NEWS BY THE MAIL.

Otago Witness, Issue 929, 18 September 1869, Page 7

NEWS BY THE MAIL.

NKW 7.lHt,ANt> AVK.UPH.

In tho Hondo of Command, on July Oth, Lord Bury said ho wished in pnt a quention to his hon. friend tho Un-lor-Svcrowrv for tho Uolonioa, upon a subject of considerable importance. It was woll-known tint Now Zoaland was at present pawing through a great oriai* ; ami in tho opinion of aomo portoua tho very oxintenco of a portion of tho oo any was At nUko. Dolores had t>o<m sent ovor from Now koalfcnd for tho purposo of Mkinjr M»i*Unco from this country, ami hia noblo friend tho Secretary for tho Colonies hiul writton a doapatoh in whioh ho rofuaod that aaaiatanco. Since th*t doap&toh nad boen laid boforo tho Hmibo, a doon. ment had boen publi»hc<l. Soaring tho nignaturo of tho ox Governor of Now Zoaland, !of Sir Charts Clifford, and of high authorities upon auoh a anbjoot, expreaaing atrong disapproval of his noblo friond'a doapfttob, and oven going to far m to throaton a dlaruption of tho omniro if tho poUoyUW down ia ftww adhered to. He

was sure that the House would agree with him that "this was a matter which should be fully discussed, and as there was a good deal of business for Friday next, for which night his motion stood, he hoped that the Government would, if necessary, be able to appoint some orher day on which it could be brought forward. The papers were not yet before the House, and he wished to ask whether they would be in the hands of members in sufficient time to discuss the matter ' on Friday, and whether,, if necessary, they would appoint another day for its discussion. Mr Whalley said that his opinion was that the war in New Zealand had been originated and was sustained entirely by the activity i and vigilance of the Roman Catholic priesthood—(Laughter.) Sir G. Grey, the Governor, hnd, he believed, more than once reI ported to this effeot. He had repeatedly asked the Government for an explanation upon this matter and reoeived none. He had asked whether the rebellion in New Zealand was not founded upon the system of the Eibbon conspiracy. — (Oh, oh.) Five Jesuit priests, out of 30 who had gone out, had been taken in complicity with the natives acting againßt our troops ; at all events he had furnished the information to the Government to this effeot, and the matter had never been refuted or explained by the Government. He challenged the Government now to deny the statements which he bad made. Mr Monsell said that the papers relating to New Zealand would not be in the hands of members till Thursday next, and therefore it would not be possible to have the Bubjeot discussed on that night, but a day-would be given for that purpose. " CHINESE GORDON." It has been suggested that this distinguished offioer should be sent out to New Zealand to settle accounts with the rebellious natives. Colonel Gordon is the engineer officer who, at the head of the Ch'ang Sheng Cbi'un, or Ever Victorious Army, as it was officially called in the Chinese records, accomplished the overthrow of the dreaded Taepings, and relieved the Imperial Government from a danger whioh at one time threatened its very existence . To appreciate the remarkable character of this achievement it must be remembered that the force which afterwards acquired such an imposing title was, when Gordon first assumed command of it, a loose, straggling, undisciplined body of 3000 men all told, chiefly foreign mercenaries of equivocal trustworthiness ; that he was destitute of anything in the shape of an organised commissariat or transport service, and embarrassed by official routine and jealousies ; and that he had to lead this army, under such trying circumstances, through an exceedingly difficult country in the face of a wily and desperate foe, flushed with continuous viotory, and excited by fanatical fervonr. The moral ascendancy whioh Gordon established over all who came in contact with him, his oalm decision and force of character, were even more remarkable than his military energy and genius. He was no less successful in restraining the excesses of his own victorious troops than in routing the Taepinga. In 16 months he took four cities and a dozen strong places of minor importance, and with 3UOO men of the kind we have described scattered before him an enemy 15 times as numerous. Having done these feats, Colonel Gordon, in tho most modest and disinterested manner, withdrew to England, whero he has eiuce been engaged in superintending tho construction of some military works in tho marshes near Gravesond. There aro thousands of mm, of course, quite fit for auch work as that ; but it would be diffiouit to point out any ono in the servico moro signally qualified for such work as awaits doing in Now Zealand. MI?CEIiI,AUKOU3. ITor Royal H ghnesa tho Princess cf Wales is said to bo in "an interesting condition. "^ Bishop Selwyn prcachod on Juno 23rd in St Paul's Cathedral tho lGSth aunivcrsary sermon of tho Society for tho Propagation of tho Gospel. Tho latest rumour regarding tho festivities at Agra in January noxt, when tho Duko of Edinburgh visits India, in that a dinner has boon onlorcd at a cost of LSOOO. Mr Edmo:id Baales has como out ns a prenchor. Ho proaolfd on Sunday, Juno 27, nt tho Rurdutt-hall, Limchouso, to ft orowdt \l audience, from tho text " Moaned nrc the pure in honrt, for they «hftU »oo Owl." Aa anciont privilugo of M. P. 'a is to bo BWepfc away ruthUnsly. Tho frooiloin from arroat enjoyed by Members of Parliament sinco I Ml! >a withdrawn by tho nuw Bankruptcy Kill. "Tarn n'Shantcr" ia being reprinted in tho Southminaicr Muaio Hall, Edinburgh. " Tarn" yoes round tho stage on i\ ware, and ! ia followed nt a surprising speed by "Nanni« " on a vclooipodo. It waa so dark in Manchester on Juno 25 tint for aovoral hours gnu li^ht w«a noccasary to any ono who wished wither to road or writo, Thoro was no thunderstorm, no rain, ami no fog. It is aaid to bo ° within tho mnge of probability " that Lord Mayo will invito Hia Graco tho Duko of Argyll and a number of oth.ir notabilities from Eng'and to Im present at tho proat Agra durbar in Novomhor noxt Tho Gontlomon aro boeinninj? to turn tha j tables upon tho Playora in their annual oriokot mutchita. Thin ye »r tho Of ntU>meo won both raatnho*. Mr Graco, in tho second, oarryinK out bi« i «t for 13d. Too laat night of tho great dolntn on tho Church Dill t*xod tho London p.ipora to tho uttermost. The Timoi, whioh wai tho only paper that gave Lord GranviHe's reply in lull, and fin account of the division, bad but 10 mlnntee between going to press and

