NEWS BY THE MAIL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 7008, 3 May 1884, Page 1 (Supplement)

NEWS BY THE MAIL.

[FKOM OTJB LONDON CORRESPONDENT.] London,. March 14. FEDERATION OF THE EMPIRE. Sis HEEcajLES Robinson, who sailed for Cape Colony yeaterday morning, was entertained at a banquet at the . Empire Club on. the' 3rd instant, Lord Brabourne presiding. With.the exception of Sir Francis Bell, who is not' a member of the Club, all the AgentsGeneral were, present. Sir Hercules delivered a very interesting speech, in the course of which he examined the question of the. future relations of the colonies with the Mother Country. The possibility of dismemberment, he insisted, no statesman should entertain, and, therefore, the political problem of the future was—What means can be depised for that closer political union with the Mother Country, which will enable millions upon millions of Anglo-Canadians, Anglo - Australians, and Anglo -'South Africans to advance in national life, and, at the same time, to remain members of the Empire to which it is now their pride, as well as their privilege, to belong. The great colonies might for the present be contented with full local autonomy ; possibly at present they were nob ripe for anything more, and were unprepared to take upon themselves a full share of the common burdens of British citizenship. Bup the day would come when they would claim a voice in the settlement of Imperial concerns. Then, the only way in which they conld be given relatively an equal voice in the management of the concerns which relate to the Empire as a whole would be by some system whioh would provide for the Imperial functions of an Imperial Parliament, controlling an assemblage of federalised States, each possessing the fullest measure of Home Rule. Lord Derby, later in the evening, after expressing disbelief in the assertion that British statesmen or the British public were indifferent to colonial affairs, went on to remark that in his opinion Sir Reroutes Robinson's suggestion in favour of an Imperial Federated Council was dearly premature. The difficulties in the -way .of Imperial federation seemed to imply the poasibility of two opposing sets of ministers, one party being dominant in Imperial relations, the other supreme in domestic relations. Lord Derby is, however, always a wet blanket upon enthusiasm, and he was laughing reminded of the fact by Lord Brabourne.

THE RECIDIVIST QUESTION. At length official information is available respecting the negotiations which have passed between the British and French Governments relative to the Recidivist scheme, and it is gratifying to be able to report that the general result is decidedly reassnringi The Colonial and Foreign Offices cannot be' obarged with failing to make strong and repeated' representations to the French Foreign Office respecting the obnoxious obaracter of the Relapsed Criminals Bill. The French. Government, in September last, admitted the grave importance of the question to the Australian Colonies; but, failing to give any specifio assurances, were again pressed for explanations. Immediately' after the receipt of Sir Francis Bell's despatch of November 30, in which he enlightened the Colonial Office as to the virtual freedom of the Recidivists on their arrival in the Pacific, Lord Derby urged the Foreign Office to,strongly remonstrate against any material increase of the number of criminals to be sent to New Caledonia, and more particularly against the proposal to include that island amongst the places to which relapsed criminals might be exiled. The liberty it was proposed to allpw them would, he argued, inevitably lead to a wide dispersion of the French convict population among islands not under French authority, whence they would emigrate to Australia. In view of the very numerous cases in which convicts had of late escaped from New Caledonia to Australia, . any increase in the numbers sent there must necessarily be viewed as an unfriendly act on the part of the French Government, • He requested, therefore, an assurance that Recidivists' would not be sent to.New Caledonia. On December 20, Lord Lyons made another appeal.to the.French Minister of Foreign Affairs in the terms of Lord Derby's suggestion. He represented very-, seriously to the French Government the danger to the British Colonies which wouhi result from any- material increase in the number of convicts aentto/New Caledonia, and, as a question o£ friendship, appealed that no suoh increase should takeplace.. Again, on January 3, the, English Ambassador sent another despatch, in which he .pointed out that 267 fugitive convicts from New Caledonia-bad landed in Australia since 1873. Hβ refewed to the intense feelieg exoited in the colonies by the French transportation Boheme, and stated- that the [British .Government 'attabhed' very eeriouß

