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SUMMARY FOR EUROPE AND AMERICA.

There is not much of importance to note in Provincial politics this month. One or two seats in the Council are still vacant, but very little interest has as yet been evinced in the elections. Mr Tolmie has been returned by a large majority for the Peninsula. This gentleman, it will be remembered, has more than once held the office of Deputy-Superintendent, and is largely interested in pastoral property. His opponents were Mr -Robertson, a local settler of long standing, and Mr Stephen Hutchison. The meeting of the Council is announced for the 30th inat. i Mr "Vogel's negotiations with the Victorian Government regarding the San Francisco mail service have formed the chief topic of interest afforded by the doings of the General G-overnment during the last month. The arrangements which he has succeeded in concluding with Mr Duffy have not been made public, but they are generally understood to comprise the following conditions : — Melbourne to be the terminus of the line ; Auckland to be the New Zealand port of arrival and final departure ; the mail steamer to proceed direct to Melbourne after its arrival at Auckland, but on its return voyage to call at Port Chalmers, and collect the mails along the coast, and finally leave New Zealand from Auckland ; the Victorian share of the subsidy to be £25,000. These arrangements are evidently capable of being greatly improved, and modifications will probably be made in any scheme that may have been agreed on when the question conies before the

respective Legislatures ; but should this account of the results of Mr Vogel's negotiations be substantially correct, we believe the public will be disposed to consider them on the whole satisfactory. The advantages r>f the Sail Francisco service to New Zealand are well understood and appreciated here, and its discontinuance would be looked on as a public loss. At the same- time, it was felt that the expense, amounting to upwards of £60,000 per annum, was very heavy, and ought not to be exclusively borne by this colony, while the advantages of the line were snared to a considerable extent by both Victoria and New South Wales. The latter colony has hitherto declined to contribute anything, but now that our Victorian neighbors are interested in the line, it is probable that New South Wales will also be ultimately included in the arrangements. Anything that tends to reduce the cost and secure the permanence of this service, even at the loss | of dignity involved in having the terminus elsewhere than in New Zealand, will be looked on as an advantage by all sensible people. The survey of the Mataura Railway j has been completed, plans and estimates have been prepared, and the engineer, Mr Brunton, has taken them up to Wellington, with the view, it is understood, of obtaining an offer for its construction from Mr Brogden. Beyond this we have no definite information as yet. It is very generally desired that the construction of this line should be commenced without delay, for, to judge by the experience of last winter, the time is fast approaching when all access to the town by the East Koad will be impossible. The exceptionally dry wesibher which has prevailed up to the present time, has hitherto kept the surface in fair condition ; but it is evident that as soon as the wet weather sets in, it will speedily become all but impassable. It is however to be doubted whether even in the event of the railway works being commenced at once, sufficient progress could now be made to render any portion of the line available for traffic before next summer. . Next to the Mataura Hue, that to Kingston excites the greatest interest in this district ; many indeed consider that its completion would prove of far more immediatebenefit thaii the other. Of the intentions of the G-ove.rnment with regard to it, we know nothing further than that the survey of a portion of it is to be commenced immediately. Some dissatisfaction has been expressed at the slow progress made in c irrying out the public works and immigration policy of the Government, each district naturally supposing that its particular claims ought to have the precedence. It appears from a circular which Mr Ormond, the Minister of Public Works in the North Island, addressed to the Superintendents of the various Provinces lately, that the introduction of " Chinese cheap labor," for railway and other purposes, bad at least been discussed in the Executive. The storm of indignation which the bare idea raised among the laboring classes was sufficient to produce an emphatic disclaimer on the part of the Government that any such idea had ever been seriously entertained at all ; the circular it seems was only for the purpose of ascertaining the " state of feeling" in the various provinces on the subject. If this were really all that was intended, there id no possibility of mistaking the definite character of the answer the public has returned. 1 Our relations with the Maoris continue pacific. The Maori prisoners, lately rebels of Tito Kowaru's following, who have been for the last? two years incarcerated at Dunediu, were released the other day with due formality by the Native Minister, and permitted to return to the North Island. The very satisfactory accounts received by the last two mails of the state of the* | London market for wool and preserved meats, have had a most cheering effect. The maintenance of the rise in prices, and the absence of any accumulation of stocks of both these two articles, has led to a greater feeling of confidence than previously existed, and station properties are now in demand as investments at a marked advance in value within the last two or three months. The present clip is understood to have turned out very satisfactory, both in quantity and quality. The second wool ship of the season, the Chx'istian M'Ausland, has just cleared out for London with a large cargo, and is expected to sail this afternoon. The new Meat Preserving Company at Winton, established by the enterprise of the runholders, has commenced operations, and the Woodlands establishment is in full swing Pears have occasionally been expressed that the supply of fat stock would prove insufficient to keep even one establishment employed, but up to the present time no deficiency has been discovered. The facilities this additional outlet for stock affords for those who are desirous to improve the quality of their flocks and herds, have not been overlooked by our sheep and cattle farmers ; and there is every reason to believe that year by year a great improvement is taking place in this respect throughout the Province, and indeed in New Zealand as a whole. In Invercargill, several new brick buildings are being erected, and more are in contemplation. The ravages of the recent fire in Tay street have already been to some extent repaired, and as frequently happens in such cases, ifc is not unlikely that the ultimate results of this calamity will be a benefit to the town. The foundations of a new High School have just been laid. The building promises to be quite an ornament to the town, and the educational advantages afforded by such an institution will be of the highest value. Our young corporation has just succeeded in collecting the greater part of its. first rate, which, calculated at 2s in the pound, reaches to tlie:respeetableamount of more than a thousand pounds. The j results of the efforts of our councillors to I improve the condition of the streets are

'pleasingly apparent in various directions, and promise well for the future. Some anxiety was fell; when the character of the American demands in I the Alabama ease was first made known ; | but fcbj'3 feeling has gradually subsided, and the more that comes to light of the real temper of the two nations the more does a peaceful solution .of the dispute seem probable. "We are glad to see that the news juat . arrived by the San Francisco mail confirms this view.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ST18720409.2.8.1

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Southland Times, Issue 1562, 9 April 1872, Page 2

Word count
Tapeke kupu
1,346

SUMMARY FOR EUROPE AND AMERICA. Southland Times, Issue 1562, 9 April 1872, Page 2

SUMMARY FOR EUROPE AND AMERICA. Southland Times, Issue 1562, 9 April 1872, Page 2

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