News of the Week.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XIII, Issue 16, 14 August 1885, Page 11

News of the Week.

Fbiday.

In the House of Representatives yeserday, replying to Mr. Vincent Pyke, wheu the Public Works Department will bd prepared to call for tenders f r the superstructure and eastern anchorage of ihe Roxburgh Bridge, the Hon. E. l.ichardson said plans and specifications would be ready in a forlnight.— Sir George tfiey moved the second reading of the Lives of Chil Irens Preservatiou Bill. He said hia attention had been called for years past to the fact that a considerable number of children died every year from eating poisonous matches. The number of deaths of children from this cause was far larger than the House had any idea of, and he considered it was a most deplorable thing that innocent children should suffer in this way. He contended that the sale of these poisonous matches should be absolutely prohibited. The motion for the second reading was carried on a division by 24 to 20.— Sir George Grey moved the second reading of the Elective Justices of the Peace Bill. The motion was lost by 31 to 15. — Sir George Grey moved the second reading of the Contempt of Court Bill. The motion was lost by 26 to 19.— Sir George Grey moved the second reading of the Enforcement of Judgments Bill. The motion was carried on the yokes. Specimens of silver from Earangahape were tested at the Bank of New Zealand, Auckland, on Wednesday the yield representing lOOOoz. to the ton.

Sir Michael Hicks-Beach on Wednesday night made a statement as to the intentions of the Government in regard to Egyptian affairs. He informed the House that England would act in concert with the Great Powers, especially in all matters touching Egypt, and British troops would remain in that country until the projected reforms were completed.

Satxteday.

In the House yesterday afternoon, Mr. Ormond asked the Government if it will inform the House what reply has been received from the delegates in England to the cablegram the House waß informed had been sent asking further information re terms for the construction of the East and West Coast, Sir Julius Vogel replied as follows :— The reply of the delegates was to the effect that the guarantee applies to any deficiency in working expenses in addition to the £97,000 ; payments on account of guarantee to be recouped from excess of receipts of line over working expenses, but not fiom receipts from land. There was an addition about constructing the line in three portions which we could not comprehend, and which seemed inadmissible. We considered, however, that there was no use replying to it, but tbat it should be laid before the Select Committee in common with the other propositions to which I alluded in my remarks in moving for the committee. The words of the telegram were, " Net amount receivable by syndicate must be 98. Government also paying any deficit in working expenses. All profits from land must belong to the syndicate, these profits being chief inducement investors. Payments under guarantee during 20 years recoup fiom profits. Line probably built three or more portions by separate issues, land being allocated rateably. Therefore necessary provided guarantee, divided rateably, and failure, one portion not entail forfeiture others. Saving clause present contract also necessary. Nothing lees than these terms any use whatever." I take the opportunity of saying that the Government considered the division on the subject of the committee an indication tbat the House is unwilling to sanction the Agreement made by the delegates, and we have telegraphed as follows :— " Parliament refuses sanction delegates' agreement." The Government understood that to be the feeling of the House. It is inadvisable, ia answer to a question, to further state the views of the Government on the subject. The-Bible-in schools question raised in the East Christchurch School Committee was settled last night by the chairman, Mr. Sandstein, who had received a legal opinion from his solicitors to the effect that the attempt to read the Bible in schools was illegal, and who refused to take a resolution for carrying out the previous decision of the committee in favour of doing so.

It is understood that the Hon. P. A. Buckley, Colonial Secretary, has received a letter from some of the members of the Parnellite party, requesting him to allow himself to be nominated for an Irish constituency in the Home Rule interest. Mr. Buckley has not arrived at any decision in the matter, but expects to receive a further communication in a few days. For some time past Mr. Buckley has been anxious to visit his native country for the purpose of seeing bis parents, and it is now likely that he may do so at the end of the present year. The Parliamentary Committee appointed to inquire into the alleged muddling of the Admiralty vote of £1,000,000 by the late Government recommended that a more sevire control of- the financial arrangements in that department should be maintained.

The Bank of Ireland has refused to help the Munster Bank, which will consequently be wound up. It is probable, however, that the bank will be reconstructed with a fresh capital. The manager of the bank has defaulted, his defalcations amounting to £70,000. It is currently reported (says a cablegram to the Melbourne Age) that the Marquis of Salisbnry intends to make a strong bid for the vote of the whole Irish party by introducing sweeping measures of reform for Ireland, which will be equivalent to the granting of Home Rule. It is understood that should Lord Salisbury effect legislation of this character Mr. Parnell and his followers will accord to the Conservative Ministry their support, and in that event the Conservative tenure of office is likely to be a long one.

Monday.

