NEWS BY THE MAIL.

Evening Star, Volume VII, Issue 2006, 9 October 1869, Page 2

NEWS BY THE MAIL.

Parliament is prorogued, and the Irish Church is disestablished. When the last mail left the measure was so amended by the Lords that it was probable that there would he a collision between the two branches of the Legislature, and the consequence would naturally be that the Bill would remain in abeyance for another year. The amendments were of such a character that Mr Gladstone could not think of adopting them, and bo lost no time in informing the Commons that he would not consent to them, The Pull, divested of the amendments, was accordingly sent back to the Lords for reconsideration. This process in the Commons was performed after a two nights’ debate, in which, however, tlie Opposition displayed no spirit, and though they divided, it was perfunctorily. The Government majorities were as crushing as before. But when the measure came again before the Upper House, one of the most acrimonious of demonstrations was made against the Premier. He had given great olfejico by a ludicrous comparison ’of the Peers to people “ up in a balloon,” who knew not what was going on nppu earth, and this, and the sqniewhaf dictatorial way in which he had spoken, worked np some of the lords to no ordinary rage. Evon Lord Russell protested, but Lord Salisbury’s ire was much fiercer, and he declared that

the Upper House was not Setting itself against the verdict of the nation, but against tlio arrogant will of onemSli. For this speech an infuriated member of the Commons wanted to call him to solemn account, until apprised by the Speaker that the Commons knew nothing of what the Lords said. Ministers were further accused of having entrapped the Lords into reading the bill a second time by false promises to respect amendments, and then came the Duke of Argyll’s turn to get into a red heat, and he declared that a Government that could he guilty of such a thing ought to be impeached. Another minister, the Chancellor, displayed a spirit and power that surprised his hearers, and he castigated the Opposition, perhaps more effectively than any other speaker had done. But it was in vain, the blood of the aristocracy was up, and on a division which was taken on the preamble, the Lord a again struck out the words providing that the surplus should he applied to secular purposes only. The numbers were 173 to 96. Lord Granville then declared that he would go no further until he should have consulted his colleagues. It was the last battle. It occurred on a Tuesday, and on Wednesday there was a Cabinet Council, and people heard that matters were not to be brought to an absolute collision. When the Lords met again on the Thursday, they learned that Lord Cairns, leader of Opposition, had performed a sort of coup d'etat. Without consulting his friends, except Mr D’lsracli, who is understood to have suggested the course adopted, Lord Caims met Lord Granville, and terms avere at once come to. No important departure was made from the principles of the bill, but something was done to prevent the Lords from feeling humiliated. The date of disestablishment was to remain as originally proposed, namely, at the Ist of January, 1871, but the objectionable preamble was modified, anil it was agreed that the surplus should abide the future decision of Parliament. A not unimportant concession was made in regard to certain commutations of life interest, and in this state Lord Cairns, though as ho said detesting the bill as much as over, advised his friends to pass it. They took his advice. Lord Salisbury was rather mournful, but saw that there was but one way to play the game, and was comforted in thinking that a good deal had been gained for “ the Church of our love.” The Archbishop of Canterbury was still more comforted in finding in the bill something like a reendowment of the Church, and a protest against the voluntary principle, which he warmly denounced, to the {great anger of many Dissenters, who have been inclined to regard Dr Tait as somewhat of a friend to them. Then a'l was congratulation and compliment, and a division of the question whether the residences should not be given to the Church gratis gave the Opposionly 17. All was then virtually over, the measure went back to the Commons for the last time, Mr Gladstone was profuse in apology and in praise qf the wisdom of the Lords, and in acknowledgment of the manjy but not factious fight that had been maintained in the Commons. Mr Disraeli had to assure his party that the arrangement was no unconditional surrender, but a wise, wellconsklcrcd, and conciliatory settlement, the terms of which, of course, he should have wished varied. The bill passed, and the royal assent was given to it as rapidly as possible. And so ends the story of the destruction of the State Establishment in Ireland.

