ENGLISH GOSSIP.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 889, 15 March 1889, Page 11

ENGLISH GOSSIP.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) London, January 25.

Chatting the other day to a globetrotter who had just returned from a round trip to the Antipodes, I asked what city interested him tho most, and the reply came instantly “ Marvellous Melbourne.” And then he launched out into about three columns of lively descriptive matter. Ho was. a Cockney born and bred. He had been away on his travels for three years, and when I told him of the “ marvels of the mighty metropolis of England” he had to confess that after all London is the most marvellous city in the world. True, every great city has its attractions and advantages, but London is rapidly eclipsing them all. To a colonist who has not seen this city for many years, tho changes of late years will seem little short of marvellous. A score of years ago one could count all the “big” hotels iu London on the fingers of both hands. Now it is a good sized sum in arithmetic to enumerate them all, and tho Americans can no longer boast of their proud possession of the “ biggest hotels in the world, I guess. ” It is a matter of astonishment to sit quietly in one’s chair at times and ponder over the present and projected improvements of London. The construction of a successful underground railway was a scheme bold and daring, and I daresay its originators little dreamed of its present capabilities, resources, aud advantages. Another scheme is now brought forward which will pub the famous underground railway completely in the shade. A Bill is about to be brought before the Houses of Parliament empowering a wealthy company to construct what will be known as /‘a Central Subway Railway.” The idea is that the underground railway does not provide sufficient accommodation for passenger traffic along the great main thoroughfares, such as Oxford-street, the Strand, Fleet-street, etc. This proposed subway is to be constructed underneath the main - streets, taking up the whole width of the street. It' is to have four lines of rails, the two outer lines being for ordinary trains stopping at each station, and the two centre lines for fast trains running express on through distances. The great novelty, however, is that the entire motive power is to be electricity. Those of my readers who remember the often unpleasant atmosphere of the present underground railway will understand the importance of the comfort provided by the absence of smoke and steam. This marvellous London is threatened with another luxury smoking omnibuses —superbly fitted up with every convenience, so that lovers of the weed can enjoy a drive through the streets while at their favourite devotion. Another project is street dining-cars, so that a City man in a great hurry to reach the bank from, say Putney, need not lose any time in getting his luncheon, but can eat and ride in ease and comfort. Then comes another innovation, last but not least. We are promised shortly a real live American daily newspaper, published in this marvellous city. I need not say there is but one man in the world with pluck enough to do it, and that man is James Gordon Bennett, proprietor of the New York Herald. He has secured a long lease of the premises formerly held by the Globe newspaper. Bennett is spending a lot of money in this new venture, and is determined to introduce a new style of journalism in England. It will be the first daily paper to acknowledge that the world’s events do not recognise Sunday or holidays, and will be published on the 365 days of the year. At first it will be a double sheet, about the same size as the Pall Mall Gazette. The London agent of Bennet says : “Endeavours will be made to eschew heavv or perfunctory or baldly stated accounts of events. These will come from +ho pens of detailed reporters in graphic and not perfunctory style. The politics of every country will be considered from tho standpoint of impartial observation, excluding all symptoms of ‘an organ.’” Mr John Russell

