ENGLISH NEWS AND NOTES

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1675, 6 April 1904, Page 2

ENGLISH NEWS AND NOTES

(From Our Special Correspondent.) LONDON: January 22. Mr Chamberlain has bteen cursed by many for upsetting the political apple cart by introducing the virus of "fiscali///tie" into the systems of the electors, and it has ;been left to Bishop Kennion, of Bath and Wells (late of Adelaide) to bless .Joseph of Birmingham for dumping fiscal bricks on the political' nigiriiv&y.. In a recent letter the Biehop of Bath and Wells said." That the question of fiscal policy should stir the nation to its full depths is altogether wholesonio and , good for us. It ought not to divide us into hostile, camps,, at lehst not yet, for the i country does not yet understand sufficiently all the Interests which are concerned. The whole controversy is mak- , ; ing us think. We have all of us much to learn. We <lo not consider enough the well-being of classes other-than our own. We are hardly awake to a sense of the difficulties which attend on a change of policy-on the one nand, or of our con- // ’ tiiiuing as we are on the ocher; and . scarcely: capable of balancing between ///them. - But here again we must learn me Gosuel truth that if/one member suffers N l all;the membei'S-suffer with it, and this very controversy may 1 nelp us towards our ultimate realisation of our true brotherhood in tlie fellowship of the Gospel of—the /Kingdom, Everything •which ;hihdei% that consummation is most earnestly to be regretted/’ Apropos of the discussion on tne fiscal problem, "Commercial Intelligence'' this / warns disputants oil both sides of ';the.;ott!itreveTsy„.againkt--relying too. abso- / lately on the value of official returns, a. 3 - other considerations may have to be taken into account in estimating the soundness of this; or that proposition. -: As an instance, it mentions -that while German bottles . have driven British /. bottles from the New Zealand market oiving > to the difference in freight,: the • official returns of the New. Zealand Government for 1902 gave tjie Value of bottles from England,at 416.000, and from Gerupany at 42000. Evidently, says "Commercial Intelligence" the German bottles had been entered as British. .Earl Carrington, who is one of the most A . ardent anti-Cnamberlaihitea, has set his . . tenantry a series of fiscal riddles. He has asked them to give answers to the fol- / /lowing questions.. If protection becomes law:—(1) Would you be able to allow me .. ; to/have a share in the new prosperity by • v... giving me some addition on tne present ‘• rental? (2) Would you, as a, tenant fatiher, be able to employ more • labour . Oh ' /• your -farm ? (3) Would you be able to offer increased agricultural wages, say 2s or 2s 6d more than the present current wages? (4) If unable to do these things at once, how long would.'it be, in . your /, opinion, before vve should reach this -desirable state of things? It will; indeed be interesting to see the nature of the, ansivers to the .Earl's queries, and especially, the ansivers to his "Where do I come in?" , . A gratifying feature of the annual general meeting of Messrs Robert Campbell and Sons, held in London on/January 21st, ivas the cordiality with which the share holders passed tne resolution proposed ; by Mr Yali Raalte that a hearty '•ds.-vote - of thanks shoum be. accorded to, . the managing director and officers of the company -V New Zealand. Mr Van. , E!aalte; ih .pa3'ing tribute to these gentlemen, said lie knew their managing- director very well. They certainly could not anyone who would look better after ' ' the welfare of the company than he did; he. was largely’ interested in the under--taking and did '.every r.nmg lie / could.' for ■ it, as also' did the managers in New Zea'v/ land. The result of the past year’s worjf- • r ing was very satisfactory,, and although : they : had not yet got back to' the; divi-, ' dencta of former times, lie.; did not see,, why, in the course of ia year or two, the. ccmpany should not be doing as well as / ever. Land was bound to iinprove in' / value , in New .'Zealand; they could not' create more land than there ivas. The company hau in land ' should certainly/tend W-improve, and in that way they mignt see a very great enhancement in t-ue value of tneir pro-, /v/periy/ Thp figures of. the company’s ba-, ' . eminently satisfactory.