County Observer and Monmouthshire Central Advertiser Abergavenny and Raglan Herald Usk and Pontypool Messenger and Chepstow Argus

ACME SUNLIGHT GAS SYNDICATE, LIMITED (Charlton, Kent).—The Best Acetylene-Gas Gen- erator in the Market, for lighting buildings in Town and Country. On view at 222, Shaftesbury Avenue, New Oxford St., London, W.C. Agents Wanted. The Duke and Duchess of Fife, on arriving at Brighton Station, from London, on Saturday afternoon, inspected the new express locomotive, the Duchess of Fife, recently constructed at the London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway Company's Brighton works at a cost of four thousand pounds. The engine, which weighs nearly eighty tons, is one of a number designed to work the heavy trains between London and Brighton, accomplishing the journey in less than an hour. Her Royal Highness expressed a desire to board and drive the engine, and the driver and firemen accordingly vacated their places. The Duchess, with whom was the Duke, then took charge of the locomotive, with Mr. Richardson, the Locomotive Superintendent, on the foot plate, and drove the engine for some distance down the station main line. rrince jtienry ot Prussia, during his visit to Ireland, was indefatigable in polo playing. He played several times with the 21st Lancers, but the zeal of his Royal and Imperial Highness is not equalled by his ability. He strikes wildly and with considerable vigour, but his miss is better than the proverbial mile. At the same time, his many sportsmanlike qualities made situ particularly popular amongst the sporting fra- ternity in Ireland.

f WESTMINSTER ABBEY. I A CHANGED INTERIOR. The period of careful preparation at West- minster Abbey, which has lasted ever since the first day of April last, is now drawing to a close. For many weeks past (says a writer in the "Daily Telegraph") the officials connected with his Majesty's Office of Works have mainly been em- ployed in the construction of tier upon tier of immense galleries, extending, it may almost liter- ally be said, from end to end of the great build- ing. As a matter of fact, however, these galleries have been constructed on a considerably smaller scale than has been the case at any Coronation ceremony for the last 200 years. With the Coro- nation of William and Mary in 1689 it became the practice to erect galleries not only in the aisles of the nave and choir, but also all round the beautiful eastern termination of the Abbey. By this means an element far from conducive to the general dignity of the proceedings was introduced into the ceremony, and it continued to prevail right down to the great Jubilee service of Queen Victoria in 1887. This precedent has, however, at last been broken, and to the general advantage. At the forthcoming Coronation only a small num- ber of privileged persons will be permitted to view the service from a position so close as this. They will, in fact, include simply the occupants of the Royal box and those of the two compara- tively small galleries, which are being reserved for the personal friends of the King and Queen. Still, when all is said and done, the interior of the Abbey will present an appearance which will render it barely recognisable to those of us who are accustomed to its normal condition. The mass of pews and chairs, which, together with the Lectern, occupies the space beneath the Lan- tern, will be seen to have disappeared altogether. In their place there will be witnessed an extensive platform, technically known as the "theatre." On this there is placed a dais, which is itself divided into two distinct portions, one raised upon five steps, and the other upon three. Here will ulti- mately be placed the thrones or chairs of State, to which their Majesties will be conducted after their respective Coronation. Almost from end to end of the Abbey, that is to say, from the western entrance to the steps of the High Altar itself, there will run a mass of blue carpet, which, has been manufactured in Worcester for this oc- casion. The entire surface of the "theatre" will be covered with this material, and also the greater portion of the sacrarium, the two actual thrones stand nig m addition upon two splendid carpets of Persian silk. r ST. EDWARD'S CHAPEL. I ,^ne °f the ™ost interesting portions of the ceremony of the Coronation will be the Chapel of St. Edward the Confessor. Here several highly-important ceremonies take place, after the final blessing has been pro- nounced by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Im- mediately beneath the ruined shrine of the saint to whom the chapel in question is dedicated there is to be a small altar, entitled St. Edward's altar, while the shrine itself will be still further em- beished by a magnificent crimson pal. On either si e o the ^shrine there will also be erected two traverses, or waiting chambers, for the recep- tion of the King and Queen. After the service is over their Majesties, attended by their train, together with the chief ecclesiastics taking part, will retire into the chapel