ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES. (From Our London Correspondent.) THE COLONIAL CONFERENCE. Exciting Debute re New Hebrides.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 207, 18 June 1887, Page 4

ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES. (From Our London Correspondent.) THE COLONIAL CONFERENCE. Exciting Debute re New Hebrides.

London, April 29. Tin: Colonial Conference as ould get through more work if there were not such ocean* of talk. The opinions of the Australians are very similar on most of the subjects discussed, ami it is i eally quite unnecessary for each delegate to make a speech on e\eiy tiit'mg variation that crops up. Thoy do it, however, manfully. Novct ,'heless, bince I la^t w role, a lot of important, business lias been {ran-ucted, and the qucoiion of Au-halian naval defence has been practically settled. Into tlie details oi tho d'-eu-^-ion on this matter I don't think 1 need go, as judging fiom the eablegian.-, you undei stand the basis of the airangenu nL between the colonies and the Inipenal Government a-s well as> wo dof Some an.\i«.ty is felt at the rather captious altitude of Sir Henry ParLe- on behalf o. New houth Wale-, but it i» seaicely likely he will venture to s-uiud aloof when he iiiuU the others determined and unanimous. The penwil oi the papas anent the, negotiations- between Fiance and England relative to the New Jfehiido*. and leudhi^te questions the Au-tialian 3 anything but satisfaction, and it was with ominous seriousness they met tlie Piemierand the Foreign Seeietaij on Tuesilay morning to di-eu-- matters. Sir Henry Holland pro-6-idul, and opened business by inviting ciitici-w. Mi Service then rose, find in a calm, hut linn, speech demanded tlie immediate evacuation of t lie New Hebrides, independent of negotiations with reference to the depoi tation of reeidivi-tes. Nothing short oi tins he a^oiired the Government, would suti-tj ihe colonies. As to iho deportauon of reddhistcs it m'fdit be le<ral. I.it it «a-n c neij^hbouily, and good feeling -hould ii> luce the French to discontinue it. .Mtvt oi the other Au-tialian delegate- l-.-ve Sir Y. D. I'ell and Sir Win. JTit/heiixit) followed, and expressed similar viev, -. Loid Salisbuiy then leplied. lie v\a^ bland, pla\'-ible, and appatently emincntl) conciliatory. Nothing could be further tuan the intention- oi tne (loveminent than io tiiwai t any reasonable de-ire of the colonies etc., etc. Tublic ojunion at the antipodes appci red lobe stiong on thi- (jiies'ion. The (_!o\ernment would of coui-e euckavoiii to ariaii';e mattei-. to as tognc -uti-faction, hut (thh in the ma tone on-* adcho-5< > to an cb-tiept ion-. child) he iKuhi tliougat the colonies would make a 1) Mgain if they recogni-ed the tovercgnty or the Fieneh over the New ITeb] ido-, in lelii'ii for a pledge that the depoitiitiou of k cidiv i.- te-5 should be at once antl hnally -topped. Thi- ob-en a lion a\<is all that wnt* wanted to lon-i- the Au-f:ahan-' iemper. Sir Graham I>ei iy in a long, foici'.ile. and eloquent »pe<-ch, piotosied unuiily again-t an\ -in li unholy compact. England'.-^ inde-ci-inn (ii thi- quc-tion had been most culpabli*, anil w a- bitteily re^t nted throughout Au-c:ab«i. Had the French himilail^ sei 'ed -mne place neater home, liiitish pride uld liave l)een in arms in a niommt and the nitiuder.- loiccd to quit theie and then. "Whf 1 *"; guarantee, he a-ked, had v."c tiH-t the Republican (lovemment would kee]> the new conti.ict. sugge-ted by Loid Sah^bri; , w hen ie had bioken the old t-ne ■which I* iiinfl Fiance to le.-pect tho neuliality of the New llcbiidc? Loid Salisb'vy, v.iih a -mile, - »id he should like to l:nuw v. l'tthc the C-ilonie- really wi-hed England to gn 131 3 war foi* the sake of . the New H'br'dc-? Mr Dcakin practically ie]>]Ld " Ye ;' at !ea-t he dcclaicd that all the 1< ( d woi k done by the Confeience v. ouldli^ endangcit_d if the T-lai'ds were gi.en up Sir Samuel Oriilith- likewise lai iJ ti \ic;oi!'U- piott-t. Sn Fiancis Bell aloni "-aimlv ap.a.ned Loid )Sah^bui;>'-7 MigU't. -I'uii, and a'_;ieul that tho Coloi.ie-s ■\\ouiil M.ike a good l»aigain if iv we) cad ipicd. [fc j)"-fe— ed him-clf unable to rude -W)d -ho iit\tude taken by \rictoiia. Evci\bod) knew th.it the re-idt-nts, whet he" ilnri-h oi foiciirn, weie much liapj v ' und''i ri'Mifh lule th..n unde. uo luleatiJ). The condition of things at the ]Lcbi:de- w h -n tho Fiench retiied would ho -innlai to thnt of the Fiji-, befoie v\e anjiexi d tli m, and Uioj all knew what that ii._ ant. Ani'chy and Kv.le-^ne-^- leigned fipi v 'iip, The !-iib]Lci then dropped for the <up j, bat cropped up again ye-tcida.y, v, lift 1 , it v. a- uudoi->too<l that Loid Sali-bmy w.mld (,'M -ent !-> ) 1 impeiativ ely for imm^diat.- ov aeration On A i\'(.dne->day f.nd Thur-day t/;legra[)hic aofl y>o-^ il matti-'m occupied the. Conlorcncc. Loid On-low pie 'dod, and Mr tfennil:cr H(\ito>i wa- allowed an opportunity ofdil.itin'j oi< the liiciit- of hi 5 ])enny po-tr.ge !-' heno. As 1 told you bofoic, howcvei, tie delc^atv'- do not t.ike kindly to it. Mr Tender a* id Mr FjnchVl.it ton weic examined u t li guph riai tpii, and Mr Fender made mcii^ ou'i .Mi llea.on'o ])roposed shilling ialc Mi ifc.'tou it (loing ail lie know •> to \; ; )-et tue P. v.nd 0. Company's contiacto, but it i- no* likely lie will .succeed.

