THE SAN FRANCISCO MAIL.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 4402, 29 March 1876, Page 2

THE SAN FRANCISCO MAIL.

Auckland, March 28th. The Colima reached Kn.nd.ivu on March 21st. The Grenada arrived ;it Kandavu on March 18th, after an exceptionally rough passage of •! days IS hours. She encountered a cyclone on i7th, but no damage was sustained, due precautions having been taken to prepare for the storm by slowing down the engine. As there was no connecting boat, it was feared the Grenada would have to proceed without Sydney mails. Fortunately, the Colima arrived as above, had out the mails at once, and transhipped them to the Grenada. On preparations being made for the Grenada to proceed to sea, it was found that the auchors of the two steamers had folded, and, while attempting to separate Ihem, the port bow of the Grenada came in contact with the Colima, striking a glancing blow, which carried away part of the iron port shutter on the main deck. To be sure that no serious damage had been sustained by the Grenada, Capt. Cavarly requested Capt. Stewart, late of the Wonga Wonga, and Capt M'Farlane, of the Taupo, to assist, in an examination of the injury. Those gentlemen have expressed a decided opinion that the damage done to the Grenada is immaterial, and has in no way disabled the vessel or rendered her unsafe to proceed on her voyage to 'Frisco. It was considered desirable to replace the injured shutter, which detained the sailing of the Grenada for 'Frisco till the znoining of the 22nd inst.

The City of San Francisco arrived at Kaudavu on the 24th January, and sailed for Honolulu on the same day at noon. Reached Honolulu on February 4th; left the same day, and arrived at 'Frisco at 3 am. on February 13th. The mails were landed and forwarded East the same morning.

The City of New York arrived at 'Frisco on February 20th and the City of Sydney on the 2(ith. Both vessels were advertised to leave for Panama as follows :—City of New York, 20th February; City of Sydney, 15th March. The City of New York is to take the May mail for New Zealand.

It has not been settled what snail the City of Sydney will take.

MAIL SUMMARY.

London, February 28th.

On r,the 17th, the steamer Franconi ran into the steamer Strathelyde, of Glasgow. Fifty of hey passengers were drowned, five have been landed at Dover, four others are reported saved. The Franconi has put into Dover. She had her bow stove in at the water line. The Strathclyde sailed from London for Bombay, had been into Dover Bay to land her pilot, and as she was steering out again about a mile from Admiralty Pier, was caught by tide, which turned her toward the south east. The steamer Franconi coming down Channel ran into her with great force on port quarter. Two minutes after, the boilers of the Strathclyde exploded, and the steamer went to the bottom. The Franconi was badly damaged, but kept afloat. Two tugs took her in tow. The weather was clear, and the sea calm at the time of the disaster. The Dover life boat was launched ; but was unable to reach the scene in time to rescue any of the Strathclyde's passengers or crew. A. telegram, dated 23rd says, of the twentynine persons landed at Deal, from the steamer Strathclyde, many were greatly exhausted, and three since died. The crew numbered 30. The steamer Franconi belongs to the Hamburg and West Indian line, and was outward bound. The Strathclyde lies in the fanway about two miles off Dover, her masts s-anding about twenty feet above water. Two ladies and three gentlemen are reported to have been picked up by passing vessels bound for London. Mrs Green, niece of Boucicault, is among the drowned. A steamer passing up the Channel collided with the mast of the Strathclyde and sunk in fifteen minutes. All hands saved.

A sensational story was lately published^ in German newspapers. An officer in the German Imperial Foot Guards is said to have received a challenge from Paris in which thirty officers of his regimrnt are bidden ti do battle with an equal number of Frenchmen. The German Government considered the matter of sufficient importance to justify the demand for an explanation addressed by its ambassador to the French authorities of the F:eneh capital. Finally, it turned out that such challenge had r •ally been sent, but that its sender was not a French officer, and that the insane act was repudiated by French military officers, Edward Wilson and Co., chemists, of Manchester have failed. Liabilities estimated at .tr,60,000. Bullion in the ISank of England increased ,t:',70,000 during the past week. The evening papers publish the following :— " General Schenkc's resignation has ueen tendered and accepted. He intends to rem;un in London to answer any charges that may bo brought against him respecting affair* of Emma, mine." Tne Times Paris despatch says a strange rii TiK.ur is ,-iirulatod, that st-me IV.rli-t.- recently entered l-'a-iicli territory, mistook K-nch soldiersfpi- Alumsis'.s, and fir«.l >-n then:. Jhe l-'rvneh rei.lio.l. and an ei^i^mri.t lasted ten niin'if.s ; cue of the French ,-oldiers was killeti. i Hi-. Aaid thatinfi.nseM«ie: : re..! this...-run-en-,*. j and l!i.- p.,s4bility :>!" >imii:a- ■ '■ -ini■iii-:'.ti< in^., ( rfig!'".- Mt.lino, t]:v Sp^.'^.U Ai'.ib:t:,-ad-./ : -, n:i,s

abaudoned the intention of going to Madrid to take his seat in the Senate.

