Papurau Newydd Cymru

Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru

Cuddio Rhestr Erthyglau

23 erthygl ar y dudalen hon

JIiII--" "foUIl LONDON CORRESPONDENT.

Newyddion
Dyfynnu
Rhannu

JIiII "foUIl LONDON CORRESPONDENT. One Lord Mayor's Show steadily succeeds to 'another, ss it has been accustomed to do for over two centuries and, although every year somebody or other inquired in the newspapers, and with indignant voice, why this annual pageant is suffered for the better part of a dny to block the principal thoroughfares of the .greatest and busiest city in the world, there is no sign of the affair coming to an end. An i yet there must have been many spectators oil Tuesday who wondered, as the unwieldy caval- cade wended its way through the City streets, why some freshnesa.of thought and originality of design are no forthcoming in its organisa- tion. There was a time when the pageant pro- ceeded by water, and a few years ago there were to be heard positive rumours that this idea was to be revived. If it had been found practicable, the idea would h&<e been hailed by the public with delight, for the Thames- embankment from Blackfriars to Westminster would have furnished a splendid position from which to see the show. But, somehow, the notion came to nothing, and the same rather dreary collection of hired vehicles and a couple of State coaches is brought out year after year without promise of improve- ment. This is probably due in part to thvn fact that the special genius of the Eng- lish race does not lend itself to picturesqueness. A Frenchman, an Austrian, or a Belgian can participate in a historic pageant with a full sense of its effect, but without a trace of that self-consciousness which would fill an English man with the belief that he was making a fool of himself. And that is why our own attempts at historical pageants are accustomed to be failures. This year's distinguishing feature at tho great Guildhall banquet on Lord Mayor's Day was the sombre air given to the proceedings by the continuance of the mourning for the late Dttphess of Teck. But, even when that was noted, there was, as always, one splendid colour effect to rivet the eye, and that was the appear- ance of various judges of the Queen's Bench Division clad in scarlet robes and wearing their full-bottomed state wings. In the words of Hood, "There were large judges and small judges, and judges of a-size and one of the newest creations looked singularly small by the side of his more lusty brethren of the Bench. The custom of inviting the judges to partici- pate in the Lord Mayor's hospitality on this occasion is one that goes back to the days of Elizabeth; and it stands upon record that when the invitation was once given during that reign, the judges sourly declined, with the reply that the City fathers would better em- ploy the money in providing for the poor. The invitation in these times is always formally given by the Recorder after the new Lord Mayor has been presented at the Law Courts, and the answer invariably is an expression of thanks, with a promise that some of her Majesty's judges will attend; but it is somewhat wonderful that these should do so year after year, seeing how uncomfortable it must be to dine in scarlet robes and full-bottomed wig. Lawyers are not accustomed to be considered sentimental folk, but it is to be noted that the pigeons which have taken up their abode at the Law Courts have become such favourites and pets, that when, a few days since, one of them, when feeding near a cab-horse, was accidentally trodden to death there was quite a pathetic little scene. But it is not only at the Law Cqurts that these feathered pets are made a deal of. At Guildhall and St. Paul's Cathedral, the British Museum and the Palace of Westminster alike, hundreds of pigeons take up their residence, and are regularly fed and looked after by the official custodians of these great buildings. The pigeons show themselves perfectly aware of their privileges, for they play about in the most fearless fashion, well knowing that none dare interfere with their liberty or th sir life. There is a splendid inde- pendence about them as they whirl about the historic places named, and the calmness with which, at the Palace of Westminster for in- stance, they perck and preen themselves upon the statues of our most illustrious dead is almost a sermon in itself. Among the very latest ideas in the way of club life in London is the resolve to establish a West Indian Club, with power to arrange the formation of branches, in our West Indian colonies. This institution is being organised for the purpose of bringing together all persons who are interested in the West Indies, in the hope that something may thus be done to strengthen those colonies in the hour of trial. This is a far graver object than is usually set before the promoters of a club, for even our great political clubs have a convivial side, and even the Athenaeum, "the club of the bishops," has its rooms where men may dine and smoke and otherwise unbend. But the manner in which the making of clubs of all kinds proceeds in London is nothing less than wonderful. Every year sees lengthened a list that at the outset had seemed sufficiently long and, although some of the weaker institutions necessarily go to the wall, it is surprising how msny -survive. It may be true that in some cases these clubs reverse the old rule of Solitical economy, and that, instead of the emand creating the supply, it is the supply that creates the demand; but that there is a growing want for such institutions that needs to be satisfied seems evident. The curious pastime which consists in drawing up a list of forty names for an imaginary English "Academy" upon the lines of the famous French institution of that name, is being revived, and it promises to be, in the homes of the cultured, the parlour game of the winter. The difficulty in playing it properly seems to be that neither the origi- tiators nor the competitors seem quite to be aware of what the French Academy consists, and the lists of an English imitator are, there- fore, apt to be wide of the mark. The French Academy is one of five, which all together form the Institut de France, and its special object is the composition of the historical dictionary of the French language. It consequently consists of literary men alone, and, therefore, the sug- gestion that has come from some quarters that the imaginary English Academy should con- tain some purely scientific men betrays some incapacity to understand the conditions of the case. The pastime, however, is perfectly inno- cent, though no one in literary circles appears to consider that any such institution is likely to be seen in London in our time. A long-needed reform has been adopted this week in the Divorce Court, which may well be extended to the other branches of the Law Courts. The comp aint was formally made by counsel to the President of the Probate, Divorce, and Admiralty Division (Sir Francis, Jeune) to the effect that the. court was over- crowded to the great inconvenience of witnesses and those immediately concerned. This having been found to be well justified, the President intimated that in future the general public would not be allowed to come into the body of the court, but must keep in the galley as was originally intended; and it is now being sug- gested that this most wholesome operation should be extended so as to keep the bench clear from intrusion but pririleged strangers. There is something deeply offensive m the spectacle of such persons occupy- ing a place on the very judgment seat. at all nauseating or sensational trials and the Old Bailey, in particular, would be all the better for their absence. When the Law Courts were designed, a gallery was provided for the public in each one of them; and, although these galleries are not particularly spacious, they are sufficiently so to accommo- date all who have any legitimate reason for \:5 listening to the xmft. Those who crowd the well of the. court tro the annoyance of those who must be present and to the exclusion of many who really tvave business there,*<5ti £ M, there- fore, to bo sent upstairs and Sir Francis Jeunc has done the right thing in taking the lead in that direction. Tha suggestion that football referees should be clad in chain armour, and that their heatlJ should be covered with a helmet, provided with a vizor, so as, if necessary, to protect the face is again being put forward, and not altogether as a joke. There is quite sufficient rough play in th field at many a match without the referee being placed in personal danger; but some flayers, as well as spectators, do not hesi- tate to strike this useful, and, indeed, imlis- S en sable adjunct to the game if his ecisions are not to their taste. One never hears of an umpire at cricket" being; struck over the head with a bat if he gives a player out leg-before- wicket, though that is a decision which pro- bably no sufferer from it has ever recognised as perfectly just. Why, then, should it be that A referee at football is so frequently sub- ject to assault? The season this autumn is not yet very far advanced, and already some magistrates have had to make a striking example of offenders in this way; and public opinion will support them in strong measures to put a brutal practice down. R.

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