LONDON CHAT.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 10345, 27 April 1895, Page 2

LONDON CHAT.

(Fkom Oob Spkcul CoanESPONDKNT.) London, March 8,

INFLUENZA,

Frost and snow rjtiil, which to the public in general ha? bflcn an unmitigated misfortune. It has protracted the water famine from which s» largo a number of London's population aro Bnifdring such gr&ve inconvenience, and it has aggravated tho conditions which mako the prevailing inilueuza epidemic so soriou3 and deadly.

What han carried off bo many victims in spifco cf thn alleged " mildness " of tho present type of influenza, has been its sejttil^i or rather its Attendants—bronchitis aud pneumonia. And both of these fatal complaints are necessarily ex.tceirbated iv a formidable degreo by the nxcessively low temperature and outliug winds. Henca the death rate han gone up frightfully, and the amount of sickuera its something portentous. Sotne of the public office* and iubtitntiojw are brought almost to a etandntUl by tho largo proppition of their stoffa oh tho sick list, and in many districts! the medinal practitioners have their hondß more than full. So the ill wini Wows th«m mood at any rate. LONDON COUNTY COUNCIL ELECTIONS. Nsxt to1 this t«rriblo epidsmift the triennisl olectivra of thu Lonrion Coaoty Council has been tlw topic of *he week. It has tnrned out very curiously. Iv the neat plaa«, bo far aa the elective constitution fit' lbs council is concerned, it hus .sbeolnttly iannibilatod tbe lai-ge majority which the Progrcssivei li»,d in tho last council. The result, str.nßgn to say, i? a "tie," tho oorreoted numbeis beinst —Moderates 59, ProgcesBivoa 59. In Jhfi last council the Progressives tad a majority of 48. But the actual voting has been still more decisively adverse to the Progressives. In round numbers the Moderates polled 26,000 votes morn thai) the Progresdvpjt, the respective numbers bairn; 289,000 to 263,000. This is a very substantial victory, although through inefficient tactics thH Moderates have failed to secure a majority of memters actually returned.

They were timid and badly genetalleo1, and so threw away seats for lack of courage to conteat them. They sew, now that it.is too late, that they could easily have won at laist three more seats had they ma two candidates in every district. But they were afraid of votes being " uplit," and so they have only sooted a " tie " id spite of a voting-majority-of 26,000. Clearly there has been''bid'generalship somewhere.

What ha^ caured this extreme revulsion of feeliuat? Ona in'gh' have supposed that'just now ,the PjOjrMeiye policy would have had special attractions for Londoners who are feeling so bitterly th« mismanugeinenli of the water bompaDiM and ttio inadtquaoy of the sharo borno by tho ground landlords ia the general

burdens. The Progressives nim at redressing both of thesa wrongs, and yet they have beeu bully beatsri, having lost the whole of their mijorifcy of 48, and being able to wrest only a single seat from their opponents, whereas the latter won 25 fcom them. It is true the Progressives have managed to put np the rates by j£d in the pound during their term of power, tcill they have much to show, for it. Why are they bo treated ?

Well, the answer is that they have committed the fatal mistake of mixing up municipal with parliamentary pulitirs. They persisted in treating Progressivism as identical with Radicalism in fighting for a Progressive victory, on the ground that it would mean a Radical victory also,. Osi former occasions the Opposition side hRd strenuously urged their own people to avoid this error »nd to vote on municipal grounds alone, relying on tha professed intention of the other side to do likewise.

Bui; thsy were "Bold" For while the Contervatives voted for the " best men" on municipal grounds, irrespective of political creed, and so put in many Liberals, tile Liberals guve their votes solely on a political basis, and thus, with th« aid of their opponents, secured a large m»jority, of wliiub.: fchoy loudly bosateii bs a great Liberal triumph won in London itself, and a clear sign of the substantial revulsion nf feeling that had taken place in the metropoiis itself ia favour of Liberalism, including Borne Rule.

