SUMMARY FOR EUROPE.

Press, Volume LII, Issue 9272, 25 November 1895, Page 2

SUMMARY FOR EUROPE.

POLITICAL AND GENERAL.

The dying days of the session of 1895 were marked by a display of independence on the part of Mr Skddon's followers which somewhat relieved the monotony of the proceedings. The Customs Duties Reciprocity Treaty Bill, embodying ilr Ward's Canadian and South Australian treaties, was thrown out on the second readme, aud the same fate attended the Ministers' Salaries and Allowances Bill, which provided for the appointment of another Minister. The members of the Government made a strong effort in favour of the latter BiU v but without effect. Subsequently the Reciprocal Treaties Bill was reintroduced, but only dealing with South Australia, the portion containing the Canadian treaty being left out, and in this shape, with modifications, the Bill was passed by both' Houses, the Governor subsequently notifying that he had reserved it tor her Majesty's assent. The House finally rose ou Saturday, the 2nd inst. Important changes are pending in the Ministry. The Judgeship, rendered vacant by the death of 'Air Justice Richmond has been offered by the Government to Sir Patrick Buckley, who is rumoured to bave accepted the position, although his state of health is such that an Acting-Judge will have to be appointed immediately to clear nparrears of work, while Sir Patrick obtains leave of absence. Then Sir Westby Peeckval's term of office as A-en t-General expires very shortly, and it is alleged, though the Government will not declare their intentions, that his successor may be the Hon. W. P. Reeves, Minister for Education and Labour, and senior member for Chrietchurch. The Hon. W. Montgomery, who with Sir P. Buckley represents the Government in the Upper House, retired from office at the end of the session, and the Hon. A. J. Cadman, whose health has for a long time been indifferent, and who has lately been seriously ill, would surprise no one if he found it neoessary to resign. The filling of these four vacancies in a Cabinet of eight will probably give Mr Seddon no little anxiety and trouble. Rumour is very busy with the names of candidates for the positions, but everything is as yet uncertain. Mr Reeves's appointment as AgentGeneral would leave a vacancy- in the representation of Christchurcb, and a byeelection would beoome necessary. Preparations in view of this event are already being made, and the electors will probably have several candidates from which to cbooee. It is understood that the Premier has been in communication with Sir Westby FsßcavAL with a view to his consenting to nomination for the Chrietchurch seat in the Government interest in the event of the Minister tor Labour goiog to London as Agent-General.

