NEWS BY THE MAIL

Southland Times, Issue 1243, 26 April 1870, Page 3

NEWS BY THE MAIL

The Australian January mails via Marseilles were delivered on the 20th, •via Brindisi on the 18th February, and via Southampton on the 25th. The released Fenian prisoners were entertained at a dinner in Dublin. Amongst the company were the sons of O'Donovan Rossa and Luby. Bernal Osborne has been returned for "Waterford, when disturbances took place. A great billiard match took place on 11th February between John Roberts, the champion, and Cook, which was won by the latter. Great complaints are made of the -delay of telegraphic messages since the Government took up the service. The National Emigration League sent a deputation to urge the Government to grant assistance for that object, but Mr Gladstone declined to commit the Government to* any steps. The British Colonial Emigration Society, who have collected £6,000, think people will not voluntarily subscribe until it is clear that the Government will not aid. Dr Temple, the new Bishop of Exeter, has announced that his essay in the book of " Essays and Reviews" will not appear again with his consent. A number of private measures have T>een introduced into Parliament, and amongst them bills relating to the Disestablishment of the Welsh Church, Clerical Disabilities, Electoral Disabilities for Women, Ballot Bill, Marriage with a Deceased Wife's Sister, Payment of Members, a Bill to release Bishops from attendance in the House of Lords. The debating power has been much : weakened, owing to many of the leading men in Parliament having been absent through illness, including Mr Bright, Lord Cairns, Mr Disraeli, and the AttorneyGeneral. Mr Bruce, 'Mr Gladstone, and Mr Walpole have all been indisposed. A comprehensive scheme has been introduced by the Lord Chancellor for reorganising the higher courts of law, and promoting a final court of appeal. Lord Derby again declines the leadership of the Conservative party in the Bouse of Lords. Mr Odger, the Liberal candidate has been defeated at South wark by Colonel Beresford, Conservative. Leonard Edmunds intends to prosecute Mr Gladstone for branding him as a public • defaulter. The Government intend to prosecute the father of the Welsh fasting girl and the watch committee. Terrible weather has prevailed during the month. Communication has been much interfered with through the country. The telegraph wires have been broken down and the rivers choked with ice. The Channel steamers ceased running, and the railway trains were delayed. Many deaths have occurred through the excessive cold. Similar inclemencies have been felt all through Europe. The jury were again divided on the trial of Barrett for the attempted murder of Captain Lambert. In France the Ollivier Ministry is progressing and working a radical reform. ■ - "piiCßc rebnfidence. Don Carlos has been arrested at Lyons for attempting to foster an insurrection in the northern provinces of Spain. He has since retired to Switzerland. In the Roman Council the Opposition appears to grow in strength and boldness. The French Government has warned the Sacred College that there must be a speedy termination to the military protection. Commercial matters are brisk. A good, demand for money exists, and full bank rates are maintained. Discount, 3 per cent, j Consols, 92i to 92f . The first series of wool sales commenced on the 17th February, when 37,772 bales were catalogued, including 13,103 bales Port Phillip, 5,951 Sydney, 3,042 Adelaide, 400 Tasmania, 1,690 New Zealand, 13,035 Cape, and 551 sundries. The tendency was firm at first, and became more marked till the price rose a penny higher for all descriptions. On the 10th the London wool sales closed. The market was weaker. A Naturalisation Bill to conform with that of America has been introduced and read a second time in the House of Lords. Further agrarian outrages are reported in Ireland. The shareholders of the Albert Insurance Company have adopted Thompson's plan for reconstruction, subject to certain modifications in details. A permanent committee has been formed and a prospectus of a new Albert Company issued. The War Office has appointed a committee to consider the question of a non-purchase corps. In France in the Corps Legislatif, M. Ollivier announced his intention of preserving the strictest neutrality in political matters, and renounced the errors of the past system of administration. The speech caused great commotion, and on the light of the Chamber Penard said it was impossible to support the Cabinet. Nevertheless the Chamber adopted M. OUivier's views by a majority. A scheme has been submitted to the {Ecumenical Council for defining the dogma of infallibility. The Papal Government has been invited by France to admit their representatives. The North German Parliament has 'Toted the abolition of capital punishment, notwithstanding the strenuous opposition of Count Bismarck. . In Canada the loyal settlers of the Red . River have raised a force of 500 men and • two guns against the insurgents. Riel •i threatens to bombard the town if attacked. The attempt of Schultze to overthrow the ■ Insurgent Government, has failed, the settlers not supporting him. The • majority of Schultze's forces were captured, but he escaped. ■ - Ah order of merit has been conferred upon Adelioa Patti by the Emperor of

