TOPICS OF THE DAY.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1196, 1 February 1895, Page 10

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

From Our Special Correspondent. London, December 14 POPULAB prejudice favours dying in ‘‘.the ... odour of sanctity,” but a

THS DEATH. OF SIB JOHN THOMPSON..

/great man} excellent folks would undoubted!j- (if they had any eay in the matter)

to expire in an atmosphere redolent of' the " very best society.' Tgather this from remarks overheard in 'bus and railway concerning the sudden dea'.b of Sir John Thompson. \ The Canadian Premier, as you will hare heard by cable, succumbed to heart disease on Wednesday whilst on a visit to the Queen-at Windsor. I saw him at the Colonial Institute the previous evening when he made a short speech, and, barring an inexplicable Gt of nervousness, seemed in his usual health.;, Sir John went to Windsor on Wednesday to be sworn in as a Privy Councillor, and was to have dined with the Queen and slept at the Castle. When takea ill he was just sitting down to lunch with the Household. He first of all fainted, but revived and seemed better. Dr Reid (Her Majesty's physician); was sent for, and was ■peaking to him about the occurrence. Suddenly the Canadian Premier half choked, and lurched forward, into the physician's arms—qui dead. The Queen fortunately lunches alone, so missed the painful scene. The ladies,of the Court were, however, a;l there. They .at once withdrew, but nothing could be done. I need hardly say Her Majesty was terribly upset by the tragic event, and at once issued a court circular expressing her sympathy with the relatives of the deceased statesman. By her order the arrangements for. the dinner party were cancelled,, and a royal command was issued that every mark of respect should be paid to the dead. Aa Sir John Thompson wate a member of the Rpman Catholic Church, the Rev. LoUfdnotto, o£ St. Edward s Catholic Church, Windsor, performed the mortuary services. A keen interest in the paramount events of life, such as marriages, births, and deaths, is a common characteristic of women of every race and social position. It extends even to royaltyj, and it is a well-known fact that these events, and especially funerals, possess a peculiar interest to the Queen. She exhibited it on this occasion by the action she took in directing the arrangements. The shell containing the body was placed in the Great Hall of the Palace in | order that Her. Majesty, might personally Yiew it, and for this purpose the casket, which was covered with a black velvet pall trimmed with white braid and fringe, was placed immediately opposite the State door, under the clock tower, where the Queen laid" two wreaths' on the shell. The remains were followed from the palace by several leading officers of the Royal Household, Charles Tupper, High Commissioner for Canada, the wife of Senator, Sanford, of Hamilton, Ontario (an intimate friend of Sir John Thompson), her-daughters Miss Sanford and Miss Muriel Sanford. The two wreaths laid on the pall by the Queen were from the Royal Conservatories, and attached to one of them was a card bearing the inscription "«• A mark of sincere respect from Victoria R. 1." Her Majesty witnessed the departure of the procession from the archway of the Victoria Tower. As it passed dow n the hill the curfew bell of St. George's Chapel was tolled. From Great Western station the remains were conveyed to Paddington, where they were transferred to the care of Mr Garston, who will arrange for the embalmment of the body, which will then be sent to Ottawa and afterwards to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where the public funeral will take place. It is announced that the British Government has

offered to convey the remains across the Atlantic in a ship oE war, a very judicious and graceful act which will do much towards strengthening the bonds between the mother country and Canada. Expressions of condolence have been received from the Marquis of Ripon, numerous colonial representatives, Chambers of Commerce, banks and mercantile bouses. Amongst those who have paid tributes to the memory .of the deceased statesman is Lord Russell of .Killowen, who was associated with him in the Behring Sea Arbitration.

At the Colonial Institute dinner on Tuesday Mr Playford, the South Australian Agent-General, sat next to Sir John Thompson. Ho spoke very little, in fact Mr Playford was struck by his quietude and reserve. Later at the meeting- the Canadian Premier said a few' pleasant words on Sir Henry Wrixon’s paper. He appeared curiously nervous for-' an experienced orator, and trembled visibly as he rose. Writing to a South Australian friend next day Mr Playford remarked on this phenomenon, attributing it to -Sir John’s known habit of memorising his speeches. Hardly were the lines penned than newsboys were calling out “ Death of the Premier of Canada.”

