Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), Monday 18 August 1884, page 3


ARRIVAL

or TUB

ENGLISH MAIL.

By tho arrival of tho RMSS Indus ?we havo our London correspondence and filos to July 11. Tho following aro portions of our correspondents'

letters -

TOPICS or THE WEEK. (-BOM OUR OWN COBBESr-ONDENI )

LONDON, JULY IL

Wo are on the verge of a great political | crisis. As waa anticipated m this correspon

dence last week, the Lords have thrown out I the Franchise Bill, on the ground that it was |

unaccompanied by a measure for the redis trihution of seats and the Government bave answered this proceeding by abandoning all then larger measures in order to wind up the Bession by the beginning of August, and summon Parliament to reassemble in the autumn The House will meet about the third week in October, and the principal, if not the sole, business will be to re introduce tho Franchise Bill into the Commons, and to send it up to the Lords after as little discus sion as possible Mr Gladatono states that if he secures the passage of this measure through the Upper House m the autumn, he will, in the sDring, bring forward his re distribution scheme It is questionable, however, whether the Lords will bo in such a yielding mood It is highly probable that they will repeat the tactics of thiB week, and assert that the conditions under which the measure reaches them have not been altered, and that consequently it must again be

thrown out

x esterday there was a great conierence oi

the Liberal party at the Poreign Ofhce to consider the situation Mr Gladstone there explained to his political friends what he proposed to tell the House of Commons later m the day His speech was, however, mainly remarkable for the statement that on 1 ueBday night, before the Lords took their division, proposals were made to them, wheioby if thej would adopt the bill tht Government undertook to pass in each House a formal resolution (afterwards to bo tmbodied in an address to the Crown), declaring their solemn obligation to proceed with the lledistributiou Bill at the earliest moment in next years session of Par liainent. Hie revelation was a surprise to a good many people, and the Standard and other Conservative papers are asking this morning why Lord Salisbury kept the matter secret from his friends Mr Goschen, who followed Mr Gladstone, deprecated anything like a fierce attack upon the Peers as disas trous to the country, though he was Btrong in affirming his belief that the Lords had made a mistake, and that the bill ought to havo passed UltimatelyMr John Bright, who had a thunderous welcome from the rudicals, gently rallied Mr Goschen upon his consideration for the Lords, and declared himself ready to return to the political battle field, from which, as wus thought, he had almost retired

In order to influence the Upper Chamber the Liberals are preparing a tremendous agitation Hie decision of the Cabinet upon the action of the House of Lords has the complete and enthusiastic support of the Libunl party throughout the country The week after next we aro to witness a reform demonstration on a colossal scale m Hyde park It is eipetted that about 100,000 per sons will take part in the proceedings, and we see already that £10,000 has been sub scribed m the Liberul clubs for the purpose of defrajingtho cost Iho machinery of the piovmtial Liberals is being actively mampu luted, and the liadical party are availing themselves of the present opportunity to uasail the very existence of the House of Petts Hie satisfaction ot extreme Liberals at the chance of diverting attention from the ahortconnngs of the Government in the field of foreign affaira is uppareut in ever, news

paper und at every political meeting But the lory party are not likely to permit this ugitation to proceed without challenge lhey made it clear in the debate of this week that they had no objection to the I ranclnse Bill pei se, and they showed a distinct willingness to compromise with the Government if the latter would introduce a clause guaranteeing a Hedistribution Bill before an appeal was made to the country

In the ubsence of any Buch guarantee, they laid it down as one of their objects to secure a general election on the existing register

This makes it the more likely the Lords will reject the bill when it comes to them a second time m the autumn, in order, of course, to force a dissolution in the early part of next year Much, hovvevci, will depend upon the position in which Mr Gladstone's foreign polity then stands Should his con feience proposals turn out succebsful, and the Mahdi make no headway in r¿)pt, the Peers may rellect before going on with the conlhct. On the othei hand, any further in-crease m Mr Gladstones Tgjptian embar rassments would inevitably influence the Peers in the other direction, since the Con-servative party would have eveiythingtogain by an immediate appeal to the country At the same time it is not overlooked that when-ever an election takes place Mr Parnell will perhaps benefit more than cither of the two great parties

