OUR LONDON LETTER.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 8169, 28 April 1888, Page 6 (Supplement)

OUR LONDON LETTER.

(From Oor Own Correspondent.) London, March 0. thr pacific islands. The prospects of the Pacific Islands Trading Company (Limited) will no doubt be improved by the disposition Bhovra by the British Government to make further annexations iv the Pacific. The islands proposed to bo taken under British protection are Christmas Island, Fanning Island, aud Plurhyn Island. These lie between the Sandwich and Society Islands, aud, if not iv the most direct track of any mail lines ruuning to Australia, yet are not far removed from it, and will constitute important naval positions should British interests in the near future require the extension of our means of defence iv that direction. The first named is one of the islands connected with the Pacific Islands Company. In the prospectus it is stated that "formal possession of Christmas Islaud was taken in Mr Heudersou's n&iso on tho 17th April 1882, by the master of the British ship Ryno, one of Mr Henderson's vessels, who, finding the islaud unoccupied, hoisted the British flag; and on the 18th May following a declaration by the master stating the circumstances under which ho had taken possession thereof was recorded at the British Consulate at Samoa. The island has remained in Mr Henderson's undisturbed possession since that date. It is not generally considered that the company has any brilliant prospects before it $t the present time. It is thought that a scheme for exploiting the commercial prospects of tho PaciJjc on a wider basis would have a better ehauoe of commanding success on this side. The idea has often beeu suggested that the shrewdest, sharpest, and probably the most satisfactory way of settling most of the difficulties conuected with the New Hebrides would bo for the Australian Governments or some powerful company to purchase the rights—whatever they may be worth—of Mr Higginson's Land Company in the i^Tew Hebrides. Mr Higgiuson met one of the Agentsrgeupral in Paris just before the conclusion of the ascent convention, which, I may mention, he did his best to block. At this meeting it was unofficially hinted to bim that, if he consulted his own interests, o? wef.e even then disposed to consult them, he would m?]ke direct overtures to the Australian Governments to ! purcha3e his stake iv that group. Mr Higginson, iv the theatrical manner which he has affected since his adoption of French nationality, tapped the little bid of red ribbon which he wears as an evidence of his connection with the Legion of Honour, and said, "Do you suppose that any Frenchtmau wearing this honourable bailge would tbink of eutertaining such an offer for a moment?" This display of French pomposity only evoked a hearty laugh from the Agent-general, who coqlly reiiiarked that he was too old a bird to be caught with such chaff, and expressed his belief that if it wore then iv his power to make Mr Higginson an offer of j £10,000 for his iuterests it wosjld b.o eagerly I accepted. Whether Mr Higginson will let thjs j idea brood in his mind uutil it produces practical ] results remains to bo seen. babbits. It is Mons. Pasteur's intention, if he obtains jtjis reward of £25,000 offered by tho New South Wal.es government for the extermination of the rabbits, to deyote it to the institute in Paris which bears his panje. Sir Francis Bell, Sir Graham Berry, and Sir James Qarrick are going over to Brussels in a few days to make inquiries into the proposed international tariff bureau, and intend to call on Professor Pasteur cither goiug or returning. Sir Francis Bell is determined to place as strongly as he cau before the professor the objections and dangers which are attendant ujpon his system in order to see how ho will e*pla;u them away.

I Tho Spectator, ja a note on M. Pasteur's system, argues that sufjSpient time has not been allowed to elapse in order to prove clearly that hen cholera is not dangerous to other animals. It considers it quite likely that the virus may lie dormant in sheep for some time and then break out. "We should not be in the least surprised," says this organ, " to find that M. Pasteup hjd killed more sheep, or even men, by the remoter consequences of hi 3 chicken cholera than any epidemic h&fi oyer contrived to destroy. Exporting plague, warranted (by M. Pasteur) to harm only fowls and rabbit's,' is one of the most dangerous games at which even a French pathologist ever attempted to play." In an-, swer to this criticism, M. Pasteur's remarks to j Sir Frauds Bell may be quoted. He points out to the Agent-general that fowl cholera was common enough in France until he discovered the remedy for it, but in no caso was it known to spread from fowls to other animals or men on the farms. Some farmers haye even eaten the ilesh of fowls that had died of cholera, aad were none tho worse for it. MEASCItES OF DEFENCE. The publication of the report of the "committee appointed by the War Minister to cousider the plans proposed for the fortification and armament of our military and home mercantile ports, together with Lord George Hamilton's memorandum on the Navy, shows that tho Imperial authorities have given way on the question which arose at the Colonial Conference ss to whether tho Australasian coaling stations should be supplied with guns of a new type. It will be remembered that at this gathering, Sir James Lorimer protested energetically against the idea of supplying these places with ordnance of an obsolete pattern, and declared that if that was all the Imperial Government proposed to do, the Victorians would save them the trouble and do it themselves. This was a nice little piece of " blow? ing" on the part of the Victorian representative, but it ought not to be forgotten that these armaments, old as they may be, would have cost the Imperial Government £12,000; and muzzleloading guns are said to be much moro durable than breach-loaders, which wear out after having fired 300 rounds, and require retubing. However, the colonies are to have their wish, as tho Government propose to supply £28,000 for the purchase of armaments for the defence of Kiug George's Sound and Thursday Island.

