ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES

Te Aroha News, Volume IV, Issue 165, 14 August 1886, Page 3

ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES

'(•From -'AucklrinctStar<"LondQn'Con>ospbndLent.] „ >"-l'hji* >* >i London, , Jane' 2sth. , i

• jnio^B^MWtibii and f its* Festivities. J'S^jfw^t^ ! rather unterde^bingi/dieQQVieriea^^s, to, /the system upon Wh'icV ; tW invitations -iotf<the various coloniaH6tep:r*err*»rer issued. It seenas what is known as the "official list ' proper indudes'ninepersorf^ (Snly*) attached! to each Australasian section, and all exvieeroye, premierVminialeYs andK.C.M.G's vieitiDgf or president i in ! . London, with their, wives and f daughters.-: .TKese receive invitationa as a matter ofcourse for everything that is going. » 'There is also >a -.book kept at; the Exhibition * which ordinary «<visitora anxious to attend any special fete may sign. A few of these receive invitations from, time totimeaßcircumstanceapermit. When,liowever, I tell you thatupwardsof half-a-million applications for tickets and cards of. invitation'f have been received during the past few weeks, you will easily understand that the* demand far.exceeds thesupply,and that really only a very small proportion <• of the colonial'visitors are enjoying ,the festivities you read about. The balance will probably return home full of complaints,/ but it is clearly impossible for the Reception- Com l mittee to recognise everyone. Even the " official list," select though <■' it .< ap« pears, has (as I told you last week) swelled to unmanageable proportions. This is owing to the enormous number of once-upon-a-time colonial notables who are resident in England, and have come to town for the season and put in claims. Colonial pressmen have from the first been completely ignored. Several influential Australian papers sent over "special correspondents" to "do 'the Exhibition festivities, and the wrath of these gentlemen at finding themselves and their protests alike calmly passed over was ludicrous in the extreme. At first each man, thinking he was the only correspondent badly treated, kept silence, but one night, when a numof us were together, the cat came out of the bag, and, on comparing notes, it transpired we were all in the same box. As soon as I discovered this, I dropped the r6le of journalist for the time being, and obtained an introduction from an M.P. friend to one of the most influential officials connected with the Exhibition. He obtained for me a season ticket admitting three, and cards for any of the Reception Committee's festivities I wished to attend. The truth with regard to the treatment of the colonial correspondents is,that during the Fisheries and Healtberies press privileges were grossly abused. j Although the attendances at the Exhibition have up to now far exceeded those of the same period at all previous South Kensington Shows, the Executive already begin to hint at the possibility of a deficit "Our expenses are something prodigious," is the invariable cry, "The electric lighting of the gardens alone costs a small fortune," and bo on. One thing, however, is certain : If the exhibitions themselves have somehow mysteriously failed financially, the gentlemen engaged in organising them have prospered amazingly.

The Proposed Colonial Museum. A meeting to consider the scheme for the formation of a permanent Colonial Mueeum in London was held at the Exhibition on Tuesday morning, when a letter was read from the Prince of Wales calling attention to his original suggestion, and requesting them to move practically in the matter, if possible. After a good deal of desultory chat motions were passed thanking the Prince of Walea for his letter, and promising to inquire carefully into the feasibility of the scheme.

Various Items. Mr J. Kerry Nicholls sends the IC Times " a descriptive sketch of the New Hebrides, and Mr E. M. Cliasoldthe " Morning Post" some notes respecting the Lake Country in New Zealand, where the recent volcanic eruption took place. Dr. Ahearne writes to the "Times," stating that out of the 11,800 persons on the electoral roll in North Queensland, 10,000 have signed the petition for "separation." Mr G v E. Alder ton, of Auckland, New Zealand, left town for a short country trip on Sunday last. He is inspecting some of the iruit /arms in Hampshire.

