COLONIAL NEWS BY THE MAIL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 7081, 28 July 1884, Page 6

COLONIAL NEWS BY THE MAIL.

IntOlf OUR OWX OORKSWOKDIHT. 1 Losdon, Jane 19-" THE FROZEN MEAT TRADE. ; _ For ioem days pact the market has been decidedly depressed, bat it began to show some eigne of improvement yesterday. Though the (applies of English and Continental mutton were unusally heavy, the &n----signments of colonial mntton .were .smaller than is customary on til the Florida arrived from Wellington with nearly 17,000 carcases, Unfortunately," the shipment was in ba4 Audition. From the first it mishaps. It may be remembered that, shortly before shortly before sailing from Wellington, the Florida received on board someSOOO caroases from the Lady Jooelyn, a portion of whose cargo exhibited signs of becoming soft owing to an accident which happened to the refrigerating machinery of that ship. On the voyage toDonedin another misfortune oooarred. Some bilge water, itia thought, found its way into one of the lower chambers at the Florida, and. affected the meat to anoh an extent that nearly one thousand carcases were thrown overboard. The bilge water was pumped out, and it waa hoped the miaohief had been remedied, bat when the Florida was docked it at once became apparent that an additional heavy loss had been sustained. The Inspector feund it necessary to condemn some 1500 or 2000 caroases as soon as they were landed. The Wellington portion of the consignment suffered most, nearly all being in a very bad condition. The uccondemned caroases were most of them discoloured, and more or less damaged, and when offered for sale only realised from 2Jd to 4Jd per lb. Up to the present more than half of the damaged beef nave been sold, and it iftlhoped that after this week very few will remain on band. In all, 8600 carcases of this shipment Have been sold. The mishap to the Florida occasioned some anxiety to the promoters of the New Zealand "grill" at the Health Exhibition. Of coarse it waa impossible to hang np in fall view of a carious public any damaged or discoloured carcases, add'then expecttho sight to stimulate a desire to test the " grill." Bat there was 'little other frozen meat available for a day' or two. ' However the difficulty was tided over until the Cuzco and the Tongariro arrived with their cargoes in splendid condition; The' Tongariro sheep were of a vety useful size ana excellent in quality, but father fat. The market was tested yesterday with a small parcel, which realised from 5Jd to SJI. About 1000 carcases have 'been sold. Thir was an improvement' upon the previons day, when Australian mtttton . in perfect condition realised only 5d per pound ; bnt it has been deolded not to press forward the Tongariro shipment for a few days, in the hope that a better market will be obtained when the damage! portion of the Florida" is cleared oat. The Cazco's meat is fetching from 3s 4d to 3s 6d per stone to-day, but only 500 carcases have been sold.' A small consignment of beef, ex Florida, from Wellington is selling at from 2§d t V 4d per pound. Messrs. Ward and Stimpejn are making a bold stroke to push the colonial mntton in the provinces. ' They feel confident that the meat only requires to be known to be thoroughly appreciated. They have, therefore, determined to'advertise it largely in some'Bo provinoial'papers, in the hope that country butchers will apply for experimental consignments. I hear that a company has been privately floated to construct refrigerating chambers for the storage of meat under the new Poultry Market at Smithfield. The vaults are now being fitted up, and will be ready for occupation in about four months' time. The company have to pay about £1500 a year as rent. The following statistics respecting the quantity of fresh meat imported into the United Kingdom last month, as compared with the corresponding ' period of 1883, may be interesting to persons ehgaged in the frozen meat export trade:— The quantity of fresh beef imported into the United Kingdom during the past month reached 104,639cwt. against 66.544CW&, of whioh 99,6200wt. came from the United States, against 62,786 c wt. The imports of mutton for the month were 26,344 c wt. against 72120wt, the consignment received from New Zsfcland being 15,242 against 36620wt., and from Hollsnd 4079 as compared with 10S4owt. As regards the receiving ports— 25,766cwt. of the beef came to London, against 10,7290wt. ;' 67,7520wt. were landed at Liverpool, against 44,0070wt.; and 21,0350wt.. at Glaigo#, as against 11,2590wt. in the same month of last year. Of the quantity of mutton whioh waa imported, London received 19,079 against 39580wt.; Liverpool, 2207 against 1847cwt.; Harwich, 4052 against 1082awt.; and Glasgow, 1003 against 3250wt. KIDNAPPING IN THE SOUTHERN SEAS. An ungenerons attempt to fix upon the Queensland Government the responsibility of failure to prevent the "kidnapping" of South Ssa Islanders has been made by Mr. J. E. Redmond, M.P. for New Ross, who since his return from the Australian'colonies has but ill repaid the hospitality be received when on his recent tour.' Mr. Redmond had quite a