"ALIEN'S" LETTER FROM ENGLAND. (Specially written for the Witness Ladies' Page.)

Otago Witness, Issue 2732, 18 July 1906, Page 73

"ALIEN'S" LETTER FROM ENGLAND. (Specially written for the Witness Ladies' Page.)

GOSSIP OF THE WEEK.

"The merry month of May" continues to be a disappointment in the way of ■weather, and from all parts of the country come reports of belated flowers and fruit. Three weeks behind time ie the general verdict. The hawthorn and chestnuts, which are usually in full bloom long before now, are but just throwing their fragrance over the fields and gardens ; and only in sheltered spots are the rhododendron and lilac in full glory. Everybody grudges those three weeks of which the season has defrauded us, for they are normally weeks of the sweetest flowering time. But the parks and public gardens are looking lovely, spite the unseasonable frosts. Kew is a glory of colour, and the warm rains of the last few days have done much to open reluctant buds, which 211 the air with their perfume. The beautiful grounds at Earl's Court are also mantled in rich colour. This popular exhibition is in high favour just now, for royal visits have attracted public notice, and what has genuinely amused and interested the little princes and their sister to the extent of so interesting by their account their grandfather, the King, that he went to see the sights also is considered quite «ood enough for ordinary folk. Every year Earl's Court has a different illusion. Last year "Venice by Night" ivas the attraction, with its ■waterways and real Venetians singing in real gondolas. This year Austria is represented in the non-official section of the building. The permanent exhibition of pictures, china, glass, arts and crafts of ell nations is worth a week of study ; but that portion of the exhibition which is apparently a bit of foreign country transplanted — houses, stre2t-!, people, die«s, language and music, manners ancl) all — ■has most attraction, representing as it does life under sunny 6kies, foreign to th-e ■ways and conventions ol the British. Here the Londoner is> illusioned from hie bricks and mortar, and enjoys that glimpse of the picturesque which his native streets so scantily afford. But the visit of the Prince and Princess of Wales, with their children, was quite unexpected. They <irove up in 3n open carriage like other people, but were soon recognised, and great excitement ran through the building.

The Prince and Princess of Wales recognised the facsimile of the famous Mirror Chamber at the c;i6tle of Schoenbrunn, which has been reproduced by a famous Austrian decorator, the original of which is used as a reception room of foreign royalties ; but the little princes and their sister Mary, who are not so travelled, enjoyed themselves most in the Tyroles" Village, where the dancing girls danced in their picturesque costumes and the "yodelling" from mimic rocks and valleys gave quite the impression of the real thing. The 5-alt mines were visited. among other shows, and the royal children, who thoroughly enjoyed themselves, brought their visit to a close with a tea that partook in no way of illusion, the cakes and sweets being the real thing. It is gorerally thought that the rovnl children had fo much to say to thc.r grandfather about tho delights of tiie exhibition that bis interest w«s arou«ed Anyhow, the next day his Majesty took a private party to Karl's- Court, which he visited for the first time, and in whir-h he appeared to be greatly interested, making n number of purr-bases, and ppend ing some time renewing o!d memories amonrr the Austrian photographs. The casual visitors, of whom there were many, were highly delimited at the unexpected advent of royalty, but respected' his privacy, and left liim with his pn'tv to stroll unmobbed through the pretty Tyroleee Tillage, where the dancers perfoim.ed their best for his pleasure, and the "jodeUers' 1 excelled themselves. The Vienra duottists. Miss Friese and Miss Brondc. had the honour of singine; several of their characterstic songs to the royal party, and b : r» Majeetv, conducted by the Austro-Hungariaii Ambassador, Count Albert Mensdorff. wont through the numerous halls, ard, much to the gratification of the stall-owners, many of whom are foreigners, and saw King Edwaid for the first time, examined the contents of the stalls. Those from which he purchased have leaped into popularity, and csneciallv among subsequent American visitors. Ladies are anx ; ous to know the mture of hi* Majesty's purchases, that they may buy likewise.

Ihe royal party lunched on the piazza of the Austrian Cafe. The menu was typically Austrian, scrambled eggs and asparagus tips bom? among the daintifis. Freeh boihd br-ef and bakrd chickens and Prague hums al'-o <,iarpd the table.

