OUR LONDON LETTER.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CV, Issue 12481, 22 April 1901, Page 2

OUR LONDON LETTER.

ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES. CATTLE FOR THE COLONY. [Fkom Our Correspondent.] LONDON, March 16. Mr Gilruth has shipped, by the Matatua which leaves this morning, mg' Shorthorn cattle, seven bulls and in charge of Mr John M’Kie, one of the recently-appointed, veterinary surgeons, and 'a specially-engaged assistant. the animals are housed on the deck, in■ laio . roomy boxes, and appear, to be oomfcr - able. All have passed the tuberavlm test, administered either Gdrut his agents. Mr Gilruth’s work was more than doubled by the difficulty of find * n S animals to pass the test, end i-ety fine cattle secured by ham, d ' u P sr tn tho«e finally purchased, had to m re e°Md° o'-ine to thelt inability to do to. \ll the animals came from a good nnlk ing strain, and in most cases Mr Gilruth saw their dams and grand-dams. • The following are some particulars of the cattle: — Plato a hull 20 months oW, Purchased from Mr Harris, Calthwaita Hall, ‘Carlisle, fro^ddlemn! S abuH 15 months old, purchased from Lady ’Henry Bentmck, thing s trS Lonsdale, coming from a good imlkmg strain, g °lnfpeHai a Yeoman, a, two-year-old ball> P : ; chased from Mr Potter, of Lowficld, near K sffibn?y o . n a da feyear-old red bull, whose mother took first prize at the London Show for milking, and was sold to Mr Cecv. Rhodes for 100 guineas, purchased from .Dora Rothschild, Thing Park, Aylesbury. Clarence Duke, a bull bred by Mr Baylor, and. purchased at. • Birmingham, .where he took a third prize’, at the ‘cattle show. ■ Tugc'.a, a dark roan two-year-old bull, purchased from Mr ’Britten, near Northampton. Red (Lord the 27ih, a bull purchased from Mr ‘Hobbs, near Fairford. . ‘Musical Hundred and One, a cow, in can to a bull that gained second prize in the Royal Agricultural Show of (England, ana was purchased for 'SOO guineas. Mr Gilruth is finding some difficulty in obtaining the stamp of horses he requires, although he has been to the horse shows of Islington. One horse, which seemed suitable,; had to be rejected for unsoundness. IS IT BLATCH? According to the “ Essex Telegraph ” there is a growing conviction in Colchester that the man in custody in -New Zealand for tjie murder of Mr Welsh is not Blatch, and *tbat. Sergeant Frost and Mr John Marsh have made a ’ lamentable, though perhaps an excusable mistake. _ “But,” says our contemporary, “ the important question for the Colchester ratepayers is whether the Watch Committee will not take immediate steps to prevent an innocent man being brought from the other side of the world to Colchester. The committee have chosen to adopt a policy -of secrecy, so that nobody' knows what they are doing, or even whether they are doing anything at all. . Are they letting the whole thing drift, in. the hope that somehow all will come right in the end? There is not only the danger of doing a gross injustice to a man who is, perhaps, innocent, but there is the question of expense. When the • aocuscd was first arrested, we understand that the chief constable was called upon to give an indemnity, through the Home Office, for all the costs incurred by the New Zealand* authorities. That, in itself, represents a considerable liability, even if the man prove to be ! Blatch. But should he turn out to be Lilly white, then from the moment the Colchester officers reached Wellington and pledged • themselves to the prisoner’s identity the question of compensation was added. If he is now brought to England it means another considerable outlay in transit, with a delay of at least another 'two months, and a possible claim for compensation, which cannot, either on legal or on moral grounds, be resisted, to the tune of some hundreds of pounds. Even in the matter of keeping things secret, the Watch Committee have ludicrously and deservedly failed, having regard to the fact that publicity could not possibly do any harm, and that the ratepayers were entitled to know what was being done. If, by any proved blundering on their part, they saddle the town with a heavy expense, which might have been avoided, the ratepayers will certainly call them to account when the truth is eventually made known.” THE NEW RUAPEHU. The building of the New Zealand Shipping Company’s new twin-screw steamer Ruapehu, lately launched by Messrs Wil 7 liam Denny and Bros., Leven shipyard, Dumbarton, must almost constitute a record in rapidity of construction. The steamer, which is 45^7 ft long, 68ft broad' and 34ft deep, was commenced at the end of May, launched on Feb. 20, and will be delivered the first week in April, ten and: a half months after she was laid down. She has a deadweight capacity, including coal,’ of 10,000 tons, a cubic capacity, exclusive of 1800 tons of bunker space, 13.000 tons, is fitted with twin-screw engines, and powerful boilers to work at 180 lb steam pressure, and has a speed of fourteen knots. Her duplicate refrigerating' engines on the ‘anhydrous ammonia principle have been supplied by Messrs Haslam and Co., of Derby, one engine running twelve hours a day is capable of keeping her cargo of frozen produce equal to 100.000 carcases' mutton, at a temperature of 10 to 15 degrees above zero. She has also capacity for carrying 5000 tons of general cargo. She carried forty first, fifty second clasts, and has permanent accommo-' dation for ninety third class passengers. All first class passenger cabins are fitted with the latest improvements in the way of chests of drawers, wardrobes, etc., and the second class accommodation is most commodious and comfortable. The company are making a special feature of the third

