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Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 13, Issue 690, 10 June 1869, Page 2

A Cooperative Society, we observ •, ' has been formed at Wellington—its object being to supply necessary articles of consumption at cost price for ready money. Naval Protection. —Mv Fit /Herbert, ■while m England, addressed a despatch to , the Duke of Buckingham on the subject of naval protection for the Australian Colo- - nies, including New Zealand. lie points | cut with great force the limited request of | the Colony of New Zealand for assistance ! towards the protection of its harbors ; and I gays that in the event of war with any 1 maritime power one of the first points of attack would be the gold traffic between ' England and her gold-producing colonies. In support of his views, he says that three . years ago the Russian fleet was prepared to make a do=cent upon these colonies. !!<■ then points out that what is wanted is a special naval station in the South Pacific, and an Imperial officer with an independent command. He calculates that the Co9t of such it squulron would be £OOO,OOO a-year, which he suggests might be equitably borne in equal proportions between the mother country and the Australasian Colonies under a federal arrangement. He points out that this would be but a small assurance premium to pay on a trade which is worth £GO,OOJ,OOJ a year. Earl Granville, in reply, states that the suggestion is one which it wo*uld be unavailing to discuss, unless there were sufficient reason to suppose that it would be taken up bv the colonies concerned. He also says that as the present Australian squadron co*ts onlv £70,000 a year, ho does not think Mi' Fitzherbert's proposal to increase that expenditure to £3OO,UuO a year would be entertained by Parliament, even though tfye colonies contributed half of that sum.