Of the seven vessels required for the Australasian squadron, five are to be protected cruisers and two gunboats, the latter beiug built from the sharpshooter design. The protected cruisers will approximate to the " Medea " class; will be of about 2500 tons displacement, and have a speed of 19 knots. Tbeir armament will include eight 30-pounder quick firers, eight 3-pounder quick Srers, and four torpedo tubes. They are expected to be ready for service within two years from the date of order. It will thus bo seen that there has been a departure from the original type of cruiser decided upon at the conference. The vessels to be sent out are of what is supposed to be the crack type; they will have two knots higher speed than the Archer, a strong protective deck, a more modern armament, about 10 per cent, heavier in its total weight, and a radius of action of about 30 per cent, greater. It is anticipated that tbis fleet when completed will be the finest of its size and character in the world. The object of the admiralty in making it so strong is twofold— firstly, to satisfy the Australasians, who want the best of everything, and secondly, in order to get the best terms they can for the British navy from Parliament by representing what an exceptionally strong fleet is possessed by the Australasians.

THE NEW ZKALAND ANTIMONY COMPANT have applied to the Stock Exchange far a quotation, aud the committee of that august institution are agreeable, on condition that the articles of association are modified so as to givo tho shareholders increased protection, The directors see no difficulty in acceding to the alterations desired, The brokers expect that, as a result of the quotation the shares will take a decided jump, and thai if tho directors succeed in declaring a 10 per cent, dividend in Ootober as they hope to do, the scrip will be worth £5 per share. The directors have instructed Sir William Fitzherbert, the resident director in New Zealand, to open up the mines as quickly as possible, and they aro considering the propriety of Bending out 100 skilled Cornish miners. ANQLO-COLONIAL NOTES. The Builder of last Saturday contains a notico of the new municipal buildings at Christchurch, together with illustrations. Sir Arthur Blyth is terribly upset at not being able to "look in" with the other Agents-general in their little trip to Brussels. He was quite counting on having a "little go " on the " Oontinong"; bufc hi.s Government will nofc allow him to givo any pledge thafc they" will contribute even a modest £35 or £40 in order to bo associated with the rest of the colonies in tho International Tariff Bureau. Ifc has often been remarked over here tbat for consistent meanness the goody-goody will lick creation into a cocked hat. The values of the leading Australasian stocks have advanced considerably during the last few days, owing mainly to the fact that Mr Goscheu's proposed conversion scheme is liberating a great deal of money hitherto sunk in consols. Investors do not care to accept the proposed 2r; per cent, when they cau get almost equally good security paying them 4 per cent, elsewhere. New Zealaud stocks are benefiting rather more than the others, probably because of the assurance published a day or two ago that tho proposed £2,000,000 loan will not bo submitted until the end of May or the boginuing of June. This proceeding on the part of tho Agent-general, at tho instigation of his Government, has given great offence to a section of tho Stock Exchange. The bears have been operating freely in the expectation of the loan being submitted immediately. They now find themselves caught, and are vowing vengeance against Sir Francis for his astuteness. The city of Christchurch 5 per cent, loan of £25,000 was successfully floated on the 24th of last month. The amount tendered was £102,400,

