LONDON.

Otago Witness, Issue 1129, 19 July 1873, Page 4

LONDON.

(PBOM OT7B OWN COKKESPONDENT. ) May 6th. Another great fire took place early on Sunday morning, when the entire range of works belonging to Messrs Taylor Brothers, chocolate and mustard milla, situated in Spitalflelds, was destroyed, and is now a mere heap of ruins. The loss is a heavy one, the machinery alone beiuc: estimated to be worth £00,000. Messrs Taylor are insured in most of the chief office's. By this fire about 500 hands are thrown out of employment. Among the entertainments of the season at Cremorne Gardens is a representation of the conflagration of Chicago. This terrible scene has been given with faithful reality. The portion of the city represented is that of which the Court-house formed the centre, with Randolph street on the left, and Washington street on the right. To give an appearance of reality to the scene, some of the Hue bay trees from the gardens, and gas lamps are introduced. Soon after the commencement of the fire in the rear of Washington street, the tolling of bells is heard, masses of smoke are seen, flames of fire ascend and increase all around, till the devouring element has consumed all around, and finally nothing is left but a hoap of ruins. Soon aft r the commencement of the fire, fire engines dash along, the confusion increases, and there is the loud hum of ,many voices. The Cremorne season opened on Saturday, and it must be confessed that this is a striking scene. The remains of Mr Macready, the tragedian, were brought up by rail from Cheltenham on Saturday morning, and interred in Kensal-Green Cemetery, where the deceased had a family vault. The funeral was, by Mr Macready's express wishes, of the plainest description. As might be expected, many members of the theatrical profession were present, anxious to pay the last tribute of respect to go prominent a member. Among the mourners were Mr John Forster and Mv Frederick Pollock, and in the crowd outside the chapel stood Mr Robert Browning. The chapel was crowded, but the attendance in the grounds was not so large as would probably have been the case had this tragedian not been so long absent from active life. The Architect understands that Mr Holman Hunt has received ten thousand guineas for his picture the "Shadow of Death." This sum includes the copyright for the engraving, and the privilege of exhibiting the painting. For a small replica the artist is to receive a thousand guineas. Her Majesty has commissioned Mr Iluut to paint for her a copy of the Head of Ou»- Lord. The copyright of Keble's Christian Year, which, published originally in 1526, for years brought the author a royalty of £800 per annum, has just expired, and it is therefore to be expected that scores of new and perhaps cheap editions will deluge the market, as the work has not yefc lost its populaiity. May 9th. The Royal Academy Exhibition of Paintings is now open to the public. On taking a preliminary saunter through the galleries, in order to form a general idea of the character | of the Exhibition as a whole before commencing the study of its details, one becomes aware of two loading facts, first, the unusual abundance of portrai ts — as a rule very good indeed ; and, secondly, the absence of any picture which impresses or affects the imagination in a very marked or decided way. There is a conspicuous absence of positively feeble and unskilful work, and a tolerably level diffusion of technical excellence and clever effect, out of which, however, the familiar peculiarities of individual painters ass-rt themselves so positively as to necessitate no reference to the catalogue in order to learn their names. Too many, alas !of those who years ago were teeming with originality and vigour have either arranged themselves into schools, or else, remaining in isolated satisfaction with previously achieved success, reproduce, year after year, identical subjects in a style that would be similar were not individuality hardened into eccentricity, and originality become mannerism. The death is announced of the Earl of Zetland, at his country seat in Richmond, Yorkshire. He was a staunch supporter of the Liberal cause, both ia the House of Lords and Commons. He was Grand Master of Freemasons of England for a great number of years, and vacated in favour of the Marquis of Ripon about two years ago. The earl's title will devolve upon Mr Lawrence Dundas, M.P., whose elevation to the peerage will cause a vacancy for the borough of Richmond. The trial of the Claimant does not in the least abate in the interest it excites. The crowd grows daily, and 150 policemen are needed to keep order at Palace yard. The examination of the Paris witnesses was concluded on Friday. M. Cliatillon, Roger's tutor, utterly denied the identity of the Claimant with Sir Roger, and his wife, who succeeded him as witness, bore most emphatic testimony to the same effect. She said, " I always conversed with Roger in the French language. Ido not understand English. I first saw the defendant last week. I see him now for the second time. He is not Sir Roger — no, no, no ! " M. Aranza, a Spaniard by birth, and a friend of the Tichborne family, was next examined, and he deposed that Roger Tichborne was in bearing, habit, and instinct a perfect gentleman ; that he spoke French as a Parisian gentleman would speak it, but that he spoke English very badly indeed. Not that he used "vulgarities" — on this point M. Aranza was very firm — but that he eked out his Eng- 1 lish with French, and was far from fluent or

