OUR LONDON LETTER.

Otago Witness, Issue 2252, 29 April 1897, Page 55

OUR LONDON LETTER.

(Fbou Oub Own Cobbesponbent.) London, February 28. CONVERSION OF LOANS. Notifications have appeared in all the papers that outstanding New Zealand Government securities of various kinds can be converted into 3 per cent, inicribed stock on application ta the Agent-general. This, I find, must not be taken to convey the idea that any extensive process of conversion is going on just now. Bat several holders of various New Zealand stocks— provincial, municipal, harbour, or otherwise — which are now approaching maturity, have approached the Agent-general with 'the object cf getting their investments : placed in a more permanent form instead of , beiDg paid off in a year or two from the present ■ date. For instance, there is a good deal of : 6 per cent, stock which matures within two - years from now. In connection with this tbe ■ Agent-general is making arrangements with the other loan agents for*conversion into New Zealand inscribed Threes on terms of such a character as to bring about the unusual and seemingly paradoxical result of affording a profit to both parties. I need not enter into detail;, which are of a purely technical che_ racter,but'l toaysay that the calculationhasbeen duly worked out with this satisfactory result : The holder of the expiring stock will get new 3 per cents, at a small premium, end in view ! of the short time his investments have to run, ' these will be worth more to him than the old I •took of such short tenure. * j A good deal of conversion of this sporadic ' character will probably be carried out during [ the course oF the Bext year or two, thustending | towards the ultimate extinction of every class j of New Zealand Government security excepting >- the inscribed Threes. [ Mr Reeves has just succeeded in arranging ! with the New Zealand Government solicitors in ' London for the preparation of a new form of stock conversion and transfer which will both ' greatly simplify the process and materially re- I duce the co6t. A document has been carefully drawn up by them with this view and has now been definitely anproved. THE S.S. AOBAKGI. Ti^e s.s. Aorangi will t>uon be ready for sea, and is announced to sail on the 17th prox. NotbiDg more radical than the change she has undergone or more complete than her conversion, could well be imagined. She was literally stripped to the bare shell and her old internal '■ fittmgs of every kind have been swept away, | *nd everything is new internally from keel to ' masthead. The special feature of what I may | •'call the new Aorangi will*be her engines, which ' ire among the finest of their cla;s that have yet . been constructed. She will work at the enormous ateam pressure of 1801b to the square inch, generated in four immense boilers. Her engines are on the triple expansion principle, the diameters of the three cylinders bung respectively 32. 51, and 86 inches ; her piston stroke will be I 54i0 ; and her twin screws aro of manganese bronze. It is estimated that she will with perfect ease and without any strain on her engines maintain an average Fpeed at sea of 16 knots per hour, while if occasion requires it sh« will probably be able to work up to 18 or 19 knots. > Her other salient feature will be her passenger Accommodation, which is of the most commodious aud splendid character. Ihe Newcastle papers was absolutely enthusiastic about her, and describe her- as a ver-table "floating : pßlace." She will accommodate 100 saloon passengers besides 50 in the second saloon. The : ■work is being done on the Tyne. respectively by Messrs Swan and Hunter aud the Wailsend Engineericg Company. She has the great ad- ; ' vantage for a tropical voyaye of being fitted with : ». complete sj stem o? punkahs. Messrs Huddart, Parker, and Co. are annouuciig a trip round the world to be made in the s.s. Aorangi as far as Vancouver. The trip is to cccupy 115 days, and the price ia j to be exactly as many pound?. It seem 3 likely to be well patronised. Of course from Vancouver the journey will be made by the t Canadian Pacific railway, and then by one of ' the crack Atlantic steamers to Liverpool or ,' Southampton. THE MIDLAND RAILWAY. It is instructive as showing the way " the cat jumps " to find most of the financial papers, rejoicing gleefully over the confirmation of Mr , Alexander Young's appointment as receiver to . the Midland Railway Company, coupled with so many bitter jibes at Mr Keltnau for his de- ; fe»t, mingled with rejoicings ever the law costs ; which'it; is supposed he will have to pay. ! In this connection I regret to betr that the disasters of the Midland