ANGLO COLONIAL NOTES. (FROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.) London, February 23. LOUD ONSLOW FAREWELL.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 356, 3 April 1889, Page 4

ANGLO COLONIAL NOTES. (FROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.) London, February 23. LOUD ONSLOW FAREWELL.

It will, I imagine, be with a cheerful heart, a thankful spirit, and a more or less overloaded stomach, that your new Viceroy will this afternoon bid a fond farewell to the chalky cliffs of Albion. The amount of valedictory feeling and speechifying the poor man has had to go through during the last fortnight has been prodigious, and he must indeed be heartily glad it is at last all over for a time. Most of the functions were of course private or semi-piivate, and must be treated as such, but there were one or two I may tell you a little about. That exclusive coterie, the Beefsteak Club, g>we his lordship a jolly liblle dinner at the Cafe Royal last Sunday evening, the night, by-the-way, of the great snowstorm. Lord Oranby (better known to fame as Mr Manners, Lord Salisbury's private seoretiry) occupied the chair. He was at Eton with Lord Onslow, and apparently a " chum " of his, though they were in different houses, and he congratulated him with unaffected heartiness on his success in life. Mr Montague Williams and Mr Underwood represented the law ; Ban- \ croffc, George Grossmith, Corney Grain, I

Jno. Hollingshead, and many lesser lights the stage ; Edward Lawson and Captain Gooch, journalism ; and the groat Whistler and Leslie Ward, act. There were very few toasts, and soon after eleven the whole party adjourned to the Garrick Club, where George Grossmibh and Corney Grain obliged with their latest musical sketches. Lord Onslow's speech was on this occasion conhned to a few gracious words of thanks to his old friends, and contained no matter of interest to you. A far more important and interesting function was the St. George's Club banquet on Friday last. Lord Knutstord presided, and Lord Lome, Lord Normandy, Lord Bury, the Agent-Oenerala, and a whole host of K.C. M.G/s connected with Australia and New Zealand, shed the light or their countenances on the occasion. Being more especially an Anglo-New Zealandic allair, it was rather surprising to find Sir JF. D. Bell, Sir John Hall, Sir Chas. Clit- j ford, Sir W Buller, Sir Julian' Fauncefort, andSirGeo. Bowen, sitting " inurnchance" throughout the whole evening, while Sir Charles Tupper, General Norman, Mr J. Henniker - lldfaton and others with no sort of connection with the Club or they Australian colonies, orated. Lord Nor-| manby proposed the " Army and Navy." Why, 1 can't think, but bo did, and did it very badly too. I had no idea the old fallow was such a wretched speaker. The impression made on the reporters after a tew mmutes'lamentablescammeiing and stuttering was that he had mixed his liquors injudiciously. A young man near me began to smile, but was promptly suppressed by a ducal "liner" from the "Morning l J o?t,'' who observed severely that he. &aw nothing to laugh at in the noble Marquis's speech. "Nothing in the matter but a good deal in the manner," rosponded my neighbour tersely. " You are evidently unaware his lordship suiters from an impediment in his speech," saict the ducal one. My neighbour had been unaware of the interesting fact, and thought the peculiarity a great misfortune. Any average person might also be excused for supposing the aged Marquis had imbibed not wisely but too well. "I am glad,'' quoth the " Morning Po-t" party witheiingly, "1 am not an average person." At which my young friend, unabashed, "smote" still more loudly. This was the first time I ever heard Lord Onslow speak in public, and I was much pleased. He was fluent, easy and amusnig, without being flippant or the least undignified. Lord Knutsford, in proposing the toast of the evening, remarked it had one > been said that "it was preferable to abuse a man behind his back than to pi'aise him to his tace." He feared that as he know nothing to abuse Lord Onslow with behind his back he should have to piaise him to hi& lace, which he there and then proceeded to do in stereotyped phrases. Loid Onslow said some rather smart things in the course of the quarter of an hour he was on his legs. 1 made a note of one or two ot them, which was just as well, as the London papers confined themselves to the dullest portions of your new Go\ernor's observations. His Lordship said he "had been told that the duty of a colonial governor now-a-days was to sit afc the end of the telegiaph cable and smile. With all due respect to the wonderful strides science had made within the last few years, he hoped it had not come to that yet. 1g would, he believed, be his duty to sympathise with persons in affliction and to encourage all enterprise, but perhaps, above all, to exercise the divine right of hospitality." The union between the mother country and the colonies was essentially one ot hearts, and as in real life, they had their lover's quarrels, but they were only lovers' quarrels, and it must not be forgotten that as the Latin quotation says, " The falling out of faithful triends is the renewal of love." He hoped the day would never come when there should be any necessity to choose between closer federation and separation, but if it should his utmost energies would be directed towards the maintenance of union. (Cheers ) He believed that New Zealand had a great future before it, and it already showed signs of overcoming the eflects of a period of depression which, in common with other countries it had endured. (Applause.) If the rebound to prosperity took place during his term of othce, he would not, as an eminent statesman had done, take all the credit to himseli, but would perhaps on his return venture to draw their attention to the odd coincidence m the two events. As a matter of tact, things were already beginning to look up in the colony. His Lordship also refen ed to your heavy import duties. "On this subject," said he, "I speak feelingly." Clothes, wine, in fact most of the luxuries of life were heavily taxed. Champagne, tor example (nhioh beverage he understood New Zealanders consumed in fair quantities and appreciated thoroughly) had to pay an appalling duty. He had found that oufc for himselt. His Lordship wound up seriously enough by saying he was anxious to draw a distinction between that ambition which was selfish and that which was noble, and he hoped to culthate that ambition ihe aim of which was to leave the world a l.ttle brighter, better and nubier for the toiling millions of our fellow countrymen. The kindness they had shown him led. him to believe that, with God s blessiug, we might be able to cairy out this idea, and that when he came back he might meet with the same kindness in this dear old country, which he. was proud to call his home, and that they might meet again as happily as they parted that night. (Cheers. ) The following are the passengers for New Zealand per s.s. Victoria: — For Wellington : Onslow, Lord and Countess of, and suite, Mr Johnston, Mr and Mrs Milner, Mr and Mrs Percival, Mr and Mrs Smallbones. For Ounedin :MrJ. S. lieid. For Auckland : Mr S H. Fullerton, Miss Russell, and Mr and Mrs Wilson. For Lyttelton : Misses MacCullum (2). Lord Carnai yon has, you will be sorry to loam, been sotiously ill and is still far from well. Dillon will after all go to Australia and New Zealand. He sails March Ist. The venerable Mr George Muller has got home safely from Australia and seems none the worse for his prolonged tour. Needless to say the aged philanthropise was warmly welcomed by his friends in Bristol.