EUROPEAN ITEMS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume IV, Issue 978, 25 June 1883, Page 2

EUROPEAN ITEMS.

[Pee Waihqea ax thb.BioSt.] telegraph.]^ [“ Age” Specials.] London, June 12. The SoleU, a Paris paper, has an article this morning insisting on the rights of France in the New Hebrides, 'and urging that any attempts at annexation by the colonies should be resisted. The Evening Standrad, and several leading London papers, hope that the English Government will not allow Victoria to anhex the New Hebrides. It is also reported that an agreement has been made between England and France that .neither country shall take possession of the islands. , The various Agenta-Genaral are now arranging for a deputation to Lord Derby, the Sec • retary of State for the Colonies, and purpose urging upon him the necessity of annexing the New Hebrides. Two gunboats, ordered by the Queensland Government, have been committed to Armstrong’s shipbuilding yard at Elsewick, Newcastle-on-Tyne, and two torpedo boats- ordered are also under construction at Thorneycroft’s yard, London. A handsome rug, made from the skins of the platypus, has been presented on behalf of Sir W. J. Clarke to Prince George, second son of the Prince of Wales.' .- 1 .: ■' ,L v

At a Conference recently held of the Method's! New Connexion, it was decided to continue the missions to outlying portions of Australia.

The Duke of Cambridge, Commander-In-Chief of the English Army, has given evidence before a Commission appointed to report on the proposed Channel tunnel. He condemns the Undertaking from a military point of view. A series of fetes are being given at Birmingham in honor of -Mr John Bright, and to commemorate his having been the member for Birmingham. for twenty-five years. He publicly entered the' city sesterday, and was welcomed with the greatest enthusiasm by a.a enormous crowd, there being not less than a quarter of a million of people. The Suez Canal,Company have decided to constructs second canal parallel" with the one now in use across the Isthmus of Suez. It is proposed that a duplicate canal for which plans are being prepared, shall fce lighted at night by electricity. The Prince of Wales and the Dukes of Connaught and 'Albany voted with the majority for the second reading of the Marriage with a Deceased Wife’s Sisters Bill. Nearly the whole of the prelates in the House of Lords were with the minority who opposed it. ■ The Liberal members of the German Reichstag are vehemently opposing the Bill introduced by the Government for a modification of the Falk laws, passed in 1873. The Bill which the Government have brought forward has been referred to a committee fairly representative of both sides.

The resignation is announced of Herr Rudolph Von Benniogaen, who, since 1863, has been the President o i the Prussian Chamber of Deputies. Thirty passengers by an English steamer have been seized by a, party of brigands while on shore at Kuluk, a sea coast town in Asia Minor, and conveyed to the interior. London, June 14. An article in the Pall Mall Gazette, to* day, unfavorably criticises the loan ' minimum fixed for L 2,000,000 Victorian redemption loan, and also comments adversely on the effect that the annexation of the Now Hebrides will have on the colonies. . . m The St. James’s Gazette of to-day has an article on colonial defences, and the, activity of the colonies in providing? means for defence is warmly praised. It is probable that distinct juries will not be appointed for the colonies, tbe Amsterdam Exhibition. The exhibits will, it is stated, be divided into twenty classes, and there will be a jury for each section. ; •

Several orders have recently been received from the colonies by Sir William Armstrong, the well-known ordnance maker, at Elswick, for heavy guns, to be mounted on batteries recently constructed

in the several colonies. The orders will be completed as early as possible. A banquet was given to Mr Bright at ■ Birmingham, at which Earl Granville was ■ present. The latter replying to the toast of his health, said that the Government .were mediating with the view of bringing about the Pacific settlement difficulty, which had arisen between France and Madagascar. , London, June 17. The fetes which have been held daring the week at Birmingham in honor of Mr Bright, terminated last night, when Mr Bright addressed a large and enthusiastic public meeting. In the course of bis remarks he referred to the evidence which had been given by several military , authorities on tho subject of the proposed Channel tunnel, anid he contended that their views 'of the military situation of England being weakenrd by the construction of the tunnel were absurd, and could only be attributed to insular prejudices. The course adopted by the Fopa jo relation to the suppression of Irish outrages has aroused great indignation amongst the Fenians of Chicago. Two thousand of their number have signed; a manifesto repudiating the'authority ofhis Holiness jn the matter, and urging the Irish peopleto disregard his commands.; A feeling of dissatisfaction bias been growing in the Cofaiden club for some time, consequent upon the admission of members of foreign secret societies. The result hits been awholesaleresignatiouof, ■members. n j • ! London, Jane 19. Ah influential deputation waited updp. Lord Derby yesterday to urge‘upgn, the Government the desirability of voting s sum of money for the purpose of assisting emigration to the colonies. Lord Derby in reply promised to consult his colleagues jon the'subject. ■' ;, |r i In an article upon the proposal of the .Suez Canal Company to construct a second canal, the Standard urges that England i .and Egypt should accept the terms offered , by Baron do Lesseps, President : of the . .company, and to assist them in obtaining . the land required for catiying , project. . , !, „ ”