OUR LONDON LETTER.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5761, 4 January 1897, Page 2

OUR LONDON LETTER.

ANGLO^COLONIAE. NOTES.

[From Our Correspondent.! LONDON,. Nov. 28i THE HOME-BAIBED HALF-MILLION.

The English, papers- take widely-diver-gent views as to the possible-reasons Mi*. Seddon had for raising, mi the colony, instead of at the " old shop," the- half -million required by the Government. The Statist',. whilst admitting, that the fact of the Gor verninent offering. the loan. in the colony is "a favourable sign/t hinks it doubtful.if it had been offered here whether it would; have proved such a suoeess as- the. last" issue, and remarks casually* that "in view of the plethora of. money, in New Zealand; brought about partly, by the action* of the Government, it is well that the New Zealand people should be given the opportunity, for a time at any ratey. of themselves providing the money they require." The Financial Times .of coursesuggests that the New Plymouth harbour, and the New Zealand! Midland Railway affairs have something, to- do with thedecision to float at home- instead of in. London, and discusses the possibility of the loan standing a chance of meeting with a "warm reception " in.theunpleasant senseof that phrase. Such talk, is, of course^ the' merest balderdash. The present juncture is not a particularly favourable one for the flotation of coloniaL loans- of- any description, but if Mr Seddon had elected to float the loan in London, at either 3: or, 3& pencent on reasonable terms,, compared! with the present values of existing -New Ze'a* land stocks,, no. trouble- would have been* experienced by those iru charge' of; theissue. In fact, I take the liberty of stating:' that in spite ol the Financial TimesitlißMidland Railway muddling and the com- < inittee of the New Plymouth; harliounbondholders the issue would! have bQen. well received. The Midland Railwayites.' shrieks and! the pfrowliEgji o£ the New Plymouth. fflanbour Board discoDien&eds? have had. no effect oa tike- existing stocks., of New Zealand. These- haye- goneupand down with the rest of colonial' Government securities-,, sharing equally 1 in the recent great appreciation and in the- later-depre-ciation with: the stocks of Canada., the Cape and the other Australian colonies. Can; you trace the result ofthecbßanifcfeeeof. the New Plymouth Harbour Board bondholders" threats in the share lists of to-day ?. : No.!. Can j©«t discover any baneful result accruing from the Midland Railway peopled fulminations per the Financial Times? No !. To-day New Zealand securities rank,, iiccordingtothe official list of the Stock Exchange^ as high as the stocks of any of her sister colonies, and it has been npticedlthat during the recent all-round decline in v»lues New Zealand municipal securitieshave held their ground with the best stocks of their class. In face of these facts, where; can the Financial Times and other journals find justification for their hints that the colony's credit with the British investor won't stand the strain of an extra million or so at this juncture ? Yet, I" am glad Mr Seddon did not come to London for his modest half -million. He could have borrowed cheaper here, of course, but by giving the home folks a chance he, according to my views, acted wisely. The cost of issning the loan here could not have been less than about .£6OOO, and that sum therefore goes into colonial pockets instead of into English. Again, the interest will,- to a large extent, remain in the colony instead of being annually drawn away; and, thirdly, that interest will be subject' to taxation for tlie benefit- of the colony's revenue. One reason of England's great wealth is that the Government of the country has always been able to borrow from her own people. The Old Country has never had to stand the strain of rt gigantic national debt to outsiders. The Government can indulge in a variety of extravagances.— little wars,,and the like— and we do not feel the pinch as do those people's countries which,- like New Zealand, have to get their funds from outside sources.

