OUR LONDON LETTER.

New Zealand Times, Volume LVII, Issue 2566, 19 July 1895, Page 3

OUR LONDON LETTER.

From Our Special Correspondents ■ . BIRTHDAY HONOURS. , Bonbon, May 31, qiho features of the Birthday honours list are the absence of the creation, of any fresh peerage or stop in the peerage, and the recognition by the Crown,of the hiS-‘ trionio profession. On dit this latter departure must, be attributed to the efforts of Princess Beatrice,' 'whose.' penchant' for the stage is notorious, and who ' has been the means of dispelling many of the Queen’s natural prejudices Concerning actors and actresses.'' Most women) I th,mk, grow more 'ddgmqtm fthd Illiberal 'the older they beebmo, out the Queen is an exception to the rule. Since; indeed, the united efforts, a few years back, of Princess Beatrice, Sir H. Ponsonby and the late Lady Churchill broke'• down the barriers of the 'Royal widow’s quarter of;-a century of mourning, |and got “command” ■ pqrfqymances? to Court re-initiajed.' the’- '^ueen lias .developed ‘' quite" a 1 femdnesd:- foy. qonemt musip apd the drama, " It fequiied, however, a deal ef diplomacy to indu'oa Her Majesty to make Irving Sir Henry, Mr Gladstone proposed .the step: two years ago, but rumours Of , domestic differences between the tragedian and his wife intervened..' Since then, fortunately, the Queen has seen the Lyceum manager himself. His manner created a very favour-' able impression,and this year the Sovereign mot Lordßosebery’s renewed suggestion with a gracious assept.:'. ' '( ; : ' The five now baronets are political props of the great Liberal Party, and ill-natured people will say gome or them have paid pretty dearly for their honours.' Mr John' Tomlinson Brunner is a partner in the firm of Brunner, Mend and Co., and the financial backbone of the Star. He has all his life been , a benefactor to, the cause .) of education, and partially endowed' two or three grammar'schools and Liverpool University. ' Mr Robert Burning Holt is the recognised leader, of the Radical Party in Liverpool, and W 53 tWOi first Liberal Mayor of tljp; 'pjfarV.i He belongs to a family renowned for .its unostentatious. | philanthropy and humanity, and its oldfashioned strictness and severe integrity in business matters. 'Sir Robert Holt’s morality is cast iron. He resembles Mr Courtenay in his faultlesspqsp, and would 1 perhaps be mote'populaYif he were (ess perfect',' His friends say of him’what’’the TTesfmin s,(cr said of 'the ex-Chairman of CpnimitfeCe: “ jYhat a P.it.y be has never had a spree ! )ft woitld render him less formidr ably impeopablp.” The most interesting of the new knights nexf to Irving is Walter Bppant. It was wise to choose him from amongst contemporary novelists, though the Meredith maniacs are of course furious at a jpore Philistine being preferred to their idol, Ordinary however, remember Sir Walter’s long services to the cause of literature, as well as his admirable novels.. The (Times, I (notice, in its leader oh the Birthday honours makes the astonishing assertion that the “ Monks of Theleraa” was Besant and .Rico’s masterpiece. I must say it would never have, occurred .to me to prefer that quaint story to the “ Golden Butterfly ” or “ Ready Money Mortib’oy,” and X also con. Odor “Children of Otbeon ” and “ Armorel of Lyonnesso ” far superior to “ All Ip a Garden Fair,” The latter the Times places at the head of the long list of Besant’s solus productions. There has been a sad tearing of hyapinthino looks and loud lamentations amongst, bards and bardlets over the ennobling of Lewis Morris) , Whilst Swinburne fa qllyo Lord Rosebery will hht make thiq secondrate povion Laureate, hut it looks auspiciqn'sly asthough with the anther of ,‘s AtaJanta” out of the way that deplorable eventuality might eomo to pass. A certain chastened joy is visible at the Bodley Head. Messrs Wm. Watson and Richard Lo Galliennoforesee themselves Sir William and Sir Richard ere many moons’Have waxed and waned.' In truth most of us would have preferred either of these young .men to have been knighted now, rather than Lewis Morris. W illiam Morris, of bourse, is a Sooialist, and would scorn a title, at least one supposes so. He ihight,' however, ,bb( worth tempting), BumeJohes, we should remember. Socialism notwithstanding, succumbed to the seductive . “ Sir.” .... ' MrWilliamMartinConwayisanauthority on art and alps and a great climber. I knew 1 him when; hp .’was TProfessbr ’ at Liyerpobf University, where" he preceded Robert Louis Stevenson's brother. He |«ng'small in those days, but someone

left him or his wifo a huge fortune. They came to live in London, and Mr Conway attained to fame as a climber. lie went to the Himalayas, where he out-Whympered Wbymper, and has written more than one chatty volume recounting his exploits. Mr Conway is also just at present president of the Society of Authors. THE CLOSE OF THE WILDE TRIAL. The squalid tragedy at the Old Bailey ended on Saturday evening with the conviction of Oscar Wilde, who was sentenced, as seemed probable from the first—if he were found guilty—-to the extreme penalty allowed by law. The jury had been two hours away, and odds were being freely betted on a disagreement, when they reappeared and asked advice on certain points. Apparently what the Judge said smoothed all differences, as they returned in five minutes.