Young is to bo the managing editor ; Mr An orey Stanhope will uudertake the business amngt-m -nta ;Me W. C. Reick, of New York, will act as nows editor ; Mr Frank O. Norton will be assistant editor-in-chief ; Mr Wi.fred Bishop will be sporting editor. There will also be the most prominent lady journalists of the day as contributors, and agents in everypart of the world. The paper will not, as many suppose, be run on purely American lines. The “ smarnw- ” of American journalism will bo toned down to suit English tastes, but there will be an entire absence of the high toned, dry, dreary, learned articlesthe average John Bull is content to put up with. All the matter will be crisp and to the point. Dr. Parker, pastor of the City Temple, the well-known Congregational minister, is a man who has learned the secret of keeping pace with the times he lives in. He is not of the ordinary make of the usual run of pastors. He has strength, of mind to rise above the dead level of his brethren and strike out new N lines for himself. His sermons are always delightful. There is a brisk freshness and originality about them which marks him as a man a head and shoulders away above his fellow ministers. Last Monday (January 21) he commenced the first, of a aeries of addresses to working men in their dinner hour (between 12 and 1). He issued thousands of handbills, in which he said “Workingmen, come in your working dresses. If you like.to bring your dinners with you, bring them. If during my address you would like to smoke your pipes, smoke them. If at the end of tho address you want to ask me any questions, ask them.” The schoolroom on Monday morning was crowded, a great proportion being bon& fide working men, but they did not accept in full his kind invitation. None brought their dinners, nor was a solitary pipe lighted, but a profound attention was paid to his address, the subject of which was “ Mistakes about preachers.” He said ho wished there were a thousand more Dickenses to brand with satirical scourge the Chatbands and JStiggenees who falsely posed as true ministers of the Gospel. At the close of a pithy and most interesting address, he lifted a glass of water to his lips, saying, *‘II re’s to the preacher who submits himself to cross examination.

A curious change is gradually coming over trade iu thi3 country. We are gradually getting more Americanised every day. When our manufacturers read of the “big booms” made in America bv means of “ trusts” it makes their mouths water but it is only of very lnt.e that our people have had pluck enough t.o try the experiment for- themselves. ’ The Salt Trust was first tried, but that is a practical failure, salt has been discovered near the' river Deo in Cheshire, and at Barrow-in-Furness in Lancashire, and a syndicate of small makers have entered the market and broken up the scheme of the trust for making a big “ corner in salt.” The latest, “ trust ” is a steel rail affair. The whole of the steel rail makers of tho United Kingdom have formed a union to form a fctoel Rail Trust. The German, French, and Belgian makers have, within the last few weeks, also joined this ring, so that a complete monopoly will now exist in steel rails. Still on trado topics. There is good news in store for New Zealand. I see by my colonial papers that several uew discoveries of copper have been made in the Colony. The only one drawback to the prospects of making money out of theso now finds has been the limited demand for copper. The preswit supply far exceeds the demand. But an important development is taking place in the copper industry. The firm of Messrs Elmore and Co. have, after years of labour, completed an invention for the manufacture of copper wire, pipes, tubes, etc., by means of felectro-deposition from the rough copper bars. Although this invention- will reduce the price of many articles now used, it wiU double —nay, perhaps, more than-treble —the demand for copper, so that there will no doubt soon be a better inquiry in the market for shares in New Zealand copper mines.

In my last letter I sent some particulars of the death of Alfred Vance, the Music Hall comic singer. I had known Vance for the last 20 years. During that time he al ways commanded a fair salary. His usual pay was not les3 than L2O per week, and in th« provinces he has earned as high as L4O a week with occasional benefits thrown in. And now, after a long life spent as a favourite of the public, the personality of his will has been proved at L 39 7s 51. Certainly he had a wife and a family of Bix children dependent upon him, but with such a salary it seems a sad pity he could not leave his children something better than the above miserable sum. It is the old, old story, “ Easily earned, easily spout,” and the society one meets in music halls is n< conducive to a saving habit. What difference between Vance fand a journeyman gunsmith, who lately died in Birmingham at the age of 72. He had been in the gun trade all his life, and although only earning an average wage of L 3 10s per week, he reared a large .family and at his death had LI3OO to leave them.

A sensational In each j’of promise of marriage will shortly delight all lovers of that kind of literature in the daily papers. Miss Phyllis Broughton, the well-known actress, is suing • Lord Dangan for LIO,OOO. The case will be a very amusing one, especially if many of the young man’s letters are read iri Court. Lord

