Our London Letter.

Te Aroha News, Volume XXII, Issue 42774, 5 September 1905, Page 2

Our London Letter.

. (From our own Correspondent.) f In a small; village in Wales lives a man whoclaims tohave witnessed the defeat of ITapaleon at Waterloo. He is 104 years old and earns a scanty living by hawking boot laces, etc. He attributes bis retaining aU his faculties, during a long and hard hie to the fact that he has been an abstainer all his life. ;ss?■'” ■ Hardly a day passes without our having some fresh instance of the astuteness of the criminal alien whom we welcome to our shores with open arms. And too often it is the Colonial visitor who is the victim. A few days back, a merchant of Manitoba, visiting London, went to the British Museum There he: met a-\“mming engineer who asserted that he hailed from • ( g^ o P ua *;^ e j . . . . i 3 a fnond. and to- .

l itter introduced him to a I “ euu > - gether they, took the train for , the ,South Kensington Museum. There they' letter *y a - tbe Colonial, at their instigation,, P IT and handed it to him. He was very gratefid and insisted on “ standing ’ them liquors and cigars at his hotel. He said- the letter was very important, and invited them to .read it whfch they did! He said, he bad just arrived here from India with # a '-W £400,000. After a few hours of conv.viality he invited them to accompany him to a pIACO of amusement where he had been the mg t before, and where he had lost money with women, to try . and get the, Tbaok. The Colonial, however, advised him to let it -o. Then he thanked them for their kind ness and advice, and offered ,to len £2OOO each for five years if they could ]P™' that they were men of substance. _ Ibe “Mining Engineer’Vand Ins fnend said they ,-onld produce about £7OO each, the Colomal had £BOO. He afterwards cabled to the* 13-d: of Canada, and they all four met again. Tuo three I displayed their notes _and the newly-found financier asked for their I.U. C s. Tie handed them to the “mining, engineer who offered to get them stamp©! and mado legal. Before leaving he handed his bundle ■ff notes to his companion, who also collected those of the Canadian. Thence , gPfR' ueer” and Ids friend left the room. : . •lid not reappear, and the Canadian consulted the police to find that he had been duped. The affair was a planned one to-rob - him of his money. One of - the trio was found and Intending visitors to London will do well to remember that this is a city of nearly seven millions of people— nearly twice as many people as there are in all Australia, are congregated in our few square miles. - assports ire unknown. No -restriction is put .iqwn visitors either for pleasure. British and c ™ a “ a1 ’ •and on our shqri&lffibut hindrance and without enquiryMss wonder, then, that -ome of the most-I&ig and.unscnipulqus ,of the criminals of the world make a. happyhunting ground of the Big City ofj Smoke. An unusual sight greeted thotowno coni overlook the yard of Bow Court the other .day. . One of was found to be in such a filthy <9»ij>nvthat tit > - was* quite impossible to bring%&i iuto Court. Consequently the Magistrate, Clerk, Usher and officials proceeded«o the yard, where the prisoner was charged with begg- ; • ing. This is quite a feature of the night side of London life. Many thousand men and women.cannot, or will not, find iwor . They shun the workhouses and 7S Shelters while the sunshine invite * a lazy sleep in the day-time in the parks and ppen spaces, at night they wander through the streets. If they can get a hearer mnongthe ’ : thousands of pedestrians they will drawl out a piteous tale of want and destitution which helpa to bring the welcome coin. Or, if. in a quiet street, they come across! a gilded, youth who has dined not.wisely but too well, they will not hesitate to relieve him-by force of his cash and ' jewellery, even though as* .. sault, and perhaps manslaughter may necessary. , But though London is full of dangers to : the new comer and to the unwary, the iiative'finds it comparatively safe. Let- one walk boldly and with confidence, and he can go through the biggest slums without molestation. Not many nights ago I bad to work all through the night to catch a mail. At about 2 o’clock in the morning I turned out for a stroll along the Thames -Embanlrment to Westminster. Along the embankment were numberless tramps, male and female, sleeping on the seats and promenading in twos and-threes. Some glanced at me as if I were; intruding on their special domain. Others looked up with silly, drunken, bleary eyes. Others, alas, with looks of real and genuine despair. ■ But I v.-.i.kca Ihe whole distance alone, without mines, utioa, although I did not meet a; policeman from one end of the 'enbankmeht to the other. . . , . If the criminals display ingenuity m their advocations,' the detectives of the . Metropolis are not behindhand in imitating them. What with the silent boots of the police foice and the endless disguises of the detectives, it is a marvel that so many ’ evil-doers escape. Two men the other day were suspected, of receiving bets near the fish market. This is an offence in law. Two detectives disguised as fish porters kept observation, and when they had sufficient evidence, promptly arrested the illegal traders. Betting among rich people may be all very well, but these street “ bookies ” lay themselves out to receive bets from the poorer clerks, office boys, and the warehousemen, who generally lose, and are sometimes induced to rob their employers in the insane attempt to make “ a bit ” quickly and without work. A wide-awake' Colonial makes the just '-omplaint that there are no open four wheel carriages plying for hire in London. The

four wheeler, commonly known as the • • growler ’ 1 and the smart hansom of two wheels are both closed carriages. In Paris, and in most continental cities, one can see the sights in an open four wheel carriage. The only way to see them riding in London, un* less one can afford to pay very heavily, is on the top of an omnibus. But no doubt' our up-to-date County Council will soon he giving this matter their attention. Delegates from the Canadian Manufacturers Association have been visiting the Old Country. ■ They brought their official visit to a close by attending a garden'party given in their honor by Lord and Lady Strathcona and Mount Royal at Knebworth Park. Litter they were the guests of the United Empire Club, a dub formed to strengthen the relations between the Colonies and the Mother Country. The Canadian patriotic

hymn “ Canada” was sung by the whole , company with great enthusiasm. Prince Rangiuiti of Maoriland, attired in his native costume, saug a native song, following by, the war dance of his tribe. “ The Maple leaf for ever ” was also sung. - Mr T. A. Coghlan, the new Agent General for New South Wales, has been giving us some liints of tho great possibilities of Australia, and the splendid opportunities for the .. British settler. It is true that‘over here therelare mistaken views of the Creat Con-

tinent, owing not a little, he explains, to the. Australians themselves. To illustrate the growth of tho trade of the Colony, he points out that 70 years ago the United Kingdom, , with ‘l6 millions of people, exported * £41.000,000 of their produce. To-day,

. Australia, with only 4 millions of people, ex- { port £55,000,000 of their produce. Aus- [ India, which is four-tifths the size of Europe, J only wants population. The Australian ' Government is determined that the immense wealth of tho soil shall no longer remain idle, i and he intends to make it his business that the brighter and truer side of Australian life shall bo known throughout the Kingdom. (To be continued next issue.)