OUR LONDON LETTER.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 7930, 22 July 1887, Page 3

OUR LONDON LETTER.

(Fuom Quit Own Couukm'onuknt.)

Lonuon, Juno '3.

ANOLO-imOS'IAI. NOTKS. The Queen has signified her consent to the forming of ft Koyal Commission for the Melbourne Exhibition, but the nomination of t^

members thereof has not been completed. The Prince of Wales will be the honorary president, but tho real working head will bo the Karl of Rosoberj. Contrary to general expectation, Mr Collins Levy has not obtained the appointment of secretory to this exhibition, but that duty has been entrusted to Mr Cusliel Hoey, of the Victorian agency. Without wishing to appear biassed in thu matter, Mr Collins Levy thinks tho Melbourne peoplo have made a nns-

Tho Hon. James Mason, of Fiji, who has charge of tho Colonial court at tho Liverpool Exhibition, has managed to make his section one of the attractions of the show. By a judicious use of tho mate-rial pliu'cel at his disposal he has rendered tho court more pleasing than anyone expected. Tho hn B u piece of kauri timber, which w:is hidden away i'> » corner of tho New Zealand court nt the Into roloni.il and Indian Inhibition, lins been placed

in tin* centre of the court, and forms an object of great curiosity. Mr Baden Powell sketches this course of colonial development during the past SO years in thu current number of t!n> Fortnightly Review, and Mr lirodio 110.-iro contributes some

intLTf.-ti.it: notes on his recent toiir in New Zealand to the pui;es i>( the National Review. The decisive defeat which HanUm sullen-el at tlus hands of Uaiulaiir on Monday in tin- contest for tho sculling championship of America .locs not augur well for his match against Be-ach. Giuidaur won by lour lergths, ami ho could easily lmvo mado it six hail ho not slackened sweil when he saw that the race was practically won. Haultm, of course, is full of excuses for his defeat, ami will not admit that the best man won, though ho confesses that he was fairly beaten. He protested that ho had a cold and was not in his best form; but tho sporting reporters declare that both men were in splendid condition. It is believed that Hanlau will now strive to get out of his match with Beach, though ho states that ho intends to preceed almost immediately to Australia. Sir Francis Bell is preparing an articlo which is to bo printed as a sort of addendum to tho report of the proceedings of the Colonial Conference. In this article he collects financial statistics to show that the expenditure on Australasian defence has been very much larger than the Imperial authorities hail any idea of. There aro no signs at present of the appearance of the official report of the conference. It is considered a great mistake to delay its publication so long, because the interest in the conference is rapidly evaporating, and when the report does appear it will be treated as an ordinary blue book, and will share the usual fate of those productions. Sir Charles Dilke, in his concluding article m the Fortnightly Review upon tho present position of European politics, in which he deals with tho United Kingdom, attaches great importance to the " breeze" which was raised in the Colonial Conference when Lord Salisbury made his statement on the New Hebrides question. He alludes to the fact that the attitude which Sir Francis Bell assumed upon the New Hebrides' question did not, as you are aware, meet with the approbation of his colleagues. Sir Charles appears to thiuk that the present is a favourable time for Australia to take up a strong position with regard to,the New Hebrides, becausehe considersthore is an inclination on thepartof France to"backout"of the group. He entertains not the slightest doubt that ultimately, and in a not very distant future, the Australians will force not only the French but even the Germans and the Dutch out of the South Pacific. He also considers that although an importaut point was gained during the Colonial Conference in Australia making a contribution towards her naval defence, yet the colonies do not by any means do what they ought towards tho defence of the

Nothing has been heard so far of the jubilee address to the Queen from the New Zealand Parliament, which was to have arrived by the Kaikoura. When received the address will probably be sent on to the Queen, unless her Majesty expresses a des're for a formal personal presentation, the idea being that she must be utterly wearied out by these incessant jubilee

interviews. A bishop has at last been found for Bathurst in New South Wales, though a cynic observes that inasmuch as the good people of Bathurst have got along without a bishop for two years there seems no reason why they should want one now. Canon Camidge, a Yorkshire clergyman, has accepted this post. The diocese of Bathurst is about as large as England, and the income attached to the see is £SOO a year. Sir Julius yon Haast left London this week in the Kaikoura. He has not quite recovered his proper health, and still feels the effects of his attack of sciatica. The lest word from his doctor was that he must take as much rest as possible during his voyage. He is well satisfied with the results of his tour on the Continent, and has made a goodly collection of objects which he feels sure will be appreciated in the Canterbury Museum. A day or two ago a certain noble lord conceived the idea of making a motion in the House of Lords to the effect that a roving commission should be appointed to proceed to Australasia to investigate and report upon the feelings of the colonies in regard to Imperial Federation, with the view of ascertaining how that end could best be promoted. He mentioned the subject to a prominent Agent-general, who received the question with such coldness, and represented so strongly how such an interference would be resented by the colonies, that the noble lord concluded to abandon his idea.

