NEWS BY THE MAIL.

Globe, Volume V, Issue 529, 28 February 1876, Page 3

NEWS BY THE MAIL.

OUR LONDON LETTER.

{From a correspondent of the Press.) London, Dc-c. 24, 1875,

Some surprise has been felt that, Parliament, listeacl of meeting on lbs bay origi-

nally fsod, has been further adjourned to February Bth. Questions of the greatest importance await its assoiablj. and the coming session will doubtless open with acme exciting debate* on our naval affairs and the purchase of the Suez Canal shares. On this lust point the country, while generally approving of the purchase, is very anxious to hear some explanations in detail—the motives which prompted the step, i he exact character of our position with regard to the Suez Gaual Company, and our future policy towards Egypt. Some searching questions and criticisms on the subject may be expected from certain members of the Opposition, though is is hardly likely that any objections will be urged against the purchase itself. Brighter things are expected from the Opposition this session. Lord Hartington is turning out a much better leader of the Liberal party than was generally expected. He is bearing fruit of which he gave but little promise. His last act, which evinces firmness and discrimination, has been to entirely dissociate himself from the Home Eulers, and though his party will be numerically weaker, it will really be stronger in the possession of greater coherence. Our position in Europe for the last few weeks has been more critical than is generally known beyond Cabinet circles, but the fact that Parliament has not been called together may be accepted as an assurance that in the minds of our Ministers no imminent danger to peace is now apprehended. I am convinced that Mr Disraeli means fighting on provocation, and, in view of possible contingencies, we have been, and are, busily putting our military house in order. A scheme for the mobilisation of our army, whereby concentration of our forces cn any threatened point would bo more speedily effected, is now in operation. The great drawback to the proper development of the scheme is want of men. The Duke of Cambridge, on this point, has just spoken his mind out freely. He distinctly states that we are sadly in want of men, that in an emergency we would find half our army on paper—and this opinion, coming from so high a military authority, and from one by no means an alarmist—has excited a great deal of attention. After the Duke’s speech, it is reassuring to read of the success of the 81-ton gun, and to know that the Woolwich Arsenal is capable of producing guns up to 250 tons in weight, if called upon to do so. However, as the 81-ton gun throws a shot weighing two-thirds of a ton, with a force to penetrate 20in of iron armour at half a mile range, and costs £25 at each discharge, it ia considered sufficiently big and costly for the present. While on this subject I mast tell you of a very amusing incident. A short time ago I was down at Shoeburyness, while a select committee, headed by a fine, fat old co'onel of artillery, were trying some camel guns, intended for use in those little wars in which we are so constantly being engaged, and into one of which, by the way, we have just dropped in Perak. As there was no “ships of the desert” whereon to fix the cainel gun, a sober looking old battery horse was pressed into the service, and on his back the con-trivance—half-gun carriage, half-saddle—was securely strapped. It was necessary that the gun should be shotted, for there were certain points concerning recoil to be considered, and a shotted gun recoils more than one loaded with blank cartridge. The extemporised “ ships of the desert” was placed broadside on to the butts, and was picketted to the ground with his head tied down to bis knee, a position supposed to ensure great stability under trying circumstances. The gun was pointed to the target, a slow match was affixed, and the select committee retired a short distance to watch the result. The slow match had nearly run its course when, consternation ! 'the old battery horse began to pivot slowly round. “Woe,” “woe,” resounded from every one. But, unheeding, the animal continued his revolution. It was no use standing oa one’s dignity, or one’* legs any longer. Down went the select committee, ventres d ter re, especially the fat old colonel, whose movements were like those of a turtle trying to bury itself in the sand, and for several moments of intense suspense we grovelled on the ground. Luckily, however, the horse described a complete circle, and finally the gun went off in the right direction.

A lamentable story, and one which is discreditable to ns as the first maritime nation in the world, comes to us from the eastern coast. The Deutschland, a German emigrant ship, struck on the Knock Sand at about five , o’clock on a certain morning about a fortnight ago, and, notwithstanding that she was lying in a frequented track and within reach of Harwich, twenty-eight hours elapsed before any assistance was afforded to her. Two or three vessels passed without taking any notice of her signals of distress, an English man-of-war, which might have rendered some assistance, appears to have done nothing, and when at last her danger became known afc Harwich there was no lifeboat at that port. No attempt was made to reach the ship until the following morning, when a tug went off and saved those of the passengers and crew who had not succumbed to exposure or been washed overboard by the waves. The blackest part of the narrative has yet to come. The bodies of the dead were rifled by our wreckers, and acts of plunder, disgraceful to our seamen, are reported. Some of the German papers have inveighed against us with the bitterest animosity, and with that unfairness which connects the acts of a few individuals with the honor of a nation. The German Government,however ,and the higher class of the German press do not endorse these sentiments, and the German Ambassador in London, in reply to a question from Lord Derby whether the German Government wished the official investigation to be conducted in England or Germany, has informed his lordship that his Government agrees to the inquiry being held by the English authorities, and has every confidence in the fair spirit in which it will be conducted. An inquiry was thereupon ordered by the Board of Trade and is now sitting. Another shipping disaster has just occurred still nearer home. The Goliath, an old wooden line of battle ship, of 3000 tons, which has been for some time anchored in the Thames as a training ship for poor boys, was destroyed by fire a few days ago. There were 460 boys on board at the time, and it is supposed that not more than four have been lost. The fire originated in the, spilling of some petroleum used for and so rapidly was the ship enveloped m, flames that pot an article has beep saved

