AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

Patea Mail, Volume II, Issue 113, 10 May 1876, Page 2

AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

. [Per Ringarooma at the-Bluff.] j MELBOURNE. A/ 'I . Governor Bowen, accompanied by four of the Ministry, has been paying i visit I to the western portion of the colony, fori the purpose of turning the first sod of the Preland railway. They met with a most; enthusiastic reception. : ; i Political matters still remain in abey-i ance, but there are signs of the coining: storm when Parliament meets on the 20th June. The Agent-Generalship question has been i decided by the re-appointment of Mr Mickle. ■ The Stevenson embroglio has only for a; time been settled. . The Government, after retaining their letters, for three weeks, returned them unopened but accompanied by ; a letter stating that the refusal of Stevenson to allow their letters to be opened in ; the presence of witnesses was prima facie evidence of their guilt, as 'they'must have something to conceal ; and at the same; time threatening to examine every packet, of theirs imported, with the view of per-; serially verifying the correctness of .their; entries.

It is expected that one of the results of the Brough Smythe inquiry will be the; abolition of the Mining Department alto-' getber. . i There has been a great dispute o v er the; will of David Nesbitt, better known as; “ Scotch Jock and, after some equity; proceedings, the matter then went to' a : jury for discussion. ; . .The settling in connection with the Randwick races lias resulted'so far satisfactorily* One section'"of the ring are, it is said, losers to the tune of -several thousands of pounds; having manfully stood to Richmond all through. A.T., the winner of, the Cup, is said to have drawn £20,000 in winnings for his backers. When Sullivan, the murderer, was brought up, he stated on affidavit .that he was possessed of one acre of town, and twenty acres of country land at .Wedderburn ; and that he had been domiciled in Victoria from 1845. He states that, for private reasons, he , does not ! intend to reside in Victoria. Cable communication with Australasia is now completely cut off by the breaking of no less than two of the cables forming the sub-marine line ; and as to the repairing, there is at present no vessel available for the Port Darwin and Java section. : It will perhaps be two or three weeks, or more,' before through communication will be restored.

Mr Andley Coote has made an offer to the Queensland Government to duplicate all the cables east of Singapore, and also the land lines. This will probably have to be done, and that at no very distant date;

EUROPE A N N E W S , It is rumoured that the French Government intend to annex the group of islands associated with the deaths of Bishop Patterson and Commodore Gooderiough. ; Captain Moresby; of H.M.S. Basiliskj has published a two-volume work on New Guinea, winch is a welcome, contribution to literature having reference to that island. . :! : .i ,1 The question of the cession of Gambia to the French has’ been,,(referred to a select committee. , j; ;. ; , East Suffolk Has returned Lieut.-Colonel Barne, a Conservative, Mr Broughton has been returned for Berkshire. Mr Denison, a Conservative, elected for Penford. At Horseham, Sir A. Gifford, Solicitor-General; has been defeated by 1 Mr Clifton Brown, a Liberal! A-;.;;; yid.v: I There has been-a discussion in the House of Lords on the subject of the chain cables used in ships in the Royal navy, suggested . by the failure of the - cables used during the voyage of the Seraphis.. i: . , . Four millions for Suez :Canal shares was granted without a, division. The heavy commission paid to Rothschild was severe! y : condemned by Mr Gladstone in a speech which was “ uncivil 'and suggestive, but lacked breadth” [whatever that- may mean,] ; . The Fugitive Slave question, the merits and demerits of the Martini-Henry rifle; army reform, and the loss of the Vanguard occupied the attention. of • Parliament.' . Morgan’s Burial Bill was also again brought forward. It was opposed by jibe Government, and defeated by a majority of 31. The Queen held Court in Buckingham;: Palace, and attended a concert in the Royal ""Albert Hall. ; Owing to the bereavement of the Duchess : of Edinburgh, the Court> have gone into mourning. The Duke has joined his ship, and the Duchess, will pass, a con-! siderable*portion of'the year in-Russia. Statue in memory of Prince Consort in Hyde Park was unveiled without ■ ceremony. y A scholarship was formed at Cambridge University as a tribute to the late Bishop Thirl well on the 28tb. the proprietors of the" World have apologised to Horsman for libels. Proceedings have been stopped. The trial of co-operative banks, started three months ago, have all collapsed. ■ It has been shown that the fractures to the direct United States Cable were wilfully occasioned. . Much excited feeling prevails about the running down of the Stratbolgde, by which 30 lives were lost. Six bodies only have been recovered. Two separate inquests have been held, at Deal and Poplar, at which verdicts of manslaughter against the Captain and officers of the Franconia

