NEWS FROM HOME.

Otago Witness, Issue 1325, 21 April 1877, Page 8

NEWS FROM HOME.

(from our own correspondent.) Edinburgh, February 10th. NEW ZEALAND ITEMS.

The assault made by the Times upon the frequency of New Zealand municipal loans floated in London, does not seem to have much lessened the success of the Christchurch Drainage Loan of £100,000. The tenders were opened at the London Office of the Bank cf New Zealand on January 22, when it was found that nearly L 400,000 had been tendered for, at prices ranging from L9B to LlO2 3s 6d. Tenderers above LlOl Is will receive their allotments in full, and those at the figure named will receive nearly nine-tenths of the amount asked for. The result ia satisfactoiy, though not brilliant. The Albion Shipping Company's new ship the Taracaki was launched on the day my last letter was despatched (January 15) from the yard of her builders, Messrs 11. Duncan and Co., Port Glasgow. The Taranaki is a fine vessel of 1120 tons register. She will sail for Port Chalmers next month. Three days later Messrs A. Stephen and Sons, Glasgow, launched an iron ship of 1000 tons, built for the New Zealand Shipping Company. She was christened the Wanganui, and is the third vessel launched within three months for the same owners by Messrs Stephen and Sons. When Sir James Fergusson not long ago nn successfully contested the seat for Frome in the House of Commons, his supporters loudly declared their intention of disputing the election, on the ground of bribery by the opposite party. The threats, however, never came to anything, and the explanation of this is probably to be found in the returns of the election expenses of the two candidates, as published the other day. They show that the expenses of Mr Samuelson, the successful candidate, amounted to L 1037, while those of Sir James Fergnsson reached a total of LIOSB. Under these circumstances the Conservatives would think it Lest to eat the leek without further ado. While speaking of Sir James, I may add that the Peruvian Bondholders' Committee have appointed him one of their two trustees, the appointment being dependent upon its ratification by the Peruvian Congress. I suppose it carries a salary along with it, but Sir James will require to keep his eyes open and his fingers ready, if only a tenth of T/hat is said against Peruvian bonds, &c, be true. The arrangement by which Messrs Shaw, . Savill, and Co.'s line of ships is amalgamated with the Albion Shipping Company has been made public. The Company has taken over a portion of Shaw, Savill, and Co.'s fleet, and "will in future work the whole of the Middle Island service, Shaw, Savill, and Co. continuing the North Island service themselves. The combined fleets of the two lines number 60 ships, of an aggregate tonnage of 61,041 tons register. The capital of the Albion Company has besn increased to L 1,000,000 as a necessity of the new arrangement. No change will take place in the constitution of the Glasgow Board of Directors, and Messrs P. Renderson and Co. will continue to be the loading brokers there. In London the Managing Directors will be Messrs James Galbraith, Waltar Savill, James William Temple, and Edward Pembroke ; and Messrs Shaw, Savill, and Co. will be the loading brokers. The ship Ben Ledi, bound from London to Wellington, was caught in a terrific gale which raged all over the country on the night of the 28th Januaiy. and when the ship was off. Dtuigeness tour of the crew, who were on' toe jibboom, were washed off and drowned. -The ship next day put back to the Downs. Dr Jenner seems to have been courting notoriety by espousing the cause of the now too well known Mr Tooth, of whom I shall say more presently. I must mention that on the Lewisham road, about a mile and a half from Mr Tooth's church, there is another Ritualistic church (St. Stephen's), whose ircumbent is a Mr Bri-tow. On Sunday, January 28th, there was a grand service in the church, in the course of which special sympathy with Mr Tooth was expressed. Tne Times reports that the service commenced with a procession of the choir and clergy, headed by a cross-bearer, and adds : — " The Rev. Mr Bristow and two other priests who assisted him in the celebration all wore richly embroidered vestments, and the Bishop of Dunedin, New Zealand, in bis full Bishop's robes, brought up the rear, immediately preceded by an attendant bearing the crosier and pastoral staff. " It was a happy day for Dunedin when .Episcopalians there rejected this ecclesiastical mummer, who clings to his selfgiven episcopal title with an effrontery worthy of Dr Kenealy. Sir Julius Vogel has been speaking at two recent meetings of societies. The first occasion was the reading of a paper on the " Fallacies of Federation," by Mr Forster, Agent-General for New South Wales, at a meeting of the Royal Colonial Institute on January 23rd. Sir Julius declared himself to be a strong supporter of the principle of Federation, and said that it seemed to him that it wa3 