The Evening Standard. AND POHANGINA GAZETTE. Guaranteed Largest Circulation in the District. TUESDAY, JULY 13, 1897. ROUND THE WORLD.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XXXIII, Issue 6076, 13 July 1897, Page 2

The Evening Standard. AND POHANGINA GAZETTE. Guaranteed Largest Circulation in the District. TUESDAY, JULY 13, 1897. ROUND THE WORLD.

One of the most prominent figures in tho commercial world at the' present moment is Mr Ernest T. Hoolcy, aud because ho has made proposals of considerable magnitude; m referonce to our frozen meat' industry wo have a special and direct. interest in him. The public Lave. therefore ft right to kuovvAvbat jfchs; }«k!cj iuv&nu-fVJ Wifcj and that opportuoity ( is given them in' tho particulars of a case heard betoro Mr Justice Grantham and Mr Justice Wright at tho Court of Queen's Bencli recontly. Mr Hooley makes it a boast that ho rises early every morning in [order, os ho says, I to " get a little bit in front of everyone else," and this is how ho does it. "Tho plaintiff, Mr Robert Reid, claimed damages against tho defendant, Ernest Hooloy, for having fraudulently conspired to induce him to buy shares in tho Grappler Pneumatic Tyro and Cycle Company, and tho statement of claim alleged that at a time when the £1 shares of tho Company were selling at below 4s, the defendants purchased largo quantities of shares at theso low | prices, and then entered into an agreement to purchaso the whole undertaking of tho Company for £385,000, the agreement containing a proviso that the defendants mightcancel it on payment of £25,000. They caused the intention to purchaso to become publicly known. Thereupon tho shares rose in value to £4, and the defendants sold tho shares they had bought, realising a profit far in excess of the £25,000 for which they had rendered themselves liable. They nover intended to complete, and novor did complete, the purchase of tho undertaking, and their option of cancelling tho agreement was "Concealed. For tho defondants it was argued that this statement disclosed no cause of action ; but their Lordships were of opinion that it did, aud gave judgment accordingly." It is a well known fact that no great fortunes are made now-a-days by what is popularly known as " hard graft," but at the same time wo can well afford to disponso with financial jugglery of this kind, and if his operations in connection with the Grappler (a most appropriate namo) I Company is a fair sample of Mr Ilooley's stylo of doing business then tho colonies would do well to treat him to another kind of" freozo " altogether.

Mit Tnos. Dwan; of Wellington, has just returned from a trip to tho United States and Canada, wliero ho interested himself in acquiring information as to the prospects of New Zealand ilax as a marketable commodity. The result of his experiences ho has communicated to the public in a lecture on " Flax and . Kindred Industries," and that result is distinctly disappointing. Ho tells us that he went to America fondly believing that tho New Zealand ilax industry had a prosperous future before it, but ho has rcturnod to toll the pcoplo of tho colony that there I was nothing in tho industry. One j manufacturer of bindor twine told him that our flax was no good, and when used had given more trouble than any other fibro brought to the mill. AVhen ho compared tho binder twine mado in Canada and tho States with what was manufactured in tho colony he was terrihly ashamed of our home-made article. Another firm informed him that they did not intend to use any more New Zealand ilax, because it was much inferior to all other fibres. His enquiries had convinced him that our flax was only used as a makeshift when other libres were not available, oj- were too ] • high in price to be extensively used. J It was evident that we could not ex-' peot to do a largo trado in ilax with

America and Canada whon tlioro wore infinitely superior fibres procurable, and tho sooner wo cleared our flax lands and grew potatoes, &c., tho more profitable it would bo for us. Esparto grass and ramie would grow well in the colony, and their cultivation would pay infinitely better than flax. Therefore says Mr Dwan "Let your cursed flax—that has ruined this county—go." AVhat Mr Homes, tho newly appointed export will have to say to all this, will be awaited with some considerable interest.

TirK news that Sir Herbert Kitchener, Commander of the British forces in Egypt, has loft for the front is a forerunner of renewed hostilities in the Soudan. For some weeks the army has been waiting for tho Nile to rise sufficiently to permit the gunboats lying in tho Merawi Reach to pass the cataracts between that place and Abu Hained, where it is intended to make the firßt attack u'pon the Dervish forces. No very stubborn resist.-nee is expected at this point, i.» +l io. tactics of the Khalifa seems «',. concentrate his forces in tho of Omdurman, and make his principal stand, the British forces succeed in Abu llamed, steps will be ately taken to push on the ranway to that place, which will then become the centre of operations, as jtA strategic importance is very great, QW,in«- w 'tho'fact that formally miles •past-.l his point tho Nile is open, and 'clear of those obstacles to navigation which have delayed tho expedition for so long. As soon as tho railway over the remaining 170 miles, the gunboats now being built by-the Admiralty will be sent out in s'ectianß, refitted on the spot, and then a desperate effort will be made to pass Berber and reach Kartouin, where tho bones of Gordon lie. It is not intended to use other than Egyptian troops in theso manoeuvres, unless it becomes absolutely necessary, and to this end 12,000 Egyptian regulars aro now massed at Dongola ready to advance at the first favourable moment.