ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES.

Press, Volume L, Issue 8676, 28 December 1893, Page 5

ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES.

[FROM OCR CORRESPONDENT.] LONDON* November 10. Mr G. D. Mendell, a leading Melbourne financierj who arrived in London last week, has been "interviewed" of course. He expressed great confidence in Victoria's recuperative power and future prospects. Bathe asserts that the colony is " suffering as much from bad government as bad finance," and he gives as the reason that "a class oi men created by payment of members has for years past been squandering the public money, debauching the people by extravagant- State expenditure, and muddling the taxation," and declares that "there are not five men in the Assembly who understand the very ABC of finance" or ten who "could repeat the maxims of taxation."

Mr MendelTs explanation is that " For twenty-five years Victoria has been ruled by one cla&s—tne so-called labour party—and the representatives of this party have not been business men understanding JB s. d., consequently they oppose intercolonial free trade and Australian federation." Bat he believes that their "poorer, through want of funds, is broken for the time being," and he predicts that as the new taxes are chiefly direct in their incideuce " the day the electors realise what a second-rate inefficient Parliament they have as trustees of the public money, then will the miserable mismanagement of the nation's affairs be stopped." All this is not without relevance and interest to New Zealand, where, however, opinions will differ widely as to the justice of Mr Meudell's views. Last Tuesday some mining experts from New Zealand and Australia were invited to see a new gold separator at work, called the Tierra Seca, a dry-earth machine. It is alleged that these machines will save the very finest float gold without the use of water or of expensive chemicals. It is a series of winnowing machines, its principle being the reduction of the material to be operated upon to a fine powder, which is then sifted and dry air blown through it, when the gold, by reason of its greater weight, falls iuto a receptacle, and the refuse earth is blown away as dust.

Iα the. experiments a small quantity of gold dust was mixed with 2cwt of "stuff." in less than a minute and a quarter the exact amount of gold Was " saved." Mr C. Wetziar is bringing out this machine. New Zealaud mining was represented at the trial by Mr F. Evaue. Mr Henry Reynolds (of Reynolds and Co., Borough), has joined issue with Messrs Coey and Co. on the subjecc of the paying price for New Zealand butter. He asserts positively that first-class New Zealand butter cannot be placed in the London market profitably at a lower price than la per lb. He entirely endoises the statements of the New Zealand National Dairy Association, and speaking as representing a firm owning and working fifteen creameries in New Zealand, he declares that were an attempt made to lower the price of milk below that paid to the farmers last season (a fraction over 3d per gallon, aud skim milk valued at £d, returned) those farmers would abaudou milk-produciug and take to sheep farming.

Mr Reynolds (whose firm are well known in New Zealand as large producers in the Waikato district) says: —"The freights from New Zealand have always been a heavy handicap ior us, as, though Australian shippers have only paid on net weight, we have had to pay full freight per lb on packages, which amouut to nearly a quarter of the whole." But he remarks that "the recent redactions made by the New Zealand line will be a most welcome concession to shippers and manufacturers." lo is rather a subject of complaint on the part of those interested in the Victorian dairy trade, that New Zealand should have prejudiced the market by sending 15,000 packages of stored butter by the Rimutaka, Huabiue, and TainnL Bub "it is quite certain the stored butter in question fetched remarkably good prices.

A correspondent Writes to a London paper:—" Wnat will the ordinary colonist make of the fact that the Bank of England was willing to lend a rotten Trust Company £500,000 with oue hand, at the came time she was permitting the Queensland loan to be a failure on the market ? "

The Oiago and Southland Investment Company report a credit balance of £1811 for the last half-year, including £820 brought forward. The Directors propdae that this" credit also shall l\a carried forward.,

A second dividend of 9d in the £ has been declared in the estate of Herrmann Cohen and Co., New Zealand merchants, of London, who failed in February, 1892, with liabilities amounting to £32,900. The assets were then estimated at £30,000, bub have only realized £7000, and all the costs aud expenses have to come out of this. The S.S. A. Company's new cargo steamer Maori has made a very satisfactory trial trip, attaining a mean spued of twelve knots in a series of trials.

It is stated that Sir Henry Norman, to whom the high office of Viceroy of India with a certain peerage in prospective was olfered and by whom it was refused, has a son in the New Zealand Police Force. Iβ this so ?

Mr G. M. Thomson's (of Donedin) paper on the "Flora of New Zealand" is noticed by the Chronicle, which gives & precis of the paper.