really a necessity to settle the question, for there must soon be either Imperial federation or disintegration of the Empire. One or th<* other would soon have to come. He believed that they might argue upon very large grounds and great principles the question of the federation of the whole Empire ; but the question of federating groups of Colonies depended upon the conditions which from time to time prevailed, and which make such local unions possible. The second public appearance made by Sir Julius Vogel was on January 30th, at a meeting of the Statistical Societ j, when Mr A. Hamilton read a paper on " The Recent Economic Progress of New Zealand." Sir James Fergnsson took part in the discussion which followed the reading of the paper, and S'r Julius did the same. The latter, referring to a statement in Mr Hamilton's paper to the effect that the value of an immigrant in the community has been estimated in the United States at L 16 6133 4d, said it bad been estimated by a German authority that immigrants — such as were encouraged to go to New Zealand— were worth L2OO each to the Colony. He himself thought they were worth more than even that, but he doubted the possibility of arriving at anything like a satisfactory estimate. Dr Farr referred to an estimate made in 1853 from " actual observations," and published in the Journal of the Society, which set down the value of an agricultural labourer, aged 25, at L 246. The concluding portion of Mr Hamilton's paper referred to New Zealand loans, and as it will probably interest a good many of your readers, I quote the passage. It is as follows : — "In the foregoing remarks I have not concealed my opinion that the resources of the Colony have been too freely anticipated during the past five years, and I am aware that this opinion has prevailed in financial circles. It cannot, indeed, be denied that a feeling of uneasiness began to prevail, with the usual want of discrimination, following npon the difficulties of Turkish, Egyptian, Peruvian, and other foreign debtors. Bat from what has been set forth, it will be

seen that it has not been the resources of New Zealand which have been exceeded, but the disposition of investors at home to absorb the loans. The public not being aware how ample is the security afforded by the Colony, loan after loan has been brought out, and the i market has besn over-supplied with New Zealand bonds. Before the capitalist^ who took up one loan had been able to place it with the investing public, another loan has followed, at a lower price, and prejudiced the previous operation. But all this has no bearing upon the ultimate soundness of the security, though I trust it may prove a timely warning to the Government of New Zealand that they must moderate their expenditure, even upon works of the greatest ultimate advantage to the Colony, and not suffer their zeal for developing its resources to outrun their power of borrowing on fair terms in the London money The new edition of that favourite book, "Old New Zealand," received a highly laudatory notice, a column and a half long, in the Times of January 25th. The reviewer, near the outset, administered a well-timed rebuke to the flippant Lord Pembroke for some foolish remarks made by him in his introduction to the present edition. The reviewer says:— "We wholly disagree with Lord Pembroke's sweeping and unsupported assertion that 'the bubble of Maori civilisation has burst.' Even among those to whom this volume is specially recommended — those, namely, who 'care more for amusement than instruction' — there will doubtless be found many who will decline the illogical leap by which Lord Pembroke attempts to bound from the failure of injudicious missionaries to the collapse of all attempts to improve and humanise the native tribes." The Belfast News-Letter, which has a special antipathy to New Zealand, has fallen foul of the Colony again, in connection with two letters from Mr Vesey Stewart, published in its columns. The News-Letter rates Mr Vesey Stewart for having " impoverished Ulster " by taking away people who were " as much wanted and more welcome in Ulster than they could be anywhere else." The article proceeds to advise those farmers who may be thinking of going out to the Vesey Stewart settlement to ask themselves if they would not be better at home with their capital, among friends in a civilised country, than away at the wall of the world's end (sic), with hordes of savages on their borders." The News-Letter proceeds to state, "on reliable authority, that the_ country generally is not in a prosperous condition ; " in support of which it quotes from the Timaru Herald a proposed reduction of shearers' wages, and from the Napier Daily Telegraph, a complaint by a correspondent, who says he is " one of the many who will leave on the first chance he can get." The News-Letter concludes by saying : " There are thousands in the Colony of the same notion, and we would advise those who do even reasonably well at home to stay at home." The writer of such remarks as these evidently stands in need of a little travel to enlarge his ideas. The gentleman who acted a3 special correspondent at the Philadelphia Exhibition of the weekly London paper called The Colanies, in a recent communication gives the following account of n conversation which he heard at Philadelphia, the parties to it being an American and a New Zealand colonist, and the subject the treatment of New Zealand by the mother country during the Maori war :-- "l You were promised by England to be seen through the war?' ' Yes.' ' None of your men were' drilled, armed, or prepared to fight? 