OUR ENGLISH LETTER.

New Zealand Times, Volume XLX, Issue 8163, 15 August 1887, Page 6

OUR ENGLISH LETTER.

THE 21 st JUNE. K ot a few but are glad that the festivities of the season are drawing to a close, though for some time yet to ; come, reviews,, pageants, and processions will continue to enliven us aud prolong the memories of the Jubilee month far into the later summer. The strain of the last few weeks must have been excessive on those who had to bear the burden and heat of the necessary arrangements for the imposing spectacle of the 21st June. Rone probably of those who witnessed it will see the like again, for though in the order of events a coronation is a possibility, not to say a probability, it will not vie with the recent celebration in its moral bearing. The fifty years during which her Majesty has sat on the throne of her predecessors will probably rank in history as perhaps the most momentous epoch in the world’s story. The extraordinary achievements in science, mechanics, and politics which that period has witnessed have altered the entire future of society and peace. It was fitting that the moral and material progress of the Empire should be marked by a special ceremonial. For many days previous to the great event armies of carpenters and laborers had been transforming the streets, and had especially concentrated their efforts in the neighborhood of Westminster and the Abbey. Immense tiers of seats capable of seating thousands of spectators were erected on every available patch of ground, while private houses, offices, and shops were surrendered to the sightseers, who willingly paid fabulons prices for a seat. As an instance, I may mention one shop at the corner of Parliament-street, which was let for the day for £500.' Single seats ranged from ten guineas downwards, and I believe in some cases even higher prices were paid than even these large sums. I heard of one contractor who cleared some thousands at a stroke. The old Abbey was entirely transformed; tiers on tiers of seats were piled up almost to the clerestory itself, and some 3000 or 4900 tons of timber were employed for the purpose. Fortunately no mishap occurred to the structure itself, but unhappily one, if not two, workmen %ere killed in the progress of the operations. 1 .shall not attempt in any way to describe the pageant, as this has fully and effectually been done by the press, but I will me rely observe that the immense crowds which lined the streets from a very early hour behaved with the most exemplary fortitude under the burning heat of a most brilliant midsummer day, and constituted in themselves the most remarkable of all the sights. Possibly the spectacle which most “ fetched ” the crowd was that of the Princes, who, on horseback, formed - the special body-guard to her Majesty’s carriage. The Crown Prince of Germany in bis splendid white uniform attracted much attention, and he did not seem to show any signs of the serioas illness and anxiety which has so recently been afflicting him. Only one mishap occurred, but, fortunately, it was not a serious one ; the Marquis of Lome, whoformed part of the distinguished contingent above referred to, was thrown somewhat heavily from his very restive horse, which was frightened by the crowd on Constitution Hill at the commencement of the proceedings. ; His Lordship, however, ultimately obtained another mount and rode to the Abbey by himself. The spectacle, as the Queen drove up in her open carriage drawn by the famous creamcolored ponies to the door of the cathedral, was very striking. The blaze of color obtained by the brilliant uniforms of the Life Guards, the trumpeters, the colored decorations' of the houses and the dresses of the ladies, combined to produce an unparalleled effect, and the scene inside the building was even more effective when the vast crowd of 10,000 people rose at the blare of the silver trumpets to receive the sovereign as she walked down the aisle between the line of beef-eaters arranged in their picturesque uniforms of the time of Henry the Eighth. The service itself was a great success as far as the music was concerned, and the final incident, when the Qneen kissed her children at the conclusion, would have brought down the house had not the sanctity of the place forbidden such a demonstration. Her Majesty looked remarkably well, and bore the fatigue capitally. As usual the Princess of Wales carried away the palm for beauty and style, though on such an occasion comparisons are invidious. The entire city was, of course, illuminated in the evening, and I may mention, in connection with this, that the combined device of the united Australasian colonies, including New Zealand, atItraoted much attention in Victoria-street, and was continued for several succeeding