The measure is already bearing fruit, for it had hardly passed when the authorities of Trinity College, Dublin, by the mouth of their ablest advocate, Dr Ball, announced that there was no longer any reason for excluding from the government of the university persons of different faith to that which had been the State religion. They threw open their doors. And the heads of the Irish Church are taking steps for getting together such a representative body as shall sa'isfy the demands of the act, and procure the recognition of a governing body by the Executive. The Orangemen who were to do such terrible things, have done nothing, and some of the Catholic hierarchy have expressed themselves decorously on the occasion, and while magnifying their victory, have declared that they rejoice in it only because it was just, and desire to live in all amity with the vanquished. With the exception of the debate on New Zealand affairs, the remaining business transacted in Parliament has been unimportant; and save the great measure, there is nothing to show as the net result of the session. A new bankruptcy bill has been passed, which certainly does not err on the side of leniency to the debtor ; and a bill, nominally for the abolition of imprisonment for debt, lias been added to it. The tims.-honored -writ of ca. sa. is to be done away rvith, and imprisonment will be awarded only by a judge’s order, after proof that the debtor has, or has had, the means of discharging the claim against him A bill “for abolishing sisters-in-law,” or, in other words, for legalising marriage with a deceased wife’s sister, was carried to a forward stage in the House of Commons, but was pertinaceonsly opposed, and at last had to be dropped for the session. It will be brought up again next year, and as both Mr Gladstone and. Mr Bright spoke in its favor there are more unlikely things than its being carried through the House of Commons. The Lords will not pass it, however, as strong prejudices against it exist, and there is no chance of any great pressure being exerted on a subject about which few people care very much, The Habitual Criminals Bill has passed. Henceforth, when a person has been twice convicted of felony, the Court may make it a part of the sentence on the second conviction, tnat after the expiration of bis term of imprisonment, the convict shall be called upon to clear himself, if he is found in circumstances leading to the presumption that he is living dishonestly. On a third conviction, he is to be sentenced for life. This will clear the air of the professional criminal. Parliament was prorogued by Commission, and the speech from the Throne stated that nogociations with the United States had been suspended by mutual consent. After a tribute to the zaal and assiduity of the Houses, especially in regard to the Irish Church Act, and after congratulations on the other matters that have been settled, the Commons were thanked for the supplies, and especially for having enabled the Queen at once to pay the expenses of the Abysinian expedition. The speech concluded by expressing an opinion that, during the recess, “you will continue to gather that practical knowledge and experience which form the sole basis of legislative aptitude. ” A much flatter composition has seldom been entrusted to a Chancellor, and it is clear that Mr Gladstone was’iauo case to register unfitting language the great achievement of the session.

