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GREATER BRITAIN.

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GREATER BRITAIN. TUII relations of the Indian Government with Baluchistan date from 1839, when the British Army advanced through the Bolan Pass towards Afghanis- ton. At that time the conduct of the Khan of Khelat, the overlord of the scattered tribes, was (the Daily Xews reminds us) regarded as so treacherous that General Willshire was ordered to assault his capital, and the town and citadel was stormed and taken after some sharp fighting. It 1854 a treaty was concluded with Khelat by which the Khan en- gaged to oppose to the utmost all the enemies of the British Government, and to enter into negotia- tions with no other State without its consent." It was in 1857, while the Mutiny was at its height, that a British officer was first appointed Political Agent at Khelat to advise the Khan in maintaining control over his turbulent tribes. In 1876, after diplomatic relations had ceased for two years, another treaty was signed, one of the clauses of which raised the subsidy granted by the Indian Government to the Khan to 100,000 rupees, while another provided for the administration of the Quetta district by British officers. In consideration of the loss of the surplus revenue which he continued to enjoy until 1882, KRan Khudadad was in that year granted an additional yearly sum of 25,000 rupees. In 1893 this ruler, found guilty of murdering his Minister and others of his subjects, was permitted to abdicate, bnt his privileges were transmitted in full to his son, the present Khan, Mir Muhammad. THE Khan of Kbelat is, as has been stated, at the head of a confederacy of chiefs, but his precise powers are difficult to define. The various tribes possess the right of electing each its Sirdar, and nominally the Khan has the power of confirming or disapproving the choice made; but this prerogative is never exercised. He, however, declares war and makes treaties for the whoie of non-British Baluchistan, subject to the restrictions imposed by the agreement with the Indian Government, and can order the Sirdar of each tribe to attend in person with his complement of fighting men. On the other hand, the local chief has the adjustment of petty quarrels, thefts, and disputed points of every kind, though appeal in cases cf im- portance lies to the Khan at Khelat. The latter, however, in all matters having a wider interest, is amenable to the advice of the Agent of the Governor- General, who also arbitrates in disputes between him and the minor chiefs. Baluchistan includes, besides that major part to which the foregoing remarks in particular applyj the districts of Quetta and the Bolan, administered on the Khan's behalf by British officials; the assigned districts of Pishin, Shorarud, Kachh, Kawar, Harnai, &c., which formerly belonged to Afghanistan and are now directly under British rule. During 1888-9 the Khetran district was brought under British control, and more recently British authority has been established in the country between the Zhob Valley and the Gumal Pass. WITH regard to the force which the Khan could bring into the field, accounts vary. He could pro- bably not assemble, however, an army numbering more than 10,000 men, and these are but poorly armed. There are numerous forts scattered about independent Baluchistan, but these could offer no re- sistance to shells. In the territory under the ad- ministration of the Indian Government fortifications have lately been erected, and are, of course, of a different class. Quetta, where the disaffected Sirdars have been arrested, has been occupied by British troops since 1876. Since then its defences have been greatly improved, and it is the headquarters of a strong brigade, and is the arsenal for the force. It was for some time the terminus of the railway, which has now, however, been continued to Chaman, 13 miles to the north-west. There is at the latter place a small military outpost, which, a telegram says, is now to be reinforced from Quetta. AT Quetta the European force at present consists of the 2nd Mountain Battery, under Major A. S. Smyth, D.S.O., a battery of Garrison Artillery, the 2nd Lancashire Fusiliers, under Lieut.-Colonel Collingwood, and the 2nd Border, under Lieut.