evenings. Perhaps the most popular in all the festivities lay in the lighting of the bonfires, which, many hundreds in number, blazed from every mountain top from John O’Groat’a to Land’s End. Since the memorable night preceding the fight with the Spanish Armada, no snch spectacle has been witnessed in this country. The signal was given about 10 p.uu from Malvern, from whence, as Macaulay says, twelve fair countries saw the light. In many of the smaller towns and villages public dinners were provided, and people dined in the streets and afterward danced to the local bands by the light of the blazing beacons. The reproach that we take our pleasures sadly could not on the present occasion be justly levelled against us, and the weather was so extraordinarily propitious that, except a partial want of water in some places, nothing occurred to mar the pleasures of the day. I should notice that every country of ] importance was represented except France, and why this exception is by no means apparent, as nothing save the interminable Egyptian question exists to mar the good feeling between the two countries. IRELAND. Ireland, I regret to say, took but a small part in the general rejoicing ; still, loyal feeling was by no means entirely absent, and the two sons of the Prince of Wales are now on a visit to the Irish metropolis, where they have received a hearty greeting. This gives occasion to an expression of (feeling that her Majesty or her advisers have always seriously neglected their duties in not providing a palace on the sister island ; and there can be little doubt that had the Queen possessed sufficient courage—if indeed the fault really lies with her—to reside some portion of every year on Irish soil, much of the disloyalty which prevails would have been mitigated, and more money would have been spent in the country, instead of draining away to support absentee proprietors in luxury in Paris or in London. Whether the extinction of the vice-regal display and its entourage would be acceptable to Dublin shopkeepers is doubtful, but to the great mass of the populace it would be the removal of a badge of servitude, and the establishment in its place of a real branch of the Court, presided over sometimes by the Queen and sometimes by one of the Princes of the Blood, would do more to heal the present distress than any amount of legislation, or any number of police and soldiers. We have heard a good many threats from the dynamite party, but the detective force has been actively employed at all our seaports, and no overt acts of violence have been attempted. It is now rumored that The Times is, after all, to be challenged to support its statements in the Courts of law, but until anything definite is forthcoming I forbear to comment on the subject. In Parliament the Government is. making bold use of the clJturo, and notice has been given that unless the discussion on the amendments to the Crimes Act is not concluded by the 4th of July the Speaker is to be called on to put the question; on the other hand, they have made a concession to the Opposition, and promised to introduce the Land Act already passed by the Lords before the other Bill leaves the Commons. Directly the Crimes Act is passed it is under stood that the Counties of Clare, Kerry, and Cork will be proclaimed, and the National league suppressed in-those provinces. When this takes place we may look for disturbance. Symptoms are not wanting that the Pope intends to overhaul the proceedings of the Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland, Two rev. fathers from Rome have been appointed to a special mission, after this determination bad been more than once abandoned, as it is believed, in deference to the objections of Cardinal Manning. Obviously, there is great disturbance in Catholic circles, but the final decision of his Holiness is not improbably due to a repeatedly expressed desire on his part to re-enter into diplomatic relations with the Court of St James. Monsignor Raffotcilla is here representing the Vatican in connection with the Jubilee, and performed high mass at.the pro-Cathedral on the 21st, in the presence of almost the entire body of the Roman Catholic nobility, who were prevented by religious scruples from attending the service in the Abbey, and it is probably due to the influence of the Papal delegate that the Pope has finally determined on what may turn oat a very important mission to the Irish priesthood. Still, I must add that the resumption of diplomatic relations with the head of the Roman Church, which almost certainly lies at the bottom b! these manoeuvres, would not be very acceptable to the great bulk of the. English people ; and the whole matter would require very skilful handling not to be the occasion of damage to the Conservative Government. THE EMANCIPATION OF WOMEN. The emancipation of women is, as the Pall Mall Gazette remarks, not one of the least significant achievements that can be counted amongst the triumphs of the last fifty years. Not only can this be measured by the remarkable accession to the band of workers which we see on every side, whether in our post offices, at our boards of guardians, in various trades and professions, but especially at the seats of learning. What would have been thought in the year 1838 if anyone had been bold enough to foretell that fifty years later a women’s college would have established itself on the banks of the Cam, and that from its portals would issue a student who would successfully; compete with and defeat her brothers in the great classical tripos for the yean ' Yet this astounding prophecy would hare been true to the letter, and henceforth the . sterner but weaker sex mast take a back seat and look pleasant. The young lady who has achieved this distinction was born in 1867, and is consequently just twenty years old. _ Miss Frances Aqnata Ramsay is the daughter of Sir James of that ilk, and ha : ls from Banff, N.B. Sir Jamss himself took a double first at Oxford, and her unole is Professor of Latin at the University of Glasgow at the present time, and her great uncle, who preceded the aforesaid ' Professor, was a noted scholar and author of “Ramsay’s Antiquities.” Thus, if the Darwinian theory be true, she has everything in her favor. But beyond this triumph for the sex, there was another first class (the only one) taken by Miss Hervey, of Newnham (the other lady was educated at Girton), in the “Mediaeval and Modern Languages Tripos.” There is something peculiarly fitting in these triumphs at the present time when we are celebrating the progress made nnder the leadership of a Queen whose high moral character has undoubtedly done so much to advance the position of her sex. It is easy to see that had the Court been presided over by a frivolous woman, ora debauched fanatic like Isabella of Spain, the advance on which we are justly congratulating ourselves, would never have been accomplished ; indeed, in all probability we should have been regreting to-day a serious retrogression. Mach of course remains to be done, and must be done ; in particular, husband and wife must be placed on an equality when they unhappily appear in the Divorce Courts. The present state of the law is a disgrace to civilisation ; but when the voice of woman can make itself heard through the medium of the ballotbox, this and other anomalies will be set right, bat for the moment the advocates of enfranchisement are not so numerous or so powerful in this as in some previous Parliaments. CHILDREN’S FETE. If the older people are rather tired of the festivities which knock business to pieces and throw livers out of older, the olive branches are in their element, and make np for any laxity on the part of their elders, and no efforts have been spared in any place in the United Kingdom to give them pleasure. In London, Mr Edward Lawson, pooprietor of the Daily Telegraph, inaugurated a monster entertainment for over 30,000 of the beatbehaved school children selected from the Board schools of the Metropolis. The affair came off in Hyde Park without any accident, but, as may be imagined, it required a good deal of generalship to ensure success. Lords and ladies and commoners leut their aid, aud were amply rewarded by the immense

