COLONIAL TOPICS.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 13, Issue 1083, 14 September 1869, Page 3

COLONIAL TOPICS.

The following extracts, which relate exclusively to colonial topics, are from the London correspondent of the" Argus : — NEW ZEALAND AND THE IMPEBIAL GOVEBNMENT. The despatch of Earl Granville to the Gf-overndr of New Zealand, to which I referred last month, and which has by this time, no doubt, provoked a deep resentment in the colony, has not been allowed to pass unchallenged in this country. Its premature publication has been generally condemned. On the last mail day, a strongly-worded protest, signed by five gentlemen formerly connected with the New Zealand Government, was forwarded to. the Colonial Office. Owing to the absorbing interest of the Irish Church' question, this document has not attracted the attention of the press at large, but two or three of our leading organs have referred to the subject with considerable warmth. The Pall Mall Gazette, before reading the terms of the protest, published a supercilious article against the colony, sneering at.the efforts of those individuals who are striving to secure justice for the settlers in their present extremity, and displaying especial bitterness towards the Spectator, as the reputed organ of " the old colonial clique." The Spectator, in its issue of June 26th, retorts in an article extremely able and serious — pictures the inflamed state of colonial feeling—describes the irritating effect Which Earl Granville's harsh despatch will produce when it reaches the colony, and the profound .discouragement which will settle upon the Government, and anticipates the probability of a secession from the parent State which has treated the colonists so scurvily in their strait. "It would be a very curious instance of the irony of history," remarks the writer, " if Lord Granville, theone Minister of all others in recent Cabinets who. has earned the highest and best deserved reputation for unwavering political courtesy, should prove to be the Minister whose illtimed harshness of phrase and recklessness of insinuation, coinciding, as they unfortunately must do, with almost unparalleled harshness of policy, has goaded into secession the first colony of Great Britain which had asserted its independence for more than a hundred years. Yet we gravely fear that this may be the result, on grounds which we will proceed to state to our readers." And towards the close of the same leading article the Spectator adds : — " For our part, we expect a serious demand for independence, which We do not see how Great Britain can refuse, unless she is prepared to alter her policy very materially. JSTew Zealand gains at present absolutely nothing from her connexion with England, except in remote chance of naval defence against any foreign power in time of war, while in independence of action she loses much. And we should expect that this demand for independence will be followed by an application for a protectorate to some other power — say, the United States of America or Prussia." That latter eventuality is startling. Is it a wholesome threat held in terrorem over the Imperial Government, or is it a real revelation — a prospective glimpse— of what our present do-nothing policy is drifting us towards ? Some ofthe charges in the remonstrance addressed to the Colonial Office are so stinging and severe, that/ many friends of the colony regret the step as ill-advised, and calculated to exasperate and alienate the official mind more completely than ever. A deputation of gentlemen interested in jNfew Zealand liad an interview with. Lord Granville on the, Ist instant, to urge the necessity, under present circumstances, of retaining for a short time troops in the colony. The deputation was introduced by Mr. C. Magniac, M.P., and consisted of Mr. Matheson, JvI.P. ; Mr. N. M. DV llothschild, M.P. ; Mr. C. H. Mills, M.P. ; Mr. Jardine, M.P. 5. Sir Charles Nicholson, Bart. ; Mr. Brooks, Mr. Larnach, Mr. Boutcher, Mr. Miles, Mr. Dalgety, Mr. Campbell, Mr. Vanderbyl, Mr. W. S. Grahame, Mr. John Morrison, Mr. Larkworfchy, Mr. Williamson, Mr. H. W. D. Saunders, Mr. ■ Waterhouse, Mr. Eoberfe Campbell, and Mr. A. M* Arthur. Viscount Bury intends to initiate a discussion in Parliament on the state of New Zealand and on the harsh despatch of Earl Granville. To-day was the time fixed for the debate, but as the necessary papers were only yesterday placed in the hands of members, the subject has been deferred. COLONIAL DUTIES. The mercantile community is becoming restive under the unjust and arbitraryduties imposed by the tariff of several . of our colonies, more especially as affecting cotton goods ; and an energetic movement to redress the grievance has been initiated by the chambers of commerce m the north. Bradford took the lead, by adopting a memorial and appointing a deputation to wait upon Lord Granville. The prevailing feeling at the