OUR LONDON LETTER.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XCVII, Issue 11252, 26 April 1897, Page 6

OUR LONDON LETTER.

ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES. , [From Our .Correspondent.l LONDON, March 38. THE BISHOP 0E DUNEDIN. The first of the large ’ consignment _ of colonial ecclesiastics due in London during the summer has arrived. This is the Bishop of Dunedin, who, with Mrs Nevill, came to hand on March 8, per Oceana, after a moderately agreeable voyage., They have taken up their quarters at 20, Granville Place, Portman Square, which is not far from the church of his Lordship s friend, Mr Haweis. The Bishop called on the Agent-General last Monday, and enjoyed a long chat with him about the colony. Dr Nevill informs me he is interesting himself on behalf of a distinguished resident in New Zealand, but cannot as yet say with what result, or furnish further information. He has also, of course, visited and been visited by many friends —lay and clerical —and is taking counsel with influential churchmen regarding his diocesan plans. The Bishop has but faint hopes of raising any considerable amount for his diocese in England. Both the moneyed and the middle classes are having so many claims made on them this jubilee year that it is a very inopportune juncture for begging. I take the liberty, too, of adding, as my personal opinion, that very little sympathy obtains here for such missions as this. It seems to me the churchfolk of a prosperous province like Otago ought to be able to support their clergy without eternal begging. Especially does it appear indecorous and undignified to send Home your Bishop hat-in-hand. I suppose a luckless prelate can’t very well refuse to cry, “ Pity the sorrows of an impecunious diocese ” if his clergy expect him to; but men of the calibre of Dr Nevill must hate it. In a great many quarters at Home, too, an idea prevails that in the multitude of bishopslies the secretof the impecuniosity of the Establishment in the colonies. There might, they think, be more money for serious church work if less were spent in feebly aping the display of wealthy dioceses in England. I am net referring specially to New Zealand. The thought in my mind was that Brisbane churchfolk have recently been begging all over the country for money to enable them to build a cathedral. Surely they’ve no right to ask us to pay for their ecclesiastical luxuries. Nonconformists wouldn’t dare to take such a liberty. THE AGENT-GENERAL ON THE WARPATH. The Agent-General has been forced once more to sit firmly on the Economist, which is constantly being led into publishing spite-

ful and untrue statements about New Zealand by it's Melbourne correspondent. Ojr would like uncommonly to know who tbi persistently slanderous person can be. There is such a strong family likeness between his malevolent attitude towards your colony and that of the Melbourne correspondent of the Times that I incline to think they are one and the same scribe. The Economist’s libel this time referred to the placing of your local loan, averring that the Government offices had taken up £170,000 of it and the Bank of Now Zealand been forced to tender for .£250,000. Mr Beeves’ categorically contradicted both falsehoods. The Government offices had not absorbed £175,000 of the loan, nor had the Bank of Now Zealand been forced to take up any sum whatever. The editor waxing cute, thereupon invited the AgentGeneral to state how much the Government offices and the bank did appropriate. But Mr Beeves shook his head. Between contradicting the Economist’s gross errors and providing that journal with interesting “ copy,” there was, he considered, an im- ' portant difference. Lt was his unpleasant official duty to do the first, but he could really see no sort of reason why ho should go out of his way to do the second. This squelched the able editor, who relapsed into silence. FROZEN MEAT. The interesting letters about New Zealand which Mr Cooper, of the Scotsman, has been sending Home to his paper were also indirectly the means of obliging the Agent-General to exercise the epistolary art. Amongst the subjects Mr Cooper saw fit to dilate on was naturally the surprising difference between* the prices of frozen meat wholesale in New Zealand and retail in London. Like many another before him, he asked “ Why this thusness ? ’ and where the seemingly colossal profits went to ? A paper called the North British Agriculturist, commenting on Mr Cooper’s articles with the splendid audacity of complete ignorance, found out it was all the fault of the New Zealand Government, and formulated various absurd accusations. The editor meant no harm. He simply suffered from dense nescience, and as soon as Mr Beeves took him in hand he apologised handsomely. Attacks on the quality of New Zealand frozen mutton we have (like charity) always with us. An anonymous slanderer thereof arose the other day in the Glasgow Mail, but was quickly routed by Mr Alexander Bell. This doughty colonist, not content with vindicating the honour of prime Canterbury meat, vowed that he often got mutton in St Mungo’s City which had been cut from the carcases of venerable ewes, beasts which they would boil down in New Zealand for pigs’ meat. THE SHIPPING COMPANIES AND DAIRY PRODUCE. There was a long “powwow” at the New Zealand Shipping Company’s office oh Monday, last week, on questions connected with the transit and landing of dairy produce. The meeting, which was attended by the Agent-General, Mr T. Mackenzie, Mr Henry Gray, Mr William (Secretary to the Docks Committee), Mr Temple, Mr Strickland, Mr Potter, Mr Edwyn Dawes and other gentlemen, was convened at the instigation of Mr M’Ewen, and the principal points discussed were the question of temperatures for butter and cheese carriage, dock storage, and freights. Over these little matters the company spent a couple of hours, and at the end of that time the representatives of the shippers seem to have arrived at the conclusion that whatever sins of omission and commission the shipowners may have been guilty of in the past, they are now animated, with a strong-desire to meet their clients’ views and requirements in every possible way. On the question of temperatures the representatives of the shipping companies once again declared their readinee to keep butter and cheese in transit at whatever degree the shippers would agree to amongst themselves. Apparently the divergence of opinion is in connection with the over-sea carriage of cheese. Mr M’Ewen • favours a temperature of between 40 and 4odeg., which many people consider too low. It is, however, a fact that Canadian- cheese is not only carried across the Atlantic at this temperature, but is subjected to it whilst in the stores at the other side. Personally, I have always advocated a higher range than this, for the simple reason that I attributed the bitter flavour which is so often present in New Zealand cheese after a few days keeping under normal household conditions to its having been subjected to too low a temperature on board ship. But in the face of the opinion of an expert of Mr M’Ewen’s attainments and experience, I must abandon my theories on the subject and press shippers to accept his dictum and act upon it forthwith. The representatives of the shipowners were, I understand, reluctant at first to confine themselves to a variation of five degrees, and expressed a desire to have ten to play with, but as Mr M’Ewen seemed to think the lesser range would be in the cheese’s favour, they gave way. On the question of storage at the docks the companies could not see their way to make their sheds more suitable storage places for butter and cheese or other perishable produce, and indeed expressed an opinion that it was neither desirable nor necessary to do so. The sheds were quite good enough for the purpose they were intended to serve, namely, a temporary shelter from rain and sunshine for ordinary cargo. Butter and cheese ought to be removed by consignees without delay either to the dock cold storage or elsewhere. The discussion of this point led up to a suggestion that it was desirable the shipping companies should be given the power to remove butter and cheese from the sheds to the dock stores at the expiration of a reasonable time from the hour of discharge ex ship. Mr Beeves suggested that a clause might be inserted in the bills of lading empowering the parrying companies to do this with butter or cheese not claimed by consignees within a certain time of discharge. Forty-eight hours was suggested as the time limit, but on Mr Gray’s representations the time was reduced to twentyrfour. hours. This proposal.

