ENGLISH NEWS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume I, Issue 20, 24 May 1851, Page 2

ENGLISH NEWS.

The Melboxirne Advocate, Sydney Morning Herald, and Robarton Guardian, supply us with several items of English news to Christinas Day last. A commission had been issued, and cornniis- . sioners appointed, to inquire into the practice ' and pleading- of the court of Chancery. Lord Brougham was seriously ill at his seat at Cannes in Normandy. j The trial of Mr. Sirrell, of Barbican, charged with receiving a quantity of stolen plate, and of a man, named Macauley, with stealing the same, took place at Liverpool, on the llth December, before Mr. Justice Talfourd. Macauley was, also, charged with feloniously receiving the property. The specific charge against the prisoners was* as follows: Macauley for burglariously breaking into, and entering the dwelling-house of the Bey. James Fisher, Boman Catholic clergyman of Great Crosby in Lancashire, and stealing therefrom various articles of silver plate, and against Sirrell for feloniously receiving the same. The robbery, it appears, was committed on the 29th of September, and on the 2nd of October, the property was traced to Sirrell's shop, by the police, and seized by them before Sirrell had time to examine them. It was shewn that on the same morning, on which the articles had been received by Sirrell, he had got a letter, bearing the Liverpool post-mark, and written by Macauley, advising him of some plate to arrive : on further enquiry the officers found a number of letters in the same handwriting on a file on Sirrell's premises : it was also shewn that a portion of another robbery, in the neighbourhood of Liverpool, which had taken place about the same time, had been found on Sirrell's pre- j raises. Mr. Sergeant Wilkins, in addressing the jury on behalf of Sirrell, observed, that they saw before them one of the most respectable tradesmen of the city of London in the position of a criminal at the bar, and he knew, that his only child, not for a moment mistrusting her father's innocence, was now waiting, with breathless anxiety, to know the result of their decision. He had been anxious to call upon the jury, without the necessity of addressing them at all, to remove the prisoner from the painful position in which he stood, to let him go forth with the consciousness that no imputation rested on his character, to convey peace to his home, and to the comfort and prop of his age. He conceived that the whole evidence in the case showed Sirrell to be an honest man, far more methodical and punctual than ninety-nineoutofahundred tradesmen. After reviewing the evidence, and strongly reprobating the conduct of Kehoe, the officer, he called upon the jury to acquit his client, and send him forth without the slightest stain upon his character. The jury, without retiring from the box, returned a verdict of guilty against Macauley, and of not guilty against Sirrell. Macauley was then sentenced to ten years' transportation. An ingenious machine for making brick tiles had been exhibited at the engine factory of Mr. Kean, the inventor, Salt Grass, Deptford. The apparatus consists of an iron cylinder, which receives the clay at the top, and passes it through a number of knives attached to a centre shaft, and.which act as temperers of the clay, and press it into a peculiarly shaped screw. The latter in turn gives pressure to a chain of moulds which pass upon an inclined plane, and delivers the finished bricks in succession on a table fit for the beuch. The whole motive power of the machine is. communicated by the upright shaft in the cylinder. A late number of the Daily News contains the following information upon the substitution of flax for cotton :— It perhaps may not be generally known, even by those engaged in flax, that by completely rubbing the fibre of all its gum, we get immediately a fine leathery material like raw cotton, only^somewhat stronger; the strength of the flax is rather diminished by this process, but still the fibre is much superior to cotton, and it may be passed through all the present cotton machinery in the subsequent processes. This cannot fail to be highly interesting, now that we are threatened with a scarce and consequently dear and inferior supply of cotton; and since much flax stalk is thrown away, both at home and in India, the plant being cultivated for the

seed, it follows we have here, prima facie, a much less expensive raw material than cotton. The following extract from the Times will interest some at least of our readers. " It will be seen by our Smithfield report that the Christmas market lias been a very dull one. The comparison of the prices on the ' great day' for the present and the five previous years, leaves the present year the lowest in the scale. Last year was lower than any before, and the present is lower still. The two years stand thus:— BEEF, December 16, 1850 ... 2s. 5d....35. 4d....45. 2d. December 17, 1849 ... 3s. 6d....45. 0t1....45. 6d. MUTTON. December 16, 1850...35. 0d....35. 10d-...45. 4d. December 17, 1849...35. 6d....45. 0d....45. 6d. The decline in veal and pork is in much the same proportion. This statement, however, is not the only discouraging feature of the show. A great many fat beasts were turned out unsold at the close of the day, to the no small inconvenience and loss of the owners. Of course the inferior beasts have suffered the greatest depreciation, and in their case, if not in the others, it is impossible to see how they can have been fed with any profit whatever, even that ' little' which makes a 'mickle' in large operations. The result is, considerable disappointment,and graziers were loud in their abuse of Free trade, the house of Commons, Sir Robert Peel, and every other person, including- ourselves, who is "believed to have helped on the introduction of foreign cattle, and the repeal of the corn laws. Indeed, if the fires of Smithfield could be kindled again, and if the authority of the high commission could be revived in a select committee of dissatisfied farmers, there could be no lack of heretics ripe for the stake in Protestant estimation.

