NEWS BY THE MAIL.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 5043, 23 May 1877, Page 2

NEWS BY THE MAIL.

From our files to hand by the mail last night we extract the following : The Japanese Government is at present engaged in the attempt to introduce sheep, with the view of converting the hills into pasture laud. If this can be accomplished the wealth of Japan may be enormously increased. The hills cover two-thirds of the country—not unlike New Zealand in contour, and with even a finer climate. In St. Helena the people are busy planting New Zealand phormium for a fibre company, which proposes to plant all the Government waste lauds with it. The disforesting of the island advances apace. The Norfolk Island pines, 100 ft. high, are now in seed. A Cairo telegram of March II says :—The Khedive to-day formally presented to the British nation, through the British Diplomatic Agent and Consul-General at Alexandra, the obelisk known as Cleopatra's Needle. ,M. Ferdinand de Lesseps announces from Cairo that the Canal Isuiailich, uniting the Nile with Lake Timsah, will be officially inaugurated on the 9th of next month. A correspondent writing from Santiago, Chili, states the statistics issued by the Observatory there show that there were during 1876, 27 earthquakes or shocks of earthquakes, against IS during 1875. THE TIMES OX THE ACTION OK RUSSIA. How has the prospect of peace suddenly been overshadowed by the fear of a speedv war ? The change has come through the action of Russia, and by means of the very document which was signed for the purpose of maintaining peace. Hardly had the document been signed, when Russia showed a disposition to take from it the materials of an ultimatum, and the Porte was informed that it would be expected to decide by to-morrow whether it would or would not accept theprotocol and send an envoy to St. Petersburg. Russia may be able to make some unexpected defence of her haste, but our own Government, at least, did not intend the protocol to have the character of an ultimatum. Russia cannot be surprised, indeed, if the recent negotiations should expose her to severe charges. She must expect it to be said that she wished to pass time until the roads towards the Danube should be fit for the passage of her artillery, and that she drew up the protocol not to secure peace, but to obtain from the united Powers such a condemnation of Turkey as would make a declaration of war seem inevitable. We bring no such charges against Russia; but the Powers will have reason to complain, if now that they have put their seals to the protocol, Russia should refuse to smooth the way towards peace. She will be expected at least to postpone any decisive action until the Powers shall again appeal to the Porte, and she may be invited to consider whether demobilisation might not be brought about in some manner less hurtful to Ottoman pride than by the stringent terms specified by Count Schouvaloff. AMERICAN ARMS FOR TURRET. The Birmingham Post's correspondent com** muuicates the following- information :—About a week ago the Winchester Manufacturin'*Company, of New Haven, forwarded another large cargo of arms and ammunition to Constantinople by the steamship Lotus. The consignment is part of the contract in which the company has been engaged with the Turkish Government since 1870. They have not supplied many stand of arms of their own make, as the Turkish infantry are mostly equipped with Snider rifles made in England and Martini-Henry rifles made in Providence, Rhode Island. About 60,000 of these latter went

with the last consignment. The Winchester Company are now turning out about half a million of cartridges and cartridge-shells a day. The empty shells are loaded at Constantinople, where the Turkish Government has a large and efficient corps ofworkraen. It is estimated that they have about a hundred million of shells in store, and the Winchester Company are constantly forwarding fresh supplies. Of their own make of rifle and carbine, the company have supplied only 1)0,000 since the beginning of the contract. The Turkish mounted police and cavalry receive these arms, which it is thought would be too complicated and ex--pensive for general service. The rifle takes seventeen cartridges at a load, and can be discharged with wonderful rapidity. A Turkish held officer, with junior officers under him, superintends at New Haven the manufacture and shipment of arms and ammunition for his Government. The articles manufactured have hitherto been leisurely shipped iu sailing vessels, but of late have been sent, as fast as turned out, by steamships. THE TURKISH NOTE IN REPLY TO THE POWERS. The Turkish note uses very strong language. The live points of Count Sohouvaloff's declarations are answered seriatim. The Sublime Porte notifies to the signatory Powers the following declarations ; First—Adopting toward Montenegro the same line of conduct which brought about the pacification of Servia; the Sublime Porte spontaneously informed the Prince two months ago that it would spare no effort to reach an understanding with him, even at the price of certain sacrifices. Considering Montenegro as an integral part of tho Ottoman