OUR LONDON LETTER. (From Our Own Correspondent.) London, Match 26

Otago Witness, Issue 2255, 20 May 1897, Page 55

OUR LONDON LETTER. (From Our Own Correspondent.) London, Match 26

xnere vriu ds onß gooo cancuuase, as any rate, for the vacant posb of London produce inspector to the New Zealand Government, vacated by Mr Henry Gray's resignation. Mr H. C. Cameron, of the Colonial Produce Stores, Manchester, who has done so much to develop the New Zealand produce trade, and who has made so many valuable suggestions in its interest-, was in town yesterday, and he told me that he had determined to apply for the post, as he thought he could fill it with advantage to the colony. Mr Cameron pointed out that the salary was bo small that it would be almost impossible to get v a satisfactory man to hold the position for any length of time unless he could carry on the work in connection with other private business. _ • The Agents-General for the various colonies have made a strong representation to (she Imperial Government as to the propriety of site ring the proposed route of the Queen's Sixty Years' procession so as to include Victoria street, where nearly all the Agencies-general are situated, so that the colonies may have -some chance of being represented among the spectators of 'the great historical pageant. At the time I write the probabilities seem to be rather against the granting of this request, and the Agents-general are, therefore, considering the advisableness 'of some alternative course. I learn that on the occasion of the 'Queen's Jubilee procession in 1887 the Government of that day granted to the Agentgeneral, Sir Francis Dillon Bell, the sum of £500, specially for the purpose of making such provision as might be necessary for New Zealand colonists then in' London, so that they might viaw the spectacle. As the present occasion is a still more notable one, and as the colonies have come enormously more to the front and have won a far higher place in public recognition during the 10 years that have elapsed since that d&te, it certainly does seem desirable that at least as much as was done then should ba done now. But there is no time to ,apare if anything effective is to be accomplished. It is within my knowledge that only yesterday a rather small window in Fleet street was offered to one Agent-general for £250. That wculd represent about £5 per head for the number of people who could be accommodated there. But 1 cannot help thinking that there will be a great deal of indignation among the New Zealanders who will be in London nexb June if they Gad that the Government has totally ignored their interests in regard to this unprecedented historical occasion. They will be quite unable to obtain places for themselves, and I suspect .that they will be bitterly resentful if they find that the Government has let the opportunity pass by of arranging that they may have some sort of view. The directora of the Australian and New Zealand Mortgage Company have issued their report for the year ended 31 *t December. • The report shows a balance of £13,055 to "debit of profit and loss. To meet this deflciency £11,000 had been transferred from the reserve fund, and there was a balanc's of £2370 brought forward from' the previous report. This left £314- to be carried forward. The anticipated t ales of cattle had not yet -realised enough to replace the amount which was taken credit for last y"ear, and this deficiency had been written off the current interest received. Difficalfcy was still experienced iv finding satisfactory investments, and the rate of interest procurable on renewals and loans had etill furtherdfclinad. Some of the properties on hand which sbqod in the balanca sheet at £363,54-3 Tiad nob earned enough during the past year in some cases to pay expenses. This was partly attributable to tb.3 severe Australian drought, and to quarantine measures necessitated by the tick plague in Australia. Hence it had not been possible in ; such cases to take credit for interest. The I directors remark that the current year has I opened with better prices and a better demand for stock. They hope, therefore, that in the future a large proportion of the less profitable properties would be self-supporting and even show a fair rate of interest. J New Zealand is being tremendously boomed in the leading daily of Scotland, thanks to the enthusiasm of its editor, Mr Cooper. In last Monday's Scotsman he devoted three folid column! to a most admirable account of the University of New Zealand. Strictly speaking, only the brief introduction is by Mr Cooper, the actual account being very ably compiled by Mr W. M. Maskell, the registrar of the university, who is described by Mr Cooper as " a genial m»n with the elasticity of youth and the wise experience of middle age." Mr Cooper adds : "No one could' be dull in bis company. No one who desires to know what- the breadth of human nature is ought 'to be here 'without making his acquaintance." Further, Mr Cooper remarks : " Scotsmen were the first to insist that -there must be higher education in the colony. They were told that it was absurd to begin^universifcy fceaobiug in so young a country. They thought it was never too soon to begia a good work, and they began in Dunedin with a college that was to be the University of the Province of Otago. They asked for three professors from Home, and they found three in Edinburgh — Professor MacGregor, Professor Shand, and Professor Sale." Another column of the" Scotsman is devoted by Mr Cooper to an enthusiastic desiertation on the glories of the New Zealand scenery. He says : "In the short time I have been in the colony I have seen • more beautiful and more impressive scenery than I have ever seen before in my life. 'It is » daily -regret "with me that time does not allow me to see more than I have seen or am likely to see. It is not exaggeration to say that the holiday-maker might profitably occupy three months in New Zealand' among its scenery, and I am sure that if he did spend that time every day would bring him a new pleasure." Mr Cooper adds in reference to Dunedin that he " enjoyed the best of good company in the new Edinburgh." - I can see already that Mr Cooper's letters are doing New Zealand great good in Scotland, where they are being read with the ] keenest interest, as I learn from friends in ! that part; of the kingdom. Bishop Jenner — the first Bishop of Dunedin, New Zealand — hat just brought out another contribution to modern hymnody. This latest work comists of a " Hymn for the commemoration of Qaeen Victoria's Sixty Years' Reign," of which he has both written the poetry and composed the music It promises to attain wide popularity, as the words have a true ring, and the music is »t once melodious, simple, aad dignified. A paragrtph fs devoted by the FinancialTimes to the reported purchase by Mr R. Fenwick of " the Auckland business of Messrs T. and S. Morrin and Co., who were extensively engaged in the hardware and allied trades," the vendors being the Bank of New Zealand. It will, I am sure, be learned with sorrow by a grent many people in New Zealand that Sir William Jervois has been for some time past in very feeble health, and, it is feared, is failing