The Caiisetvabivas had been caught once, bat were determined not to be trapped thns ivsecond tims. So they organised carefully for a straight party iight and won all aloug the Hue, save where they lacked the courage to give battle. London has by a, majority of 26,000 voted Unionist and Conservative, as' well as Moderate. This ia very significant. O;«! curious feature of thi3 remarkable ntvugglo ia that not one-half of the voters ussd their votes. The actual voting wao only 47 per cent, of the votiog power.; Nothing can exceed the bitterness of the comments made on the result of the election by the losing side. They nre wild with rage. They declare they do not roind losing a few WesV, End coats, but that what does gall them is the fact th.&t the great majority of tha working class and of fche labouring districts had turned against them This they stigmatised as "gross, scandalous,, aiid incredible." ,-

But let one of their prominent men (Mr Hugh Price Hughes) speak {or himself and for his party. Addressing a larze meetiug :it St James's Hall yesterday, he said:—" Thp defeat ot1 the Progressives was due to the gross, incredible, and ectuidalous ingratitude of the working men of Loadon. Ho hid expected the loss of a f«w so»tf>, perhaps 10 or 18, ia the fashionable Wesb Bud, because humau nature did not liko being forced to do itu duty, and the whole policy of the Progressive party hod bean to compel (h» wanl'hy uric! privileged West Kud lx> do its duly to tha poor and unprivik'gtd Bast and Soath. Bat why St. Georgs's-iu-the-East, and democratic constituencies liko Mile End, Eother-

hithe, and Greenwich should reject the men whose sole object had been to make life for them more tolerable, he oould not for the life of him understand. Even in Borinondney, Bebhnul Green, Bow and Bromley, and I'insbnry the Progressives were reburn«d with greatly reduced majorities; while in Batter sea itself, tha oue working man who was by far the ablest, most influential, and successful representative that London labour ever had (John Barns) was actually put* second on the poll by nn immense rp.duotiou of votes, hnndreds of working men in Batternoa, voting against the man who had given hiii life to the working classes. It wai, indeed, one of ths darkest and mont humiliating epochs in the history of London."

This is a fair specimen of the prevalent tone of Progressive comment. It is a wild ebrie'e of defeat «nd despair. But they tak« sumo comfort in the thought that by means of thevotss of the eight Progressive aldermen, as against two Moderates, they can secure the election of a Progressive chairman, whoso casting vote, "T. V." points out, would enable that side to elect the eight nnw aldermen, aud so secure still a working majority in the council. If this bo done it will of conrso mean that the new council will represent a party in a minority of 26,000 at the noils. It is anticipated that Mr Dickinson, one of the most prominent aud able of the defeated Progressives, may be chosen as chairman of the new council by a mtjcSrity gained through the votes of tbe aldermen. But even the most ardent Progressives admit that, iti spite of the posoibility of their being able by these various devices to "cook up" a nominal majority, there is now no ohancu of their beiug nble to oa'rty through Parliament their pet measures for the unification oE London, for the purchase of the water companies, and for " betterment." These. dearly will have to wait a while, at (til events. IRISH LAND BILt, There has not been inach excitement ia tbe House of Commons. The chief incident has been the introduction by Mr John Moiley and the first reading of a new Irish Land Bill, which vests absolutely in tbe tenant the ownership of his own improvements (for whioh no rent can be charged), fixes the duration of the judicial rent at 10 years, and enables evicted tp.ua»i)i to purchase their holdings by meant of Government loans. A SOCIETY SCANDAL. A tremendous sensation was caused in London last Saturday by the announcement! that the Marquis of Queensberry had been arrested and lodged in the police station on a chvgo of gross criminU libel on Mr Oxoar Wilde. Tbe Marquin wa* dnljr brought up on this charge and was placed in the dock, Mr Oncar Wildo bsiog present at the solicitor's table. . ■ •

Only some preliminary formalities were gone through, but they sufficed lo indicate the cure as one of a most extraordinary, character. The specific libel on which the proceedings were bated consisted in Lord Queonaberry having called at Mr Wilde's club (the Albormarlo) and

left for him ooe of his (the Marquis's) visiting cards, on wbicu were written certain words that have no 4 been disclosed, but are alleged to be of a most grossly offensive nature, conveying the vilest possible imputations upou Mr Wilde, and, in iaofc, charging him with criminal conduct.

