English Extracts.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 1, Issue 31, 24 April 1858, Page 8

English Extracts.

THE LEVIATHAN

(From tfie "European Times, January 15.)

The arrangements in connexion with the launch were proceeded with on Thursday morning and, the results have been satisfactory. The frost having disappeared, the operations were conducted with greater facility than before. Shortly after 9 o'clock, Mr. Brunei took his usual stand upon his elevated platform, and a pressure was at once applied to the vessel of about twenty-five cwt. to the circular inch. The ship at once obeyed this poAVer, and moved in starts of three, four, and five inches. A slight mischief occurred in consequenco of the bow chain falling, and this caused a temporary check in the hauling power. An increased strain came upon one of the anchors on the Deptford shore, which brought away the piles. There wa3 no cessation, however, in the hydraulic pressure, and the vessel continued her movements. At noon she had advanced four feet two inches at the bow, and five feet four inches at the stern. At this period, the distance she had traversed to the extremity of the ways aft (low water mark) was measured by a Thames police boat's crew, in charge of Mr. Inspector Borlase, and found to be 6-i feet 6£ inches. In the early part of the ebb the schooner Eliza, of Milford, touched upon the forward ways, and remained. She will g<_t off, however, at flood. On the return of the men from dinner at half-past twelve, operations were resumed, and the chip continued her former quick progress, some of the starts being accomplished with a pressure of little over 20 cwt. to the inch. At two o'clock she was 6 feet and 2 inches at the bow, and 7 feet 3 inches at the stern. This is looked upon as highly encouraging progress. The launching was continued during Friday. The total result was an advance of 12 ft. 8 in. aft, and 11 ft. forward. This vibration of the earth consequent upon each slip of the vessel was more violent and more continuous that has ever been experienced at the yard hitherto. On Saturday, the 9th, a further advance was made in the work launching of this ship. When the men ceased their labours, at six o'clock, the day's progress of the ship was registered 14 feet 15 inches forward and 11 feet 11 inches aft. On Monday operations were attended with unusual success, an average advance of 20 feet having been made in the course of the day. On Tuesday the entire progress was 16 feet aft, and 15 feet 1 inch forward. At high water she had 7£ feet water under her out of the fifteen required when fully launched.

The ArsTEAiiAir Mails. — The Boyal Mail Company's steamer Teviot, Captain James Moir, arrived at Southampton on January 11, -with the heavy portion of the Australian mails, in charge of Mr. George Nash, of the General Post Office. By means of a post-cilice, the first that has heen established on board ship, the letters and newspapers brought by the Teviot, were completely sorted by the time she reached the Needles. About 200,000 Australian letters and newspapers were shipped at Alexandria. These had to be taken from the boxes in which they were enclosed and sorted into towns and lines of country, then tied tip in bundles and replaced in bags or boxes. The letters for London had to be sorted into postal districts. The whole of this labour was to be accomplished Ly Mr. Nash, of the Metropolitan Post-office, and an assistant ; 10,000 letters were sorted by tho time the Teviot reached Malta, and sent via Mareeillcs. The post-office on board the Teviot is on deck, and occasionally the sea beat into it and the officials got wet. In rough weather they often had to rest their shoulders against the side of the office while sorting, to steady themselves and were thrown with the letters in their hands to the opposite side of the office, by the lurching of the $hip. They were often at wovk 13 hours hours during the 24. They had only just completed their task when the Teviot arrived at the Keedles. The letters for Hampshire, Dorsetshire, and Wilts, were despatched to their destination from Southampton, on the night of the Teviot' s arrival there. The rest of the letters and papers were sent to London. The success of the new plan will, no doubt, insure its adoption on other lines where ocean steamers are in the service of the Post-of-fice. — Some News, January 16.

The Royal Wedding. — The costume which her Majesty will wear at the marriage of the Princess Royal and Prince Frederick William, will be of peach colour moire antique, with Honiton lace flounces and peach velvet train, the lace flounces being the same which the Queen wore at her own •wedding. The bridal costume of the Princess Royal will, we understand, be of rich white moire antique ; the lace dress of Honiton guipure, consisting of three flounces, the body being trimmed to match. The veil will be of Honiton guipure lace, -which will be worn in a style completely novel in this country for bridal costume, and will be attached to the head with magnificent Moorish or Spanish pins. The dress and veil are splendidly ■worked — the emblem being the rose, shamrock, and thistle. The latter has employed fifty girls for the last 12 month?. This new style of veil ■was entirely her Majesty's suggestion, and the carrying out of the idea has met the approbation of the Queen. The cost of this production will be about £600. — Court Journal.

The Miranda Fraud. — We find in tlie Times of the 9th January, the following reference to the Miranda fraud : — "Letters to-day reveal an extensive fraud, which it is feared will meet with further success before its perpetrators can te arrested. The Australian Joint-Stock Bank at Sydney received by post a communication purporting to be addressed to them from London by Messrs. BaringErothers & Co,, nominatng the ■bank their agents at Sydney, and requesting a credit for £15,000 or £20,000, to be opened in favour of a Mr. Francisco Antonio Miranda, for ■whom the same mail brought several letters .addressed to the care of the bank. This Mr. Mianda was at Sydney at the time and duly availed himself of the credit, drawing £20,000 and giving £he bank bills on Barings for Ihe amount. The whole operation was a fraud. Messr3. Bsriag have never addiesscd any letter to the Aus-

tralian Bank at Sydney, and that which the bank received must have been sent by some accomplice of Miranda's in London. Evidently, therefore, a deliberate and well prepared scheme is on foot, which will be further carried out at other places. It appears by the present advices that Miranda, who is assumed to be a native of Portugal, stated his intention of proceeding from Sydney to Macoa and Hong Kong, whence he would return to London and Lisbon."

