PARLIAMENTARY AND GENERAL ENGLISH NEWS.

Auckland Star, Volume II, Issue 548, 12 October 1871, Page 2

PARLIAMENTARY AND GENERAL ENGLISH NEWS.

London, September 6.—A terrible explosion ■.ceurred this morning in a coal mine near the town of Wigain, in Lancashire. Some fifty persons wfio w«re on the seam of the mine at the time of the eatasropbe were cut off from communication' with the outer world, and it is feared till are suffocated. London, August 16.—The House of Commons is rapidly disposing of tho accumulated business before it. London, August 17.— A deputation of French citizens, appointed to visit Ireland mid thank the people for tho aid given wounded French soldiers during the war with Prussia, has arrived. The people are wild with excitement, and the roads leading to the stopping place of the Frenchmen have become impassable because of the crowds. Wednesday night a band of performers repaired to the hotel whore the Frenchmen are stopping, and played American, Irish, and French national airs ; a'so, some Fenian tune*. There was no interference by the people. The procession reached Shelbourn at three o'clock, and, in response to calls, the delegates came out on th« balcony. A member of Parliament made) an address to the crowd. A son of Marshal MacMahon also arrived with the delegation, and was loudly cheered by the thousands of people assembled. Bis reception was worthy of a king. Many houses were illuminated tonight, and the entusiasm of the people continues exceedingly great. London, August 12.—The deputation from Franco, with Flavigny at its head, has arrived at Dublin, and was received enthusiastically. The statement of tho Bank of England shows an increase of £4,000,000 in specie reserve.

London, August. 17th—The lords' and Queen's assent to the Army Kegulalion Bill is announced.

London, August 18th —The Lords of the I Admiralty have issued orders suspending ! Admirals Willesly and Wihnont, and the Captains of the Agncourt and Minataur. Fresh strikes huvo broken out among the workmen at Leeds, who demand a reduction j of the hours of labor. Hundreds of new hands have arrived at; Newcastle, to supply the places of the Btriking engineers, . j

In the House of Lords to-day, the Lord Chancellor and Viscount Halfax defended in the most vigorous manner the measures which have been passed by the Government at this sessions of Parliament, and especially those providing for the use of the ballot, at elections, and for the regulation of the ai'iiiy. New York, August 20.—The Dublin correspondent, of t'-e London Times of the 9th describing the Dublin riot, says P. J". Smyth, member of Pediment, was proceeding with his speech, when suddenly there shot into view round the corner of the Wellington Monument, a considerable body of police, truncheon in had, who, without uttering a word of warning, notice, oa expostulation, began to strike mercilessly on all sides. If an impartial enquiry be instituted by Government, I believe it, will be found that throughout the period during which so many dreadful wounds w«ro given by the police, no resistance was offered, and nonecould be offered. No defence wus attempted beyond the use of umbrellas, in a few cases, to ward oIF the showering blows of the loaded truncheons. Everyone within reach was assailed. Newspaper reporters (conservative and liberal), many of them with note-book and pencil in hand—some personally known to the police for years past as members of the press — were as' savagely attacked as anyone else. Flying victims were tripped, in order that when on the ground they might be bludgeoned. A person was quietly walking away alone, when some policemen ran »t him, and one of them dealt him a fearful kick on the hip, which staggered him; before he could utter a cry, another blow from a truncheon felled him to the earth in gouts of blood. London, August 21.—The potato blight is developed to an alarnaing extent in Ireland, and it is feared the crop ia almost ruined. John Bright has to a great degree recovered his health and will certainly resume parliamentary duties next session. The French deputation, headed by Count Flavigny, who recently landed in Ireland, havfe crossed into England and will visit the city of York. They are enthusiastically received everywhere. The object of their visit to the United Kingdom is personally to return the thanks of the French people for aid so freely given by Englishmen and Irishmen for the wounded and suffering French during the war.

A grand fate will be held at the Crystal Palace, at Sydenham, to celebrate the union of Germany. A serious disturbance took place yesterday at Newcastle, where workmen are on a strike and new hands employed. Apprehensions are folt of riots

The statement that Ohichester Fortescue will succeed Earl Spencer as Viceroy of Ireland, is authoritatively pronounced untrti9. London, August 24. —The Amnesty Association of Dublin have resolved to hold ft meeting at Phoenix Park, on the 3rd of September, to petition the Queen to liberate political prisoners. The yacht Livonia starts on the 21st for New York.

There is a strike of 1500 workmen at Leeds. The disturbance at Newcastle is unr<»nf>\ved. Tae new workmen are simply hissed.

(jrurney, the British Commissioner undef the treaty of Washington, sails for the United ■States September 6th. accompanied by SijStafferd Northco e'a eldest son, as secretary, j .Napoleon goes to Tourquay and Eugenic to Spain. I London, August 2.—The London Echo lias d<"p*i°l">a Auua Vicuna, stating thai .Bismarck's overtures aim at more than the Roumanian railway difficulty, and that the English Foreign Office has been warned to watch the proceedings of Gastien. Dr. Samuel Warren, the author of " Ten Thousand a Year," is about to marry a daughter of Edward Beaumont, M.P. for South Durham.

New York, August 25. —London intelligence stales that it has been discovered that l'iuhborne, the claimant to a baronetcy, was a1", one time a convict on Cockatoo island; Australia.

London, August 26.—About 200 German and Belgian workmen arrived at Newcastle yt-s!.erday, to replace the miners on the strike.

An attempt was made to-day, by unknown parties, to explode the monument to King Q-eorgo tho Fourth, at Kingstown, Ireland. Though, much blackened by gunpowder, the monument received no real injury.

