ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXI, Issue 9489, 19 April 1894, Page 6

ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES

' ' {lEOM OOE OWK <WBkE3PONDKirr.]' - IfjKOM . OUB OWN COBRK3PONDENT.] 9.> London, March 9. Ix seemed to me thab t'ue annual banquet of the Royal Colonial Institute, which was held ou Wednesday; evening f at \ the - Hotel Metropole, in'celebration of the Institute's 26th: anniversary, waß mainly; remarkable for the almosb total absence of New Zealand colonists, and for the; completeness with which ': New Zealand ; was ignored -. in the various speeches. '•; 1 , suppose , ib musb be deemed to be included in the objectionable term Australasia, bub y only so was y its existence even implied. Excluding the special correspondents : Of ; the chief New Zealand papers, who were treated in all respects with a : courtesy and consideration for their convenience, which cannot bo too warmly acknowledged, the only Fellows or guests present, who could by any stretch of imagination be deemed of , the New Zealand connection, were Sir George Bowen (your former Governor), Mr. H.M.Paul (of bhe New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency), and Mr. A. Sclanders. Sir Wosfcby Perceval sent an apology for - : unavoidable absence. Other New i Zealaiiders t now. in London, i though it is true they' are nob many, were absent for various reasons. : One could nob therefore regard ib as in any , sense a New Zealand festivity. : ', r ..■''. ••■.,., Thab the banquet, given in the splendid Whitehall room of the Metropole was in all; respects perfectly, carried out ■ goes withoub saying. The presence of Prince Christian, —who kept us waiting more than a-quarter of an hour—was one s special feature of the occasion. Ib .was hoped thab the \ Prince would speak, bub he didn't. y He sab on the chairman's right hand, and beamed benignantly ou everybody, ; chatting freely With his neighbours. His hair is very white now, and his aspect venerable. », Of course he still is, as. he always was, a. very finelooking man. ' He was attended constantly by two most \ terrifically - gorgeous " flunkeys" in thunder "and lightning " uniforms"—to quote Mr. > Samuel Weller's Bath friend—liveries, to speak by the card. I cannot "enthuse" much over the oratory. To me ib seemed unusually mild for such an occasion. By far the best speaker, and the only really eloquent one, was General Lbwry, who iresponded for •" The Army." The General said he spoke " from the dusty : shelf of retirement, "■ but there was real fire in his words, and his exhortation to the Mother Country to " keep in touch with the colonies " and to strengthen ; the bonds which united the whole Empire, : was-received with cordial applause. Admiral Do well was equally cheered— I fancy, to his dismay—when he reluctantly admitted that the British Navy ab present was " not quite what it should be." Evidently the R.C.I. is a thorough-going advocate for increased naval preparation. \ With Lord Dunraven, the chairman, to whom fell the toa3t of the evening, " Prosperity to the Royal Colonial Institute, ..I was'somewhat disappointed at first, as I had heard he was a good speaker. His delivery is distinctly, tame, but when .>; you get used to that, you | cannot help admiring the sterling good 3ense of what he says, and the occasional flashes of dry humour that peep oub as if accidentally. • * He is a pleasant-looking man, "youngish" in appearance, bub bald and spectacled. He remarked in his languid way that war Was "a horrible thing— beastly thing"— latter adjective exciting some merrimentbub he admitted it was sometimes necessary, as he deemed the recent war in Africa, which f he rather oddly asserted had nob been inspired, as some alleged, by "the lust of -greed." I- suppose he meant the "lust" of conquest ' or' the- "greed" of territory. However,- that is what he said. He derided the Labouchereian»' Little England" idea, and declared thab,',* you cannob prevenb the white race spreading over the world by squirting a- little faliie sentiment upon them." He remarked on the progress of the " Australasian" . celonies, and said ib had been "a steady advance, which was infinitely better than great leaps followed by rebounds." - : :;,- :: ;; ' ? ;-^ : ; " Lord Dunraven went on to express his opinion that the general; tendency was towards a closer union between the different barbs of the Empire, brought about, nob by the efforts of statesmen, or by any artificial arrangements, but simply because the force of circumstances was naturally drawing them together. , The fact.was, that, what with the cable and modern steamships, the world has become' exceedingly ■ small, and places formerly at immense disbauces, were now brought comparatively close jtogether. The sea was no longer an obstacle to union, bub ib was the best friend we had. It now united us more closely than ever ; bub if the sea granted us innumerable advantages, it entailed upon us ab the ■ same time grave responsibilities'. , Commerce was the lifeblood of the Empire, and the pathways of the ocean were the arteries y and veins through which that commerce ran, and unless those "ocean .highways were safe and open for us, as an Empire, we should perish. He looked upon British supremacy of the sea as to us the first essential of Empire. ; . - , ; This was tremendously cheered, as indeed was every reference, during the evening, to the need of naval supremacy, and to thebonds which bound the Great Empire together. Another shrewd remark Lord Dunraven made was that he did not think, ib:was within the power of statesmen to do very much towards furthering closer union between the different parts of our Empire. They could remove impediments; and watch for opportunities of encouraging that closer union, but they could nob make ythe opportunities. He did 1 not believe in constructing Constitutions and trying to force people into them ; but he had the most profound conviction ; of the power of the' great constructive agency of the English race, and of the "■■ value of fostering and \ encouraging all those sentiments which went bo bind the Empire together. He also warmly praised the valuable work done by the institute in promoting: the unity arid solidarity of the colonial Empire of Great Britain.?; ■>; «-: •'•-.'. Sir Thomas ; Mcllwraitb, .-.late.,. Prime Minister of Queensland, who had a' cordial reception, Lord ; Jersey f and § Sir Charles Tupper also spoke, bub they 1 did nob say •anything in particular, if ; I-j. except the strong appeal made by the Queensland exPremier on behalf of a "> cable connection which should be wholly independent of all foreign countries in case of war. \ Perhaps the speech of the evening '.was that r of Mr. Brycei the Chancellor of f the Duchy of Lancaster, and the only member of the British Ministry presenb. In proposing "The United Empire," he raised the question what; the nineteenth .century, would be specially remembered for, as .was the' sixteenth for poetic literature,; the seventeenth for the •, establishment of a system of , free government: which had become a '"-. model to the .world, .and bhe eighteenth for England's conquest of ithe Empire of the East and the dominion of the 3ea. -. In his opinion the feature of bhe nineteenth ; century had r been - England's conquest ": of the command :.; of : the world's 7 commerce-v and by the marvellous y development of the British race in the colonies of the temperate ; climates.. There were those (said Mr. Bryce) \ who thought fifty years f ago thab this "growth arid development of the British race carried with it the seeds of its own dissolution, and that, as the British colonies waxed strong: they would wish to stand by themselves, and assert their own independence. r That, however, was nob what had, happened,y; On; the contrary, every decade since the middle of the century had seen, especially in the overning colonies, increased ; devotion to the ; Crown and attachment to the connection with the Mother Country, while ab the same time ib had: seen for Britain an increased = development of our interests in i those self-governing colonies., This had j ; been due, he thought, nob only to improved \ means of inter-communication arid nob only to the influence of literature, which had : done its part; \ but also, and perhaps |most ' of all, to < the priceless gift of : ; self-govern- ' ment we had bestowed upon our '■'■ colonies, ; which ; made V the relations between.; them I and' the Mother Country more natural arid simple than bhey 'would otherwise have been, while ab the same time ib ; had taught , them responsibility, arid prevented jbhe dis- | satisfaction and discontent .that might have •', arisen if we had attempted to govern them ab "home,' and, : might have jj led to efforts} ab separation. These remarks wero loudly ap- '■■■ plauded. '-. /. f \ ••• ■■ ,- ; . , .-;■.;::.:.:-;- ly ■ - Ib ..is ; suggested , very reasonably by the i British Australasian ';. that instead . of \ en-. ■3 deavouring bo increase the Victorian supply 1 of frozen mutton bo the London market, as bi Mr. Mclntyre (bhe .Victorian Minister of gi Lands)'; urges, he should rather devote his '■■ attention to' the possibility of % stimulating • ] the English demand, which New Zealand's

