GENERAL NEWS.

Southland Times, Issue 1344, 6 December 1870, Page 2

GENERAL NEWS.

' The Meat-preserving Companies' agentt are rushing trade. — - - - The subject) of national defence! is I' occupying attention,. " _' f>: " ;f ; •'•=■' x j Mars Waters, $ne; : srixtori baby farmer, has been sentenced bo death' and executed. ■ ""~ ~^~~r~7-.— r-p~~~~ r i The whaltf^«heryi lia> beehiia great , /Success this year. — -:- • The diamond fever is still raging at the Cape. Everybody is rushing to the •diggings. ' ■■ _'. ; ; Orders lhtar.eVbefen':[seiili-:tD^e;o|iE!stp: provide accommodation rfor, 3000 troops, and retain the stores now being shipped tp England., . , "~~ , | Sintjethe^proclamatlon (i of-tnel'ieacK] Republic the sympathies of the English 1 working-men haVe HneSre3 : ! roflifd r:: fd £ £he ' feiSghj; ([Laige meetings pj^syjnt>athiqerf g nave been held, at which the Irish national element was largelyitepreaeiited. [ | The/QueenrJ^T^wswted.to^he,,!!!^- ----[ ijiage df x We'Prfncßß3-i<ouisa d T^'tfce' J ,Marquis of J^Orii.l? Itiiaito; take place in ; 1 The eip'ortS^or^Fb6r wfeyts^e'nding - ] 6th September ... were to Victoria, csl7t^/decre^6 £178,900, decease- 'JB24;000 ■'? to Adei jaide, ,£39,300, decrease £26,200 ; to Qa^nß^lid > o dec^W--*l'S l OOtf^^aFirto ' .jiiverj deeroase £29,900 ; to r Tiiftan»j '■

decrease £26,300; to New Zealand, increase £35,600. Money is superabundant. Bank rate, 2\ per cent. Consols are recovering from their depression, 92£. The stock markets are dull. A warm controversy is rasing with respect to the cause of the loss of the Captain, more especially between Mr Reed and Admiral Elliot. It is attributed to the low bulwarks, the heavy sails, and to the turret not having been filed exactly in: the centre of gravity. Subscriptions have been raised for the widows and orphans of those who perished in the. Captain. Negotiations for the entry of the Southern States of Germany into the Confederation are proceeding favorably.; also, for proclaiming King William Emperor of Germany. Austria keeps clear of European complications.i J[Fhfi."3Jejefasjrath 'was opened Sept. 17, with a conciliatory speech by the Emperor. The Bohemian deputies are still absent. , The ex-Empress Eugenic and her son have removed from Hastings to Chislehurst.Kent. The health of both is improved. They are visited by many persons of distinction. The Emperor's horses have been sold at Tattersall's. The reported great' wealth of the Imperial family is emphatically denied. The Emperor, although much dejected, is in better health. The Queen is said to have sent a letter of condolence to Eugenic. = Marshal M'Mahon is at Wiesbaden; Count Palikao is at Wilhemshohe ; General TJhricb, "of Strasbourg, is at Tours ; General Beauregard is with the French army in the south ; Captain Hosier, The .Tunes commissioner, is with the-Prussian-army.- - - - ' -* •; The friends of colonial connection with England held a conference- at Liverpool on the 19th September, during the meeting of the British Association. Sir Stafford Northeote presided, and said the mischievous fallacy that the colonies were a source of weakness must be exploded;, also, that it was impossible to retain - that- connection . - Lord Sandon said they must eradicate the idea if possible, .otherwise it would break; up the British Empire. Political parties in Liverpool are united on that point. The American General Lee is dead. President Grant has; issued a' proclamation against enlistments in military expeditions. One hundred,. and. seventy persons perished 'in the L Cambria, whidh was wrecked on the Irish Coast. In America there are great rejoicings over the German successes. Arms and ammunition are being shipped from New York to France. A small quantity of Australian leather has been brought forward from September 15, for which there is a - steady, demand from last sales' rates tb id advance. Australian hides are in steady demand at full prices ; 4,000 hides sold. Australian' tallow in moderate demand. Sales less than for months back. Tfevr ZealantrFlax.— A large quantity, 5,500 bales, brought to the hammer, and 1,500 sold at an advance. The copper market is in a dormant condition ; Australian, £70 10s. The following is a summary of Irish events: — The news of the late battles gave rise to a riot in Enniskillen between the French And Prussian partisans. Several persons were seriously injured, and the town being in a disturbed state the military were held in readiness to suppress any acts of violence. A discovery of arms has been made at Cork, which threatens to disclose a regularly organised plot, one of the objects of which appears to have been the sacking of the premises of. the Bank of Ireland. Affairs seem very unsettled, in the sister isle, and tb6 Fenians take occasion to manifest their hostility to the Tuling powers in every possible way. French reverses have led to meetings in which the Fenian element has largely prevailed. Although the avowed object of these meetings has been to express sympathy with the French on their reverses, there were those who were not sorry tb have a slap at England for not lending material aid to her old ally. Indeed the Fenian current is observable throughout the whole stream of evils which are continually cropping up in connection with the political and social infereMs'pf'JTeliana.vJPlacaras have been posted on the walls of Dublin calling for active help in the shape of recruits for an Irish Ambulance -Corps to- be devoted exclusively to the use of the French wounded. - The call ,met, with a ready response. "We are told that the Fenian and pro-Fenian party are of opinion that the French Eepublic will favor their enterprise, and are loud in their support of it. . , , . The following'^.particu^rji of the Empress Eugenie's escape from France to England in an English gentleman's yacht are extracted from a private letter received by this mail. It is dated from England, l7th_Septembei j—" .Our family have had UteirTsmall sharV in the general excitement. My cousin, Sir John Burgoyne, was the happy means of saving the poor Empress, who, after persecutions innumerable, got. to Danville, near Trouville, in an open cart. John was waiting with his yacht at the .latter place to bring Lady Burgoyne over (she, as you knpw, had been.travellingin Switzerland), and they were to Sail on' the next day (Tuesday), tDe Qt^ September. On the morning of Monday a gentleman called, and said he wished to speak to Sir John. "When he entered he said, " I speak to an English gentleman ; if .you cannot ?accede to my request, grfe me your word, to keep what I ask you a secret." John said * TeVJThejQ *b e Q*^ er t^d. him that the Empress Eagenie^Was then in sTrouville, having escaped, without any luggage, quite alone, in aruopen. market cart, in which she had spent two days and a night — that the place was swarming with Republican spies, and that she did not know how to get out of ' the country — would Sir John take her? Of course he

