New-York tribune., 1891-03-08
LIFE IN LONDON.
THE QUEENS SONIN-LAW ON STRIKE
THE MAD JUDGE-AN EARL IN THE DIVORCE
COURT-THE LATEST LION.
Westminster, February %.

familiarly called-has been slow ana hardly won
At the outset his lot was far from being happy
one The marriage was never popular with any
class in England, much the reverse at Court,
where mobiles Of ancient lineage found themselves
Obliged TO give precedence to q German prince
ling The Queen suffered the match on the under
standing that Princess Beatrice. the home com
panion of her later years, should not permit
the marriage TO make any difference in her daily
habits. She must live, as heretofore. with her
mother and as there was a husband, why he must
live there too. This was state of things bad
enough when the Queens residence was fixed
in England. But when the Queen went abroad
and the bridegroom travelled in her train, the
humiliation of the situation grew unbearable. by
one of her earliest favors the Queen ordered that
Prince Henry should be styled Royal Highness, a
rank 10 which he has no more claim that had
the late John Brown. In England, of course, the
Queens wish in this respect is law but abroad
more particularly in Germany, her edict is as the
idle winds Prince. Henry cannot be received at
any Continental Court on the footing of Royal
Higbness, and as to drop it temporarily would be
an affront to the Queen, all kinds of manoeuvres
have been resorted to to keep matters with some
appearance of straghtness. little more than
twelve months ago. after several years OF home
happiness Prince Henry struck. For years he
had not been permitted to range at will beyond
the length of the maternal apron string. There
are wicked stories told at London dinner tables
of how Prince Beatrice" going down to Ports
mouth, in obedience 10 orders TO join the family
circle at Osborne. has taken advantage of the
merest indication of mist the Solent,
boldly called it fog, protested the impossi-
bility of crossing, hurried back to London
and spent one cheerful night in mitigation of his
hnpp Tt Tho 1rin0
of last year, the young mans fancy lightly turn
ing to thoughts of freedom, that he boldly set
out alone a yachting trip to the Mediterranean,
and, while all the world wondered, stayed away
from Windsor and Osborne for the full space of
two months Under whatever circumstances this
trip was arranged-whether as was whispered in
Court circles, he had desperately bolted, and from
the safety of Leghorn Harbor had dictated terms
of his return, whether; is much more
probable, the whole trip was arranged and paid
for by the Queen, in kindly contest with the
Princes prOtestation that he would much rather
quietly remain at home-it certainly marked an
epoch in his career. Since he came back, he has
assumed much more independent, even lead
ing, position in the Royal Circle. The Queen
consults him on most points and defers TO him on
many. She even braves for his sake the en-.
barrassment of her Ministers and threatened
outbreak of popular anger.
This arose in connection with the revival in
Prince Henrys favor of the ancient and long
disuscd title of Governor and Captain of the Isle
of Wight. When the proposal was broached, il
was pointed out that the Isle of Wight had foI
centuries got on we'll without a Governor and
Captain that to revive the ancient title in favor
of foreigner would be particularly invidious and
that such an appointment would be an aifront to
the Lord Lieutenant of the neighboring County
of Hants, who represents the Queen in the island.
The Queen persisted. The German princeling now
bears the fine old English title of Governor and
Captain of the Isle of Wight, and amuses him.
self by making little tours in semi-state the
Liliputian territory, opening bazaars, laying the
foundation-stones of Sunday and distribut-
ing prizes Both the Prince and Princess accom-
pany the Queen on her forthcoming visit to the
Riviera, and the Queen travels incognito, call
ing at no courts and receiving no royal visits,
the difficulty about the Royal Highness' of the
Prince will not disturb the felicity of the trip
The scandal on the judicial bench, TO which at
tention was fortnight ago called in this cor
respOndence, is rapidly coming to head. The
situation is about as bad as Imagination could
conceive it. Here, in the practically uncon-
troed position of Judge, master of the property,
liberty and occasionally the life of such of his fe
low-citzens as come before him, is a man who has
suddenly gone mad. There is no mistake about his
condition. 1t is testified to III half a dozen
things that take place in the course of sit
ting Every one who has business in the court
is pleased when the day is over and there has
been no striking catastrophe. The case is fa-
miliar in legal circles and is talked of wherever
two three barristers are gathered together.
Society knows all about it, and discusses it when
it gets tired of talking about the baccarat busi-
ness Yet, so nice are the London newspapers
in their conduct that their columns have as yet
been free from direct reference TO q matter, the
public interest of which it would be difficult 10
exaggefate. A staid, respectable law journal
ventured to print paragraph alluding
10 the case. Wringing its hands. it cried
aloud for some one to deliver the Bench from
the incubus that weighed it down. A daily
morning paper encouraged by this rcckleSsness,
prominently reprinted the paragraph, innocenty
asking what it could mean? But this wc-mcan.
ing journalistic hypocrisy will not be maintained
week longer. To-day, in the House OF
Commons, a question is to be addressed to tic
First Lord of the Treasury, which will bring
matters to an ISSUE The terms of this question
are strictly in accord with the pursued-pelicar
attitude we Britshers assume in view Of scan
dals of this kind. Mr.. Smith is to be asked
whether he is aware that great dissatisfaction
exists on the part of many members of the bal
and of other branches of the legal profession as
TO the manner in which business is conducted il
the Queens Bench Division of the High Courr
of Justice, and whether any change is contem
plated in the constitution of that division" II
no satisfactory answer is forthcoming, other steps
will be taken to bring the painful crisis to head
The only way of unscating a judge who ought Il
90 and will not bulge is by moving an address
10 the Crown praying for his removal. and this
will. if necessary, be done forthwith
Mr. Justice Stephen has never been held
at the Bar in that reverence which is
paid TO supreme legal ability. BY the pub
lie he is noted for the occasional severity
Of bis sentences Apart from legal erndtion hS