ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES. (FROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.) London, November 2.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 427, 11 December 1889, Page 5

ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES. (FROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.) London, November 2.

THE NEW ZEALAND LOAN. The tenders for the new 3^ per cent, loan of £2,700,000 last Friday amounted to £4,942,100 at prices rating from £100 to £95. The average price of allotment was £95 16s Bd, tenders at £95 8s 6d receiving about 17 per cent. This result came as a painful suipri-:e to most people concerned, as a largo amount of business had been done beforehand at prices ranging from 2{ premium to Is. O.ie firm sold a million prior to issue at 2f. They were only allotted £300,000, and as they've got to make up the balance, the market is sure to be put up considerably before settling day.

NOTABLES ON THE ARAWA. The Arawa, which sailed yesterday, had to shut out numerous passengers, and a quantity of cargo. The saloon list includes the young Marquis of Downshire (and his valet), the Hon. Alfred Egerton, M.l\, and Mrs Egerton, the Rev. G. B. Inglis, wife and family, Mr and Mrs E. J. Spence and family, Mr and Mrs Chas. Trice and daughters, and Mr Chas. Harding. Lord Downshire's age, titles, and properties I described to you sometime back. Mr Egerton is a brother of the present Earl of Ellesmere, and has vsat as Conservative member for Eccles, in Lancashire, since 1885. He is 35 years of age, though ho scarcely looks it. Mrs Egerton comes ot an Irish family, being daughter of the late Hamilton Gorges, Esq., of Kelbrew, County Meath. Mr Inglis, you of course all know as " Maori."'

EN UOUTE TO NEW ZEALAND. Owing to the break down of the Coptic (which met with a slight accident two days after leaving Rio, and had to put back for repairs), Shaw Savill have chartered tho Rimutaka to take their December service. Mr Tifi'en, of Napier, and Mr Randle go by the Rimutaka. "Mr and Mrs Bloomfield and party have left Paris, and are on their way home. As, however, they intend doing India tn route, it will be some months before they reach New Zealand. The Orient steamer which left Plymouth yesterday carries a number of through passengers for New Zealand, notably Sir Philip and Lady Mainworing, Mr and Mrs H. B. Webster and sons, Mr J. S. Raymond, Mr E. Tester, Mr W. Bayntun and Mr F. Dawson. The last-named two are for Dunedin and the rest for Auckland. Sir Philip Mainwaring, of Peover Hall, Knutsford, is a well-known and popular Cheshire- baronet, sixty years of age, and an authority on agricultural subjects. Lady Mainwaring is much younger than her husband. Mr and Mrs Wardell and family and Mrs Allan are going out to Lyttelton by the Orient. The North German Llyods Elbe- which sails from Southampton to-morrow, has Mr S. Buckland and the Rev. G. S. Flint as through passengers for Wellington, and Mr and Mrs E. Bell and the Rev. J. Keating for Auckland. Mr Brett started with his family for Paris by the mid-day mail yesterday. He leaves behind him, however, a capable representive in the person of Mr R. B. Brett, who will in future act as the Auckland Stak's business agent in London. Mr and Mrs Brett and party will stay some days in Paris and then proceed by Lucerne, the St. Gothard, and Milan to Brindisi, where they join the Victoria. Mr Brefct proposes crossing to Auckland from Melbourne via Dunedin and Christchurch. The Bishop and Mrs Selwyn, and Archdeacon and Mrs Williams and family will leave for New Zealand by the P. and 0. Shannon on December 26th. Over 130 English passengers are patronising the Elbe this week. Mr T. B. Whitehead, once well known in journalistic circles in New Zealand, but now Clerk of the Minster at York, lectured on the colony, at Leeds, on Tuesday evening.

MR T. C. KERRY'S NEW GUINEA EXPLORATION. Tho prospectus of Mr T. C. Kerry's "British ]Sew Guinea Exploring Syndicate " was issued yesterday for private circulation. Before* permitting this the Committee of Management, of which Lord Gifibrd, V.C. , is Chairman, inquired (through the Bank of New Zealand) into the character and reputation borne by Mr Kerry in Auckland. The result of these queries has pi'oved satisfactory, and it seems now certain the explorer will get the £26,000 he requires without difficulty. More, however, anon on this subject.