which. I need hardly point out will, i£ ■ - looted, protect consignors to, a certain tent against the consequences of their agents’ carelersness, was favourably received by all present, and probably some such clause will be inserted in all bills of lading referring to dairy produce. Upon the question of the necessity of keeping wool and other “smelly” cargo apart from dairy produce in the sheds there was no divergence of views. Everybody agreed that contiguity of butter and wool was very undesirable. Captain Lawson thought the point need not have been raised at all, since for twelve months past it had been the unvaried rule to stow dairy produce and wool at opposite ends of the sheds. On the point of accelerating the discharge of produce from the ships, the representatives of the carrying companies did not seem to think they could do much better t han at present, so far as butter is concerned. Usually speaking, a ship disgorges her entire consignment of butter under forty-eight hours from the opening of the first chamber. v .But sometimes, as Mr T. Mackenzie pointed out, this is nob" the case. Kc,-tov instance, had to wait nearly a fortnight before obtaining the whole of one of his consignments recently. He got about a quarter of his butter on the first day of the ship’s working, but the remainder happened to be stowed below the bulk of the ship’s mutton cargo. Of course the question of freights cropped up. Mr M’Ewen raised it, by remarking that the shipowners had met them in such a nice spirit that he hoped they would be able to see their way to concessions in freights. He pointed out that the Australian freightage rates for dairy produce were considerably lower than those paid on New Zealand goods, and the New Zealand exporters were therefore handicapped somewhat in the competition on the Home market. Mr Temple answered this plea for cheaper transit on behalf of the shipping companies. He said that even with the present freights it was hard work to earn decent dividends for their shareholders, and so long as the latter had to bo content with less than 5 per cent he could hold out no hopes of a reduction in produce freights. But if an era of dividends above 5 per cent set in the shippers would certainly find the carrying companies willing to meet them on this point also. As to the difference between the Australian rates and those ruling from New Zealand, that was rendered necessary by the different conditions pnder which the Australian and New Zealand ’ boats picked up their cargo. In Australia the shipping was localised in the large towns, whereas in New Zealand a vessel might have to call at nine or ten ports, and each call meant harbour dues and other expenses. Mr Mackenzie at this point put a question. He said that at any rate the companies were beginning to abandon one port, namely Dunedin, and he would like to know whether it was their intention not to go up to the harbour with their moderate-sized steamers in future. In reply, Mr Temple said the companies could not go back on their former arrangement at all. During the last twelvemonth only two of their small sailing vessels had been able to get up .to Dunedin comfortably, and for the future they intended to add half a crown a ton upon all Dunedin cargo and_ deliver it themselves by lighter or rail as convenient. There were many other little points discussed, such as the stowage of cheese in chambers approximate to boilers, &c., but as the meeting was private and pressmen were not invited to be present, I cannot go into further particulars. / PERSONAL. The petition against Mr George Fisher attracted considerable attention amongst Parliamentarians at Home, fer if the contention that the member for Wellington cannot be a member of the New Zealand Parliament while representing Italy in the colony had been legally upheld, several members of the House of Commons would have to yield up their seats, including Sir William Dunn, who represents Paisley, and is at the same time Consul for the Orange'Free State. Mr W. Mendelson disappointed the sanguine expectations of his friends by failing to win the Cambridge Challenge Cup. The New Zealander qualified to meet A. W 4 Greig, a fellow-student of Jesus College, in the final, and was a warm favourite. He, however, played wretchedly, and was beaten easily, the final scores New Zealander and his conqueror were selected to represent Cambridge against Oxford in a double-handed game played on Thursday. Both were very much “ off colour,” and the Oxonian pair romped home 230 points ahead. In the Cambridge sports held last week Mendelson competed in the long jump, but could only cover 20ft Sin, and Faunce de Laune won the event with a jump of 20ft lljin. He and Mendelson represented Cambridge in this event at the annual competitions between the University and the London Athletic Club held on Saturday. The New Zealander’s “ dickey ” leg went wrong at his first leap, and as De Laune was “off colour.” the London Athletic Club secured the event, though their representatives only cleared 20ft Tin and 20ft 6in respectively. Mendelson and De Laune will, in the ordinary course of events, represent Cambridge, in the long jump at the Inter-’Yarsity sports next month, but the event is - a certainty for Oxford provided Vassal, of Oriel, keeps well. This consistent jumper is now in excellent form, and at the Oxford sports a few days ago cleared 22ft 9^in. Mr Thomas Mackenzie, the representative in London of the New Zealand Farmers’ and other co-operative societies in the colony, has promised to read a paper on “Exploration in New Zealand” before the Boyal Colonial Institute in May.