An Artist's Troubles.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XIX, Issue 6893, 14 June 1892, Page 4

An Artist's Troubles.

Melbourne, May 31. — A great deal of gossip has bebn caused in art circles during the past week in consequence of the action of the Victorian Artists' Soeiety in regard to the pictures sent in for exhibition by Mr James Peele, formerly of Christchurch. The Artists' Society has just completed the erection of a handsome new building in East Melbourne, and is opening it with the yearly art exhibition. The Committee of the Society is declared to be jealous of Mr Peele and prejudiced against his work. He certainly obtains more commissions than the majority of them, and at the National Gallery's competition last year he received the award of LIOO for the best Victorian executed painting. In consequence of the feeling which he believed to exist against him, Mr Peele has not been exhibiting recently with the Society, but, on this occasion, however, as the Society was entering on a new phase of its career and extending its usefulness a special request was made to him that he should exhibit ; the President (Mr Panton) especially asking him to send in at least six pictures as they wanted the walls well filled and to have a representative collection of local art. A formal request was also made to him by letter to the same effect. Mr Peele therefore sent in six of his works, but the Hanging Committee rejected four of them. Public sympathy is entirely with Mr Peele, and the belief is that the Committee acted spitefully. Mr Peele was the more annoyed at this treatment, after sending in his pictures by request, from the fact that the four rejected works were of a more ambitious character than those accepted, and they included one work- a painting of " Govett's Leap in New South Wales"— which he considered undoubtedly his finest. He objected to being represented by the two pictures selected, and demanded that they should be returned to him. The Committee declined to accede to his request, whereupon he cut the canvas out of the frames in the presence of the Chairman, and prepared to take them away with him. A constable was sent for, and a man in the employment of the Committee was instructed to guard the d<>or of the building, and prevent Mr Peele from leaving. Mr Peele, however, finally made his escape by a back way from the gallery. The canvases which he cut out are still in the possession of the Committee. It is said there was quite an amusing scene as he was escaping ; he had the canvases with him, and was getting through a window, when the attendant caught him by the leg and pulled him back. It happens that an exhibition of British art is at present being held in the Exhibition building ; the manager of this exhibition has secured "Govett's Leap" since its rejection, and it has drawn large numbers of visitors, in fact, it has gained a notoriety which it never would have had otherwise.

Mr Gladstone was. according to the " Review of Reviews," asked by the editor recently what he regarded as the greatest hope of the future. Mr Gladstone paused for a time, not rightly understanding the question. Then he said, gravely, " I should say we must look for that to the maintenance of faith in the Invisible. That is the great hope of the future ; it is the mainstay of civilization. And by that I mean a living faith in a personal God. I do not held with * streams of tendency.' .After 60 years' of public life I hold more strongly than ever this conviction, deepened and strengthened by long experience of the reality, and the nearness and personality of God." George Burgess, a magnetist, has been committed for trial by a coroner's jury on a charge of manslaughter. He had exercised his art on a Warrnambool (Victoria) girl who had been pronounced by two doctors to be suffering from an internal cancer. His treatment consisted of rubbing liniment and oil over the region of the cancer, and it resulted in the hastening of the girl's death from blood poisoning and exhaustion.

The Rev. Alexander Still, a minister of the Church of Scotland, and for some time Government chaplain at Allahabad, who was on his way to New Zealand in search of health by the steamer Warora, died at the quarantine station near Adelaide from phthisis. The steamer had a case of smallpox on board, and was quarantined. Two Chinese firemen belonging to the French steamer Loire deserted at Newcastle (N.S.W.), rendering the captain liable to a £200 poll tax. It turned out after the vessel had ro'ached Thursday Island that the captain had kidnapped cwo Sydney Chinamen to take the place of the missing two A Mr James Toole, of Winslow, Victoria, was struck by lightning recently and killed instnntaiieously. His watch chain seemed to have attracted tho eleotric fluid, which left a mark over the heart. The chain fused and severed from the watch, which continued to go. A companion who was about two chains from deceased, and was carrying a gun, was knocked over but not injured. Many farmers in South Australia are appealing to the Government for time to pay their rents owing to the failure of the crops. It was all very well for the poet to talk about * a perfect woman, nobly planned,' buk the trouble is that it takes such a lot of money to carry out the plan. ■ The average woman, who finds herself alone in the world, can earn her living if she could cook — but Bhe can't ! —Max O'Rell. Something like a water famine is feared in the Mallee district, north of Beulah, Victoria, and already farmers have to- cart supplies from great distances. Owing to the question of precedence having cropped up the Royal Navy marines abstained, by the Admiral's order, from taking part iv the Queen's Birthday review at Brisbane. Captain Baxter, who died a few days ago in Victoria, was the first postmaster in Melbourne, and his wife, Martha Baxter, despatched the first direct mail from Hohson's Bay. He arrived in Sydney on May 10th, 1837, and resided in Victoria since.