The military position on the southern frontier of Kg) pt remains very much the same as last week The situation and strength of the rebels may bo known to the authori-ties , but the reports which reach the public cannot be trusted Whether the Mudir of Dongola has beaten the Mahdi's auxiliaries at Debbeh, as is announced and contradicted dud), must be left open , but it is to be noted that a second 1'nglish lcgnnent has bet usent to Assouan, and that Wad) Haifa, korosko, and Kendi ure being strengthened in prtpi ration foi any toiitingenties All wee in say ts that, for the moment, the Madhi's lieu tenants do not seem tobe an\iou3 to tome to clost quarters 'Hie news lrom the Khurtoum distiitt docs not confirm the stoi) of the Mahdi _ capture, but it is said that he has sulTeicd a slight leverseon the vv ay to deal with a pretender in Darfour. Ugly rumours have been alloat of the assassination of Gordon 'I hese are not credited, cither hero 01 at Cairo It ia said, on the contrni), that the Mahdi has sent to linn his (Gordon's) agent at Berber (Signor Cuz/i) chd in robes of honour, and with a request that he will at cept the position of Hinir By this time it is probable that Goidon has rcctiv ed the instruc tiona that were sent him by Mi Tgeitoh at Cairo on the 23td Ma), and we shall hear from lum shoitly Osman Digna is still linn nug Suakin, but he does not seem to have recovered his self confidence, whilst the presence of a laige body of British Dnginacrs piepaitng to lay the buakm Herber railway has had a sobeiing mllueiice on the mimbi

lunts of the town, who were given over to

panic

The quarrel between France and China is assuming a dangerous aspect M. Ferr) has delivered a warlike speech in the Chamber, u herein he boldly asserted that the Chinese authorities had been guilty of a deliberate breach of the ti en ty, accompanied by treachery. He announced that M. PatenOtre had been ordered to Pekin to demand reparation, and tnat France would act vigorously in maintaining her rights. It

lias Bince been Bcmi-oflicially announced that an indemnity of £10,000,000 has been claimed by the Government of the Republic and it is stated that the 1'rench admiral has instructions under which he is preparing to back up the demands of the French envoy. It is suggested that he will seize the arsenal at Foochow, though nothing certain IB known as to what is intended in this direc-tion. The Chinese Minister at Berlin nas suddenly appeared in Paris to offer explana-tions as to the Lang-Son incident The Chinese Government attributes it to amisunderstanding on the part of the local autho-rities. They were under the impression that the town was not to be given up until the actual treaty had been signed. When the French commander demanded their imme-diate withdrawal, they asked for a week's grace, and then, as he forced a quarrel, they resisted. If the French insist in their de

mauds for so large an indemnity, the pros pects of war are really serious. [War, accord ing to our cable news to day, has now been declared by China.]

The cholera in the south o£ Franco makes progtess It is now rather bad at Mar eedles, and there have been isolated cases at places as far north as Nismes On the whole, however, the death rate is singularly low, the total fatalities in a period of over three weeks being not more than 200 Dr Koch, the German savant, remains in the infected district, and he claims to have again discovered a deadly bacilli in the intestines of several of the deceased. He considers it the pure Asiatic plague, and needlessly sug-gests that it may have come to Toulon in some British merchant vessel trading with the Hast Hitherto it has been believed that the disease was imported from Tonquin by the troopship Sarthe. Some of the deliveries of Dr Koch are remarkable Cholera he says, is not conveyed in the atmosphere, and is not contagious, and it would appear that tho most ordinary caro would carry people through an epidemic with safoty Ihe outbreak has naturally caused much alarm in the countries immediately bor dering upon the infected district The Italians have a cordon of soldiers along the frontier, and the Spaniards have adopted the same course. Spain has gone tho length of declaring infected all European countries which have not set up quarantine as against France In Pans, where there is treat apprehension, the Government have made great preparations, but it is a little in consistent tnat they do not postpone the national fetes fixed for last week, which fêles have been condemned by the faculty ot medí cinc as most injudicious in the circumstances, though according to to day s news it is pos Bible the advice of the faculty of medicine will bo jet adopted It has been decided there shall be no reviews ot troops, lind the municipal council is to be left to deal with the other asperts of the fetes Here, in Lng land, the precautions of last year have boen revived, and the local authorities are fully

