TELEGRAPHIC NEWS.

Globe, Volume V, Issue 568, 13 April 1876, Page 2

TELEGRAPHIC NEWS.

♦ {Per Press Agency.') LATEST FROM EUROPE AND AUSTRALIA. [By Submarine Cable J THE QUEEN'S VJSIT TO THE CONTINENT. London, April 10. In reply to an inquiry, Mr Disraeli cited precedent for the Queen's absence during the session, and said her visit to the Continent was strictly domestic. AUSTKALIA. Melbourne, April 12. The Government have taken the extreme step of seizing Messrs Stevenson and Sons' letters by the mail. lima de Murska and company have sailed by the mail. Sydney, April 12. Sailed—Otago. The Melbourne Customs officers have withdrawn from Messrs L. Stevenson and Sons, who claim £IO,OOO damages. INTERPROVINOIAL. Auckland, April 12. Arrived—Zealandia, after a passage of four days and sixteen hours ; heavy weather. Five saloon passengers for Auckland ; ten for Kandavau ; seventy-two for San Francisco, and about fifty steerage. Sailed—Zealandia with English mails at fi p.m. She took eighty passengers from NewZealand, making up the complement. The steamer did not come alongside the wharf, but a great number went off to inspect her. The Hawea with the Southern portion of the English mail and passengers arrived eailj this morning. Wellington, April 12.

We believe Hia Excellency will be advised to summon Parliament for the loth June, for the despatch of business. The survey was held on the Colima at Lyttelton, by a special inspector of steamers, it the request of the Postmaster-General. OwiDg to the vessel being afloat and fully coaled the enquiry was necessarily of a superficial character. The hull, as far as could be seen, was in good order, though the stem indicated about three inches out of line through the Grenada fouling her a'. Kandavau. On an examination of the ship's log the pump well soundings ehowi d that the ship had not made any water. The boats were in good order, properly equipped with life raft and sixty life belts, spars, sails, and gear complete and serviceable, engines aud boilers in first-class order. The repairs effected in Sydney were of firstclass workmanship. At the time of the accident the Colima was under easy steam. The loss of the propeller is supposed to have been caused by a fracture of the propeller during

ihe heavy weather encountered between! Auckland and Wellington, the fracture finally increasing till she lost her screw. The inspec'or gives it as his opinion that vessels of the Colima'a build, though suitable for transoceanic purposes, are not adapted for tlv- coa-ital service, owing to the vessel's great draught of water being in itaelf an insuperable objection. At a meeting of the Fidelity Guarantee Company, the following gentlemen were elected directors —MesßrsFitzherbert, Hunter, Dransfield, Krull, E. W. Mills, L. Levy, Mountain. Instructions were given to proceed with the deed of settlement forthwith, in order that the company may commence business as soon as possible. The plasterers employed on the Government offices have demanded a shilling per day increase, or 12s instead of lis. They mean to strike if the increase is not granted. Dunedin, April 12.

The traffic on the Port Chalmers railway is stopped in the most extraordinary manner. Messrs Sparrow, Henderson, and Co commenced to launch the iron steamer Ninetysix, which fell across the railway. The supports gave way, and the steamer remained on the line.

Dunbdin, April 12

Mr Simpson, Engineer to the Harbor Board has reported respecting the soundings at the Tairoa Heads, as follows :—" Under somewhat adverse circumstances, I took four lines of soundings across the outer bar, in and about the present sailing direction, and find the depth corrected to low water average spring tides, to vary from 17ft to 18ft 6in. This is equivalent to a depth of from 24ft to 25ft 6iu at high water, spring tides according to the state of the weather, and at low neap tides (high water), according to information supplied by the pilot Kelly, from 21ft 6in. Last week I sounded the inner bar, and the least depth there ascertained was 21ft at low water spring tides, being sit more than the minimum depth shown on the map." The engineer will make further surveys to ascertain whether a deeper channel exists on the outer bar.

The Municipal Council of South Dunedin, one of the new municipalities, has accepted tenders for a loan of £2OOO at seven per cent. The debentures were sold at the extraordinary rate of £BB per debenture of £IOO. About twenty minutes to twelve o'clock severe shocks of earthquake were experienced at Palmerston, making the windows rattle. The vibrations were from south to north. Two heavy shocks were felt at Oamaru—one at 11.50, which shook the chimneys badly and cracked the walls of several buildings, including those of the Telegraph Office. Mr Gordon's report on the harbour improvements, with the comments of Mr Simpson, the engineer to the Board, were submitted to the Board. The engineers differ very largely as to the cost of the works and the extent to which they should be carried out. It was determined not to take action until Mr Simpson's report has been printed, and both will then be considered. Mr Gordon's estimates of the cost are far higher thon Mr Simpson's. MR MACANDREW AND THE COMMISSIONERS. His Honor the Superintendent of Otago has addressed the following letter to the Premier, and published it in a Provincial Gazette Extraordinary this afternoon : " The Province of Otago, New Zealand, " Superintendent's Office, " Dunedin, 6th April, 1876

