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ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES.

[FROM OCR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.] January 27. Mr and Mrs George Beetham, who arrived in London recently from New .', Zealand, via Australia, by the Orient gteamer Orizaba, are both in good health, and had a Dicasaut journey. They are at present staying with Mr and Mrs N. Levin {Mrs Beetham's parents) at Gledhow Gardens in Kensington. I had a visit from gfr Beetham a few days ago, and thought him looking remarkably well. jdr Bendix Rolleostera is leaving England „ a few days for the Continent, where he -Brposes making a lengthened tour before hi, return to the colony. He is in excellent health, and seems to be enjoying his visit thoroughly. Mr Hol!e_stein writes to the British AitsItalian his conviction thai the Sr_nanc_l troubles or Australia wi I v__*l'the development of that country s Sal resources, and that consequently _„ sports will more than double themSesat no very distant date. He remarks St"ln New Zealand this process has !£ady been (?oing on for some time,' and STdds, "White I am against re-con-«__S, aud rather for amalgamation m Seis in which there is already too mucli SStiou, and for a long time to come no of 'expansion, I affirm and I doso Sth a sense of grave responsibility, Miat _f „ -. S»»t time. Pn._- d f™ » >ariu_« , 0 f Tc-Bonstructiou.' "{_!_£_■ SSTthi Loan and Mercantile reminds mc that the issue of ■ the proposed Soonstruction scheme was promptly greeted byNew Zealand's persistent enemy, the Standard, with one of the usual hostile notices. After summarising the scheme, the Standard says :—" It is the position of the old debeoture-holders, however, which is of most importance. Tnese are, as we stated j some week 3 ago, to be placed not only behind the Schrdder Mortgage of 1892, but to some extent behind the ordinary trade or bank creditor. A Prior Lien Debenture stock ia to be created, and into this all the Schroder stock is to be converted, and the ordinary creditor is to receive 12£ per cent. of his claim in cash, 374 per cent, in Prior lien Bonds, aud 25 per cent, each in A and B Debentures. No Prior Lien Bonds at all are to be given to tbeolddebenture?holders, who are put oJ with A and B Debentures. Ib would have been wiser to place the Company in liquidation, call up the £22 10s due on the shares, and honestly pay off all debts. Happily the meetings of creditors, &&, are postponed till the 20th prox. by the intervention of the Court. So the old. debenture-holders have time to organise and take action." This is of course a direct suggestion to oppose the reconstruction. It would fall flat; however, but for the extreme bitterness still felt by the unsecured debentureholders at what they persist in deeming the deception practised on them in the withholding of the fact thab they had only a remote and contingent security on the Coin-p-cy's assets, and were, by the conversion operation, placed behind the majority of the creditors. This they cannot and will nob forgive, and it will be a mosb difficult matter, needing more than ordinary tact, to placate them sufficiently to secure their acceptance of the scheme. It is of course very easy for the Standard to talk glibly about its being wiser to " coll up the £22 10a due on the shares and honestly pay off all debts ;" bub such a course would spell dire ruin to numbers of innocent persons, and yet would not in any way benefit the aggrieved debenture-holders. For it is estimated that quite as large a sum will be realised by the snore moderate and extended call which is - proposed under this scheme, as would be obtained by squeezing to the utmost the hapless shareholders. Under the scheme of reconstruction, on the other hand, ib is believed that a splendid business will be set os its feet once more, while in the long run nobody will really lose anything. One would imagine that the vast preferableness oi such a method ought in the end to prevail with business men over any mere feelings of perhaps natural resentment. An interesting article on mining in New .Zealand is published by the Mining World in its last issue. It remarks on one point— '•New Zealand has enough water and to ■pare, but it must utilise and preserve it for those periods of drought to which the country is liable. There are numerous rivers and streams Sowing at high veloci- - ties which if properly utilised are capable of giving a cheap motive power to work the whole of the mining.and other machinery ia the colony, and by this means a lower grade ; of jore could be produced and treated at a | profit than at present." Mr W.; Courtney has once more started his lectures on New Zealand. A few days ago be delivered a lecture in Edinburgh with a view to inducing emigration to New Zealand, whose attractions and inducemeats, including its splendid climate, he described in glowing terms. There was a fair attendance of appreciative listeners. ~-_: It is observed by the Manchester Guardian that some noteworthy cnauges in New Zealand trade are shown by the returns for the hat quarter, there being a general decrease _. in imports with a marked increase in ssost exports. Where decreases in the hfcter are most noted, these, the Guardian **y& appear to be mainly due to lower tnees." V According to the Newcastte Chronicle the _ ttparts from New Zealand as to the "aemondior labour" go so briefly to one -•ad the same point that " their resemblance h*__oßt aggressively obvious to the famous report upon snakes iv Iceland." This is the - BazUth roundabout way of saying that fl toere ain't any." "The emigration from the Continental wilonies to New Zealand," says the same jwraal, " is a fact as undoubted as its •jnificance is unmistakable.'-' A Nottingham man in New Zealand *ft.h» to a friend in that town (who pub- «*•» his letter in the-Notta Guardian) «**» New Zealand " Social Democracy is .-.■ She ascendant, and there is a craze for T^i** 3 on every conceivable subject. . . «the law (against betting) was enforced «ree-qu_rters of the men would be bankj*P*»as tbeyare a very sporting lot, and wyottagnien take great interest in the '°*cv Farming seems very prosperous. * « •. A man coming to settle on land ■*nd heed quite as much capital as in **B*ttd, if not more." " I have not been jf* long. enough," he adds, "to share in *T*fs*-d's pride and vainglory, and I like to wipe out nearly all the laws they pride themselves most. I a dose of protection, as nearly ~ _*)_ a!port is Xaxed am * most things "cost y?®ft often trebte, what they cost iv Engr**> I f_acy there is just a trifle or so of here, don't you think so ? ttwrv 0 * *" enu some good even in : '*r*_L* w " Zealar,d Nazareth. "I must 2*» " that election matters are . better here than in England. S_S y ° r Us . u - Iv ttlkes the chair at aII gocoi meetings, irrespective of parties. candidate usually gets that " New Zealanders are not for temperance," and he sums jto_^*r* racter of New Zealand news!s*__£ m Us view P<>int in a disagreeably "Newspapers," he says, "are IT* °P of advertisements, especially of M J¥r, cmes « reports of races, local | £■« UUIe interest, and twelve or fifteen *H„_?2 , Qsed cablegrams." Strange to »t_ 1 £ ? alanders ia London find much 81 * equally uninteresting. tt ß _T tbe P O - 6 of view ? But it is well -■Siourselves as others see us." Sgjaj-adled likeness of Sir Westby C**** published by the Sun. It repre»«i erf* 3 ? fellow, but that claim to be a presentment of our However, the 6un makes , w^, c »f»-l deficiences by warmly laudundeservedly— the ability and ! H S__T ener §r of the "AG." £ for the firßb time "* biatory," the Standard's Vienna corresl^2L° n the 10th inst,. "Australasian fW__Ti »Ppeared. in the Vienna market. **at Sr*^' wa " onJ y five tons, and the e) 0^ M |» Queensland and New Zealand Wrf* a frozen state was readily £o_!i. Meat ia Vienna is so dear that if -. faulty satisfies the pubho taste there *