through the twin doors which stand on each side of the High Altar. Here the crowns which they have previously been wearing will be removed from their heads, and will be replaced by the Imperial Crown of State and the Queen Consort's Crown of State respec- tively. The two former diadems, together with the Golden Spurs, St. Edward's Staff, and other portions of the regalia, will be left here on this little altar in charge of the Dean and Chapter of Westminster Abbey. To these latter function- aries will also be entrusted the King's Corona- tion vestments, which will now be removed from his person, while in their stead there will be placed upon him his magnificent purple Robes of Estate. This,change of attire will, of course, r take place in the interior of the "traverse" ore- pared for the King. The high altar will present a splendid appear- I anC8. On it there will, of course, stand the beautiful ornaments ordinarily in use at the ser- vices of the Abbey, while it will be actually vested with the crimson frontal recently designed for this occasion by Mr. Micklethwaite, the well- known architect, of Westminster Abbey. This frontal-which has quite lately been on view- and also the smaller frontal in which the little altar of St. Edward will be arrayed, together with the crimson pall above the Confessor's shrine, are made of material and design similar to the new copes which are to be worn for the first time by the dean and canons. An interest- ing feature in the two galleries appropriated to the use of the peers and peeresses will be the Chippendale chairs which each will occupy. These are to be of an exceedingly elegant charac- ter, and will add not a little to the general ap- pearance of the two galleries, as well as to the comfort of their noble occupants. Immediately above these galleries there will be seen two ad- ditional structures of a similar type, though not quite so large. These latter will contain the members of the House of Commons and their respective wives.

THE KATIKIRO OF UGANDA. I The Katikiro or Grand Vizir of Uganda, who has just arrived in England as a Royal guest, is a tall, well-made man of Bantu features. He wears the picturesque costume of the greater chiefs of Uganda. This consists of a long blue gown, magnificently embroidered in gold and silver and lined with white. Under this is a pure white cambric shirt of native embroidery and a brightly-coloured skirt of native cloth. His head- dress is a white cap of exquisite native work. He is thirty-eight years of age, and is unusually in- telligent even for the Baganda, and is undoubt- edly the strongest man in the country. He has written three books in his own language, one on the history of Uganda, one on folk-lore, and one on the history of his tribe. He was the first to build a two-storied house in Uganda, and he also erected the first brick dwelling. His house is fitted with electric bells, and he is the only native of Uganda who rides a bicycle. Captain C. V. C. Hobart, D.S.O., Grenadier Guards, who served in Uganda in 1897-99, and took part with the Katikiro in several expeditions against the rebels, has been attached to the Grand Vizir's suite dur- ing his stay in England.

SNOWSTORMS IN SOUTH AFRICA. I It is announced from Cape Town that an excep- tionally severe snowstorm has swept over the mid- land districts of Cape Colony. Trains are blocked at Naauwpoort by a snow drift six feet in depth, and much difficulty is being experienced in clear- ing the lines. The railway men have suffered greatly,and traffic is dislocated in many places while telegraphic communication is interrupted owing to the poles having been blown down. The average depth of the snow is 6in. From Pretoria it is reported that intense cold prevails, and that there have been heavy falls of snow in various parts of the Transvaal. The Cape mail was delayed for 24 hours at Springfield owing to a snowstorm, and three engines were required to pull the train out of a drift in which it had become embedded., The telegraph, lines are damaged. .=:

TAKING LIBERTIES WITH NAMES.—English speaking people are slow at acquiring a foreign language, but they do not allow this defect to trouble them greatly. In a volume published before the South African War began are some amusing examples of the way in which names and titles were simplified and made easy by English- men in Africa. Johnny was the name by which the British soldier always addressed himself to every native. Boy" was invariably used by volunteers from Cape Colony when addressing a coloured man. The name of a chief, however, was worth retaining in memory, or rather, something to remind the Englishman of it. So it was that the chief Mankoroane was called Macaroni for short," and of course no one forgot that. The commander's orderly announced the visit to head- quarters of a native chief: The chief Catch-it- easy, sir. has come and wishes to see you." The chief who?" Catch-it-easy,_ sir." It turned out that it was the chief Haseitsiwe who had called to pay his respects to the representative of the Queen.

