(Special to Press Association.) London, September 3.

Otago Witness, Issue 1764, 12 September 1885, Page 9

(Special to Press Association.) London, September 3.

Mr cneesewnght, surveyor, leaves in October to survey the land concessions applied for by MiAnthony Hordern, in connection with his projected railway from Albany to Cork. The capital required for constructing the railway from Guinford to Geraldton, in Western Australia, as proposed by Mr John Waddington, has been subscribed by a syndicate, and the company will be registered shortly. Mr Richard P. Williams, railway statist, will shortly proceed to Western Australia to report on the railway. A flying squacbon is at present being formed^ and H.M. ships Emerald, Volage, and Ac-tivc have already been selected. Cholera has made its appearance at Gibraltar. The Governor of Her:?/, has been absolved from the charges brought against him by Colonel Ridgevvay of tampering with letters, &c, addrosaael to members of the Afghan Boundary Commission. .Five thousand of the men employed in Sir. William Armstrong's gun factory at Ekwi'ck have struck. The appeal made by tho Grand Lodge of Freemasons, New South W*Jes, to the English Grand Lodge, requesting the latter to recognisethcin, has been refused. Septembers. The wheat market, is dull, and quotations are, ex; warehouse., .'3ss (id. Seven off-coast cargoes havo been sold at 311s fid. Forward, shipnusux are weakening. Sevoral of tho Conttuoiital crops hiivo exceeded viie average yield. The \yopJ' vmvk^t ii 5*5 * inanimate. Crossbreds

maintain the July closing rates. Merinos are from 7 to 10 per cent, below the price realised at the July sales. The number of bales catalogued was 60,000, and the total number available is 340,000. September 6. The gangway of the Orient • Company's steamer Liguria fell, injuring 24 persons and killing one. The French Government have suppressed the Bosphore Egyptien, published at Cairo. Mr John Fowler, formerly president of the Institution of Civil Engineers, and who is at present Consulting Engineer to the Egyptian Government, has been created a Knight of St. Michael and St. George. Flushing, a seaport of the Netherlands, has been made a port of call for the German line of steamers to Australia. The flying squadron at present in course of formation will comprise seven vessels, and will be under the command of Captain Robert Ob. Fitzroy, (18. The squadron will sail iv October. The Russians, 011 the 14th of August, occupied Chaman-i-Baidh, a town about 40 miles from Penj-deh, in a south-westerly direction. A number of Afghans, who were in the vicinity at the time, were attacked by the Russian cavalry. The following vessels will join the flying squadron :— The Calypso, Rover, Hyacinth, Royalist, and Thalia. Spain has refused to allow the Caroline Islands difficulty to be settled by arbitration. With reference to the seizure of Uup by Germany, the Spanish Governor of that island was disposed to offer resistance to the landing of the Germans, but the commander of the man-of-war there refused to assist him, and has since been dismissed from the service. The commanders of the three men-of-war despatched to Uup have been ordered to act with energy. September 7. At present public feeling in Germauy over the difficulty with Spain is quiet. Fifty arrests of rioters have been made in Madrid. In consequence of the opportunity afforded by the present trouble over the Carolines, it is feared that a rebellion will break out in Spain between; the_ rival factions. The' French Press are urging, in the event of war between Spain and Germany, that France should maintain an absolute neutrality. September S. The Canadian Pacific Railway Company offer to carry a weekly mail service from England to Australia, via Vancouver, for half-a-million dollars per annum. The Canadian Government are likely to subsidise the company. Mrs Mary Thornycroft, the well-known sculptor, has been commissioned to execute the national statue of General Gordon. The Times applauds the expeditions sent from Sydney to New Guinea. A mob at Valencia have burnt the insignia of the German consulate there. (Special to the MsaßounNrc Age.) The position of the English Government is not at present 50 favourable in regard to foreign affairs. Signs of serious disunion in the Conservative ranks are apparent. Many Ministerialists object to the Medical Relief Bill, but still graver differences exist concerning the Irish question. Dissatisfaction has already been caused by the decision of the Government not to renew any portion of the Crimes Act, and by the concessions made to Mr Parnell upon that subject. There has been umbrage given by the approval of Earl Carnarvon's proposal that there should be an inquiry into the evj« dence on which certain murder convictions in Ireland were obtained, and there vjas'the incident in the House of Common* -when Mr (Man charged Mr Bright with a" breach of privilege m having m his speech at tho Liberal banquet to W Spencer charged some Irish members w'^ being rebels, and with ! sympathismg wi? a m?rder ° nd outl ! age< Mr Callan s mop- on was rejected by a large majority, but during th e debate Sir M. Hicks-Beach and [ ■"li-ii Churchill both disapproved of Mr Bright's language, and studiously avoided giving Earl Spencer a word of support. In consequence of this attitude the Tory leaders in the Commons — Lord Claud Hamilton and Mr Whitely, the Conservative members for Liverpool — signified their intention not to attend the great public meeting at Liverpool which Lord Churchill was to address on the 29th ult. Lord Churchill thereupon declared in their absence he could not attend the meeting himself. The Conservatives of Liverpool are angry and discontented. The Standard published an article commenting upon the above matters, attacking Lord Churchill in a most violent manner, describing him as a much overrated man, and deploring that one so highly placed should display an almost incredible ignorance of public affairs and be guilty of such pranks and blunders. Colonel Stanley points out that the 17th section of the Federal Enabling Bill empowers a Governor to decline to give his assent to any Acts of the Council which he may consider inimical to the interests of his Colony. The German Government, having obtained! the consent of Great Britain, have resolved toannex the Marshall Islands. The directors of the English and Australian Copper Company have considered the questionof t ransferring their smelting works at PortAdelaide to Newcastle (N.S.W.), and have decided to suspend and not absolutely close their Port Adelaide works, which will be re-opened! directly the values for copper improve.