EUROPEAN.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 130, 12 October 1868, Page 3

EUROPEAN.

♦ The fallowing general summary is from the Home News : — Parliament is up, he season is over, the Queen is in Switzerlmd, the Heir Apparent and hi* princens are in Scotland, society has left London, and the drought continue',!" the distress of all, high and low, but there are signs of change. There was nothing of importance in the concluding debates in either House, and the j?reat object of everybody, except, perhaps, the Premier, was to end the session as soon as possible. Ie may be that Mr Disraeli was le?s anxious than others to do anything tending to facilitate a meeting of the new House this year, but he kept his own counsel. He was very determined about the Bribery Bi'l. against which several members of no'e, chiefly Liberals, were recalcitrant, and he said that he would not advise Her Majes y to prorogue until that bill should have become law. He was supported in this mater by the feeling of the country. The measure |a-sed, and henceforth a court of l.tw, instead of a committee-room, will be the tribunal in which the briber \*ill have to take his chance. The judges at first p-otcsted against having the new work thrown upon them, but they afterwards signified, through Lord RomMy, that they would do their best ; and that they will show small mercy to the iniquitous is probable, if the heavy sentences that have been pronounced on some persons who personated voters at the last Bristol election may \ c taken as symptomatic. This most important law will ba the principal event by which tins last session will be remembered. But not until some entirely respectable and very rich gentleman Khali have been convicted and sentenced, will the lower orders cease t > btlieve that they have a right to sell votes, or the higher orders that it is possible to buy them safely. Hojal speeches are compositions of a special sort, and not to be judged by ordinary rule. They are also super grammatical*, as an inaccurate monarch said. The speech which Lord Cairns has delivered at the bidding of Mr Disraeli is not open to the latter remark, and is indeed as neat as could he desired. It contains nothing that needs reference here, except its concluding paragraph. This is so adroitly put that it is impossible to any that it means to convey the Queen's hope that the Irish Church will be maintained, and yet it feerns to imply this, and has therefore been fiercely fastened upon by some of the Liberal organs. The phra-es were so well turned that the journal supposed to ba under Mancheater dictation, and which quarrels with Mr Disraeli for every act and speech of his life, even thirty years not cancelling his crimes, did not see that capital was to be made, and actually complimented the Premier, doubtless enduring much remorse when more sharpsighted critics came out with abate. Bit Mr Disraeli has small care for verbal hostility. Nobody knows better how to retort. He made a speech of his own at the Mansionhouse ju6t before the prorogation, and took credit to his Government not only that Keform had been granted, but that there was peace in Euroj.e and that there had been victory in Abyssinia. London laughed, but such things tell in election addresses, and it is to electioneering business alone that politicians are now looking. 'i hat topic we may dismiss briefly, because no one is in a position to give any definite view of it. All we know is that a vast addition has been made tv> the number of i ur electors, in some places the number has been doubled, and in soins the increase is still greater. But, on the other hand, the revision will cut down the amount considerably, a id in poor localities will reduce it very largely indeed. But how the votes will go, ie is nearly impossible to say, except where certain popular favourites stand. At present the working man's candidates do not appear, with a few exceptions, but they may come forward later. The ge eral notion is that the new Parliament will be mainly composed of the same class of men us the old one, and will prob hly go to work much in the same way, But until the lists are fairly made up, and the strength of the constituencies is known, |all speculation is comparatively worthless. We need hardly say that thinking men are in no sort of panic, and that those who affect one for election purposes are perfectly insincere. Property and the altar are quite safe, for the present. The new Parliament will no doubt give the Liberals a large preponderance, an i we cannot suppose that they will long endure a Government of a minority, but no Government with Mr Gladstone in it will deal out injustice. Mr Disraeli was not ashamed to say that the popular verdict jhat is about to be taken will be a fairer one than could be obtained from a more re-fined class, as over -education was apt to make men fastidious and philosophical, and he deserves much praise for facial command — a less practised actor would have burst out laughing as he talked such nonsense. Mr Gladstone's election harangue, which has opene 1 the campaign, rests his case upon the lavishness of