Touching Count Andrassay's note, the Times says that after having been communicated to the Ottoman Government at Constantinople, the note of Count Andrassay is made public. It is a document of groat length, written in a somewhat popular style, as if intended to be read and understood by the whole world, and its expressions have a frankness and directness not generally associated with diplomatic compositions. The Porte is invited to co-operate in a work fiom which it will reap the chief benefit, and to ro-ognise the friendliness of powers who have associated themselves as peacemakers. Yet with all this decorum of principle and address, something peremptory shows itself in the composition which can hardly escape the general reader, and will certainly not escape the Government to which it is addressed. The reforms are : full religious liberty, the abolition of farming of taxes, a law which shall guarantee that the product of the direct contribution of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall be employed in the interests of the province itself, the institution of special Commission composed of an equal number of Musselmans and Christians to supervise execution of reforms, and finally an improvement of tbo position of the rural population. These recommendations, or rather these demands, are supported by arguments which would be convincing, even if the conclusion had not already been for the most part admitted by the Porte. The agrarian system, however, has been less considered than any other special grievance of the province, and it deserves notice since it is probably the most powerful of all the causes that have produced the insurrection. The ablest part of the note is that in which the justice, reasonableness, and necessity of the reforms propose!' by the Powers are explained to the Porte. The tenor of the argument might almost have been anticipated from numerous discussions, of which these unhappy provinces have been the subject—the wrongs are too palpable and notorious to give much scope for novelty. The eldest son of Boucicault, the actor and author, was among those killed in a railway collision on the Great Northern Railway.

The Queen's speech contains the following clauses :—The humane and enlightened policy consistently pursued by this country in putting an end to slavery within our own dependencies, and in suppressing the slave trade throughout the worki, makes it important that the actions of British national ships in the territorial waters of foreign states should be in harmony with these great principles. I have therefore given directions for the issue of Royal Commissions to enquire into all treaty engagements and other international (.bligations bearing upon this subject, and all instructions from time to time issued to my naval officers with a view to ascertain whether any steps ought to be taken to secure for ships and their commanders abroad greater power for maintenance of the right of personal liberty. Madrid, February 28th. War is at an end. Dun Carlos has asked JYance for hospitality. He informed General Poncet, commanding at Bayonne, thai; he would enter France this morning by the bridge of Arneqny. ;{fl()0 Car'lists have entered France at St, Jean Pledge Porte. They are crossing the frontier in hundreds at Aldudes, and the French will at once interview them.

King Alphonso has arrived at Pampeluna. A despatch arrived at Bayonne from Abitoa announcing that Don Carlos entered ifrance this morning at Arnequy.

London, February 20th,

The Standard has the following special despatch from Madrid : —" Great enthusiasm provails here. Alfonso will have a splendid reception on his return. The Lomer Toy to General Poncet, giving notice of Carlos's intention of entering France, was written by Li!l Ardagga. It declares j,that Don Carlos, having been conquered by adverse fortune, has resolved to abandon further struggle na useless. He asks the hospitality of France. Gederal Poncet, on receipt of the note, started to interview the fugitives. Three Alfonsonist army corps are advancing in Bayonne Valley. They met with no resistance."

The Paris correspondent to the Times says it is thought that King Alfonso will very soon issue a proclamation to the nation to give thanks for peace, then he will return to Madrid, where lie will make a solemn entry.

