SUEZ MAIL.

Auckland Star, Volume VI, Issue 1702, 2 August 1875, Page 2

SUEZ MAIL.

GENERAL SUMMARY.

London, June 11. The departure of the Royal Engineers for service in Fiji has been indefinitely postponed.

Lord Carnarvon, in a despatch to Sir Henry Barkly, proposes that the several states of South Africa should follow the example of Canada, and unite in one confedera tion, for which purpose he suggests the appointment of a delegate from each state. Mr Froude will represent England at the conference, and Sir Henry BarJsly will be president.

The law officers of the Crown advised the prosecution of Dr Kenealy for a scandalous libel published in the Englishman, but the Government were disinclined to undertake another prosecution involving Orton associations. Mrs Mina Jury, on being released from imprisonment, was immediately arrested on another charge of theft. During a financial squall, two South Wales iron companies, employing 5,000 men, in which Fothergill and Hankey were responsible partners, failed for £1,250,000. Their collapse compelled Sanderson and Co., bill brokers, to suspend payment with liabilities amounting to several millions. Several minor failures followed, but no panic took place. The Queen and Princess Beatrice are at Balmoral.

Prince Louis Napolson has inspected the Chatham Dockyard and was entertained by the officers of the Royal Engineers.

Lord Carnarvon has received a deputation from the Anti-Slavery Society, who urged the suppression of the Coolie trade in the British colonies.

A memorial chapel to Bishop Wilberforce, costing £6000, was opened on the 28th of May by the Bishop of Oxford,* in the presence of 300 ecclesiastics.

Portraits of Mr. Samuel Morley and Mr^M J. 8,. Mills, for which subscriptions had I been raised among the Nonconformists, havall I been presented to those gentlemen at th I New Memorial Hall as a token of the high I appreciation entertained for their services I The Times and the Spectator take advantage of the incident to compliment the dissenter on their growing respectability and cultm-1^ which it is augured will soften cheir tS. \ tiiity to the establishment. f,\ A public breakfast has been givi> Sorq Manchester by the alliance to Genera* y* 81 \ Dow, previous to his return to AnowafeW' after several years' gratuitous labour i^ate, country in the cause of temperance. "Sl^ Wilfred Lawsou presided. " ; < The Institution of Civil Engineers has had a conversazione in the new saloon of the India Museum, at South Kensington, when 2,500 ladies were present. A numerous party of operatives belonging to the workmen's clubs have inspected West. : minster Abbey, under the guidance of De^ Stanley.

The Viceroy's Government has expressed its linn conviction of the guilt of the late' Guicowar of Baroda. The commission ig declared not to have been a judicial tribunal but merely a court of inquiry, whose pro' ceediigs the Government reviewed.

1 he Chancellor of Lincoln has refused an application to allow the title of P^ev. to be prefixed to the name of the Wesleyan minister, Mr Meet. Notice of appeal has been

given. A compromise has been effected in the South Wales labour difficulty. The men/ at a meeting of delegates, agreed to accept a reduction of 12 per cent, to which .the L masters acceded. A general resumption of ' work has accordingly taken place in most of the collieries, while ironworks are 30 rapidly extending their operations jfchat already .there is a scarcity of hands. This arrangement is to be in force for three months. Meanwhile the coal owners Lave appointed a committee i;o construct a sliding scale of wage? 10 come into operation here-i, after. L >rd A.bf:rdava estimates that £3,0l)0,G0O have been lost in wages during the sfciikx'. . Advices from the Cape of Good Hope state that the Government; bill for the removal of Langahbalf le from Robbia Island was carried by I.'} votes. Considerable agitation pre- )t ~ vailed at tue diamond iieids. The Diggers' Association hr.s wric*.«a to Sir H. Barkly, : describing the yrievaucis which they suffer ; from the prut-enfe system of representation and taxation, which results ia arbitrary and despotic acts. A testimonial is to be presented to Mr ; : Macraa Moir by Scotchmen, in recognition of the effot.ts made by him to afford relief to his distressed countrymen. The resuit of a house to house visitation: in Liverpool allowed that nine-tenths of the inhabitants were favourable to a restriction in the number 01 public houses and the hours of sale, and the entire closing of the homes on Sundays. At a large meeting of the North Staffordshire miners, held at Hanly, resolutions were adopttd which, whilst declaring the injustice of the proposed 10 per cent reduction, offered to submit the dispute to arbitration, and continue work during the deliberation of arbitrators. The Dean Forest Colliery proprietors pro« !; posed a further reduction of 10 per cent, owing to the depression in trade in consequence of ths strike for higher wages. Earl Fitzwilliam has ordered his colliery near Roiherha,m to be permanently closed. The iron masters have submitted a new scale of wa.<;es to the workmen at the Westminster Palace Hotel conferente, who undertoook to lay it before their constituents, a.id give an answer oq the 16th. Correspondence respecting the wages paid to the Sandrmgham labourers has been discussed at the Agricultural Labourers' Conference, Birmingham. The Prince's agent declines to advance to 15s per week. , A demonstration of 10,000 labourers 1 has taken place at Yeovil, under the presidency of Sir John Bennett, who demanded their enfranchisement. The B'ackburn master builders have re- ; solved to resist the demands of the operative joiners for au advance of 2s. per week. The ■ plasterers have stiuck for a similar rise. At Newcastle 123 apprentices at the Stephensort_;Eagine Works were fined £5 each, for taking a .holiday oq Ascension Day. The release of five cabinetmakers, imprisoned for picketing, was made the - occasion of a publics demonstration. There" was a dinner with speechifying, and a procession in Hyde-park. Honeymoon, the winner of the Waterloo Cup, was so seriously injured in jumping a spiked gite, that he is not likely to re-appear . in public. On May 24th, in Tufnell-park, Hollo way, • Keen an.d Stantou attempted the feat of!----riding 100 miles in 6£ hours, for a £100 a side, to be ridden in four spins of 25 miles each. Ooth failed to accomplish the task. Bicycle contests have been introduced in the Alexandra Palace grounds for prizes. At the dog show at the Crystal Palace ; last week there were 1,500 entries. Parliament re-assembled after the short Whitsun recess on May 20. Sir Wilfrid Lawson opposed the adjournment of the House on the Derby Day in a humorous speech, but was~defeated by 206 votes to 81. The friendly interposition of the British Government during the recent threatening attitude of Germany and France has been the subject of explanation in both Houses. Lord Derby, in answer to Earl .Russell's interrogatories, made a very clear statement. ' The volunteered good offices of England excited surprise on the Continent, and seems to have pleased both Germany and France. Mr Whalley and Dr Kenealy have attacked the Government on account of the non-issue of the writ for Norwich, ascribing it to the dread of Dr. Kenealy's son being returned. Bishop Peterborough's Church Patronage Bill has passed through committee in thei House of Lords. There has been a passage-at-arms between the Duke of Cambridge and Lord Elcho,, regarding the condition of the army. The Savings Bank Bill, which takes the profits from the post-office banks to make up heavy losses from old savings banks, haff suffered a raking fire from Mr Gladstone and: Mr Fawcett. The principle being so severely; condemned, the Government promised to reconsider it.

