THE Mount Ida Chronicle. AND st. Bathans Weekly News. THURSDAY, JULY 28 1881.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume XI, Issue 617, 28 July 1881, Page 2

THE Mount Ida Chronicle. AND st. Bathans Weekly News. THURSDAY, JULY 28 1881.

"We note that a matter affecting the goldfields is receiving some attention ia the House. Mr Pyke baa brought in a Bill to reduce the miner's right fee by one half, making it 10s per year instead of £1 as now. We hare repeatedly urged that the taxe on minera are much too heavy, and that a reduction could well be made in the price of the miner's right. The fact alone, that some of the Colonies have no export duty on gold, as we have, and that none of thetn charge more than 5s for a miner's right, should bo sufficient to show our Legislators the error of their ways. They are literally killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. In days gone by mining was a tolerably profitably pursuit, but during the past few years it has been shown that the average year's earnings of every miner is only about £75. To obtain that sum of money twenty ounces of gold have to be unearthed, and £2 worth of that is swalkwedup by the duty. Another £1 is absorbed by the miner's right, and say £1 for other fees, —a sum which is probably inadequate, one-shilling and two-and-aixpence fees abounding in the Warden's Office, the GrovernErient having fixed a charge for every possible privilege. Therefore the miner who earns only £75 per year pays £4> towards the County revenue; or, in other words, about 5 per cent of his earnings go in taxes to the local governing body. He has then to pay a tax on his garden, if he has one, and on his house, and has also to pay his dog tax. He has then to contribute his share of the general taxation imposed by means of the customs, and in other ways. The imposts are manifestly unjustly heavy. "Were every class of persons taxed in the same way the revenue would be increased enormously. Not that we would like to see this done, but we make the remark. tD show the necessity of reducing the taxes on this particular industry. We have heard for instance, that one station in the interior returned to its owner daring the past season no less than £IO,OOO of clear profit. If. there were a tax on wool equal to that imposed on gold —and one is just as fair as the other—that owner would have to contribute about £6500 to the County funds. There is no justification for the special taxes on miners, and in the present state of the industry in which they engage it is simply ruinous to them. We sincerely hope that Mr Pyke's Bill will go through the House, though even then it will have to run the gauntlet of the Upper Chamber. The " Lords " will not be a whit more inclined to favor the Bill because, one of the Goldfields members has proposed to put an export tax on wool.

Ths cable conveys the news that Mr Gladstone's Irish.Land Bill has passed the House of Commons. [For a long time it seemed doubtful whether the Bill would live. It has yet to pass the House of Lords, and there it is expected to meet with considerable opposition. It deals very seriously with the landlord interest, and if passed, it will form a precedent of an entirely revolutionary character. Landlords have held that once a freehold is obtained, the land is for all time secured to the individual, but the Irish Land Bill in affect affirms the principle that the freeholder is only secure while his rights do not interfere with the" welfare of a majority of the nation. Of such a serious nature has this innovation been held to be, that so pronounced a Liberal as the Duke of Argyll has felt it necessary to withdraw from the Ministry, rather than give in his adherence to it. The idea which runs through the Bill, jf acquiring land from landlords, which would belong to the Crown,, for disposal on deferred payments as low prices to small farmers, is an excellent one, and appears to be the only way in which the difficulty can be settled. It' is too much to expect that the trouble will be finally got over by this measure—much wise legislation, extending over many years, and the improved social condition of the people, following this, will be needed to accomplish that—but it may be safely hoped that the greater evils, which have mainly brought about the present unhappy condition of Ireland, will be remedied. We do not refer to any particular part of the Bill; for, though the general principles would naturally be adhered to, it is quite likely that in minor points the Bill presents an entirely different appearance to t'uab which it bore when it was introduced to the House. Mr -Gladstone may take credit to himself., for having carried this great work so far, in the face of the deterrents of failiug health, of opposition by both Home Rulers and Conservatives, and of threats even of assassination.

