ANGLO COLONIAL NOTES. (Via Brindisi) [FROM THE AUCKLAND " STAR'S " LONDON CORRESPONDENT.] (For the Four Days Ending November 14.) London, November 14. \

Te Aroha News, Volume II, Issue 84, 10 January 1885, Page 3

ANGLO COLONIAL NOTES. (Via Brindisi) [FROM THE AUCKLAND " STAR'S " LONDON CORRESPONDENT.] (For the Four Days Ending November 14.) London, November 14. \

Wind Up of the Mignon«tt« Tragedy.— Hew AU Been Told 7 Thanks to the kindly feeling and judicial knowledge of Mr Baron Huddlestone, the jury who tried the captain and mate of the Mignonette were enabled to avoid the painful necessity of pronouncing them guilty of murder and to pass on the responsibility of deciding the case to Her Majesty's judges. The affair is now practically at an end, for there can be no doubt that Dudley and Stevens will be absolved from punishment, even though they may be found technically guilty of crime, I met a barrister the other day who goes the Western circuit and was present in the Court at Exeter during the trial. He tells me the most remarkable feature of the case was the difference between the demeanour of Dudley and Stevens. The former was bluff, cheerful, and defiant; the latter bowed down with shame, and palpably apprehensive. When Brooke began to give his evidence both Dudley and Stevens showed signs of considerable anxiety, the latter turning ashy pale and trembling violently. This may merely have been caused by a recollection of their mutual sufferings, but some of the ablest counsel on the circuit are of opinion that there is a side to this terrible tale of the soa that never has nor ever will be known. Perhaps Dudley and Stevens feared that at the last moment Brooks might tell something which they had all decided should not be told. Of course, this is purely conjecture, and not very kindly conjecture either, considering what appalling agonies we know the poor fellows underwent ; but barristers are for ever sniffing out something wonderful. Mr J. C. Williamson.

Walking along the Strand on Wednesday afternoon,whom should I run up against but our old friend J. C. Williamson, actor and manager, who is at Home en garcon foraging for novelties. He has already ob- ; tamed the Australasian rights of all Gilbert and Sullivan's operas, including "Princess Ida," the revised "Sorcerer," and the new work at present en the stocks. Elaborate wardrobes for "lolanthe" and "Princess Ida " — replicas of what were used at the Savoy— are boing manufactured here for Mr Williamson ; in l'act, he proposes to pro- ■ duce these operas in the colonies with precisely the same dresses, scenery, and effocts as in London. Besides the above, Mr Williamson has purchased from Augustus Harris a number of the dresses used in the last Drury Lane pantomimn, famous, you may remomber hearing, for the gorgoous procession of kings and queens of England. ftlr Williamsons trump card next year will, however, he hopes, be Mary Anderson. He happens to be great friends with her manager, Abbey, and is doing his utmost to persuade him to sign ana seal for a colonial tour at the close of the 1886 season in America. Miss Anderson has just renewed her agreement with Abbey for two years, and would, she says, rather like to visit Australia and New Zealand ; so something may come of the idea. I must say, though, I know fully a dozen actresses I would rather "star" through the antipodes than Mary Anderson. Her beauty and notoriety could alone be relied on to draw, for as an actress she is not much better than Miss Pomeroy, whom ycu have seen.

Mr John Studholme Plcltpockoted. On Monday last Mr John Studholme, o Christchur<^,N.Z.,wasmCheapsidetryingt< make bis way towards the West End, wher he found himself irresistibly borno into the dense crowd assembled to witness the Lore Mayor's show. He had on a valuable watel andchain worth nearly £100. This naturally attracted the refpectiul attention of a bane of pick-pockets on the look-out for prey, They hustled him after the usual fashion, and at last snatched the watch, but before it could be p issed on into safe hand?, twe detectives who had been observing the scene with interest came to the rescue, and recovering the stolen property, arrested the thief. Sir Robert Carden, before whoir the delinquent was brought, expressed an opinion to the effect that Mr Studholme must be distinctly verdant tn walk about on Lord Mayor's Day in Cheapside with a 100 guineas chronometer and chain tempt-