A CLIMB DOWN. In a leading article on the pro«edure of the Council of Foreign Bondholders, published in September last, the Times (the "Thunderer," be it understood) stated that the Council had,,, announced that unless justice was done to the New Plymouth Harbour Board bondholders it would oppose the granting of a quotation to any future New Zealand loan. As a matter of fact, it was Jihe Committee of the New Plymouth Harbour Board bondholders wniclVasked the Council to oppose the granting of a quotation, and on Wednesday last the Times made recognition of its blunder in its financial columns, stating at the same time that the Council had the proposal still under consideration. It adds, by way of explaining the mistake, that " although the two bodies are in theory distinct from one another, four members of the Council, including the Chairman, are members or" the Committee and the Secretary to the Council is also secretary to the Committee." And then comes a tremendous slap in the face for the Financial Times and those gentlemen who have been vilifying the Government of the colony on account of its dealings with the New Plymouth Harbour Board bondholders. "As regards the position of the New Plymouth Harbour Board bondholders," says the Times, "we have recently been placed in possession of information which satisfies us that,their grievlances against the New Zealand Government are not really substantial and that, in spite of its somewhat careless treatment of the question of so-called 'confiscated' lands, the colony has not done anything to deserve that any future issue of its securities should be 'posted' on the Stock Exchange.", Of course, it is hardly necessary to inform New Zealanders to whom the credit belongs of having convinced the editor of the Times and his financial confrere that the New Plymouth Harbour Board bondholders liave no substantial grievance. In the City they award it to Mr W. P. Eeeves.

THE NEW ZEALAND LOAN AND MERCANTILE. The report of the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company does not form cheerful reading for those interested therein. The earnings for the year ending June 30 are stated at .£195,000, but this is not quite sufficient to provide for the interest on the prior lien and "A " debentures and for. the charges account in London and the colony. This last item, which amounts to .£90,000, strikes one as rather high, and it would be interesting to see the items set forth in detail. The balance at the debit of profit and loss amounts to ,£34,000, an increase of nearly ,£6OOO as compared with hist year, so, instead of going forward the company has gone back. The Loan and Mercantile has had great difficulties to contend with, and the exceptional losses arising from drought and other things have had to be provided for out of the year's profits ; but the result is still very disappointing. The "B" debentures, of course, get nothing, and their cumulative interest is added to the liabilities of the company. Perhaps, the most unsatisfactory portion of the report is that referring to the allowance required for the depreciation of certain assets, such as stock, share and debenture investments, loans on mortgage, &o. In their last report the directors pointed out that the provision made by the scheme for this purpose was insufficient, and now they observe that the allowance to be made must be even larger than what was thought necessary last year, adding that, " From reports and estimates noi<; before the directors, it is obvious that a very large sum — larger even than was indicated last year — will have to be provided before these items as appearing in the balance-sheet can lapproximate to the real value of the assets." This is truly a nice prospect for the shareholders, who have paid some £574,000 in calls since the reconstruction, and who came into the scheme supposing it to have been framed on adequate lines.

• personal. l"he Daily News says, of the sketches selected by the Government of New Zealand for the new pictorial series of postage stamps which are now being engraved in London, that on the whole the artistic merit is more than respectable and that after a few. obviously needed changes in

