OUR ENGLISH LETTER.

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIV, Issue 7486, 26 May 1885, Page 2

OUR ENGLISH LETTER.

(PEOM ODE LONDON OOBEKSPONDBNT.) COLONIAL. London, April 10. _ The little discussion which took place in the House of Lords on the 19th March showed off that ancient assembly to mote advantage than when it ia dealing with matters not quite so agreeable or tic controversial, the subject being the moving of a unanimous' address to Her Majesty, thanking her for having accepted the services of the various Colonies proffered ae generously on the occasion of the sad news from the Soudan, and Lords Derby and Salisbury. as the mouthpieces of Government and Opposition, rose to the occasion, and they very properly did not £ jrgefe to notice also the loyally of the Indian Princes, who came forward also in so noble and generous a spirit. The Australian Contingent arrived at Suakim just in time to join in the general advance against Oeman iligua, and received on_ landing a great ovation. Everyone is loud with their praises of the fine appearance they make both as men and soldiers. Doubtless they have been disappointed, like everyone else, that the Arab commander declined to try further serious conclusions with hie- foes, and prefers the unsatisfactory method of retiring into hie desert wastes, , doubtless because his men are disheartened at their recent terrible losses, and are said to be deserting in large numbers. As it was, however, in the slight brush that took place the New South Wales Contingent lost two men wounded, and bad besides a taste of marching across the frightful desert under terrible heat. Sir Gerald Giaham telegraphs—“ The Australian Contingent have cheerfully borne their share of our hardships, and showed themaelvea worthy comrades in arms. I regret they have two men wounded.'* On March 26 the Fishmongers entertained Sir Saul Samuel, Sit Charles Tapper, and other Colonial representative* at dinner, and the former observed In bis speech that the forces of the Australian Colonies were established, not to protect themselves against an internal enemy, but against the foes of the Empire, Sir Charles Tapper, alluding to the question of federation, aaid he saw great, if not insuperable, difficulties in the way of a Parliamentary federation of the Empire. While expressing a negative opinion in regard to one feature of the question, he had witnessed, with intense pleasure the union of leading men of both parties with a view to diecavering and carrying on- any conceivable measure by which the Colonies might be drawn into closer union,-and the connection with the Empire rendered perpetual. He expressed bis opinion that a scheme might be adopted by which representatives of outlying dominions might occupy seats in the House of Commons with power to speak, but not to vote. Speaking for himself aa the repcesen-

tative of Oanrtda, he saM he ahould infinitely prefer to feel free from pari,/ ties, and lm influence Would be grc: t r, strougc-r and more useful to the country he fiercer]. The duration was worthy of Ihv rrdit danful atfpnti >n of the ablest minds in this country. Tux* suggestion, which) does hot originate with £ir Charles Tapper, but with Mr Evelyn Ashley, the present Under-Secretary f >r the Colonies, hcis been often pit forward, and seems to indicate a basis oil which those who, like Sir Sa\il are directly opposed to federation, yet da ire to find some firmer bond of uoioh than what now c'A iats, and those who go in for the entire scheme tu»y meet and work out a solution of the difficulty.

AN EMIGRANT'S PARADISE js tbo named applied by .» recent settler £v Canterbury to the England of tlb Hoiitherfl Shan. \7riliug hoifi*> to frlenb in Liverpool ho gives a glowing account bi th of the weather, the scenery, the sochd surrounding*, the laws, and the education d system that prevails, and his description, If to be rdied 01, ought to make the mouth ot every poor mao, struggling at home, water to be out therci “ Ever since I Itft ihfcerab 1 *) thin, fialf-it'irved child ; indeed* per pie here do not know wli it such a thin'-' is.” Some information he gives will be nows to people at homo, for, >peaking of the licencing l.iws, he observes that local option ia in full force, and that 11 if any jnan a notorious hard dritiket* ,ro* Householder Cui appear before a fdiigiriiuiie and apply for a hearing of the case. The ra in is summoned to answer the charge, and if it is prove 1 to the satisfaction of the court, they prohibit all the publicans In the district from iog the man with intoxicating drink.” It ia to bo feared that U this t/stem were Carried pht fit Uoxfie* the fttree on tho Benfch would be dumtiiplecl. and evhn then be.tinfequdto its diitieß, ‘‘Swearing and. profane language is an offence punished by 48 hours’ Imprisonment without the option of a fine.” there.appear to ba.souje fibs mingled inth .tiie pot of ointment, for “ He goes on to say were neVer so bad or quiet in the Colony as they are at present No one has any money j their is no trade going on.” Ho naively remarks, 41 There is one thing needful in this country, and that ia money ; for there is but little iu the place." But he sums up hia en< omiums by remarking, “If there was more money in this country, Eaglaud could not hold ft candle to New Zealand. 1 tjnfotlaxatelyj New Zealand is not the only biacb that rieeda a little ijj ore hard fcflsh, and sven the Old Country wpuld; pbrhappi show up r. little bettor if, there irere more of it Ichockihg about* Slid, it ia obvious that New Zealand is just the place for a hard working farmer who has a emi*ll capital, and letters inch as these do good, if only they are not too highly colored to be true, TJufoitunately, there are not nnfreqnently complaints here on Ibis Bcoie, made by persons who have been induced by land speculators and others to invest their money in paradises which have no existence but in imagination. This remark applies more particularly to Canada and the States. The same journal (the Liverpool Daily Post) which prints tko letter above referred to* gives also a lamentable story told by a man who was induced to go out to the State of Florida, which he finds little better than a desert or a fever swamp.