1 ' Very few.' * And yet England suddenly told you, you are no use to us, and we have got sick of this protracted war ; leave the country if you can't keep it yourselves.' 'Yes.' 'And then you armed and secured your homes and properties without aid, and had not the pluck to declare your independence V ' No,' said the New Zealand gentleman; 'we knew we could do so without opposition from England then, but we knew that the action of her Government in our distress was one which the feeling of the English people had never been taken on; we blamed the Ministry, cot the people ; and besides, he added naively, had we declared our independence then, the Australians are so intensely loyal that our intercourse with them would in case of such an event almost have ceased.'" Dr Hochstetter's work on New Zealand is of course well known to your readers ; but some of them may not be aware that it forms only a part of a very much larger work, embracing the whole of the scientific results of the Novara's voyage. This great work was only completed last month, after 17 years' labour, and at a cost of nearly L 13.000. It consists of 18 vols. 4to. f and 3 vols. Bvo., aud the series is sold at 391 florins, or nearly L4O. The Emperor of Austria has ordered a number of copies to be given away to public institutions and libraries in his own empire, as well as in foreign countries, and Nature is my authority for stating that " as the Novara has met with a particularly kind reception in the British Colonies, the libraries of these have been considered first in the list of recipients of this great national work, which is a monument of scientific investigation." The Council of the Otago University should bestir themselves to obtain a copy of this valuable work for the library of | that institution. ; The Rev. Professor Salmond will by this time have ceased to be regarded as a recent arrival in Dunedin, nevertheless it was only on December 27th that the congregation to which he formerly ministered in North Shields elected a gentleman to succeed him. On the date mentioned a unanimous call was given to the Rev. James Aitken, M.A., Castle-Douglas, to be Mr Sahnond's successor. Otagonians are naturally scarce in Edinburgh during the winter months, for after a residence in, say, Dunedin, its parent city in winter is a very Siberia. Still, two or three weeks ago I saw here Mr Allan Macleod, of the Dunedin soapworks, who purposes soon returning to Otago. During hi i eight months' vi3it to Europe Mr Macleod has taken a run to Germany, as well as traversing the United Kingdom in the restless manner which seems to be a regular characteristic of the returned Otagonian. The returns of the emigration from the Clyde during 1876 show that the number of emigrants to New Zealand was 2130. As compared with 1875 thi3 total shows a decrease of 1170, or at the rate of 54 per cant. During the year just closed 1140 peisons emigrated to Queensland, 350 to Victoria, and 50 to New South Wales. COLONIAL ITEMS. The last number of the Textile Manufacturer, a monthly trade organ, contains a very favourable notice of the Mosgiel Woollen Factory. Speaking of the order given the Company for the manufacture of blue cloth for uniforms for the Otago Constabulary, the journal named says that " this method of patronising new industries on the part of the authorities cannot be too highly commended." It also recommends that tin teazles required by the factory should be raised in Otago instead of being imported, Victoria having set an example to New Zealand in this respect. The Australian and New Zealand Underwriters' Association is among the signatories of a declaration and protest on the subject of general average just Issued by the Committee

