ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 66, 18 March 1907, Page 5

ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES.

(Prom Our Special Correspondent?. '

LONDON, FebruaryiT Mr. Winston Churchill, although, not a member of the Caoinet, appears to be privileged to speak on behalf 6- -~*e Ministry on colonial affairs. Dealing with the forthcoming conference of the colonial Prime Ministers,. Mr. Churchill stated this week at Leeds that the' members of the conference would be under no restraint whatever upon subjects that might arise. It would be open to them most freely to put fheir case with all the force of argument they could command. The representatives of the Home Government would say anything they had to say with' frankness, freedom, true friendship, and every desire to understand the difficulties of the colonies, and to make them understand our difficulties. The Government valued highly the preferences already afforded to us by the colonies, because of the loyal and noble sentiment which giverise to them, because they were freely given, and because in that way the colonies were able to make some return to fhe people of this country for the great sums paid by the latter for the purposes of the common defence. The Government also sympathised with, and supported, the growing practice of inter-colonial preference, as it involved the lowering of duties, and made easier the approach of that inter-colonial Free Trade which was the goal both of Tariff Reformers and Free Traders in this country. This jstatement was received by Mr. Churchill's audience with loud cheers.

It has been reported in Italy that the British Government contemplates abandoning the Brindisi route for the Indian and Australian mails. The expresses conveying the mails across Italy from Modana to Brindisi have been affected by the general disorganisation of the Italian railway lines, which for a long time past has been a cause of general complaint, and the British Post Office is said to have protested without avail against the extraordinary delays on. the journey. The report has caused commotion in Brindisi, and a meeting is being organised for Sunday next to protest against the Government's inaction in the matter.

What is believed to have been a record shipment of Scotch whisky was made from the Clyde a few days back. In the holds of the steamship Morayshire, which left for New Zealand ports, via, X/iverpool, were stowed no fewer than 20,000 cases, each containing a dozen bottles. In addition, there were carried a thousand casks of whisky. Arithmeticians say that in point of bulk the quantity exceeded the 27,000 cases once shipped on a Clan liner at Glasgow, 'ihese large exports of Scotch whisky to the colonies afford a new and not uninteresting illustration of the theory; that trade follows the flag.

Some figures just published show in striking fashion how the overseas meat supply of London is growing, and how at the same time the British stock-raiser is losing ground. The gross tonnage which passed through the Central Meat Market at Snrithfield in 1905 was 415,----000 tons; and last year it increased to 422,000 tons. But the amount of homeraised and home-killed meat decreased in the same twelve months by 4000 toBS, and the proportion of British meat at Smitbfield is now little more than onefifth of the whole. Australasia alone sends more to Smithfield than comes from the whole of the British Isles— 104,000 tons, as opposed to 86,000 tons. The Argentine is a formidable and rapidly-growing competitor, and the American Beef Trust, the greatest purveyor of beef in the world, is getting its tentacles round Smithfield Market. Its astute agents have acquired stall after stall in the Central Market of recent years, and they fix the price of all American meat every morning, taking care that there shall never be a glut by their skilful manipulation of the supplies. The Trust is superbly organised, and, with free ports of entry, is very difficult to withstand, especially as it has extorted valuable rebates from certain English railway companies fot the carriage of its beef. The "Daily Telegraph," commenting on the decline of the British stock-raisers, remarts:—

"It is alarming to see them being squeezed out of Smithfield, for if they are pushed out of lendon their loss of other markets can only be a question of time. N-or does the general public benefit by their misfortunes. The price of meat is, relatively speaking, high compared with what it was fifty years ago, considering also the abundance of the supplies, and the prices paid to the actual producers. As with fish, fruits, and vegetables, so with meat —it is the middlemen who make the big profits."

Mr. Allen H. Stoneham, who was a candidate for a Leicestershire seat at the last election, has -written to the "Times" complaining of the lack of adequate maps and text-books of the British Empire in the schools of the country. During the election Mr. Stoneham promised to send an Empire map and suitable text-books to all the schools and clubs which he visited, so that the children and their parents might have an opportunity of learning about the Empire. To his amazement he found great trouble in obtaining in London an up-to-date map of the world showing all the possessions of Great Britain. The best map is that published by the Navy League, and that one was out of date. Mr. Stoneham waited until d new edition of the map was published, and sent a copy of it, together with the Emigrants' Handbook of the Colonies" to all the schools and clubs he had visited. "The result," he says, "has been most extraordinary. The maps and books have not merely been welcomed, but have been received with delight and enthusiasm. I have been almost overwhelmed with letters asking for copies to be sent to schools and clubs in other counties. The requests have come not only from adjoining counties, but from all parts of England and Wales, and even Scotland and Ireland. Methodists and Home Rulers, Baptists and Labour men, Church men and Socialists, and Unionists and Free Thinkers and teachers of all denominations have vied with each other in ehowing their eagerness to learn about the Empire."

Apparently the provision made for teaching school children about the Empire to which they belong is lamentably inadequate. Such teaching is not on the syllabus, but is left to the discretion of the headmaster, subject to the approval of the school inspector. The Board of Education does not supply an Empire map, and the choice of iext-books is left to the teachers and inspectors. Mr. Stoneham submits that this shows a scandalous state of affairs' in view of the fact that the cost of education amounts to upwards of £28,000,000 per annum. It certainly goes far to explain the ignorance of the average Englishman regarding the portions of the. Emftgs.Jt&a»isla»d t ,',.. T ,.,'