NEWS BY THE MAIL.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1882, 29 July 1884, Page 2

NEWS BY THE MAIL.

The following. items of news are taken from files received by the 'Frisco mail : — Rmnour says that Sir Stafford Northcote contemplates an early resignation of the leadership in the House of Commons on account of ill -health, that Lord S ilisbury will be accepted as the leader of the party, and thnt it will be led in House of Commons "by Sir M. HicksBeach, with Lord Randolph Churchill as his principal lieutenant. Admiral Cooper has just made his report on the progress of the Panama Canal, and says it will be finished— that there aie funds enough on hand to carry on the work for one or two years, and the prestige of De Lesseps is sufficient to secure all the rest which may be needed. The Manchester Ship Canal. — The Select Committee of the House of Lords on the Manchester and Hull Canal met recently, and after tw o hours' consulta: tion declared the'preamble proved, subject to the condition that the -promoters shall get £5,000,000 capital subscribed befoie they commence the works. The result was disappointing to the opponents of the scheme, but ifc elicited loud and repeated cheers from the promoters, and within three hours of the decision the capital of £5,003,000 stipulated for was subset ibed. The operation was cm ied on chiefly by telegraph with Mancheseer, It is estimated that the proceedings in connection with the Manchester Ship Cmal cost the promoters and opponents an aggregate sum a trifle under £100,000. The inquiry lasted 41 days. The lesult of the death of the Prince of Orange, and the feeble condition of the King of Holland, is the announcement by Bismarck of the fact that Germany will not permit the new successor of the Regency, Pi incest Wilhelmine, to take any pat tiu European affairs. The King is still alive, and the Queen is bis Regent. Until this condition of affairs is changed, ot course the mere successor to the Regency could have nothing to say in Euiopean affairs, and when a change occurs she will no louger hs successor to the Regency. Bismarck's announcement may, therefore, beiegardedas a prematuie explosion of gas, aud it is only interesting from the fact that it shows that Germany has fited her avaricious eyes on this iittle kingdom, and desires to swallow it up when a pretext for the action is found. When that time comes, it may be that the other European powers mil have something to say. It is amusing to see what efforts France and Germany are both making to keep peace by preparing war. For ten years theie has not been such activity as France ib now displaying in the creation of her navy. At the present moment four ironclads, two being tnrrent ships, aie in conise of constiuction. In the meantime Germany is busy with her foitifications. Her experiences in the lata war have led her to adopt a certain model of fortification, in which all the great foito ha\e been assimilated. Strasbijig, Metz, Mainz, K)lnand Posen have been thoioughly fortified after this model, and the Wai Department his now taken in hind tlio foi trossei of nr'uor importance Kustrm is at present being reeonstiacted The cidatel is historically interesting as being the scene of Frederick the Great's imprisonment during • his father's reign ; but much of the old building will be pulled down, and a '< camp capable of accomodating 40,000 '■ men will be laid out. It is to be protected by si* foits, each at a distance of four miles in the town. When Kustrin is completed the other minor fortified places of the empire will be taken in hand. The same model will be adopted for all. -Pall Mall Budget. In British politics events are rapidly erystalizing, aud the outcome of Parliamentary action must bd watched with profound interest for the next two M'eeks or so. The Gladstone Government is either on the veige of his downfall, or on the threshold of its greatest victory. The i Fianchiso 8.1 l has been passed to a third reading in the House of Commons, and a vigorous struggle and animated debate must be expected over its final passage. It is a measure which the Conservatives will fight to the death, and it must be an nnusually hopeful mind which expects any other result than the rejection of this bill by the House of Louis, when it reaches that august body. The Conference of the Great Powers, in regard to Egyptian affairs, met in London on the 28th June. The British representative presented certain financial proposals, embracing considerable reductions in the interest borne by the' Egyptian debt. An adjournment was taken, to permit of the proposals being examined by financial experts before they are discussed ty the representatives. Rumor has it that Russia is trying to thwart the objects of the Conference ; but this is hard to believe, because if true, it is about the meanest aud most childish piece of spite ever heard of. Beside, a direct motion of want of confidence iv the Ministry's Egyptian policy has been moved, and is now pending in the Commons. It is from this motion that the greatest danger to the Gladstone Cabinet arises, because there is a grave, even aggressive, disatisfaction does not seem to be well founded, because the policy of the Ministry all through these Egyptian troubles and complications has been consistent and liberal, aud in keeping with the application of welldefined party principles so the exigencies of the day. To say that the proper application of the well-defined tenets of his political belief endangers the national honor or the national interests is a curious admission for a Liberal to make. To spring this motion just at this time, is an act of Parliamentary shrewdness such as the Conservatives have lately shown an incapacity for executing. If this motion meets with a generous support, even though it is not successful,^ will serve to weaken, largely, the han& of the Ministry in the conßict with the House of Lords, over the Franchise Bill, which is sure to follow. , This, in itself, will be a Conservative victory. Particulars, even of an unreliable nature, in regard to the attack by Chinese regulars upon French troops in Tonquin, still continue to be very meaW Tt is j ditncult for one to conceive of sucfritifacT of senseless treachery, as a deliberate and authorized attack of this kind " would be, , being true. For this reason it is safer to ' assume that the fighting which has taken Place was the resuffc of an enieiife' on the part of ,the Chinese,' rather 'than an organized military' II e f fforl;. '' ' The rumour that Parnell has been asked by » prominent Irish -Americans " .to issue a p/oclanpation, his royal seal, directing hja, American subjects ' a^VH ¥\PH ns"<%<hsep«bJicann $"< %<hsep«bJican oondidate . for 1 . {>« £Wjisc&\*< Whether