The annual meeting of the Bank of Otago was held on July 25th, Mr G. H. Donaldson presiding. The report presented stated that the het profits amounted to LI 1,195, which the Board recommended should he applied to the reduction of the suspense account. The Chairman, in moving the adoption of the report, said when he compared the report submitted upon that occasion with those submitted at the two former annual meetings, he could not help thinking that they had some solid grounds for mutual congratulation. It was true that the Board were not yet in a position to recommend a dividend, and it was equally true that both directors and shareholders liked to have value for their money. But they were in an infinitely better position ; for whereas last year they had to face a deficit of some L 40,000 in the capital, the Board now asked the shareholders to reduce that deficit, out of one year’s honest earnings, to L2(J,000. (Cheers.) What was the more gratifying was that the Board thought they saw their way clear to reduce that'deficit to LIO.OOO within another twelve months—a point at which, when once reached, the shareholders might fairly begin to inquire whether it was not time to talk of a dividend for the following year. But there was one consideration which outweighed all others, which was, that they had the satisfaction of knowing beyond all dispute that the praises lavished in that room that time last year upon Mr W. James Mudie Larnach as the “ coming man” who was to put the bank’s affairs to rights at the Antipodes, were by no means exaggerated or undeserved. For the Board were now able to assure the shareholders, after twelve months’ experience of his capabilities, that the bank had now a man of the right stamp at the head of affairs in New Zealand, who was rapidly becoming master of the situation, and placing the ilank of Otago in that position which the Board had vainly hoped his predecessor would have placed it, but which, unfortunately, it was not in the power of Mr John Bathgate to do, Not contented with his victory over the directors of tho Bank of England in reference to the division of consols, the Australian Chancellor of the Exchequer has started a paradox for the consideration and amusement of tho country during the recess. He proposes to reduce the amount of gold in the sovereign without diminishing its value. At present the expenses of coinage, &c., fall upon tho Treasury, and are very heavy, Mr Lowe thinks ho may cover these by taking one grain from jevery sovereign as a seignorage, making the coin weigh only 122.274 grains, insterd of 123.274. Any one taking bullion to the mint would still hare to leave 123 "274 for each sovereign, but would receive back coins weighing only 122 274, and the Chancellor supposes that tho power of the sovereign would still be 123 274, because no one con I d get it for less. The fallacy of this seems very obvious. The sovereign does not owe its value to any Act of Parliament; its stamp certifies that it contains so much gold, of a certain fineness, and upon that its purchasing power depends. The value of the coin woul(j be sure to give way in proportion as it irss reduced in weight, and . all fixed incomes would be diminished in a corresponding ratio. In short, the coinage would be debased; and the usual consequences of debasing the coinage must follow, as a matter of course. The reduced sovereign would correspond exactly to a gold piece of 25 francs, and so would he one step towards the chimera of an international coinage—which Mr Lowe looks upon as an additional argument in favor of the change. The scheme is radically unsound in principle, however, and there is little chance, we should imagine, of its ever being tried. Bishop Jenner has arrived in England, and his case has already attracted the attention of the Press. The Daily News remarks : —“ Suppose that instead of the cure of souls tho Doctor undertook tho cure of bodies. It is very likely that most people to whom ho tendered his services would, albeit wholly unskilled in medicine, claim the n?c of their own judgment as to whether they should employ him or some other practitioner in whom they put more faith. Ho would not think, however, of challenging them to allege what medical qanoty he half violated, but wpuid go quietly on his way building up a reputation which would some day triumph over all obstacles.” The Guardian says that the real question tho Diocesan Synod of Dunedin should have decided was the validity of the original nomination ; and that question should have been decided apart from any personal controversy. Upon its decision, one way or the other, would have followed a further inquiry. If Dr Jenuer was rightly elected, had he committed any offence for which he could be deprived ? Jf his election was irregular, did his conduct or

opinions furnish any good reason why the irregularity ought not to bo set right ? It is evident that thoso questions have not been kept distinct, and that the conclusions affirmed in regard to them cAnnot qlaifn irbru impartial judges‘any serious regard. It i‘A quite po.'sible to admit that the choice which wa*. made of a Bishop for such a s dtlcment as Otago was ill-advised, and yet to hold that the choice once authorised drew with it the obligation to observe the principles and rules of justice towards the person on whom it had—wisely or unwisely—fallen. The Diocese and the Synod, it may he, have each some cause for complaint in respect of the treatment tliey hairfc received, : The emigration' movement'continues : and Canada is beginning to reap the full benefit of the outpour from the oopulous cities of the United Kingdom. The British and Co? louial Emigration Committee is doing a amount of good, and is receiving most liberal encouragement from the nppor classes. The Marquis of Westminster has given twodop.v tions of LlOoO each, which has enabled tho committee to send out marly 500 people to Canada alono, The committee, since it com* menccd operations, have assisted nearly 3000 persons to emigrate to the dominion, ” A no. ther emigration committee at the cast end of London is doing considsr.ible good; and w thin the past month it has received contributions amounting to close upon L4OO. The exodus from Liverpool during July has again been very large. Thhty ships sailed under the Act, twenty two of which went to the United States, having onboard 11,787 passengers, of whom 5,375 were English, 884 Scotch, 2,290 Irish, and 3,2/8 foreigners. To Canada there were seven ships with 2,901 passengers, of whom 1,353 were English, 3 Scotch, 35 Irish, and 1,510 foreigners. To \ ictoria there was one ship, with 136 passengers, of whom 107 were English, 6 Scotch, 16 Irish, and 7 foreigners. Making a total of 14,874 passengers, of whom 6,835 were English, 853 Scotch, 2,341 Irish, and 4,795 foreigners. r i he vessels sailing not under the Act were as follows :—To the United States, nine ships, with GSO passengers ; to Canada, ono, with 40 passengei s ; to New Brunswick, one, with li passengers ■, to Victoria, tffOj with 57 passengers ; to Now Zealand, one,

