It is announced that Sir Algernon Borthwick has returned from Invercauld to his place at Hampstead-heath. Invercauld is an expensive luxury; the rent alone is over £5,000 a year. Sir Algernon nevertheless has burdened himself with the place for several years. In addition, he has a fine house in Piccadilly, where, during the season, Lady Borthwick and he entertain largely and sumptuously the light and leading of the Tory party.
All this is a great vindication of the principle of cheap newspapers. When, a few years ago, the Morning Post was published at threepence, the income was what the Americans call slim; and the whole future of the paper was uncertain. But Sir Algernon, in a moment of inspiration, thought of reducing the paper to a penny. There was horror and desolation of spirit in the whole staff and among the world of fashion, who saw in such a deed a final and fatal acknowledgement of the reign of an unbridled democracy. The business people shook their heads, and that eminent newspaper authority, Mr. W. H. Smith, asked through his subordinates the simple question whether it was necessary to make any addition to his small order.
The results have justified Sir Algernon's confidence with a promptitude almost as startling as the success of the Star. The circulation of the paper rushed up immediately, and there was an even more astounding increase in the advertisements. The advertising columns, indeed, of the Morning Post are now a sight to make the mouth of every newspaper man water. It is the increase of advertising in the Morning Post which accounts for that dreadful diminution in the advertising of the Times which has wrought such a disastrous change in the revenue of that journal.
Sir Algernon, with £40,000 a year, can wander over miles of Scotch heather that owns him for temporary lord; can lead the giddy cotillon in the splendor of a Piccadilly palace; and can then retire to the invigorating breezes and the refreshing quiet of a fine house in Hampstead. Great is the democratic penny, and it shall prevail.
Lord Randolph Churchill must often lament that an evil destiny did not permit him to enter trade, and especially the trade of journalism. He has that instinctive knowledge of what the public likes, that promptitude in admitting the new needs and the new moods of the day which are a large part of the true journalist's stock-in-trade. If Mr. Walter would only dismiss the silly Buckle and the lumbering Macdonald, and get Lord Randolph to take their place, he might avert the coming ruin of the once wealthy journal. As it is, Lord Randolph has returned to his house in Connaught-place. He is said to be in good health and spirits, but during the vacation his condition was not always satisfactory. His relations with his party are somewhat strained. They come crawling to him for advice in all their difficulties, and then, instead of gratitude, take every opportunity of abusing and underrating him.
The body of a lad about 14 years old was taken from the Thames, off Limehouse Hole, this morning. He was dressed in tweed suit, lace-up boots, white cotton shirt, and flannel singlet.
Sir Charles Warren issued a proclamation on Saturday to the effect that no other procession than that of the Lord Mayor is to be allowed on 9 Nov. But "an enemy came while he slept," and yesterday morning a large proportion of the proclamations were found to read "no other procession but that of the Socialists." Printed slips with the latter word upon them had been gummed over the "Lord Mayor." The police were busy yesterday restoring the originals.
Mandalay appears to be in a somewhat excited state. The Mandalay Herald reports that the streets are patrolled nightly by cavalry and mounted infantry.
"Lord" Ogilvy Goes to an Asylum.
The gentleman who gave the name of Lord Ogilvy, of 101, Piccadilly, when charged at the Greenwich police-court last week with being drunk and disorderly at Black-heath, was on Saturday taken from the Lewisham Workhouse to Barming Heath Asylum, near Maidstone. He is not "Lord" Ogilvy, but is a member of the Earl of Airlie's family, and has been three or four times under restraint. For some years he practised as a surveyor and architect.
During the hearing of an action for slander, which opened on Saturday and occupied the Court to-day, the attention of Justice Stephen was attracted to a juror who appeared to be relieving the tedium of a not very interesting case by reading a newspaper. His lordship asked the juror what he was doing with the paper, but received no immediate answer, and then inquired pointedly whether he was reading it. The juror replied, "No." The judge reminded jurors that if they should be found reading a newspaper while on duty in the jury-box during the hearing of a case they would be heavily fined.
Alfred Miller lived alone at 295, Wick-road, Hackney, and was looked upon as a hermit. He had not been seen for some days, and the door was forced yesterday and his dead body found on the floor.
On Saturday night a passenger whose name is unknown jumped overboard from the Calais mail packet while crossing the Channel, and was drowned.