budget of questions to ask : the Under Colonial Secretary on the lflth hist, with respect to alleged failures of justice in the case of the laboar schooner Jessie Kelly prosecution, and the Alfred Vittery murder case. Mr. Ashley admitted that the Colonial Office questioned the justice of the verdicts, but denied that the failure to convict the the master and crew of tho first named versel arose ont ot any defect in the new Labour Act of Queensland. As regards the case of the Alfred Vittery, he thought there bad been a decided failure .of justice, and the Colonial Office had so expressed itself. The Department had not been able to identify the Eileen case, as reported by the Sydney Echo, with any reported case, and in any event Mr. Redmond was wrong in assuming that the crime alleged must necessarily have implicated British subjects. He believed that the Queensland Government were honestly desirous of remedying the abases of the traffic. As to the general question, observed Mr. Ashley, of coarse the Government cannot but view with great dissatisfaction the abuses which undoubtedly from time to time oocar. A circular had reoently been sent to the Australian colonies in which the Imperial Government proposed to the colonies that the High Commissioner's jurisdiction should be strengthened and extended, provided the colonies would agree to bear some portion of the cost, and the Imperial Government also proposed that this question of the labour trade should, in oonjunction with tbe Colonial Governments, be considered anew to see if it cannot be more efficiently regulated, or, indeed, whether it should be considered at all. The Pall Mall considers that the circular indicates that the colonies and England are heading fnll sail towards some kind of Imperial federation. However that may be, the Colonial Office have declined to introduce a Federation Enabling Bill to facilitate the union of the Australasian oolonies until several of the oolonies have approved of the resolutions adopted at the Sydney Convention. On the 16th instant Mr. J. E. Redmond also interrogated the Under-Secretary for the Colonies as to whether the Government had arrived at any deoision wiUi regard to the alleged leisure and sale by Messrs. W. Mo Arthur and Co., of Auckland, New Zealand, of 250,000 acres of land in Samoa belonging partly to Mr. Frank Cornwall and partly to the native Prinoess Maudema and. the Samoan people. Mr. Ashley said that the case was one in whioh tbe complainant was left to his legal remedy, and not one in whioh the Government oould interfere. THE WINDING-UP OF FOREIGN COMPANIES. A deoision, which is considered to have a Vetfy important bearing upon the steps that have been taken in Melbourne to conserve the colonial assets of the Oriental Bank, has just been given by Mr. Justice Kay. M, Fnscher, a creditor of Messrs. Matheson Brothers and Co. (Limited), of New Zealand, presented a petition for a winding-up order, which was resisted on behalf of the company upon the ground that, though it had a branch office in London,' it was, in faot, a foreign company, and proceedings for its liquidation were pending abroad. Tbe company was registered under tbe Companies Act of the Legislature of New Zealand, and not under the Companies Acts of this country. Its registered office was at Dunedin, in New Zealand, and its primary object was to carry on business in New Zealand, where a very large proportion of its shareholders are resident, and where its assets as well as its liabilities chiefly are. Tbe company had, however, a branch offioe in Basingball-street, and a managing direotor and agent in London, Mr. M. J. Hart, and it had done business in London and contracted liabilities there to the extant

Of about £6000. Ita English asaeta were Stated to.be very small, consisting o?Iy o* 1 sum of £160 at ita banker's andjertafa Office furniture in , Basinghall-atreet - « appeared also that proceeding td the company were pending in New and that liquidator, appointed there, though no authority to. «ct in their name had aa yet been received by Mr.. Hart. Mr. Justice. Kay was of opinion that the oompany came within the spirit, »»» it clearlydid within the Utter, of theEnqbsh Acta, and be held, therefore, that the Court had jurisdiction to appoint m provisional liquidator or to make a winding-up order, the solicitor, or Mr. Hart, nndetuking that the assets hero should remain inr slutix quo and undisturbed until the further order of the Court. He directed the petitions to stand over generally with liberty to aj>ply ; while the English Court, as a matter of. equity, would lwy® 4 great regard for and respect to a winding-up order Of the New Zealand Court, still that oould not take away the right and power of the Englieh Court to make the order asked for. Mr. Jastice Slay considered it highly proper that the English Court, while ready to show all due courtesy to the New Zealand Courts, should take some steps to secure the English assets until proceedings were adopted by the New Zealand liquidators to make the assets there available for the creditors in England pari passu with the creditors in New Zealand. TTTR FASTEST PASSAGE