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BOM1ETIHING AIIOUT AGES.
(From the A1us.tralasian.)
If the civil service rule of superannuating
public servants at 60 years of age had equal
application as regards statesmen, diploma
tists, the naval and military services, the
church, the legal and other professions,
what a host of magnificcnt talent and
dearly-bought experience would be lost to
the world. Without taking into account the
largo number of eminent men who from
extreme old age are actually laid upon the
shelf, and now take no active concern in the
business of life, a glance at any of those
little volumes published annually of Who's
Who will show that the large majority of
those who are the ruling and moving
powers, and who occupy the high places at
home as well as abroad, are treading on the
downward path of life-many indeed of the
most prominent having passed the allotted
three-score and ten years, and are still hale,
vigorous, and hearty. Commencing with
the sovereigns of Europe, the Emperor of
Germany stands at the head of the list. He
has entered upon his 81st year, and shows
ino.signs of failing health. Ludwig, grand
duke of Hesse, is 72. The next monarch on
the list is the King of the Netherlands. He is
61. The Emperor of Russia and the King
of Desnark are both 60 years of age; QuOeil
Victoria, 50; the Khedive of Egypt is i5,
and the King of Saxony is 50. The remain
ing European monarchs are under the half
century, the'youngest being King Alphonso
df Spain, who is only 21. Marshal Mac
Mahon, the president of the French re
liublic; is in his 70th yeari, and Pope Leo
XIII is 08. Every throne in Europe has
been clhanged sindo 1848, the great year of
revolution, with the exception of that of
Great Britain, and therefore Queen Victoria
is the oldest monarch. She has reigned 41
years. The Emperor of Austria has
reigned 80 years, the King of the Nether
lands 209 years, the Emperor Williamu (as
King of Prussia) 17 years. No less than
six thrones have changed their occupants
during the last eight years. There are still
several sovereigns who are thrown upon the
world and living in retirement-the King of
Hanover, the Khing of Naples, and Queen
Isabella of Spain, besides which there are
the Grand Dukes of Parma, Modena, and
Tuisseny, who exercised all the sway of
potty sovereigns before their duchies formed
part of the kingdom of Italy. The princei
pal statesmen of those countries whose in
fluence is felt in the world of European
policies are mostly men well advanced in
years. Prince Gortschakoff, the chancellor
of the Russian empire, whose name lias
been so fiamiliarised recently, is 80 years of
age. M. Armanlid Dufaure, the president of
the council of ministers in sFrance, who by
his firm action has done so much to estab
lish the republic in France, is also 80. The
Earl of Beaconsfield, the veteran premier of
England, is 72. Prince Bismarck, the
German chancellor, is 68. Count And
rassy, the Austro-IIungarians chancellor, is
55, and the youngest of the emiinenst quin
tette of celebrated premiers. The British
navy furnishes several notable examples of
good old age. The three admirals of the
fleet are sturdy specimens of the " old salt."
Sir George Sartorious leads the way at 88.
He entered the service so long ago as 1801,
when many a "lcan and slippered panta
loon " now was then in his cradle. Sir
Provo Wallis is 87, and Sir Henry Keppcl
is 69, a comparative youngster beside his
veteran colleagues. Of the admirals now
on the navy list no less than 25 of thesm
entered the service prior to 1810, nearly 70
years ago. Admiral Sir James Hope, who
has been mentioned for the chief command
in the event of hostilities, is 60, but said to
be still full of dash.
