ANGLO COLONIAL NOTES.

Press, Volume LII, Issue 9021, 6 February 1895, Page 5

ANGLO COLONIAL NOTES.

■»» {FBOM OUR CORRESPONDENT.) LONDON, December 29. Christmas week ! That means don't expect much tews this time. There are hardly any Nnw Zealanders in town. Tho few who still remain in England aro away m various parts of the country keeping Yuletide with their triends or relatives, and colonial business matters in the city are virtually at a standstill, and so will be until next week shall have passed and the New Year come. 1 have to record with much regret the death at St. Moritz of Miss Pharazyn (of New Zealand), whose dangerous illness I mentioned in a recent letter. Mrs Yates' portrait and biography appear both in the lUustmted London News and in the Siui. It is stated by tbe latter paper that Mr R. S. Smythe is to convoy the Onehunga Lady-Mayor on an English lecturing tour, as " Mrs Yates is an excellent platform speaker." Writing to the Daily Chronicle,. Mr G. S. Jakins, ofChdstchurch, at present iv London, asserts that "Now Zealand butter is not put on the (London) market to do justice to the shippers." He condemns the system of putting up the butter in i»6lb cases, and urges that tbe butter should be frozen in lib or 2tb lots, as is done in Brittany, in which case he believes it would reach con* sumers in far finer condition.

. A novel and interesting picture of New Zealand and Australasian geography is given by the New York Christian Herald, the Rev. Dr. Talmage's paper, in an account of Dr. Talmage's progress through the settlements of the Southern seas. This is how it is put:—" From Samoa to Tasmania is a long sea run, but one golden morning in June brought Hobart Town in sight, with the headlands of that strange and weird country discovered by the old Dutch navigator, Taaman. New Zealand was the next stopping place on the journey. . , . He then crossed the stormy little strait between New Zealand and the island continant oi Australia, disembarking at Sydney."

" A stormy little strait!" One would hardly recognise the Tasman Sea under this designation. But American ideas are large, and 1200 miles of ocean naturally seem a mere "strait."

Oα Christmas Day the Standard had a long artiole on " Oar Docks and the Meab Supply." It deals mainly with meajt importation. " The pasture lands of New Zealand (it says) are capable of furnishing the tables of Londoners with sound and juicy, beef and mutton at the same price as thac supplied by the River Plate and the United States. ' Meat from the River Plate has always been spoken of as the poor man's food, but meat of a better quality cornea from New Zealand . at the present time, and our kinsmen in that land grow richer than they ever hoped to become by the opportunity now given them to engage in the profitable occupation of meat raising for the Home market. " The prospects of a trade in dairy pro* duce from Australia ani New Zealand ie (says the Standard) one of the greatest surprises that merchants- have known." It adds that eggs from New Zealand have been selling in provision shops at three-halfpence each, and predicts that New Zealand eggs will soon be landed in as good condition as French or Belgian eggs. 'Frozen -hares from New Zealand are selling in the London markets, at 3s 6deaoh, and are said to be in excellent condition. A curious suggestion has jus; been made with regard to the marking of frozen meat. Id is proposed that it should lie embroidered, as ib were, with a specified mark or design worked in threads of som\e! edible and innocuous substance I That's all 1 I leave the suggestion to speak for itself as tc its feasibleness. Mr H. B, Vogel arrived last) week and ia stayir.g with bis father and mother at their placo up the Thames. He expresses hit pleasure to find Sir Julius Vogel looking sc well, so much better than when he last saw him and able to get about so- readily. Mr Vogel talks of returning to New Zealand in about fiye months, A circular has been issued by the Bank of New Zealand Shareholders' Defence Com* mittee to all the Bank shareholders. In that Circular the Committee state that they have decided to recommend the shareholders to abstain from paying the call of 433 6s 8d per share, recently made by the Colonial Treasurer of New Zealand,' until ft fall and., .accurate account be submitted of the present assets, and liabilities of the' Bank- and the purpose for which the call ia required. The Committee have further decided, that, in order to defend. any notion; that the Bank authorities may instK tute to enforce payment- of this call, a subscription of Iβ per share should be forwarded to the Secretary to create a defence, fund-and to meet legal and incidental expenses. The Committee will, from time, to time, advise shareholders aa to the ateps they are taking. Aβ the services of.tbe - Committee are given gratuitously, it ; ie '' hoped that the above subscription of Is pet share may be returned intacb to the share* , holders, if no legoJ. steps are neceaeary to protect their interests. Ib is rumoured that the opinion of counsel has been, as most people expected it would be, unfavourable as regards 'the shared holders , power of resisting the new calL Mr Snow, however, intends to exhaust) - every'means available of forcihgor extracting from the Board in New Zealand the information to which he holds the share* holders are entitled. Hβ says he "has ■ taken off his coat" in the matter now,.'and will not pat it on again until He has tried ' everything that can be tried. ' '

A suggestion has been made to the Com- , mittee that instead of embarking in costly and almost certainly futile litigation they should seek What they desire through the ■; medium of. the London Board of Advice, Meßßce Glyn, Ewenend Holmes. The Committee consists of Messrs H. W.

Snow (Chairman). M. Colin. UM, Caeaila,. W. B. Clode, J. Glass, G. E Mackenna, J. Rosa and C. T. C. Lewis, Secretary. It hat been solemnly agreed by all who*were present afc the meeting and took part in the , formation of the Committee, that the ■.■> strictest secrecy shall be 'observed, ac to - what took place and as to the details of ' what is done by the Committee. No doabC a wise decision. -