LONDON IN AND OUT OF SEASON.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 8793, 1 May 1890, Page 2 (Supplement)

LONDON IN AND OUT OF SEASON.

(Fhom Our Own Coi!uesi»ondent.) London, March 7.

THE I.AIIOUOHKBE INCIDENT

'J'he excitement ban begun early in Parliament;. Everyone expected a "row" over Mr Lntiouehcre's motion regarding the West End HCdivliils, but the reality wei.t far Imyond anticipation. It was on the vote on account in connection with thu Civil Service and Heveuuu

departments that Mr Labcmchere seized the opportunity of airing his views. He proposed tho reduction of the vote by £100 on the ground that certain oilicials had been concerned in aiding tho e»cupn of Lord Arthur Somerset in con-

ncction with tho Cleveland street prosecutions. His charge amounted to thin, that Lord Salisbury had an interview with General Sir Dightou Probyu,iue Comptroller of the Prince of Wales' Household, in which lio informed the gcucral that a warrant was to be issued for the arrest of Lord Arthur; and that I)}' this means Lord Arthur was wurned of his impending arrest, and escaped from the country before the warrant was issued. Tho Attorney-general denied the charge, which ho described as infamous. Ho admitted that Sir Dighton Probyn had waited

on Lord Salisbury, but he read a letter from the lutter stating that ho had said nothing whatever about a warrant. Mr Labonchere being challenged to name bis informant, offered to write it privately for the Attorney-general's information. Sir Kichard Webster said that tho House should be informed of the name, but the cenior member for Notbampton refused, ami passed to him a piece of paper on which was tho name, which not beitij! taken, he seized and tore into scraps. Mr Labouchere, now highly indignant, said that he did not believe Lord Salisbury's denial. At this

thero were shouts from the Ministerial benches, and cheers from tho Opposition. Immediately Mr Courtney, the chairmau, arose, and pointing out that a certain courtesy from members of tho Commtfns was due to those of the Lords, called upon Mr Labouchero to withdraw his

statement. This the irate proprietor of Truth refused to do, and persisting in his refusal, was " named " by the chairman. Thereupon Mr Smith moved his suspension, which was carried on a division by 177 to 06 The House went out of committee, and the Speaker having taken his seat the matter was reported to him. On a second division in the House the suspension was carried by. 178 to 97 votes. Mr Ijabouchero thentwithdrew after regrottipg that his " conscience would not allow him to say ha believed Lord Salisbury." This was on the Friday. On the Monday Lord Salisbury made a personal explanation in the House of Lords. He said: — "My meeting with Sir Diguton Probjn happened thus: I was coming from France, I think on the 13th of October. When I landed at Dover I found ft telegram from Sir Dighton Probyn, asking if he could see me in London. I had no notion what it was about. I imagined it had something to do with Foreign Officß business

connected with tho journeys of the Prince ol

Wales. I replied that I should be passing through town, and ho would find me at the Great Northern railway station in time for the 7 o'clock train. I missed that train and arrived ;u time for the 7 30, and Sir Dighton Probyn earae to me there. Ho then informed mo that what he wanted to do was to ask whether there was any groimd for certain charges which had been made in the newspapersagainst sundry persons. My reply was, as far as I knew there was no ground whatever, no vestige of evidence against anyone except one perEor;, whose name it is not necessary I should mention. I said as against that person I understood that the evidence was not sufficient in the judgment of those whose business it was to decide. I think, but lam not quite certain, that rumours reached rue that further evidence had been obtained, but I do not know what it was. I am not ashamed to say that that is all I recollect of a casual interview for which I was not prepared, and to which I did not attach the slightest importance." It was considered by the Conservatives that Mr Livbouchere's action was taken with the design of influencing the St. Fancras election, and it may have been so. At any rate he defended himself in three columns of explanation in Monday's Daily News. Truth, thia week, seems to announce that the matter has dropped, though there is talk of bringing up the question of "courtesy" to the Upper House and altering the rule thereupon. IN THE HOUSE. Having got rid of_the Addreas-in-Roply, the House has fallen upon the commission report, and is eagerly tearing it to pieces. This is what we call legislation. Not one single bill has so much as been read a second tima yet. No wonder a certain section of the country cries " Oh, for a dictator !" The one notable featrre in the. debato on the Address-in-Reply was disjcernible iv the free education discussion. Mr Chamberlain declared that he would not vote for the amendment demanding free education, and explained that his refusal was based upon two convictions—the one, that the amendment being a voto of no confidence, anyone voting for it would be doing bis best to put into power a party which was committed to the disintegration of the kingdom ; the other, that the present Government had pledged itself to free education, and was far more likely to give it to the country than a Government whose immediate object would be indefinite legislation on the subject of Irelaud. Ho also stated that he was curious to see how the Irish members wcfuld vote. Could they possibly support the amendment in conjunction with their Gladstonian allies when all their convictions were against free education and in favour of sectarianism ? The answer must have taken even Mr Chamberlain aback. Mr Morley, doubtless irritated r.nd chagrined by thia direct apple of Ate in his camp,declared there was no objection to schools being hauded over to the charge of a particular body— c g., Roman Catholics or jews— whsn that body was dominant in a locality. This is what his words amount to. Whereupon Mr Sexton, as represcutiDg the Parnellites or Irish Roman Catholics, got up and said that after the assertion of Mr Morley his party would have no hesitation in supporting the amendment. Concaive the stupendous immorality of this now concordat! Mr Morley, the agnostis; Mr Morley, the disciple of Rosseau, of Voltaire, of a hundred secularists; Mr Morley, the opponent of ecclesiasticism and sacerdotalism in whatever form; Mr Morley, the arch-enemy of the Roman Catholic Church, swallows all his old oaths, promises, and faiths, and would violate the one great watchword of his cread to keep a miserablo unity in as motley and universal a collection of parties as ever England has seen since the coalition againsb WalpoJe under the sscond George. No wondor that Mr Chamberlain has called attention to this in The Times; the wonder is that anyone's attention needed calling to it. Thi9 most scandalous compact should do more damage to the Gludstonians than any action they have hitherto taken, not excepting the sudden conversion of their leader to Parnellisra somef our years ago.