The committees of the East and West Coast Railway League and guarantor has passed the following resolution :— " That the recent debate in the House of Representatives having apparently indicated that a majority in that House is in favour of the immediate construe lion of the East and West Coast and Kelson railways, though not

agreed as to the manner in which euch construction should proceed, this meeting would respectfully urge the Government to take such immediate action as they may deem necessary in order to seenre the= construction of the said railway." At a meeting of the Selwyn electors at Leeston resolations were passed in favour of the Government making the West Coast railway ; of resisting the special taxation of Canterbury for that purpose ; and disapproving of Mr. Wakefield's action in voting against the Select Committee. -\ A portion of the frozen meat ex s,s. Blderslie, from Danedin. has turned out bad. Four thousand carcasses have been condemned as unlit for consumption. ~. The Emperors William, of Germany, and Francis Joseph of Austria, had an interview the other day. The meeting was of a most cordial nature. . . . & The funeral of General Grant took place on Saturday at Greenk wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York. The entire populace assem- . bled to do honour to the memory of the late President. The funeral cortege, which was of the most imposing character, was fully sir milea m extent. j The Federation Enabling .Bill has passed the House of Lords. In referring to thia mcasnre the Spectator expresses an opinion that the action of New Sonth Wales is cross-grained, and also refers to it as like that of the " dog-in-the-manger." It is reported that a death from cholera has occurred at Bristolibut it is believed the case was imported from Marseilles. The English harvest is proceeding rapidly, but recent rains have tended to harden the market. Very little business has been transacted with Australian breadstuff a. * >1 It has been decided to proceed with the fortification of Herat, and a number of British officers have been detailed to proceed with the work as rapidly as possible. Lord Randolph Churchill;?, Secretary of State for India, has made a statement on Indian finances? which shows a deficit in the revenue of three millions, owing to recent military preparations. He also erpects that there will be an increase in the expenditure of two millions per annum on account of military* service. % The capture of Kashgar, in Central Asia, which was captured from Mahomet Yakoob Bey by China in November, 1877, has been recaptured by Yakoob Bey's son, aided by Russia, The ' French Press have taken a very offensive tone at the defensive alli-J ance between China and England as against Russia. '• In consequence of the difficulty which has recently arisen between the German Government and the Sultan of Zanzibar, a German squadron has arrived at Zanzibar in order to enforce the claims of ' the Empire. Tuesday. „ '• The Wellington correspondent of the Daily Times wires as follows: — A rumour is current to-night, and is insisted upon with much circumstantiality, that a Ministerial crisis is imminent in spite' of the apparent removal of the difficulty. It is very strongly asserted that Mr. Stout will very shortly insist on tendering his resignation of the Premiership on some ground not yet disclosed. His doing so would, of course, ipso Jaeto, break up the Ministry, in which case probably an attempt would be made to induce Major Atkinson's party to take office. If they consented, the rumour further goes, they wculd be almost immediately turned out again on the first convenient pretext ; while if they refused, then a complete reconstruction of the Ministry from the present party would take place, Sir Julius Vogel and Mr. Larnach going out, and Messrs Macandrew and Montgomery, and perhaps one or two other new men, coming in with Messrs. Stout and Ballance. In that case it is supposed the new Ministry would command an irresistibly strong following, while Major Atkinson's party would be reduced to utter powerlessness. Such, at all events, is to-night's lobby rumour, which I give for what it may be worth. The cholera epidemic is abating in the neighbourhood of Marseille?, and it is hoped will be shortly ended. The number of cases in the affe ted districts of Spain is reported to be on the increase. , Wednesday. The Wellington correspondent of the Daily Times wires as follows : —It is now tolerably well known that Major Atkinson has been telegraphed for, and that the situation is deemed very serious. The latest secessions from the Ministerial ranks have taken place on grounds bo very damaging to the Government th&t they can hardly be regarded as retrievable losses. Ministers have been explicitly charged by the seceders with what is tantamount to bad faith and duplicity, or, at any rate, deceptive concealment of matters which the House had a right to know before being called on to vote. This makes the position very awkward, because while the censure is ostensibly aimed at Sir Julius Vogel, it unavoidably embraces also his consenting colleagues, and thus the eight Ministers individually stand openly accused of wilfully deceiving and misleading the House and country. Such a charge made by erstwhile staunch friends who have been reluctantly driven to enmity by this conduct must of necessity have a very damaging effect. The condition of the revenue is not reassuring. The first four months of the current year are known to have resulted in a deficiency in the Estimates at the rate of £200,000 per annnm in three items alone— viz., Custom?, Railways, and Stamps. The remaining items of revenue make up the deficiency to the annual rate of fully a quarter of a million, even if no further falling off occurs, but this is by no means improbable. § At a public meeting held at Ran^iora on Monday night, and ' attended by 300 persons, it was decided— " That this meeting is of opinion that the Government should constrnct the East and West Coast railway line, and that they be memorialised to borrow the money for the work, and carry it out at once." — The South Waimakariri River Board at its meeting yesterday afternoon passed a resolution expressing a hope that the Government will leave- no means untried to have the railway initiated this session. • ' Fears are entertained that the German corvette Augusta, which was on her way to Sydney with relief crews for the German vessel* on

