AUSTRALIA.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 672, 19 July 1870, Page 2

AUSTRALIA.

(From, the Argus, July 1 to July 7, inclusive.) We have seen a prospectus of a proposed company, to be called the Auckland Island Exploration Company (limited), to be formed 1 for the purpose of exploring the islands to recover the large treasure lost in the shipwreck of the General Grant, prospecting for gold, or, aa a last resort, doing something in seal hunting if the other objects fail. The Intercolonial Conference sat but for a few minutes yesterday, July 5, and brought their deliberations to a close by signing the report; The report will, in all probability not be laid before Parliament until Friday or Tuesday next, as an understanding has been arrived at that it should not be published here until the delegates from the other Australian colonies had returned home. We observe, as a sign of further advance in meat-preserving, that the - New Victoria Meat-preserving Company (limited), whose operations have this distinctive feature that they successfully pack meat in tallow, have opened premised at No. 8 Elizabeth street, in order to stimulate, in respect of that class of meat, the local demand, which ha? proved so great as to the produce of the Melbourne Meat-preserving Company. " The Germans tell us," remarks the Hamilton Spectator, " that after next Christmas we may expect to see a large influx of their countrymen from South Australia, who are only waiting te clear off their cropa to seek in Victoria fresh fields and pastures new. They say they have been waiting for favourable land legislation in their own colony, but are not satisfied with the measure introduced by the new Government in Adelaide. Those Germans from South Australia who were disappointed in getting land in Victoria during the first rush in February last, have assured themselves that our regulations are now working more beneficially, and although they have lost the pick of the country, they expreas their conviction of being still able to Becure in the Weßtern districts of Victoria land of medium quality that will answer their purposes. In many districts .of South Australia the land is said to be so worked out, that farms are being bought up at cheap rates to be re-converted into sheep-walks." The Governor of Queensland opened Parliament at noon yesterday, July 6. In his speech his Excellency states immediate attention to matters of importance is required. A new loan will be asked for to coye.r the raili ways at present in progress, immigration, and the cost of a Government steamer now being built in Sydney. Attention of Parliament will be drawn to the remission of national school fees without Parliamentary sanction. The speech recommends the fixing of railway charges as promised by Act of Parliament ; and states that new bills will be introduced for the amendment of the laws relating to customs, goldflelds, insolvency, and wages ; also bills to extend the district court procedure, to improve the Municipal Act, and to provide additional representation. The Ministry ask to be empowered to contract for cheap lines of railway to the interior on the system of land grants. The speech also promises a reduction in the telegraphic charges. A progress report of the Federal Union Committee of the Legislative Assembly was laid before Parliament latt night by Mr Duffy. The committee set forth — " 1. That

they have; held four meetings, at which they entered on the inquiry entrusted to them. 2. But the speedy close of the present session of Parliament, and with it the functions of your committee, will render it impossible to conBider with the necessary care and closeness a question involving so many important interests. 3. They have therefore agreed to a resolution recommending the Government to appoint a Royal Commission, to wkom the subject may be referred, with a view to its being fully considered, and some preliminary inquiries respecting the state of opinion in the other colonies instituted, during the Par-, liamentary recess. If this course be adopted, a full and exhaustive report on the federation _ of the colonies may be presented to his Exc^P* lency, and laid before Parliament at the commencement of the next session." The report was ordered to be printed. "It may," says the Geehng Advertiser, " have escaped the notice of the readers of the telegram of English news, and yet it is a very remarkable fact, that on the 4th July we were able to inform those who had an interest in the matter that, on the 7th of June the mail reached San Francisco which was despatched from Sydney on the 30th of April. These dates show that, even with the comparatively small and under-powered steamers at present engaged in the service between Sydney and San Francisco, the mail (including the detour to and detention at Auckland) can be delivered in California in 38 days ; that Sydney has thus been, brought within 40 days of Galle by the round of New Zealand, the Sandwich Islands, San Francisco, Utah, New York, London,- and Bombay; and that a message sent from Sydney by that line, as it at present stands, returned to Sydney in 61 days. The news of the arrival of the 30th April mail from Sydney at San Francisco, however, was known here (and in Sydney) on the 2nd of July, or only 25 days. Of this space of time 17 days were occupied in the voyage from Galle to Adelaide, so that some idea is thus brought practically before us of the immense change in the system of business communication with England and tEe farthest parts of America, when the South Australian overland line, the construction of which has now been begun, is completed-^a change for which commercial men must soon prepare." The Intercolonial Exhibition which is to ba held at Sydney next month will form a fitting sequel to the conference which has just concluded its sittings in Melbourne. For the last fortnight the representatives of New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania, have been endeavouring to urge upon the Government of Victoria the necessity of so far assimilating the tariffs of the variquß colonies that the free interchange amongst them of commodities manufactured and produced by them might not be prevented by hostile tariffs and the vexatious exactions of the Custom-house officer. The Exhibition, if this and the other communities of Australia only take the precaution of being adequately represented, will show how vast and varied are the resources of this continent and the islands by which it is surrounded. The wheat of Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania ; the wine of the three great colonies of the mainland ; the manufacturing industries of Victoria ; the ale and beer brewed upon the banks of the Derwent ; the coal and sugar of New South Wales, and the semi-tropical productions of Queensland, will prove most unmistakably that Australia contains within itself all the necessaries and most of the luxuries of life. The South Australian Register, writing of the wide views of reciprocity entertained by New Zealand, and the desire of that colony to attain absolute emancipation from Colonial Office control in matters of trade, cays-. — " The New Zealand programme is already somewhat more than a theory. It has been negotiated upon, or rather overtures have been made for negotiation. By the first steamer which sailed for San Francisco under the Hall contract, the American Consul at Otago forwarded to the Home Secretary at Washington a memorandum from the Premier of New Zealand on the wool trade of the United States. Mr Fox in his exordium hoped that the new mail service would ' prove the commencement of friendly relations, and to both sides profitable commercial connexion,, with the people of America.' To himself , ministerially ,-the greatest pleasure that could happen would be ' to hear that the Government of the United States would in future be willing to allow the Government of this country to communicate with them direct in matters affecting the relations between the two countries.' That is cutting the Gordian knot of Colonial Office mediation without much ceremony. Had Mr Fox. been duly mindful of circumlocutionary etiquette, he would have humbly solicited from Earl Granville permission to forward through htm, thence through the Foreign Office to the American Foreign Secretary, and through the American Foreign Secretary to the American Home Secretary, a stilted official statement of what he has here succinctly communicated in a note to a local consul. The chances are at least a hundred to one that his lordship's reply would have curtly described the horror of Her Majesty's legal advisers, at such an unconstitutional proposal. So the first essay at direct relations with Washington would have gone quietly to sleep in the pigeon-holes of DpwningrStreet." . : , A complimentary banquet was given to the members of the Intercolonial Conference at the Criterion Hotel last evening by the citizens of Melbourne, amongst whom the mercantile community was- strongly represented. It was the result of a spontaneous expression of feeling, casually made, and received with so much favour that the formation of a provisional committee (of which Mr B. Oowderoy on behalf of the mercantile body, and Mr E. G. Fitzgibbon', town clerk of Melbourne, on behalf of the citizens, were joint hon. secretaries), the acceptance of the invitation by the various delegates, and a large issue of tickets followed as matters of

