EUROPEAN NEWS TO 24th JULY.

Hawke's Bay Times, Issue 1606, 28 August 1874, Page 339

EUROPEAN NEWS TO 24th JULY.

LONDON. 20th August. The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh are staying with the Russian Imperial Family at Julenticuss. Before leaving England they opened an infant nursery and mission in East London. Congratulatory telegrams have been exchanged between the Queen and the Emperor of Brazil, on tho completion of telegraphic connection between Europe and Brazil. Silver medals have been awarded to Dr. Livingstone's faithful followers. The Government pays £IOOO for arrears of wages. Four escaped Communists arc at present in London. Ou landing at Qucenstown, Rochefort was mobbed and hooted. He prudently affects seclusion, and refuses to lecture or attend any public demonstration. There has been a march of the agricultural laborers through the Eastern Midland Counties, beginning at Cambridge. The men wore blue ribbons, and some carried flags. There were forty bands of music, and altogether 60,000 were present. Mr Arch was the principal speaker. Seven thousand miners in South Staffordshire have accepted the terms arranged between the delegates and masters. Miss Richards, the champion walker, walked 10C0 miles in 1000 consecutive hours, and was quito fresh when she finished. She undertook the task in order that her father might win a £SO wager. ' The Duke of Hamilton has retired from the turf. He sold a portion of his stud in Paris for £6516. 21st July. In the House of Commons, last night, Mr Childers called attention to the apparent declining condition of tho revenue. Sir Stafford Northcote replied. He saw uo reason to modify his estimates. The strikes in Scotland and South Staffordshire have ended. 23rd July. The atrocities by the Carlists are exciting profound iudignation. 24th July. General Garibaldi has recovered from his lato illness. Obituary.—Sir Charles Jackson, Miss Agnes Strickland, and Mons. Merobe. A co-operative bakery is to be started in Taranaki. Dr M'Noughtrey has been appointed Professor of Anatomy and Physiology in the University of Otago. Instructions have been received to commence a survey of the railway from Waitara towards Wanganui at once. It is slated that at the late native meeting at "Whakatawai the chiefs admitted to Mr Mackay that they had received heavy advances on their land. A twenty-pound note passed through the hands of three persons the other day, all of whom thought that it was only worth a single sovereign, and ultimately became the subject of a County Court action. The oldest newspaper in the world is supposed to be tho Pekin Gazette, still printed on yellow silk, as it was a thousand years ago, but it is not conducted by its original oditor. Strange to say it has changed hands several times since its first number was issued. The fine chesnut colt Gladiator, by the celebrated Gladiateur, winner of the Derby, St. Leger, &c, out of Fatima, by Elis, has been purchased for Mr John Shield, of "Wanganui. Gladiator was imported from England by John Moffatt, of Victoria, and has been bought as a yearling for 450 guineas. On Monday, 24th August, the Bright Smile claim, Thames, banked 1,200 ounces of gold, a fortnight's crushing. A new reef was discovered in the Caledonian during Friday night last, which has caused a rise in scrip of £2, although the new find has not yet been proved ; the immediate consequence being scrip easy at £lO 10s. A telegram in the Bay of Plenty Times, dated Opotiki, 18th August says:—A native arrived to-day from the Motu, and reports that the Ormond Road has been completed to east bank of the Motu River. All hands have deserted the work through sickness from cold and exposure. A Whakatohea native tried four times yesterday to commit suicide by shooting himself through his head, but the caps snapped each time. The Rev. Samuel Edger, well known as an earnest and zealous minister of the Gospel in Auckland, is about to leave for Sydney for the benefit of his health. This congregation gave him a farewell soiree, when several gentlemen, including tho Rev. Mr Bruce, addressed the meeting) and spoke in high terms of Mr Edger, to whom a purse of one hundred sovereigns accompanied by an address was presented during tho evening. Mr Edger has labored for eight years in Aucklaud, and in addition to his ordinary ministerial work has written frequently to the press, and has been prominent in all movements for social reform. Mr Thomas Russell has written to the Canterbury Press on the subject of the San Francisco mail contract. He says he must exonerate Dr. Featherston from all blame or responsibility in accepting Mr Forbes as contractor, as he had nothing whatever to do with it. The cause of difficulty was undoubtedly the hasty and premature contract made by the New South Wales Government with H. H Hall. His (Mr Russell's) and Mr Samuel's' hands were tied, and they only accepted Forbes's name after most careful enquiry of Baring Bros. Tho fact that two most eminent shipbuilders accepted Forbes' order for £400,000 worth of property was the strongest evidence in his favor. Mr Forbes entered into the contract without the knowledge of his partners, Russell and Co. Mr Russell still thinks Forbes quite able to carry out the contract, but being an old man, he thinks other reasons have compelled him to tako the step he has. A temporary service was a mistake, but as New South Wales had quarrelled with Victoria about the Suez terminus, the necessity for the San Francisco service was urgent. Ho attributed all the disasters to this haste ; still he believes the San Francisco service will be a success.

