ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVII, Issue 258, 5 November 1906, Page 5

ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES.

(■From Our Special Correspondent.) LONDON, September 28th. NEW ZEALAND AT THE GKOCERS' EXHIBITION. The annual Grocers 3 Exhibition, which, is being held this -week at the Agricultural Hall, Islington, is of quite an interna tiouai character. England, America, Victoria, New Zealand, Germany and Switzerland are all represented by interesting exhibits. The Victorian court, containing a comprehensive display of the produce of that State, is elaborate, and New Zealand is also to be congratulated on its excellent show of canned meats. The High Commissioner's Department have taken advantage of the American meat scandals to bring into prominence the fact that New Zealand exports canned meats of the highest quality, each tin hearing a State guarantee as to its perfect purity. The High Commissioner, in order to draw still further attention to the colony's tinned wares, invited representatives of the Admiralty, the \Var Office, and various colonial distributing firms to attend the Exhibition on Wednesday afternoon, and sample for themselves the New Zealand meats on view. Mr. Murray, chief of the Admiralty Victualling Department, and Messrs. Black and Minter, of the same department, were present on behalf of the Admiralty, while the War Office was represented by General Clayton, Director of the Army Contracts, Colonel Collard, Captain Black and Col. Hobbs, the last-named being the officer whom the War Office recently sent over to Chicago to inquire into and report upon the American tinned meat scandals.

These officials, all of them experts in the meat preserving trade, examined and tasted a number of samples of New Zealand tinned meats, and apparently were well pleased with what they saw and tried. They did not commit themselves to a definite promise, but it is quite possible that trial orders may be given to New Zealand firms on behalf of the lin perial forces. At any rate the inspection should serve to induce the powers that be to look with favour upon the colony as a premising source of supply.

The following representatives of colonial firms were present: Messrs. Gilbert Anderson and Wm. Henderson (Christchurch Meat Company), Captain Renant (Gear Meat Preserving Company), Mr. H. Lees, Gordon, Woodroffe and Co.), Mr. W. B. Daniels (New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency), and Mr. W. Featherstone (Wright, Stephenso'n and Co.). Mγ. Logan, chairman of the National Bank of New Zealand, was also present. In connection with the New Zealand exhibit, Mr. W. R. Burwell, of Ne.v Cross Gate, S.E., displayed a remarkable trophy of New Zealand butter, which attracted a great amount of attention. Mr. Burwell may be described as "an artist in butter." He has modelled baskets of roses, birds in their nests and in flight, branches and foliage, all out of butter. The trophy stands on a dark velvet-covered pedestal, and rises to a height of 9ft.

Mr. H. C. Cameron, the Produce. Commissioner of the High Commissioner's Department, was in charge of the New Zealand exhibit, wliich was designed and fitted up under his supervision.

For several hours last Monday night London firemen were engaged in dealing with a serious fire which broke out on the New Zealand Shipping Company's steamer " Whakatane," lying in the West India dry dock at Poplar. The vessel is engaged in the frozen meat trade, and as recently as twelve days ago was the scene of a fire which caused considerable damage to the starboard side. The. outbreak on Monday night occurred in the lower fore-hold, at 7.30, when it was found that the charcoal installation, with which the steamer is fitted for refrigerating purposes, was alight. Fortunately the hold was empty of cargo at the time. The earliest arrivals among the firemen were baffled by the suffocating smoke which rolled continuously out of the interior of the vessel. Some of the firemen donned smoke helmets and descended into the hold, but the fire increased in fierceness and they were obliged to retreat. The river floats Alpha and Beta, several additional land steamers, and ninety firemen were eventually working on the fire, but their task was an exceptionally difficult one, as at 8.30 the forehold was blazing from end to end. Thousands of gallons of water were thrown into the heart of the fire, and for some time it seemed as though the entire steamer would be involved. Owing, however, to the prompt measures taken to prevent the fire from spreading, the damage was confined principally to the fore part of the vessel, it was some hours before the outbreak was finally controlled. The origin of the fire is unknown.