- Colonel Brmd. The remainder of the troops in the Quetta command are Bombay native regiments. IN 1837 Canada had a population of 1,501,649. It is now 5,100,000. THE High Commissioner for Canada is receiving many applications from farm labourers and others accustomed to agricultural work, who desire employ- ment on the proposed Crow's Nest Pass Railway in British Columbia. An arrangement has been made between the Minister of the Interior of Canada and the Canadian Pacific Railway Company by which such persons may obtain work on the new railway for a year or more, subject to the ordinary conditions of such employment. The wages for unskilled labour are 6s. 3d. per day, and the cost of board and lodging per week 16s. 8d. Any persons desiring to take advan- tage of this offer are required to pay their own passages to Montreal, and they ought to go out at once. If their applications are approved letters of introduction are given to them to the Canadian Pacific Railway officials, and they will be conveyed by the Canadian Pacific Railway Company from Montreal to the works, the cost of the journey (about £4 17s. 6d.) being deduoted out of the wages. They must provide their own food on the railway journey. Free grants of land may be obtained by those who have been engaged on the railway. Forms and full information may be obtained on application to the High Commissioner for Canada. THB news is confirmed of the discovery in New- foundland of a seam of coal 13ft. wide in the Codroy Valley, close to the railway, 20 miles from Port au Basque. The quality is eaid to be excellent, but it will he tested. The seam appears to extend for a long distance. THE introduction of the electric telegraph system in New South Wales dates from January 26, 1858, when, under the superintendence of Captain B. H. Martindale, Commissioner for Railways, the first lines were opened, and on October 26 of the same year communication by wire was established with Melbourne. The late Lieutenant-Colonel E. C. Cracknell sucoeeded to the superintendency on January 15, 1801, and retained the position until his death in January, 1893. In the year 1867 the electric telegraph system, which had up to then been an adjunct of the Department of Public Works, was transferred to the control of the Postmaster-General. The telephone system was brought into operation in 1880, and rapidly gained public appreciation. THE drought in New South Wales has caused heavy losses to the squatters. On one station alone near Albury 45,000 sheep have been killed and boiled down for tallow owing to the scarcity of feed and water. THE output erf coal in New South Wales during 1896 was 3,900,507 tons, the largest quantity raised in the colony, with the exception of that obtained in 1891, which was 4,037,929 tons. IT is said that on the invitation of Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Canadian Premier, the Duke and Duchess 01 iork will in all probability visit the Dominion next spring with a view to travelling on to Australia. MANY years ago the farmers of Australia imported bumble-bees from England and set them free in their clover-fields. Before the arrival of the bees clover did not flourish in Australia, but after their coming the farmers had no more difficulty on that score. Mr. Darwin bad shown that bumble-bees were the only insects fond of clover nectar which possessed a proboscis sufficiently long to reach the bottom of the long tube-like flowers, and, at the same time, a body heavy enough to bend down the clover-head, so that the pollen would fall on the insect's back, and thus be carried off to fertilise other flowers of the same species. According to a writer in Popular Science News, the bumble-boss sent to Australia cost the farmers there about half-ardollar apiece, but they proved to be worth the price. THERE is a scheme on foot for a railway connecting Southern with Western Australia. The length of the line would be 553 miles, and the estimated cost £2,000,000..As the country traversed is quite water- less, reservoirs would h&ve to be established every 25 miles. THE Bishop of Rockhampton, formerly a London clergyman, and before his ordination the engineer who superintended tbe building of Blackfriars-bridge, is starting a Bush Brotherhood. He is a splendid rider, and a man who in size and build bears con- siderable resemblance to Sir William Vernon H&r- court. The head of the mission, the Rev. G. D. Hal- ford, has left in the Oraga, of the Orient Line, and three other clergy will soon follow. The mission- bouse will be of wood, and adjacent to it will be a school for sociai and educational and religious pur- poses. The bishop has received about £700 towards the cost, which he reckons at £1000. MR. A, U. ALCOOK, a Melbourne electrician, has in- rented a position-finder for use in connection with shore batteries. Tke exact working of the apparatus is at preDt secret, but when the gun to which it is attached is laid on to a passing vessel the finder at once indicates the distance of that vessel, and gives the changes that occur in the distances as she passes the fort. Mr. Alcock has been experimenting with the invention for 10 years—ever since a Russian man- of-war entered Port Phiiip Heads by night without being observed.

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