Suez Mail News.

Thames Star, Volume XIV, Issue 4370, 5 January 1883, Page 2

Suez Mail News.

THAMES VALLEY LAND CQMPANT.

Major-General the Hon. W. Fielding, Deputy Chairman of the Emigrants and Colonists Aid Corporation (Limited), and founder of the Fielding Settlement in New Zealand, is at the head of the New - Zealand Thames Valley Land Company, which has just been formed in London for the purpose of colonising the Patetere country. This company has not been launched without due. and careful con* sideration. Mr A. W. Follett-Halcombe, during the time he was in London, did all in his power to make known theresources, not only of the North, but of the South Island, and the paper he read before the Royal Colonial Institute served to open the eyes of many as to the vast field the whole colony of New Zealand presented for the employment of ;I British capital and labor. • His appointment as managing di« rector is at once a tower of strength to the company, and upon his energy and experience will depend very much its future prosperity. The price to be paid by the company for the 250,000 acres is £l 10a per acre ; and, a&it is estimated that the average price to be obtained will be £3 to £4 per acre, very handsome returns ought to be looked for by the shareholders. In addition to the sales of l&tid, there will of course be the rentals from lands leased, which will yield a continuous income. The capital of the. company is £500,000, in 50,000 shares of £10 each, of which 12,500 have been subscribed by, the vendors, the remaining Hf;3oO being subscribed f by the public. Only £5 per share, however, is now called up,.power being reserved to issue deben«. tares to the extent of the uncalled capital. The first settlers on this new district are expected to go out from England in about three months from thepresent time (November 17), and from the account, of the vigorous operations which were going on when the last mail left, there is every reason to expect that they will find every preparation made to receivejthem. r The railway from Hamilton to the hot springs of Rotorua, going through the very haari of the property, will be a great acquisisition. As a guarantee^ to the shareholders of the Thames Valley Company, the vendors have agreed to a clause in the contract deferring the payment of the final instalment of the purchase money until contracts for the construction of this line are let and in progress. THE PHOENIX PARK MURDERS. TheXublin Gazette agaia publishes a proclamation, offering a reward of tea thousand pounds to any person who, within six months, shall gire information leading to the conviction of the murderers „ of Lord Frederick Civendish and Mr ' Burke, and five thousand pounds for private information leading -to the same result, and five thousand poiindi and a free pardon to any accomplice, not one of the four murderers, who shall give information. A further reward of one thousand pounds*is offered to anyone concerned in the murder giv; ng private information; and tive hundred pounds for private information leading to* the identification of any person concerned in, or privy to, the murder, or to the identification of the cab and horse used on the occasion. The Government promise that every effort shall be made fbfit the naraes of private informants sha^f not be disclosed to the public. . A SHOCKING SPECTACLE. . ■;hastly jnctuTe.of tbexesultsof Laai, — -„ •:--:>e teiToriajEaJg-Mpptiea^j^llum-n■■:.■ ■ /'of Jbe-i-ehentproceedings before the '•■'- siigntor of Claims for Compensation, '.;r i .:i>r;ri.it- Onrn« Prevention Act, at Tra« ■■ < Tho scene, it was said, was enough : *vriug the hardest heart. There was tha man with his ears cut off, because he was faithful in the discharge^ his duty. There was the man in the prime of life, with his hair prematurely blanched and his arm lopped off. There was the aged man without his legs, brought into Court upon the back of his son, and placed with difficulty upon the table to tell his'tale of woe. There were others, pierced with bullets, whose lives were saved by the interposition of Providence. Sad, almost incredible spectacle in a civilized land! TERRIBLE FLOODS IN THE SOUTH OF FRANCE. Something will have to be done to relieve the sufferings of those poor persons who have been ruined by the recent floods in the South of France. The whole of the Mediterranean coaat has been visited by a storm which has surpassed in intensity anything within the memory of the oldest inhabitants. Raia i fell in bucketsful as it does iv the tropics, swelling the mountain torrents, and transforming them into cataracts, which swept everything before them; At Mentoae rows of nouses have beea carried away •! autT an immense aojouut of damage fog '

been done, while, for the moment;,' railway communications have been almost entirely suspended. At Nice the celebrated Promenade dcs ADgtais has been wrecked by the storm. The trees have been torn up, with the seats, and the road strewn with wreckage of all kinds, while the gardens in front;of the villas hare been washed avray. Over £6COO of damage has been done on the Promenade dcs ADglais. The mountain torrent, La Foux, overflowed its banks, and numerous lives have been lost. The damage done is incalculable, but some idea of the extent may be gleaned from the strip of paper pasted over the bills of the theatre, announcing that the house has been closed until further orders, owing to a great public misfortune. Several railway bridges have been carried away, and bad it not been for the energy displayed by the officials, who sent pilot engines to show passenger trains their way, some fatal catastrophe would have had to be re* corded. The train from Nice to Cannes was stopped en route, just in lime to pre vent it from being hurled into a torrent, . the bridge over which had beea washed away, and even now passengers have to make use of the temporary bridges thrown across to replace the stone and iron ones used by the trains, but not strong enough to resist the rushing waters. THE STATE OF FRANCE. M. Henry Eocbefort has gone to Mont- . ceaules-Mines, and telegraphs at length to the Intransigeant. He says :—'J his country is as if in a state of siege. Soldiers with loaded muskets are guarding the tribunals. Secret police agents infest the country and terrorise it. More persons have been arrested, including the editor of the Avenir Eepublician. The misery is fearful. Clerical emissaries promise to aid the women if they will sustain charges against their husbands. Arrests are made amidst great display of force. One sees nothing but dragoons and gendarmes."

There is a report that Mr -Archibald Eorbes, the well known war correspondent who has been lecturing in Australia, has married a lady with £30,000 per annum. Mr Sergeant Ballantine left England on Novamber 25, for the United States, where be purposes giving readings from his book, " Experiences of a barrister." A farm of ICO acres in the parish of Docking, in West Norfolk, has just been let at 2s 6d per acre, the tithe rent charge on which is 7s 6d per acre. The magnificence of the jewels presented to his bride by Lord Durham is great. They are seid to have cost £60,000, and to include some of the most beautiful sapphires in the world. Sir Thomas Tancred, C.E., of London, and Messrs W. Arrol end .Co., Dalmarrieck Ironworks, Glasgow, have obtained the contracts for the building of the Forth Bridge. The cost is fixed at £1,600,000 which is considerably under the Parliamentary estimate. It is expected that the work will be finished in five years. Mr Stanley has just sent off his steamer, the "Herkaway, from Antwerp to the Congo, laden with such an assortment of goods for the interior of Africa as should enable him to establish a solid Irade with the native kings. Besides cotton-cloths, 'mirrors, knives, some guns and ammunition, Mr Stanley has sent out sheep destined for trial for acclimatising, and a selection of European cereals for cultivation in Africa.