It is reported in the city that a parcel of shares in the Shaw, Savill, and Albion Company was sold a few days ago at the price of £4 each. These shares are not quoted on the Stock Exchange, and the fact of their having realised such a good price has been much commented upon. It has been ascertained that it will require an act of Parliament to give effect to the regulations passed in November last with respect to the employment of naval military officers by colonial governments. Inasmuch as the Vie- : torian Government were largely instrumental in

forcing a settlement of the question, Sir James Lorimer, the Victorian Minister of Defence, is trying to persuade the Imperial Government to pass this act during the present session. During the late Colonial Conference the suggestion was made both by Sir James Lorimer and Sir James Garrick that the Imperial War Office should permit an officer of distinction to make a periodical inspection of the military forces of Australasia about every two years, so that any defects in their organisation might be pointed out, or any Improvements that the advauce of the military art might suggest could be recommended. The idea was_ well received, and is now under the consideration of the Imperial Government. Lord Wolseley was consulted about the matter the other day and approves of it very highly, so that there ought to be little difficulty in carryiug out the sugges-

tion. Of course it will involve the colonies in some little expense, but not to such an extent as need deter them from obtaining the benefit of the latest and newest military advice.

On the 24th of last month the Pukaki was

launched from the yards of Messrs William Deuny Bros., of Dumbarton. The Pukaki is a screw steamer of 1300 tons, and is intended for

the cargo and passenger trade of the New Zealand Steamship Company. She was named by Miss Julia Darling, daughter of the superintendent of the Union Company. She will be supplied with quadruple expansion engines of about 700 indicated horse power by Messrs Denny and Co., of Dumbarton. The Rev. Georgu Dods, formerly of Melbourne, applied ft few days ago to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland to be readmitted to the status of a minister of the Presbytery of Glasgow. Mr Dods used to bo connected with the Scots Church in Melbourne, where he was for some years assistant to the Rev. Charles Strong. He was suspended for contumacy because he refused to give up at the command of the presbytery some sermons he had preached, which it was desired to use as evidence against him in support of the charge of heterodoxy. The General Assembly marked their sense of the action of the Melbourne Presbytery by readmitting Mr Dods without demur. He is therefore |on the lnok-uut for fresh church work, having' given up the idea which be once entertained of being called to the bar. THE IMPERIAL INSTITUTK.

The Organising Committee appointed by the Prince of Wales to draw up a scheme for the administration of the Imperial Institute tave this week published what may be called a draft scheme for the creation of a governing bodythat is to say, the scheme is not a final one, but is subject to such modifications as may hereafter commend themselves to the judgment of the committee. The committee propose that there shall be a governing body called a general council elected, the members of which shall form an executive committee from amongst themselves, which shall be entrusted with the actual work of administration, and upon this committee the United Kingdom, India, and the colonies shall be duly represented. This general council it is suggested shall consist of 100 members, or 150 in case Hi ft Royal Colonial Institute and the Koyal Ar-iuliu Society stall consent to be amalgamated with the Imperial Institute. The members of the council are to be nominated by the Queen; 45 are to represent the United Kingdom and the Isles in the British seas, 30 are to bo apportioned to the colonies, and 15 to India. Out of the 45 representatives of the United Kingdom five are to be ex ojlicio members of the O.neral Council, aud these are the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Governor of the ]!ank nf England, the Lord Mayors of London and Dublin, and the Lord Provost of Edinburgh. Seventeen representatives are to be chosi;n by the mayors of the United Kingdom—which is to ho divided into seventeen electoral districts for such purpose; three are to be nominated by tin; ' Associated Chambers of Commerce, j aud une by the London Chamber of

