OUR LONDON LETTER.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 9343, 6 February 1892, Page 5 (Supplement)

OUR LONDON LETTER.

(From Our 6wn Correspondent.) London, December 26. ANGLO-COLONIAL JOTTINGS. Writing to Mr Stead Sir George Grey says :— "I was very glad to receive your letter; I had long wished.to be in communication with you. We have many points iv common, and your advocacy of views in. which we agree would be a matter of great consequence to myself and. those who are working with me. I send you by this mail a copy of a'speech made recently upon the subject of federation, but I hope in a few months to be in England, and thus able to explain the matter more fully to you. " The publication of an Australian edition of the Review of Reviews would be a'great boon to this part of the world. We look eagerly for the receipt of the English edition, and should look still more eagerly for an edition belonging to ourselves." . According to the World, the New Zealand Government lately applied to the Home military authorities for the services of a British officer to. be lent them to command their local forces, and on the strong recommendation of Lieutenant-general Goodenough; commanding the Thames district, Captain F. J. Fox, R.A., has been offered the appointment. Captain Fox will go out immediately to take up his duties. The pay is not excessiveonly some seven hundred pounds a year—so that the colonists could scarcely have expected to have attracted a very senior officer; but they have secured the services of a very capable young soldier: Mr Justice Chitty has just sanctioned the reduction of capital agreed to by the shareholders of the National Bank of New Zealand last June, by writing-off L 150.000. The capital of the company was L 1,900,000, in 100,000 shares of L 9 each, on which L 2 10s had been paid, and 100,000 unissued shares of LlO each. The reduction confirmed by the court was effected by reducing the 100,000 L 9 shares to shares of 1,7 10s and treating them as having only LI paid up per share, the 100,000 unissued shares of LlO being unaffected. A divorce has been obtained by Mrs Harriet Davis, who was married to her ..husband in 1882._ He was then engaged in the seed business in Twickenham and London, but afterwards they migrated to New Zealand, where they Hved for four years. According to evidence the husband took.to drink and treated her shamefully, and ultimately enlisted in the hussars, leaving her to look after herself. For the last three years she had supported herself by nursing. Australian flowers are "looking up," if we are to believe the Sheffield Telegraph. In winter they are to adorn the tables of the rich, loads of roses, magnolias, aurum and pitcher lilies could be shipped for the purpose. Max O'Rell sails.for Sydney from' Frisco on March 31. In America (this is his third tour) he has had the largest audiences. The following story is told of his appearance in a town in Massachusetts •—He .had to appear in the Presbyterian Church in Brockton in that State, while Dr Savage, of Boston, a well-known Unitarian preacher, had to appear the same evening in the theatre. Max in the Presbyterian Church and the reverend doctor in the theatre was a somewhat funny contrast. However, something even funnier followed. Max had a full house in his church, while the poor doctor had only 60 people in his theatre. The doctor refused to lecture to such a small audience, and advised them after getting back their money at the box-office to go and invest in Max O'ReU's lecture. They took the advice, and he himself led the example. The entry of the reverend doctor followed by his audience into the church where the witty Frenchman was speaking was the signal for great applause. A curious divorce case, Rastall v. Rastall, has just been settled. The wife, Elizabeth Rastall, sued for a divorce by reason of desertion, bigamy, and adultery of her husband. It appeared that the parties were married in 1886, and atthetime the respondent had not the means to keep a wife, so she returned to her father. Then the husband was sent out to Australia by his employer to his employer's brother (Mr Thomas Viger) of New South Wales. After respondent had been with Mr Viger for some time, he ran away with Mr Viger's daughter, and afterwards married her. Mr Justice Jeune granted a decree nisi. Even now the mystery of the Bishop of Adelaide and the dead sea serpent is not cleared up. According to the Daily Chronicle, a Mr w! Bishop, of Adelaide, discovered the said serpent ; according to the Times it was the bishop himself. Won't some one give us an authoritative statement? Mrs Bernard Beere is to bo given a complimentary benefit at the Haymarket previous to sailing for Australia. She has just signed the contract with Mr Musgrovo. Miss Florence Bethel, the Victorian singer, has gained the Saiuton-Dolby prize at the Royal Academy of Music. Mrs Brown Potter has been delivering herself to an interviewer on the subject of. her Australian experiences :—"My dear Sydney," she said; "I can hardly think of my good-bye without crying. The young men of Sydney clubbed together to buy the house up on my last night, and appointed a committee to entertain me at supper after the play. Ah! it was good to be received as they received me that nightjoy in the present, hope for the future. Before I left they made me promise that in the event of my ever attaining a London success I should send a cable to Sydney of only one wor<l,; ' Victory!' that they might be happy with me.", MR HADDON CHAMBERS 1 NEW PLAY. The Honourable Herbert, as Mr Chambers not inaptly but somewhat cumbrously terms his new play, has been received but coldly by the critics. It is said to consist of a very thin plot, little wit, and less humour, to show no observation or psychology. But this is treating Mr Chambers very badly. As a matter of fact the play is a distinct advance upon his previous works. Captain Swift and The Idler were* melodramas of the drawing-room, clever pieces of construction, and no more. But in the Vaudeville play he has gone farther. The construction is still clever, still the best and most striking feature in the play; but he has cxciv cised more self-restraint, has utilised more ordinary means, and has made an effort after' psychology. He has not been wholly unsuccessful ; and speaking for myself, I say that I consider The Honourable Herbert more interesting than either of his previous plays. It shows too the shrewdness of Mr Chambers,, who is an opponent of Ibsenism; for he! has thought it worth his while to filch the, enemy's fire. A scene in the play is precisely similar to one in Jledda Gaoler. However, to come to the plot. When the curtain rises we find Mary Doring, the devoted, wife of the Hon. Herbert Doring, in domestic happiness. Her father, a shrewd American, who has risen to wealth, is visiting her, and', asks her how see gets on. She says Herbert is delightful, but sometimes stays out late. Presently a nice " woman friend" gives her a hint of her husband's goings on, and advises her to go to a private inquiry office. That night she begs her husband not to go out; he promises, and goes. She comes in from her room, and finds her father drowsing alone; asks after Bertie, and is informed " the Hon! Herbert has gone out." Curtain. The second act advances the action but a trifle further., Doring is to take his wife to the theatre ; there is someboy and girl love making, very indifferent, comedy; and then all of a sudden Doring.