I THE KING AND QUEEN. I HIS MAJESTY ON THE LATE WAR. The King on Friday of last week received at Buckingham Palace addresses of loyalty and con- gratulation on the conclusion of peace from the Lord Mayor and Corporation of London and the London County Council. Two addresses from the City Corporation were presented one from the Court of Alderf men and the other from the Court o- Common Council. His Majesty cordially replied to the addresses, expressing his sense of the per- severance and bravery with which the war had been carried on, the fortitude with which the sacrifices it entailed had been borne by his people, and the courage displayed by their late opponents, and hoping that loyalty and friendship would re- place the bitter feelings of the past in South Africa, and lead there to an era of peace and pro- sperity. ROYAL VISIT TO ALDERSHOT. The King and Queen drove from Buckingham Palace, on Saturday afternoon, to Waterloo Sta- tion, and proceeded by special train to Aldershot. The town had been decorated and an enthusiastic reception was accorded their Majesties, the Prince and Princess of Wales, Princess Victoria, and the Duke and Duchess of Connaught. An address in a silver casket was presented to the King, who in reply expressed a hope that the prosperity of the town might continue to grow with that of the great camp, to which he rejoiced that the return of peace would bring so many heme. The King and Queen then drove to the Pavilion, and received quite an ovation from the crowds who lined the route, the school children who were assembled singing the National Anthem. TORCHLIGHT TATTOO. In the evening their Majesties witnessed a grand Military tatto, the troops marching to the grounds headed by bands and torchbearers. It was a magni- ficent spectacle. The glare of the torches held by soldiers marching at a quickstep, the gallant notes of the British Grenad'ers thundering forth into the night, the glint of the bayonets from the guard. the blackness that framed the central figures-all went to form a picture not easily to be forgotten. In the centre of the ground the bands halted, the torch-bearers spread themselves so as to line a quarter of the ground, and the guard, presenting arms before the Royal tent, retired to the left of the King's position. As these bands ceased playing another roar of drums, another squad of smoky brilliance. showed where the cavalry and Royal Artillery bands, followed by the South Wales Borderers for guards and torch bearers, were approaching. They represented Wales, and the march they played was The Men of Harlech." After them followed the 2nd Highland Light Infantry, with the pipes skirling out The Iiielan' Laddie." Well done, Scotland! Last, and most effective of all, in one respect at least, came the Irish. The Royal Irish Regiment acted as guard to the massed bands of the 3rd Brigade. As the men advanced to the tune of St. Patrick's Day" they yelled with that wild Irish scream that has often struck terror into the hearts of those who faced the gallant Paddies in the field. Surging up as it did out of the darkness it was weird, uncanny, terrible. It was the echo oil the battlefield-the Bound that heralded a bloody victory. And then, with the four divisions of torch- bearers circling the entire ground five paces apart, the bands that held the centre of the field broke forth into that most beautiful of solemn melodies- Handel's Lovely Peace." As it died away into silence the trumpets again broke forth into a quick step, to be followed by the stirring music of the Coronation March from the massed bands. Kaiser Wilhelm's "march came next, and after it the drums and pipes rattled out Sir Colin Campbell's March." Other marches followed; Punjaub," "Cock o' the North," "Mony Musk," —a strathspey this—and the Reel o' Tulloch," that set all toes going. Last came "Rule Bri- tannia" from the massed bands. and as the Kinrr J drove off, God save the King." -0 The Guards marched out, and Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and England swung off to their famous national airs, Garry Owen," Scotland