meeting was that, when the colonies could stand alone, they would have a perfect right to do what they liked in regard to protective duties ; but while the mother country was put to an expense in the maintenance of armies and fleets for their protection; such prohibitory duties, it was contended, ought not to be allowed. Instead of presenting one general memorial from the various chambers of commerce in the kingdom, it was thought better to recommend that each chamber should address its special remonstrance to the Colonial Minister. In accordance with this suggestion, a public meeting was held at Barnsley on the 3rd inst., and other manufacturing towns are preparing to follow, the example. As one of the signs of the times, the Australian people will do well to look to this matter. QUEENSLAND AND KIDNAPPING. This unsavoury subject has been discussed in the House of Commons, but without any satisfactory practical result. The question was raised by Mr. P. A. Taylor, who, on the 28th ult., asked the Government whether it had done anything to stop the importation of natives^from the South Sea Islands into Queensland. He ; very properly characterised this business I as " a most nefarious traffic, compromising j to the honour of a country which boasted of having abolished slavery, dangerous to the friendliness of our foreign relations, sure in the long run to destroy the prosperity of a fine' colony, and ruinous to all the attempts made by our missionaries to Christianise and civilise the islanders themselves." The answer of Mr. Monsell was far from being all that could be wished. It was too evasive. The outrages reported to have been committed are too gross to be excused ; but the Colonial Under- Secretary seemed to think that when some further regulations were enforced, the "immigration" as it is called, might not only -be harmless but useful. Eegulate it as you may, however, the traffic can never be, prevented from becoming a sort of slave trade. The islanders are ignorant and, easily deluded ; the.

captains who fetch them are traders who Only look for profit out of the traffic, regardless of other considerations, and once landed in Queensland the poor natives are helpless. The feeling here is very strong that the system must be abolished. EMIGRATION. On Mr, Lincoln's principle, that if you would be successful you must keep " pegging away," Government continues to be deputationised .by the advocates for a comprehensive scheme of emigration to the colonies. Every department of the Government in its turn is to be attacked, and, if possible, stormed. Earl Granville and Mr. Bruce had already been bombarded, and now it was Mr. Goschen's turn to be appealed to. Accordingly/on the 21st of June, a deputation from the National Emigration Aid Society, accompanied by the Duke of Manchester, j-lifc. Chas. Reed, M.P., and Mr. E..8. Eastwiek, M.P., waited upon the president of the Poor Law Board, to present a memorial similar to that previously presented to his colleagues in the Ministry, urging the necessity of their aid in facilitating emigration on a large scale. Your readers wifi be tolerably familiar by this time with ,the arguments urged on such occasions. Mr. Goschen, in his reply, said that in the metropolitan workhouses there were scarcely any paupers fit for emigration. He suggested the formation of a central board, composed of guardians selected from each parish, having power to negotiate with colonial Governments, and supply information. He avowed personally a great interest in the . question, and promised to do all in his power'to improve the present machinery oTKis .department to the proposed end. , ■ . ' On the 30th ult., Lord Alfred Churchill presided over a meeting of metropolitan guardians, called to consider the question of immigration and the propriety of adopting a memorial to the Poor Law Board. The Duke of Manchester, Lord Houghton, Colonel Torrens, M.P., and Mr. Holms, M.P., were amongst the speakers. The discussion was adjourned for a fortnight. On the 17th ult., by the aid of the British and Colonial Emigration Eund, 190 emigrants were sent out to Quebec in the steamer Dacia. Encouraging accounts continue to be received from those who have gone to Canada ; but, on the other hand, there are disappointed spirits among them, and a meeting has been held at Toronto to give publicity to their grievances. One of the speakers said that, had he known what it was to live in Canada, he "would rather have stayed at home and rotted in the streets " than have gone thither. The Toronto Glohe says it made inquiry, and found that this man had been engaged by a farmer at nine and a quarter dollars a month, with board, but that he was so extremely " finical " in the class of work he would do that the farmer was obliged to discharge him. All the speakers at the meeting complained of the terrible disappointment they had met with, and one who had been earning a dollar and a half a day since