ENGLISH CLIPPINGS.

Timaru Herald, Volume XXVII, Issue 1762, 23 June 1877, Page 3

ENGLISH CLIPPINGS.

A " Tichborne demonstration," which has been talked of for some time, came off on the evening of the 17th April, but fell far short of the promises of its promoters. Mr de Morgan had threatened to march with 100,000 men to the House of Commons, and there demand the release of the Tichborne Claimant : and when warned by the Home Secretary that under an Act of Parliament passed m the

i 1 reign of Charles I. any person or person I approaching close tv ih<s House of Com ' j nions for the purpose of presenting a pe > j tition to the House would l;e liable tv i ' '< fine of £100 each, or to three months ' | :°mprisoiiment, Mr de Morgan replied thai he had no desire to violate the law oi interfere with the deliberations of Parliament, " but the demonstration must be held," and he begged the authorities "tc be careful that the police do not come into collision with the people, for that would be kindling a spark of revolution throughout the country." " I nsk permission (he added) to address the House on this subject. I ask that the ancient constitutional privilege of being heard at the bar may be restored m this instance." Dr Kenealy issued a " Proclamation to all Magna Charta Associations," condemning the proposed march as " highly dangerous to the public peace," and " illegal m a high degree." Preparations were made by the assembling of large bodies of police m various places m the neighborhood of the Houses of Parliament, to quell any disturbance that might arise, but there was no breach of the peace, and the affair passed off very quietly. Instead of the " 100,000 men" who were to have marched to the House of Commons, only a few thousands — some accounts say 5000 and others 7000 — assembled m Hyde Park, where they were addressed by Mr de Morgan, Mr Skipworth, and others, and a resolution declaring the condemnation of the Claimant to have been an infraction of the ! law passed. Mr de Morgan then called upon the crowd to follow him to Trafalgar Square, but a chilling rain wa3 falling, and the meeting re-assembled m the square m diminished numbers. Mr de Morgan here again addressed the crowd, and told them he would go to the House of Commons and demand admittance m the name of the people. A deputation of j ten persons, including Mr Skipworth, was appointed to accompany him, and they started for the Houses of Parliament, the crowd being told to remain behind. Most of them.however, followed the deputation to the gates of Palaceyard, where Mr de Morgan stopped, and told his followers that he wmld not enter the House unless they retired. While he was addressing the crowd the police ordered the whole body to " move on," and Mr de Morgan then went back to Scotland-yard to complain of being refused the right to enter the House of Commons. He and Mr Skipworth, the other members of the deputation having been separated from them m the confusion, were then escorted by the police to the House of Commons, where they were received by Mr Whalley m the Stranger's Tea-room. Having stayed there some time, Mr de Morgan returned at past 10 o'clock to Trafalgar-square, and told the few persons who were awaiting him there that he had been " to the House," that he had seen several members, and had been received very favorably, and that he hoped to address the House of Commons from the bar of the House. The meeting then ended.

William Henry Wood, aged twentyeight, late assistant secretary of the Colney Hatch Gas Company, was charged at the Highgata police-court on the 23rd April with embezzling several sums of money amounting to £900 received by him on account of the company. The prisoner's duties as assistant secretary were to receive from the collectors the money collected, and to pay it m to the London and Westminster Bank. His salary, it is stated, was £40 per annum, and he also held an appointment at the unices of die Brighton and Hove Gas Company, m Mincing lane, London. In September last the auditors of the Colney Hatch Company found several discrepancies m the prisoner's accounts, which led to further investigation, and it was discovered that the company had been defrauded of a considerable amount of money. The prisoner was discharged from the service of the Brighton and Hove Gas Company, and he then sent a letter to the chairman of the Colney Hatch Company, expressing his contrition for having betrayed the confidence placed m him by the directors, and stating that he was on the point of sailing for New Zealand, where he hoped soon to be m a position to make good his defalcations. He also spoke of his great grief at leaving " his wife and five little children to the tender mercies of the world." A warrant was issued for his apprehension and placed m the hands of Detective Dalton, who found that the prisoner had sailed for New Zealand m the May Queen, under the name of Jackson, and accompanied by a young woman who passed as his wife. Dalton went to Melbourne m a steamer, and thence went to New Zealand, where he placed himself m communication with the police authorities, and upon the May Queen arriving a few days afterwards he arrested the prisoner, who gave him up a draft on the Bank of New Zealand for £450, together with som« loose gold and other property. After some formal evidence had been given, the prisoner was remanded.