We have received Mr J. J. Miller's " sporting plianiphlet." This is the second edition.' It is a very useful publication for sporting men. The price is sixpence. ; Tub ' Daily Times' is very much put out because Mr Driver; intends to vote against the Govenrment. It did its level best to endeavour to twist Mr W. D. Stewart into adopting its own chamelion-like views, and even went so far as to almost hold out the threat © hostility to the knife at the next election. Mr Driver appears to be likely to be subjected to a similar series of attempts at coercion. Poor Mr Driver !

A meeting of the Committee of the Curling Club was held on Thursday morning, July 28. There was present Messrs Dawson, Johnstone, Guffie, M'Hutcheson, Hosie, and Ash (Hon. Treasurer.) The business wa3 to Gonsider a challenge from the DuneClub to play this Club at Naseby on Saturdiy, 30th inst, for the Caledonian Medal. It was resolved, "That a reply be immediately telegraphed, accepting the ahallenge," Two sub-committee's appointed to ™-■»!?» necessary arrangements. A correspondent writes—"The entertainment at St BathaßS on the 26th wasagreatsuccess. Mr Robinson presided in his usual genial, happy manner, more than usual appreciation being expressed at his presence on the occasion. The very affective nature of the efforts of all the lady and gentleman amateurs who contributed to the amusemsnt given, appeared by the repeated encores during the evening. The audience was about the largest ever assembled at a similar gathering in St Bathans. The Catholic School Committee must be materially aided by the financial results, which will make them more convinced of the fact that popular sympathy ia with tha cause they labor to sustain."

A very muck-needed footbridge has just been erected _by the Municipal Council, across the tailings, adjoining Broom Street. It is inexpensive and inornamental, but is admirably suited for the purpose for which it Is required. While the Council is dealing with bridges we may say that we should be extremely glad to see a respectable footbridge put up at the junction of Derwent and Earn Street. That at present standing is one of the bad points about the town, ft is positively a disgrace. Almost every visitor and so would the Mayor and Town ConiflSil were it not for the fact they have become familiarised with it, and therefore have beams in their eye's. Any person who would burn the bridge would have a good claim to be called a public philanthropist. And if some official of the Council would fill his pockets with gravel, and empty them in the locality of the bridge, he might, without presumption, be entitled to make a somewhat similar claim. We don't know that we have anything else to growl about. But, as the first sentence in this paragraph is commendatory, we willmakethe lastsentence of the same order, by saying that we are glad to see that another sum of £l5O h-y been paid into the Sinking Fund.

Shares in'the Gisborne Oil Company are selling now for'double the paid-up value. A parcel of ten acres of surburban land in the Gore district recently sold for £27 per acre. In 1795jFrance and England had each 150,000 landowners. To-day France has 600,000 ; England only 30,000. Wheat is being carried from New York to Liverpool at 4s 9d per ton, while the charge on the railway from Liverpool to Birmingham is 12s 6d per ton. A petition, praying that "The Counties Act, 1876," be abolished, has been prepared and «igned by 34 district boards in Auckland for presentation to toe Assembly. Me J. 0. Brown is to bring before the Goldfields Committee the desirability of the Government supplying the Goldfields Counties with the diamond drill. It does not look as if the Jersey lily had been deposed. At the meet of the Four-in hand Club Mrs Langtry had a seat on the box of the Prince of Wales' drag. Diphtheria is said to have been cured in Germany by the use, as a gargle, of a decoction of blue gum leaves and the inhalation of the steam therefrom.

It is said; that sinall-por is cured by Mexican doctors in three days, and no marks left, by treating the patients to cold drinks of cream of tartar and water. The cream of tartar is first dissolved in boiling water.

One of the English Archbishops recently said in the House of Lords :—"The narrow notions of all ehurches have been their ruin. I believe that the Church of Scotland, though not so perfect as ours, is as true a Protestant Church as the Church of England."

Mb Swing, of Maniototo (an exchangesays) has given most exhaustive and intelligent evidence as to the mineral resources of Central Otago and the character of mining now carried on. Mr Barron, District Surveyor, has been examined as to the capabilities of the country for settlement. A lobby rumour says that the present crisis in the House is clearly traceable to "lovely woman's" influence; that the wife of exSuperintendent Orinond pines for a resumption of her liege lord's dignities, and that urged by her counsel he has thrown the apple of discord into the arena. Judgment in the Ferret prosecution has been delivered. Henderson, the reputed owner, aud Wallace, the purser, have each been sentenced to seven years' imprisonment, and Wright, the captain, to three aud a-half years.

