MISCELLANEA.

Lyttelton Times, Volume II, Issue 57, 7 February 1852, Page 10 (Supplement)

MISCELLANEA.

\ Bed Hover ox the Thames.—ln Wlntechapel County Court, lately, a curious action was tried, in which a retired Tailor named Jamieson was plaintiff, and an old man-of-war s man named Ramsay was defendant. Jbe damages were laid at £50. The plaintiff is a retired tailor possessing a villa, called Labours Retreat, on the banks of the Thames. Ihe defendant is an old man-of-war's man, who some time ago became possessed of considerable property in Wbitechapel; but preferring to be afloat, he equipped a yacht of six guns, the "Tom Bowling," in which he lives. In the evidence it appeared that on Easter Monday the plaintiff (Jamieson) holds a festive anniversary, in remembrance of the day on which his •wife died, and cannon are let off' to announce the ioyful tidiims. It happened that on the last anniversary "the "Tom Bowling" was cruising off Labour's Retreat, and when the crew smelt the powder, all hands were -piped to action, and they returned fire. The firing on both sides continued some time, until the landsmen put stones in their guns, and riddled Tom's duck and streaming bunting. The aggression was resented, and the boatswain shotting his guns, seriously damaged the tailor's stack of chimneys. Captain Ramsay then landed his crew to demand satisfaction for the insult offered to his flag; and having thrashed the tailor's friends, the captain challenged the tailor himself, and politely offered him the choice of swords or pistols. The tailor thinking it safer to faint than fight, swooned away ;. upon which the defendant ordered him to be taken prisoner, and on coining to his senses, the tailor found himself under"hatches of the yacht, where he was kept the whole night, bewailing the misfortune of being kidnapped by pirates, as he termed his captors. In the morning he was brought before the defendant and tried by court martial for insulting the British flag, and being found guilty, was sentenced to the yard-arm. He begged "for mercy, however, and as a last resource, offered up prayers. The sentence was then commuted to the infliction of an operation on sailors when first crossing the line. In that state he was transported to Heme Bay, forty miles from home without a shilling in his pocket. Mr. G. E. Williams for defendant, contended that the plaintiff deserved the treatment, which be had brought on himself. The judge said that although the plaintiff had acted most improperly in loading his guns, the defendant had retaliated too severely; but under the circumstances, he should only award £5 damages, without costs.— Bell's Life in London.

A Successful Imposture at the Opexing of the Crystal Palace.—The London correspondent of the New York Courier mentions a most ludicrous instance of the success of consummate impudence on the parfofone " stranger of distinction " at the opening of the Great Exhibition. He says— " Conspicuous among the corps diplomatique, and in immediate proximity to the very throne of Royalty, was a person in the costume of a Mandarin, who had assumed that position as of right, and whom the public and the officials of the Exhibition believed to be the c: Chinese Ambassador." k' This dignitary made the acquaintance on the spot, and upon his own introduction, of the Duke of Wellington, the Marquis of Anglesea, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and many others of the highest persons in the realm ; and was regarded with extreme respect by the Assembly, until it was remarked, that when he joined the " procession," which accompanied the Queen, in making the circuit of the Exhibition, his diplomatic brethren seemed rather to give the Chinaman the' cold shoulder,'and at length a little enquiry and reflection awakened a remembrance of the fact that there is no such person as a ' Chinese Ambassador' in London ; and the discovery of a most superb imposture was at length completed by the circumstance that a gentleman connected with the Morning Post newspaper recognised in his soi disant Excellency no less or other a person than the distinguished ' Mandarin ' who exhibits himself daily in the Chinese Junk, ' at the small charge of one shilling ;' and of whose actual rank and dignity in the Celestial Empire, a malicious rumour alleges our only positive knowledge to be such as we may deduce from the fact, that his Excellency first visited this country in the capacity of a ship's cook ! This discovery, however, was not made until the ceremonial of * opening

the Exhibition ' was concluded, and the Mandarin retired in peace, succeeding mostbrilliantly in his undertaking,'and receiving from the not yet undeceived crowd outside the building, the warmest demonstrations of respect and welcome as he passed through their ranks on his way to his ' oilicial residence,' in the Thames Basin.

Alleged Cannibal Tribe in Borneo. — Mr. Macdougall, the missionary of the Borneo Church Mission at Sarawak, has sent home an account of an iron-wood church erected at his station, —a handsome structure, in the Early English style; and of a race of cannibals recently made known to the British ; Koosoo, a Dyak who came a fortnight's journey from the interior to seek a remedy for a skin disease, was his authority as to the cannibals. Koosoo stated that a race of Kayans, who border upon his tribe, prefer man's flesh to any other food. '•'They carry attached to their sword-scabbards a sharp skewer of about eighteen inches long, which, when they have killed a victim, man, woman, or child, they introduce into the flesh, and pass along the bones of the extremities and spine, working it so as to divide all the muscular attachments from the bones. They then take off skin and flesh together, beginning at the soles of the feet, and carry on the operation from below upwards ; doing it so rapidly, that in a few minutes nothing but the bones and viscera are left. They take out the brain, and cook it slightly in a particular kind of leaf, and consider it the great bonne boucheot this abominable feast. Wheu they have cooked and eaten all they want, they cook and smoke the rest, as the Dyaks and Malays do boar's or deer's flesh, and will eat no other flesh while it lasts. Koosoo says, when his tribe go to war, some of these people always come to eat the bodies of the slain. They never kill their friends for food, but always eat an enemy when they can get one ; eating all indiscriminately, men, women, and children. But, with the exception of this horrible taste, Koosoo describes them as very good people, and as more civilised and clever than the Dyaks. He has lived amongst them once and again, and has always found them kind and hospitable to strangers, and very honest in their trading transactions. He is quite sure they would not eat white men, hut would be very glad to receive'them as friends, and would take great care of them." The cannibals are a numerous and powerful nation, governed by a rajah.— Spectator.

Valuable Hint for Mariners on the Atlantic—We yesterday complied with the request of the underwriters of the ship " Warren," of Glasgow, to examine the rope rudder made at sea by her captain, Job G. Lauton,and there set in place of one lost in a gale. In gales immediately preceding this occurrence, the " Warren " had her bowsprit, her foremast, and maintopmast, struck off by a heavy sea. The rudder in question consists of hemp cable seized together and planked across for a stiffening, secured to the stern-post by three chain bridles on each side, with hawsers "leadingforward ! also, a quantity of pig iron along its length, to prevent the stern-post from dialing the hemp rudder, and to prevent its floating. As a preventative to its being chafed asunder, small blocks of wood were attached to the hemp guys. The stock of the rudder is necessarily bulky, but not to such an extent as to remove all wonder at its effective strength. This rudder was begun, completed, and fitted to its place in twelve days, storms continuing throughout, and wasjust being put into use when a London barque spoke and offered assistance to the " Warren," but so well did the new rudder work, and so satisfied was Captain Lauton of its efficiency, that the offer was not accepted. This was In latitude 44-15, longitude 2520. From this position, with a new rudder and a new topmast, the last requiring an almost equal amount of nautical ingenity, the "Warren" has come safely into port, saving to her owners and underwriters 15,000 dollars by not turning back. — New York Courier.