OUR LONDON LETTER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVIII, Issue 8541, 15 April 1891, Page 6

OUR LONDON LETTER.

["from OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.] London, March 6. IMPEDIMENTS TO COLONIAL TRADE. Matters are beginning to look a little more settled now that a split has occurred between the Dockers' Union and the Seamen and Firemen's Union. The latter is virtually controlled by a lire-eater named Wilson, who is everlastingly trailing his coat in the hope that some employer will tread on its tail. He was at the bottom of the long dispute which has resulted in the boycotting of the two great shipping companies of New Zealand. His efforts have not actually stopped the operations of these companies, but they have certainly harassed and hindered them in the execution of their business. Now, however, the block will doubtless be quite removed, and it is to be hoped that in future the relations will be more satisfactory. The companies have contrived to get their loading and unloading done, but not as expeditiously as they could have desired. A few sentences, which 1 will quote from a letter written to one of the London dailies by Mr. Henry Reynolds, of 30, Borough, London Bridge, will convey very clearly the difficulties under which importers have laboured. ill'. Reynolds writes —"Until there is some permanent settlement of the labour question, trade in all its branches must be seriously affected. For instance, our own ease is a fairly representative one. We are large manufacturers of dairy produce, and as the prices we were realising in New Zealand were not so-satis-factory as we wished, my firm decided to open a depot in London for our own and other New Zealand produce. Everything goes well, and 1 find that we can get prices which will leave a small margin above working expenses, but unfortunately, owing to the difficulty at the docks, we are unable to fill a single order, and are losing time, money, and markets. Had this, sir, been merely a personal matter I should not have taken up your valuable space; but, if we throughout New Zealand, who own and work creameries and cheese factories, could afford to give even a trifle more for milk than we do now, it would give a stimulus to agriculture, land would rise in value, and the prosperity of the country would be increased. Speaking only of its agricultural capabilities, and leaving out its wonderful mineral resources, New Zealand is, for its size and population, one of the most productive countries in the world. We may therefore hope that in a short time our exports will be very considerable, and if we can sell our raw materials and produce here, we shall be only too willing to take British manufactured goods in exchange. But if there is to be all this delay and trouble in the delivery of consignments, it will seriously weaken trade relations between England and the colonies."

INVESTMENT OF TRUST FUNDS. The recommendations of the Departmental Committee appointed by the Lords of the Treasury to report on the question of the investment of trust funds in colonial stocks have not been received with much favour. They are regarded as cumbersome and sis not materially helping to a practical solution of the difficulty. Any colony proposing to take advantage of the conditions empowering trustees to invest in its securities must permit a judgment to be obtained against it in this country upon which a claim can be made upon the Colonial Government's funds, either in this country or in the colony, and for this purpose a home judgment would run in the colony. The automatic limit to trustees' investments in colonial stocks which Lord Herachell embodied in his Bill in 188S is not recognised as satisfactory, and the committee therefore proposed as an alternative a scheme which would enable trust funds to be invested in all inscribed stocks not yielding the buyer more than 1 per cent, in excess of the yield of consols. Under this arrangement every inscribed stock would at present be available for the investment of trust funds. New Zealand being fairly within the category, though the nearest to exclusion. The following table shows the action of this 1 per cent, limit at the present time : — INSCRIBED STOCK.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer has made no sign that he intends to give legislative effect to the recommendations of his committee. This has rather disgusted the Agents-General, and they are about to wait on him, and ask him his views. It is probable that he will defer the announcement of his policy until he delivers his Budget speech.

