CABLE SUMMARY.

Waikato Argus, Volume III, Issue 164, 31 July 1897, Page 2

CABLE SUMMARY.

The House of Commons, on the motion of Mr E. W. Hanbury, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, has approved of tho new Australian mail contracts. Mr Goschen, First Lord of the Admiralty, in his Naval Budget speech, stated that he proposed to commence to build four battleships during the present year. One of them will be similur to the Canopus, and the others similar to the Majestic, but with the latest improvements, and having a displccement of 14,900 tons and a speed of eighteen knots. He also proposed to build a new Boyal yacht with a speed of twenty knots, to cost a quarter of a million, and six light-draught gunbonts for river service. Mr Goschen further stated that it was intended to commence four powerful armed cruisers, costing £700,000 each, with a speed of nineteen and a-balf knots, increasable to twenty-one knots. Also, to expend £o(),000 in accelerating the building of the warship Vengeance ; £130,000 on dockyard labour, £40,000 upon materials, and £60,000 upon torpedoboat destroyers. The New York Herald publishes a statement to the effect that Great Britain has occupied Palmyra Island which Hawaii claims as a dependency. Sir Hugh Nelson, in responding to the presentation of the freedom of thu city of Kilmarnock, said Queensland had no desire to be represented at Westminster, and whs not prepared to submit to Imperial taxation. It would be better to consult the colonies on large Imperial questions affecting their interests. The Canadian Government' have decided to impose a royalty upon all gold obtained from tho mines in the Yukon Eiver district, British Columbia. A royalty of 10 per cent, is imposed upon weekly outputs valued at 500 dollars, per cent, upon outputs of larger Tllue. They have also decided to reserve every alternate placer claim ou the Yukou Biver field on behalf of the public revenue.