territory, the Porte proposed a rectification of the line of demarkation, which secured an advantage to Montenegro, and it henceforward depends entirely upon moderate counsels, which the Porto hopes will prevail at Cettinje, whether this affair may be considered as terminated. Second —The Imperial Government is prepared to apply all promised reforms ; but these reforms, iu conformity with the fundamental provisions of our Constitution, cannot have a special or exclusive character ; and it is iu this spirit that the Imperial Government in its full and entire liberty will continue to apply its instructions. Third—The Imperial Government is ready to replace its armies on a peace footing as soon as it shall see the Russian Government take similar measures. The armaments of Turkey have exclusively a defensive character; and the relations of friendship and esteem which unite the two Umpires, inspire the hope that the St. Petersburg Cabinet will not alone in Europe persist in the idea that the Christian population in Turkey are exposed to such dangers from their own Government that it is necessary to accumulate against a neighboring and friendly state ail the means of invasion and destruction. Fourth—Regarding disturbances which might break out in Turkey and stop the demobi'isation of the Russian army, the Imperial Government believes that Europe is convinced that the disturbances which have troubled the peace of the provinces were due to foreign instigation; the Imperial Government could not be held responsible for them, and consequently the Russian Government would not be justified in making the demobilization of its armies dependent upon such contingencies. Fifth—Considering the despatch of a special envoy to St. Petersburg to treat on the question of disarmanent, the Imperial Government, which would have no reason to refuse an act of courtesy reciprocally required by diplomatic usages, perceives ne connection between this act of international courtesy and disarmament, which there was no plausible motive for delaying, and which might be carried into effect by a single telegraphic order. Maintaining with other friendly States relations regulated by international law and treaties, Turkey caunot allow foreign agents or representatives charged to protect the interests of their compatriots, to have any mission of official supervision. The Imperial Government in fact is not aware how it can have deserved so ill of justice and civilisation as to see itself placed in a humiliating position without example to the world. The treaty of Paris gave explicit sanction to the principle of non-intervention. This treaty, which binds the other Powers who participated in it, cannot be abolished by a protocol in which Turkey has had no share ; and if Turkey appeals to the stipulations of the treaty of Paris, it is not that that treaty has created in her favor any rights which she would not possess without it, but rather for the purpose of calling attention to the grave reasons which in the interests of the general peace of Europe induced the Powers twenty years ago to place the recognition of inviolability of this Empire, or of this Empire’s right to sovereignty, under a guarantee of collective promise. In regard to the clause which in case of non-execution of the promised reforms would seek to confer upon the Powers the right of recurring to ulterior measures, the Imperial Government perceives therein a fresh attack upon its dignity and its rights ; a measure of intimidation, calculated to deprive its acts of any merit of spontaneity, and a source of grave complications both in the present and the future. No consideration therefore can arrest the Government in its determination to protest against the views enunciated in the protocol of the 31st of March; to treat it, as far as Turkey is concerned, as destitute of all equity, consequently of all obligatory character. Exposed to hostile suggestions, to unmerited suspicion, and to violations of international law, Turkey feels that she is now contending for her existence. Strong in the justice of her cause, and trusting in God, she is determined to has been decided without her, and against her, and is resolved to maintain in the world the place which Providence has destined for her. In this regard she will not cease to encounter attacks directed against her. With the general principles of public right, and the authority of the great European act which pledges the honor of the Powers that signed the protocol on the 31st of March, a document which in her eyes has no legal claim to exact compliance, she appeals to the conscience of the Cabinets which she has the right to consider animated toward her by the same sentiments of elevated equity and friendship as in the past. Immediate simultaneous disarmament would be the only efficacious means of avoiding the danger by which the general peace is threatened. The reply which the Imperial Government has made to the declarations of the Ambassador of Russia furnishes the Powers with suitable elements for bringing about this result, which they most assuredly will not seek to obtain by persisting in imposing upon the Ottoman Empire sacrifices of rights and