LATE CABLE NEWS.

Kumara Times, Issue 1141, 26 May 1880, Page 2

LATE CABLE NEWS.

Wellington, May 18. The following cablegrams appear in the Australian papers brought by the Wakatipu : ■ London, May 8. Sir Bartle Frere, in opening the Cape Parliament* announced that among the measures to be submitted during the session, was a Bill providing for the conference; of delegates from the, various South African provinces to> consider the question of provincial confederatiotu ... . The finishing of the work of the St. Gothard tunnel has been temporarily interrupted by a casualty. A considerable portion of the tunnel has collapsed, Jeaying ’ thousands of tons of earth to be cleared' away before concluding operations can be carried on, but no loss of life is reported. The whole of it is attributed to insufficient timbering. The United States House of Peprfesentatives has decided to reduce ad valorem duties on imported wool to 45 per cent. The Cape of dood Hope steamshipthe American, belonging to the Union Steamship Company, foundered. ! The crew and passengers escaped in boats. There is increasing excitement in Hamburg in reference to the proposal to include the city in the Zollverein. The “ Daily ” News states that a, coolness has arisen between Prussia and Bavaria on the subject, Sir;Cunliffe Owen will represent the Royal Commission at the Melbourne Exhibition. The Commission will give £2OOO worth of fine arts if Melbourne will return home free of cdst the Sydney collection after the Melbourne Exhibition is over. A powerful Syndicate has offered to construct a railway connecting the Queensland lines With Port Darwin, on condition that they receive a land grant of 8000 acres per mile. The Hon. Thos. M'llrdith has made a contract with the British India* Company for the conveyance of mails and and emigrants from London to Queensland. It is. to be a through service, calling at Suez, Colombo, and Batavia. The .first steamer will start in October. May 10. It is conclusively proved that the Indian Government only informed the Cabinet of the deficit in the Indian revenue when the elections in England were nearly concluded. Three British men-of-war bombarded and burned the town of Batanga, in Africa, as a punishment for outrages committed by the native inhabitants. May 11.. Turkish troops have joined the Albanians. The Daily ; Telegraph ; states that Russia proposes to Italy to intervene on behalf of Albania. The Standard states that it is in-

tended to send a financial Commission to enquire into the state Of Indian finance.