ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES.

Press, Volume LIX, Issue 11398, 8 October 1902, Page 10

ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES.

♦ - . (FBO*_ OT**n OWN CO-aBE-POKDE--'.) LONDON, August 29. This week the camp at Alexandra Pal-a-.e, where the colonial Coronation Contin .ents have been stationed, was broken up." It had been arranged that the men •should return to New Zealand by the s.s. Tono-ariro. w__ch was due to sail to-mor-row. That vessel, 'however, will not be ready to leave until September 6th, and therefore the Pakeba New Zealanders have been sent to Aldershot for a week. It has been stated here that the reason why the delay has occurred is on account ot the troopship scandals, but I am informed that this report is absolutely without foundation. The Maori troopers were engaged on Wednesday at the Alexandra Palace Camp bidding good-bye to their numerous friends before leaving for Southampton. They have been great public favourites during their stay in London. -.femters of tlie New Zealand Contin£j?nts, with whom I have chatted, have all been loud in their praise of the Colonial Troops' Club, which closed on Monday last, and of the work of the Colonial Troops' Entertainment Committee. Some idea of the work performed by the latter may be gathered when it is stated tbat more than 25,000 theatre tickets and excursion passes, fiom the £2 paddock Ascot ticket, to the modest Is Earl's Court, or fid Zoological Gardens ticket, have been issued. The cost of tbe entertainment of tbe troops would have been some £20,000, but owing to the generosity of tho theatre managers and other entertainment providers, the actual net cost to the Committee will not be more than about a quarter of this amount. It is stated that more tban 1100 tele "rams were sent and received, the Government having placed an operator in th,*? offices of the Cmmittee for the use of the men. A detailed report and statement of accounts will be Tendered after the troops have left. The funds supplied will bo adequate to meet all demand-. To-day the New Zealand Shipping Company's new steamer, the Turakina, has her trial trip off the Tyne. She then is to come to London, and is due to sail On her maiden voyage to New Zealand on the 11th September. She is 8027 tons gross register, 11,000 tons dead weight, and 13,000 tons cubic measurement. All her passenger accommodafiion has been taken up. Captain Forbes has been appointed to command the Turakina. " Someone has beten _ad_lg__gj in. a heartless jest at tihe expense of the brotherhood of, inventors," says a London paper. "Owing to a statement having appeared in several newspapers to the effect uhat the New Zealand Government had offered a bonus for an efficient sparkarrester, to be attached to locomotive engines, numerous letters are being received by the Government of that colony, submitting desigms and applying for the bonus. Tbe statement, however, that such a reward is being offered is stated here to be incorrect, and it is, therefore, useless to send out any such applications to New Zealand." In a (London paper, Mrs Fe-owick Miller discusses the prospect- of young women •who emigrate to the colonies. Quoting from a paper read by Miss C. Henderson, 8.A., before the National Council of Women of New Zealand, which paper gives the average weekly wage for women in the colony at the rate of 12s, Mrs Fenwick Miller concludes that young* women migjht just as well _tay at Home. Sir Albert Hime, the Premier of Natal, told a Press representative one day this week that there would be fine openings for Irish emigrants in Natal so soon as the scheme for their reception had been completed. The Natal Government was arranging for the purchase of land, and he hoped that before long numerous small holdings would be ready for emigrants. The Government, he said, intended to arrange the small holdings on the same plan as New Zealand "close' holdings. "Sir Charles Dilke, referring during a recent conversation with the.representative of an Anglo-colonial journal, to the fact that a new battleship was to be named New Zealand, expressed pleasure with the decision of the Board of .Ao__dralty, "for," he said, "New Zealand did more in proportion to her population to assist in South Africa than did any other portion of the Empire. And she spent proportionately more money too—that is another thing. People, I t_ink, are a little unjust to New Zealand. Reacting against the vigorous personality of Mr Seddon, they are unjust to his colony." As to Imperial defence, Sir Charles said: "Australasia does not, for merely defensive purposes, need an army at juL It would, I" think, be well for them to prepare in time of peace for a time of war if they intend to help us. But they do not absolutely need an army for defence. -They do, however, depend on the fleet. And, remember, they do not depend on the local fleet in Australasian waters, but, as everybody knows who has considered the question, they depend on the British fleet in all parts of the world. One, of course, would have been glad bad they, in the Conference/ seen this more clearly than they seem to have done." Referring to the alleged intention of Australia and New Zealand to increase largely their contributions to the fleet on two conditions: (1) that certain ships shall be officered and manned entirely by Australians and New Zealanders, and (2) that the pay shall be at local rates, Sir Charles Dilke said:—-"You cannot have too many Australian and New Zealand seamen for the navy. It is quite out of the question. The price is prohibitive; it is an article you cannot afford to buy. The wages of Australian and New Zealand seamen are much higher, in some cases probably double, -than they are here; and obviously you cannot afford to pay that for general service. Ido not think the Imperial Government could do anything to attract these colonial seamen into the navy or the" reserv.es, except in Newfoundland. The article is altogether too dear. There is one place I have always said where you can. get sailors for the British fleet outside Great Britain and Ireland, that is Newfoundland. There you can get thousands of them." At their "good-bye" to Alexandra Palace and the nrmerous friends they have made -*n London, the New Zealand Coronation Contingent waa "At home" on Wednesday afternoon. Major-General Robley, of the old 68th (Durham) Regiment, presided a.** host, and a presentation of a large framed photograph of the Maori Contingent was made to Miss Brooke-Hunt, the originator of the Colonial Troops' Club. Under the heading " 'Bluffing' the Manawatu Railway Company," the "Investor-* Review" exposes the working of the Government railway over tbe Rimntaka, which is to be made to carry the whole traffic "in furtherance of the Seddon-Ward gang's designs aTainst the Manawatu property." It ghes the experience of a traveller on thac line. He writes: —"I left Napier on March 27th by train for Wellington. There were ten carriages and two vans, and to this light Icarl were attached two locomotives, which took the train as far as Cross's Creek, where three Fell engines were attached to take us over the hill. Theee managed to <*-et the train into the second tunnel, where t_ey stuck, and after vainly endeavouring to proceed for some minutes, gave up the attempt, and backed out, and shortly afterwards made a second attempt, with the same result as tbe first. The train was then cut up, and the portion at the back of the second engine was left on the hill in the charge of tbe third locomotive, while the two engines took a portion of the train to the summit, and there 'we remained till the second engine returned* to tbe assistance cf the third engine, with its portion of the train, and eventually we arrived at Wellington at 9, instead of 7.30 p.m., in timi* for the people who were travelling to catch tbe 9 o'clock steamer to miss it. I returned to Napier a few days later in a train of about the same number of carriages as that I came down by, which also had two locomotives; so that it takes nine locomotives to take a train of ten carriages and two vans from Napier to Wellington and back. This may pay. but I doubt it." And the "Investors' Review" adds: —"So do we doubt ib very much, but what does it matter so long as mere than a million of new capital can be poured into enterprises of this description every year?" <