TOPICS OF THE DAY. (By Our London Correspondent.) London, January 7.

Te Aroha News, Volume IV, Issue 130, 26 February 1887, Page 5

TOPICS OF THE DAY. (By Our London Correspondent.) London, January 7.

Jack Frost. Thanks to Jack Frost, with hie usual accompiniments of bursting water pipes, frozen tubes, aud broken bell-wires, we Londoner* have been enjoying a " parroty time " for the last week or so. Things are not, hov.r ver, nourly co bad with us as with many pi ivincial towns. In certain parts of the West of England not merely railway, but tel graphic communication was entirely cm off for days together by the recent Bnowsto'-ms.

The Salisbury Ministry. Lord S diybury will meet Parliament next Wednee-i iy with a stronger Ministerial Bench in" the Houce of Commons than seemed possible a week ago. Mr W. H Smith h not, perhaps, as much given to what the Laureate calls "babble " as leaders of the House usually have been ; but he h&8 a head full of good, sound, commonsense on his shouHera, and Mr Goschen, of himself, it- a tower of strength. The confidence v. hich many Conservatives profess to feel in i-ord Randolph Churchill sticking to his p-'>mi?es and supporting the Go vernme T t through thick and tnin on all essentia' questions would be touching if it wasn't s > ib:?urd. That the little man will endeavour to curb hie tongue and his temper I can quite believe, bu r past experience forbids o ie to hope he wil pucceed.

The Dilke Case. After a protracted search Sir Charles Dilke's apontH have ut lent»th succeeded in discoveing the famous " Fanny," and that young Iw'.y is now in London awaiting the initiation ot legal proceedings. What form these will take seems uncertain. A maaa of fresh evidence has been got together during the last cix months. The nature of the depositions "Fanny" baa made is being kept a °^cret even from Sir (Jharles's most intimate friends.

The Marquis of Queensberry In the Divorce Court. The appearance of the eccentric Marquis of Queensberry (Lady Florence Dixie's brother, by the way) in the Divorce Court next week will doubtless recall to many the eensation.il scene at the Globe Theatre on the occasion of the production of Tennypon'a "Promise of May." Lord Queensberry, who is a professed atheist and if reethinker, was much scandalised at the Laureate's im■putation (put into the mouth of one of the characters of fche play) that Freethinkers held lax views about marriage. He got up in the stalls and loudly protested against such atrocious sentiments as those just uttered by the player being attributed to the "honourable body of Freethinkers." Secularists he subsequently went on to state, were as pure in heart and life and as faithful to their wives as the strictest Churchmen The petition of Sybil, Marchioness of ' Queensberry, againstj John Shalto Douglas, Marquis of Queensberry, &c, for adultery, &c M is a lovely commentary on the above outburst.

Axuttber Aristocratic Scandal. The veiled hints which have appeared in the " Daily News " and "Vanity Fair " re a coming divorce euit, more sensational even than the Campbell affair, bore reference not to the Queensberry scandal, but to a quarrel between a popular naval hero and bis good lady. The lady in the case is another dame of title and fortune.

Gossip About the Campbell Case. It is symptomatic of Lady Colin Campbells quaint disposition that instead of retiring into private life now her law troubles are over, as one would imagine any retined woman of delicate feelings would feel in dined to do, she aeemeJJ rather to court publicity. Mr Stead, of the "Pall Mail Gazette," interviewed her accidentally, happening to be at George Lewis's (the eolicit )r'e) on law business when she called ; but her ladyehip has voluntarily received more than one American correspondent, and last week eung at a concert at the East End. " The Bat " declares Lady Colin has had an offer,.of £C 0 a week to sing one ballad a night at the Paviliion Music Hall, and that she is considering the advisability of accepting it. I cannot, however, swallow the latter portion of this statement. The papers contained mo3t affecting accounts of the persecuted lady's reception at the East, and charity she patronises on Christmas Eve. Sacred music was the order of the night, and " the daughter of a duke " sang two hymns in a way that " brought tears to all eyes." Thiß performance, I regret to say, caused an irreverent wag to remark that it was pleasanter to read of Lady Colin'e hymns at Limohouse than of

the four him* at the West End with which her husband tried to debit her. The Prince of Wales took the deepest in tere?t in the Campbell case, and had George Lewis to lunch at Marlborough House to tell him all about it directly the case was over'

I Fresh Evidence. | The Campbells aro making desperate efforts to collect fresh evidence with which to back up the intended application for a new trial. They make out they can prove on the evidence of telegrams despatched from Leigh Court by Lord Blandford that ho was Ptaying wifh the Miles during Lady Coliu's visits oftener and for a longer time than that lady or her witnesses would admit. Sir Charles Russell showed great generos>ity in the matter of the fees which he accepted in the Campbell trial, Nevertheless, Lady Colin was uot at all pleased with the manuer in which he conducted her case. Particularly was she annoyed at the ad misei icordiam appeal on her behalf with which the great advocate wound up his final speech. " 1 wanted justice, not pity," eho says. The solicitors who acted for Lord Colin in the late trial insisted on £10,000 being paid down by the Duke of Argyle before they would initiate proceedings. Lady Colin's most intimate friend during tho early part of her married life was the Duchess of Wellington. The two women were "my dear " and " my darling " to one another, and Lady Colin was continually at Apelcy House. When, however, Lord Colin instituted proceedioga against his wife, the Duke, who is the " pink " of propriet}, got frightened lest his wife's name should get mixed up in the ghastly proceedings, and told her to wrife to Lady 1 'olin and ask her to take care nothing of the sort occurred. This will sound a reasonable enough request to mosc people, but Lady Colin didn't think it so. She wrote a very cutting letter to her old friend, vowing that she would neither speak of her nor to her again. Whether Her CJrace was broken hearted over the rupture of the acquaintance I can't say, but I am quite sure the Duke wasn't.