Speotal Items, Special settlement emigration is hopelessly moribund, but our old friend, Vesey Stewart, cannot be persuaded to believe it, and has started off on a provincial lecturing tour. Colonisation in the North Island forms the subject of his discourse, which will, I need scarcely say, indicate the many pure delights derivable from settlement in the neighbourhoods of those antipodean Edens, Te Puke and Katikati. JMr Stewart was to " open " last night in Edinburgh. Sir Saul Samuel entertained the new Commodore of the Australian station, Admiral Tryon, and the new High Commissioner of New Guinea, Major-General Scratchley, at dinner on the 11th inst., to meet the Under-Secretary of the Colonies (Mr Evelyn Ashley) andanumber of gentlemen interested in the settlement of our now colony. No Australasian appeals are set down for hearing at the pending autumn session of tho Judicial Committee. This is very unusual. More than 500 persons havo written to the Agent-General for particulars of the English mastership situation at the Dunedin High School, and 70 have absolutely sent in applications, with testimonials, &c. Dr. Kennaway expects there will be fully 100 candidates to choose from when the list closes. Miss Amy Shenvin continues to sing occasionally at the Covont Garden promenade concerts, but does not eeem able to gain a regular and recognised position on the con-cert-ball stage. The shock occasioned by the sudden death of his young wife, and a severe cold, have so seriously affected the famous jockey, Fred. Archer's, lungs, that his friends are trying to persuade him to make a long sea voyage"to Australia and back during the winter.

New Boats for tho Union Company. In response to some queries of mine relative to the new boats which they have in hand for the Unipn Company of New Zealand, Mc«srs William Denny and Bios, write that the Ohau andTaupo, sister ships of about 740 tons each, are almost ready for sea. The former loft their yards on Monday last, and the latter will be launched sometime this month. Their dimensions uvo 200 x 32ft. x 16ffc. Sin. The Ohau is fitted with refrigerating gear for conducting the coastal meat trade. She is capable of carrying about 200 tons of meat in her forward hold. Messrs Denny pay they have just contracted'with the Union Company for a large new steamer of dimensions consider-

ably greater than any they have yet had, being 320 x 42 x 26, and about 2,500 tons gross. This vessel will be launched towards the end of July. She is to be fitted with very powerful 3-cylinder triple expansion engines, and designed for carrying at least 160 first-class and 120 second class passen- . gers. Her accommodation will be superior ' to that of any steamer at present engaged on the coastal trade. The above information may be relied upon as correct, for it - comes direct from Messrs Denny themuelveß.

The Maoris In England. , Poor Te Wheoro has been suffering terribly from our autumnal weather, not* 1 withstanding that it has been unusually , line and dry. Last week he was laid up ■ with a bad attack of bronchitis at Brighton, \ and he is only recovering slowly. It is now ' arranged that so soon as Te Wheoro gets i better he is to return at once to New Zea1 land, leaving the affairs of the mission in ! Mr Gorst'a hands. He will probably be a passenger per Tongariro or lonic. If possible, matters will be fixed so that he goes straight frem Mr Ashbury's house at Brighton to Plymouth without staying in London. Mr Chesson, whom I saw the other afternoon, thinks the major made a great mistake in listening to Spencer, and burying himself down at Clapham. He has been bored to death there. If he had accepted Miss Weale's invitations and visited several friends others in various parts of the provinces, he would have been interested, and in all probability retained hia health.

The Frozen Meat Trade, Notwithstanding the plentiful supply of fresh mutton, and the low prices ruling for English sheep, frozen meat maintained its price till Wednesday, when some of the carcases brought by the Aorangi were put on the London market. There were altof ether about 600 carcases put on the maret, and trade being dull, prices were rather easier. The price for New Zealand mutton now varies from 3s lOd to 4s 4d per stone of 81bs. To-day the Florida arrived at the Docks with a large cargo of mutton, 13,600 carcases in all, reported to be in first-rate condition. The Lyttelton, which has on board 10,132 carcases of mutton and 1,309 rabbits, has been spoken in the Channel, and will be up in London in a day or two. The new dopfit for the sale of frozen mutton opened in Leadenhall Market by the New Zealand Farmers' Association is doing a very good business. The only pity is that there are now three frozen meat stores within twenty yards of each other in one market

