ENGLISH EXTRACTS.
New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Rōrahi III, Putanga 166, 3 Poutūterangi 1847, Page 3
Mō tēnei niupepa
ENGLISH EXTRACTS.
Importance of the Philippines. — There aie few foreign colonies more coveted by our neighbours on the other side the Channel than the Philippines group — not so much from the fertility of the soil or the commercial^alue of the country, as the §bility winch they or any powerful European nation would thereby have of raising a considerable army, accustomed to a tropical clinnle ; without which description
of force, any aggress'on which might be contemplated, either against our possessions in the East, those of the Dutch, or even of the Malays but more especially any war against the Celestial Empire, must of necessity prove abortive—not so much from the lack of physical forca or from the enormous expence which would be required to fit out an expedition entirely composed of Europeans, as from the certainty of the dreadful ravages of disease which those so totally unclimatised would of necessity fall a sacrifice to. Although we can have no wish to increase our already-over grown colonies, yet it behoves us to keep a watchful eye over the Philippines, lest they should glide from the hands of their present innocuous holders, into those of any of our crafty or powerful neighbours of the Western Hemisphere, to whom their possession might engender ideas at variance with the peace of the whole world, I do not hesitate in stating, that should any welU organised country assume the the reins of government, with plenty of money to enforce their wishes, an army of 100,000 men might be collected in less than six months, composed of the flower of the peasantry ; and so intelligent are these people, that I believe, from what I have already seen of their troops, that they might be brought into the field well disciplined and fit for service considerably under a year, — Captain Cunynghame's ßecollections ofSer* vice. At the Reform Club in Pall Mall a number of operations in cookery are performed by gas instead of charcoal; it is found to be more economical, as it can be turned nearly off when not in use, and is far more cleanly, and free from smell. The gas ascends from perforated pipes, in the form of a gridiron, through a bed of pumice-stone, which, being porous and fire-proof, soon becomes of a glowing red heat, and every operation of cooking, frying, boiling, stewing, roasting, &c, may be performed in the most easy and perfect manner.
The Church op Rome. — Among the rumours respecting the spiritual measures now in contemplation, is one to the effect that the English hierarchy in connexion with the church of Rome is said to be increased from six bishops to the full complement of two archbishops and twenty-two-bishops. The object of this provident scheme is, to make suitable berths for the members of Mr. Newman's party, who have already forsaken the Anglican schism, and for those who are expected to follow their example. England is also to be favoured in tbe-hexfdistribution of cardinals' hats. Lord-Clifford, son-in-law of the late Cardinal Weld, is about, we believe, to be raised to that dignity.—Neueastle Guardian. A new way of giving what, in the code of honour, is called " satisfaction," has recentlybeen put in practice at Baden-Baden. The spirit of gaming has too long prevailed in that pleasant city, and led its votaries, as usual, into desperate courses. The other day, two strangers, an Englishman and a Prussian, quarrelled, according to a very common incident, over their play, and agreed, in the usual course, to fire at one another, as the recognised means of settling a dispute. The Englishman was so lucky as to win the first fire, and so unlucky as to miss his adversary. The latter had only now to shoot his man at his ease, and prepared to take his aim accordingly, when the Englishman cried out, " Stop, stop ; I'll buy your shot." The first impression made was that of the novelty of the proposal ; the second, that it contained the preliminaries of a mutually profitable transaction. The conditions of the arrangement were accordingly entered upon ; and the two leading elements were, that the Englishman was rich and the Prussian a good ■ shot. The redemption was valued at 1000/. ; and the parties returned to the city alike satisfied with their bargain. The case is worth reporting ; and we are glad it was the Englishman-who set the first example of this clear insight into the rationale of duelling. The two trousseaux, of Queen Isabella and the Infanta Luisa have been ordered in Paris, through the Countess Bresson, who has undertaken to superintend the preparation of them. It is stated that the Queen of the French intends to add very rich presents for each of the royal brides. It is a starling but indisputable fact, that if we decide according to numbers, Paganism must be pronounced to be the religion of the British empire. The numerical order of the four great religious distinctions prevailing in the empire is — Ist. Paganism ; 2d. Mahomedanism ; 3d. Protestantism ; 4th. Romanism. From the extraordinary heat of the season, the trees in the boulevards of Paris, the leaves of which had begun to wither, are now pushing forth fresh ones. Some chesnut-trees iv the Place Royale afford the singular spectacle of ripe fruit, yellow leaves, large blossoms, and fresh green leaves, all at the same time.
