OUR LETTER HOME.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 11877, 31 January 1902, Page 1 (Supplement)

OUR LETTER HOME.

Our Eighth Contingent will leave for • South Africa on Saturday, and the colony is now getting its Ninth Contingent ready in response to the : request of the Imperial Government bur another thousand horsemen. ' The approval of our Parliamentary representatives was practically unanimous and everyone was glad to know that our colonial authorities were able to comply with 'the Imperial request with an unhesitat- • ing promptitude which is as creditable to our colony as it must have been gratifying to the Mother Country. Without in any way overlooking the strain which these comparatively heavy enrolments place upon our small population it is flattering to our pride to know that our citi-zen-soldiers are thus esteemed and appreciated. Nor is it less pleasing •to our* profound and inherent loyalty to know that before our large ' Eighth Contingent had left our : shores the Imperial Government did not fear to make another call upon us. Comparing populations, these two thousand. horsemen will be proportionately equal to a full hundred thousand men from the United Kingdom. This is a declaration of loyalty which no misrepresentation , can hide, which shows to all the ' world what our free and self-govern-ing colony thinks of the Empire. The Bishop of Wellington (Dr. F. Wallis), in the course of a sermon at \ church parade of the Eighth Contingent, expressed his views on the war with no uncertain sound. This ;' war we were fighting, he said, was a war which -God had given us to fight. We were"bound to put all considerations of self aside and fight with our brothers and help.them to get what .is" just and right. The temptation to do otherwise had perhaps come to lis. It was possible that we had feltthat as the British nation would wi.i throughout this war, and as we in New Zealand were not likely to be attacked, it was not a matter that concerned us ; but he thanked God that He had helped us to do our .duty, and, God willing, we meant to go on with it. He trusted' that this would be the last, as it was the largest, of the cojtinge.irs, but if more men were needed so long as there was a man who could sit a saddle or handle a rifle we should send him, if he were williug to go, because this was a battle which lie believed God had given us to fight for Him. He was sure that the men of the Eighth Contingent would fight as those men had fought who had gone before them, with every hu- . manity. , There was hardly any need for him to say how utterly we repudiated the foul slanders which had been circulated concerning the Brit-ish-army.' '' : , ' . The action of the War Office in allowing : the ■■ Argentine to participate in the army • meat contracts has caused much dissatisfaction through- , out the colony. Mr. Seddon spoke j very emphatically on the subject at a luncheon on board the troopship Surrey,' which is to take the Eighth , Contingent to South Africa. ) He had, he said, read with amazement in the newspaper that the meat con- .; tract had gone to the Argentine. That in itself was hard to bear, but when it was said- also that Australia and New Zealand were unable to supply : the" quantity of meat required he declared that this was a . gross insult and was absolutely untrue. The Premier subsequently sent a remonstrance to the Colonial Secretary on the subject. Several Chambers of Commerce have passed ■ resolutions' commending the prompt • action taken by the Premier in the matter. !

The Auckland City • Council on January 20 carried a resolution indignantly resenting German slanders on the British troops and thanking Mr. Chamberlain for his able defence of our soldiers.* The opinion of the people of Auckland -nay not seem of any importance to the German Empire. But when that opinion is as unanimously held by the entire population of 'New Zealand and by the populations of every British colony it becomes a force which no community aiming at industrial and commercial prosperity c.in afford to despise. No nation in the world, as was stated at the meeting, owes as much to the British peoples as the German,- and we have been alone among the colonising nations in placing their traders upon Ihe same footing as our own.. The institution of a preferential tariff was spoken of with marked approval, and the enthusiastic reception by the Council of the name of Mr. Chamberlain can hardly be conveyed to that much slandered statesman, but it is not too much to say that the gross libels of foreign assailants and the unjustifiable criticisms of disloyal proBoers have aroused on behalf of the Colonial Secretary a deep colonial feeling. " ' "' The colonies appreciate fully the broad and generous national spirit which has been voiced in Mr. Chamberlain's recent declaration that " in the future Great Britain would have to consult the colonies and take account of their opinions." For this is nothing more nor less than the actual inception of that Imperial Federation which Lord Rosebery so

