News of the Week.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XIII, Issue 10, 26 June 1885, Page 11

News of the Week.

Friday. In the House of Representatives yesterday, Sir Julias Vogel gave notice to introduce the Hospital and Charitable Aid Bill, Finance Powers, bill to Abolish I'uty on Gold. — The following bills were introduced :— A bill to define the hours of labour within the Colony of New Zealand (Mr. Bradshaw) ; a bill to extend the hours of polling at Parliamentary Elections (Mr. Barron), the Presbyterian Church Property Bill (the Hon. R. Stoat), The Representation Act 1881 Amendment Bill (the Hon. R. Btont), The Bible-read in g-in-Schools Bill (Mi. W. D. Stewart), the Alienation of Land Bill (Mr. Conolly). It is announced that in the new Cabinet the Marqnis of Salisbury will be Secretary of State of the Foreign Department, Lord Randolph Churchill Secretary of State for India, and Sir Michael Hicks- Beach will be Chancellor of the Exchequer and leader in the House of Commons. Cholera is spreading in Murcia, and it is estimated that fully 30,000 of the inhabitants have left that province. Saturday. In the House of Bepresentatives yesterday the following bills were introduced and read a first time : — The Evidence Amendment Bill (Mr. Steward), a Bill to Amend the Armed Constabulary Act 1867 (Mr. Guinness). The Counties Act 1876 Amendment Bill (Hon. R. Stout), a bill to amend the Licensing Acts (Mr. Steward), the Hospitals and Charitable Aid Bill (Hon. Sir J. Vogel), the Local Bodi-s Finance and Powers Bill (Hon. Sir J. Yogel), a Bill to Abolish the Duty on Gold (Hon. Sir J. Vogel), a Bill to Amend the Law of Distress for Rent (Mr. Garrick). Some coarse shotty gold has been brought to Auckland. It is said to have been discovered in a creek near Ortorohanga, on Ihe Waipara, near the route of the Trunk railway. It was sent down by Mr Heaps, a settlar near Alexandra. William Sheehan, who was arrested near Auckland on the charge of murder of his mother, sister, and brother at Castletown-Roche, and subsequently remanded Home, has been brought up charged with that offence, and has been committed for trial. The following constitute the new Cabinet submitted by the Marquis of Salisbury to* the Queen :— First Lord of the Treasury and Premier, the Marquis of Salisbury. Lord High Chancellor. Sir Harding Gifford. President of the Privy Council, Sir Stafford Northcote. Secretary of State for the Colonies, the right Hon. F. Stanley. Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Lord Salisbury. Home Secretary, Sir Richard Cross. Secretary of State for India, Lord Churchill. Secretary of State for War, Mr. W. G. Smith. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir Michael Hicks-Beach. First Lord of the Admiralty. Lord George Hamilton. Postmaster-general, Lord John Manners. Chief Secretary for Ireland, Earl of Carnarvon. The Office of Lord Privy Seal has not yet been filled. Monday. Three very sharp shocks of earthquake occurred at 1 30 p.m. on Saturday at Ross accompanied by a loud rumbling noise. The transport Arab, with the New South Wales contingent, arrived at Sydney on Friday night, and will be placed in quarantine until Tuesday. All the Australasian Colonies have sent representatives to take part in the official reception of the troops on Tuesday. A disastrous explosion of firedamp took place on Friday in a colliery of Pendlebury, near Manchester. Twenty -two men were killed at once, and 140 more are now entombed without the slightest chance of rescue. News from Port Said states that a bitch has occurre 1 in the works for the removal of the obstruction in the Suez Canal, which threatens to seriously delay the re-opening. The channels are blocked up with vessels wanting to pass the Canal Homewards or outwards. Earl Carnarvon will be Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and Mr. Arthur Balfour Chief Secretary. The cholera continues to increase rapidly in the south-east of Spain. During the past few days no less than 2000 cases, 800 of which had ended fatally, have been reported from the provinces of Valencia. Castelon, de la Plata, and Murcia. A few deaths have occurred in this city. A very general feeling of alarm prevails. In the House of Commons on Fad ay Mr. Gladstone moved that the House be further adjourned until Tuesday next, which was carried. In the House of Lords the Marquis of Salisbury moved a similar adjournment, as he was not yet able to make his promised Statement. Referring to the Redistribution of Seats Bill, he stated that the Government objected to its being proceeded with, because its passing ,-would prevent a dissolution before November. A motion to postpone consideration of the measure was subsequently passed by a large majority. Mr. Gladstone hesitates as to the acceptance of a policy of neutrality. Mr. Arthur Balfour will take the office of the President of the local Government Board. Lord Derby, in responding to a farewell address presented to him by the several Agents-general, stated that Australia had, durirg his term of office, acquired 60.000 miles of territory in New Guinea. He admitted, in spite of interminable difficulties, the advantage of consulting the Agents-general on matters regarding the colonies. The political deadlock still continues, Lord Salisbury demanding to monopolise the House until the prorogation of Parliament, and also insisting that the Liberal party shall forbear from attacking the Budget proposals. The late Ministry have now vacated the seats on the Treasury benches. It is believed that Mr. Gladstone will resign his seat in the House of Commons. It is announced that Sir Stafford Northcote takes the position of First Lord of the Treasury, and not Lord Salisbury, as previously

