THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1892.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 9536, 19 September 1892, Page 2

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1892.

Ims unity of tlie empire, imperial interests, the federal bonds of empire, and so fort]!, are phrases .which, being interpreted, mean very often the commerce of the empire, commercial interests, the federal bonds of commerce 1 uttmg, tor a moment, on one side the sentimental aspect with which many regard the "waving of the uV imperial questions are usually considered solely with regard to pounds,-shillings and pence. At a congress of the Chambers oi Commerce of the empire held some two months since in London' the union—that is the fiscal union— between Great Britain and hoi colonies was dealt with on purel? commercial lines. A resolution was proposed by Mr G. W. Medley, on behalf oi: the London Chamber of Commerce, the gist of which was to deprecate the imposition of any fiscal duties which would favour .British colonies as against foreign nations. As an amendment Sir Oiubhss Tuoter, the Hie* Commissioner for Canada, proposed the following, which was, however, rejected, pfl representatives voting •F Unu fc, T nnd ' 0111^ 33 in favour of it:—_ Whereas the British Empire covering one-eighth of-the-inhabitable globe Avith a population of 350,000 000 can amply supply the Home market with the productions of every clime at the lowest possible cost; and whereas a national sentiment of mutual interest and brotherhood would promote more extended relations between the mother country and its many colonies and possessions: resolved, that in order to extend the exchange and consumption of the Home staple products in every part of the British Empire, a slight differential duty, not exceeding & per cent., should be adopted by the Imperial and Colonial Governments in favour of certain Homo productions against the imported foreign articles " Putting on one side the somewhat ilowory nature of the preamble to this proposition, we find that the Canadian representative in effect suggests the fiscal union of Great Britain and her dependencies to the exclusion, in so far as commerce is concerned, of all foreigners. A Tow, for a moment leaving the question of Frecfcradc and Protection on one side—though the consideration of tins great economic question undoubtedly influenced the voting—what do we find as to -the commercial intercourse of the colonies and the mother country ? The figures are as .tallow :— B Yeah 1890. Aiwtral-~~Nsrth S^ltiT"" . Ulj America, Africa. Imports from ~ " United KingBrfe p-^-WO A389.000^W3,000 oE°l,i 3W°OO !)SMOO 14,148,000 tr>c S ... S) i07,000 W.MS.OOO .1,528,000 i'ti7,'.«1,000.£2.1,.|!)8,000 .C27,7l!),l)00 lixpnHs 1,0 I . United King- " "- British !>,-•; ■ e2R- 1«;.«»^O.251.000 10,015.000 tries ... S.BW.OOI) 10,022,000 C.TiOOO ! — I '__ X(!J,0(i5,000 ,151,000 .£11,718,000 It will be seen from these curioiislkuTcT which we have taken IVom the Keon«>mjst of. July 2, that there is a real and pressing reason for-the demand made by Canada that other portions of the empire should tax themselves For hey benefit, and that as regards' other colonies and British possessions th,>ro is no such pressing need. The trade of Canada has in the past been to a very large extent n-ith the United States which both m imports and exports is

