ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 332, 9 January 1889, Page 5

ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES

LORI) OK SLOW. I was speaking to a young fellow in the Colonial Oilico the other day, who gave me some interesting facts, or rather related t° me some entertaining gossip, anent. the new Antipodean Viceroys. It seems Lord Knubsford regrets now that he did not send Lord Onslow'to Queensland and give you Sir Henry Blake. Your Premiei (he thinks) would not, at any rate, havo been such .m ass as to object to a man without lirst accurately ascertaining his record and reputation. '"The cream of the present fuss," said my acquaintance, " to lib fellows behind the scene?, is that Blako is positively one of our best and most vising men. In Newfoundland, both he and Lady Blake wereoxtiaoidniaiily popular, and his conduct at the difficult constitutional crises theie lune recently been out there was by both political parries admitted to be beyond praise. ThefacnisSir Henry in characterand appearance is of the stuff the be=*t Governors are made of. His magistracy in Ireland &o far from unfitting him for bis Vice-Regal duties gave him the necessary dignity and judicial fiamc of mind. To talk of him as * one of Buckshot Foster's Creatures 'is nonsense. He performed his disagreeable duties so fairly and plucUily that he became abs-olutciy popular, and if it i- true that he and LiuU Klako had often to bit up all night with" rirearms by their bides it is also a fact that when they were leaving bhe district they were cordially cheered, and that blcsing^ were called down on Laclv Blake's head for her frequent kindneases and charities to the un fortunate peasantry- Lt ( wound up my acquaintance) Sir John' Pope Henessey had been appointed to Queensland, 1 confess I could have understood (he colony objecting, but io those 'in the know ' the objections to the BlaUes sound simply grotesque." Since writing the toiegoing bir Henn Blake has helped the(iovernment, as? knowing him to be a very proud man they probably calculated he would, out of an awkward dilemma by declining to go to Queensland, and LoidsKnutsford and Ueiby ha\e pronounced panegrics on him in the House of Lords iully continuing all I had heard privately. Ke will now in all probabilty go on to Mauritius, and some new man (probably Lord Balfom, of Biuleigh) be appointed to Queensland.

LOUD KNUTFORD'S DEFEAT. It is on all sides agreed that, this Bluke incident is a tenible slap in the lace for Lord Kuutsford. Sir Julius Vosjel favours (Sir Thomas Mcllwraith's and Sir Henry Parkes's views, but sensible men like Sir W. Buller, Sir C. Clifford, and Sir F. Dillon Bell agree that it would ne\ er do for a colony (which means of course tbe Colonial Premier for the time being) to have the power of vetoing any gentleman whom he might happen for reasons (as vague a-i those alleged against Sir H. Blake's appointment) to object to. Ik What would you have done in Lord Knutsford's place ?'" a colonial Asrent(ieneial is said to have asked Lord Derby. " Sent them Pope-Hennessey," jrnmly vpplied his lordship. " They are afiaid of him even at the Colonial Olhce. He was always a bit of a tartar, and now he'-^ bested the ' Times ' there'll be no holding him. He wouldn't caie a dump whether the Queenslanders wanted him or uoc. Old war hor^e that he i*, he d ha\c snorted with delHrhc at. die mere thought of conflict. ' I'll «liow them %>. hat a Constitutional Governor should be. 1 he'd >ay. and \ou may be &uve he would — u<'<qklu>>j 'o In* The wor-t of h;u in«r jri^n ««»\ ;i- Lu.d Ivnucsfoid luis is that it pa- ne.ited a piccedent which cnterpn&ingco'om il Picmieiaie i:ot likely to forget.

