NEWS BY THE MAIL.

Globe, Volume III, Issue 289, 15 May 1875, Page 3

NEWS BY THE MAIL.

LONDON LETTER. (From a correspondent of the Press.) London, March 19th, 1875. I should not think of touching upon what in itself is so simple and harmless a little measure as the Regimental Exchanges Bill, now before the House of Commons, were it not that it has been made the subject of the fiercest party struggle which has taken place since the Conservatives came into office. The Bill merely seeks to give to officers of the army the same means of exchanging with each other, under proper control, as used to be allowed them formerly. It would be regarded, as it used to be regarded, by the officers themselves—rich and poor alike—as a great boon. The rules regulating exchanges were such that exchange hurt no one, took nothing out of the public purse, did not in any way impair efficiency, and was a convenience to many. Why then it should have met with opposition from a single member it is hard to understand; and yet so bitter is the war waged against it that one would suppose it to be the establishment of a military despotism throughout the country that is being opposed, instead of this harmless little Bill. The Liberal party, almost to a man, have united against it: and it has even brought Mr Gladstone from his retirement to throw himself into the thick of the fight with all his old fire and eloquence. For a long period no debate has provoked so much bitterness and acrimony, or wasted so much of the public time as this. " From what trivial causes mighty contests spring," Who would have thought that whether Captain A, who can't afford to live in England, and Captain B, who can, and doesn't want to go to India, were to be allowed to exchange with each other or not, would be a question which would plunge Parliament into afierce and general engagement lasting for several sittings? At every stage of the Bill the fight is renewed with increased bitterness. In spite of all this, it will be passed, to the satisfaction of ail those who know anything of the question and are not blinded by party feeling. In my last I described Dr Kenealy's amusing debut as a member of Parliament. He has followed it up in a characteristic manner. He had not been a member many days when he raised a question of Privilege concerning a reflection on his conduct in the Tichborne trial made by a member of Parliament in a speech a short time ago, before Dr Kenealy was a member. The House iistened to Dr Kenealy,?or tried to, with that respectful attention always accorded to a new member. It heard him insult the Prime Minister and several old established institutions with every show of forbearance; but when Dr Kenealy wagged his head vigorously and announced his intention of throwing off calumny "as the lion shakes the dew-drops from his mane;" it was too much for the House, and shouts of laughter echoed through the building. During this merriment, which was prolonged, it seemed to occur to Dr Kenealy that this style, which would have suited a Stoke-on Trent audience, did not go down here, and that he had better try something else; for on resuming, he at once concluded his speech by saying in softened tones that he hoped nothing he would ever do in that House would cause any member to be ashamed of him, a statement which was received with generous cheers. It is the old story:—" Ridicule is the most pointed shaft that can be shot." Hitherto, Dr Kenealy's tough hide has been proof against everything. Groans, angry cries, or noises, and he would have soared still higher; but one shout of real unfeigned laughter brought him down from his high oratorical perch like a " potted rook." Let us hope the doctor will act up to his words, and as the motion on the Tichborne trial stands for an early day after Easter, let him bear them in mind on that occasion, particularly. His "lion shaking the dew-drops from his mane" has become historical.