An inquest lias held on the great firo at Guthrie and Larnach's establish-, merit, Piinediri, reported in our last, but , no light appears to have been thrown on the origin of the fire. The jury returned an open verdict, with a rider to the effect that greater precaution should bo used where engines are kept near inflammable material, and that an additional watchman bo appointed to look out of town. Nothing suspicious was elicited. The total insurance on the buildings and stock amounted to over £20,000, of which the following may be takqn as destroyed : New Zealand Company: Guthrie and Larnach, £3,000 ; Haworth, £5,000 ; Spanish Restaurant, £6,000. Guthrie and Larnach were also insured in other offices to the following amounts:—National, £2,500; South British, £2,000; Norwich Union, £2,000; Victoria, £2,000; Standard, £1,500 ; Australian Alliance, £I,OOO. Haworth was insured in the Royal for £SOO. Gibbs and Clayton, with the exception of a guarantee from Guthrie and Larnach of a few hundred pounds, are uninsured, and their loss is £2,000. Rendle, cbairmaker, was altogether uninsured. The recent floods at Brighton are thus described by the correspondent of the Charleston Herald, writing under date August 4:—"On Sunday, the township had a narrow escape of being washed away. The sea, which was then running unusually high, came in over the bank in tremendous volumes, carrying away several houses and more or less damaging every house in Main-street by its excessive violence. Thotownship soon presented the appearance of a lagoon, the water at one time being from three to four feet in the main street. The heavy timber cast up from the beach soon demolished the buildings with which it came in contact, or else smashing them in and making an entry for the water by which their contents were destroyed. Some of the residents had extremely narrow escapes from being washed away by the sea or from being crushed with the falling bnildings. One house fell on three men, and it was with great difficulty they extricated themselves from the ruins, and some of them are much hurt. It was fortunate that this disaster occurred during the day-time, or undoubtedly the consequence would have been of a serious nature, as the township was under water, and at one time it seemed probable that the entire town would be washed away. Several large trees were carried by the force of the sea into the main street, ,and were floating about to the imminent danger of any one moving about. Seeing that matters wcro assuming a serious aspect, several of the inhabitants took the precaution of removing their furniture to places of safety, and during thl day many persons sought the security of more elevated ground, being under the impression that the next tide would complete the destruction of the township. The oldest inhabitants of the district have never seen the tide so high as on Sunday last. As tho sea is stilt cutting away the bank, there is every probability of the ground on which the township stands being washed away if the beach does not soon form again. It was fortunate that the sea went down on Sunday night, and no further damage ensued. The streets are now full of tho remains of houses, timber, &c. All the gardens in the rear of the township are destroyed, and tho back-yards of the houses are mostly filled with sand and rubbish. The fences between the township and St. Kilda were carried away in many places, the ground inundated, and growing crops destroyed by the salt water. It seems highiy probable that the ground near high water mark will be washed away, as the sea is steadily encroaching, making its way up to the foot of the range where it has formerly been. I think in laying ont townships care should be taken that a site be selected on ground sufficiently elevated abovo high water mark, Jto ensure tho safety of the lives and property of residents from any inroads by the sea. In the case of Brighton it is seen that the township is liable to be washed away at any time, and as the ground on which it is built is composed of sand and shingle only, in the event of an inroad its destruction would be swift and certain."