ANGLO-COLONIAL GOSSIP.

Press, Volume XLIII, Issue 6547, 16 September 1886, Page 2

ANGLO-COLONIAL GOSSIP.

oub corbkspondbwt.] LONDON, July 30. A series of papers on New Zealand are being read in tne Conference Room of the Indian and Colonial Exhibition, and are well attended by colonials in England and the general public. Two of these lectures —by Mr P. W. Pennefather and the Rev.

W. S. Green—whioh have boaa illustrated by linie-light dissolving views, have come off since I last wrote. The first-named" gentleman ohoee as hie subject" New Zealand as a field for tourists," and Being ft -. fluent lecturer, who has travelled much aucceaded in thoroughly interesting his. audience. The illustrations accompanying the lecture gave an excellent idea of the natural beautiee to be found in different parte of your country, but the less said of the views of your towns, perhaps, the better. For instance, Wellington «n depicted by a remarkably well.flUeg churchyard in the foreground, and beyonj that nothing but chaos. Of course, this may hare been intended to reflect on the sanitary arrangements of your seat of government and on the chaos of party warfare that fexj often is waged there, or it may have haw a parable indicating that " the path ef (politioal) glory leads but to the grave. 4 But, anyhow, to tho uninitiated it was Bute to give a gloomy idea of the " windy city,* > Again, Ghristohurch was illustrated by a pioture of the Cathedral with nono of its Burroundingp, by one of the bridges oroesing the the Avon in the Domain, and by a somewhat haay view of the first floor back' entrance of the New Zealand Wool Stores That the Eev. W. S. Green is a fuuny matt as well aa a plucky explorer, wai soon made, evident to the numerous audience that attended his lecture on the " Alps of New Zealand." He poßsesaes a large fund of dry humour as well aa considerable pomrt of clear description. As for the viewi he showed—most of them rough sketches drawn by himself—they "were, many of them, diverting in the extreme. Hia picture of himself in camp pursuing a' woodhen that had run off with his solitary piece of butter, brought down the house, «i also did his likeness of a dog chained in a gap of a wire fence on the Canterbury '. plains. ' -.' The Prince of Waloe, who takes auoh a , ' deep interest in the welfare of the working man, has lately been turning his attention to the possibility of the poorer olanea ' being admitted into the " Colinderies " at a cheaper rate than has hitherto ruled. The present charge is a shilling ahead, and it is obvious that no laborer or mechanic could, in these hard times, tike hia wife and family to see the show without ft serious drain upon his Blender resource*. Consequently, the Prince euggeete that after tne 16th of next month epsoial facilities should be given, by arrangement between th° railway companies, the executive officers of the Exhibition, and others concerned, by which the cost of admission should be much lowered. The. Prince has applied to the London Sohool Board for co-operation, ~ doing so, as he says, with the less hesitation as he is of opinion that the benefit to '; be derived from a study of the Exhibition is of the highest educational value. Hβ" ■-' has also been consulting Mr Shipton, the ; Secretary of the London Trades CouhdL and Mr George Potter, the President of the . Working Men's Club Union. Mom* over, there have been meetings of ropte- „.. eentative working men to thrash oat subject, and matters seem well en <re*»,. towards a satisfactory solution of the proposal. . • .. . ';' Apropos of the Prince of Wales and the Exhibition, the public appreciation of the , , invaluable services .which he has rendered to itTsl"*frlaa& found a practical issue. At a meeting held at the residence of Lord '' Granville, whioh waa attended by members ' of the Boyal Commission, the Executive Commiflßioners for the Colonies and India and others, it was resolved first)—" That the eminent services