represented under the term "other countries.^ The Protectionist tariff of the states is narrowing and restricting Canadian trade, and the Dominion naturally looks to the mother country to enlarge the borders ol: its commerce. lvfZ^ xt °* a Mal todc A--.to,b4 : U,UUO, no less than .£24,170 000 or about 53 per cent., was carried on with the United States, and only 47 percent. within the empire. The reverse of these figures characterises the trade of the rest of the colonies and possessions of the empire who one and all deal with the United Jymgdoin to an extent quite disproportioned to their dealings with forcum nations. Looking at the past, and contrasting the figure of 1575 for in . stance, with those of IS9O, we observe that the trade of Australasia with other countries than the United Kingdom lias largely increased, but this is owing to causes easily to be explained, lho Australasian exports to other countries which were £5,574.000 in dm' in- the 15 years to f 3,524,000 m 1890, while the imports during the same period just about doubled. Are we then in this part o£ the world learning to deal with \ countries outside the empire ? The answer is that to a certain extent the trade formerly done with France and Germany through London is now done direct, and that is all Notwithstanding the peculiar circumstances of British North America and the natural result of its trade with its nearest and most important neighbour there is nothing.in. the whole circumstances of the trade of the world to justify empirical attempts to cause a trade coalition of the various portions of the erap i rei Ta]dncr the exports and imports of British North America, Australasia, and the Cape of (rood Hope, we find that while in 1875 other countries dealt with them to the extent-of-some 30 millions, the United Kingdom and British possessions dealt with the same places to-th-extent of 150 millions; while in 1890 the fig Ures are 42 millions and 204 millions. The advocates of a commercial union and tariff thoughout the whole empire will find little oncourageschcrnc 11 such figures to support their The utterances of certain leading -English statesmen have gone far of late to induce a belief among the advocates of reciprocity, Fairtradc, or Protection, that the. hour of their triumph was drawing nearer. To every imperial federalist there is something allm-ing in t]lc vay Sk CaxnL^ 1 upper put tlio question oi' differential duties in favour of the component parts of the empire. The logic of hard tacts and figures is greatly against such theorists, and in matters commercial these must always have a preponderating influence. . The trade of British dependencies gravitates towards London through natural causes of a hundred kinds - language, kinship, connection, and association; and last, but "°%.L oast ' Profitable consideration. A differential tariff of but 5 per cent, might divert a little more trade to the United Kingdom, but probably very little indeed! Everything that can go Home goes Homevery_ tew colonists, except under the alluring prospect of .greatly increased profits, go past the Kingdom • and such a rate as 5 per cent, would only deflect a very 'minute proportion

Mr J. W. Paulin wrote as follows at 4- p-m on Saturday :-« An atmospheric disturbances approaching these islands from the W and is now about 40 S. lat.. and 170 W., travelling m a northerly course. Strong N.B to N W winds at first, then S.w!; and SB. gales, heavy ram and squally weather in about 70 hours Very stormy N. of 40 S." On the principle of going f rom home to h news, >t will be seen that it is announced in our cablegrams this morning that the Hon. the Prefer ( Mr Ballance) has decided not to pro! ceed w,th h.s proposed measure to demand a cash deposit from foreign insurance companies doing business in New Zealand. The following are the hospital returns for the pas week:_ Remaining from the previous week, 76 ; admitted during the week, 20 • and discharged 12. Emily Faulkner and Patrick Hennessy died in the institution during the Mr B. H. Carew, R.M., preside.! at the Port Chalmers Court on Saturday. A charge of illtreating a horse preferred against Alfred Perry and William Thomson, for whom Mr Platts appeared, was dismissed, the evidence bein X confl,c mg. Henry Sexton applied for the cancellation of an order by which he was called on to pay 2s £r week in 'respect of each of his nine children now m the Industrial School. After hearing evidence h,s Worship remitted the arrears, ami reduced he order to Is per week per child Ann Matheson sued John Matheson for L 5 the value of certain apparel detained. Mr ilatte appeared for plaintiff. It KBwas stated that defendant, who did not ."^ ordered to g.ve up the remainder forthwith, iL^cfr^^^'^^Hwitn ]

The series of nursing lectures given by Dr Closs afc the YWfH . b ™ XJr with the- - <?r ri, , l"°OmS m connection with the St. John Association were brought to a close on Saturday afternoon, the docte giving an extra lecture and recapitulating the more prominent points of the syllabus. At the -^ re -stri:^ ™\ t t wished ictemiii * * exammatioii 'wiiicuakes^-

Once more has truth plagiarised fiction, and Naure shamelessly stolen one of Mr Rob Louis Stevenson's plots. His latest story ihe Wrecker," we are told, cannot be pub hshed fast enough to supply the dem nd, currea 11™ ?Ms h™ -tualiy O c! captain in cold blood in his cabin, and the other murdered the supercargo when he came d t n to sec who had fired the shot. Then the crew were called aft and plied with poisoned hquor. One man only was spa! 1 and he was offered the choice between a'b b e of lOOOdoland immediate death. He chose to jom the pirates, and the schooner engaged a tiayed the others to tho pilot who came on board, and the two brothers were arrestec \\Z conveyed m irons to Manila.