Whilst attending the Ottawa Conference Mr Playford saw a good deal of both Sir John and Lady Thompson. He had more especially several long talks with the latter, a very clever and capable woman, of whom he conceived the highest opinion. The qualities which endeared Sir John to the Canadians were his invincible political integrity and high honour. “It is d d hard to get Sir John to promise anything, but when he does pledge himself, the thing you want (whatever it may be) is as good as done,” said an admiring opponent recently.

The unfortunate victim of hereditary mania, Reginald Saunderson, was

the KENSINGTON murder.

brought over from Ireland on Saturday last in custody of four stalwart officers, and

- on Monday a coroner’s jury found him guilty of the killing of Augusta Dawes. This, tribunal, as you of course know, only decides the cause of death, consequently the question of the prisoner’s sanity was not entered upon. The artist who witnessed the murder was no less a celebrity than Mr Herbert Schmalz He had a charming canvas “The Awakening of Love” in the last Academy, and is one of the most successful painters belonging to the foreign colony in London. I hear his nerveß were so fearfully shaken by what he saw of the catastrophe that after chasing Saunderson ineffectually he went home to his house in Addison road, and—though unaccustomed to spirits—drank a half bottle of brandy. Even then he could hardly bring himself to face the terrible corpse and to give the alarm, and it was with profoundest relief that on returning to Holland road he found the police already there. Next morning, when he read the papers, Mr Schmalz felt inclined to keep his terrible adventure to himself, but an English friend assured him he would not be acting rightly if he did so, and ultimately the authorities were informed. The inquest merely outlined the story, which I sent you last mail. Saunderson’s behaviour was so extraordinary that wherever, he went during the period intervening between the murder and his arrest be was suspected to be dangerous, and the wires were set in motion. The boy’s father in Switzerland knew something terrible must have happened before he heard what it was, and the police were searching for Saunderson long before they connected him with the Kensington murder. It is interesting to learn that had Saunderson managed to conceal his ■ homicidal tendencies few wofttbs longer

be would have been shipped off to learn farming in your part of the world, and doubtless in time have provided occupation for a colonial jury. This would been pleasanter for his friends and relations, though hardly for you. The case will raise a number of points of interest to the legal world. There is, of course, the question where imbecility ends and lunacy begins. There will also be the point whether the murder was committed in an imbecile moment or in a sane moment, and whether a person only occasionally insane or imbecile is legally responsible for a crime committed in a lucid moment. Possibly, however, all these may be settled at the outset by the court ruling that Saunderson is not in a condition of mind to plCad.

The Kensington murder having in a small way revived the " Jaek the

THE REAL KIPPER

Ripper " 6care the authorities have thought it well to ac-

knowledge—what many have locg suspecLed— viz., that the mysterious hero of the Whitechapel horror 3is dead. The Sun, you will recollect, made a rare todo over the supposed discovery of this assassin some months back, but the police quietly pooh-poohed its wonderful yarn. The Sun's maniac undoubtedly posed as the "one and only original Ripper,' who, like the Christy Minstrels, had " never performed out of London," and his admiring relatives warmly supported his claim. The police, however, pointed out that there were selfconfessed Hippers in every asylum in Great Britain. The character is a favourite one even yet with madmen, as Saunderson's case : shows. When, however, the statements of these self-coufessed " Jacks " were examined thev invariably went to pieces, and the Sun's allegations proved no exception to the general rule. hey looked plausible enough lin print, but half the testimony proved unreliable, and the rest was obviously invented. The real Jack, it seems, belonged, as many suspected all along, to the medical profession, or rather was a student. His friends at last discovered the horrible truth, and had him confined in a private asylum. When he died a year ago the evidence in their possession was submitted to Scotland Yard, and convinced them they had at last found the gruesome Ripper.

M. De Lesseps, whose existence, since the Panama Canal crash broke

DEATH OF DB LESSEPS.

his heart, spirit and brain, has been a living death, tempered by the briefest flashes

of intelligence, passed away at his country house on. Friday last at the great age of eighty-nine. He died a pauper, dependent on the bounty of the Suez Canal Company. If his Panama enterprise ruined thousands of strangers it also impoverished thoss who were nearest and dearest to him, relatives, friends, acquaintances, all in fact to whom the kind old man wished to do a good turn. Moreover he would hear of no such word as " fail." When things looked gloomy Lesseps used to say, " They were gloomier before Suez;" when great engineers pronounced Panama impracticable, Lesseps smiled imperturbably, " They said so of Suez ;" when the cry arose " Panama is a swindle," Lesseps answered " Did not Palmerston say the. Suez scheme deserved to rank among the many bubble schemes that from time to time had been palmed off upon gullible capitalists?" It was, in fact, the brilliant success of Suez which made Panama such an almighty smash. Neither De Lesseps nor his colleagues could endure the conceivable possibility of failure. So long as their hopes were crowned at last, what did it matter how many lives were lost or how much »oney was sunk in the enterprise, Besides,

the Lesseps of Panama was not the Lesseps of Suez. Whether if he had undertaken this seemingly impossible task twenty years earlier be would have succeeded, who can say? Some think so. Certain English experts, I believe, agree with him that the engineering difficulties are not impracticable.