alive to the situation

The Senate elections in Belgium have, like the elections to the Chamber, resulted in a | clerical victory Ihe new Ministry is now all

powerful in both Houses

The Democratic Convention whick has foi

lowed the Republican gathering at Chicago is being watched with much interest here The feeling of dread lest Mr Blaine should be successful, has induced great hope that the Democratic candidate for the Presidency will be a strong man and it is universally felt that if Mr Cleveland is chosen the Democrats ma) count on a sufficient secession from the ranks of the Republican party to carry them

to victor)

By a decree of the Supreme Court of Darmstadt the morganatic marriage of the Grand Duke of Hesse with Madame Kolemine has now been finally dissolved The ques tion is still naked in ¿nghsh society, why the

marriage was entered into'

COLONIAL TOPICS.

(i'ltOM OUR OWN COBRESPONDKNT )

LONDON, JULY IL

HIE NEW GUINEA PROTECTORATE

It is very unfortunate for the interests of Australasia that the attention of the Govern rnent and the House of Commons has been all this session almost completely absorbed by "burning' foreign and domestic questions of the Urst magnitude Several friends of the colonies hnve evinced a decided desire to elicit information ícspcctingthe policy of the Government in the Pacific, and to raise dis eussions upon Korne of the important questions which urgentl) await a settlement on the con fines of the empire, but no very fav ourable opportunities have presented themselves, owing to the cause alluded to Lven the Colonial Office l8 affected by exigencies of the Foreign Office Not only is Lord Derby un able to give that close attention to depart mental concerns which is urgently required nt the present moment, but he is also ren dered more reluctant than ever to embark on a policy of adventure in the Pacific at a time when the Government are putting a severe strain upon the fidelity ol many of their sup porters by the indefinite responsibilities the) are obliged to nssume in _ig)pt Mr R. 1 ovv 1er, the Lord Mayor of London, on the

7th inst interrogated the Government as to whether there waa an) truth in the state

meat that they had entered into a prov lsionul arrangementwith the Australian colonies with referenct to tither New Guinea or tht islands ot the W estern Pacinc generally Mr Ashley, the Undci Secretary, replied in terms which threw some light upon the situation so far as this country is concerned, but us Lord Derby s circular despatch of May last to the Governors of tilt Australasian colonies is almost certain to have been published in Victoria it will be unnecessary to recapitu late his answer, which conBisted chiefly ot a long citation Irom the despatch in question Ihe action which tht Imperial Government piopo-e to tuke, now that the colonies have agreed to contribute jointly £15 000 ajear can be very briefly summed up It amounts to this-that an Imperial olhcer will be mi mediately appointed under the title of com missioner oi deputy commissioner, to re ault in Isevv (tuinea-piobably at Port Moresbj-and he will be invested with power to txtrcise protection in tht naiut ot tht Queen ovtr the eastern coulta of the island He will possess much wider powers of independent action than are no» exercised bj Mr Hornill), tht Deputy Commissioner who possesses a limited jurisdiction over British subjtcts in thut part of the Pacific But the extent of his authority can only be conjectured at present In answer to Sir II Holland Mr Ashhy admitted that the Im penal oflictr would dtrive his jurisdiction under the samt acts as the prtsent High Commissioner ot the M estern Pacific If this is adherid to it is felt that the action ot tht Government can lead to no satisfactory tesult An ill defined authority ovtr British subjects only (and even that surrounded by so many restrictions that it is almost ímpos siblo to exercise it effectually) will contribute little towards the better government of the Pacific It is contended that the power which undertakes the diflicult and thankless duty of nctinu as police of the Pacific muat possess jinisdiction ovtr fortigners and the nutivts ni Poljnesia as well as ovtr British subjtcts, if anj good result is to be achieved The agents "entrai arc therefore endeavouring to obtain from 1 ord Derby an undertakin. tlmt he will establish a protectorate over New Guinea, and the adjoining islands in which the Australian colonies are interested in such terms th it the proclamation of British authority will carr) with it an international as well as an Imperial obligation m the sonst that it will bring under the authoiit) of the new commissioner not only British subjects but those of iii) otl er foreign povrei who may be residing within his jurisdiction If this ia not dont, international complications ot nguivt and ptrpltxmg kinduro sure to occur for it is regaided as certain that sooner or litter the subjects of G»rmany