eloquently -foretold at London's re-

eeption to the Prince and Princess of . Wales. It is felt that Imperial Federation exists the very moment there is admitted the right of the colonies to take part with the Mother Country in the direction of , Imperial concerns. Having helped to fight the battles of Empire the colonies feel that they are justly entitled to have a part in the settle- ' ment of the war they have helped to ' win. The suggestion made by a French , journal that France should annex the New Hebrides has caused a revival of interest in this question, and developments are being very closely watched in New Zealand. The " general opinion seems to be that the • only satisfactory way of solving the . • various French-claims- difficulties is to buy out French interests with

hard cash. That our world-wide nation should surrender territory to a people 5 practically confined to Europe; can hardly be considered possible by any unprejudiced person. In the New Hebrides the interest of the British millions of the Pacific is incomparably greater than that of antipodean France and her petty handful of Pacific settlers.

Speaking at.Greymouth a few days ago Sir Joseph Ward, Minister for Railways,- said the colony was in a very sound condition. The indebtedness of the colony was said to be increasing, but those who said so overlooked the progress of works. , Over two millions had been expended, in purchasing land for the good of the people.. , A loan.of over a million had been paid to-local bodies, which was for the good of. the people. The money was spent in making our roads, streets and bridges. Two millions 'nine hundred and thirty thousand had been spent in advances to settlers. There was also an amount for sinking fund set apart. This had come out of tlie ten million* of increased indebtedness from 1891. The . colony had an immense security, and the people had reaped the benefit. Some men had paid for their lands as high a rate of interest as 10 and 15 per cent., and now they could get it at 5 per cent. , This had been the means of increasing the exports and doing good to all classes of the colony. An argument had been put forth that the rate of taxation was increasing. Nothing of the sort. Since 1895 the rate per head was £2 *10s 3d, and it had steadily decreased until it now stood at £2 5s 6d. The Custom's revenue had increased, but this was due to larger imports, which pointed out that more business was being done. The Customs and land and income tax had increased, which denoted an advancement and success. The value of the landed property advanced since 1891 something like 20 millions sterling. The colony was progressing very rapidly, and there was a grand future before the rising generation. -

The Auckland Harbour Board has been asked to provide suitable wharf and dock accommodation ror the huge steamers which will soon be visiting our port. The Calliope Dock a few days ago contained the largest vessel ever docked in the colony and one which no other New Zealand dock could take. With very little alteration it can be made capacious enough to receive the very much larger steamers which Messrs. L. D. Nathan and Co. have informed I the Board are about to be placed in i the trade between this colony and the United Kingdom. Mr. Ismay, whose name is identified with the White Star line, was recently in Auckland in the course of an extended tour, which included the great ports of Australasia and which was' doubtless inspired by the present development of the world's carrying trade. Those who have seen the marvellous growth of our port may well look back to the early days when few were so ambitious as to dream. that vessels of nearly 13,000 registered tons would ever be able to lie at wharf, no matter what the tide, much less to find convenient and effective dry-docking. Yet this accommodation the port of Auckland can now provide with very little additional outlay.

At the meeting of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce on January 10 a letter was received from the London Chamber of Commerce expressing pleasure at the fact that the Auckland Chamber was in favour of the introduction of the metric system of weights, measures and coinage. The'; Home Chamber suggested that the Auckland Chamber should endeavour to form a decimal association similar to that formed at Home, with a view of educating public opinion on the necessity of a reform. On the suggestion of Mr. Graves Aickin it was agreed to send a copy of. the letter from the Home Chamber to the Premier, the Minister for Education and the principal Chambers of Commerce in the colony. The chairman said he was afraid that New Zealand could not do anything in the matter till Britain adopted the system.