Conservative expenditure, and on justice to Ireland, by which he means, of course, the destruction of the Irish Church. So stand, or rather so move, parties, for the grand struggle, which will be fought with more ardour than we have seen thrown into a contest for years. We have no important additions to make to the list of candidates, but those who remember (and who does not ?) the admir able letters which Dr William Kussell addressed to the Times from the Crimea and from India, during the wars, will be interested in knowing that the great correspondent stands for Chelsea, upon high Conservative principles. Messrs Ilartwell and Beaks offer themselves on extreme Kadical views, and Mr Hepworlh Dixon, the investigator of Morrnonism and other heresies, stands for Murylebone. Many young and rising lawyers are hunting for seats, with a view to office, and a few old one 3 rttire. Mr

Da Cane leaves the Home to rule Tasmania, and there is no maker of more p!ea.«ant speeches. Sir James Fergusson depart* on a similar errand to South Australia. Sherard Osborne, explorer of the North Pen, offered himself for Boston, but withdraw!, not to divide the Liberal interest, nnd it in probable I hat a seat will be found for him. It is very desirable, for he is well acquainted with nival affairs, and v outspoken, and the Admiralty greatly n«eds severe critici-m. It would have got rid of M> Heed, the constructor, wh'ise c instruction of iron ships is extremely faulty, and it was announce-) that his resignation bad been accepted.but things have been hu*hed up again and he is to construct as before. Should a war come, it will be strange to hthold how all hushing up policy will he flung to the winds, nnd the men be set to «rork who can r-e-t do it. Her Majesty has hpen for a long time in i-idifferent health, and has been sulject to fainting fits, an \ at length her physicians have prevailed on' her to take a long journey, not so much for t l ie sake of the journey, or the change of air, as for the (-mire change of scene, and the dispelling of impressions which tended to constant depression. The Quten has gone to Lucerne, and is sojourning amid some of the most beautiful scenery of the Continent. She went first to Paris, and had an interview with the Empress, and it is said upon good authority, that when the Prince Imperial had been presented to the Q'leen, she said earnestly to the Empress, •' Deign, Madnme, to use your noble influence with the Emperor to prevent wars which tear away children from tlit-ir mothers." Our Sovereign is attended by Lord Stanley, and expects a visit from the Queen of Holland, but will live in the utmost quietude, and is known only as the Countess of Kent. The Piincess of Wales recovered with much celerity, from her confinement. The princess wn3 christened Victoria Alexandra Olga Mary, and had ten sponsors. In the evening the royal parents went to a circus in Holborn to Bee horjeridirg and acrobats, a harmless if not a very intellectual amusement, but remarks have been made upon an inappropriate termination to a day of solemn ceremonial. The Prince and Piincess have gone to Scotland, and excite the envy of the Southerners by having been received on an exceedingly wet day, a sight which we have again to say that we have not seen since the 4th June. The young Prince Arthur has been inaugurating a park at Middl borough, in Yorkshire, and was " proud of the opportunity of treading in the steps of his late father." It is to be hoped that he— and others -miy do so, and the sooner the better. The Duke of Edinburgh held a banquet at the Trinityhouse, of which he is master, and made a very good speech. Among other things he said that the Prince of Wales, who was present, was " fund of change," and so had changed from being his elder to being his younger brother, there." Koyal wit is nut so plentiful now as in the da} s of the second Charles, so we note, all we can get. The Queen s iid a much better thing thau any of her family lias lately uttered, and it was said, too, in the kindness of her excellent heart. We have been reminded of it by the demise of the uraiable nobleman to whom it was said — the worthy Lord Cran worth, who ha< just gone to his rest. Whpn it was thought necessary for Lord Westbury to retire, Lord Cran worth was made his succesior, and on his first visit to Windsor, the Queen said, welcoming him, " See how much better it is to be good than to be clever." The speech fitted all parties so exquisitely, that the Sovereign, who never would say a word to hurt the humblest of her subjects — or (he proudest — would not have uttered it, coul I she have conceived how delightedly less gentle people would have caught it up. We are not about to write to Australasian readers on subjects which they may not unreasonably think that they are quite cupible of aiscussing without light from England, but we just note that as there is a great paucity of topics for homo discussion the London journals are at much length examining the '' dead-lock " in Victoria, and evincing laudable readiness to transmit information which it is tolerably evident has has been of somewhat recent