ENGLISH NEWS.

Temuka Leader, Volume I, Issue 106, 21 December 1878, Page 2

ENGLISH NEWS.

(Per San Francisco Mail.)

A striking feature of the general summary of the English news as telegraphed to the morning papers under date Nov. 5, is the long list of commercial failures. Eight firms are repork-d to have failed whose liabilities amount in the aggregate to half a million, and three others are named whose liabilities are not staged. Another feature is the numerous cases of manufacturers reducing hours of bibour, of wages, or both. . In Kent and Sußeex

agricultural labourers \vre threatening to strike, "and some were already out. The depression in manufacturing industries was chiefly in the cotton trade, but the iron trade -wns also depressed. Other industries were of course suffering in consequence. The railway companies in m .cotton districts were retrenching their expenditure on account of the stagnation in trade. A large proportion of the mills were working short time; and many were stopped' altogether.*' The labourers of Kent and Sussex who 'were out proposed to' emigrate in'a body to Canada, the Government of the Dominion having made an offer to sell a block of land ,to them. In view of this painful news the rest of the summary seems of little -importance. There is the "usual tale of collisions on the sea aud on the railway. The Fifeshire from Madras to Liverpool was lost at sea with 22 of the crew. A revenue -cutter was'run into by a steamer. and 17 men were drowned. Late 'telegraphic advices state that the Home Secretary admits that some distress exists in the country, but asserts that the reports concerning it were exaggerated. Other commercial failuresare reported. Amongst these the "We'stfof England Bank's deficit is L 350,000. i I An interesting topic is of course the attitude of Russia. The Russian Press issaid to be extremely hostile to England r and some of its utterances cited, 'uphold the assertion. Several thousand officers and soldiers have been permitted to volunteer and start for Afghanistan. „ , rg »."i Russian relations with Turkey are no- - whit more satisfactory. Both Russian and English papers declare that the Berlin Treaty cannot be carried out. A revision of the treaty is seriously proposed. In the meantime Russia is strengthening her position in Turkev, and intends to rais<* her army of occupation to 200,000. Prominent Turks expect a second war. The Rhodope insurrection is ended, .but Mascedonia is in rebellion under Russian officers. Austria endeavours to uphold the Berlin Treaty. It is said that, Lord Beaconfield and Count Andrassy before leaving Berlin signed a treaty providing that if Russia should not have evacuated Turkey after next May, England and. Austria would, insist upon her doing so,, and if Russia alleges as a reason for'fefusal that Turkey is unable to protect Christians, they <vill furnish a garrison torelieve the Russians.

Germany appears to be sufficiently engaged with her own internal affairs. The battle of Free-trade versus Protection is to be fought anew on German soil. Government proposes to levy import duties, on certain articles, and a league lias, been formed to combat the imposition of the duties. The Socialist organisation and publications are being suppressed all over the Empire as criminal. 102 societies, 28 newspapers, and 88 books have been suppressed under the anti-Socialist law. Spain appears to be unsettled, disaffection existing largely in the army. Fears were entertained of an insurrection at Seville, and a Federalist plot among naval officers at Carthagena wae discovered.