace. We must see that we had a real army, and that in promote favouritism had no voice whatever. (Cheers.) We had got to put an end to any system bv which smart ladies of society, or anybody," except those who were alone capable of judging an officer's merits, should lave a voice In promotion." (Renewed cheers.) Those '•cheers" and "renewed cheers" very pointedly emphasised the public, and national ideas on this head ! Earl Russell was released from prison yesterday, having undergone the three months' 'imprisonment to which he was sentenced by the House of Lords for bigamy. He appeared in excellent health and spirits. The lady with whom he went through the form of" marriage in America in the belief that he had been legally divorced from his precious first wife, and, therefore, that the ceremonv was lawful, was unable to meet him at the prison gate, being confined to her room with bronchitis. The earl declined to be regularly '•interviewed," out expressed some opinions prettv freely, declaring that Til, „. -fi-,"i <.. ii.„ >~-=;.,<-TW« and lie had itecii .vh-iim'x-.i t" i...v, j'.'-j"- —- -*-"- influence of the bishops in the House of Lords, and that his sentence was " vindictive and iniquitous." as it was recognised that he bad not wittingly broken the law of the land. Tt is understood that directly the woman who, as his first wife made his life miserable, wrecked his career and sought, with the aid of her subsequently-convicted mother, to blast his character by a series of most foul and wanton libels, shall have got her decree nisi of divorce made absolute, he will re-marry his quasi-second wife, this time in due and legal form.