class accommodation, giving these passengers a smoking room.

The Ruapehu is. expected to leave London on her maiden trip to New Zealand on May 31. PERSONAL AND GENERAL. I understand, that Mr Gilruth is finding some difficulty in obtaining' suitable veterangary surgeons, to fill the vacancies now remaining. ■ Another, Mr Harry Avery M.R.O.Y.S., has been appointed in addition to those of whom you have been already informed. Mr Reid., who is twentythree and unmarried, isW Kentish man, arid had) for same time, in conjunction with a colleague, veterinary charge of the troop iiorses and remounts* in the cavalry barracks at Windsor.

11l the. semi-final round of the Hospital Challenge Cup, the New Zealander Wall was responsible for one of the five tries scored) by Guy’s, who drubbed their opponents, Barts, ’ soundly by two goals three tries (nineteen points),"sill scored in the second half, to nil.

Two New Zealanders are the subject of illustrated biographical notices. The Hon J. G. Ward, “ a progressive New Zealander, ’ in tho “Daily Graphic,” and the Hon Charles Louisson, M;L.C., in the “ Jewish Chronicle.”

. In the “ Guardian ” the Rev F. John again makes an appeal for subscriptions for the formation of a. new mission district on the shores of Lake Wanaka, as up to date he has only received in four letters, all froiri, ladies, the sum of five guineas. Sir Robert Stout’s suggestion's' to'sending Boers to Australasia, to let them see for themselves what free British;-colonies were like, was brought forward by, Mr Trevelyan last night, when he asked ' the Secretary of State for War whether’, if. the Government contemplated) sending any more Boer prisoners out of‘South Africa,. they would consider the possibility of fending them to Australasian colonies in pre--ference to India or Ceylon for climatic real sons and to increase the opportunities, of friendly contact between the two races. Mr Brodrick replied that all the questions mentioned' would be considered before any step was taken, an answer of the “keep-it-steadily-in-view ” order. Lord Salisbury dealt in his usual lighthearted, cynical vein -on Wednesday night with the question of our threatened trade supremacy. An object lesson l is> found for him in New Zealand by the “Pall Mall Gazette,” which says:—-“The colonies ought to bo a sure market for us, but they are not. If Lord Salisbury wishes to get closer to actual facts, let him glance at the ‘Engineering Magazine’ for this month. He will there see some excellent illustrations' of the engines built for the Wellington and Manawatu Railway of New Zealand. In some British foundry? No; in the Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia. \ e’t recourse had previously been made to a leading British firm. The results were that the colony had to wait two years for full delivery of locomotives, that the first two delivered! were found to be of excessive weight find that, after a prolonged correspondence twenty engines had to be altered in various ways ,to .eqable. them to run over New Zealand bridges. It is the old story; the British producer will not .condescend to study the consumer. So long as this dull confidence in past ascendency continues, so long are avo in danger of that ‘ descent into obscurity ’ on. Avhich Lord Salisbury jests.” , As was to be expected after their slioaving against Ireland and Wales, the Scottish Rugby team proved too good for the English when the sides met at Blackheath last Saturday. The Thistles beat the Roses decisively by three goals and a try to a single try, or eighteen points to three. Once more,- the Neav Zealander, A. N. Fell, played! a great game,. and l this time - he managed to score a try. But it 'Avas not until Avithin ten minutes of “no side” that the flying Antipodean found' his opening and managed to get past Samlin, the English full-back, but for Avhose judicious interference Fell Avould have “ got there ” three or four times. Fell has now played in all three international, and may look back Avith pride to the season in Avhich he figured as one of the smartest three-quar-ters in the British Isles.