The New Zealand Shipping Company Limited. A letter against the above Company having been published by " Fairplay," the 11 British Australasian " contains the following reply ; — As the shareholders appear to have had copies of the last week's "Fairplay " senfc to them, and of the letters which Mr James Halls has amused himself by writing, it is but natural that questions should have been put to us .upon the subject. A call of £1 per eharo has been made to meet the instalments as they fall due in connection with the building of the company's steamers, and Mr Halls demanded from the London Board of Advice that they should call a meeting together " with a view of aiding them in taking common action to protect their interests,' 5 a demand the Board of Advice were unable to comply with, because it is from the Head Office in Christ church that such meetings must be called. But they offered to give Mr Halls all the information he migh f , re quire, and told him that the next meeting of the Board would be on the 7th inst. But Mr Halls wrote back to the effect that he was not conversant with shipping matters, but should circulate > the correspondence, and co we suppose "Fairplay" received the necessary communications. Now, Mr Halls may want a public meeting, and wo do not see why he should be thwarted. The English shareholders ! ought to be able to attend a meeting of the company. But that is no reason why such false statements as the following should be allowed to go unchallenged. "The sailing ships," we read, •! which comprise 18,400 tons, are mortaged to the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency to secure £300,000 with interest at 8 per cent. They are therefore pledged at the rate of £16 per ton: Of the steamers one is mortaged to the Bank of New Zealand for £67,500, of which sum the odd £7,500 was put on at the end of August, 1885 j three are mortaged to Mr William Pearce to secure sums due on account current with interest; and one stands clear in the Company s name. The loan from the New Zealand Loan Agency would " require £24,000 per annum." We can assure our contemporary that this £24,000 and' this loan of £300,000 are entire delusions. It would seem that some time ago a mortgage for the sum named was formallly executed in favour of the New Zealand Loan Company, who>were to become trustees for a proposed issue of debentures to a like amount, But this arrangement never came to anything, and as soon as the necessary, legal formalities have been completed the trust-deed wijl .be cancelled and the socalled, mortgages This loan, therefore, about which we are told so much, amounts to very, little. 1. , > The New Zealand Shipping Company have a fine, business^ a* capital Government contract, eomefirstirate ships; and in .these hard times have continued to pay dividends.' We ihculd like to see the depredation

th?t; wULcoine in- t\me. Jn^cgncludkin, we advfee-Mr Halls4io 'longer to absent ihimself from the eoinpanyjs gffige. If he can write of the company as he haa done, he ought at least, to. take suchj. steps. as T are qpen to him, 'or to any otrfer &harenblde:r''fbr that matter, to see tKSF'Kis allegations are correct/ ™-Th©^accouutfs>abod¥ to be,.published will, !( v?ej^arn,.6^ow: ; a, considerable redaction in the amount" of the company's •inde^Mness?'' 15 " " t(i% ' *'*'> *>" ; ' { " - -• ' • '•« o.^ur "u , ni }.x6ndq^ 'June 25fcfi; ! 5 30;^ . ," The following Ne^.Zeaiandera'regibtereci t 'tbeir, 'namea "at th^e' Exhibition' during '.'inja '.week : ,-Auciiland, t'fjSlessrs "Y. Bowma^i'li. .E. ,00^ Carter'; 4 "Tf'J. .Welle, J. THayman./E. Stone, G. Balle, and T.; Bell.;. '. Wellington : idessrs :&. L. TPeak and" fi'. Marwhuii. Christchurch: Messra.g. y. S v turley, ,M. Ward, J. Cox,' J. Qraqg^G., S.^rieiningr, and H. DunedinV: /Messrs B»I. lireeabury and A. Freeman. ■. ," " From our files of ' London papers to the 25th June we extract the following news* —

This Queen's Jubilee/ June 20 being the anniversary of 'her Majesty's accession,, the Queen's' long arid prosperous reign' Was' very generally' made the' topic] of- 'pulpit discourses' '.by the Church' of England/ and in addition to portions of the ' Accession Service l3eing used, the congregations were "played outsat the 'close of service 'with the National Anthem. 'In many of the Nonconformist chapels' special reference was made to ; the religious and, social progress that had taken place during her Majesty's lonj? reign, and the National Anthem was played after the services.

