LONDON CHAT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13625, 19 December 1907, Page 3

LONDON CHAT.

[FROM -OUR OWN, CORRESPONDENT.J, , London, November 8. "*,* Last week I referred to tho marked prO» , gross that was being made regarding the" proposed scheme for a railway ferry across the English Channel. In this connection a, prominent financial writer remarks to'dav:f "A far more formidable obstacle to the construction of the Channel Tunnel than.'. any political or military antagonism is just; now rapidly taking form in the shape of the Channel ferry. The strength of its position comes from tho fact that it is a commercially sound undertaking,-which a tunnel nover could be. The ferry scheme has within tho last two weeks secured the sup- j port of our Board of Trade and the French Government, and from an engineering point of view it will involve no experimental work' or risk, as thero are many object-lessons o£ tho kind elsewhere. Nevertheless, thero; will bo one or two extraneous obstacles to be overcome before tho ferry can commence work. Thero is a slight break of gwuge between the British and French railway systems. The terminal facilities will have to, be improved before a ferry could bo worked-; at full, capacity. Calais, at present, is a bad! : port for vessels of any size to enter, and I a considerable amount of dredging and pier- j construction would have to bo . undertaken before tho ferry steamers could ply. At! Dover thero is plenty of water, but the ill- , considered construction now being carried) out by tho Admiralty is enormously increas- 1 ing the dangers of what has always been J a dangerous harbour. , However, it is hopedthat all theso difficulties can bo surmount-1 ed. . . .;,'

Talking about maritime ferries, that? greatest one in the world, the trans tin ! crossing between England and America, hast entered now upon an entirely now phase.. Tho turbine Cunarder Lusitania, which' crossed last time in, four days 19h. 52m., lias this time knocked more than an hour' off that record, having made tho crossing ip, 72 minutes quicker time, i.e., in four days 18h. 40m., as officially registered. The I Mauretania promises to do more than " go j one better;" indeed, seems likely to "ruin rings round" the pioneer turbine. For during her trial trip of 1200 miles she has maintained an' average of more than 26"! knots, and during a fourth of that distance (300 miles) actually sustained the amazimrj speed of 27£ knots, even touching 28 knots as an absolute maximum. Such figures ad these leave one breathless, ]

■ '.'Yet another London engineering firm is being strangled by the Loudon County' Council and exorbitant rates," says a London financial paper. Messrs. Humphreys, Tennant and Co., of Dcptford, havo docidecii to close their works as soon as the orders! now on their books have been completed. The causes for this decision are the same] as those -which have driven Yarrows to thai Clyde and many other firms to the provinces. With the close of these works the! Thames will lose practically all pretence of being a shipbuilding centre. h There still ■will be, of course, the Thames Ironworks';" but how long it'will cling to the river from; which it derives its name is a question. Messrs. J. I. Thornycroft and Co. have transferred all their large work from the Thames to Southampton; Samuda'a yard! is a thing of the past, arid; throughout the length of the river there will not be a yard! ■where any extensive marine work can be undertaken. It is true that Messrs. Hum* phreys, Tennant and Co. are not ship- 1 builders, but as makers of marine engine*, they stand at the front, and have addetitJ materially to the prosperity of' the rive»i ' below bridge.' " . ;: ;