F&OM NEW ZEALAND. - Captain W. C. Crutchley'a magnifieent run from Lyttelton to Plymouth in 37 days 20 hours and 40 minutes has been eclipsed by Captain E. O. Hallett, 8.N., the Tongariro having performed the passage in just 8 minutes less than her sister ship the Buapehu, leaving Port Lyttelton on May 3. She passed .through the Straits of Magellan, anchoring there«for six hours. She arrived at Bio de Janeiro on May 24 at 12.50 p.m., leaving the following day at 1 p.m., reaching Madeira on June 7, at 10.50 a.m., leaving at (LlO p.m. on the same day, and arriving in Plymouth Sound at 4.15 p.m. on-the 11th instant. Tbe whole run,' including stoggages, been pied 39 days 11 hours and 23 minutes the stoppages to 1- day 14 hours and 61 minutes; and tbe net steaming time to 37 days 20 hours and 32 minutes. The Daily Telegraph of the 17th inetaut oontains an interesting article contrasting the distressing and formidable character of a voyage to New Zealand in a sailing ship only twenty years ago, when 120 daya was an ordinary passage, with the remarkable run of the Ruapehu. The Illustrated London News a week or so ago gave an excellent cut of this fine vessel. THE NEW ZEALAND LOAN AND MERCANTILE AGENCY COMPANY. : A special general meeting of the New and Mercantile Agency Com(Limited), was held on the 13th inst. r. Russell, who presided, stated that the extension of their business in Australia Rendered it expedient that constituents and residents there should have the opportunity afforded them of becoming shareholders o! the company. Thiv however, was impossible under the existing' regulations, which It was therefore proposed, to alter. It had also been decided to remodel regulation 30, taking from tbe directors the control they had hitherto had as to'one-fourth of all new Shares created. The .directors had resolved to give up this Of the. 20,000 new shares (£500,000) whioh' they contemplated issuing.it was, proposed to offer'lo,oo9 for hubscription in Australia .aod ' ths other 10,000prolraffi to existing shareholders at a 'price .which would give them a bonus.; The allotment would be in the* proportion of; one Bhare fbr .every 12. now..held.Resolutions were duly passed' making the alterations proposed . in regulations 30. and 31 pf the artialea of.'assbciation. The National Mortgage and Agency Company of "New" Zealand have; announced an Interim dividend'at the rate'of 10' per'cent, per anntini, free of income tak, for- the past six months, payable on July 7. *- NEW ZEALAND POSTAL ARRANGE_v ' MENTS. The Agent-General lor Victoria has again protested against the injnstice of.the Postal Department in holding over for the San Francisco or fortnightly Orient service via Brindisi New Zealand mails posted without any specific directions as to the route to be adopted. It is claimed that in the absence of any express directions to the contrary the mails should be despatched by the first maii 'available, and that in that case the P. and O.'a Brindisi service would be as entitled to participate aa the Orient's. A request has been made that the Postal Department should furnish the Omoe with statistics showing the number of letters expressly shut out from the P. aod O. service during the last six months. It ia believed that at least 5000 letters every fortnight have been thus dotained. On that basis it is thought that a claim far compensation to tbe extent of £1500 would hold good.. Although Mr. Fawcett is still resolved not to accede to the wifh of the New Zealand Government and 'detain'that colony's mails fot the San Francisco service, he has not yet given'the order that all New Zealand maHa ahall be forwarded by the first available service.. In'connection with mail services, it is interesting to note that the P. and O. mails which' left Melbourne on May 6, and Adelaide on May 8, were delivered in London on JUae -14, two-days'-before their contract time. The Orient mails which left .Adelaide on May 18 are. expected to be delivered in London on the 20th inst'., though they are not due until the 23rd. BOOKS ON HEW ZEALAND. The publisher* have taken advantage of the Maori deputation to bring out two books bearing npon the native race of New Zealand. In one of these, entitled "Our Maoris," Lady Martin—the wife of the first Chief Justice of New Zealand—does for the Maoris pretty much what Miss Gordon Cumming haa done for the Fiji race. Her work has received commendation in all quarters, and the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge will benefit considerably by producing it. One critic remarks that, considering its limits, no better account of the Maoris has been written. The other book, " The King Country; or, Explorations in New Zealand," is from the pen of Mr. J. H. Kerry-Nicholls, and will be issued by Messrs Sampson. Low, and Co. It contains a narrative of 600 miles of travel through the Maoriland, with descriptions of " the wonderland " of the North Island—the Lake Country—and ascents of Tongariro and Mount Ruapehu. Portraits of Tawhiao and the most celebrated Maori chiefs will also be given. MISCELLANEOUS. Prince Bismarck's proposal to grant a State subsidy to a company undertaking