correct in his pronunciation. Asked to identify the defendant with. Sir Roger he gravely and deliberately replied, "That he is not Roger Tichborne ray friend, I can positively say." Then followed Sir James 1 Tichborne's valet, who was positive that the : claimant was in no respect like Sir Roger. The gist of this examination will be seen by those who remember that the Claimant, in his evidence on the 6th of June, stated that ' Sir James never had a domestic called Gossein. The point of Gossein's evidence was : to show that he had been in Sir J. Ticb.borne's service for nearly fifteen years. ■ After the departure of Gnssein from the witness box, the reading of the evidence given by the defeudant "in the course of , his action for ejectment in Common Pleas was continued. The ordinary course of proi cedure was departed from for the convenience of the Paris witnesses. Th« great bulk of witnesses will not be examined until after the affidavits and evidence of the Claimant in the late trial have been read over to the jury. It is upon this evidence that one of the counts of perjury is based, and the hearing it read is likely to last the week. That portion of the evidence was read which related to his intimacy with his cousin, Miss Doughty. The mention of the Brighton card case created a slight diversion. That Roger Tichborne was unfortunate over his cards no one knew, until the Claimant said so. Then followed the reading of the crossexamination of the Claimant's knowledge of people and subjects that Roger Tichborne was acquainted with in France. A book wns exhibited, and he was asked if certain writing in it was that of Roger Tichborne He could not say. Questioned subsequently | about his knowledge of French, he replied " that he had entirely forgotten everything about French — even the alphabet ;" and again, " I cannot even read my own letters written in French." The examination then proceeded with a variety of minute details tending chiefly to test the Claimant's knowledge of events in the life of Roger Tichborne, and endeavouring to show that the answers given by the witness were either inconsistent with themselves or with the documents put in during the course of t c trial. Looking back now over that long investigation, it is impossible not to he struck with the skill with which Sir J. Coleridge conducted this portion of his duty, and of the remarkable completeness of the crossexamination. Li the course of Wednesday's trial, there app°ared in Court a mulatto man, who is understood to have been on board the Middleton, which conveyed Arthur Orton to Hobart Town in 1552. When in Court, he was placed in a position where he could look the Claimant in the face. The latter, however, paid no heed to the stranger. It is painful to remark how the conduct of the sailors of the Atlantic appears in darker colours with each successive account which reaches us of the details of the wreck. A letter from one of the survivors states that he and his newly- married wife were alarmed by the striking of the ship, and rushed upstairs just as the sailors were fastening down the doors to prevent the passengers from crowding on deck. They both got into a lifeboat, when the sailors threatened to I " knock their heads off," if they did not get out. Per eiving them to bo in earnest, Mr Bafcemcin took his wife out of the boat, thinking they might as well be drowned as murdered, and helped her on to the rigging, where they clung together for nine hours — the husband trying, by friction, to keep his wife from becoming benumbed, until a falling piece of timber crushed his hand. At last the poor wife became delirious, foamed at the mouth, and dropped into the sea, already dead with cold and terror. Five cousins who were accompanying the Batemans to America were all lost, and he alone survives of the seven who sailed from England together on the ill-omened voyage. The loss of all the women and children on board the Atlantic is now fully explained. Mrs Bateman was the only female who — thanks to her husband — was able to escape out of the steerage, the sailors having shut in all the rest to be drowned like vermin in a trap. The Lord Chancellor's Judicature Bill has passed the House of Lords. The measure has only been slightly altered, with the exception of an increase of the salaries of the judges and an increase of their number. The three little Bills introduced into the House of Commons by Mr Stansfeld in his lucid and interesting speech, are full of valuable proposals. These Bills, on Local Taxation, are to amend the law regulating the liability and valuation of property for the purpose of rates ; another to provide for uniformity in the valuation of property ; and the third to provide for the consolidated rate of which Mr Stansfeld has the charge. These meagre Bills, as they are called contemptuously, deal only with a portion, and that nob the most difficult, of a very great question. The School of Popular Cookery is the most popular department of the International Exhibition. Not the music to be heard in the Albert Hall, nor the flowers in the Horticultural, neither the pictures nor statues in the galleries, attract half so much interest and attention as Mr Buckmaster's School of Cookery. The Queen herself, accompanied by the Princesses Christian and Beatrise, when visiting the International Exhibition last Friday, spent some little time in this school, and heard a lecture by Mr Buckmaster | on the making of omelettes, which were j duly tasted when made, for practice is com- 'j bined with theory. Mr Buckmaster's lee- i ture is assisted by demonstrators. It is a I peculiarity of the authorities that proper time must be allowed for the due performance j of the various operations, and that the lee- : turer must make his remarks fit the produced illustrations. The pursuit of know-