Why General Bntler did Not Appear. I have heard from the best authority j>ossible an explanation of General Butler's conduct in the Campbell caee which clears up a good deal. For a twelvemonth before the trial he fully intended to give evidence. Then the General received a threatening letter stating that the fact of an old liaison which he had with a married woman eeveral years before he courted Mies Thompson were known to the Campbells, and that if he went into the witness box he would be questioned about it. The married lady referred to (whose husband had never at any time suspected her) wrote in an agony to implore the General not to compromise her. She knew the inflexible veracity of the man, and that if be were on oath and called upon to speak the truth he would, regardless of oneequencea to himself and others, do co. She therefore begged him to abeent him&elf, and he came to the conclusion it was his duty to agree to the plan. "God," hesai^, "will protect the innocent " (meaning Lady Colin). "I must shield the guilty," The only persons to whom he gave any explanation were Lord Woleely and the Duke of Cambridge, who have known theee facts throughout. The story explains all that puzzled people in Butler's conduct— his refusal to discuss the subject, his requests to friends not to defend his conduct, and the mysterious references in Lady Butler's letters to Lady Colin. To show the sort of man the General is, I may mention that when he proposed to Miss Thompson he eaid, "I think it right to tell you I have had one affair with a married woman." Mies Thompson cried for two days, and was about to refuse him. Fortunately, she consulted the Bishop of Nottingham. " Pooh ! my dear," he said, "you ought to be proud to marry such a good fellow. His telling you is your best guarantee of happiness,'

Mr Gladstone's Birthday. Mr Gladstone's birthday is a great anniversary at the little Cheshire village of Hawarden, which imports a largo additional staff of postal officials and telegraphists specially for the occasion. The Grand Old Man would not consent to receive any deputations this year, but congratulations by post and wire were more numerous than ever, their tone varying Irom the sober " best wishes " of " Albert Edward P " to the exuberant " You dear old chappie" of a Southampton bootmaker. The inevitable person who telegraphed a passage of Scripture (Numbers vi, 25) was not a flippant newspaper man points out, as happy as as some of his predecessors. "The Lord bless thee and keep thee " is certainly appropriate, but it lacks the point of "He sitteth alone and keepeth silence because he hath bforne it upon him " (Lam iii, 28) or "The old man of whom ye speak is yet alive " (Gen. xliii. 27,)

Archer's Losses in Betting. The late Fred Archer's melancholy frame ot mind during the latter period of the '86 racing eoason becomes more comprehensible now it is known for a fact that between March and October the deceased jockey loat no less than £36,000 betting. Is or was he the only experienced turfite who, with all the assistance that shrewdness and " being in-the-kriow " could give him, dropped vast sums last summer and autumn. Mr Peck is reported a heavy loeer on tho season, and so ie Captain Machell.

Archer's Last Plunge. Curiously enough, the last big plungo poor Archer indulged in was on a tilly of Peck's, and it led to a quurrel between him and Captain Machell, which was never heated, On the Friday of the Houghton Meeting at Newmarket, Peck and Archer arranged for a coup in a selling race on a filly of the former's called Queen Bee, which had specially been saved for come such event. As was his custom when any good thing was on, the jockey told Captain Machell, who promptly backed Queen Bee to lose £1,000. Archer had £2,000 on, and Peck £1,000. The filly's moat formidable opponent was General Owen Williatna's Draycot, who was also made tbe medium of a big plunge by Sherrard's stable. Both animals, in fact, started at odds of 6 to 4 (against). As Archer was riding out of the paddock on Queen Bee, Lady Vivian from her pony called out, " What'll win, Archer?" "Draycot, they say," wbb the jockey's careless reply, as he cantered off. Unfortunately, the speech proved prophetic. Queen Bee made a desperate race of it, but Draycot was just too good, and won by a ehort head. Captain Machell, in no very good temper, was watching Archer dismount from the beaten filly, when Lady Vivian came up and said, •' Thanks, Archer, for the tip. I backed Draycot for a trifle." Captain Machell at once jumped to the conclusion his confederate had sold him. Scowling at Archer, he said bitterly, "Save me from & friend's tipe," and turned contemptuously on his heel. Archer was equally annoyed at being suspected thus, and offered no explanation. The pair never met again.

"Oh, pray lot me have my way this time," said a young gentleman to his lady* love. " Wei], Willie, 1 suppose I must this once, but you know that after we are married I shall always have a Will of my Own,"