the Australian station, has foundered at sea, as no tidings have been " heard 'of her. ..The Payment of Irish Members of Parliament Fund hie been augmented by a subscription of £1000 received from Australia. Archbishop Moran returns to Sydney on the 16th inst. A cablegram to the Melbourne Age says :— General Komaroff, commander of the Russian forces on the Afghan frontier, professes his inability to prevent another collision between the Russians and Afghans, unless the latter are restrained from advancing. The Standard, in an article dealing with the statement made by General Komaroff, declares that war is preferable to ths present dangerous and expensive uncertainty. The Royal Commission which was appointed to inquire into the cause of the present depression of trade in Great , Britain his commenced its labours under the presidency of the Earl of Iddesleigh (Sir Stafford Northcote"). The majority of the members of the commission hold views favourable to what is known as fair trade — viz., a system of interim 1 ional reciprocity, free trade being allowed to those countries only which admit English products ou the same terms. Thursday. In the House of Representatives yesterday, Sir Julius Vogel made his Supplementary Financial St itement, at the conclusion of which he said he would ask the committee to proceed with the Estimates. Mr. Hurst suggested that as the leader of the Opposition was absent, the committee should adjourn till Friday evening. He thought it was only part of the courtesy due to the member fur Bgmont to adopt this course, which waa customary on such occasions. He then proceeded to review the Financial Satemantat some length, and moved that the chairman repoit progress. Sir Julias Vogel said Mr. Hurst was evidently disappoint d because he did not briag down proposals showing that the Colony was in difficulties. He thought there was no greater proof of the soundness of the Colony than the successful manner in which it had survived all the attacks made on it by public men who should have taken a different view. He denied that the Colony was in such a depressed state as w.is represented. There was no doubt a temporary depr :ssion owing to a falling off in the grain and wool trade. He wished to say that whon he prepared his former Estimates wheat was rising, and if it had continued to rise his estimate would have been co-rect. As far as he could anticipate, there would be a surplus at the end of the year. Mr. W. F. Buckland pointed out that the present Estimates showed an increase of £20,000 over those of 1.-.st year. He said the increase in the stamp duties was not a sign of prosperity, bat the reverse. He thought the time had come when large reductions should be made in the expenditure. The Wellington correspondent of the Lyttelton Times telegraphs as follows regarding the proposal by Messrs. Meiggs and Co. : — A good deal of criticism still goes on about Meiggs and Co. Many people do not hesitate to say that the scheme submitted by them was a scheme for getting for them certain members of Government and certain members of the Railway Guarantors' Committee. Thera is even in some quarters an evident desire to make this belief the foundation for political developments. For these reasons I have thought it as well to publish the following facts, which have been furnished to me on good authority : When the first telegram was received from the delegates giving infomatioi of the provi-uonal arrangements made by them with Mei'gs and Co., the Government immediately cabled to the Agent-general to report to them as to the nature of the arrangement and the standing of Meiggs and Co. The Agent-general replied at length, and his cablegram was communicated to the House at once. As doubts were expressed about the exact terms of the arrangement, a further cablegram was sent by Government to the Agent-general to explain certain points with reference to working expenses. In his reply, after explaining the points referred to and which were mention *d for the first time, he added some entirely new conditions, which were never intended for a moment to be complied with, but it was thought advisable to refer the whole matter to a committee for consideration, together with the other proposals. No cablegrams were sent by any member of Government to the delegates, bat only through the Agent-general. These are the facts. T leave them in your hands. During ihe paßt four weeks the following were the principal exports from the po:t of Timaru :— 60,484 bushels whsat, 29,152 bushels oats, 90 sacks pollard. 465 sacks potatoes. 3985 sacks shaps, 2393 sachs bran, 5420 sacks flour, 700 sacks chaff, 263 reels barbed •wire, 1500 cases preserved meat, 1456 sacks beans, 64 casks tall .w, 848 bushels barley, besides minor quantities chaff, cheese, butter, wheat, meal, horses, cattle, hides, etc. Telegrams to hand announce that the Archb'shop of Seville has been attacked by cholera, and has succumbed to the disease. It is announced that the British forces in India will shortly be increased by reinforcements of six thousand men. The Right Hon. W. H. Smith, Secretary of State for War, stated in the House of Commons on Tuesday night thit it was the intention of the Government to relieve from dnty forthwith thosa members of the reserve forces recently called oat who were mimed men. He further announced that the remainder would shortly be permitted to return to their hones.