of his Boyal Highness the Prince of Wales, in the promotion of the Colonial and Indian Exhibition, ought to be marked in come fitting manner; that the members of the Boyal and of the Colonial Commissions believe that the gentlemen who have been conneoted with ' the work, both in the colonies and in India, would desire to share Iα the publio appreciation of hie Boyal Highnesa's ser- | vices; and it is accordingly considered that a piece of plate, commemorative of the Exhibition and of the great interest whioh hia Boyal Highness has practically evinced in its success, should be obtained for presentation to him." A second reee» lution resolved—"That a subscription lilt be [opened both here and in the colon!*} ~ and India for the above purpose j aw that, inasmuch as it is desirable that tie participation in tbia publio tribute to bii . Boyal Highness should be as widespread a* possible, and that every opportunity should be given to all to chare in it, the . highest amount whioh any one person may subscribe be limited to two guineas, bos that aay smaller sums will be gladly received." A powerful Committee was theft formed, including the Executive Commissioners for the Colonies and India and a number of others, who at their fin* meeting nominated Earl Cadcgan, the ' Earl of Boeebery, Field Marshal Lori Napier of Magoala, the Lord Mayor of London, Sir John Bom», Bart, and 8b? Bobert G. W. Herbert as a sub-ownmittee* The idea of a public testimonial from tto .; Queen's subjects to Her Majesty's eldest son is of course a novelty and may pwsibly be somewhat of a chock to court etiquette' but there seems no valid reason why everyone who wishes to do so, both here and elsewhere in the British Empire, should not have an opportunity of testifying their appreciation of the exertions gone through by the heir to the Throne in the publio interest. It must be remembered that not bnly has the Prinoe worked bard for the present Exhibition, but daring the - ; three years previous to 1886, he took a leading part in initiating and carrying' through the Fisheries, the Healtheriet, and the show illustrating the present state of inventions and the history of musical instruments, all of whioh nave been of ; great educational value to the people of ".- this country. The three last mentioned exhibitions were not, of oouue, of the same imperial iaterest as the present one, -' but their success adds to the debt of gratitude due to the Prince by the publio at , ; large. ■> -■''■- •■•'• On the 26th inst. Earl Grahvllle, white presiding at the annual meeting of th» members of the City Liberal Ciub, took , occasion to refer to the matter of the defence of the colonies. Sumnuuurisg the ! present situation with reference to the I work lately done in connection with oar naval bases over the tee, he mentioned, that defence works were well advanced in the following place*, namely: — Hong Kong, Singapore, Trincomalee, Bietrm Leone; works were in construction at Simon's Bay and Aden i at Maurftms, Jamaica and Esquimault works were to be commenced at once; while they were shortly to be undertaken at Table Bay and St. Lucia. The colonies of Hong Kong, the etraite Settlement and Mauritius have each undeitaken to bear • share in the defence of the Empire By providing the aums required for works, toe/ • armament being supplied by the Imperial Government; while the Dominion of Canada has undertaken to construct toe defences of Esquimault on the same conditions. Lastly, the Australian Cβ""** have testified their willingness todJ»re» the cost of fortifying King -Gβ"!** i Sound and the Torres Straits. The only drawback to the satisfaction > in the above statement lies in the unpor» teat fact that the noble lordsaid ««» single word a* to the supply jut cannon t» befumietiedby. the GemMM"; There are sceptics who declare tiu£ «g deficiency in guns is alarming, and the* « is all very well to crow over the n oo "**** defence works erected or in course ol etee-