The Tipperary men said that in spite of Mr Mitchel's disqualification after his last return they could elect him again, and they have been as good as their word. Another election for the county has taken place and resulted in his return at the head of the poll for the second time. The event was celebrated with characteristic rejoicings, bonfires and broken heads. Tar barrels blazed in the towns and on the hill tops throughout the county, and in the town of Tipperary any inhabitant omitting to illuminate his house had his windows smashed. The Home Rule members of the House of Commons have been organising themselves under the leadership of Lord R. Montagu. They are evidently preparing for a vigorous campaign, but I do i'ot think the integrity of the British Empire is seriously threatened thereby. The Mordaunt divorce case, which has been a public scandal for years is at last over. Sir Charles Mordaunt has obtained a decree. The co-respondent was Lord Cole. The vexed question whether a man can obtain a divorce from a guilty wife, who has become a lunatic and continues to be so, is thus settled. The unfortunate woman, the central figure of this dreary domestic 'drama, who not many years was the belle of a London season, and the possessor of everything the earth can give, wealth, beauty, and rank, is now an inmate in a private madhouse at Hammersmith, under additional restraint to prevent her from destroying her own clothing. It is the belief in certain circles that Lord Cole was only the scape goat of many others, amongst whom is one occupying a somewhat higher position in life than that nobleman. We have amongst us two American revivalists, Messrs Moody and Sankey, whose mission at present is the regeneration of London. They have been for a month or two in the country, and in their progress through the great northern towns, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, &c, have obtained an enormous following. In the towns they have visited the unusual spectacle has been witnessed of thousands of people walking through the streets in procession singing hymns. The fame of their doings in the provinces had preceded them, and their arrival in the metropolis, a week ago, has created an immense sensation. They hold services two or three times daily, and each one is attended by avast concourse of people. In fact, all London may be said to'.be flocking to hear them. The Agricultural Hall at Islington, the largest, room in London, is at present their head-quarters, and at some of the services held there as many as 19,000 souls have been present. They are heartily supported by the nobility, and a large number of clergymen of all denominations The services are conducted in the simplest style. Mr Moody reads from the Gospel and expounds as he goes on, while Mr Sankey presides at an American cabinet organ and leads the singing. Mr Moody's style is the

strongest American, and his method of dealing with scriptural subjects at first jars on the ears of the educated. He will illustrate a passage of scripture as if the personage and the scene belonged to " San Fran" or Chicago, ami puts into the nu uth of the former expressions which might emanate from a citizen of either of those places. But gradually this mannerism loses its offensiveness, and the earnestness, the ready thought, rough eloquence, and the peculiar gift of command this man possesses, carry all before them. His manner at times reminds one of a man-o'-war captain issuing his orders. After the preaching, any one is allowed to addiess the audience, but his time is limited to five minutes, and exactly at the expiration of that allowance, " Your five minutes up, sir," from Mr Moody, puts an effectual stop to the speaker, be he a nobleman or a mechanic. Mr Sankey is a valuable addition to the services. His voice, though an untutored one, is wonderfully clear and powerful. He generally sings a verse of a hymn as a solo, and then the congregation join in a chorus. The airs are stirring and simple, and easily caught, and everyone is particularly requested to join. There are some who cavil at Messrs Moody and Sankey, but I believe myself they have done, and are doing, a great deal of good. There is no doubt they have reached the hearts of thousands that have never been touched before, and if they awake in many, not only a desire, but a resolution to lead better lives, can anyone sneer at their efforts and say they are useless.

The Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race takes place to-morrow, and its looks as if the tide of fortune, which has been for six consecutive years with Cambridge, is at last about to turn. For weeks the coming event has, as it always dops, occupied a ridiculously undue prominence in the public mind. From day to day for the last six weeks each daily paper has devoted about half a column to the style, doings, and state of health of each particular member of the two crews. The two shades of blue—the light of Cambridge and the dark of Oxford — meet the eye everywhere throughout the metropolis —in the shop windows, on the whips of cab and 'bus drivers, and on the horsps. Medals, struck in honor of the event, are attached to light or dark blue ribband, and, with these on their breast, boys and idiotic men walk about the streets with quite an air of pride, as if they had obtained them at the cannon's mouth instead of at the trifling outlay of one penny apiece. The ladies, too, are brilliant in the two shades.and it is noticeable that the blondes seem to be all for Cambridge and the brunettes all for Oxford. To your lady readers the secret of this partisanship will be obvious, but it may not be so well known to the other sex that light blue is most becoming to a fair complexio», and dark blue to a dark one. One great reason of the wonderful popularity of the University Boat Race is that every one knows that there will be no " scratching" at the last moment, no "roping," no "nobbling," as on the turf; but that it.will be rowed from start to finish honestly and pluckily, that each individual will do his utmost, and that the best crew will win.

