MAIL NEWS.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 4329, 1 March 1887, Page 3

MAIL NEWS.

THE NEW COLONIAL SEORETARY.

Sir Henry Holland, the Vice-Presi-dent of tbe Gonnoil, has been appointed Secretary of State for the Colonies, in place of Mr E. Stanhope. His qualifications for the place are beyond dispute and tbe Colonists are to be congratulated on the selection which has been made. Sir Henry is well posted in the routine of bis work, having been legal adviser at the Colonial Office for three years, and Assistant Under-Secretary from March, 1870, to August, 1874. He comes, therefore, to the department with the knowledge of a specialist, and, failing Lord Carnarvon, it wonld be difficult to find a better man for tbe Colonial Secretaryship. B> r Henry Holland is a very good debater, but, what is still more satisfactory, be is an excellent man of business, and his breadth of eympatb yalso makes him pre-eminently suited to deal with tbe complex qnesions which need constant attention from tbe Colonial Minister. In the important discussion of the present year the Colonists vyill not be able to complain, at all events, that they have to cjeal, as they offen truly assert, with jgnoranoe ip high places ; while the pnblio utterances of the new Colonial Secretary show that he is in cordial touch with Greater Britain, and that their interests will receive good treatment at bis hands. It cannot be therefore, donbted that bis appointment will prove acceptable to the Colonies, and that it will justify the belief that bis administration will be both credit? able to himself and advantageous to the Empire. THE CATASTROPHE AT . MADRAS. From later particulars of tho great fire at Madras on New Year’s Eve, it appears that the number of victims, including tbe deaths wbioh have since occurred from injuries received daring the panic, amounts to 402. An inquiry

seems to have satisfied the police that, although several robberies took place during the confusion, there is nothing leading to the belief that tbe fire was dne to incendiarism. There seems to be no doubt, however, (adds a correspondent, writing on Jan. 10) that much mismanagement and some instances of gross carelessness occurred. There was a fire-engine close at hand, and several fountains were within the enclosure, but the hydrants were locked and the keys could not be brought or a supply of water made available uctil the fire had been raging for fifteen minutes, and most of the booths had been consumed. Dr Chester, professor at Dovetown College, one of the secretaries of tbe fair, stated at tho inquest that tbe fire appeared to begin in two places simultaneously. There were four gates to the enclosure* The crowd, becoming panic-stricken, rushed towards one gate. Almost at the same moment, a ramor spread among tbe people oatside that a cheetah had got loose from its cage, and a second crowd rasbed to take refuge inside the enclosure, thus blocking all tbe passages. If tbe people bad stood quietly in tbe centre of the enclosure there would probably have been no loss of life. The lamentable results were entirely due to panic. The scene was a terrible one. Dr Chester says that the people were fighting to get out scrambling over men’s beads and shoulders There was a barrier of human beings in heaps of four or five feet high. A number of soldiers who were present gave material assistance in dragging the people from the flames. The medical staff and students at the General Hospital were engaged all n’ght in attending the injured. Next morning a ghastly scene presented itself. Corpses were lying all over the enclosure, and at one spot there was literally a pile of dead bodies. Some of the bodies were bornt and charred beyond recognition, while others were untonched by fire. The positions of some clearly showed, that severe struggles and agonies hod taken place before death. Men, women and children were intermingled, and a mother and her children were found clasping each other. Largo crowds were pouring into the park, some as sight-seers, while others, with hair dishevelled, and mad with grief, ran about looking for their relations among the dead. Some of the victims in the agony of burning rushed into a tank or into the Ooonm river, and were drowned. Tbe Gommander-in-Cbief and Lady Arbnthnut had a narrow escape, having left the enclosure just before the fire. The Maharajah of Yizianagram distinguished himself by courageously saving the lives of two Eurasian girls.

THE ROMANCE OF AN EXEMPRESS’ CROWN.

“ The ex-Empress Engena’s crown," saida prominent Broadway jeweller the other day to a New York journal reporter, as be held up a diamond-docked crown. “ This interesting and valuable souvenir of the Napoleonic dynasty,’’ says the reporter, “ has a unique and remarkable history. Shortly before the Waterloo of Sedan the Empress came to the conclusion that the old crowns lying around the house were hardly up to the requirements of the latest styles in crowns. She decided to have a now one made, and sent to Dnriquet, tho leading jeweller of the gay city, and ordered him to get up a crown entirely of diamonds, beside wbioh all the other crowns of effete monarchies would pale their insignificant fires. The Empress bad the usual Royal disregard of other people’s money, add told him not to mind the expense. The crown in tbe Broadway jeweller’s window was the result. The Empress thought the crown the nicest she had ever worn, bat she was finally obliged to part with it after many years. She kept it, in fact, until alter her son was killed while fighting the Zulus. Then, despairing of farther nse for the insignia of her Royal rank, the costly toy was returned to its maker at the original price (£10,000). Dnriqnet was a zealous Royalist and adherent of the house of Bonaparte, and preserved it sacredly as a relic of the monarchy, nntil one day an intimate friend gave Duriqnet a surprise partly by offering to bay the crown just as it was, and making an advance on the price paid by the Empress. The crown was sent to tbe American’s hotel, and a few days after was brought by him to the United States. The gentleman was a well-known man about town, and especially noted as an opera-goer at the Academy during Colonel Mapleson’s management. He was said to have been an especial admirer of a prima donna, and, after having for a long time paid her assiduous attention, he one day sent a letter.to tbe fair prima donna offering to place the historic crown upon her brow. She showed the letter to her bnsbandi and he intimated indirectly to his wife’s adorer that he had best transfer hie ag> d iff -ctions to a more congoni d soil. The nows that the prima donna was wedded was news to the wealthy owner of the crown, and in the confirmation of its truth ha was taken seriously ill, and has since been .a confirmed invalid. Recently he b»s placed the tiarra in the bands of the jeweller mentioned to dispose of. Tbe bauble is composed of 2000 fine-pat, old mine stones, set in old style silver, with gold lining, the stones averaging from one quarter carat to eight carats each. The centre stone in front is fifteen carats weight. The crown in 20in in circumference, de. signed in a wreath of violet leaves, with a blossom of the violets as a centre ornament, in the centre of which is the fifteen carat gem. It is said that Mdme Adelina PatM is negotiating for the purchase of tbe crown,”