at prices ranging from the minimum of £102 up to £107 13s 6d. Thero was one tender of £200 at £110. The tenders generally wero for amounts ranging from £100 to £3000; but there were two tenders for £5000 each at £105 aud £105 7s Od, and two for £8000 each at £100 Ss 6d and £107 ls 6d. Tenders at £106 8s Gd will receive about 53 per cent, of the amount applied fpr, and above that price in full. Tho average price obtained was £107 2s Bd. Last Thurday night the Government brought forward amongst their supplementary estimates the sum of £18,500 on account of New Guinea. This was objected to by several of the Opposition, and also by Lord Randolph, who ungraciously declared that wheu ho was Chancellor of the Exchequer he absolutely refused to give one sixpence towards these colonisation | schemes. Tho poiut of the objection ; takeu by the Opposition was that thero ' would not be time to spend the £18,500 j between now and the end of the month, aud therefore there was no justification for placing the sum upon the Supplementary Estimates. Some members also seemed to doubt whether the arrangements entered into with Queensland for the payment of £15,000 per annum were of a sufficiently binding nature. In tho end the voto was withdrawn, but it will be placed upon the regular Estimates for the coming year, and will no doubt be passed without demur. Tho Government seem to have spoilt their case by bad management, since there was no necessity for plaincg the vote upon the Supplementary Estimates. As for tho arrangements for the payment of the £15,000 per annum by the various Australian colonies, the agreement is between the Imperial Government aud Queensland, which latter colony will have to find the money herself if the others do not contribute their share. Irritating littlo mistakes of this sort on the part of the Government and their officials are by no nie^n.s uncommon. This latest of them caused so much annoyance",in colonial circles as to give rise to tlje reujaek frpm a leading antipodean that if this kiu'd'of thjng wept pu, even without any active outbreak of n<?stjjjties^ tha Government might put such a strain upon the colonies as to lead to their severance from the mother country. As soon as the decision of the Houue oE Commons was known, Sir James Garrick went straight off to the Colonial Offico to see what it meant. It was there admitted that an error had been made in placing the vote on the Supplementary Estimates/but he was assured that it would make no differenca iv the action of the Government. The money would be at once spent iv tho purchase of a steamer without waiting for the formal vote of tha House. Sir James represented to Lord Knutsford that if tho idea got abroad in Queensland that there was auy disposition on the part of the British Government to shirk their engagements, the prospects of the ratification of the Auxiliary Squadron Bill would be seriously imperilled, since the Opposition, who wore now going to the country, were quite disposed to make political capital cut of this circumstance. Lord Knutsford at once gave the quietipg assurance that some vessel would be selected from the Imperial navy of about the valuo of £18,500. Sir James is pressing the Colonial Office very hard to get the sovereignty over New Guinea proclaimed without further delay, aud I believe the documents uecessary to enable this to bo done are being expedited. The Imperial Government appear anxious to have somo further assurance that the Queensland Government are absolutely committed to tho New Guiuea Aot, and that it was not a conditional act dependent

rpon legislative action in tho other colonies. Communications have been exchanged by cable, with the result that J3ir |ames was able to make a formal sta'teia'ent 'that the .Queensland Government was unconditionally" pledged' in the matter.

An Englishman who practises aa a lawyer in Paris called upon the Agent-general a day or two ago and expressed a desire to bo appointed n sort of colonial representative in France. He did not admit tho fact, but it is known that he is, to a greater or less degree, an agent of Mr John Higginson. He talked about _it being desirable to be ablo to give authoritative information concerning the colonjes to Frenchmen who might desire t,o go Qi^t there. No great value, however,'was attached to his application, because in the 'first pl^ije '*£ner i e are very few Frenchmen who emigrate, ond those who do go to their own colonies. Secondly, an impressiob'e»ists.in t|ie minds of somo of the Agents-general that there may be a lurking dauger underlying the proposal in the same—of the sending out, possibly with the assistance of benevolent societies, of French criminals. A complaint on this score has been made by the United States against Germany—namely, thatthat country has agencies for sending out convicted criminals to the distant parts of the earth. Mr Haddon Chambers, formerly a well-known Sydney journalist, is writing a drama called " The Adventurer," which has been accepted by Mr Be.erbohm Tree for the Haymarket. Mr Chirgwin, a well-known eccentric^ comedian who has been playing at the Britannia Theatre, is about to visit Australia, where he will appear in the pantomime of " King Tricky." Tho six days' walking match at the Royal Aquarium, Westminster, between J. Scott, of New Zealand, and W. Howes, the ex-English champion, terminated on Saturday with au easy victory for the greater Briton, Tbe performances were:—Scott, 307 miles 5 laps; Howes, 253 miles 2 laps. Mr Charles Arnold, a very clever actor of tbe Jefforson-Emmett school, is goiug out to Australia in the Orient in order to produce, under the management of Messrs Brough and Boucicault, a sketch, which has found great favour in this country, entitled "Hans the Boatman." He will bo accompanied by a wonderful juvenile and a higkly-sdupat'ed mumber of the canine race.