of Lloyd's and of the Salvage Association, and by the insurance companies, etc. The document is directed against what is known as the Liverpool average bond, which binds consignees, and through them the underwriters, io abide by the decision of an average adjuster appointed by the shipowner. The objection is that "by signing bonds of such a character, and thus abandoning their legal rights against the shipowner, consignees substitute for the firm basis of the law the evershifting ground of individual opinion, and many therefore find that they have incurred liability to the shipowner for more than they can recover from their underwriters." The signataries, who number over 200, hope that in future the form of bond issued by the Committee of Lloyd's will be used. Its pregnant clause binds tha consignees to pay " to the said master or the owners of the said ship the proper and respective proportion of any general average, or particular, or other charges which may be chargeable upon their respective consignments, or to which the shippers or owners of such consignments may be liable in respect thereof, to contribute to such damage, loss, sacrifice, or expenditure ; and the said parties hereto of the second part further promise and agree forthwith to furnish to the captain or owner of the said ship a correct account and particular of the value of the goods delivered to them respectively, in order that any such general average and other charges may be ascertained and adjusted in the usual manner." A case of much importance to masters of vessels trading between the United Kingdom and the Colonies was heard at Liverpool on January Ist. A Board of Trade enquiry was being held into the loss of the barque Medusa, which was abandoned while on a voyage from Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, to London, the consignees being Sir James Malcolm and Co., of Liverpool. In the course of the enquiry, it came out that neither the master nor mates had certificates, and in vindication, it was alleged that certificates were not required by officers of Colonial vessels. The Stipendary Magistrate said certificates were necesjaiy to bring a vessel from the Colonies to this country, and Mr Tyndall, the Board of Trade Solicitor, said that the agents were liable to a penally for sending the vessel to sea under the charge of officers without certificates, and the officers themselves were also liable to a penalty for taking her to sea. Next day, however, Mr Tyndall and the Magistrate were compelled to eat their words, and apologise for them, as they found, on consulting the Act of Parliament, that in the case of vessels sailing to or from British possessions and the mother country, it was not necessary for the masters to hold certificates. If this be so — and the Magistrate admitted its truth after the section of the Act was read aloud in Court — then the cancelling of the certificate of Capt. Boyd, of the Hurunui, was after all a harmless punishment to him. Such a law stands in urg«at need of amendment, for it is absurd that the master of a vessel trading between ' England and France should require a certificate, while the captain of another vessel, trading, it may be, to New Zealand, requires none. Much gloomy speculation has been indulged in regarding the ship Great Queensland, which sailed from London for Melbourne on August 6th, and was spoken in 48 N., 9 W., on August 12th, since which date she has not been heard of. One of her lire-buoys, bearing her name, was picked up at Fowey, Cornwall, towards the end of December, and another higher up Channel last week. It is therefore feared that she, her crew of 37 officers and men, and her 35 passengers, have all been lost. Unusual prominence has been given to the case by the Times, which seems to be of opinion that the ship has been blown up. The Great Queensland had on board a large quantity of combustibles, 200 tons of iron, and 32 tcno of besides two tons of patent gunpowder. The owners state, however, that the powder was stowed under the captain's own superintendence in a room carefully prepared for its reception. The Times very strongly warns passengers to the Australasian Colonies against sailing in vessels which, like the Great Queensland, do not carry enough passengers to bring them under the restrictions of the Passenger Act as to the carriage of dangerous cargo. Captain Edward Bond, a masler in the merchant service, has started an interesting discussion in the same journal, suggesting that the missing ship may have been wrecked upon a rock thrown up in the ocean by volcanic influence. He cites an accident of the kind which happened in 1869 to a ship commanded by himself, as well as other facts in support of his theory. In these days of collisions, cargo pillaging by sailors with naked lights, &c, &c., it scarcely seems necessary to imagine so unusual a cause for a ship's disappearance. The Great Queensland was built as a steamer, and was launched in 1852 under the name of the Indiana. She subsequently passed into French hands, and was christened the Ferdinand de Lesseps. In 1872, she was converted into a sailing vessel, and in 1873 she was purchased by her last owners, Messrs Taylor, Bethel, and Robertson, who, not liking her ultraFrench name, altered it to that of Great Queensland. Since 1873, the ship had made three_ round voyages to Australia, on each occasion carrying emigrants on the outward trip. Her registered tonnage wa3 1698, and ou her last voyage she was insured for L 16,000, which was a fifth less than the amount for which she was insured on each of her three preceding voyages.

