MAIL ITEMS.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 4145, 3 July 1874, Page 3

MAIL ITEMS.

FOREIGN. The authorities have dissolved a Society of Silk Weavers at Lyons for occupying itself with political affairs. The society numbered 22,000 members. Prince Napoleon’s refusal to acknowledge the Prince Impexial as the head of the Bonapartiat house has brought him into disfavor among his Corsican friends. The Corsicans, of course, are Bonapartists, and by way of manifesting their xmawerving loyalty to the exiled house, they elected Pi-ince Napoleon President of their Council-General. But the Prince's ambitious scheme for having himself recognisetl as the successor of his coxxsin, the late Emperor, has made them refjret their choice ; and ho is now shunned and disowned —the President of a Council which will hold no conference with him.

The Council-General of Arras has approved the conclusions of tho report upon the submarine tunnel for connecting Prance with England. Tho report states that all diplomatic difficulties have been overcome. The Northern Eailway Company will furnish £4 0,000 for Prance, and the South Eastern Company a

similar sum for England, towards the construction of the preliminary works, on condition only that the preference be given them in the granting of the concession. Official returns of Erench trade for the first quarter of the present year have been published. The value of the importations during the quarter amounted to 925,129,000 fr., 118.553.000 fr. more than in the same period last year. The value of the exportations was 850,000,000 fr., or 115,982,000 fr. less than in the first quarter of 1873. The customs duties collected in , March , last amounted 1-1,012,000 fr., showing a diminution -_of 5.713.000 fr. compared with the mouth of March, 1873. The amount yielded by indirect taxation in March was 77,855,000 fr., or 6.711.000 fr. less than in March, 1873. The general total of the amount of taxes collected during the first quarter [[of the present year is 261,144,000 fr., or an increase of 7,128,000- fr. compared with the amount yielded in the first quarter of 1873. The above would seem to indicate that, but for the strikes in the iron and coal trades, and the unsatisfactory relations between capital and labor generally, there is every chance of a large increase of trade in the year 1874.

CANADA. The Dominion Parliament, sitting at Ottawa, has made the following alterations in the Canadian Customs’ tariff Green tea will pay four cents, and black tea three cents per lb. All articles which have formerly paid a duty of fifteen per cent, are in future to pay seventeen and a half per cent. Anchors, cables, masts, wire rigging, copper, sheathing, and pig iron well be admitted free, but on other iron a duty of five per cent, is imposed. The duties on sugars are unaltered, but in those on wines some modifications are made. SCOTLAND. An alarming collision occurred on the Caledonian Kailway between ten and eleven o’clock on April 25. Whilst a goods train was proceeding southward a little to the north of Larbert Station, one of the draw-bars of a waggon broke, and one of the waggons went off the metals and fell on the down line. In a short time afterwards the London mail train came up and dashed into the waggon. Both the up and down lines were blocked, and considerable damage was done to the rolling stock. An official in the post-office van was slightly injured. The other passengers fortunately escaped unhurt. The passengers were transferred at Larbert Junction to the mail train from Edinburgh. Mr. Stephen Mitchell, who was killed by an unfortunate accident at Moffat a few days ago, has left a will, in which he bequeaths £70,000 for the formation of a free library at Glasgow. Lord Rosslyn will be Her Majesty’s Lord High Commissioner at the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which meets at Edinburgh in May. TERRA DEL EXTEGO. This mysterious region is now being explored by a Erench scientific party, and their discoveries appear likely.-.to relieve the land from much of the odium the earlier explorers cast upon it. The party, it is said, went to their work “ armed to the teeth.” Their leader is M. Pertuiset. They landed early in December, and advancing toward Cape Horn their first discovery was a lake of great beauty from twelve to fifteen miles in circumference, and covered with thousands of wild fowl. To this was given the name of the leader of the expedition. M. Pertuiset has not experienced in the Fuegians that ferocity ascribed to them by the Chilian colonists of Punta Arenas. On the contrary, he reports very favorably of his relations with them. Ear from attacking him, they have on all occasions besought his friendship. He believes that they are not cannibals except when reduced by absolute want of food to the necessity of eating each other. At the date of the last advice, January 23, M. Pertuiset had returned to Punta Arenas. The caravan had advanced 300 kilometres (about 188 miles) towards the south, having taken about a month for the journey. Immense plains and vast pastures, very suitable for the rearing of cattle, had been discovered. The temperature had proved gentle, and the floral richness and variety of the country are described as being extreme. M. Pertuiset speaks specially of groves of cinnamon trees and fuchsias and a species of wild camellia. Bird-shooting had proved sufficiently productive and an important source of food supply for the travellers, who had at one time been reduced to the necessity of eating one of their horses. M. Pertuiset is at present residing at Punta Arenas, after which he intends to prosecute his discoveries.