his arrival expressed a desire to see the agent hanged who had sent him out. The Toronto Globe asks these men what they expected to find in Canada, and it remarks that if they could earn 6s. 3d. a day in England, it is marvellous why they left. The exodus from Liverpool is still very large, though not quite so extensive as last month. On the morning of June 24 an interesting breakfast party assembled at the Cannon-street Eailway Hotel, to bid God-speed to fourteen artisans and their wives aad children, who were leaving for the United States, to be employed on the new buildings of the Cornell University at Ithaca, to which Mr. Goldwin Smith is at present attached. On the sth inst., in the House of Commons, the Lord Mayor asked whether the agreement made with the Governor of Western Australia to send out emigrants to that colony at the expense of the Imperial Government had been entirely completed ; and if not, what number h««l .still to be sent out? Mr. Monsell replied that the engagement was to send out as lu.-.y free emigrants as should be equal to the number of convicts. The Legislative Council estimated that number still deficient at 3352 ; but that seemed to be an error, for the real number was about 1800. But none would be sent out unless Government had satisfactory proof that the colony really wanted them. The only exception would be as regarded the families of convicts desirous of receiving them, and perhaps of a few persons who had been nominated for free passages by their relatives in the colony. THE NEW COLONIAL OEDEK. The London Gazette of the Ist inst., contained a list of the new appointments to the most distinguished order of St. Michael and St. George. Lord Monck, the Earl of Derby, Earl Grey, and Earl Eussell are Knights Grand Cross of the order : and amongst the names in the se< cond class of Knights Commanders are those of Lord Lyttleton, Mr. F. Teel, Mr. Adderley, Sir F. Eogers, Sir H. Eobinson, and Mr. H. T. T. Gait. Among the third class, or Companions of the said order, are Charles Cowper, Esq., late Premier of the Government of New South Wales ; John Bayley Darvill, Esq., late AttorneyGeneral of the colony of New South Wales ; Ferdinand Mueller, Esq., M.D., Government botanist for the colony of Victoria; and Geo. Macleay, Esq., of New South Wales. The fyectator, criticising this batch of creations, says : — " We hope Lord Granville will be careful in the distribution of the Order. It was a good idea to revive it for colonial dignitaries, who will value the handle to their wives' names exceedingly, but we do not understand the principle of the first creations. The three Governors of Guiana, the Bahamas, and Nova Scotia, we dare say, deserve the Order. Mr. Hincks certainly does, and so does Paul Edmund de Strzelecki and Sir H. Eobinson, though the Ceylon settlers will not admit that ; but what is it given to colonial attorneygenerals for ? Why does no Canadian get it, and no Now Zealander ? and what is the special fancy for Ceylon, that it should have three all at once ! We dare say there are reasons for each nomination, but it will be well if the Secretary of State keeps tho distribution pretty much in his own hands." THE NEW COLONIAL BISHOPS. Three colonial prelates were consecrated in Westminster Abbey on the 29th June. They were Dr. Cowie (late rector of Staf- j ford) to the see of Auckland; the Eev. S. C. Marsden, Bishop of Bathurst, New South Wales ; and the Eev. W. Chambers, Bishop of Labuan. Apropos of bishops, I may mention that at a banquet lately, given by the Lord Mayor at the Mansion-house, the Archbishop of Canterbury said that he thought the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel did a great public service in keeping the colonies united to England, and remarked, referring to Dr. Selwyn, upon the circumstance of a man who had been -a missionary for twenty -three years .reappearing in London as an English bishop, and upon the present Lord of the Admiralty and the Chancellor of the Exchequer having won their spurs in the colonies. THE COLONIAL SOCIETY. ■ The first annual meeting of this useful association took place on the 28th of June,

at the Institute of Civil Engineers, under, the presidency, of Viscount Bury. Among the gentlemen present were Lord A. Churchill, Lord Houghton, Sir W. Denison, X.C.8., Sir Charles Nicholson, Bart., Mr. H. Blanc, and Mr, Edward Wilson. The chairman read a letter from Earl Granville, in reply to a wish expressed to Mr. Gladstone that Her Majesty would be pleased to allow the society to assume the title of "Royal." To this wish Her Majesty had been graciously pleased to accede, and in future the body would be known as " The Royal Colonial Society." The report of the council stated that the Duke of Buckingham, Sir S. Northcote, the Duke of Argyll. TSarl Granville, and others had consented to become officers of the society. Gifts of books and documents have been received from many gentlemen, and