SYDNEY. Monday, June 18th.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume V, Issue 212, 10 July 1849, Page 3

SYDNEY. Monday, June 18th.

A great Public Meeting was held at the Circular Quay, for the purpose of passing a vote of centure on the Governor, for hii discourteous conduct to the Deputasion appointed^)? the Great Fublie Meeting, and alio for the purpose of petitioning the Queen for the dismissal faf Earl Grey. There werfl about 5 or 6000 people present. After Mr. Rob;, Campbell had been called to the Chair, and had made his speech, the following resolutions were adopted by the meeting I—* Moved by Dr. Aaron, seconded by Mr. Grant— '•That considering the arbitrary and faithless man* ner in which this colony has been treated by the right honorable Earl Grey, this meeting most humbly prays her Majesty to dismiss that Nobleman from her Majesty's counsels." Moved by Mr. Michie, and seconded by Mr. Parkes — "That it it indispensable to the well being of the colony, and to the satisfactory conduct of its affairs, that its Government should no longer be ad« ministered by the remote, ill-informed, and irresponsible Colonial Office, but by Ministers chosen from, and responsible to the colonists themselves, in accordanoe with the principles of the British Constitution." Moved by Mr. Gilbert Wright, and seconded by Mr. Driver — "That thi3 meeting having unanimously agreed to the preceding two resolutions, tha following humble address to her most excellent Majesty the Queen, embodying them, be adopted, and that such address be signed by the Chairman on behalf of the meeting. [This address waa a mere transcription Of the re* solutions, placed in the ordinary form.] Read by Mr. Lowe, and seconded by Mr. M. Curtayne— -"That considering the discourtesy shewn by his Excellency the Governor to the former meeting and to its deputation, this meeting abstains from appointing a deputation to wait upon his Excel' lency with the preceding resolutions and address, but requests the Chairman to transmit to him, with a written request that his Excellency will be pleased to forward them to her Majesty the Queen for her gracious consideration/' Mr. Lowe, in moving this resolution , made the following remarks in the course of his speech :— Another argument in favour of responsible go° vernment for the colonies was, that without it there waa no local government for the colonies at all. They were all governed by the Colonial Office at ihome. The forty-five colonies of Great Britain were all snbject to her sway, and «he sent out Governors to preside over those colonies—not from any experience, knowledge, or genius they might possess, but because they happened to be persona who mast have some appointment. What could the Colonial Office know of the affairs, the wants, the interests of Great Britaiu's forty-live dependencies ? (Cheers.) What was their present Legislative Council but a gilded mockery ? Talk of Government in the colonies: there was no Government. The machine that was called Government, consisted of a body of overpaid superior and subordinate clerks. What had the Government to do with, the people of the colony, and what control bad the people over the Government ? They had j£ J 83,00O taken trom them to pay the lavish and extravagant salaries of the Government officers. They had

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£15,000 more extracted by the Customs 1 department, to be expended in the same manner. They had £100, n OO from the land fund, over whicS they had no manner of control, expended by the Go» vernment, without the consent or advice of the Council. It was all very well for the Colonial Office to say 10 John Bull that a large military force was necessary to defend the colonies. It afforded a good excuse for providing for the needy dependants of thi- q «at at home. But he (Mr. Lowe) would tell them they did not want their military force. Let them look at New Zealand, there £200,000 was annually expended to keep up a colony became it had originated in a few jobbing and interested speculators. He would tell them to take their soldiers back, to give them the profits of their own produce t> expend. Give them the right to govern themselves, and they cared not for any hostile dangers that might beset them. (Cheers.) One speaker had deprecated allusion being made to America in this question. He could respect the feeling which induced «nch a remark, but he could not agree with it. He would not ask them to be rash — but he must remind them that they were in the beginning of a great struggle, and in order that they should go through the ordeal successfully — he would have the example of America constantly in their minds. (Great cheers). The injustice that was forced upon tl c Americans was not half so great as that forced upon thi» colony— and he therefore felt it his duty to tell them that if they would lucceed at all, they must assure the Colonial Office continually that they had the example of America before them. Electric Light. — A curious and melancholy fact connected with the electric light ha« just been commnnicated to v*. A gentleman, near Waltham Abbey, experimenting with the electric light a few days ago, having an incised wound on his left hand, touched the conductor, a copper wire, and shortly afterwards experienced an irritation, which immediately spread in inflammation to the arm. The arm became immensely swollen, and large tumours appeared all over the body and limbs. Eminent •nrgeens from Lindon have been in attendance. Some of the tumours were opened, and every means xesorted to for the purpose of checking the poison, but without avail. The unfortunate patient lies without the hoj c of recovery. — Lloyd's Week. News. A very wholesome measure has bsen introduced luto Parliament for the expulsion of insolvent members. We shall soon see certain movers as well as questions remanded to " this day six months." Nobody will be allowed to introduce a bill into the House of Commons who is unable to take up his own.— Punch. Building Hocs«s for Burning.— -On exam* ining into the causes of the rapidity of the spread of the flames of London houses when on fire, it will «imost invariably be found, that, whatever may hive occasioned the fire to break out, the rapidity of its progress has been in proportion to the greater or less extent of the lath and plaster partitions, the hollow wooden floors, and the wooden staircases. Were the occupiers of houses sufficiently aware of the danger from lath and plaster partitions, especially when they enclose staircases, they would never occupy such houses, or, if they did, they would not give such rents for them as they would for homes with brick nogging partitions. Again and again we protest aguinst the abiurdity of constructing buildings as if for the express purpose of adopting every practicable precaution to render them fire-proof, and the sin against society which the neglet of these precautions involves.— The jßuilder: Extraordinary Berths. — There are no lew than (even Greys who have berths in the present administration. What ii more extraordinary, they have had the same berths for yearr. Every one of the little Grey's is doing remarkably well — and still retain their faculties in addition to their salaries.— Punch.