telegraphed. The Premiership, however, will not as usual be combined with this office, but will be assumed by the Marquis of Salisbury. Mr. Kdward Clarke, Q,C, hag been appointed Attorneygeneral, Mr. Gorst Solicitor-general, and the Hon. Edward Stanhope Presidentof the Board of Trade. A request made by Lord Salisbury, that the Liberal party should give him an assurance of support in carrying on the business of the country, has not been acceded to. Parliament re-assembled on Friday after the adjournment. The late Ministry have not yet vacated the Treasury benches, and the position of Liberal and Conservative members respectively in the House is unchanged at present. The nomination of Lord Randolph (t'hurchill to the portfolio of Secretary of State for India is strongly censured, and the Marquis of Salisbury is blamed for yielding to and accepting his advice regarding the formation of the Cabinet. Tuesday. The Wellington correspondent of the Daily Times wires as follows : — The Gold Export Duty Abolition (Sir Julius Vogel) is a short bill of four clauses. It provides that no export duties shall be leviable on gold produced in the Colony after the expiration of two calendar months after the passing of this Act. though all gold obtained before or within such two months is subject to duty ; and the exporter must make a declaration before the collector of customs as to when the gold was obtained. This section of the Act is only intended to be operative for 12 months. For a false declaration there is a penalty of £500 or two years' imprisonment. Great dissatisfaction is felt in Riverton at the stoppage of the through daily railway service from Dunedin to the Western district. By the new time-tables trains for the Western district leave Invercargill only three-quarters of an hour before the arrival of the express at Invereargill from Dunedin, consequently passengers and mails are in all cases delayed in Invereargill a night and day, in some cases 24 hours, and in others 48 hours. Deputations and other representations from local bodies have failed to induce the traffic manager at Invereargill to make an alteration, and at a public meeting held on Saturday night it was resolved to petilion the Minister of Public Works to get tfte through daily service continued. A. meeting was held at Napier last night to take preliminary steps towards erecting a memorial to the late John Sheehan. The proposed memorial will take the form of a drinking fountain in Clive square. A committee was formed, including men of all shades of politics, the secretary being one of Mr. Ormbnd's chief supporters at the last election. There is no advance in prices for wool, and bidding is irregular, French purchasers being languid. Crospbreds are Id below the price at the opening of the sales. Greasy, scoured, and merinos are from £d to Id below the April sales. Up to date 171,000 bales have been catalogued and 24,000 bales have been withdrawn. The Russian newspaper Novoye Vvemya states that in consequence ' of the Ameer of Afghanistan massing his forces at Amudaria the Bussian troops will be compelled to advance on them. Lord Lyons, British Ambassador at Paris, has refused to accept the assurance given by the French Government that the Recidiviste Bill would not be enforced. Lord LyoDS believes that the measure was an electioneering manoeuvre. Advices from Port Said report that the work of removing the obstruction in the Suez Canal has been carried on with great celerity, with the result that the channel has been opened for the passage of vessels, and traffic resumed. Wednesday. In the House of Representatives yesterday the following bills were introduced :— Peamen's Representation Bi.l (Hr. Bruce), Stamp Duties Act Amendment Bill, Deceased Persons' Estates Duties Bill, Property Assessment Bill (Hon. Mr. Stont), Bill to amend •' The Gaming and Lotteries Act 1881 " (Mr. Hobbs).— Sir Julius Vogel moved the seennd reading of the Local Finance and Powers Bill. He said the first point he wished to call attention to was that an amount of £300,000 should be set apart for 25 years for local bodies. For the present year he proposed that only half subsidy should be paid to those bodies. Ke then explained at some length the main provisions of the bill and schedule. He said it was proposed that gol'l fields counties should receive a special grant for five years of £200,000 per annum. For the first five years the amount of the subsidies would be taken from the Public Works Fund. After that they would be taken from the general Consolidated Fund. He did not think a fairer method of apportioning those subsidies could be devised than the one now proposed, and if it were possible to make the system permanent the Government would endeavour to do so. Powers were also given in the bill for counties and road districts to. amalgamate for the purpose of earning out any particular work The bill fii ther proposed to abolish the gold duty and to establish instead a proposal which he thought would greatly assist the mining industry. One very important feature in the bill was that the request for district railways should come from the local bodies interested. Another feature was that large