though the ship was lying only one hundred yards from the town of Grays. Altogether, this season seems to have been one more than usually fraught with danger to those who go down to sea in ships, and Professor Tyndall comes forward with a well-timed invention wherewith he hopes to lessen the perils of the deep. It is a trumpet, “ whose blast is strong enough to carry a man’s head away If he got too near its mouth, and whose sound is warranted to be heard through fog and against wind at the distance of six miles over the sea.” This little musical apparatus contains a revolving cylinder, perforated with slits, which make 24,000 revolutions per minute, the object of the slits being to divide the sound into pulsations and thus adding to its power. A high note is to be blown from ships, and a low note from dangerous rocks in time of fog. If it be generally*adopted what a charming concert there will be in the channel every foggy night 1 Henry Wainwright, the murderer of his paramour Harriet Lane, was hanged at Newgate on the 21st instant. The wretched man met his death with striking fortitude. He made a statement, in which he acknowledged the justice of his sentence, though he did not absolutely confess to the murder. Several petitionsfor his reprieve were presented to the Home Secretary, who, however, saw no reason for interfering with the sentence <if the Judge, Most of the morning papers in London issued second editions, containing full accounts of the execution, and in the evening men and women were singing songs about it in the streets, and apparently driving a very good trade by selling copies of the miserable ditties at a penny a piece. No opportunity is missed by your acute London cad for turning a penny, no subject too sacred or revolting for him, Madame Tussaud, of course, announces that Henry Wainwright is already added to her ghastly collection in the “ Chamber of Horrors,” and I have no doubt that at this festive seasons thousands will crowd thither to sec the “ latest addition.” New Zealand emigration is at present under discussion in the columns of our papers. The reports of two meetings qf “unemployed workmen,” held at Dunedin, respectively on the 6th and 18th of October, appeared in the Liverpool Albion , and were copied from that paper by the Times. Amongst other resolutions passed at these meetings, all condemning the action of the New Zealand Government in bringing more immigrants to the country, the Times reports the following “In self defence the operatives of New Zealand are constrained to have recourse to stringent measures with a view of opening the eyes of their deluded rulers, as well as acquainting the people of Great Britain with the real state of the country, and the miserable fate which such as intend to emigrate will have to encounter on their arrival in this much belauded, but corrupt and misgoverned corner of the Queen’s dominions.” If allowed to go abroad uncontradicted such a report might have a damaging effect on the colony, but the morning after its appearance the Agent General for New Zealand was promptly in the field with a letter to the Times, calculated to re assure those persons who have friends in the colony, or who meditate proceeding thither. The Times' own New Zealand correspondent, who writes under date, Wellington, October 21st, furnishes a direct contradiction to the charges brought forward by these Dunedin demagogues. Referring to the statement of the Minister for Immigration, he says “ The most satisfactory part of the statement, however, is that which refers to the ample and very highly paid employment, which is everywhere open to all the available labour in the colony. So great is the demand from private employers, who are making permanent improvements on the lands which the roads and railways are making available for profitable occupation, that in many cases the public works have had to b’e delayed, because the competition between the Government and private employers was raising wages to a rate ruinous to both. It is, I think, now accepted as a fact beyond dispute, that even if the public works were to cease altogether, there is ample means within the colony to employ all the available labour within it, and that we can safely import immigrants in large numbers for some time to come.” This view is amply corroborated by numerous letters to the papers from gentlemen who have either just returned from the colony, or have received communications from friends there. The Times publishes a sensible article on the subject, in which it suggests that these “ unemployed” of Dunedin belong to that ne’er do well class of people who are ever dissatisfied with their lot, and blindly follow the first professional agitator who comes amongst them, We are furnished from the mining districts with a notable instance of the wrongheadedness of this class of individuals. A coal pit, on Lord Pitzwilliam’s estate, which has hitherto been considered a safe one, was discovered to be infested with dangerous gases, and the use of safety lamps was consequently ordered. This was obnoxious to the miners, and they refused to work unless allowed to use naked lights. The consequence was the pit has been closed, and the wives and families of these misguided idiots are now starving. Some of these miners may possibly find their way out to Dunedin, and gain for themselves gome notoriety by having their resolutions reported in the Times. The Zealandia, the first of the new line of mail steamers to run between San Francisco, Australia, and New Zealand, has recently sailed from Plymouth with 140 passengers, the mails, and a general cargo, Bhe has been taken up by the colonial line of Australian packets, and on arriving at Sydney will at once be employed on the new service. Another vessel of the name clash will follow the Zealandia next month. The contract of the company for the conveyance of the mails is to continue for eight years, with an annual subsidy of £90,000 for thirteen trips, leaving each terminus every twenty-eight days. It is calculated that by this route the London mails will be regularlv delivered in Auckland and Sydney in forty days, or ten days less than the present average time by the Suez route.