The Evening Star THURSDAY, APRIL 2, 1874.

Evening Star, Issue 3467, 2 April 1874, Page 2

The Evening Star THURSDAY, APRIL 2, 1874.

The news from Great Britain is remarkably meagre. Parliament has met, and we have a very faint outline of the Queen’s Speech. Assuming the very few subjects alluded to in it to be those to which Mr Disraeli purposes devoting his attention, it is only fair to conclude that the Conservatism of the present day is that of doing nothing until forced to move by an opposition. The information giv< n that the “foreign relations” of Great Britain are friendly is satisfactory enough. Mr Disraeli in that respect has fallen upon pleasant times. . No reconsideration of the Treaty of Paris has to be gone into in regard to Russian war ships on the Black Sea—that difficulty is smoothed over; no Alabama claims disturb the harmony between Great Britain and the United States; that long pending question is settled. Even the Ashantee war has been brought to a close, and the only looming trouble is the Irish agitation. The first sop that Conservatism will throw to stop the Irish mouth is the discharge of the Eenian prisoners. We scarcely think that this will satisfy the Home Rule party, who will most probably increase their demands in proportion as they find the party in power squeezable. From the division on Mr Butt’s motion in favor of Home Rule, the phalanx appears to number fifty; a very respectable weight to throw into the scale on either side, should questions of policy relating to Ireland give coloring to the transfer of their votes. We think the Home Rule question one that will not be entertained by any British Ministry, and have no doubt the leaders in the movement think so too. But it keeps up agitation, is a war cry uniting the Irish members together, and enabling them to act powerfully upon the Ministry in office so as to secure the adoption of measures, in some degree, suited to Irish circumstances. On the whole Mr Disraeli has marked out very little work for him, self, and matters had not sufficiently developed themselves in Parliament at the date of our telegrams, to form an idea what the Opposition propose to do. That dreadful visitation, famine, has again manifested itself in Bengal. The exertions made to meet it and to mitigate the amount of suffering are creditable to the Governments of India and Great Britain. A few years back the relief promised to be given would have been impossible ; and it is worthy of earnest consideration that this mitigation of one of the most fearful forms of human suffering has only become practicable because of the vast development of the commerce of Britain with all nations of the world, since restrictions on trade and shipping were removed. The repeal of the navigation laws, and the abolition of protective duties, has led to improvements in ships and steams vessels, to shortening voy-

ages, moderating freights, the transport of the f abundance of one region to prevent famine in another. There is no occasion to build granaries'and store the over supply of the seven years of plenty to meet the demand of the seven years of scarcity. The world has become a huge storehouse, and merchants and merchant shipping are the distributors; gathering what is not needed in one place, and taking it to where it is wanted. Restrictions never tend to this equalisation of conditions; and had they remained unrepealed, hundreds of thousands of this generation would have perished in Bengal whose lives will be saved, because statesmen, now at rest, understood the wisdom, justice, and profit of unrestricted trade. t We scarcely understand the commercial intelligence. “ Money is tightening. Market rate 3£ per cent. The stock markets are depressed, and there is apprehension that money will be dearer.” What new trouble is looming ? People do not usually fear without some reason; but even if they do—as sometimes happens—in no case is panic so sure to bring about the feared results as in the English money market. (i Money is tightening” means every man trying to protect himself by making all snug against a storm. It means prices ot stock lower’, capitalists withdrawing deposits, merchants making no purchases, needy people trying to force sales, schedules filed in the Bankrupt Court, and nobody giving credit excepting to those who have the reputation of being “as staunch as the itself.” “Money, tightening” means “Home buyers bought reluctantly to keep the machinery of their mills going :” that is—they anticipate lower prices, but find it cheaper to work even to no profit than to let the machinery stand idle; and thus it means lower prices for our Colonial wool. Now all this happens because one giant banking establishment controls the rate to be paid for the use of money throughout the world, according to the probable quantity of bullion in its vaults at a given day. The Colony must, per force, submit to" this until it can work up and export its own wool; and to this end the efforts of runholders should be directed. A few more Mosgiel factories would be of vast benefit to the wool-growing interest of the Colony.