- Tne balance of profit for the year was 421,255, and after paying 5 per cent, the aiTectcws have • placed 45000 to reierye and leave a substantial amount to. carry forward, viz., ‘ • debt hae been reduced by 410,000. The ‘ ’/snowstorm, of last August will, tne direc- / tops fear, affect both the shjeep account , . and wpol clip for 1904 5, but otherwise they consider the outlook ' favourable. The shareholders passed the usual resolutions without" discussion, ana unanimously agreed to tne re-election of the ing directors, Messrs W lx. Campbell and George .Harris. ‘ In the course pf a lecture last Monday . / . pn Modern British, Sculpture, at the London Institution, Mr M. H. Spielmaun Bl' Resting, information regard'd Victoria Memorial. He persuaded Mr Brock to alive a photograph taken for' /of this lecture, showing :ral feature of; the memorial ►e, ’ No one but Mr Brock’s nds and but very feiw of n it so. far, and no. strangers y photograph having been the screen, the lecturer said a,ken from the great model, v - approaching completion, as a precaution against spch as the world hae had nee of, in case Fate should prevent him finishing his r»t completing his models t^f«J^P^ ; 4before--he be- . Ran & single touch at the actual work itself. The Central portion of the wfiple /-' scheme was the monument on which rested the figure of the Queen herself. * This model, was 7ft 6in high, so that, /i /tes /the : scale was one-tenth, the '/;• monument from the base to the tip of the Victopy’s wing would b( not less -than 75ft; and the figure of the Queen, as she sat, would bo 13ft high. The idea was—the great Queen amid the personification of her personal qualifies //.-which marie her great. She sat in her -robes of state—the only statue, lie be-

lieved, in which the seated Queen wore her l-obes from the shoulders. Ou the right was a group of threei figures-', representing Jtistice. On the left was Truth. At the back a beautiful vigorous group represented Maternity—that was to say, the Queen’s own motherhood, from which she •did not flinch. Above her was the eagle of empire, and above, again. Courage on the right and Constancy on the left, qualities which, with the. rest, brought the triumph of Victory; and Victory surmounted. crowned and dominated, as it were, the whole structure of her virtues. Around the base were four ships’ prows, fighting ships and merchant ships alternately, denoting the sea power and the commerce of Britain. The whole monument, would be of Carrara marble up to this three top figures, which would be bronze gilt. He need spy nothing of the great platform, 70ft wide, of the fountains and all the sculptures, the basreliefs, and tlx© whole superb architectural plan, devised by Mr Aston Webb, R.A*. in consultation with the sculptor. He thought that Mr Brock had judged soundly in deciding to follow traditional lines for this great work, for this ivas not the occasion to make experiments, or to run risks By striking out in new .directions. Although the general idea was based on tradition, the work was pot only personal to the sculptor, but thoroughly modern in treatment, and it could not be doubted that tliei complete work would be the crowning triumph of Mr Brock’s career. ;'/., . That rats play a prominent part in disseminating the plague has been proved conclusively, and that nearly every ship afloat harbours these animals in greater or'lesser numbers is beyond dispute, as also is the fact that there i* usually an exchange of rats between ship and shore whenever a vessel makes port. At. Hamburg 'some very successful experiments in killing rats on board sh>p nave been made by means of a system devised by \Dr Leybold, director of the Hamburg gasworks. "Generator" gas is produced by the combustion of coke in a generator,-aided by a blast of air, and the having been cleared of all hands for a few hours, the gas is pumped into the holds, tvhich are afterwards ventilated. The advantages claimed for the system are the thorough extermination of the rats, the neutrality of the gases introduced as regards the effect on the cargo ok the structure of the ship, and the small cost of the operation. The apparatus was employed on the arival at Hamburg of the steamer Westphalia from. La. Plata../ Ninety-nine dead rats (four, of which were plague-infected) and one hundred and eighty-one mice (one of which tyas plague-infected) were afterwards found, and living rats or mice, it /is stated,, have not been observed on the ship since the operation. The cost of the -.operation is said to be "too small to be considered." We have all heard of -the railway official who, being puzzled to schedule for purposes of freight charge, a live mongoose finally decided that it was “a kinseek." His classification was open to question, but was scarcely less ridiculous than that of a Great Western Railway official, who recently demanded from a passenger pavment for the carriage ot a