OUR LONDON LETTER.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XCIV, Issue 10705, 15 July 1895, Page 6

OUR LONDON LETTER.

ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES. [Tjtok OUB OWN COBUBSFONDBNT-l - London, May 31, CONTXBSION OF NSW ZEALAND STOCKS. The financial operations which have occupied the Hon J. G- Ward so closely during a large portion of Lis stay at Home include aereral which are non as yet ripe for disclosure. It is, however, no secret that a general conversion of the whole of the New Zealand stocks to 3 per cents is under consideration, and may be carried through about six months hence. Should the present Government be in office then Mr Ward Will, in all probability, come Home to see it through. * Some good people are why, with the market so favourable, Aha present moment was not seized for the conversion. The answer is, that it would been inconsiderate if not absolutely unfair to the brokers and syndicates holding luge parcels of the new loan. Six months hence they will have “unloaded,” or any rate had a fair opportunity to "unload.” The views of the Treasurer and the Agent-General are not, I gathered afterwards, altogether at one with regard to the desirableness of the conversion. Sir Weatby ' doubts its practicability save on terms which would be little or no good to the colony. People won’t convert unless they get something more than a just equivalent, and if you give them thatyour costly operation oftenor than not becomes abortive. In New Zealand's case, too, it in quite an arguable question whether minimising interest st the cost of increasing the debt of the colony, is either desirable or sound finance. XB WABD AT THE CHAKBEB OF COMMERCE. At the Chamber of Commerce dinner at the MStropole on Wednesday evening, the Governor of the Bank of England (pre■nmably not ungrateful for favours received) pa* l * Mr Ward a great'complimont. Ha said that since his arrival in England, jonr Treasurer had displayed financial abilities of a very high order, and he congratulated New Zealand on having regained first-class credit on the London money market. Honeyed phrases of this description‘so seldom emanate from cautious magnates that the company stared. How bad Mr Ward got the weather side of this stony-hearted official! ■ydnrrTreaearerhimaelfrin- a-short speech, discussed the duties of Governors, which explained were mostly ornamental. But noblemen who went out to the colonies in thii Capacity returned much stronger men, and with enlarged horizons. Equally it a good thing for colonial Ministers to come Home and mix with the men who win pulling the strings of this mighty empire. A stay in London balanced a man's sense of proportion and taught him the real place and importance of his own colony in the scheme of things. These were not exactly Mr Ward’s words, but they contain hie meaning. He also referred appropriately to that fine old crusted sentiment—the ties binding ns to the Mother Country. A NEW LOCOMOTIVE. Hr Ward has been invited by the Gas Traction Company to inspect their new gas locomotive, which it is thought might possibly be used on the New Zealand light - railways. Its strong points are that it is ' ftry economical, and. that where coal is unobtainable oil or mutton fat can be used as fuel. Mr Ward has instructed Mr Carrnthers to report on the engine, and it is probable a sample one may be sent out for trial in the colony. MB WABD AND IMMIGRATION.

Sir £.' S. Dawes, on bshalf of the New Zeeland Shipping Company, has been urging on Mr Ward the deairabliness of jonr Government encouraging the emigration of deairable settlers by paying £5 a Lead towards the passages of selected individuals. Mr Ward has promised to 4»nwnlt his colleagues on the point, but told Sir Sdwyn that if the concession were granted the emigrants would hare really to be—as they pretended—thoroughly eligible from the colony’s point of view. As-to that. Sir Edwyn replied that the company would be quite willing to leave the work of selection to the Agent' General. Hiss May Tates has been endeavouring to Interest Mr Ward in her fruit-growing ffthye, and proposes that should Parliament agree to the £5 per bead bounty towards the passages of suitable settlers, a number of Devonians, and others skilled in (nit culture, should be chosen. Mias Tates, like most of her sex mounted on a hobby horsed tides it to death. IJI HEW GOVERNMENT STEAMER.

Traders are being called for by fcbe Agrafe-General for the building and Snipping of a twin-screw steamer to ka the place, one anppotes, of the venerable Hinemoa. The new Teeeel is to b« built so as to be fitted for (1) laying and repairing telegraph cables; (2) lighthouse and survey work, and (3) the conTeyanca of hie Excellency the Governor fini his suite and members of the Legislators. She is to be built of Siemens-Martin steel, that for all parts of the hull is to have n tensile strength of not leas than twenty- ■ sight and not more than thirty-two tons to 1 -the square inch. The length of the new boat (which is to be constructed and fitted so as to fulfil Lloyd’s requirements for their highest olsee in every particular, had also, the requirements of the Board of

