BRITISH AND FOREIGN.

Otago Witness, Issue 2309, 2 June 1898, Page 13

BRITISH AND FOREIGN.

London, May 23. Arrangements are being made by Lloyd's to inspect refrigerating machinery and. the chambers of frozen meat steamers before each outward voycge. Madame Albani, Madame Melba, and Miss Ada Crossley have been engaged to sing at the Leeds Musical Festival. May 24. The death is announced of Spencer Horatio Walpole, who on several occasion!? was Secretary of State for the Home department, and Edward Bellamy, the famous ; journalist and author of " Loofcicg' B&okward." The death is announced o£ Sir John Gilbert, -president of the Society of Water Colour Painters, at the age of 81 years. Wheat is slow of sale and cheaper. Mr W. P. Reevep, Sir Westby Perceval, Sir Saul Savnu&l, and Sir Andrew Clarke have joined the committee formed to promote an Anglo-Acaarican alliat.ce. The Local Government Board are considering the Agent-geuorals' request to investigate j the alleged adulteration of colonial butter with boracic acid by the vendors. The Daily ChronJole's New York correspondent states- thab Mr Van Wyck, the Mayer of Greater New York, has dismissed the chief of the city police acd two of the Republics commissioners for intriguing to induce the Goveraor of the State to dismiss him (the mayor) from his position, on the ground that he had abused his power for political purposes. May 25. The Pacific Cable Committee havß agrasd upon the outlines cf their roporfc. - j The miners' strike in South Wales has been j settled. Ths wages of the men were increased j by a halfpenny, int-tead of by a penny as I asked by them. - i The Admiralty Court at Aden hava ooncluded their inquiry into the wreck of the steamer China. at Perira. Ths court suspended the certificate of Captain de Horna for six moaths, and severely censured the second officer, H: S. Crawford. It is Sir John Thomas Gilbert, the historian, and not the artist, who is dead. [Sir J. T. Gilbert edited " Fac-similies of National Manuscripts of lieland, by command ! of her Majesty Queen Victoria, and was a recipient of the gold medal of the Royal Irish Academy. He was thanked by the Municipal Ooiporation of Dublin for his archivistic work, and appointed to edit the ancient records of that city. His many published works include " National Manuscripts of Ireland," five vols., with coloured plates, 1874-84 ; various treatises on history, and the literature of Great Britain and Ireland, published by tbe Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts, London, 1870 ; " Documents Relating to Ireland, 1795-1804," 1893.] May 26. If the market is favourable the South Australian Government intend at the end of June to invite tenders for a conversion loan of over a million 4 per cent, stock due in 1899 into 3 per cents, at par. Four per ceat. will be paid until maturity. If the market is unfavourable the loan will be delayed till January. *

The Castle line of steamers hss been withdrawn from the Madagascar trade owing to the prohibitive character of the French tariff in the island.

A meeting held under the 'auspices of the Westralian Chamber of Mines declared that the system of dual mining titles was most undesirable, and resolved to request Sir J. Forrest to give leaseholders exclusive rights.

The report of the Cable Committee ODly recommended the construction of an allBritish line between England and the Cape, excluding the proposal for the continuation of the line from the Cape to Mauritius, thence to Australia.

May 28.

Two millions and a-half of Indian Treasury bills have been subscribed for nine times over.

May 30.

H.M.S. Barflenr replaces the Grafton as flagship on the China station. Captain Fisher, late of the Orlando, takes command of the Grafton. The Archbishop of Canterbury delivered an address on Temperance before the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. The Moderator warmly thanked him for the address, and said that if the memory of events which kept communions apart were buried in oblivion, the force of spiritual attraction would bring churches nearer. Paris, May 23. The French Moderate party claim that the second ballot in connection with the elections to the Chamber of Deputies has affected the various parties only to an unappreciable extent. The Radical* and Socialists, on the other hand, claim that the strecgth of their representation has been materially increased.

May 24. The French elections give the Government a weak majority of 12 to 15 votes. The Ministerialist! rallied 491 supporters ; doubtf uls, 10 ; Oonservatives, 49 ; Radicals and Socialists, 411 ; Anti-Semites. 20. In the elections the Ministerialists lost MM. Lebon (Minister for the Colonies), Delceucb, and Davilla* while other parties lost

MM. Goblet, Flourens, Gerault, and Righard. The second trial of M. Emile Zola for his denunciation of the army officials, published as a means towards securing a retrial of Captain Dreyfus, has been commenced at Versailles. Maitre Labori, Zola's counsel, objected to the change of venue from Paris, and pro- ! tested tbat a Paris jury was essential. ; The Procureur-geeersl asked for a rejection of what he characterised as a, frivolous plea. He said that the law would reach M. Zola despite any subterfnges which might bo resorted to. The court dismissed the objection. Maitre Labori has consequently appealed to the Court of Cassation, and the proceediug3 have baen stayed pending the result of i tbat appeal. May 26. j M. Lebon, Minister for the Colonieß, was ; defeated in the elections, but he remains in | the Ministry until the signing of the Niger | Convention. M. Hanotauz takes t,he port- ' | folio of Minister for the Colonies, and M. ' i Henri Boucber that of Postmaster-general. May 29. A duel with swords was fought in' Paris between M. Roohefcrfr,' the well-known journalist, and M. Gerault Richard. Rochsfort was wounded in the breast. The meeting arose out of a newspaper quarrel. " { Bbblin, May 28. , By a fire in a mine vJn Dortmund, Prusiia, j 45 miners perished. i Rome, May 24. The death of Admiral Brin, Minister for Marine in tha Rudini Government, is announced. Oabul, May 25. The Amear of Afghanistan has ordered the 1 Governor of Jellalabad to stop the deputa- > tian of Afridi tribesmen who were recently ' despatched to interview t-ihe Ameer. Tokio, May 27. The Premier proposes to increase the franchise fourfold. Japan proposes to increase ihe taxation by 85 million yen, chiefly on land and alcohol, for tb3 development of Formosa, and providing 'shipping bounties, and to eypedtte the redemption of the debt. Capetown, May 26. The Volksraad of the Orange Free State has ratified the Customs Convention entered into with the Cap<j and Natal. Washington, May 2i. Ex-president Harrison has accepted the position of counsel for Venezuela befora the arbitration commission appointed to delimit the boundary between Venezuela and British Guiana. The United States Government have disclaimed any responsibility for the deaths of the Hungarian miners who were shot hy the sheriff's officers at Hazelcon, Pennsylvania, during the riots there in September last. The Hungarian Government claimed compensation. The sheriff and his officers were subsequently tried and acquitted. OTrAWA, May 29.

In the Canadian House of Common?, in reply to a question whether any advance has been made in the negotiations for the laying of a Pacific cable, Sir R. J. Oartwright, Minister for Trade and Commerce, said that he had not abandoned hope of success, although Australia was far more distinctly interested in the matter than Canada.