ANGLO-COLONIAL CHAT.

Press, Volume LII, Issue 9162, 20 July 1895, Page 8

ANGLO-COLONIAL CHAT.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT). LONDON, May 31. A new departure of much importance is aboub to be taken ia connection with the colonial batter trade. You will remember my mentioning that the experiment of a sale by auction had been tried in order to dispose of some large accumulations of colonial cheese. Statements have found currency to the effect that this auction proved a failure. I do not consider that such statements are warranted by the facts. I find upon careful enquiry that the cheeso realised at the auction prices which would not have bean approached within several shillings par cwt had it been forced on tli3 market by private sale. In the present circumstances, and consideriug the state of the cheese market, the price 3 realised at auction are looked upon by those best acquainted with the subject as being very fairly satisfactory. This result has impressed the mind of some of those who ate engaged ia the wholesale butter trade, and has indirectly led to the new departure which I am about to explain. New Zealand butter continues at a very low price, the choicest realising only about 823, or perhaps a little more in a few special cases, and it is thought that the time has come for some vigorous effort of the whole class to be made to restore the falling fortuues of the industry. The nature of the new departure is concisely but plainly set forth in the following memorandum :-» " Mr Henry Reynolds has arranged to open an auction mart for the sale of colonial produce. He is convinced that the publicity of an open market is the only true test of value. In this movemeut he has secured the hearty approval aud co-operation of most of the importing financial institutions. He leaves by tbe next 'Frisco mail for New Zealand and will explain to exporters personally the intended workiDg of the system." " The Colonial Bank of New Zealand which, ie was proposed some time ago to amalgamate with the Bank of New Zealand, appears (says the Westminster Gazette) to occupy a strong position, judgtDg by the balance-sheet to February 28th wnich has just been issued. Apart from the Government Securities, &0., amounting to £170,407, the Bauk appeals to hold cash or it 3 equivalents to the sum of £1,160,364, assuming, of course, that the term * Remittances in transit and awaiting maturity ' includes only sums that will naturally turn into cash at early dates, being almost as liquid in fact as the money lent in London at call. At the same time we caunot, of course, ascertain what is comprised under the head of 'bills discounted, &c.' It may comprise an undesirable number of ' dead loans,' but even if this be the case, and we do not for a moment assert what cannot be attested, the Colonial Bauk of New Zealand would not only differ from most other Australasian banks, but would occupy much the same position, we suspect, as not a few of the smaller and older English bauks in the provinces." Shall we ever hear the last of the old New Zealand Loan and Mercantile affair and those persons concerned in it ? Attention was called in the House of Commons yesterday to the question of Sir George Russell's 'pension. Sir George Russell, it seems, finds the question so difficult that he is going to leave its solution in t.he hands of the Lord Chancellor. Yet the Westminster Gazette thinks that to most people it seems simplicity itself. The facts, as stated by tbe Westminster, are as follows: — "He retired from a Couuty Court Judgeship on a life pension of £1000 a year, upon certificate of the thenLurd Chancellor (the late Lord Solbome) that he was afflicted with ' a permanent infirmity disabling him from the due execution of his office. . This ' infirmity' turned out, ho wever, not to be ponnanent or disabling after all. He was quite well enough to contest Wokingham Division the same year, and also to attend to the Director's duties of a number of public Companies, includiug the notorious New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency, (vnd the Chairmanship '■ of the South-Eistern railway. If Sir George Rusaell is 'permanently disabled,' why has he drawn pay from j all the3e directorates ? If he had earned his pay from them, why ia he drawing a pension for disablement? The