Casualty to a New Zealand Vessel. On Tuesday, November 11, Mr Rothery, the Wreck Commissioner, held an inquiry into the circumstances of a casualty which led to the loss of three lives from the barque Closeburn. The Closeburn left Lyttelton on the 27 tli May last with a crew of 20 hands all told. {She had a cargo of 1,406 tons of wheat, and was bound for Queenstown for orders. The cargo was stored in bags. She was drawing 18ft. forward and ISfi. 4in. aft. She proceeded on her voyage, and on the 25th June she was in lat. 56deg 59min, S. long. 70deg. 40min. W. The wind was blowing a strong gale from W.S.W., with a heavy cross pea. She was making 9 1 knots, and a strong sea was running. The second officer had charge of the watch when the vessel shipped a very heavy sea , over the port side. The sea filled the decks fore and aft, and carried most of the crew on dock off their feet. Some of them were fortunate enough to get hold of the rigging, but three of them were washed overboard —Gilbert Tail, second officer ; Emer- ; son, A.B. ; and Georga Green, apprentice. On the morning of the 26th the ] master threw overboard about 160 bags ; of wheat, and on the following day 50 or 60 j more were jettisoned. On the 15th day of ; July, the sea still washing over the vessel, j another 200 bags were thrown over. After , this the weather moderated, and the Close ] burn reached Bahia, where she refitted. , and then resumed her voyage to Queens- < town, which was reached on 21st October. , The captain and several of the crew having , been examined, the Wreck Commissioner ; paid the Court could not say the vessel Mas , overladen, or that she had nob sufficient j freeboard. So far as tho.y saw, no possible effort could have saved those washed over- „ board, and they came to the conclusion , that no one was to blame. t

The Late Postmaster-General. * The late Professor Fawceit was a grtat \ authority on all Indian questions, but did * not take more than an intelligent interest , in Australasian affairs. He had, however, * a number of Anglo-Colonial friends, several , o! a\ horn attended the funeral at Cambridge / on Monday. In tho list oi "fchosQ present, I observe the names of Mr Mundella, Mr ■ Childers, Mr Alex. McArthur, the AgentGeneral for Cape Colony, Mr W. Kathbone, and Mr Chesson. Mr Shaw Lefevre, will, it is understood, [ be the new Postmaster - General, and have a seat in the Cabinet. The position of affairs in the dispute between Sir F. D. Bell and the Post-office re the endorsement of New Zealand letters is not materially altered by the death of [ Professor Fawcett. The decision of such ; questions rests with the permanent officials as a rule, though the late PostmasterGeneral was very particular, and did not permit any decision to be formed until the , full bearings of the case were oxplained to ! him. This (together with the brusqueness i of his private secretary, a Mr Dryhurst) . made Mr Fawcett rather unpopular at [ St. Martins-le-Grand, though his sterling conscientiousness and great, worth were \ fully roalised. Commenting on Mr Fawcett's death, the "Sheffield Daily Telegraph " says :— " Perhaps the only part of the British dominions in which the late Postmaster-General was at all unpopular was in the colony of New Zealand, where his firmness, or, as the colonists prefer to call it, his * obstinacy ' in the matter of the Brind isi mails, procured for him much hostile criticism. New Zealand, jointly with New South Wales, pays a heavy subsidy to steamship companies for convoying mails via San Francisco. They therefore wished that all mail matter should go by this route. To this Mr Fawcett would never give his consent."

Meeting of Frozen Meat Importers. A meeting of the Committee of importers '< of frozen mutton, who managed the Healtheries exhibit, was held on Tuesday ' last to wind up affairs. Before the balance- : Bheet was drawn up, the Secretary feared ' another call would have to be made on the guarantors; but it turned out, on the contrary, there was a small sum left over j tore-divide. During the Exhibition 90,000 i chops of New Zealand mutton were cooked and sold, and the butcher sent samples of the meat to almost every town ( in Great Britain. The Buccess of the shop proved so great that Tomkins, the lessee, ] Who at the opening was a atnall retailei* in i a little street at Kensington, has now four ' large establishments in different parts of < London, and, as I told you in a recent ' epistle, meditates opening two N.Z. chophouses — one in the city, and one at the 1 West End. 1 ' The Committee confess themselves much l disappointed at receiving only a diploma of ' honour instead of. the gold medal Tho i

t jury can have known nothing about frozen j meat, for all experts allow that Haslam's i engine is much superior to Hall's—in fact, t has on several occasions been used to rei place the latter's defective machines. \ i> The Committee do not propose to exhibit j • next year at the Inventions Exhibition, but • will apply for a large space in the Indian L and Colonial Exhibition of 1886. It is ■ hoped by that time the refrigerating process ) will have been absolutely perfected.