Yet." Ap Shenkin," and The Bonnie English Rose." The Last Post" sounded from the bugles in its melancholy good night, and the great military tattoo was over. With its ending came the rain once more, drop- ping down with steady persistence on the wet grass and muddy roads, over which the spectators were hurrying homewards. THE KING CATCHES A CHILL. I On Sunday morning the King was unable to attend Divine Service, having contracted a chill, but the Queen and other members of the Royal party were present, and during the day they visited the Cambridge Hospital. An Aldershot corres- pondent reported on Sunday night that there was no cause for anxiety as to his Majesty's condition. Sir Francis Laking, who was called in, giving a good report of his august patient, who was able to rise from his couch in the evening. THE KING RECOVERING. I JOURNEY TO WINDSOR. I Although the King was reported to be recovering satisfactorily from his indisposition, his Majesty, by the advice of his physicians, did not attend the Aldershot review on Monday, his place being taken by the Queen. It was pleasing to all the King's loyal people to be authoritatively assured that no alarm need be felt concerning his Majesty's condition. In view, however, of the great fatigues to which he will be subjected during next week's festivities, his Majesty's physicians have advised him to keep as quiet as possible and to husband his strength. Meanwhile the King has been able to walk about the Royal apartments and to receive his distin- guished guests. The King and Queen drove from Aldershot to Windsor on Monday evening in a closed carriage drawn by four horses, with postillions. They passed through Bagshot, Ascot, and Windsor Great Park. There were frequent showers of rain on the way, but his Majesty was in no way incon- venienced, and performed the journey very com- fortably. The Royal Standard was unfurled on the Round Tower as their Majesties arrived within sight of the castle. A large crowd had gathered on Castle Hill, and their Majesties received a most enthusi- astic welcome. The King looked very well, although rather fatigued, and the Queen appeared to be in excel- lent health. The Prince and Princess of Wales and Princess Victoria arrived at Windsor by special train at 4.50. The Prince informed the mayor that the King was much better, but had considered it ad- visable to journey to Windsor by road. His Royal Highness added that his Majesty was rapidly re- covering, but was still troubled with slight pains. The Prince and Princess and Princess Victoria drove in a closed carriage to Frogmore. His Majesty's chill proved to be more serious than as at first anticipated, and he had suffered a good deal of pain. The royal physicians were de- lighted to get their patient to the castle, where there are greater facilities for treating the ailment than at Aldershot. Sir Francis Laking has been in constant attendance on his Majesty. The King gave a dinner party on Monday even- ing in the dining-room in, the Prince of Wales's Tower, the Gothic furniture in which is said to have been designed by Pugin. The band of the Scots Guards was stationed outside the room, and played a delightful programme of music. THE QUEEN'S REVIEW. I THIRTY THOUSAND TROOPS SALUTE HER I MAJESTY. By eight o'clock on Monday the boots of nearly seven and twenty thousand men on foot, and the hoofs of nigh upon 4,000 horses were squelching through the sodden turf, as the troops took up their stations for the great review on Lallan's Plain, Aldershot. Overhead the clouds, heavy and slow-passing, first shook out sheets of water and then breathed a soft and clinging mist upon the spacious valley. Bv nine o'clock the long straight avenues that lead from Aldershot were black with thousands of spectators splashing through the thick red mud beneath umbrellas. Hard upon the people toiling on foot came strings of carriages, which passe 1 to the long, 1 low ridge that stretches east and west of the little mound called Bridge Hill, where was the salut- ing base. Soon all the ridge was full of vehicles, those upon the Royal