Tho Kin^ staged till 3 in the afternoon, promising to pay another \isit to si c the musical burlesque "Vienna at Xiprht ."

A monster deputation .01 •'sutfrasette.s.'' as these ladies are designated, met the Prime Minister in the gloat reception hall at the 'Foreign Office to state their grie\ance of be'ng denied the privpege "f a vote. Sir Henry Campbcll-Bjnn--ir 'ii had probably never before faced so stion'ie an assembly: ladies of title and of nr stccratic descent side by sde with 1 M^aehire factory girls and pit-workers from the Black Country. Miss Kenney. who represented Lancashire (one of those ladles ■who was so emphatic in the House i<f Commons), was dressed in the favourite costume of the Lancashire lass— a blue skirt and collarless blouse, with a grey eha-tr], her fair hair worn in a plait down her back. The northe/n contingent of ■women workers represented cotton spinners, tailoresses, bookbirders, pa perm 511 lands, chainmakers, clay pipe maker*, naihnakers, and a number of other crafts more or less arduous. The faces and forms of the women bore evidence of their toil, and on. Saturday, uhen they arrived in

London and formed up on the Embankment, they arrested thoughtful attention. j Miss Emily Davies, a white-haired woman : of over 70 years, first addressed the Pre- '■ mier. She made a vigorous and pathetic I appeal for the recognition of woman as a free factor in life — an appeal which I gained addled weight from the fact that 1 Miss Davies has laboured for 40 years in l the women's cause. Sir Henry CampbellBannerman seemed quite touched, and in 1 very gentle tones expressed his personal sympathy with the movement, but pro1 mi&ed nothing. In effect he patted these ■ women on the head and said soothingly, i "There, there ! be good and go home ' quietly. Be patient ! When he preached the virtue of patience an electric thrill of indignation ran through the assembly of 1 women, who have suffered so long from j the inequality of their position side by sidi3 , with working men ; and Miss Eva Gore, ! of Lancashire, voiced the sentiment of every woman present when she cried out : j "Patience ! Haven't we been patient? jWe cannot wait any longer. We want ] justice. Do it now !" At the end of the ! Prime Minister's speech, in which he pro- | mi&e<l nothing, Miss Kenney, w-ho has , made herself notorious in the cause for

I her disregard of decorum, exclaimed : I "Sir, we are not satisfied : it's a scandal , and a shame.' She would not be hushed 1 up or reminded of the reverence due to exalted personages, but declared that she was going to the waiting crowd of women cutside to tell them that they had been ; "duped and tricked." The movement was making amazing strides, the Prime Minister said, but much yet remained to be done to convert public opinion to the ' point of giving the vote to women. Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman left the hall ', bowing and smiling, amid such a storm of hisses and cries of ''Shame '" as never before probably have been addressed to him. The contingent then repaired to Cleopatra's X-eedle, on the Embankment, where crowd!* of disappointed and angry , women were addressed by women as angry ; the groans for the Prime Minister of England and cheers for woman's sufferage on the stately Embankment of • the Thames, given by women who- mean. , to gain the:r vote, was quite a unique but eloquent expression of the liberty Briti&h women already possess. In the afternoon, at Exeter Hall, there was a monster meeting of ladies, representing women's working societies throughout England. Sir Charles Maclaren, Bart., I IIP., was in the chair, and Mr Walter Maclaren, who addressed the meeting, said the- Prime Minister spoke truly when he