At a meeting of Liberals and Republicans, held at the housj of M. Thiers, it was decided to agitate the question of the Government granting amnesty to political officers. The great flood in the Danube continues. Berlin is wholly under water. Trade and other matters are at a standstill. Vienna, February 29th. The Wermer Press reports a great battle as having taken place in Herzegovina, near Vasso. J. Kevich and the Turks were totally defeated. TitiESTR, February 20th. Twenty-two more GaribaMians have been arrested at Castle Miriva, while endeavouring to join the Herzegovinians. Paris, February 15fch. The following, in all probability, will constitute the new Cabinet: —Dufaure, Vice-Pre-sident ; Percere, Minister of the Home Office ; Decarcy, Minister of War ; Walton, Minister of Public Instruction; Bort, Minister of Commerce; Leonsay, Minister of Finance. Japan. The Japanese war cloud still hangs over Corea, whence we hear all sorts of contradictory 1 reports. Latest accounts state that Kurandor and Inonyre, the Japanese envoys, were well received at Fusan, but it is none the less certain that the Government is hastily pushing forward its operations for war. A local shipwright has received an order to fit up the Takasago Mam (late Delta) for the accommodation of 2000 troops. As we write this we hear that Japan has declared war with Corea, but have not yet seen the official notification.

Duriug the night of the 20th of January, and the entire day of the 27th, the heaviest snowstorm which has been known here for years prevailed in Yokohama and Jeddo. Communication with the shipping in the harbour was interrupted, and the streets were rendered im passable for carriages. According to the Ake Bons Shinburn, it is rumoured that General Wiiliams, who left our country last year on the termination of his agreement with the Okowaiho, is now in London, where he has been ordered to raise several millions by selling Japanese Government bonds.

The estimated revenue of Japan for the year ending June 30th, 1876", is 68,588,206 ; year's estimated expenditure, 68,-198,006 ; year's estimated excess of revenue, 891,769; total na tional debt, 127,808,6(iG. China. A correspondent to a Shanghai newspaper announces that the coal mines some 30 miles beyond Kinkiang, and two or three miles from the banks of that g:eat river highway, the Janginze, are to be worked as soon as possible by the latest foreign appliances. To this end the authorities have secured the services of Mr J. Moiris, C.E., by whom the shaft of the now famous Takasiona mine, in Japan, was sunk. Mr Morris left Shanghai for the scene of his new operations in the steamship Fusyama on the 16th inst.

Report says that fresh hostilities are impending between the aborigines and the Imperialists in Formosa. Considerable activity is said to prevail at the Mamoi Arsenal, Foo Choo, and the troops at the South Camp are being drilled incessantly. Nearly 15,000 persons were employed during the late Imperial obsequies at Pekin in taking the two Imperial coffins to the grave. The Government paid each man 31^ c?nts. It is stated that the Chinese Government show some disposition to sustain the cause of Corea against Japan.

AMERICAN NEWS.

Chicago, February 2;3ru. Horrible tragedy occurred in Warren County. Three families, naraes Howery, Didard, and Westfall, have for several years been engaged in feud caused by location of roads, fences, &c. The PL >wery party, consisting of father, two sons, and hired wan named Groom, Westcall's party of two, and Dillard's party of three, had been to church, and on the way home the old quarrel was renewed, when a general fight ensued, in which revolvers, bricks, stones, slung shots, knuckles, and knives were used. Twenty shots were fiVed. The Howery party were unarmed. The fight lasted aboufe 20 minutes. David Howery, the father, was shot in the upper lip and left ear and stabbed over the left eye. George, his son. was stabbed and fell dead on the field. John, another son, was stabbed, and fell dead after going about 40 rods. James Groom, labourer for Howery, was stabbed in the right lime:, breast, and back. The Westfall and Dillaril's party were all armed. After tiie battlo the victors went to Dillard's house and remained until arrested and lodged in gaol. New Yoi:k-, February 21th. Thfl scene at Bccclier's church last night is a geiK-ml input of inti-rost. Bct-cher's courage, I old) less, and determination challriige lvspr-ct and ineren.se confidence in hit> innocence among thcughtful men.

SHU'PINC;.

Sailed.—F.-.r Aiu-kl;in<l, 7,nevoous;i, Vobruary stli. Voi- W.rllhiirtori. y.'i-iic,'lt>n, .T.'iimary •2Hi-d ; St Andrew's Castle, IVl.ni'ru-y . riU:. K-r (H:i-.., 1..,0h Awe, J;iim:n-y lU^t : (Vall.)cb,_ I'"'luu.ny 2iiil. Fr.r <.'aiuri-li'.wy, (Viiinie-s nt Kiiitiive, aici Ann A.nnit..L,v, ['i't-iP.n.'V 'Jinl. Captain I'.blioi., f.;nn--Tlv vi the- Itak-i.inc, id ■kv.d. [At haU-i.ast :! (,'clim-Ic «v wars ct.miln-lK'd to .-t-]» tiikim; t.'V-,T.-ins, iii • .v.U-i- Ui ..'ett.M'iv.-s ai th.t wry . v Hy l-.-r r-niivd to catoh i!ic