1 rauco will endeavour to assert a claim tu unoccupied ttrntorj in N«\v Guinea and tht ii [joining islands in the hope that their d ivtrnment will extend to them the protection they will require It is no secret that the Colonial Ofhce regard Prince Bismark s recent utttr mtes aa a highly significant hint to ad venture us Germans in the colonies that cner getic action on their purt would be looked upon with favour and .would lective support Iheie is at least one adventurer in the colonies whose movements are watched with some, anxiet), lost he might take Borne step which micht force the hand of Her Mujest) s Government and compel them to act with gie iter dtcisiou than thty aro disposed to at present It is believed that the new sp pointment will be oftered to Major General

bcratclilc), and if so, it is understood he will accept it, as his military duties in the colonies ure nearly completed Up to the piesent, however, no distinct offer has been made to lum In directing the new commissioner to reside ni New Guinea, and In assigning lum a steamer which will enable him to be inde-pendent of the Australian squadron, the Government are adopting the suggestions of the Western Pacific Commissioner The k1 James a Oazette congratulates the Govern menton having made " a little step towards meeting Australasian wishes," but advises them to be careful in their choice of a com-missioner The Globe interprets the recent announcement of tho Government to amount to an admission that they aie beginning to recognise the inapplicability of an oppor tunist policy to the New Gutnea question.

The proposed appropriation of the east coast of New Guinea has not escaped the attention of the German press. Several Berlin papers have expressed the opinion that the enge, ness displayed by the Austra han Governments is prompted by a desire to forestall action on the part of German) The sympathetic tone adopted by the English press when discussing Prince Bismarck's colonial policy has induced the Allgemeine Zextuiuj of Munich to advise Germans to abate their iii founded aversion for England. It advocates relations of pel feet amity be-tween the two countries, "which would thus secure the predominance of the Germanic nation)), not only ni the «erambie for the re-maining colonial territories, but also in the world at large."

M. Miklouho-Maclay has again condemned

the abuses in the Polynesian labour trade. His letter, which is probably addressed to the Aborigines' Protection Society, refers to extensive acts of kidnapping in the Louisiade Archipelago. He states that it is the sincere wish of every honest man in the Pacific that the labour trade, with all its evils, should be stopped entirely. The Daily News has reason to believe that the Imperial Government intend to authorise the new Commissioner for the Pacific "to prepare the way for the punishment and repression of kidnapping."

MISCELLANEOUS

_lîe frozen meat market ia completely glutted by the extensive shipments which have poured in during the lost few da)3, and the result lias been a considerable decline m price. Before the Liguria s cargo w as disposed of the British King arrived with a larger con-signment from Wellington, the Oamaru, with nearly 7,000 carcasses, irom Canterbury , foi

lowed b) the Aorangi and Opawa, also fiom New Zealand , and the Iberia, from Australia. In addition to these supplies, there are Rome 12,000 or 15,000 carcases lrom the River Plate also on sale, and this meat generally arrives in good condition, and is rapidly growing in favour It is now realising from 2s 8d to 3s