enjoyment of the children. Tents were erected at which refreshments were served to detachments of 250 at a time, and some idea of the extent ot the entertainment may be formed from the fact that Spiers and Pond, who acted as contractors, supplied 27,700 meat pies, as many cakes and oranges, 56,000 buns, and 9000 gallons of lemonade and gihgerbeer. As to amusements, these were provided by about 450 assistants, and consisted of 28 Punch and Judy shows, 8 mari- \ onette theatres, 86 peep shows, and 9 troops of performing animals •, 100 large lucky bags, 1000 skipping ropes, and 10,000 small balloons ; and 42,000 toys were distributed, accompanied by a Jubilee medal, to each child present; besides, a large balloon was inflated by the Gas Company free of coat and sent up, to the huge delight of the sight-seers. About 5 o’clock the Queen herself, accompanied byseveralPrinoea and Princesses, andescorted :by the Life Guards and the Indian cavalry, (drove by in an open carriage, and on reaching the main pavilion,, drew up whilst one or two verses of the National Anthem were sung in unison by the assembled thousands, after which her Majesty presented a memorial cup to one Florence Dunn, a girl of 12, who has made the best record of attendance of any child in London—in other words, this scholastic phenomenon has never missed a single day since 1880,- when she entered the National School, Marylebone, at the age of five. Let ns hope that this acknowledgement of punctuality does not convert Florence into an insufferable little prig, for really such devotion to school is quite appalling. After this performance the meeting sang patriotic songs, and broke up soon after 6 p.m., the return being made as expeditiously and safely as the journey down. Three thousand constables, aided by some hundreds of infantry and cavalry, maintained order and preserved the enclosure, which measured a mile in length by a quarter of a mile in breadth. Thus ended one of the largest outdoor fStes ever undertaken under similar conditions. THE EASTERN QUESTION. For reasons not very apparent beyond a desire to wound the prestige of England at Constantinople, Russia and France have joined hand-in-hand to . in-' fluence, if not to coerce, the Sultan into refusing his assent to the proposed AngloTurkish convention anent Egypt, which is the final ontcome of Sir Drummond Wolff’s very lengthy and expensive diplomatic mission to the East. As to the convention there is not much in it beyond a recognition by England of the Sultan’s suzerainty, and an agreement for the two parties to the treaty to act conjointly, if after the final withdrawal of the English troops, disorder should at any time prevail and intervention become a necessity. There is, or was, a clause also which provided for separate action on the part of the British Cabinet if the Turks were not at the moment disposed to move. There is now some reason to hope that the action of the opposing States will prove fruitless, though at one time it was even rumored that serious threats had been levelled at the Sultan if he dared to sign the convention ,without vital modifications. Some agreement seems to have been come to with Russia, and hence France will find herself isolated, and, as Germany has declared for the English view of the situation, it is probable Lord Salisbury will have his way. Regarding Russia, there is a singular and suggestive communication in a recent number of the Pall Mall Gazette, from the pen of a Norwegian, who, despite the remoteness of his country, evidently has been long studying the future of Europe. Like the great Napoleon, the writer of the article considers the colossal Empire of the Czars constitutes the most serious menace to the peace and future of. the Old World, and he does not hesitate to say that but object animates Russian policy, viz., the [extension of the Muscovite Empire Until it stretches from the Atlantic to the seas which wash the shores of China. Turkey and Austria will be the first victims, Germany will be destroyed in a contest with Prance and Russia, and then will come the turn of France itself; after which, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, &0., will be rapidly swallowed up. The fate of the actual British Isles is doubtful, but the loss of India is ultimately certain, and when this is accomplished China will fall an easy prey to the giant. Nothing of this will be accomplished by a coup de etat. Terrible defeats may bo endured perhaps first by Russia, but with a giant’s strength she can afford to wait, and what would be death to another State would be but a temporary check to her. Every straggle with her foes will only weaken them and strengthen her, and the author of the article points out the absolutely resultless termination of the Crimean War, for, notwithstanding the total defeat of the Russians, there remains to-day not a single advantage to the Allies for all the blood and treasure poured out. Only one event can avert the impending catastrophe, viz., the coalition of all the European Powers for the definite and unbending purpose of gradually breaking up the colossal Empire of the Czars. Hence all international jealousies must be abandoned, for it is on these that Russia now depends, and it is these she is always anxious to foment and increase. Probably these opinions are those of an alarmist, but at any rate they are worthy of serious consideration.