STATUTORY DECLARATION.

Otago Witness, Issue 2525, 6 August 1902, Page 71

STATUTORY DECLARATION.

1, Jjoxnsx 'Scott, of 'No. •<(& St. D»vid-Stre«l/ Donedio.in the Colony of New Zealand^o foLemfllx -and iincerely declare thmtjl.iuve aaiAhilly neaJiJiU annexed document, consisting of two folios. 494 consecutively 'numbered 'fromysne to Vgro, and fai} it contains *nnd is 'a true -and faithful account; of my Illness and cure by Clements Tonic, and aljsa. contains my <ull;pennission'to publish In ai>y wfJJ my statements— which 1 .give voluntarily, v/ltbotft -receiving any ; and I make t)iis solemdi declaration, conscientiously believing tfce same to bf , true, »trd by virtue uf the provisions of aa.-ict of tha,s General Assembly of New Zelland/intitiitcd "Thji: Justices of Peace Act 1882."

Declared at Dunediu, this third day of Januaryy,' Cine thousand nine hundred and one, before me, mj

Action from Crimea to Coronation," is apt and excellently well merited. It is a lively chronicle of reminiscence, beginning with a certain summer day in Hyde Park, when his present Majesty Edward VII, as the young and debonnir Prince of Wales, drove there, and was '"a leader of fashion a-nd patron of all the graces," attired in "'pegtop" trousers! A little anecdote concerning Lord Ward, his dog, a lady and her crinoline breaks the ice, and assures the reader that the fare provided for him will nob be too heavy for a light digestion.

In his capacity of journa''ist "Mr Kinneai has many and stirring tales to tell. The "Jjaucy Alabama" and the Kearsage yield up their romantic history ; the rebellion in Jamaica : the ponderous personality of Cetewayo. the Zulu King ; the death of the Drke of Albany ; the acquaintance of Arabi I asha, all find their veracious and amusing chronicler.

One smiles good-naturedly at {he harmless vanity which is so truly British in its inftincts, and lays such stress on the chronicling of Courts, for it is as Court journalist that the author loves to view himself. For ourselves — as, we imagine, for the general reader, greater interest awakens at the really vivid notes of travels in China, Russia, Ashantee, and, last of all, the v. riter'e experience "with Lord Methuen to Modder River."

To preserve the harmonies' of his scheme, vhat Mr Kinuear begins with royalty he ends with royalty ; as in the first chapter we are introduced to one Prince of Wales, so in the last we are spectators of the homecoming of the Ophir, bringing the present Prince of Wales home from his colonial toiir.

It is a volume fiom which one could make Quotations galore. We content ourselves with one remark, rendered doubly interesting by the recent political changes : "My experience abroad has been . . . it is easier ioy a British 1 ravelling correspondent to reach the steps of the German, Austrian, or Russian throne than to 1 get ear of Mr Balfour in Downing street."' We recommend "Across Many Seas" to the personal acquaintance of our readers.