2d per stone The Britmh King consignment ia selling at from 2s 8d to 3s 4d per stone, though it is ni good condition 1 he Li-una s exceptionally fine cargo from Australia is not ) et cleared, but 3,600 out of 5 459 carcases have been sold at from Js. to 3s bd per stone A small parcel of the Oamaru s cargo has been disposed of at /rom 33. 2d to 3s. 8d per stone The remaining shipments are to be held over for a few da)s borne of the Bales men aie complaining ot tile want of care disÎ)Ia)cdm regulating the supply of the mar

cet

Lmigration from the United Kingdom is not very brisk just now, anti has not been for the pnBt six months During the first halt of 1883 the total number of emigrants was 220,839, while during the last half j Lai it was only 105 594, showing a reduction ot28 per cent Two thirds oi the emigrants this )enr havo proceedtd to the United States, 23,589 to Australia, an almost identical number to British North America and 0 072 to other, places A mooting in aid of the Women s Emigration Society vv as held in London last week It was attended b) the Princess Louise, the Marquis of Lorne Sir Saul Samuel, Mr Hemmant, and several other colonists The Marquis of Lorne (who presided) commented on tho small amount of support given to a societ) which was capable of doing such good work in assisting women of good character to emigrate Although its entire income during the past three )eara had been under £800, it had sent upwards of 330 persons to the colonies bu Saul Samuel mentioned that during the same period he had sent out to New South Wales, at nominal fares, upwards of 3,000 single women Resolutions support ing the society weie adopted In connexion with emigration, it ma) be mentioned that Mr F Humphries, the emigration agent for Tasmania, is encountering unexpected difli

culties m despatching his emigrants For tho last two months he has had a considerable number anxious to proceed, but has been unable to afford them the necessar) nicilities Complaints respecting over immigration in Queensland continue to find thtir way into the new »papers, notwithstanding the official denial that was recently given in the House of Commons that any real cause of complaint

existed

Rear Admiral K Jj Haïra win succeed

Hear Admiral A L M Ljons in command on the Pacific Station

.he Maori king has not vet exhausted his welcome, but his visit bit's fair to be a greater social than political success According to Mr Chesson, one of the chief objecta of Ins mission is the establishing under the Queen of a native administration in purely native districts in Ixew Zealand 'le Wheoroand other of the chiefs appear to hav e been in structed to make a great point of the fact that the) atknovv Iedgt the supremacy of the Queen It seems strange to mun) colonists that,the advisers ot the deputation should exhibit so little political knowledge as to encourage the Maoris to hope that the colo mai authorities would ncquiesce in the per munent establishment of an wipcuum m tmpeiio lawhiao participated at a grand temperanse fete at the Crjstal palace a few dajs ago It is said that Blue Jvibbon prin ciples pievailtd throughout the palace on that occasion, greatly to the disgust of mnnj visitors who rpquned something stronger than water and gmgeibeer

It is stated that M. Miklouho-Maclay is expected

to complete his work descriptive of his explorations amongst the islands of the Pacific by the end of next year, and that it will be published simultaneously in Russian and English.

An ocean race across the Atlnnt c from Queenstown to Sundy Hook between the stearqtrs Austral Galba and Arizona waa recently won by the Austral, which beat the An/ona b) one hour und 28 minutes

IheNZb Co s s Aorangi mide her last run home from Lyttelton to PI) mouth in 39 da) s 20 hours

It has been suggested that as the Aus traban cricketers have two vacant dates m

August, they should arrange to play a match against an eleven representing Oxford-past and present-a similar match having been already arranged with the Cambridge Uni

v ersit)

Mr George Eignold was to sail for Mel

bourne b) the s s Liguria on the 23rd He and Mr Allison have purchased for Australia and New Zealand the populir drama of "Called Back written by Mtasrs Gonijns Cnir and Hugh Conway It was bung pla)td with uninterrupted success ut the Punte s x1 ..atre, w ith Mrs Lingard as Pauline, the heroine Mi Kignold lins engaged Miss Kate Bishop to play the part or the htrome m the colonies Messrs Kignold and Allison are negotiating lor the right to pro duce Iolanthe and "Pnnctss Ida in Australia and i\ew Zealand It the) are successful thej will take out with them the dresses in which thtse popular pieces wtre originally produced at theSnvoj Mr 1 rank thornton, the late Btagt manager at thtbavo), will most probably be engaged as leading attor Mr G 1 nvvcttt liowt is likely to return to Melbourne in a ftw months

time

Messrs R Bentley and Son have nban doutd the idea of lbiuing an 1 nglish edition of the late Ad un Lindsay Gordon s poems

llieir attention was called to the lact that a. copyright was claimed in these poems, and thty at once declined to entertain the pro Eosal to issue an Lnglish edition It has

ten brought to the knowledge of the Messrs Btntlty that the woiks as originally pub lished were generally revised bj the authoi and appeared in the form he intended

