New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1884-05-11
NOTES FROM LONDON.
AR. GLADsTONE-OCEAN SHIPPlNG-Akf
AND LITERATURE.


no living equal He told the House of Commons on
Monday that General Gordon at Khartoum was not
surrounded; he was hemmed in. The House SHOW
ing some slight amazement. Mr.. Gladstone pro-
cecacl TO say that by homred in he understood lat
there are bodies of hostile troops in the nelghooi'
bootl Of Kharoum, forming more or less vi o"''
around it, g draw a distinction, added 'ho L i''"o
Minister " between that and the town oeius 'u'
rounded which would bear technically a very
different meaning" 1t is just possible that INC u''
tnc,ien may not be quite so satisfactory 10
Gordon as il seems to be to Mr. GLADSTONE ~ ""'
not IN the House. 1t is not to the country whioh
once again is showing signs Of Impotence WIN '"o
course of aIiairS in Egypt; mpatience hot uiiiiAo'
with indignation.
The remarkable passage of the oregon Vi tno
Onion line. naturally gives rise to comment III tho
rn.,;sh press Six days. ten hours ten minutes
heats the record" to piece OF sporting slang
NV some twelve hours, and people are already an
t;cinatnr that the odd hours and minutes will soon
bo knocked of and the old Atlantic have to confess
thai she can be crossed in clean six days. Al the
same time the financial condition of some OF inc
Steamship companies surprises those.w look upon
Atlantic voyaging an experience OF unm'Xeo III,
umpb Truth. which is an authority on finance ana
n very ontspoken one sums up the condition Oh the
Cunard Company in few plain figures:
Four years ago the owners OF the Cunard sie i
felt mnelicd to allow the public to snare III me"
rro6ts TLov therefore converted their assets INTO
Limited Liability Company, when was ~. p,o1 ~
ont with n capitaf of 81 100000 On tue ntst
year per cent paid, on tho second year per per
cent on The third year per cent ana on ,o iaSS
financial year nothing inc ~ So t,oi,e of the
ouoted at eli III the market: nc Valuc vi ,,Io
concern has sunk. therefore, i'll four years uou n
fI 600 900 to 4SS0.O00. and on this tooo'ooo
there is 10 dividend
The Cmard Company however, has contracted
LII, Idar.l IN bntprS
and Oregon for two new steamers. slightly larger
than the Oregon of 1928 tons and $4,000 horse
mower each They will cost perhaps quarter OF
million sterling apiece. Their means are OF
course amply sufficient for the purpose
The truth which Mr.. Labouchere misses
is That tho Cunard owners found themselves with
Aoct of obsolete ships incapable of competing with
the newer and faster ships OF rival companies
They sold of their stock to company com
petition has since been fercer than ever ana
tho present company is building ships of modern
TYNE The Servia was beginning and is good
and fast ship. Then came the Aurania, which met
with an accident her first voyage last year TO
New.York and was laid up repairing till now re-
aiming ber service last week. The new Etrura
and Umbria will be ready. suppose, next year
Depression In the shipping trade is far from
being confined to the Cunard Company. Other
croat transatlantic companies share in it, and the
whole kingdom shares in 1t. Few shpowners are
earning money in any class of trade. At great
port ships are laid up In tiers, and the competition
for remuncrative freghts is keen as generally to
reduce them to the point where they cease to be re-
muneratIve at all. Never so much capital
locked up in non-paying ships. The sailors suffer
with the shpowners. Perhaps the most curious
piece of testimony to the prevailing misery is to be
found IN tho fact that the sailors believe Mr. Cham
berlaip's Merchant Shipping bill Is expressly de-
signed with view to restoring prosperity 10 the
trade and securing livelihood to themselves. That
Is not an intelligent view but 1t is most Significant
The change of the sailing day by the Guion ships
in New-York from Tuesday to Saturday has
marked effect OH the delivery of the New-York and
Joudon mails There being no departure from
New-York on Tuesday, allsthe American mails from
Sunday to Wednesday are necessarily forwarded by
the fastest steamship leaving on Wednesday,
Luckily the North German Lloyds have put ON Tour
shps of great speed and by them we generally get
these Sunday to Wednesday mails on Friday OF the
week following. The Servia tCunarderD brought
them last week; arrived at Queenstown at ll:io
a. M on Thursday, fifteen minutes too late for the
express to London, and her mails weretherefore not
delivered here till Saturday mOrning-takng two
DAYS or nearly one-fourth the whole voyage from
New-York to 60 from Queenstown to London. Such
is the beautiful energy of the much-overpraised
British Post Office. On this same Saturday arrived
Mt Queenstown the Now-YorG mails leaving on the
previous Saturday by the Guon ship Alaska, and
these were delivered In London on Monday. The
Intermediates Thursday mail by the Baltic was de-
llyored the same day The result is therefore that
the whole seven days American mail now reaches
London on two days. Friday and Monday, or Satur-
day and Monday. And such seems likely to be the
rule of the future.
Tho friends of the hdeous in art are again be-
stirrinQ themselves in behalf of the equestrian
statue of the Duke of Wellington. motley cohort
with Mr. Peter Rylands at the head, Lord Randolph
Churchill as rear guard. and Sir Robert Peel host
In himself fought for il on Tuesday ID the House OF
Commons. In House of over 100 Mr.. Shaw
Lcfevre could get but three majority for a vote of
900 necessary to carry out the present scheme OF
cartiug this monstrosity away to Aldershot and set
ting up O new statue by Mr.. Boehm in place of 1t.
Probably in no other country In the world would so
desperate stand be made in favor of retaining
statue condemned by every competent voice. Its
advocates confess with charming simplicity that
they do not care whether il is good OF bad in point
of art Ii is a memorial 10 the Duke, he sat for IT
TO the departed Wyatt. and Wyatt was an English
man. while Mr. Boehm, admittedly the first sculptor
in England and an X. A., was born abroad. And 50
the wrange goes If Mr.. ShawLefevre had
found IL POSSIBLE 10 ACT Will mole Piohp'hcoS VII
the decision of last year, and move the thing off
once for all lie might have avoided all this present
dispute Once-at Aldershot the boldost partisan of
the inariist would hardly have proposed to bring
ii back
IL is interesting to note that the attempt to secure
O new statue by competition fell through. The
leading in the profession simply refused TO
compete. If the architects would do much when
new Government buildings to be designed. there
might DC hope of seeing London presently rebuilt
with real splendor Let the Minister of the day be
responsible for choosing architect responsible for
his design If his design be bad pay him and send
him .Lout his business and fry another There is