typewriter. The passenger remonstrated and desired the machine to be considered as personal luggage.' To this the oifieial Would not consent. An argument ensued as to'how the charge on the typewriter should be levied and the official, .finally decided that it should be charged for/as a/bicycle. On arriving at the Pad-. dington termius, the passenger asked official how the company s people cou/d consider his machine as A bicycle, and was calmly informed that ‘to all ini' tents and purposes a, typewriter is a bir -cycle’’ ! The- reasoning does not seem quite conclusive. ’ In Messrs Weddel’s "Review’’ of the frozen moat trade for 1803, there appears a table which has been compiled in order fo show the'relative importance of the several bran clues of the meat trade, and differentiating between the Hmne, colonial and.’ foreign beef and 1 mutton consumed in the United Kingdom. From this it appears that the Uni tel Kingdom provides annually 665,679 tons of beef and veal an.cL 306,241, tons of mutton and lamb, or 971,920 tons altogether. This anipunts to 62.40 per cent, of the total estimated annual consumption, viz., 1,557,479 toms. ‘‘Foreign countries "—in which are included the. United States, the Argentine Republic, the Continent, etc. — export to our shores 301,771 tons of beef and 97,240 tons of mutton and lamb, or 399,011 tons in all, which is equal to 25.62 per cent., while the colonies (Canada, Australia and New Zealand) contribute no more than 11.98 per cent, represented by 73,473 tons of beef and. 113,075 tons of mutton and lamb. These figures: it should be stated, are based on the lowest estimate for .1902-3, made by the Special Committee of the Royal Statistical Society. " They may, perhaps/’ remarks the circular, "come as somewhat of a surprise to those who hold the view that the British Empire could rely upon ts own resources for the whole of its meat supply, or that a preference given to our col/omes would necessarily enable then to fill up the gap which would he left if an import duty were imposed sufficient to make it An effective means of curtailing shipments from foreign countries." To others it may suggest that these figures should act as a strong incentive ro the meat shippers >of our colonies' to capture a large share of the trade which now goes to the United States and the Arigewilme Republic. t Mr Kipling, on his latest voyage to South Africa, was a fellow-passenger with Mr R. G. Knowles, a music-hall comedian wellknpwn in tlie colonies, and the latter has made Kipling the subject of a letter to the Daily Express." "Kipling’s faith in South Africa," he says, “is boundless, or perhaps I had better say his faith is bounded on the north by the Congo Free State and German Bast Africa; on the south by the-Indian Ocean; on the east by the same ocean and Portuguese E'ast Africa; on the west by Portuguese West Africa, German South-west, Africa and the Atlantic. Kipling is a devoted disciple of the Chamberlain policy, and he swears by protection, asserting that protection is tlie nearest thing to freetrade. When ali the world i- protected it narrows

traffic down to freetrade pure and simple. Kipling lias had many funny experiences, and tells them in a manner which appeals to the listener. He once met a party oi Americans lost in xxindon, Politelj inquiring if he could do anything for them, he was informed by the oldest man in the group that it was just possible he might be a confidence man. Kipling answered with, "Yes, but it is just ais possible that you are one. But, honestly, now, I don’t look like aj confidence man, do I ?’ It wound up by the party being personally conducted over London by -Rudyard Kipling, in complete ignorance of his identity. lie enjoyed the experience, and says be felt that he was paying ofi a part of the debt he owes- Americans lor their kindness and hospitality to him. LONDON, February 12. Mr W. G. Hutchison, son of Advocate George Hutchison (ex-M.H.R. for Patea), has cotne over to London from Johannesburg with the intention of residing in England for six or nine months, while awaiting the resuscitation oi the Transvaal from its present state of depression. “When I left/’ says Mr Hutchison, "the outlook was very black, and ruin appeared to be the only goal for hundreds who have settled in the new colonies since the War to seek their fortunes." He rs accompanied by Mrs Hutchison (nee Miss Mabel Booth, of Carterton), and their two children and nurse. The second child was born at sea on the 17th ult., two days before arriving at the Canary Islands'. Both mother and son are well. Mr George Hutchison has followed his son to London, arriving by last baturday’s mail