declares he has an engagement at JNewmarKet and oannot go, but his friend Philip Tenby will take Mary. Mary suspects more than over, and being in a passion of jealous fear sets a private detective on his track. Then there is what is perhaps the best scene in the play. Tenby, who 13leftalone with Mary, is obliged to console her and cheer her for the loss of her husband; but being in love with her commits himself by taking her hand when they are glancing over some photographs. (This is pure "Hedda Gablcr.") Recollects himself and goes like a gentleman. Curtain two. Act three shoiys us an hotel at Brighton, where Doring is: roystering with a light-o'-love, one Florrie Summers. Hither Tenby has come to be out of the way and to think of his faux pas. Ho meets the pair and argues with them separately, almost convincing Doring of his own treachery and Florrie of her cruelty. The couple go off, for a drive, and enter Mrs Doring and her father, who have tracked Doring by means of the detective. The husband and wife are brought face to face and the former is defiant, finally going off recklessly and swaggering. An accident occurs and he is seriously injured. The wife is all forgiveness and tears, and the scene closes. Florrie is discussing the accident tremulously with Tenby when Mary enters,- and, seeing her, starts, Florrie, conscious of someone's intrusion by Philip's bearing, stops in the midst of her sentence and half glances round; Not a word is spoken. She slowly and with a lowered head goes out. In the last act there is rather a breakdown; it takes a good man to make a fine fourth act. Doring is recovering, Tenby is'joff to the Continent. Mary explains to her father that Herbert finds her presence in the sick room distasteful. But Herbert confesses to Tenby that he loves her distractedly, but caught inhis sham, is irritable to her. When husband and wife are alone this is plain. The latter finally says she will go to, America with her father, and leaves the room. When she has done so Doring lying on the couch cries in agony, and she hearing comes back. Curtain! The play, which was excellently received by the audience,1 is acted very well by Mr Thome's company. ;