Cable advices recently received by the Premier state that the British Postal Authorities have concluded arrangements with the P. and 0. Company for the carriage of English mail matter to Australia. The agreement extends over a period of three years from the lst January next. An acceleration. of hours in transit is provided. No mention is made in the cable of any arrangement with the Orient Company, whose vessels run alternately every week in conjunction with the P. and O. steamers, so until further news is to hand, it is to be assumed that the P. and 0. service will be fortnightly. Our own postal authorities seem to be quite determined on sending the return postal matter on the poundage basis. The coastal contract for the Port Darwin mail, now carried out jointly by the vessels of the E. and A. Company and the Chioa Navigation Company will, on ite expiry, not be renewed, owing to the fact that both companies carry Chinese crews. These are the only two services that make Port Darwin a regular port of call, and in the arent of their seeing fit to omit the port from their route of sailing, residents of the Northern Territory will be severely handicapped.
The Return of the "Discovery."
After an absence of more than two yours, the Antarctic exploring vessel Discovery under the command of Captain Scott re-tumed to Christchurch, N. Z., on Good Friday. With the Discovery were the two relief vessels Morning and Terra Nova. The three ships presented a trim appearance, and only on board the Discovery could traces of her long sojourn amongst the ice be found, in the shape of battered and stove-in boats. Officers of the executive and scientific staffs agree that the work undertaken has been brought to a highly successful issue. A sledge expedition succeeded in reaching the latitude of 82° 17 S, This party was absent from the camp at headquarters for period of 93 days covering a distance of over 1,000 miles. -Only one fatality is reported that of the drowning of an able teaman during a sledging expedition in The Discovery after finally refitting at Dumdin, N.Z., left on 24th December, 1901, reaching the foe pack in Tat. 67'S. on 3rd January, 1902. A landing at Cape Grozier was duly effected on the 20th of the same mouth, Winter quarters were established at ths foot of Int. Erebus, the fevass temperstane recorded being 62° Fahr. fu 1902 sledge parties were Sespatcned low zero. With the advance of Spring under Lieutenants Royd and Armitage, whit Coptein Scott's party travelling dus Morning under the command of Capt. Colbeck was dispatched from Port Chalmers. Communication with the Discovery was effected on 23:4 January, 1903, 10 miles of ice then separating the two vessels. Stores and coal were transhipped and on 12t March, the Morning started to mice cor way back to New Zealand, arriving at Christchurch on 25th March." Later 1903 the Admiralty fitted up the whaling vessel Terra Nova and dispatched her under the command of Capt. Mackay to ce-operate with the Morning in the relief expedition. The vessels left Hobart in company on 6th December of last year, and were sighted by Capt. Scott from his camp on the slope of Int. Erebus on 6th January, 1904. The relief ships could got no nearer to the locked-in Discovery, than were miles, 5° Gollections were transferred to the new arrivals, Barly in February all hands were tuned to blasting passage through the ice to enable the Discovery to reach comparatively open water. Towanls the middle of the mouth their efforts were assisted by a strong northerly swell, which helped to break up the ice. The last charge of gun cotton was fired on the 15th, and contained 48-Lbs. This proved sufficient completely to sot the Discovery free, and on the following day all three vessels weighed anchor, A full and detailed report. of the expedition is in course of preparation and will be shortly forwarded to the Royal Geographical Society, who organised the expedition, A Prosperous Goldfield.
The Governor-General and Lady Northcote have recently paid a visit to the gold mining city of Bendigo. Their Excellencies paid a visit to the South New Moon Mine which is Who most consistent dividend-payer {is company cevabed 22,000 loads for the district, During the past twelve mouths
yield of 27,137 ozs., paying away in dividends £83,200 equal to £2.12 per share, Last year's production from the field amounted to seven tons of gold, whilst during the 63 years of its existence it has produced a total of 543 tons valued at 270,917,756. Nowadays mines in this district are s0 economically handled, that in several instances it has been possible to pay dividends on low grade stuff uveraging as little as 4) dwts, to the load. Several companies are now testing the country at deep levels. Three of them are working at and slightly b: low the 3,000 feet level, whilst the shaft at the Victoria Quartz is down 3,800 fect. Great difficulty is oxperienced in obtaining anything like efficient means of ventilation at these depths. Several plans have been tried including water sprays, and the slacking of ice blocks in the immediate vicinity of the man working the drills. The average temperature at these deep levels is about 98°, The deepest, point at which gold is now being obtained is at 3.300 feet, where crushings have recently ven 4 oz. to the load. yeling Scand The result of the race fur the Sydney Thousand has atiructed a lot of public steution to the underhand methods in which petitors for the big cycling events run iv Australia, arrange amongst themselves as to who shill be the placed men. At the recent meeting held in Sydney, Corbett was first past the judge, but O'Brien, who was second, protested on the ground of interference by other competitors. The protest in the first instance was dismissed. but not being satisfied, O'Brien appealed. The appeal was considered by the League of Wheelmen, who went carefully into the matter, and heard a lot of evidence both from competitors and non-competitors. In the course of the evidence it was conclusively proved, that they had arranged amongst themselves that Corbett was to win. O'Brien, however, waa considered to lave no possible chance
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.