The Bank of England.— This immense establishment employs 970 clerks, with salaries from £80 up to £1500 a year. Everything here is done by strict rule and method. All these clerks write their names in.
a book, kept for the ( ,purpose, every morning "before nine o'clock. When this is .done within the time they .are entitled to .one.and sixpence, in the name of early money. Those who are late or absent jget, none. The books are all balanced every day, and have to be correct to affarthing. . 'Prince Luitpold, third son 6f the : King of "Bavaria, who at first entered the artillery, has since relinquished a military life to devote himself to the study of the Oriental? languages. ; He has just left Munich for Jerusalem, whence he will proceed into Egypt. In this ; journey, which is purelyof a character, he is accompanied! by the '-Counts Cesare and Andrea -Pallavicini, sons of the Sardinian Minister of Munich. The Viceroy of Egypt continues to wear the Turkish dress, which so ill befits him, and in consequence all the employes of the Government are under the necessity of following his example. Some of them, and particularly the fat and lasy men of rank, look *very much out of their element in their new • costume. iThe-Pacha has also his fine Mowing' beard to about a hand's breadth "from the chin, conforming himself in v *his respect to the "Constantinople fashion =and the precepts of the Koran. This alteration •in dress is considered 'by some as an improvement, as making the Turks and Arabs more similar in appearance to Europeans, and bringing them in closer contact with European civilization. Ibrahim Pacha is living quietly at his palace on the Nile, near Cairo, pursuing his favourite occupation of the direction of his farms, selling the produce yielded by them, and thereby accumulating money. His Highness still talks about his travels in Europe, and now that he has had time to ponder quietly over what he has seen, and compare the impressions made upon him by the different countries he has seen, it is very satisfactory to Englishmen to hear his>Highiness pass the warmest eulogirans on'43rreat -Britain, its institutions, and its industry. -His Highness has said thatJSngland is far in advance of the other Powers, and is making rapid strides onwards, whilst the latter are very slow in their progress. The chief Rabbi of the Jews lately -died at Cairo. An intimation of this event having been given to the Egyptian Government, Ibrahim Pacha, with a degree of toleration and freedom from bigotry which, considering that he is a Mussulman, is deserving of great praise, sent a compamy of -tOO soldiers and a military band to join the funeral procession and do honour to the deceased.
German English. — Advertisement stuck op in Charlestown (Carolina), by a German - who had lost his horse: "He is run avay agen, mine little plack horse ; I rite him two days en midle te nite, and yen he not vill see shumpting, he shumps as if the divel was in't r and ho trow some town. I not have sich fall since pefore I was pornt. I buy him top on Jacob Shintel Clyraer, he hay five white pefore mit Yon plack snip on his nose, yon eye will look plue like glass. >He ia pranded mit John-Hersler Stanger on his pehind-Bide py his tail. Whoever vill take up the said horse, and pring him to me, top of mine house, Congaree, shall pay me two tollars reward, and if tey will not ,pringme my horse agen, I vill^put telaw in force giast all de peoples. The Speaking Automaton. — The exhibition of this extraordinary piece of mechanism has been recently opened at the Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly. It is called, also, the " Euphonia," a name to which it has very just claims ; and is the product of 20 years study and labour of the inventor, Professor Faber, a gentleman, who as a mechanician, has sur parsed all who have gone before him in the construction of this figure, and whose ingenuity it will be most difficult for future competitors to rival. Mr. ,'Faber, it tinay be as .well to say, is now. at the mature age of sixty ; is by birth a German, was. educated at the itoyal- Polytechnic Institution at Vienna, is .a professor of mathematics, and was, for some years premier calculator and land surveyor to the Emperor of Austria ; according to his own statement he has-devoted more than JZS, years 4o the discovery, and-constructionafa-.mechan<ical iqsjtrument which should possess all the powers of articulation. From caoutchouc, or Indian rubber he.ias formed the various organs by which the so.unds.are produced, which resemble most- -marvellously, those of the human vpice, and by means of keys, something similar to those used. fox. organs and the piano fofte, and bellows., which ire ihe lungs>of the, automaton, he cextajnly has, sBCceedecLin<creati'ng an instrument which, speaks, plainly , (intelligibly, and distinctly wprds and. sentences; in English,' Italian) French, German, &c ; which sings " God saje. the Queen" with the precision of a huinap vocalist, a Gennnn hymn or song, apd which laughs with *he merriment j cf feood burooor,.*«Ad whispers,, as., though the. words issued soft?, v#ce< fiom natural lips. Tb'e instrpnijenjt'OT, ap^sratuf^y which all this, is ejected is ( n,o.t ve.ry r hu^kj;j on the contrary, the space occupied .is much smaller than.would, be imagined,and wha,sis tobeseenisapjiarentlyj
-,sitnple4iveo»str,urction. The figure , is <a half length one, and has none of the common .appliances to excite wondsr.; indeed such ?appliances are not requisite, -and as the exhibition is oneillustratingtnechamcal*ficience,.and not< the rareeshoiw of a mountftbank, Mr. Faber has, done wisely in avoiding the quackery generally displayed to attract admiration. There is no concealment ; the professor plays the Jceys and' moves the bellows, and the company can, through him, require the, automaton to pronounce any words or sentences, with which it forthwith complies, the agency of the professor being open to- all present. — limes.