Tbo hey h. A. Lytken is advertised to deliver h.s lecture on his experiences a.s a prison fo 18 months m the Siberian mines, owhoh £ was sentenced by the Russian Courl on \ charge o! being >„ the country as a spy M^ L y te ; u S a Dane by extraction, but antkil «o?czsr^h:s:;s as a doc to r of medicine and surged and as received as a pastor fc'JUj* Cluuc .Ke is Baid to be a ready speaker versatde, humorous, and possessed of the po^ '^ °l hl!i *ahl**b, .-""I the manner in *bid, newspaper* and public muil o) - Allblrjllia

The Hawke's Bay Herald states that three young men, Natives respectively of the Bay of llentjr, East Cape, and Chatham Islands, all three orphans as it happens, and all students of To Aute Native College, have lately been trampmg in company over the country, visiting the Maori villages and preaching a newgospelthe gospel of social reform. They have been on the whole, favourably received, and it appears probable that their efforts to induce whip? 7 t,° I give up habits and c«st °™ which w.fchout doubt are the main factors in the decay of the Native race may bear fruit The most pitiable case of destitution which the rrustees of the Benevolent Institutions c,lled upon to deal with at a recent meeting (says the Wellington Post) was that of a man and his w,fo who recently arrived in Wellington The S"oS° Wf !» ""other part of menfcip 7l *, Mablc b° o^in employ, meat here and the little stock of money which he brought to the place has been spent in necessaries. His wife, to whom he has notlongbeen mamed has had to part with the clotL on her back m order to gain bread, and it was stated a the meeting that the pawnbroker was so struck by her destitution that he gave her LI out of his private purse, that she and her husband aught be kept from starving. The trustees thought the case a moat deserving one and >t was decided not only to furnish tern porary re hef, but also to defray the costof

lheW^pawa correspondent of the Hawke's Bay Herald states that a man named Edward Downes died in the hospital on the 13th iust from injuries received. Deceased, it appears,' went to Hawke's Bay from Otago in search of work, and was on his way to a job he had secured. He was given a lift in a dray, and was mtting on top of a big case when one of the wheels went into a deep rut. Downes was jerked from his seat and fell in front of the wheel, which passed over him.

The Lake County Press states that at the Arrow Court Mr Warden Wood, referring to an apphcatwn for an occupation license said "Mv instructions from Wellington are that residence is to be compulsory. A man will render his hcense liable to cancellation by non-residence." ttTr Densem and his lantern will make their hrst appearance in public in the City Hall on Ihurscay evening. The lantern has been specially nnported, and with the mechanical effects is said to be the most perfect yet seen in hecolon.es. Of Mr Densem and his capabilities as a public entertainer it is unnecessary to say anything in Dunedin, where he is so well and favourably known. He will be assisted by Mr Henry Hawkins, who is not unknown here as an organist and pianist, and the programme, as outlined in our advertismg columns, is evidence that the musical portion of the entertainment will be of a pleasing and varied character. Mr Riedle under whose direction and management Mr Densem appears, has invited a large number of citizens to a private view at the City Hall this evening, and the favourable verdict which is expected will no doubt assist Mr Densem in other parts of the colony where his abilities are not so well known. i

ihe Hobby Exhibition, promoted by the sTh T S SOh°larS °f tie UnioQ School with the object of raising funds for the purchase of chemical apparatus and other educational appliances, will be held on Friday and Saturday next in the school grounds The large list of entries/most of which have been given for sale, displays an interesting Z arausmg assortment of pets and flowers, dolls and confectionery, cakes and drawings, needlework and eggs, and other illustrations of the tliousaud-and-oDe methods iv which the risiug generate spends its leisure time. Apart from the value of the object, the novelty of Such an exhibition ,s bound to. be an attraction, and with the added combination of musical and other entertainments, and a nominal charge for adm.s Sl on, it is hoped that the expectations of the promoters will be fully realised

binding, 12s ; boards, 14s Chre of Tnhrf^ Ump Exchange Court, D^S^fc