ENGLISH.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VII, Issue 297, 13 December 1872, Page 2

ENGLISH.

London, December 5 — The Queen has been unwell, but is recovering. ; The Atrato leaves immerUately for Melbourne with her original cargo and passengers. Ihe Chief Secretary of r»quth Australia has been made a Knight of the second class of St. Michael and St. George. Mr. Dutton, the .Agent General, and Mr. Todd, of the Telegraph, have been gazetted Companions of the third class. Mr. Hocking, an enurient barrister, has been gazetted a* Attorney-General to the Government of West Australia. Copper firm at .£9O. Tallow steady at last quotations. Grant's message 6peaks of the 'continued prosperity of the country. He thanks the Geneva Arbitrators and the Emperor of Germany for the settlement of th<> Alabama and San Juan dispuies, and ntclares that America is on good terms with all foreign pow rs. French political affairs excite much uneasiness A Commission has been appointed by the National Assembly to coosickr - the new constitutional proposals of the Government. ' LATEST UNPUBLISHED. London, December 6, 10.30 a.m; — The crisis at Versailles looks threatening. Of the Com-rai-sion appointed by the Assembly, eleven only are for Tliiers, and Dineteen against 'him. Bis resignation or deposition is imminent. London and Paris fiinris are unsteady. De< ember 6 3.30 p.m.— Mr Gladstone has been well received at pubic meetings in the provinces. Horace Greeley's fune-al was attended by all the leading men of New York. , The market is bare of Australian meats. New Zealand flax is scarce at £44. New Zealand consolidated ifives 103J-, Bank of £ew Z .-aland ahares £19. The wool sales closed firml- . Discount is unaltered : A private unpublished telegram to Goldsborough and Co., dated London, .November 25, says that combing wools were scarce and l|d dearer; clothing and other sorts unaltered. There is a quiet feeling in the manufacturing districts. For continuation, of news see fourth page.

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a • ■ •,• ■ ■•.■■• . .- . * ■ —Some oine or ten yearß ago a number of tradesmen: werer Btanding assembled on the banks of tbVßarwon" river," at Geelong, ,„ Victoria; witnessing a regatta. The spotwas the Barwon Bridge. During the contests a number of days laden with wool " crossed over. These drays were proceeding to merchants' stores, there to discharge the bales of golden fleece, from whence, after being pressed, they were to be placed on board ship for the home manufacturers. Then, one of the tradesmen said to the others as follows: — "All this wool is going 14,000 miles away to be converted into sheets and blankets, coats and, trousers, and the like. Why cannot we of ourselves make the material for these articles of wear and use?" In a few weeks the idea fructified. These tradesmen held a. meeting in the town, and they called other tradesmen together—none very wealthy; but the spirit of enterprise and an eye to "ulterior advantages" were in all ©f them. They formed a company to establish a woollen manufactory. They sent home for machinery and skilful artisans. Both came to hand in due course; when on the banks of the Barwon, and within a mile of where the drays laden with wool passed on that regatta day referred to, a plot of ground was purchased and a factory was built. The textiles at first were not equal to the textiles of the home countryj but they had this recommendation — the woollen cloths were wool and not shoddy nor "union," nor cotton; nor, in fact, anything else but what came off the backs of fine-bred sheep. If the fabrics were coarse, * they were in demand, for the people of Geelong and of Melbourne and Ballarat were- very proud of what these few enterprising men had done, and orders came in , material faster than they could be executed. There were no dividends the first year, but there was ,money at command without any fresh calls being made on the shareholders to purchase additional machinery and to enlarge the buildings. After a time— not so very long, for it was on the third year that a good dividend was declared — these shares went up io value and larger dividends were declared. Before long Geelong-made woollen cloths acquired a high character throughout the colonies, and many in New Zealand to-day . may be boasting of the excellence of their tweed coats and trousers without being aware that the material of which they are composed was manufactured in a sister colony. A Disappointment. — " Young man, do you ever drink ? " asked a mild looking .man, accosting Jones. " Well, yes, thank you, as it's a cold morning, I don't mind," replied Jones, removing his quid of tobacco. " Don't do it any more," rejoined . the mild man, "or you will eventually be utterly lost. Good morning. Heaven bless you ! " Professor Gamgee says that Great Britain has lost since 1840 some 300 millions sterling by the lung disease and foot-and-mouth disease.