GENERAL SUMMARY. London, January 27.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXIV, Issue 3339, 30 March 1868, Page 3

GENERAL SUMMARY. London, January 27.

The Australian November mails were delivered in London, vijL Marseilles, on the 13th, and via Southampton ou the 18th January. Her Majesty is well, and remains at Osborne in comparative retirement. The Prince s of Wales is rapidly recovering strength, and has resumed her usual avocations. The Queen has published another book, entitled "Leaves from the Journal of our Lives in the Highlands, from 18*8 to 1861." The first edition, 150,000 copies, has been already sold. Charles Kean died on January 23rd ; the Queen wrote a letter of condolence to Mrs. Kean. Fenianism is nearly quiet ; the effective measures of the authorities prevented further outrages. Burke and Casey have been committed. The man who fired the powder barrel at Clerkenwell prison has been captured with other prisoners, and after examination further remanded. It is now ascertained that seven murders, with mutilation and injury to forty other persons, was the result of this outrage. The editors of the Dublin Weekly News, and Irishman, have been arrested for publishing; seditious articles. 84 000 special constables have been sworn m to keepthe peace and protect property. George Francis Train, on his »r rival from America, was arrested aa a Fenian, but has since been liberated. . A public dinner of Australian colonists now in England took place on January 25, to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the first British settlement in Australia. Sir W. Denison was in the chair. The Duke of Buckingham was present, and, in responding to the toast of the Ministry, the Duke said that, since the seals of the Colonial Office had been entrusted to his care, he had not known of any question that had arisen which ought not to be settled calmly and readily, if only it was met at once and disposed of before it had time to grow into a sore or grievance. Mr. Corry, M.P., who was also present, stated that £50,000 would be placed on the estimates for the completion of an ironclad for Victoria. Another alteration has been made in the postal arrangements at the instance of the Post-office authorities— the departure of the English April mail from the 17th to the 24th. Mr. Childers has decided to accept the post of Finance Minister of India. At the Conservative dinner at Bristol, Lord Stanley stated that the Cabinet have a comprehensive education sftheme under consideration, which they wish to be allowed to introduce. The question is attracting much attention. Mr. Lowe has spoken on the subject in a provincial town. The Standard denies that the Viceroy of Egypt has made an offer of intervention on behalf of the Abyssinian captives, and says that the Viceroy, yielding to the representations of Lord Stanley, ordered the withdrawal of the majority of the Egyptian troops from Massowah. A terrific gale passed over England and Scotland on the sth January. It resulted in serious loss of life and property. In Edinburgh great damage was done, and four lives were lost through the falling of a chimney of a six-storey house in Duke-street. A chimney of Osborne Palace felL through the roof, into the apartments formerly occupied-by the Queen. Several fishing boat 3 belonging to Newhaven are missing. Nineteen vessels, chiefly brigs and schooners, were wrecked on the coast of Glamorgan . Fifty-two lives are supposed to have been lost. For miles the coast is strewed with wrecks. Mr. Charles Adams, the American ambassador, has resigned. Arrangements have been made for a line of telegraph to India, via Bussia and Persia. Distresa prevails ia the east end of London, owing to the decline of the shipbuilding trade on the Thames. Attempts have been made to reduce wages to enable the employers to compete with the shipbuilders on the Clyde, where there is great activity in the trade. Meetings have been held at Millwall on the subject. A compromise is expected. Complaints are made at Madras that persons who arrive there in charge of Australian howes pass cleverly-forged bank notes. The Bishop of Lichfield is about to return to New Zealand, to wind up matters in his diocese there. He has gratified everybody by many addresses on the occasion of his inauguration. Mr. Thornton is the new British Minister at Washington. .Lord Bloomfield, our ambassador at Vienna, has gone to Italy on a political mission. The Rev. Mr. Mackvie has been induced to take the responsibility of the see of Natal, in room of Bishop Colenso, who has been deposed. There are legal difficulties, however, in the way of his ordination. Major Gardiner, Secretary to the Governor of the Island of Jersey, has been convicted of embezzlement, forgery, and the mutilation of books. He has been sentenced to 7 years' penal servitude, Mrs. Yelverton has raised a new action in the Edinburgh Court of Session, for the purpose of setting aside the judgments in the former litigations. During the past year 740 South London shopkeepers have been fined for using unjust weights, scales, and measures. The Metropolitan police force has been increased by 1,000 men. The fortune of the late Mr. Crawshay, ironmaster atMerthyr Tydvil, has proved to be over £7,000,000. Lord Justice Rolt has resigned. Professor Wheatstone has been knighted. The Radical Reform League has got into sad disrepute, some of its leaders showing sympathy with Fenianism. Mr. Beales has apologised, and made matters worse. The Duke of Edinburgh's reception in Australia is regarded with much satisfaction. Puncli has commemorated the event by representing the Prince shaking hands with a haodsotne girl as a shepherdess, to whom he says :—": — " Well, MiS3 Australia, I knew you were a great girl, but I had no idea that you were so beautiful." Prince Lucien Bonaparbe has been made a cardinal, in reward for the Emperor's services on behalf of Rome. The remains of Maximilian were interred with great splendour in the Church of the Capuchins at Vienna. It is proposed to lay down a submarine cable be* tween Callao, Guayaquil, and Panama. A large portion of the military colleges at Sandhurst has been destroyed by fire. Sir Culling Eardley has been sentenced to eighteen months' imprisonment for bigamy. France is about to raise upwards of ,£20,000,000 to meet the deficiency in the revenue. Some uneasiness is felt as to the Emperor's ultimate intentions.. Another case of rattening has occurred in Sheffield. The American mail steamer ' Chicago ' has been wrecked off Cork harbour. The crew and passengers were saved. The express night train to Edinburgh was fired at' near Grantham. Among the passengers were the Prince and Princess leek. No injury was done. Extensive defalcations are believed to have been committed by the secretary of the "London Limited District Foresters' Society, amounting to. several ' thousands of pounds. , Mr. Dickeus has received £1,000 for writing twenty pages in the " Atlantic Monthly," , and a \ similar sum for writing thirty pages for " Our Young Folks," with the right of republioation in England in, both cases. ' Mr. Gladstone, has consented to receive a deputation to discuss the subject of trades unions. Reporters are permitted to be present. Captaiu hherrard Osborne has proposed a, new Arctic expedition for the discovery of unknown land, supposed to be somewhere in the Arctic soas beyond the Polar Ocean. A French expedition ia being prepared , for some unknown object. ,

It is reported that Cuba and Porto Rico have been offered for sale by the Spanish Government to the United States. Congress has passed a resolution ordering the Committee on Foreign Affairs to take immediate action od the subject of the maltreatment of American citizens by the British authorities in Ireland. The • Serapis' has embarked the 85 th Regiment at Alexandria, for Queenstown. Money is plentiful. Discount 1{ to 2 pet oent. Australian securities are steady at about last month's quotations. Wheat shows a slight improvement, 2s. to 3s. per quarter for Australian. The average price of fleece wool has declined considerably. 1 Exports for the month show : — To Victoria — ; decrease, £51,388. To Sj-dney— £2l6,l3o; decrease, £792. Vessels on the berth for Melbourne, 27 ; Sydney, 24. Obituary : Lord Bridporb, Prebendary Bland, Pastor Coquerel, and Henry Tatham, LL.D.