OUR HOME LETTER.

Tuapeka Times, Volume II, Issue 84, 18 September 1869, Page 5

OUR HOME LETTER.

London, Bth July, 1869. The Irish Church Bill is still the question of the day. The debate on the second reading was commenced in the House of Lords on the 14th June, and lasted four nights, when it was carried by a majority of 33 — 179 voting for the second reading, and 146 against. Some of the finest speeches that have been heard for many years were delivered by the Peers on both sides. Then came the passing through Committee, and this has been most disastrous to the.bilL As passed hj the House of Commons, it annulled the right of Irish Bishops to have seats in the House of Lords; required the new church body to pay off the building charges on the glebe-houses, or to purchase the sites, before obtaining the manses ; took away the Ulster glebes from the Church; and distributed the surplus among the helpless poor. In Committee, every one of these provisions has been struck out, and in addition, the Church has been practically re-endowed, for the House of Lords propose to give about five millions more to it than the Commons did, and also hold out a prospect of its obtaining some three or four millions more. Of course the House of Commons will not be able to accept the bill with all these amendments, framed as they are in so hostile a spirit ; and Mr. Gladstone took advantage of a banquet given by the Lord Mayor to the Ministei's to remind the members of the distinct issues raised at the election — the complete disestablishment and disendowment of the Irish Church. The House of Lords will probably receive the report of the Committee to-morrow night ; the bill has then to be read a third time, after which it will be sent back to the Commons. In some quarters it is considered likely that a conference of both Houses will take place; but of coure, at present, all is mere conjectureMr. Bright has again placed the \ Cabinet in a little difficulty. A meeting respecting the Irish Church Bill was held at Birmingham on the 14th June, which he, as one of the members, was asked to attend. "Being unable to do this, he wrote a letter stating his reasons for not attending, and used therein very strong language towards the House of Lords, declaring that the Peers are generally in direct opposition to the will of the Nation ; that it would be well if they could bring themselves " on a line with the opinions and necessities of the day," und that " in harmony with the Nation they may go on for a long time, but throwing themselves athwart its course, they may meet' with accidents not pleasant for them to think of." These ominous observations were indeed qualified by an admission that " there are not a* few good and wise men among them, and we will hope their counsels may prevail." Had it been simply "John Bright" who had written this letter, probably very little notice would have been taken of it; but coming from the Honourable John Bright, President of the Board of Trade, and a Cabinet Minister, the matter could not be passed over ; and, therefore, attention was called to it in both Honses. In tbe Souse of Lords, Lord Cairns spoke on the subject, concluding by asking whether such a letter ought to emanate from a member of the Government, and whether the responsibility of such an act could be separated from that of the Government as a whole. Lord Granville replied by stating that the Government declined to accept the responsibility of the comments of individual members on passing events, particularly when that Minister was such a genuine specimen of " John Bullisin " as Mr. Bright. He also added that Mr. Bright repudiated any ill-feeling towards the House, and wished to express his regret if he had wounded their Lordships' feelings, having had no intention of so doing. Some other Lords had something to say, and then the matter dropped. In the House of Commons the same question was asked by Colonel North, and answered by Mr. Gladstone with so much tact that the subject seemed to be dismissed at once.

The House of Commons has been busily occupied with a great number of measures of more or less importance ; but none of them have reached a stage sufficient to require special notice at present, except one, for preventing the adulteration of seeds, which has passed the second reading. There was some difference as to the manner of making the offence criminal, and the bill has therefore, been referred to a select Committee. The noticeable feature connected with the matter is that in a speech made by Mr, Bright, he mentioned the plan recommended by the Horticultural Society to enable farmers to easily ascertain before they put the seed into the ground whether it was fit for use. It is as follows : — Place the seeds between folds of moist flannel, and keep them in the temperature of a room or kitchen for a few days. From a trial upon .a hundred seeds, whose - average when sown in the ground had been 75 per cent., the number that germinated were 25 on the third day, 23 on the 4th day, 16 on the fifth day, 9 on the sixth day, and 3 on the #eyenth day, making a tptal of 76.

This plan will not answer for all seeds, but answers perfectly for any kind which gives a good return when sown, and it may be depended upon to give as good a result as when actually sown.

The Nottingham Election took place on the 15th June. Mr. Seely,' the Liberal candidate, was elected — the defeated candidate, Mr. Digby Seymour, the well-known barrister, holding opinions of a doubtfully Liberal character; but as he had the strong support of all the personal friends of the late Sir Eobert Clifton, the contest was a severe one, and a petition is threatened.

The French Atlantic cable is now being laid by the Great Eastern, more than half the distance having been passed over. The cable has had once to be cut and buoyed, but very little time was lost in the operation, and the signalling from the ship to Brest is reported as splendid. Emigrants are still leaving our shorfis for Canada. The British and Colonial Emigration Fund have sent off the steamer Dacia with 188 emigrants, chiefly artisans, to Canada. The Lords of the Admiralty have rescinded their decision not to send out any more emigrants by Government vessels, and have announced that they are prepared to send out a limited number of dockyard, emigrants vrho have been in the Government service one year, and who can pay 455. per adult head.