The subject of the relations between France and Germany hat been brought into increased prominence by a speech made by Count yon Moltke m the German Parliament on the 24th April. The House had under discussion the items of the war estimates which had ' been referred to the Budget Committae, and the increased Toto proposed for 105 new captaincies gave rise to a protracted debate. Count von Moltke, m urging the necessity of the grant, said that he as -well as others desired a long period of peace, but the times did not permit of such a hope. On the contrary, the time was not far distant when every Government would be compelled to strain every nerve to secure its own existence. The root of this was to be found m the regretable distrust of the Governments towards each other. France had also within the last few years' made great strides m the work of her defence. Unusually large masses of troops were at present between Paris and the German frontier. France was doing all m her power for her army, and the furtherance of that purpose met with the unmixed approval of her people. France was decidedly m advance of Germany m having her cadres for war ready m time of peace, and Germany could not avoid adopting a measure to compensate for it. The proposal of the Committee was ultimately adopted, the members of the Progressist and Centre parties and the Socialists voting against it The Foo-so, the first ironclad built for the Japanese Government m England, has been launched at Messrs Samuda Brothers' yard at BlackwalL The Foo-so, ! which is built from Mr Heed's design, is constructed to carry armor varying from 7in. to 9in. m thickness, at a speed of thirteen knots, with only 3700 tons dis- > placement. Her armament will consist ; of four 15$-ton and two s£-ton steel - breechloaders by Krupp, so arranged as 1 to command every point of the horizon, i The ceremony of christening was performed by Mdme. Wooyeno, the wife of L the Japanese Minister. At the luncheon ; which followed, the Japanese Minister i said that the progress of Japan m com-

js ( merce and foreign intercourse rendered it l- : desirable for her to have a fleet, and that " i £, Ilk * do *ould always be ready to join her Biitannie Majesty m any naval operations for the advancement of civilisation. The Chinese Ambassador was present, and proposed the toast of " Success to the Japanese Navy," which he hoped would never fire a shot except as an ally of China. "Japan," he added, "is, geographically speaking, the England of the East ; may she ever use her power a3 England has done m defence of the oppressed." On Tuesday the composite corvette Kongo, built for the Japanese Government by Earle's Ship-building Company at Hull, was launched, the Japanese Ambassador and others being present. The vessel is of about 2000 tons and 2500 horse-power, and will carry nine Krupp guns. A sister-ship is being built by the Milford Haven Ship-building Company. The corvettes have been designed by Mr E. J. Reed, M.P. cu T ij e Societv for the Protection of Children at Mari.illes proposes to add to the population of Algeria by sending to that colony the foundlings and orphans when they reach the age of 10 years, which is considered to be the period when they would be the best able to bear the change of climate. The plan suggested is that the children should be brought up m orphan schools and military farms and that they should be allowed to marry at the age of one-and-twenty, their fortune consisting m a concession of land, which thoy would cultivate with the aid of colonists who hare been discharged from the penitentiaries. The advantages claimed for this project are that it would take out of France children who are a great burden to the State, and who, for want of a proper education and parental control, lapse into crime, and keep m Algeria discharged prisoners who, m present circumstances, generally commit fresh offences when they return to the mother country. The advantages for Algeria are that it would provide it with colonists who, leaving France at so early an age, would be almost natives, while the children and the discharged prisoners would be given an excellent opportunity of earning an honest livelihood, and becoming m time owners of the soil. Moreover, this measure would, m the opinion of the Marseilles Socioty, which is urging the Government to take it up, settle the vexed question of prison labor. A painful scene appears, by accounts given of it m the Stirling Journal, to have occurred recently m a church near Garfcraore, m that county. The minister, who is m the habit of warning his congregation on special occasions against the machinations of the evil one, was delivering a discourse on his favorite theme, when suddenly a large window-blind and roller behind the pulpit lost its hold, falling right over the preacher, and completely concealing him for a time from his flock.. In its descent the roller smashed a number of window panes, and the clatter of the falling glass added a panic to the already terrified condition of the enshrouded preacher. Ignorant of the cause of the sudden darkness and horrible noise, he thought that he might havo exceeded the bounds of discretion m his denunciation of the devil, who had thereupon arrived hastily m person bent on retaliation. A frightful shriek of "I am gone!" echoed through the church/and the maddened preacher with one bound cleared the pulpit, nor ever stopped until he reachad the extreme corner of the edifice. It may be well imagined that the suddenness of this alarming incident and its dramatic nature exercised a most powerful effect on the nerves of all who witnessed it. Fortunately there was no general panic, or the consequences might have been serious ; but the story should be a lesson to those ministers who touch upon the delicate question of the person- . ality of the devil to retain their selfpossession under any circumstances, and not to leave the pulpit unless absolutely ejected from it by force. Count Ladislas Plater calls attention to the atrocities committed m Podlachoe for the purpose of forcing the inhabitants to abjure Catholicism and enter into the Russian Greek Church. For six years past, he says, acts of barbarity have been perpetrated under the name of these socalled " spontaneous conversions," while the Russian organs, with the utmost effrontery, persist m affirming that the inhabitants enjoy liberty of conscience, and that they cannot be prevented from changing their religion. "The Liberal press of various countries has constituted itself the echo of these false assertions, but the moment has now arrived when the Government of Great Britain has published official documents confirming the massacres, floggings, tortures, and imprisonments suffered by the citizens. Will Russia have the courage to persist m these persecutions at a moment when ■he invokes the liberation of the Eastern Christians and their religious and national liberty, as a pretext for declaring war with Turkey 1 Will she now persist m asserting that these accusations are "Polish inventions"? Some years ago Mr Jewell, the representative of the United States, made a report to his Government on the subject of these massacres and cruelties, now confirmed by the publication of the English despatches. Europe must take action, and outraged humanity resume its rights, and that at a time not far distant.