Daugan is known aa “ the King of the Mashers ” He is the recognised leader of (ho dudes, and he is as empty headed as they make them. It is generally said the sum total of his literary effort has extended no further than the drawing of a cheque or signing a three months’ bill, and that there is considerable anxiety to know what ever he could find to say in swell spoony letters to the fair Phyllis. Electric lighting for private houses is now all the rage, not only in London, but all over the country. There are very few of the big country houses that have not adopted it. In the metropolis there i 3 half a score of companies supplying house-to-house lighting, and before the present year is out greater strides will be made in its extension. The cost to consumers at present—that is, to private houses which will only require a few lights—is about three farthiDgs per hour per lamp. This is Blightly higher than the cost of gas, but when it is taken into consideration that the connections, fittings, etc., of the electric light are far below those of gas, to say nothing of the lessened risk and damage, then the electric light is fully as cheap as gas. Imitationisthesincerest form of flattery. No sooner than Baldwin, the parachute man, made a success of his sensational drop from, the clouds ilian there were at least a score of imitators in various parts of the world. Within the next few days a parachute drop of a very novel character will be seen at Co vent Garden. Theatre, now turned into a circus by the Heugler Bros. No less a novelty than an intelligent pony who has been for some months in training to drop by means of a skil-_fully-constructed parachute from the roof of the building. The query i3as to what pitch will sensationalism arrive at 1 The truth of the matter is that the public demand and enterprising men supply sensation upon sensation. The public taste is like the caso-hardened palate of a drunkard. He must have his liquor pungent or it has no taste in his month. The sight of a Jack Tar ashore has pointed a moral and adorned a tale many a time and oft, and his usual light-hearted gaiety has formed a text for many a longwinded homily upon his extravagance and want of thrift. The theory is still in vogue among the unknowing ones that directly Jack is “ paid off,” he rushes into excesses which last till every stiver of his hard - earned money has melted like snow under a tropical sun. This may have been the case in the “good old days,” but the Jack Tar of the present day as a rule is a different sort of a man. He has learned the true value of money and its need on rainy days. Jack is now on the saving tack, and the report of the Naval Savings Bank just published shows the truth of this theory. One ship lately paid off from the China seas had over LIO,OOO due to the crew in this one bank alone. This, at all events, does not show that Jack is an improvident man, especially when it is considered the temptations to spend money are so great on a foreign station. All honour, therefore, to our noble naval defenders for their power of taking care of number one.

The London Trades and Labour Council is in a difficulty. At their last meeting a circular was read from the New York Goldbeaters’ Protection Union to the effect; “ that all foreigners coming to New York to work at goldbeating shall be required to pay an initation fee of 100 dollars each to the Union' before being allowed to go to work.” The Chairman of the Labour Council said “in Great Britain there is a commercial policy of Freetrade, but with regard to men’s labour, if it was to be boycotted in the way indicated by the circular he had read, what was British labour going to do. It was very probable that in a short time the same restrictions would be placed upon all other skilled trades.” Eventually the discussion turned upon self protection, and it was suggested that a 3 the American working men were evidently bent upon protecting themselves, the British workman ought to follow suit, and prohibit cheap foreign labour beating down prices in England. This feeling is growing general all over .this country. Men are gradually finding out that the labour market is being swamped by cheap Workers from the Continent.

When writing upon electric lighting I forgot to mention that in the city of Manchester preparations are being made to supply 10,000 electric lamps to private houses, at an annual rental of 25s each, the same to include fittings, etc. Edison, the electric genius, is now engaged upon a series of experiments, whereby he expects that electricity will be produced direct from coal, dispensing with boilers, engines, dynamos, &c. “ Beside,” he says, “this would U3e nearly the entire heat of coal, instead of only about 5 per cent, as done by the present system of burning. ” We have had a spell from the Whitechapel horrors for a while. The tele, grams the other morning told us that a man named Gray had been arrested at Tunis on suspicion of being “ Jack the Ripper.” The man, who is about 26 years of age, gave before the British Consul at Tunis some most contradictory statements. A woman who was living with him was also arrested, and she owned to having lived in Whitechapel. The woman is an Italian, but speaks English fluently. The man Gray is tattooed on the chest and back with various emblems. Both arms are also tattooed, one bearing the figure of a naked woman, and the other represen-