Company h&ve already j made one victim in the person of its late general manager, Whose health *eems to have broken j dowu completely under the long protracted .. stress of worry and anxiety in relation to the company's affairs. , Mr Thomas Salt brought up the whole j question again yesterday, in bis speech, as j chairman, at the meeting of the Ga«, Water, i and General Investment Trust, and cf which company Mr J. A. Kelman is secretary. Air ' Salt, referring to the company's investment in j the New Zs&land Midland railway, mentioned j that the trust had lent £40,000 to the railway company, the sum being gecured by land valued at about; £90,000. The debenture-holder*' receiver placed a caveat upon sales of laud. If j this had not been done the land* which really [ belonged to tbe trust would have been sold and ! the money paid, last year. The naveat had ! since been removed. There was no doubt ss to j the validity and strength of the security, which covered not only the £40,000 mortgage but aUo the interest in arrear. Unless the sales had been spoilt by the caveat the trust bad ample security, and it was hoped that in a short time ' t_e money, with interest, would be forthcoming. ', They also held £80,000 worth of debentures a* ' collateral security. Thus the debt oughfc-to be | -riped off before the -next balance sheet was j issued. j Referring to tbe position cf the Midland Railway Company generally Mr Salt said : 41 The New Zealand Midland Railway Company i is an undertaking which is exceedingly peculiar. ! Its difficulties have arisen not from commercial troubles, but from political feeling. As an . undertaking it has been and always will be a [ good fair commercial undertaking, subject to tbe circumstances which affect any commercial ! undertaking of tbe character. But politics . have largely entered into the matter, and the way to arrive at a satisfactory conclusion with regard to the saving of your property is to I avoid litigation", to unite all interests, and to j approach the New Zealand Governmentin a fair and friendly spirit. Unfortunately, the trustees ' of tbe debenture-holder?, since they went to tbe ; court, have cater ed upon a career of litigation, j and, as I have said, placed a caveat upon all the ! secured creditors. That has created much expense and delay. Ido not say for a moment they were not right, but I do say that instead I of presenting a strong and united front on behalf of the debenture-holders, with plenty of money _t their back to fight their own battles, many months have been spent in anzious and troublelome litigation." ,

Touching the appointment of Mr Alexander Young as receiver, Mr Salt remarked that the trust bad actively supported Mr Kelman, their secretary, for the position, knowing that he understood the questions, and took a just view of the position ; but Mr Young bad been appointed, and he was an excellent man, the chairman of a large trust company which held some of the Midland Company's debentures, and no doubb he would do the beit in his power for the "company, for if he saved himself he would save this trust at the same time. NEW ZEALAND MORTGAGE COMPANY. This afternoon the seventeenth annual meeting of the New -Zealand Mortgage and Investment Association was held at the company's j offices, Queen Victoria street ; the Hon. Norman Grosvenor in the chair. Only two shareholders were present. The Chairman, in moving the adoption of the report, expressed the satisfaction which the directors felt in stating that the loss on the past year's operations had been little more than nominal as compared with that shown by recent previous balance sheets. He explained that fully one-half of such loss as was made was due to special charges incident to altered financial arrangements of an advantageous character in Dunedin. The compari s on waa therefore all the more favourable. Sensible progress had ' been made in the sale of assets, and there was fair ground for hoping that these might continue at prices which would approach book values if they did not quite bring out the latter. The working expenses both in London • and Danedin had been appreciably diminished. The directors regretted it was not in their power to hold out any hopes-of an early winding up of the association, but they held that their policy of endeavouring to effect; the gradual realisation of the properties remaining on band was the proper one to pursue. The only alternative was a forced sale at a ruinous sacrifice. The current year* results must necessarily depend largely upon the state of the woo) market. The report on clips so far did not indicate a probabi'ity of any deficiency as compared