tone and border work New Zealand should possess. a ; really beautiful and characteristic issue, to which,.no doubt, philatelists !, will, give pi'ompt attention. The disapjpearftnoeof' her Majesty's- head does not ; give the Naivi any qualms- about Antipo!dean loyalty;. The- ' departure has "no ; bad significance " readers- aiie- assured, and lindeed. tli& News- doubts- whether the j effigies of tiie Q.ueeu put forward, by I more than' one colonial! post office are not I'" more libell6us than loyal."' In conclusion. jthe writer suggests that in. post-historic ! ages- afar off'ai chance- discovery of British ; aud colonial stamps of ou^- day might lead ;to>au ingenious reconstruction of Victoria, • Queen; and Empress,, as* at. deity/ -went to j | manifest herself in many places, and in j very, different 1 shapes and moods— a genial jsroddess in Canada, dull and impotent in jNew Zealaiid/ sullen and solidiu Victoria, j.Young and fair in Queensland,, without ; human attitude in New Zealand,, and reincarnated in the fornnof a divine -swan in .West' Australia;. ;'■ Mr W. Mendelson appears to hawe lost jail form in long jumping; At the. Jesus i College sports last weekJie couM only jmanage 18ffr 4iln, and' secure third place ito Ml- Faunce- de Lauuej. who. negotiated j2oft Bin, and Mi- R. L, Whittiy, who jmanagedi to clear 19f* Sjin. Mecdelson jalsd competed in the- 100yds- Scratch Race, i but was beaten out of place by BSmuson, 'De-Laune and! Cholmeley. 'The first- | named- won.by along, yai-d; the tinro being ireturned as "ayai-d" inside 10£ sec. On Tuesday/ the sports were brought to a conclusioni. and Mendelson showed his ;atliletio ; versatility by capturing the 120 yds Hurdles aad the HammGr- ' throwing • contest, a-nd by running third 1 in. the- Quarter-mile- Scratch Race. The Newi-ZealandeD- only just got home in race,. Cholmeley running him to.sijk inalies,. but Mendelson had 1 tlie- ilili. luck M-Mt the last hurdle hand. His time was l]7Ssec,.'a, .y,ery creditable performance, oonsidfclrihg tlie atnuißpheric aoxi track conditions.' ' In- tJW Ramineri. Mond^lson'te best tliroW. was; 70ft liin,'. hi& nearest opp©nonij being A..F. Jhuxmoot;, who hurled' the Imissito 65ft 9im.._ The- Quairter^nile was a little too fair for the New Zealander, who, after running prominently for- two-thirds 'of the distance, tired to nothing in the last fifty ya,rds,.and was beaten by fourteen yards by "VV. Harrison/ and four by ; Cholmeley. The winner's time was 53*see-.. Sre-ndelson competed. also in the , Higk Jumpy but failed to beat sft 2in. The ! prize ultimately fell to Cholmeley, who cleared sft sin.

The- Hob W. Gisbonie,! hear, is about to. bring out a new edition of his " Rulers and Statesmen of New Zealand." The original volume, which is conceded by most, men to be by far the best book as yet -written about New Zealand politics, only carries the reader up to about 1884, but for the new edition Mr Gisborne has written supplementary chapters which bring the work closely up to date. These will surely be worth perusal, for the author, as we know, has a fluent and fascinating pen, and surely no political historian could wish for a much richer period than that which Mr Gisborne has to deal with.

Professor and Mrs Macmillan Brown left London for New Zealand by the lonic on Thursday. Both were well, the Professor particularly so. He has entirely recovered from the effects of his prolonged tussle with the fiend insomnia, and boasts that he could now sleep in a boiler factory. But I am sorry to say both Visitors return to the colony sadly unappreciative of the glories of our beautiful British climate, though, as a matter of honest fact, they had for some time after, their arrival here in. May last really glorious weather. Mr and Mrs Brown have, of course, done the usual Scotch and Continental trips wlrilst at this side.

Mrs Fosbery Newcome, of Dunedin, has just-returned to town after a very enjoyable tour in Southern Europe. Miss Florence Heathcote, of Christchurch, who has been resident in England for the last three years, will be shortly takefc to the altar by Mr Charles S. Finlayson, of Edinburgh.

Mr Hugh Thomas Dyke Acland, formerly a student at Otago University, who is studying at St Thomas's Hospital, passed on Friday last the first professional examination for the diploma of Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. Of twelve candidates who presented themselves to the Board of Examiners on the occasion, five passed and seven were referred back to their professional studies for six months. On the previous^day out of sixteen examined no less than a dozen were referred back for a like period. Though Mr John Roberts, C.M.G., of .Dunedin, Mrs Roberts and -the Misses L. and A. Roberts left here, as they designed,/ by the lonic on Thursday, they are not returning to New Zealand. The popular ex-mayot is bettor, I am glad to say, but Tvs medical advisers are not willing to let him go too far away from them yet. The family have, accordingly,' decided to winter at Teneriffe (Oratava), and return to London next May. Mr Roberts will then go abx'oad for a course of the salt waters (probably Carlsbad) " made (exclusively) in Germany." After that the restorative breezes of bonnie Scotland may not improbably be required for a time, but by September he hopes to bo quite his old self again, and, bound for New, Zealand. Since their return from the North Mr and Mr 3 Roberts have been residing at Chislehurst and seldom come to town. This, of course, accounts for so few people having seen them. The Hon Thomas Russell has left England for the Riviera, where ..he will spend the winter. ;