General News.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 245, 29 July 1876, Page 8

General News.

In South Australia 660 miles of timber overland telegraph posts have been replaced by iron ones. It has been proposed to bring out to Australia the great comedian Mr. J. C. Toole for six months, to give seven performances a week (six evening and one matinee), and to receive for the same £16,200, or £6OO per week for twenty-six weeks. The Melbourne Cricket Club is an enterprising body, and the members don't allow a mere trifle like £7OOO to stand in the way of the progress of their club. At a meeting held on the 13th instant it was unanimously resolved to raise that sum for the purpose of improving and adding to the buildings on their cricket ground. Tasmanian papers relate that the Ministry of that colony resigned a few days prior to the date for the opening of the session. Their resignation was caused by the fact that Captain Gilmore, who had accepted office as Colonial Secretary at the end of last session, had been unable during the recess to secure a seat, having suffered two defeats. The Ceylon Observer mentions that a tour has been planned for the Brince of Wales in Australia and New Zealand, to take place in 1878, so that he may be able to say when he is called to the throne that he has travelled over every portion of his vast empire. The idea was the Prince Consort's, who expressed his wish many years back that his eldest son should personally visit Canada, India, and the Australian colonies. " It is not often that a man's life is saved by a watch, but," the Advertiser says, f such appears to have been the case a few days since in Geelong. A grocer's assistant in a well-known establishment in Moorabool-street was taking the cane binding off a package with a large sharp-pointed butcher's knife, when the binding gave way, and the knife slipped, and would have evidently entered a vital part but for the man's gold watch, against which, fortunately, the point struck. To show the force with which the knife came in contact with the watch, a deep dent was made in both cases on the thickest part of them, showing, but for the timepiece, the steel would have entered the man's heart. The waistcoat at the spot was cut completely through." " Another ocean cable is projected in Amprica. Senator Sargent," says the San Francisco Altec, " has introduced a Bill to encourage and promote telegraphic communication between the United States and Asia. It authorises the American and East Indian Telegraph Company of New York to lay, land, and operate cables on the Pacific Coast within the jurisdiction of the United States, for a period of twenty years: provided that the company shall commence active operations in two years, and shall have at least one cable in operation from this continent to an Asiatic colony within four years from the enactment of this Bill—the Government to have priority in the use of these cables. The right to alter, amend, or repeal the Act is reserved to Congress, and the rest of the Bill authorises the Secretary of the Navy to detail one or more steam vessels to assist in the survey and soundings, the laying of the cables, and transportation of material, and generally to afford assistance calculated to promote the success of the enterprise." Tho Toronto Nation makes the following suggestion :—" Since Mr. Disraeli has taken to innovate in the matter of the Royal titles, we would suggest another change of quite as sensational a character, perhaps, but which has more reason in it. Let him pass an Act of Parliament declaring that all dependencies which are in the enjoyment of responsible government cease to be dependencies, and declaring them to be included in the designation of ' Great Britain.' This would give Canada and the Australian colonies de jure that equality with the United Kingdom which they already possess de facto. In like manner, so soon as any Crown colony became invested with responsible government, let it be embraced in the general designation. It is true of Canada, at least, that 'dependency' is a

hated designation, and which it would be very graceful on the part of the Imperial authorities to dispense with. This could be done without interfering in the least with the existing machinery of Imperial administration. Lord Salisbury claimed that ' Empress' exactly' described the relation in which her Majesty stands to India. It may be claimed with equal force that ' Queen of Great Britain ' is a title which equally represents her Majesty's relation to all those countries under her sway which govern themselves for themselves, subject only to Imperial considerations." A leturn has been issued, on the motion of Mr. John Locke, M. 8., showing the dumber of persons in each of the several collections of the United Kingdom licensed as brewers or victuallers, to sell beer to be drunk on the premises, and to sell beer not to be drunk on the premises ; stating the number of each class who bi-ew their own beer, and the quantity of malt consumed by them, from the Ist October, 1874, to the 30th September, 1875 ; of the number of bai-rels of beer exported from the United Kingdom, and the declared value thereof, and where exported to, in the same period ; and of the total number of bushels of malt made, and the amount of duty charged, for the year ending 31st December, 1875. Under the first heading it appears that common brewers took out in England 2546 licenses; victuallers, 70,113 ; persons selling beer to be drunk on the premises, 39,263 ; and not to be so drunk, 4215. In Scotland brewers took out 88 licenses, and victuallers 12,507. In Ireland brewers took 65, and victuallers 16,777. In England 16,832 victuallers brew their own beer, and 7909 beersellers. In Scotland 108 victuallers and 1 beerseller brew. Brewers consumed 41,800,058 bushels of malt in England, 2,065,610 in Scotland, and 3,815,872 in Ireland ; while victuallers consumed only 6,758,541 bushels in England, 269,379 in Scotland, and 3855 in Ireland. Beersellers in England consumed 3,506,154 bushels. The number of bushels of malt was 58,139,529, and the duty amounted to £7,884,378 6s. 7t\d. The beer exported from England was 466,813 barrels, valued at £1,955,109 ; from Scotland, 47,962 barrels, valued at £219,072 ; and from Ireland, 1066 barrels, valued at £4103. One third of the whole amount went to British India.

The Economist argues that the depreciation of silver as compared with that of gold, although a troublesome burden, is not an evil of the first magnitude, or at all likely to produce the disastrous effects on English commerce especially which we sometimes see expected from it. The silver prices of all articles must gradually and slowly be raised all through the silver countries, and the rise will be effected the most quickly in those countries which have most share in the commerce of the world, and which export and import most. Take the case of India at this time. The depreciation of silver in London is an encouragement to English capitalists to buy commodoties—jute, cotton, indigo, or whatever it may be—in India. Such commodities are sold in rupees—that is, in silver—in the Calcutta market. Now, an English capitalist must first buy his rupees —for this is the real result of the more complex exchange transactions—before he can obtain these commodities. The cheaper, therefore, he can buy such rupees the better his operation. Supposing an order to buy at a given hour in the Calcutta market to yield neither profit nor loss when rupees were at 25., it might yield a good profit if the rupee fell to Is. Bd., because then the gold of the English capitalist 'would go so much further in the purchase of them. The very contrary arises in the case of English exports to India. The English exporter of these.is paid in rupees at Calcutta and Bombay, and these rupees, when he brings them home to London, are worth (say) a sixth less than they used to be, and, therefore, he has a steady and certain motive not to export as much as he used to do. And the sure result of these two changes, of the discouragement of exports to India and of an encouragement of imports from India, is a flow of silver from hence thither, which must ultimately raise the general standard of pricea there. No doubt it is true that during the process of depreciation our general export trade to some coxmtries will be under a disadvantage. We shall export to them silver instead of ecoods ; but, on the other hand, certain other branches of our foreign trade will be augmented.