steamer. He too, I understand, has come to England, to await the advent of better times in the Transvaal. Mr Charles Wilson, librarian of the New Zealand Parliament, is at present revisiting the scenes of his childhood at Harrogate, and the local paper, the "Harrogate Herald," refers to the event in these terms: —"Our interesting visitor was’born in Harrogate, but in his earner years went out to New Zealand, where he entered the journalistic profession. He soon acquired a distinguished position m the newspaper world, eventually embarking on a successful Parliamentary career, accepting the honourable position he now holds." ' Many among' the l elders of the Christchurch community will learn with regret of the death of Mrs Susan Sybilla Soulsbv, who* departed this life at Cheltenham on February 9th. in her seventy-first v r ear. Mrs Soulsby was the widow of Mr Christopher Percy Soulsby. of Bessingby, Christchurch, and youngest daughter of / the late Mr Jonathan Thompson, of Sherwood Hall, Notts. The funeral took place at. Che/tenhan. Cemetery on Thursday last. Mr Williamson, the sculptor, who is executing the statue of Sir George Grey for Auckland, reports this' week that lie is making veaQ,. good .progress, a.nvi the, statue is now approaching completion. Callers at the New Zealand AgentGenera I ’s office this week:—Hon TT. C. and Mrs Butler (Wellington); Mr F, A. Bennett (Wpnkanui); Mr George Moodie, junr. (Dunedin); Mr Peter N. Brown (Wellington); Mr and Mrs Deane O. Shu re (Palmerston North); Messrs W. Macmillan and P. L. Sim (Palmerston North); Mr Selwyn Joyce (Christchurch). To Rangi Pai (Mrs Howie), the Christchurch contralto, took part'last week ;n an amateur performance of “The Mika>do," at the C'ripplegate Institute. The occasion was the benefit to Mr-Harold Payne, given under the patronage of Sir Frederick Bridge and; Sir Alexander Mackenzie. Mrs Howie, according to the ‘‘Referee/’ was "a tower of strength as Katisha, playing with fierce intensity and power." So successful was the performance that it was repeated this wefek. Messrs' W.. Macmillan, and P. L. Sim, of Palmerston North, arrived by: the, Atbenio about a fortnight ago, and are now iu Loudon endeavouring to get tlie !W&i Office to adopt, the special leather which their firm manufactures. Mr Sim tells me'that at the close of the war in South Africa the New Zealand company ho is representinig reoeivea an order for 20,090 reins (strips ;of. leather lin wide and from 6f't to 7ft long, used for tethering horses), and also a quantity of leather. The result has . been quite satisfactory, the leather compares favourably with thb best qualities previously supplied to the War Office in South Africa. So far Messrs' MacMillian and Sim have not bad any definite reply from the officials U.ere. Mr George Moodie, junr., of Dunedin, arrived from New Zealand by the R.M.S. Rimutaka, via Dlonte Video and Teneriffe on the 4th inst. The steamer made a splendid passage from Wellington to Tener--iffe, but encountered strong head winds and heavy seas during the latter part of the voyage. Mr Moodie, after serving his time in the Dunedin Engineering Company’s workshops, has come Home to gain experience in engineering, and with that object in view, he will shortly proceed to Glasgow. Meanwhile he is spending a few weeks in sight-seeing and visiting relatives. . /

• in days of long ago, ali hough the fact is forgotten nowadays, Mr Chamberlain was a notable contributor to the reviews. Upon one occasion, he had a memorable contest upon a licensing question with Robert Lowe, the fiery Chancellor of the Exchequer. Their views were utterly divergent, and they clubbed one another with vigour. They had never met up to this time, but when Mr Chamberlain was first returned for Parliament, Lowe invited him to dine with him. He was greatly struck with the new member, as indeed he had been with his writings, and predicted that he would come to be one of the great political leaders of England. The oft-postponed marriage of the Duke of Norfolk to the eldest daughter of Lord Herries will be the culmination of a. ’ong acquaintance. Lord Herries, the bride s father, married one of the Duke’s first; cousins, and the young Duke was a -ivquent visitor at Everingham Park when his bride that is to be was a very sinaJl girl indeed. She was always a great favourite of her ducal coxisin, who hked nothing better than to enjoy a romp wu.i his little playmate. then his -avourite name for her was "Little bweetheart ’’ In those days’ the Duke was happily married to the gentle lady who left his life so many years ago. His wife that is to be was in her cradle when the Duke wa- first married.