ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 4614, 10 April 1893, Page 2

ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES.

♦ ; [FEOM OTO LONDON CORRESPONDENT.] j London, Feb. 17. ! I am not going to inflict upon you the prodigiously lengthy rigmarole of feeble fallacies and falsities with which Mr Arnold Morley, primed to the muzzle by Sir Arthur Blackwood, endeavoured to placate the Federation League's deputation urging the institution of Imperial penny postage last Friday afternoon. The objections raised and obstacles urged (accurately predicted by the Westminster Gazette on Thursday evening) have been unanimously pooh-poohed by the entire press. If the most important of them from an official point of view (viz., the inability of the Colonieß to join isoue) exists— which Mr Heaton denies— it has, or should have, the papers agree, no bearing on the Mother Country's action. The Times, indeed, considers Mr Morley's speech the last dying kick of the defeated department. All over it was written that Imperial penny postage is coming. It may not come in Mr Morley's time because that will in all probability be short, and he " does not display the strength required to over- : coma the inertia of clerkdom," or in other words dare not run counter to Blackwood and Co. "But," says the Times, "it will come. The voice of clerkdom is waxing faint, and the. fine old crusted objections are sent forth with significant hesitation." Financial loss used to be the great argument, but this bogey the indefatigable Henniker has so effectually squashed that Mr Morley practically abandoned it. The second great obstructive argument has always been based on the alleged difficulties of administration. ; It is curious, the Times remarks, that ! whenever the public want anything done, they are invariably told that they have no conception whatever of the intricate and arduous nature of the difficulties with which ; clerkdom is patriotically struggling. They are given to understand, in fact, that the • department in question is already straining the highest powers of the human intelligence to breaking point. This was wont to be the attitude of the Post Office whenever Imperial penny postage was mooted. Now, Sir A. Blackwood and his clique (resognising the reform must come) admit that the immense administrative difficnl- ' ties might not prove insuperable to men possessing the immense energy and boundless resource of the master minds wearing themselves out in the country's service at ; St Martin's le Grand. "It is something," i saya the Times, "to hear from a Post- : maßter-General, evidently Bpeaking by the card, that neither the financial nor administrative objections to Imperial penny postage call for serious discussion." _ : As to Mr Morley's champion objection anent our not being able to reduce the charge for carrying letters to the Colonies without the Colonies' consent, which they won't grant, the Times practically Bayß "fudge." It was declared Australia would object to the 2§d reduction in 1889, whereas all the Colonies accepted it in three months. Until the Treasury makes a serious effort to obtain the consent of the Colonies and fails, the assertion that they will not consent must be treated merely as a piece of official obstruction. LOKD GLASGOW AND HIS MINIBTEBS : MR ALLEN'S QUESTION. Mr W. Allen, who questioned the Secretary of State anent the recent crux in New Zealand on Tuesday, is a son of Mr W. S. Allen, who several timea visited the Colony, and owns considerable property there. Mr Allen represents Neweastle-under-Lyme (as did his parent before him), and is one of the youngest of the new M.P/s. This was his dftut in Parliament, j The full text of question and answer, as given by the Times, runs thus :— | MrW, Allen aßked the Under-Secretary of State for the Oolonifiß whether the Secretary of State for tbe Colonies had advised in regard to New Zealand that the Governor of a Colony was in all cases bound, in appointing to the Upper House, to accept the advice of his Ministers as- to all nominations, or what advice or ruling in regard thereto had been given or made by the Colonial Office or by the- Secretary of State. Mr Buxton said : As regards the particular case referred to, the question in dispute between the Government of New ' Zealand and the Colonial Government was whether the former should- appoint only nine instead of twelve members of the Legislative Council, as desired* by his Ministers. Theque3tion was referred home to the Secretary of State on the joint request of the Ministers and the Governor, and the Secretary, of State, after careful consideration of the matter* advised the Governor to comply, with the wishes- of his Ministers. At the- same time, while dealing with this particular case on its merits, the Secretary of State*. -, in his despatch to the Governor of N«w j Zealand, intimated his opinion that the- ; Governor of a Colony, enjoying responsible government should, as a general rule, .when ; Imperial interests were not affected; and '• after full discussion of; the matter in ; question, accept the advice which may be ' tendered and adhered' to by- his reepou- i sible advisers,. and that be would: not; be justified in declining to do so. unless he ; were satisfied that the course recommended was -not merely in his view erroneous, bub such as he had. solid ground ; for- beliewngj would not be endorsed by the Legislature, or, in the last resort by the constituencies. AUSTRALIAN AND NEWV ZEALAND UNO3BWBITEBS. The annual dinner of, the Australian • and New Zealand Underwriters' : Assoeia- : tion was held at the Albion lteTOrn on the evening? of Feb. .85 Mr Hi. J;. JBristow presiding. Representatives of? all the leading Companies — I* hardly, think I need . name them— were present, and a number ,; of gueßts. Mr Edward Hill, in proposing "Prosperity, to the Australian. Colonies," referred sympathetically to the- depressed state of agaira in seme of them-. He had, ; however, no want of confidence in the renewal of their prosperity, and submitted the toast with great heartiness, coupling it with that of Mr James M'Cosh Clark, who fc&d bees. Mayor of Auckland on seveaal occasions.. I Ms M'Cosbj. Clark*, sfter regretting the. absence of Sir SauLSamueli. whom he would J ha'Bß liked te.resnond to the toast, said that j a3 an old colonist he must express his., thanks for the friendly manner in which ib.' had- been jpcoposdd, and especially, for thaallusion that had been made to the national feeling that animated both tlbe MotherCountry andi the Colonies. He thought all ; must bo- proud of the progress of the latter* and of, She strength which they impacted to the Enapieft. He waa both hopeful and, cob- ! fident. off their future. E&owingj thw natusal resources, and the indomitable eneagy oir the people, he w»9 suie that by x refraining from increased expenditure they would emerge from their present difficulties, seeing what strenuous efforts were being made to increase, their exports, which he looked upon as the only hope , of their salvation. He touched upon the new and growing export of Colonial ' butter, the increasing production of wool and meat, and the precious metals, and alluded to the unproved- me&odß of treat- ' ing refractory ores, which must be of in- ' calculable benefit with, regard to the lasft*. named product. The growing taste for Australian wines waß another hopeful . symptom. There ought, he said, to l» an I enormoaa trade also done in the hard j wooda of. Australia for road-paving, &0., i for they were reported to be three times as dusableas Norway pine. Referring particularly to Now Zealand, he said that this , Colony had already turned the corner, and ' was really a good way ahead from the ' corner, so that he entertained a pleasant prospect of the future. He just referred to the question of "federation, and ooncluded by repeating his thanks for the. cordiality with, 'which the toast had bp^n. both proposed and received.

