LATEST BRITISH AND FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE.

Kumara Times, Issue 2301, 12 January 1884, Page 2

LATEST BRITISH AND FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE.

♦ [REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.] By Electric Telegraph—Copyright. THE FRANCO-MADAGASCAR DIFFICULTY. AUCKLAND HARBOUR BOARD LOAN. FRAUDULENT INSOLVENCY. CARDINAL MANNING ILL. NEW ZEALAND LOAN SUBSCRIBED FIVE TIMES OVER. THE SPANISH WINE DUTIES. THE TONQUIN DIFFICULTY. BLOCKADING THE PORT OF CANTON. (Received January 11, 2.20 p.m.) London, January 10. The intelligence received on the 7th inst. that the Malagasies had accepted the French ultimatum and agreed to cede the northern portion of Madagascar is not yet confirmed. Later news states that France insists upon the establishment of a French protectorate over the whole island, and as the demand is objected to by the Malagasy Government, matters are still unsettled. Tenders for the city of Auckland loan of £IOO,OOO were opened to-day, and the amount offered was found to be £702,000. Tenders at £lO2 7s Od will receive 5 pur cent of the allotment, and tenders above that amount will receive in full. (Received January 12, 1 a.m.) Cardinal Manning, Archbishop of "Westminster, is suffering fiom indisposition. John il<..'.'(l ;iikl |>hi ti:er, of Live; | 001, uadeta iu com ou a largo scale, have

become insolvent, and have been arrested on charges of fraudulent dealing. January 11. Salvage operations are being actively pursued on board the stranded steamer Dnke of "Westminster. The vessel has not yet been floated. (Received January 12, 1.10 p.m.) Evening. Tenders for the New Zealand loan of one million sterling, bearing interest at the rate of four per cent, are opened. The total amount offerad is found to be five millions. Tenders at £IOO 5s will receive 54 per cent, of allotment, and those above that price will receive in full. The minimum fixed was £9B 10s. The Hon. H. C. E. Childers, Chancellor of the Exchequer, has informed the Colouial Agents-General that the concession recently made to Spain in regard to the duties on wine will be extended to the Colonies. The communication states that the limit of thirty degrees on spirits' strength must not be exceeded; but adds that Mr Childers will take into consideration the proposal of the Agents-General that a sliding scale on duties should be adopted. Hong-Kong, January 10. A force of 2000 Chinese troops is about to be despatched to Hainan as a corps of defence for the island against a possible attack by the French naval forces now stationed on the coast of Tonquin. (Received January 12, 1.10 p.m.) January 11. Li Hung Chang, Viceroy of China, has arrived at Canton and officially notified the foreign Consuls that the approaches to the Port of Canton are to be forthwith blockaded by torpedoes, but that a channel ninety feet wide will be left for the passage of vessels along the river. [special to press association.] London, January 7. It is reported that the Triple Alliance will not permit the overthrow of King Alfonso. Riaz Pasha having refused the vacant seat in the Egyptian Cabinet, Nubar Pasha has been summoned. The French Press are unanimous in condemning the proposed abandonment of the Soudan. The Panama Railroad Company have yielded to the request of M. de Lesseps. Cherif Pasha, in a letter to the Khedive contends that the Soudan being in possession of the Porte, his Ministry must refuse to follow the orders of the British Government to abandon it without discussion. Nubar Pasha has been made Premier, and Mr Edgar Yincent Finance Minister. Mr Gladstone's avowed determination to defend Egypt has reassured the public mind, especially as the general opinion is that it is only a prelude to the establishment of au entire British civil administration in that country. January 9. The King of Abyssinia is inarching on Massowar. In the new Egyptian Cabinet Nubar Pasha takes the portfolios of Justice and Minister of Foreign Affairs. The brothers-in-law of El Mahdi, the False Prophet, have captured Esneh, and they assert that El Mahdi is desirous of coalescing with Turkey to expel all foreigners from Egypt.