gave an affirmative answer, and she went on board at once, but Sir John was too wise to hurry his departure. He did not sail till the hour originally fixed, and then, with the British -ensign lying,-- and in charge of a French pilot, the little 45-ton cutter Gazelle started on her voyage. For 30 miles they had a fair wind, and then they were caught in a tremendous storm, but notwithstanding, the little yacht (though larger ships were lost in numbers) happily weathered the gale, and arrived safely, after passing two days and nights at sea, at Hyde." As all ordinary means of communication with Paris are entirely suspended, a "balloon mail" has been established by enterprising aeronauts,' and is fulfilling its duties admirably. The prevailing east "wind has made the task easier. One balloonist describes. - his sensations at seeing telescopes and guns pointed at him, and feeling the quivering of the air as a cannon sent its heavy shot aloft, but he escaped as many others have done. "We cannot tell how many balloons have cbllapsed— one at least has been seen to fall suddenly, but many have been simply trusted to the chance currents of the air, to fall as may happen, with the request that anyone picking up the letters will carry them to the nearest post-ofiice. As yet no messenger has succeeded in returning~to~PaHOyTb!s~aerial road ; the" space is too circumscribed to encourage the hope of a safe descent, but an attempt will shortly be made to enter over the heads of the Germans. We have dates from China to the llth Oct.: — A typhoon occurred at Hong Kong on the 26th September, and much damage was done, to property and life. The foreign shipping was exempt from -disaster. The Chinese are collecting troops inthe; north, and plaeingguns on the' Taku forts, preparing for war.. The expulsion of foreigners is talked of. : . A Christian chapel- at Satishar has : been; destroyed: by the Chinese, but is to be rebuilt/ Prince Kung has not been assassinated, as reported. There has been street fighting -in Yokohama • between^ French; and- Prussian ; sailors. Wright, who" defrauded Messrs- Bright Bros., is in gaol at Hong Kong. Obituary.r-Sir H. ; Berney Murray Dunlop; Mr W; E< E. . Erskine, Sir Edward For Young, Mr Dennistoun, exM.P., for ; Glasgow ; Sir Geb. Burrand (by drowning, at Lyme Eegis) ; Arthur Way, ex-M.P. for Bath j. and the wife of the Eev. Mr Punshon. . :