. said that he would give the franchise to women as far as he was concerned ; but ' no was under the domination of a minority lof his colleagues. There was a clamour for names, which Mr Maclaren gave as ' As'juith, Brice, and L/ord Careir. These ', names were rrrg* with gronns and hisses. i These gentlemen, Mr Macutren declared, , were the real stumbling-block to women's franchise, and the war cry of this moveip out was not patier.ee, but impatience. This brought a burst of enthusiastic cheering, th« wom-jn waving handkerchiefs and parasols, and Mr Maclaron raised the hopes , of the large asseuibla^a by declaring that ! ht believei that "' Before tho piesent Parliament empires women will have their ' vote." The last has been seen in England of Princess Ena. When she revisits these shores she will be Qut-en of Spain. The papers have chronicled all hrr goings and I comings, and described her clothes and . wedding presents, till little is left to be ' sUid. She spent her last day very quietly ! il Kensington Palace, and glimpses of her I ' 'Trough the park trees sho-n'ed her strolling about the grounds with the young princes, ' doubtless taking a giihsh farewell of favourite spots. The night previously there { v.-as a dinner party at Buckingham Palace, w-hen .all the members of the Royal Family J then in England were pre-spnt to wish the I \oung bride happinefis. This morning the I King, accompanied by a brilliant assemj blage of loids and ladies, was present at I Victoria Station to bid Princess Ena a I formal good-bye. It was a warm, bright morning, and after th-e rains of the previous days London was looking its best. Even at the early hour of 9 o'r-lork the streets were busy with their indcsciibable ! traffic, and Kensington Gaiden I*,1 *, fragrant ' with the fivsh foliage of the grt-at tree?, I among which the red roofs of the old palace- gleamed. Ken«ington Palace is I rich in associations of Queen Victoria, and I the girl bride who passed beneath its ' portals had tender memories of her lllusj tiious grandmother. The sentiment which 1 always attaches to a girl bi ide who is leavI in;' her own home and country to attach . herself to her husband's people' and home is not withheld, but rather intensified, when ths bride is royal, for things of deeper import are attached to the step, and the crowd of veil-dressed folk waiting in Kensington Gardens to give Princess Ena Godspeed and the spectators along the route i had heartiness in their voices and gocd- '• w ill in their hearts. The uuifoi ras of the ! escort made a bright splash of colour on j a morning rich with colour, and the platj form at Victoria gleamed with exquisite dresses, waving plumes and jewels, and w*a.s dignified by robes of % State office The semi-public farewells over, the royal train j moved out, bearing with it tne youthful ' Oieen of Spain to be, whom King Alfonso . is journeying to the frontier to meet. ! The liteiary sensation of tLe hour is Mr Jabez Ua'foui's story, "Jmohi a Living Tumb."' appealing vi t en.i! form in the I Weekly Dispatch, which Mr Bal'our ha& , memorised 'lining lu-s ]3 years' penal s-pr- ' vitude, and whirh lie b°gan to wiite the first day of his release Tl'o first chapters de t 'l with his succ ssful business ciieer before tne failure of the Liberator companies, and with his confidante that

they would weather the storm ; %vith his acting on the unsound advice of his legal firm to leave England for the Argentine. Then came the extradition order and his arrest at Salter, the formal charge at Bow street, and his first acquaintance with the prison van "Black Jlaria," -which he thus deI scribes :

I left Bow Street Police Court, and was ushered into a prison van, or " Black Maria, a long, omnibus-shaped vehicle, entered at the back, and divided into minute cupboards or compartments.

I shall never forget that ride through London. I had been a prisoner in trains in South America, on a steamboat, in another traia in England, in prison, in a four-whesled cab, and in a police court; but tie ignominy and humiliation of that ride from Bow street to Holloway are stamped indelibly on my brain. It is, I suppose, a drive of some halfhouT's duration. I imagine that there was no more gloomy person in London on that aifcerno&n than I, and my spirits on entering the gi-eat gates cannot be described There is, indeed, nothing so convincing of the fact that one is really a prisoner as travelling in a prison van. There is a sensation almost of suffocation in the tiny cubicle in which one is confined, and to a man of refinement the sudden association, on terms of equality for the first time in one's life with the noisy and ribald dregs of London, is an experience calculated to create despair in the most sanguine mind I have been through many more serious troubles since, but I shall never forget that disgustiug ride.