MONETARY AND COMMERCIAL

The value of money is phenomenall) low at the present moment. Ihe customary tailing in of loans by the banks at the close ol the half year caused a slight hardening of rates, but the effect was 'very transient On Monday last, by the distribution of thedivi

dends on the 1 unds, about live millions were transferred from the Clinic of Lnglnnd to the

outbide market '1 he effect of this increase m the lloatmc, supplies of money on a stag nant ninrktt was to depress rates of ne cominodation to a point perfectly ndicu lous 'Ihree months' bink bills are benu discounted it 1 per cent, and m some instances even slight I) under that figure 'Hie teims lor da) today advances are onl) 4 to 41 per ctnt, and mono has betn lent to the Stock Exchanges for a foitnightas low as 1\ per cent, per annum, although the usual rate during j the pieaent stttlement has been li to 2 per cent With such rates ruling, bill brokers and the discount tom pames have been compelltd to rtduce their allowance on deposits to _ and i per cent for 1 call and "notice respective!), in order to protect themselves against being burdened withlaiger funds than the) can remunera tively employ Meanwhile, current require mentsare unusuall) small, owing to the dul

ness of trade and the stagnation in all healthy speculative operations, and it is very difficult to perceive from what

new set of conditions a ícvival is soon to spiing 'lhere are sons of consolation among us, however, who foretell an early turn of the tide, and a general re cov ery all round Splendid harv est prospects

are certainly in our lav our 1 inuucial affairs on the American continent have censed to

be a source of special anxiety, and the rttent necessity for unusual caution which tem porarily served to give gome steadiness to the rates has thus been in great part remov ed The New York Exchunge is firm at a point much above that at winch gold could be taken from this side with piofit, and any occasional demands which Canada may make upon the Bank will not appreciably vv eaken the ample resources of that establishment. Beyond some small withdrawals on account ot the Portuguese loan, theie are no gold movemtnts of any significance '1 he total gold now en ioute from Australia and Now Zealand ia about _120,000

Although complaints are still rife of dul

ness and inactivity on the Stock Exchange, the past fortnight has witnessed a distinct improvement in the American and home railway depaitments There has been a revival of animation, too, ni the colonial market A considerable volume of business has been done in the debentures of the various Australasian Governments, the m scribed stocks having been especially in demand, and in most cases the fall of the previous fortnight has been recovered. The scrip of the recent Canadian 81 per cent loan, which had fallen to a Blight discount, ia now quoted at par

THE WOOL SALES.

Since the close of last sales the market has witnessed some inquiry, and a moderate quantity of wool has changed hands at firm prices. The advices fiom the manufacturing

districts, both at home und abroad, report a large rate of consumption, and the statistical position of the article is very satisfactory. The Austiahan clip shows ft large increase ; but the deliveries during the first six months of the )car having been very much heavier than in 1883, the sunply still to come forward will be smaller than last year. It is esti-mated that the aggregate falling off will be about 60,000 bales The following shows the arrivals to July 1, and in juxtaposition to the total available in August last year, with an estimate of the net total that will probably be available for the next series, allowance being made for old stock and direct forward

mgs -

-

Arrivals

Probable

Total

Available

Total

Available

Lait Tear.

Tort Phillip .. bjdno)

Queensland .. Atlclaidu 'tasmania

bnau Uiver . New Zealand

Capo .

Bales.

65,734

.11200 0,227 15,760

2,808

150 85,405 80,070

Bales

70,000 70,000 18 000 20 000 0,500

500

120,000

60,000

Hales 00,000 109,000 20,000 21500 111,000

500 103,000

50,000

Total

242,504

855,000

410,000

'these figures give a smaller supply from Port Phillip and Sydney ot 63,000 bales From the other colonies of the Australian conti-nent the supply is less by 8,000 bales Only Kew Zealand shows a surplus of 12,000

bales.