with 12 passengers; to South America, four, with 80 passengers ; to Africa, three, with 22 passengers ; and to the East Indies, one, with 8 passengers. Making a grand total of fifty-two ships and 15,760 passengers. Amongst the passengers to the United States were a large number of pnddlevs from the Black Country, and spinners and factory operatives from Preston. Acccording to the official returns recently published, the number of persons who emigrated to the Australian colonics and New Zealane during the year 1868 amounted to 12,809, distributed as follows ; —To New South Wales. 1,318 ; Queensland, 655 ; Victoria, 6,566; South Australia, 351 ; Western Australia, 168; Tasmania, 18; and New Zealand 3,703. This is a decrease compared with 1863 of no less than 40,245 ; the numbers who left the United Kingdom for these colonies in each of the five years, 1563-7, were 53,054, 40,942, 37.283. 24,097, and 14,466 respectively. The emigration in ISoS was the smallest since 1847. Emigration by means of colonial funds was confined last year almost entirely to persons nominated in passage warrants by the Colonial Government of Victoria, and to single women selected by the Emigration Commissioners. New South Wales does not at present promote emigration by means of public funds. The Legislature of South Australia passed a vote in 1868 for the purpose of immigration, but no emigrants were selected for passages to Adelaide last year. To Western Australia 140 emigrants, of whom 109 were adult females, were sent ont by means of the moneys voted by Parliament, To Queensland the emigration was renewed in the autum of last year, by which passages,' on payment of about half the cost, were granted to married couples and single men, and free passages to single women. The assisted emigration to New Zealand in 1868 was confined to the provinces of Auckland, Wellington, Canterbury, and Otago, and the numbers despatched were 1,301. Of the 12,809 persons who emigrated to the Australian colonies and New Zealand last year. 11,705 embarked at English ports, and 1,104 at Scotch ports—viz., from London, 5,746, of whom 689 were married men. 711 married women, 2,851 single men, and 1,176 single women, 403 boys between the ages of 1 and 12, 378 girls between the same ages, 63 male infants, arid 75 female; 4,256 were English, 461 Scotch, 768 Irish, and 261 foreigners. From Liverpool, 2,749 embarked, of whom 228 were married men, 255 married women, 1,222 single men, 569 single women, 195 boys between the ages of 1 and 12. and 210 girls between the same ages, 25 male infants and 34 female; 1,155 were English, 325 Scotch, 1,073 Irish, and 185 foreigners. From Plymouth 1,450 embarked, of whom 247 were married men, 268 married women, 817 single men, 1,062 single women, 206 boys between the age of 1 and 12, and 215 girls between the same ages, 25 male infants and 25 female ; 1,450 were English, 173 Scotch, 1,232 Irish, and 10 foreigners. From Glasgow 1.102 embarked, out of which number 741 were single adults—viz., 445 males, and 29 G females ; 1,029 of the emigrants from this port were Scotch. Of the 12,809 persons who emigrated to the Australian Colonies and New Zealand in 1868, 1,224 wore married men, 1,367 married women, 4,985 single men, 3,147 single women, 902 boys between the ages of 1 and 12, 899 girls .between the same ages, 127 male infants, and 147 female ; 7,201 were English, 1,990 Scotch, 3,141 Irish, and 462 foreigners. The Victorian monitor, the Cerberus, 4200 horse power, has been tuicc taken out of Chatham Harbor, where she was fitted, on trial trips. At her first trial at the Ncre, her steering apparatus proved to be defective. This was remedied, and at the second trip it was said that nothing could surpass the Cerberus in manoeuvring; the vessel making a complete ci clc in a radius of her own length. In I 4 the construction of the vessel her designer has introduced the important principle of protecting all the important openings in the deck by means of a heavily armored breastwork, by which the vessel is, in fact, rendered as nearly as may be. invulnerable,