Auother contribution to the Glasgow Beraid's controversy on "New Zealand as a Healih Resort" is furnished by " W. Bell" —there is no means of judging whether the writer.be masculine or femiuine—who, iv criticising "A.M.V letter—previously re* ferred to by mc, urges that when people go to New Zealand for their health's sake, a judicious choice of locality should be made iv view of the differences of climate locally to be met with. He complains that people usually are not jsent out on this acconnt until too late to receive benefit.

Much attention has been attracted by the explanation given by Mr T. A. Coghlau; the Government Statist of New South Wales, touching the exports of Australia and New Zealand, which he shows to have been overrated throngh the reckoning, twice over, of eooda passing through ports in transitu. Xα this way New Zealand's exports are brought down on re-adjustment from £9,400,000 to £7,771,000 A paper remarks that this " re-adjustment of statistics must prove eminently disconcerting to many British investors who have in good faith accepted the official statistics as virtually infallible." Sir James Fergusaon, ex-Goveroot of New ' Zealand, has consented to take the chair on the occasion of Sir Julius Vogel reading his paper on New Zealand on the 14th December.

By-the-bye Sir Julius Voget published in the London dailies a few mornings back an interesting letter from his son Frank Vogel, who is serving with the South African Company's forces in the Mutabele war. Mr Frank Vogel, it may be remembered was a prize winner at the Wimbledon shooting. It is suggested by some papers that unless the Imperial authorities mind what they are about when they call for tenders for the Austral i;u» Federal mail services the coutract will be secured by foreign lines. Several of the lines already subsidised by their own Governments are known to be very anxious to obtain the Anglo-Australian mail coutracts, and to be well able to carry out such contracts.

Mr William Brown, formerly Superintendent of the province of Auckland, and proprietor of the Southern Cro&s newspaper, has presented (through Sir Walter BuUer) to the library of the Imperial Institute, seven volumes of that journal for the most interesting period of its history, together with blue books and other valuable records of the colony. Sir Walter has himself presented a handsomely bound copy of hia famous "Birds of New Zealand," in two volumes, an J he is exerting himself to get together a good reference library in connection with the colonial .- intelligence department of the Institute. Some difference of opinion appears to exiat as to the wisdom of establishing smoking concerts at the Institute, the fear of some being that it will tend to derogate from the high aims and objects of that body. But the general feeling among the fellows i 3 that whilst intellectual attractions are offered in the way of technical and popular lectures, there must also be attractions of a social kind in order to keep that huge institution in touch with the people. Every precaution has been taken to maintain: the high character of these quasi-social fuoo-

tions, H.RH; the President having insisted oa a very strong Moaio Committee, composed of leading fights in the world of song, with a sprinkling of snob, men as Lord Knutsford. No amateur talent will be admitted except of the highest order. The football match between the staffs of (he Agents-General for- the Australian Colonies end that of the Agent-General for New Zealand took place yesterday at Lordship lane. The Australian (red) team consisted of Mr A. G. Berry (Capcain), and Messrs A, W. Arkill, l>. Evans, H. C. Hamilton, T. Mason, H. G. W. Neale, James Tearoe, J. \V. Warren, T. G. White, T. G. Whittington, and A. H. Wright; the New Zealand (bine) team included Mr C. W. Palliaer (Captain), and Messrs F. Cantwell, G. F. Copus, t>. Dtckeon, A. Gannon, J. A. Mason, C. Milne, A, S. Row, T. Shortt, A. W. Smith, and E. Smith. After a capital game New Zealand won by five goals to nothing. The play of A. W. Smith (centre forward), T. Shortt (right wing), T. Cantwell, also of the two bocks Dickson and E. Smith, was particularly good. A. W. Smith got two goals, T. Shortt two, and Cantwell one, Tne Australians played well at first but soon " went to pieces," and seemed out of condition, while they lacked combination in their work. The New Zealand forwards were especially good and J. A. Mason (half back) also deserves special praise. A smoke concert was held later, at which two New Zealand singers—P&Hieer (of Wellington) and Campbell (Nelson)—carried off chief,vocal honours.

Mrs and the Misses Loughnan and Miss Lewis, all of Christchurch, have left London for Rome, where they intend to winter. Mr and Mrs Henry Reynolds will pay a visit to New Zealand before very long. Mr Reynolds goes merely with the object of promoting the interests and progress of the dairy industry.