the nucleus of a library has thus been formed. It was the wish of the council that all colonists arriving in England, whether members or not, should place their names and addresses in the hands of the secretary. There seemed to be a very wide scope of usefulness before the association. The report was unanimously adopted. The society at present consists of seventy-six members. The financial statement showed a balance in hand of £414, the total receipts having been £1588. COLONIAL BOOK POSTAGE. A Treasury warrant has just been issued which reduces the rates of postage on packets of printed papers, books, publications, and works of literature and art, or of patterns and samples of merchandise, between the United Kingdom and our "colonial possessions, if transmitted by the routes and in manner indicated in the warrant, which varies somewhat for the, different colonies. As regards Australia and New Zealand, there would be charged after the Ist instant, upon all packets consisting of the articles above mentioned, a uniform rate, via Southampton, of Id., if not exceeding one ounce in weight; if above loz. and not exceeding 2ozs., 2d. ; via Marseilles, if not exceeding loz., 2d., and if above loz. and not exceeding 2ozs., 4d. The heavier weights will remain the same as before. The existing regulations with respect to the dimensions and making up of the packet remain unaltered. The other colonies and countries which share in the benefit of this reduction, provided the packets are transmitted hy the routes prescribed with respect to them, are British America, West Indies, Cape of Good Hope, St. Helena, East Indies, China, Japan, Java, Borneo, Phillipines, &c. PBEBEEVED AUSTRALIAN MEATS. The most encouraging success continues to attend the attempts made in this country to popularise the preserved meats of the colonies. The indefatigable Mr. Tallerman pursues his enterprising course with unabated zeal and fertility of resource. On the 16th ult., with the view of testing the applicability of these salted meats to sea purposes, a luncheon was given on board the Royal Dane, one of the Black Ball clipper line, now preparing to take out a large party of emigrants from London to Brisbane. Mr. T. M. Mackay, one of the proprietors of the line, presided ; and among the sixty guests present were several gentlemen connected with the various colonial and maritime interests in this country. The dishes, all of which were prepared on board by the aid of the ordinary cooking apparatus belonging to the ship, were formed from preserved Australian meats and preserved vegetables, and included gravy and pea soups, meat and potato pie, mince and rice pudding, haricot mutton, mince collops, mutton dumplings, curry and rice, sausages, &C;, all of which gave great satisfaction to everyone present^ several captains of merchant vessels speaki ing highly of the palatable character of the dishes. Mr. Maokay alluded to the successful character of the I experiment, as did other speakers, among wkoin were Mr. Wheeler, the Queenslaud emigration agent, and. Mr. Simmons, of the Silk Supply Association. It was generally admitted that the use of the ! preserved meats would afford a means of ! varying the dietary scale of vessels undertaking long voyages. Mr. D. Tallerman, of the Australian Meat agency, Norton Polgate, in responding to the call of the j company, stated that it would be possible to supply preserved meat from the various Australian colonies at 50 per cent, less than the price of ordinary preserved meat, but to produce this the imports from Australia must be on a far larger , scale. His efforts at popularising the use of the meat among the English^ working classes had been unexceptionally successful, so far as they had extended, and were the distributive agency properly extended, every pound of meat which the colonies could send would readily be disposed of in this country. One of Mr. Tallorman's popularising experiments in connexion was with the raggedschools in theneighbourhood of Norton Polgate, to the children attendingwhich dinners had been provided at a charge of 7s. 6d. per hundred. A dinner was lately given to several hundred workmen, costing [ only 3d per head, the peculiarity of which j was that the cooking was performed by their wives. But, irrespective of special dietary experiments from time to time, ; cooked dinners at the rate of about 1000 a-day, are disposed of at Id each. t These dinners consist of Irish stew, or soup, with bread. The hot weather of the last few weeks has brought sausage-rolls into flavour, which may be procured at Id each. As evidence of the subsidence of the prejudice with which these foreign imports were at one time regarded, I may mention that at a meeting recently held at Stepney, a resolution was sanctioned by several ■ hundred workpeople, binding themselves to eat no other than Australian meat until the prices of the ordinary butchers are very materially reduced.