Broadhi-ai of Sheffield notoriety, has returned from America. He could not obtain employment in the United States, owing to his infamous notoriety in connexion with trades' unions. The Hon. David Plunkett has been returned for the Dublin CTniversity, and Mr Dowse, the new Irish Solicitor-G-eneral, as member for Londonderry. Mr Munster has been elected for Mallow. A committee of Parliament recommended, by a majority of one, the system of vote by ballot. Dr Joshua Hughes has been designated Bishop of St Asaph, and Archdeacon Durnford, Bishop of Chichester. The obituary of the month includes the Bishops of Chichester and Kilmore, I Dr Stevens, Dean of Rochester ; Due de \ Broglio, Major- General G-ordon, Lieu- | tenant- General Windham, Sir Hugh j Bates Marshal, Sir James Valentine, j Sheriff of London ; George Hogarth, ; Press writer; and Baron Nathaniel Rothschild, of Paris. The Count de Montalembert is dead ; also, Mr Berkeley, M.P. ; Marchioness Tweedale, General Lister, Sir H. Light, Admiral S. Leeke, Mr H. Anson Burlinghame, Lieutenant. General Bioomfield, Sir J. W. Gordon, Sir Wm. G. Colebrook, Dr John Bright, Lady Blphinstone, Sir J. H. Cooke, Key. C. Townsend. M. Bochefort has been arrested, and is now in prison, for publishing seditious articles in the Marseillaise. M. Roche- j fort was captured as he was entering a public lecture-hall; His friends, led on by Gustave Florence, attempted to raise an insurrection. Some trivial barricades were erected, and a little street fighting occurred, but there was nothing of importance came of it. Paria is now tranquil. The preliminaries of the proceedings ! in the trial of Prince Buonaparte have j been completed. He will be tried at Tours by the High Court of Justice. The Ollivier Government have announced the abolition of the system of official candidature. There was a lively debate took place thereupon. The Chamber of the North German Parliament was opened on the 14th. An important debate took place yesterday on the entry of Baden into the i North German Confederation. The Con - servative party and Count Bismarck opposed the motion, which was finally withdrawn. The (Ecumenical Council continues its sittings. The question of the infallibility of the Pope is not yet settled, and it is probable that the* council will adjourn. The Saxon Chambers closed yesterday. The final obsequies in memory of Peabody were held on the Bth February. Prince Arthur was present during the ceremonies, which were very grand. The Canadian Parliament was opened by Sir J. Young on the 15th February. According to the latest cable news, four Mississippi members attended the House of Representatives. The Senate passed a resolution declaring any further inflation of the currency as inexpedient. The Duke of Richmond has accepted the leadership of the Conservative party in the House of Lords. Tallerman's first public sale of 100 tons - -ofAuafcrfllia.il meats has been" held. All was sold at satisfactory prices. The Central Queensland Meat-preserv-ing Company has been projected, with a capital of £45,000. Victorian Debentures, 114 ;New South Wales, 101 ; New Zealand Consolidated, 98 ; Adelaide, 111. The Due de Montpensier, passing ; through Madrid on his way to the Baths, had an interview with. Prim, Topete, and the Captain- General. Marfori has been banished from Isabella's household. The er-Queen promises abdication, pro : yided the candidature of Prince Alpnonso is admitted. A duel has taken place at Madrid between Prince Henry oi Bourbon and the Duke de Montpensier. The Prince was shot dead. In the House of Lords a bill was introduced for the preservation of peace in Ireland by Lord Fortescue. In its provisions it conforms with the announcement made by Mr Gladstone, by which power is granted to the Lord Lieutenant to seize J seditious newspapers and to suspend the Habeaa Corpus Act. A collision has taken place in the Channel, resulting in the sinking of the Jersey mail steamer Normandy. Arrivals. — Ben Nevia, J.M. Joshua, Larnack, Clanranald, Moravian, Bucton Castle, Niagara, Palm Tree, Holmsdale, Great Victoria, Aboukir, and Western Empire. Carlist agitations lately prevailed in the northern provinces, and a fresh rising appeared imminent. On the 23rd Don Carlos was arrested at Lyons, when proceeding to direct the insurrection. He has since retired to Switzerland. There haß been a great outcry in London against the metropolitan cabs. The licenses have been abolished, but no reform has been initiated. The new law as affecting the public is a dead letter. The cabowners a,re too strong for the Home j Secretary. j Mr Grant Duff has been elected rector of the University of Aberdeen. Amongst the bequests is one of £2,000 to the Catholic charities of Dublin, by j Mr Chas. Egan. Another of £40,000 has been made to the Marquis of Bute by an admiring Welshman. Lord Dudley offers £10,000 for the completion of the choir of Worcester Cathedral. Decisions have been given against the Rev. Messrs Wix and Purchas for ritualistic practices. Both were condemned in costs. j The total cost of the last general election, according to the official returns, was £1,382,252. Formidable strikes amongst the colliers and iron workers continue. Twenty-three of the Thorncliffe rioters have been committed for trial. A Mexican general has been expelled from Cuba.