HIE FROZEN MEAT TRADE. The report of the Medical Officer for the port of London shows that daring 1884 the imports of fn zen meat reached the enormous quantity of 610,324 sheep and 115.377, quarters of beef. Most of these supplies arrived in magnificent condition. Of course there were cases of loss, ns wi'.h one consignment in August, where 2279 quarters out of 2289 bad to be dertroyed. bnt tin's was quite exceptional. In the opinion of the officer this important trade has now reached a reasonably safe condition, thanks to the knowledge gained, Unfortunately through repeated fdilures, of the best way of maintaining the requisite degree of temperature in the storage chambers On board ship. It is remarkable that while the imports from Russia and the United States show a tendency to fall off, those from Australia, New Zealand, and the Plata District, are inertasing enormously. During the first quarters of last year, only 99,537 carcases sheep came in, bnt in the last quarter the number amounted to 163,104 at the port of London alone, a fact which speaks Volumes for the increased favor with which the frozen meat is now regarded by consumers.

A GOOD SIGN OF THE TIMES. The depression in trade seems to continue with unabated vigor, though the war alarms have stirred up eome activity amongst the shipbuilding trades. An evidence of the depressed s'dto of business is, however, afforded by the recent meeting of the Cunard Company. The profits for the year 1884 are only about £87,000, after paying debenture charges, and as this balance, as well as £23,000 from the reserve fund, has been paesed to the credit of tbe depreciation recount, there is nothing ■of dividend available for the unfortunate shareholders. The Company own a magnificent fleet of 27 vessels, varying from 7718 gross tonnsge down to 772, besides seven tenders nnd barges ; the gross total is 100,643 tons, with an cffio'.ivo horsepower of 103,093. Yet with all these great resources freights are eo low and competition so keen that the Company have groat difficulty in holding their own. The national revenue returns for the year reach a total of £88,043,000, or more than £1,310.000 than waa anticipated, which would be eminently satisfactory were it not that the expenditure is expected to hr about £89,169,000, ora deficit oi £1,126,»00 ; and what is still worse, owing to the war in the Soudan and troubles in Central the outlay in the year now commencing is likely to be greater still. It is anticipated that what with one thing and another the Chancellor of the Exchequer will want an additional income of about seven millions. This, too, with the income tax at 61. Even if it is put up to 8d he will atilt want three millions mure, eo that some anxiety is not unnatura'ly felt to hear the coming Budget. Out troubles seem, however, to have brought about indications of a better feeling between workmen and capitalists, which justifies my writing about a good sign of the times. Not long since a Sheffield'firm received an effir from their woikpeople of a week’s work without wages as seme help towards struggling against the financial preesure, and now the good example of the Yorkshire men has induced their fellows in Lancashire engaged at Subden, at the Cobden mills, to come_ forward and make a similar offer. The mill is engaged in cotton manufacturing, and was established about twenty years ago, and_ of late has got into finaccial difficulties. Owing to this a notice was posted that the works would be closed in fourteen days. Upon this the workmen assembled, and made an offer of fonr weeks unpaid work, to be spread over twelve months, and equal in money to about £IOOO, if it weald enable the managers to hold on a bit longer. This generous offer is under consideration, but it is feared will hardly avert the threatened calamity.

POLITIC A£i* By the death of Lord Cairo?, at the comparatively early age of 66, the Conservative party has lost one of its most honored and treated members—one who formerly stood a good chance for the leadership of the party, and would certainly have gamed in the House of Lord* had ho not been eclipsed by the greater position and perbapa greater talents of Lord Salisbury. The influence of the late Earl on bis former chief, Mr Disraeli, was most remarkable, and illustrates once again how well suited men of dissimilar tastes and feelings often are for companionship and mutual support, for nothing could well have exhibited a stronger contrast than the Oriental imagination and religions indifference of Beaconsfleld, compared with the solid judgment and . strong evangelical principles of Cairns. To the last the latter continued his Sunday school class, and when a friend remarked to him toon after his acceptance of the Great Seal u you will no longer be able to take your Sunday school,’* be immediately rejoined, “Why not ? * He was ever ready to aid any good work by money and speech, and was one of the chief supporters of the noble work of rescuing destitute boys, carried on so successfully by Dr Bernardo in the East of London. The late Chancellor’s rise to power and place wai very rapid, for he only entered Parliament as member for Belfast in 1662, and in 1858 was made Solicitor-General by Lord Derby. When that Mini iter returned to office in 1856 Mr Cairns became Attorney-General, was promoted to a Judgeship in Chancery the same year, and at the beginning of the succeeding one received a peerage, and the woolsack followed in 1868. Though a strong, not to say obstinate, Conservative in politics, he was a reformer of the radical type in bis efforts to improve legal procedure, his acquaintance with hi-} own profession being unequalled. As an orator, he possessed high capacity, and many of his speeches are of the very finest type of lucidity and eloquence. Lord Bosebery, one of the rising politicians of the Liberal patty, and the most recent accession totbo Cabinet, has been put up testate the Government case for the present Egyptian campaign. At a meeting of the National Deform Union at Manchester he denied that the policy of the Government i 3 “ butcher .and bolt, 1 ’ as it has been described with alliterative facility. He declared that the expedition to

