OUR AMERICAN LETTER.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 10387, 15 June 1895, Page 2

OUR AMERICAN LETTER.

(Fbom Gur Own Coukespondent.)

SakJFrakcisco, May 2,

THE POLITICAL WORLD,

Port Corrinto, in the republic of Nicaragua, has baen -the focus'for .all diplomatic : and editorial: eyes during the last week or two. Spain, whose apslogy has riot yet materialised, hasbeeii forgotten, and those grand old war dogs bf the daily press have' been busily occupied in rousing the spirit of !our patriotic forefathers and bashing the British lion. President Cleveland haa been appealed to,time and again to. enforce the : Monroe doctrine (about which there seems to be some very hazy conceptions), to, despatch, a few ironclads to the scene of operations, and plant his fool; down in a manner sufficiently emphatic to be understood. Not having responded to thess cordial'suggestions, our Prince Kuperts of the inkstand have eonBoledthemselves with sarcastic allusions to' the President's love for England and sympathy with her policy.: > The cartoonists picture him as meeting ;:with a right royal reception, in Englapdi^at .: the, hands ■ •,Of ;the Prince and nobility, editors quote from a dinner given 'him whereat the toast of the Queen ,was- drank standing and the portrait of her Majesty was draped writh the Stars,and Stripes, .-and Senator Stewart writes, a sarcastic, letter thanking ' the, Pfeiident

for ,80 ably joiaing his influence with that I b£ Lord Ember! to forward Bugland's power. 1 From incidents like these ib may be gathered i that John Bull is having a very unpleasant; quarter'of an hour, the only discord to our general joy b^ing that we are not entirely satis-. fied that Joha Bull's cares "tuppence" about it. :.■'.-• •:■-.. . :

As a matter of faob it is difficult to discover wherein.Eoglaud has offended. Nicaragua espelled Vice-consul Hatch and other British subjects from its boundaries, and Great Britain, after due consideration of all the fasts, demanded !an apology, a'75,000d0l indemnity, the recall of the edict of banishment, and the formation of a commission td'deeide'by arbitration the damage done to the property of the British subjects expelled. Now, could Grpat Britain accede to the request of Nicaragua, made in reply to the foregoing, that all the questions, save the one of banishment, already complied with, be referred to arbitration. Lord Kimberley plainly declined to admit-there is any doabt as to the rights of British subjects, and, therefore, upon this pha3e of the dispute there could be no arbitration.

Such is a brief resume of the status of affairs when Vice-admiral • Stephenson gave tha Government of Nicaragua, three days in which to accede to the demands of Great Britain;. It, prima facie, seems the reverse of dignified for a gre»t Power to hold a pistol at the head of a weak and insiguificant country and compel it to "deliver" or be shot, the more especially when the little Power h;i6 offered to submit ftie whole dispute to third parties for settlemeat. But, on the other hand, it ia urged that Nicaragua^ knowledge of its own insignificance may prompt it to use this faeii to creata a false sympathy, and incite it and similar republics to like acts of wanton aggression in the future. In other words, Nicaragua must b3 taught a lesson.

The disclaimers made by the British, that no intention existed to seize upon one inch of territory were not received with'auy confidence. England's wholepresenb course, it is contended, is directly in the line of her conduct in Egypt, and her attitude towards Nicaragua is but a thinly hid pretence to guia permanent lodgment near the Atlantic end of the proposed canal. Therefore, say the patriots, let England and Europe have the Monroe doctrine re-read to them, and, if need be, let the United States back up her policy with marines and soldisrs, ships and bayonets. Judging from the cablegrams, there seems no such wild talk in England. At this hour of writing, however, it would seem that the Nicaraguan Government has decided to pay the money, and thus avoid a wretched bib of business that could only bring misery to many, and glory or honour to none.