The or#m of the Canadian Government at Toronto states that the Government is inclined to grant the Eed River settlers all just claims, but that it will repress any attempt at insurrection, or any movement in favor of an annexation to the United States. During the judieal inquiry into the case of Prince Pierre Bonaparte, proofs were given of the assault of which he complains, and it would appear as if he had shot Victor Noir only after having been attacked. In the case of Humbert, the murderer of Dr. C. James, the jury brought in a verdict of " Guilty." The prisoner was sentenced to penal servitude for life. According to the Moniteur de V Empire, there will be in the army for 1870 a reduction of 15,000 men. A new postal convention between France and England reduces to 3d. the postage fee for simple letters. It provides for the exchange of money orders to the I amount of £10. ' By decree, dated February 5, M. Leverrier was relieved of his commission of director of the Observatory of Paris. A canal through the Isthmus of Corinth is to be cut by a French company.. . . „ According to contract, the piercing ot the Isthmus of Corinth is to be completed within 18 months. The Neve Frei Press learns that Count de Beust, together with the Ministers of other great powers, is preparing a manifesto protesting against "the " syllabus "of the Pope. In the Senate at Washington, General Sherman moved a resolution to recognise the Cuban insurgents as belligerents. The motion was referred to the Committee for Foreign Affairs. A foreign vessel carrying arms for the insurgents has been captured. There is an open insurrection in Mexico. Five states rose up against President Juarez. A battle was fought near San Luis Potosi, and was won by the insurgents, who captured 20 cannon. Yellow fever is raging at Port-au-Prince. All the French vessels have been compelled to leave the coast. Political affairs are still uncertain. The Austrian Ministry has been reconstructed. Count Beust has issued a manifesto against the Papal Syllabus. A deputation of 185 English mayors' wives visited Brussels to present a* silver casket, containing an address, to the Belgian King. Colonel Maude, C.8., V.C., recently made a proposition to Earl Granville, to raise a Volunteer Force for New Zealand, but has been referred by his Lordship to the commissioners, Messrs Bell and Featherstone, who are now staying at Charing Cross hotel, and who, it is understood, have not been able to persuade the Colonial Secretary to alter his decision in respect to the permanent withdrawal of troops from the colony and other matters. In reference to the colonial debate in the Lords, The Times says that Lord Carnarvon has rendered a public service in calling attention to the relations between the colonies and the mother country, but the chief good effected was in eliciting the fact that the Colonial Office was not very serious in giving an offensive answer. It was a matter for discussion and for conference of opinions. The present system, by its very pliancy, produces mutual friendliness, which rigid political bonds might perhaps stifle. The " blue book " containing the correspondence of Lord Granville with the colonies, respecting the conference proposed to be held in London, is published. He strongly disapproved of the project. In a debate in the Lords on the state of affairs in New Zealand, Lord Granville defined the Colonial policy of the G-overn-ment. He declined to allow the 18th Regiment to remain. • In the House of Commons Mr Childers, replying to a question by Colonel Taylor, stated that the Australian squadron was sufficiently strong to carry out the recommendations made by Lord Belmore for checking irregularities in the deportation of South Sea Islanders ; nevertheless, it was determined to detach additional ships for the express purpose of repressing these irregularities. On the 2nd a long debate took place on the motion of Mr Torrens, declaring the expediency of devising measures to facilitate emigration. Mr Gladstone explained the objections there were to such a measure, but said he was ready to entertain any practical proposal likely to be beneficial. The motion was rejected by a majority of 153 to 48. In the House of Commons the second reading of the Irish Land Bill was passed by a majority of 442 against 11. In the debate on the 12th, Mr Disraeli severely criticised the bill. Mr Gladstone announced the introduction of a bill for the better preservation of life and property