only evi- | dence of support of his disablement that we ! can find is that he should be unable to solve such an elementary question of conduct without the intervention of a Lord Chancellor." During his speech at the S.P.C.K. meeting Bishop Sahvyn said that perhaps tho most splendid piece of work done by that Society, the rnaid-of-all-woik of the Church, was the establishment of the Lay Workers' Training College in East London. (Cheers ) The Society's care in the matter of translation was much to be commended. Iα one translation of the Prayerbook, ueed in the South Sea 3, the words " where the wild asses quench their thirst" were rendered " where pigs that eat meu drink against their hiccoughs." (Laughter.) I have just received the following interesting communication from Me«ora W. Weddel and Co, :—" The long-looked-for rise in wheat has come at last, and great excitement prevailed in this market for two or three days during the pant fortnight, and trade has been much more active than for several years past. The American markets were in a mild state of panic owing to reported serious damage to the new crop by drought and insects, aud prices advanced from Is to 2s per day. It has become quite apparent that buyers had allowed their stocks to run extremely low in the belief that prices would remain at their present low level; but at the slightest eign of an improvement they have not been slow to come in and buy pretty freely. The continued dry weather in this country, and also on the Continent, strengthens the feelI ing that the new crop will not be up to average, so that there is a fair prospect of wheat returning to at least a 50a per quarter level. Barley has been rather slacker, and buyers are not disposed to pay the advance asked. Business in maize has not been active, but values are quoted 6d to 9d up on the fortnight. Oats have been in fair request at an advance of 3d to 6d per quarter. The markets close below the ! best, but a firmer tone is again apparent." An influential deputation from the Associated Chamber of Commerce of the United Kingdom waited on Lord Rosebery to urge the desirableness of encouragement being given by the Imperial Government to the proposed Pacific steam service. Tho deputation v.-as introduced by Sir Albert liollit, M.P. Lord Rosebery said that th« whole question was at present sub judice. It was under the careful consideration of Ministers, they were considering it practically in a concrete fashion, and they had a real hope of being able to announce a. satisfactory conclusion. Beyond that the deputation could cot expect him to go, and he should be committing an indiscretion if he did more than say "God speed" to the object they had in view. The deputation considered the Premiers words and manner on the whole encouraging, and went away persuaded that they had his sympathy. At the Royal Colonial Institute last Tuesday afternoon Mr John Hotson, of Melbourne read an able and instructive paper on Australian Stock Pasture and British consumers. Among the New Zealanders present were Sir George Bo wen, Messrs E. M. Nelson, H. Reynolds, C. Beetham, T. Rus3ell, C. Pharazyn, C. R. Valentine, H. Steele, and H. M. Paul. The paper set forth ia (concise and concrete form a great deal of information on the subjects treated, but offered no novel facts or views. In the discussion which followed Messrs H. Reynolds and C. Pharazyn took part. In the course of his speech Mr Reynolds said : —" I am satisfied that with our climate, which gives us -pasture for the whole year nearly, we can compete successfully and put butter on the market cheaper than the Danes and Swedes possibly can. It is a well known fact tnafc in Sweden and Denmark the farmers have a great struggle to make ends meet. They j hope it is merely a matter of squeezing out the colonists at present rates, but the reverse will be the fact, for the colonists are in a position to supply milk at a much lower rate than ths Danes and the Swedes." Mr Phatazyn gave rather a discouraging ; account of colonial meatshops in England. He said when he went anywhere in tho different districts of England and saw frozen colonial meat, be noticed almost without exception a dirty, disreputable shop and there was sore to ue some nasty stale meat

hanging by, which gave the impression that it was all inferior sort of stuff.

