London.

Manawatu Herald, 7 March 1896, Page 2

London.

Mr Cfoschen stated that between 1889 and 1899 the sum of £55,000, 000 would have been spent in the construction of new war vessels, and, in the event of Great Britain being obliged to fight, the people were unanimous that the fleet would represent the self-reliance of a great nation. The votes for docks proposed under Mr Gosohen's scheme include provision fdr three at Gibraltar and the expenses of surveying sites, for docks proposed at Mauritius and at Simonstown, in the Cape Colony. Mr Goschcn said ihe whole of this year's surplus except the amount necessary for the Supplementary Estimates would be absorbed by the naval requirements. The wool sales have opened very firm, with an upward tendency. At the opening of the wool sales 9670 bales were catalogued , consisting of a fair selection of medium j and inferior sorts. There was the keenest competition. There was a large attendance of Home and Continental buyers, and a few Americans. Crossbreds were very firm at the January closing rates, while merinos showed an increase of 5 per cent. A forecast of the statement prepared by Sir J. Pollock, the eminent Professor of Jurisprudence, giving tha cape for Great Britain in the Venezuela dispute states that the British rights to Esquibo are overwhelming, and based on effective possession.