in Ireland. This act provides that in certain specified districts summary trial and punishment shall take place of all persons found possessing arms or gunpowder without the intervention of a jury. It is proposed to exercise special control over all persons out after a certain hour at night, and to afford compensation to all victims of outrages levied on the district in which they occur. The bill authorises special repression of all offences committed by the Press. A deputation of Irish members, urging the extension of the tenant right that had been granted to the western district to' other provinces, waited upon Mr Gladstone, who promised to give the matter careful consideration. In the House of Commons Mr Cardwell submitted the Army Estimates, and stated that .the troops in the colonies would be reduced to 23,561. He stated that it had been decided to organise a corps of artisans in every regiment, who should manufacture all the articles necessary for the troops. He also introduced a bill for the abolition of the ranks of cornet and ensign, which causedjmuch dissatisfaction, and the bill was afterwards withdrawn. On the 12th February Sir C. J. Lawrence gave notice that on an early day he

would ask the Colonial Secretary whether free emigration to Western Australia had been revived, and whether in view of the present widespread distress, Government had determined to send out free emigrants. On the 14th, Mr Leatham moved for leave to bring in a bill to legalise vote by ballot, which was granted. On the 20th, Mr Monseil, in replying to Mr Maguire, said that as yet Government had received no news respecting New Zealand; that the last accounts were satisfactory ; and that the papers were in the hands of the printers, and would shortly be published. In the House of Lords, on the 14th, Lord Carnarvon called attention to the present relations between England and the colonies, deploring their present position, and reviewing various proposals for effecting a closer union. He refused to accept the * conclusion that no improvement was possible, and declared ,' jwe were drifting into a severance. He j I regretted that the usual courtesy of Lord j I Granville should have deserted him in his j recent colonial despatches, and urged G-overnment to come to an understanding on the subject. He believed the question was one chiefly of military organisation, and strongly condemned the policy of withdrawing the troops. They were not only a nucleus around which the colonial forces might form, but also a symbol of the unity of the Empire. Lord G-ranville replied, defending the Government, and denied that any jealousy existed between the colonies and. the mother country. He pointed out that a select committee of the House had recommended the leaving of the colonies to self-govern-ment, and that they should provide for their own defence. The true policy was to keep the troops at home, relying on the navy for the defence of the colonies. Earl Derby, who spoke for the first time in the House of Lords, said that however satisfactory the present relations might be, it would be well to be provided against emergencies. The estimates for the Army and Navy were issued this week. The total amount required for the service of the latter is £9,250,530, showing a decrease of £746,111, principally effected in the victualling and clothing departments, dockyards, steam machinery, and ships built by contract. The total estimates for the army is £12,975,000. There is a reduction of 12,308 men for the present year. The Mordaunt divorce trial has attracted considerable attention during the past month. The issue put to the jury on the trial was to determine whether Lady Mordaunt was in a fit state of mind to instruct her solicitors at the time citation was delivered. There is no doubt that she is evidently insane at present. Adultery was charged against Viscount Cole, Sir Frederick Johnstone, Bart., Colonel Farquhar, and the Prince of Wales. The Prince and Sir Fred. Johnstone were examined on oath as witnesses, and both denied any improprieties. The learned Judge left the case to the jury, who found that the respondent (Lady Mordaunt) was insane at the time the citation was delivered. A serious political crisis has occurred in Bavaria. Prussian intervention will possibly settle the difficulty. The Ministry of Baden has submitted a measure for the separation of church and state. The relations between the Sultan and the Khedive are now on the best possible footing.