Apart from Nicaragua, the groat question in politics is silver. It will not be a surprise to many if the two old parties are rent iv twain and a fres silver and an auti-3ilver party formed. Ex-Oongressman Sibay has been announced as the probable presidential candidates iv the iuseresta of the silver men, and cities

and towns are being organised the country over, and many of the bout-known m«n are arranging a campaign of education which shall, cover tho entire Union, whilst pamphlets and literature are falling iia thickly as leaves in autumn, &c. How great the split is likely to be may bo inferred from the fneb that mon like Cleveland, Harrison, and M'Kinley prefer to leave their respective parties rather than join tlio men marching under the standard, of "free silver." . ' ' THE RELIGIOUS WOSLD. Tho arrival of Dr Herron, Professor of Theology in the lowa College, has created quite a tempest among the divines of the Pacific Toast. Herron has.a more than local fame. He is the author of many works upon society, Socialism, labour, and their relation and bearing upon present day Christianity, and all of which have had a very large number of readers and admirers both in the United States and Europe. Ho is an ardent.opponent of the present condition of affairs in our commercial, political, and moral life, and a believer in the coming cata3fcrophe so many predict unless the change the times imperatively demand be promptly and fearlessly applied. Naturally he has autagnnists, some of whom are so bitter that they desired no invitation should be extended him to address the usual gatherings and clubs of tho different denominations in this city. Dr Brown, of the First Congregational Church, was exceedingly warm in bis denunciations of Herron and ell his. works, anddubbed him an Anarchist, an enemy, to his country, an inciter of .riots, and a person worse than. Debs. Some little surprise "was expressed at these somewhat unusual epithets, and a spirited cpntrbyerfiY ensued,; the' which was only; intensified when: Brown 'atfcended: the'first public reception given Herron and repeated the T" Anarchist" business''to the visitor's face. Nor did he stop here, for having one of the largest and handsomest churches in the city he unburdened his soul therein, of all its fearful weight, and poured forth scorn upon.scorn against Dr Herron, who simply and wisely ignored, the whole tirade ; he haa heard much the same thing before, although from a rather. different quarter, whilst the public, very naturally, flocked in thousands to hear the man who | otherwise they might have never troubled to read about. There is nothing formidable' in : ! Herron's teachings or utterances. He nierely ; reiterates the cry of warning, predicts ! the . social and political revolution beside which the civil and internecine strifes .of the pajt will be , as infants' gambols, .and claims that the Gospel I oE.Jesus Christ, applied somewhat differently to its generally accepted application,. contains . within it the sure panacea for humanity's ills.

Henry Varley, the Lo.ud.on evangelist, is, our other noted visitor. .This; gentleman has. been preaching .to vast audiences across the bay, and is now (in Sail Francisco. His views are hardly up to date. . .In truth he seems to glory ia the, fact that they are not, but it is fairly open to; question whether a man who holds to the literal and verbal inspiration of Scripture

can be accepted as an infallible guide by the intelligent among us. Equally as' wild' isthe assertion, made on Sunday last, that-were'it nob for the troops of harlots who swarm in our theatres, tha latter would have to close in six weeks, or months—;l do nos remember which.. Such reckless charges are contemptible. I knonv alltho theatres in town and have sat in all psrts, and it is purely waste time to consider Bach nonsense. I may say, however, it is quite an ordinary thing for decent people to go to church in tlie moruing and the theatre in the evening ; and I feel convinced, although I do nob practise the habit; as little harm is gained at one as the other.

Mr Varley has further upset some of the brethren with his pronounced views upon the second coming of Christ, but the evangelist means to proclaim his ideas in spite of all. It seems a pity the practical beneats possible in a city like San Francisco from tbe visits of men like Mr Varley should be frittered away in vain meanderings and wild excursions into the regions of "the intangible and imaginary. But orthodox Christianity i 3 dead so far as the vast majority of men and women are con- • oerned. When it .is , remembered that of 7,000,000 .young men between the ages of 15 and 35 in the United: States only 5 per cent, .are church members and 75 per cent, never attend church at all, we get hold of a fact that requires soniething more than the smog smile of contented orthodoxy to put aside. The tone of our modern literature, the more superficial bub attractive utterances of the platform, the cheap pamphlet, have produced the result, consciously or unconsciously, striven for. We may deride the Freefchought lecturer, count the number of white neckties and church steeples and appear satisfied, but the fact remains that orthodox Christianity is dead. Israel Zangwill, an English Jew, a writer coming, the critics say, well to the front, deals with this question iv the April "North American Review." Zangwill claim? all modern literature is thoroughly anti-Christian, and names every writer of note with the exception of Tolstoi, in support of his positioa. Even Gladstone, he says, is making heretical approaches to the Jewish- view of atonement.