The Jttelcga'.cs Feted. The colonial delegates dined with Sir Samuel Wilson in (ii-oavonor Square on Fiidav esening "to meet Fiekl-mar.shal Hit IJiiko of Cambridge, K.G." The Duke of M'inelie-tci, the Duke of Abercom, the Marqnh of Aberg-avehny,SirHcmy Holland, and ot'i?i' "Mnaii people were pie-sent, and the dinntr w<.,.s far the best the delegates ha-se yet eaten. Under -he influence of Sir SamudS peerle-s " Job. mnisberg Cabinet " and " Ponnnery, Premier cru 1574," even Kir F. D. Bell unbent, whilst .Sir A. Blyth and Sir i !co.- Bowen po,-ith ely beamed witli good feebng. The jMiena'jl and (Jeorge celebiation banquet at St. James's Palace on Saturday evening was, despite the fcomewhat ponderous jo\ribtyof the J)uke of Cambridge, a dull nnd glo^ivy all'air. ilany ot the coloni'il \i°itoi- v/onld no doubt have enjoyed dining v. ith Royalty in one of the Queon'fc p.ihce^ had they been united guests; but the leflcction that they were p.v ino an uncommonly stiff price (435) for a mo-*' Philistine meol and indifferent wine, (lid )ioo fend cither cowards hilarity or I ;y.'Jl y. The Kcir Apparent, tiled with a Ion" sift 01 noon'- iadno at Sandown, wished to Lfei. aw.iy soon, and made no secret of the iacl. The few speeches were conveniently cut particularly shoit, and all was o\er by eleven. Sir Walter Buller, SirF. U 8011, Sir Win. Fitzlierbei t, Sir Edwaid Staflbid, and Sir Penroso Jidyan reprcsenWd i\'cw Zealand, and Sir Arthur Blyth,Sir T. r . Downer, and Mr G. Collins Levey South Australia. The (Jronadier <>uai(l^ Band df-couwed Bucalossi's waltzes, whilst ilie "most noble order" tackled their loity fi-'c -oliillingf)' worth. (4unter did the ralorin^, and very iiuHfTerenl it \ym. f-'pieis a-ul P</nd would have provided twice a r . U'iod a dinner for halt the uiice.

