OUR LONDON LETTER.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7232, 19 October 1901, Page 6

OUR LONDON LETTER.

ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES. A JOLLY STORYTELLER ON DREDGES AND ORGANS. [Fkom Our Correspondent.] LONDON, Sept. 16. Mr Bertram Hunter, draughtsman and Lomancer, who toid such "jolly stories" about New Zealand and other part* of the glob?, and who, after arousing great expectations in the minds of a caDinetnwker, brewer's engineer and glass manufacturer by the promise oi large orders, borrowed a few pounds from caen, and then rutted with his honeyed tales to the next open financial flower, had to hear some of ms jolly stones retoid at tlie Guiianall last, i^r-kiay. Tnis time the narratives, if balder than in their cngra-ail form, will certainly carry conviction with l&fam. The first iv repeat the twice-told tale Avas mr diaries \An:te, London manager of Rose, Downes and Tnomp&on, engineers, 2, Maik Lane, to wnom Mr Hunger appeared in the guise of Mortimer Heywood, a relative ot the principal of the fiun of iieywood and Co., Lhristchurch, New Zealand. The tale he told Mr White was that he was sent irom that town to arrange the purchase of a large dredge. He drew a rough sketch of wnafc was required, and stated that liis father had £4000 in the New Zealand Bank, and he nad authority to draw on that account as soon as the contract was signed. The exvco plans of the aredge were at Antwerp, but would be sent to him in the course of the day. A conversation followed, in the course of wbien Avitness asked h:m how he liked Lcndon. He replied that he felt very dull, being alone. Witness made arrangements to meet him. As soon as the accused left the office he looked into a directory, and found the name of the firm to which the prisoner had leferred in New Zealand. Witness met him as appointed, and, having entertained him, left -nun in Piccadilly, .lust before par-ting the accused sa.id, "Last night, at The Inhibition, 1 lost my overcoat, my papers, watch and chain, and all my money. 1 am absolutely penniless until I get back to my hotel in Liverpool Street. There 1 shall 'find money waiting for me from Antwerp." Wtiness gave n;m £2, which accused promised to return the next day, but he had not seen him again till that, morning, when he picked him cut of eiaht. persons. Mr Henry Brycescn, organ-builder, Islington, stated that the prisoner failed upon him in July. He gave tne name of T. 8. Neighbour and said his sister was in Paris, and he had come from Madeira, where a large hall was about to be erecttd, for which he was commissioned to get an. organ. He submitted a specification, but showed no knowledge whatever of organs. A description of the hall, he said, was in the hands i,f lus sister in Paris. falling the following day, prisoner said the designs of the hall had not arrived, but would do so that day. He then said, "At the Aquarium last r.cght 1 lost mv watch and chain and all my money— £B." The -vox lnnnana stop with its tremolo appealed to witness, who lent him a watch and £2 in money on the promise that he would return both next day. He did not see, him again. Mr Richards (Clerk) told the accused he would be committed on six charges. Prisoner: I plead guilty to them. But when I am tried can they go into other charres ; because I have been identified in connection with some other cases, including one of obtaining a cheque? The Alderman : You are committed for trial on these six cases. Of any others that may be heard due notice -wi'l be given to you. It is a pity that Mr Hunter did not give his imagination play in th? realms of fiction instead of false pretences. The t>i-

