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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIV, Issue 226, 4 October 1879, Page 2

The Sydney correspondent of the i'ost telegraphs :— The following summary of news is to band by the P and 0 mail steamer Siam, at Albany .— \ Loudon newspaper, devoted to the dissemination of scandal, haa been suppressed for saying that the Prince of Wales and LordLondesborough aud Lonsdale were co-respondents in a divorce suit.— Mrs L-mgtry, ihe well-known fashionable beauty, at piesent in America, will visit the Sydney Exhibition.— A recognised English agriculturalist estimates that the unprecedented continuance of bad weather this year has occasioned a loss to the jinked Kingdom of £G3,0U0,000 sterling, or fhree-fou'rtbs of the entire revenue of the country. This sum he makes up as follows :— Deficiency in cereals and pulse, £28,000,000; potatoes, £_t>,ooo,o_o , grass, £15,000,000 , hops, £1,000.000 ; other crops, _t-i,000,000. r i_6 effect of this falling olf canuot but inflict a

severe disaster on the Country, although it is to be hoped that the result will be merely temporary, snd will disappear with the advent of a better harvest next year. A special London telegram to the Post, dated London September 28, says .— Intelligence from Cabul states that the city ia completely in the hands of the rebels, who are preparing for a siege, in the event of being attacked by the British.-The Ameer, v. I a ' acc °ropaaied by his son Dasodshah, has arrived at the British camp at Kbus-hi, to gi. e his personal assurances that he had done his utmost to suppress the rebellion, and still remained loyal to the British Ixovernment. A prolonged conference took place between General Roberts and the Ameer as to the best means to be adopted to march on the mutineers and stamp out the rebellion. Thk Post of Thursday says :— The rumor regarding a reconstruction of the Ministry under Mr Macandrew, may probably be considered as merely premature— not absolutely incorrect— it is the shadow thrown in advance of a probable coming event. Whateverthe exact result of the division on Mr Hall's no-confidence motion may be, it is evident that the hours of the Ministry " as at present constituted " are numbered. If Mr Hall gets a majority of one or two of course Sir George Grey and his colleagues will, one and all, have to quit ; but if, as is possible, Ministers should manage, with the aid of the Speaker's casting vote, to avoid this result, a reconstruction must follow. Sir George Grey will be obliged, however unwillingly, to tender his resignation, and he will, of course, advise that one of his own colleagues or supporters be sent for to reconstruct a Cabinet. Mr Macandrew or Mr Montgomery would be the most likely to be called under such circumstances, and, Sir George Grey once eliminated, neither of these gentlemen would have any difficulty in forming a strong Liberal Government, unless, indeed, Sir George and his Auckland following Bhould throw principles to the winds and on purely personal grounds act the part of dog-in-the-manger. Such a proceeding would be quite in keeping with what we know of Sir George Grey ; but we still hope for better things. At the present Mr Vincent Pyke is the admired of all the admirers. The fate of Ministers and the destinies of the colony are to a great extent in his hands, and it is btlived to be a matter of certainty that the portfolio of Mines awaits his acceptance ou either side to which he gives in his adhesion. He is certainly a lucky man. The correspondent of an Auckland paper telegraphed from Wellington last week :— An active party of men bave been engaged to-day making sure of the doubtful men. The Maoris have been especially looked after, and it is said that every one of them have been promised to be made Ministers. More interest (says the Wellington correspondent of a northern contemporary) now attaches to the few waverers tban to the ablest statesmen, and therefore it may not be out of piace to give a sketch ot Mr McCaughan, the new member for Riverton, who has been regarded as one of the doubtfuls. He is usually called "Paddy." He hails from Antrim, and speaks '• lubberty." He is a tall, good looking young fellow. He is wealthy, and got his money easily. Dr. Hodgkiuson, his predecessor, labored to pass the Deceased Wife's Sister Bill, but Mr McCaughan practically carried it out by marrying two sisters, and getting a fortune with each. Mr McCaughan is quite sensible of his advantages. He dresses well, and has not fingers enough for his rings. He has not made any appearance in the House, but he is no fool, and may develop into a useful legislator. At a lunch given on board the Union Company's new steamer Rotomahana ou the or. Hsimi of bpr hping Innn. hpjrjLfr Denny, in giving ' Prosperity to the ftwners of the' Rotomahana,' said the Company had been formed a few years ago by three young men, one of whom, Mr Darling, was present amongst them. This young Company had been conducted with unbounded courage, had already swallowed up two rival companies, and if it progressed in the future as in the past, would would by and by swallow up the P. and 0., the B 1., and other Companies as well. (Cheers and laughter.) This bold, not to say cheeky, policy had succeeded, and the Company was prospering satisfactorily. He coupled the toast with the name of Mr Darling, the Company's able representative in this country. (Loud cheers.) A passenger to England by one of the Orient steamers writing to the Auckland Star say.s :— First-class passengers enjoy all the luxuries and conveniences hitherto associated with the Cunard and other great American liners only. The cuisine is unexceptionable—fresh fish, game, vegetables, and salad (preserved in ice) being placed on the table daily. During the hot weather ice creams are handed round at noon, aud iced wined, aerated waters, &c, can be procured at stated intervals. From one end of the passage to the other I never heard a passenger refused any reasonable request. The following appears in the Press :— « ln these days of impecuniosity thrice happy are those young gentlemen who get their remittances regularly, or indeed get them at all. There are remittance men who manage to live on their allowance , there are those who don't manage to live on it 5 but the smallest class of all is that of the young people who try to increase their allowance. It is to be done, though, aud this is how Jawkins, a new arrival, made his first attempt in this direction. He insured his life for £2000. Then he wrote to his father, informiug him of the fact, and telling him that he had made the policy over to him, and expressing a hope that he would for the present, at any rate, pay up tbe premium ; and then he got a cheque from the insurance agent, with whom he had gone halves in the commission. This young man will get on here."