The Star. MONDAY, AUGUST 12, 1895.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5334, 12 August 1895, Page 2

The Star. MONDAY, AUGUST 12, 1895.

To-Day.

To-mobbow night one of the heroes of journalism will confront an audience — we trust that it will be a large one— in the Theatre Boyal. One such man we have had with us before, in the person of Archibald Forbes, who incidentally told ub something about Frederic Villiers, our present visitor. Forbes was not an orator, by any means, but he had eeen the things he talked about, and the graphic force of ' hia narrations produced a thrilling effect. Villiers alao has seen, and has recorded many stirring war-scenes with pencil and with camera. Therefore Villiers is enabled to profusely supplement his narrarations with pictorial illustrations, and so enable his audiences to more vividly realise epoch-making events. Altogether apart from the personality of the man, the lectures to be given by Mr Villiers must be regarded as of immense educational value. What kind of invertebrate thing has the Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association become ? If it ever possessed a backbone, that important part of its structure has been gradually disappearing, leaving the Association supinely inactive, seemingly incapable of taking a single decisive step towards further development. Hence, long and purposeless discussions on the subject of erecting a grand stand. This was a provision that [ was obviously needed, and that as obviously must increase the Society's income ; yet its shilly-shallying with the subject exasperated its best friends, and it had fairly to be goaded into an approximately right course. Even now, though the grand stand is to be erected — that is, if the Managing Committee does not work itself into a state of further indecision, it will not be provided by,,the Association, but by a private individual, who evidently has more "go " in his little finger than the Association has in the whole of its corporate body. Mr E. M. Macdonald, the gentleman in question, has treated the Association with - infinitely more liberality than it deserved. He has undertaken to erect, at a cost of £1250, a structure that will provide the usual grand stand seats for 2500 people, and that will include committee and public luncheonroomß, private and public bars, and practically every kind of accommodation that could be desired. Having built the grand stand, he is prepared to pay a rental for its use, and to give the Association the right of purchasing the structure at some future time. We wish that we could as heartily commend the Association as we do Mr Macdonald. Wb should like to know upon what principle those who are the active spirits in musical circles in this city arrange their ectemes o£ .'« benevolence." There are at the moment two cases that havo been formally placed before the public. One is that of Mr F. M. Wallace, on whoso behalf strenuous efforts are being made by a few people. This gentleman sustained an unfortunate accident, and everybody is, of course, pleased to know that he has quite recovered from its effects and haß not appreciably suffered therefrom, bodily or pecuniarily. But "because ol his recovery," if we may trust the reports, a big benefit concert is being worked up. The other case is stated in the form of & letter by Mrs Wells, the Honorary Secretary of the Canterbury Woman's Institute, as follows :— "Permit me, through your columns, to make an appeal on behalf of Miss E. E. Taylor, for many years a resident of Christohurch. The lady is suffering from one of the most dreadful of diseases, cancer in the face, and has been invited to Chicago by the specialist who successfully treated Mr Hullefc for the same trouble, bb described in your issue of April 20. Mies Taylor is naturally anxious* to try every chance, but ehe is entirely without funds. Will you of your goodness take up the case and receive contributions from the kind-hearted people who abound in Christchureb." Here is a lady, sorely afflicted, and whose need of practical sympathy is not less sore; the members of whose family have '■ delighted scores upon scores of audiences ! during the past twenty years or bo by their highly cultivated musical talents, and who have been only too ready to help, as far as in them lay, when the needs of other 3 became pressing. Which of these cases Bhould firßt have been made the basis of an appeal from the musicians of Christchurch to the pockets of the publio P f| We have been waiting in the hope of seeing included in the cable messages some reference to one cf the most extraordinary and most disgraceful records in the annala of shipping. On June 7, a small vesßel, the Why Not, of Brixham, left the French seaport of St Brieux, bound for Jersey with twenty passengers, men and women. On the following day a fire broke out in the hold. The passengers were not only free from panic, but set to work with a will to assist in fighting the fire. While this work was going on, a plot so daetardly as to be almost inconceivable was conceived and put into execution. A bucket was dropped overboard, as if by accident, and a boat was lowered to recover it. No soonsr had this boat— the only one— been

launohed, than captain and crew jumped into it and pulled away, leaving the i passengers to their fate. One man jumped 1 into the sea, swam after the boat,- and j waa taken into it, though most unwil- [ [ lingly. As he afterwards related, "he ' believed they would have liked to throw him overboard." In the course of a few hours the boat landed at Erquy, where the captain— his name is not mentioned in the report before us— positively depre- j cated the idea of sending help, on the 1 ground that it would be a useless thing to do. Tnoas who had been so heartlessly abandoned on board the Why Not, fortunately, | did not " lose their heads." A man named ! Jean Burlot, though utterly ignorant of ! seamanship, volunteered to steer the j vessel, and in the end succeeded in thread- > ing a way through dangerous reefs and stranding the vessel on the beach at Erquy. As might be anticipated, the story he tells is grand in its simplicity. He Bays :— " Though I do not understand how to steer, I seized the helm, and another passenger, Yves Marie Tremel, who had his eyeß scorched by the hob smoke, was on the look-out. Tremel called to me how to turn the tiller — right or left. When the moon rose, we steered straight towards her. The passengers were then becoming much discouraged, only four or five retaining courage to make an attempt to subdue the fl&mes." Tremel supplements this. " Burlot and myself," he Bays, "set about the task of infusing courage into the passengers, who were weeping and praying by turns. We encouraged the women to pray and the men to work ; but the fire made steady progress, and the smoke was blindingly thick, and when the fire reached the captain'a cibin we thought we were about finished. Judge of our delight when we felt the vessel aground. We were unable to see the shore, but we shouted. A fishing-boat came to our rescue, and all were landed, much exhaustad." So craven a captain ought to go aboard one more vessel, there to receive a practical lesson in " walking the plank."