A correspondent of the * Scientific American ' says : "Let anyone who has an attack of lockjaw take a small quantity of turpentine, warm it, and pour it on the wound, no matter where th® wound is, and relief will follovr in less than a minute. Nothing better can be applied -to a severe cut or bruise than cold terpentine ; it will give certain relief almost instantly. Turpentine is also a sovereign remedy for croup. Saturate a piece of tlannel with it and place the flannel on the throat and chest, and in some cases three or four drops on a lump of sugar may be taken inwardly."

Returns in reference to sixteen English counties show that farms are going a begging. There are no tenants to take them. Good land in the fen district of Huntingdonshire, which formerly—five or seven yeara ago—brought from thirty-two to forty shillings per acre is now let with difficulty at from fifteen to twenty-five shillings ; clay land, which let at 305., may now be had at from seven to ten, if anyono can be got to take it. In Leicestershire things are not much better. A farm of 150 acres, half grass, which had been let for thirty years at thirty-five shillings an acre, has just been re-let for twenty shillings. Under the heading " A New Beligious Craze," the Hnntly correspondent of the ' Waikato Times ' describes tho progress of the Christadelphians in the settlement. He says :—" The leading and attractive tenet is that there is no hell. The form of baptism ii- immersion in the Waikato River. Tho captain of the Lillie was the first convert operated upon ; he has since been suffering from a cold, but this is counterbalanced by the spiritual heat generated by -the conversion. Last Sunday his wife and another lady were received into the fold, after wading through tho river at Taupiri. Several others have joined, but have deferred their baptism until the weather gets warmer.

A very severe storm has passed over tho Shetland Islands. Elevenfishing vessels have been totally wrecked, and 70 fishermen have been drowned. Professor King intends raakiug a balloon trip from Ireland to the Atlantic seaboard, experimental as to all the currents of the trip he intends making across the Atlantic Ocean, According to a return recently published it appears that 1223 failures amongst fanners in Great Britain occurred during the year 1880 ; in the previous year it is said that no less than 1431 were ruined. In the action Clark v. Bradlaugh, to recover penalties from th» latter for sitting and voting in the House of Commons without'first taking the oath, a verdict has dow been finally returned for the plaintiff. at a recent meeting of the Oamaru Agricultural and Pastoral Association, a Mr Little, speaking on the sparrow nuisnnee, said that he had last season lost at least £l5O by Bparrows. He had a stack of corn out of which lie had only got 60 bags. Anxiety is felt about the safety of the brig Firefly, 174 tons, which, sailed from the Bluff eight weeks since for Sydney, grainShe was commanded by Captain Downing, and she had four or five passengers.

The medical attendants of President Garfield decided that it would be necessary to perform an operation to relieve him from the effects of tho bullet wound in his loins, and an incision was made in his back, to faciiitate the discharge of pus, with complete success. It is believed that this treat" ment will materially aid Mr Garfield's recovery.

Thb funeral of the late Dean Stanley took place in Westminster Abbey on Juiy 25, in the presence of a large number of dignitaries of tho Church, the members of the Ministry, and others of rank, who assembled to do honor to Ms remains. Many of the deceased's private friends and numerous spectators wore also present. The ceremony was conducted throughout with great impressiveness.

A. private letter received in Lyttelton by the San Francisco mail contains the following passage :—" Our farmers as a rule are in a very bad state. We bave huudreds of farms without * tenants, and one additional bad harvest will finish off hundreds more. Where farms have been let lately it has Been at a very great reduction of rent and in some instances the first year for nothing, I never take up a local paper without seeing several farms to let."