honor to which it will not consent. THE TURKISH ARMY. The Constantinople correspondent of a London newspaper writes With regard to the preparations which Tuikey has made, and is still making for war, a great deal may be said. Let it be remembered that there are a great number of adventurers who, however various their motives may be, have but one object in view, namely, that of getting something from the Turkish Government. They have quitted their homes for divers reasons ; some have left their country for their country's good, others because they have failed to make that favorable impression upon their compatriots which they desire ; others because they lack money, and some because they desire adventure. There are Americans here who have got new kinds of rifles and Americans who have brought wondrous new guns ; Frenchmen with patents of all sorts, and nondescripts from every quarter of the globe, ready to sell cartridges, fezzes, boots, shells, spyglasses, swords, bullets, or beds to the Ottoman Government if it would only buy them. Nor is this motley crowd insignificantly reinforced by Englishmen, Captains on half-pay and captains on no pay at all ; majors, colonels, and gentlemen whose rank is dubious, all join to swell the army of applicants. They haunt the Porte, they follow the Pashas, they bother the Secretaries, and they worry everybody else. But, worst of all, they do not confine their energy to this capital alone. They have pens, every man of them, and to them it seems the simplest thing in the world that they should periodically inform Europe that Turkey is disregarding all disinterested and sound advice; that unless she alters her organisation or her armaments, her disposition of troops or the color of their uniform, the pattern of her rifles or the character

of her guns, she will be inevitably beaten and driven out of Europe. “If they only had my patent lever lock, which I’ll back against any European invention ever produced, I’d bet them to lick the Russians most eternally,” said one of them to me only two days since ; while another, who I believe has a kind of enlarged mitrailleuse, which, he says, will throw eighty shells upon an enemy in one minute, expressed to me his belief that if his weapon were only accepted, the Eastern Question might be successfully solved. He said he told the Pasha so that very morning. “ And what did his Excellency say?” was the response. “Ah,” he replied, “All that the Pasha uttered was ‘ Bakalum ’ (we shall see).” If, however, they confined their efforts to the Port of Constantinople generally, there would be less cause for complaint. As it is, they tell the world day after day the most absurd stories respecting the condition of the Turkish forces in the fieid, their position and their numbers, creating a false impresion, and doing a great deal of mischief. Not one of them, so far as I can discover, after much effort, has been either to Rnstchuck, Schumia, Silistria, Varna, Toolona, Nisch, or Widin. They have not the vaguest idea of what has taken place at any of these places, or what troops are there. Yet their fear that Turkey will not avail herself of their services and their inventions is so overwhelming that they perpetually exclaim that she is in the direst danger, hoping frantically the while that she may possibly be induced to think so, and to employ them.” DERATE IN THE BRITISH PARLIAMENT ON THE PORTE'S CIRCULAR. In the House of Lords ou April 13, the Porte's circular being under consideration, Mr. Hardy, Secretary of State for War, defended the Government energetically, and said the language of the Marquis of Hartington was calculated to endanger peace. He would meet the motion for other papers with a direct negative. He said he did not believe that the way to benefit the Christian subjects of the Porte was by armed interference. We had no right to take upon ourselves the vindication of Christians in Turkey. Nothing but the interests of our own country could justify drawing the sword cf the Crusader. The protocol was signed in the interests of peace. The declaration was an honest statement of the views England had always entertained. If the Marquis of Hartington wished to show that the Government was not following the right path toward peace, let him ask for their condemnation. The debate lasted until one o’clock iu the morning, when the Marquis of Hartington withdrew his motion, with consent of the Government. GENERAL SHERMAN ON THE RUSSIAN-TURKISH WAR. On April 13 a IFbrW Washington correspondent interviewed General Sherman on the probable issue of the Russo-Tnrkish war. He said : “ Russia has never had larger or better armies than now. They have all the advantages of many improved arras and modes of war. The result will be that the world will witness the greatest battles ever fought, so far as destruction of life is concerned. I believe this struggle is going to cost millions of lives, and they will not be all Russians or Turks either. I can hardly believe the Turks can withstand the shock. They may save Constantinople if they lose every other point. What good would it do them ?” He also said he favored allowing our officers to visit the camps without pay.