But counsel for the prosecution affirmed that this was only,the culminating point of a long course of vila and cruel persecution on the part of Lord Queensberry. It is by no means easy to gather from the meigra reports what tha whole affair isabout, though of course much may ba inferred. But manifestly there has been oqras very bitter feeling between the two men, although it has not been explained how this arose. It appears Lord Queensberry called at the club personally, and himself handed to the hall porter the card on which the offensive words were wrifcteu. The porter, seeing what w«3 written, placed the card in an envelope, endorsed.with ths time of receipt, and gay« it to Mr Wilde, who at once sought his legal adviser and laid an information.

Lord Qiiejcsberry apparently does cot attempt to deny the fach, but intends to justify hia action. Wtea arrested at his hotel he remarked that he thought euch proceedings were usually taken by summons, and not by warrant. "But," he added, "I have been wanting to find Mr Oscar Wilde for the last nine or ten days. This thing has been going on for over two yeirs."

Sir George Lewis, Lord Quec-nsberry's solicitor, in applying for a remand that he might consul!; with bis client, made several remarkable obseivafcian3. He said:•' I venture to say that when the circumstances are known you will find th%t Lord Queonebarry has acted under a SKme of the gre.iteot indignation. He has Jicied as a father toward his child. I «ta nut wish the case to bs adjourned without its biriug known that there is nothing against the honour of Lord Queensberry."

Xks Marquis was then remanded for a we»k on bail, himself ia £1000 and one surety .it £500 Sir George Lewis, when one suraty was asked for, said " Lord Queensberry is not going to rim away." I need hardly say that this extraordinary Fc&nrt.-il has baen ;the general topic of conversation ever since the firat announcement was mide, especially as Mr Oscar Wilde has become a paraonage of increased prominence now that he h« two sucu'jjsful ptaya running simultaneously at London theatres.

ANOTIIBB "BLACK MAN" CANDIDATE

An interesting movemsnt is oa foot to promote the return of an Indian member for one of th? Loadon constituencies at the nest general election. A preliminary meeting was held of the Mfhotnes&n Indians resident in London » few days ago, when Mr Kafinddin Ahmad was selected by n considerable majority ss the caudMahe to be put forward. Unforbnua(o!y the cboics who not unanimous, and two ir l fiucn(.iaV members of thy London Society of Indian Mahometans have openly declared their disapproval of the choico nnde. One of

these is the president (Mr Irodutullah), a very clever young barrister of the Temple, and another is Mr Abdul Gbani, aa equally able young phyfiieiau I have the pleasure of knowing both of them intimately, and I do not hesitate to say that either would be a most creditable parliamentary representative of any constituency. Neither, however, has at present any ambition that way, but bofcti think that Mr Rafiuddin Ahmad lacks the standing requisite. I have also the advantage of his personal acquaintance, and he has always seemed to me a very abl« and capable mitn, while he is unquestionably an excellent speaker.

It wai he. by the way, who, when speaking of that meeting to deprecate premature condemnation of Mahometans on account of the alleged Armenian atrocities, made that remarkable oratorical appenl: "To the citizens of thut great Kinpire on which the cmi never nets and of tha great city on which it seldom rises ! " Ha is a profeswor by raak and is properly called " Moulvie " (or Maalovie—it h spelt both wnys, but usually tirotiouacwl Maulvie), uot " Mr,", Rniluddin Ahmad; The Daily Cbroniole r<!-: mu.rlr.ed of him that he '• speaks and writes English, in a way man? British-born scribblers might envy," and the St. James's Gazette says be •' can make a spesch in English on a platform batter than many Eaglisumen."