London, August 30. —The cholera is at Hamburgh. Sixteen deaths occurred at Atlonai during this week. At Konigsbi-rg there were 100 cases and 29 deaths on the 27th, and 80j ca^es and 5 i deaths on the 28th.

London, August 29.—Dr. Kirk, of Zanibarj writes that Dr. Livingstone is still in the country. He was at Tangansica, and the Arabs there want him to reside in that region. No ill feeling is manifested towards him. He is moving slo;vly, but safely, and will leave no doubts in the geographical problem as to whether the Lake Tangansica is the real head of the Nile, or if it empties by Congro.

London, August 30.—1t is said G-urney has presented English claims to the amount of fourteen thousand pounds against the United Stales.

London, August 29.—The British Consul at Zanzibar writes that Dr. Livingstone, the African discoverer, is slowly making his way homaward.

The armor-plated steainship-of-war Repulse has been ashore sit Sheerness, but got off. The daniiige sustained is yet unknown.

London, September I.—A naval courtmartial is ordered by the Admiralty to thoroughly investigate the causes of the accident to the iron-clad Repulse, shich was stilted yesterday to hare beea aground at Sheerness.

London, September 2. — Walter Montgomery, the well-known actor, who had recently returned from a professional visit to the Uaited States, committed suicide last night. Montgomery was married the Wednesday previous to an American lady. Dublin, September 3.—A monster demonstration was held to-night with a vast procession. One hundred thousand people were present at a meeting in Phceniv Park.' Messrs. Smyth, Butt and Nolan spoke, and resolutions demanding the release of the Fenians were adopted. As the people were returning, a collisaion occurred The police drew their starts and the people used sticks and stones. The latter were gradually dispersed. Many arrests have been made.

London, September 4.—M. P. Smith yesterday presided at the Phoenix Park (Dublin) large meeting. The police were invisible in returning ; the mob encountered and attacked the police patrol. A fierce fight enaned. Fifty constables were injured and many prisoners taken. A public-house in the comer of Queen-street was wrecked.

There was a meeting of engineers 8000 strong at Newcastle ou Saturday. It was 'determined to insist on fifty-four hours' work per week.

Dublin, September s.—There was fierce fighting all night. The police, driven to their barraoks, received reiuforcemonts and charged the crowd desperately. They were driven into the barracks again, however, and the rally was repeated several times, but with the same result. A. bar of iron thrown from a public-house at the police led to the entering of the house and oapturing its inmates, An attempt was made to rescue them by the

mob, and in the battle .ivhich followed tli house was completely wre'dked by the mob * its frantic rage. Half of. the policemen e^ gaged in the affrays vere injured. Th" prisoners sang national songs' all E j D i, t e There is great excitement, and it is increasm ' The prisoners were cheered and the p O H hissed. The women helped the rioters. 6

London, September 5. —Strikes occurred to-d:iy among the workman in Sheffield - a Bradford. " j\f A special despatch from Dublin says \ renewal of the riots is apprehended, it,/ polica arc ordered to use revolvers unmerci. fully. Iho soldiers are still under arms [L use in case of emergency.

London, September 7. —The carpenter* continue to Btrike.

The lion. Mrs. Covvper has been committed for swindling.

A national conference is to be held at Bir rnineham, the sessions of which will begin on the 28th of November, to consider the neceg. sity of reform in the composition and powers of the House of Lords.

New York. —A correspondent of a London paper, writing from Shirsz, under date J une 23rd, says, " The famine in Persia may n Ofl be said to have almost come to an end, but the distress caused by it will continue for a Jong time. The price of bread has fallen con. Bidt-rably, but all the property of the poorer classes, excepting only necessary clothing has long since been sold or exchanged for bread, and it is but too evident that starvation will be the fate of a great many more. On the road from Biißhire to Shiraz one can see at many places half interred bodies. At a caravansary, aboiit thirty mil e9 from Shiraz, many people (it is stated 200) died of starvation in a week.

Kazeroon, a town eighty miles from Sbiraz is half depopulated, many ef its inhabstanta went to Shiraz, Bushire, or other large towns. Great numbers died on the roads, and on tie highways, crowds of beggars in the last stages of destitution, waylay travellers. Sanguinary fights, often resulting in the loss of life, take place over the carcases of mules, donkeys, or horses, which died on the road. Robberies with violence are frequent.

At Yezed and Kerman the famine raged more than anywhere else.

In a letter dated Yezed, April, it nag stated that corpses had been resorted to for food/and. in many cases children had been killed and devoured by parents.

Paris, September 3. —The Court Martidat Versailles will suspend its sittings for three days, after which it will take up the cases of Cavales, Rochefort, fiossel and Morateau. The female prisoners accused of firing buildings with petroleum, will be tried before a separate tribunal, to-morrow. The mortality returns of the city of Paris, for the past week, shows a total of 86 deaths, of which 4 were from cholera.

Pabis, September 4-. —To-day being the first anniversary of the downfall of the Empire and the proclamation of the Eepublic, military precautions were taken against dangerous demonstrations, but the day passed quietly. Kb disturbances are apprehended an j where.

The disarming of the National Guards in the cities of southern France will begin on the loth instant. Troops have been concentrated at points in the south, in such a manner as to insure prompt obedience to the law. As soon as the disarmament is completed^ the state of siege will be raised. In the .Assembly to-day, the Minister of War informed the Chamber that a Commission apppointed to investigate the capitulations rfuring the late war, would meet on the 15th instant. It would investigate events in chronological order, taking up the surrender of Sedan first.

A bill promling for a tax on newspapers was adopted.