with last season. The balance of £14.497 from the profit and loss account is carried to next account. Mr Grosvenor went on to say that gome shareholders h%d a«ked why they did not sell the properties at once and wind up the affair. That was like asking a man who had no money in his pocket why he didn't go and get lunch. The directors were acting under the advice' of their very competent agents in Dunedin (Messrs Wright, Stephenson, and Co.), and were satisfied that if they forced a sale of their properties at the prtsenL time the result would ! not pay the expenses of the sale. The report and balance sheet Saving bsen adopted, the retiring director (the Hon. Norman Grosveuor) was duly're-elected. i A shareholder then proposed that each of the directors should receive a fee of £50 per annum. AC present Mr F Eraser-Mackintosh was the only director who was paid, and it was only fair that the other directors should be remunerated on a similar scale for their exertions on behalf of the company. The Chairman said that the directors could not entertain any such proposal. He, for one, positively declined to accept any remuneration, and he assured the shareholders that the directors wera doing their best on their behalf, and that if they were paid a million a year they could nob do more. The meeting then closed with the usual votes of thanks. i ANGLO COLONIAL NOTES. Mr Henry Gray,,produce surveyor in London to the New Zealand Government, has tendered his resignation of his appointment, and I understand that the resignation has been accepted. I ha»e rea«ou to balieve that Mr | Gray has something decidedly better in view, j I cannot say I am g'eatiy surprised at the step I he has taken, for it was hardly to be expected that a man of his capacity and large experience would bB content long to perform the very | arduous and reeponsible, and sometimes in- i vidious, duties required of him for the exceed- j ingly small and inadequate salary which the : Govf rnment allowed for such duties. Iv losing Mr Gray the Government and the colony lose the valuable servicei of an exceptionally capable ] man, and I fear that great difficulty will be expe- ! rienced in discovering a s**i factory successor. ! People in the colony are very ill able to judge of tbe difficult and impottant character of the duties which Mr Gray has hid to perform in London. Only those whose duty it is to follow very closely all that goes on iv connection with New Zealand produce, as in ray own' case, can realise the importance and difficult}' of the position which Mr Gray has so ably filled. Captain W. C. Cratnhley, R.N., formerly commander of the s.s. Kaikoura, who resigned the post of secretary to <he Navy League last year, has consanted to resume that position, and is once more exnriing himself with his wellknown vigour. Talking to me a day or two ago he expressed great regret that more active interest was not taken in the matter in New Zealand. That shipment of g&me for the Canterbury Acclimatisation Society which was put on board the s.f. W&ikato h*s got away without any mishap. Fortunately, the chief officer of the W.-ukito, Mr Reginald Mcorhouse (a member of the weK-known Canterbury family of that name), is enthusiastic in all matters rektiDg to game or animals generally, and he has taken the various " beasties " under his own personal wing as a genuine labour of love. Last Saturday aftsrnoon tbe Misses Sievwright, of Duuedin, gave a large and most enjoyable "at home" in their pleasant rooms at Earlscourt. A great number of guests were present, and the arrangements were in every way perfect. Some excellent music was provided — in fact, those who were fortunate enough to be present really had tbe privilege of listening to au exceedingly fine concert. Mies Therese Sievwright was in her best voice, and sang delightfully. Her happiest effort, in my opinion, as on a previous occasion, was her refined and artistic interpretation of fFpsbr'a ever cb arming "Rose soDg from " Azor and Zemira," next to which I should place her delightful singing of a very beautiful ballad by her molt recent instructor, Signor Panzani, who played the accompaniments throughout the afternoon with rare skill and judgment. But perhaps the greatest treat of the whole afternoon was the exquisite performance of Arrigo Boito's lovely due f , " Lontano, lontano," from his well-known opera, " Mtfi^tofele," of which it is the unquestionable gem. In this duet Miss Therese Sievwright was associated with Signor Caprile, oce of the flne3t Italian singers of the tenore rolmsto class. Both artists excelled themselves, the delicate i pianissimo conclusion beiog aininly unsurpass- | able. Sigaor Caprile also contributed several , songs, including the tenor airs frotn Fonchielli's | "Gioconda," and Massenet's " Manor). " Miss ' de Mohl, a young Russian singer, who is the j fortunate posnessor of a eoprauo voice exceptionally pure aDd well-cultivated, sang several songs by her national composers. These were greatly enjoyed, as also were several songs I contributed by Miss Mary Boucicault, a niece of the celebrated dramatist. Miss Boucicaulfc has a very bright and silvery soprano voice and sings with much artistic grace. Mdlle. Henriette Murkens, a highly accomplished Dutch violinist, played several soloa with d! J -''n a aLLjd