Nor does ho lack higher testimonials. The late Dr Jowett wrote shortly before his death : "I never met a more intslligent and aceomplishod Oriental than Maulnvio lUfiuddin Ahmad " ; and Professor Huxley wrote to him lately: ''If India sent representatives to Parliament I should be glad to see you an one of ,th«m." Thua you will observe tha movement in assuming considerable weight, and after the successful result of the experiment of returning Mr D. Naoroji—the "black man "us Lord Salisbury with such extraordinary, folly and indiscretion termed him—l« the Hoosu of Commons, IshaH not be at all surprised if this tneam of securing direct parliamentary representation for rhe great Indian Eoipiro ba again given effect to by the election of the Mahometan protestor, in pfiita of tb6 di««ant of a few of his compatriots, who soara to have nothing very definite sg.?.ii\Bt him. Naturally fcae idea is suggested of a similar representation of Boglaud's great Colonial Empire. And this so far as New Zealand ia concerned is by no means improbable. Sir Goorge Grey could most likely have a scat if he chose. Mr Arthur Clayden ■ will "try again." . MISCELLANEOUS. i A novel attitude was taken np by Sir John Bridge, the Bow street magistrate, in a case which came bsfore him racently. A young man who had been * jected from a bar for rowdiness returned arid did a good deal of wilful damage. Ho proved to be a good-for-nothing rufijnn with well-to-do parents. • The magistrate remarked that tha' abundance of such 'worthless reprobates spoke: very badly for the middle clauses of, this1 country. „ Bat hia difficulty was what punishment to inflict that would not fall chiefly on the parents, "If I fine yon, it comes out of

the father's pooket; if I eend yon to prison, it comes ouß of the mother's heart," said Sir John. "Men like you are too heartless to feel the degradation of imprisonment, or the disgraca of causing your father to spend money which ought to go to your sisters or other members of the family." However, on the whole, Sir John thought it better to go for the father and so inflicted a flne of £10, in the evident hope, as one paper observed, that the father might be impelled to "take it out of" his worthier sod's carcase iii the shape of a good sound hammering. Thin has suggested the natural reflection —why not flog, or birch, or cane thaso reprobates who ounaot obherwisa be " gob at" ? It might do them good. At any rate, it would probably inspire a wholesome dread of doing mipcuief' to other persons or things. And this in itself would be well worth attaining. As for the notion that it would " bcutaltee" such fellows—pooh!

Mr Kail Cniue's novel " TheManxmsn " dooa not seem to meet with invariably favourable acceptance. It has been excluded from one London suburban library, the chairman (a clergyman) describing it as " a disgrncafal book," and a. lady taember of the committee as. "a shameful work." Poor Mr Hall Came! X^t I daresay he will survive this censure!

A new work on the Psalter, by Mr Gladstone, is in the press, snd should be out tomorrow. I hear it is quite lip to its author's usual admirabls ntyla of Scriptural commentary. It is ceftaia to be read with much interest in the colony as well as here.

Canon Uuro. t,he successor of the late Canon Protheroa at Westminster, has began his first month's " residence" at the abbey, and preaches thare ev«ry Sunday afternoon this month. Crowds attend to judgofor themaolves whether he is the alarming heretic which some oi! the critics of his part in " Lox Mundi" have declared him to be. But so far he has said nothiog Ntartliag in the. pnlpit which onca »ccommodateil Dasn Stanley. Indeed after Dean Stanley it would tnka something very b:oa<i chutc'i indeed to be seas&tional.

Last Saturday at noon I Attended a moßt solemn, touching, and impressive service in the dear old abbey. It was the funeral of the late precentor, ths Esv. S. Fiood-Jonss, who had been officially connected with that venerable tune for more than 30 years. It was a very pimple oeromony. Archdeacon I'arrar and Canon Duckworth read impressively the lesson and the oenteuees respectively. The feature of the service was a mo3fc exquisite and infinitely touching performsßce of that most beautiful and pathetic of all dirge-i, the quartet and chorus " Blest are the deputed," from Spohr'a oratorio " Die Letsstsn Dirige,"mually mistrnnfilated as " Tlie Ls,»t Judgment " Thin, as sung by that superb choir in toat glorious old abbey, in loving memory of its "master of themusicV," was one of those emotional muiioal experiences whose recollection is inf-ffcwonble.

