ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XL, Issue 12268, 12 May 1903, Page 7

ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES.

! / [FROM our o\ym correspondent.] 5-: . April 11. §? THE ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION. I- ' '--To Captain Scott, and to Lieutenant Shack- '' V ton ajul Dr. "Wilson, who accompanied ' him " says the Morning Post in aa article i on tho Antarctic results, " wo offer the hear- £ tiest congratulations, though it will probably • he nearly a year before tho gallant captain of the Discovery can learn of tho gratification which is felt among geographers and men of v science generally at tho success which has * ■ 50 far attonded the National Antarctic Expedition. . • > 'I"'* 0 work dono in tho £ rs (j twelve months during which the expedition has been in l ' lo South (Polar a rea has more than justified the confidence which was so freely expressed in Captain Scott and the members of his staff, when thoy were selected fo r the . arduous and responsible task of representing 'Groat Britain in the combined effort that is being made to extend man's knowledge of tho Antarctio regions." Writing to another London paper, " A Sympathiser" savs:—"l notice from the morning papers that the provisions of the .Discovery were completely ruined by the leakage of salt water into the hold, and as ft practical engineer I feel most strongly on the matter, and personally consider it sinful that the lives of heroic men, bent on navigation for the public good, should bo placed in jeopardy through such a mishap when reliable waterproof linings can bo procured at quite a nominal figure." To this, the following ' ply was published next day over the signature "F. Hinton Eraser": "'Sympathiser' ■ has evidently not token into consideration the effect of salt water on Eichentlopper steol plates in such a low tempemturp. These plates, as every practical engineer should kkow, are riveted by the best copper mergug- ; ger bolts, which bring leakage to a minimum. A slight leakage, however, was inevitable, taking into consideration the action of anijnalcute and tho straining, owing to the pressure of the pack ice and tho undercurrents, of which navigators,knew nothing." , THE PREMIER'S POLITICAL ECONOMY. That unluucky excursion into the mysteries of political coo no my prnpetrated by Mr. Seddon in his first London speech last year is not yet forgotten—probably never will be. It continually comes to the front as a " shocking example" of innocence in respect of tjhiat science. For instance, a London paper cjio day this week used it in the following way;—" Our enormous foreign investments, which probably exceed _ £2,500,000,000, are largely the cause of our importing far more goods than wo export. Business transactions of any size are rarely settled in cash. All that actually passes between buyer and neller is a cheque or bill. There al.*o some people, like Mr. _ Seddon, Premier of Now Zealand, who believe that sovereigns are exported every year in payment for our excess ftf imports. What really takes place is that we are credited by bankers with the interest that is due to us on our foreign investments, and that tbjo value actually reaches this country in the form of the goods we purchase iifcm oversea, i.e., our imports."

j ALLEGED SLAVERY IN FIJI. Under the heading " Slavery Under the flag," a letter appeared in the Daily News recently, in which Mr. George Fox. delegate of the Fiji Federation League, made certain allegations of conscription and slavery in the colony of Fiji. Tho charges having received neither confirmation nor refutation from official sources, Mr. Fox has addressed the following letter to the Under-Secretary far the Colonies. It is dated from 42, Thornfisld Road, Shepherd's Bush, London :—" On Jiauaiy 31 last a letter appeared in the London Daily News signed by me,' in which I made a distinct allegation of conscription and < slavery on the part of the Administration of the colony of Fiji towards certain of tie native constabulary of Fiji, the details of which had come under my pergonal observation, and I issued a dircct challenge to the Colonial Office to call upon Colonel Francis, who was then in England, for ft denial or confirmation of my charges. That your office has requisitioned Colonel Francis for remarks -upon my statements contained in the aforementioned article I have proof in tile copy of a letter written by you to Mr. Parr on February 24 last, in which you State that you have asked Colonel Francis for any remarks he may have to make upon the subJed; of my letter. As I have received no reply from your office to my letter of either a public or private nature I shall be glad to tear from you now if Colonel Francis has •fflrmod the truth of my charges or otherand if he has confirmed them if the Colonial Office is prepared to issue instructions to the Governor of Fiji, whereby a repetition or continuance of such slavery and .conscription shall cease to be possible." NEW ZEALAND BUTTER.

