TEN-NOTES AND PENCILLINGS.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1510, 7 February 1901, Page 16

TEN-NOTES AND PENCILLINGS.

VALETTA, THE PORT OF MALTA.

AND THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY WITH WHICH IT' IS CONNECTED.

An extraordinary story is going the rounds of the European press. It is alleged that Count Muravieff, the famous Russian Foreign Alinister, did not die a natural death, , but committed suicide. Connected with this were the Czar and Czarina, the Red Sea, Malta, Mr Chamberlain, and the Roer war, the pieces fitting m beautifully when put together. Briefly told the story is that the' Count,

observing that the Boer war was going to strain if not cripple the resources of England, evolved a plan to take possession of the Red Sea, to establish a depot on the Mediterranean, and to establish a more convenient base than existed for operations in the south of Europe. He saw the Czar, and he talked with him, and eventualiy his Majesty proved the worth of his friendly protestations towards England by issuing the necessary instruction for carrying out the project. Why, it failed was beacuse these instructions were withdrawn at the last moment, and the reason for this, is just the tmng which is worrying the sensation-mongers of the Continent. It is said on the one hand that the Czarina, hearing of her husband’s plans, developed r ‘fain ting fits,” and that the Czar, “in order to have peace in his own household,” wrote his Minister countermanding the orders. On the other hand it is known —although the information hasn’t yet got publicity here—that a naval sham fight on a Mige scale was held at Malta, the! ostensible reason being to do honour to Mr Chamberlain, who went over to inspect the defences, but the real one being to show England’s preparedness, Mr Chamberlain being “the excuse.” The sham fight was practically a demonstration of strength, as the island was put m a perfect condition of siege and the “battle” was continued far into the night time. As there was at the time a considerable amount of unrest at Valetta, the captal of. Malta, Mr Chamberlain delivered an address calculated to induce a more harmonious feeling. LORD ROBERTS’S OFFICE. Lord Roberts has taken over the command of the War Office, but his headquarters, as i® customary, will be the Horse Guards. The range of buddings is so muned because a troop of Horse Guards is constantly on duty there. The origin of the latter is peculiarly interesting. Soon after the Restoration, Charles 11. raised a body of troops which he called bis “Horse Guards,” their special duty being to protect the Kang’s person. For this troop staples and

baracks wee built in what was known as Tilt Yard, but in, 1751 these were removed to make room, for the present tasteless edifice. The cost of the “Horse

Guards(’” as now so familiar to soldier and citizen alike, was £300,000, and the sketch herewith illustrates the main enhance. Until, in the order of such things, Lord Roberts follows Lord Wolseley he will pass in and out of these gates, pretty well daily, attending to duties the most onerous of any in the military service. THE BIGGEST WAR SHIP AFLOAT.

The Japanese had a good navy when

they went to war with China. Now they have a magnificent one, with the prospect of some day owning the best after England. Their present .ships have mostly been built in England, and embrace some of the finest cruisers in jthe .TCr-'r ■r'^Se^i'J^SSS&S^Ts&^S^

worldi. The “Mikasa,” the latest addition to their navy, exceeds even the ‘"‘Powerful,” and is therefore the biggest battleship ever launched. The last of the Japanese fleet ordered from Great Britain a few years ago, the Mikasa has a length of 400 feet, a beam of 76 feet, and, at a draft of 27 feet 2 inches, a displacement of 15,150 tons. Even as she is the biggest so is she the most powerful vessel of the time. She has a complete armour-belt of nicket steel, which tapers from 9 inches to 7 and 4 forward and aft, respectively. The belt extends from 5 feet 3 inches below the water-line to 2} feet above, and is there met by a 6-inch citadel armour. The Mikasa’s armament is most formidable, comprising four 12-inch breech-loading guns," fourteen 6inch quick-firers, 20 12-pounder quick-firers, eight 3-pounder quick-firers, four 24-pounder quick-firers, and four 18inch torpedo tubes. If Japan goes on building and manning warships of this calibre at anything like the pace of the last five years her maritime capacity will become a serious question in both England and America.

LORD ROBERTS’ Ain SPHERE.

There is perhaps no public body in the United Kingdom upon which so much eri-

ticism has been, and will yet be, directed as the War Office. This is a brief description of its cons itut ion, duties, and methods of 'working, which await the “great reform” promised By every statesman of note. At present the War Office is scattered through about ten buildings, three in Pall Mali, and seven at other addresses. Since 1854 various attempts hare been made to establish some kincl of order, and reform the “chaos” generally. The last attempt seems to have been as unsatisfactory as its predecessors, or, at any rate, criticism of this great department has never been more pungent than now.