Ati exzcllent ctioisa ha°> been made of a successor to the late Ekv. Prcc«nto>: Flood-Jones, of Westminster Abbey, tha vnc»ut appointment

having been conferred on the' Rev. Dr Troutbsck, senior cuuon, who h*s held nffiM in tiui abbsy for nearly 30 ye*r». Dr Trootbank's name is well known tj every New Zealand musician as the librettist or translator of many popular or*torio«, cantatas, and operas, published by Novello aad Co.

Adelin* l 3atti ia czeating as great & furore M ever at Nice just now. Bhe sauß in Gounod's " Romoo" Vast night tbe part of Juliette, which she studied unuer Gounod himself, and in which nhe has. never had an equal—and I say thi* even recollecting Melba's charming siugiog in that rph lust sj&son. It is, an immense " score " on Sir Augaßtm Harris's part, h»ving secutofl her for ttiia season at Cavent Garden, the Bcena of bo many pish triumphs. I rather fancy sbs means to " wipe the eye " (if I may be pardoned th« vulgarism)-of Melbn, Calve, Kameg. and all the rest of th« new stats. And I believe she'll do it, too ! Nobody knows how to " fetch " the public bo well »s-Patti does, and this time she "means business." Whit prices will ba paid for se&ta on the " Patti" nights I tremble to think, Acoording to prefeut arrangements (though this has not yet b<en publicly announced) the " Diva " will sing in the "Barbiero," " Tramta," "Romeo," "Don Giovanni," "Fausl!," "Aids," and perhaps "Crispino" She is to'sing ono sour at tha Philharmonic Society's concert np.xt mouth, and already there is a rush for the seats. What a-gold mine the voice and obarma of a Patti'&re t» their lucky possessor.

PaßSflrs-by near a " swell" set ot'offcta at the West End were alarmed the night before la-ib. A-white-robed figure.'flushed by them uttering wild shrieks of "Influenza!", It turned out that that was what was the matter with her. She bad it, and while dellrioug tfi^cted her esoape from, her nurses. The spectators were relieved to find thas the vjsion" was not a ghostly portent of .their coming fate. Much indignation has been excited in Inverness by the revelation that a large"number of the kitted' members of the London Scottish Volunteers ■ are Gerra&n waiters, who " wear kiltn of gorgeous -design on ail fejtiva occasions." The gooci Scots of Inverness are deeply Bcaodaliaed at this, misuse of their national dreus, Bat the indignation of the "London Scottish " and its. colonel at the imputation is fiercsr still. H«; denounced tha statement as " false andinsulfcing." So the provost of Inverness, who made" the itatement, has tpolosrised and declared it was "only his fun." But I cannot for the life of me see what io«ulfc tlisre is in saying that the London Scottish contain member* helongiiug to the premier military nation of Europe, : .-. .

Holland is about to beat us in another department of trade—that of the laundry. Nsxfc week a large Dutch wanning contract will come into operation. It. appeals that the ■ Dutch contractors, can do lite, woik/muipa' moi'Aoheuply than' EngKsh lsuudresseS,' and at least as expeditiously, i(f iiot more bo. "' '?' :.■ ' : The Qeieen hasi given iastr'iictions that at, all Stalje fnnctionsitlie moderator' of the General Assetably of the Churoh of Scotland is' to rtnk next in precedence afeer the bishops of the Chutch of England. He is to have precedence of batons, of privy councillors, and of the Speaker of the House of Commons. This new departure has caused some talk, especially in view of csrtain disestablishment proposals. Apparently the compound principle ss applied to locomotives is dead on all English railways, excepting the London and Nqrth-Western, foe which Mr Wobb still cootindej to build his huge three-cylindered compounds. He tias just turned out at Crewe 10 moaster compound, engines, for the coal traffic, of the eight-wheel-coupledtype, which »'c said to save a handsome percentage of fuel; Bnt all the., twocylindered compounds eeem doomed. Even on the North-Eastern line, where the Worsdell "single" compounds were brought out with suoh a loud flourish of, trurapatfj—amazing tales being told of their speed and haulage capacities, —they are all being converted into npn-eom-pound engines^ as all the Worsdell compounds ou the Great Eastern have been for a long time pasb. Tbey seem to have proved a severe disappointment; aod a somswhit costly eiperimenti. ' ' ' ' ■'■'■.' ■ ''