A VISITOR FOR MU BU\(.K Mr Bryce will be gratified to loam that with a view to burying 1 the hatchet and making peaca with tlic various poisons inadvertently libelled in that unlucky '' History of New Zealand," Mr (.. W. Rusden (sjood old Rubden) contemplates paying Ihe colony a vi-it He leave 0 England at the end of this month. The lale-t thins in ••yamd-* i- that, Sir Arthur Gordon v. ill phoitly be iai=ed to the peerage. The JIMI Chief Secretary (Mr A. •). Balfour) has in\e^teil a laryo -nm of money in Kew Zealand land ab the mstanco ot a relati\e resident, it i 5;i 5 ; understood, in ('in i-t-cburch Mr H. M. Fisher, of Auckland, has airived in London, and can be heard of. I am told, at 188, Strand. Dr. Smith, of Kew Zealand, i« staying at the Lovent (.Jaiden Hotel. Messrs R. Y. Fulton and \V. J'arkin«on (both Otago men) were re-elected lion, treasurers of the Ediubiu^h University Austialasian Club at the i^enerol meeting iast week. The Club hat now 80 member' resident in Edinburgh, and is in a most flourishing condition financially.

SIR JULIUS VOCJEL'S PLA>.S. Sir Juiins Yogel has not after all made up his mind yet to icturn to Kew Zealand. AVhebher lie does oi 1 doe^> not will depend in a great measure on tho success 01 failure of the various ventures he has> on hand. His constituents may, however, depend that when the New Zealand )jai Hitmen bary session open& either he will be in his seat in the Assembly or his resignation will be in their handfc. Vogel'o gre:ib hope at present i<? Coutts Crawfords Richmond Hill silver mine, at Nelson, the Company to flout which he is a^=ibbing to bring out. Sir Julius's name will not, of course, be associated with the venture (liiab, J fear, wouldn't do it much good), but he has an extensive experience in the devious ways ot finance, and "an fctill be of gieat use " under the rose "' in getting up a company. Of this mine he -ays irankly enounfh, " It's a case ot hit or mi~?. Kither we have almost boundless wealth before v-, or we shall lose our money.' Special hopes are entertained of being able to find a good market for the new mineral. Hector-Rich-mondite, with which the mine abounds. The vendors only want £2,000 in cash. They take all the rest in shares.

ANNO DOMINI 2,000. So many stoiies of one kind and anothei are brought; out in December that it has been thought politic to postpone the publi calion of Sir Julins Vogel's novelette which will be called either "The Yeai 2,000," or "Anno Domini 2,000," anc issued in the form of a shilling "shocker,' till January next. Those who have seer the .proof -sheets speak \ery well oE th< story, though most of them seem to &a; they have read something like it before. The " Atlas " scheme lias practically broken down. Mr JBeetham has had severa conferences with Vogel, and quite sees i would be impossible to go to the public fo the money. The N.Z. syndicate will w doubt be consoled for the faibure of th scheme by the reflection that they hay enjoyed the privilege of paying Vogel' expenses to Europe and so enablei him to made a fresh starb in life, an< set no end of new irons into the fire.

BULLER'S GRAND COUP. Sir Walter Buller i^ rapidly devolopin; into a tirmnciev of the fir&t quality, and wii

nob improbably die as inch as Rothschild, His latest coup almost takes one's bieath away. Sir Walter has absolutely -sold the jrold" mine on the New Zealand Antimony Company's ground ah Jackson's Bead for £135,000, winch is 13~>>0QU more than ira* originally paid/or the cnttrej>ropcrtif. Payment*, 110,000 in cash and the balance in shares in a first-class company with a capital at £250,000. In consideration of their interest in the mine, the Antimony Company will nominate one of tho directors in the new company. 3 1 is likely they may select Sir Thos. Broeklebhnk, of Liveruool, as he is a large shareholder. What Antimony shares will go to when fchis news is made public at. the coneral meeting next week, I don't know. You can't yet any now. I cried, and failed.