Of i.he passin.g of his sentence he says

The judge thereupon delivered a speech, sentencing one prisoner to four months, another — who had been convicted on precisely the same counts 111 the first indictment as myself — to nine months, p.nd nle to seven years m respect of each indictment ranking 14 years in all

Ordinary words cannot describe the feelings of a man in such a position. It seemed then the end of everything. One's whole life flashes before one's biain 111 a second — childhood youth' earliest ambition, family life, children, success, failure, nun, ard — 14 yearpenal servitude! The sentence was so colossal that I actually failed to realise it, and at one moment my brain seemed to regard it almost as a gigantic and grotesque joke. Some friendly hands were thrust forward to take the last good-bye. I was led, not knowing whither or how I went, to a waiting room beneatH the co-uit, and there w»s kept for a veiy long and weary period,, -until the learned judge had found time to sign the documents of committal. Even in such moments there were humorous incidents. When the sentence wa.i delivered my counsel, Mr O'Connor (" Long John, as he was known in the House of Commons in my days), sudd-enly, to my great surprise, bolted out of court, overcome, as I supposed, with emotion, and indeed he was. A few minutes later he bounded into the waiting room with a pint bottle of champagne in one arm and sandwiches and cakes, and I know not what else besides, in the other. He would not allow me to speak to him until I had made one of the most tremendous, mixed, and indigestible luncheons in my life — a luncheon which, coming on the top of great mental excitement, caused me a terrible headache, such as I lemenibcr even after the longest 10 years on record.

I have a blurred recollection of shaking hands with friends and a, ride back to Holloway in the official cab. I remember trying to chat on indifferent subjects -with the warders and wptching the newspaper boys rushing through the streets with the placards, " Heavy Sentence on Balfour!"

He graphically describes the sensations of a man parting with not only his freedom, but with his individuality in clothes and appearance. The shaving of his head and beard, the donning of the arrowmarked convict dress, its hideously deforming and shameful effect. Of old Newgate, now razed to the ground in this newer London, he was detained for several days, and of that experience he has ghastly memories of passing ov-er the giaves of murderers.

In the evening the male convicts who had started out from Hollo-way in the morning — such, that is to say, as had' not escaped the. meshes of the law — were assembled together once more, this time 111 another and still more gloomy courtyard. I do not know the official name of the grim cemetery inside the walls of o'.-d Newgate, in which the bo-dies of murderers were hastily thrown amid quicklime after +hp inquest -which follows their execution, but it was in that especially gruesome sepulchre, that Campo Santo of crime, that w-e assembled and saw with horror the initials of murderers carved upon the stones and the date* of their interment. This horrible connecting passage between Xewgate and the Old Bailey was known among pnsoneis as the Bird Cage ""Valk, on account of the iron giille overhead.

From there he was taken to Wormwood Scrubs, that penal settlement on the moors in one of London's suburbs.

Slowly and sadly I followed the warder out of the reception hall across a big oourtyaid into a vast cage — one of the halls I have spoken of, practically an immense human cage. The gates at each end are such as ycu see surrounding the animals at the " Zoo." Each tier of cells is nowadays separated from tho other by wire network, to prevent prisoners throwing themselves over the railings—a form of death formerly not infrequent. I was told that just before I got to Parkhurst one of the miserable sufferers there had thu3 terminated his existence.

— Ever-watchful Eves — •

The cells at Wormwood Scrubs are clean, laigo, well-lit, and the temperature is always rp-aintained at a proper heat for the human body. The floors actually shine with cleanliness — in fact, the cells were scrubbed thrice a. week. Along on-e side of the cell is the plank bed. Light is dimly admitted by a. dull glass window, high i.p in the cell, the window, of course, being heavily barred I shall havp something more to say as to the inhurnanitv and folly of depriving prisoners of one of Nature's kindly gifts — a sufficiency ol daylight. On the walls were a series of prison rules. dealing with all matters of discipline, and another set explaining the terms upon which prisoners might obtain by good conduct and industry a certain remission of their sentences. It was the latter set that I read with the greatest interest. There two sets of rules foirned my only literature on the first night of my arrival.

To save himself from insanity he studied -Spanish, of -which Language he is now a proficient scholar.

I had seme kind of hope that my friends wou'd succeed in obtaining some remission of my sentence. These hopes were greatly fanned by ctfoits made by a number of dismteiested people without, who felt that I had been ovei-punished, even if I had bren guilty of a.l the villainies attributed to me.