OUR LONDON LETTER.

Otago Witness, Issue 2237, 14 January 1897, Page 17

OUR LONDON LETTER.

(Fhoji Ouk Own Correspondent. ) London, November 28. THE ATTACK ON THE AGENT- GENERAL. Unmitigated amazement — I might say disgust — has bean excited among New Zeftlanders in London by the extraordinary attack of the Ministerial journal in Wellington (the New Zealand Times) upon the present Agent-genera) . ; The allegations of discourtesy to visitors and of ! "cutMng" old friends are so utterly contrary to the experience of anybody who has hitherto had anything to do here with Mr W. P. Reeves that no one can imagine upon whtvt possible foundation the story cculd have beeu based, or who could have been the outraged clergyman who poured his talc of wiong into the New Zealand Times's sympathetic ear. Most people, however, believe that the whole story waa a pure invention, and was concocted either to ! suit some rcheme in the interests of the Seddon ' Government, or else with the object of pleasing the Premier, who of course ia the predominant powrr ou that paper. It is generally ruspected that some dodge wa* intended with reference to the coming election. AH that 1 can say is that the allegations of discourtesy are absolutely contrary to the experience of everybody who has called at the Agency-general. I lay no strcs upon Mr Heaven's invariable courtesy to myself, but my duties require vary frequeut presence at the Agency -general, bo that I am in & position to judge bow visitors are treated. Moreover almost " everybody as is anybody " from New Zealand comes lo see me sooner or later. Without exception they are warm in praise of Mr Reeves's courtesy, and of his readiness and even eagerness to do all in his power to further their views or interests, and in son»e caaes of special personal kindness which they, though entire sfcrancerj, had received at his hands. I know of no one who is in a btttsr pofifcion to judge than I am, aad that ia my fxj;p" : enca. Who is that ♦'minister of religion" wno, it is pretended, was rudely treated ? I know all the New Zealand clergy, of whatever creed, who have visited Mr Reeve?, and I am certain not one of them ever told such a lie. Naturally I mentioned the matter to Mr Reeves when I called yesterday. Naturally, also, Mr Reeves feelo much hurt that so unwarrantable an attack should have appeared in a paper with which he was so recently connected. But he declares emphatically his conviction that his old friend the editor, Mr R. A. Loughnan, had nothing whatever to do with its publication. Further, Mr Reeves says he can hardly regret its having appeared, as it called forth co chivalrous a defence from his strong •political opponents, Mr H. D. Bell and Mr James Mills, whose generous action he warmly appreciates and will never forget. It is an interesting coincidence that this attack on Mr Reeves should have appeared in the Ministerial jonrnal just at the time when Mr R°eves was actively engaged in defending not merely New Zealand but the personal honour of its Ministers, his late colleagues, against the imputations of the London paper the Economist. SSTATB DUTT. A case affecting a considerable amount of New Zealand property in connection with its liability to estate duty was finally dealt with in ' the House of Lords recently. The case was heard before the Lord Chancellor, Lord Her- . sctaell, Lord Macnaghten, Lord Shand, and Lord Davey. The action was .Lord Sudeley and others v. the Attorney-gene ral. It was an appeal from a judgment of the Court of Appeal reverting an order from the Queen's Beach Division of the High Court of Justice upon a suit promoted by the Attorney-general against the executors of Mrs Frances Louise Tollemache, widow of the late Algernon Gray Tollemache, for many yeara resident in New Zealand. Tho late Mr Tollemache at the time of hia death possessed personal property exceeding £1,250,000 in value, left to his wife a life interest in the whole of his residuary real and personal estate, and one-fourth part of such estate absolutely. This personal estate included a sum of nearly £400,000 invested on mortgages of real estate in New Zealand. The executors of Mrs Tollemache had refuted to bring into account as part of her estate liable to probate duty the sum of £111,850, being one-fourth part of the colonial mortgages. It was contended that this sum should be brought into the account on which probate duty was to be paid. The High Court gave judgment for the defendants, Mrs Tollemache'* executors, but the Court of Appeal reversed that decision. The executors now appealed against such reversal, and to have judgment declared in their favour. The Attorney-general, the Solicitor-general, and Mr Vaughan Hawkins appeared for the Crown ; and Mr Channel!, Q.C., Mr Farwell Q.C., and Mrßremner for the executors. After • lengthened hearing the House of Lords gave judgment for the Crown, and against the executors, who accordingly will have to pay the probate duty claimed. THB PAULCI OF VAHIETIES. Do yon recognise " The New Zealand Palace of Varieties " under that title ? It appear* as ' the heading of a leading article in one of the London dailies, and this it how the article begins: "It is a pity that there is a serious fide to the proceedings of the New Zealand Government and Legislature. Otherwise their proceedings would afford amusement unqualified except, perhaps, by a touch of pity. It will be nmembered that, between six and seven weeks