It was in 1854 Lesseps got Said Pasha to c;rant the concession for the

THE SUHZ CANAL.

Suez Canal. The work being decided upon, the next question came to be the raising

of the necessary funds. M. de Lesseps got a hundred friends to pat down £2OO each, which covered the preliminary expenses. Subsequently Said Pasha offered to bear all the cost of the surveys, and AJ, de Lesseps and his party spent five years in the desert, examining the route and making their plans. It was now necessary to enlist foreign sympathy and assistance. Napoleon gave the project his support, but it met with great opposition in England. Lord Palmerston thought the commercial and maritime rela-, tions of Great Britain would be upset by the new route, which, by being open to the navigation of all nations, would deprive this country of the advantages which she possessed. But M. d? Lesseps was not dismayed. He continued to plead bis case with great persistence and plausibility, and succeeded in securing the appointment of a commission of the most celebrated engineers in Europe. This commission reported that the cost of the canal would not exceed £8,000,000. M. de Lesseps then began another propaganda in England, Lord Palmerstc n continued to give the proposal his unbending opposition ; but it is interesting to note that Mr Gladstone was in favour of it. •». M. de Lesseps," Mr Gladstone said, "if in this country we have not been so prompt as other nations to welcome your enterprise, it is because of our character and habits. But once we are convinced we go further, and sometimes show more perseverance than any of our neighbours. For my own part, I entertained at first considerable doubts, which are not yet entirely dissipated ; but I am only too anxious to be persuaded, and I heartily wish you success." M. de Lesseps made a tour of this country endeavouring to enlist support, and although politicians and some scientific men still opposed his scheme, he succeeded in winning the great mass of the people to his side. He had, however, been more successful p.broa-1 than in England, and the close of 1858 sasv the Universal Company of the Maritime Suez Canal an accomplished fact.

M. de Lesseps was made President of the Suez Canal Company, and

AT work,

was assisted by a Council of Administration and of Works,

and on April 25th, 1859, he turned the first spadeful of sand on the beach of Peluse, where Port Said now stands. Before long some 80,000 men were at work on the Canal, and by November, 1862, the channel had been excavated as far as Lake Menzaleh. The Khedive died suddenly, early in 1863, and was succeeded by Ismail, who cordially supported the undertaking. But in Paris an attempt was made to bring about the liquidation of the company and substitute another. Although the Firman of the Porte was still lacking to sanction the enterprise, the work wenc on. The Porto insisted on certain stipulations, which caused M. de Lesseps and his friends considerable trouble, but the questions in dispute were referred to the arbitration of Napoleon 111., and ultimately the Firman was granted. After innumerable difficulties, the great work was at last brought to a conclusion, and on November 17tb, 1869, the Canal was declared open,

crowned heads and distinguished men and women of all countries gracing, the inaugural ceremony with their presence. It was a proud moment for M. de Lesseps.

Over the triumph of Lesseps, who soon

THE HOUR of triumph,

became Sir Ferdinand de Lesseps, K.C.5.1., in England, and Yicomtein France, and whose decorations would

nil a fair-sized trunk, I need not dwell. Both Egypt and his company were in financial difficulties, but these Lord Beaconsfield relieved by his grand coup of buying up the Khedive’s shares in the canal for four millions. In 1875 M. de Lesseps began the publication of “ Lettres, et Documents pour servir k l’histoire du Canal de Suez,” which was not completed before 1881. For this the French Academy awarded him a prize of 5000 francs. In 1884 he was selected to occupy the seat among the “ Immortals ” left vacant by the death of M, Henri Martin. The occasion of his admission to the Academy was rendered more than usually famous by a speech by M. Renan, which, it wa3 said, contained the most glowing tribute which was ever paid to the life and labours of the great engineer. Here is one passage .- —“ Your glory will not suffer from any intermission. Already you have almost entered upon the enjoyment of the judgment of posterity. Your happy, - vigorous, and honoured old age recalls that of Solomon, less, no doubt, its weariness. As to that, you have never known what it meant, and although you have been very well placed to see that all is vanity, I doubt whether that thought has ever suggested itself to you. You must be very happy, sir, satisfied with your life, and indifferent to death, for you are brave. You feel somewhat uneasy, you said in one of your lectures, when you reflect that in the Day of Judgment the Creator may reproach you for having modified His handiwork. But let me assure you that there is no ground for fear on this score. If there is one person more than another as to whose attitude in the Valley of Jehoshaphat I am under no apprehension, it is you. You will continue there to play the charmer’s part; and as to the Great Judge, you will win Him over to you. You have improved His work; He will assuredly be well pleased with you.