Professor Fawcett, writing to a constituent,, who had threatened the withdrawal of His confidence on account of his vote against Dr. Kenealy's motion, points out that the Claimant was convicted, not by the judges, but by the jury ; and remarks that nothing can be more contrary to the spirit of Magn? Charta than to cast suspicion without reasoir on the fairness of such a body. While two crowds were demonstrating for and against the Irish Sunday Closing Bill in Cork a large body of Nationalists appeared on the scene, and hustled both the Vintners and the Sunday closing; men ont of the park. The Nationalists did this to establish their ascendancy. ". The installation of the ne* Gnicowar of Baroda took place on June 16, in thepresence of a large numbers of girdars and chiefs, with great ceremony. After bathing, and mixing holy water from the .Ganges, Jumna, and the sea, and worshipping his family god and the j national standard, he attended durbar in the robes of state, and took the oath of allegiance. He received gifts from the Rajahs of ooher states and subordinate chiefs, and v signed grants for. charitable objects, Another grand durbar was held in the evening, when Sir R. Meade and other British officers proceeded to the palace in state (the streets being lined with troops) to read a khureek or letter from the Viceroy, acknowledging and congratulating the Guicowar. Sir J. Madara Row was then 1 installed as Dewar or Prime Minister. On ; the 17th -the Guicowar visited several temples, to be introduced to national gods. The profession was magnificent. ThehowdiW ■<<>

of gold used was Valued at £50,000. The festivities concluded with a state dinner. The chief subject of interest and discussion in India and China daring the month has been with reference to the action consequent on Mr Marcarey's murder, and Sir Douglas Forsyth's mission to the King of Burmah. One of Mr Margarey's Chinese servants is rep orted to have escaped to the coast. He says two attendants fought desperately before they were overpowered, but Mr Margarey w as cut to pieces without warning. Colonel Horace Brown, who commanded the expedition, has arrived at China, to consult Mr Wade. It was rumoured on the ISth June from EaDgoon through Chinese merchants, that an army of 100,000 men was being concentrated at Mamoyne, -whtre the massacre took place, and that large stores of grain had been collected. Ttie visit of the Chinese or rebel general Leesetahi tothe Kingof Burmah, who favourably received him, was connected with this movement, and is considered to implicate the King. The Eev. A. G. Coplestone, a tutor at Oxford and a young man of 30, has been appointed Bishop of Colombo. He is the fourth livitx* bishop—the first draws a pension from tbe colony of £SSO per annum ; the second is chaplain general of the army ; and the third is Bishop Germyn, lately retired from bad health. Steps are being taken in CeyJcn to secure the disestablishment of religion. The Australian colonies are held to be an example of the good effect of separating the church from the state. The scandal of state-sup-ported bishops and clergymen is great in India and Ceylon, where the heathen pay the mijor portion of The tsxes. The servants of the Company are generally very indignant at the reduction of salaries proclaimed by the directors, and some severe letters have appeared in the Indian press on the subject. 'J he feeling is that the prestige for good management and safety of the Peninsular and Oriental ships is more dependent on the high character of the officers than anything else, and disaffection and cbaDges among them will tend greatly to injure the position of the Company. Hongkongl, June 25. A Chinese gunboat lias fired upon and seized the British steamer Carisbrook off the coast of Kawau, the vessel being suspected to be engaged in smuggling. The steamer Carisbrook, seized on suspicion of smuggling, has been released, security being given for 240,000 dollars, the value of the cargo, pending reference to Pekin. The Sassoon Dock, Bombay, the first wet dock in India, has been successfully opened, and the s.s. Carradoe, of 900 tons, docked. Cotton-spinning mills at Bombay are proving a success. It is estimated that 55,000 looms in England are employed on account of India, and now as many as S,OOO looms run in India. The expenditure on reproductive woiks in India is to be reduced from four and a half to four million pounds per annum. One thousand eii'ht hundred and sixty-five miles of state railwry are to be constructed in India during the next five years ; 720 on the broad gauge, and 1,145 on the narrow. Australian trees have succeeded so well in the Meilgherry hills, South India, that ab Ootacamund they are deemed a nuisance.