ENGLISH NEWS.

Dunstan Times, Issue 931, 20 February 1880, Page 3

ENGLISH NEWS.

The Auckland Star's London correspondent writes ; “The new year opened with line keen weather, a revival of trade, and a generally improved aspect of affairs commercially, showing a perceptible effect on the emigration movement. Captain Ashby reports that trade is ranch slacker than it was a few years ago, and that vessels on the berths for New Zealand are not tilling up With passengers or cargo nearly so fist as their predecessors. Messrs Shaw, Savill, and Co.’s ship City of Quebec takes about 35 substantial farmers, who are goim» to settle in the North Island, and also has two valuable bulls on board. Nearly all the better class of passengers for New Z inland prefer the steam route via Australia. There wers_ several on board the luckless Somersetshire.” The same writer says of those who were asked to give advice relative to floating the five million New Zealand loan Franklyn saiil ho thought the present juncture was unfavourable for such a purpose, and that it would he better to wait for a time. At first, most of us thought this would be done, but early in December the subscription list was opened, and the financid world was consequently partially taken by surprise, and ‘knowing’ spscu'atorsprophesied a failure. Happily they were altogether wrong. The loan proved a brilliant success, as may be guessed from the fact that the animations were considerably over eleven millions. Still the Press is anything but congratulatory.” The correspondent then goes on to quote the article from the Daily News, which has already been published, A letter in Tho Times says that tho creditors of the fil aagow Bank, having been paid up in full, Iboro remains a source of re.lief to those contributors who, with heroic fortitude and magnanimity, have silently

surrendered their propel ty, looking forward, in many instances, to a future surrounded with gloom. It it is confidently asserted that if the Bank’s New Zealand property ip untised ami judiciously administered, a very large return may accrue tothe contributors It has, therefore, been proposed to organise a limited company to purchase the property from the liquidators, under express condition that a proportion of the profits earned by the company shall he devoted to and rateably apportioned among all contributors according to the amounts paid by them. The steamer Somersetshire, with between two and three hundred passengers, sailed for Melbourne and Sydney on December 13th. When off Gravesend she was run into by the steamer Deronda, and had part of a life-boat smashed, and received other damages. On the following morning she ran into a barge, and next morninggrounded off South Head, hut was floated off shortly afterwards and pn needed on her voyage. By this time the passergers were naturally somewdiat alarmed, buc, with the exception of one seaman having been washed overboard, nothing of importance occurred until Thursday night, when the Somersetshire collided, for the third time in as many days, with the American schooner Hattie M'Farlane, which ran into her, ami made a large hole just above water mark, carrying away her jihboom. The schooner was dismasted, and the Somersetshire stood by her till daylight, when both put in to Plymouth. The reason of this extraordinary series of accidents is presumably tho .louse fug winuu prevailed when the ship started, but why she started under such ci-cuinstances is not explained. On the steamer’s arrival at Plymouth a wr't for L4OO damages was served on her at the suit of the owners of the injured vessel.