OUR LONDON LETTER.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 9576, 4 November 1892, Page 4

OUR LONDON LETTER.

(Fhom OtiH Own Correspondent.)

London, September 16,

In the absence of Major-general Forestier Walker, the English army in occupation in Egypt is in temporary command of Brigadiergeneral Sir William Butler, the husband of the painter of "The Roll Call."

Sir John Pender's yachting parties have become a regular feature of the holiday season. They combine business with pleasure, their ostensible object being the official visitation of the Eastern and other telegraph companies' stations. They also afford an admirable opportunity for cultivating amicable relations between the "Cable King" aud the powerful guests with whom he loves to surround himself on these pleasant and profitable cruises. This time Sir John Peuder is taking with-him, on the tour on which he started this weel", the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Dean of Westminster, Lord Wolseley, the late Permanent Under-secretary for the Colonies (Sir Robert Herbert), your late Governor Sir James l'ergusson, aud a number of other gentlemen of " influence and position." Dr W. Howard Uusseil, or Crimean war correspondent fame, was to have been of the party, it is to be presumed as a sort of historiographer, but tarougn. a change in the date of departure he was prevented from joining them at the last moment.

Iv this connection it may be stated that the xarnple of New Zealand in coming into the titercolomal arrangement; with the Eastern Megraph Company for the reduction of the able tariff has fired the London firms conleeted with Queensland with a desire to make heir Government do likewise. A deputation s therefore being got up to Mr Wilson, a mem>er or the Griffith Ministry, who happens to be >ver here, with the view of getting him to press ipon his colleagues the desirability of their ibandomug the dog-in-the-manger attitude vhich the colony has for a long time past issumed in relation to cable matters. Mr G. 5. Dawes, of the New Zealand Shipping Company a London board, is one of the warmest [iclvooates of Queensland coming into line with New Zealand and the other Australasian colonies in this important matter; but, ss usual, he rather shrinks from taking a prominent public part in the agitation I saw Sir Chatles Dilke on Tuesday last, on whicn aay he lunched with Mr David Byrne, the great Melbourne newspaper leviathan Sir Charles is just now assisting Mr Philip Mennell to put through the press the English edition of Mr Alfred Deakin's work on Indian irrigation. Sir Charles is, by the way, a great admirer of the young Victorian statesman, and the regard seems to be mutual. Ru-s Crawford's victim seems in much better spirits now that he has just got back into Parliament, aud is the leader of a small party of labour men and Welsh Radicals. He has invested a good deal of money in the colonies lately, bus fights shy of Victoria and Queenslaud on the ground of the limited natural resources of the former, and on the ground, in the case of the latter, of the extensive political changes which the extreme party there are perpetually agitating for—including separation from the old country. Sir Charles is, as your readers know, a strong advocate of the evacuation of Egypt, and on this point I understand, Mr Synie and he broke a lance together, vhe former being just as strenuous against the evacuation as the latter is for it. Alr'Syme thinks that the interests of England in the Suez Canal route render it essential that she should nob lose her hold on Egypt. Sir Charles, on the other hand, maintains that it would be impossible to ksep the canal open in time o war, and the only route which is permanently worth protecting is that via the Cape. He, rather boldly, too, considering the superior opportunity for knowledge on the point possessed by Mr Syme, propounded the thesis that the Australasian colonies were indifferent to both the canal rsute and the retention of Egypt. One thing I think Sir Charles ignores when he quotes the colonies as likely to endorse the Radical policy of evacuation, that quite apart from all notions of utilitarianism, the colonies, are very averse to any line of action which has the appearance of England playing second fiddle to any .foreign power. Mr Syme thinks that if England goes out, France will step in. This Sir Charles flatly denies, but it is difficult to see how there could be any other outcome except the far worse alternative of a joint occupation. I do not fancy that Sir Charles Dilke will find Labby a very serviceable ally, as they differ on a good many vital subjects, and Labby has absolutely no feeling for the " con-dition-of-Englaud question," which Sir Charles regards as of prime importance. Sir Charles had just returned from the Glasgow Trades Union Conference when I la;>t saw him. He was, of course, only present as a visitor, as were Lord Rosebery and Lord Carriugton. The former, on the " frieud-go-up-higher" principle, took a back seat at the one meeting he attended, and planted himself down between two very uuwashed specimens of the great trades union array. Perhaps he