Th« Imperial InstKiite. The Vihuio of ~\\\iles having expressed .a wibh that; uho Loufcvc-nce folk« and all did-

[ tinguished colonists now in England should make a point of being present at Sir F. Abol's lecture on " The Scope and' Purposes of the Imperial Institute," it was fully expected thcro would be a large and brilliant attendance at the Royal Institution last Friday. But even the Royal fiat seems unable to rouse public interest in this unfortunate scheme. The Agents-General most of them turned up (as in duty bound), and a few ex-colonial viceroys and Conforouee delegates were sprinkled about the loom, but the company generally could not truthfully be styled either iniluential or representative. 11.R.1T. looked, as he doubtless felt, out of ienipor. Abel's lecture is fur too long to quote. The follow ing, however, contains its substance :—: — The lecturer began by saying that the Colonial and Indian Exhibition, which owed not only its conception but its brilliantly successful realisation to his Royal Highness, would be pre-eminently remarkable in times to come for having achieved many results of \ital importance and of (he highest benelit to her Majesty's subjects in all parts of her vast realms. The [mpevial Institute nm»fc not bo confined in its objects to particular portions of the Queen's dominions ; it must be made thoroughly representative of the interests and of the umiy of the whole empire. It aimed a( -\ cry much move than the creation and maintenance of collections illustrative of the natural resources of our colonies and India, and of the development and present condition of the chief industries of diilerent parts of the empire. It would be a place ot resort and a rendezvous for colonists visiting England, the scene of conferences on matters of common interest, and for the culthation of intimate relation 1 * and good follow ship between on 1 selves and our biethren fiom all p;uts of the empiic. It would piomoto a better knowledge of the natuial history, and the rorsuues of oiu colonies. Sketching then the gi tat strides that have been made in the List h'fty yeai.-, in the application of science to the puipo.se.-> of daily life, he uigod the ncces-ity foi fiuther technical education, and pointed out how this work would be aided by the establishment of an education branch of tho Intelligence Depaitmcnt of the Im])Ciial Institute ; now, thiouyh it^> aiil, conimoi >_ lal education could 1-e impwned and knowledge could lie diffused thiough the instrumentality of commeicial institutes the establishment of a sj&tem of correspondence, the organisation oi emigiation, and the systematic collection and distiibution of information relating to industiies. The Puncc of Wales, in propping a \ote of thank-- to Sir Fi edej ick Abel,s.iid : '■ You aiowell aware of the deep interest I take in this Institute. lam anxious that it .should be a memoiial oj the Jubilee of ITer Majesty the QiKcn, and at the same time a memoiial which will be of gieat use to thin countiy, aid w hicli will cement still fmther the good feeling which 1 trust will always e\i*t between the mother-country, hei colonies, and India."

The Orient company. In the course of hi.- speech at the annual meeting of the Oiienfc Company, the Chairman incidentally mentioned thiee facts of inteie-t to ti . "i veiling antipodeaiib. The in -t v.a^ that the boilers and engines of the Liwtania (which, though one of the oldest, is one of the most eomfoi table boats in the service) have been renewed at an ex-pen-o of L3O,(JS(), and that this steamer can in con.-euuenee now keep up an average of Hknot-'f (-). That, the Company are well siti-i'ed with the Oimuz, -s\hiehhas fully an^wued expectations in the matter of r-peed. The diu-ctois had. heard that diy of her arrival at Aden from Adelaide, the distance having been accomplished at an aveiage of K"> knot 6 .. The contract piice paid for this vc«.sd was L20.">,000. (N. B — Kemcinbeung that a tew years back steamers of the clas- of the Iberia and Lifuria co 4 o\er L' 200,000, this sounds cheap.) (3) That the loss of LBO,OOO ineuued by the Company through the foundering of the Austral had been lecouped, and, moreover, the vessel wan now in every lespect doing well and enjoying j the confidence of the tiavelling public. Personal and Miscellaneous. The "Anglo-New Zealander and Australian Tunes '(vhiehi.s now under the full contiol of Mr Philip Mcnnell, and the best iniormed Anglo Colonial newspaper ever issued in London), lias taken a lithographed poitiaib and biogiaphical sketch of Sir Aithur lUyth. Bishop Barry has auived in London. h"n Yv'alter Butler has presented a Huia bhd to the Zoological Society. Sala lecture^ on his colonial experiences? at St. James's Hall on the 1 lth prox A special collection of the works of Sir Oswald Brierly, who accompanied the Duke of Edinburgh on hio colonial tour, are being exhibited in Bond-stiect. They include several antipodean studies. The degree of Doctor of Divinity has been eonfeircd by (ilasgow University on the Rev. J. Dunlop, ofDunedin. f have just heard that the mahogany case containing Sir Pcrtab Singh's jewels, -which were believed to have been looted by a during the confusion prevailing at the wreck of the P. and 0. Tasmania, have been i ucovered. They wore in the bullion room all the time. Tlip numerous friends and acquaintances of Lord and Lndy Norman by in Australia and New Zealand will regret to learn that they have ju.st lost their youngest son, Lord Heivey Phipp.s, who died in Paris the other day at the early age of 33. lie was, Tunderslind, well known in all the colonies, but moic ospecinlly in New Zealand, where ho resided with Ins parents during part of their Vice-royalty. Mr Win, Dnnckley Paine, the well-known colonial broker, formerly of Mincing Lane, leaves, according to the " City Press, "personal estate amounting to L 30,000. | The Mercantile Bank of Australia announces the ihsne of 25,000 shares of L 5 each, with L 2 called up, at the price of L 2 5s per share, payable 10s on application, and LI 15s on June Ist. Mr R. H. Long's famous mare, Dame Agnes, with which one Australian sportsman won several important two-year-old races in 1884, and hoped to carry oil the Oaks in Lonely's year, has been sent to Barcaldine on a \isit, and will be shipped for Australia early in June. She is, of course, intended to join Mr Long's stud. It is authoritatively announced that at the conclusion of the Hare and Kendal partnership next year Mr and Mrs Kendal will start on a prolonged professional tour of the world, taking the Australian colonies first, and then America. No definite, arrangements have, as yet, been concluded, but it is probable they will bo accompanied by one or two members of tho St. James's Theatre Company to support them in leading characters. The repertoire will include most of the big successes of the Hare and Kendal management.

