NEWS BY THE MAIL.

Otago Witness, Issue 1343, 25 August 1877, Page 5

NEWS BY THE MAIL.

Marshal M'Mahon reviewed 38,000 troops at Longchamps on the Ist July. On the following day he issued an order congratulating the troops oil their efficiency, and saying that he relied upon them to preserve public tranquility. The Republican papers allege that this is the beginning of an attempt to influence tbe military.' 1 • ' Mr Gladstone has published a letter in opposition to a grant which it is understood the Government will ask for to the extent of from two "to five millions for emergencies, prior to the close of the session. The House of Commons sat for 15 hours and a half on Monday last. ' Five Irish members, with Mr 'Whalley, combined to prevent supply being granted, and taey succeeded. Their tactics are strongly • con- • .demnedby the' Press, and an "iron hand" rule is suggested. > The Manchester Corporation has approved of a scheme for the purchase of the Cumber* land Lakes, to 1 convey water to the city by an aqueduct 100 miles long. The works will occupy seven years, and the cost will be £1,500,000. The resorvoir will contain 800,000,000 cubic feet, and 50, 000, 000 gallons will be supplied daily. ... ... . >, The Bishop of Limbarg, in Prussian Nassau, has been deposed from his office, for .persistent opposition tp the ecclesiastical laws., He baa been fined, in. all, 45,000marks. '-->.■ At a consistory held in Rome on the 22nd Insfc., the. Archbishops of Vienna, ' Agram, and Bologna were raised to the cardinaiate. . A mountain has fallen at Saint Foy, in the department of Savois, France. The loss of property is enormous, several hamlets having been destroyed. The inhabitants made their escape. Eleven Molly Maguire prisoners, convicted of trades union outrages and murders in the Pennsylvania coaL region, were hanged in one day. Great efforts were madexo secure a commutation of their sentences. Two men have been arrested at Calais, who are believed to be implicated in the late • robbery of the bonds, amounting to £100,000 in value, from the mail between London and Paris. Tho shipments of fresh meat from New York and Philade'phia to England during May reachod 7,250,0001b. . " The annual sale of the Queen's yearlings at Hampton Court took place last Saturday. Fifteen were disposed of, and realised 4050 guineas, an average of 310 guineas, as compared with 100 last year. The highest price was fcr a daughter of Blair Athol and Miss Evelyn, which fetched £840. At the Middle park sale, at Cobham, 54 animals realised 20,200 guineas. Midhat Pasha .was present, at the annual conversazione of the Colonial Institute. He has also been present at several public dinners, and was entertained at the Reform .Club. A telegram from Cologne announces that the Colorado beetle has been discovered in every stage of development in a potato field near that city. .The field belonged to a butcher who had purchased some American bacon. The Emperor and Empress of Brazil are at present on a visit to England. The Blackheath highwaymen have not yet been taken, although there have now been one robbery and five attempts. ■The Government have offered £500 reward, and £1000 has been subscribed in addition, for the discovery and conviction of the murderer of Mr Young, J»P., ct Roscommon. The exhibition of the presents made to the Pope on the' occasion of his jubilee, had to be closed in consequence of information being received of an intended raid upon them. Tho trial of Mr Bradlaugh and Mrs Besant, before the Lord Chief Justice and a special Jury, lasted five days, and in their verdict the Jury found the defendants guilty of publishing a work calculated to debase public morals, but exonerated them from all corrupt motives. General Stephenson, commanding tho Home District, has made a report on the Volunteers, which speaks very unfavourably of the condition of tbe force. He considers that the only, hope for it is to give the command of its battalions exclusively to officers who have served in the regular army,

-*" The Examiner suggests 'that ihe'ptfssesaio'rr of Egypt would afford us sufficient security for our Eastern interest?, and would, whilst saving us from any lO3S of prestige through Russian aggrandisement, add enormously to our own, and thinks that ere the session closes, the opinion of Parliament ought to be fully expressed upon the point. The Bey of Tunis is sending 1200 hor3es, and will probably send 16,000 men to help Turkey. A coolness is stated, to hive arisen between Mr Layard and the Porte, in consequence of his representations not reciving propsr attention. The promised Bulgarian amnesty | has never yet been carri<d out. [ A sketch has appeared in the Graphic of a sea monster, estimated to be 150 ft in length and 50ft broad, seen by the officers and men of H.M. yacht Osbonie, off Sicily, on her way home from Athens. An official report has been sent to the Admiralty on the sub- , ject. ! THE COLONIAL INSTITUTE. The annual conversazione of tho Colonial i Institute cameoff at the South Kensington Museum on Wednesday, the 13th June. The 1 president' (the Duke of. Manchester) was,unavoidably absent. The attendance was un- | usually numerous, and, in addition to many hundreds of official and unofficial subjects of .Her Majesty, connected, with or interested m the colonial empire, there -were many foreigners, foremost of whom were the late Grand Vizier (Midhtt Pasha), the Chinese' and Japanese ambassadors, the envoy' from Cashgar, &c. There waa a goodly gathering of ex-Colonial Governors. THE " IRON HAND " SUGGESTED FOR ' WESTMINSTER. The introduction of the "iron hand "at Westminster i 3 being seriously entertained Messrs Pafhell and Biggar, aud some other Irish members, have on, several occasions during the present session abused the laws of debate to an extent that we in England have not hitherto been accumtomed to, but matters culminated on Monday night. , The House of Commons sat for 15J hours, viz., from half-past 4 on Monday afternoon until neatly half-past 7 on Tuesday morning. The House was in Committee of Supply, and there were 17 formal divisions, besides repeated attempts at a count-out. The minonty was pever ' more, than eight, and occa sionally only five, out of 136 members present. There was nothing in the question before the Houae, which was a vote for £132,000 in connection with the army reserve, to call for obstruction, but it seemed to be done out of pure mischief. All the papers comment very severely on the affair, and state that some' means must be found for abating the increasing nuisance. The Standard, alluding to the fact that both the French Chambers aud the American House of Representatives have the, power of,protecting the*nselvea from similar, annoyance, remarks that the rule adopted laat year by the Victorian Legislative Assembly is perhaps the best adapted for the purpose, and the most in accordance with English parliamentary piactice. The article, after, quoting" the iron hand," adds :— •'• The mother countryneed have the less scruple to borrow such a rule from one- of its colonies, - Beeing how steady an approach is being made towards the assimilation of the Imperial House of Commons to the tone and manners of an antipodean Assembly."