Standards left bearing a host of Indian princes and their trains. A little further on Mr. Seddon, New Zealand's burly Premier, was perched upon a waggon of the A.S.C. Beside him on another waggon were the officers who form the suite of the Japanese Prince Komatsu. Upon their left was Mr. Borden, War Minister for Canada. By this time the mass of troops had all taken up their stand upon the valley's further side, lined in a long red streak against the belt of pine trees, that showed black with wet against the sky line. From the far right, where the Engineers were posted at the valley's foot, to the far left, where beyond the hundred guns of the Horse and Field Artilleries the cavalry brigade was clustered in a brilliant group, the distance was a mile and a half. Midway between the Royal Standard and the long line of troops, in the centre of the plain that stretched level as a table's surface, but green and miry as an Irish bog, were the Highland Light Infantry, to whom the new colour was to be presented, and whose colours, new and old, were to be trooped. PRESENTATION OF COLOURS. As the time drew on and eleven o clock approached, people looked anxiously around wondering if the King would come. And as they cast about some scarlet-coated troopers of the Scots Greys came jogging from the west, and behind them rode Lord Roberts and the splendidly appointed officers of the Headquarters Staff. Then came the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Connaught by his side, and at their backs their staffs and a little host of military attaches in uniforms of many hues. Just as the Prince came riding from the west, the Queen came driving from the east. In the carriage on her Majesty's left hand was the Princess of Wales and opposite Princess Victoria. A second carriage bore the Duchess of Con- naught and Princess Margaret. As the two royal parties gained the saluting base and met, the bands across the plain struck up "God Save the King." In the distance over twenty thousand rifles leaped to the salute, and the brigttness of the pipe-clayed,fle-slings turned in an instant the long strip of red into a long strip of white. The Prince, a gallant figure in his scarlet coat as Colonel of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, took the salute, and then the Queen's carriage moved down and stayed beside the King's and regi- mental colours of the Highland Infantry that were crossed upon the pile of drums. The sky was now brighter, and the rain had ceased to fall. First, while the shrill bagpipes wailed for "Auld Lang Syne," the flags of the old colour were played before the troops, and afterwards the simple service for the new colour's consecra- tion was begun. When the voices of the men chanting "Brightly Gleams our Banner" were silent, the Queen took the colours and placed them in the colour-sergeant's hands while he rested on his bended knee. Her Majesty, in presenting the colours, addressed the battalion as follows: — "In the King's name I eonfide these colours to you. May God bless them and your excel- lent regiment." Meantime the troops across the plain had been moving westward like some drifting crimson cloud, and now the Queen, who took the King's place at the saluting base, being seated in her carriage beneath the Royal Standard, the great march past began. The first to lower his sword and take the Queen's bow was the Prince of Wales, who as colonel of the Royal Marine Artillery led that corps in the van. THREE MILES OF INFANTRY. Behind the red and blue Marines came the j five infantry divisions, three miles of troops, Militia for the most part, sweeping past in wave on wave of scarlet till the h«ead grew dizzy with the blaze of colour and the endless movement of the tramping of men. And every time the the tramping of men. And every time the colours of these almost countless regiments passed her bv the Queen bowed her head. Only now and again the passing of well-known figures broke the long monotony of all that splendour. That was when for the second time the Prince came down iiie line, upon this occasion heading his own Welsh