OPENING OF PARLIAMENT.

This event took place on February Sth, the Queen performing the ceremony In person. The day was beautiful, and the crowds that lined the route from Buckingham Palace to the Houses of Parliament were consequently immense. To the disappointment of many, the Queen (like a wise woman) did not entrust herself to that extraordinary fabric, the state coach, which was built in 1761, but rode, in one of the semi-state carriages, drawn by eight cream-coloured horses. She was dressed in black, with an ermine cloak and a coronet of diamonds. _ The procession and the subsequent ceremony in the House of Lords were of the usual character, but a new feature was added this year in the presence of Lord Beaconsfield, who walked on the Queen's left, bearing aloft the jewelled scabbard of the Sword of State. He also stood on the Queen's left while the Speech was beinsr read, the Prince of Wales being on her Majesty's right. Lord Beaconsfield was quite as much an object of attention as the Queen herself, but his face never lost its settled expression of impenetrability. The Lord Chancellor read the Queen's Speech, of which colourless document you will have learned by telegraph as much as (or more than) you care to know. This done the Queen rose, kissed the Princess of Wales, gave her hand to the Prince of Wales, and passed out, followed by their Royal Highnesses. From first to Last Her Majesty never uttered a single word, a circumstance which must have duly impressed the Chinese Ambassadors, who, from the back seats of the Ambassadors' Benches, watched the proceedings with lively and unrestrained interest. In the House of Lords the address in reply was moved by Lord Grey de Wilton in a rather sarcastic speech, and seconded by the Earl of Haddington. The debate was only marked by a little

skirmish between the Duke of Argyll and Lord Bsaconsiield, and the address in reply was then agreed to. In the House of Commons, the address in reply was moved by Lord Galway and seconded by Mr Torr, and the principal feature in the debate which ensued was a somewhat feverish speech by Mr Gladstone, who advised the Government to dissolve Parliament. To this Mr Gathorae Hardy, amid the laughter and applause of the House, replied that the Government were perfectly satisfied with the present Parliament. The address was then agreed to. Of course it is too early to say much about the session, but it requires no gift of prophecy to say that the Eastern question will overshadow all others, and on this some warm debates may be expected. HOW TURKISH FANATICISM IS FOSTERED. The Berlin correspondent of the Times lately published in that journal the translation of a long extract from the Itihad, a Constantinople paper, which is instructive as showing how Moslem frenzy is fanned under the very nose of the professedly peace-desiring Porte. The article is an address of welcome to the soldiers returning home from the seat of war, who are apostrophised as " gallant warriors ; fighting brothers." The following are a few sentences from the article, whose thirst for blood it would be difficult to match, even in the columns of the Irish " National " Press : — " We greet you, oh lions ! You have trodden in the footsteps of your heroic ancestors, and imitated their splendid achievements. On Doomsday every drop of blood that has> flowed from your wounds will be converted into glittering pearls, and you will appear adorned with diamonds and crowned with flowers. Even our Holy Prophet envied those warriors of his who were wounded or slain on the battle-field, and fervently entreated Allah to accord him the like favour. .... Oh, brothers ! we are warriors, the sons of warriors ! God has mado us such, and we shall remain what we have ever been. Girt with the swcrd, and bearing the rifle on our shoulder, we shall always be ready to spring forward at the summons of the Padishah, willing to sacrifice one life or a thousand lives. To us applies the verse : — ' Let the chained lion break loose from his fetteis, and let the enemy try their worst on him. The coward is disgraced, but the hero bathes his rusty sword in blood. He who loves Allah draws his sabre.' At the