1 experience proved tojbe; very far from unlimited. ?ylb: says that Mr. Tallerman is J incubating a new scheme : in this desirable \ direction. ', ' r"' '''" Ji "•' ''" , , ; - Mr. : William 7 Senior, better J known ;a* " Redspinner," the y delightful writer on subjects connected with.angling, and; at present angling editor of the j Field, gave a: lecture at the Imperial Institute last 'Tuesday; evening, on " Fish and Fishing at i the Antipodes." ■ Tho lecture, which was illustrated fby ': limelight $ views, was ;: an \ ex- ; ceedingly interesting one. Sir Robert Hamilton presided. In the' course : of;, his lecture, Mr. Senior? said that the importation of ■■'. British fish "into v - the Australian rivers, had been a ' splendid success, but the question was whether the fish remained salmon and trout, 'or whether they did \ nob • become a variety which in time would ; have to receive a : distinct qualification. ;- Certainly the fish reached proportions which were never > : dreamed ,of ■;in <\ thisy country. New Zealand 3 surpassed Tasmania in, the acclimatisation of fish, - and the colony in all other matters was teeming with promises of future prosperity. ;} y On :.. all '-> ; the Australian coasts ;; sea i fishing •-. was at jibs best ', iii the ' : rivers of Australia—fresh and tidal—angling of some sorb was found, and j in!■ Tasmania and New '- Zealand the° trout fishing, was simply superb. >. ■> ■■ .•:To the Aberdeen Journal it seems absurd , that the New Zealand j meat-growers should 'complain of • being . "in the hands of 1 the London butchers," and should grumble that " the meab does i nob reach ' the mass of the people. for ■ whom' it is intended." : y''So long," says the Aberdeen Journal, ■£ as ib is consumed' by ! some people, we should : not have thought ib mattered much to the New : Zealanders who they were, ; though consumers on this side who have colonial meat palmed off on them as ' best home-grown ' may have grounds of complaint." Bub that is just where the unfairness comes in. What New V Zealanders . complain; of ' is, . that although their meat is " palmed off on the English consumer as ' best grown,'" they, the producers, ; do nob get a proportionate price for ib, bub merely frozen-meat; price, the balance being pocketed by the London butchers. ;• The New Zealandersdon'b care a straw who gets meab so long they, the producers, get a fair price for ib. .:.- At present they don't. And that's why . they -The Star notices : Mr. Thos^ Bracken's appointment as registrar of electors, and calls him " the most popular poet of New Zealand." . Ib.' mentions his-past y political career, ' bub notices that he failed to secure re-election when " ladies? voted."; A very handsome h illustrated'..; edition of ~ Mr. Bracken's poems is in the British Museum Library.','' -' '* ''.'"' ;V t , : Commenting on Mr. A. J. Wilson's latesb bitter attack on New Zealand's finances, the Manchester Examiner says :,—" We have all along taken afavourableviewof New Zealand affairs, in this respect radically, disagreeing with Mr. Wilson's sombre view of its position «nd prospects; but the Government could not do more than they are now doing toward bringing about a fulfilment of that gentleman's gloomy prophecy even if they were deliberately;-ben on J that ' object." This refers bo the project for "lending money and guaranteeing ; loans on farm lands." - "They Examiner thinks ib is nob surprising that the Victorian Governmenb should have embarked in this business " in view of the reckless and wrong-headed manner Jin which it 'deals with financial affairs ganeaally. :": But," says the Examiner, ,'* a surprising and. regrettable \ spectacle _ is, being presented Zby the New Zealand authorities who are embarking in the same irißane business. - The .latter-, colony has done wonderfully well during _the lasb fewyears, and ibs credit ha 3 revived in a surprising way owing to , the .wisdom shown in breaking loose from j old mischievous traditions." '.'■■" ' "5i -•;■--'.';•';-.'/ yV.v. ■:.■-'■': "If the British investor is wise," says the Economist, "he ; will refuse for I the present to listen to any further applications for : money from the colonies." .'; Is the British investor usually - applied to for " money from the colonies ?'? I was nob aware of it. .1 suppose whab the Economist meaußia, that the investor should nob listen to " applications from the colonies | for money," which is quite \ another thing. Why do people : put things' upside .downlike this?'' The value of the advice is on a par with that of the grammar.; :;*•/ •-,*£ U\ Referring toy Mr.. declaration that " the financial position of New Zealand is impregnable," The ; Rialto says: "Even an Australasian 'colony does ; not become ' financially impregnable.