THE story of Panama, its gruesome horrors, its financial disasters, its

the hour OF disgrace,

entourage of rogues, its fatuous directors, has been told too recently to need repeti-

tion. The outcome was a prosecution against M. de Lesseps and his brother directors for breach of trust and malversation of funds. In connection with this a touching story is told. M. de Lesseps’ worries and anxieties had told severely upon a naturally robust frame, and it was while lying ill in bed that he received a summons to appear before M. Prinet, tbe examining magistrate. It had been decided to break the news to M. de Lesseps as gently as possible, and this was done. He then rose in his bed and called for his clothes, and his Grand Cordon of the Legion of Honour. The old man, who before had seemed unable to move, dressed himself and proceeded to M. Prinet, in whose presence he defended not only his management of the canal, but the canal itself. When he returned home he was seized with fever, and said to his wife, “ What a terrible nightmare I have had 1 I imagined I was summoned before the examining magistrate ; it was atrocious.” . By-and-by he beeame conscious that the incident was not a dream, but he never afterwards, it was said, spoke of Panama,

I BECALL sending you the story of the pain--1 : k ful scenes at the trial of the ■

THE END IN . DARKNESS.

Panama directors and of the interview between poor j i. Charles de Lesseps after his j conviction, and his aged and i

fortunately semi-unconscious sire. He was then at La Chenage, spending his days in j an armchair, apparently unconscious of all the accusations brought against him, his son, I and the other members of the Panama Board of Directors. He lived, so to say, mechanically, and scarcely ever said a word. In order to spare him grief, his wife and children put old journals and reviews into his hands. He seemed to read them attentively between his fits of somnolence, but from the manner in which he recei7ed his -son when he was at length released from prison it is believed that he had all the time a vague knowledge of the misfortunes which had befallen his family,'and that he had suffered moral torture while his family and friends had imagined he had been living in happy ignorance of them. When Madame de Lesseps heard of the sentences, she is reported to have said:—"lt is a fitting climax that both father and son should be condemned, and the very enormity of svich a scandal will better protect our honour than less thorongh-going injustice. It is better, however, that M. de Lesseps should not be in a condition to realise the frightfnl blow that has fallen upon him. Yet, when I think of Ferdinand de Lesseps being in gaol I really ask myself whether I must not be dreaming. The slur which this sentence seeks to cast upon our name will, however, fail to affect us, for no one will doubt the good faith of Ferdinand de Lesseps." Many will be of this opinion.

London society cannot be said to have sustained a loss by the death of Lord Orford, for the head of the house founded by Robert

LORD ORFORD.

Walpole never mixed in London society. Be lived, in town and country, something like a recluse. The line on the newspapers’contents bills “ Death of Lord Orford " had little significance for nine men out of ten who read it. The dead nobleman had few interests in life beyond books and pictures. He had no place in the political hurly-burly, and it is said only once put in an appearance at the House of Lords for the purpose of

giving a vote to Disraeli. He was one of the few in England who retained a devotion to the Stuart cause long after all possible chance of that dynasty being restored had gonP. But he took no active part in the latterday lollies of the Order of the White Rose; indeed his health did not permit of much activity in any pursuit during late years. It is curious, however, that the representative of the great statesman who, more than any other, helped to keep the Hanoverian family on the throne, and the Stuarts off it, should have been (as the Daily News puts it) “ an advocate of Legitimacy and a votary in the culture of the Rebel Rose." To those of the outer.world whom Lord Orford admitted

to his acquaintanceship he was a delightful companion, but he had no sympathy with * the times, and was content to live and think in his own fashion.