Never in the history of the Primitive Methodist Church in this colony has there been such a debate at the annual conference as the one that closed on January 14, upon the question of Methodist union. The discussion began on January 10. Able speeches were delivered on each side during the four days' discussion. After several amendments had been voted upon the following was the final decision of the conference: — That this conference heartily reciprocates the kindly spirit of the Wesleyan Methodist Conference of ■ New Zealand in again inviting us to consider the question of union. We do not see our way to accept the ; present basis, as no concessions are ' offered and the distinctive principles of our Church are sacrificed, but we reaffirm our willingness to consider union with a view to the formation of a Methodist Church for New Zealand, in the direction of the basis drawn up by a joint committee of the four Methodist churches in the colony in 1884 ; and that inasmuch as this question has not been formally brought before the notice of our officials we submit the question and our findings thereupon to the March quarterly meetings for approval or otherwise; and further, that r. committee of six be appointed by this conference to prepare a statement to be submitted to the quarterly meetings." The voting was 45 in favour of the motion and 22 against. Auckland's great aquatic carnival upon -the waters of the Waitemata on January 29 formed one of the chief attractions of Anniversary Day. The weather was beautifully fine, no rain falling to mar the pleasure of the many hundreds who attended the regatta. '; The morning was especially propitious . from the . holidaymaker's point: of view, sunshine making radiant the surroundings. The latter part of the day was cloudy, but fortunately, the threat-

ened rain kept off. , For the sailing races the weather conditions were not so favourable until towards noon, when the wind, which had been blowing steadily " but lightly from the east, freshened up, and brought with it a somewhat choppy sea, the effect of which was felt chiefly by the competitors in the rowing events, and all but one of the gig, races and some of the side shows had to be abandoned. A somewhat rare compliment was paid to those concerned in the recognition of the regatta by the British wardships (the Eingarooma and the Lizard) in harbour, both of which flew long and gaily-coloured streamers from masthead to masthead, thus conforming' with the similar general decoration of the coastal and ether steamers lying in the stream and at the wharves. Three men-o'-war crews. also competed in one of the races, the Lizard's crew proving victorious. .

The hearing of the Ariadne case came on at the ■ Supreme Court, Christchurch. on January 20, when the first of the original five charges was taken. George, Mumford, master mariner, of. Lyttelton ; Thomas Caradock Kerry, of Sydney, traveller ; and Eric John Hussey Freke, also of' Sydney; were charged that they did, on March 24, on the East Coast of New Zealand, at a point one and a-half miles south of the Waitaki River, cast away a certain sailing yacht known as the Ariadne. All three pleaded not guilty. The case lasted .several days. On January 22 an unexpected development occurred. Mr. Stringer, Crown Prosecutor, said it had been suggested that .the main part of an alleged agreement had been traced over, and it- had been suggested that incriminating, words had been added to the original, harmless agreement. The Crown submitted the document to an expert, and he had been able to satisfy the Crown that the main body of the document had been traced over, that the agreement was a duplicate of the unsigned one found on Mumford at his . arrest, and that the incriminating words, " and a further sum of £400 if the vessel be totally- wrecked," had been added afterwards; These words shoved no signs of having been traced over. Mr. Stringer therefore asked to withdraw the agreement from the consideration of the jury as regards Kerry and Freke. Mr. Stringer usid that the main connection of the accused Freke with the charge had been in connection with the agreement, and that having fallen to the ground ' he; wished to at once withdraw against him. His Honor addressed the jury, and said that the document toeing admittedly a forgery, the. case' against the accused Freke fell to the ground. The Crown, which had at first stated that the case against this; accused was weak and unsatisfactory, had now most- properly admitted ..that there remained no case against him. His Honor then directed the jury to return a formal verdict of '' Not guilty," which they did. Addressing Freke, His Honor said that he had, of course, heard what had occurred, and was now discharged. He was discharged in the most ample and full, manner, not merely because the Crown were unable to convict him, but because they admitted that there was no evidence against him. . On January 24 the case concluded, the jury finding Mumford guilty and Kerry not guilty. His Honor asked whether the Crown Prosecutor would proceed with the other 4 charges. Mr. Stringer said he would not. .His Honor then discharged Kerry, and Mumford was sentenced to imprisonment for four years.