RUSSIAN SOCIETY SENSATION.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXIX, Issue 3646, 24 January 1899, Page 6

RUSSIAN SOCIETY SENSATION.

SUICIDE OF LIEUTENANT GURKO. , The story of tho sudden, mysterious, and dramatic death of Nicholas Gurko, son of the celebrated veteran whose name was so gloriously associated- with the Russo-Turkish War, .is told by the Paris corespondent of tho “ Telegraph.” . Nicholas Gurko died in a Paris .prison, and the affair in connection' with whjch ho was arrested - made a groat sensation in the South of France. Tho details are as follows: At the beginning of October M.. do Polovtzoff, a Russian official, holding-p. . high position at Court, arrived at , Carlo, and went to the Grand Hotel.’ /This establishment- was not then' open, i arid many of the roomt wero in course of re-decoration. As, however, the manager knew the Russian-gentleman well,Jio put a room at his disposal on the ground fjeor. On October 23 M. do Rolqvtzoff returned, late one night fro ip the gambling rooms; and having wori' a consider- - able amount, placed his mpney m■ a dispatch box which was' on tho table v ana went to bed. • Just as ho was dropnipg off; to sleep he heard a noise as if his window was being gently opened from without, and on,turning up the electrip light ho saw a- man in ‘ his room with his hand oil the dispatch box. The intruder, being -droovored, flew at M. do Polovtzoft’s throat, and a desperate struggle ensued. 1 ’ The assailant ‘ was,'; however, the . stronger of the two,- and his v|otlm, realising that-this was the case,' called out, “ If it is my money you, want, take it and go.” . ” ‘ Thereupon tho robber decamped With 60,000 fr. worth of money and jewellery. His'victim yrm Ipft hr, a,’state >;of semi-insensibility, caused by a blow from a huge stick with a bronze top, As soon' as 1 possible the alarm' iyas given, and the police wpre informed- of the faetj. ' ' “A watch was kept at tho arrival - platform in Paris of the P.L.M- Railway by two' detectives, and ori mrning of the 25th they wore rewarded for th’oir vigilance by seeing a man leave the .train who answered exactly the’ descrip- ; tion furnished by Monsieur -do ..Polovtzoff. , On being' arrested and taken ; before the Commissary of Police, lib skid his name was Nicholas Gurko, lieutenant in the Russian Navy, and son of Gcne- ' ral Gurko, Grand Marshal at tho ’ Russian Sourt. ‘ - - ’ Ho then fainted, and on coming to declared that the papers and passports found on him had been stolen, and that hp was not Lieutenant Gurko. The next act in ■ this borrowing ■ tragedy was tho public dismissal 'of Nicholas Gurko from tho ’lmperial Russian Navy, on learning which tho cele- ’ brated General, his father, was seized with' a paralytic stroke. Then,the Government of Monaco demanded the extradition of tho young Russian, ’and ■ the request was i to have been acceded to, when,' tho prisoner’s nervous condition gave rise to fears lest , he should temporarily lose his reason. He was therefore removed to tho hospital attached to the ’Palais de Jps.tioe, and-watohed by a specialist. A few days ago his brother. Colonel Gurko, was allowed to visit him, and last Tuesday afternoon a priest, a Russian Archimandrite, also called on him, remaining a considerable timej' and 'evidently calming the prisoner’s nerves. On Wednesday morning Colonel Gurko called a second time to see'his brother. The moment the Colonel,, having said good-bye, crossed’. the threshold of the door,, the ill-starred youth shook in every limb and dropped heavily to' the ground. ■ ■ ... . .-.The doctor pronounced liroto be extinct. . , , ' ’There will be a posjfc-niortem -examination, and the precise cause ,of death . will then be ascertained, i ‘lt is still a question whether he committed suicide or died a natural death.

The weekly meeting of the. Trades Council was held last night. Mr 11. Me- i Jennie presiding, ■ It was resolved, this Council j regrets that Mr -Mainer, of the Builders’ Association of . JVew'South Wales, who came to the colony in search of. information, oh to the worje'"g of the Jabohr.laws of New ’ Zealand, did not lake steps to ascertain the j, vvor- ' kers views on the various measures, us we!J>as those of the employers;, and that & • *kis < re ßolution be forwarded to JJ r ‘ ’A letter was received from . r" A r "fipdigo District Trades Council ‘ask- F ing tor information as to t|ip ortf an iso.to the Council or their ,ll P..as Jt was drafting a scheme * , , appointment of an organiser for secretary ifas insfruo'- 1 *Jj, e '"formation desired, T :^ e .. ( " P tier^ Ury Trades and Labour Council wrote asking the local Council to'for- f ward its items for the next Trades and Tm r , hri«Fu UnCJ i 8 lb be held m Cbnstchnrch at Easier; also asking foi information ns to whether any blcds •Sfi rf a *° rect 8 Pa.tionafmS f! a j & . ir George Grey, or in supporting the efforts being made by Auckland' to raise a local memorial. It was decided to suoplv the information asked for. I<- / ur j f V ? , r decided to accede to the re.quest of the Canterbury Council to aim-' pl / with the details of the scheme nfr? To ft th %, W f lJ “eton.tinned in r n G ® £“5" A° the afilliate d unions bearing pro rata the expenses of enfort’ing or d»fendunder the Conciliation mnd A u t-^ A resolution was,pasted that a letter be jor warded to the Ileiiarf-. ooto J 7 Btn v!. d ." ore r nmf% ago that' a leading commal Pohti cun h»d. in , a fit <f tempera thrown a pioWfi hoftlo af « politicsl opponent. f * qt " T 1 Ihafc th " ro’itied oppon»nt w»b so hga» P P h- - opnlrt, hardly hoHio’o? w * h A . W'- V: i in ' ,, y *""«* hi “ * bottle of Woods rtreai Peppermint Core, a *r r rj? mn ™ for aJI c °bK nnuflrhfl. fro. Try •«15 ie w * r h y it'*: All fthPniTPtß v , Janos.” This favourite Natural Water, in habitual use throughout . “V; w o« f h )i&s cstohli itsoif as a rttigi ternary Aperient in all climate*. Kemarkably Jind tmifotni iu' oc*" free f rom^ e f octg incidental to '?. r * :L