rapidly. He lives at his pretty home near Virginia Water, and is seldom well enough to come to London. lam afraid, indeed, that his physical strength is less even than that of the olhar distinguithed ex-Governor, Sir George Grey. 'Neither will ever again ba seen in New Zealaud. Dr F. W. Feanef&ther, who was Sir William Jervois's very popular private secre" tary in New Zealand, has been devoting himself a great deal during the past winter to his old chief, between whom and himself there has always existed a very strong mutual regard.

In a recent letter I mentioned that Mr William Gisborne was eDgaged on a new edition of one of his New Zealand books. In a letter Phave just received from Mr Gisborne he sayi, in reference to this subject : " I have been engaged in writing a revised and extended edition, up to date, of my former book, published iv 1886, ' New Zealand Rulers and Statesmen.' My idea is ta revise and extend the old book, which has long been out of print, up to this date, including the new men (with portraits of some of them) and new measures. The whole book, on the same lines ag the old book, would be from the foundation of the colony of New Zealand up to March, 1897. It will thus, I trust, b9 an interesting record of the political history of New Zealand interwoven with brief sketches of the chief political actors in that history, including many of. ' their portraits." Mr H B. Vogel is extending his literary 'occupations in London. For some time he has been editing a cycling magazine, and he is now editing a penny literary review, which wat formerly called •• Books," but has now taken the name "The Librarian," with a sub-title of " Current Literature." It is a well-conducted and smartly-written publication. , I understand that Mr Vogel has virtually abandoned all idea of returning to settle in New Zealand.

Miis Therese Sievwright, at the r,' quest of Mrs Charles Bright, of Melbourne, is getting , up a. " swell " concert for nesb Tuesday, in aid j of a benevolent f and. Miss Sievwright henelf ; will be one of the principal singers, and the ! concert promises to be a brilliant success. April 2. Miss Therese Sievwright wss one of the vocal stars at * very enjoyable and successful concert given last Tuesday afternoon at the Queen's Gate Hall, South Kensington, in aid of the j banevolent funds of St. Clement's parUb, Not- j ting Hill. The concert' was under the patronage | of the Countess of Wiuchilsea, Viscouute33 Canterbury, aud a numbar of other leading society people. It was largely organised by Mrs Charles BrigW; and by Mrs Widenhara Maunsell (formerly of Danedin, New Zealand), the latter being a very energetic and efficient J secretary, and her two daughters giving valuable > assistance in various details. Mi« Sievwright, } who was in good voice, sang splendidly,' and was associated with a number of prominent London artists. ( Bishop and Mrs Cowie are at present touring s on the Continent, and apparently mean to wait i until the spring is more advanced before crossing to EDgland. i It was felt to bo unfortunate that th.B Agent- J general for New Zealand could not be present j at the ColoDial Institute banquet on -Wednesday evening, the oocasion being one of moro than ordinary historic interest. Mr Joshua Jones, of Mokau, ha 3 just informed me that the libel case in which he is defendant will not come oa during next week's sittings of the Central Criminal Court, but will be postponed till the following aitfeing in order to allow time for the case for fche defendant to bs properly got up. He informs mo that he has . secured the irerTices o£ Messrs Speechly and j Co., of New Inn, "one of the best firms in j London," he says, aa his solicitors. And he \ asserts that they "have no doubt of th« I result." ' At an ioqueat helu yesterday respecting the death of Mr John Lonsclale Smith, an artist. aged 73, it was stated that when the deceased I was found dead he had evidently just been S perusing a letter from » nephew in Wellington, j It was dated February 18, and enclosed £1." j Death was due to syncope, ciused by cancer on i the liver.

