INTER-COLONIAL NEWS.

Westport Times, Volume VIII, Issue 1223, 27 October 1874, Page 4

INTER-COLONIAL NEWS.

The Melbourne Leader is about to follow the New York Herald—but at a respectful distance—in attention to the services in the churches on Snndays. It announces that, with the title of " Under the Pulpit," it is about to commence a series of papers which will comprise " the results of a Sunday visit of observation to the various churches in Victoria." It adds, " While the tone of the papers will be strictly catholic, and their purport mainly descriptive, an effort will be made to catch the tendencies of religious thought among us, to arrange the impression left on the mind of the writer by sermons, preachers, and congregations, in some sort of critical relation to the alleged decline of the influence of the local pulpit." Speaking of Sir Charles Gavan Duffy's Home visit, the London Tablet says : —" This popular and esteemed Irishman has not yet moved from London to visit the old sod, so clear to him, upon which he has not stood for nine years. It is fondly hoped that he may now remain at home, and give the benefit of his ripe wisdom and experience to his country, of which she stand in sore need. In two years more he can enjoy his State pension here, while the portion of Ins property that he has sold has realised £70,000." A Sydney correspondent writes:— " Speaking of coal, I may notice that the brokers of late have been running up coal shares to an unprecedented price. Wallsend shares, for instance, which two or three years ago were dull of sale at £6, have now nearly touched £2O. At present the leading collieries are working full time, and the profit per ton is large. But the question is how long this will last. Coal-land enough has been taken up by speculators to overdo the trade scores of times, and competition may become not only as fierce as it was before, but fiercer, in which case the profits must again come down, and only the cheaply-working collieries can live. Surprise has been expressed that with so much fresh coall.md selected, so little has been done to bring new mines into operation, but the fact is that nearly all the land has been taken up speculatively by promoters, who are waiting till they can float their companies, and until this can be done to their satisfaction, the existing collieries are having a rosy time of it." The published particulars of the late Launceston failures show a large amount of liabilities due on accommodation and other bills. In the estate of Peter Bannard and Co., the liabilities are £151,000 of which £140,000 is due on bills. H. B. Nicholl's, liabilities are £7191 of which accommodtition bills I amount to £4500; W. D. Edlin and Co , owe £1.1,7,2 of which £IO,OOO is duo on accommodation bills, Brandt '

owes £11,290, and of this amount accommodation bills total up to £9OOO. A London journal—The Colonies devoted to the interests of the Colonies, has begun the publication eyery month of a table presenting an abstract of the climate simultaneously existing in all parts of the globe.] That for January last, published in August, has reports from among other places—London, Port Louis, India, Singapore, Sydney, Falkland Isles, West Indies, Toronto, Newfoundland, Manitobo, and British Columbia. The tables give the temperature, maximum, minimum and average ; dew point, humidity, rainfall, days of rain, cloud, &c. The editor says: From some unexplained cause, which he greatly regrets, he has not vet rereceived any response from the directors of the meteorological systems of Australia, Tasmania, or New Zealand, with the exception of Sydney.