WHAT IT MAY COME TO. There is a capital story in the “Gentlewoman” which depicts woman as she may be in the year 2000. The tale deals with the courtship of Lord Arthur Armstrong, by Beatrice Chevening, Prime Minister of England, who hopes to pass her great bill for the total disfranchisement of man, and yet propose successfully to Lord Arthur. Lord Arthur, however, has other views. He at first declines her advances, and then sets himself to defeat her bill by turning women out of the atiiietic clubs—a horrible revenge (in the year which brings about a riot, and Beatipce has to try and quell it. Ail five minutes she was at Grosvenor-square, and despite the real seriousness of the position she could for a moment have laughed at the comedy of it. A huge mob of yelling women surged round Ireland House, the lower windows of which were all shuttered. On the balcony above the front door stood Lord Arthur playing a garden hose on the mob of women who were trying to effect a landing with the fire escape. His efforts were chiefly dire shed against three hard, stern-featured women, who made the most heroic efforts to mount, but every now and tnen, after driving them off, he would sweep the mob with cheer-

ful impartiality. Evidntly' ee was safe as long as the water held out, and apparently in the wild excitement it occurred to nobody except Beatrice that they had only to cut off Ireland House from the main to reduce it to submission.” The la-dv quells the riot, but is defeated in Parliament, and the reader, who is a mere man, wakes np to rejoice that in the year 2000 he will be out of Beatrice’s reachIN FULL CRY AGAIN. For awhile fiscalism was thought to be dead. On the contrary, it was only sleeping. All the time of the truce through Federation it was on the chain. Now that Australia is “one,” the animal has been let loose again. There were ominous growls some time ago. This was before a certain gentleman went down to Tasmania. No sooner had' that happened than a link of the chain was broken, and Wlioo!—the hungry creature is again at the legs of all Australia

and will not keep off—till settled. This is just where the trouble comes in— ; i resettlement. There are the two gre-t sub-parties, and the views they have are apparently unchangeable. It ha.s been opposing parties, as usual, and various said, “Oh, sink the fiscal issue,” but you can’t sink it. It is a question that interests everybody because everybody’s interests are centred in it. The revenue of the Commonwealth must be provided and the country has only one option, Freetrade or Protection. Which will it be is the question in every business man’s mind to-day, and unlike when it was provincial it is now comparatively easy, to answer. All the old colonies exceot New South. Wales were protective. All the colonies are protective still. The answer is therefore found in estimating which is the more likely—that the freetraders of New South W'ales will be able to sway all Australia or that all Australia, including the protectionists of New South Wales, will be able to determine the policy which all Australia must observe. A REMARKABLE INDIAN. Mr John Roberts, champion billiard player of the world, is not a talkative man. When lie does talk, and the drift of the conversation goes Indiawards, ho is fond of referring to the extraordinary billiard skill of the Maharajah of Patiala. According to a Ceylon excharfge the Maharajah died in December last of an attack of malarial fever, aged only 28 years. Commenting on 'this the paper says:—“His life, though not a long one, was crowded with sport, and adventure, and h ewas the best known of any of the Indian princes. He first came under public notice when nineteen years

old, when h© started racing under the mentorship of Lord Wiilian BeresforcT, the confederacy- meeting with great success. He was a daring rider, a splendid shot, the best polo player in India, and after Rangitsinghi the most finished batsman among Pier Majesty’s Indian sub-, jeets. When the Boer war broke out h© \ygs the first of the Indian Princes to volunteer, and he further offered to equip, liis. State army at his own expense and pay the cost of transport.” The late Prince had a very romantic side to his character, and his career m matrimony is decidedly refreshing. In the frontier troubles of 1897 he rode and-fought at the head of his troops with his wife, Bub the lady unhappily succumbed to the rigors of the campaign, for which she was quite unfitted. The Maharajah never recovered this loss, as may be judged when it is mentioned that his consort was a white girl of the humblest parentage named Florence Bryan, whom to marry he abandoned his caste and sacrificed all that most Indians reverence.

THE FATE OF'A GREAT NOVELIST.

Mr Robert Buchanan, playwright, poet and essayist, has become paralysed, and

it is stated he will probably die. Known f iiroughout the English speaking world, and nowhere better than in Australia, he has won fame in three departments, and now, if we except Sir Walter Besant, is. probably the king of. Ins profession. Mr Buchanan, though he was educated in Glasgow, is an Englishman, and in 1860 settled in London under the

care of his father, a noted socialist arirl missionary. For thirty-six years he turned out books wth unfailing regularity, most of them bearing evidence of a hgh order of literary imagination and descriptive genius. Then he quarrelled with his publisher, and as a result started publishing on his own account, and not with the necessary capacity, •Three months- ago h© contracted fever, and having got over this he lately went For a ride on his bicycle, but dropped 1 from his wheel under a severe stroke of paralysis.

THE AMERICAN STYLE OF RIDING

Another “Tod Sloane” has arisen, and greater, it appears, than “Tod.” Sporting exchanges from across “tnei pond” -are full of the doings of Leister Reiff, .who is just now sweeping everything before him. Right through England his progress has been a triumph, but according to the best winters his riding is only an endorsement of Sloane’s and net a con-

demnation. In other words he rides in, the same way, and critics lean to the v opinion thafo it was just this one thing ..-that was ndeded. to. render the old English style obsolete. Sloan rode some phenomenal wins and people were shaken but not convinced. Now that Reiff has made a clean sweep of pretty w T ell everything worth haying in one season the dofgbt has disappeared. “Bendigo,” a famous English sporting writer, gives the opinion of all in the following expression of his own :— ,( I take the fact of his phenomenal success as final conclusive proof , that the American procumbent position must give its adapters a pull of many pounds.”