SIR WILLIAM JEIIVOIW. Siv Robert Herbert told Sir W. Buller the other day that Lord Knutstord^W otter to re-appoint Sir William .leivois to New Zealand and thai the latter declined by telegram, without giving any reason. It is prosumed the state of Lady Jervoih's health induced him to change his mind, Ceitainly Hi* Excellency was willing to 1 amain some months bark. Sir John and Lady Hall have settled down at Eastbourne tor tho win lea, and Miss Hall has commenced a course ot seabathing and medical treatmeat. which will, it is anticipated, re.-ult in her complete restoration to health and stiennth. Sir John hopes to be baok in Neu Zealand by the middle of next year. PERSONAL AND GENERAL. Sir John Uoist was bitterly disappointed at not beinjx ottered the Governorship of New Zealand. Lord KnwtMord promised him a vice-royalty, and Sir John's, mind turned nntmaily to your p<u t of the wot Id or the (Jape. A<s a matter of facl tho Colonial Secretary wa& thinkinjr of much less important po&t?, and last week in\itod the member for Rochester to succeed Sir Henry Blake as Governor of Newfoundland. Needless to s>ay, Sir John promptly declined I the honoui.

LADY ON SLOW. Lady Onslow is a massive bmneUc with a « T oocl figure, a dignified piesence, and w ill be gui o at home doing- tho honours of Government House. Whether the new Viceroy resides much in Auckland will depend partly on the condition of tho oflicial iesidencethere,and partly on the facilities for making the overland journey to Wellington. His Lordship and what Monsieur calls /a ocean are antipathetic to otto another, so much so that the former never willingly trusts himself on the bosom of the latter. Whether the long sea voyage out will work any change in Lord Onslow's feelings in this respect remains to be seen. Lord Onslow naturally accepts the reduction oftheViceroy'ssalaryin New Zealand a= equivalent to a declaration chat he will not be expected to entertain extravagantly or even on the same scale as his predecessor. He is a business man, and will do what is right, no doubt : bub you'd better at once gefc it out of your head* tliat because he's a loid, and lives fairly smartly in London, injo (government House will be gayer, and the Vice-Regal menage grander, than in the .Jervois's time. For one thing, the Earls of Onslow are not " the descendants of a hundred Earls," with a pedigree dating back to the Conquest, nor are there landed estates rjci'Oie attached to the title The tirsbearl "Right Hopourable Arthur Onslow, got his peerage through being Speaker for a short time ; the piesent is only the fouilh holder. The Ouslows have several children, be-^ide^ Lord Cranlcy.wbo will be sent home to Eton after living a year in New Zealand. The Marquis of Lome will occupy the rhaii at the Colonial Institute next Tuesday, when your Mr Gisborne lectures on •• Colonisation." I need scarcely say Mr Uees will bo about. it has been suggested to the Duke of Xorfolk thai the thermal springs ot 2soith Xe-.v Zealand hase worked wonders in con.phcated cases like that of the poor httle Earl of Aumdel and Suncy, and hib (I race is now trying to make up the boy s mind to face the "journey. Of course the Duke would accompany his son, and the little imalid would have c\ery possible comiorfc ; but, like most nenou*;, ailing children, he dreads the '-ea. The P. and O. Carthage, mailing to d.iy, has a lai'tre number ol thiough pa---engers tor Auckland, \i/., Me*cr-> Cameron, Strickland. Xi< ho^on, G -F. fvu.-'-ell. and H. Wilson, the K,e\ . Dewsbury and Mi^ Dew^bury, Mi 1 * Simpson, and Mi and Mrs Ma^y. Mr Hennikei Heaton will move for a ic-tm-n of the covres)3ondence relating to the quarrel beeween Sir A. Cordon and Mr Bryce. A committee has been aopointed lo inquiie into tho practicability of Mr Kees'b colonisation scheme foi 1 the crofterc. Over 1.500 parcels were despatched by the tiret mail to Xesv Zealand. Miss E. Chapman and Mis-*. M. NysUom go out to Kew Zealand to initiate colonial teachers in the mysteiics- of " yioyd. Archdeacon Stock, of Wellington, ha.sairived in England, and will wintei at Ha^tinga. The West Tok«itea Gold ilininj? Company ,isto be floated ab last-. Mr Alex. Broaden will be chaiiman and General Hamley a direetoi . Ml- Dillon, Sir Thomas Esmoode, and Mr Deasy, perform the Home Rule touting tour lo the Australias this winter. They sail on the 17th inst.