It is said that the coming of Sir Julius Vogel on the scene may ere long be expected. If Mr Onnond could form a Ministry he would hold them together till Sir Julius Vogel arrives from England, and Pir Julius Vogel would take a prominent part and virtually, if not nominally, the leadership of the party. It is beyond doubt that Sir Julius Vogel has been communicating, if not with Mr Ormond, at least with persons who are mutual political friends. It having definitely transpired that the report received on the Bth, that the sentence of death passed upon Midbat Pasha for complicity in the murder of Sultan Abdul Aziz has been commuted s to banishment to Arabia, was incorrect, and that the death sentence is to be carried out, the British Government have sent a -communication to the Earl of Dufierin, Ambassador at Constantinople, instructing him to intercede with the Porte on behalf of Midbat, and to urge commutation of the sentence of death. Lady Castleheagh selected to have the vaccine matter injected in the leg instead of arm s the result has been a frightful swelling of the glands of the limb, and consequently great pain aad inflammation. Her ladyship was confined to lier room and sofa for more than ten days, suffering acutely, and it is not improbable that some weeks may elapse before she is able to put her foot to the ground, or take exercise and enjoy her usual habits of life.—Home paper. Early in the present year a writer in ' The Times' preaicted the appearance tliis year of two immense comets, which would be visible from Ist April to June 12th. He says that they will stretch across one-fourth of the heavens, that they occupy 1035.5 years in their revolution, that they eclipse the mid-day sun, " and from th® original light of creation, the light with which tho I genesis of the world opened, thus fulfilling all prophecy asd settling Biblical chronology beyond dispute." So much for prophesying. The comet which is just disappearing from our view is not so bright as above described.

The disturbances by French and ttalians at Marseilles, and in other parts of France, as also in Italy, are likely to lead to national complications. An article in ' Liberta' (Rome) says that France ia anxious to retrieve the shame of her defeat in 1870, and as she is convinced that she is not sufficiently strong to measure herself with Germany, seeks in every way for a pretext for picking.quarrels with Italy. The writer says it must be for Italy to choose the occasion of going to war with France, aud not leave tlxe Tatter to force a war when she finds it most convenient. Parliamentary forms can sometimes lie varied with advantage. The other day a Bill was brought into the Colardo Legislature, offering a permium of £5 for the scalps of skunks and Indians. " I move," said aa indignant legislator, " that the Bill be chucked under the table," The Speaker's face glowed with satisfaction as he put the motion in exactly the words in which it had been offered: "The motion to 'chuck the Bill under the table' is carried," said tbo Speaker; " chuck it under the table." And the Clerk literally obeyed the order of the House. A little of this promptitude would not be a bad thing in our own Parliament. From a correspondent's letter from Scotland we learn that the stigma which has so long rested upon Burns' cottage of being turned into a public-house is at length done away with. The cottage has been purchased by the trustees of the neighboring Burns' monument, who have at the same time acquired four acres of land feuded in 1746 off the Rozelle estate by the poet's father. From the 26th May the cottage has been under the new management, a charge of twopence being now made in order to recoup the outlay which has been necessary, amounting in all to £4OOO, as well as the cost of keeping up the place. A good beginning has already been made towards the formation of Burns' museum in the cottago, and other relics have been promised. The experience of an ex-Christohurch resident, as detailed to the ' Press,' does not confirm the letters received here lately as to the good times going at the South African diamond fields. He says : —"At the diamond fields we found diamonds about as scarce as gold was at the goldfields. One or two companies were doing well, but lots of men were on the point of starvation, and the only thing that prevented them leaving was the want of funds. One of our number got work as "boss" over a gang of Kaffirs when we came back from the diamond iields. It was a Government job, and the wages ho agreed for was 7s per day—pretty good as things go hero, and not easily got. This country has no use for white labor. What between Kaffirs and coolies from St. Helena, it is worse than a place colonised by Chinese. Kaffir labor brings 15s per mouth, as a rule, and coolies usually are paid at the rate of Is 6d per day. Some of our mates are at one place and some at another just now, but most likely we sball all decide to return to Now Zealand. Either that or to America."

