THE KING'S HEALTH.

Otago Witness, Issue 2522, 16 July 1902, Page 63

THE KING'S HEALTH.

THE IMPROVEMENT CONTINUES

THE CORONATION' DATE

LONDON, July 8. The King cabled to Lord Curzon that lie vras much touched- by the kind syiuI pathy" shown by India. His Majesty is progressing slowly . but surely. Privacs', as far as possible, is being observed. The- proposal to remove to the seaside is to prevent a demonstration, which might prove prejudicial. A Keraark made by the Eight Hon. Akers Douglas in " the House of Commons is interpreted to mean that the date of the Coronation is not remote. The Daily Telegraph mentions that itwill bo early in August. Ah official announcement will be made on Friday. j The bulletin issued at 10 a.m. states that the King's progress is all that can bf» derived. The Daily News states that the authorities are considering the third week in August as the date of the Coronation. The Daily Telegraph ttates that there i- a j>ro=pcet of the King reviewing the P.eet in August, July 9. The King* progress is uninterrupted. The bullet in issued at 10 a.m. states that the King sleeps well. He is gaining strength, and the wound is healing & lowly. The newspaper Truth suggests to curtail the Coronation service to the utmost possible limit", leaving only the essential portions of the service, and that the time should not exceed an hour and a-half. July 10. There is a prospect of the King going aboard his yacht next week, travelling i in an ambulance chair in a recumbent position. The Times says it is believed the Coronation will iake place on August 9. The bulletin issued at 10 a.m. states tliat tl>e King, is still processing satis- I faetorilv. The British Medical Journal and the Lancet concur that the King's progress is more rapid than "wa- anticipated. There is absolutely no trace of any malignant disease. The doctors are j satisfied that his constitution is I thoroughly sound. July 11. The Kaiser meeting an English clergyman in Norway said : " 1 bring good tiding-. Your King will ho well in August that he will be aboard a steamer.'' July 13. A bulletin issued at ]0 a.m. states that the King is making excellent progress. Owing to his j-atinlactory condition future bulletins will be issued on alternate days only. It is officially announced that the doctors hope that the King can be removed to l»ia> yuclit on T net-day. His progress is more speedy and le&s complicated than was originally anticipated. His excellent constitution played a conspicuous ipart in bringing this about. If the progre c -> is maintained the doctors ;irp of opinion tluit the Coronation may take place between the Slti and 12th of August. The proce-sion on the cecond day is cancelled. SYDNEY. July 10. The various State capitals to-night are carrying out the proposed Coronation illumination-. Th» demonstration il-popularlyi Ipopularly accepted moro in the >-hapo ] of rejoicing at the King's recovery. Tho , display is not on a lavish peale, the Government effort being confined to the ; principal Federal and some State build- , ings. The chief features at Sydney are I the Po.st Office and Customs House. The former presents a magnificent spectacle, i the tower being festooned from bn=e to summit with thousands of fairy arc j lamp- . The Mooro street frontage has j scrolls of coloured lamps and a design ' in irampihP letters. '• Commonwealth Greeting! Long Live the King!" The >

Customs Hcrase has a ftae -effect front-"-; ing the harbour. The Town Hall and the Redfern station make's good show.. A Tew banks, large business firms, and all the newspaper offices are tastefully illuminated, some with most artistic designs, the most prevalent being crowns and the King's monogram; but, unlike theCommomvealth celebrations, the great majority make no show. So far as Sydney is concerned not a great deal of interest was taken. The unsettled weather is also an adverse factor, and there was little more than the usual crowd in the streets. July 12. Mr Deakin states that Sir E. Barton will probably remain for the Coronation if it is not delayed after the. middle o' August.

Stewart, of Hie Notorious Brig: Elizabeth. TO THE "EDITOR.