In the House of Commons, the Chancellor of the Exchequer stated, m replyto a question, that a Russian officer had receded permission, reciprocally speaking, to make a tour of inspection of all our dockyards and such Government establishments as he might desire to visit.

The Indian papers received by the Bombay mail of March 19 giro full reports of Sir John Strachey's Budget statement, the substance of which we hate already recei red by telegraph. With regard to affairs on the North- Western frontier, a number of rumors are published m the papers. A telegram from Peshawar, dated March 17, published by the Bombay Gazette, says:— "The two envoys have been occupied m discussing past misunderstandings; negotiations have not yet been opened. The Cabul envoy is seriously ill, and at present is unable to leave his bed. The Indian . Government only demand that the Ameer should give present amicable relations a more positive tone, and that we should be pat m a position to ascertain all the movements on the Herat frontier. On these conditions we will guarantee to aid m defending Cabal against Russia, if necessary, otherwise we will decline assisting Cabul under any circumstances ; but under no circumstances is it intended to send an expedition to Cabul. This is the new policy which Sir Lewis Pelly comes to carry out." Th« general news is not of much interest. According to an account of Sir Jong Bahadoor s funeral sent by a correspondent of a Calcutta paper, only his principal Ranee performed suttee ; the two others were persuaded not to do so.* Another account atates that six of his wives performed suttee. The death of Sir Jung Bahadoor will, it is said, oblige all the male inhabitants of Nepaul to keep theirheads shaved for a year according to the; custom m force m the country.

Much dissatisfaction (says a home paper) is from time to time expressed by common jurymen at tha rate of the remuneration awarded to them for attendance at assizes and sessions, and there can bo no doubt that they have a substantial grievance of which to complain. During a discussion raised at the Worcestershire Quarter Sessions, Lord Justice Amphlett, who was present as a magistrate for that county, •! pressed (reports the Law Times) a decided opinion m favor of paying common jurors for loss of time m discharging their duties at assizes. He thought it a great hardship that while special jurors, who could better afford the expense and loss resulting from attendance at assizes, were paid, those who could less bear the loss were not paid. The matter is really one of importance to a large body of persons whose services are indispensable to the country. The class from which they are taken is, as the Lord Justice remarked, less able to bear the expense of attendance than that from which special jurors are selected. Not only d 6 we agree with the suggestion that common jurors should be paid for their loss of time and expenses incurred m attending at assizes, but we go further, and say that no distinction should be made m this respect between jurymen at assizes and jurymen at sessiom. It might, too,. be fairly asked whether any individual who is called upon to serve as a juryman is not entitled to a fair remuneration, or at any rate to a payment of the expenses necessarily incurred by him m performing the duties to which he is summoned.

