EUROPEAN ITEMS.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3024, 5 March 1881, Page 4

EUROPEAN ITEMS.

Nothing could bo more remarkable than tho change which has come over the political situation during the last fortnight. There are no longer any rumours of splits between the Whig and Radical sections of the Cabinet. Lord Havtingten on Tuesday last delivered a very powerful speech in which, while he denounced the Land League and its terrorism, he admitted unreservedly the necessity of dealing boldly and justly with the Irish land question. Mr Chamberlain has not yet spoken during the debate, and it is improbable that be will do so. He is not, howevor.ldissatisfied with the attitude of the Prime Minister on the Irish land question, while Lord Hartington and Mr Foster are both of them anxious to strenghten the Prime Minister's hands in dealing with thi9 subject. Mr Gladstone, (who has recently been reading the speeches which he delivered ten years ago when the Land .Bill of was going through the House, holds that nothing more is required than a full development of tho principle of that measure, which was severely maimed as it passed through the Lords. The probability is that, as has been already intimated, the new measure will be drawn in such a way that it can be made more stringent in any direction that events require while it is going through committee. Meanwhile, the important point is that the Cabinet, so far as concerns the Irish land question—which, it was expected would prove the great stumblingblock—is absolutely united.—Home News.

Mr Bradlaugh, speaking at a political meeting the other day, in alluding to the Pension List, said :—For himself, he intended to make an effort to get rid of perpetual pensions. One was payable to the Earl of Bath—a title which had been extinct 160 year.. One of £676 was granted by Charles 11. to the then Earl of Kinnoull, and the present Earl denied that he received it; and on inquiry it appeared that the pension was sold in 1817, and that the pension was still paid to those who had acquired it by purchase. There was a pension of £19,000 paid to the Duke of Richmond, and this was done under an arrangement which prevented the payment appearing annually in our published accounts. If the amount paid on that pension had been invested it would have paid the National Debt. He had spoken and written on this subject for ten or twenty years, and therefore it could not bo said he took it up in consequence of anything which had recently occurred.

The attempted abduction of a prima donna has been the subject of much gossip during the last day oi- two in Paris. The other evening about the hour when Mademoiselle Bianchi was performing the title rdle in Brail's Bianca at the Opera House, her would-be abductor was laying his plot before the artiste's coachman, and endeavoring by a bribe to induce him to enter into the scheme. The coachman assured the gentleman that he would do everything in his power to promote the success of the project. On the departure of the stranger, the driver at once disclosed the circumstances to the managerial authorities at the theatre. The following night, after depositing Mdlle. Bianchi and her mother as usual at their residence, the coachman drove hastily to the rendezvous agreed upon, where the languishing lover had for some timo been impatiently awaiting his arrival. Upon seeing tho carriage, the man rushed up to the door, where he was instantly pounced upon by two detectives, and carried off to a police station. Upon investigation, be turns out to be a hair-brained lunatic, who for a long time past has been sending billets doux to the lady. He i 3 now lodged in a lunatic asylum.

a fortnight, ago an audacious robberjr and attempted murder was committed at a private hotel in Paris, and the culprit has been discovered and arrested in a manner which reflects great credit on the police. The victim was an old lady named Madame Gouye, who kept the H6tel dcs Amis deo Arts, and who was discovered early one morning insensible, and with a severe wound on the head. From this state of unconsciousness she has been very slowly recovering, though not able to speak, and scarcely capable of noticing those who were around her, including an agent of police who never left the room, in the hopes of Madame Gouye being sufficiently sensible to give information as to her assailant. The first Jrevival took place one morning, when the sufferer was heard to murmur the word "Leonce." This slight clue was enough to send the agent to the prefecture, where are kept the photographs of all those who have been brought up by the police for criminal offences. The portraits were examined, and at length one was found with the name of Leonce at the back. It was taken to Madame Gouye*s apartment until such time as the old lady might be roused sufficiently to notice things. The opportunity arrived, the sufferer opened her eyes, and the photograph was passed before them, when a distinct recognition took place, though but momentary. This, however, was enough for the police; the photograph was copied, and every agent in Paris was made acquainted with the likeness; and in two or three days' time the owner of the portrait was arrested on the Boulevard St. Martin, when he made a full confession of his crime.

England is gaining something by the Jesuits being cast on her shores. Vast sums of money have been brought Love, and are being freely spent. One of the intentions is to open superior schools ; that they are excellent is no doubt, but the Jesuits want a little too much, and we consider the making of a boy's character one of the important items of tuition. We do not wish them to be made Jesuits, much as we should value their obtaining the high instruction the Jesuit teachers always impart. The Jews are also coming over with their wealth from Germany ; they hare been absolutely " Boycotted" out of the country. The Germans are terrible taskmasters—nay, tyrants, when they get a chance, and hai'dly consult their own interests in their passion and self-will. The German women are to he " Boycotted " by their lords and masters, who insist, under pains and penalties, that they shall no longer patronise French fashions—not attempt to be attractive. But not even a Bismarck can prevail. The papers are ordered to speak of the French fashion as a superstition which no modern German woman of culture should follow. What next ?

