The Sun.
London, England, 1865-06-07 00:00:00

As supplement to the list of questions drawn up
by the sub-committee upon the subject of raw iron,
may be added, that the examination of exports is to
be continued, and manufacturers in all the Austrian
provinces are to be consulted as to what further in-
quiries should be made. Several days, however,
will still pass before the preliminary labours are
concluded. The first committee, which was charged
with selecting those items of the tariff which yield
little duty, and proposing resolutions to the commis-
sion for their reduction or abolition, is pretty far
advanced with its task. Ithas made itself acquainted
with the expense of levying the duties, has divided
the articles into certain categories, and has
then turned its attention to the considera-
tion of smuggling, as the idea necessarily rose that
the deficiency in revenue was a consequence
of illicit traffic. The following questions were
therefore forwarded to several customs officials,
chambers of commerce, and all the frontier districts,
with the request for a speedy settlement of opinion :
1. How large is the quantity of smuggled goods,
(a) according to official evidence, (b) according to
your individual opinion ?
2. Across which frontier of the monarchy is
smuggling carried on with certain goods ? In what
way, by what means of transport ?
3. What are the original countries of the
smuggled goods ?
4. What proportion do the smuggled goods bear
to those on which duty is paid, (a) according to the
quantities actually stopped, (b) according to your
individual opinion?

5. What is the cost of smuggling ? State the
same as percentage upon the value of the goods and
upon the amount of the duty.
6. Does the cost of smuggling vary according to
the difference of frontier, and notably according to
the strength and distribution of the guard?
The third sub-committee, charged with drawing
up the rights of intercourse, has finished the first
portion of its labours. A request has been addressed
to the English Crown lawyers and the Imperial
Ministry of Justice to furnish the Commission with
brief summarised statements of Austrian and Eng-
lish law bearing upon this subject. These are to
comprise the law of trade-marks and patterns, of
patent right, and of literary copyright as applied
both to natives and foreigners. The true state of
the law is also to be laid down as to the publication
of legal documents, the evidence of experts in mer-
cantile business, and it validity in another State,
and as to the capability of conveying valid legal
judgments into execution in both countries. The
law as to share-companies is also to be discussed,
their relation to the courts at their formation, dur-
ing existence, and upon being wound up. The
questions will be examined—whether the naturali-
sation of the founders and the directors is requisite.
Whether share-companies of one country are autho-
rised to trade as such in another, to carry on busi-
ness, and appear before the courts ? Upon what
conditions this may be done ? And whether regu-
lations upon the subject at present exist?

A MARKET-CROSS DIVORCE.—A woman, 40
years of age, the wife of a pitman named Hind-
march, to whom she had been married 17 years, eloped
with a young man lodger, named James Hume, from
Cramlington, on Saturday last, taking with her some £6
or £7 of her husband's money. The husband, touched in
his tenderest place (the pocket), pursued the couple to
Newcastle, where, by the aid of the police, he was able to
confront them on Sunday morning at the central railway
station on their way to America. The police asked the
injured husband if he meant to enter a charge against the
delinquents, but he replied that if Hume and he could
agree about'the price of his wife ho would not prosecute.
Hume, who had some £7O in his possession, offered £5,
but tho other said, " Aw'll take siven." The woman, pro-
bably with the view of affecting the bidding; told her
husband, " Had away, man, aw wan nowt mair to dee wi'
ye." After some further haggling, Humo consented to
give the £7, and the woman was knocked down to him at
that figure. All parties went on their way rejoicing at
the results of this rough and ready divorce, so unlike, in
this and other respects, those over which Sir James Wilde
presides.

THE RIVERS AND LOCHS OF PERTHSHIRE.—The
sport on the lochs of late has been pretty good.
Lord Breadalbano has fished successfully on Loch Tay,
and on the Earn, &c., good baskets of trout have been
made. Within the last fortnight angling on the River
Earn and the Almond has scarcely been so productive as
might have been expected from the state of the water and
the stock of fish. A few anglers, however, have done well.
His Highness the Maharajah Dhuleep Sing has arrived at
Loch Kennard Lodge for the season, and it is expected
that he will devote his time till shooting commences to the
lochs and streams.—Scotsnutn.

THE HAY HARVEST.--The hay harvest has already
commenced in Monmouthshire, and several of the leading
farmers have commenced cutting. This is unusually early
for applying the scythe, but the remarkably favourable
weather for the last two months so stimulated vegetation
that the grass and hay crops are considerably in advance of
what they generally are at this period of the year. The
hay already gathered has averaged 21 to 3 tons per acre,
which is a good yield, and if the weather continues mode-
rately favourable for the next few weeks it is expected that
the high prices which at present prevail will soon be ma-
terially reduced.