ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2456, 10 April 1901, Page 42

ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES.

(Fitoii Orn Owx Correspondent.)

LONDON, February 23

This week, in the Court of Appeal, a judgment of graat importance to shippers of frozen meat and other produce was given. Some lambs shipped in the s.s. Fifeshire by the Christchurch Meat Company were refused by the buyer on the ground that the marks were not the same as on the bill of lading. It was proved that the only difference in the marks was in one figure, representing the day of killing. In the Lower Court, Mr Justice Kennedy found the difference was immaterial, and so gave judgment for the Shipping Company. The appeal was heard before the Master of the Rolls and Lords Justices Collins and Romer, who nil agreed in dismissing it. Two out of the three, however, were of opinion that the difference was material, as the mark was a means of identification. However, the appeal, after long litigation, was dismissed on the ground that the Shipping Company was covered by the bill of lading. Quite accidentally I have twice within the last few daj's come across instances in which New Zealand produce has been the gainer by the attention recently drawn to its quality. The first had reforence to mutton. Two similar joints were hanging side by side, one marked a halfpenny per pound more than the other "Why the difference?" asked a purchaser. "Oh," was the reply, "the one is New Zealand and the other River Plate." In the other case butter was the product. There was again a difference in price, accounted for by the salesman on the ground that that marked with the higher figure was "New Zealand." Two such cases have never occurred in my experience before. Several case 3of interest to the frozen meat trade have lately been heard in the law courts. Recently the ease of Pritchard and Moore versus Wood, of Christchurch, Now Zealand, came on. Some lambs were sold c.i.f. as June shipment. The bill of lading was dated 31-st May. Messrs Pritchard and Moore resold, and their man refused to take delivery The plaintiffs then treated the parcel as on consignment, and sold to best advantage, and claimed upon the shipper for the loss. Wood resisted the claim, but Messrs Pritchard and Moore won, recovering costs and loss.

In another case, that of Burkett versus Smith, the plaintiff sold a line of 3000 heavy Southland lambs, or tegs, to Mr F. Smith, in two shipments of 1500 each. In accordance with the practice in New Zealand in the case of heavy lambs, the. bill of lading described the carcases as mutton. Mr Smith refused £he second lot on the plea that the carcases were described as "mutton" on the bill of Jading. The official referee in the Commercial Court has decided against Mr Smith, with posts.

Some frozen soles from New Zealand have been sent by Mr J. J. Sullivan, of Dunedin, to certain London papers as specimens of the fish which New Zealand is able to produce for the London market. Special interest attaches to the possibility of a trade in this respect, inasmuch as the English sole is rapidly becoming scarcer, and seems -to be in xlanger pf being extinct at no very distant date. Consequently the possibility of supplying its place with soles from New Zealand has attracted considerable interest. Unfortunately the verdict docs not seem to be wholly favourable The most complimentary remark made with reference to them that I ha\e yet noticed is that "they are substantial, weighing over lib. and are by no means to be despised as food" Unluckily a. very decisive "but" follows, the qualification being that "the fish most decidedly lack the delicate flavour of the sole caught in our waters, and we cannot imagine how it can be pitted against its northern congener. "' At the same time the London critics of New Zealand fish admit that the only true test of success must lie in the extent to which the modern fish may be found to be taken up by the British fishmongers.

It is remarked by a London paper that. " with increasing facilities for travel, New Zealand is yearly attracting more visitors." A paper devoted to the interests of the ice and cold storage industries has recently given some details of refrigeration and -its progress. Although prices all round have been much better than of yore, the past year saw a most remarkable falling-off in imports. Beef and rabbits only showed an improvement, the beef imports being 2,991,510cwt, against 2,908,611 in the year before, or an increase of 82,899cwt. A list of cold stored in London is also given, showing that to-day London has cold storage accommodation for nearly two million carcases, each weighing 561b

" There is always fresh food for archaeologists and the general public in the quaint doings of the Maoris," remarks a writer in The Globe. This has reference to a certain port in the Bay of Plenty being declared tapu in. consequence of a drowning case. As to the "plausible compromise" arrived at — tho cutting-up knives to be throvn into the bay, and half the oil to be given to the tribe to which the drowned rran belonged, — the writer adds: "Superstition is one thing, bul to lose an immense supply of valuable oil is another. Wo shall expect to find that the Xatne casuists bavo pro-\ed too much for the orthodox precisians."