..course. _ The consequence was, that about 150 gentlemen, representing the leading classes of the metropolis, sat down, to the banquet, which was excellently provided. The Mayor of Melbourne (Mr S. Amess) occupied the chair, and the president of the Chamber of Commerce (Mr J. EL Black wood) and Mr T. Moubray (late Mayor of Melbourne) were vice-chairmen. All the delegates save Mr Tpwnßend, who had left for Adelaide, were present, and they were received with great applause. There were only four toasts of importance, and their main topic was thepaying of compliments to and by the members of the conference. The speeches were lengthy, and there was an obvious desire to refer to what had 'passed at the conference as veiled io secrecy, but so much was divulged that we may probably look upon the present conference as without definite result, save that it paves the way for more successful intercolonial meetings. Everyone of the speakers said he was sure that ultimately commercial and federal union would come, but not now. The difficulties in the way were described as important, but late in the evening Mr Cowper intimated that New South Wales, would, under all circumstances, persist in a free-trade policy, and others hinted that the smaller colonies would only consent to unite on equal terms; while it was broadly asserted that, whenever a commercial union was broached, Mr M'Oulloch always brought in postal and telegraphic union too. All this must, of course, lead to inferences being drawn. In other respects, the gathering was most successful, and the visitors from the other colonies repeatedly expressed their sense of gratitude for 'courtesies and hospitalities shown. " . '" . Of the excellent effects of the various expositions which have been held; in Australia, there cannot be two. opinions,. The manufacture of colonial beer received its first great stimulus at the Exhibition of ,1861, and assumed its present magnitude after that of 1866. The. colonial wine interest owes much to the opportunities which the public have had of becoming acquainted with the vintages of New • South Wales and South Australia, unfettered by the heavy import duties which our tariff imposes — upon them. The manufacture of enamelled leather in Sydney received _an enormous impetus when it became known, through the last Exhibition, that the Melbourne harnessmakers could obtain what they required as cheaply in the neighbouring colony as .in London. The enormous timber, trade between Western Australia and .India was called into existence by the exhibition by the commissioners of a single log of wood from a bridge erected some 30 years : ago over the River Swan at Perth. Although exposed for that long period of time to wind and weather, between high and low water-mark, it appeared as freßh and uninjured as the day upon which it was first removed from its native forests, and had defied the attacks of both the white ant and the teredo navalis. An enterprising speculator, who knew something of the requirements of the Indian market, saw the jarrah pile, an ugly and uninviting object enough, upon the floor of the -Western Australian court. He saw the opening, satisfied himself of the excellence of /the wood, made large shipments of piles and sleepers to Calcutta and Bombay, and has laid the foundation of a colossal fortune. Quite recently a tender has been sent in for constructing the line of electric telegraph from Suez to Fort Said of timber from the neighbourhood of Fremantle. In like manner the discovery of the Thames goldfields, New Zealand, if not caused, was at any rate .hastened, by the exhibition of a quantity of geological specimens by an Auckland savant. The rocks were sesn by some enterprising miners. They started upon a prospecting tour, and eventually disinterred the auriferous reefs of Shortland and the Long Drive. : ,The arrival of R.M.S.S. Malta in the bay* at 5 o'clock last evening, July 6, placed us v 4 possession of the letters of our London correspondents. The telegraphic news of the injury which the Malta's engines sustained had occasioned a good deal of uncertainty as to when she might be expected in the bay, and her arrival was looked for. with even more than the usual amount of anxiety. Complaints were made in many quarters that the mails had not been transferred to the Adelaide branch steamer by which means it was thought they might have been delivered in -Melbourne one or two days earlier than by the ■Malta. To these complaints it seems a sufficient answer to say that, while there was a reasonable prospect of delivering the mails within contract time, it is doubtful how far the P. and O. Company would be justified in transferring them to another ship and sending them by an -indirect route merely for the sake of accelerating their delivery. In any case, such a course would have involved an expenditure which it was not fair to expect the company to incur merely to meet the convenience or impatience of Melbourne people. •However, as the matter is now explained by the arrival of the Malta, it appears that the machinery was put into a state of repair at the Sound, aud although some time was again lost by a hindrance which occurred at starting, she Came along after getting well ucder way at a capital rate of speed, till she reached Port Phillip Heads. There is now a question of interest respecting the probabilities of the Avoca with the homeward mails arriving at Galle in time to deliver them to the steamer for . Suez. In the ordinary course of things, the Malta going to Galle would have met the Ayoca somewhere near Cape Leiiwin, but in this case, by the time the Avoca had got ■down to the Sound and had received the bomeward mails, &c, and was ready to start for Galle on the morning of June" 30, she was three days behind the usual time of leaving* that port. She would be due at Galle on the 9th mat., but as she could not under ordinary circumstances do the run under 13 or 14 days, she could not be expected to arrive before the 12th or 13th inst. The boat from Calcutta, with the mails for Suez, should be ready to start from Galle on the I2tb, but would wait for 48 hours if neces-