Fusiliers, and the Duke of Con- naught, a splendid figure in his Highland costume, led past his Scotsmen. The wiry figure of Lord Roberts rode on a giant charger before the men of Derby. And after the long array of men on foot that took more than an hour to pass came the bat- teries, both Horse and Field, the drivers sitting stiff as statues and the wheels of all the hundred guns dressed in beautiful precision. And after them a cloud of horsemen, the 21st Lancers, with pale-blue plastrons they wen in Egypt, in the van. And after them Dragoons in gleaming helmets and Hussars in braid. The King's Colonials followed with Lord Chesham at their head, and after them a strong brigade of Yeomanry, looking very soldierly and fit. Last of all the Army Service Corps, with horses and with waggons, the trimmest and the handiest troops of all that marching host. CAVALRY MARCH PAST. The weary eyes had scarcely time to glance across the fresh green of the empty plain, from whose far borders the infantry were marching home, when the 4000 horsemen wheeled about to pass a second time before the Queen. They did not gallop, as it had been designed they should, for the passing of 30,006 men had left the wet turf dangerous, and the Queen had ordered they should trot. So they came trotting, the bulk of the gleaming, swaying horsemen half hidden behind the forest of the Lancers' flutter- ing pennons as they came on. They passed, and the review was over, and to the playing of the National Anthem by the four cavalry brigades' massed bands Queen and Prince drove and rode through cheers back to the Royal Pavilion. Lord Roberts, Lieutenant-General Kelly- Kenny, Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Hildyard, and Brigadier-General the Hon. Sir F. Stopford had the honour of lunching with her Majesty and the Royal Family after the parade. THE KING'S CONVALESCENCE. I The King was officially reported to be much I better on Tuesday morning. His Majesty did not, however, for prudential reasons, accompany the Queen to Ascot, but in the afternoon went out for a drive in a closed carriage in the Royal grounds, and remained out for three-quarters of all hour, attended by his private secretary. The King returned to the Castle shortly before e o'clock by way of the Long Walk, which was thronged with spectators awaiting the return of the Queen and the cavalcade from Ascot. Only a very few persons were aware that it was the King's carriage, but those who recognised it saluted his Majesty, who graciously acknow- ledged their salutations. His Majesty appeared to be in very good health. The weather was beautifully fine throughout the afternoon, with the exception of a slight shower soon after the Royal party left for Ascot. The Queen, the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Duke of Cam- bridge, and other distinguished visitors left Ascot shortly before 5.30, and arrived at Windsor Castle by way of the Long Walk and the Sovereign's entrance exactly at 6 o'clock. Thousands of spectators cheered her Majesty, who smilingly acknowledged their salutations. Ir the evening the King and Queen gave a dinner party at the Castle, covers being laid for 60. Although no official bulletin wits issued on Tues- day evening, it was stated that his Majesty's progress towards complete convalescence was well maintained. THE QUEEN AND THE ALDERSHOT REVIEW. j lhe following message from the Queen was published on Tuesday in the orders of the First Army Corps by the General Officer Commanding at Aldershot, Lieutenant-General Sir H. J. T. Hildyard Royal Review, June 16. The Lieutenant-General Commanding has been directed by the Commander-in-Chief to inform the troops that the Queen (in the unavoid- able absence of the King owing to indisposition) has been pleased to express the pleasure which the appearance and soldierlike bearing of the troops reviewed gave her Majesty. The Lieutenant-General, in notifying her Majesty gracious approval, desires to thank the com- manders and troops for the manner in which, in spite of the most inclement weather, they turned out for the occasion.