' It seemed a rfplendid thing last weak for the bsautiful gardens in the large and famous square known as. Lincoln's Inn Fields to be 'acquired by the County Council and thrown open to the public for ever. Yet already those lovely garden;, which are in reality quite a little park, with many fine old trees and velvety turf; are in a fair wav tp .be rapidly and permanently rained. The. gardens ate often largely occupied by numbers' of foul-mouthed roughs playing. "rounder's""or "football;" to the tenor of women find children and other nervous visitors.•.- .' .;.:•.- >■■■< .- ■ '

I Lincoln's Inn Fields have some sad memories, I bat none ' sadder than, that 'of one most horrible and shocking tragedy thit wa« enacted in their midst juet about -300 years »go, when Seven brave ■ and. psjiant ;jouug Englishmen were riowly tortured to. death' and cat. into pieces while alive by the order of, _an Englishwoman. Yes ; thit wu so, though it is usually glossed over "by courtier-historians. Antony Bsbington and. his associates for planning the release of poor Queen Mary of Scotland frnm her illegal imprisonment by Queen Elizabeth had been found, guilty of high< t*eaaon< and.JMntenced to be hanged, drawn, and 'quartered. Elizabeth thought, this puuishmsut far to slight ftjjd wished to substitute »a- more .'.' lingering deathe with sharper payncs." However, it wais explained that the sentence allowed ample scope for unlimited torments if the needful in* were given to the executioner; Elizabeth was .delighted aud wrote, a special order that the execution should be. "protracted to the extremitia"of payrie!"That mandate was.terribly obeyed. The hanging was a mere formality, the culprits being simply raised and tnea instantly lowered uuhurti But then each of too victims after bcins; bound on a large wooden slab wag partially flayed alive, gradually disembowelled, and slowly cut into pieces while yet liviag, the process being prolonged to the utmost.possible exteut—as one chronicler approvlagly puts it,,'' while the full-susceptibility to agouy was unimpaired and with due precautions for the protraction of the pain." So < perished Antony. Babington and .six of his friends, and so would have perished the other seven next day, bat for the fierce public indignation excited by the ftrat day's atrocities. 'And this was in civilised England, in the days of j Shakespeare and Raleigh, and' by the: express ! order of the sovereiga who is commonly known as "GoodQuesri Bess." When we.denounce Bed Indian tortures, Chinese ■ horrors, .or Armenian atrocities, let us not forget what was dona in Lincoln's Inn Fields only, three centnries ago, and blush for our country 1 It bag been remarked that in spite of all the talk of wealthy Amtrieaines marrying needy Euglish or.Contiueritai noblemen, comparatively few of the. American brides of 'English' peers have been specially richV '• Lady Randolph CbnrcMH had by no means a largo dowry; Neither had the Duchess of Marlborough, er ii&dy Harcburt, or the dowager Duchess of Marlborougb. Lady Vernon and Mrs Dudley. Leigh (who will some day be L»dy Leigh) are said to have each about £5000 a year.... Lady Craven will ultimately come into a large fortune, but she is an exception to the rule. On the other hand, an American carried. off the richest Englishwoman of the century, Lady Burdett-Coutts, to whom Lord Kosebery's first wife (nee de Rothschild) came a very good second.' . ■ : :

Mr Balfour's book on " The Foundations of Belief" has undoubtedly been the book of the past) month, As usual, someone has turned up to accuse the writer of having stolen his ideas. This time it is Df Beattia Crozier, who pnblishea hip plaint in the Chronicle.

