The Evening Star FRIDAY, AUGUST 2, 1872.

Evening Star, Issue 2950, 2 August 1872, Page 2

The Evening Star FRIDAY, AUGUST 2, 1872.

The European news received yesterday seems to have been compiled with a view to quantity, rather than freshness of intelligence. We are fast drifting into the endless maze and complexity of American telegraphy, in which the same items are repeated half-a-dozen times in the same telegraphic summary. The difficulties of journalism are becoming immeasurably increased through the multiplication of sources of information, and the public are likely to become confused should they neglect observing dates. This confusion must be especially perplexing when an idea has to be formed of the state of markets abroad. The mail by San Francisco brings news of a rise or a fall, as the case may be : a few days afterwards the Suez mail repeats it, and very possibly, in a day or two hence, the overland mail by Australia may tell the same tale. Not three variations, but one only has taken place. We have heard and read many complaints of New Zealand telegraphy. No doubt, if the telegrams that we receive were subjected to a silting process prior to transmission, much of this confusion would be avoided ; but the chief difficulty lies with the compiler at Home. Events do not press upon attention when there is no excitement; and as we suppose the Horae agents consider themselves bound to supply a certain quantity of news, they think, as dealers in cast-off clothes used to think, that anything will do for the Colonies. With regard to France and Germany, for instance, we have had the negotiations for the evacuation of the provinces told of, and of its being satisfactorily arranged, some three or four times over. So long have the Home correspondents played on that string, that we have the Mail reproducing the Times's articles on the subject in our possession. So with the report of Mr Justice Keogh’s now famous denunciation of ecclesiastical interference with freedom of election in Ireland. We were absolutely reading the comments of the Times upon it, when the telegraphic message was in course of transmission telling of it as a piece of news. Just so with the action of the French government in regard to Marshall Bazaine, and the German Parliament in their dealing with the Jesuits. In all these instances we have that precious help to memory, line upon line, repetition upon repetition, here a little and there a little. Literally the telegraphic news includes nothing fresh. In precisely the same way we were perplexed and thrown into doubt in regard to the position of the Alabama claims. San Francisco announced the difficulty : Suez doubled it: San Francisco said it was tided over : Suez said so too : then San Francisco found out the Governments could not agree, and Suez reiterated it: at last they began to differ a little. One route had the whole affair settled; the other was sending us to war; and now they both agree again, because they both tell that the indirect claims are abandoned, and the arbitration is proceeding. We knew that long before yesterday. In the midst of all this perplexity one thing is plain, if only governments will allow things to take their natural course, industry will progress and trade prosper. It seems evident that the woollen trade has not yet become settled as to prices. The rise in the price of the raw material has not secured a corresponding advance in the manufactured article. Until this is assured there will be fluctuations to a greater or less extent. Manufacturers will be cautious of going into stock where a turn of events may lead to heavy loss. When prices are high a rumor of war, an adverse condition of the exchanges, or a bad harvest might

involve holders of stock in heavy loss ; as that it is to be expected until the trade have become accustomed to the prices, great caution will mark the proceedings of buyers, and slight fluctuations must be expected. Money, however, seems to be abundant enough; and the Bank of England, having effected its object of giving a favorable turn to the exchanges, has again reduced the r.ite of interest. Judging by what used to be considered necessary, the Bank seems to have a plethora of bullion. It may be. that the enormous expansion of Great Britain’s trade requires the Bank of England to hold larger reserves than formerly ; but as a set-off against this, there are reserves of bullion in other parts of the Empire. There are mints in India, Sydney, and Melbourne, in each of which a large quantity of bullion must constantly accumulate, so that the pressure on the resources of the Bank must be to a great extent relieved. The usual evidences of unemployed capital are making their appearance at Home in the shape of bubble companies. Under the circumstances, therefore, Mr Brogden’s proposal for the construction of Trunk Hallways through the length and breadth of Now Zealand does not appear so wild a scheme as might be otherwise supposed. It is evidence at any rate of his confidence in the future of New Zealand.