a regular mail service between Germany and Eastern Asia and Austria, may after all not be ratified by the Reichstag. Dr. Bamberger vigorously opposed the scheme of offering a State subvention, and thereby incurred tbe ire of the Imperial Chancellor, who in an energetie speech contended that a Bill which aimed at promoting German intercourse with remote countries, and possessed a national importance, oould not be reduced to a mere statement of figures. If the Raichstag rejected the Bill, he wished it to be understood that he was absolved from all responsibility in the matter. Though Prince Bismarok's speech was received with applause, the Bill was referred to the Budget Committee, a step which it is said is generally accepted as equivalent to the practical defeat of the measure. Some interesting documents relating to tbe early history of New South Wales have just been purchased by Sir Saul Samuel for the Government of the oolony. They oonsiat of three small boxee, containing some hundreds of letters whioh passed between Sir Joseph Banks (the naturalist who accompanied Captain Cook when he discovered Botany Bay in 1770) and Governors Phillip, Hunter, P. G. King, and-others, who administered the young settlement from 1788 to ISOB. The documents were purchased from Lord Brabourne, who is related to the Banks' family. The letters have'not been thoroughly examined, but a cursory inspection confirms the belief that they will prove an acceptable addition to the early cbynniclfs of the colony, and will be deservedly prized in one. of the publio institutions. Visoount Hampden, the late Speaker of the _ House' of Commons, at the annual festival of the Newspaper Press Fund, suggested a new field for the energies of special correspondents of the English Press. It had always surprised him, h said, tha* these trained observers were not more employed in collecting information in the Britiih colonies to lay before home readers. If special correpondenta were more often thus employed, the bonds which.unite the colonies to the mother country would certainly be more closely tied. He hoped the "English Press would deem his suggestion worthy of consideration. These remarks were received with cheers. The equity of the new Fiji Labour Ordinance haa been questioned in the House of

pMajntttt, Wt the dictam at tk. rf '■ : the inoßih Under-Secretary offstate has pre vailed, and the mouth of «?*£•* interrogator has been eWi u. . **>3 denies that ths new ordinance for mow than a month, bat saw insist- aa » condition precedent thL^J* labourer should i>a placed on Ir.®* register. '• The restrictions had «- in tho interests of the and In oooseqnenoe of by the diie&.in anwal that whole districts] were of all the able bodied m enTtfo?^.! w, P* children being left to starve. """Wo «0d Mr, Bim« Reeves, the world English tenor, contemplates aviiittnV®* trails and America before finallv -»-"***• wonderfully successful career sa ii'u? singer. Mr. Barry Sullivan, the well vS- 4 actor, is preparing for a fresh profe2Hs tour round the world, embracing New Zealand and Auetralia. Mr Sala. the famous " spedal" of the Dahv Tj graph, will probably sail for the ed*.°£ early la the new year, The Royal Borough of Ayr hu i*y grateful compliment to two of ita zatiil * Sir Thomas .Mcllwraith, the ex-P,l!r* of Queensland, and Mr. John McllJS? an ex-Mayor of Melbourne. The freed»«!l 4 ?.™ P^?*? 4 . 40 S e ® on the 16th W* and m acknowledging the honour, Sir TJvvlT* defended his eonduet in annexing w* Gome*. He admitted that his action* vltra vira, but he took that course in oS to gain time and prevent the aimmttmrf the great Papuan island by some faqV Power before the Colonial Office wmn.™ itself. He still believed that ere long I~j Derby would be compelled to endor»Hk. very step he had last year refused to ratif» . The International Commission for tk. improvement of the Suez Canal is n<nr2j tiog in Paris, and Major-General Sir Clarke, the Australasian delegate, haa i appointed Vice-President—the premier doT! tion being accorded to M. Lef e bn« d* Fourey. Three schemes for the fanprorT ment of the canal have been prepaid b* the company's engineer. Sir Andrew Clark? who last year inspected the ran.) subsequently furnished a secret report to tk» British Government, is opposed to the schema of a second parallel canal, but recommend, that the existing channel. which hu . maximum width of 80 feet, should U widened to a width of 240 feet. It is uslibl* that the proceedings of the oommiiaion have a practical termination until October next. The Washington correspondent of ti. New York Sun is responsible for the statement that-M. de Lesseps contemplate* ths abandonment of the attempt to build * canal acroaa Panama, and is now negotiatefor a oonoenion on the Nicaragua, Gcafcf mala, and Costa Rica route. The no, correspondent asserts that the greater put of the costly works already execnbdat Panama have been destroyed b> aprui freeheta. The Paris officials of the Panaa* Canal Company, on the contrary, assert that they have not received any informatica which would indicate that such statement! were warranted, and that the Chief Engineer is now