Tkade) will be 205 feet; breadth, moulded, .80 feat; depth of hold, 15 feet. Her mean draft to under side of keel when loaded up to 680 tons, must not exceed 18 feet 9 inches, or with bunkers fall and •quipped, 9 feet 9 inches. Tbs various weights to bs carried on the former draft ua—•coal in bunkers, 180 tonsj cable in fora and after-holds, 430 tons; fresh water round after-tank, 20 tons. She will' have a raised quarter-deck, a topgallant forecastle and a bridge or hurricane deck extending from the poop to the (ora end ■ of the deck-house. The vessel will be rigged aa a two-masted schooner, with pole rdaata and gaffs, and her bilge keels will be built of a single plate, secured to the shell of the ship by two angle irons. Seven watertight bulkheads capable of being manipulated from the upper, deck, will ensure the maximum of safety in event of collision or other mischance. The rudder is to be fitted as to ship and unship afloat, and is to'ba provided with a Napier’s screw steering ‘apparatus, so that steering can be done by hand or steam. Tbe ship’s boats will consist of two double-ended whaleboats, each 85 feet long, one gig 25 feet long, and one dingey 18 feet long. These are to be built of larch, with American elm thwarts, and each is to be fitted with Hill and Clark’s disengaging gear, also with a Lacey’s combined fold-anchor and oil distributor, an oil flash, a compass and binnacle, and a signal lamp. The decks of tho vessel itself will be of yellow pine, teak and red pine, whilst the ceilings in the bold and storerooms are to be of red pine. The deck-houses are to ba built of steel snd lined with wood, and with’ teak doorways. The cabin accommodation will be

of the best. In each state room there will be four beds, with wire-wove mattresses. The upper bed on the inner side in each room is to be fitted so as to fold up out of the way, and the lower one will convert into a sofa. The saloon will be finished in oak and dark mahogany, with plated fittings, and the sofas and chairs are to be stuffed with hair and covered with best Utrecht velvet. The bathroom in both ladies' and gentlemen’s quarters, will be fitted with mahogafiy, and contain all the latest sanitary improvements. The captain's and the officers’ quarters, in the after part of the vessel, will have oak tables, chairs and settees, and their sleeping cabins will contain every necessary. The smoke-room will also be fitted in dark mahogany and oak with leather chair and sofa-coverings. The galley will be equipped so as to be able to provide tor eighty persons. The ship is to be fitted throughont with electric light on the incandescent system, and in addition the usual bracket and swinging lamps will be found in the saloon, cabins, &c. The appurtenances to be fitted for cable work will be of the most complete description, and will be supplied by Messrs Phillips and Johnson, of Charlton, the eminent telegraph engineers. The vessel will be driven by two sets of triple expansion engines with a boiler pressure of 1701 b per square inch, which will give a speed of at least 14 knots. The propellers are to be of bronze, and all shafting is to be 12J- per cent larger in diameter than is usual in snips of this character.

I have gleaned these particulars from a brief perusal of the specification which will be sent out shortly. It is understood that tenders will be asked for in the colony, but judging from the specification I should say that'New Zealand shipbuilders will hardly be able to compete with the Thames, Tyne or Clyde firms. THE BAILING OF LEONARD HARPER. The shabbily-dressed and broken-down Leonard Harper in the dock at Bow Street, last Saturday, gazing with haggard and anxious eyes on the Magistrate who was to decide his fate dqriug the next six weeks bore, I was told, but slight resemblance to the erstwhile prosperous Christchurch solicitor. The proceedings were very short. Chief Inspector Swanaton said he had received a further telegram from Now Zealand giving particulars of the sums the accused was alleged to have misappropriated, which ranged from .£2OOO to .£275. The papers on which it would be possible to commit Mr Harper to the colony could cot roach England before July 10. Mr Blanchard Wontner (for Mr Harper) in demanding bail explained that his client was most anxious to return at once to New Zealand and face hia accusers. He had written to the Law Society long ago that he would come back whenever they deemed it expedient. To say that there had been any secrecy as to hia whereabouts was most unjust. He stayed in England at the request of his friends, to arrange with bis firm’s creditors, and lived in Jersey because he and his family were dependent on charity and bound to reside in the cheapest possible place. The prisoner’s address had been published in the public Press in the colony, and had for some time been known to the legal authorities there, in proof whereof he (Mr Wontner) produced a notice sent to Mr Harper from the Supreme Court at Christchurch, and addressed to him at his Jersey lodgings. The Magistrate said he had been warned from New Zealand to demand heavy bail. He should require two sureties of £IOOO each.

Mr Wontuer asked his Honor to accept one bail of £ISOO and one of £SOO instead of two of .£IOOO, and providing the police were satisfied, he agreed to do so. Mr Harper was released about four the same afternoon, and it is understood has, pro tern,, returned to Jersey with Mrs Harper. Several New Zealand gentlemen friendly to the accused were in court during the hearing. PERSONAL. Mrs Ballance, using the prerogative of her charming sex, has changed her mind, and will remain in England some time longer. Mr C. O. Montrose, who sails for New Zealand, vid Vancouver, to-morrow, has been invested with all sorts of mysterious powers and privileges by the Women’s International Union, which is the biggest thing known in the way of advanced women’s caucuses. He has also been appointed a travelling correspondent of “ Borderland ” by Mr W. T. Stead. Eecent arrivals, of whom wo hope to hear something when they have settled down, include Mr W. Dawson, of Dunedin, who has gone to Scotland ; and Mr E. Eliot Elliott, the oldest Civil servant iu New Zealand, now stopping with friends in Holloway, and Mr C. Louisson, of Christchurch, who only reached London on Wednesday evening, and is a guest at the Metropole. There is a very good notice of Mrs Baker’s books in the current number of the Baptist Union by Dr Clifford, the eminent Nonconformist divine. Should this lady not get over her asthma before next winter, she and Miss Ethel Baker will spend it with friends on the Eiviera. Mrs Baker is looking forward eagerly to the visit of her old friend, ■ Mr Walter Pearson, of Dunedin, who is expected Home about three months hence.