Sir.. — '* Mnribiki," in the New Zealand Magazine of June, writes a very readable article on Stewart Island. He fuses its rara .scenery into its historical romance, producing one of those effective combinations which have done &o much to promote tourist enterprise in -the Home Country, especially the land of the Scot. It is in no capricious niood I question the accuracy of some of hirfaefcg. I fully realise the extent to which southern New Zealand history lias been distorted, and my sole object is to assist j in getting it accurately put on permanent . record. I Alluding to the origin of the name, mention is made of Captain Stewart, of the brig Elizabeth, notorious in the Te Rauparaha annalb. The popular idea is to treat this man as a malignant, and the vocabulary of scurrility has been exhausted in carrying out that endeavour. We are told he attempted to reach South America in his " sinpolluted " craft, and that in rounding Cape Horn, " reeking in rum," re dropped dead, on the deck. " Murihiki " improves thereon, adding that his body was then and there kicked overboard. I am possessed of data that would seem to belie the asseverations. Stewart's outward Customs entry is dated November, 1830; inward, February, IS3I. I examined and made careful note of New Zealand ships lists for the 12 months covering these periods, and, strange to say, his was the only vessel that did not carry grog in one shape or another. A villainous compound named arrack was tipple of the day, and neither as cargo nor ship's stores is there a drop of that or any other liquor credited to Stewart. In fact, if. appears tha^ his was a temperauce ship, and seemingly the only temperance ship of the period. Immediately on his arrival back in Sydney, Stewart was arrested and held to bail in £1000. He was defended by Dr Wardell, ' a celebrated criminal lawyer. Wardell's practice is now represented by a respectable I firm of Sydney barristers. I got in com~ ■, muuicatiou with them, and, after long and patient search amongst old musty volumes succeeded in ferreting out the identical brief : or process. The relevancy of the indictment J ! would seem to have been objected to, and, ' after being argued and rcargucd, the objection was sustained. At a session of the 1 Supreme Court held in June, 1831, the bail : bund was formally discharged, and further proceedings quashed. Meantime another skipper was put in charge of the Elizabeth, and it can be traced on the coast of New South Wales years after. Then we find Stewart himself, immediately on his reiesso, put in command of another creffc belonging to the same owners, and his namr» crops up periodically during the then enpiing five years. In short, neither Stewart nor the brig Elizabeth appears ever to have gone near Cape Horn, and when looked into nothing cmild ]:o=sibly look more like a. pure invention. Although not argued, thp dftence on the merits )g filed or noted on the brief. It was, in effect, that ho (Stewart) had done nothing mcrf than belligerent Powprs all over the world ate in the habit of doing — viz., hiring vessels to convoy their troops to the 6eat of war. Why, what has New Zealand of to-day bfen doing? Within the last few months she chartered no fewer than 10 vepsels to convey troops to fight a people that never did New Zealand any harm ; and still we find the New Zealand war rraza has not been, impugned, far less indicted. Apart from any fciiortcommg of that kind, it is a well-constructed article, and New Zoai-.md south is indebted to "Murihiki" for bringing Ibis gem — historical as well a. icenic— into view.— l am, etc., Ro. Cakeick. Wellington, July 5. The S.C Board of Education lia\'» dealt v. it't the- roinpiaiut of a>i Anj;lit«!> clf-vgyman t'ißt tlio S. * .!rf--%'s .Sfliool Cn'nniitteo refii-ed ti.'ui perii'—ion to u-e th~ schoofioam for Su'»rjy 'chori! Mi'i'i- '>-<-. '"j «<■•' • '■ '•- "*C given. Tlii* I'caid <\ja>- "d i-.j-i I. jsi-.I decided io as>k the commit toe to rc<oi. i.tler iU dco<-.on, but admitted it hud no power io io-tcp the committee in such a ca«p. The tlefii lency in the supply of teacher? was again manifest. For the post of fourth assistant at the Tiiiiaru Mal« School ad\crtised m Uunothn aiid Cliriftchu'-ch ah well ai lef ally only tuo Soutli Canteibury juniors applied. In other oases two and one appiifd. and in a fourth case none. The board unanimously resolved to requc-t tho Government to increase- the amount of capitation allowance for incidental", and the delegate to the Conference of Boards wai requested to press this matter at the conference as an absolut. necessity.