TOPICS OF THE DAY.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1190, 21 December 1894, Page 9

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

From, Our Special Correspondent. London, October 20. THE NEW ADMIRAL.

Rear-Admiral Ciprian. A. G. Bridges, who has just been promoted to the command of the Australian station in'succession to RearAdmiral Bowden-Smith, promoted to the rank of Vice-Admiral, has seen a. great deal of active service. -He is also well acquainted with Australasian waters, in which he commanded H.M.S. sloop Espiegle, 1130 tons, 1140 h.p., from the 17th October, 1831, until the time when she was paid off in 1885. He served in H.M.S. Brisk in the White Sea in 1854, during the Russian war. The Brisk will be remembered by many old colonists as having rendered excellent service during the New Zealand war of 1 863-65. She cooperated with the land forces on the occasion of the disastrous attack on the Gate Pa, shelling the. enemy's works from the harbour of. Tauranga. A- portion, of. her. crew- also served ashore in the Naval Brigade. Admiral Bridges, however, had exchanged from the Brisk to another ship in the interval between 1854 and 1830. He was present in the operations of'the Bar of Archangel, and at the attack on Solovetski, and was aide-de-camp to Captain (now Admiral) Seymour at the capture of Pouslatka at Kerutz. He rendered distinguished service during the operations in the Gulf of Kandalax, when, landing with a flag of truce on one of the Solovetski Islands, he was fired upon by the Russians, and only saved his party by his prompt action in placing them under cover. He afterwards took part in the second expedition to Petropaulovski, the great Russian naval station on the Siberian coast. During the Indian Mutiny he served in H.M.S. Pelorus in the Bay of Bengal. It is also another singular coincidence that the Pelorus, commanded by Commodore Beauchamp Seymour (now Lord Alcestor), took a very active part in the New Zealand war of 186061, and 1863-65, prior to which, however, Admiral Bridges had been promoted to another ship. During the Burmese war he commanded the Naval Brigade at Meaday, on the frontier, and distinguished himself in various nr nor engagements. But it is as an organiser and scientist that his knowledge and experiences have been of the greatest

benefit to the British Navy, idle wash member of the committee appointed in 1878 to examine and report upon the type of heavy guns best suited to ships of various classes. In the following, year he was a member of the War Office committee on machine guns, arid in 1881 served on th^OVlnance Committee. Admiral Bridges" is ‘'the author of several standard naval works, amongst which may be mentioned “ Buies for playing Lieut. Snells game of Naval Strategy," which is very popular in the navy. It was mainly this book which brought him into prominence as an authority on naval tactics, and led to his being selected for the post of Director of Naval Intelligence in succession to Captain Hall, when that important department had only been a year in existence, the date of his appointment being Ist January, 1889. In November of the same year he became entitled to the captain’s good service pension, which he continued to enjoy until 21th February, 1892, aud*relinguished on his proraotion to the rank of Rear-Admiral on the 25th of the same month;- The new Admiral of the Australian station reputation of being one of the most, able energetic'officers in the service. -He will .-be. a great loss to the Admiralty, as he drew up the plans for all the important naval manoeuvres that have recently taken place, and though his position as head of , the Intelligence Department was merely advisory, it is no secret that his councils always had great weight with the Lords of the Admiralty. He made a host of friends during his service on the Australian station .in the Espiegle between 18S1 and 1885, his extensive and varied literary attainments'and his remarkab’e conversational powers, heightened by courteous and engaging manners, rendering him exceedingly popular yvith all'classes of the community. As a host and enter-, tainer he and his charming wife won golden opinions at every port visited by the Espiegle. Admiral Bridges is comparatively a young man, having been born in 1839, and in naval circles he is regarded as destined to become one of England’s greatest cap-, tains, and to render important service to the nation in the maintenance of her supremacy on the sea. At present he is on a visit to Wales, but will shortly lake over bis new command. -

METROPOLITAN MORALS. There is nothing which-the average Londoner resents more bitterly than any attempt (outside church or chapel) to mend his morals. Whether the would-be reformers are the Lord Chamberlain and his officials, or the Middlesex magistrates, or the County Council, or the School Board, or merely a pack of notoriety-hunting “ faddists ” like Mrs Ormiston Chant and her clique, the outcome is always the same. A vast lot of irrational and illogical steam is blown off concerning the sacredness of the liberty of the subject, and the reformers are accused of every low and vile motive a venomous and prurient imagination can invent. Nevertheless, so sound at the core is the conscience of the great majority of the law-abiding citizens, that somehow or another in the teeth of the fiercest opposition the right thing gets done. Moreover, once it is done, Tom, Dick and Harry promptly become reconciled, and soon absolutely proud of the change, though thej will never grant the reformer a little credit for it.

