LONDON CHAT.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 11495, 30 January 1903, Page 5

LONDON CHAT.

THE LATE ARCHBISHOP,

A CAUSE CELEBRE. THE CASE OF KITTY BYRON

(FROM OCB OWN COBBESFONDENT-) LONDON, December 27----"A Great. Englishman « Dead l " TWa is the way in which' several London paper* last Tuesday announced tire death of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It cannot be said that this even* was unexpected. Although the statememte about the ArohbiUWβ "failure" at tfae Coronation ceremony had no foundation beyond the trivial f»w* ■ that alter kneeling for come time on the step of the Throne, he needed ju«t a touch of i friendly aid to riws again to hie feet—as ! would many a muck younger and stronger man—still, even that liUxe incident now becomes memorable as the first symptom of any Start of physical weaknees tfaot Archbishop Temple had ever nuaailestedBut hie second so-called "failure," that j diusring his speech in the House of Lords on the Education Bill, woe a much more definite affair. What actualy occurred wae that while speaking, foe suddenly eank—almost feE—back into Ma seat. Bat tie finished his speech, albeit briefly. It was said that his legs had suddenly failed him. But the sturdy old man, had_ent>eral Ms 82nd year, went straight honwS and never appoared again. He took ifco Ihis bed, and did not rise aigain. Nothing seemed -seriously amiss with him, and he appeared- to suffer no pain. Simply he graduaty grew weaker day by dajj less able to take oaurishTOant, l«es oonecious of 'his surroundings. Then ha lost consciousness altogether, and never fully regained it. He died from sheer failure ot the natural powers —■his machinery was worn out—and graduaLy faded away until h& passtd insbo tbe fiLeep of death,'

Tiiiat he was a great man ac-d a great Ardhbdshop, a meet'worthy occupant of tiie chair of St. Augustine, no' ona at the present day wiil be found to deny. 1 remejnber 'seeing him and hearing him preach as Bishop of Exeter, in Exeter CatihadraA, some'-eighteen years ago, and whet with the orumpkdtttas of ibis soiled rochet; the ragged edges of hie rusty oid dhmuare; the "Newgate Knockers" in which his lesng unkempt black 'hair hung behind hie dark grim face ;U» harshness of hiia loud, rough Toioe, and th* brood, rusticity of his aecen*, I wondered how euch.an uncouth Goth as he seemed cpulil possibly bo ilia briCiaJii essayist and the great headmaster who followed the equally gve&t Arnold at Rugby. As Biehop of London I never saw or heard him. As Archbishop of Canterbury the first and last.time I 'heard faint wot in the memorable and Jiisbario funerai termon wiudh he delivered in St. Paul's Cathediiul on the death of Queen Victoria. In dfpcribing thab occasion to' you at the time, 1 remarked on the surprising power ,<jnd clearness of his voice in that vast and dif&wil't auditoritnn, e&peci&lly ac tine prea«h«r yfaa o, man of 80 years.- But no one could ever dream of dnedshing his voice as mueioal. Once he dropped,into a missionary meeting. Ilia train wa» labs, and co, <ii«refore, wa« h& A hymn was being sung, «o he quiet.yi took r his place beside a working man vrbo won eLnging, and singing well. The unknown Archbishop joined in hetu'tT.y, «b was im wont, and also most unmelodiously—as also was his wont, ' His neiglibouir stood it as'long ac he could,* but at Imj he ■wlunpered. to the Archbishop: "I tay, Gov'&er, do,dry up; why, you're a spi'dn the 'oie bloomia' show!" The Arcitbielmn'did dry up, and lam afraid ho a!«j iaugafd heartily. At tiny rat-e, he told' the tali aftsr the n»eetang witJi inGnifc zs&t, as he ulvrays did the ' chiimcterisatjon by'oae of his boya a« ''A b«wt, but a just beast!" He was a. great-hearted taa« as well as & singulairiy hasd-lieaded and long-headed one. I But a greater contrast ooidd haid.y l>3 I imagined th*:i t4iwi bstw««i the grim and I rugged Temple, and his unmsdiitte prtxie- | cessor, tlxt geuiie and «aintlr Benson, M-bf> breathed hie last wjuie still kneeling before the altar after reoeiring ttoe Holy yacraait-nt —a tru:y kLeo-l tad! , •