If, then, these things are bo, and few doubt their accuracy, what and where is the rock of refuge for the normal man who makes up in the aggregate the mass of mankind ? " Under which king, Benzoaian ! " Ido not think the alternative is between the Seylla o£ anarchy and the Charybdis of blank atheism, but believe the safe and secure haven will be found along the linos laid down by men like Dr Herron. •SOCIETY GOSSIP. ' We have been rather dull this month, our principle items being a death, a marriage or two, and just the least little bit of scandal. We will take ths death first, not as the most important, but as one of those preposterous iiffaira that must bo attended to, and, therefore, better ont of the tray. Of course we are iv hopes that some day this interfering busybody may,, with the aid of an Edison or Teskb., bs properly

regulated or, afcleaft, transferred wholly to the ranks of fch<? common people. Until then, however, I am afraid *6 must put up with it, and, ttarefonv I record the death of our dear, lively old friend, Mrs Paran Sfcevens, without, more tban a passing pang. She was such a jolly, dear, charming person, not more than 63, and as.gay a bufct^tfly. Iler papa wsa a grocer, her husband was 30 years older than she was whan he became her. provider; bnt, dear man, he' was very wealthy. True he gained his money in trade—a hotelkceper, I believe—and.lKrs Pnvan Stevens detested anyone in trade. ' Fortunately the good man died and left his vsifo his ESohey; thus enabling her to occupy that. sphere tc which her talents unmistakably called her. 'She'became' one of the moat fashionable mid exclusive personages of the most fashionable and exclusive set in New York. Her receptions were attended by the smartest of the smart, • her dianers eaten bythe highest of the high, and her drawing rooms, filled with the most in.accessible of. the inaccessibles. Her great effort was the eoiertainment she gave; the Prince of Wales when, as a young; man, lie visited this country. Thiß made her, socially crowuedher, everlastingly placed her in-the highest niche, closed her in impeccable robes, and. stamped: upou her marble brow the hall mark of —to borrow the sheckingly :irreverenb expression of a comic paper—"his,nibs.". Then when Mrs Parau Stevens went : tq London the Prince nodded and the crowd bowed,, and she Bwept into, drawing, rooms with the.hjgieet of them, married; Ker : daughter to..a rniridr title; .and came back to .New York purified, dignified, and exactingly.grand. Her housV_becameihe 'Mecca for every fortune" hunting title frpin'fee old world. ■'■ She was ■th^e ''gb'ijetvveea "-the introducer of old blood to aspiring youth-and fresh coin. All the boy<3 and g"irlsv 16ved mamma, and all-mamma, exacted in return!was '? no until ■■■!■ give the; word." And so her house became the most noted-match-making establishment on; the continent.;. How many yearning hearts have bean %madfi-h»ppy through her engaging services we know-hot, bat of some we do know. It was she !who Introduced, .and; arranged the .'after details, the widow of rich old ' Hammersley 'to that btthfal scion of the British-' aristocracy, the' late Duke 'of Marlboroagh. 'iiid-'-it was she who introduced,: Count *Jii£n' J'de Castellaue to Miss Anna Gould, brat alF'evehts .it.was at her house the happy betrothal:was announced: I need hardly refer to:. the! comments :of those,; people. who • are impertinent; enough to speak barshly of the Prince of W-aW foe rushing American women to the front when hundreds, of refined, wellbred English women might grow grey in waiting for tlie like oppor-: ,tunityof t an introduction to the "upper ten.": Such remarks may, .very, properly, be .left unnoticed. ■.And'talking of: our, friend Castel-' lane reminds, ;me Ka' has hit'ipoii'! a f systemwher&by he can beyond question, "for'He him--'self has said it,?' break the bank "afc-THorite 'Carlo! So that some of Jay Gould's-hard .grasped- dollars ..will be chinking'merrily. amid the rattle of.the dice;-the throw of thebatd,-and-the turn of the wheel in many a "hell "in-old' Europe., How the shade of pur departed friend will enjoy, the news! :Nor must I omit.to, .mention a little.iteoi-T-iust.the .veriest .mprsei'-^tnatl is going tMrpunds.:1' Vulgar^dpje Bsseitea.aV the.time that Anna Gould ,gaitf^.OOojfiodclol'for, her - ■ titley: bui; rb'rotlief''-' Geprgl ■ 'angrily waf avpure lovematcii. ''Now^cpmes1 the whisper;.rtß^^ recet^t'bf;the anhouricementipf* the; engagement cabled' ■across:only;two words—viz. : "What' settle^ :ment?," . B^ick went the words, that made the proud mother's heart swell within her-a^iato-crivtic corset, and. without useless adornment, . '.'.Fitteen million francs."; .-: - ■ i-; -' ;