A gentleman who owns property in one of the disturbed districts in Ireland has just obtained full payment of his rents by a novel expedient. In good, prosperous times his rental is upwards of £9000 a year, and up to the end of last year he was paid with wonderful regularity, though, of course, after the harvests of that and of the previous year he made a substantial return to his tenants. This year his rents first fell into arrear, and finally he received, about November, the usual option of Griffith's valuation or nothing at all. Neither alternative commended itself to his taste or pocket, but being a man not easily beaten and somewhat fertile in expedients, he bethought himself of the parish priest who exercises spiritual sway over the principal portion of his estate. To him he wrote, offering him 7\ per cent, on the gross rental if paid within a certain time, and without deduction on account of Griffith's valuation or Land League peculiarities. Last week he received the last instalment, and at this moment not one of his tenants is in debt to him for a single shilling. In her young days Lady Constance Leveson-Gower was of remarkable beauty— features and complexion being alike perfect. When about seventeen her medallion was sculptured by tho late Alex. Mnuro, in a style which was then uncommon, and the beauty of the profile was so striking that cast of the medallion were eagerly sought for, even when Lady Constance was personally unknown, and it is now frequently met with in the North «.nd West Highlands, where under the noble titles which she has sucessfully borne, the lady Constance, the Countess Grosvenor, and the Duchess of Westminster, the people have been familiar with her personal amiability, as well as her

beauty and high position. The Reay country has for many years been the favorite sojourn of the Duke and Duchess of Westminster, in autumn, and there, no less than in the courtly circles in which she moved in the South, her Grace will be greatly missed. Tbe Queen has been deeply concerned for the health of the Duchess, and was one of the first to be informed of the sad event of her death, and one of the first to express sympathy with the survivors. The following letter from the late Charles Dickens concerning the late George Eliot is of interest at this moment, as showing how easily an experienced novelist detected what escaped the observation of most people : — " Tavistock House, W.C., Jan. 18, 1858.— My dear Langford,—Will you, by such roundabout ways and methods as may present themselves, convey the note of thanks [enclosed] to the author of 'Scenes of Clerical Life,' whose first two stories 1 can never say enough of, I think them so truly admirable. But, if these two volumes, or a part of them, were not written by a woman —then should I begin to believe that I am a woman myself.—Faithfully yours always. —Charles Dickens."

A telegram from Paris says that M. Laisant, considering himself aggrieved by a letter written by Mr Bradlaugh, M.P., has sent the latter a hostile message by the hands of two seconds. M. Laisant demands either an immediate retractation of the statements made in the letter or reparation by arms. Mr Bradlaugh has left his case in the hands of six disinterested persons to settle.

Those persons who are advising the Whig section in the Cabinet to assert themselves will be much surprised and more horrified to hear that Earl Spencer has all along been a staunch supporter of the anti-coercion views of Mr Bright and Mr Chamberlain.

The Times appears to be very anxious to see Lord Dufferin appointed to the Viceroyalty of India, but there is! every reason to believe that domestic considerations would lead him to decline the post. If Lord Ripon returns next spring, no one need be surprised to hear that Mr Gladstone and Lord Hartington have offered the Viceroyalty to Lord Carlingford. A curious illustration of one peculiar state of things now existing in tho Sister Isle is given in the the letter of an Irish landlord. He says :—" A tenant of mine came to me to-day and told me he was afraid to pay more than Griffith's valuation, and must get a receipt in full, otherwise he would incur the displeasure of the Land League. This statement 1 know to be true. I suggested to him to lend me a sum about equal to his rent, as I was in want of money, and would give him an I O U for the amount. This he kindly accordingly did, the transaction affording mutual satisfaction."

It is openly stated in political circles that the secession of Lord Granville, the Marquis of Havtington, and Mr Eorster may be expected at any time, while the chance of retaining Lord Sclborne or tho Duke of Argyll is regarded as a very doubtful one. There can be no doubt that the position of such men as these in a Government which includes a Chamberlain and a Dilke is exceedingly embarrassing; and it is a marvel to many persons that they have managed to go on together so long. A disruption is sure to take place shortly, and, according to present appearances, the break-up will most likely take place over the proposed legislation for Ireland. The Peth correspondent of the Standard describes a tragical affair which occurred recently at Bittse, in the Trenczin county, Hungary. M.Smialovsky,who wasinhislnineteenth year, and son of a landed proprietor, and M. Moravsky, aged twenty-one, whose father was district magistrate, agreed some weeks ago to settle some romantic differences by a duel. Having ordered pistols from Vienna, they went together the evening before the combat to a local ball, and appeared to be on the most friendly terms. In the early morning, when tho dancing was over, they went arm-in-arm to the apartments which they were occupying in common and took a few hours' rest. At halfpast eight o'clock they went out alone to a neighbouring forest, and took up their positions at a distance of only three paces from each other ; both fired, and both fell. M. Smialovsky was unable to move from the spot, but M. Moravsky was able to drag himself to his lodgings. An hour elapsed bofore a surgeon was able to reach the man who had been left on the ground. On the sixth day after the duel both of the duellists died, each having previously made a formal declaration that the cause of this desperate encounter was an affair of honour.

The opinion is, says Engineering, gaining ground, especially among French savans, that the musical sounds produced by Professor Bell in discs of various substances, such as mica, india-rubber, metal, and wood, by holding them in the path of a rapidly interrupted beam of light, are really due to heat and not to light. Eadiophonic notes, such is the new term, have been obtained by M. Mercadier from ordinary gas lamps without employing lentress to concentrate the interrupted beam, by simply bringing the receiving disc near the source. Even a plate of copper heated to a bright red heat produce very distinct musical tones, which gradually died away as the plate cooled to a dull red followed by obscurity. The fact that when the receiving discs were coated with silver on the side next the light tho effects were feeble, and that when coated with absorbent lampblack they were strong, would seem to tell against Professor Bell's conclusion that the sounds were due to light.

Mr Tennyson's newtwo-act tragedy entitled "The Cup" was produced at the Lyceum theatre on January 3 with much success, and would seem to mark the starting point of a new and more prosperous career in dramatic composition. The plot never flags for a single moment. There are no digressions, or unseasonable descriptions, or long speeches. Every sentence carries the action forward. The interest, profoundly tragic from the first, deepens in pathos as it proceeds, and culminates in the deaths of the two principal personages under circumstances of tho most romantic vengeance.