The banking question, which has been so prominently before the inhabitants of the colony for the last two 'or three months, bM now, it is hoped, been finally settled. At a general , meetiDg of the shareholders of the Colonial Bank (a report of which appears in another column) a motion for the ratification of the contract providing for the sale of the Bank's business to the Bank of New Zealand was agreed to after some diaoussion, all bnt unanimously, a ballot showing for the motion 134,551 shares, against it 6115 shares. The Colonial Bank, as will be seen by reference to an article elsewhere, ceased to exist as a separate Bank after 3 p.m. on the 18th inst. Mr Henby Mackenzie, General Manager of the Colonial Back, becomes General Manager of the Bank of New Zealand. The annn&l reports of two of the colony's Woollen Factories have been published, those of Wellington and Mosgiel. In the first case the Directors notified that the Company was about to add the manufacture of hosiery to its operations. They did not think the position of affaire warranted the payment of a dividend. They had written down the value of the plant and properties by £2000, restored £2000 to the reeerve account, and, in view of expenditure on new plant and buildings, deemed it prudent to oarry forward to the credit of the profit and loss account £220073 to next year's account. The balance sheet of the Mosgiel Company showed a balance to credit of the profit and loss account of £6476 16s lid, from which £2205 was paid as an interim dividend in April. The Direotors recommended the payment of a farther dividend of 4 per cent, for the half year, absorbing £2940, making ? per cent, for the year, and carrying forward £1331163 lid. The Oamaru Woollen Company, it is understood, will pay the usual dividend of 8 per cent, on preference ■bares and 6 per cent, on ordinary shares. At the annual meeting of the National Insurance Company, the report showed a surplus, after paying the interim dividend of £7362, of £7505, and a further dividend of 3d per share, making the total for the year Iβ 6d per share, was recommended. The report was adopted. The Customs revenue for the quarter ending September of this year was as follows (the figures for the same quarter last year being added in brackets) -.—Auckland, £104,425 CE84.992); Wellington, £102,437 (£93,364); Chriatchurch £66,361 (£65,031); Dunedin, £88,856 (£89,750); total for colony, £448,681 (£403.793.) The following is the value of the exports for the periods mentioned above:—Auckland £308,903 (£243,571); Wellington, £133,995(£117,559); Cliristchurch, £299,564 (£309,647); Dunedin £155,992 (167,437); total for the colony, £1,311,125 (£1,291,834.) The vital statistics for October in the four principal towns of the colony, with their suburbs are :—Auckland, population 42,713, births 89, deaths 51, proportion of deaths to 1000 of population 1.19; Wellington, 38,170, 113, 46, 1.19; Chrietchurch, 42,211, 105, 36, 0.85; Duuedin, 48,991, 84, 26, 0.53. The estimated population of the colony, exclusive of Maoris, on September 30th. was—Males 366.559, females 326,577, total 693,136, being 3310 more than in the last quarter. Including Maoris, the total population of the colony was 735,129. Carnival week in Christchurch, by which term is known the week in which the Canterbury Jockey Club's Metropolitan Meeting and the Agricultural and Pastoral Association's Show take place, was favoured with splendid weather. A very large number of visitors from the remoter parts of the Province and from other centres in the colony, came to Chrietchurch. The C. J. Cβ gathering, which took place on the stb, 7th and 9th of the month, was one of the most successful reunions yet held at Ricearton. The attendance on New Zealand Cup Day was the largest ever seen on the course. The racing all through was of the most interesting character, the great feature of the sport being the manner in which the favourites 'were beaten. Only on one occasion throughout the meeting did the popular fancy win a handicap. The Dunedin colt, Euroclydon (Gorton—Lady Gertrude) was the hero of the gathering, winning the three great prizes of the New Zealand Cup, Derby, and Canterbury Cup. In the last named race, a weight-for-age *vent, ran over » distanoe of two miles and a quarter, the colb put up a record for the colonies, the time being 3min 57Jsea The C.J.C. will make a profit of nearly £2000 over the meeting.

The Canterbury Metropolitan Show took place ou the 7th an I 3ih in3t., under most favourable circumstances as regards weather. The number of entries was larger than in any previous year, and the attendance on the second day, known as '■he People's Day, when a shilling admission fee is charged, was estimated at 20,000. The Ptemier, the Minister for Lands and the Colonial Treasurer were present. Sir Maurice O'Rorkl, Speaker of the House of Representatives, has left for a trip to England, after au absence from the Old Country of forty years. Among recent visitors to Christchurch was Mark Twain*, who delivered three lectures here. He had a most enthusiastic reception, and hospitality was showered upon him during his stay in the city, the Savage Club giving him a farewell banquet on the nignt before he left for Wellington. The Italian man-of-war Cris'.ofero Colombo is at present at Auckland. One of her Lieutenants is Prince Lviai, Dec d' Abbuz/.1, nephew of the King of Italy. A novel race against time took place in Wellington on November 13th, in connection with the Agricultural Show. Three halfbred merino sheep were shorn at the Wellington Woollen Company's works at 6.30 a.m., the fleeces weighing 171b. The fleeces were then passed through the processes of dyeing in two colours, teasing, carding and spinning, steaming, warping, weaving, scouring and milling, tenteriug and dyeing, the last-named being finished by 10.52 a.m., and at 10 55, or 4 hours and 25 minutes from the time the shears first touched the sheep, the completed fabric was sent to Wellington to be made into a suit of clothes, which left the tailor's hands at 3.40 o'clock in tiie afternoon and was exhibited at the Show. The Tax Department is about to bring into operation the provisions of the Act passed this session, providing for the licensing of non-resident agents travelling on behalf of firms outside the colony. The license fee is £50.