ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 11201, 23 October 1899, Page 6

ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES.

[FROM OUR OWN corresfoxde.vt,] Loxdon, September 15 A VISITOR.

Mb. Robert B.ATTr, a recent- visitor to th»': colony, writes to the Manchester City News an interesting account of his trip. His do', ! soription of landing in Auckland, where the arrival of his steamer was watched by % motley throng of nondescript loungers.V largely Maoris," who gave an "effusive weft come, is too far-fetched. Of Auckland Har. bour, howover, your late visitor says it jj, " truly noble," and the site of Auckland ij one of "suipassing loveliness, though th& - buildings and streets of the greatest city in . New Zealand are mean and disappointing in tho extreme." Also, Mr. Batty appears'; i ( to have been delighted with the Hotorua district, but lio was not eo much impressed wift the colony politically for " the prevalent Elan.' dard of public life does not seem so high', as at Hone," party feeling and virulence running to great extreme. Ho mot Mr. Seddon immediately on landing, and devotes 1 considerable portion of his letter to that? gentleman's personality. Does this meeting account for Mr. Batty's opinion of New Zealand public life ? NORTHERN INVESTMENT COMPANY OF NEW ZEALAND. r$

On October 2 the annual meeting of the Northern Investment Company of New Zealand is to be held in Edinburgh, and the', directors' report for the year ended June 30 Vlast, is just out. In it, the directors stated that the amounts borrowed by the company remain the same as at June 30, 1898—namely, on terminable debentures £24,440 and. debenture stock issued £357,210. New ;i■ loans wore made in tho colony during the lv past year to the amount of £72,418, and dur- 1 ing the some period loans were repaid amounting to £97,497. At the close of tie year the investments in New Zealand were ! £431,797. or a decrease of £25,079 on the amount invested at the corresponding period £; of the previous year. 'M§. The amount at the credit of revenue ac-. count, including the balance brought for- ' ward from last account, is set down by tl» directors at £8198. Tho Board recommend) f; that this balance be appropriated in payment of a dividend for the past year at the rate''; of 6 por cent., less income tax, £5800, and % in carrying forward £2398. The amount 01 the reserve fund remains at £60,000. Thidifficulty of making loans in the colony'at remunerative rates, referred to in previonj reports, still prevails, the directors state. :?t|s Commenting upon the above report, y»: terady's Financial Times says:—"An excellent indication, of the fact that prosperity is returning to New Zealand is to be found in a report of tho Northern Investment Com- | pany of Now Zealand, just issued. The im- 1 provement in tho financial state of the colony. may bo gauged by a perusal of tho directors', remarks, for these show that whereas new loans to the extent of £72,418 were made by the concern during the year, loans asprrejatin« £97,497 wore paid off. In addition-to this excellent balance on the right side 'the a directors have the satisfaction to report that there is no property on hand' under fore- , closure, a consummation which some other undertakings must devoutly wish for." .Bf| A PATENT. rvf Mr. Fred. A. Furlonge, of Hawera, who ill still in London, is, I gather from him, about to try a very interesting and important ciperiinent with his patent non-porous bags for'frozen moat. He is purchasing iro fine wether sheep of about 521b to 541b weight."; These are to be killed and dressed, and whin sufficiently cooled and set, they will be.pu'i into two of the patent bags and tightly Jβ , up at the necks; these will then be put ihb a freezing chamber and frozen hard. Mil part of tl'e business will probably be carried out at the cold stores of the Colonial Ope!'; signment and Distributing Company, where' the two carcases will be left in store fill ; several months. •:$ There are three objects which Mr. Furloilga has in view: (1) He hopes that sheep frozen in the non-porous bap will turn out as bright ; and fresh, oven after being several month'. in cold store, as the day on which they were put in; (2) that sheep in an unfrozen stale will fit better into the bags, and without risk of damage, as might happen if the carcase!-' were put in after being frozen; (3) that-ill:] damage to the sheep in the way of chipping, v when lying frozen in the store unbaggeo, wfll.v thus bo avoided. '*§| About 1500 of Mr. Furlonge's patent noEporous bags were shipped to New Zealand hj I the Furlonge Porous Bag Company in the s.s. Waikato. Tho bags will be used for trial shipments of mutton, which will be sent to ■ this country. Five hundred of the bags wert also shipped by another steamer to Sydney and these have been delivered safely. Naturally, Mr. urlonge and all those interested in the experiment are eagerly watching for their.-'-arrival here with meat from Australia, a ship;/ raent being looked for nt no very distant data" PACIFIC CABLE. 3| A paragraph, which looks as if it had emanated from some one in the Colonial Office, hu been roing the rounds this week, that the Australasian Governments heve consented to-' New Zealand having a seat definitely allotted ; to her on the Board to go into preliminary matters connected with the Pacific cable. Up to the present tho New Zealand AgencyGeneral has heard nothing definite, but there 5 ; is pretty general agreement that the claims of the colony for a seat are of the strongest »' script-ion. - .??$ SUGAK BEET. - ;^| Respecting the colonial beet sugar industry,"; Mr. Baubury, of Auckland, informed me when j> I met him this week, that the promoters of the New Zealand Sugar Beet Company had:;, placed the notation of the company in Eng- ■?. land in his hands. But the very strong feeling which exists in this country against be« sugar, combined with the poor result already.-; attained by those in the industry, make » very improbable, Mr. Banbury thinks, that any large company can be promoted. So Mi he finds that the unsettled state of the monej . market—especially for New Zealand invest-; mcnls—gives little or no hope of accompli^:. ing a notation. ,'||- MISCELLANEOUS. \M • Sixty-six completed applications have been ,■ received for the four vacancies for veterinary surgeons for tho colony, which the New *»\j. land Government propose to appoint, in M"-; dition to the six who arrived a few montiu ago. Mr. John McKenzie is expected in town early in the week, and he will go through t« list of applications with the Agent-General. New Zealand as a field for sport is «i with at length in Land and Water, tM "great lakes of trout" being mentioned ( . An illustration of a stag's head, "a type of N*. Zealand deer," is given. ; ...': The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agoncv Company announce that warrants ■ be issued, on and after the 30th but,M the interest due October 1, on the prior u™ anil see-ncl debenture stocks of the comp™} and that the transfer books jill be ««». from September 17 to 30, both days Ijßgg jive. . ■ :aj-> At the recent Derby race meeting,j> King, the Now Zealand horse, • recw owned by Mr. Spencer H. Gollan, won «•; Shipk-y "Bellit.it Plate, Table .A, owner of this horse now is Mr. J. %\g| who is said to have given £3Ml«gH| Waiuku (9st) Uniform Pet .B|d| ran _, placed for the Feveril F.aVFlftV"! s^ ft