Sir George Grey has been very far from well lately, tho " cold snap " which came in at the end of March having had an unfavourable effect upon his somewhat feeble health. To-day, however, he appeared a good deal better, although the symptoms of his failiug powers are more and more sadly obvious each time I pee him. Mi3a Oolenso, the daughter of the famous bishop, was with him when I called to-day. Lady Grey is tolerably well, bub baa not recovered her full strength after her recent indisposition. Captain William Ashby, whose name has beeß so long and favourably known iv connection with bis extensive shipping agency business in London, has fiaally decided to retire from work. Tha seizure from which he suffered a year or two ago has left hi 3 health permansnfclyimpaired, and he now finds the strain of an extensive business too much for his strength. Accordingly, he hai sold tha goodwill of his business to Messrs Weekes and Phillips, the well-known shipping agents, of Plymouth. I hear that Mr James Had dart is forming a new company to work his American- Australian mail service, and that those concerned in it include Messrs J. and E. Huddart, C. B. Hunter, D. M. Diwes, J. B. Westray, O. R. Strickland, and Sir Edwyn Dawes lam told that the capital h to be £250,000 in 50,000 shares, and that; it will work in connestion with the New Zealand Shipping Cimpany. The various A gents- general intend to tender expert evidence to the House of Commons Committee which is investigating the respective nutritive values of home-killed and frozen meat. It is hoped that this may lead to the larger use of colonial meat in the army commissariat.

No otber city in the world perhaps— certainly none supposed to poasesa wlf-government— has been so much robbed as New York. It has been the happy hunting ground of the spoils politician. Tweed and his gang robbed it of 20,000,000dol ; and Tweed's successors have gone on plundering. Some of them have paid the penalty at Sing Sing ; more are still at large, and a good many are living in grand style on the proceeds of their undiscovered thefts. Franchises worth scores of millions have beea bartered away for " boodle," alias bribery; and thousands of families hare been quartered on the city's revenues in one form or other by political bosses. By those same bosses, even now, in comparatively reformed times, and under a mayor of the city and governor of the State who were honest men, the corporation has been bled and blackmailed for political purposes, though for the last year or two the said boodle has gone into private pockets. Only a marvellously rich city like New York could have stood this perpetual plunder ; but the plunder was not, and 13 not, the worst. The thieves have also inflicted on the Empire City bad government. They have made mayors of low ward politicians, fit only for the commonest pothouse ; they have appointed coarse, ignorant bullies justices; they have put into civic offices degraded creatures who have been accused of murder, and in more than one case actually convicted of crime. Worse than all, notorious villains with whom co self-retpetfting man would associate, not in office, bujfe merely

the directors of the party machine, have con* trolled the whole administration, and amassed in a few years money enough to live ever afterwards in luxury. Here is the crowning wrong, not only to have taken the city's purie — with a good deal of valuable trash — but ateo its good name. This magnificent metropolis, that ought to be the free home of freo men — a model self-governing community, showing what democracy can do under the most favoured conditions — is actually the opprobrium of the continent. I mention this because a new government has been devised for this community, and is now being disoussed at Albany, and it is much to be feared it will keep alive the ancient inveterate mischief. The situation reminds me of that farmer of Missouri who is just now said to ba scouring the country in search of tbe man who has run away with his wife and his mule. He is proclaiming aloud that if the thief will return the mule all will be forgiven. It is so with the respectable citizen of New York. He is proclaiming to the Tammany ring arid- the Republican bosses thac if they will only restore him good government he will forgive the robberies. The new Charter marks a crisis in the history of the city. If it can be so framed as to cut out the debased politicians, it will be an enormous blessing ; if it contiuues their rule over the greater Now York, it will be a curse unmixed and intensified. There are people who -want the name changed, and a few who would like to go back to Manhattan. Perhaps the best thing to do would be to coin a new word, and by all means one derived from Indian roots. A significant name, meaning "a much robbed city," would be both appropriate and historically true, and beautifully instructive.