catching .the 'first' trains for the country. In that, 15 minutes 15,000 copies were printed. The Owl ia answerable for the following statement : — Strong representations aye being made to the Chancellor of the Exchequer to induce him to consent to propose to Parliament that the Prince of Waies'a, expenses in the East should be defrayed out of the public purse, on the ground that the visit to Egypt and. Constantinople had more of a State than a private character. Almost a panic exists just now •on the Turf in England. Several of the leading ■patrons of the sport are ruined — notably the Duke of Newcastle and Lord Westmoreland — and the raids of the police upon the betting commissioners have paralysed the soul of raoiug all over the country. Ugly rumours are afloat about more than one young nobleman known to be addicted to racing,- and, right or wrong, the turf gets the discredit of it all. The Tower SuWay has now passed the nearest approach to the bed of the river, the top of the tunnel being 23 feet below the bed, and the enghleer, Mr Peter W. Barlow, jun., reports that at the present rate of progress the tunnel will reach high water mark on the Surrey side in ten weeks. The ground, it is said, is so dry that the New River Company's water laid on theworka has to be taken from the shafts for the cement used in the tunnel. Air is supplied to the men by a steam engine at the shafts. Communication between the men at the face of the works and the top of the shafts is effected by an eleotric telegraph, laid down for that purpose. The huge floating dock intended for Bermuda has at length started for its destination. After eight months' delay, preparations for removing it from Sheerness were made on the 22nd of June. On arriving at the Nore the dock waa taken under the stern of the Northumberland ironclad, and made fast to one of the immense hempen hawsers, 30 inches in circumference, whioh had been 4 made specially for the purpose. The Northumberland wag assisted by the Agincourt and Terrible, the total length of the " procession " thus formed being upwards of 3400 feet. The dock was taken to Madeira first, and there the Northumberland and Agincourt were relieved by the Warrior and the Black Prinoe. Tho dock made a splendid passage to Madeira, averaging 5£ knots the whole way. A deputation waited upon Mr Goschen, on June 21, urging the Government to lend their assistance in promoting emigration. The right hon. gentleman, in promising to give the subject his consideration, remarked that in the metropolitan workhouses there were scarcely any paupers fit for emigration. As far as London was affected, he suggested the formation of a central board to deal with the matter, and to conduct the negotiations with the different colonies. He took a great interest in the question, and would do all he could to improve the present machinery as far as his department was concerned. An unfounded report has been in ciroula* tion to the effect that the British residents in Paris had subscribed L 6,000 in aid of the ex-Railway King. The objeot his frienda had in view was to realise a fund of L 4 000, whioh would purchase for him an annuity of LSOO por aanum for life. The whole sum at present realised is L 4.400. An annuity fnr Mr Hudson could be purchased in the JNorth British Office at the rato of L.12 16s per cent, and 1.4,000 invested upon theso terms would produce L 512 per annum. It was accordingly Agreed that the subscription reinvested in the purchase of an nnnuity for Mr Hudson's life, and bo so Bottled that there bo no power of anticipation or of assigning the same, or of the amount becoming liable for tho demands of other porsons. Tho Medical Times remarks :— Tho publio will have scon with satisfaction that her Majesty haa been nblo of late to take a greater share in public aeremonial than has ' ecn hor wont since tho lamonted Prmoe Consort's decease. We aro not revealing medical secrets, but simply stating what is woll known to all hor Majesty's inner oirole, that tho prcsenco of a crowd or tho succession of persona who nro presented at Court produces on hor nervous system tho giddiness and othor symptoms common to landatnen at tsca. Considering her Majesty's habits of' punctuality, and tho h ml labour and anxiety sho has undergone during hor happily protracted roign, it canuot be imttor of surprise that tho nervous vystew should beoomo fatigued. A*>ont 170 minors woro working in Suthor* land on Juno '24, and tho yields from tho KiMonan Burn aro stated tc bo increasing. Some very good ground has bcon diacovorcd on tho Suis{;ill Burn, good gold being found on a vory high rock, considerably a*>ovo the bed of tho stream. Thoro was quito a ruah to this ptaco, find ao oagor wor>t tho minors to obtain a picco of it that tho claims woro boinff measured to inches lc«t any man should havo moro than tho forty foot allowed by tho rules. Tho gold hero is round nnd heavy. Ono nugget woighod over 2J ponnywoinhtn. Tho few d'ggers on tho Toriuh Bum oontmuo to earn good wagos, and rxpro*« thomnolvoi fatisflod with tho result of their labours. Some of iho digging claim* aoom to havo turned out vory woll, and a fow of the hioky diggors maku J2ipor<lnv. This has raised tho ebbing apirits of the men, and all aro now working with moro oourapo. Moil of tho old claims aro running out, and a gonoral deairo ia oxprvaied that a now allotment of ground should bo marked off. Now h&ndti aro still arriving. Quo of tho Inrorncaa jewellers visited KUdonan lately, and pur* ohoveda onnsidanble quantity of gold, *i L 9 lOmwounoo,