ago, a telegram w&3 published in London referring to an attempted assanlb upon a. member of ths Banking Committee by one of his colleagues. The telegram was brief, but fuller details ore now to hand by mail from the colonial newspapers." Theu ! oirats a lengthened account of thd M'KenzicHutchison row ou the Baukiug Committee taken from the O:ago Daily Times. It suggests to ihe reviewer tho following moral , refieotioDS : — "Oue cannot buo feel the utmost respect iocs,c s, Miniatev who ev?u under the utmost provocation would not go further than ( to threaten an importunate questioner with — a , ■ smack on the head. After some further inter- ; ( change of digntfisd pleasantries of this kindtbe ! i committee very wisely adjourned until the i ■ followiug day. We b»7 tiufc the deoisicn was ', wise, because in most Parliaments — even iv ' . South America, fo<c example — it would have , been ihe proper thing to let the combatants , cool their heated blood. In this case, howevar, , the result of tho s.djourmneufc does not appear : , to have been particularly succesfful. The ; , incident is of Ruuh Mgnincimce that; we j make no apology for giving our readers a ; further lengthy extract from our Dunedin contemporary." This extract contains a hiacory , of the subsequent disgraceful sceue in the lobby of the House, and then the writer ; moralineo over the whole affair in this wise -,—, — , '• To the outsider all this is very interesting , and amusing, but, if the report oi the proceedings by our contemporary is anything like correct, it must raise very serious questions in the minds of people who have pecuniary iuterosts in New Zealand. The Bociali*tie-charxoter of the Government of rhnt colony during recent years,- and the various scandals which have arisen ir. connection with it, have created a feeling which is far from favourable to the credit of the colony. New Zealand is a colony with infinite possibilities before it. The socialistic legislation of the past tew years, iududiug the graduated land tax and the New Plymouth Harbour Board affair, has dona it »v immense amount of harm. We aye not ab present di->cussiug the merits of the banking legislation into which inquiry was being made, but we respectfully suggest to the New Zealand ' Government, as it now exists, that the prize riag is hardly the most suitable arena for the Bottlcment of either political or financial queß- > tions. Seriously, the circumstances attending , this inquiry iuto tho banking legislation of the ' colony reflect but little credit on anybody concerned ; some of them are of very gr&re import, ' aad it is Muceroiy to ba hoped that there will be no repetition of such disgraceful scenes as our contemporary ullpges to have occurred. Government by fisticuffs would be a curious anomaly." ANGLO COLONIAL NOTES. The Agent-general has just made a large purchase of books roc the New Zsaland Parliamentary Library, having been requested to do so by ths Library Committee. He hft« arranged with Messrs Sofcheran, of the Strand, to do for the future all necessary business iv this conn'ction for the New Zaalaud library, • binding, &c, included, in&tead of the Bdin- | burgh firm who had previously acted. It is ! found to bo more convenient to have the work ' done in London where it can be under the immediate eye and direction of the Agent- , general. Me Reev<>3 has been in consultation , with Mr Oliver, M.L.C., in regard to this ■ , matter. In the course oP a controversy on vegetarianism going ou jiiub now, one writer, Mr A. C. j Field, s*ys :— " Let Mr Drysd&le visit the '' slums of Whitechapel, or those in the neighbour- . hood of Walworth, late on Saturday night or \ early on Sunday morning, and if the meat ; (though it be of New Zealand origin, whioh is , very doubtful) there sold at l^d to lsd per lb is what the doctor himself would relish, well and good." Atrong the latest new books oat is the "Journal of the Right Hon. Sir Joseph Banks," which has been brought out by Macmillan, under the editorship of Sir J. Hooker. This possesses special interest to New Zealand through the fact that Sir Joseph Banks waa with Captain Cook in his famous voyage of the Endeavour to New Zealand, and invested £10,000 in the expedition besides providing a staff of nine assistants and servants. There arc some interesting notes of the Endeavour's visit to Poverty Bay in October, 1769, and aome quaint remarks upon tha Maoris, whom Sir Joseph Banks refers to as " Indians." I have no doubt that the journal will be read with ' a great deal of interest by those who can ; afford to buy it, but as in its present form it ' costs 17b it is rather out of the reach of the , ordinary impecunious reader. i Sir William Robinson has been appointed a ' councillor of the Royal Colonial Institute in succession to Sir Charles Tupper, who resigned his seat on his departure for Canada, to take up his permanent residence in the Dominion. j Mr Albert Ashford, writiDg to the Wilts ' Herald on his travels in New Zsaland, says ' that if asked as to the desirableness of young fellows going out to New Zealand he would say ' to them : "If thay were prepared to rough it ! and work harder than ab Home they would find plenty of opportunities in Now Zealand, provided they cleared oub straight away from the , towns and went up country' to Bettle on tho \ land." j Mr William Izard, who recently arrived from | Christchurch, is endeavouring to obtain for the Canterbury Acclimatisation Society 10 red deer and 60 brace of red-legged partridges and pheaiauts. It i* estimated that the red deer will coit about £10 a-he&d, but it is not always i eaiy to ciocure these. Indeed, the purchase

