NEWS BY THE MAIL.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume II, Issue 77, 17 October 1874, Page 6

NEWS BY THE MAIL.

Br the Mikado, which reached Auckland, cm the 9th hist, with the Californian mails, we learn that the negotiations of the Governor of New South "Wales, Sir Hercules Kobiusox, with regard to the annexation of .Fiji, have been successful, and that the British flag now floats over it as a Colony of the Crown. It is to be hoped, therefore, now that the Imperial Parliament has undertaken the responsibility of its government, that such repressive measures will be enforced as will prevent the anarchy and confusion to which its affairs have been so long a prey, and which, no doubt, materially influenced the Home Government in undertaking its control. On the Continent of Europe— as we predicted would be the case — the attack on the fJ-erman Chancellor has been made the convenient pretext for the further persecution of unoffending Catholics, and a telegram states that an order is to be issued at Berlin expelling all foreign \ riests, monks, and nuns. It is rather unfortuuate, however, for Prince Bismarck that, notwithstanding all his craft and cunning, he has been unable in the slightest degree to implicate the persecuted priesthood in the outrage on his person ; and consequently those journals which are not actuated by a rabid hatred to everything Catholic, strongly denounce the unprovoked and merciless severity exercised against the German clergy. Although no stone has been left unturned to establish the complicity of the unfortuuate priest who had been seized upon, all endeavors proved futile, and the destined victim was reluctantly set at liberty. ,, Wi f -h all the powerful machinery of the State at command to prove such fact, if it ever existed, the authorities and their supporters were forced to fall back on the bare assertion that the attempt

was the work of the outraged Catholics, to whose body the would-be assassin belonged. If there really were any who conscientiously believed such to have been the case, $heir opinions must have been considerably shaken by the failure of the very searching investigations to substantiate such assertion ; and wo are pleased to find the tone of the British Press is strongly against any such supposition. The London correspondents of both the Melbourne 'Argus' and ' Age' agree in admitting that it is perfectly absurd to suppose that the Catholic body were concerned in the attack. The latter says :—": — " The murderous assault on Prince Bismarck has not been followed up by the discovery of any organised conspiracy, so that the affair must be looked on as the act of an individual monomaniac." "When it is remembered that the ' Age' has always proved itself but too eager to seize upon anything to the prejudice and detriment of Catholics, and seldom exhibits a spirit of justice or impartiality in the treatment of matters affecting their interests, we can readily believe that the exoneration of the Catholic body must have been most conclusive. If, however, corroborative testimony were needed, the London. ' Post ' goes much further, and not only proves that the outrage did not emanate from the Catholic body, but that Ktjllmann, the would-be assassin, had been, refused admission, into the society on account of his disreputable life. This is what the journal is question says, and it must be borne in mind that it is not a Catholic organ which speaks :—": — " As for KuLLMAinsr, his former schoolmaster at Neustadfc, near Magdeburg, who had known him since he was seven years of age, bears testimony that the man never evinced auy religious feelings of any sort. He was a pig-headed, ill-behaved boy, constantly in trouble; and his parents, instead of being worshippers of priest-rule, as is contended, used bad language towards the parish priest for punishing him. KullmajST*'s late employer could never induce him to go to church, even on great holidays, and the Catholic Journeymen's Association at Magdeburg refused to admit him into its body on account of his disreputable life." It may therefore be argued, with no small amount of reason — when we see such voluntary contradiction to the vile slander coming from such unexpected sources — that there exists not the slightest pretext for the charge against the persecuted Catholics. Indeed, not only has the vindication been most thorough and complete, but there are even found Protestant German journals which assert that the whole affair was pre-arranged to suit a purpose. The ' Germania* insinuates that the attempt was not made with a malicious intent, and it sarcastically remarks that " Kullmann, with wise thoughtfulness, forgot to put in a ball." The Melbourne ' Advocate,' which gives the quotation, shares in the opinion that the whole affair was a capitally-prepared plan to pave the way for more vigorous and brutal treatment. This may or may not be the case, but in confirmation of this assertion it quotes the following, written by the Berlin correspondent of the London ' Tablet' : — " I have been • assured this day, by a most respectable and reliable eyewitness of the attempt, who has just arrived from Kissingen, that the moment the shot had been fired, a gentleman jumped into the carriage, and exclaimed, 'Prince, are you shot ?' Upon which Bismarck pulled off his glove, and showed a small red spot on his hand, saying, ' Look, here is the bullet ? ' The glove, however, was not torn ! My informant, who saw with his own eyes and heard with his own ears, is a Liberal, and none the less worthy of credit on that account, although he left Kissengen filled with disgust with what lie had. witnessed on the part of Bismarck's partisans." A telegram states that the veteran Victor Hugo declares that peace cannot be established until another war is fought between Frauce and Germany, and points to the hatred existing between the two countries. Bismarck, with all his foresight, had no conception of the astonishing resources and indomitable energy of the French, nation, when the penalty of its defeat was fixed ; and now that ho knows that the chain has been, removed by which he had vainly hoped to have fettered her for years, taunt after tauut has been hurled at his yet prostrate foe, with a. view of fencing matters to a crisis before she can recover sufficient strength to properly defend herself. If France be wise, she will steadily bide her time, and in the day of trouble Prussia may learn to her cost the impolicy and folly of her present oppression of the people who helped to build up the Empire, and humble the glory of France.

Five bushels and a half of wheat per head is required for the population of the United Kingdom.