A Startling Theory. Mr Jules J. Archibald, the original projector and one of the present proprietors of : the " Sydney Bulletin," is stall in London, " but in better health and spirits than he was some months ago. Mr Archibald returns 1 to Australia in February. He is at present interested in ventilating through the metro* politan press a very remarkable theory he 1 has evolved as to the Tichborne case. It is that the lunatic in the Paramatta \ Asylum is (as the Claimant avers) Orton, and that the Claimant himself is William Cresswell. The evidence by which Mr Archibald hopes to prove the identity of Orton appears overpowering. For one thing, the facial likeness between Arthur Orton's two brothers and the Sydney lunatic is something extraordinary. All three men, too, are afflicted with precisely the same spinal complaint and constitutional defects. I will send you Mr Archibald's statement of the case when it appears in the " Pall Mall " next week.

Imports from the Colony. The Aorangi arrived last Friday with 10,600 carcases frozen mutton, in good condition, and 600 cases of tinned beef from Wanganui. The latter is said to be not as good as the preserved meat that came from Auckland per Doric, which realises s£d lb, or 11s per case of 12 21b tins. The first ordinary general meeting of Nelson Brothers (Limited) was held on Wednesday, Nov. 12, Mr E. Montague Nelson in the chair. The accounts showed a net profit of £6,274, out of which a dividend at the rate of 4 per cent, per annum was declared. The sum of £379 was written off preliminary expenses, and £775 carried to new account. It was stated that although the accounts extend over a period of 12 months, yet the Company's freezing operations embrace a period of little over three months. To meet the largely - increasing demand for New Zealand meat, the directors have made an arrangement for renting an extensive area with a river frontage adjoining Cannon-street Station, for the storago of meat and the supply of the trade. For the purpose of extending the Company 'B works at Tomoana (whero the freezing is carried on), the directors have acquired an additional 356 acres of freehold land. To purchase this, and to pay off mortgages amounting to £26,000, and for the development of tht Company's business, the directors are issuing 6 per cent, debentures amounting to £70,000. Tho debentures are a first charge on the Compuny's property.

Mr Arthur Claydon. Mr Arthur Clayden, whose well-meant but too often preposterously extravagant eulogies of No \ Zealand have at various timea done considerable mischief, arrived in England by the Aorangi last Friday. I hope that if he is going to lecture through the provinces, as he did some years ago, he will stick as closely as possible to undeniable facts. It is no kindness either to emigrants or colonists to represent New Zealand as a kind of Tom Tiddler's ground —a place where any incapable can get on. Writing from Plymouth to the " Daily News " about the fast passage of the Aorangi, Mr Clayden says:— "The New Zealand Shipping Company's steamer Aorangi has arrived in Plymouth, having made the fastest running on record. The Ruapehu created no small excitement by her performance, doing the voyage from N.Z in 37 days 20 hours 40 minutes, actual steaming tiu c. Then followed the Tongariro, with her splendid run of 37 days 20 hours 32 minutes. Now the Aorangi has outstripped the Tongariroby some 10 hours. Such magnificent results of skill and enterprise are worthy of w orld-wide record. One word as to this direct steam service to Ntw Zealand. Does the English public fully realise its vast significance? As a resident for some years in New Zealand, 1 can fully testify to its colonial bearings. It is revolutionising everything. My conviction is that in 10 years it will double the value of all New Zealand real estate. Let the fact respecting this one ship be duly weighed. On August 2nd last she left England with a full cargo of merchandise and every passenger berth taken. In little more than three months she had made the two leading ports of New Zealand — Wellington and Lyttelton— and returned to England laden with colonial products. Talk ot tl\e age o£ miracles ! HLete is an. exploit far transcending any conceivable mediaeval myth, and, if all its bearings are duly considered, I venture to say, far transcending in importance to the English people any political change that could possibly be effected by Parliament. Here is a second England brought 5,000 miles nearer than it ever was before. With an area equal to that of the older one, and a climate infinitely superior, she has yet but half-a-million of population to the forty millions of the mother country."

