The Nelson Evening Mail. THURSDAY, JANUARY 15, 1880.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XV, Issue 13, 15 January 1880, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. THURSDAY, JANUARY 15, 1880.

We are informed by a business firm in this town that they recently received advices from England stating that a sum of money would shortly be sent out to be lent on mortgage, and requesting them to be on the look out for an investment The mail which arrived last night, however, brought letters countermanding the former instructions, and stating that the would-be investors since last writing had had an opportunity of perusing some of the rabid speeches made by Sir George Grey in the House, from which they

concluded that New Zealand would pot be a' safe country to invest their money in, as the > difficulties in the way of realising, should a party of which Sir George might be considered a fair representative ever be in power again, would be too great. While wecannot fullyshare in the alarm felt by the parties in question, we quote the foregoing as a fair sample of the opinions held in England with regard to Sir George Grey. The examiners for the College scholarships, the examinations for which took place ,last month, have pronounced the following to be the successful competitors :— Provincial Scholarships: Ilarkneas and Talbot, both of Richmond school. Governors' Scholarships : Johnson and Birtbl, both of the first % Town sdhool. Marlborough : Conolly, of Picton. The Committee of the Nelson Institute are, at considerable personal inconvenience to themselves, engaged in arranging and Cataloguing the. contents of the library, and, in ordefc that they may perform the work satis*, factorily, it is necessary that all the books should be before them; They therefore ask the subscribers to assist them by ; .returning without delay any books and periodicals they may.have in their possession Ak" Auckland telegram of Tuesday says that the white fish ova arrived by the Australia iv excellent coudition. Mr Firth had a shipment packed with an ample-supply of ice ready to be forwarded to the south by the Hincmoa. We have to acknowledge the receipt of Hansard No. 25, being the last number for the last session. In a supplement published wsth to-day*s issue will be found the annual report of the Inspector of Schools, some interesting extracts from late Indian papers relative to the war in Afghanistan, and other reading matter. , Colonsi, Scratchley (says the Post of Monday) arrived in Wellington yesterday by the Ringarooma, from Sydney, via. the East Coast, to advise the Government in regard to the coastal defences of New Zealand. The gallant colonel's programme of operations has not yet been definitely decided upon; but it » understood that he will probably first visit Lyttelton, Port Chalmers, and the Bluff, then returning to Wellington, Nelson, and northern ports. Messrs Stiarp and Pickering held their usual monthly sale at the White Hart, Ricnpiondj yesterday; when tfie attendance of buyers was very large. The following prices were realised .-—Sheep, 109 fat but small weights, 8s per head ; 101 good weights and prime mutton, Us 6d per head. Cattle, 11 head prime fat from Wanginui, £11 7s 6d; 9 head mixed stores in good condition, £6 per head; 0. head, 1 and 2 year olds. £4 ss ; cows from £5 7s 6d to £7 15s. A fine bull, 3 years old, with a good pedigree, brought £18 108. The following telegrams, dated London, < January 9 and 10, appear in the Post-. — The illness of Prince Bismarck has assumed a more serious phase, and it is now announced by the physicians in attendance upon him that he is. suffering from small pox ism is greatly on the increase in Ireland. The head centres throughout tile country are taking advantage of the present distress and discontent to foment the disaffection, and increase the number of adherents to the society. Meetings are being held in all the principal towns and cities, and corresponding precautions are being taken by the civil and military authorities. — A serious outrage is reported from Cork. A large number of men thrown out. of work owing to the prevailing distress, assembled in a body and broke into one or two provision stores in the town, which they proceeded to ransack for food. The affair was flo^ndaenly carried into operation, .. And' the men assembled in such numbers that the police Were powerless to interfere to prevent the outrage. — The Spectator, in an article on the Victorian crisis, deprecates the plebiscite, but approves of Mr Berry*s proposal to transform the Legislative Council from an elective into a nominee body, it urges that the Council should not consist of more than 30 members as at present, and the members should be chosen for their capacity instead of their political convictions. -;Tbe Spectator further urges that in case of any dispute other than one of defiance, the two Houses should confer with a view to an arrangement. In conclusion it expresses & hope that the dissolution will result in a majority being returned for Mr Berry.— The Lord Mayor of Dublin has publicly expressed his pleasure and gratitude at the way in which the colonies are responding to his appeal for funds for relief of the distress in Ireland.— lt is understood that the Sultan is personally responsible for the action in connection with the Mollah incident. Russian influence was feared, hence Mr Layard's pressure. — The" duties imposed by the German protection tariff are increased one-third. The result is that the German shipping trade has declined. The Spectator, in an article on the Victorian Reform Bill, renews its censure on the plebiscite, but approves the proposal to have a nominee Council without increasing the number of members. — The massing of troops by Russia in Poland is quite unexplained. It is estimated that there are now no fewer than 350,000 men in the field. It is considered possible that this may be a defensive measure adopted by Russia, in view of the European coalition shadowed forth by Mr Bourke (Foreign Under-Secretary) at Lynn, understood to be an arrangement between England, Germany, France., and Austria, for securing the control to Great Britain of Asiatic Turkey, an increased sea-board for Germany, and the complete isolation of Russia. — Russia is upholding Servia in her opposition to the Austrian railway scheme. — Mahomed Jan has retreated to Ghazni, where he is rallying the Afghan forces.