SuakirU was redamraencUd by Lord Wolseley rtx necessary for thocafvty of IbS forces < n the N.U. Had Osman JOigna's power remained U-jbrokea he considers it not improbable that the Mrtbdi would Have advanced from Khartoum down the Nil'** and he re-tmrnaed tHs ofi • repeated determination of Mr Gladstone to endeavor id plant 6cme stable government ia the Soudan, ana to arrest the course of the Mahdi, whose future movements might, unchecked, euffice to dit the whole East in a blaze. Much, it is Cbviovuj, depends on the Falfle Prophet bitriself ; if he io ill-advised enough to eontinxio his crusade further north, bd mmt be Crashed at all hazard?, but if he is content to remain where lie is, there are not wanting signs here that pressure will be brought to bear upon the Cabinet to retire as speedily as possible from the hateful desert and to abandon the autudin catfipajga, unless, theft { hand is forced by the enemy. Pec pie are getting tick of reading pitiful tales of bloodshed, of our brave men falling by scores from the bullet and the pestilence, and even more so of the thousands of dead Arabs dotting the plain (among* t whom it has been asserted even the bodies of women and children have been di-covered) rotting beneath the silo, and the prey of dogs au-1 vdltures, Tkuly the accounts have, been aWfdl to read ribout, and ndtbing but the vefy stroHg'cat, ifioSt dire necjedcitj can justify the terrible carnage that has taken place, Nevertheless there is no slacking in our work, the railways from S'lftkl o * & 0 Berber and up Dpngola making progrCtd; arid ptir*p3 capable.pf fiMng 2000ffc tire being tested at Woolwich. The pumping stations will bo three in number, placed iu the dtsort along the line of railway at intervals of 60 miles, so that the three sets of boilers anl pumps will drive the water a distance of 130 miles.

'WB AFGHAN DISPUTE, cable Has not informed you of already, atid the issue,of peace or war wi!l,have been decided Ipng ere,.this reaches .you. At present the balance happily inclines da,, the former direction, though it is. hhowU tljat: the diplomatic cords arc still straining,; and -the vessel of State is in anything but still water. No official news is allowed to leak out, and such as finds its way through the columns of the Pall Mall Gizetto, the mouthpiece of Russian intrigue, is necessarily tainted and untrustworthy, The Durbar at Rawul Pindi has been ’ a great success, and the Ameer departs to hia own place highly gratified at the presents made and the assistance promised. The antecedents of the wily Mohammedan, howSyer, are hot very satisfactory* and, rendered cautious by past the Indian Government intend to.p’ay him his subsidy monthly instead of yearly, as in the case of his predecessors. Thus at the first glimpse of unfaithfulness the supplies can be stopped at a minimum of loss. A movement in connection with the Volunteer corps has been set on foot in Manchester with success that may tempt imitation elsewhere. The War Office has for some time Issued a set of rules for the formation of a Volunteer Cadet Corps, but owing to something unworkable they have not been put to a practical issue under official ranclioo, Man* Chester, however, as I have remarked, is a partial exception to the rule. It seemed a pity that boys who left school at 13 or 14 years of age shou’d forget their drilling lessons, bo the authorities at the cotton metropolis have organised a corps of 300 lads, and these, with the permission of the School Board, receive a fixed number of drills under competent sergeants in the playgrounds during the summer season. The lads take very kindly to the movement, and the War Office made a fiea grant of 300 Snider carbines (rendered useless £>r firing) for the purposes of the exercise. ‘ For uniforms the boys must pay, but as it consists simply of a neat blue jersey with gilt buttons and Rcail-ri braid, value 3i 6d, and a glengarry or forage cap equally inexpensive, such outlay is not prohibitory. Details, of course, are only partially worked out as yet, but as a training f-chool for the Army or for the Volunteers, the cadet corps is to be commended as an excellent institution, better a good deal than conscription for the manufacture of citizen soldiers. (To be continued.)

f For continuation of nctos see fourth page,'