The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1875-04-17

By the arrival on Saturday last Of the A. S n.
steamship .Mikado, we have dates from Sydney to
March 10 and from Auckland to the 18th.
We clip from the Sydney Morning Herald:
A calamity Of another sort has just fallen upon the
northern districts Of the colony. Recently we were
fearing q drought. Now we are lamenting foods,
destructive to an unusual extent Of all kinds of farm
produce. The worst effects have been felt in the val
ley of the Hunter, where unfortunately it is impossi-
BILE, without mourning an expenditure altogether be-
yond present resources, to lessen materially the risk
or range Of inundaton; and the farmers, most of
whom have but small holdings, have not yet learned,
or not yet been able, to make the luXuriant hsrVests
from their surprisingly rich soil in fine seasons yield
an insurance fund to make good the losses of bad ones.
The recent food viii be remembered by the death of
the Honorable W. NJ. Arnold, Speaker of the Legis-
lative Assembly, who was drowned within sight Of
his own house by the u~prooting Of q tree, in which
be had been forced to take refuge, and by his ina
hility, encountered By heavy clothing, to swim to
shore through the RAPID current. Mr.. Arnold was a
man of acknowledged ability; and, although through
his long retention Of tAe post of Speaker, his power
had not been felt of lac in the field Of political con-
test, his death leaves a vacancy in Parliament that
win not be easily filed
Energetic steps have been taken by the Govern
ment to relieve those who have suffered by the foods
in the Hunter distric;, but the distress is very great.
The second annual session Of the Grand Lodge Of
the New South Wales Independent Order Of Good
Templars was held in the Temperance Hall, P~ittstreet,
on the 4th and 9th instant.
QU~EESsLASD.-Ther have been foods in all the
coast districts from which we have information, the
waters having reached within very little Of the high
est mark known. Railway. road. and river traffic
were all stopped, and q good deal Of damage done.
Fortunately, however, this time there is no loss Of
life, caused directly by the food, to record. The
farmers in places have been great sufferers SO far as
their crops have been concerned; and in q few cases
the household goods have had to be deserted an mdsse,
the inhabitants of the houses being too much occu-
pied in securing their lives by reaching q higher level.
In Brisbane all goods were cleared from the wharfs
and the lower stores; and business was for some days
suspended. The ships were hauled away, and load
ing and discharging absolutely stopped.
The SouLhern Cros Of Auckland says:
The announcement of the floating Of the four mil
lion loan Is the best financial news that New Zealand
has received for many q day. The loan has been
placed on the market at a per cent; and Mr.. Vogel
has succeeded in e~ffecting bargains which, consider
ing the amount Of the loan and the state Of the money
market, must be deemed q satisfactory arrangement.
Messrs. Rothschild, whose names form q financial pass
word to the world, have arranged for the whole loan
at 90. That is to say-we have borrowed four mil
lions at "A per cent, at u discount Of only per cent.
below par. This is equivalent to getting a premium,
or 1854 for . i've per cent. loan.
The wisdom Of Ministerial visitatiOns among the
natives is evidenced by the ~rejoicings among the ma
tives which greeted the advent Of the Native Minister