o! live gajne is usually s. matter fcUfct r«quires to bu K'-ne ini,o with considerHble diplomacy, Coinnients upon the utrmg-ncy ot tha liquor logi4xtion of New Zealand are stiil to be i'ouod Vrts-y frtquantly in tho English papera. A lew uaya ago the Morning Pose remarked that che licensing Kws were so strict in Otago fcbab apparently hotslkeepert aro .Airakl to opon thcic doors at night eveu to genuine travellers. A case in point is quoted at some length f-om the Otago Daily Times. Mr M'Wiiliam, tbe New Zealand dairy expai't, in an interview with che Agent-g<2n?r*j, took a very favourable view as to the prospects of New Zealand dairy produce and the extension of the trade to Glasgow and other provincial centres. The Ageut-geaeral is actively engaged, ia association with Mr W. A. Low, with regard to certain applications from various acclimatisation sooieties in New Zealand, aod it; is hoped thab there may be no difficulty in gratifying tiw desires of those aocielies a« so t>-a importation of various animals. Under the heading " New Zealand," this week's Sketch remarks rather disagreeably :—: — •' This colony does nob now eujoy the best of credit here, Mid is evidently fully alive to tho ff.ob. We uuderstand that Iho Gi>v^ruci»!nt is aadeavonring to place locally £500,000 3£ per cent, bonds nt pr.r, despite the met thnt similar bonds cf the colony ere standing in London at over this premium. To attempt an issua hero at present nould be fco bring into prominence some unfortunate incidents in oou* pection wibh New Zealand affaira such as the lvcenfc ban h ing scandals, the Midland railway •A that coloDy, aad th 9 New Plymouth Haibour Board, bo th»t under the eircucnAtaucea it is important I'aafc the Government bhould make *», «peoi&l effort to raise *.he money. We are surprised to soe the prices of the bonds od this side standing so high." If tho Sketch is surprised, il is merely becuane \t knows very little about tbe matter. Those who do know are well aware fcfaat New Zealand stocks constitute an excellent iuvoabmenb. It i* charactaiietic of the way things of this oort are done in English journalism that the writer of the paragraph in the S«:«i;ca ha.? not thought it. worth while to take the trouble ot ascertaining the true f&ofcs iv connection with either the Midland railway or the New Plymouth harbour. Tha various insurance companies have been much exercised in mind of late by fche frequency t.nd magnitude of the claims made on accoui-fc of damage to cargoes o£ frozen meat from Ne<v Zealand, and have the matter under careful consideration, with a view to the possible cecersity of some material modification of the existing terms of insurance. The New Zealand Shipping Company 't splendid new cargo steamer Waimats will carry 8300 tons dead weight. Her chief dimensions *re as follow : — Length, 4-20fb ; boam, 54ft ; dep'oh, 32rt. Her engines are ou the triple expansion principle, of 3000 horse power indicated. She can take 90,000 carcases of Jrozan znultou. Mr David Ziman, the eminent mining authority, has arrived from New Zaalaud, and is busily engaged iv connection with the intenstn of the var.ouG mining enterprises in which ho holds so prominent a pare. It ia lenaarked by the St. James's Gazette that the claims advanced by Mr E. A. Fitzgerald as to his pioneering ia the New Zealand Alps seem to rouse a controversy among " the lictle world which cares for these things," &nd that the other side of the case is apparently to be given by Mr Arthur P. Harpe? in "a book with the ambiguous title," " Pioneer Work in the Alps cf New Zealand." The article conciudes "The wider world ie is to be feared will sbrug its shoulders and wonder there should be such a difference between Tsreedle-duin and Tweedle-de«." Mr E R Wright is still actively pushing his investigations into the etiology of tuberculosis in cattle. He has received much valuable assistancs from the veterinary authorities, and has been able to obtain careful tests of the lungs of tuberculous animals. The result of all these independent examinations has been entirely to support Mr Wright's theory that tuberculous lungs are invariably alkaline, and are not even neutral, much le;s acid. This, he contends, demonstrates conclusively the existonce of a deficiency in the phosphoric acid, which is so essential to the healthy condition of the frame, ia tbe case alike of human being* ' and of quadrupeds. ; Your late Governor, Lord Onslow, is exerting ' himself with tremendous vigour in " London's , Parliament," as the London County Council is i commonly called. As head of the "Moderate" party he has his work cut out, and especially just now, when he is taking the lead in a movement to expose some scandalous cookings of accounts which have been carried on for the j purpose of making it appear that by doing 1 public works on their own account the Works 1 Committee have done them more profitably to the rabepapers than if these works had been ' let by contract. ! Another of Mr Wileon Barrett's sons has arranged to try his fortunes in the colonies. Mr Alfred Barrett, who for the past two years or so , lived in Paris, has left with his wife and child I for New Zealand, where he means to devote j himself to farming. He was originally intended | for the medical profession, but went into journalism, and at one time managed the Leeds Grand Theatre for his father. Mr William Gisborne is about to bring out a new edition of his book " Rulers and Statesmen ! of New Zealand," revised, enlarged, and extended up to date. He came to town a few <2&78

atto to obtain pbocogr&p-n of Ndt Zealand pabiic men or the present d»y, and the Agenty«'r:era.l hns undertaken to procure them for him. Mr Gisburue t* looking wail and hearty as «ver, showing few additional sign;) of his advancing years. Mr W. A. Low has been going about a good deal Muca his return from New Zealand. He is nbsolntely bubbling over with enthusiasm about the colony in £ener,*l, its progress, and us prospects, and, of rstiursH, about fche vast promise and brilliant future of tLe Taii.apu rcioe in particular. Bab his euthusiaem is by no means mere gush, for he gives very cogent and convincing proofs that his views are not over-rosy or too sanguine. , Mrs J. M'Cosh Clarke's new book is o'ufT, and promises to have a very favourable reception. It in entitled *' Tales *nd Legends of the Maoris." Even a casual glance through the <rork shows that it is admirably written by Mrs Clarke, who rises far above the average in point of literary skill. The illustrations by Mr R. Atkinson are also excellent. In fac 1 -, the book in every respect is ft most creditable production, slike in its literary and artistic style and spirit and in the way it is got up by the publishers. Mr Thomas Bursell, C.M.G., has left wibh bis family for the South of France, where ho intends spending the winter. Mr Ruasell tells ma that be cannot stand the English winters, which keep him on the sick list, and I understand he does not intend to return to London until the spring. The Rev. Joseph Campbell, who is wel) known as an enthusiast in geology, mineralogy, and raining matters generally, has arrived in London from Auckland, aud purposes giving a series of lectures shottly on the auriferous resources of New Zealand. The London correspondent of the Glasgow Herald *ays:— "l have had an opportunity of seeing the address which Si; George Gray has received from the natives of tho Cook Islands. The object or iv is to take f&rewell of Sir George — vbo ha.s vow been in this country for some tiosfc — on hi* retirement from New Zealand politics, and it is a very interesting document;. It opens with salutations, and it goes on to speak of the prosperity which has a tended the natives of. the Cook Islands, tb*ck4 in largo measuso to the foresight aud exertion* of Sir George Grey. Then the addri3S3 continues: 'Oar word to you, Grey, is thi4 — we wish you happiness and health, and to know that our love goes forth wibh thin letter, and to tell you chat your name will never ba forgotten by the Maori people in these islands.' That extract indioatea the cordial tone of the address, the receipt of which has naturally much pleased the veteran statesman. The document concludes with these words : • May God's bleaoing rest upon you, and give peace and h&ppiness to you, who have done so much for the pence and the happiness of others in your long and honoured life.' " Mr Tom Mandeno Jaoksou, the New Zealand tenor, is once more engaged to be the tenorial hero of the annual grand Scottish concert, which t»kes place next Monday evening (St. Andrew's Day) at tha Royal Albert Hall. It may be remembered thab he achieved brilliant; success at the similar concert; last year. Madame Amy Sherwin was to have been the principal »oprano ac the same concert, as on the former oceaiion, but has not yet returned from Sonth Africa, having beeu detained at Capetown through an accident to her hutband, Herr Hugo Gorlite. She is filling up her time at Capetown by giving a series of concerts, whioh I hear have been very successful. On Thursday eveuing LiSb the students of the Pastors' College held their annual meeting in the Metropolitan Tabernacle, the Rev. Thos. Spurgeon (formerly of New Zealand) in the chair. Nearly 800 sat down to a tea provided in the Tabernacle previous to tho meeting. At pi-esent there are 55 students in the college. This year 18 have been nettled in various parts of the country. Since its formation about 40 years ago, the institution has educated 959 ministers, who have baptised, in different parts of the world, over 118,000 people. The annual income of the college is a little more than £5000, which is about the sum necessary to meet its expenses. During the evening the chairman delivered a capital lecture on the subject of •• Pins and Needles."