Anotiher Churah dignitary alro left us on t3io same day aa diet ttie Primnvte. The Very Rev. "William Richard Wood Dt&n of to typhoid fe-ver coaitjrftc-tei through fitting oyyteie Irom -Uiei tainted Ems\rr>rth bed. He in only one of a number of victime vo the OTster-poisoniny. but. lie .s by far t«ho nrost illustrious, bsiag a: v<i-ry eminiE.nt scholar ocd writer and divine. In mch circurnstaiiCM Ifc ie not wonderful tfcet like a panic has boen created in iSie oyeler-flotiaff world. At Chmtma« ih« name of oysteMtiters is legion, and' this year they decline to eat and refuse to be comforted. It is eMimat«d that this oyeter <panic will rneao a .ckor loss of at leant £100,000 to ihoee interested in the industry. ' ,

The Hartopp divorce petition resulted in Sir Ohark* sad Lady Hartortp each losing tae case. Tbe Jury fonrtd that Hartopp load not bebaTwd impi'opeirly in associKian <with Lord Cow-ter, or Lora Co«*l«y with ber, and *Au& Sir OhaHee Hartopp bad not behaved improperly witaa Mi* Sane*, or ehi 3 with him. And co, after thirteea day* of public expmux* of w&si at the kaet must, be called folliee and iadiscnetioiis eiwl vdgarifciee, all jmxtaem «re left as they were, gave only that abey have to pay the costs of th» great trial in sucsh. propoitjon as the Judge ahall decide. A paragrapJi went tiw round <rf t&e Loodoo Press thai ihf coeta wouJd be uearly £15,000! This amotißtt wae printed with a sort o{ gtutp of amazement, emd n m added that Sir Edward Uarke'e retainer was £500. Aβ a ; matter of fact, Sir £dwanl dark* got a : retairantf fe* of £1000, beside hie daily I "refreshM-"; not one of iha leading eouri-

•el engaged received a emaJler retainer than £600, and; Mr loderwick, who *JtaT-' Sir Edwaerd Ckrk*, i* wftdenstood to itave clasnfid a higber fee €ha» that. Tie nnallesb w«il-iafoant>d estimate of the total i* £25,000 *a* wane pappW who fcoow About Hung* beSere tibat wfero all i»