The Alleged Fenian Manifesto. The^ Press Association has received the following communication from Mr Michael Davitt, in reference r to the Fenian manifesto, published in the. '■• Times" of. June 21 ; — He say a ;,The public in Great Britain may believe in, the bona fides of alleged Fenian manifesto which I have just read, but every Irißh nationalist who will read this production -will see through the thinly disguised electioneering purpose for which it was written. The author has ehown himself too clever by half. Anyone whp has studied the organs in America which represent the views of the Supreme Council party in Irish revolutionary movements knows that there has been, and still is, a deadly feud between the Supreme Council and O'Donovan Rossa's dynamite following, yet in this bogus manifesto, purporting to come from his enemies, Rossa ie spoken of as the ' lion-hearted. 5 O'Connell is also alluded to as the ' great ;' while it is still a firm (and, I believe, sincere) article of faith among Fenians (supposed to be addressed by the writer of thiß manifesto) that O'Connell was one of the worst types of compromising Nationalists, and a real, if not conscious, enemy of Irish independence.' The author of this document is an ex editor of a weekly Irish paper, now extinct, which pretended at one time|,to represent the views of the extreme Irish Nationalists. ,-

A Pertinacious Persecutor of Ladies. Mr Edward Rowdon, who has already made himself notorious for his persecution of Lady Conyera and her daughter, has again brought himself within reach of the law. He has just been committed for trial, and bail refused, for a libel in the " Morning Post," contained in a paragraph which he supplied, announcing his approaching marriage with the Honourable Violet Lane Fox. As Rowdon was proved to be an uncertificated bankrupt, who had been commited for fraud, and whose attentions had been contemptuously rejected by the young lady's family, it waß clear that his announcement in the " Morning " Poat " * was intended not so much to injure and annoy as to extort money for ita contradiction. The unscrupulous char* acter of the man Rowdon's proceedings may be gathered from the fact that he went uninvited to a party at Lord Salisbury's, and induced that nobleman in all good faith to introduce him to Miss Lane-Fox. He had previously peraecuted the ladies at Hornberg, and after his introduction by Lord Salisbury had never ceased to moleßt them. It is tmpossible to anticipate the result of the coming trial, but a very general feeling of sympathy for Lcrd Cony era and her daughter prevails in the London world.

A Singular Action For Breach of Promise. The trial of an action for breach of promise of marriage, in w hich the plaintiff was of the male sex, terminated on June] 9 in Dublin, before the Lord Chief Baron and a special jury. The action was by Mr Thomas B. Mcore, of Leyhin Bridge county Carlow, and the defendant was Miss F M. Bartholamew, of Montrean Lodge Blackrock, county Dublin. The defendant admitted the promise, but pleaded that it waa conditional, and her case was that, after actually ordering her marriage drees, she heard from her mother what she considered a hitch in the marriage, that the plaintiff was a drunkard and a man of immoral character. Subsequently she heard that he had been confined in a lunatic asylum. For these reasons ehe broke off her engagement. The jury awarded the plaintiff £100 iamagea.

Seventeen Men Killed By An Elephant. - Aterrible elephant story cornea from India. It appears that on the morning of the Bfch of April last, while an elephant was being ridden by it 3 keeper in the district of Sultan pore, in Oude, tha animal resented " prodding " with a spear by pulling the man from his back and throwing him some distance away. Fortunately the man fell in ahollow, and remained there undiscovered by the elephant, who went to a'neighbouring village. There ha chased an old man into a house, then broke, dnwn the walls, pulled theman out, anddashed him to pieces. The same night the elephant knocked down several houses in quest of human beings, in the villages ,of Sadarour, Bargaon, and Jaidingpur. He killed six men in Bersoma, three in Sota, four in Gangeo, and four in Mardan, Be likewise, killed a bullock and a pony, and aleo completely destroyed a new carriage. The animal used to stand at the door of a house, force his entry by demolishing the walls on either , side, and would then kill as many of the inmates as he could, pursuing others who tried to runaway. He mangled the corpses terribly. After securing a victim he sometimes returned to the spot to see if life was extinct, and would commence mutilating the body afresh. He carried several bodies. long distances and threw them into ravines, &c. The elephant found his way to the Eehra Rajah's place, vihere he tried to enter^ the, house of a gardener ; but some men, mounted on three elephants assisted by spearmen, drove him off. He then returned to , Bebipur, where \he tried to w l)reak\down his master's, house, in which several person's had taken refuge. .The police got into the house from aback window, and tjrefe obliged to eend for- help to the ,De.hr^ Bajah, who sent three, ele* phantsand^some spearmen. The animal received,,^ "gunshots on the bead at Bebipur y which, only temporarily drpjre h|m off,'./, He was ultimately captured, at imminent risk,, by the Kajah's threVslephantsandmen." ", . - '^inr.