The February nunibei of the "Imperial and Colonial Magazine."' which appeared later this month owing to changes rendered necessary at the la«t moment hy the death of the Qiieen, maintains its previous hig-li standard of merit. As usual, it has a good deal to say about New Zealand. For one thing it remarks that: '"There has been a great deal of ignorant comment on what is termed ' the strange proposal that Maoris should be sent to fight for us in South Africa.' Most of these comments are dictated by utter and absolute want of knowledge of the Maori race, and so are as much beside the mark as all uninformed criticism must be The Maoris are nowadays, and have been for many years, most loyal subjects of the Crown and excellent citizens in the colony They are a fine stalwait race and gallant fighters, as we found to our cost in the wars of the early days. It is easy to understand that political reasons may preclude the acceptance of their offer to fight for the Empire, but such reasons are not connected in the remotest degree with any possibility of imputing savagery or barbarism to the Maoris themselves."

The Daily Mail contends that " The situation before the war (South African) was much that of Australia and New Zealand before the nineties, when a ' squatter aristocracy ' monopolised the territories of State and refused to till them. It was an intolerable situation, fatal to the welfare of the country, and sooner or later it would have had to go. For examples of the land legislation, our administrators might well study New Zealand, Her system of perpetual leasehold.

grants is one that should be copied in sti'.ljig British •>oldier«, as also her methods of arsisting her settleis. The perpetual leasehold pre\ents abuse of the land grant, or its sale to the '•peculator and land grabber.

This week the report has hwen published of the Committee of the Law Society which inquired into the allegations made against Mr Wickham Flower by Mr Joshua Jones, in reference to the Mokau estate. In it tho committee stated that they do not go into the question of whether Mr Flower's view 1 as to his position with regard to his client was correct or not; he, however, honestly held that view. As to having written letters stating that Mr Jones had obtained money by false pretences, he was not entitled to do that ; but bearing in mind that Mr Jonas had made charges against Mr Flower, and that the two were at arm's length, it was not unprofessional conduct. In the end the committee fiud that Mr Flower has not been guilty of unprofessional conduct within the meaning of " The Solicitors Act, 1288." Mr Jones tells me he is going to appeal.

Gieat satisfaction is expressed in Leadenhall street at the fact that the New Zealand Shipping Company's new Rimutaka has mada almost a record trip to the colony. The new Ruapehu, a sister ship, was launo+ied yesterday, at Messrs Denny Bros.' yards at Dumbarton, while the new Tonpariro has jusb arrived in the Thames from Newcastle. Alf theso vessels are twin-screw, and of 7661 tons register

Mr W. P. Reeves has contributed to "Tha Empire Review " an article on " New Zealand's Attitude in Regard to the Australian Commonwealth." The colony's attitude is clearly and forcibly put.

Th-rough the Agency-general, samples of condensed milk from the firm of Messrs Murray, in Auckland, have been submitted to the War Office, with a view to its use in South Africa. As the Imperial authorities are only sending out unsweetened condensed milk, and as the New Zealand sample is Bweetened, the offer could not be entertained.

According to a farmer and stockbreeder's paper, "Lincoln" rams exported from New Zealand and from England have been com* pared in the auction rooms of the Argentine. Some rams sent from the colony by Mr W. Candy ranged in value from £10 7s to £22 8s 6dj an average of £14- 9s for 40 head. Rams (Lincolns) sent direct from England ranged "in value from £21 11s 3d to £58 13s, or an average of £33 7s 6d. The deduction drawn by the paper referred to is that New Zealand can only compete, in the Argentine, in lower I grade rams. But people here do not sesm to appreciate difference in prices in colonial stock and Home-bred stock.

New Zealand's efforts to introduce good blood stock in horsc-3 and Herefords are being widely commented upon in agricultural and pastoral papers, with particular reference to Mr Gilruth'a visit.

Tt is now acknowledged by snch an authority as The Field that acclimatisation in New Zealand has, under the very opposita conditions to those prevailing here, been tha most successful known to the wo-rld

This week the 'Frisco mail has been seven days late, causing considerable inconvenience. The A. and A. Company at this end attribute tho delay to a "slight accident" to the steamer ir. the Pacific.

In the House of Commons this week, in reply to Mr W Redmond, Mr Chamberlain said systems of old-age pensions had been adopted in Victoria, New South Wales, and New Zealand. He promised to place in the library a rcnort of the cost and working of the system in New Zealand.