will be a great market there for the meatproducing British colonies. But it is to be feared that the Australasian imports will be sold as home beef at the highest prices, the butchers pocketing tho difference." - A lady writer in the Court Circular says, "We ought to congratulate ourselves and our New Zealand sisters on the results of the elections there, and the splendid way in which the majority in thousands registered their yote3, when for the first time in any British colony every woman over twentyone years of age" possessed equal voting powers with those held by men." A correspondent siguiug, herself " G.N.," writing in the Queen, from Wellington, j New Zealand, gives a lively description of ; the late general election. Sue says :—" 1 I have travelled in many countries, but in no other land have I seen such courtesy and unobtrusive chivalry habitually exhibited to women, whether old or young, as by New Zealand men of every condition of rank. The status of a New Zealaud woman is considerably higher than that of her sister in Australia or England, and she is not likely to forget that she gained the political franchise not by inadvertence or party scheming, but as a deliberate act of justice no les3 than chivalry on the part of her countrymen * " According to the same writer, " The New Zealand girl is of fair average height clear complexion and a healthy personal appearance that tells of fresh air and cold water, and augurs well for the future of the race. In dress she is as a rule sensible and workmanlike, eschewing paint and excess of fripperies, and no devotee of the fashion book. As a Committeewoman in the election she showed a praiseworthy tendency to sink herself and go iv for steady work." A capital likeness of the New Zealand Agent-General i 3 given in the Colonies and India, together with a very good biography of Sir Westby Perceval. "A Native" writes as "a voice from New Zealand" to the Hamilton Advertiser iv a strain the reverse of complimentary to your colony's justly renowned climate. He says :—"lt is a mistaken idea people have at Home of the grand climate of New Zealand. I have been all over from south to north and must say that it is very changeable. . . Take the whole colony all over lb wants a lot of rain, as it dries up so soon. Fruit you would think was very cheap but such is not the case. Apples, oranges, pears, and plums are even dearer than at home." Then he proceeds to deal with the various localities in detail. "In Dunedin" he says, " we have in one day spring, summer and autumn. The day may be fine to fairly warm, bub the nights are as a rule very cold. All through the year fires have to be kept on ab nighb time, in summer especially. We do nob have the cold you do at Home, nor do we have ib very warm, bub as for moisture and Scotch mists it is terrible. For anyone weak in the chest or suffering from bronchitis, Dunedin is not tlie town for them." "Christchurch," he continues, "basal more equable temperature, but it is very flat. They can grow grapes in the open. Wellington is very hilly and windy, and has but little shelter. It is also a great place for rain. It is the centre so to speak, 'of the two islands, and is also very changeable, bub nob so cold as Dunedin." Bub he is enthusiastic in his praise of Napier, " the best town of the lot to live in," and of Nelson. A friend in Australia writes to the Rugby Advertiser warning intending emigrants | against Australia, but he admits that "the farming business in New Zealand is, I believe, very good." j A graceful and well-written biography of \ the lute Bishop Harper is published by the i Hampshire Chronicle. Ib says, — " The Bishop's wise and gentle rule of thirty-three years was marked by the quiet and yet rapid expansion of the Church."

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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP18940310.2.55

Bibliographic details

Press, Volume LI, Issue 8789, 10 March 1894, Page 9

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2,031

ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES. Press, Volume LI, Issue 8789, 10 March 1894, Page 9

ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES. Press, Volume LI, Issue 8789, 10 March 1894, Page 9