New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1884-05-18

RELATING TO VARIOUS PROMINENT PER-
SONS

Tho secesslon of Mr.. Q'COnnOr Power from 'ht
,arks of the Parnellites is an event of good omen
for the cause of good order and government III ire
land In is no doubt true that Mr.. OCOnnor rover
has long been separate in spirit from the oand
omo,g whom he sat. His treatment of public
affairs has been widely different from that of his
nominal colleagues He was one CT those men who
Thought il possible to prove their devotion to Ire
land by other means than vulgar abuse oil England
or mere obstruction or tacit sanction Of outrage
and murder As speaker there is no man on the
Irish benches to he compared with him. nor has he
many superiors in any part of the House Now that
he has taken his place among independent Liberals,
it will he interesting to note what sort of criticism
Irish journals bestow on him. He is above the sus-
p:cion Of interested motives He probably sacrl-
fees what a little complasance to Mr.. Parnell
would have made a safe seat for the county which
he represents If il should turn out that the voters
of Mayo prefer any nobody whom Mr.. Parnel chooses
10 nominate to a man of brilliant abilities who has
served them faithfully in Parliament. 50 much the
worse for them and for Ireland
The business of the Empire stood still last night
for ten minutes in order that the Home SecI etary
might explain to an interested House of Commons
why he had been sucd in the County Court for $50
worth Of flowers. He had been sned. he had failed
to appear. Judgment had gone against him. and the
case had got into the papers. Worse than all, the
flowers had been supplied at Oxford while sir
William Harcourt a candidate for Parliament.
and the Tories wanted to know whether the flowers
had not been used for corrupting the constituency
The report OF Sir Williams speech on this moment
Gus topic fills nearly half a column. and Is inter
spersed with the laughter and cheers whiSh show
how closely the House followed the orator. The
legislators of Great Britain listened with attention
while one of Her Majesty's Principal Secretaries of
State explained how the account had been sent to
him and filed away by his private secretary how
the summons had been left with young fOOtman
who with the intelligence characteristic of his
class left il on the hall table; how the second
housemaid /" with the assiduity peculiar to that
class of persons mixed it up with old newspapers
and so the law was put in motion without the
knowledge of its august victim. The flowers, one is
happy to hear were for domestic use; were in fact
ordered by Sir Williams son. And the Home See
rotary concluded with a burst of elOquence surely
worth transferring even to your crowded columns.
s. If the honorable meu.be for GuillOTd suppOses
that these flowers were bought with some dark de-
sign of corruptng the constituency of Oxford can
assure him that is not the case {; they were supplied
entirely to my own family and not 10 the electors
and while am sorry to think that my connection
with the town of Oxford should have terminated,
the fact remains that though the vase is shattered
the scent of the flowers will hang round it still
And with this pleasing proof that under the burden
OF departmental duties the Home Secretary has not
wholly forgotten his Moore the incident ended.
What grown-up boys these grave NJ. P's at times
are.
The great fire at Whiteleys on Saturday is re-
markabe for more reasons than Humane
presence of mind in the policeman who ordered the
two hundred horses TO be cut loose deserved more
honor than il has received. The papers do not even
print the poiceman's name. The loss half a
million sterling and the fact that "a fire of that
magnitude in a crowded ncghbOrhoOd was got
under control in a few hOurs-n fact never allowed
TO extend beyond the building in which it began-
is honorable TO the Fire Brigade which Captain
Shaw commands.
Whiteley's is an immense store, the owner of
which finds pleasure in denominating himself the
Univ ersal PrOvider The growth of this great es-
tablishment has impoverished numbers of small
tradesmen Its owner is hated accordingly all the
more so because he began business by cutting down
prices ana has confirmed to undcrsell his lesser
rivals. Between this hatred and the occurrence OF
three fires Oh Whteey's premises within less than
two years some people think there is a connection
of cause and effect. There is proof and the sus-
pcion is CHASTITY one, but | am told it is pretty
commonly credited by Whtsey's customers.
Little or nothing however, will you hear Of this
in print Aud yet the interviewer has seen Mr.
Whiteley / say " the" interviewer because there
is far know, but one in London. ana there Is
some reason TO suppose he Will for a time continue
to he the only one Mr.. WhIteley tells his story in
an interesting way. 1t is an old story.-thc story
of the man who comes to London with a five pound
note in his pocket and an idea in his head Mr.
Whiteley's ideas grew in number with prosperity
but lie still sums them mp under the commonplace
heads, Honesty Small Profits and Quick Returns
and No Credit Besides which he went t. sunday
school. and will not sell milk because II involves
Sunday labor on the part of the COW as we'll as OF
the dealer he is careful t. explain. In early life he
went through the usual routine-was clerk and sales
man and even bagman for some years, started
shop of bis Own and succeeded from the first. Now
his warehouses cover more acres than he can count
and lie employs 5000 men and women the
premises. And with the single exception of milk
above mentioned, there is article for which he
will not take an order" an ironcad, a wife or
child it Is all the to me- receive yOur order
and execute it in the ordinary course" And just as
readily after big fire as before for it is but por
ton Of this huge concern which the flames have
consumed.
A story used TO be current of a bet between two
men at club that an order could be sent to
whitley which he woad not execute The order
was for a secondhand coffin and it was filed. The
loser Of the bet inquired of Mr.. Whiteley how the
coffin came to justify its description as secondhand
. Sir" answered the Universal Provider, " it was
msft."
Mr.. Barrett has abandoned his attempt to keep
. Yorich's Love" the boards OF the Lyceum
during his seven weeks season. The British public
simply would not go to see il. last night he APP
peared in Richelieu." Never think. has the Ly-
ceum on first night offered so singular a spectacle
In front Five boxes remained all the evening with
drawn curtains, and the stalls were not more than
two thirds full. There were, however many dis
tingulshed Americans, including Mr.. Henry James,
sir Abbey, Mr. Parsons. General Merritt Mr.
Walker Consul- General in France Senator Window