The “unspeakable Turk,” as Mr Gladstone was wont to call him, is

the Armenian ' Atbocities.

still a disturbing element in Europe, though- the time seems to be still remote when he will realise the

hope of the Grand Old Man by being expelled, bag and baggage, from Europe. - Any time for centuries past—in fact, since he came in, on a wave of pillage and lust and murder—the Turk has been a blot on Christian civilisation and a standing menace to pgace. A barbarian by ineradicable nature, a beast by habit, corrupt, incompetent to govern by any other means than cruelty and oppression, lazy and improvident, unclean and unwholesome, he has only been tolerated by international jealousy. Ever since the Bulgarian atrocities, which sent a thrill of horror through the civilised world, there has been no such monstrous brutality as is disclosed in the reports of the recent Armenian outrage. Ih spite of the official lies and the disguised endeavours to stifle the truth, it has been clearly proved that many of the wretched Armenians were burnt to death, some flogged, tied up, with their heads downwards, basted alternately with boiling and cold water, until the flesh dropped from their bones; while whole yillages were looted and destroyed, and women namelessly outraged. It is a striking commentary on the Turkish system of local government that no one is able to tell the number of villages that have been razed to the ground or of the victims who have been, barbarously tortured to death. The brutal pashas, who grow rich on taxation wrung under threat of the whip and the bowstring from half-starved peasants, not only insolently resent investigation, but tamper with letters and correspondence in their .attempts to hide their guilt. Ear removed from Constantinople, in a country destitute of railways, and often without ordinary roads, it is almost impossible to obtain redress of wrongs. The provisions of the Treaty of Berlin, which followed the Kusso-Turkish War, are completely ignored. The countiy is as badly misgoverned as ever, and the brutal Kurds have become more aggressive. They are described by travellers and others as almost as much savages as the Bed Indians. The regiments raised among them some time ago, with a view to reducing them to order, have become freebooters at large. On the other hand, it is said that since the stream of emigration from Armenia, which has been going on for some years past, emissaries have returned and endeavoured to stir up revolt. In many parts of the country secret societies have been formed, which keep the people in a 'state of unrest. But it is important to place cause and effect in their proper order. The popular discontent is the direct outcome and natural result cf oppressive government and cruel administration. The „ question as to what is the remedy for the existing state of confusion is surrounded with difficulty. The population is very pi*ed, and the Christians are JW-

where in the country in a majority. The only course open seems to be joint pressure upon the Porte by the great Powers. The latest reports on the Armenian atrocities state that at least 48 villages were wholly blotted out, and 6000 people murdered by the Turkish regular troops and the Kurds. The excuse for the massacre is that there was an insurrection among the Armenians, and that the excesses were committed by the Kurds. It is said that the greatest consternation prevails at the Porte in consequence of the action of England in moving the European Powers to make a joint enquiry into the circumstances, and it is believed that the present Grand Vizier will have to retire. At present it is said that Germany declines to take part in the concerted action, but England, France and Russia are in accord, and the consuls of these three Powers at Erzeroum will be members of the commission, which is charged with the duty of taking evidence in Armenia. Meantime the Turkish Government is holding an independent enquiry of its own,- from which littie g-ood is expected. The Sultan is reported to be greatly alarmed at the turn affairs have taken, and is doing all in his power personally to mollify the Powers. It is not probable that the results of the enquiry will be known for a few months.

In his passage of arms with that cold-water humourist and fanatic, Sir

temperance fanaticism.