THE WHEAT MARKET.

We hav e no longer to complain of low tem-perature, cold nights, and absence of ram. We are hav ing a spell of semi tropical weather Tor 10 days past we have been v ísited with exccssiv o heat, and storms of ram have alternated with brilliant sunshine. This beneficent change has alla)ed the fears which had been engendered by the pro-tracted drought, and lins greatly improved the agricultural outlook. More than half the hay crop of Great Britain has been secured, and although the produce per acre is itir below the normal yield, }et tile quality will provo unusuall) good. So far as the tereala are conctrned, the drought has been rather beneficial than otherwise to the wheat

crop, which promises to bo both excellent and abundant The plant is short and thick in the stiaw, but the grain bids fair to be hcav) and plump, mid should there be no interruptton to the present splendid weather, it is expected that cutting will commence at about the usual date In the more advanced districts of England the harvesting of oats and barley hns already begun, but neither of these cereals is expected to bo of average Held, though the quality of the barley crojr is pronounced good The prospects of the root crops generall) are very unsatisfactor) ; in fact, it is matter for serious anxiety as to how succulent winter food vv ill bo provided, and it is feared that the favourable weather for making ha) will cause ensilage to bo neglected

Hie reports Irom abroad are, on tno

whole, fa\ ourable In France the heat has helped on the corning of the cereals very materially, und at the present time rye and winter barley are being harvested. With continued fine weather, grain ot all kinds will be ot good quality, and a better sample than ior many years In Eastern Europe, and even as far west as Geimany, heavy rums and extensive inundations have 111llicted great damage to the crops, while drought had previously injured

the wheats in South Russia and the Danubian provinces to a serious extent At present, however, there aro no reasons for anticipating less than an average wheat crop, in place ot the great one at an earlier period indicated from Lurope as a whole Advices from America are highly encouraging There the grain districts promise the largest harvest ever known, with an abundant aurplus for exportation '1 he ) îeld ot the Dominion of Canada is estimated lit nine and a hull mil-lions of bushels, of which about seven million bushels will be available for export. In the Argentine Republic there will be ii considerable Burplua lor diapoaal in the worlds market Irom India we have at present no definite mlormation na to the )ield of the wheat crop It would thus appear that the wheat ciop of the world in 18b. will be more than auflicient for a >ears consumption, so that it ia almost inevitable that a low range of prices will iule for a long time to come It can therelore create no surprise to learn that millers ure now operating with ex treme caution, both in this country and on the Continent On the other hand, however, the holders of produce are firm, m conse-quence oi the diminution which has taken piuco in our grunary stocks during the last three mouths The position of the trade has undoubtedly been brought within more healthy propoitions, there being very muth less pitssure of supplies upon the mnrktt Puces are now BO low-the average quotation for Lnghsh wheat being only 37s Id per quarter-that the temptation to consign shipments to this countrj is by no meanB great The producers of wheat here and abroad will be able, therelore, to pursue a discreet policy, and not place supplies too rapidly upon our markets Indeed, large importations during the eaily part of the season are hardly to be expected, aa money is so cheap that mode-rate facilities for holding may readily be ob-