did not like the contact, for he retired very quickly. I was talking of the extreme squalor at Glasgow and the outward appearances of misery amongst the lower classes. In this Sir Charles thought I was led away by the fact that the women went about with bare feet and wore rusty black shawls over their heads in place of hats or bonnets. This may be so, and Sir Charles has plenty of statistics at his fingers' ends to show that the wages paid arc i)leutiful and high in the commercial capital of canny .Scotland. J I sometimes sec your late visitor, David Christie Murray, passing along the Strand or Fleet street. He is painfully impressed with the way iv which the youngsters of the literary persuasion are knocking the oldsters off their pedestals. He no doubt speaks from experience, and I cannot think he is wrong when I find such aa experienced observer as my friend Mr H. Morse Stephens, of "French Revolution" fame, asserting that in literature atany-ate this is the " age of youth." AVhen he thinks of the way he was sat upon in his own young days he chuckles with delight at the way in which the present generation of veterans are being put into the -shade by the far more tolerantly-treated youngsters of the present day, and this albeit that he (Stephens) is fasb relapsing into the land of the veterans himself. With such men as Rudyard Kipling, Barrie, Jerome K. Jerome, and the young men of the "National Observer," including your own New Zealand Marriott Watson, so much to the fore, no wonder that despair settles on tho greybeards. This reminds me of the redoubtable H. H. Champion, who is young, too, and whose ambitions are limited by nothing less than the dictatorship of the empire, a precedency whbh I don't think even his " precious gift of youth " will onable him to attain. I met him in Fleet street tho other day, radiantly attired as usual. We had a talk over politics and the social outlook generally. I think he is right in one thing which he prognosticates as regards tho former—viz., that Mr Gladstone, when next session arrives, will come down to the House of Commons with a Home Rule scheme which will be very little more than a liberal measure of local government, that he will confess his inability to carry real Home Rule, and will plead for support on the ground that it is at least an instalment and all that is possible at the present moment. Mr Gladstone may commence with something more pronounced, but probably Mr Champion's idea will'be what it will come to before the House of Lords has been settled with. Lord Carringtou is wroth with Mr Gladstone that he will not recognise him as a serious man, a role which he has a great desire to play after five years gubernatorial restraint in New South Wales. " Edmund," in the World, says :—" I hear that the corps of gentlemen-at-arms are very pleased by the appointment of Lord Carriugton to be Lord Chamberlain. He was very popular when in command of that corps, aud is acquainted with certain grievances of the members, which in his capacity as Lord Chamberlain lie will now be easily able to rectify." I don't think this will be much consolation for Lord Cavriugton, who frets sadly in his gilded cage. He is in despair at his inability to persuade others, as he has some time ago persuaded himself, that he has a soul above the buttons and buffoonery of court ceremonial. The partner of Mr Alexander in Redfern, Alexander, and Co., Mr Philip Vauderbilt, died quite recently, and his personalty has been sworn at -L 50,000 gross, but nil net. A receiving order has been made against the deceased's estate. The petitioning creditor is Mr P. Breda Vanderbilfc, the son, and Mrs S. E. Vanderbiit, the widow, consented to the order being made. No information was forthcoming as to tho amount of liabilities or the assets. Messrs Gordon and Gotch are going to make the same kind of start iv South Africa that their predecessors made in Australia and New Zealand a good many years ago, aud it is to be hoped with the like success.

I mentioned that negotiations were on foot for the amalgamation of the Australian Mail and the British Australasian. The former died to-day, and appended is its last dying speech and confession:—" We have pleasure in announcing that arrangements have been concluded for the amalgamation of the British Australasian with this newspaper, which wiJl henceforth appear under the title of the British Australasian, Australian Mail, and Anglo-New Zeakmder. It is believed that a single strong organ of Anglo-Austral-asian intelligence and opinion will be more potential in championing the important interests concerned than two journals conducted with similar objects though on slightly different lines." In the combined paper the loading features which have secured the remarkable popularity and success of the Australian Mail will be found reproduced in connection with the specialties which have established the repute of the British Australasian. Mr Philip Meunell, the proprietor and editor of the Australian Mail, has joined thy board of directors of the British Australasian Company, and will in future have the city intelligence of the united papers under his control.