cry, 'To war ! to war !' we forget everything except our country. From the seventh to the seventieth year, pll, all rush to the frontier and fight like wild animals. Bather than yield an inch of our country to the enemy, we will cover the ground with our corpses! There is not a square foot of ground in this land but is soaked with the blooJ of our ancestors. Woe to the insolent enemy who dares plant his foot on the inheritance of our fathers." No wonder the ignorant Mahomedans of Turkey, Arabia, or Egypt fight like demons when incited by language such as this, which they implicitly credit, and which appears continually* in the Constantinople papers. "martyr tooth." This is the appellation already conferred upon the foolish Ritualistic vicar of St. James's, Hatcham, who is now in Horsemonger Lane Gaol, London. A difficulty arose in serving upon him the writ for bis arrest, it being uncertain whether Hatcham vicarage is in Surrey or Kent. Mr Tooth preferring Maidstone Gaol io that in Horsemonger Lave, went into Kent I to settle the matter, but unfortunately selected as his place o£ residence, Tunbridge Wells, half of which ia in Sussex. At length, after about a week's delay, learning that the writ was made out for Surrey, Mr Tooth went to a friend's house near Horsemonger Lane GaoL He was then quietly arrested and lodged in the prison named. He requested to be accorded the accommodation of a ' first-class J misdemeanant, such as was granted to cx 1 Colonel Baker in the same gaol, but was informed that as he was not a criminal, his request could not be acceded to. He is accordingly confined in the part of the gaol allotted to prisoners committed for contempt of court, where the accommodation is* much inferior, but the Governor relaxes the rules iahis favour as far as possible. As for the church, it has remained closed these last few Sundays.the churehwardensrefusiugtoyieldupthekeystothe clergyman appointed by the bishop to be curate in charge. In the first instance, however, the church was closed by the bishop and garrisoned by police, so the churchwardens are only retaliating. Crowds continue to gather near the church every Sunday morning, but no fresh disturbance has taken place. A good many of Mr Tooth's congregation have migrated for the time being to the notorious Ritualistic church of St. Paul's, Lorrimore Square, Kennington. Both there and in other Ritualistic churches in London prayers are now offered up during ser vice on Sundays on behalf of Mr Tooth, " in prison for conscience sake." It is difficult to say how the affair- will end, for the law in respect of such matters appears to be even more than ordinarilly involved, but the importance of the case is such that it should be carefully followed. It seems likely to have an important influence in hastening that disestablishment of the Church of England which is now one of the most pressing necessities of the day in that portion of the Kingdom. As for Mr Tooth himself, he seems to be, like ma-ay of his confreres, a very estimable man personally, but sadly misguided, and possessing the most exaggerated views of. the sanctity of his "priestly" oflice, as he calls it. He is a brother of Mr Tooth, the well-known preserved meaL exporter of Sydney, and it is rumoured that the imprisoned vicar when released will follow his brother's example audncmigr-vte to one of the Colonies. I wish you joy of him. OBITUARY RECORD. Mr Alfred Smee, F.R.S., the electrician, died m London towards the end of last month aged 58. For many years he held the post of consulting surgeon to the Bank of England and is said to have invented the present system of printing the notes issued by that establishment. He was the author of several g tandard works bearing upon electricity. Another electrician of eminence died about the same time, viz., Mr A. Bain, the inventor ot the electro-chemical pruning telegraph the electro-magnetic clock, and of perforated paper for automatic transmission of messages Mr Bain died at the new Home for Incurables at Broomhill KukmtiUoch, aged 66. For some time he had been in receipt of a small Government pension. The Dowager Countess Howe committed suicide on January 29 by