The Chows Jewels. — The recent decision in the dispute between the Crowns of Great Britain and Hanover, as to the possession of certain jewels, vrill not leave her Majesty without a regalia, as supposed. Though a great number of valuable jewels are to be given up, they consist chiefly of those in the personal custody of the Sovereign — the value being about £100,000, and not a million, as generally stated ; the splendour of our regalia will therefore in no wise be diminished. It should be borne in mind that the crown which is shewn at the Tower is not the crown with which her Majesty was crowned. Indeed, we doubt if it ever has been worn by any successor of George tho Third ; and some of the more valuable jewels ie contains could no more be willed away by the Sovereign than Windsor Castle or St. James's Palace. One of its most superb ornaments is the magnificent heart-shaped ruby presented by Peter the Great to King William the Third, as an acknowledgement for the facilities afforded him in this country for pursuing his studies in shipbuilding. — Court Journal.

Lady ILvvelcck. — Lady LTaveloek and her daughters — in whoso bereavement there is such profound and universal sympathy — are now residing at Bonn, on the Rhine. They repaired thi. ther some weeks ago, and meant to remain for some time in Germany. It is a curious circumstance that about six or seven weeks ago, Lady Havelock, who, up to that time cherished the firm conviction that her husband would not only come triumphantly through the campaign, but that she and her daughter should soon meet him in England, became the victim of a powerful presentiment — of which she was unable to rid herself- — that she should hear of his death before many weeks had elapsed. — Home JS'eivs, January 16.

The statistics recently published of the ravages committed by the yellow lever in Lisbon have attracted considerable attention. It appears that during the 105 days during which it prevailed in the capital of Portugal, upwards of thirteen thousand persons were attacked by it, and it killed no fewer than 4-759 — a very large proportion, for it proved far more £.ital than cholera. Prance alarmed at this mortality, is taking extreme precautions in all its ports to prevent the introduction of tho unwelcome epidemic, and a belief is gaining ground that it may be imported, — a belief which is strengthened by its appearance on the coast of Bz-azil and the Eivcr Plate, places where a few years ago it was unknown. In Lisbon its origin was owing to the execrable sanitary arrangements, and in this respect the yellow fevor hours some resemblance to cholera, which always takes up its abode where squalor and misery reside. Quarantine regulations were falling into desuetude amongst maritime nations, but they will urobably be revived with more than their old severity if the old theory of contagion by means of commercial products can be indisputably established. — European Times, Jan. 16.

"We learn from tho eleventh report of commissioners in lunacy that there are in England and Wales not less than 33,G08 persons of unsuond mind, coming under the cognisance of the commission, in addition to an unknown, though considerable, number of patients resident with private parties. Of ah 1 these only 3327 are deemed curable.

The news of G eneral Ilavelock's death readied Sunderland, his native town (of which Bishopswcarmouth forms the southern part) on the morning of the 7th of January, and caused a very widespread feeling of sorrow. The minute bell of the parish church was tolled throughout the forenoon, and the union-jack was hoisted half-mast high on the tower. A proposal has already been publicly mooted for erecting, by subscription, a monument to the deceased hero, on Building -hill, a picturesque eminence overlooking the public park of the borough.

Tasmania. — Sir Henry Young had obtained twelve months' leave of absence. In reference to his Excellency's departure the "Hobart Town Mercury" has the following observations : "Many of our readers will doubtless be taken by surprise when we announce, as we ai-e now in a position to do, that his Excellency, having obtained from the Secretai'y of State twelve months' leave of absence will proceed to England with his family by the 15th of April mail steamer. This intelligence would have been communicated to the Parliament on the recent prorogation, but it was thought desiable to keep the announcement in abeyance until it could be ascertained whether Major-General Macarthur would consent to assume the reins of government during Sir Henry Young's absence from this colony. The step was adopted with, the concurrence of the Ministry. Intelligence was received by the City of Hobart on Friday, that Major-General Macarthur (who was formerly Ac-ting-Governor of Victoria) would arrive here in order to assume the same office in this colony in time to enable His Excellency to take his departure as proposed. The Eight Hon. the Secretary of State in granting leave to His Excellency is understood to have expressed the opinion that such leave of absence to the governors of distant colonies was not in general desirable, and although, expressing himself bound, in the present instance, to take into consideration the strong personal grounds upon which Sir Henry Young's application was founded — especially the very long period during which he had been employed in her Majesty's service 'in the colonies, without having had any opportunity afforded him of visiting England, except during his brief transit from the Government of South Australia to that of Tasmania — and, upon tnose grounds, although he felt bound to grant the leave of absence sought for, still he should be sorry to find his present concession drawn into a precedent."