tained

Messrs Wm Perks and Co , in their cir-cular of July 10, report 'that the values of colom ii wheat on the spot aie quite un-altered since our hist, good Bumples of Australian selling blowly at 4Us per 4%lb ex ship, and 41s ex stole. The few fine btimplcs of new crop longberried Ivew Zealand wheut nie worth 40s to 42s , lau oidmaiy 30s to 38s , and inlcnoror stale 2üs to ¿Ja , all per 4901b ex store A lar"e number ot Australian and Guhiornian wheat curo0ts have arrived at ports of call suite our last and several more mt due, the demand lor thtse with tlie present forting we ulioi, has been very poor, and thele art tnoie sellers than bii)c_suta i eduction of Is to Is Od per ISOlb since oui last 1 loui ts still i ery much neglected, and onl) renll) line qualities meet withan)thing like a stead) salt, present values are, however, so low that we cannot alter our quotations Colom d gram arrivals into London arc by the Shannon s s , Aviemore, and Loch Katrine, fiom Melbourne, the 'J orrons and Ardmore, fiom Adtl ude , and the British King s a, Opawa, Waitangi, Oumaru, Aorangi b s , and May Queen, from New Zealand In Australian whtut cargoes amved at port, of call the Selene has been sold at 38s Od for Leith, the Crown of Stotland at 39s 3d for Havre, the Parknook at about 39s for Newcastle, the Aikshaw at J9s Od for Mar) port, the Zamora at 3<)s 3d. lor Leith, the Dochra nt 37s lOAd or 38s for a United Kingdom port, and the Vancouver at 31s 3d foi Rouen all per lbOlb, t t _L, willis the Leto has bten ordertd unsold to Southampton, the Juno and Helene to Ant-werp, the Carpathian to Sharpness, the Euphrates to 1 leetvvood, the Java to Bor-deaux and the Larl of Zetland, Riignn, and Bengal to Dunkirk, leaving tht Gurh, Sussex, L 'Hiainberskelvur, Llv etico, Onavvny, High-lands 1 orsete, Erato, Empire, S\ eathtrslield, Anthea V llhelmma. Antiope, Star of Russia, Stoiken, G V llarbitz, Parumita, and Aidboiough still on sale Several other recent an lvals are not} et listed for sale, owners preferniiL, to use up all their lay days rather than take ut present the low prices now tilling There aro now J03 wheat cargoes, with 1 700,o00qr on passage to the United King-dom, against 250 with l,bll,S00qr in the corresponding week ot last ) ear, and 203 with l,&70,000qr in 1882 To tins must, howover, be added last weeks shipments of 78,500qr. from tht United States itlantic ports, and Jl.OOOrjr from Calilornia, not included in the previous return '

nops

MesBrs liibrum and Son report on July 7, that trade has been rather quitttr, but prices art full) maintained Hie accounts from the home plantations are conlhcting, and indicate that a trisia has arrivtd, and that the crop is entirely dependent upon the weather The continental lepoils are very favourable. Meanwhile the plantations are large, and this tends to keep prices somewhat within bounds. Messrs Woolloton and bon state that values remain about the burne, and that only a moderate business is doing lakm» the plantation reports aa a whole, there can be no doubt that a general improvement has taken place Continental and American advices are, with tht exception of a few of the smaller districts, veiy tavourable The total imports since September 1,1883, amount to 8!) 13u packages Hie current quotations are us follow -Kent, 1883. £8 to £10 10s ; Sussex, 1883, £8 to £9 ,1 arnnam and countiy, 1883, ¿8 to £9 , Worcester, 1883, £8 to £9 ; American, 1883 £7 to £810s , Bavarian, 1,83, £10 to £14. Belgian 1883 £7 to £7 7s , year. Ung Lnghah, £G to £10, old, all kinds, £8 to £7 7s per cwt

Messrs W II and II Le May report -' Ihe trade doing is pure consumptive, and

Bufhcient to cause a gradual advance in values Stocks never were so small 11 any speculative demand were to set in prices would advance considerably 'Ihe crop prospects art ver) poor, thousands of ncret in a black blight Those grounds that hav a been persistently washed now nppeur to be fairly clean but unfortunately mould ia pre-valent in many plantations that looktd like pulling through the black blijit l.very planter on Hastings Market lnst Saturdayspoke of an increase of lice We BIIOUM esti-mate the crop to turn out equal to £100 000 to £ln0,000 old duty, or about equal to from onethird to one halt of our annual consumption. Current prices -1883 s, East Kents, £b IJS to £10 10s , Mid. do , £8 10s. to £10 , W enids. £8 to £9, Sussex,*£715s. to £810s \\ oreester, £8 to £0 9s , 1 ariiliiuns, £8 Sa to £9 Us ; Americans, £7 7s to £8 8s , liav arums, £8 to £18, Aloat, £7 to £7 7a , Poptrhinue, £7 to £7 7s, yearlings 10 to £S, old olds, £3 ter £5 , Australians mi, £7 to £8, Australian» 1883, £. lJo to £7. i