The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1907-01-06


the worst slums in the poorest sections Of
London from plague spots into healthy
and prosperous districts. and Of her most
successful championship Of the donkeys,
which, until she espoused their cause.
were shamefuly III treated by the London
Ic0stermongers, a class by whom chey are
ALMOST exclusively employed. BY means
Iof annual exhibitions OF costers' jackasses,
and the grant Of substantial monetary
prizes for those animals showing the most
signs Of careful and kindly treatment, she
fiuaugUrated a new and altogether happier
era for the patient. lCng-eared friend 81
mankind. and won for herself among the
coster class the picturesque surname Of
/ Our Lady OF the MOke.' But IN none u
the obituaries Of this marvellous woman.
whose S1gdciOUs dspensatiOn OF her eX-
IteEsivc charities covered a period Of more
than three-scOre years and ten. can / md
any reference to the fact that it is 10 her
THAT the civilized world is indebted for the
suppression of piracy IN the China and
the East Indian seas The baroness was
Justly celebrated as a philanthropist- But
] doubt whether there are many who know
that her philanthropy ever took the form
of DISCRIMINATING Chinese, Malay, and
/ Tonhnese pirates.
Away back in the second and third
I decades of the reign Of Queen Victoria,
when steam navigation was in its infancy.
piracy played a far more serious role IN
maritime intercourse with the far East
than people to-day can imagine. In fact,
every vessel that had occasion TO trav-
erse the Straits Of Malscca was COM
PEELED TO carry guns To repel those fierce
/ buccaneers, who were the scourge Of the
seas Of the far Orient As the British gov
/ eminent did not see it's way 10 devote
the necessary ships to dealing with the
' danger. Lady Burdett-Coutts. at q con
/ siderable cost. fitted out an armed naval
expedition for the avowed purpose Of
I hunting the pirates 10 their lairs and Of
/ discriminating them. She placed the ex-
I petition under the command OF two
. young naval officers. lent 10 her for the
/ purpose by the admiralty, namely. Harry
+ Keppel and James Brooke. The eXpedi-
tjou proved eminentIy successful: 50 much
80 that the Straits Of NaIacca are to-
day as safe as the British Channel: and
. while Harry Keppel returned 10 civiliza-
ton. 10 die two or three years ago as
/ admiral Of the fleet and as father Of the
I English navy. James Brooke resigned
/ his commission in the navy. and having
/ become associated with the Sultan Of
F Borneo eventually became possessed Of
/ the independent priECipality Of Sarawak
+ which occupies a considerable portion Of
+ the island Of Borneo Lady Burdett-
/ Coutts played an an-impoTtant role IN
/ this strange venture Of Brooke, support
Trrrv . Inn ra-f-r -fa1 IL
with political influences in England. Of
/ which he stood in great need IN the ear
/ Her DAYS Of his Oriental sovereignty. as
. the authorities at home were disposed to
regard with misgiving the attempt OF a
subject Of the British Crown TO set him
self up as an independent ruler. Thanks
70 this assistance. the principality OF Sar-
T awak has prospered beyond all anticipa-
+ ton. and If to-day Sir Charles Brooke.
. the nephew and successor of Sir James
1 Brooke. is the monarch Of an independ-
. ent. thriving Oriental State. which is ex-
. ercising a civilizing influence in those
/ remote ATTITUDES, It is almost wholly ow-
ing 10 the late Baroness Burdett-Coutts.
Nowhere is the name Of the baroness
held in more grateful regard than in
Ireland; and when in 1857 she visited
the Emerald Isle she was everywhere
received with enthusiasm and rejoicing.
while there was not cabin. no matter
how humble. along the coast from
Queenstown to Baltimore. that was not
gay with improvised bunting or flu
minated at night with impromptu bonfires
In her honor. For. If that portion OF the
/ Hibernian coast. once the most poverty
stricken of the entire island, Is to-day
among the most prosperous, 1t is entirely
owing to the sagacious generosity of the
kind-hearted old woman who has Just
gone to her last rest II vas in the great
famine Of 1852 that her attention was first
drawn 10 the distress that existed in the
Skibbereen districts, and the islands off
Cape Clear. it is said by Father Leader.
the Roman Catholic priest, Of Baltimore.
and by the late Father Davis, Of Balti-
more. that beautiful little land-locked
town I'm the South Of Ireland Her an
swer was the dispatch of W. II Wills,
the trusted friend Of Charles Dickens.
vino was her own particular adviser in
matters relating TO the relief Of the poor
He made the misery and the want that
prevailed in that unhappy corner of Ire
land abundantly clear 10 the baroness.
and she at once established numerous
relief stores for the distribution of food
ana fuel
Several thousands she helped to emil
crate and to found new and prosperous
homes in Canada; and having ascer-
tanned that the natural wealth of the
district lay in its fisheries, and that boats
and fishing gear were needed for the re-
vival Of the almost abandoned industry.
she loaned. through the Roman Catholic
parish priests. and particularly through
the late Father Davis. sums amounting TO
about S500.000 The effect Of this assist
ance on the people was well-uigh magical.
New boat succeeded now boat. until five
years afterward the fishing feet Of Bal
timore alone was valued at a quarter Of
a million dollars. and the wholesale fish
dealers found it to their interest to es-
tablish a regular service of steamboats,
to Baltimore. I'm order to carry off to the
markets Of the world the abundant
catches To-day Baltimore is one of the
most prosperous towns in Ireland and
il Is gratifying 10 learn that all of the
money advanced by the baroness for the
purchase Of boats and gears was pune
tually repaid by annual installments of
10 per cent Only one man deliberately
tried TO default: whereupou Father Davis.
who acted as her administrator and agent
in the matter named the offender from
the pulpit According to the reverend
father. pressure Of public opinion
and we know what that means in Ire
land effectively prevailed upon him to
refrain from defaulting a second time.
The baroness used 70 value mostly highly
the letter which Father Davis was wont
10 write to her. reporting to her his ad-
lministration Of the funds which she had
placed al his disposal. They were let
ters characterized by the insinUatng
grace. the poetry, and the picturesque ex-
Iaggerati0n of the Irish peasant, as, for