Wille's face as he staggered up the stairs into the dock was terrible to see. The veins in his fine forehead stood out like whipcord ; his colour was a dull red ; his expression agonised. The foreman of the jury glanced once at the dock, and turned very pale. Ho had to say “ Guilty ” in answer to five out of the six counts, and his voice broke and failed to a whisper whilst doing so. Those who had expected that the prisoner would break down if such a verdict were returned were mistaken. When the foreman had pronounced his last “Guilty ’’ there were cries of “ Shame ” in the gallery. The Judge’s tones as he pronounced sentence were even severer and more catting than his language. Wilde seemed dazed, but the hitherto brazen Taylor winced visibly. The sentence appeared to stun the older man. “ Two years,” he murmured in a whisper of thrilling terror, “ Two years ! ” Undoubtedly had the man possessed the means I believe he would at this moment have fulfilled his oft-repeated throat and killed himself. But, as I conjectured in my last, the authorities had taken away from him everything (even his handkerchief) which could conceivably bo utilised suicidally. Ho stood there helpless and hopeless, staring at a vista of fearful possibilities qpding in madness and death. CAPTAIN ASHBY’S ILLNESS. The slight stroke of paralysis from which Captain William Ashby has been suffering is, I am glad to learn, yielding to treatment, and though still very weak, ho can move his arm and side again. During the last few days the captain, has seen one or two friends, and been told of his old comrade Dr Ilonoyman’s death. The nows of the latter greatly distressed him. Dr Cooper Keys is attending the captain. DE lIONEYMAN'S FUNEEAL. In accordance with the known wishes of tho late Dr Honoyman, his remains were conveyed from Brighton (via London) to his native village of Luchars, St. Andrew’s, Fife, and buried in tho parish churchyard last Friday at 12.30. The cause of his death was apoplexy, not paralysis, and tho account we first heard of tho circumstances was scarcely accurate. It seems the doctor had breakfasted and retired to his study to write, appearing quite well. Suddenly someone heard a fall, and on going to the room found the doctor insensible. He never recovered consciousness. Captain Ashby being ill, the work of.meeting Mr Hay at Plymouth and, breaking the news of the doctor’s death devolved on Mr Sinclair Gillies, who is a cousin of Mrs Honeyman’s and a nephew, of Mr Hay’s. Mr .John Hay’s 'sister. Miss Hay, arrived Home per Orizaba on Tuesday, and lias gone to Brighton, where she will remain at present. ,

THE JUDICIAL, COMMITTEE OF THE

PKIVY COUNCIL. Evidence, of Lord Eosebery’s deep interest in our Colonial Empire has never boeh lacking, and the little Bill which the Premier introduced into the .House of Lords last Tuesday for strengthening the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is calculated to make the “Jdttle 'Englanders ” in the party of which ho is leader gasp again. Such a direct recognition of the colonies as an integral part of England is opposed to all their notions * and doubtless the Bill will be hold up by Mr Labouchoro and his following as fresh evidence of Lord Eosebery’s unfitness for the Premiership. Yet his measure is a very modest one, and to colonists will seem but the endeavour to inept an c.bvicns injustice. The proportion of colonial appeals to the Supremo Court of the British Empire is steadily increasing. In 1879 there wore 48 Indian and 19 colonial appeals j last year the figures were 85' Indian and 35 colonial. But there is still no colonial Judge on the committee. All that Lord Kosebory at present proposes ■ towards mooting this case is a permissive Bill enacting that Judges who have served in the Supremo Courts of Canada, the Cape or the Australian colonies may. if sworn in as Privy Councillors, be enabled to sit on the Judicial Committee. The Bill makes no provision for paying such Judges, which is either, a curious oversight, or else moans that the colonics axe intended to pay a share of the reconstituted tribunal’s expenses. The Bill received general assent in the Gilded Chamber. The Westminster Gazette cordially approves the measure thus:—-“It is a little one, but it is in the right direction —tending, as it does, not only to meet an immediate and pram' tieal need, but also (in the Pritne Minis-: ter’s words) ‘ to add one move link to the golden chain which hinds our vast Empire.’ ’’ Propf of tho necessity for Lord Eosebery’a Bill one had during the celebrated case of,Cornwall v, McArthur. In that'appeal the Law Lords gar e those present in Court ocular and auricular demonstrations ofthoir inability to grasp the true nature of certain mercantile transactions between the contending parties which would hfW been quite patent to a colonial Jwlge wth experience of South S#a fading matters. ~..