The Biifobicomfoe Murder. — An Extraordinary Story. A humour of a most extraordinary and sensational character, which, if true, would soiiously F-hake public confidence in sentenced pronounced on circumstantial evidence, is being whispered about amongst the clerks at the Homo Office. (Some years ago a, young man (a butbr named Leo)

was- sentenced to death for murdering his mistress and benefactress, an elderlymaiden lady residing at Babbicombe, near Torquay.. The case attracted a lot of attentiom at frtoe time, and your readers will probably remember the facts well. I may remind them, however, that the lad had all through stuck firmly to his innocence. On the scaffold there- was a ghastly and shocking scone. Three times tho hangman tried to do his duty and three times the rope broke, till at length the sheriff refused to allow tho execution to proceed. In accordance with precedent in such cases the capital sentence waa then commuted, and Lee went to "living 1 death" at Dartmoor. Mark the sequel ! It is now said that some months ago one of Lee's fellowservants - the girl who, ab tho trial, was suspected of having an illicit lover—confessed to the crime on her doathbod, and satisfied the authorities of Lee's entire innocence. Tho unfortunate young man \va- subsequently released,, and pensioned for life at 30s a week, but not till ho had given a solemn undertaking to the prison chaplain not to reveal the truth. Tho Home OOice justify their extraordinary action in tho matter on tho ground that if tho facts* were known circumstantial evidence in capital cases would practically become a dead letter, and that is most undesirable, as in 99 cases out of 100, conclusions deduced therefrom are correct. " Parncllisin anil Crime." Since Gladstone's famous " Bulgarian Horrors " pamphlet thrilled all Europe, no political brochures have caused half such a profound sensation as the two penny reprints from the "Times' 5 of its swinging articles on " Parnellism and Ciimo." Tho sale of the first series was almost unprecedented, but it has been quite thrown into the .shade by that of the second, which contains, amongst other matter, a reproduction of the now notorious few simile letter signed " Chas. Parnell." "That tho influence of these pamphlets will he delinite and far-reauhing no one who leads them can possibly deny. Even the ultra-Gladstonians have confessed that to leave such a definite impeachment unanswered must effectually ruin the Irish cause for the time being. Public opinion in England is untnibtakably with Lord Hartington when he says that to meet chaiges of the gravest character with passionate indignation, unsupported by any serious attempt at disproof, is not a cour.-e that w ill satisfy either the House of Commons or the country. On the other hand, Mr Sexton denies tho possibility of a* libelled irishman obtaining justice from an English jury. The "Times" meanwhile stands boldly to its guns, and scoffs at the notion of cither Mr Parnell or his associates daring to face tho Law Courts. "If the charges -we have made can be proved to be baseless and calumnious," it says, "they can be made the ground for criminal as well as civil proceedings. But inside and out of Parliament Mr Parnell and his friends piefer to fallback simply on vague contradiction and insolent abuse." Last week the " uncrowned King- of Ireland " went over to Dublin, avowedly with the intention of hunting up evidence to quash " the ' Times's ' clumsy forgery " In the Rouse, on Tuesday, Mr Sexton endeavoured to convict Mr Brodrick (an old Tory) of bieach of privilege for avowing his belief in the genuine character of the muchcanvassed epistle. But the Speaker would not interfere.