powers of delegation were given to the Governor, so much so that the present Ministry might be called the Ministry of decentralisation. It was also proposed to repeal the Roads and Bridges Construction Act, but the Government would fulfil all engagements made under that Act. The local bodies were to be hold responsible as regarded expenditure of money that would come to them under the bill, and their powers and finance would be of an independent character. By placing in the hands of local bodies the power of opening up the country, it would lead to a large increase of population. Major Atkinson moved the adjournment of the debate till Friday next, which waa agreed to. — The Hon. R. Stout moved the second leading of "The Representation Act 1881 Amendment Bill." He said the object of the bill was simply to enable cities like Wellington, Christchurch, Auckland, and Dunedin to amalgamate into one electorate. He adduced several reasons for bringing in the bill, one of which was that if this law had been in force at the last elections, hundreds of men would be placed on the roll for Dunedin over and above those who voted. Men changed their places of residence frequently, and consequently under the

present system many were disfranchised. He felt sure city members would support the bill, but if the Auckland members thought their constituents did not want the bill, they could have Auckland struck out iv Committee, He kacw that in Dunedia and Wellington there was a great desire for the bill, and in Christc'aurch there was no particular expression of opinion up m it. Ha hoped that the House would pass the bill. The second reading was carried on a division, Ayes, 43 ; noes, 26. The Madagascar question has again occupied the attention of the French Ministry, and a Committee of the Chamber of Deputies. The Ministry has given notice of an intention to ask for a credit of 12,000,000 francs for the purpose of the despatch of 3000 troops to reinforce the French force under the command of Admiral Miot in Madagascar waters. One of the reasons for King Alfonso abandoning his projected visit to the cholera-infected districts of Spain was thac the Ministry threatened to resign if he persisted in going. The English Government have approved of the joint report prepared by Mr. Thurston and Dr. Krauell, of the Anglo-German Commission on Western Pacific affairs. The German Government are now considering the report. It is understood that a re-arrangemeat of Ministerial portfolios has taken place as follows : — Lord President of the Privy Council, Viscount Cranbrooke ; Lord Privy Seal, Earl Harrowby ; President of the Board of Trade, Duke of Richmond ; President of the Local Government Board, Mr. Balfour ; Vice-president of the Committee of Council on Education, Hon. G. Stanhope. Thursday. In the House of Representatives yesterday the following bills were introduced : —The Friendly Societies Act Amendment Bill (Mr. O'Conor), the Thames Harbour Board Empowering Bill (Colonel Fraser), the Hating Act Amendment Bill (Mr. Turnbull), the Justices of Peace Acts Amendment Bill (the Hon. Mr. Tole), the Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Act 1867 Amendment Bill (the Hon. Mr. Tole), a bill to amend "The Impounding Act 1884" (Mr. Buckland), the Sale of Poisons Bill (Mr. Hatch), a bill to authorise the corporation of the town of Invercargi 11 to consolidate certain, loans (Mr. Hatch), the Mines Act 1877 Amendment 8.11 (Mr. Seddon). Mr. Macandrew moved that for theTemainder of the session this House shall meet at 10.30 o'clock in the forenoon. In moving the motion he said he saw no go d grounds for performing the business of the country at midnight instead of midday. He quoted the c^se of the Legislature of the United States, which met at 9 a.m. and adjourned at 6 p.m. He believed his proposal, if carried, would have the effect of shortening the session. As to the sittings of committee, they raisbt sit on Mondays and Saturdays, or even in the evenings. The motion was put, and carried by 38 against 31. Sir George Grey moved the second reading of the plurality of Votes Bill. He said the present was a fitting time to bring forward the measure, when such a large amount of taxation was to be imposed on every man, woman, and child in the Colony. The subject had been before the House so frequently that he would not detain the House by making any lengthened remarks on it, but would ask the House to pass the second reading. The motion for the second reading was carried on a division by 30 against 28. It has been reasserted tbat Russia will demand an explanation for the anti-£tuss<an speeches delivered by the Marquis of Salisbury and Lord Randolph Churchill. The Marquis of Salisbury will complete Mr. Gladstone's Afghan policy, with the exception of allowing the matter to be settled by arbitration. It has now been agreed to pass the Federation Enabling Bill. Mr. Hugh Holmes, Q.C., has been appointed Attorney -general ; and Mr. John Monroe, Q.C., Solicitor-general for Ireland. The difficulty which has arisen between Loid Salisbury and the Liberal party on the question of passing the Redistribution of Seats Bill has been arranged, and tha measure was finally passed by the Lords on Tuesday, after which the House adjonrned until Thursday next. The Commons met and adjourned till Wednesday, when the new writs rendered necessary by the appointment of Ministers were to be issued. Her Majesty has arranged a compromise between leaders.