: 'Ihehiwe had:the weddirig;of which:l^fore.warned J2u in my last, the happy couple \being the Hori: ■ Nathaniel Gurzon, M.P,,..future Premier of .Greit'Britain-^wdethenewspapers— "apdMiss Leiter, of; Chicago. ;it.seems.an admirable match in every way—beauty; ybiithj wealth, birth,Vand" talent all being" happily blended in > .the ■ union,. and thoso of us who 'possess neither may at' least in all sincerity ;say bon■voyage.", ■"■ ■'' ■' .• .• ■;' ,

And now for the scandal. ' Everybody?-of-coursei'knows tbafc Mrs -William K^ Vaed^i-bili-obtained a divo^a from her hiuband^a few wetko »mcc. A matter of so much moment to the^ world: at large, and society in; particular, could not well be unknown. -It may not,-how-ever, ha so widely^published that within-a-'fort-night of obtaining her decree Mre William X.— that.as. how; we always refer to her,'here as being amply, sufficient to indicate who is meant and to distinguish- her from Mrs' Cornelius or Mrs Fred-left for England, and the week 'following a certain Mr Percy BeJiriontleft for the same little island,- bnt so quietly that' we— . that is; society—hardly had time' to' miss "him :befpre the news, fraught with so much import to two continents, was flashed across the wires, Qj-rather along the,-;wires ;and across .the-sea;, that Mrs William K. Vanderbilt and Mv Percy; .Belmont were married!. Imagine the'awfal lature '• of .this. /disclosure. '"'. Our '-very highest people : withiu -, a"; mo rith'' sp''.far. .forgetting everything that ,was ,duW"% the decencies of case and the^" conventions .of : -, the beau^iiond'e as' to "demean -"themselves, like a common seamstress and her-"young. Bian^and -to-routdo the:Kih§ and Queen in ~" Hamlet "jn. ; the rapidity;bfi their" shsmelfess,ness;L .We-r-thafc.is,, society—wera. aghast;-.we '.staggered>under,■the,blow;-; our,-nefiyesr were sln.a5 ln. a the ".-whole -fabric oE pur; 1 civilisation reeled, under the shock and tattered; to its-base*.;'. Nor is this'th'e worst." Fir a.time it .looked as though we—that is,; society—'would be 3plit in two, arid ■when1 society is, split in .two the horrors.of the Frenchßevolution bir'the Turks in Armenia are aS dust-in "the balances.' There were "murmurs of a prq-Vanderbilt-Belmont -party' tod -of- an^nti-Vfinderbili' Belmont party coupled-with the'equally momentous question, Can. we1 receive them!? I am sure your readers will appreciate the gravity; ofJ;he situation and sympathise %wjth us—-that is, society--in : pur/dilemma.-;; >We can't altogpther.ignorethe Vanderb'ilt-Belmont faction, nor can we cordially recognise ; .theni. Terrible position, isn't it ?. Meanwhile there is. a slight gleam of hope thrown athwart .the lowering clouds, and that is that the cablegram announcing the news of the marriage is'nottrue. ''Lord Shplto. ■ Douglas^ third son of "the Marquis of Queecsberryf has been making an ass', of himself down at Bakersfiilcljiih -this State. From all accounts he has lived up to the name he bears. Nice family the: Queensberrysl '-.-. ■ ■..-•■'; v:.-:.; ,\>-.. i: ~'..'• ,: UtTEHAEY NOTES. ■-{■/.;.:..: / ' The downfall of Oscar Wilde is received with feeliDgs 6f more than ordinary satisfaction by every healthy-minded man who delights ip.clean literature. Wilde-represented a school which hss divorced morality, chastity, and purity from every form of art. The whole influence of the zceu and women who for thejpast; fey? yearsl have"'gained w^lthV.and'''totorie^':' By dstsntatiorisly,; paraded' nastine^s . bias' "been emphaticaUy%pon'the' side of.evil.1 "Chivalry,, senitinient,'honour, in Bseni'delicacyiii ■ have.''been- sniftered -at- in ;a' thousand ~'Bndone ! "different;'-'. ways ■y-J' until:; the" < author or! playwright :who: presented a-pwork' Based upon the. old-time lines,-was not only laughed: at as> 'being; hopelessly/behind' the age, but made to suffer financially as well. Scott, Dickens, and Thackeray were, seemingly buried beneath the diseased carrion mechanically turned oiut by'a Zola, Maupassanti^Wjlde, Mendez, Saltjis, arid Am'elie. Rives; ;and inthe drama the healthy, vigorous tonics "erve yd up by H J. Byron, Boucicaulfc, and GmndycouU make little'or no head before the rising tide of psychological' studies (s°- (jall e(l)Vo': Ibsen, Pinero, and Jones. A book was no'longer an encouragement arid help in the battles of ;life, but an epigrammatic dialogue upon morals, no morals, and sex; whilst play 3 were becoming the vehicle for the playwrights' wishy-washy discussion of some better-left-alone subJßct of absolutely no interest to the vast 'majority of men and women. To all this and more we have been compelled to submit. We seemed afraid to protest, or, if we did, were termed straight-laced and - deplorably behind-the age. Ib was the same .in art. Men might toil a lifetime.in the old ruts and barely make a.liyins;; but a boy of 21, by twisting and perverting his drawing abilities into such lines as reach their perfection in the "Yellow Book,", and conveying the impression that every .woman, is an abandoned creature, such an one can" earn £4000 a year! ' ' ■ ' ! •