It 13 both interesting and satisfactory to find New Zealand methods with regard to butter held up as an example which Canada might advantageously follow. Messfs. W. ' Weddel and Co. think it advisable to point Out a few improvements which will raise the quality and value of Canadian butter when it arrives in the British markets. They say: — "In the past it has depreciated very much Bore in quality than Australian and New Zealand has between the churn and the consumers' table in the United Kingdom, whereas it ought not to depreciate so much. Wo advise the Canadian Government to improve the railway transit by lowering the temperature on the cars, to the seaport, especially those from Western Ontario. The butter should be three days in cold store at the port of shipment before being put on the ves- ' eel. The shipping companies should reject all butter above 40deg. Fahr., when presented for shipment, and the chambers in which it 19 carried should never exceed 20cleg. Fahr., the universal experience is toward zero. The boxes ought to be made of thicker wood, say Jin, and made as strong as Australian and New Zealand. The wood should be well fain-dried before used, and the box waxed ' inside as at present. The vegetable parchment should be genuino, not imitation stuff as the large bulk is at present. In New Zealand this experience is showing that not only the best parchment should be used, but it is an improvement to have it double." AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND MORTGAGE COMPANY. On Monday, at {lie Cannon-street Hotel, She ordinary meeting of the Australian and New Zealand Mortgage Company—a company whose operations have now largely to .do wii;h New South Wales and Queensland was held. Mr. A. Flower who presided, moved the adoption of the report, which showed » baUince to the debit of the profit and loss account of £22,786, added to which was £6821 'woug'ht_forward, making £29,607. The Chairman said i'„ was the deepest of disappointments to the directors to have year after year to bring before the shareholders such unsatisfactory reports. Any hopes whifk "night have been entertained during the early part of the year under review for a more favourable season in Queensland and New South Wales were doomed to disappointment, for it proved probably the most disastrous of the many years of drought from which the colonies had suffered. The report was adopted, after the chairman had stated, in reply to a shareholder, that the object of the directors was to conservo the properties and graduto liquidate the affairs of the company la the most satisfactory manner.

j. COLONIAL MEAT. I • .Under the heading " Mutton and Minisj ' ters the Daily News says:—"lt would be f ooing our Australasian fellow subjects a I Sftevdus wrong to take them as altogether I wedded to the peculiai ideas of Mr. Seddon I: •tod people like him— striving to bo—iji "colonial polities. In this connection it is Worth while to point out that the turmoil *Bwed by Mr. Seddon, Sir Edmund Barton, tod Sir John See on the subject of the supply of frozen meat to the British troops in South Africa is far rom being universally regarded W either justifiable or conducive to the interests of Australia and New Zealand. Sir Barton insisted that the War Office should draw its supplies from British possessions exclusively. Sir John Sec, Premier of *7 South Wales, backed up the demand, tod directed the Agent-General of New South Wales 'to make representations to the Imperial Government that all meat supplies for military purposes in South Africa be obtained from the Commonwealth and the colo- , nies of the Empire.' Mr. Seddon, not to be outdone, ignored the War Office and cabled to the Lieutenant-General commanding the Transvaal and Orange River colonies suggesting that the army meat contract be split up •Huong the colonios which are in a position '1; to supply meat." Some caustic references by the Melbourne •Argus to those proceedings are quoted, also ;v soma remarks bv Mr. Buchanan, chairman the Wellington Meat Company, who said jfli;'; if' 'he cornan did business with South i„ fries, it would have to be on a basis of prices considerably lower than New Zealand meat . commanded in London. It would have to consider whether it would be wise to lose noid Upon any portion of the London mar*efc, which had been and must continue to -~®_the _ best market for meat of the class "> - Brown * a New Zealand. The Daily News 3 t holdß that while, therefore, the Premiers l§S&; ~ 3H, y thanked for their good intentions, a \ .S* mercantile subject may with perfect | Safety be left in the hands of those whose • sV-i,, business it is to understand it."