There are very few of those who were
entrusted with important commands during
the Crimean war still extant. Sir Charles
Napier and the two Admirals Dundas are
long since numbered amongst the departed;
but some of the old army heroes still sur
vive. Sir William Codrington, who com
manded the British forces at the fall of
Sebastopol and at the close of the war, is
at seventy-eight performing good service to
his country in a civil capacity as a member
of the Metropolitan Board of Works. The
Earl of Lucan, who commanded the
cavalry, and gave that Imemsorable order to
Captain Nolun, ]is aide-de-camnp, which led
to the chalrg of the Light Brigade at
Balaclava, is also seveuty-eight. Sir Wil
liams Fenwick Williams, the gallant defender
of Kiars, who only recently reliinquislhed the
governorship of Gibralter, has reached to
the same ripe old age, sand Lord Strathnalirns
better known as Sir Hlugh Blose, is seventy
five, a:nd a field-minarshal. The two real
veterans of the military service are the
gallant Field-Marsthals Sir William Bowan
and Sir Charles Yorke. The fErier, aged
eiglhty-seven, Instered the army in 1803, and
has conseqtelnetly had 75 ye'ars of a military
career, Sir Charles Yorke, who is aged 88,
is credited with 71 years of service. On
the active list are to be found the D)uke of
Casmubrilgo conmmsnuder-ins-chief, who is 50! ;
Sir Charles Ellice, the adjuuannt-gener l,
64; General Lord Napier of Magdala, who
has been designated as the probable coin
mander of any expeditionary force should
England unfortunately go to war, is 07 years
of age ; Sir Lintorn Simmons, the inspec
tor-general of fortifications, and one of thie
ablest and most experienced engineer offi
cers in the service, is 57. Sir Garnet
Wolseley, who would probably be chief of
the staff in the event of war, is in the prime
of life, having barely reached to 45, the
youngest general officer in the army. The
govenmors of colonies and British posses
sions abroad are men mostly past the
meridian of life. Lord Lytton, the Gover
nor-General of India, is an exception. lHe
is but 44. The Dukl of Buckingham and
Chandos, Governor of Madras, is 55; and
Sir Richard Temple, Governor of Bombay,
50. The Earl of Dufferin, the able Gover
nor-General of the Domninion of Canada, is
52; Sir Arthur Phayre, Governor of
Mauritius, 00; Sir Bartle Frere, Governor
of the Cape colony, 63 ; Mr.'Pope Hennessy,
Governor of Hong Kong, 54.
Of the Governors of the Australian colo
nies, Sir Arthur Kennedy, of Queensland,
heads the list at (69. Major-General Sir St.
Geo. Ord, of Western Australia, and the
Marquis of Normauby, of New Zealand, are
each 59; .Major-General Sir William Jer
vois, of South Australia, and Sir GeOcorge
Bowen, of Victoria, each 57 ; Sir Hercules
Robinsoon, of New South Wales, 5.4; and
Sir Arthur Gordon, of Fiji, 49. There is
only one ex-Governor of Victoria now living,
Sir IIenry Darkly, who, being over 60 years
of age, has now accepted a pension, after
about 25 years of service as Governor in
the West Indies, Victoria, Mauritius, and
the Cape of Good Hope. His venerable
father-in-law, General Sir Thomas Simson
Pratt, who commanded the forces in Vic
toria, and subsequently in New Zealand
about 20 years ago, is still in the laud of
the living, and at latest accounts as well as
ever. Speaking of ex-Governors of Austra
lian colonies, there are not very manny now
living. The Earl of Belmore is the only
one of the New South Wales Governors
still alive, his more immediate predecessors
-Lord Lisgar anid Sir William Denison
having joined the majority, while none
remain of the old tiime before that. The
other gentlemen who have occupied the
position of her Majesty's representative in
these colonies, and are now either living in
retirement or have obtained other employ
nuent, are Colonel Sir Thomas Gore Brow:e,
Sir Richard lMacdondell, Sir George Grey,
Sir Charles Dacanc, Sir Anthony Musgrave,
Sir William Robinson, Sir James Fergusson,
and Sir W. W. Cairns. New South Wales
has had 16 Governors, besides interim ad
ministrators, since the foundation of the
colony in 1788; South Australia 12 since
1886, Tasmania 17 since 1804, Victoria 6
since 1851, Queensland five since 1859,
New Zealand eight since 1810, and Western
Australia 15 since 1820. Archbishops,
bishops, and ecclesiastical dignitaries gene
rally are tolerably long lived. Of 31 bishops
of the establishluent in the old country, 22
are over 60 years of age, and only 0 under
that age. The Bishop of Adelaide is the
oldest of the colonial prelates. lie is in his
75th year. Next in point of ago is Dr.
Harper, Bishop of Christchurch and Metro
politan of New Zealand. He is 74. The
Bishop of Sydney, recently married at
homo, is 70. Bishop Tyrrell, of Newcastle,
is 71; Bishop Hale, of Brisbane, 67;
Bishop Bromby, of Tasmania, 54 ; Bishop
hMoorhouse, of Melbourne, 51. The above
are only a few selected names of men who,
past the prime of life, are in the exercise. of
the most important functions, bui the list
might be stretched out to the " crack o'
doom," and scarcely yet end there. Iu the
old world age and experience are allowed to
go-hand in hand, and anu official is not cast
aside until lihe becomes incapable of perform
ing his duties. How many of those who
have boon quoted, where " age sits with
decent grace upon his visage," may say
Yet hath my night of life some memory,
My wasting lamp some fading glimmer left,
My dul ddeaf cars a little use to hear.
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