The discussion ou Mr Smith's motion that the report of the special commissioners be entered in the journals of the House is still raging. Mr Gladstone moved a very violentlyworded amendment—"That the House records its reprobation of the false charges of the gravest and most odious description, based on calumny and on forgery, which had been brought against' members of the House, aud particularly against Mr Parnell, and its regret for tbe wrong, suffering, and loss inflicted by these acts of flagrant iniquity." He opposed the adoption in the lump of n document bristling with disputable matters and containing fabulous propositions. This is scarcely the respect towards judges one looks for from an fxMinister. An amusing incident occurred during the first night's debate. Sir Michael HicksBeach wa3 delivering a very trenchant speech, mainly an attack on Sir William Harcourt. Tbe latter endeavoured to interrupt, but being unsuccessful in this, shuffled about uneasily, and at last, exclaiming audibly " I won't stay here to be abused," walked out; of the House amid much laughter. Mr Tim Harrington made a lengthy sp?ecb, in which he trotted out various cypher telegrams which he alleged were communications i between The Times and their spies in America; [but the disclosures did not seem to impress the j House much. Of course, numberless lesser I lights have " had their fling." THE 6TOHY OF COUNTESS SABOLTA VAT. From Pesth we hear that tho Countess S^rolta Vay is dying—a remarkable woman with a remarkable career. Sho is the daughter of Count Ladislas Vay yon Vaya, au Austrian nobleman, and wes born 27 years ago. She was the first child borne by her mother, who h=ul been childless for nine years after marriage, and her father had been so keenly anxious for an heir that mother and nurse agreed to conceal tho sex of the child from him, and represent little Sarolta as a boy. The deception was persevered in, and Sarolfca wore boy's clothes, learnt to fish, hunt, shoot, and play all boyish games. When she was 14 her mother gave birth to a real boy, and' thereupon confessed her deception to her husband, who took it calmly, and ordered Sarolta to assume the garb of her sex. Then tho difficulties of the family began, Mis 3 Sarolta absolutely declined to become a girl, continued her male dress and her practice of manly sports, and begged to be sent into the army. When she was 21 she loft homo r.ud bfgau the life of a fast young man, fought three duels with men who laughed at her for her sex, and eventually made love to and married a beautiful young girl called Marie Englehardt, whose large fortune was designed to pay her creditors. Then tho swindle was discovered, and the Countess Sarolta was sent to prison. On coming ouS she declared her intention of giviug up fast life aud leading henceforth a quiet life with " her dear wife." The latter, strangely enough, is devoted to her female husband, sncl asks nothing better than to be her companion for life. But the countess' health is now broken down, and her chequered career draws near its close. LITERARY KOTES. One of the most trenchant ami violent assaults that have ever been made on a literary reputation (not excepting the famous article on the " Fleshly School " by Mr Buchanan) is made by James Kuncieman on Mr Rider Haggard in th s mouth's Fortnightly. Mr Runcieman, who is known to the world as the author of an eccentric and morbid, though powerful series of sketches called " The Chequers," and as an apostle of the Deep Sea Mission, heads his article " King Plagiarism and his Court." He would dub Mr Haggard tho principal courtier, aad associate with him Mrs Hodgson Burnett and others, The