" Sir, —I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 28th March, informing me that Messrs Gisborne, Seed, and Knowles, are visiting this province, for the purpose therein stated, and enclosing copy of the instructions with which these gentlemen have been furnished. la reply, I have to say that the present action of Colonial Executive in taking for granted that the new Parliament, to which was relegated the ratification or otherwise of The Abolition of Provinces Bill will ratify the same, appears to me to be premature, and that it will be time enough to take such action after the Parliament has determined as to what is to be the specific form of Government for the futuie, I cannot for a moment suppose that in the case of Otago, where, under the much abused provincial institutions, the province has grown up ad flourished to a marvellous extent, these institutions are to be wantonly destroyed in the very prime of their manhood, and directly in the teeth of the declared and all but unanimous desire and convictions of the people. I feel persuaded that if a plebiscite were taken on this question a vast proportion of the votes would be on one side and in favour of the province retaining its own revenues, distributing them on its own behalf, and working out its own destiny in its own way. Your favorite idea ef counties with fixed endowments far moie permanent and secure than any that are likely to be acquired from the colonial legislation has been for years within reach of the people of Otago if they chose to avail themselves thereof, and it needs no action on the part of the Colonial Legislature to confer that privilege on them. Under all the circumstances of the case, I desire to be excised from being a party to initiating the policy now in question, as being alike disastrous to the interests, and repugnant to the feelings and wishes, of the people of Otago. I cannot recognise the right of the rest of the colony to force upon Otago any system of administration of its local affairs which is to be centred at Wellington, and which does not command itself to the judgment, of the people concerned. Tt is bad enough, for example, that Tarauaki, with 6000, should hive an equal voice iu the disposal of the consolidated revenue as has Danedia with its population of 25,000, and it will be ii finitely worse that in disposing of our territorial revenues, and dealing with the domestic affairs of Otago. the province of Tnranaki is to have as much power as the city of Dunediu. The probable: revenue of Otago may be set down as about one half that of the whole colony, while the voting power of the province in the disposal thereof in the Colonial Par liameut will be less than one fourth of the whole. If left to itself tinrevenue of Otago would, I believe, in a very few years exceed that of the whole of the rest of the colony put together. Ycu may rest assured that it is a grand mistake to suppose that the people of this province will tamely submit to have forced upon them a system of political communi-m from which they have everything to lose and nothing to gain to aid an 1 abet in which, on my part, would be to belie the position which I havi for so many years held at the hands of th< people. I cannot think that the action of the late Colonial Pari lament which, as shown at the recent general elections, has been so universally coudemned in Otago, will be

maintained by the new Parl'ament in so far as this province is coucerued. it is, 1 think, useless to disguise from ourselves that, atript of all the verbosity and special pleading with which the question may be surrounded, there remains the naked fact that colonial finance and not the good of the people of New Zealand, is at the bottom of the proposed changes—changes which I have an intense conviction will, if carried into effect, wry seriously prejudice the interest and retard the progress of this section of the colony. I need not say that this has hitherto been the foremost province in New Zealand, and that it is not by depriving it of its revenues—bringing them under the sole appropriation of the Parliament at Wellington, and reducing the province to the dead level of colonial uniformity—that it can hope to maintain that position. If I might venture to say so, it is to my mind deeply to be deplored that colonial statesmen can see no other way of grappling with the devils which have arisen out of a vicious system of finance than by applying a remedy which cannot iail to prove worse than the disease. No doubt it may be said that while my views are limited to the narrow platform of a province, you are called to deal with the interests of the Colony as a whole. I submit, however, that no policy can be beneficial to the colony which affects so injuriously such an important section thereof as that over which I have the honor to preside. In consequence of what I have so fully stated in this letter, and as I am advised that the sending of three gentlemen to inspect the departments of the Provincial Government is without legal or constitutional authority, I must inform Messrs Gisborne, Seed, and Knowles that so far as the Provincial Government of Otago is concerned, they cannot expect any aid in their mission. Regretting that in the performance of my public duty I should have been compelled to refuse your request, I have the honor to be, Sir, your most obedient servant, J. MACANDREW, Superintendent of Otago." THIS DAY'S TELEQKA.MB. Auckland, April 13. A deputation waited upon the Minister of Justice, representing the inconvenience of the present position of Resident Magistrates' and District Courts. The Hon Mr Bowen said he had no doubt the brick chapel in High street might be obtained for the purpose. He thought the Government would. secure it. The mission house at Hokianga was burnt down last night, The Rev Mr and Mrs Rouse had great difficulty in escaping. The house and furniture was only insured for £IOO.

Wellington, April 13. It has come to light that several firemen at the fire at the Empire Hotel pilfered wearing apparel and jewellery. The matter has been placed in the hands of the police, who have already discovered some goods and a deal of missiug property. Dunedin, April 13. lima De Murska and company are announced to appear here on the thirtieth. The trial of Bird v. the National Bank ; claim, one thousand pounds damages for improperly giving notice of the dishonor of a cheque; commenced yesterday. To-day, probably every bank manager in Dunedin will be examined as to the usage of banks in making exchanges twice a day at fixed hours. The case is attracting great interest.