Mdme. Marie Rozs has just reoeived from her admirers in Liverpool a magnificent diamond tiara on the occasion of her last birthday. The presentation was made by Lord Latham, the Lord High Chamberlain. When Lord Latham asked the Queen's purmission to go down to Liverpool to undertake this graceful duty, her Majesty inquired the feason,she having commanded all the Court officials to remain at their posts in view of the critical state of the Crown Prince's health. On being informed, her Majesty not only gave tho required assent, but commanded the Lord Chamberlain to give her best wishes to the talented cautatrice. " The Mystery of a Hansom Cab," which was produced at the Princess Theatre just after tho departure of the last mail, is proving very successful. Mr Alexander Parkes, inventor of the Parkes' gold and silver ores smelting patent, will shortly go out to New Zealand. In reference to the speculation now proceeding in London in South Australian rubies, it is of interest to note that Messrs Verneuil and Freny have just informed the French Academy of Sciences that they have succeeded in producing real rubies by artificial means. Another chemist who has examined those productions with the microscope declares that they vividly recall the natural formation of the real stones. The largest rubies shown by these gentlemen do not exceed the size of a big piu's head, so their value cannot he very great. About 50 applications have been received for the post of chairman of the railway commission, but none from America. The Agent-general is understood to have wired to the Government for advice as to how he is to proceed, whether he is to wait for more applications, to make a selection himself, or to refer the choice to the Government.

Mr J. H. Smith, who has just been appointed to the chairmanship of the South Australian Railway Commission, is to be entertained at a banquet at the St. George's Club on Monday next, preparatory to his departure in the Valotta. At this function he will be presented with a testimonial. It is to be hoped that this will take the shape of money, and not be such a white elephant as the oue given to Mr Speight when he went out to assume a similar position in Victoria. He was given a handsome piece of plato ; but when he landed in Melbourne he found he bad to pay 25 per cent, duty upon it. As it was of the value of £1000, the duty amounted to a large sum. The Imperial Post Oflice havo agreed with the New Zealand Government to change tho date of the London despatch of the 'Frisco mail from Wednesday to Saturday, the new departure taking effect with the next mail leaving this country. The object is to expedite the delivery of the mails, and it is believed that a saving of three days can be effected by theso meaus. The fastest steamers on the Atlantic service— the Etrurin, Umbria, and vessels of that type— leavo on Saturday and perform the voyage in from two and a-half to three days less time tban those leaving two days earlier in tho week, so that a considerable saving of time will be effected. Of course the change will bo unpopular amongst certain sections of business people, but these persons must subordinate their interests to the good of the community as a whole. The cost of the service will be no graater, and the new regulations will be continued until next November.

It is understood that active negotiations are in progress relative to the development of the Canadian-Pacific and Vancouver scheme, but everything is being kept very quiet. I may here mention that the proposed annexations in tho Pacific are being made in tho interest of the proposed Pacific cablo. These islands will be of great assistance in laying the line, and indeed it is said that it would bo impossible to do it if they were to fall into tho possession of tho French or Germans. A very large number of the New Zealand exhibits thafc were left over from the Colonial aud Indian Exhibition aro being packed up for despatch in tho Oceana, which sails this week to Melbourne, for display in tho exhibition thero. They consist chiefly of geological and mineral speciments and pieces of timber. Mr W. Lant Carpenter, who is the representative in London of the University of New Zealand, will deliver a leoturo on tho colony on the 14th inst. at the Essex Hall. Ho also intends to locture in tho north, and is receiving this week a littlo preliminary coaching from Mr Kennaway. A consignment of stoats and weasels to tha number of 250 has been despatched by the Kaikoura to the Nc.w Zealand Government. Sir Thomas Brady, the Irish luppector of Fisheries, sailed this week in tho Kaikoura for Tasmania with 400,000 salmon ova. The report that Sir R. Stout is coming over to tako up the Agent-generalship is not credited, bufc an impression exists that we shall see Major Atkinson. The South Tokatea Gold Mining Company (Limited), with a capital of £75,000 in £1 shares, to acquire part of tho Tanmatawahino block iv tho Coromandel district, has just been registered. —Tannin has been discovered as an animal substance by M. Villon, a French chemist, who finds that corn weevils contain about 3 per cent, of it.