sary. However, it is scarcely likely that this would bereijuired. It is more probable that the Avoca would arrive in time to deliver the Australian mails to ths Suezgoing steamer by the time that she was ready to start, or at any rate after a short detention. It is a circumstance highly in favour of the Suez route for the mails, as at present worked by the P. and O. Company, that in spite of the unfavourable incidents of the present case the Malta delivered her mails in the bay some 30 hours before the contract time. The condition of the last shipment of meat I preserved by the Gamgee process does not present any striking improvement over that of the first. Pursuant to the arrangement which we stated yesterday, the cases sent per Crusader, and consigned by the agent-general to " the hon. the Chief Secretary, Melbourne," were opened in the back premises of the Custom-house yesterday by Mr R. Down, senior landing surveyor, and assistants. There were about thirty gentlemen assembled to witness the proceedings, including several members of the Intercolonial Conference now sitting; the hon. T. T. A' Beckett, Commissioner of Trade and Customs; the Hon. C. J. Jenner, M.L.C., the leading Customs officials, and a number of persons more or leas connected with the meat-preserving interest, and some of the leading merchants. The shipment to be opened consisted of two cases, a cask, and an iron cylinder, all very tightly fastenel down to be airtight, and presenting appearances of the injection of sulphurous gases at the last moment. The top of the iron cylinder was screwed down with nuts, an indiarubber washer between the lid and the top making tjhe airtightness doubly secure. The cases were of pinewood, lin thick, solidly put together, and airtightneas was secured by indiarubber cording laid in a groove all round the case, so that the top jammed down on it filled "all interstices. In the cylinder the meat was packed in oaten husks, and in the cases in oaten husks and salt. The cask was filled up with refined fat, so that no extreme care to keep out the air had to be taken. It was the only one of the packages that appeared knocked about, for the others looked as though completely undisturbed during the voyage, and the outside of the cases was scarcely marked. Inßide, the meat was packed in linen bags. When the iron cylinder was opened the gas burst out with a hiss, but the meat, including a whole sheep, very soon left no doubt that the process of preservation had proved a failure. The same was the case in all the other packages. We saw no beef, only mutton and pork. The mutton was almost decomposed, and when brought to light the stench arising from the putrid remains was intolerable. The pork — the easiest of all to preserve — gave hope when first seen. The joints and pieces appeared fresh, ruddy, and almost appetising, but on being out open they were found in every instancs hopelessly tainted to the bone, and utterly unfit for human food. The bystanders were not long in arriving at their conclusions about the meat, and soon separated, for the odour of the meat increased on exposure to the atmosphere to a sickening point. The " meat," amounting with tallow and all to 5271 b net, was forthwith sold at Id per lb to Messrs Bayldon and Graham, the tallow-makers, who, without loss of time, had it carted off to Cockbill's boiiing-down house's on the banks of the Yarra, where even the abominable stink that had driven away the company at the Custom-house was no doubt lost in the worse smells of .that unpleasant establishment.