An amusing feature of the recent agitation in favour of the notorious “Polls' Promenade' at the Empire was the spectacle of young Mr Knowall (a self-important person much en evidence in public conveyances and places where men do congregate) pointing one finger of execration at the Purist party and another of admiration at the improved conditions of the music-halls and

refusing to acknowledge any conrectiori between the two. Though lion comiqties like Herbert Campbell arid Chevalier readily admit the County Council have entirely altered, and to a great extent purged, musichall entertainments, Mr Knowall refuses them any credit. He cannot the relationship betwixt cause and effect. The change, according to his hazy notions, has been vaguely brought .‘about’ by ; public opinion on the advance of civilisation and culture.

THE EMPIRE’S CASE. ' .. . Ks the English papers have .been fall.‘for the last fortnight of the Empire case, and you will read a great deal therein on both sides, you may as well have my impartial verdict on the facts. ; • : v-y The Licensing Committee of the County Council is supposed to be (and in' fact is) a judicial body which does not challenge an application * for a renewal.unless either its own inspectors or outsiders enter a complaint against a particular place of entertainment. Two years ago the Empire successfully opposed the granting of promenades to its rival the Palace, on the ground that such place? were merely the resort of loose characters. Sir A. Harris at that time remarked that one day the Empire’s promenade would certainly be attacked on similar grounds and they would then be “ hoist with their own petard." as the ;Council could not possibly grant them a privilege which (on their own representations) .they hai refused the Palace. This autumn a party of extremist Crusaders, headed by the clever and glib-tongued Mrs Ormiston Chant, attacked the Empire on two grounds. They found, fault with the entertainment and protested against the continuance of the Polls’ Promenade. - Evidence was given as to the undoubted character of this part of. the building, and no attempt made to rebut it. The Empire management merely pleaded the place'was orderly and well-conducted and the women obliged to behave themselves. The Committee finally dismissed the charges against the entertainment, but (being bound by the Palace precedent if by nothing else) recommended the abolition of the Promenade, and (also as at the Palace) forbade drinking in the auditorium. Mr G-eorge Edwardes, manager of the Empire, had he been wise, would have temporised. before appealing to Caesar, i.e., the Council itself. Too late he tells us the directors were considering the advisability of refusing to admit women unaccompanied. Such a proviso would, have so altered the nature of the promenade that the Committee would almost certainly have given it another twelve months’ trial before enforcing structural changes. But the truth was, Mr Edwardes, misled by the muddlement of the Daily Telegraph’s correspondents (half of whom obviously thought it was the Empire’s entertainment the Committee objected to), believed himself strong enough to beat the Committee out-and-out, and retain both his “ Polls ” and their promenade. The huge dividends the Empire has been paying are due, in a great measure, to this very profitable feature of the place, and the Board resolved to make a big fight to retain it.

What might have happened had they been discreet and well advised it boots not to speculate, for they were nothing of the kind.

To the amazement of impartial onlookers George Edwardes “ gave the case away ” by asserting that if the recommendations of the Committee were carried out the Empire must close and 700 persons be thrown out of work, Xu other words fie tried to bluff - - . ■" j *■?

us that without the promenade it would not pay to keep the plays going l . Mrs Ormiston Chant pointed to this fatal bit; of bounce, triumphantly crying “we shall win now-’’ and she was right. It was. the 1 threat to. shut up the theatre at once, with its implied admission that the promenade was the real business of the concern, that decided the majority of the Council to confirm the Committee’s decision. But for that, many who object to encouraging “ Meddlesome Matties ” and notmiety . hunters of the Chant calibre might have voted, otherwise. We sit here/’ said' the councillors, “to license miisic halls ? ahd other : places of entertainment. If a hall happens to have come ’ into fashion with persons of a certain classV we Oannot help that, so long as everything is conducted decently and in order. But the case is different when we are told * the play is not the thing at ally* and that what we are really asked to license is not a music hall, which may or may not be used by some of its frequenters for immoral purposes,: but a place of assignation, carried on at a profit under guise of entertainment purposes.” Thus did bluff defeat its own purposes, and the Council,, by about 74 to 30, confirm its Committee’s recommendations.

MRS ORMISTON CHANT. 1 am not fond of women graced with long noses. Tt is a curious physiognomic fact that they generally stick them into other people’s businesses. Perhaps, her proboscis accounts for various unreasoning doubts I have of Mrs Ormiston Chant’s sincerity and. self-abnegation. That this lady originally meant well I can believe, but perpetually spouting on lecture platforms has led to a hunger for notoriety, which, I fear, makes • her say not what she .thinks best, but what she thinks sounds most striking. Nevertheless, the mudthrower at Mrs Chant in the Telegraph last week was far too foul, and, as usual when people overdo things, niissed it 3 mark. Behold the result! The good lady has appeared before the Council, taken the floor against Mr Murphy, Q.C. (the best counsel 70 per cert, dividends could buy), and beaten her opponents roundly. If it be, indeed, Mrs Chant, and she alone—as they were screaming all last week—that is against the Empire crowd, the result is one on which that daring dame may indeed—and, I venture to predict, will indeed—plume herself not a little.

