The record-union., 1891-03-30
LONDON GOSSIP.
ENGLISH VIEW OF THE NEW
FOUNDLAND AGITATION.
The Attempt to Organize Protest
Against the New Orleans Tragedy
Meets With Little Success.
Special to the RECoRD-UNIoN.

Special to the RECoRD-UNIoN.
NEW YORK, March 29.-Smalley, in
cablegram from London to the Tribune,
foundland makes some impression here,
but not much. The proposed Act of Par
Lament against it is, from an Imperial
point of view, absolutely necessary.
France and England have come to GER
tain agreement pending arbitration. That
agreement recognizes that France has
certain rights in Newfoundland under
the Treaty of Utrecht. The bill which
gives such offense to the colonists is sim
ply measure of policy in one sense, and
nothing more. 1t is also, in wider view,
an act of good faith toward France The
French are rejoicing, as usual, over the
English difficulties. If Ribot's agree
ment for arbitration had gone beyond the
lobster question, nobody can say what
might have happened him or the Minis
try.
THE NEW ORLEANS EPISODE.
The attempt to organize an Italian pro-
test in London against the execution of
the Italian assassins in New Orleans has
not proved great success. One of the
most distinguished living jurists writes:
ton for long time as the uprising at
New Orleans. God speed all such good
works. These is no doubt that the effect
will be most wholesome. am, however
in favor of large indemnity to Italy
payable in Italians.' He means, of
course, those non-Americanized Italians
who have been clustering in New York
about vengeance.
TRUE SOURCE OF IRELAND'S WOES
Holy week has brought one absolute
novelty-the discovery by the Times that
drinking ether. In a very elaborate mar
rative it describes the malady, the exist
ence of which nobody heretofore sus-
pected, and gives figures that are posi-
lively appalling, if they correctly denote
the number of ether drinkers. How
they are obtained does not clearly ap-
pear. 1t is happily only one portion of
Ireland which suffers from this vice-the
northeast; but there we hear of 6,2O0
drinkers in Draperstown, out of q total
population of $500, with many other
towns where the proportion, if less, is
still very great.
THE COPYRIGHT ACT.
Sir Frederick Pollock, a high legal au-
thorlty, discusses the new Copyright Act
in the April Contemporary ReUte,o. He
=
way of facilities for acquiring British
copyright, and through the convention at
Berne, European copyright also. We
have no valuable consideration to offer
them in return for any further advantage
to our own people"
He speaks of the Act as purely volun-
tary on the part of the Legislature of the
United States. This is the first English
recognition | have seen of that fact. His
remark on the framing of this law COM
mends itself to the craftsman of it, who
ever he may be: Having sometimes had
occasion to criticisethe form of our own
statutes, must admit that this time the
Congress of the United States has attained
pitch of bad English, awkward and OBJ
scure construction and general clumsiness
wholly beyond any recent performances
of Parliament"
This is distressing, anGa would be more
distressing still, if Sir Frederick's own
English were beyond reproach.
THE IRISH QUESTION.
1t seems still uncertain whether the
English public is to be treated to the
spectacle of contest for Cork between
Parnell and Maurice Healy. Both sides
are in doubt as to what would be the re-
suit of the struggle in Cork in circum-
stances so peculiar as the present, and on
neither side is there much real eagerness
to bring matters to an issue. The con-
test at North Sligo seems to promise
nothing but defeat to Parnell, whose
rashness in entering upon such a strug-
gle is now admitted. Whatever be the
rights or wrongs about the Cork election,
one result is clear-it disgusts the En-
glish public with the Irish cause. En-
gland asks, even the Gladstonians ask,
Are men who cannot govern themselves
fit to govern Ireland?"