New Zealand Times. (PUBLISHED DAILY.) FRIDAY, JULY 9, 1875.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4463, 9 July 1875, Page 2

New Zealand Times. (PUBLISHED DAILY.) FRIDAY, JULY 9, 1875.

The news by the Mikado, which we publish in another column, is of more than passing interest. That which most nearly affects this colony, will bo found in the special cablegram, under date, London, July Ist. The telegraph contract has been signed, and the Eastern Extension Company will lay and maintain the cable between Australia and New Zealand, in terms of such contract. The annual subsidy for ten years, which the company is to receive for this important work, is £7,500, to be paid by New South Wales and New Zealand, in the proportions previously explained. The company further agree to reduce the tariff of charges for messages between England and Port Darwin, to £3 for ten words, in consideration of a yearly subsidy of £20,000. We have little doubt this subsidy will be forthcoming, and on the completion of the New Zealand cable, this colony will doubtless contribute a fair proportion. But it must be borne in mind that these concessions are entirely in favor of a small section of the population. Very few colonists will avail themselves of the wire to communicate with England except on most important business. Therefore we think the taxpayers, out of whose pockets the money will come, should have some consideration shown them on other matters, and have taxes to at least an equivalent amount abolished. This, however, is a question for the Treasurers of the respective colonies to consider. Mail subsidies are somewhat different in their effect, because nearly everybody profits by them more or less. At the same time, the general interests of the colony require the completion of telegraphic connection at the earliest possible period, and therefore it is that we announce the signing of the contract for its construction, with the utmost satisfaction.

It will be seen that Sir Julios Yogel has gone to the Weildbad baths, in Germany. We learn, from a private source, that he anticipates being back in the colony about the end of November. Of course, the work of the session will then be over, and any change in the construction of the Government that might be necessary, could then be made without disturbing the ordinary course of public business. The Hon. Mr. Waterhouse may be expected in the colony before the close of the session. His trip to England will enable him, should he not arrive too late, to speak with some degree of certainty and knowledge of the way in which the public business of New Zealand has been, and is being, conducted in London. We dare say everything is quite as it should be, but a little independent testimony is always acceptable, especially when there is a difference of opinion among those charged with the conduct of the affairs of the colony. For this reason, if for none other, we should be glad to see Mr. WatePvliouse in his place during the coming session. Honors have been heaped upon returned colonists of late ; but none appear to have had greater distinction bestowed upon him than the Right Rev. Dr. (Jkoke, Catholic Bishop of Auckland. This distinguished ecclesiastic has been created Archbishop of Cashel. Dr. Choke was highly esteemed by men of every religious denomination in the North. He returned to Europe to raise money for a new cathedral in Auckland ; but a vacancy in the Irish hierarchy occurring, he was a man of too much mark in the Church to be passed over. Hence his elevation to the ancient Archbishopric of Cashel. We may add that his venerable predecessor in the missionary see of Auckland, the late Dr. Pompallieb, was created an Archbishop on his return to Rome. It is in this way the spiritual sovereign of the Roman Church rewards those ecclesiastics who distinguish themselves in the mission field, or other advanced posts of the Christian army. Money, wo are told by the ordinary telegrams, is easier. The Bank rate of dis-

count, on the 27th June, was 3i; trade was slowly improving, consequent on returning confidence. Breadstuff’s were firm, unfavorable reports having been received of the French and American harvests. The harvest in the British isles appears to promise well. Speaking of the recent failures in England and the depression in trade there, we cannot do better than quote from a recent article in the Melbourne Telegraph , which discusses the matter with considerable ability. The Telegraph, writes ; A glance at the names of the Manchester firms who have succumbed, is sufficient proof that something more than ordinary pressure has accelerated their stoppage, and one cause may be traced to the falling off which has lately occurred in the export of cotton manufactures from Great Britain. To account for this decrease in demand, it is only necessary to follow the steady progress which has lately been made by India in manufacturing goods suitable for her own requirements. Western India alone, so our latest advices state, now possesses no less than forty-three mills in full working order, engaging a capital of no less than four and a half millions sterling, whilst Madras and Calcutta are also beginning to turn their attention to tho development of the same industry. To what extent the manufacture of cotton has already been carried may he inferred from the fact that tho importation of the coarser descriptions of Manchester goods has almost entirely ceased to Bombay, whilst that port is actually exporting to the Straits Settlements and China native-made cottons to an appreciable extent. With a duty of only 3J- to 5 per cent, for revenue purposes on the Manchester-made goods, it Is stated that the same class cotton can be now produced in &idla at a cost of 30 per cent, under the value of the imported goods. Up to the present time Manchester may fairly be said to have monopolised the piece-goods trade of India to an extent that only actual observers can fully appreciate, the pack of the smallest pedler in a country which numbers its tens of thousands of these wandering traders being formerly dependent on the looms of that city for its contents, whilst in the native bazaars, even in the most secluded districts of that vast country, the chief stocks are Manchester cloths, varying from the common blue worn by the coolie, to the gorgeously printed shawl which forms the cummerbund of the head man. The cessation of demand from so good a market, following so close on the late rises effected in the cost of labor and fuel in England, points at once to the great strain which must have been felt by tho various houses doing business in this particular line. Coupled with their other drawbacks Is another of as serious a character, namely, the system of credit which has been allowed to gradually creep up ns competition grew stronger. Nothing has been more detrimental to -the prosperity of the retail softgoods trade than the system now in force, inducing, as it does, persons of inadequate capital to embark in business transactions wholly outside their legitimate bounds. The result of this is that, although in times of fair activity and prosperity in trade, such firms are kept afloat to serve as “drawing posts,” immediately that curtailment becomes necessary their collapse is certain. It is the reflection of the system of credit through the other branches of the Manchester trade that is now being felt, and though perhaps but a straw weight in comparison with other influences, has proved itself sufficient to break the back of many already overweighted in the fight.

These observations go to the root of the matter. They are likewise worth consideration in New Zealand, where stocks have been accumulating of late out of all proportion to the demand. Disastrous inundations have occurred in the South of France; thousands of people are left destitute, and hundreds have lost their lives. It is seldom a catastrophe on so large a scale is reported from the Old World ; in America, such an occurrence would be counted among thecommonincidentsof life. The MarshalPresident and French Assembly have been prompt in adopting measures for relieving the pressure of distress occasioned by the floods. And here, parenthetically, we may remark that the overflowing of the Murray has again caused great loss to the settlers in the neighborhood of Echuca. The country round Launceston, in northern Tasmania, is also greatly flooded. Count Arnim has been sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment for unlawfully removing State documents from the Prussian chancellory, in Paris. From a palace to a dungeon, the transition is easy in Berlin. “ Blood and iron” is the motto of the new Germanic Empire, and Count Von Asntm, courtier, politician, and ambassador, is one of the most illustrious victims. Meanwhile the Emperors of Austria and Russia have had an interview in Bohemia, and the world will see some day what comes out of this conference of crowned heads. The Czechs might prove very untractable subjects of Francis Joseph, however, if his “dear brother Alexander” revived the Pan-Slavonic agitation, which served such a useful purpose in Russian intrigue prior to Sedan. The Cape of Good Hope is once more contumacious. Its Cabinet has refused to consider the federation scheme of Earl Carnarvon, as being premature. This was Sir George Grey’s original proposal, revived by Mr. Frodde, who has become a candidate for an appointment under the Colonial Office. The Cape Government doubtless know best what is for their interest, but we cannot help thinking that a strong South African Government would be a great improvement on the present system of weak Colonies and weaker Free States.