£30,000 to £35,000. So it tow been «» expensive gamel One very nctkeable featare in connecfcioa with this dwreditable «■* is tfe* leading article i» which the "Standard" commented upon it, and in wliieh me conduct of *«*. so-called "enrart" seotte* of "Society" is kshed with trenchant severity and warn. The "Standard" declares that the Hertopp trial "has been one long exposuie of the flippancy, the Ytilgwrity. tvad the frivolity, whidb too often prevail* among certain* sections of tihe sock*y which is willed fashionable. In the vW<e ©otm* of ihe. proceedings there * fcoweely an individual whom one can repaid with respect, or *n incident wivich- is creditable. ... It KTOiiM ©a stemge if ladies and gentleman ■who talked the jargon of the racecourse and the taproom displayed more delicacy of feeling or eeratitiwnes* of U*te even in the most intimate relation* of }»**;» With regard to t3»« verdict-, the "Standard think* thai •'substantial justice has been clone by the unfortunate jurors, who have had their busansss ir.tor.tipted and tiheir tfrne occupied for three wetke. in order to listen to the details of an un-woury familr quarrel among a misnber of hl-mannercd persons. . • Tb* rwl leaders of society (the -writer goes on to say) are, iUn»<t bo confessed, a little too indulgent to open laxity of conduct Mid coareejwwi of manner. r . . They might well be somewhat more chary in extending their hospitality and Ending their counteciusce to persons who choose to set at ddianc* ths socku conventions which they tlwmselves respect. They owe it, to their order to lay a ban on those owiabws who bring discreet upon it." This sott of plain-speaking is refreshing and wiiula-ry. In a (mbw letta- I poL-.le.iiww a young giirl mnwd Kin,nw Hyif.ii—who wa? cal.ed S KJt*y" for short—ar-d who ha 1 k*a jiving <with » s'.ockhrokw nartwd l.wker. mi-l nirt him in the city and sudtiv-ly slnboal him to The girl was oevoMily nttaohod to liai-f.-; v.ho, it tnrrol cut. wr..» ; a marrkd ikiii and nn ■unmit.-.w-tcd bale. Ho ured nioet brutally, law«inir her and t'h;n djamefully, insultuts m f s " rible way. blackening her character landlady, a«L in fact, making ■ burden.* Yv-i s!i« clung to him lovjagly an J forgave all. H« nad declared his intention of casting her oil jw* bjfore she nude that. Jast appoint.nwnt, wiih him "J^ 1 * bard street, Raid there i» Jittte doubt that she was maddemed by hw ■wrongs and by hw intended desertion, for »he bought a ehaxp knife before she -went- to Bwt aud after a few words had passed she etanack Jjim with ib eeveral times, one Wow proving fatal. She was immediately prostrated vlh wmomxs and tmed to kill herself too, but was prevented. - : . Sympaihy wiith the unhappy gm led — c coroner's jury to bring in a Texdiofc of man-ada-uriiter onlj; 'but she -was inmctfld for the graver crime, and the preeiding ■plaanty told both the grand and the jKfct jury tha* no otter readkt than that of murder was ilegally poesible. She »«e aooardiingly found guilty, with tih© strangest poesiol* recommendation to oiewy, b«* was, of course, «e»tenc©d to death. v Petitions for coatmutntiian of the> sentence were immediately «tai«*d, and a "reoanT ttob nromptly set ttp in this respect. .i<ne population of London seemed to be flowing into the offices where coprjes of tih* ijetitton lay lor signature. People smvply U> sign, all eorte end ooadubwais of men and women freely minelaig m tlie effort of oßsrcy. Bucit a rush hae before been seen. It ■*** fcaxdly ttiought the poor girl -vrould be ■nanged, m> wihen the reprieve was announced u« a general acclamation of relief. One oinl gentLeman, » etoiet NonconfoanieU and a theroughlv «ood and Joni-iieaiteKl man, caM to roe: "The Mow deserved to be ! killed; I Tveuld siave iheld him. for Jwsr myself had I been *ble." The doomed to a lifeitiaiMi of mieery, for foer death seatenoe is commuted only i-o peoal j servitude -for Ef«. Some of the petdtionere on her behalf prayed thalf in UievCiwram-1 stances «he might ueceive a free pttxaon,-'ti(r ; at the most a light term of knprwonmen*. Another thirt«en-daye lawsuit beeide, the Hartopp one has jtt«* terminated. It Wi one of far-reaching import. I gave a wmrnaiT of 'it in & previous tetter. Briefly, the Tali Vale Railway Company sued tflw; Amalgamatid Society of Railway Servants, tive great railway tradd union,.for damages fiUßtaiwd througK c strike alleged fomented "and organised by toat t body. Judgment was giwa dead ajgiinist the Tra«e Union on all. points,;and;tUe am*aixt of damageis to be settled by th* Judge. The result deals a tremendous ttow to Trad«« r Unioniem of the bad kind, which «iti». «P strife and then eeeke. fto evade the coneequences, though i* -will siiaply strengthen me honest honouirabk and nepotAbl? tJnioM. T havl found the leading light of the Amalgamated Society of Baifefty vantfi, Mr Bell, M.P., « very etttighWorward, weli-meaiiing, and capable man, earnestly desirous of avoiding etxifo and of fceepiug peace all round. In thie wry caw he was efcrongly opjwleed to the etrjke, and did his best to prevent it, but (b© was overruled by other pensongj connected with the j Union. So tbe etrike oame atout and was carried on trith, itccbrnpanlafot 6f anjch. ruffianisn and brutality, for which, as wej , a* for the damage to the Tatf Railway Company's tousine;B f tjios© aocouotable will nojr have to pay. An a-ppaal Jβ contemplated, bub ac the Houeeof hae already advereely to tl».Union on the maia/prin«_ cipl« inrolvcd, it does not seem prdbaWe" that anything will be gained, by the *PF 1- * i ltmta the privilege of paying nwr*e coste out oi" tlie Union ftinde, intended for the *wnefit of it**old anfi inyaiided members. •■■ .■ •■; •;.■■:■■;-*.■;•.'■ ■«.,■-■'■--.-V; Once more we have had a curiously mild December. The month haa been remarkably free from fog, which is ft ijleesing ifofar as it gate, "but si fee tdr® beta rtlmcwt wholly free from sunshine, which is.not at all Such an. adv»n4age. Snow and frost ' liave been coDspJ&uoua by their absence Bines the November "cold esKp,'* and the*« has been very little'rain, But day after day a grey, cioatl-pnll. has. osprapiesd ,-iw. «ib4* daylight—i?uch.-'na 'A k be *ai<i to br,g;a b.?fore 9 a.m., fir to -lart' utt^t : ""& p.m.. '■''This -is. ■' ; m. a distinctly • lively _Cb?.>*jai>:* in.,, ife of trt«ie; Ihs *!iops have dot.carAl ate <I«----ing ti roaring bueine«*. Ho : «r»: tli*?. •jaii-' ways with their Clir!stßia.«i csctursloei; liut in the Ldndon aiuaas the distms and £uSeriag are dire and "terrible. ;.,:-.