Tiie amount of Customs Itovenuo received at Dunedin and Port Chalmers (luring l.ho year ended Hint March was AM 1'2,888 ; ,*t Lyttleton, £243,931» °<t Auckland, £200,893. Dr Kidd, who was Lord Beacoiisfield's regular physician, ban the largest regular practice in London, aurl is im eclectic. W itli the exception of this gentleman it is a curious circumstnnoe th:it all around tlio bedside of the dying ex-Pramcr—Dr Quain, Lord Burlington, Lord Row ton, ,Tamos M'Clennan, his servant and the two nurses—were Irish, " the sentimental and solf-sacri-ficing race," as ho lias styled them. Lord Beacoiißfield had two brothers— James, deceased, and llalph. Ho jicvop associated with any of his kmdrod, but ho appointed James, in 1852, when lio becnino Chancellor of tho Exchequer, a Commissioner of Inland llevenuo, the salary of which is £2OOO a yea", and his broth< r llalph was, at his request, appointor by Lord (Jhnncollor Cairns, iti 1807, deputy clerk of tho Houpo of Lords, the salary of which is £I2OO. They both, particularly James, boro a strong likoucss to their remarkable brother, A prisoner, as tho result of throe year's study, has ascertained tho following facts about tho bible. Tho bible contains 3,580,-180 letters, 773,G5M words, 31,173 vor» ass, 1,189 chapters and 00 books, Tho word Lord occurs 1,185 times, tho word and 48,277. Tho word reverend is found in psalm cxi,, 0. The middle versa is psalm cxviii,, 8, All the letters of tho nlplmbot except tho lottor j are found in Ezra vii., 21, Tho longest verse is Esther viii., 9, and tho shortest Jolm xi., 35. Tjie 'New Zealand Times' hazards Ptho , prediction that tho Ministry in tho coming division will have a majority j that sul.soquently they will havo a working majority ; that tho Ko-dietribiition of seats and the Hospital and Charitable Aids llills, with some miner measures, will bo passed ; and that tho Government will then go to tho country on tho Local Government Kill, This tlio ' Times' believes, would satisfy tlio country, and not only satisfy Ministerial supporters but many members of tho Opnobitiou,

Mr Bastings in the House presented a portion from Frank Dillon Bolt, dofomid payment nettle)-, Wuihomo, asking that ho might be allowed to repurchase his section, tho original price for which was £ls 2s Oil per aero, without competition at from 20s to 80s an acre, or at a price not oxoooding the highest obtained at Pal in on ton in July last for surrendered deferred•p;iyinont sections, The request was based on the fall in tho price of grain, and tho docline in tho value of laud, which the Government had taken into consideration ia other cases,

Lord Beaconsfield has left ft very email amount of money. Huglumdcii was purchased for him by a friond, and ho paid this friend interest on tho purohaso-monoy, so that it wag only his nominally, When Mrs Brydges Willyams left him £-10,000, most of thiswas absorbed by the payment of debts. He bad bought and furnished his house in Curzon street with the mohoy paid to him for "Endymion." Considering tho opportunities that he had to enrich himself, had lie so pleased, the comparative poverty in which he died is as honorable to him as it was to Pitt.