And so it is when men remember these things that there is a hearty "thank God "that one who has been regarded as'thehead and front of the whole'business is exposed before the whole world as an object lesson, and as the iniaerabie interpreter of what the- philosophy of; the new cult really is when reduced.to practice.

V.'ilde is as well known here as elsewhere. jVhen visiting San Francisco, and obtaining by advertisement through putting up a green umbrella to shade himself from the rays of the moon, his vices were noted and commented upon. Few, however, thought he was so utterly lost, and the cry of despair over so much talent turned to such wautoji uses is only compensated by the hope that his ruin may be our salvation. At all events, we may believe this tendency that makoth for wickedness will be checked.

The placing of Amelie Rive's name with that of Wilde' and Meadez is, perhaps, the most terrible criticism upon this lady's work I have met. It is pitiable to see a young, beautiful, lieh, well-born, accomplished married lady in such company. But the critics have it so, and I can hardly see how she can be left out. Dr Nordan's work " Degeneration," recently issued, places these writers among the morally and ■mentally degenerate. They are the criminals of literature.

NOTES AND COSIMEKTS,

For the first time in the history of Chicago a female has bseu condemned to death. Qnestioned by reporters, the advanced female " reformers " ware unanimous in their views as to the justice cf malting no distinction batwecn the sesca hi anything—be it business or crime. So far good, but one " reformer "■ went on to unburden vrbafc she is pleased to call her "mind," as follows: —"If ther3 had been at least six women jurors I should feel there was more assurance of the verdict being a correct o;ie. This woman was not tried by a jury of her peers—the right guaranteed to her by our

consHW.ton—bat by^a iutyof- her politifcal opprts'Drs. Whi'e she may or may not be' guilty and deserve punishment, still such cases show vi how wholly the lights and liberties of women are in.thehandsrof men."

