The Warwickshire Herald. — 1888-05-31 (Birmingham, West Midlands, England)

LITERARY QUESTION. Fr is curious that the literary tastes of the convict Jackson, the murderer of Web, have escaped general notice. At one place which he patronised since his escape he left a message and a quotation. "Though lost to sight to memory dear," is a line which he attributed to Shakspere. We have waited to see whether this curious illustration of character would find any weighty commentary in the philosophical columns of the Spectator ; • but somehow it has been entirely overlooked. We do not for a moment imagine that Jackson believed Shakapere wrote that line, but lie evidentlf` hoped that the police would be thrown off his teack for a while by this literary curiosity. He khew the Bacon craze, and imagined that ScutlAnd-yard might for the moment be more interested in disputed authorship than in the chase after a murderer. Had he been a little wiser, he would have written something in a ciyptogram which the police might have submitted to Mr. Donnelly. It is not at all impossible, by the way, that this very line, "Though lost fo sight to memory dear.—Shakspere," contains some mysterious communication. It may prove that Bacon wrote Shakspere, or that Mr. Donnelly wrote both. It may be a confession of Jackson's crime, or a revelation of a strange and startling kind which the public may never know unless the cryptogram is deciphered. Mr. Donnelly's advice ought to be obtained at once, unless the Home Office wishes to be convicted of a gross neglect of duty.  Our trade with South Africa is evidentlyabout to become very considerable. I have been talking to one of the ablest financiers in Europe on the question, and he tells me that next year there can be no doubt that about four millions worth of gold and a million worth of diamonds will be extracted from that modern El Dorado. It must not be thought from this, however, that the gold mines are going to be sources of untold wealth for all who invest in them ; for it seems that the cost of working them is so great that it absorbs a greater part of the profit. Thus, to get four millions of gold out requires anexpenditure of about two millions in labour and expenses. Still the greater part of that sum is spent in employing English labour,so that the gain to England in developing African trade is considerable. My friend added that, in his opinion, the futuTe of South Africa was very great, and that it would be a fatal mistake from a commercial, as well as Imperial point of view, if we allowed any other country to overshadow us there. " Drive a railway straight through to Bechuanaland," he added, "and the capital expended would be repaid a hundredfold." The Government should take this advice to heart—it comes from a man who rarely makes a mistake where finance is concerned.  A new playwright is about to present his first work to the public. Mr. W. H. Mallock, having tried his hand on fiction, philosophy, and social problems, is now going to see what he can do in the region of stage literature. Judging from the humour which he shewed in the "New Republic" and " Paul and Virginia," I should have thought he would have tried his hand at a comedy, but no ! his first attempt is to be in melodrama. If what I hear is correct lie has succeeded in evolving a most thrilling story, and before long society will be asking "Is his play worth seeing?" and I doubt not replying in the affirmative.