Football continues to claim many victims to "accidents," some fatal. The latest? slap at the Rngby game is rather good. A society belle unexpectedly dt-eided to marry the captain of tha local fuotbsll team. He was not very attractive, and people wondered why. At lest a girl friend asked her. She replied that it was because she thoaghfc she should look so pivtiy as a young widaw ! ..'.■-.

• Last night was the occasion of an.annual masicil ereiit in London, the inaugural concert of the renowned Philharmonic Society—for which most of tho world's greatest composers, including Beethoven, have written to order, and which has b«en eondacted by Mendelssohn, Spohr, Wagner, and a crowd of other musical giants, to say nothing of Tschaikowaky, ISaintSaoas, and Grieg in mv own presence loot year —taking place at the Queen's Hall. The conductor made his firs!; appearance m that capacity ss "Sir Alexander Mackenzie," ,and was received wijSh a t>torm of cheers. He gave the first place in the programme to a new work by a youug Scottish composer, Mr Frederick Lamo-id, who has hitherto been known only as a fin's pianist, bat who dietinotly made his mark as a omposer last night with his overture "The Scottish Highlandi," a very striking and thoroughly modern composition, in which all the orcheitr.il accessories ouce deemed " extras" are mosli freely and at times sfcartlingiy empleyed—big At am, cymbals, tambourine, triangle, and harp included. Bat the re,il features of thß concert were twofold. In the first place the new and marvellous pianist, Einil Saner, m»de his first appearance at ii philharmonic concert and as a concerto player with orchestra. He played perhaps the two moiiSF popular of all piano concerto*, which also have few if any superiors in beauty—the Mcudelssohn in G minor and the Weber " Con-cert-iLiick." 16 was a magnificent display of executive skill—its power, grace, delioicy, and j expressiveness ware unsurpassable. .1 never heard anything to equ».l the clearness and cris^ness, combined with perfect smoothness, of bia scales, kobUpandf; and hi« double glhsando in the Weber piece was qniti astoniiiaiug. To hear suoh a perform,-.r in those glorious works, associated with that superb orchestra, was indead a memorable expnriouce. The public eathu«iasni was tremendous, and almost p»63»d reasonable bounds. Tho second

feature was a splendid interpretation of Beethoven's graafc C minor symphony. Sir Alexander Mnokonzie adopted the rmdsrn qaic'«.ued reidiog of the opening thomo known as th" "Fate" motive, with the usual result tb'ifc the ficot thraß notes »lw»ys so'ji>i3ad like triplet. On the other hand, Sir Alsxander took the ficberzo ?. good deal more slowly than

I have previonsly haarfl it pbyad. Perhaps it thus gained in clenrnes3 and sonority, but it seemed to me to lose somewhat of lightness and brightness. However, it was a grand performance ; the concluding triumphal matca was in itself a mighty memory. The solo vocalist at laat night's philharmonic concert was a /ady who visited New Zealand recently, MUdame Clementiae Sspio. She sang only one song, Feiicicn David's " Ohaimant Oiseau,* 1 from " Les Perlefl de Bi6s\l," and eaDg it very nicely.

One of the oddest things about the recent county council election was the extraordinary discrepancy which occurred among the remilts of tha various countings and recounting^ of tbe votes. There were many recount*, »nd in no single c»B9 were ton previous figure* lefu unchanged. In several instance? candidates completely changed places after a recount, " outs " becoming " ing," »nd vice versa, for enormous differences ware discovered, and the net result is to leave the griveat doubt ai to ihg titaatworthiness of any of the countings or of the recountings either. ■

Influenza once more! ; Its latest freak Is to make a man down Tooting way kill his wife and six children and then himself. ThtpateuMmg was the method adopted in each cane. Dr 1 ocbea Wmalow says he is not a bit surprised at ie; influenza jb so terribly cteyressing ! I do hope that no depressed influenza palieut will " happen " my way with a razor on board.