Wellington Independent FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1871.

Wellington Independent, Volume XXVI, Issue 3297, 8 September 1871, Page 2

Wellington Independent FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1871.

For the receipt of the usual summary of Suez mail news we are this month indebted, not fo the smart steamers which periodically and punctually make the passage from Sydney or Melbourne to Auckland and the Bluff, but to the undemonstrative arrival here of the coal carrying barque Anne Melhuish. The barque yesterday dropped anchor in Wellington harbor, and was unexpectedly found to have on board Newcastle journals of the 26th ult., and, more unexpectedly, these were found to contain European intelligence eighteen days later than that which we had re ceived by the mail steamer Nevada. As compared with the news to which we have for months past been accustomed, the most significant and satisfactory feature of the intelligence thus received is the absence of all mention of any further internal commotion in Paris or othev parts of France, and the equal I absence of any renewal of the war & spirit in directions in which such a it spirit was rumored to have been recently

shown. In truth, even the brief summary of news which we have received contains only the briefest sentences with reforence to civil affairs in France, and these are but faintly indicative of the position of parties or of the character of the institutions by which in the future the country is to be blessed or cursed. According to precedent, the church question comes to the front, and. cither through internal agitation or a sense of freedom to attend to mailers foreign, we hear of the Pope's independence and temporal power as questions constituting the grounds of declarations by M. Tlriers, and even of resignation from the French Ministry by M. Jules Favre. With some inconsistency, thero comes by the same mail the announcement that M. Thiers, while stating his intention to aid in preserving the Pope's independence, threatens his own independence of office by resigning the Presidency of the Republic. The two other items of interest from France are the assurance that the war indemnity does not fail to be paid, aud the report that the question which was s mewhal prominently raised in the English papers by a writer who is believed to be our own Colonial Treasurer — -the deportation of Communist convicts to New Caledonia — had been the subject of communication between the British Government and the French authorities. And, contemporaneous with the statement that the war indemnity continued to be paid, comes the information that, by the end of October, the environs of Paris are expected to be finally evacuated by the German troops. " Feninnism is still rife" is the one discomposing statement among the narrative of domestic events, and, chief among the illustrations of the continued prevalence of the canker, is the mention of Fenian noting in the streets of Dublin, where, however, the demonstrations had been speedily suppressed, and its prevalence apparently was not so extensive as to interfere with the presence and enthusiastic reception of the Princess of Wales and the Marquis and Marchioness of Lorn. Of proceedings in Parliament, whose sittings wc.ukl at the date of the departure of the mail be drawing to a close, there is but scant record, mention being made of little more than the somewhat exceptional incident of Government abolish, ing the system of purchase in the army by the Royal consent, notwithstanding the rejection of the measure by the House of Lords — an expedient the adoption of which, though it is not explicitly stated, was probably the subject of the vote of censure on the Ministry to which in one paragraph of tbo telegrams brief reference is made. Of more immediate interest to the colonies, however, are the maintenance of advanced prices and a healthy demand for their staple article of export, and the statement that the prospects of the market are highly favorable to the interests of the grower. In other departments colonial trade seems to be in a more thriving condition than it has been for a considerable time past, and, meagre as the details are, there is reason to assume that, in their commercial relations, the contents of the incoming mail will be both interesting and gratifying. Of the maritime news of the month, the telegrams to band say nothing, except in the instance of the reported loss of the troopship Magasrn, which, nearly six months ago, had sailed from England with officers, crews, and stores for the men-of-war which are now on the Australian station. Unfortunate at the outset of her voyage, this vessel lias, according to the lele-

grams, .suffered the climnx of disaster after rounding the Cape of Good Hope, and it is probable that the four hundred tons of stores she had on board are included in the loss, but the four hundred souls on board have fortunately been saved. The men having been saved, there is, perhaps, little to lament in the disappearance of the name of the Magaira from the navy list, she being httteriy more interesting as a relic of primitive naval architecture thau as a vessel ad a}) tod for active service, and arrangements will, no doubt, be promptly made to effect the exchange of crews, which was one of the objects of hoi' voyage. Of this disaster and of" the other incidents of the month, we shall probably have further details before many hours elapse, either by way of Auckland or the Bluff, and it will only be due to unusual delays if the mails are not delivered at most of the chief ports of the colony within the current week.