■ "But, heretics as we are, we must claim that privilege of defence which was not altogether denied even to the victims of the Marian persecution. Some of the blame at least must fall on the graziers themselves, and on circumstances over which we have no control. In the first place, the supply was beyond all precedent. No less than 6720 beasts were brought to market on Monday, being 962 more than on the ' great day' last year ; and no less than 26,800 sheep, being 2800 more than on that occasion. The aggregate quantity of meat brought to market far exceeded that of any previous year. Now, the metropolis only takes what it wants, and cannot sharpen its two million appetites, distend its two million stomachs, and fill its two million pockets to suit the convenience of several thousand graziers. It is for these gentlemen to devise their own remedy for the evil ; but an excess in the market will always knock down the price—a result which we have never called otherwise than an evil, when it is the source of actual loss to the agriculturist." The -wool trade is reported as being brisk; prices kept up, and a fine spring business was expected. Tallow V C is quoted at 375. to 375. 3d. The highest quotation was 395. 6d. per cwt.; the highest Australian was 375. 6d. In Liverpool, on the 21st December, sperm oil (American) was quoted at 821. 10s. to 851. per tun ; of southern whale oil there was none in the market. In London, southern oil is quoted at Sol. to 37^. The state of the woollen manufactures in England was highly satisfactory; and the approaching Exhibition had given such an uncommon impulse to the clothing trade in general, that fine wools were likely not only to maintain their value, but would probably experience a further advance. Consols stood at 97 to 975, firmness being the characteristic of the stock market. The No Popery agitation continued with unabated warmth, and Lord Stourton had announced his entire agreement with some Catholic gentlemen who moved what is termed a "No Popery amendment" at a meeting in Yorkshire. A meeting of the Evangelical Alliance had been held-in Dublin, and it required a large posse of police to protect the meeting, and enable it to proceed with the business of the day. Fresh batches of convicts and Pentonvillians were to be forwarded to Western Australia. Baron Park was to be called to the House of Peers, with the title of Bavon Ampthill.

The Lord High Commissioner of the lonian Islands had been obliged again to prorogue the House of Kepresentatives, in order to me vent the adoption of a seditious decree, declaring their determination to reject the protection o[ Great Britain, and join their own nation—independent Greece. Keported Discovery op Sir John Fbankmn.—The Weekly Dispatch of the 22nd of December contains the following : " We are given to understand that advices were received at the Admiralty last nio-ht o f the discovery of Sir John Franklin in the Arctic regions. "The intelligence, we hear, was communicated to the editor of the Sun, by a gentleman connected with the Admiralty, and" the substance of it was forwarded to Mr. Webster of the Haymarket Theatre, who, from the stage, announced the grateful tidings. We sincerely hope, for the sake of Lady Franklin, who has signalized" herself on behalf on behalf of her husband, with a devotion which does honour to her sex, and for the interests of science, that the report may prove true. " Our informant added that Sir John Franklin is on his way to England. Whether any mention was made of the gallant crew, we have not been able to learn.

" The Observer of the same date lias a similar paragraph, but the Express of the following day had been able to procure no confirmation of it although it seems reluctant to deny it. In fact' the Observer goes farther than the Dispatch, speaking of Sir John as likely to reach England in a fortnight from that date." We would concur in the hope expressed by the Dispatch of the truth of this cheering report, but we cannot help fearing that it is without good foundation. Newspapers to the 26th December, four days later than the paper whence the above extract is taken, have been received, yet no mention is made of any announcement or notification to the same effect having been made by the Admiralty. This makes the rumour appear doubtful. We are also indebted to the Wellington Independent of the 14th inst., for the following extracts from English Papers. Her Majesty had.paid a visit to the Building for the Industrial Exhibition. The " No Popery" question .(we quote from the Home News of Dec. 24th) does not quite so largely trench upon our space as it has done of late ; but although there is, perhaps, less glow, the fire does not burn less brightly. Bath has again been visited by Lord Ashley, who has not failed to rouse the spirit of the laity of the Church of England. Meanwhile a deputation of the Roman Catholic nobility and gentry have waited on Cardinal Wiseman with an address of welcome to him, and thanks to the Pope for the establishment of the Hierarchy ; and what is singular at such a time, several distinguished persons, among them Mr. Monsell, M.P., the newly elected Irish Member, and his lady, Lord and Lady Cainpden, Lord Nigel Kennedy and others, have adopted the religion of Borne. In the Neiv Zealand Spectator of May 10, we find the following, taken from the Daily News. Steam Communication.—A deputation, on the subject of steam communication with Australia, had an interview with Lord John Russell on the 4th of December, at his official residence in Downing-street. His Lordship was accompanied by Earl Grey and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The deputation consisted of Lord Monteagle, Hon. F. Scott, M. P., Mr. Macgregor, M.P., Mr. De Salis, Hon. W. Wrottesly, Mr. Charles Logan, Mr. Donaldson, Mr. Henriquez, and Mr. Davidson. "'