ledge in the matter of roasting, boiling, and stewing now tires the ambition of hundreds of ladies and gentlemen, and the space allot- , ted for their iustruction is all too small for ' the would-be learners. The Committee con- , template, we arc told, opening a School of j Practical Instruction in another part of the , building, where, on the payment of a mode- | rate fee, the pupil niay wuh his or her own j hand dress certain dishes. Besides this, a I small exhibition of military cookery is al- ! ready established, where the Londoner may behold how the gallant defenders of his and other countries dress their rations in cans and kettles, suspended by branches over a fire in a trench. The G-er- | mans seem to have discovered the secret of how to obtain the mosE nourishing mixture of peas, oatmeal, rice, and meat in the smallest compass ; so that a quantity which appears at sight but a meagre supply, amply satisfies the appetite of the two soldiers who share a sausage and cook together. It is stated on good authority, says the Observer, that the general, election will, barring unforeseen contingencies, be held next spring. Parliament will meet as usual next February for a short session. The Estimates will be passed, and the usual business of the session transacted, and then Parliament will be dissolved, to re-assemble as soon after Easter as possible. May 16th. The sad news of John Stuart Mill's deatl has occasioned a unanimous expression of re gret for the loss of one who is acknowledged to have been the most distinguished pinkwo phical thinker and writer of our time. Hii literary works will constitute a lasting monument to his memory. The physiciai who has sent the record of Mr Mill's last hours, gives us incidentally a little picture o his home, which deserves bo be remembered. When his books are studied, or his politica schemes criticised, we may do well to recal where and how he wrote those clear, hare arguments on logic and ethics, and how h( pondered on his plans of aiding the progress ol society. We may not endorse all his view*, as a politician ; we would rather contempjatt him in his far greater character as a philosophical writer. He chose to live at Avig^ non. "He knew the situation was noi healthy,,but purchased the house and grounds only because they were closp to the cemetery where his wife was buried fifteen years ago, and in order that he niight spend as much of his time as possible near her tomb." Doubtless, he felt when she was gone, that social pleasures were more or less irksome to him, and that the honours he received came all too late, as she could not share them. But he worked on, and his work and his watch by his wife's tomb, are over at last. " His house was densely surrounded by trees, which he would not allow to be touched, lest the nightingales abounding in the neighbourhood should quit the spot. The avenue under the shade of which he composed and studied was filled with these birds, aud so tame were they (the physician adds) that when I paced up and down between my visits to his bedside, they followed me from tree to tree." We learn that Mr Mill did not suffer much in his brief illness, and that, according to his wish, his great intellect remained clear to the last moment. We are told that " prayer was offered at the grave, and a most touching address given by the pa3tor "; and then came, not the severance, but the re-union. The beautiful tomb of his wife — that tomb on which he had inscribed such passionate words of love and sorrow — was opened, and "he was placed by the side of her he loved so well." A meeting of his friends has been convened in London to consider in what manner the national respect for his memory may be most fittingly testified. The untimely death of Mr Emanuel Deutsch, of the British Museum, is a heavy loss to the literary world ; for there is probably no one in England who possessed to an equal degree the varied knowledge combined with intense sympathy for art, nature, and humanity, that distinguished the deceased scholar. He was born in Silesia, in the year 1832. He studied at Berlin, and in 1853 he came to England, 1 when he entered the British Museum, in the subordinate capacity of transcriber. After some time he was promoted to be one of the librarians, and for nearly twenty years he did immense service to the valuable establishment of which he was one of the brightest ornaments. The range of his acquirements was extraordinary. It is stated of him that "nothing came amiss to his enormous appetite for knowledge, and nothing that he had once learned ever escaped his tenacious memory." He made a considerable mark some six or seven years ago by two memorable articles in the Quarterly Eeview on the Talmud and on Mohammed, which were intended to be the preface of a much larger work — a work now that will ever remain unwritten. He died at Alexandria of dysentery, on his return homewards from a trip eastwards, undertaken to recruit his failing health. Professor Owen, F.R.S., has sustained a great loss by the death of his wife. The deceased lady was the only danghter of the late Mr William Clift, F.R.S., the pupil and friend of John Hunter, and the first conservator of the Hunterian Museum, an appointment he held upwards of half a century. Mr John Arrowsmith, the well known geographer, is dead. Another hearing of the bank forgeries case took place on Saturday. Austin Bidwell, the supposed principal, has sailed from Havana in charge of the English detectives. It is rumoured that on his arrival he will turn Queen's evidence. A conference of delegates representing Republican Associations in various parts of the United Kingdom has been held at Birmingham. There were about 70 delegates