»ir w«r» bow to Weak out ISifee works eompWted would be of no *_toZtMMrn-* a. total want of unuat agaia. Bad GimnTilk. Saeetaisg about •Oβ* <* the fortresses TZr ia oor possession, which ere generally aot to t* in a condition to cope «& fee mo&ra advanced stage of gunnery Gibraltar and Malta are neither I hum considered by experts to be is-«-Wrab** aa at pwemt armed. Thus it th*t Lord OranTffle'i pie*sre of the exiitinic state of preparedness 4f tik* Empire against attack has a darkaa mB at a bright side. ¥ot«ithtSaading the late rebuff by the TTujadi Government of bis scheme for aieaf aMßsey for tbe Panama Canal work*, M. Dβ Leseep* is pushing vigorously for,yA <Tbe arrratzi annual general meet- | waftlwfhsrehcldenot tbeCaaalCcmZrr was held yesterday in Pan*, and the aneeediac* were of the moat enthusiastje fiiiirartirr Tbe annul report was carried j sjanim —*T Iβ it the reteran engineer 4 that, MorigiaeUy settled, the paa. ccc ooeaa to the©thtr would be ens in ISB9. and that before tbe next MBaal awetint; tbe works would be enterw epen their final stage. Jα for raising Sweessary funds by tbe is*ue of new M. Dβ Lenep* declared bis nawiwjuidiaaee on the fidelity of tbe sharek|lSea and tbe French public. i • Xtal«a)B stakes mc thtak of tbe lower sagfeßS, thi* smell of powder and tbis euljS/tl* ¥m im *—r" ***d> the other day, a fir j ecptanr of Wimbled an camp; bat tbe juisthrrir had aa uncommonly k«ea noae, faeces* tbe amount of wind on the Comattß this y«ar b«s seriously interfer*d with ft* tbnf#*«g- Still naaaaal interest baa attacked to tbe meeting, by reason of tbe rifiemen who Have taken part ftUlat proceeding*, and tbe large number *t titf" , "* 1 and Indian ▼niton who have £,■« Liarnf There bare been two prizes «r t*w« of priars to which antipodean ssatkoMea bare naturally turned special gfraniHaw. A colonial competition of long |s tbe Kolapore Imperial Cnaljom Cap, a trophy given by toe £«]*h of Sfljaswre to promote emulation among tbe ■jfcT Tatentecrs of lu*a» tbe British Uijhwii— ■"nit dependencies, aed tbe Mother (jgiHtij Last year five teams competed, bsbbvt, tfe* home team, aad those from CaatßteT. Jeraey, Caaada.and India. This wartfee Australian team was added to the «ber- Sine* the Cap was first shot for, ja. iSfl, the Oid Country has carried avgg ***en time*, and tbe Canadians four tiMt. 0» tike pteseat occasion the trophy 2tU to the Eogßabmea, while the jSt Maw came in the following order:— Dsajfc Overawe j, Australia, Jersey and -ajffr J* jpoMoa. it may be mentioned. flat lieutenant Cork, of the Australian ts**v wasasarked a rnisa for bis first shot. nfftft* iiiaay onlookers thought had hit the laftsye, and this was chimed for him by Mieaßtaln. Had the claim been allowed iirt— *« would bare taken third place, bat, after soote s> decuinn was jina against the aboTcnaued rifleman. fsrtbtsetof prixas given by the Corpota--1lsB«f Lcosdoß, only eoloaista aad repreasaSatiit* of oUscr distant portions of the British Empire were allowed to compete. <M of the twasrr-eigat prizetakerr, eight ? van AsrtraUKßs, while Aβ two highest asorsts were Canadians, aa Australian eaousg third, and Sergeaat Leach, aa Jaeaiß Volontoer, fourth. Incidental to Hμ sstatiag jaat closed may be noted the laanaaisg auabar of adjasctsto tike rifle viieh an used wheaerer the regulations •Sew it. Wind gauges the same of -wtid U legioa— " Tecaian," or sight ■ijasfeers, deflaea, dmaten, barrel eaolats, for remonag tbe blur, jßßga iadeta, and numberless other appatsaareeomißg into uae in nambedeea fanatovad urms, asd are almost bdagiag ,' afcootzßg within the pals of the exact muni Before tee camp broke op, the J iisiiiii'iiT- who shot for the Kolapore Cnp I ««ra entertained at dinner by the N»tfeaal *'—: KSs It— nH the Boyal Arthur «f freeaasow entertained all % JBeiemeßhni of the Zsdtaaandeola. Sb P. Bell by tto Master aad Varices of th# Drapers* Compaay. During flw Imr Six Franca had bean presented wUk fiw freedom of the Compaay, the l i l niß»iir-««* certifioate cf which was eaalessainadiased golden casket bearing Us si« of the Compaay, of New Zetland, -Xt fnderkik Tooag has resigned the •flat at Booorary Sccrefmry of the Boyal QdatMSMtitnte, which he has held aiaoe m*-tkt year which witnessed the death efHwimßaaocary Secretary, Mr Eddy. Mr.lmmg has been to fill the mmmes ia Ota list of Vice-Preaidenu JMafy eecasiened by the death of the BtgktHoa.W.B.ForsVr.lLP.