throwing herself out of a window of her house in London. She must have fallen between 25 and 30 feet, and her injuries were such as to indicate that death had been immediate. The Coroner's jury found that she committed suicide while in a state of temporary insanity. The deceased was 52 years old, and had been suffering from depression of spirits for a year past. The Manchester papers lately recorded the death, m his 86th year, of Mr William Shore, the composer of the music to "Willie brewed a peck o' maut." Forty years ago he was one of the most popular local musicians in Manchester. Mr Jamea Merry, the well-known ironmaster and sporting character, died in London on February 3, aged 72. He was born at Glasgow, and went into the colliery business from the

first, his father being a 7 coal-master. '~ He started the first ironworks near Airdrie, and at the time of his death he and his partner, Mr '• Cunninghame, had in operation 17 blast furnaces — a number exceeded by no other firm- in Scotland save the Bairds of Gartsherrie. From 1859 to 1874 h8 represented the Falkirk burghs in Parliament. He was also Lieutenant-De-pute for the county' of Inverness, in which his estate of Belladrum is situate. His widow and two sons — the elder of whom holds a commission in. the Life Guards — survive him. Con- - gestion of the lungs was the cause of Mr Mer- ' ry's death. THE DIVIDEND BAROMETER. The dividends declared by the leading banks and discount companies in London are fair indicators of the state of trade generally, and ,it may. therefore be of interest to note a few of them, which have either juat been, or are about to be, declared. The London and Westminster Bank's dividend for the half-year is 7 per cent., '. making 14 per cent, for the year, as compared with 12 per cent, in 1875, when the Bank sustained a loss of half a million by the fraudulent failure of Alexander Collie. The "rest" of ' this great bank now stands at L 770.465. .The Union Bank of London will pay only a 12J>per ' cent, dividend, as conroared with 15 per cent, at the end of 1875. The Alliance Bank's dividend is 6 per cent., or 1 per cent, less than last year, and its reserve now stands at L 200,000. The National Discount Company's dividend. is, 10 per cent., the same as last year. The divi- ' dend of -the London Joint Stock Bank for the ■ half-year is 8£ per cent., being a decline of 1£ per cent., as compared with that declared on the same date last year. In this connection it may be appropriate, to mention that Mr Richard Seyd, Fellow of the Statistical Society, has issued a statement showing the number of mercantile failures in the United Kingdom during 1876 to have been 2065, made up as follows :— ln London, 557 ; Liverpool, 87 ; Manchester, 128 ; rest ot Lancashire, 90 ; Yorkshire, 287 ; Birmingham and Midland Iron District, 182 ; Newcastle and district, 86 ; Bristol, Newport, Cardiff, and Swansea, 90 ; rest of England, 379 ; Scotland, 133 ; Ireland, 37. In 1875 the failures aggro- . gated 1720 ; and in the twelve years, 1865 1876 inclusive, the average annual total of failures was 1688. With the exception of 1865, when they numbered 2315, the failures of. last year - were more numerous than those of any other of the twelve years in question. FRESH MEAT FROM AMERICA. I briefly noted in my last letter the fact that fresh meat imported from America was beginning'to exercise an important influence on the butcher's trade in Glasgow, an<L<me .or ,swo other leadingtowns. Thetradeappearstobeorily just commencing, and to have a large future before it. The imports of American meat at r Liverpool alone amount to about 600 tons, and as the various steamship companies, are taking . the business by' the : hand' by providing; the] ' special store chambers required for the carriage" •- of the meat, the imports seem likely to grow with rapidity. One steamer alonehaa a meat : chamber with a capacity of nearly 30,000 cubic ■ feet. The meat— which as yet is beef only— is • - sewn up in canvas bags to keep it clean; and • when placed in the chamber is preserved fresh and sound at a temperature a little , above ' freezing point, by means of currents of air cooled by contact with