OUR CABLEGRAMS

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 6813, 20 July 1893, Page 2

OUR CABLEGRAMS

As a water-polico boat, tho United States warship Mohican j"h not a terror to evildoers. Overhauling a seal-poaohing craft hailing from Honolulu, a steamer named the Alexandria, the Mohican fired a shot in front of h6r bows, which is the usual thing to do when a man-of-war wants to bring a vessel to a standstill. Tho captain of tho Alexandria, instead of singing out, " Stop

her," as any captain of a. well-regulated mind would have done, ordered his men to load a cannon that happened to be on board, and with that implement he sent a eixpoun'd shot crashing through tlio old timber of the Mohican, It is said that thia ball injured the Mohican's machinery, and thus tho Alexandria nteamed gaily away. —Who

was ie who described the French as a cross between the tiger and the rnoakey? The speech of the Minister for Foreign Affairs in the Chamber of Deputies, on the Siamese question, reminds one of the saying. His ,vords breathod of blood and mischief. " Franoe," said M Develle, "was unable

to exercise further patience*, and action must be taken." A re'olution was unanimouely carried that the Government should take the necessary measures to make the lights of France respected in Siam. In reality, Franoe has no more right in Siam tb;&n has a burglar in a house that ie not his own.—The framers of the Home Bulo Bill were evidently afraid thst when Ireland managed her own affairs the winning eide would be following the lead of America and New Zealand, and award the spoils to the victore. Clause 27 thereforo secured the Judges and Civil Servants in their offices for five years' after which time the ruling executive may do what it likes.—The Times has a very clever anl observant correspondent in the person of Miss Shaw, who is now travelling through Australia. She devoted a considerablo time to the investigation of the Kanaka labor question, when the was In Queensland, and her letters on that subjeot disarmed English opposition to the "blaokbirding " trade. Some people say that Miss Shaw was properly otuffed and humbugged over this matter, but her letters, all the same, were very nbly written. She is now dwelling on strikes and now unionism, and she informs the Times that a prominent Labor leader has assured her that the day of strikes is over, and that unionism ie dying out. How that prominent Labor leader roust have winked the other eye, when he was stuffing her with this rubbish. But there it is right enough in the Times, and a leading article about it in* which Australia is complimented on the experiments it has made in order to solve the labor question. — On comparatively unimportant points in the Home Rule Bill upon which the Opposition move amendments, Mr Gladstone can command apparently a certain majority of from forty, to forty-two. But on questions of real iinportanoe his following is Biider thirty-fivo. On the whole, however, the G.O.M. must be well satihfied at holding his own, and on the progress he is making with the most revcldtionary meaeure of the century.— > / <

aptain Smith, who was staff-Commander a H.M.S. Victoria, said at the Court Farlial that for the evolution Admiral 'ryon ordered there should have been a istarjee of ten cables between the two lines f vessels. The terms "o< ble lengths." and 1 fathoms " to the (iveraee (i land-lubber," o not convey so clear a meaning as the implo word "yard," therefore, with the Hsistauce of a nautical expert wn are enbled to say that ton cable lengths is 700 r ards for all practical purposes, and that ix cable lengths, which was the actual dlsance separating the two lines of batlle•hips, is 400 yards. For the want of that sxtra 300 yards 400 men went to the bottom >f the sea.