The Warwickshire Herald. — 1886-06-24 (Birmingham, West Midlands, England)

TOPICS OF THE HOUR.  THE New Hebrides quetion, which has so suddenly come into prominence, is of a very simple complexion. The islands are situated in the South Pacific Ocean. not far from the Australian coast, and both England and France are under solemn obligation to keep "hands off" the group. The French Government fully recognise the existence of this compact, which was first made in 1878,-and afterwards ratified in 1883. Nevertheless, a French war ship has just anchored off the islands, and planted the French flag on two of them in token of annexation. Such appear to be the leading facts of the case. Unless immediately explained, Lord Rosebery should at once signify to the Paris Cabin.2t that the English naval commander in the Pacific will be instructed to haul down the French flag, be the result what it may. A more deliberate insult, a more gross breach of faith, was never perpetrated, and we owe it to ourselves to exact a full apology without the loss of a single day.  I advertised in three papers (says Mr. Sala, in the Illustrated London News) for a lady secretary, age not under 30, a governess preferred. Governesses can spell, and know something about geography. The lady amanuensis was to be able to write legibly, and to posses a fair knowledge of French. Replies, stating terms required, were to be addressed to "Delta," at a newsagent's in Lamb's Conduit-street, "I had four hundred and thirty-five answers to my advertisement. From all parts of the Metropolis and the United Kingdom; from Brussels, and Paris. and Germany came letters from ladies, all of whom wrote legibly, many of whom wrote splendidly, all of whom stated that they spoke and wrote French  try to grapple with him in argument by sudden and wonderful changes: he will, after the manner of a will beast, bite and destroy the timid ; he will scorch up the waverers by the fire of his bitter indignatim ; and he will slip away like water through the fingers of those who, having caught him, think they can hold him fast.  SOME interesting questions arose in the trial, by Mr. Justice North, in the Chancery Division, of an action brought to test the validity of certain bequests of a Welsh testator, who had left £5OO in trust to be applied to keeping in repair his family vault and his brother's ltomb in a churchyard of the Principality, and to keeping the churchyard itself in repair. It was argued for some of the residuary legatees that as regarded the vault and the tomb the bequests were void, being gifts •rt perpetuity aud not for a charitable purpose. Mr. Justice North endorsed this view, but then there arose the further question whether the whole gift was thus violated. He decided that it was not, because, among other reasons, the keeping in repair of a parish churchyard was a public object, and the bequest in furtherance of it .a charitable gift. The whole fund will, therefore, he applied for the benefit of the churchyard, and the testator's family vault, with his brother's tomb, will have to shift for themselves.  A MEMORIAL, of which the form has not yet been decided on, is to be raised to the late Mr. W. E. Forster, a movement for that purpose having been initiated by his fellow-workers in the last cause to which his energies and hopes were directed. A small committee has been constituted from the more prominent advocates of the Federatiou of the  out using the weapons in their hands ; but when police inspector who was on the spot testifies that resistance had practically ceased, and that he could not understand what the men were firing at, a grave prima facie ease has been made out against them. It will be difficult to bring home a charge of murder to any individual, but the verdict of the Coroner's jury may teach them a valuable lesson in these troublous times.