THE LORD MAYOR'S BALL. Ainongeb the gueots at the great ball given by the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress at the Mansion House last Tuesday, in honour of the 700 th anniversary of the mayoralty of the city of London, were several distinguished colonists, including Mr and Mrs Henry Brett, of Auckland, and their daughters. The company, which included all the smart city functionaries, the masters of companies and about fifty provincial mayors, numbered nearly a thousand, and 'tis stated over 800 requests for invitations had to be refused. Nevertheless the crush till the supper rooms were opened was considerable, and but little dancing could bo done. Mr Brett was presented to the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress, and tho Sheriffs of London, and also made the acquaintance of several notable journalists present. The toilettes of the two Miss Bretts were much admired ; the younger was, as a matter of fact, one of the best dressed girls in the room, this being proved by the fact that her gown was one of the three or four selected by the lady journalists for description in the fashionable ladies' papers. The material was a rich bub deliciously soft Surah silk, in the very palest shade of green, the fashionable colour just now in the smart set. Tho draping was simplo, and therefore graceful, and the cut and fib were both perfection. The bodice was in court shape, and the open sleeves finished off with bands of ro3e thorns, which gave a c?iic appearance to a remarkably well-conceived and admirably carried out costume. Amongst the six hundred other frocks there was only one at all like it, bub that was most absurdly so, both in material and make. It was worn by a Miss Pollard, whom you may remember was one of the bridesmaids at the Duchess of Portland's wedding, in the spring. The elder Miss Brett wore a prebty pink frock, which also fitted to perfection, showing that the ladies have evidently discovered that rara ans in Lon-don-—a reliable dressmaker.

PARIS AWARDS TO NEW ZEALANDERS. Sir Walter Buller has received the silver medal of the Paris Exhibition for ebnological (Maori) specimens exhibited in the New Zealand Court ; so also has Mr Malfroy, the agent sent Home by the New Zealand Government in charge of exhibits. Sir Walter Buller has received a second silver medal for his work on "The Birds of New Zealand," which was exhibited by Count Jouffroy D'Abbans, the late ConsulGeneral at Wellington, in the French Colonial Court. Mrs Gilbert Mair

(nee Miss Sperry) has likewise been awarded the silver medal for her admira, le oil paintings of Hawke's Bay Maoris, "xhibited in the last-named section. Sir Kobert Herbert, the permanent Under - Secretary of State, who, at Sir Francis Bell's invitation, exhibited a collection of rare New Zealand birds (mounted by Burton and Sons, of Wardour-street), hue received a diploma of honourable mention. The Government of New Zealand (who exhibited almost everything in the New Zealand Court), has come in for a perfect shower Qf prizes. The New Zealand Antimony Company pets a silver medal for its admirable exhibits of that metal and sulphide ores. The New Zealand Antimony Company's meeting to discuss the raising of £12,000 debentures takes place this afternoon.

MR WESTGARTII'S DEATH. Mr Wesbgarth's sudden death last Monday occasioned great concern and surprise. He had boon in poor healbh for some time, bub no fatal termination was anticipated. The funeral takes place at Edinburgh today (Friday), and consequently none of the Agents-Cieneral can be present. All, howevor, have sent wreaths. Sir Francis Bell tolls me thatiMr Wesbgarth's last financial operation was in connection with the Zl per cent. New Zealand loan last Friday, over which his firm must have already made quite £100,000.

A (JOOD STORY. The colonial clique at the St. Ueorge's are also all agog anent the exploits ot a popular Melbourne medico and a versatile Australian playwright, who, to win asubsbantial wager, sold seven dozen roa&ted potatoes in Regent-street one evening last week. Tho playwright expatiited on the merits of the edibles, whilst the medico pouched the coin, and so successful were the happy pair in impressing a credulous public with tho merits of their wares, that they sold seven dozen floury and esculent tubers, in fcwo brief hours. Such a venture was, naturally, not carried to a triumphant terminution without occasonal " excursions and alarums." 'Tis reported, for instance, that whilst business Avas at its briskest a leviathan (not to say bulgy) female bore down on the potato merchants and commenced persecuting one of them by proposing amorous impossibilities 1 . The too attractive man had at length to fly from his charmer's importunities and sock seclusion in an adjacent club (or pub, it doesn't matter which) till the danger was over and tho massive maiden had been moved on.