SHAW-SAVILL AND ALBION COMPANY. The annual meeting of shareholders was held on the 2nd instant, and with a 10 per sent, dividend to receive, all went merry as a marriage bell. The directors set aside a large amount tft provide for depreciation, and '"wrote off £30,000 upon their 25 sailing ships, reducing these vessels to an average value of £7 10s per ton. The report made sympathetic reference to the loss of the Dunedin and the iMerope. In view of the strenuous resistance which the company have made to the dictation of the new unions, it may be interesting to reproduce some parts of the explanatory speech which Mr. James Park, the chairman, made to the shareholders on Monday last" Several months ago," he said, 11 When we had to ship union crews, and before the federation was formed, I wished to give a fireman a berth on board of one of our steamers. He had ■ been a stoker in the Royal Navy and had a good character. I sent him down to our superintending engineer and asked him find a place for him. The reply came— cannot ship him unless he joins the union. Of course I knew this, and the man Was told to join the union. He went and offered the necessary money. They kept him hanging about for a couple of days, and then wrote a note saying that as there were union firemen idle and wanting ships, they could not let him join the union. I am sorry that note was destroyed, I should like to have it now as a curiosity. However, I could do nothing more. I was unable, as a director of this company, to put even one man on board one of your steamers in a crew of about 120 men, without first lifting my hat to these union officials for permission, which in the end they declined to grant, though the requisite entry fees were tendered to them. No wonder, therefore, that there is no love lost between the union and ourselves. I may tell you that it is just as lawful to ship and discharge crews on board ship as it is to ship and discharge them at the shipping offices. A Government officer attends, on board ship and superintends the whole business, and I see no difference between Government supervision in a ship's cabin and Government supervision in a four-walled room. You may quite sure there is a reason for all this hubbub—a reason why the union is fighting against it as if it were a matter of life or death. _ I ana not in their secrets, but I have heard it said that it is very difficult to get money out of Jack unless he has a full pocket. Well, that hapuens as a rule only on pay-day, and if Jack is not caught by the union taxgatherer at that time, there is very little chance of his subscriptions finding their way into the union coffers at all. Ib is my belief that the union is endeavouring to make the shipowners their cats'-paws, and if the shipowners would take their crews to the shipping offices, and give the union a chance to get their subscriptions and arrears from the seamen, there would be peace tomorrow. This company was one of the first to be boycotted ,by these unions, and the block continues. The result of it is that so far it has not done us much harm; less even thau. we expected. I confess that we have not been able to get on with our work so fast as usual, the new men not being so well up to the work as the old hands, but they are gradually getting accustomed to it, and every day which passes over their heads adds to their efficiency. It is true we have to take the bulk of our coal at Plymouth, which is so much money lost to London labour, but no steamer has been over her time more than a couple of days, and we have never been stopped for want of sailors. Since the strike, all our ships, sailing, and steam, have gone away fully manned by non-union crews. If we do not suffer more than we have suffered hitherto we can afford to possess our souls in patience, and wait quietly for the result. The expected collapse has since occurred, and the boycott has been removed.

ill -=■ 111 •£2 "3 «o £ pi ? " " " " j <£, s. d. Consols, "1% until 1903 (then 2J%) i »" '2 10 9; Canadian, 4% Inscribed, 1904 S 107 3 6 4 0 11 < Canadian, 4% Inscribed, 1910-35 110 3 6 5 0 9 S Canadian, 3J% Inscribed, 1900-34 104 3 4 CO 7 9 Canadian, 3% Inscribed, 193S ..j 95 3 4 3 0 7 5 Cape, % Inscribed, 1923 .. i 107 3 12 0 0 15 9 Cape, 3\X Inscribed, 1029-40 .. 99 3 10 11 14 2 Jamacia. 4% Inscribed, 1934 .. 106 '3 14 5 0 10 S Natal, 3% Inscribed, 1937 . ... 103 3 12 10 0 10 1 Natal, ihX Inscribed, 1914-39 .. 901,3 15 2 0 IS 5 N.S.W., iy. Inscribed, 1933 ..113J3 8 0,0 11 3 N.S.W., 31% Inscribed, 1924 . .102j|3 7 0 0 10 9 N.S.W., 3i% Inscribed, 1918 .. 101*3 8 3,0 11 0 New Zealand, 4% Inscribed, 1929,106 3 14 2,0 17 5 New Zealand, 3i% Inscribed, 1940 97J3 12 3,0 15 0 Queensland,4% Inscril»ed, 1915-24 3 10 2 0 13 5 Queensland, 3J% Inscribed, 1924 | 9i§3 11 6,0 14 .9 S.Australia, 4% Inscribed, 1916-36 103 .3 10 4 0 13 7 S. Australia, 3J%, Inscribed, 1939; $»sJ3 11 4 0 14 7 Tasmanian, 'i\% Inscribed, 1940 | 97J3 12 3,0 15 6 Victorian, 4% Inscribed, 1907 .. 103 |3 7 6,0 10 9 Victorian, 4% Inscribed, 1913 ..1103 3 9 710 12 10 Victorian, 44% Inscribed, 1920 ..; 100 ;3 10 0,0 13 3 Victorian, 3.'.% Inscribed, 1023 jl00 |3 10 0 0 13 3 \V. Australia, 4% Inscribed, 1934jl03 3 12 8,0 15 11