! charm, showing great- judgment (such as is not always met with on tho part of violinists) by choosing brief and melodious movements instead of seeking to astonish, but inevitably wearying her listeners, by mere displays of technique. Would that the more sensible and humane practice adopted by Mdlle. Murkens were more common ! ' Several of the latest achievements by Miss Ella Sievwright in the way of portrait painting were on view during the afternoon, and were greatly admired, especially one of the Hon. W. J. M. Larnach, painted by Miss Sievwright from a recent photo of the subject. The striking likeness was recognised by all present who knew the original, and Miss Sievwright may be cordially congratulated on the success she achieved under the difficult conditions of not having her subject as an actual sitter. Last week I waa able to inform you that the new master of the Auckland College had been virtually selected. His name is William John Morrell. He is at present one of the masters of Trent College, Derbyshire. He js M.A. of Oxon , and was classical scholar at Balliol. He took first-class honours in Moderations in every subject aud second in Lit. Hup. 1889, and also passed very high in the University Classical Scholarship examinations. He has had five or six years' experience in teaching, and at Trent College held the high post of sixth form master. For two years he was a lecturer in classics and history for the Army University exams, at Wellington House, Winchester, and he has held various other scholastic appointments. Last Monday evening the various peace societies of the world met to celebrate the birthday of George Washington. Ia London the society met at the studio of Mr Felix Moschelen, the artist. The Agent-general for New Zealand was among those present. Mr Reaves was one of the speakers in support of the arbitration treaty with the United Stateß, and made one of his usual effective speeches — indeed, as he was about to sit down a general j cry was raised for him to continue. Mr Reeves i said : "Thank you, but as I am a lover of | peace, I shall hold mine," and he promptly sat down amid cheers. A few days ago I had a long chat with Mr Harry Armstrong, who was formerly Depufcynuperintendent for the Province of Southland, New Zealand, and who long held various provincial officjs in that part of New Zealand. He has now settled down permanently with his wife and two children in a beautiful old bouse in the pleasant town of Bedford, where so many ex-colonists, Anglo-Indians, and retired army men reside. Mr Armstrong's interest in New Zealand aud its aff_i_3 is quite unabated, and he possesses what I should think mu;t be a unique collection of portraits of New Zealand notabilities and of sketches of less-known scenes in New Zealand, the latter done by himself, with much skill. I think he would perfonally eD joy greatly paying another visit to New Zealand, as he has not seen the colony for more than a quarter of a century, and meeting his old friends once more. But from what he says I gather that there is no great probability of his being, able to make such a trip. Mr and Mrs R. E. N. Twopeny are at present in Paris, where they make a week's stay, returning subsequently to London, and probably proceeding by tbe P. and O. steamer to Melbourne. .They did intend to leave by the s.s. Rome this week, but I understand that their plans have been modified. Mr Twopeny has every reason to, be gratified with the reception he has met with in London, and with the success which has to far attended his effort? iv connection with the business which brought him Home. Mr Robert Wilson, late general manager o£ the New Zealand Midlcnd Railway Company, is at present reading in Bedfordshire. Ha has been suffering for some i; ; me from a serious illne3f, and I was sorry to hear that recently ib was feared that his heultb. has completely broken down under the strain and worry to which he has co long been subjected ia connecLiou with his official duties and re«ponsibilifciea.