TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 465, 23 April 1890, Page 5

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

(From our London Correspondent.) London, February 28th. THE REV. W. RADCLIFFE. Among the preachers appointed to officiate in the Chapel Royal, Savoy, during March, is the Rev. Wm, Radcliffe, late chaplain to the Primate of New Zealand. He will conduct the evening service on the 16th. CANADA TO THE FORE. Hitherto the Canadian farmers have made no efforts to secure for themselves a portion of the profitable dairy produce trade with England, but now thoy appear to be gradually gi'asping' the fact that it will be to their advantage to enter the lists, and as they can produce buttor, cheese, etc., quite as cheap as New Zealand or South Australia, and freight from America is so much cheaper, it cannot be denied that Canada will develop into a most formidable rival. Latterly, some very large shipments have arrived, and on the whola commanded fairly high prices. POST OFFICE ORDERS.—THE CASE OF MR CAIRNS. In the House of Commons last night, Mr Lcabham Bright asked the PostmasterGeneral whether it was a fact that a Postoffice order signed by an agent of the Government, was nob a negotiable security ; whether the Government were aware that a serious case had occurred in New Zealand of an advance of money having been made against Post-office orders, the payment of

which money is repudiated ; whether the Government were aware that the credit of the Post-office had suffered severally in the colony by the above case of Mr Cairns, of Auckland ; and whether the Government would take any steps to remedy the grievance. Sir 11. Maxwell:—“ With the permission of the hon. member, I shall reply to the question. My department is not in possession of any information as to the circumstances referred to by the hon. member, but if he will be good enough to give me the particulars of the case which he has in view I shall be happy to cause inquiry to be made on the subject. Under the regulations governing the exchange of money orders between the United Kingdom and the colonies, money orders are not negotiable. They are payable only to the persons in whose favour they are drawn by the senders, unless they are passed through a bank. This is not so much a matter for the British as for the New Zealand post office, which has the power to make its own regulations, subject, of course, to any agreement made with this country.” Mr Biggak's Fortune. The late Mr Biggar has left £50,000 amongst relatives and Waterford Castle to his tried friend and comrade in many a

hard-fought field, Tim Healey. There is one incident, “ Atlas ” reminds us, in the Parliamentary career of the goblin-like momber for Cavan which Gladstonians are not likely to recall. This is the sardonic suggestion which the wicked Joo made upon the death of Morwood, theexecutioner, that his most fibbing successor would be Mr Herbert Gladstone, who had just been making a tour in Ireland under an assumed name. Mr. Gladstone on “The Housing ofBooks.” The current number of the “Nineteenth Century ” provides us with another sample of Mr Gladstone's marvellous versatility in an article (which might have been written by the custodian of the British Museum Library) on “ The Housing of Books.” In this the G.O. Man appears in the character of a practical carpenter and cabinet-maker Atrocities in Siberia. The ghastly story of the cold-blooded murder of a number of political prisoners at Kara has at last been confirmed, and outHerods even the advance whispers. The woman Sahida, who was reported to have poisoned herself, was really lashed to death by order of a brutal and licentious official whose advances she repelled. She was a delicately nurturedandhighlyeducatedlady, yet they stripped her naked and gave her a hundred lashes. When released Sahida was dead. Her three women companionson learning her fate took poison, fearing they would share it. All four women were buried in the yard of the prison and the officials kept silence on the subject somehow or another. However, the news finally reached the thirty male prisoners on the other side of the prison. They had sworn to poison themselves if Sahida were flogged, and they did so. Fortunately or unfortunately, their groans attracted the attention of the guard, emetics were administered and the lives of all bub two saved. Sahida’s murder is beyond dispute, the punishmentof 100 lashes being entered in the prison records. One wonders how long England and America mean to look on at these atrocities (which it is admitted are of constant occurrence) without remonstrance. Lord Clifton. Lord Clifton, the heir to the rich Earldom of Darnley, has been lodged in Canterbury Gaol for contempt of Couro. His lordship is a “ crank,” having strong views on the anti - vaccination question and kindred subjects. His present fix has been brought about through his ignoring a bankruptcy petition of an alleged creditor, whom he flatly refuses to pay. The Battle of Waterloo. The Battle of Waterloo was fought out this year under exceptionally adverse circumstances, oven for the bleak plains of Altcar. A marrow-curdling north-easter blew throughout the week, and there were frequent intervals of snow, sleet and rain. Nevertheless, betting was brisk, and on the whole backers of favourites did well. Things are, however, much changed since the days of Master McGrath and Coomassie, when the favourite’s victory took little short of a quarter of a million out of the ring. Last week the North party got on all they could, but it is thought they will not cut up more than £12,000 amongst them. After the first round, when it was seen Fullerton had retained all his old dash and speed, there was a great “ getting out,” and many layers barred the crack thenceforth. Fullerton is, of course, superbly bred, Altcar being by Greentick, who ran up to Mineral Water in 1884, out of Bib of Fashion, who divided with Miss Glendyne in 1885. The final course was one of the most decisive ever run for a Waterloo Cup. Downpour and the crack ran neck and neck till within twenty yards of the hare, when Fullerton forged ahead, and was quite five lengths ahead when he scored the turn. Keeping dead on to his hare, the crack punished puss severely. Downpour tried hard to get in and nicked once, bub the crack cleverly shouldered her out at every turn, and after several more drives wound up with a brilliant kill. Loud cheers greeted this performance, and Colonel North, all smiles, then went to meet his favourite. Fullerton completely outpaced each of the six dogs encountered, Green Fern alone seeming to give, the brindle any trouble. -