TELEGRAPHIC

Evening Star, Issue 6481, 24 December 1883, Page 2

TELEGRAPHIC

HOME AND FOREIGN,

[By Electric Telegraph.— Copyright.] [Reuter'3 Telegrams.] THE FRENCH CAPTURE SONTAY. PARIS, December 21. (Recoived December 23,1883, at 10.30 a.m.) The reported capture of the Sontay fortress by the French troops has been fully confirmed by despatches from Tonquin. The garrison fought with great determination for seven hours, and with heavy loss. Fighting was prolonged until night, when the garrison escaped under cover' of darkness. The French lost six officers and sixty-nine men. MONETARY AND COMMERCIAL. LONDON, December 21. Consols remain at 100£. New Zealand securities are quoted as follows :—Five per cent. 10-40 loan, 104|; 5 per cent. J §§9 loan, 103£; 4£ per cent. 1879-1904 loan, 1Q1|; 4 per cent, inscribed Btock, 100, The wheat market is unchanged. Adelaide wheat (ex store), 465; New Zealand ditto, 88s 6d to 43s 6d 5 Adelaide flour (ex warehouse), 325. The total quantity of wheat afloat for Great Britain is 1,940,000 quarters, an increase of 140,000 quarters as oompared with last week.

Australian tallow: Best beef remainß at 395; best mutton has further advanced Is per cwt, and is now quoted at 445. THE WOOL SALES. LONDON, December 21. The first series of next year's colonial wool auctions will open on February 12. The arrivals to date amount to 30,000 bales. The total probable quantity to be offered, including' the quantity held over from last sales, is 400.000 bales. The quantity of new arrivals sp, be included in the series has been restricted' by the Importers' Gommitteiß to 4P0,Q00. bales. It has been decided to hold five series of auction^. THE ILBERT BILL. CALCUTTA, December 22. (Reoelred December 24,1883, at 0,45 a.m.) In conaequenoe of the general outory against the provisions of the Ilbert Criminal Jurisdiction Bill subjecting Europeans in country districts to the jurisdiction of Native magistrates, the Council of the GovernorGeneral of India have agreed to a compromise, and it has been decided that Europeans who may be tried before Native magistrates shall fteentitled to a jury, on which the countrymen of jihjj accused are to form a majority. A NEW REFORM BIL?,. LONDON, December 22. Replying to a deputation which waited upon him to day, Mr Gladstone announced that the Government had considered the question of an extension of the county franchise, and had decided to introduce a Reform Bill for that purpose, > ['Argus' Specie sp Press Association.] LONDON, December 22. (Received December 'it, 1883, at 1.5 a. qi.)

The New South Wales loan is now at 1 per qent. premium. The ' Standard ' thinks that the present danger to the coloniea is excessive borrowing. Sir. Henry Parkes, in 'The Century,' advocates tho formation of an Australasian Council, sitting in London and empowered to trarj3act political business on behalf of the colonies, and to tj,p Imperial Government in regard to' all foreign p'eJjajione effecting tfre colonies. LQ§TDQ|$\ DEpEIfBKR 23. (Rcpelved December 2f, 1888, »t 11.S8 The French troops, on entering Sontay, found eight headless bodies of Turcos, and thereupon refused all quarter to the Chinese, who lost very heavily,

11.M.5. Tourmaline, 12 guns, has replaced the Dryad on the Madagascar station. Oenml SkobelofFa plan for a Russian invasion of India has been published. The Rev. Sydney Linton, of Norwich, haa been appointed Bishop of Riverina(N.S.W.), and will sail about April. Mr Speight, the new chairman of the Victorian Railway Board, has, prior to his departure, been entertained at a banquet by "00 gentlemen, amongst whom were Lord Derby, Sir W. Vernon Harcourt, and Mr Murray-Smith. Highly eulogistic speeches were made, and the guest of the evening was presented with a purse of 2,000 guineas and a dessert service worth 800 guineas. The Hon. Mr Frelinghuysen, U.S. Secretary of State and Minister for Foreign Affairs, argues that England's admission of America's protection of the Panama Railway justifies the America Government in insisting also on a right of protection of the Panama Canal, duties not at all desired to prevent England having free access to either the Pacific or the Atlantic.

The following have appeared in the «Age' : ~

The Marquis of Lome, at a recent meeting of the Royal Colonial Institute, spoke on the subject of the Federation of the whole British Empire and the necessity for protective tariffs for young colonies. With regard to Federation, ho recommended a meeting in London of l'epresentatives from the whole of the British colonies. On the subject of Protection, he said that it was necessary to tolerate any protective tariff which the colonies adopted, as past events had shown that it was the only means of establishing industries in the colonies and of promoting their progress. Mr Donald Larnach, managing director of the Bank of New South Waleß and president of the Associated Banks of London, and Sir Saul Samuel, Agent-General for New South Wales, are opposed to the proposed New South Wales loan of L 3,000,000 being placed on the London market at the prerent time; but Mr Stuart, the Premier, has issued peremptory instructions to float the loan. The ' Economist' considers that by this action New South Wales is forfeiting her high financial position. The syndicates interested in the L 3,000,000 loan floated in July last are very indignant at the proposal to float another loan at so early a period, and prognosticated its failure. Colonial securities generally are depressed in consequence of this loan. On the 15th inst. it was reported in London that a number of London brokers had undertaken to float the loan for L.300,000.