. . A , . THB COtONT OF IBBLAND. ™ "S? m j >men t ifc ma 7 be interesting to recall the fact that ; Mr Gladstone introduced his first BiU into the Commons crhSS^ 76 " 8^ »««*W«W The feature of the new Home Rule Bill Bit Charlea Dilke specially dialikeß ia the institution of an Upper House Mr Gladstone, said Sir Charles, appealed to the usage of the Empire, bat my knowledge of Colonial Upper Houses has oalv inteneieed my dislike to Upper Houses in general. The Radicals will divide against the upper House, even if supported by Conservatives. The Westminster Gazette on Tuesday evening spoke as. though Mr Gladstone had fteßhly minted the designations " Legislative Assembly" and " Legislative Council specially for the constitution of SSwT i lhe !" iter WM evidently ignorant that most of the Australian Lower and Upper Chambers are thus styled. Mr SSuf 8 ?u ****** Ban " fact when predicting the speedy sweeping away of him Si?*i **?* Ho ° B e^«d thereby laS tt™ ! °mt U *? a ? effe ctive retort from Mr Bryce. The latter honourable member replied quietly that the Irish Legislate CouncHw moielled on Australia/ bodies, which are both popular and strong. Mr Balfourwasnot in good form on Tuesday evening. He began by acflnsino th* Government of casting Iceland 01, and he forgot that he'd said anything of the kind, and taunted the Irish membSrs with acceptmg a portion inferior to that which the self-governing Colonies enjoy. The T7i. 18 A, - ? ode *ation of the Bill has put the Tones in an awkward hobble. . THE AGBNTS-GKNEBAI, AND THK HOTTBB. Several of the Agents General would have liked to hear Mr Gladstone introduce his Home Rule Bill on Monday last, but their passes to the "Distinguished Strangers Gallery " are of a very partial character, being only available " when there is room. Naturally on extraordinary occasions there is not room, as the varions Embassies swoop down on the gallery and the representative of the paltriest two-penny-half-penny South American Republic takes precedence of an Agent-General. THE "TIMUS " OK X.OtU> HOPETOTTK. in discussing the financial condition of t j r?' tho Times drops severely upon Lord Hopetoun, whom it bcoubob of deliberately bolstering up a rotten state of affairs. " Scarcely," cays the Thunderer, six monthß before the Colonial balancesheet disclosed a deficiency of nearly a million sterling, Lord Hopetoun, thea and now Governor of Victoria, in a speech at a Mayoral banquet, gave a positive contradiction to the critics who, among other things, had ventured to find fault with Australian finance." The Times grimly opines that the difficulty of discovering suitable men for Colonial Governors is not likely to be lessened if they are required as part of their duties to " boom ' r the particular Colony in which they happen to represent her Majeßty. MEAT HABKET. I waa to have interviewed Mr Coningsby Disraeli on the subject of hiß Meat Maifcinpr Bill yesterday afternoon, but upon keeping my appointment at the House : found the honourable member absorbed in listening to Mr Chamberlain's Bpeeoh on the Home Rule Bill, and nnable to quit his seat. Our conversation w»3 consequently postponed. From what I can learn Mr Dirsaeli has so far studied tho subject of his measure very superficially, and purely from the British farmers' point of view. Mr Gladstone, the omniscient, recognises the deficiencies surrounding the whole question of branding carcases far more clearly. In answer to a question put by Major Rasch on Thursday evening, the G.O.M. said the Government were quite ready to afford facilities for enquiring into the importation of foreign and Colonial meat, but that till this had', been very thoroughly done there would be small use uee in thinking of legislation. I imagine a Committee will be appointed' togo into the whole matter.