, The Viceroy of Egypt was our honoured guest for some time. Previous to his arrival here he had been to Berlin and to Paris. He reached Dover on the 22nd June, and left on the Ist July. During his stay Buckingham Palace was placed at his disposal, and the Q.ueen held a review of the Household Troops in "Windsor Park for his especial gratification, and gave a garden party in the grounds of Buckingham Palace. A grand entertainment was given at the Crystal Palace; dinners by the Prince of "Wales and some of the nobility — in fact his pleasure must have been really hard work. Prom here he went to Brussels, and then again to Paris, where he now is.

The last does not seem to have yet been heard of the Bachel case. Miss Leverson (the eldest daughter) has brought an action against Mr. Stack, one of the persons who became bail for her mother, to receive a £100 which was paid to him for so doing, and has received a verdict in her favour. On the other hand, Mr. Willing, a solicitor, has recovered an amount of £18 from her for professional services. The 2nd of this month was appointed for the hearing of the trial of the directors of Overend, Gfurney, and Co. (Limited) before the Lord Chief Justice and a special jury, in one of the Courts at Guildhall. The business before the Court has however been too great to allow of the trial being commenced, which was fortunate as regards the prosecution, for, by the rules of the Court, the prosecutor, Dr. Thorn, who wished to conduct the case in person, could not do so, but must appear by counsel. This he could not afford to do, having already expended a large sum in conducting the case so far, and the Government were therefore applied to conduct the prosecution ; but this was met by a decided denial ; and as Dr. Thorn was bound in a penalty of £5000, and the directors wished the matter thoroughly investigated, it was felt to be a matter for congratulation that the case could not be tried this term. Dr. Thorn hopes to receive subscriptions to cover the necessary expenses before next term commenced. A public meeting, presided over by the Prince of Wales, has been held at the Boval Institution, to take steps for raising a subscription to erect a monument to the late Professor Farraday. There seems great probability of a large amount being given. The Directors of the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency announce an interim dividend at the rate of 10 per cent, per annum for the past six months. Our Volunteers are now encamped at Wimbledon, the annual meeting of the National Rifle Association having commenced. The camp arrangements are improved generally, and fortunately for the men, the weather has improved also. For all classes this improvement in. the weather is especially good, for had the inclemency continued much i longer, scarcely any wheat crop would have been obtainable ; and as it is, the harvest will be below the average — the mild winter and warm spring having caused the plants to run np and become weak and sickly. Two terrible accidents have happened since last mail. The first was an explosion at the gunpowder mills of Messrs. Curtis and Harvey, near Hounslow. Three men and a boy were killed, and about twenty persons "wounded. Ten of the houses weve blown up, and considering that in all three hundred persons- were at work, it seems wonderful that the number killed should be so small. Both at Twickenham and Hounslow the effects of the thunder were very- much felt — at the former place most of the windows were smashed. The other accident was caused by an explosion of { that very dreadful compound nitroglycerine. This substance is used in North "Wales for blasting in the I quarries, and some of it was being eon- 1 veyed in two carts to some works near the foot of Snowdon, when the esplo-

sion suddenly took place. The men and the carts were blown to atoms ; a village close by was almost entirely destroyed, and a small roadside railway station became a mere heap of ruins. Beside the carters five other persons were killed, and ten very severely wounded. The place whore the carts are supposed to have stood is marked by two deep and perfectly circular holes, each being 7ft. 6in. in diameter, 7ft. deep, and a horss length apart. The riots which took place in Paris seem to have been of such a nature that by any ill-timed repressive measures they might have been converted into a very serious disturbance ; but fortunately, although great firmness was shown in repressing them, yet no violence was offered to the mob. The shopkeepers and mechanics themselves arrested many of the rioters who were found destroying property. In fact, the disturbance has shown that the Grovernment may rely upon the assistance of all the respectable class of society in case of any serious disturbance being attempted. The political situation is, however, very dangerous, and it is impossible fo say what the result of the numerous complications of parties will be. Marshal Serrano took the oath as Eegent of Spain on the 18th June, and. delivered a speech in which he promised to respect tho constitution and the liberties of the country. The insurrection in Cuba still continues, although the Spanish General has just declared that the insurgents are now only maintaining a guerilla warfare. The Spanish Minister has notified to the Government of the United States, that the Government of Peru had been guilty of a broach of faith towards both the United States and Spain in recognizing the belligerency of the Cuban insurgents, after accepting with Spain the mediation of the United States. Spain, therefore, now regards herself as released from the terms of her acceptance of the mediation. Italy is very much agitated just now with reference to the frauds committed in connection with the Government tobacco monopoly. Signor Lobia, who has taken an active part in exposing these frauds, has had an attack made upon his life, and this has added to the excitement, .which is still on the inei'ease.

On. th.< 3 lAith. J\u\c tlie House of Assembly of the Dominion of Canada reconsidered its previous votes, and granted an additional subsidy to Nova Scotia, which, it was expected, would soften the feelings against the Union which was felt in that province.