A DANGER FROM RUSSIA. " Australia has been the scene of several bogus Russian scares," says a London paper; " but she seems to take little account of the real source of danger from Russia which lies in the rapidly developing' potentialities of Siberia as the rival of her agricultural producers in the meat, grain, and dairy departments. M. Krukoff, the Russian Commissioner, who has recently visitod Australia and New Zealand in the interest of the Russian cultivators, seems to have come and gone in the odour of sanctity, and without arousing a scintilla of wholesome fear among the people whom his impressions when reported i V T T^ rr a ve }? injure in their tenderest point. JVI. Krukoff is a very candid critic of Australian farming, and especially dairying methods, which he regards as dirty, shiftless, and slipshod, in a high degree. It is to be hoped that Australian producers will lose no time in waking up, as, with the Argentine pressing (on thoir heels, Siberia already strongly in evidence, and Brazil looming dangerously on the horizon, they have no sine- j cur ? in front of them if they are to retain their hold on tho emporiums of the Empire." i- am glad to notice that the term " Australian" is expressly used in c<.n..ection \.ith Krukotf's severe criticisms, which, therefore, I trust, do not apply to New Zealand's methods of dairying. FROZEN MEAT MARKET. An Anglo-Colonial journal remarks "Very large quantities of mutton and lamb are arirving in London this month from New 1 Zealand, and we may expect to see prices fall in consequence. But I think that it may bo stated with advantage to all concerned that the most authoritative reports from tho colony indicate that the meat shipping season this year will be a short one. There were special circumstances connected with the weather that caused tho sheep to become 'ripe' for treatment within a restricted period, and owing to this, meat shipments, very heavy along now, will slacken off, it is expected, particularly early. Taking this into consideration, and the fact that stocks of mutton and lamb were very light before the April cargoes were added, there is no reason for a heavy fall in meat values, especially as trade is very brisk, and Plate mutton in sucn limited quantities that the Plate companies have been buying New Zealand mutton and lamb for some weeks." BUTTER. Messrs. W./Weddel and Co. state that the demand for New Zealand butter has slackened, the prices showing a decline of 2s to 4a per owt on the week. Considering the time of year the price is said to be good, being nearly equal to the values recorded a year ago, which was a very exceptional price. At present " choicest" New Zealand butter may bo quoted at 100s to 102s and " finest" at 96s to 98s. Demand continues good for New Zealand choese of grass-make, and prices are unchanged.

MISCELLANEOUS. "A year or two ago an English company in London tried to raise capital to exploit the ironsand of Taranaki, New Zealand," says the Echo. " The attempt failed. Now it is believed the New Zealand Government contemplates working the deposits itself, why the Australasian Governments have never taken a hand in developing their own vast mineral wealth is, as a famous person onco remarked, ' one of those things no fellow can understand.' For mining under expert advice and shorn of its share-rigging and company-promoting swindling is no more a risk than selling sixpences for shillings." Mr. Joshua Rowntree contributes to the Manchester Guardian an article entitled, "The Advance of Prohibition in New Zealand." He remarks —" It is often suggested at Home that drunkenness and its attendant evils are a consequence rather than a cause, and are mainly the outcome of ignorance, of over-crowding and of poverty. If this were so there ought to be no drink question in Now Zealand,"

" Day by day," remarks the writer of Market Gossip in one of the London papers, "the market in Nelsons' shares becomes more interesting. Unless appearances are deceitful, interest has been stirred up in the second preference, with the object of bo Is taring the market in the other issues. There certainly seem to be very few of the second preference on offer, which makes it all the easier to give an appearance of strength io the market. Altogether it is a curious statp of affaire. There lias been an amount of unnecessary booming, with the result that the position has become speculatively top-heavy and dangerous to the mere outsider. At the same time our information is that the company -will pay 7s per share dividend, and carry forward £200.000. The capital of the company is half a million." * . Mr. A. Davies' Bill for the prevention of passing off foreign and colonial meat a.i 'English," or "Home fed" or "Home killed" has been introduced into the House of Commons, and read for the first time. " A man who has seen much of the world," writes Mr. Arnold Morley, " must hold some places strangely and essentially beautiful. My own favourite spots sire Auckland, New Zealand; the upper end of the Lake of Geneva; Funchal. in Madeira; the valley of the Columbia at Golden City; and the valley of the Eden seen from Barras in England. To these I can now add Fuentarabia, tho Pyrenees, and the Bidassoa." New Zealand still continues to be a frequent subject of the well-known turn-over articles in the London 'Globe, by a New Zealander. That of last night "was headed " When the Rivers are Up." It contains a good deal of clever word-painting and plenty of characteristic tone-colour. > "In the Gum Land of Wangeri," is the title of a story by Alexander Macdonaid, F.R.S.G.S., which appears in the new number of Travel. I cannot say that t am Well acquainted with " Wangeri." Possibly it may be some new gum-yielding area that has been opened, up since I last heard from New Zealand. Another New Zealander at my elbow suggests with reprehensible disrespect that it could be possible for " F.R.S.G.S." to mean Whangarei. I promptly repelled so unworthy a suggestion. Another possible solution may be that the writer desires to conceal the identity of the locally in which he seems to have had some queer conversations with rather queerly named gumdiggers, two being " Slim Jim" and " Never, Never Dan." A paper entitled the Auckland Express is also pressed into his service. " Penruddockism is evidently not countenanced in New Zealand," remarks Truth. " To show tho more admirable way in which inhuman mothers in that part of the world" are dealt with, the sentence on Mrs. Drake, passed by Mr. Justice Edwards, is given— to which "Labby" ejaculates "Hear, hear."