importance to the alarm expressed by. the colonists. A few days later Lord Lyons saw the French Premier, and spoke very seriously to:him on the subject of the Relapsed Criminals Bill. M. , Ferry professed to doubt whether the emotion which Australian colocists displayed was genuine and sincere. Was it not, he asked,' rather caused by the thirst for annexation of territory with which the colonies we're -beset rather than by any real alarm a 9 tor the consequences of the transportation of a certain number of French criminals to Hew Caledonia? Lord Lyons answered that M. Ferry seemed to be putting' effect for cause. It was, he said, quite certain that one of the principal incentives in Australia f6 the cry of annexation of neighbouring islands was the fear that those islands might' be,converted into penal, settlements by foreign powers, or become the resort of escaped criminals from snch settlements. M. Ferry rejoined that he really could not understand the apprehensions about which the colonists made so much noise. The relapsed criminals who would be sent to New Caledonia would not be positive convicts (forcats), they would not be very numerous, and they would be prohibited from quitting the island. Lord Lyons inquired whether in .the event of Recidivists escaping the French authorities would be sure in all esses to apply for'their, extradition, and could the extradition be granted by the colonial authorities under the ordinary laws and treaties ? M. Ferry was not sere, but thought that as. the persons transported would all have been under sentence for serione offences, they would carry the effect of their sentences with them —at any rats they would render themselves liable to penalties if they quitted the island. It was not intended to swamp the French population of New Caledonia by sending

very.many Recidivists there; by far the greater number would go to Cayenne—s place which did not deserve the evil reputation it had for unhealtbiness. Hβ must decline to give an assurance that no relapsed criminals would be eent to New Caledonia, bnt he would look into the matter, as he was sincerely desirous to show every reasonable consideration for the wishes of tbe British Government and colonists. He could not, however, admit that any foreign conntry had a right to prevent France from sending conviote to one of her own colonies. Lord Lyons suggested, .in conclusion, that, as a rule, every man. bad a right to do what he liked with-his own house, but it was surely reasonable .for a friend who lived next door to ask him not. to make hie house a danger to his neighbours. , These not very courteous insinuations of the French Prime Minister respecting the bpna fides of more than three millions of British colonists did not, I believe, by any means exhaust the left hand compliments paid by | the irate. Gallic statesman, who, it must be remembered, was crowing on hia own dunghill, and therefore less restrained in his utterances than Lord Lyons, who, besides, is a model of diplomatic propriety. Ihear that M. Ferry was very fierce in his denunciations of the impertinence of the colonists in daring to dictate to France what she should or should not do wish her own. If the Repubic chose to send convicts to one of her own colonies, what business had the colonists of a foreign nation to protest ? It will be remembered that some months ago the Agents-General proposed to proceed in a body to Paris, and seek an interview with M. Ferry, for the purpose of enlightening him respecting the grave reasons with which the colonies defended the. alarm they felt at the French transportation scheme. The Convention, however, would not sanction this innovation on the ordinary enstoms-of diplomacy, and consequently the idea was abandoned. The too rigid adhesion to the prantices of the Circumlocution Office baa probably proved disadvantageous, for the representatives of the colonies could certainly have put the objections- of the colonists in a much more vivid and practical

light than the most highly-trained diplomatiat in the service. Mr. Murray Smith was in Paris a day or two ago, and he had a semi-official interview with Lord Lyons for the purpose of gathering his opinion on the situation. I regret to say it was not reassuring. Lord Lyons evidently believes that the Bill will pass, and that the colonies must only trust that the discretion of the French Government will, induoe them to 1 ' administer it in a manner calculated to give the least possible ■ offence - to. .the. susceptibilities and injury of the Australasian dependencies of the Empire. There is very little doubt that, the . Victorian Agent-: General (who, next to Sir Francis Bell, is the best informed amongst colonial representatives upon this question) pointed out to Lord Lyons that the colonies possessed ! responsible government, and would unquestionably pass an uniform law to prevent "the. landing on their shores of persona from penal settlements in the Pacific, who have been convioted of crime." If the onus of proving their innocence of any. taint of convictiem were thrown upon all French arrivals, all Frenoh trade with the colonies would be virtually stopped; but a degree 1 of irritation would be aroused which would 1 certainly lead to European complications.. i It has been suggested to me that the i colonies poseess another potent weapon of defence Even now, with a limited population, Now Caledonia i 3 virtually dependent upon Australia for its food supplies a for-. ■ tiori ; if the population were increased by the addition of 10,000, 20,000 or 30.000 , Recidivists, the French penal settlement would be almoet at the mercy of .the colonies which supplied its wants. In i Conaul Layard's latest report on New Cale- ; douia I have just come across some statistics , which emphasise this view. For instance, ; last year the Government required 1,200,000 , kilos of flour of the first quality and 1,800,000 i kilos of the second quality to feed the convict ■ population, troops, &o. I believe the con- '. tract was secured by New Zealand, Adelaide . haring obtained it the previous year. But supposing that the Britieh colonies abso- • lutely refused to minister to the wants of a ; nation whioh insisted—to quote the words , of Mr. Murray Smith—on disgorging into , the fair isles of the Southern Pacific "a i festering mass of crime and villainy without the semblance, without the pretence of . effectual control or restraint." '