-a'single year. Meanwhiley we |trust'! that New yZealand f will' keep in the same mind' about borrowing. This is ' the usual sorb of stuff. "A \ single year" should be "seven yaftrs,"as New Zealand's financial stability dates from its restoration to '''soundness by Sir Henry Atkinson in 1887. i But ib seems hopeless to din these things into the heads of London writers, who. are. generally as careless as they are ill-informed as bo colonial matters. On the same subject the Evening News says':—"Hew Zealand has been singularly free from bhe gambling madness which has raged through Australia during the last few years, and she probably owes her happy state to-day to the good; for bunt t which lias enabled her to steer clear of > infection." Don't you think that "good fortune''in'this sentence ought to read "good sense?" v In a letter which; I have just received, dated the day before' yesterday, the Archbishop of York says with reference to the Wellington Bishopric bhab he is giving his careful consideration to certain suggestions which have been made to ! him on the subject and is about to \ talk them over ] with the Bishop of Durham. - 'y, ,y ; The s.s. Rimutaka, which arrived at Plymouth last Tuesday, reports having passed several % large ,: icebergs in - bho ; Southern Ocean, first in lab. s<*i S., long. 156 W. ; then in lab. 59£ S., lon. 115 W. Two Wellington third-class passengers died during . the voyage, Mrs. from sunstroke/ and Mrs. Leonard from internal disease. Otherwise the passengers have enjoyed excellent health, and the passage was a favourable one. ■■}'" ' V 1 * | Sir Wesbby Perceval is despatching ab the request of ' the Canterbury Acclimatisation Society some golden plover, 'English pheasants, and wood pigeons,' partridges, etc; < ; I Next summer there is to be an extensive exhibition of British-made glass and china at bhe Imperial Institute. - I strongly suspect we shall see a revival of that former Beries of shows on the same 'spot which began with the Fisheries and concluded with the Colonies and India. '-'[ '' ' •:■''. I Ib is comical to-'peruse some of the applications made at the New Zealand AgencyGeneral. - This "- week a country shoemaker and his wife, who want to go'to New Zealand, have made the most elaborate enquiries as to everything they would i have •to do from the moment they decided to go until ; they were finally , started: in business. j Especially they want bo know what is to J be done with the stock of 200 pairs of boots,| etc., which they would take or • send out.; J If the Agent-General replied in full detail, his answers would near fill a family Bible. ~'\ I Mr. Lowe : has -suggested: to; the : Agent-: i General that special attention of shippers of dairy . produce \ should^be; called to ; the unsatisfactory method": of ' their ; packing in many cases. He has seen many;.'boxes of butter that were marked as cantaininir ; 561b or 571b, turn oub when weighed only sllb or 531b. ; This is nob due to any waste or change on the passage, for obher boxes 'sent by particular producers are found always to be of fully," the j marked weight. ', The deficiency must therefore be due;either, to gross carelessness or to something worse— in plain terms, fraud. Bub "it always I egregiously^ fails, for Customs weigh rbhe. boxes, and '? when A they .find .several- short, they insist,: on averaging the whole Jot; at the weight of the lightest. , : i . So wouldbe ; cheaters ylose "'even 1 more • than they try -':bo y: gain'.;';--." The thing \is y sbupid yas well as discreditable, and ib helps to give vNew Zealand produce , a bad name. Another mischievous drawback to Now Zealand produce is,, as - 1-have often explained, its want, of uniformity in quality. Mr. Lowe says that recently when several boxes « were :sampled' which ought'to s have been identical in quality; one proved good, J the next was fishy, \ the third and fourth good,:' the fifth streaky, and i so. on. The purchaser : averaged the lot on , the j basis of the worst sample, and would -only pay ac-. cordingly. : ' ;■';.-. •,.: y ■• •■■-"••» - : Mr G." R. Nicholson, who has' relatives ab Auckland and Kaipara, is going oub to New Zealand by the lonic to settle ;' • yyi :--? The ? underwriters iof a i cargo .of frozen mutton ox si's: Star of.; England, which left -Wanganui in April last, have presented 50 guineas: to >. Mr. A. Macdonald, chief; engineer, and another 50 guineas ,to the five members of the staff for their skilful repairs of the refrigerating machinery after a break- -■ down. The cargo of - meab;. valued :: ab £17,000, arrived safely in consequence of their : repairs, without" any "claim being made upon the underwriters., , ,