The Grand National Steeplechase at Liverpool, one of the greatest sporting events of the year, was run yesterday. It obtained some increase of interest from the fact that this year it was almost an international race. There were amongst the horses two French, some Irish, and an American. It was won by a horse called Pathfinder by half a length, over a four-and-a-half mile course. The winner was ridden by Mr Thomas, one of the finest gentleman riders of the age. For cross country racing the gentlemen are greatly superior to the professionals, though they cannot touch them on the flat. Pathfinder started at 100 to 6, and La Veine, one of the French horses, who was first favorite, finished third. The stakes are valuable, being worth 1000 sovs, added to a handicap of 25 sovs each, minus 100 sovs given to the second horse. There were 79 subscriptions, and 19 horses started.

The Bessemer steamer, the one with the swinging saloon, which is to make seasickness a thing of the past, and is to ply between Dover and Calais, is completed, with the exception of some internal decoration. On her voyage from the Humber, where she was built, to the Thames, where she now lies, the machinery of the swinging saloon was tested in a conveniently rough sea, and is reported to have answered beyond expectation. She will commence running shortly. The Dicey steamer, the one on the double canoe principle, though finished nine months ago, is still in dock. She seems to be suffering from something chronic in her boilers, unless her boilers are merely a peg to hang her failure upon for the present. The preparations for the arctic expedition are being pushed vigorously and with a liberal hand. It will be equipped and ready to start next month. It is very popular in the service. To-day, as appointed by the stock exchange committee, is the special settling day in the scrip of the New Zealand immigration and public works loan for £4,000,000. Subscriptions for this loan were invited by Messrs N. M. Eothschild and Sons in debentures of £IOOO, £SOO, £2OO, and £IOO respectively, bearing interest at the rate of i\ per cent per annum. The price of issue was 94 per cent, and the principal will be repayable at par within thirty years. Three-fourths of the loan is required for the construction of railways and the remainder for immigration and public works. I am justified in telling you that the financial policy of New Zealand has been regarded of late as a little too " go-a-head," and creates a certain feeling of uneasiness in the minds of investors. If a loan for two millions only had been placed now on the market by the loan agents for New Zealand and the remaining two millions after an interval of nine months or so, the operation could have been conducted on more advantageous terms. But as it is, the loan agents being compelled by the New Zealand Government to place the whole four millions on the market at once, have, instead of raising the loan as "usual through their own brokers, felt themselves obliged to resort to the services of a well known financial firm like that of Messrs N. M. Rothschild and Sons. The operation may be regarded, however, as successful, but had the other course been adopted it would have been more so. I have heard it stated as a fact that a suggestion made to the Government to confer the honor of knighthood on Mr Vogel, the New Zealand Premier, has been promptly rejected, the recent policy of that Miniater having failed to meet with the approval of the Imperial Government. The Mansion House relief fund for the benefit of those who were lost in the Uospatrick amounted to a net sum of £BOSO. The two orphan daughters of Captain Bimslie re-

ceived £500; the relatives of the crew, £865; and the relatives of the passengers about £I3OO. There is a balance of about £350 in hand to meet contingencies.

We take the following items from the Argus of May Ist: — Mr Stephens, owner of the Cyphrenes, has sued Messrs Lawrence, Clark, and Co, agents of the Australasian and American Mail Company, for £6OOO due on the charter of that steamer. The defendants contested their liability on the plea that they acted simply as agents of. Hall, Forbes, and De Bussche, trading as the company. A verdict was given for the defendants by arrangement, they paying Stephens £ISOO. At a meeting of literary men, a resolution was passed to support the motion of Mr Edward Jenkins for a select committee to inquire into the whole subject of domestic, colonial, and international copyright. The motion was postponed till after Easter. A deputation from the Aborigines' Protection Society presented an address to Sir Arthur Gordon previous to his departure. He expressed the hope of being able to suppress kidnapping in the Pacific. An amended Pacific Islanders' Protection Bill has passed its second reading in the House of Lords.

Lieutenant Cameron's account of his discovery of an outlet in the southern part of Lake Tanganyika has been read before the Geographical Society. The outflow was by the River Lukuga (?), but whether permanent or only temporary he has not ascertained.