LADY'S MAID'S ROMANCE. Miss Marie Keher, a lady's maid, suea Albert j Durnont, a hairdresser, in Mr. Justice Grantham's f Court on Saturday to recover £ 126. jj Miss Reher said that she met the defendant, who, like herself, was a German, through an ad- 1 vertisement in the Matrimonial News." She lent I him £ 30 for the purpose of hie business, of which I £ 4 was repaid, and £ 100 to be devoted to a board- | ing house which they were to keep when they were 1 married. She afterwards found that he was already jj married, and demanded repayment, when he gave | her two post-dated cheques for £ 25 each. j The defendant admitted borrowing £ 100, but J repudiated the other loan. He said that Min | Reher accepted the two cheques in full settle- f ment.. j Judgment was given for the plaintiff for £ 128 I with costs. j

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THE SUFFOLK TRAGEDY. The inquiry into the circumstances attending the death of Rose Anne Harsant, a young domestic servant in the employment of Mr. and Mrs. Crisp, Providence House, Peasonhall, Suffolk, who on Sunday morning, June 1, was found by her father lying dead in the kitchen of the house with her throat out and her body severely burned, was resumed on Monday at Peason- hall. The back parlour of the Swan public- house, a picturesque little hostelry on the fringe of a wood, was utilised as a court room. Great interest was taken in the case by the villagers. It was expected that William Gardiner, the man who now lies in Ipswich Gaol charged with the murder of the girl, would attend the inquest, but, acting on Vie advice of his solicitor, Mr. Layton, Ipswich, who represented him at Monday's proceedings, he did not appear. Dr. C. Edward Ley, Peasonhall, recalled, said he was called to Providence House at 8.40 on the Sunday morning in question. He recognised a broken bottle lying near the dead girl as one he had given Mrs. Gardiner with medicine for her children. The label on the bottle was his, and it bore in his writing the words, For Mrs. Gardiner's children." Witness made a post-mortem examination of the body, which he found to have on it a considerable amount of superficial charring. There was no doubt this had been done after death. On the neck there was a deep, jagged, irregular wound. Deatliwas caused by the wounds in the neck and the cutting of the windpipe. He was of opinion that the wounds could not have been self-inflicted. The foreman of the jury said the evidence now given by this witness differed in some respects from the statement made to him when the warrant was applied for. Witness replied that when the label was brought to him by the police the first time it was covered with blood, and saturated with paraffin, and he thought that the writing on it was "For Mrs. Gardiner's sister." Since then he had had the label sent to him in a comparatively clean condi- tion for further examination, and as the result of that he came to the conclusion that the writing on it was as he now stated to the Court-" For Mrs. Gardiner's children." In answer to Mr. Layton, witness said that the instrument which severed the windpipe must have been very sharp. When he saw the body the girl had been dead, he thought, not less than four hours and not more than six. Dr. Ryder Richardson corroborated this evi- dence, and said the wounds were of such a nature that they could not have been self-inflicted. Mrs. Crisp, the girl's mistress, was recalled, and fixed the time at which she heard a scream in the fixed the time at which she heard a scream in the house and a sound as of someone falling at between twelve and one. It was during the thunderstorm which broke over the village about that time. The inquest was then adjourned for a fort- night.

PROCEEDINGS IN PARLIAMENT. I THAMES EMBANKMENT TRAMWAY. The Earl of Morley, replying to Lord Newton in the House of Peers on Monday, said the two London County Council Tramways bills would be before the House on Monday next. Several private bills were advanced a stage, and their lord- ships adjourned. I CORONATION QUESTIONS. Several questions in the House of Commons on Monday had reference to the Coronation. Mr. Balfour told Mr. P. O'Brien that it was not in- tended to move an Address to the Throne in con- nection with the celebration. The Government proposed to adjourn the session of the Chamber from the end of the afternoon sitting of Wednes- day in next week till the following Tuesday, ia- elusive. THE FRENCH AND FAD-EL-ALLAH. Mr. Chamberlain informed Mr. C. Hobhouse that the fight between French troops and Fad-el- Allah, on August 23 last, took place 120 miles within British territory, but at the time we had no military occupation whatever in the region, and, concluded the Colonial Secretary, I do not know that it is necessary to make any representations to a friendly country." I MILITARY EDUCATION. To Colonel Legge, who wanted facilities during the discussion of the Army Estimates for the de- bate of the report