April  i,  1896.]  rilK  TROPICAl.  AGRICULTURIST. 
717 
chery  on  the  other,  lie  said  it  uns  common  to  des- 
cribe Dr.  Jameson’s  action  as  a “ raid,”  hnt,  in  his 
opinion,  it  would  be  lietter  described  as  “ Dr.  Jame- 
son's ilnle.” — The  resolution  was  carried  after  some 
discussion. 
Ui£Oi)Ksi.\,  LiMiTRi). — An  extraordinary  general 
meeting  of  the  shareholders  of  this  company  was  held 
yesterday  afternoon  at  ^Vinchestel  House,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  contirming  the  resolutions  which  were  passed 
at  the  niectiug  held  on  the  1 f th  ult.  The  resolutions 
were  to  the  effect  that  the  capital  of  the  co.mpany  bo 
increased  to  Ui()O,000  by  the  creation  of  10(J,000  new 
shares  of  tl  each,  and  that  the  agreement  which  was 
produced  for  the  purchase  of  certain  of  the  assets  of 
the  Buluwayo  iUining  and  Finance  Company  for 
flO,OOU  cash  and  00,000  fully-p.aid  shares  he  sanctioned 
and  confirmed. — Sir  George  Campbell,  who  presided, 
in  moving  the  confirmation  of  the  resolutions,  said 
that  the  affairs  of  the  company  were  going  on  ex- 
tremely well.  As  regarded  one  of  the  assets,  which 
they  acquired  by  taking  in  the  Buluwayo  Mining  and 
Finance  Company,  thej^  had  received  the  following 
cablegram  from  their  manager; — '-New  shaft  on  the 
Somerset  claims  in  the  Sclukwe  district  has  been 
sunk  to  a depth  of  f)0  ft.;  the  widh  of  tho  vein  is  2 ft. 
Gold  is  visible  throughout.'’  In  conclusion,  the 
chairman  said,  they  had  several  transactions  on  hand 
which  they  thought  would  benefit  the  company  very 
much,  but  it  was  not  advisable  at  that  moment  to 
say  more  about  them. — Mr.  li.  J.  Price  seconded  the 
resolutions,  which  were  adopted  unaniraously. 
I have  been  hearing  a little  lately  of  the 
INDIAN  AND  CKYLON  EXlimmON 
to  be  o]*ened  this  year  at  Earls  Court,  and  I am 
inclined  to  think  well  of  the  enterprise  of  Mr. 
Hartley  (whom  I hojie  to  meet  shortly),  the 
more  esi)ecially  as  he  and  his  .spirited  brother- 
capital  ists  do  not  )-e(juire  any  subsidy  from  Gov- 
ernments, hut  only  their  countenance  and  such  as 
can  fairly  he  given  in  loans  of  exhibits.  From 
a letter  addressed  to  me  by  Mr.  Hartley,  as 
Director,  I quote  a.s  follow's,  in  case  yon  have  not 
alre.aily  Imd  the  p.articiilars  : — • 
“ I noticed  some  few  weeks  ago  there  was  an  article 
in  your  paper  in  reference  to  our  proposed  Exhibition 
which  was  not  altogether  satisfactory  to  ns.  Whoever 
wrote  it  was  evidently  under  the  impression  that  it  was 
the  intention  of  this  Company  to  apply  to  the  Ceylon 
Government  for  pecuniary  assistance  with  regard  to 
organizing  the  Ceylon  Section.  I may  tell  you  that 
we  have  no  idea  whatever  of  doing  anything  of  the 
kind.  This  Company  is  purely  a commercial  under- 
taking, aiid-is  provided  with  ample  funds  for  carrying 
out  the  proposed  work. 
“ In  all  probability  we  shall  send  out  a commissioner 
from  here  at  a very  early  date  to  organize  the  Cey- 
lon Section,  and  I will  make  it  my  business  to  give  him 
an  introduction  to  you,  although  it  is  possible  he  may 
not  be  unknown  to  you,  and  if  you  can  render  him  any 
assistance,  I know  my  friend  Mr.  Christy  will  greatly 
appreciate  it. 
“ Tho  terms  wo  offer  to  native  exiiibitors  are  by  no 
means  onerous.  This  being,  as  1 say,  a commercial 
undertaking,  we  are  unable  to  grant  free  space  to 
exhibitors  except  for  loan  exhibits.  The  c.liarge  we 
propose  is  a reasonable  commission  upon  takings 
only. 
“ On  the  list  of  the  Honorary  Committee  you 
will  notice  a number  of  names  well-known  in 
Ceylon. 
“ Since  writing  the  above,  wo  have  received  a letter 
from  tlie  Secretary  of  State,  informing  us  that  a 
despatch  has  been  sent  out  by  the  Colonial  Office  to 
your  Government. — H.  II.” 
In  case  you  have  nob  had  it  already,  I give  a 
letter  from  Sir  Jame.s  Linton,  Clwiirman  of  the 
I'iiie  .‘\rts  and  Loan  Committee  of  the  Exhihiiion, 
as  “ Ceylon”  i.s  expressly  mentioned  by  him  ; — 
EASTERN  ART  AT  E AIM/S-COURT. 