I present, representing 50 towns. It appears i that Mr Bright was invited to attend, or • "to send a word of encouragement." But a 1 word of warning was scut instead. The delegates were reminded that it might be a '. wise policy to endeavour to perfect the Civil ! Government rather than to look for great changes, which neoessarily involve enormoug risks. Mr Bright remarks ;—"; — " It is easier to uproot a monarchy than to give a healthy growth to that which is put in its place, and I suspect the price we should have to pay for the change would be greater than the change would be worth. Our forefathers suffered from nearly a century of unsettled govern» ment in consequence of the overthrow of the monarchy, brought on by the folly and crimes of the monarch. France has tndured many calamities and much humiliation for nearly a hundred years past, springing from the destruction of the ancient government and the apparent impossibility of founding a stable government to succeed it. Spain is now in the same difficulty, of •which we watch the experiment with interest and anxiety. For forty years past in this cou.ur try we have seen a course of improvement in our laws and administration equal, and per* haps superior, to anything which has been witnessed in any other nation. This gives me hope and faith that we can establish a civi} government, so good as to attract to its sup- - port the respect and Jove of all the intelligent among our people, and this without bringing upon us the troubles which, J believe, are inseparable from the uprooting of an ancient inonaichy, I have no sympathy , with the object which gives its name to your club. I prefer to do good in the way of political reform by what I regard a wiser and less hazardous, if a less ambitious method, and from what we have seen of the past I think we may gather hope and faith for the future." The moderating effects of this letter were visible in the tone of the meeting at which it was read. j The trial of the Claimant is still proj ceeding in the Court of Queen's Bench. lThe reading of the evidence of the former j trial still continues, and is expected to last till the middle of next week. Mr Justice Lush is prevented from attending Court through an attack of rheumatic pout j but as the Lord Chief Justice said, it was fortunate that depositions only were being npw read, for the learned Judge could as well peruse them at home as on the bench, At present the relation of the career of Arthur Orton interests the Court. The subject embraced having reference chiefly to the evidence taken by the Commissioners sent out by the Court of Chancery in 1868 to South America and Australia. The Australian evidence in the late trial was not put in, owing to the Claimant's counsel electing to bring the suit to a premature close. Mr Hawkins has already entered at great length into the subject of tlie testimony of the Aus» tralian witnesses, whom the prosecution have undertaken to produce. Several mouths since a Commission was despatched to South America for the purpose of finding out, if possible, the original Thomas Castro, and some other witnesses, more or less connected with the stay of the Claimant in Peru or Chile. Some time since it was known that one of the gentlemen sent out had been successful in tracing out two very important "witnesses — one the veritable Thomas Castro, with whom the Claimant alleges he staid for some time in South America ; and the other an elderly lady, named Mrs Hayley., with whom Sir Roger Tichborne lodged when he was in Valparaiso. The Pacific Steam Navigation Company's Royal Mail steamship Sorata, which arrived in the Mersey on Tuesday night, had on board Mrs Hayley, Thomas Castro, and M. Santander, who during the voyage had charge of Mrs Hayley and Castro, and prevented them from alluding, as iar as he possibly could, to the object of their visit to England, although it was perfectly well known on board that they were two important witnesses in the present Tichborne trial. For the last few days the arrival of the Sorata has been anxiously looked for at Liverpool by two gentlemen from London, Whose movements were of a very mysterious character. The Sorata arrived in the river shortly before midnight on Tuesday, but some of the passengers, including the three above mentioned, slept on board all night. At 7 o'clock on Wednesday morning they were brought ashore privately, and at once taken to the .North- Western Hotel, where apartments had been previously engaged. After a few hours' delay, the party left for London by a mid-day train. Several hundred agricultural labourers are now " locked out " in Essex and Suffolk. A great meeting was held at Ludley, at which Mr Arch spoke. Great demonstrations of the labourers have taken place in Kent, and a monster open air meeting held. Sir John Bennett, Sheriff of London, addressed the meeting.

The first number of the " Australasian Phonetic Reporter," published in Melbourne, and edited by Mr John T. Cook, a certificated teacher of phonography, has been sent to us. The opening article, written in the latest style of Pitman, explains the object of the promoter to be the establishment of a means for securing an interchange of ideas upon all matters affecting the progress and welfare of phonographers, young and old. This number also contains some " Rambling Notes," a tale entitled "Thrice Met, Thrice Crossed," and some " Evenings with Thackeray," by the editor. The little journal is well worthy of the support of phonographers throughout the Australasian group, and no doubt it will be welcomed by many of the phonographic students who abound in Punedin,