The ups aud downs of Colonial life are singular. Two ladies mot at tho door of a church not a thousand miles from Maatoi'fcon after service the other evening, Tho usual civilities and greetings having been oxchangr-d, tho younger lady, who posessod an affluent exterior, wound up by inviting her senior to pay her a visit, " I shall be only too glad," said the other, " when tho weather is line," "Oh, never mind the weather," was tho reply, "mention when you'll como, and 111 get the buggy and drive you over," Then after a pause she added, " You look surprised ; surely you haven't forgotten me ?" " My memory is not so good as it was," implied tho other, "Why," said her tinely dressed acquaintance, " We camo out in tho same ship together, you as mistress, I as nurse and servant," The franks of fortune had almost reversed positions. In his recent spoech on tho No-Confidence Motion, Sir Goorge Grey remarlcod very truly—-" Tho Treasurer had said tho Property tax was paid cheerfully. Tho fact was that the Act was fenced about by penalties that made men frightened. That was the cheerful mood in winch they paid that tax." And, further on, ho " referred to tho Bill he had introduced for opening the legal profession. That measure was the joint efiort of himself and Mr Tolo, They had been told that this aud other Hills wore simply due to tho fact that this was tho last session of Parliament, Ho admittod such was the case. Unler such circumstances ho know ho would find members more pliable. That was one of tho greatest advantages arising from Triennial Parliaments. Oiioo every three years an opportunity of this kind would occur, and he for ono would bo careful to take advantage of it to got several measures passed that would not bo liltely to pass under any other circumstances." Did Lord Beaoonslield die a Christian or a Jew? This isii quettion which gossips aro discussing in England, Sir Nathaniel .Rothschild, ono of his Lordship's oxecutors, is said to be in possession of tho fact that Diraoli returned to the faith of his forefathers, ovon if he ever really held any other. It is added by way of confirmation that ho " did not avail himself of tho services of any of tho clergymen who were personally known 1o him." The truth probably is, that ho did not liavo much religion of any kind. His sympathies, tastes, preferences would naturally be with tho Hebrows, with tho ceremonial policy of the synagogue, with tho faith which holds that the faitnful aro rewarded in this world, and that what wo know of tho next is too uncertain to bo a guarantee either of happiness or of miser v. It was not for nothing that Beaeonslieil was proud of his Jewish blood—it ran in his own veins in a lively and significant way. Nominally, however, and h'gully, ho was a Christian, and was buried as such. How ho was tnbeburied, and what mou would think or say of hnn afterward, did not, probably, givo him the least trouble.—' Catholic Review.'

Totao abstinonoo lias boon pushed to tho point of fanaticism, in Kansas, the Stato Legislature having made it penal so use wine in the. celebration of tho Holy Cnnnninion. As might luin'o boon expected, the episcopal clergy of tho State have takon tho (cad in vehemently denouncing this ill-onnsidored enactment, A fmv days ago Dr Jiicatty. tho otfieating ecclesiastic of an cpiscopul church at Lawrence, before administering the sacrament to communicants, addressed his congregation from tho altar in tho following terms " The new law," ho observed, "forbids to us tho use of wine at tho Communion Service, decrees a punishment of two years imprisonment to tho priest who shall infvinco its edicts, and declares that overv ohnroh in which wino shall be served to tho communicants shall bo closed as a public nuisance. I need not tell you that I shall pay no,hood to any such enactment. Wo infests, at our ordination, solemnly undertook to admiim ter tho Sacraments according to tho laws and Customs of our Church. Bo assured that ha will never submit to an earchly Legislature's attempt to annihilate the Sacrament of I,lm Christian Fnith." Having thus delivered himself, Dr Beatty forthwith performed tho Communion tfervico with tho usual vitos ] t remains to be secu whether or not tho total abstaineis who at prnsout predominate hi lCansiis Stato will venture to onforoo tho ponalties of a law which smacks of Pagan despotism rather thau enlightened Constitutionalism.

Small pox has broken out in Brisbane, Queensland. ' The San Francisco mail arrived at Auckland on Monday. It is said that Mr P. Lorillard won £400,000 in bets on the English Derby. Internal machines, brought from America, have been seised by the authorities at Liveipool. Forms of'application or shares in . the East Coast Native Lsuid < and Settlement Company can be had a "different places in the town. The share list closes on July 30. 8m Bryan O'LoghJen has been elected for West Bourke. Mr David Gaunson, Minister of Lands (late Chairman of Committees in the House) has been defeated. The other Ministers are considered safe.

Telegrams are to hand from Pretoria, in the Transvaal, announcing that since the conclusion of the draft convention by the Royal Commission, a hitch has occurred in the further negotiations which have been opened between the Commissioners and the Boer leaders. The difficulty, it Is feared, may delay the Transvaal settlement. News is also to hand from Pretoria that the trial has been concluded of the Boers who were arrested and charged with the murder ofCaptain Elliot, a British officer, while he was unarmed and a prisoner of war on parole during the war. The jury, which was composed of Dutch residents, has returned a verdict of not guilty, and the prisoners have been released.

