ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 9111, 31 January 1893, Page 6

ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES

[FROM OCR OWN CORRESPONDENT.] London, December 24. It is well known that the commencement of the new year would see nearly the whole of the Australian colonies coming to London for much-needed money. Such wholesale borrowing is certain to cause a serious fall in all colonial stocks, and as the public here rarely discriminate between the various colonies, it is more than likely the stocks of New Zealand, though she be not an applicant, would suffer with the others. The Agent-General is alive to this danger, but is unable to see a remedy unless, as ne humourously suggested to an interviewer, " We advertise that New Zealand is the only colony which does not need money this year." Last year the new Australasian securities offered to British investors amounted to £9,208,000 as compared with £13,056,000 in 1891, and £16,445,000 in 1888. These applications were composed of over £6,000,000, in the shape of Government loans and treasury bills, or some £4,500,000 less than in the preceding year. Victoria contrived to pickup £2,000,000 by way of loan and £1,000,000 treasury bills, and New South Wales secured £2,500,000 by treasury bills. The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency obtained £550.000 in debentures. With the exception of Victoria and Queensland, most Australian Government inscribed stock showed an improvement on the year, and New Zealand notably so. The New Zealand corporation loans also rallied strongly. The movements throughout other Australian securities were adverse and Australasian bank shares are selling at prices which are considered " dirt cheap." Mr. Henniker Heaton is recruiting at Nice, but he still keeps a vigilant eye on his favourite hobby. Somebody—far be it from me to suggest nameshits induced the Daily Chronicle, which claims to bo the chief Ministerial organ, to commit itself to a declaration that a promise of Imperial penny postage would be included in the next Queen's Speech. The Imperial Postal Department promptly denied the improbable story; but Mr. Heaton still hopes and believes that the Government aud Parliament will not delay the reform. It is however, very unlikely that Sir William Harcourt will increase the cost of the postal service by at least £75,000 a year. He is much more likely to imitate his predecessor and sit tight on the treasury chest. There is no disposition on the part of tho Colonial Government to reciprocate in this matter, and that alone reuders it extremely unlikely that anything will bo done for some years to come, if, indeed, the Post Union rules allowed it. The masses are craving for a good many things very much more than for Imperial penny postage, but still the cry is a good one for electioneering and popularity hunting purposes. Mr. Heaton does not say what should be done if the colonies declined to establish universal penny postage throughout Australasia, as they must do if Imperial Penny Postage were introduced. Yet he knows perfectly well that a twopenny local rate is in operation extensively. The London Labour League have been urging the Government to introduce a Stateaided Emigration Bill into Parliament, in order to relieve the congested state of the British labour market. The grand old man has far too much respect for the rights of responsible self-government to do anything of the sort. He accordingly in smoothest phraseology informs the league that in all the British colonies a very strong feeling exists against any system of emigration. State-aided or otherwise, which would have the effects of placing an additional burden upon the community in the shape of pauper immigrants from Great Britain. Besides, a select committee of the House of Commons had also reported against the adoption of a scheme of State-aided emigration. Mr. Gladstone therefore was compelled to hold out no hope that tho Government would introduce a measure of the nature suggested. In accordance with instructions received from Sir Ambrose Shea, the Governor of the Bahamas, Captain E. Jerome Stuart, the Resident Justice of Long Island, has recently visited Yucatan foe the purpose of comparing the soil of the Bahamas and its adaptability to the fibre industry with the soil of that State; to find out the different species of agaves planted and their liability to disease; the character of tho machine; used for extracting the henequen fibre; 9, id the cultivation and general management of the crops The information he obtained is too technical for reproduction in this letter, but any herapgrowers in New Zealand who wish to see Captain Stuart's report will find it published in the Kew Gardens Bulletin for last month. Nothing has come of Mr. Higgicson's nice little scheme for selling his interests in the New Hebrides to a London syndicate and the colonies, at any rate, at present do not feel disposed to make a bid for the islands. The Victorian Government, however, have instructed their London representative to remind the Colonial and Foreign Offices how unceasing is the interest they feel in the future of the Pacific, and how glad they would be if steps could be taken by negotiation or exchange to remove the presence of French rivals from the islands in the neighbourhood of Australia. Mr. James Alexander, of the firm of Redfern, Alexander and Co*., has just passed his examination in bankruptcy. His liabilities amount to £382,985, of which £208,786 are unsecured, with assets to £42,954. The debtor stated that the firm had never promoted a company, though they had acted as agents in receiving applications for shares. Thev had lost £70,000 on some tea estates in Ceylon, and during the last ten years he had lost about £35,000 on the Stock Exchange. It may interest your Labour party to learn on the authority of Mr. Alderman Tillett that the great dock strike in London has resulted in a gain in wages of some half-a-mil-lion a year for Loudon riverside labourers. Mr. John Burns recently made a very different declaration ; and when experts disagree, who can decide. Miss Edith O'Gorman Auffray, the " escaped nun," who made some sensation in the colonies a few years ago, is lecturing in this country. As usual, she is in hot water —this time with some or the ministers at Woolwich. She has issued her customary challenge to the whole Romish hierarchy to deny her statements.