' Yes, it as the sort of thing which will hap! pen all round if the so-called: socialists— others words, communards and anaxchists-? should ever really gain the > ascendancy. Happily, this now looks much, farther off than it did even a few weeks ago. In the recent municipal elections the so-oalled «}» cialista were simply nowhere. They were not merely ridiculously beaten: they, werb for practical purposes virtually "wiped! out.',' The plain fact ;is that ■the people of Britain had become thoroughly frightened! at.last; when they found that .the kind off "socialism" which was being promoted in-' volved the destruction of matrimony, the abolition of family-life, and the ment of Christianity. Of course the socialistic propagandist, had so light-heart? ediy preached Atheism and Free Love affi now " bursting themselves" to make oittf that they • didn't really*mean. that atial|* but intended something- totally different. Happily,' their measure hasbeeA. taken, audi the British public derides. '. Those municipal elections, by the bye,/ disclosed not merely revulsion against socialism, but also an exceedingly ' action ; against Radicalism and "in favour'of Conservatism. That such is ' the prevalent tendency no thinking person can doubt. It is quite possible that*Mr, Lloyd-George's; signal triumph in the matter of the railwaytJ dispute may infuse a little more 1 vitality!! • into the position <of the Campbell-Banner* j man Government. But,' unless'eome others brilliant success of the kind, such as, sayvi a foreign coup by Sir Edward Grey, or M ; really effective military scheme by Mr. Hat*]. Dane, or a novel and agreeable financial d«*i vice in relief of taxation by Mr. Asquitb-i can be flaunted before the next general elecM I tion comes the present vast Radical ma*' jority will vanish away and become a mere j memory of the past. ',•* ~M •."■.'■' ""''.': ——. yV .;\-'\l '-;'"•'[' '•":'■ .''Jki Last Saturday evening a new star, one ofcj) the first magnitude, arose?'on the operatic; firmament. This,'of • course, is the proper! and accepted method of announcing that Ia;! new singer made (her first appearance . with!! success. And -that is what % happened. | Previous to Saturday night, the name oq Madame Tetrazzini was unknown to English) 1 I opera-goers. Now, thanks to an amazing'. unanimity of critical " booming," every.* 3 body knows that Tetrazzini ;is the one,! vocalist specially worth hearing and that] ".not to know her argues oneself unknown.'*] Her -reception at Co vent' Garden was most enthusiastic, and she Seoul's'certain to be] one of the reigning favourites,'of-next seall eon. .Madame Tetrazzini—who - mad© her j debut in Florence 11 years —if not at striking beauty or a young girl, is yet "air plump and pleasing person"- and a great! singer and actress. She has fairly taken.} London .. by storm to begin with; and m] London audience is no easy "one to please, J CleaTly, she is a personality, to be reckoned: with in grand opera henceforward. «' „'■■ ,7~ " ■■■:■'■' ] ' ■*"■■' ■" '■ $&!'■'■ Every now and then certain people like to. make our flesh creep by expatiating on tbJeU horrors of premature interment I really forget what percentage of burials they make out to be habitually performed on living sub-" jectfi, but it really is something quit© squirmy- Still, it -must be, confessed that*: though one cannot - quite swallow; f without 1 salt; all of these exceeding gruesome l stories;} •positive" instances do - now-./arid'' then occur i which, as the French say,;■'" give on© furioui- & ly to think." One happeried-only a day or! two ago. A woman died,"or appeared to[. die, and was about to bo buried. She was' \ actually inside her coffin';when, somebody casually suggested that as 'she l 'had already" ■ once before been buried in error and resur*'; jrected only just in time to avert deoomposi- j tion, it might perhaps be ; as> well to maki*' some .special extra tests in this instance. That was done, and to " make- assurance' double sure" the doctor shoved a big knife' into one of her arteries. No blood followed! and the doctor \ was; triumphant. "There; you see," ho exclaimed with- glee, "dead as a door-nail this time, you seel" And so they all " took their departure," which the late Charles Read© used to -assert, is the' high-flown medical version of going away. , ; That was all right, or seemed so. Only when the, undertaker came to screw down the - deceased he found the. coffin full of - blood, i- which, of course, proved that the unfortunate; woman had been merely in a state of suspended animation when she was officially and medically stabbed. Anyhow, no doubt remained this time of her absolute decease,• for, as a matter of fact,' she had bled to, death, and the application of divers hot-water bottles, heatecKbricka', 1 and mustard poultices failed in these circumstances to revive her. Her pallid features seemed to say that a little blood would do her more good than all that poulticing and brickintf and • bottling. But it wasn't to be had, and so she was comfortably buried —quite deacj this time. .',