OUR LONDON LETTER.
London, July 18. To see my Lord Beaconsfield entering London in triumph was a spectacle for gods and men. It was a lovely day. Charing Cross was invested by a vast crowd of all the classes and denominations of Oockneydom. Within the precinct of the station there was such a muster of aristocracy, male and female, as you seldom see, except when the Queen opensParliamentinperson. Dachessesdidnotdisdain to pay homage to the Duke of St. James, or of Cyprus, that is to be. I myself prefer the title of St. Stephens, which, besides connecting the Premier’s name with the scene of his great triumph of oratory, would delicately allude to the treaty he claims to have superseded at Berlin. But after the Prime Minister himself, by far the most interesting figure to my mind was old Sir Moses Montefiore, who, in the ninety-fourth year of his age, had come to salute the greatest Hebrew of his period, and to thank him for all he had done no secure civil and religious freedom for the oppressed Jews of Roumania and Servia. It would all have made a pretty picture for an artist capable of rendering the mysterious aspect of the great central figure. He looked like a being of another world as he stood there at the full height of his erect figure, which seemed positively lofty, in the long light travelling coat which he wore. He was pale with the pallor of deep suppressed emotion, and the lines of his face told of recent anxiety and vigil. Those who were close to him say that now and then his eyes and lips showed that he was affected to what must be to so self-controlled a man an extraordinary degree. The Marchioness of Abergaveny had secured the honor of carrying him to Downingstreet in her carriage, but Lord Beaconsfield, who had already scolded the Mayor of Dover for not referring to Lord Salisbury in his address, insisted on being accompanied by his co-Plenipotentiary, and so room was found for the Salisburys too, and, amid cheering and handkerchief waving, off they trundled down Parliament-street, while other Ministers and Ministers' wives followed in other carriages ; and in a little brougham Mr. Montagu Corry proudly carried the British copy of the Treaty of Berlin. Downing-street was full of members of the House of Commons, there, from one of the windows ©f his officlaV residence, the Prime Minister made a very little speech, the keynote of which was the same as his utterance at Dover—that he had brought home peace, and, he hoped, peace with honor and prosperity to follow. It was understood that he was to have gone down to Windsor yesterday to visit the Queen, but her Majesty, it is announced, preferred that he should take a little rest. And he needed it, not merely after his great fatigue, but in view of his coming effort, for to-night he will have to tell Parliament all about the two .treaties —that of Berlin, and that of Constantinople,—and our charming new colony of Cyprus. . At present the public mind is in a state of high jubilation about tbe general results of the Congress, and still more about the new alliance with Turkey, and the accompanying annexation. How long it will last, and how it will end, who shall tell ? The responsibility of securing good government in Turkey is really little less than that of managing India. We are face to face withßussla, whenever she is tempted again to push towards Constantinople, and the Russian millitary position in Armenia, after she has done all she can do with Kars and Ardahan, will be a tremendously strong one. The cession of Cyprus has no doubt given great umbrage in Prance and Italy, and Russian diplomacy will not fail to do its utmost to detach those countries from what has recently been their favorite alliance, that of England. Treaties in tho.se days are renewable bills, and mature far faster than they used to do. But, at all events, the great general which seemed imminent a few weeks since, is postponed ; and if it should come in these our days, the position of Austria iu Bosnia, and the alienation of Roumania by the retrocession of Bessarabia, will be weighty elements on the side of Turkey and England. There is a very general degree of gratification at the acquisition of Cyprus. It is felt that we can, at all events, turn it to good account. It is curious to observe how completely a place once so famous in history has fallen into oblivion. To judge from the letters in the newspapers and the speeches in the House of Lords there is as little known of its geography as of that of New Guinea. An Italian friend of mine who once spent a year there gives a charming account of it. He says the climate seemed to /him to be simply perfect. I asked was it not very cold in winter 1 He admitted the fact that he had felt cold weather there, but qualified it by saying it was never cold enough to requite a fire to be lit. The wine he declares to be the very finest in all the world, but to drink it one must go to Cyprus ; the finest kinds will not endure sea-carriage—a year hence we shall see. I back Mr. Gilby to have the vintage of the Grand Commaudery on his list before long. At present Cyprus is governed under the War Office, and treated as being in a state of merely military occupation. Sir Garnet Wolseley’s distinguished staff is, with one exception, composed of soldiers. But the one exception is notable. Mr. Herbert, of the Colonial Office, accompanied him from London, and is, I presume, gone to devise the scheme of government suitable for the island when it falls under the Colonial-Secretary’s control. Such, of course, is its destiny. Are not Malta and Gibraltar colonies as well as Natal and New Zealand ? Already there are lines of steamers advertised, and railroads in cantemplation, and books being written, and the white sails ot many, yachts are set for the soil of the diva potens, and there have been a thousand applications for all the possible places, from the Governor to the tidewaitera.