That is not a good way of advertising New Zealand meat. With meat especially it is essential to make it look nice and attractive-looking, and they ought to have nice, tidy-looking butchers to deal with it. Here Mr Pharazyn thought there was a great opsaing which he proceeded to set foith as follows :—"Women are seeking einplojment everywhere. Why should not a number ot women turn butchers —nice, tidy-lookiap women, who would cut up the meat and make the shop attractive 1 It is woman's natural sphere. She cuts the meat up in the kitchen. lam quite satisfied that if I had to advise an enterprising young woman who had £50 what, to do with it, I should tell her to start a little shop and buy a few sheep, make the place look smart, handle the meat nicely, and she would bs suro to do well.' 1 It appears vow to bs definitely agreed among the London representatives of Che New Zealand Butter" Factories that au immediate readjustment avast take place with regard to the prices of mitk, and henceforward it will liiive to be in proportion to the London market value of butter. It is wished that it should be kept up to if possible, but unless New Zealand butter rea|iae3 considerably better pricey next seasou than this, I fear it will prove impossible and somewhat lower terms may have to be acceptei. The live New Zealand sheep recently landed iv Eiglaud are very highly spoken of by some of the best authorities, Writers in various agricultural papers are full of admiration for their excellence. Oue of these writers expresses his opiuion that the estimate of their weight published by " Drover " in the Otago Witness will prove to have been considerably uuder the mark. He thinks most of them wiil turn out 11 to 12 stove, and even tho smaller oucs 9 to 10 stone. He pronounces them to be in good conditiou, and remarks that 249 were landed alive out of 250. Their cost of conveyauca was 23s 7d pershesp, which, added to their cost in New Zealand, 11s, makes their whole cost, landed in England, o4s 7d. As they were sold at au average of 433, this appears to give a fair profit/ to the New Zealand farmer. Mr B. R. Bairil, of Bandemere, near Liku Wakatipu, an old and respected Otago settler, arrived by ths Morayshire on Wednesday, after a very pleasant passage, lie goes to Scotland immediately to visit, soma friends aud relatives, and purposes subsequently making a tour of England, France, an-.l America, before returning to New Z;alivml. The Titus* is not very enthusiastic abouo Lnrd Rosebery's new Sill providing for the reception of tho colonies on tho Judicial Committee of tho Privy (jouucil. It prDnouuce3 the Bill a most microscopic; measure. Oiily £800 a year in all is provided to pay the salaries of the Xudian and Colonial J udses who may consent to act on the Judicial Comtnifcfaj, and at present the whole of that sum is pocketed by one ludiau Judge, and no very extravagant remuneration either. Lord Rosebery admits that he docs not propose to make any fiuaucial provision for the new Privy Council Judges, aud The Times understands him to imply that if the colonies want to be represented on the Privy Council they wiil have to pay for is themselves. The Times regards this as au uuworthy aud parsimonious method of dealing with so impoi'taut a reform in our Imperial Judicial procedure. Air J. H. WiLheford at present purposes Starting in about a fortnight for v tour in Russia. On his return to England he will probably conclude his business here and leave for New Zealand. Ear a long time past the New Zealauii local musical examination, under the auspices of Trinity College, London, which, I believe, Mr Robert Parker, of Wellington, was instrumental in introducing, proved a very valuablo aid in the development of musical stu<ly in the colouy. A further new departure has now bea:i decided upon, and the Trinity Ooilega authorities will send to New Zealand this yecr a special examiner, who «vill conduct examinations in the chief colonial centres in practical music in pianoforte, organ, and riolin playing, aud in soio singing. Certificates of proficiency will be awarded . college u>, those > who pass satisfactorily. The examinations will be held privately, only the examiner and candidate being present. A celebrated church musician has undertaken the duties of examiner, namity, MiJo3 B. Foster, the eminent organist and composer, whose beautiful setting v.a an ;uithem of Cowper's poem, "O, for a closer walk with God, J ' i has long enjoyed widespread popularity in New Zealaud. J At the levee held by the Prince of Wales last Monday, on behalf of the Queen, Mr Ward was presented to H.R.H. by Lord I Ripon, Secretary of State /or the Colonies. At the meeting of the Council of the Royal Imperial Institute, held last Tuesday, Mr George Jameson and Mr G. 10. Elliott, of NewZealaud, were elected Fellows of the JnitiUUe. Much surprise and a good deal of dissatisfaction was expressed iv the city at the apparent determination of the New Zsalaud Government to tight matters outs to the bitter end with the .New Zealand Midland Railway Company. Apparently the collapse of the proposed arbitration and the subsequent seemiDgly higii-hanilerl action on the parb of the Government have created, pending explanation, a distinctly unfavourable impression in LonJou. Among the latest arrivals from New Zealand are Mr Elliot-Elliott, formerly of the New Zealand Civil Service, who comes from Duuedin, Mr Charles Louisson, from Christchurch, Dr. and Miss Grace, from Wellington. The eels and whicebait from New Zealand which esme by tiie Waikato were offered afc Billingsgate Market; yesterday. They did nob meet with a friendly reception. Some said the wiiitebait were mors like worms than fi3b, but 1 am assured by competent judges that they were really of excellent quality. It is hard to fight against English prejudice. Soma people liked the eeh, others pronouueed them coarse. I believe the tiah had some mishaps in transitu to the market. But making every allowance, I fear the experiment has not proved an entire success.