THE MAIL TIME-TABLES. The Agont-Gonorals have once again signed a joint petition to the PostmasterGeneral urging him to have the mail timetables homeward for the ensuing year altered in accordance with the united wishes of the colonies, and putting the matter very strongly. I doubt, however, any good coming of this now protest. With all India dead against them the colonies will have to do something more than petition in order to get their own way.

THE AUSTRALIAN HORSE RING MASTER. If Mr Eden Savile'a Australian horse Ringmaster is not stale it ought to be. The hardy beast has been started no fewer than fifteen times since March last, and now figures prominently amongst the •' flyers" packed for the Liverpool Autumn Cup. In tHe Smother Cup, over the same course, you mayVpmembor Ringmaster, with 7sb 111b, ran third to Veracity, Bst, and Peeler, 6st 111b. Mr Savile's horse has novr 21b more # tjo carry and an equally good field to meet. The public are at present taking 10 to 1 freely.

MR C. H ADDON CHAMBERS. It is whispered at the St. George's Club fchafc differences have arisen between Australia's leading dramatist) (as his friends respectfully call Mr C. Haddon Chambers) and the lessee of the Haymarket Theatre concerning the production of the latfcer'a new play, which has been christened, I undcretand, " The Bouquet." Mr Tree says he refused the piece because it was not good enough, whereas Mr Chambers tells everyone he had to withdraw it because Mrs Tree insisted on playing tho heroine. Which of these two stories is correct, 1 leave you to decide. In all probability tho piece will eventually be produced ab a matinee by Chambers himself. There is a strong feeling amongst tho young Australian's friends that he has rested on the laurels of " Captain Swift " long enough, and that unless he wished to acquire the unenviable reputation of a " Single-speech Hamilton " he ought to set to work forthwith to justify the high hopeB which his Haymarket triumph naturally raised. Before Chambers became a successful dramatist he was slowly bufc surely and steadily making a name as a writer of short stories and magazine articles. Latterly, however, he has quite given up this branch of work. It is a great pity, as I feel Bure he could write- a firstrate novel of colonial life. His bush stories in Mennell'e " Australian Wilds " are gems of their sort.

TOOLE'S COLONIAL TOUR. Toole is such a thoroughly popular man with •• the profession" that there will certainly be a big splash in connection with his farewell banquet in London. Already he has partaken of numerous valedictory feeds in the provinces. The popular comedian has all his life long known the value of that useful commodity, " the puff preliminary," and wherever ho speaks juafc now jocularly asks those amongst his auditors who have frionds in the colonies to " say a good word for a rising young actor named Toolo " who'll presently visit them. There was some idea of trying to get a royalty to preside at the London dinner, but,the initiators will probably have to be content with his bran new Grace of Fife, who has long since been a "pal" of "good old Toole."

LITERARY NOTES. The Australian lady who chooses to be known by the name of "Tasma," and whose novel, " Uncle Piper, of Piper's Hill,'' achieved such a success both in England and the colonies, has a new volume of stories immediately forthcoming called "A Sydney Sovereign and Other Talcs." Trischler, the enterprUing, has jusb purchased the new story of Australian life which Mrs Campbell Praed has been at work on duriner the year. He tells me, bythe way, that the plot of May Ostlere's new " shocker," entitled " Dead," is founded on an incident which really occurred recently to Mr Barrand, the well-known photographer. He was sent for to take the likeness of a beautiful young girl who had died suddenly, and did so, remaining in'the death chamber some ten minutes only and exposing two plates. When he came to the negatives, the photographer discovered to his horror that in the interval of some minutes between tha taking of one picture and the other the corpse had moved. Horrorstruck, he hurried back to the disconsolate relatives, and — well, here Barrand's story ends and Miss Ostlere's begins. Messrs Trubner advertiso Mr G. B. Barton's "History of New South Wales" for immediate publication. Vol. I. will be ready shortly. Two different dramatic versions of Fergus Hume's much over-rated "Mystery of a Hansom Cab *' are being played at the East

End Theatres this week. Hume himself I have losfc the run of since he quarrelled with Trischler. MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. The mail steamer "Phoenix," the first of the now Australian Keserve cruisers, was launched from Thompson's yard at Belfaston Monday. That vivacious veteran, Dion Boucicault, has been ordered by the Courts to provide his n*rab and original sponse, Miss Agnes Robertson, with alimony at the rate of £30 a week. Boucy won't like that methinks.