Commerce; four representatives of agriculture aro to hi; nominated by tho Koyal Agricultural , Society, the Central Chamber of Agriculture, tho Highland Society, nn.l the Royal 1 id.ln. j Agricultural Society. One member is to be | nominated by each of the following bodies:- I The Ruv.il Society, Ihe Royitl Society ul helm- | burgh, the Royal Itish Academy, thu Society ol Arts, Manufactures, mid Commerce, the Institution of Civil Engineer.", the. Institution oi Mechanical Engineers,, the Iron and Steel Institute, tho Chemical Societies, the Society of Telcirrnph Engineers and Electricians, tho City and (iiiilds Institute nf Technical Education, the Royal United Service Institution, Urn Royal Academy, tho Mining Association of C'Jreat llrituin, the Trade Union Congress, and thu National Miners' Union. It is c.niMdcrod somewhat strange that tho name of the Koyal Geographical Society should not be included in this list. Perhaps, however, tho explanation may lie that that is one of the societies which the Imperial Institute hopes to absorb. Ah regards the colonies, Canada is to have 10 representatives; 10 aro to be allotted to tho Australian colonies, Now South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, and Tasmania having two each. New Zealand and Cape Colony are to have two representatives wich, and six lire to be divided amongst the- Crown colonies. Iho mode of nominating the IS representatives ol India has not yet been agreed upon. liiku most other matters connected with tlio Imperial Institute, this scheme has been received without either much approbation or much disapproval. The proposal to divide the mayors ~f the United Kingdom into 17 elector,, bodies for thu election of representatives on tliel.eneral Council is looked uponas being somewhat loohsb, and people aro asking what, the Speaker of the HonscorCo.nmonslmsdoneth.it ho should be niado an « ( >//,V/.. member of this body It is not stated whether the members of the Executive) Uonncil, who are, presumably, to be the actual administrators of the Institute, are or aro not to be paid for their service's If not.it would appear to bo inevitable that the whole working machinery will fall into the hands of a " ring " something like the feouth Kensington "ring," who will bo made up largely of tho personal favourites of tho Prince of fate of the Royal Colonial Institute is still hanging in tho scale. Tho feeling amongst the Fellows against amalgamation with the Imperial Institute is as strong as ever, and an imcauy suspicion prevails that the council have been " got over " and that the institute will not long retain its independence. It may indeed almost bo taken for granted that as tho 1 mice of Wales has apparently sot his heart upon effecting this amalgamation it will be done. Sir Saul Samuel is preparing a proposal which he intends to submit to Lord Herschell, tho president of the committee, on an early day, in which a plan for merging tho Colonial into the Imperial Institute is sketched out. The Agentgeneral for New South Wales recommends that the Imperial Institute shall take over the financial responsibilities of the Colonial Institute in connection with their new building in Northumberland avenue; that Fellows of the Colonial Institute shall become Fellows of tho Imperial Institute without any increase of their annual subscription ; that the Colonial Institute shall retain its independent management; tho Northumberland avenue building being kept open as a branch of the Imperial Institute ; that the Council or tho Colonial Institute should be elected by its own members plus any Fellows of the Imperial Institute who agree to join at the reduced subscription of a guinea a year. Sir Saul proposes that this council should be entrusted with the care and control of all the colonial interests connected with the Imperial Instituto. 0 f course his whole scheme opens up some very wide questions, and is so favourable towards tho Colonial Institute that it is not likely to bo agreed to by the larger body. Sir Saul would also introduce a certain element of lightness and frivolity into the mauageraeut of the institute by stipulating that the Fellows should have the right of giving musical evenings, concerts, and other kinds of mild intellectual entertainments. During the discussion which took place at a recent meeting of the Prince of Wales' Committee with respect to the scheme for the administration of the Imperial Institute, which is alluded to above, the question was raised whether tho Agents-general should become ex offwio members of the'Geueral Council. Sir Saul Samuel was very anxious that they should; but Sir Francis Bell opposed this view, and in doing so met with a good deal of support from the other mombers of the committee. Your Agent-general advised that the matter should be left open to the colonial Governments to nominate the Agents-general or not, as they chose. Sir Saul Samuel, however, adheres to his opinion and declares now that Sir Francis Bell and tho other members of the council have come over to his way of thinking. But there is obviously a difficulty in going back upon the decision already arrived at, so that the matter will be left as it is, with a sort of recommendation to the colonial Governments that they should nominate their Afieuts-general_ on to the General Council whenever ie is possible to do so. .