acquisition. It is something, however, for a journalist here to know anything about Au tralia, and when he has advanced so far in Colonial knowledge as to be able to state confidently that Victoria and New South Wales are diff. rent places we conceive that he should be respectfully listened to when instructing their inhabitants in the true principles by which their internal administration should be guided. We do not, however, propose to emulate our contemporaries, but only to inform Victorian readers that their .affairs are being a good deal discussed just now, and that the more influential of the home organs are inclined to be unfavourable to the action of the Colonial-office. Jn regard to a very small colony called Natal, the Duke of Buckingham appears to have been making a vary great blunder, for if the public be rightly informed, he has sauetioneJ the issuing of the document which will enable Dr Gray, of the Cape, to consecrate a second bishop of Natal, if not with the same name, who is to give battle to the real bishop, Dr (Jolenso. This is virtually setting English law at defiance. When we last wrote, we mentioned that the Servian Government were engaged in dealing with the assassins of the late Prince Michael They have now dealt with them " with a vengeance " — au applicable phrase. Fourteen were condemned to death, and the very next morning were brought out to the bank of the Danube to die. Fourteen posts were erected along a trench, and to each post one of the conspirators was fastened, and then four soldiers, armed with breechloaders, went down the line, and into the head of each criminal, at sixpaces, discharged the weapons. The trench received their bodies, and all was over. So large an act of punishment has not been performtd, except in the political massacres of Spain, for many a year. The cul-

prits met their fate with indifference, and i.ne of them is Baid to have cominued to smoke his cigar after the firing party had disposed of liis right hand man. singularly, a ball from one of the muskets glanced from one of the p>sts, and killed the unfortunate officer who was in command of ibe executioners. Servia is ag>un perfectly tranquil, and has been congratulated by our own Foreign Secretary on its loyalty to its young prince. (if other Continental news there is very little which need be adverted to lure. The topic which interests the Continent most is the concession of a. right to lay a new Atlantic cable from France to America. A company has been formed, of which Mr Lowe is the chairman, and all the scientific ami nautical skill which was brouaht to bear up m our own cables (one of which, that of 1866, has failed, but is expected to bd set right) is to be employed for laying the French cable, with improvements suggested by experi. nee. The Great Eastern is to be used for depositing the great cord, and Sir Samuel Canning will have charge of the submersion as bofore. The French Government binds itself to grant no similar concession for 20 years. It is made to Baron D'Erlanger, of Paris, and Mr Julius i;euter, of telegraph ; c renown. The cable is to be lai'l from Bresifto St Pierre,and thence to the coast of the United States. We have no more Continental news to record. Peace is every win re, but it is resolved by foreign journalists that we are not to believe in the durnbiiity of pea c, and when the Emperor holds his tongue, it is declared that he is meditating war, and when he says that he is not, it is declared that he is meditating it still more deeply, and speaking only to conceal his treachery. We own that we wish these gentlemen would take the advice given by one of the judges in a Shakespearian play, " Even let him continue in his evil courses until thou knowest what they are." *XWe do not remember a season, when the catalogue of casualties has been so long, and has contained so many shocking incidents. The extreme heat of the weather has had something to do with numerous fires, at least in the country, where drought has also made it impossible to suppress the conflagrations, but in London the fires have been very numerous and serious. Accidents by water are always frequent in the summer, but thisyear they have been excessively co, and most sad. In one case nine persons, nearly all young ladies, peris!. ed at once on a lake, only through over eagerness to get out of a b)at. A bridal party was drowned in the Thames. An officer of distinction was drowned with his infant child whom he was endeavouring to save. Of the numbers that hare been lost bathing we can [give no account, but .scarcely a day passes without a miserable record of the kind. Nor have fire and water been our only devastators. At Manchester, a great crowd, of the lower class, had assembled in a music-hall, and were witnessing a sack race, when an alarm of fire was given, and there was a rush. When all was over there were twenty -eight corpses to be buried. We may add a singular death from Switzerland. A young English lady was on the Mer de Giace, and she touched a rock above her with her alpenatcck. A large stone detached itself, and falling on her forehead struck her dead amid her friends.