Governor A^feld charges Chauccey M. Depew vriHi being, the asthor of that system of buying Legislatures, which bas corruoted every State irod rotted iiie very fonndations of onr governmental fabric. Personally I. believe the charge.. . Depew is the Chadband of Atßericen politica. His view*,, solicited: by. ttie London Times upon the great railroad striWe of 1894 were the most falsely ludicrous that can be iraaginpd. He dared to repeat them in Chicago* and Governor Altfeld took the (rouble to ezpose the fellow. In America he toadies to million aircs, does the spread-eagle business to popnlai; audienceii, and in BaropD mirea with" th 3 aristocracy. ' ■—.*.-..:. Governor Clarke, of Arkansas, varied the monotony of.his legislative ;dntie»;. by spitbipg in the face of Stato Representative-Jones,.and then tryiflß to slioo>.biai. State Repreeeatative JoDei spat back, aud then tried to hit!th9 Governor. Oh! I tell you, sir, r .we urij a mighty people when you loplc at na id Mho rightlight. the Morn'iog Call, of Sau FrEnciscoihSd a blistering article on the Wilde case, the burdfca of which was that Manchester paupsr -laboni: and aristocratic Ecand»!s were the sole ciarseii of this greai country. There in no doubtj cried our editor, that England's majesty is sltn'ost gone—-wbav there is of it is on the oiirfane';)her decadence cannot- :be >sbayed.; ■■.-: her >, nxilliqas swairm-ih-nlth'in'hovels and her nobles rot,in their own worse .iafa'miesf; This- country is -pick pfthem; ibpth.-./Am^ri^ans, arp .mOTal, manly, healtby,'andjcantiot co.nceiye of- sucli torip'tß, and'so <m.« "v-. '.-.. M .,'. ,'. \-.. ",'„' .'.-.',' ;"'~': ■;.;.'• . The .above h ■ an. excellent satnple' of tfia American editor in hia' wai1 paint-^-aiid he never looks so absurd as whoneo beopattercd. The crime; for which of old God broughti dpwn firs upon the Cities of the Plain is" not uric'ommpn eithsr in San 'Francisco "oi1 New York. Gompetenb authorities aver London' slams -are noi it " with, thosa of New York and other great1 centres.: The eolnmes of ..the'prees will testify as to.-the,.healthiness and purity of^tbe mind^ and heart oi- tlie people, asd : as :fpr the majesty of the Britieh; Empire, it.dia'es, cob, nor did i^ ever, depend upon., the, few moral lepers who in"everypge fester in her midst. " ' -'

"... United.'.B|»teß':* AmbasEad'br'>'*iiaßtia l in' speech at an American gathering iv London, relieved his 'sotil of ;a little spread-eagleism— the which;, h^'saidj&e hsd coma all .the Wy •6m Paris to' deliver,-and which, nattirsllyi'-ttas b'eeii rebeived'with-delighi; bjr^the p'ress'on this side.' Among other thing? the ambassador -said*-1" the chief complaint:against Americana rls that we hive neither.aa aris fcccracy nor ruina." This is hard,ly ; .cbrrect. ;: The chief complaiafc, so far as I ciinsee, is that American /' institution?." are not in rains..;; : .."." .'. ; ..' ■ ' '

An advocate of'dress refoim copdemniDg her countrywoiDen ( fdr' riot "abandoning , skirts in favour of; rational dress said : ''In New Zcalarid,"fpr instance, ladies of'thßhigtiesfc social station have taken/up-' the -new costume, and their appearance, since tho;novelty has ; worh'oS, creates no surprise or deviation." .■••'.- ':.£ Commenting:.upon;. theodeath-►ofc; a'.widelyknown 'New ■ York vjourn alist. ■iv .iveekly. paper ■says i-^-" He bejieyeav moreen I jnajntiinirig-r the rckaractei;:of-.his paper than in uaiag it as a thing ,pf-..cpmmerce.. - Hisr..rule.as,to news was Srsfcto bs'sure tha£"it was hew^'anij often': h"e,allowed his paper tg be beaten in almost important p'i^se of news becauee he could riot have full veriflcacation of it. . He was the old;styl6'journaliat, with a serious sense of the respo'nsibQity of; his position.": From this we -may; infer^.whai the new-style journalist is, or is hot.' -.- ■'■■'■■."y Governor-Penrioyer, of Oregon, on leaving office, pardoned 28 notorious'criminals, several of whom were murderers. Replyirig'tocrificismg, he said " he was responsible ;to God. and not to any v other.".:. .. ;' -, -.•■•.-:/ -,- - : ; -/. : J : ./■■ -•*..■',:.

In Oklahoma' personal notice ; in divorce proceedings is unnecessary-^-an.obscure notice:in an obscure paper, plus 90 days' residence, being sufficient to sever the." hojy bond ".'for- any cause whatsover. ". '."'■'■;'■•'' - ".-""""':'r' ''. •'' .