A curious account i* given by tho Madras Mail of some religions disturbances which have lately taken place m the little town of Coimbatore, which appears to be a kind of Indian Hatcham. The Hindoo and the Mahommedan residents are the disputants. The Hindoos are by far the more influential and wealthier class ; but the Mahommedans, though poor, have a mosque under the supervision of men inculcated by the Koran. The Hindoos the other day, m celebrating an annual feast of theirs m honor of a certain goddess, adopted a practice observed by the Mahommedans at their solemn festival, the Mohurrum, of diiguiaing themselves m various characters to commemorate events held m reverence as of a ■acred character. The Mahommedans looked upon the imitation of the practice by the Hindoos as a mockery of their religion and an insult to their religious feelings, and they repreaented tho matter to tho European Government authorities of the place, asking for their interference. The collector of Coimbatoie accordingly issued an order prohibiting the innovation, and this prohibition annoyed the Hindoos to such a pitch that they put a stop to their own feast and shut up their shops, determining not to sell the Mahommedans anything. The Hindoos, it is stated, are resolved upon moving the Government to allow them to celebrate their feast m the new fashion, and the Mahommedans on the other hand have submitted a petition to Government praying that the order of the collector prohibiting the innovation may be confirmed. It seems hard on the Hindoos that they may not adopt any method they please of doing honor co their goddess, and that one religious sect may not borrow a hint as to ceremonial from another sect without a row.

The Daily Telegraph (April 11) says : — It is gratifying to note that m naval matters the House of Commons is not devoid of a sensitive historic conscience, and that it was ready to make reparation for an injury it did to a gallant sailor some three-and-sixty years ago. It is an old and shameful story — the tale of Lord Dundonald's exploits and wrongs — which Sir Robert Anstruther recited last night. . . . Lord Dundonald fell a victim to a cruel slander, got up against him by his enemies. He was, after a most unjust trial m 1814 by a prejudiced Judge, found guilty of using his official position for the purpose of poisoning with false news the ear of the Stock Exchange to favor some of his own speculative operations. He was disgraced, degraded from his rank, expelled from tke House of Commons, deprived of his Order of the Bath, and his knightly banner was nven torn from the walls of Windsor Chapel. A technicality was harshly put m force against him, so as to prevent him from getting a new trial, and thus he had to submit to this shameful wrong — for the accusations were utterly false — until 1832, when the Government did him partial justice by restoring him to his rank m the navy. Subsequently, m 1847, her Majesty returned to him his Order of the Bath. These steps of reparation were taken avowedly on the assumption that Lord Dundonald was innocent of the offence for which he was condemned, and that everything should be done that was possible to wipe out the marks and memories of his past wrongs. But one thing was not done. Though he was put on half-pay from the day his rank was restored, the arrears that he would have received during the period he was wrongfully deposed from his rank were not granted him. His grandson .now petitions that the act of restitution begun m 1832 be completed m 1877 The truth is, here was a case m which everybody admitted that a glaring injustice had been done to a gallant and heroic public servant. Yet the House of Commons was offered only a few official technicalities by way of inducing it to refuse both jnstice and reparation. In these circumstances it was no wonder that Sir Stafford Northcote had m the long run to confine his opposition to his speech, and that Sir Robert Anstruther carried his motion.

Prince Biamarck, on the 6th April, had an audience with Emperor William, who informed the Chancellor m complimentary terms that he could not at the present time part with his valuable services. The Chancellor thereupon consented to retain office, and to be content for the present with a simple leava of absence, and on Tuesday an Imperial order was issued, ({ranting him leave of absence until August. The arrangements for replacing the Prince during his leave of absence will be analogous to those made on a similar occasion m 1872. Herr Hofmann, the President of the Imperial Chancellery, will take charge of the internal affaire of the Empire, and Herr von Bulow, Secretary of State, of the Foreign Office. In the Prussian Cabinet, Herr Camphausen, Vice-President of the Council of .Ministers and Minister of Finance, will act aa Prince Bismarck's substitute. The Emperor reserves to himself the power of asking the Imperial Chancellor's advice even dnring his absence of leave. On Wednesday, President Forokenbeck read m the Reichsatg a.letter from Prince Bismarck, expressing his regret that the impaired state of his health prevented his attendance m Parliament, and notifying that he had obtained leave of absence. Prince Bismarck proposed to leave Berlin on Thursday, and to proceed first to his estate m the Duchy of Lauenburg. Doubts are entertained aa to the permanence of the arrangements made, and it is still thought that Prince Bismarck is bent upon retiring from public life. The Prince received

on Monday a magnificent alabaster vase, which had been sent him as a birthday present from the King of Italy.