LUCKY POLICEMEN AND UNLUCKY BARONETS. ' - /-■ There are some noteworthy exceptions to the Gilbertian adage that “ the policeman’s lot is not a happy one.” At any rate, a “ copper” named William Taylor, of the M Division of-Police, has a.hundred thousand reasons to be one of the happiest of mortals. This fortunate individual is. said to have made the delightful discovery that he is heir to a property at Maidenhead valued at <£loo,ooo. Possessed of this plethoric wealth, the potentialities opened up to Taylor are of the most stupendous character. He may, if he pleases, elevate his particular cook from the savoury atmosphere of the kitchen to a drawingroom, or purchase a thriving “ pub,” and end fiis days in jovial enjoyment. On the other hand, a baronet, whose title dates from the reign of George 1., is a full-blown private in the Irish Armed Constabulary. This illustrious “ number av the foorce ” is Sir Thomas Echlin, tfie seventh baronet of the name. His-position, anomalous as it wa-y seem, is edited S?wwed with that

cf it's two Predecessors in the title. His uncle, Sir Frederick Echlin, fifth baronet, was a pauper in receipt of parochial relief, while his father; the .sixth baronet, was supported by his sons, one of whom was a private in the Eife Guards, and the other a footmaih There: is at least one baronet who is among the minor .performers in a London theatre, and another who was quite recently a photographer in a metropolitan suburb. In Now Zealand I know of One baronet who is ,an auctioneer, and another who is a. subordinate clerk in a Government office. A third died a year or two ago in an Old Men’s Refuge.

. The Sdcihl democratic Party of Germany is very hard up just at present, and at the Frankfort Congress the.other day a very heated debate took place as to the best meins of cutting down expenses so as to make both ends meet. Motions were made to cut down the salaries of the party agents everywhere, and especially those of the journalists labouring, in the cause. It is interesting to know the value placed by German Socialists on editorial work. The maximum salary, in their opinion, should be ,£3 a week*Herr Babel, who is a member of Parliament, and- knows what literary labour means, fought strongly against the cutting-down policy with all his might. He pointed out that his colleagues were striving, on behalf of the workers, to get better °ivages and better conditions of labour, but stultified themselves bv- attempting to reduce, the wages of the intellectual workers in their own ranks. Herr Babel’s remarks were not received ably. The speaker who followed him urged that the party was poor, and must practice economy, and, moreover,-; they considered that the labour of the brain should not be more highly paid than that of the hands. Herr Babel’s clinching argument was one which, for the credit of Socialist sincerity, he must have been sorry to use. If the motion was passed, he said, a number of their ablest journalistic confreres would resign, since they could obtain higher salaries in the service of bourgeois newspapers. Even for a Socialist editor, you see, the best market has a fascination. He will not serve the cause at j£3 a week if he can get <£4 from a capitalist organ. Political economy is not yet banished from Social Democracy. .

A CANNIBAL CONSTRICTOR. One of the strangest incidents in the experience of the management of the Zoological Society’s menagerie—and queer things have happened ere now in the Regent’s Park Ark—occurred in the Reptile House a few days ago. In the compartment sacred to those fascinating members of the Ophidian family, the boa constrictors, were two fine specimens' (sex unspecified) so near alike in size and bulk that only the keen eye of the keeper could tell. “ t’other from which.” They were duly fed one evening last week, a pigeon '.a-pie.ee constituting their supper. ; The/ larger of the twain, nine feet long, had only the tip of his pigeon’s , tail ; to dispose of when the keeper shut up the house,, but the other reptile'; eight feet and some inches long, was still considering which end of the titbit to take first. In the morning the cage contained but ; one occupant : the eight - foot ' snake had disappeared completely. And Brother Ninefoot was. undoubtedly the cause of his disappearance : " a giancq at his condition showed, that. There on the floor he. lay, straight out as a poker, his skin distended till the scales were almost separated. He could not move and for hours remained enwrapped .in “ deathlike sleep.'’. The keeper 'expected the constrictor to die, but instead the cannibalistic meal appears to have -had no harmful effects. Though still slightly lethargic the iboa can now constrict with ease, and its-scales are beautifully irridescent—a sign jof perfect health with snakes. TheTkeeper professes to believe that the swallowing of his mate by Brother Ninefoot was. accidental,; Having finished his own pigeon, he. probably went for the part of the pigeon projecting from the smaller one’s mouth, and gradually enveloped the head of the other snake also. Once comm enced the : swallowing process would proceed almost mechanically.. Aa the' entombed snake was'lesfihah a foot shorter and within a few pounds of his swallower’s weight, the gastric -juices must have dissolved the portion which first" entered the nine-footer’s stomach before the remainder was drawn in. It is perhaps as well to insist upon the fact that this strange case of cannibalism happened in Regent’s Park, London, England, and not in America. " <'v . :