counts tv his indictment against tho author of " She" are several. Iv the first place ho rakes ii till) old charge aneut Thomas Mooro's novel and " She "; next, to his mind, Mr Fred Knight has been laid heavily under contribution iv " Alan Quatermain." In his Trinidad bo:ik tho adventurous author of "AOruisein the Falcon " describes land crabs which assailed his party—which sunecrabs an; "cribbed" by the di-funct Aliur-Quaterniuin. Mr [laggard acknowledged no indebtedness to Mr Knight, and what aggravated the caae waa tho fact that when Mr Knight worked up the same id™ iv a story the critics accused him of stealing from Mr Haggard! Other tboits from Mr Knight are obvious to Mr Ruiicieman. Again in "Jess," Bays tho iudignant essayist, Mr Haggard was forced to acknowledge his knavery iv appropri-

ting a poem, "If I should die to-night"; while ho has stolen systematically from Mr Juseph Thomson's Masai adventures in regard to the episodes of the false teeth, &c, in " King Solomon's Mines.'-' On tho whole Mr Runcieman'a indictment is pretty Hevere, and not the

least item in it is the reiterated charge that the novelist boldly transplanted a shipwreck sceim from an article of Mr Runciemau's in tho Pall Mall into "Mr Measou's Will." Inm more than

inclined to beiicvo that this scathing article has brought Mr Ruucioraan within tho limits of tho law of libel; but wo shall tea whether Mr

Haggard chooses this way of vengeance, or employs the delicate irony of Mr Andrew Lung.

Messrs Sampson Low and Co. inform us that Stanley's book will be published by them in May, simultaneously with editions in America by Messrs Scribuer's Sons; in France, by Messrs Hnchette and Co.; in Germany, by Mr Brockhaus ; in Spain, by MeGsrs Espasa and Co.; in Italy, by Messrs Treves ;in Scandinavia, by Mr Mailings, &c. The title of the work, which will be in two demy octavo volumes, will bo " The Darkest Africa; and the Quest, Rescue, and Retreat of Emm, Governor of Equatoria." As an indication of the extraordinary amount of interest taken in this book, it is mentioned that although jfive or six spurious editions have been announced in America, Messrs Scribner's Sons have already secured orders for over 50,000 copies of it. STAGELAND. Leopold Lewis, the adapter of " The Bells," died last week. Poor Lewis had for long been n pensioner of Irving'n, and might often have been seen in the Strand and Fleet street, looking anything but a cheerful sight. At the time "Theßells" was accepted ho was a prosperous London solicitor. He had been struck by the performance of MM. Erekrcmnn-Chatrian's "Le Jaif Polonais " when in Paris in 1870, and this led him to an interview with Mr Bateman, then Mr Irvinfl's manager. The success of the actor in " The Bells " was so great that Lewis began to lose his head and neglected his business till it left him, when ho closed his office. His being a playwright told against him both with client and fellow solicitor. Lewis used to relate that au old-fashioned solicitor calling on him between 11 and 12 in tho morning found he had cot arrived. The clerk getting into conversation, informed the visitor that his master wrote plays. "He writes plays! " was the reply. " What pieces has he written ? Do you know the names of any of them?" "I suppose he wrote 'The School for Scandal.' I cannot think of any other just now," replied the clerk. "'The School for Scandal'?" repeated the solicitor. " Well, that is a good play; a very jrood play indeed; but not good enough to neglect business for." M. Coqnelin, who visited the Lyceum recently, has written to Mr Irving, saying: " Is it not the greatest pleasure to see a work, ordinary or sublime, mounted with the tr.ste, the science, tho profound knowledge, and the art which you put into everything ?" MISCELLANEOUS. A Pole named Grabowski, who was thought to be a p mper, and has just died of influenza at (he Charite" Hospital in Paris, bos left 500,000 florins for founding in Paris a polyglot gazette, 100,000 florins for erecting a monument in Paris to testify the gratitude of the Poles to France, and a large aum for continuing tho Polish Dictionary beguu by Lind. There are other legacies amounting to 170,000 florins, and more assets, it turns out, than will suffice to pay these different bequests. According to advices from Teheran, the little favourite of the Shah, whose appearance excited great interest everywhere during tho Shah's visit to Europe, has been betrothed to his Majesty's youngest daughter. In honour of this event tho Shah gave a great festival, which in Its splendour ia said to have surpassed even those mentioned ill the " Arabian Nights." Nasr-ed-Din presented his little favourite with his most beautiful estate in the neighbourhood of Teheran. At the samo time he handed him a document pronouncing a curso upon spy future ruler of Persia who would dare to deprive him of this property. The Tichboruo Claimant, who is staying at Hati'.ey, states that his case is to be reopened in April next, a fund of £150,000 being guaranteed towards the necessary legal and other expenses. The Claimant, who i 3 looking remarkably well, delivers free lectures each evening upon the points of the last trial, and asserts that of the 385 witnesses called, 272 were positives and 113 negatives.