ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13368, 24 December 1906, Page 9

ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES.

[from OUR own COEBKSrO.VDE.Vr.]

LONDON, November 16.

EASTERN EXTENSION COMPANY. Ox the 13th inst. the sixty-sixth half-yearly ordinary general meeting of the Eastern Extension. Australasia, and China Telegraph Company was held, under the presidency of Sir John Wolfe Barry, who said that, the total decrease in traffic receipts between the two Juno half-years of 1905 and 1906 was. roundly, £20,000, and was entirely due to the exceptional traffic created by the RussoJapanese war being now at an end. The only cable interruption during the half-year under review which materially affected the traffic was between New Zealand and Australia, when both the company's cables were broken down for several weeks, and the traffic had to be transmitted by the British Pacific cable. Unfortunately one of these cables was again interrupted, but, as the other was working, the traffic on the present occasion had not in any way suffered. The Pacific Cable Board had opened public offices in Sydney, and by increased canvassing and advertising had endeavoured to secure a larger proportion of the Australasian traffic for their cable; but so far they did not appear to have met with much success to reimburse th-ern for their additional expense and trouble. THE MEAT MARKET. During October there was disposed of in the Central Meat Market, Srnithfield, 8170 tons of British-grown beef* 16.259 tons of American, and 8311 tons of meat from New Zealand. . " _ New Zealand meat is beginning to find . its way into Sweden, where there is great scarcity of meat. A Swedish gentleman has recently been in London buying New Zealand lamb, mutton, and beef—but beef for preference. He is asking for lean meat of medium quality to allow of it realising a profit after a small duty is paid. NEW ZEALAND LOAN AND MERCANTILE. It is announced to-day that the directors of the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company have decided to recommend a dividend at the rate of 5 per cent., free of income tax, on the paid up capital for the year ended June 30, 1906. THE DEBT OF THE COLONISTS. Sir Gilbert Parker, M.P., speaking as the guest of the Colonial Club, at Oxford, said the Empire should mean more to us than the celebration of the valour and virtues of our red police and khaki sentinels. It should mean co-operation and alliance of interests and common responsibility. The Under-Secretary for the Colonies should realiseperhaps he did—that his constituency was not Manchester, but Murrumbidgee, or Montreal, or Magersfontein, or Manawatu. The colonist should realise that he got much from England's protection, and that the British workman, through the navy, paid cash for colonial security, and he should be prepared to give generously in return for what he got. NEW ZEALAND'S POETS. A book of "New Zealand Verse" has just been issued by the Walter Scott Publishing Company. The volume contains selected poems by New Zealand authors. They have been collected by Messrs. W. J. Alexander and A. E. Currie. It is surprising to find how many poets the colony has produced, and what good poetry some of them have written. Some verses by Mr. Reeves and Mr. Arthur Adams have found inclusion in the new book. DOMESTIC SERVANTS FOR THE COLONY. Over thirty domestic servants sailed for New Zealand yesterday in the s.s. Gothic, the girls going out under reduced passage arrangements. In the twelve months from June of this year to Juno, of next year Mr. . Reeves hopes to send out 250 suitable girls, but the work of selection is very troublesome. Though a few domestic servants have been going out to Now Zealand a few at a time for some little while past, the present l batch is by far the largest despatched in response to the advertising of the High Commissioner's Department. About half the,, number going out on this occasion are bcing i sent tinder the auspices ' 'of the British Women's Emigration Society. . ' ' NEW ZEALAND'S CADET SYSTEM. Commenting upon the report which has been issued by the Minister for Education in New Zealand on the military instruction given to schoolboys in that colony under' the direction of the Education Act that in all public schools provision shall be made for military drill for all boys—the number returned as ' receiving instruction being 127.386—the Standard says:—"By these means New Zealand is training a whole nation in arms for home defence, from whose ranks great numbers of patriotic men, well drilled, will be forthcoming for any great war in which the Mother Country is engaged. The report is a document of great value, as showing the development of a movement which may have far-reaching results. At Home the Earl of Meath, headmasters of schools, the Lads' Drill Association. the Church Lads' Brigade, the National Rifle Association, and other individuals and public bodies undertake voluntarily the work which in New Zealand is a duty of the State." . ' NEW ZEALAND AND AUSTRALIAN LAND COMPANY. The report of the New Zealand and Australian Land Company for the year ended March 31 last, to be submitted to the meeting of shareholders in Edinburgh next week, states that the sum brought forward from the last account was £2308, and the net profits from working the estates during the year, after deduction of £32,035 interest on i debenture debt, amounts to £231,600, mak- ] ing the balance at credit of revenue account ! £233,909. The directors now recommend a dividend on the ordinary stock of 7 per cent., together with a bonus of 5 per cent., both free of income tax. In New Zealand 4442£ acres have been sold freehold at satisfactory prices. yielding in all £33,057. In Australia 96 acres have been sold for £257. In addition to these sales the sale of the balance of the Totara, Estate lias now been j concluded, with delivery in March next, the Government of New Zealand being the principal buyer. EMPEROR OF AUSTRIA'S CHAMOIS. It has been finally decided that Mr. Bertling, the head keeper of the " Zoo," shall have charge of the eight chamois which the Emperor of Austria is presenting to the NewZealand Government. As yet the animals have not put in an appearance in London, and when they do arrive they will have to be installed in makeshift quarters at the docks pending their reshipmeut to the colony in one of the direct steamers, because the quarantine officials have intimated that the animals must not lie brought past the docks. Therefore it- will not be possible for advantage to be taken of placing them temporarily in the Zoological Gardens here, r-s tho Zoological Society has offered to. Jo It is recognised that chamois do not thrive well in captivity, and that during the outward voyage Mr. Bert ling will need to exercise great care of his precious charges.