To  the  Editor  of  tlie  'I'iincs 
Sir, — Last  year  yon  were  good  enough  to  insert  a 
letter  in  your  columns  from  Sir  George  Birdwood  ap- 
pealing for  contributions  to  the  Loan  Seetiou  of  the 
Empire  of  India  Exhibition  at  Earl'a-court ; may  I 
ask  you  to  grant  mo  tho  same  favour  upon  the  pre- 
sent occasion  for  tho  |same  purpose  '?  The  intention 
of  the  honorary  Committee,  of  which  I am  Chairman, 
is  to  follow  the  same  lines  as  the  very  successful 
gathering  of  loan  objects  of  Indian  art ' brought  to- 
gether at  Eail's-court  last  year,  with  the  addition  of 
Ceylon,  Hongkong,  and  other  Crown  dependencies  in 
Asia. 
The  honorary  Committee  of  advice  consists  of  Vice- 
Admiral  the  Hon.  Sir  E.  Freemautle,  Lieutenant- 
General  Sir  Andrew  Clarke,  Sir  George  Birdwood,  Mr. 
M.M.  Bliownaggrec,  M.P.,  Mr.  G Purdou  Clarke,’  Mr. 
F.  H.  M.  Corbett,  and  Mr.  G.  Collins  Levery. 
The  educational  and  artistic  value  of  the  collection 
of  last  year,  and  the  very  great  interest  attached  to  it, 
lead  my  Committee  to  hope  for  the  help  of  ail  who 
are  interested  in  the  advancement  and  conservation 
of  Eastern  art  and  art  manufactures,  so  that  we  may 
present  to  the  .ait-loving  public  an  even  more  exhaus- 
tive and  representative  collection  in  the  coming 
exhibition  of  this  year. 
'The  primary  object  of  my  Committee  is  to  stay,  if 
possible,  by  tiie  exhibition  of  fine  examples  (thereby 
encouraging  their  production),  the  rapid  decay  of  good 
native  art  and  workmanship,  a decay  that  seems  ever 
to  be  one  of  the  evil  consequences  of  the  influence  of 
Western  civilization  upon  the  arts  of  the  East,  and  to 
this  end  my  committee  appeal  to  such  of  your  readers 
as  are  desirous  of  helping  so  good  a cause  by  lending 
for  exhibition  such  objects  as  are  in  their  possession. 
The  loan  Committee  will  be  glad  to  receive,  as  early 
as  possible,  particulars  from  owners  of  historic  objects 
emanating  from  or  connected  with  India,  Ceylon,  or 
any  of  our  Eastern  possessions,  such  as  arms,  fur- 
niture, costumes,  jewelery,  ancient  and  modern  art 
works  of  all  kinds,  models  of  natives  of  the  various 
countries,  their  dress,  objects  of  worship,  musical 
instruments,  means  of  conveyance,  amusements,  and 
anything  of  ethnological  or  general  interest.  His- 
torical pictures,  portraits  of  generals  and  statesmen 
conspicuous  in  the  history  of  British  conquest  and 
colonization  in  the  East,  as  well  as  paintings  by 
European  and  native  artists  in  oil  or  water-colours, 
black-and-white  drawings,  and  miniatures  connected 
with  India,  Burma,  Ceylon,  and  the  East  generally, 
are  particularly  desired  for  this  collection. 
The  directors  of  tho  London  Exhibition  Company 
will  undertake  every  reasonable  responsibility  for 
the  reception,  custody,  insurance  against  fire,  damage, 
and  loss,  and  the  return  after  the  close  of  the  ex- 
hibition of  the  objects  lent. 
If  those  who  have  works  or  objects  which  they 
are  willing  to  lend  will  be  good  enough  to  commu- 
nicate with  George  Collins  Levery,  Esq.,  C.M.S.  Hon 
Secretary,  Fine  Arts  and  Loan  Section  Committee 
Earl’s-court,  S.W.,  the  necessary  form  of  information 
will  bo  forwarded  by  return. 
I beg  to  remain  yours  faithfully, 
JAMES  D.  LINTON. 
5,  Cromwell-place,  South  Kensington,  S.’VV., 
March  2nd. 
I'RKFKRKNCE  SHARE.S  IN  TEA  COMPANIES. 
I call  atLuiitioii  to  an  article  on  another  page 
h'oin  a London  linaiicial  papei'  on  Indian  and 
Ceylon  Tea  Companie.s  and  Preferciiee  Shares, 
showing  how  good  and  safe  these  investments  are 
from  British  Ca]dtal.  (The  article  is  given  on, 
l>age  7' 17.  An  average  of  4^  per  cent,  may 
not  seem  much  to  Colonial  readers  ; but  i'u 
the  eyc.s  of  home  inve.stor.s,  with  Consols  yield- 
ing less  than  _‘J.j  anything  safe  which  gives  4 per 
cent  or  over  is  bound  to  be  run  after  ; and  as 
the  attention  of  the  home  investing  public  is 
being,  more  and  more,  turned  to  Tea  I’lautation 
Companies,  we  may  be  sure  of  an  increasing 
demami  for  both  I’refcreiice  and  Ordinary  .Shares 
in  good  Comjianie.s. 
I was  much  pleased  to  learn  from  Dr.  Morp.i.s 
of  Kew,  of  Ills  interesting  trip  to 
THE  RAIIAMAS 
from  wliicli  he  recently  returned.  He  refers  me  to 
an  interview  reported  in  OommercG  as  giving  the 
