ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES

Lyttelton Times, Volume CV, Issue 12479, 19 April 1901, Page 7

ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES

J « ■.: [Fhom Otra Correspondent.] ,"' •' - - LONDON, March. 8. PERSONAL AND GENERAL. The Countess of Ranfurly and her daughters have booked their passages 'by the Himalaya to the colony, where they will rejoin Lord Ranfurly in April, in plenty ol time to make preparations for the Royal visit. Mrs Reeves gives a large farewell afternoon tea, to them nest Thursday, March 14, at which there promises to •be a large gathering Of New Zealanders. I understand that Mr Onslow Ford's bust of Sir George Grey will be exhibited at the Royal Academy this year before ib is relegated to the obscure gloom, of the crypt of St Paul's. It is a pity that Professor Herkomers portrait of the statesman could not' also be seen by the multitude in the same way. . As .the volume of New Zealand Statutes for 1 1900 has now* arrived, I nad a chit the •other day with the Agent-General on the Sew Conciliation and Arbitration Act. He said' that he thought the changes in it Went much deeper, and were more imp.or- ' lAnl: than might have been gathered from ■ .the 'newspaper comments on the Act. Some of the changes were excellent, and most ' '©f tliem right direction. One change, 'and one only, Ire very greatly regretted, but declined to specify what it was. Mr C. J. Jornish contributes to "Country Life" an article on trouL in New Zealand, illustrated by three-picturesque photographs by.Mr Wm. Reid. Referring to "the "-residents' account of large leaping fish , in,' the stream connecting Lake Ada with ■ Miliord Sounu, Mr Cornish ■ says it is 1 " difficult not to believe that' these were salmon." Perhaps some New Zealand .readers will send th*ir observations on the subject. The many friends of the Rev A. O. Williams, of Waiiganui, will be rejoiced to , learn that the long sea voyage—it was long enough in all conscience, being no less than sixty-four days—he took in the , Eiffel. Tower from the colony has done him ' » great deal of good, and that apparently .the'blustery, snowy and wet weather he has encountered since landing in England lasc month appears to agree entirely with him. Mr- Williams, however, does not yet look fighting' fit, and his medical adviser forbids work of amy.description, and has stated that at least six months in England wiiL be necessary to a complete reiteration. Mr WilHams is at present staying* with friends'at Southwell,: Notts. '.Mr F. Jv Dowding,- an old "Bristol Cathedral scnoolboy, who has come Home on a visit, after fifteen years' residence in the colony, gave a lecture on "The Wonderland of the World " in the western city the other evening. He showed an attractive style as a lecturer, and gave a> most ipaphic description of the country. The ,lecture was admirably illustrated by photographs, shown on a large screen by means '«Lth.e '■. limelight. The views were- .very, ©ear," and'* gave the audience an excellent: / .'idea of New Zealand and its wonders. The '"'' .view's :exhibited included the thermal eprdngs' district, the pink and white terraces .of Tarawera, the life and customs of the Maori, the principal towns, the cold •lakes aid. fiord district, gold-mining and forest scenes. The.lecture was much appreciated by a large audience. ' Mr A. N. Fell is playing against England .in the' International Match to be decided at "Richmond to-morrow. In. the Welsh and Irish matches Fell failed to "come-off" in, department, though his, game fin.both/ cases was sound and often brilliant. His experience in internationals is, of "course, the result of his club fame. A man 'with a register of 29 tries in University "matches is' bound to be marked out for -particular attention by the opposing backs. •Perhaps, however, it-is to the advantage of FelUs side" if not to his own immediate ad"vantage or comfort that the New Zealander is compelled to call upon the co-operation of \ 'his associates to secure the coveted three for his team. It is good discipline . "f6i a-mar^aiid--teaches him to make-the best■use of the art of passing, and to see another man's opening when his own way is blocked. .' Mr Spencer Gollan is the proprietor of a novel racing craft just launched by George . Zims, the well-known Putney It is a treble-sculler, 35ft long, lcVJinbeam,' ,7Jm depth amidship, siin forward aiwl 4£in aft. During the coming summer Mr Gollan, with George Towns and Tom Sullivan, ,are, .1 hear, to man.tha craft with a view 'to.putting up stale recol&s for long-distance 'sculling on the Thames. .- ~-;., . -, An- -impression se*ms prevalent in the colony that New. Zealand has a great deal '.to learn from Denmark in the encouragement, supervision and protection of the -butter and- dairy produce trade. The .Agent-General, with a view of learning, if possible, from the experience of Denmark, instructed Mr Cameron to place himself in ■communication with the Danish Dairy Com- . missioner and to ascertain, what special .precautions the latter took to prevent the fraudulent practice of selling as Danish butter manufactured out of Denmark, and generally .what ■supervision was exercised ■ over the Danish produce. The Commissiones returned a very courteous reply fo'the effect that no, other special precautions were ' .taken against such a fraudulent practice ex- I cept his appointment a 3 Commissioner, ' • with the-duty of preventing, as far as poseible, such misrepresentatipn, .and that the supervision was of two' kinds. The first aimed at guaranteeing the genuineness of the- butter, and was exercised by inspectors and assistants, empowered by law to take samples and have them analysed in the Government laboratories, while the second was of a.dairy technical kind, and was u voluntary on the part of the dailies, which ' were encouraged to submit .butter for analysis at the laboratories and to exhibit at the State butter shows. It appears, there--fore,: (that b6th at the Antipodes and in the Mother Country the encouragement and protection of the butter trade -is fully as complete in New Zealand, as in Denmark. ■ V -Mr H. .& Cameron has just returned,froma short trip to Scotland and the north of England. He had intended to make his ■visit- contemporaneous with that of Mr Gilruth, in order to introduce the latter to anumber of dairy merchants, but was detained in town by a bad chill. He included Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Leit'h in bis circular tour, distributing reports and circulars as to dairying in the.; colony, and found that during the last two? •easons there had been a- great expansion of the dairy produce trade, especially in Liver* pool and Leith. A great many merchants' are now handling the colony's produce,, which they have been induced to take .'up by its good repute.- They expressed their: ■ gatisfactioh with the produce generally, and especially; with the butter. In the course! of his travels/,Mr. Cameron met"an English,-. farmer just returned from, a trip to New Zealand, "whV. expressed his intention of opening a shop -for 'the sale of New Zealand meat in the east of Scotland as soon as prices drop a little. l