ice. A cheaper mode ' of attaining the sarnie result by means of cheirii- ' cals is said to be gaining favour among im- ' porters, and may before long displace the ice process. The meat is uncooked, and hence re- " tains its full flavour, unlikei the ov.ercooked tinned meats from Australia and New Zealand, which the American article seems likely to run , out of the British market. It is sold at, 2d - to 3d per lb. below the price of British meat, so that it is certain, if its ptesent .excellence ia maintained, to make its way in this' country. ' . The greater part of that imported at Liverpool' ' is sent to London, where it is used by the West ' v End Clubs and big hotels. The remainder • ' goes to Birmingham, the Liverpool and Manchester butchers having- for .the: present sue-, ceeded in almost altogether keeping it out of/ the shop 3in those towns. It is stated that the • Queen has written an autograph letter to the pioneer of . the trade, expressing her great satisfaction with a sample joint that was sent to her, and that the Prmce of Wales', the Lord Mayor of London; the Governor of the Bank ' of England, and other influential persons, have' followed^ her Majesty's example. ' How much ' of this is true, and how much mere Yankee' ' puffery, deponent sayeth hot ; but the fact ire- -> mains that beef from America can' be got for,: 7d to 8d per lb., as good as any of home, rearing, sold at lOd and Is per lb. I notice, too, that large quantities of corned meat from Chicago are being sold in the shops here, Ip ia , packed in tins of peculiar shapes, and "very .various sizes, and can be taken out en bloc, and sliced. As it keeps a considerable time; and 13 a little cheaper than corned beef locally raised, it is finding a ready sale, especially among the middle classes ANGLO-TURKISH OFFICERS. Every now and then the Times prints letters signed " Hobart Pasha," containing defences of - the conduct of the Turkish Government. Some of your readers, who only know the bare fact of the writer of these letters being an Englishman, may like to know a little more abont him. ;The ' Hon. Augustus Charles Hobart is the English name and designation of this officer. He is the third son (and one of 12 children) of the Earl' of -Buckinghamshire, who is a church of Eng. land clergyman as well as a peer. Hobart Pasha was born in 1823, and entered the Royal Navy in 1836.,. He distinguished himself in endeavours to suppress the Brazilian <■ slave trade, and subsequently was , moire than once mentioned in despatches during the Crimean war, where he first became known to the Turkish Government. During the American war he commanded a blockade runner, in which capacity he acted with his usual daring and with great success. In 1868 he accepted a high command in the Turkish Navy, and in the following year he was appropriately deputed to put a stop to ■ the system of blockade-running to Crete, which the Greeks had succeeded in establishing. He put an end to it, and was rewarded by being advanced to the rank of Admiral with the title of Pasha. He is now in chief command of the fleet of his adopted country, though in receipt of half -pay as a post-captain upon the retired list of the British navy. , Another ex-officer of a British service whose name is frequently met with at the present juncture, is Mr (once Colonel) Valentine Baker. Though a low scoundrel, Baker is an able cavalry officer, and he is reported to have been engaged in reorganising this branch of the Turkish army, as well as in devising a plan of campaign in the event of Russia declaring war. It is said that about 150 British officers have applied to him to get them commissions in the Turkish army, and that in a number of cases the request has been complied with. But while admitting Baker's capacity, and the splendid fighting qualities of the Turkish regular troops, there are other forces at work which will quite neutralise those mentioned. If an Englishman were Commander-in-Chief, and Turkey solvent, the aspect of affairs would be different. A3 it is, if Turkey faces Russia single-handed, there is nothing left for her but to die hard, and an English officer or two will not avert her fate. . , v