A detachment of the Royal Engineers under Major Pratt will shortly proceed to Fiji. The Canadian Budget, just presented to the Dominion Parliament, shows an expenditure on capital account of over 14,000,000 dollars, but no alteration of the tariff is proposed. Our Government has accepted the American President's invitation to take part in the International Exhibition at Philadelphia next year. The committee of the Council of Education has been entrusted with the British section. Mr Philip Cunliffe Owen will act as executive commissioner and Colonel Sandford as official delegate. After seven weeks' idleness, the strike of 10,000 men connected with the Tyne ship building terminated on March 10th by the men returning to work on the old terms. One thousand men and boys struck work at Wearmouth Colliery, owing to the masters having refused to discharge eighteen nonunionists.

A number of destructive fires have occurred. The Advocates'Library, Bdir burgh, was partly burnt, endangering that valuable collection; 1000 volumes were destroyed. Killean-house, Campbelltown, on the eve of completion after extensive additions, was partially destroyed. Part of the manufacfactory of Mr Schleslman, Dundee, was burnt, with a loss of £12,000. An old mill in the heart of Bradford, inhabited by several families, was destroyed, the damage being £7OOO. The Vulcan Lucifer Match Manufactory at Gothenburg, Sweden, has been partially consumed. Terrible loss of life has been occasioned in New York by the fall of a six-storied wall of a burned store upon the low roof of St. Andrew's Church while crowded with worshippers. The Pope has addressed an Encyclical to the Prussian Bishops, urging them to set the Falck laws at defiance. All interference by the State with spiritual persons and things is repudiated. The Encyclical has occasioned a great stir throughout Germany, and the Government is introducing a Bill withdrawing State aid from Catholics. So alarmed are the Catholic authorities of Germany at the hostile attitude and reprisals provoked by the Pope's Bull, that attempts are being made to induce the clergy to disregard it, and submit to the State laws. Those Bishops who communicated it to their flocks will be prosecuted under the criminal code, and official communications between the Bishops and the Vatican are to be subjected to Government supervision. A prosecution has been started at Berlin against the Ultramontane organ German-la, for publishing the encyclical. Several German Catholic members have published a declaration against the encyclical. They deny that the ecclesiastical laws have overthrown the constitution of the church, and protest against the Pope's views on the subject. The old Catholics heartily concur in this declaration. This body is rapidly growing. The German Government has prohibited the export of horses, owing to an attempt on the part of France to purchase 10,000 to reorganise her cavalry. Earnest efforts are being made in Prussia to arrest the exodus of the agricultural population. One proposal is the creation of peasaut proprietorship by division of state domains into small allotments, A conference has been held at Sheffield between the coalovvners of South Yorkshire and North Derbyshire and a deputation from the miners on the proposed reduction of 10 per cent. The matter having been referred to the lodges, the men have submitted to the masters' terms. LATEST TELEGRAMS. London, March 22. It is rumored that a French loan of fortyeight million francs will shortly be brought out for the conversion of the Morgan loan and the redemption of the debt due to the Bank of France. March 23. The English press anticipate much benefit to India from the visit of the Prince of Wales. General Sir Charles Yorke [has been appointed constable of the Tower. March 24. In the House of Commons last night, Sir H. M, Havelock announced his intention after Easter to call the attention of the House to the slate of the Indian army. The Civil Service Estimates amount to £12,625,000, showing an iucreaae oi: a quarter of a million over those of last year. The steamer Rosario has been towed into Gibraltar with her crank broken. March 20. Germany has proposed a mixed commission to arrange the difficulty arising out of the Gustav affair, conditional upon the payment of 10,000 thalers as an instalment. Spain has agreed to this. The Supreme Court has confirmed, and the Sultan has sanctioned, the death sentences passed on the criminals concerned in the Padgoritza affair. The Prussian Government has requested the Bishop of Breslau to resign. The Prussian bishops are holding conferences at Fulda,

Obituary—Sir John Cheape and Colonel A. N. Nixon. April 6. M. de Lesseps is endeavoring to obtain from the Porte a modification of canal dues, to enable the company to effect improvements. ApiilS. The ironclad Alexandra was successfully launched to-day at Chatham, the Princess of Wales officiating personally.