ENGLISH NEWS.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1299, 5 June 1880, Page 2

ENGLISH NEWS.

(REUTER'S SPECIAL SUMMARY, YIA MEL- : : BO.OKNE.)'.. L ; .:. Bombay, May 7. A sharp action took place near Ghuznee on April: 19, .resulting in .the complete defeat of: tjie enetny, numbering about 30,000, by General. Stewart's army. The (actionjCommenced at.9,o'clock.Fire, was . opened at 150 yards' range .by the Horse Artillery of General _ Hughes' Brigade, consisting of the 59th Regiment and. two nativeregiments.., T.hey formed up /for attack, and? advanced to storm the height,; enemy, without, waiting their; arrival, rushed do wn the ravine and charged up.to the advancing troops with reckless daring, when they were shot down ini hundreds. . ' 'They then swarmed round,! and attacked on three sides the British 'position: with, such force that the infantry on; the, right had tp .retire some distance' before they: could make a firm stand. .The; artillery opened/at 64= yards. -Not. until then-.-.was the advance of the enemy checked. The;enemy's. cavalry met ours half " : "way in the charge,,and a; desperate conflict-ensued; At half-past 10j' Svhen General -Barker's Brigade ar-j rived, the battle was. over, and the enemy in full retreat. Their loss was enormous, 1200 being' counted dead, besides large numbers "of wounded. . Our ..casualties were 17 killed and 112 wounded.The army entered.Ghuznee on the 20th, without opposition. . . .. •

. Another ,action, was fouglit near Ghuz» -nee on the 22nd, - wiieu Oolonel Jenkins' •force was at daybreak by large numbers. He had only 1000 men. and two guns, but held his own to the left of the enemy; -until the arrival of Generals M'Pherson and Hugh Qough with, force? from Shurpur.. -The action lasted until halfrpast 2, and was. a complete success. The Afghan loss was heavy. Our casualties were 7 killed and 34 Wounded.

General Stewart's force, also General Ross', have arrived at Cabul.

The fiew'Parliament will 353 •Liberals;. 237-Conservatives, and 61 Home Rulers. The Liberals have a majority of 55 against the Some Rulers and Qonserr vatives combined. It is doubtful how far the /Home,; Rulers will vote ; on any. given issue.'; Twenty-five have acknowledged Mr. .Parnell as leader, but thirty-four follow Mr. Shaw, the leader: of the more moderate party. The Liberal position is stronger than at any time since the passing of the Reform. Bill in 1832. Only ,two of thirty members returned by Wales are Conservatives, Sootlahd returns fiftytwo Liberals i and seven Conservatives ; Ireland, . twenty-live Conservatives, fifteen Liberals, and sixty-one Home Rulers. Mr. A. M. Sullivan, returned for Louth, declared his intention of resigning his seat in consequence of Mr. Callan being chosen his colleague. Thb districts in England, representing aom•mercial, mining, and manufacturing interests generally pronounced against the .Government- -The towns' of Brighton, Southampton, Reading, Bath, Colchester, arid-Norwich, followed the same course. The metropolitan , boroughs returned 14 Liberals , and 8 ConservatiAes; counties south of Suffolk, Nor|olW, returned pi Liberals and 99 Conservatives-; th'e Midland Counties, 15 Liberals and 57 Conservatives ; and the Northern, 17 Conservatives. The following day Ijaiil Beaconsfield had an audience c{ the and then intinaated Wa desire tp rWsijgn.'' At a Cbbiriet Cduiicil Ministers decided- 1 -to 'resign i;: as sooiv ' -possible. The Queen then summoned the Marqiiis .pfiMartingtOjn.; anif JSari.- Granville, They drove" to the residence; of'"Mr,'"Gladstoine, where.aroenferenoe,of. Liberal leaders "wab held. ""'TTi'e' 1 Liberal jpiapers * demanded the premiership for Mir. Gladstone, and some expressed dissatisfaction' that 'Mr;' Gladstone was not.,first, sent for. P-üblib .opinion „jsag; generally; thati, considering tlie important part played by Mr. Gladstone in the overthrow of the Beaconsfield . Cabinet, .the Premiership qould not wgll .be pliaced in other hands. ! The Bagot will case has been carapromised. ;i-: . ':.03 The., Home Government fully, approved of the suggestion made by the Government of India that an. officer acquainted with the- working of • tho immigration system should periodically visit .British -Cologies,; aiid -report: on the state of the jcoojiss .residing, there. 7 : , jt iße St fot traffic-next kTituriin j'^h^h -iX ; Urge iri» crease of trade- between- Germanyand >; y ' Emigratiq.n , from the,, .British Isles is Lenojmpusly'incre bnt principally t<o ; |-tb,e Jjqitea st»tes. thousand emigrants have sailed during !tKep,st gone to iii, grea,t,,onj ; iii t&e'same Europi. Two thousand "lemigrants sailed froin jigring the last three months.

The Royal Geographical Society has resolved to award one of the gold medalg for 1880 to Ernest Giles, tfee 4Mstralia,a explorer,

Mr! John Secretary'to the Pdsfc Office, has beeii created a K. 0.8 .( Mr. Stevenson Ai Blackwood] succeeding him, has been appointed Commander of tho Bath. "

Sir Garnet Wolseley has assumed tho post of Quarter-master of the Horso .Guards.

'Sir J. Lubbock will be asked 'to" represent London-University in place of Mr. Lowe. - 1 : .

Sir : A.' Guinness, Sit L. Park; Sir J,. Guest, Bailie Cochrane, Lord Edwin Hill, and Mr. Trevor, have received peerages. Lord Skelinorsdalo and Lord Somcrhavo ' received earldoms. .. He"hry Alii off, of Hindlip Hall, Wprcester, has been created a baronet. Algernon Bathwick, editor and proprietor of the Morning Post, has. been ; knighted. Mr. i Pope Hennessey*'; Governor of: Hong Kong, has been apt pointed a IC.C.M.G. , ; The German Parliament yesterday commenced a.discussion on the first reading of a Bill-i granting State'support 'to the German South Sea Trading Company m< (Samoa Island. , | A note frbm the' Greek Government • calls the attention of the Powers to tho alarming increase of ibrigandage;. in Thessaly. .. . Herr Von Hodowitz, a, protcgi?. and, staunch adherent of Prince Bismarck, dctSf" as German. Ambassador at Pans during' the absence of Prince fiohenlohe.

(SPECIAL TO MELBOURNE AGE.) ILoNpoN, May 26. It is stated, on what, is believed to bo good authority, .that'.Her Majesty purposes paying a visit to Ireland in the autumn. Nearly 2(F years have elapßed; since her lakt arid only visit, she, in company with the Prince Consort, shortly before his death in 1861, having made a. tour through tlie country. -

(SPECIAL TO MELBOURNE ARGUS;) :t , •i, London, May 2G. The Radicals are greatly displeased 4s' the action. of Sir Bartle iTrere as (jroveynor of the Cape of Good Hope, and have signed a' round robin 'to. iridilce Mr. Gladstone to limit Sir Bartle's term of office;