NEWS OF THE WEEK.
ARUHOUR which has been floating about for some days, was confirmed on Tuesday. The German flag has been raised on the Northern coast of New Guinea, on New Britain, an island to the North-East of the former,12,000 square miles in extent, and on the smaller island of New Ireland, just beyond New Britain. As the British Government had only annexed the Southern part of New Guinea, the British Ministry has no ground for remonstrance, but the Australians are irritated by the loss of territories which they looked upon as theirs, and as against the Home Govern- ment, they have serious cause of Complaint. We have stated their argument elsewhere, but may note here that German New Guinea, even if Prince Bismarck buys out the Dutch, will be separated from the English section by a lofty chain of mountains, and that the German settlements will be 1,200 miles from the nearest point of Australia, and 2,800 miles from Melbourne. The Australians, however, contend that any foreign settlement in their quarter of the Pacific will inflict upon them a foreign policy, and are backed in their complaint by the party among ourselves which claims the pre- emption of the world. The Globe, for example, heads an account of New Britain and New Ireland with the words, "Our Losses." It might almost as well apply those words to Madagascar or Tonquin, for we could years ago have taken either.