tations of guns and ropes, with the letters M. and P., which he declares stand for Mary and Polly, two women ho formerly knew. Gray is exactly the man described by several ■witnesses as “ Jack the Ripper.” It is probable that he will be brought over here for recognition. There is a considerable exodus of working men from this country to the . Argentine Republic. Last week over 400, chiefly Irish, left Southampton for i that country, which is bidding high for our industrious labourers. Every inducement is held out to the emigrants. Land is given them free, and a guarantee of employment when they land, and their passage money is paid on condition that it is repaid within two years. A lot of English capitalists have gone to that country within the last few years, and some glowing accounts are received of its agricultural and mining prospects. A curious strike has taken place among the coal miners in Wigan, in Lancashire. For some short time past the new explosive “Roburite” has been used in the mines. The men object to this new explosive, first, on account of its cost as compared with gunpowder ; and, next, as they aver, to its poisonous fumes. It is stated that several men have died from inhaling tho fumes. A committee of medical men are now making inquiries into tho alleged poisonous fumes. General Booth, of Salvation Army fame, held a great gathering a few days ago in St James’ Hall, to celebrate the commissioning of the 7000th officer of tlie Army. The General, speaking on the great economy practised by tho followers of his scheme, said :—They sent out a few years ago a couple of lads to New Zealand, who, when they landed, hud only 20s between them. The result was that in 12 months’ time there were 17 officers at the station, aud an income at the rate of LIO,OOO per annum. Tlie elections for the new County Council for Loudon, of which I spoke, in my last letter, are now over. In looking over the returns, L find that the majority of the Councillors are firm Radicals. Two ladies have been elected—the Dowager Lady Sandhurst and Miss Cobden. Whether the business of the Council will be conducted on Radical principles remains to be seen. The funeral rites of the ill-fated lima do Murska and her daughter were of an impressive order. By their express desire their bodies were cremated at Gotha. All that remains now of these two gifted people is two black urns containing their ashes. On the urn of lima de Murska is inscribed, “ Ashes are all that remains of a nightingale.” On her daughter’s urn the inscription runs, “ She had battled and suffered much in vain.” These urns are to stand in a public building at Gotha. Sir Arthur Gordon is Governor of Ceylon. His term of office having expired he is about co return to England for a holiday. The people of Ceylon must have a far better appreciation of him than did the people of New Zealand, for they have actually petitioned Lord Knutsford asking that Sir Arthur’s time in Ceylon may be extended. lam afraid New Zealanders did not know Sir Arthur in his best points. In all his travels in all parts of tho world he carried a copy of “Keeble’s Christian Year Book” and marks a passage for each day, which ho invariably reads while dressing. Of course ho has read the book through many times, but he uses a different coloured ink for the various countries he has been in. Thus in the West Indies he used red ink, in New Zealand black, in another place blue, and in Ceylon he used violet. He dates each passage with the name of the place in which he read it with the exact time and date. On the front page of this precious volume is the inscription “From your loving wife.” The flagship Nelson, formerly in your waters, has been temporarily placed in the second division of the Medway Steam Reserve. Instructions have just been issued by the Admiralty that she is to be thoroughly overhauled and repaired and fitted for another term of active service. Her old 12-ton and 18 ton muzzle-loaders are to be replaced with the latest pattern of new breach-loading guns. Max O’Rell, whose amusing book on the Americans is in everyone’s hands, is now making arrangements to visit Australia, under the auspices nf the muchtravelled Smytlie. When asked the other day if he intended to write a book upon the Australians, he said, “No, I should make myself a nuisance were I to go to every country and write a book upon it. Besides, what could 1 say of the Australians ? He’s merely John Bull upside down. I think I have now worked that line out.”

The commercial organ, “ Money,” predicts a bad time for Australia, and says before long we shall sea a universal smash among colonial joint-stock banks and discount houses. “ Especially,” it says, “ in danger are those institutions which have taken part in the reckless competition to lend money on the security of land and house property in Australia and the Argentine Republic.” It is now thoroughly well realised that the land “boom” in both countries has been worked up higher and higher with British gold, and being purely artificial must collapse like a pricked bladder the moment this adventitious inflation is withdrawn. The danger to the Austra. lian enterprises in special in the general insufficiency of liquid assets, rendering it absolutely impossible for all the banks to stand against a sudden fall

in values, such as experience show's is the inevitable consequence of over-3pecu. lation. '