were . v returncdh The excuse given . was that..- they thought they were sinking: ahd required jail the boats for..themselves.’. ..••••: • The-'- Queen .--opened • the 5 wing of c tlie London , Hospital at East .The Queen’s reception was most gratifying ; the cheering was most hearty throughout; no disloyal cry was heard; the decorations, extending from the city eastward, were unusually effective, and some touching, incidents were told in connection with the Royal inspection of the Hospital wards. The Queen is expected to return from the Continent about the 20th April, to meet the Prince of Wales. A succession, of Courtly festivities are expected to follow, that event. Prince Leopold is travelling on the Continent, incognito as Baron Balmoral. : Several distinguished visitors are at present fin London. Don Carlos arrived - from Folkestdn on the 4th. The same: steamer brought over delegates from the; Municipality of Boulogne, The cheers’ with which they were greeted .were taken: as a demonstration in honor of Don Carlos, ; and during the time ho waited at. the; station dncl also in London he was bothcheered: and 'hissed. He is at present in London, and intends visiting Scotland. Lord Chief Justice Cockburn has been, presented with the freedom of the city. , John Douglas has-been appointed Colonial Secretary of Straits settlement. ' Cape advices'report a destructive fire atLittle Popo. Owing to the presence oflargo quantities of gunpowder there were numerous explosions. In one house 2000; kegs exploded, causing a shock like anearthquake ; 50 persons were killed. - Fire in a shipyard at Hull did immense damage to'buildings, and- destroyed a steamer. ■ ': 1 . 1

AI Festinog estate, quarries, seven men! were lately crushed to death beneath a mass of rock several tons, • Fourteen victims of milk poisoning at Eagiey, near Bolton, and several continue ill. , i For four weeks past most harrowing; floods have occurred at Hungary, and in' some parts of Moravia. Several districts! in Perth have been underwater for a fortnight. Hundreds of houses have collapsed. The Danube rose 24 feet above its normal .level, and 55 villages were submerged ; and in Madabury district GOO bouses were ■ flooded; Many took to the roofs and, escaped through attics. Very great dis-! tress prevails. : ; /. Lock-out of farm laborers in Essex. . In reference to the rifle contest /at' Philadelphia, ! the Irish team offer to withdraw the challenge, in favor of a team representing general national interests, if the Scotch team also consent to withdraw, challenge, but is is not likely that there will be any change, and the match will come off. Weston, American pedestrian, successfully achieved the feat of walking 275 miles .in 75 hours, against 0. Rowell, who was allowed to run or walk, and had fifty .miles-start, Weston finished within four niinutes'of the stipulated time. When the competitors had covered only 175 miles, about 6,000 persons were present, and great excitement prevailed. Official advices received confirming news of defeat of the Abysinians by the Egyptian troops. Obituary—Grand Duchess Mary, sister of the Czar, and aunt .of the Duchess of Edinburgh ; Dr Pennctlett, eminent musician ; Rev. Dr Spence, Congregational: Minister ; Samuel Bidnlpb, ciicketer of Nottingham ; Dr Milnean, Bishop of Calcutta ; Seymour Clark, formally manager of Great Northern Railway ; Thomas Livingston, son of the expoditioner, at Alexandra. ' CEYLON. April 8.Lord Lytton, .new Viceroy, arrived from' Bombay last evening. Lord Northbrook visited Madras .and Ceylon en route for homo. " : Speculation is rife about Rif-William Gregory’s successor. The names of Sir Arthur .Kennedy,-Sir Henry Barkley, and Sir Arthur Phayre, arc mentioned. Sir Hercules .Robinson will probably bo offered the Governorship of the Cape. A fire, at a coffee estate ut Ceylon destroyed £7ooo' worth of property.