A NEW TORPEDO HAM FOR THE BRITISH NAVY

la the House of Commons recently, Mr. W. Hunt, Secretary of State for the Navy, while the naval estimates were under consideration, said -. “ I propose to lay down at Chatham another Agamemnon, following the type that commended itself the year before last. But I am bound to say I must deprecate criticism with regard to the ship that I propose to lay down, and which will be of a kind as yet unknown in any part of the world, but which has been much talked about, and has been at last forced upon me by that gallant officer who stands at the head of the veteran list of the Navy—l mean Sir George Sartorius —who has shown that although his age is great his mind is still youthful, and that he is willing to receive new ideas and able to inculcate them. (Hear, hear.) Well, the ship we propose to lay down is called a torpedo ram. I am not iu a position to give the exact design. A design has been prepared, but modifications are in contemplation, so that I cannot give it exactly or state the cost. But the cost, I take it, will be very considerably less than that of the ironclads which have recently been laid down, and I hope that as a weapon of offence it will prove very destructive indeed. I should be disposed to ask, even if the design were completed, that I might be excused from giving the particulars. (Hear, hear.) I know it is excessively difficult to keep any invention secret, and that when the work is going on in the dockyard it is next to impossible ; but while the design has not gone beyond the Admiralty, it is possible to keep it secret, at all events, to a certain extent, and I do not think we ought to let it become known to the whole world before we need. I may say generally that it is proposed this ram should carry armor, but not guns. Beyond that I hope the House will not expect me to go. This vessel must, of course, to a certain extent, he regarded as an experiment, and even supposing it to be a success, I could not propose it to the House as likely to supersede all other kinds of fighting ships, but only as a useful adjunct to a fleet in case of war. Probably it would not be desirable that it should he kept at sea for a long time, but I venture to think it will prove a very formidable weapon, and if it should prove a success, it may perhaps be regarded as a sort of rival to those monster ships with tremendous armor that we hear spoken of as likely to be built in some foreign ports.” milton’s house in Westminster. On Monday, March 5, the last of the numerous houses inhabited by John Milton was levelled to the ground. The house, which was situated in Petty France (now Queen Anne’s-gate), Westminster, originally overlooked the Green Park, the back of the building opening into York-street. Archer, in his “Vestiges of London,” says that “in it the greatest of poets passed the happiest and the saddest years of his life. When compelled by ill-health in 1G52 to resign the situation of Latin Secretary to the Privy Council, he removed from Scotland-yard to Petty France, where, in communion with the first scholars of the age, he lived for eight years, surrounded by all the moral worth of his time. Here his first wife died in giving birth to her fourth child, and Milton, shortly after her death, marrying again, here also lost, from a similar cause, his second wife, in twelve months after marriage. Lastly, it was in this house that he became totally blind.” In demolishing the house the stone tablet erected to his memory, and affixed to the wall by Jeremy Bentham, who afterwards occupied the next premises, has been carefully preserved. It is about two feet square, and bears the following inscription;— " Sacred to Milton, Prince of Poets.” It is said that when Bentham took visitors to view the house he compelled them to kneel before the slab. The mulberry tree planted by Milton, which was so severely scorched by the fire at Mr, Hankey’s, is said to be fairly recovered, and that gentleman, who is carrying out the work of demolition and the erection of colossal mansions on tho sites, is extremely anxious as to its welfare.— The Times;.