suits would have been far more profitable, and less disastrous to 'himself. SOUTH AFRICAN STORIES. Discipline is not supposed to be the strong point of the colonial forces. Apropos of Rupert Roughrider*s disinclination to salute, Corporal Ross, of the 69th Sussex 1.V., in his breezy "A Yeoman's Letters,"' just published, recounts an amusing duologue : — Scene: Pretoria. New Zealander just in* from trek, passing, pipe in mouth, a young officer just out. • Officer (stopping New Zeaiander) : Do you know who I am? N.Z. (removing pipe) : No. I Officer : I — am — an — officer ! N.Z. : Oh ! I Officer : I — am — anr— officer ! , 1 N.Z; : Well, take an old soldier's advice ' and don't get drunk and lose your commission. Officer : D— — n you ! Don't you salute an officer when you see one? ' ! N.Z. (very calmly) : D n and dot you! It's seldom we salute our own officers, so it's not likely we'd salute you. Officer : Confound it ! If you couldn't stand discipline, wha/t did you come out here for? , N.Z. : To iighfc.. J Officer (moving on) : I suppose you are one of those d colonials. Bushmen visiting London from the veldt were unanimous in their enthusiasm for General "Micky" Mahon, and will appreciate Corporal Ross's character sketch of the dashing cavalryman : — " There is no gold lace or cocked hat about him. Picture to yourself a squarebuilt man wearing an ordinary brown cap (n-ob a service one), a kharki coat with one odd sleeve, breeches and box-cloth gaiters, carrying a hooked cherry-wood stick, and smoking a briar, and you have General Mahon. And now listen to this little story abc-ut him : " A Tommy was chasing a chicken near a farm on t^e line of march. Suddenly the feathered one dashed in the direction of a, plainh'-dressed stranger. •Go it, mate, you've got him !' yelled 'he ■ excited Tommy. Then to his horror, lie recognised the General, anil, confused, tried to apologise. ' Not at all,' sadd the chief, and helped him to kill the bird. Then, . telling him if he liked he could take it to his colonel and say the general had helped to kill it, he sauntered away." 1 j Corporal Ross is author, artist and poet. j He illustrates his book wiih rough caricatures, u-nd there is point in bis " Ballad of the Bayonet. MADE IX GERMANY. What an immense, advertisement the law ' in England provides gratis to the Gtrnian ; merchant by requiring goods made in Germany and exported to England or the British colonies, to be stamped with the inscription " Made in Germany," has again been shown with in the last tew days. AcI cording to "Telegraph's" Berlin gossip, a i Teuton employer of labour last winter paid j a long visit to Australia and secured a • number ot orders. "Amongst, these was the contract to supply huge granite blocks and pillars for one cf tn& largest banks at Sydney. These are now on their way to tneir destination in gigantic cases inscribed w.th monstrous letters ' Made in Germany.' Naturally everybody who sees tlie cases says ' What in tlie world is inside them?' and learns that the German Fatherland has secured an enormous offer | for one of Great Britain's colonies. The i public, by this extraordinary advertisement, not only sees that German goods find then■way ti> all parts of the world, but it is not very easy to learn the nature and quality of the goods, and so German manulacturers and merchants have their best advertisement paid fcr them by the British I Gevernment." I PERSONAL AND GEXKRAL. The death of Mr Robert Johnson, of the Colonial Training College, at Hollesley Bay, in Suffolk, removes ;i. remarkable man, who was engaged in ;•> most ns< ful work. At. i lie College, young men int'cn:lod for a. colrmiil career ,iro put. through a. coins? of priicticii insUuelU'ii cJinilatcd to lit. them for pion-

eering in new countries, and Mr Johnson lived to see the most gratifying results from his fifteen years labour in this direction. Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other parts of the outer Empire have now hundreds of prosperous agriculturalists and pascoralists who haive gone through the Holiesley Bay establishment before leaving the Old Country. Sir John Hall, who still obstinately refuses to be interviewed, or to express any opinions on current matters of -interest, is spending a few weeks at Brighton just now. He is looking very well indeed, and is still uncertain, as to the duration of his holiday on this side. New Zealand newspapers are desired to announce the death on September Ist, at Pleur d'Orient, Lausanne, Switzerland, of Mrs Elizabeth Cherrill, wife of Mr Nelson K. Cherrill, erstwhile of Brussels. 1 •' A Plymouth service gossip avers that the Admiralty has decided to strengthen the Australian squadron by adding to it a flotilla of torpedo-boat destroyers, and that the Fervent and Zephyr have been, selected from the Devonport commajnd to form part of the flotilla. Both vessels are six years old, are of 280 tons, carrying six guns, and have a paper speed of 27 knots. " Finance " -wants to know who is the party, or who- constitute the clique, Trhtch has lately been busy trying to prejudice the City mind against New Zealand :ind her financial position. It says : " That influences capable of making an impression in some quarters arc at work he who runs may read. We should much like to know who is pulling the strings, because we should then in all likelihood be able to account for the line taken. If Dhis be aue t-o umbrage because the colony has tob joined the Commonwealth, we need do no more than, refer the impartial to the weighty report of the. local Royal Commission. Should it. be a consequence of the Radical Public Works policy, then its opponents should come out and fight fair."