THE WEEK.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XX, Issue 2349, 10 February 1893, Page 2

THE WEEK.

The Imperial Parliament has duly got to work, and numerous amendments to the Address-in-Reply having been brushed aside by majorities varying in number, but all substantial, the way is clear for the production of the policy measures of the Government. First in position and in importance is the Home Rule Bill, which is promised for Monday. No doubt Mr. Gladstone, following the precedent set by him in 1886. will make a great speech on its introduction, and the whole question will be put before the House and the world next week.

These has been less agitation in reference to the Egyptian crisis this I week than for several previously. Probably it may be accepted that so far as Egypt itself is concerned, or rather the resident population, the trouble ia pretty well over. The "try-on" by the Khedive, whether instigated by nationalist feeling or foreign influence, has not been a success, and i£ seems as if the native population will sink back into its old state of contentment. But the

relation of England to Egypt and the interests of other powers are matters which have been entirely re-opened by recent -events, and, if* occasion required, could easily be made a cause of international complication. But a satisfactory feature of the week's news is that some formal courtesy visits of royalty have drawn Russia and Germany and Austria closer together. This may imply that the combination between France and Russia is less strong, and as this is the only. combination which is likely to leadto trouble the news should be reassuring of a complete settlement of the Egyptian difficulty instead of it being made use of to create trouble. There may be a suspicion that diplomacy is seeking to disassociate the Triple Alliance and England in case of Russia and Prance desiring to bring pressure on England in reference to Egyptian affairs, but there is no suggestion of the kind in the cable.

Uganda, ia again occupying a prominent place in the cables owin^ to references to the matter in the Imperial Parliament. It has now been made abundantly evident that there is to be no scuttle from Uganda any more than there is to be from Egypt, however much auch a policy may be in favor with extreme Kadicals of the school of Labouchere. Sir Gerald Portal, whpse name is often mentioned, is an officer whom the G-overnment have sent to report and, as it appears, to act, and there is little reason to doubt that the result of his mission will be that the nation will take the responsibility of retaining and governing thecountry as partof the British Dominions. The British East Africa Company has done much. A Berieu of letters are being published from a special correapondent of the London Times, which describe what has been done on the coast, on the way to Uganda, and a wonderful picture is drawn of the progress made and the work done. The general tone of the British press is that, whatever means or force may be

required, England will hold to her possessions in this part of Africa, and in no way shirk the responsibility, or, to put it in another way, curb the ambition of her people in rtspect of it.

The terrible disaster in Queensland is the most thrilling feature of the week's news, and coming on the top o£ financial troubles, of which the colony has its full share, is calculated to strain to the utmost the resources of the colony and the fortitude of the colonists The full details are not yet to hand, but sufficient has been cabled to give considerable knowledge of the extent of the calamity which has begotten our neighbours. The Wellington Post gives a description of the part of the country over which the flood waters have run, from which we gather that Ipswich is situated 23^ miles due west of Brisbane, and has a population of some 10,000. It is in a low-lying agricultural and coal-mining district. Toowoomba, through which most o£ the news of the catastrophe has come, is about 77 miles still further west, and is the point at which the main railway line from New South Wales joins the up-country line or from Brisbane. It is the principal town of the rich pastoral districtof the Darling Downs.

The other towns from which damage is reported are in quite another part of the colony, and on a separate railway system. Maryborough is about 180 miles north of Brisbane, on the north bank of the river Mary, and 25 miles from the coast. The town contains some 11,000 people, and the whole district about. 14,000. Bundaberg is another coastal town, on the Burnett R ver, some 90 miles north of Maryborough, and connected with that place by railway. The town contains about 3000 people, but there is a populous district directly around it. The sugar growing and refining industries are carried on upon a large scale in the neighborhood. Gympie, again, is a celebrated goldfields town, south, of Maryborough by some 60 miles, and connected with that place by railway. The population of the borough at the 1886 census was 7659, and the estimated population of the town and vicinity 11,800. Goodna is a small tov7n, with only a few hundred inhabitants, on the railway between Ipswich and Brisbane, 14 miles from the city. There the Woogaroo Lunatic Asylum, the principal institution of the kind in the colony, is situated. The Botanical Gardens," which are stated to have been completely wrecked, were the pride, not only of Brisbane citizens, but oil all Queenslanders, the wealth of tropical plants they contained being unequalled, it is said, in all the colonies. The Victoria bridge, of which not a vestage remains, was a magnificent structure, a railway and traffic bridge, crossing the river at Brisbane and in fact dividing the more important part of the city from South Brisbane. It was 1080 feet long, divided into 13 spans, and there were 2100 tons of most expensive ironwork in it.

The speech delivered by the Hon. Mr. Eeeves, at Nelson, is remarkable for one or two declarations. He is reported to have said " he was quite sure that in the near future there would be found a common ground on which Liberal protectionists would meet Liberal freetraders. Protection should be effectual and real. He thought the indirect taxation raised by the tariff quite large enough " It is not easy to get anything very definite out of this, except that the tariff is to be interfered with before long, and that the protection ia to be made effectual and real. Ifc is now very real, and decidedly effectual in making the bun lens pretty heavy for the consumer, and any further advance in protection would, we believe, be very stoutly resisted by country members. Another declaration was : "They had not borrowed in England, and they were not intending to borrow. By abstaining from borrowing they really brought more money into the colony." We venture to predict that there will be more borrowing before long ; if not in England, then in the colony. There will not be much money left at the end of the present year.

Ministers, it must be admitted, have husbanded funds well to keep off the market so 3ong as they have, and credit for this should T> ot be grudged them; but we do not believe for a moment that the colony can afford to pay for roading and settling the land out of revenue. The question will probably bs, Where shall we borrow — in England or in the colony ? and that is a very important question.