A MAX named Arthur Lefroy was fou n d in one of the Brighton railway carriages on June 27th wounded and bleeding. He reported that his fellow travellers were a country man and an old gentleman; that shortly after passing Croydon he heard a shot and was stunned. The police found several bullets embedded in the carriage and in the Baleolbe tunnel they found the corpse of T. J. Gold, a retired business man, who had been in London to collect dividends. He had his throat cut, and he was stabbed in various places. Only a pocketbook, containing cards, was found oil his person. Lefroy, after having his wounds dressed, started for London. He is a newspaper reporter, aged 22, an has been arrested for the murder.

From Liverpool to New York in a week ! The Servia, the latest addition to the Cunard line, is 580 feet long, and her burden is S, suo tons. Her engines are expected to work up to 10,500 horsepower, and it is hoped that she will make 20 miles an hour. •The Servia is built of steel throughout, and has an inner hull five feet from the outer one. A hole, however large, knocked through the outer skin, ■ would not endanger her. Indeed if both skins were perforated, the danger would not be great, for the ship is divided into nine water-tight compartments. The only way in which a ship of this kind could be swamped during a gale is through the washing away of the' deck houses, and the other exposed structures which protect the staircases and skylights. It is safe to say that no such catastrophe can happen to the Servia. The San Francisco mail brings the welcome news that Ireland is quiet. Sextan, the manager of the Land. League, took the stump on. Sunday, 26th June, in Kings County, but in a sweeping indictment against the Government he made no attack on the Land Bill. Meetings have also been held at Cork, Water ford, and Mayo, but they dealt almost exclusively with the Coercion Act, and the speakers assailed Mr Foster. The - agrarian feeing is nearly extinct. The hay crop just harvested has been thebestlrelandhas hadsince thegreat famine. The potato crop promises to be extraordinarily abundant.. The fisheries were never more profitable. In Kinsale the people are using cartloads of fish for manure. Theu again the landloi'ds have withdrawn ejectment writs in hundreds of cases; and, for the sake of peace and quietness, are taking Mr Griffith's valuation. Ok the strength of a letter from St. Petersburg, the Paris 'lntransigeant' announces that at seven o'clock on the morning of _ the 16th'May, just four days after the birth of her child, Hessy Helfmann, whom everybody supposed to be alive and awaiting the pleasure of the Czar, was hanged in prison. It is said she had been tortured daily m the most fiendish manner to wring a confession from her. Night after night she was awakened and warned that •her hoar was" near. For several days in succession she was literally strung up, and cut down just in time to preventhsr expiring. On the morning of the 16fch, the hanging process is said to have lasted a little too long, and when Hessy was cut down it was discovered she was strangled to death. The 'lntransigeant' adds that the indignation and excitement in St Petersburg ia immense.

>. A leading London journal thus refers to the relative cost of transporting food to the British shores from European-arid American, ports : "The broad Atlantic, is now comparatively speaking, only a ferry arid the New World could, if need be, supply the Old. World with all the oornit requires. A" table before us shows the cost per bushel of transporting wheat to our shores from all .'parte of the .world, and it is interesting to note that it costs less to bring corn from Calcutta to England than to convey it from Vienna to Trieste. Prom New York to Liverpool the price is about five pence per bushel 5 from Chicago to the same port it is only ten pence ; while from Odessa to London it varies from six and a half pence, to eleven pence and even from Australia it caa be done for eleven pence. Me. Shrimslci, in the House, presented a petition from the miners of the Maerewhenua which represented that the goldfield was of great extent, and capable of supporting a large number of minei s if water was more plentiful. Water wos available, but the miners could not undertake the work, though as an investment it .would be sound and remunerative, and could be carried out at a minimum cost intbepresent state of labor market. They asked that a survey should be made and report furnished. The miners, in another petition, stated that a large extent of auriferous land was locked up by the freehold property of Mr C. S. Allen; that miners above Allen's had been threatened with legal proceedings for discharging tailings on his land ; that thirtyfour, miles of water race have be6n construeted at a cost of about £6OOO ; and' they ask that £2400 should be put on the Estimates to purchase Allen's land, and so remove the difficulties complained of. A third petition asks the Government to do what they have already done, namely, declare the Maerewhenua a water course for the discharge of tailings.