LONDON NOTES.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 858, 10 August 1888, Page 1

LONDON NOTES.

(FROM AN OCCASIONAL CORRESPONDENT.) London, June 11. The London season is now in full swing, and all Glasses of society are bent on enjoyment. Owing to the uncertainty of the German Emperor’s condition, the season is not likely to be a specially gay one ; but the usual receptions have com; menced, and the levies are well attended. Continental news are quieter than they have been for some time past. The Boulan s er excitement has died out, and an increasing interest in the coming International Exhibition in Paris diverts men’s attentions# from a possible revolution. Every day’s delay, however, is a decided gain to the ‘ ‘ peace and order ” party in this Republic. The successful floating of the New Zealand two million loan has given universal satisfaction to the colonists in this country, because it is the best possible proof that the public confidence in the future of New Zealand is unshaken. It must be particularly gratifying to Sir F. D. Bell, who, for years past, has never lost an opportunity of speaking up for the Colony and defending its credit against the attacks of unscrupulous writers in this countiy. There is a slight improvement in the wool trade ; and I hear that Captain Birch, of Napier, who is now in London, is interesting himself in the frozen meat trade, which ought certainly to be placed on a sounder footing. Altogether, from a Londoner’s point of view, things have begun to improve in New Zealand. ®lt. will grieve many of Judge Johnston’s old friends in W ellington to hear of his somewhat sudden death in London on the Ist instant. ~ He had enjoyed his trip Home, . and seemed much benefited by the change ; but he somehow caught a chill which aggravated the malady from which' he had been suffering, and although the doctors in attendance did not appear to anticipate any immediate danger, he rapidly sank in the course of the day, and died without any suffering at 10 o’clock at night; He had been so long away from England that he had practically outlived his generation, and had not a relation in London, except his son (Mr Fletcher Johnston), who had accompanied him from New Zealand. There seemed something quite melancholy in liis thus coming away from the Colony, where he had quite a host of friends, to die, as it were, among strangers. The funeral!,: which took place on the sth instant,’ was of course a strictly private one. Beside the sou of the deceased, the only persons present were Sir F. D. Bell, Sir Walter Buller, Mr H. R. Russell, Mr B. A. Ferrard (formerly R.M. of Wellington). Mr Malet (late Sheriff of Canterbury), Mr Hadfield, Mr Brotherton, Dr Harper, and two other gentlemen not connected with the Colony. The coffin was of light polished wood, with rich brass mountings. Lady Buller sent a beautiful floral wreath; and the plate on the lid of the coffin bore a. simple inscription, giving the name and age of the deceased. All the arrangements were conducted in the simplest manner ; and the funeral service was read by the Rev. Charles Bell (a New Zealander, and son of the Agent-General). The remains of the late lamented judge were interred in the Brompton cemetery, which is likely very shortly to be closed altogether. The Australian Times in its last issue supplies' a long obituary notice, and adds : “ There is naturally some speculation among colonists in this country as to who will succeed to the vacancy on the bench. A strong hope is expressed that the Government will offer the vacancy to Sir Robert Stout, the late Premier and At-torney-General, and that he may be induced to accept it. No doubt it belopgs of right to Sir Frederick Whitaker,“but at his time of life, and in the present state of his health, there would be .no chance whatever of his taking it. Failing either of these gentlemen, there seems nothing left but to give the seat to Mr Dudley Ward, who has been more, than, once made use of as an acting judge.. There can be no doubt, however, that such an appointment would be extremely unpopular with the Bar generally, and it would certainly evoke a vigorous protest from the present occupants of the Supreme Court Bench. ” 553 The Blue Spur and Gabriel’s Gully Gold Mining Company held its first ordinary (or statutory) meeting on the 31st ultimo at Cannon-street Hotel, the Chairman (Sir Walter Buller) presiding. There was a large attendance of shareholders (about 100), and the proceedings ppeared to excite considerable interest,

owing to rumours that had got into circulation in the City that the vendors were not in a position to carry out their contracts. The Chairman made a long speech, which was listened to with the utmost attention, and was fully reported next morning in sixnr seven of the mining and financial papers. , The Financial World thus eulogizes it: —“ There was a pleasant combination of business and confidence about the statement of Sir Walter Buller, who took the chair at the meeting of this Company, held on Thursday, at the Cannon-street Hotel, which decidedly impressed the shareholders. Sir Walter Buller is not only an excellent speaker inregard to the essentials of voice and manner, but he possesses the faculty of marshalling his facts in a clear and comprehensive form, and of putting them in a pleasant way. In this'respect; he presents a strong contrast to too many chairman of city meetings.”, Even the Financial News, which lias' been very severe on New Zealand of late, not only give a full report of the speech, but a few days later devoted one of its leading columns to a very commendatory article, from ' which the following is ah extra<?t : “The initial difficulties of taking possession of the several properties concerned lias been successfully accomplished under the able, and, we must say, - the tactical management of Sir Robert Stout, the late Premier of New Zealand, the .Company’s solicitor in New Zealand. This transfer of a number of properties, ■: whose separate interests had become more or; less interlaced, each set of.; proprietors.; naturally wishing to make the most of?:their positions, was no easy matter, and' the Company’s New Zealand representative must have exerted to the Lull the vsuaviter in modo, keeping the fortiter -in-re well in reserve. There was never (any question about the value of : the properties to be taken over by the Compariy;_ but the various Vendors had become’so habituated to litigation that some doubt might reasonably have been felt whether the Company would peacefully rget possession of the properties it had contracted for. This, we learn from the Chairman’s speech, has . been satisfactorily accomplished: from first to last, and nothing remains for the Company to do but to get energetically to work, at their mining industry. The whole complexion of this mine is completely different to that of the ordinary run of Queensland properties. The mine l s situated within two miles of the Lawrence railway station, which is only 60 ‘miles from Dunedin, and does not need, like , many of the Queensland mines, several days’journey to get to it, or for wagons several weeks. Then again the gold is simply washed out, and there is no need of the costly process used in quarts mining. The results already obtained show that the cost of production is about 10 jxer cent, of the gold obtained, which is a most satisfactory basis for working ; in fact, we venture to repeat that this is a genuine investment mining property.” The Australian Times, of the Bth instant, says that the result of this meeting ‘ ‘ inspires the hope that New Zealand, which has hardly yet experienced a ‘ boom ’ on its own account, may be destined to herald that revival in Australasian mining securities generally which would be so gratefully hailed at the present moment.” The Chairman’s speech was rendered perfectly clear by- means of.a large diagrammap suspended from the wall,; on which the boundaries of the various consolidated companies were shown in colour. The first volume of Sir Walter Buffer's “ History of the Birds of New Zealand ” is now out. It forms a very handsome imperial quarto volume, comprising 350 pages of closely-printed matter, and containing 'coloured illustrations by Heiilemans, of upward of forty species of native birds. At the end ,of the volume the publisher has given extracts from all the reviews'rthat have appeared. One of these; bearing the signature of Mr Sharpe, the principal ornithologist at the British Museum, bears testimony to the quality of the work.

1 learn that Mr Coutts Crawford, who lately arrived from Wellington, is in a veiy bad state of health.; He is being attended by Sir Henry Thomson, and will go abroad as soon as he is strong enough. Mr H. R. Russell purposes returning to the Colony in September next, and is arranging to take out with him 20 pairs of nightingales, as he is particularly anxious to see this lovely songster established in New Zealand. '