ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIV, Issue 149, 24 June 1903, Page 1 (Supplement)

ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES.

(From Our Special Correspondent.)

LONDON, May 23

The wearisome wrangle between the Wellington correspondent of the London "Times" and the Agent-General about the Auckland cabinet-makers' strike has, we devoutly hope over here, received its final "quietus," or the name of New Zealand will get into worse disfavour than it already is. Last Tuesday's "Times" gives an outline of the incidental newspaper warfare that has been going on between the same correspondent and the Dunedin "Star," and has ended in an apology to the Wellington gentleman. The whole mischief is traceable -to rhetoric and paraphrasing.

Mr Richard Whittingham, who has for the last sixteen years or more been brewing down at Gore, has struck an idea which, if successful, will lift him above all earthly depressions as well as the most mountainous difficulties. It is a notion in connection with 'the improvement of airships, and Mr Whittingham has lost no time in making himself safe by getting a provisional protection from the Patent Office. I regret that I canno-t enlighten you, as yet, as to the gist of the specification, as by the rules of the Patent Office the public is not allowed to see anything until the "provisional specification" is officially passed as "accepted." Of course Mr Whittingham does' not think it safe to divulge anything in the meanwhile even to the New Zealand Press Agency.

There , arc, we know, two opinions as to the righteousness of the action of ■the British and Colonial Governments which are running the Pacific cable in opposition to the Eastern Extension Company, but even those ■who side .entirely with the company will admit that if Governments do enter into opposition with a private commercial concern they are bound, in honour to the tax-paV-ers, to run their show on business linos. The Pacific Cable Committee has apparently come to the conclusion that if the new route is to get a paying share of the cable traffic '-twixt Australasia and the Old Country the commercial methods of the opposition must be copied, and I hear that arrangements are being made for a vigorous and thorough canvass of the colonies for business for the '•all red route"; that, in fact, the committee intends to leave no stone unturned to persuade cable users to send their messages "via Pacific." What the effect of really energetic competition on the Eastern Company will be remains to be seen. The directors think they have "bottomed" the value of the opposition, and appear to think the Pacific route will not take more than 25 per cent, of their main line traffic to Europe away, but they may have reason to revise this estimate if those responsible for the working of the new route really put their shoulders to the wheel.

The first performance in England of the New Zealand Band was at Folkestone, on the South Coast, last Wednesday afternoon, and is reported to have been a decided success. They played at Dover the same evening, Tunbridge Wells the next day, and are due at Eastbourne today, ajnd to-morrow play at slow's at Claridon, near Guildford, before the Prince and Princess of Wales, a "command" performance, which necessitates the postponement of two bi<* concerts which had been arranged for at Brighton on the day. Xext week they play at Portsmouth and Southampton, returning , to London on Wednesday, when they are to be shown over the Mint in the morning, and to be entertained at luncheon by the Governor.

"VVe live and learn—some times from the "Morning Post," which last Tuesday contained this invaluable piece of information concerning the New Zealand mails:--"The Sonoma, which left London on the 2nd inst., carrying New Zealand mails, sailed from San Francisco at midnight on Friday."

The Hon. W. Allardycc, Colonial Secretary and Receiver-General of Fiji, has arrived in London. He has come over on a holiday, and also to consult witli the Secretary of State for the Colonies on the affairs of Fiji. Mr Humphrey Berkeley, who is also in London, has in his possession a petition to the King signed by 20,000 Fijians, asking for a redress of '•innumerable wrongs" from which they are said to suffer under the existing native regulations. The Colonial Office has refused to present this petition until it has been returned to Fiji and forwarded through the Governor of the Colony. Mr Berkeley has refused to take this course on aecoimt of the urgency of the petition, and because he has already laid charges of suppression of despatches on the part of the Admioistration of Fiji, and declines to subject the petition to the fate which ha 3 attended previous correspondence.

How Mr Berkeley proposes to overcome the constitutional obstacle set up by ; the Colonial Office I do not know. He may, of course, adopt the dramatic course of flinging the petitioij'-iuto , tht 'King'a carriage when His Majesty is taking a drive, but this would be a somewhat risky proceeding should a stalwart policeman or gallant guardsman be in the thrower's near vicinity. Mr Berkeley would run the risk of being cut down or clubbed first and asked for explanations afterwards. His martyrdom would of course be a most effective way of bringing the Fiji.ans' wrongs before the British public, but T doubt whether Mr Berkeley will be willing to take the risk of being made a candidate for the hospital or the coroner's attention.

The French Colonial party—93 a result of the King's recent visit to President Loubet, apparently—seem to be in a remarkably sweet and reasonable frame of mind just at present. A writer in the official organ of the party advocates that the Newfoundland fisheries ajnd New Hebrides disputes should be settled by direct negotiation with the British selfgoverning colonies concerned. He "The difference respecting the. New Hebrides should be settled directly with Australia. The basis of an understanding could ba easily found. Since Australia objects to the neighbourhood of the French penal settlement, she could be given the assurance that when once the New Hebrides have become French the Republic would send no more convicts to Oceania."'

Commenting thereon, Mr P. Mennell says, in the "British Australasian": "Al* this looks very feasible, at any rate, from a French point of view on paper, but it would not be quite so easy in practice. It is too lace, if I know anything of Australian sentiment, to barter the withdrawal of the recidivist* fQr the cession of the New Hebrides."

The report !>y tha liquidator of the North British and New Zealand Investment; states fclxit ibe result of the realisation of the assets has been as follows:. Cash in bank, on hand, and drafts (as in balance-sheet £17,057, actually, realised £17,057; loans in N.Z. (as in balance-sheet £11,875) actually realised! £11,875; properties in N.Z; (as in bal-ance-sheet £945) actually realised £874;| office furniture in N.Z. (as in balancesheet £10) actually realised £21; interest accrued on investments (as in balance-sheet £ 2SB) actually realised 1 £2SB; reserve fund investments (as in balance-sheet £5426) actually realised £5481; total (as in balance - sheet £35,603) actually realised £35,538. Td which must be added income received during liquidation £257, making a total of £35,796, out of which has been paid the debts due at date of liquidation, £232; the amounts paid by ■. shareholders in anticipation of calls, £2728; the expenses of liquidation, £615{ leaving for distribution among the shareholders £32,220. £2 per share on each £10 share, being the amount paid up, has been returned (£25,830), leaving, after repayment of the capital, £6390, which ha;s been distributed among the shareholoders as a bonus of 9/10$ per share. The company, was formed in 1886 for the purpose of lending money on mortgage in N.Z. For the first five years the dividends paid were at tlie rate of 5 per cent., for the next five year 3 6 per cent., and for the last four years, when it was practically being wound up, 4 per cent. The reason for bringing the company's operations to an end was the great fall" in; the rates to be. obtained for lending money in the colony. When the company started operations the rate was. 7 per cent, to 7i per cent., whereas it fell to-4s.per ront. to 5 per cent., at which rate . .after paying taxes in N.Z., and expenses of management, it was impossible. , to carry on.the company's business at an adequate profit. . ■ .