After a very dreary spring and a sort of monsoon midsummer, we are at last laving a good time of it. The air is clear and the sun strong, and town is very full just yet and very gay. There was a garden party at Marlborough House on Saturday last in the Queen’s honor, which was perhaps the most perfect spectacle in its way that could be conceived. Lady Holland had another on Tuesday, and Lady Waldegrave is receiving at Strawberry-hill every Saturday in July. There has been quite a crowd of foreign princes and princesses of all nationalities in London this season, and they add not a little to the eclat of its festivities. There was the Red Prince from Prussia with his fair daughter, who is to marry Prince Arthur, and the Grand Duke, and Duchess of Hesse, the ditto ditto of Meclcleu-burgh-Strelitz, and there are two very fullblown Indian rajahs, he of Johore and he of Kuoh Behar, whose tawny hue contrasts fairly with the olive tints of the Khedive's sons, who also go about a good deal. And town is still in love with Mrs. Langtry, and having been painted three times already, she is still being painted and photographed, and is in every stationery's windows, —now caressing a live dove and now bewailing a dead one ; and wherever she goes there is a m«b of men, and of women too, crowding about her and admiring her beauty, which is to my mind by no manner of means remarkable ; but tastes differ. There is a new opera singer, an American, Miss Minnie Hawk, who is the most valuable addition made to the stage tor many years. I think her representation of the principal parts in Binet’s new opera of “Carmen” is a chef d'ccuvrc of musical and dramatic talent ; and indeed her dramatic talent almost exceeds her faculty as a musical artist. How she, a Yankee born and bred, has managed to assume the very form and spirit of an Andalusian nymph, half grace, half fiend, is a puzzle. She is making a great reputation, and it will be sustained, I venture to predict, for there is the stamp of true genius on everything she says and does. The Australian cricketers will be entertained at a magnificent banquet in Willis’s Rooms on Tuesday next; the Duka of Manchester in the chair. The dinner given by the Undersecretaries of the Colonial Office to colonial notabilities now in town is fixed for next day. The conversazione of the Colonial Institute held on the 27th of June at the South Kensington Museum was very well attended, and in many ways one of the most attractive assemblies of the season, although on the same night was held the great reception of the President of the Royal Academy, always a most interesting spectacle for its combination of every variety of rank, talent, and charm. Since my last letter Mr. Stafford has arrived, and is at present staying at Kensington. The variations in the prices of New Zealand funds since last mail have not been considerable The 5 per cent. Consols ranged from 1(15 to 1041, and their present price is 103 J ex div ■ The 4i 6-30 s wore at 99 and tell to 97g, but are now at 99 again. The 5 per cent. 5-30 s have been steady at 104 to 104.1. They are now quoted 10U ex div. The 10-40 new scrip is at 1J to g premium, and fully paid at 101 to 1014. The present announcements of ships for New Zealand are— For Canterbury—The Eangitikei andHydaspes, both to sail on the 31st instant, and the Glenlora on the 20th August. For Otago the Mataura is announced to sail on the 20th, the Calypso on the _2sth, the Dunedin on the Ist August, the Waipa on the 10th, and the Canterbury on the 20th. For Wellington—The Hermione on the 25th August.
Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZTIM18780831.2.14
Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka
New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5438, 31 August 1878, Page 2
Word count
Tapeke kupu
1,704OUR LONDON LETTER. New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5438, 31 August 1878, Page 2
Using this item
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
No known copyright (New Zealand)
To the best of the National Library of New Zealand’s knowledge, under New Zealand law, there is no copyright in this item in New Zealand.
You can copy this item, share it, and post it on a blog or website. It can be modified, remixed and built upon. It can be used commercially. If reproducing this item, it is helpful to include the source.
For further information please refer to the Copyright guide.