LATEST LONDON GOSSIP.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XXVIII, Issue 10655, 31 October 1884, Page 2

LATEST LONDON GOSSIP.

(Up to September 12th.— Via Brindisi.) The appointment of Lord Dufferin to the Vic eroyship of India has been received with great satisfaction by the London Press. He was undoubtedly the most popular Governor-General Canada ever had; was also very successful at Constantinople and Egypt, and the news of his acceptance of this important position is likely to be well received in India. The whole question of the size, colours, and designs of an entirely new series of British postage stamps is about ■ to be referred to a comipittee of experts by Mr Fawcett, the enterprising English Postmaster-General. Although Lord Wolseley is said to have faith in his " boy " battalions, he is cute enough tv eh ose " old soldiers " for fighting purposes. Por the Nile expedition, therefore, he has seleoted only those battalions which consist of well seasoned and acclimatized soldiers. By the bye, Lord Wolseley is said to have told a friend he expected to be in Khartoum by Xmas, and to be back in London in March next. Eumour, ever busy, alleges tbat Mr ' H. M. Stanley, the African explorer and enterprising correspondent, has been commissioned by the Government to. proceed to Khartoum. It is considered very likely he will go out with the relief f expedition, but whether in any official ; capacity is not yet known. Truth, on colonial federation, says : — . "A month or two ago a large meeting was held, at which tbe plan of a t federation between England and her | Australian colonies was advocated, and the proposal periodically crops up. I read the speeches, but I failed to gather ' how tho scheme was to be carried out. Indeed it is one which cannot be re« t garded as within the area of practical politics so long as its promoters are . unable to put forward details which are likely to command the assent of the colonies." ( Miss Wynn, -daughter of 3ir Watkiu t Williams Wynn, was lately presented ( by the Wynnstay Hunt, on her marriage, t with a .diamond fox. Sir Watkins himself gave his daughter a diamond . hound. 'There were 800 presents, with ; enough jewellery and china to stock a \ &rio-a- brae shop. Cardinal Manning, the Boman Catholio Archbishop of Westminster, has gone on } a long lecturing tour through the Worth 3 of England. His subjeot is "Temperance." } There is said to bo absolutely no truth whatever in the reports of an engagej ment between Princess Beatrice and j Prince Oscar of Norway. The Princess a is said to becoming very plain, and look--3 ing worried to death. 3 The wedding of Mr George Clifford. v son of Sir Charles Clifford of New 6 Zealand fame, is said to have been a very swell affair. The bride was Miss t Jantit Burnett, of Nelson, N.Z. The J marriage took ' placo at the Brompton , Oratory, formerly tbe cbapel of the' celebrated " pervert " making Monr I signiore Capel. Miss Braddon's new novel "Ishmael" has for its subject, Parisian life during the Second Umpire. The oritics unanimously praise it. It is said to much excel " Vixen," and to be the best effort ; of the popular authoress. | The total amount realized by the. sale . of the Duke of Hamilton's library Ih said to be no less than £170,000. The Buke is said to have lost heavily over ', tbe Sfc. Leger. The Prince of Wales, on the contrary, pulled off a good thing in ; tho Yorkshire horse Lambkin. Sir Salmon Wilson is to contest one of [ the BuckinghaDi seats. A local paper calls him a "purse-proud, illiterate snob ! " Private advices from St. Petersburg state that several attempts to assassinate the Czar were discovered, and frustrated on his recent visit to Warsaw. Not a single Polish lady attended the Czarina's , reception, and the rooms were so empty that they presented a most melancholy appearance. Lord Spencer has been making a tour in the long unvisitcd Killarney distriot, and has been rrceived with considerable disaffection. The Duke of Edinburgh, ■ on the contrary, was received throughout his Irish tour with almost enthusiasm. There have beon more tourists in the couutry than has beiti the case for years. Trade is said lo be improving rapidly. Miss Mary Anderson, the American actress, is drawing large houses at the Lyceum Theatre in a revival of Pygmalion and Galatea. She is said to look i the statue to perfection, but lacks the genius of Miss Madge Eobertson (Mra Kendal) in the same character. Tens of thousands of her photos have beeensold. Henry Irviug and his company are playing to magnificent houses in Canada. The members of the British Association who visited Canada are said to be delighted with the hospitable reception they met with. There is some talk of tha association visiting Melbourne in 1886. Cholera is rapidly abating in Italy, but the Italian and French pleasure resorts have already lost thousands by the scare. English watering places have reaped the benefit. Never has such a successful season been known at Scarborough. Brighton and the south coast watering places have been crowded all summer. Gigantic meetings to protest against the action of the Peers re the Franohise Bill are still the order of the day. 50,000 persons met at Swansea, 15,000 at Carlish, and some very strong lan* guage was used.' The Pall Mall Gazette publishes details of six demonstrations which took place in one week on the Franchise Bill gui a don. The demonstrations against the action of the Upper House were as follows :— Glasgow, 70,000 persons ; . Carlisle, 15,000; Swansea, 18,000. The Lords favouring meetings were—Cowdray Park, 500; Adlington Park, 3000; i Upleatham Park, 23,500. Several London papers cjuiment severely on the action of the Tories, who provide balloon ascents, dancing, and refreshments in ordor to attraot large attendances of persons whose opinions their opponents truly say cannot be of much value if influenced by such inducements. The Irishman, a Dublin paper, called the Duke of Edinburgh a "fiddling fool of the Georgian race," and deprecated the loyal feeling shown at the time of his visit. Lord Tennyson is to publish a new poem . of considerable length this autumn. A great sensation has been caused by the publication of a pamphlet entitled " A voioe from the suffering millions." It treats of the sufferings endured by seamstresses under the abominable sweating system which prevails in the London tailoring establishments. Considerable sympathy with these poor women has ".iscn shown, and an agitation for immediate reform instituted. Mrs Langtry is still the rage, attracting lars -<} ::cwds to the neighbourhood of her Y:cturia whenever &hw appears in iv the parks.