ADDITIONAL AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XII, Issue 138, 13 June 1877, Page 2

ADDITIONAL AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

[Per Wakatipu] Sydney, June 6. The Herald says it had the cablegram re Gortschakoff accompanying the Emperor to Ployesti repeated, when it was found it should read — *•*• given rise to peace rumors." A severe cyclone and waterspout passed over a station near Hamilton, tearing large trees four and five feet in diameter up by the roots. It lifted a sheet of iron roofing, and carried it half a mile. Large limbs of trees were carried over the tops of honses. A resolution has been carried by the N.S.W. Assembly increasing the salaries of the District Court Judges to £1500, with retiring allowance of £700 per annum. The Herald has a leading article on Major Atkinson's speech at Taranaki. In reference to his remarks that « ; they must carry on the Government at a moderate rate, as a prudent man would maDage his estate," it says that 'a popular Government is not in the position of a landed proprietor, and cannot always do what it thinks best. A prudent man managing New Zealand as his private estate, and constructing railways with borrowed {money, would not have encumbered himself in the course of a few years with the payment of interest upon three or four millions lying unproductive iv works begun but not finished. He would have concentrated hia resources and his efforts; he would have completed

with speed the line that gave the best promise of profit, and by following the same policy with others, he would have kept down his annual expenditure in interest to the [ lowest point possible, i-In New Zealand the ; opposite course has been taken; a number of separate lines have been under construction simultaneously, and consequently the proportion of capital lying unproductive and the amount payable as interest have been raised to the highest point. The private manager would have had before him the comparatively simple question to decide how to expend the money to the best advantage; the Governmsnt has had the more complex problem to solve how to meet competing local claims and balance local interests. If the Government had not been willing to distribute the expenditure, the money would not have been granted. The demauds of localism have been satisfied, but the price is being paid in the shape of interest— £180,000 a year—upon unproductive outlay." Referring to what Major Atkinson said about the arrangement with the colonial banks, the Herald remarks: "It was understood, when the last loan was , negotiated in England with Messrs Rothschild, that there was something like an engagement or understanding that the colony should not appear in the market again for two years. Are not these borrowings in the colonies a violation of the spirit of that understanding? A letter in the Timet by the last mail shows that by some at least they are so regarded. Sir J. Yogel has answered this by saying the understanding was that no fresh loan should be negotiated in London. This, however, has not been accepted by the complainants as a satisfactory answer. The meaning of the understanding was that the public debt of New Zealand had been increased so largely and so rapidly that -the value of its securities would be likely to suffer by any immediate addition to it; but if the colony was supposed to have approached the safe limit of its borrowing powers, it mattered little for nothing whether any new loans that might be contracted were raised in London or the colonies. If the advance in the value of New Zealand bonds, of which Major Atkinson speaks, wa3 the result of a belief that the debt was not to be increased, while it was being increased by an arrangement in the colonies, the action of the present Government may lead to future loss in the shape of harder terms when the London market is next tested." Sir Wm. Jervois, in a memorandum to the Governor, says that only in the improbable event of Great Britain ceasing to hold tha command of the sea is there any likelihood of foreign aggression upon the Australian colonies. It is obvious that an attack on New South Wales could only be made on the seaboard of the eastern boundary of the colony. Sydney and Newcastle are the only places likely to be attacked in any case, and therefore these are the only places where special local defence is required. With well conI strticted, well armed, and properly manned I batteries of a few heavy guns at Middle Head, i George Head, and South Head, acting in conjunction with torpedoes laid across the harbor, there would be no necessity for river defences. As regards Vie possibility of the enemy passing at night, the channel and ap- ■ preaches may be bo illuminated by magneticelectric light as to prevent vessels attempting to remove obstructions between the batteries without being seen therefrom. Sir William Jervois bears testimony to the ingenuity displayed in the design and work performed in the construction of the batteries already provided for the defence of the harbor, and recommends the purchase of an ironclad for coast service. Torpedo stores should at once be ordered from England. Hostile vessels could throw shells into town from outside the entrance of the harbor, and rifled guns can obtain a range of upwards of five miles. Steps should therefore be taken for the general defence of the coast. At Newcastle a fort should be constructed on Signal Hill at a height of about 105 feet above sea level' for three 9in. and 4 80-pounder guns. The forces at present at the command of the colony are 2,810, but in some respects defective in organisation. He proposes that the number of gunners in the permanent artil- [ lery force be increased from 240 to 300, or 100 : per battery. To assist the permanent artillery in time of war there should be a body of garrison militia artillery, 200 strong. Torpedo corps should be under the command of the Superintendent of Telegraphs, and should consist of 100 officers and men, 50 being employees in the telegraph, and the remainder naval brigade. Two battalions of miiitia infantry, each of 500 rank and file, increased to 800 in time of war, two battalions of militia field artillery of four guns each, a company of engineers, and about 100 mounted police , with cavalry scouts could be available. The I cost of the proposed defences (including iron- [ clad, 150,000) is set down at £325,000 ; annual cost £86,760. ' ' . . Bbisbanh, June 6. A man has been fined £10 for carrying dynamite in a railway carriage. Captain Laiegi of the ship Woodlnrk, bound from Brisbane to Hong Kong, reports having, on April 6th, sighted a vessel ashore at the south-west end of Packlington Reef bhe had nothing standing but mizeen-mast and sprit, and had evidently been on the reef for some time. No signals were visible and the wind being light the Woodlark was unable to stand to windward of the Island but a good look out was kept for any signs of life. J ° Thirty Chinamen travelling along the Palmer road stuck up, robbed, and assaulted ten of their own couutrymen. The ship South Esk, from London ran 2,037 miles in saven days. She made from Cape Otway to Cape Moreton in four days nine hours. J Melbourne, June 6, A man named Young has committed suicide by taking laudanum, through excessive drinking. Jas. Cleary committed suicide at Kynton to-day by hanging himself. The wreck of the Young Australian, at Worrambool, was sold to-day for £35(> and the wreck of the Bravo, at Waratah Bay, for £51. A young man named Thomas Tindall has been committed for embezzlement from the Mutual Assurance Society. At the complimentary dinner to the Hon John Young, Canadian Commissioner the principal speakers were Sir Charles Gavin Duffy, Mr Francis, and the Hon. J. Youn°who made good speeches and counselled a' free trade policy. Sir C. G. Duffy said before he introduced the tariff he consulted John Bright, Carlyle, and John Stuart Mill, who were all in favor of protection jn a a new country. The appeal to the Privy Council, in the case Langston v. Syme, will not be prosecuted. Sir Redmond Barry will not return until September. A quarrel between two newly-elected members of the Assembly resulted in each making, through the columns of an evening paper, serious charges one against the other. The matter is likely to be further ventilated , in the courts, ) H.M.S. Nymph is expected at Melbourne about the 18th of June. A London telegram quotes Hennessy's brandy at 8s Gd, shipments being very light. Referring to the growth of Melbourne, the Age states:— ln 1843 there were 1,095 tenements with a total valuation of £66,147, a rate of sixpence in the pound being equal to £1,521 per year. In 1877 there are 13,027 tenements, the value of which is £875,713, S vwn - Wn r t GS £i3 > 785 - The Papulation or Victoria on March 31st was 842,877, that of Melboijnie and suburbs being 244,608.