Dr. Debenham, house physician at the London Hospital, stated at an inquest on Saturday that diphtheria in the East-end had increased to the proportions of an epidemic. The hospital admitted none but extreme cases. He believed they had received most of the urgent cases from Hackney. The father of the child on whom the inquest was held stated that where he lived at Walthamstow there were no sewers, the sewage being drained into cesspools at the rear of the houses. Each cesspool was common to several houses, and at times the stench was horrible.
OXFORD J.P.'S HAVE AN UNPLEASANT DUTY.
But they Convict a Gentleman of Indecency and Sentence Him to 18 Weeks - Potter Leaves Half a Million - Brisk Butchering on the Black Mountain - Welsh Workmen Worsted.
At Oxford on Saturday Mr. W. H. Speer, an independent gentleman, formerly of Trinity College, Cambridge, residing at 99, Banbury-road, Oxford, surrendered to answer for charges of indecent conduct to females. The evidence in three of the cases was very strong against the prisoner. - Mr. Howard Barrett, of 3, Tavistock-square, London, said he had known Mr. Speer for 18 years, and recently he had been under his care. His general constitutional condition was greatly at fault; he was in a state of extreme nervous prostration, and the action of his heart was slow. - Rev. M. R. F. St. John, vicar of Chelmsford, canon of Gloucester; Rev. L. Borrison, chaplain of Trinity College, Cambridge; and Rev. G. Thomson, assistant master of Malvern College, gave evidence as to the good character of the accused. Mr. Acland contended that whilst the defendant's conduct was extremely unwise, it was not such as to bring him within the criminal law. Mr. Thornhill said the magistrates had a very unpleasant duty to perform, to convict a person of respectable position and of good education. They found Mr. Speer guilty in three cases, and for each he would be sentenced to six weeks imprisonment with hard labor, the imprisonment not to be concurrent but consecutive. Mr. Acland intimated that notice of appeal would be given. The Chairman said the usual notice would have to be given and the magistrates would then take bail for the prisoner in £1,000 and two sureties of £500. The prisoner, is 24 years of age, and was married only a short time ago. He was removed in custody.
An accident occurred on Saturday afternoon at Drury-lane Theatre. In act iv. of "The Armada," where Spanish and English engage in a fight, one of the supers accidentally discharged a carbine loaded with blank cartridge in the face of an opponent instead of firing the weapon in the air. The man's injuries were only slight, and he was allowed to go.
Two Italians, one of whom was playing an organ and also had a cage of "fortune-telling birds," were surrounded by a throng of persons at Aldershot on Saturday. Among them was Stirling, who refused to give the collector, Préte, any money, whereupon Préte drew a long knife or stiletto and made a violent plunge at Stirling's breast. The latter raised his arm to parry the point, and received a deep wound on the shoulder-blade. Préte effected his escape from the infuriated people. His companion, Zarallo, had his cage smashed by Stirling's comrade, and the released birds flew off. Later in the evening Préte was arrested.
How to Dispose of "The Star."
SIR, - Will you please let me back up the good suggestion of "L. L. G.," in a recent issue, about sending the Stars down into the country? I live in a dark place where a London morning paper costs 2l. a day. This is a bigger tax than I can pay, but a benovolent Radical lady (God bless her!) posts me your brilliant "Little Twinkler" from London almost every day. I wish we could get the village reading-rooms supplied with this paper. What do you think of a parson near here? He was anxious that his parish should not be behind the times, so he gathered the people together and they started a reading-room. Of course the cottagers knew nothing about London dailies, so the parson kindly arranged things for them. It was all to be very fair. No favor was to be shown to any political party. O dear no! So they have the Times on the table because that is of strictly neutral politics, the Standard because that is Conservative, and the Telegraph because that is Liberal! The magnanimity of our rural magnates is very beautiful to behold! Last night, at another village near the former, I was asking an intelligent laboring man how their new reading-room flourished. "Well," said he, "the chaps don't seem to care for the papers; they spend all the time at the bagatelle board." Let the people send The Star to these dark places, and it is wonderful what a save there will be in wear and tear of bagatelle boards. - Yours, &c.,
Gloucestershire.
SIR, - The advice of your correspondent "L. L. G." is both sensible and timely. When The Star first appeared I sent several copies to friends in the country villages who were most likely to make it known.
If every reader of your fearless paper would act upon "L. L. G.'s" advice they would promote the cause of Irish freedom, of justice, and of downright Liberalism.
A DISGUSTED ONE - Thanks. We know of the newsboys' trick of shouting "Star" and selling other evening papers instead to the unwary, and we are trying to meet it.