travelling home to submit to ths Board of Directors the programme of the works to be executed next year. It is ssr. misei that the report was set afloat from a desire to assist the rival American project foe the construction of the Nicaragua (V"«i Mr. K. Laishley is still in Germany. H» will not be able to leave England as early as he anticipated, and cannot, therefore, reach Auckland in September next as he had hoped. The dissolution having beta pre. cipitated by the defeat of the Atkinaon Government, Mr. Laishley will be debarred from offering himself for election to the House of Representatives. In a speech delivered at Ayr a hw evenings ago, Sir Thomas Mcllwraith, tb« late Premier of Queensland, remarked that he had repeatedly urged upon the British Government to try and divert to Australia tho enormous stream of emigration do* flowing to America. That such an effort, if made at all, has not resulted in any large measure of success is clear from the latest emigration statistic*. They show that during the first five months of the present year 92,823 persons, 65.269 being of English, Scotch, or Irish nationality, sailed front British ports to ths United States, 18,183 persons for British North America, and 20,512 for Australasia. The emigration to Australasia showed a decline of nearly 4000 as compared with last year. Satisfaction has been expressed by piscicnlthrista at the success which has attended ths shipment of salmon ova sent out in the loijic. It has been suggested by some theorists that the difficulties attending tto acclimatisation of the fish are by no meaoa over, even when the ova hatch out in the riven. It is predicted by these slarmirts that the ycrang fish when once they go ootto sea will only return to the river In whioh they were spawned, not that in which they were hatched. It is believed, however, that the experience of the Californian salmon does not support this theory, aod Sir Jiats Maitland himself, no mean authority, is not a believer in the danger suggested. A pastoral property in the Northern Terr*tory, covering an area of about 34,700 sqcin rniiM, or about two-thirds the area of England and Wales, has been placed upca the Stock Exchange by ita owners, Mm G. B. Fisher ana Maurice Lyons, in tk* form of the Northern Territory Corporation of South Australia (Limited). The capital of the proposed company is £1,000,030, in 100,000 shares of £10 each, of which the vendors take 33,000, with £5 per share jsid up, and a contingent liability of £5 per share. The Stock Exchange are disposed to regard the company as "a good thing." One influential member remarked only yestar* day that it was the best placed upon the market for the last six years. A very tew days will show whether the public endons this opinion. Meanwhile the promoters de not hesitate to hold out hopes of 8 per cert, dividend from the start, to be increased to 20, 30, and 40 per cent, as the immenae properties of the oompany are developed. Mr. Alfred Denison, the Chairman rf the Trust and Agency Oompany of Australia!* is the Chairman, he having - replaced ths Duke of Manchester, who has sailed te Australia. The defeat of the Atkinson Goverssunt has passed without comment. This after* noon the Times, in ita second edition, announced that the New Zealand Shipping Company have received the following telegram :—" In consequence of a vote of of confidence having been passed, Perils* ment has been dissolved, to re-assemble w the 28th 'of Angust." This is the latest news received. Mr. McCullagh Seed has arrived in lah don, after enduring a somewhat "hard journey across the American Continent, fi* intends to change the name of his nev weekly paper devoted to the colonies from the Anglo-New Zealander to the Australasias Gazette, a decided judicious step, aa it sta> involves the enlargement of the soope of journal, A sad fate baa overtaken an operatic aria* who was a great favourite in the colonies about twelve years ago. Bignor Snc" recently met his death through a »liw accident in London, and unfortunately, liks too many of his profession, he has left lw widow and infant children totally destitute Madame Csrlotta Patti, Madame lima dj Munka, and ether distinguished artists with whom he was associated in the latter part of his career, have kindly offered to give a concert for the benefit of his family. In the brief biographical notices which have appeared in the Press Signor Susini is referred to as the last link connecting the present with the old Italian school of muaic. Snsisi was associated with Her Majesty's Theatrs and Covent- Garden, and had sung with Mario, Grisi, Lablaohe, and other famon artists of the past. The annual conversazione of the BojM Colonial Institute will be held on the evening of the 19th inst. at the South Keniin^ta 1 Museum. Several thousand visitors -chiefly Fellows and their friends—will be present "The distinguished guests" will include Tawhiao and his suite. But for his untimely death the Duke of Albany would have presided on the occasion. Mr. John Marshmsn, late Commissioner of Crown Lands,. New Zealand, and Mr. Jacob Isaacs, of New Zealand, have been elected Fellows of the Institute.