OUR LONDON LETTER.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 4739, 2 September 1893, Page 6

OUR LONDON LETTER.

[FSOM OTTB SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT. J I London July 21. I Mr Thomas Spurgeon arrived in England j last Wednesday, having crossed from New York by the Majeatic. He proceeded at once to his mothei'a houße at Beulah Hill, and will, I imagine— though I am not sure of thie— enter on his pastorate at the Tabernacle the day. after to morrow. The task before this young man, which ia nothing less than to weld the quarrelsome elements of which his huge congregation is now composed intoa peaceful, harmonious I whole again, might well scam a far older and more experienced minister; bet "Mr Tom," being a trua son of his ever militant sire, will, doubtless, tackle it with enthusiasm and determination. Mr H. B. Marriott Watson's mother and Bisters will arrive afc the Royal Albert Docks by the Austral to-morrow morning. Mr Watson has taken a furnished house for them for tbe present* on. the heights of Norwood, and within easy reach of the Crystal Palace. :; . Lady Harriet Wentworth has bean so charmed with the ornamental woods exhibited in the New Zealand Court of the Imperial Institute that she ht»s decided on decorating part of the interior of Wentworth Castle with variegated kauri and puriri, of both of which euperb specimens fioai Auckland are to be seen here. They tell me at Scotland Tard that, the statement is almoßt certainly incorrect which represents ■ Noel, the Eamsgate butcher, as about to emigrate to New Zealand. He is free now, certainly, to go anywhere, but till the ownership of the piftol which killed his wife is decided, he will be advised to stay in England. THE AGENT-GENERAL. Mr W. B- Perceval has received an invitation from the Rev J. E. Symes, principal of Nottingham University College, to contribute an illustrated lecture on New Zealand in October as one of the usual aeriea given in connection with the institution during the autumn and winter every year. The Agent-General, it is perhapß needlesß to state, has consented to ri" | so. He never misses a legitimate opportunity to advertise his Colony. The lectures are entirely free to the general public and are- always well attended by a good class of people. Mr Symes is so well pleased at having secured Mr Perceval that he contemplates approaching the remaining Australasian representatives in "Victoria Btreet with a view to making up a complete series of papers on the Southern Cross Colonies, which is a good idea and worthy of succobb. PARAGONS ON PAPEB. With Lord Onslow and Mr Peter Cunningham to helj) him, the Agent-General commenced on Thursday afternoon tbe thankless task of selecting a head master for Canterbury Agricultural College. After carefully considering the testimonials of some score of applicants, the Selection Committee decided to invite five paper paragons to personal interviews. These took place during the present week, and in the opinion of the Committee not one of the men interviewed had sufficient personal qualifications to warrant them in allotting the post. They, therefore, decided to invite some of the rejected applicants to undergo the personal test, and it is quite possible the Committee may advertise the appointment again. Last week Mr Perceval had also to interview several candidates for the poßt of Dairy- Expert-in-Chief to the New Zealand Government. Amongst , the aspirants for the place there was not oue who, in the Agent-General's opinion, was calculated to be a auoceßß— thac is, who could commad the respect of the farmers and inspire confidence in the public mind— though one or two possessed high paper qualifications. FINISHING TOUCHES. By way of putting a finishing touch to his New Zealand Court at the Institute, Sir W. Bullsr is now erecting, on the massive pillai*3 which separate the New Zealand section from the Ceylon tea kiosk, two ancient and very interesting carved Maori effigies representing two fighting chiefs well known in Maori history, Te Bauparaha and Te Rangibaeata. These carvings in wood will be in the- portion of the court devoted to woods uaeful and ornamental, and will, therefore, be quite congruous bo exhibit-;. They will, too, be in close proximity to the group of Maoris in costume (modelled in wax), which continue to interest the public keenly. I understand that Sir Walter will Bhortly leave for Scotland, whera he will be the guest of Sir John and Lady Burns ' at Castle Wemysa. His daughter is already j ! there, having gone north, a fortnight ago in order to participate in a yachting cruise aloag the coast in Sir John's beautiful i steam yacht, the Capercailzie. It is quite time your Commissioner to the Imperial Inetitute gave himself a : holiday. He has been unceasing in his devotion to the New Zealand Court ever since his arrival in London ; indeed, he I has been there every day, and oftaner than not all day. The Colony is fortunate in being able to command this sort of service, which ie absolutely gratuitous, Sir Walter refusing to accept even his out-of-pocket, expenses. ■ NEW ZEALAND PETROLEUM AND IBON SYNDICATE. The pro9nectus issued for the purpose of raising £10,000 additional capital to restart working the above, is principally I remarkable for the airy fashion in which the disappearance of the £35,000 of original capital is accounted for. According to the Directors " the syndicate procured expensive plant,, and put down a bore. Oil was met with at 900 ft in small quantities." And then — well, "funds ran short, and on the breakage of the plant work had to be discontinued." I think, without being accused of undue curiosity, intending shareholders have a tight to &3k somewhat fuller particulars j than this. The reports of Professor Redwood on eamplea of the petroleum, and of Mr Corkill on the property, are both "very fine and large." : That there is I money to be made at Taranaki by some* body I have not much doubt. Whether | the shareholders, of the syndicate will be ! the lucky parties ie, however, another matter. ; I wai almost omitting to mention that ! the Board consists of Mr G. H. Phillips, of Cheltenham, Mr Joseph Pilliagr, of Effingham House, Arundei street, Strand, and Sir Julius Yogel. { THE IMPERIAL FEDERATION LEAGUE. I It is not unlikely that before the end of , the present year of grace the Imperial Federation League will have ceased to exist. A Committee is now considering the question of ita future action, and it is whispered the majority of this Committee are in favour of dissolution, on the ground thai no practical way seems to be open at present for further advancing the objects of the League. The leading supporters of the movement are credited with the feeling that further deputations to the Government would-notlead to more than a renewal of the sympathetic assurances already received from the head of ..both the' late and the present Administration ; also that it is not in the power of such a body aB the League to bring into effective force the scheme of Imperial combination . in defence of common interests which, it has carefully prepared aad earnestly recommended. On the other hand a large body of the minor members of the Le3gU9 are opposed to dissolution, and recommend rather a period of masterly inactivity. "Keep the League in existence and await developments which may present a naw scope for action "is their cry. The report of the Committee will decide the matter. Meanwhile the City Branch of the League has appointed a special Committee to endeavour to formulate some scheme for the commercial union of the empire. Mr Perceval and Sir Edward Braddon were invited to join this body, andidid so with a view to paiuting out the weaknesses of the proposals made, They told the Commitiea, at the fii*3t meeting yesterday, that, however strong the desire for closer commercial union with the Mother Country might be in any single colony, the colonies could not as yet afford to abandon the revenues obtained by taxing British imports. But it ia useless to worry you with the futile discussions of League Committees, They aJJjßnd. ia gmolse. The .most sensible

proposition made on Wednesday was a resolution moved by one of the gentlemen present, that au attempt should be made to introduce frozen meat into Malta, and that a select committee should be' appointed to consider the best method to bring the introduction about. The chairman ruled the motion out of order, but it waa evident that several of those present were impressed with, the importance of the resolution and would have likei to go into the matter straight away; But New Zealand mutton will find its way to Malta without the aid of the Imperial Federation League. When an army expert of the experience and standing of Major StaokV poole declares so strongly is its favour as food for Tommy Atkins, even red tape, and prejudice must soon give way.