Wilfrid Lawson, the new Bishop of Bath and Wells scored unmistakably, and

has delighted all moderace men. Too often parsons, afraid of the baronet’s sharp tongue, affect to coincide with his extreme views regarding, the consumption of the “ devil in solution,” as he playfully calls wine. Dr Kennion, however, frankly avowed he took , a reasonable amount of stimulant because he liked it, and because he knew it did him good and enabled him get through more work than he could on cooi, clear, crystal water. Sir Wilfrid was horrified. He wagged his bald head dolorously, and almost in the words of a well known Biblical character thanked the Lord that he was not Us other men are, nor even as this—Bishop.” Later Sir Wilfrid received a challenge from another pestilent moderate drinker. Did he (this wretch asked) condemn St. Paul’s advice to Timothy to take a little wine for his “tummy’s” sake. Extremist though he be, the baronet did not feel quite equal to damning St. Paul, so he said if wine were the right medicine for Timothy, the evangelist of course did well to order it. His tone, however, indicated that he suspected poor Timothy’s “ tummy”? Parodying the manufacturer in “A Pair of Spectacles,” he would like to have said —“I know that * tummy ’; it’s make - believe. It comes from Sheffield.” Even as things were, Sir Wilfrid pointed his acquiescence. “ When,” said he, “the late Dean Close came into this diocese, he expressed his surprise at finding so many of the clergy suffering from the Timothy complaint!” What, one wonders, would have happened had Sir W. Lawson been a guest at a certain marriage feast in Cana of Galilee ? Well, my own special Mahatma (a most reliable “spook”) says that the Baronet would have severely condemned the Miracle-monger who turned clear, cool, crystal water into the “ Devil in solution.” That bit of the Bible has always been a hard one for temperance fanatics to get over. Evidently, Christ approved the use of stimulants on festive occasions, as indeed he approved the use of most good things in moderation and at the right time. But the “ faddist ”is an adept at twisting Scripture to square with his own theories, and when faced with an episode or a text which cannot be wriggled anyhow to suit, solves the difficulty by calmly discarding it as unreliable. A popular Good Templar explanation of the water-made-wine is that the beverage was non-alcoholic; and this applies also, to the Devil’s solution used at the Last. Supper. Of course, however, it was really a vin ordinaire du pays, neither strong nor emasculated, but a healthy drink, such as our draught bitter beer.

Each silly season brings its own monstrosity

CANNIBALISTIC snakes AGAIN.

or phenomenon with the most unvarying regularity. Now it is some vegetable product of gigantic dimensions, anon it is the influ-

enza, or “ Prudes on the Prowl.” This autumn it has been snakes. A python in the Zoological Gardens swallowed one of his mates, after the fashion of his kind, with much solemnity and meditation, - and instantlj a shoal of scribblers eagerly seized upon the incident as a kind of topical pick-me-up in the dull season. All kinds of Munchausen stories found their way into the newspapers. In fact it was a very considerate and thoughtful act on the part of the big python to devour the other serpent at the proper time, and with the most commendable alacrity other snakes all over the country followed his example. Some of the tales were even harder to swallow than the largest boa constiictor. But the palm must be awarded to Mr Arthur E. Viaey, of Ceres, Cape Colony. He says that a large black snake was recently killed near the ostrich farm of Mr Mallerby. As the reptile seemed abnormally developed in the abdomen, as if he were a sort of alderman among his species, he was cut open, with the result that there was found inside a yellow snake almost as large as the black one. But the yellow snake attracted attention in its turn by its stoutness, and an autopsy revealed a good sized black snake in which were 30 eggs, each of which contained a young snake, apparently not much the worse for the temporary entombment. This makes a total of. 32 snakes inside one snake! After this there has been a lull in the snake market. We are patiently waiting for some one to beat the Cape man's record. It reminds us of the lines about the descending scale of fleas preying upon each other. The “Last Snake ” who had absorbed the rext largest would be almost as pathetic an object as the “fcast Man,’’ and wwld remind us <?f the

proud boast of the sole survivor of the Nancy Brig. The London financial organs are fond of moralising on the commercial

SCOTCH CANNINESS

deliuquences of the colonies. The bank collapses, company I

defalcations, and the recent case of the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency have furnished the virtuous censors with inexhaustible texts for solemn homilies on the subject of colonial depravity. What these critics entirely overlook is the fact that all the great " booms " were started by the eagerness of English capitalists to take advantage of the high rates of interest offered in Australia and New Zealand, as compared with the home investments. True, the former were often dangerously speculative, but the English money lenders took the risk. When the inevitable reaction came, they posed in the style of the heavy father who rebukes his own offspring for imitating i the -parental peccadilloes. There are not -lacking, however, ample opportunities for retaliation. Take one or two of the most recent examples. The London and Scottish Banking and Discount Corporation was the brilliant creation of a person named Beall, who had achieved a shady reputation for fraudulent practices in the city for the previous ten years. He was assisted in the enterprise by an ex convict with several aliases. The bait they dangled before the greedy investor was a dividend at the rate of 125 per cent ! The gudgeons rose to it at once, and in 18 months they awoke to the disagreeable discovery that they had been .duped. But when the crisis came the promoters were by no means at the end of their resources. By packing a meeting with dummy shareholders, they contrived to carry a resolution in favour of voluntary winding up. It transpired in the course of the discussion that the dividend of 125 per cent, waa paid in scrip in a variety of worthless concerns. When the process of liquidation has been completed, all that will remain of this splendid conception will consist of a pile of waste paper. In auother case of a syndicate it was admitted that in the allotment of dividends, they were calculated upon " prospective profits/'