Personal and General. i The Rev. F. H. Spencer (youngest son of the Rev. S. M. Spencer, of New Zealand), who acted as cicerone and interpreter of Tawhiao and his brother Maoris during their recent visit to this country, was married on the Bth inst., at St. Matthew's, Bayswat«r, to Evelyn Dora Esdaile, youngest daughter of Lieut-Colonel Hutchinson, of the Bengal Engineers. Mr Postlethwaite, the ex-M.H.R. for Geraldine, and Mrs Postlethwaite have arrived in London on a visit. The Committee appointed by the Conference on Imperial Federation (which met in London in July last) to prepare a scheme for the establishment of a Federation Society, have completed their labours, and will call the Conference together to receive their report on the 18th inst. The meeting, as before, will be at the Westminster Palace Hotel, and many distinguished politicians and Anglo- Colonists interested in the question of federation have promised to attend. At the July conference New Zealanders were principally conspicuous by their absence. The Governors of the various provinces of India have cordially responded to the invitation of the Prince of Wales to work up local interest in the Indian and Colonial Exhibition of 1886, but nothing seems as yet to have been heard from the Australias. Query : Were they included in the Prince's invitations f Mr Walter Strompton and Mr 0. H. Tripp, both of New Zealand, have been elected Fellows of the Colonial Institute. The new session of the Colonial Institute was opened at the Westminster Palace Hotel on Tuesday evening, when MrMerri- i make, a Cape Colony M.Lj.C, read a paper I on South African tffairs. Very few New Zealanders were present. Edmund Yates, speaking in his autobiography of the difference between the I prices paid dramatists for playa 50 years ago and now, says th^t (*> B. Simras received more fw the Australian rights alon,e of one of his recent pieces titan Buckstone, ftt the aenith q{ his repute

tion, was paid for the entire copyright of two successful dramas. A good melodrama nowadays is seldom worth less than £10,000 to £15,000 to the lucky author. Some realise far more. Jones and Merivale have, for the last two years, been receiving over £200 a week as authors' fees for perform* ances in the provinces and America of "The Silver King." Mr Heywood Bright, a partner in the well-known colonial house of Bright Bros., was married at Liverpool last week to Miss Blackburne, daughter of Colonel Ireland Blackburne, J.P., of Hale Hall, near LiverSool. . The bridegroom is a cousin of Mr has. Bright, who married Lord Canterbury's daughter. "Fiji and the Fijians" is the title of a new 5s book by Thomas Williams and the Rev. James Calvert. Apropos of the New Guinea craze, Mr George Manville Fenn has just brought out a boys' book of adventures there, entitled "BunyipLand." Second-hand copies of Rusden's History of New Zealand, W. S. Green's " High Alps of New Zealand," and Delisle Hay's " Brighter Britain," are now obtainable for from two to four shillings apiece at Mudie's.

Sbipping and Passenger Notes. Passenger business is not very brisk just now, few people wishing to go out till after Christmas. The N.Z.S. Co.'s Tongariro, which leaves on the 20th inst., is full in the first and second saloons, but the lonic, which makes her first trip for Shaw-Savill on the 6th December, has hardly a berth taken. Shaw • Savill's new Bteamer Tainui will not bo ready to start at the advertised time, January 3. The Doric will probably take her place. The Orient liner Austral has resumed her place in the Australian line. She left Gravesend on the 12th November, with a full list of passengers, including the following, who are booked through to New Zealand :— For Auckland : Mr C. P. Newcomb, Mr F. Deacon, Mr F. H. Deacon, Miss Deacon, Mr A. C. McKenzie, and Mr D. McPhun. For the Bluff: Mr J. S. Cunningham. For Port Chalmers : Mr and Mrs Adison. For Picton : Mr A. G. Fell. Shaw-Savill's Florida has at last arrived. She reached the Docks this morning, after a long voyage of 59 days. The Lyttelton has arrived in the Channel, and will dock in a day or two. The P. and 0. Company's new steamer Tasmania started on her maiden voyage to Iniia on the 12th inst. The Northumberland has again been de« layed, but I think bho will get off by the 10th of December, the last advertised date.