of the Committee on Military Education, Mr. Balfour replied that probably the House would have more material for argument when it was seen what action the Government con- templated taking in the matter. THE GRAIN TAX. In Committee on the Finance Bill the Chan- cellor of the Exchequer consented to exempt locust beans from the operation of the registration duty, and to reduce the tax on grain offals from 3d. to Hd. per cwt. At the evening sitting, Sir M. Hicks-Beach intimated that he would con- sider whether it was possible to make a dis- tinction between maize and other cereals. There was no doubt, he said, that in Ireland maize was an article of food of the very poor, and if he could make any alteration in the direction desired he would personally be glad to do so. I NAVAL MATTERS. On the motion of the Earl of Selborne, the Royal Naval Reserve Volunteers' Bill, which indemnifies the Admiralty for the illegality they committed by forming a branch of the reserve in Newfoundland, was read a second time by the House of Lords on Tuesday. Answering a series of questions by the Earl of Wilton, the First Lord of the Treasury gave reasons for not in- creasing the armour of the cruisers of the Mon- mouth class to meet the improvements in foreign ordnance, declared that the plate-piercing shells adopted by some other navies were, in the opinion of. experts, not good enough for ours, gave an assurance that all efforts were being made to obtain a powder that would meet their full requirements, and laid stress on the import- ance of every officer knowing that "his primary and most important duty was to make the men under him the best shots in the world." THE EDUCATION BILL. No statement of much importance was elicited in the House of Commons on Tuesday during question time, and after an announcement by Mr. Balfour with regard to the arrangement of business, the committee stage of the Education Bill was resumed, Clause I being eventually agreed to by a majority of 183. MINISTERIAL MAJORITY 19. At the evening sitting of the House of Com- mons on Tuesday, the Licensing Bill was again taken, and Mr. Broadhurst nearly scored a vie- l tory against the Government. He moved a new clause to compel publicans to supply non-in- toxicating refreshments to travellers. He found it very difficult to get tea at a public-house. "But the licensed victualler is not compelled to supply anything," objected the Home Secretary,, "and the hon. member wants to make him sell something he does not sell. It was different with the inn-keeper." "If I want tea at a public- house I ought to be able to get it," said Mr. Burns, and Mr. Bousfield and Captain Seely sup- ported the new clause. A division brought the majority of the Governmnet down to 19—the figures being 154 to 173. =

LOYAL DEMOCRACY. MR. SEDDON ON FREE TRADE WITHIN TH31 EMPIRE. Mr. Seddon was the principal guest at the sixth annual New Zealand banquet held in London on Tuesday night. The Hon. W. P. Reeves, Agent- General, presided, and the company of over 400 included Sir E. Montague Nelson, the Earl of Onslow, Lord Strathcona, Sir E. S. Dawes, Mr. R. B. Haldane, the Hon. Henry Copeland, the Hon. A. Dobson, Sir Walter Buller, the Kitikiro of Uganda, Captain Hobart, Sir H. Tozer, and a number of M.P.'s. Lord Onslow, proposing the health of the guest of the evening, said that there had never been a Government so loyal and so imbued with the Imperial spirit as the democratic Government of New Zealand, which proved that there was nothing incompatible between Radicalism and loyalty. While England sent out 315,000 men to South Africa, New Zealand, with the same population, would have sent out 360,000. Mr. Seddon said of the legislative changes effected in New Zealand that while their pro- moters were at first misunderstood, time had proved that what they did in departing from old and well-known lines was in the best interests of the Colony, of humanity, and of the Empire. They had had the usual surplus. This year it was only E270,000, but they had a non-recurring abnormal expenditure of over E200,000, including that of the entertaining of their Royal guests. On an ordinary expenditure the surplus would have been close upon half a million. As the result of legislation which was regarded as some- what Socialistic at the time it was passed, they had very little crime in New Zealand, no unem- ployed, no poverty, but a free and enlightened and happy people. Mr. Seddon went on to refer to certain misrepresentations which he said had been made with respect to the proposals of the Colonies concerning preferential trade with the Mother-country. It would be some time before < the finances of the self-governed Colonies could be adjusted so as to give free trade throughout ¡ the Empire. He did not believe there was a single Colony which would not be prepared to give a ¡ preference to the manufacturers of the Mother- ) country, and to give a rebate to those goods which were carried in British ahips..