ENGLISH NEWS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume II, Issue 94, 23 October 1852, Page 4

ENGLISH NEWS.

By the "Brilliant," 83 days out, English news have been received at Geelong to the 23rd June, but owing to the apathy and indifference of the Geelong Advertiser, but a very scanty summary had reached Melbourne on the 17th September, much to the indignation of the journals of that place. The following is all that appears:— Parliament was still sitting, and the record of the proceedings furnishes nothing definite, beyond what might be expected from politicians, who are utterly at sea, as respects their future aims and objects. On the occasion of a vote, on the 11th of June, of upwards of £14,000 for the Colonial Land and Emigration Board, Mr. Hume took occasion to call the attention of the Government to the number of applications from all parts of the country —he received many himself from individuals who stated themselves to be in want, and anxious to proceed to Australia, where labour wag needed, and from individuals who desired to pay for their passage if the Government would make the necessary arrangements. No person was more averse than himself to the application of public money in such a way ; but he would put it to the Colonial Secretary whether with the applications he had from abroad or at home, this might not be an exception from what was fitly and properly called a general rule in political economy. We had men anxious to be off the poor rate, desirous to maintain themselves and their families by labour, but unable to obtain' it; the introduction of machinery had superseded the labour of large classes, and the introduction of new produce from abroad had also superseded the employment in this country of another class. ("Hear, hear," from the Ministerial benches.) All this took the case out of all ordinary rules. (Hear.) He believed, when the plan was adopted, as it would be remembered it had been, of taking out people who bound themselves to pay in the colony the unpaid part of their passage money, it seldom led to good. This led to a debate of some length, during which the new home Secretary, Sir John Pakington, stated that the number of emigrants from Ireland was larger in proportion than the number from other parts of the country. But, notwithstanding, the Government were still continuing emigration from that country, and were sending out as many families as they could. With respect to paying passages and recovering payments afterwards,he assured the hon. member for Montrose that the matter had not been lost sight of. Another meeting of mamifacturers was held in Leeds on the 4th June, on the subject of the supply of labour for Australia. The Chairman said, since they last met on this subject he had received a great many letters from almost every part of the country, some of them from clergymen in the agricultural districts, recommending suitable persons as emigrants ; others from parties with suggestions upon various points, and one from a Mr. Wooller, recommending some plan for dispensing with manual labour in the shearing of sheep in Australia. An association named Si The West Riding Association, for the promotion of emigration to the wool-growing districts of Australia," has been formed to aid intending emigrants, and a liberal subscription entered into in support of the design. The general election mania was growing more intense as the period of the dissolution of Parliament approached. The London and provincial journals continue to teem with extracts of letters from the Victoria diggings. The Militia Bill had passed its third reading in the House of Commons, by a maioritv of 72. J The PlymovAh Journal of the 1 Oth of June, thus speaks of the Wool Sales:—" The colonial wool sales at the BTall of Commerce, which commenced on the 20th ultimo closed this evening. About 31,000 bales have been sold independent of about 6,000 bales of various descriptions of low foreign wool. From the commencement to the clo.-e of these sales there has been a very lively demand, and prices have been well supported. Everything has been sold, and nothing bought in. It is calculated that oner fourth of the finer descriptions of Port Phillip wools and the better sort of Capes have been taken for foreign account, principally for the French markers. Staplers, and dealers have npt taken their usual quantity. A few parcels

have been bought on speculation, but the greater bulk has been taken by our own munufacturers. The healthy state of trade in our manufacturing districts, and the comparatively small quantity for this season of the year brought forward, has caused prices to average full 15 per cent above February, and 25 per cent above May and June, 1851; and should trade here and in France continue good, and the importations between the present time and July prove short, there is no calculating on what the price of wool may be, as the stock in this country is lower at the present moment than it has been for many years." Mr. Feargus O'Connor, member for Nottingham, was under arrest as a dangerous lunatic. On his return from America, he had attended in the House of Commons, where he indulged in various eccentric and violent interruptions to the public business. On Wednesday, the 10th of June, while Sir B. Hall was calling " Divide," Mr. O'Connor struck him a severe blow in the side. The honourable baronet appealed to the House for protection, and Mr. O'Connor, in most distressing tones, weeping and sobbing, and using very incoherent language, made an apology. On Thursday, loud cries of " Order" were elicited from honorable members in consequence of Mr. O'Connor's eccentric behaviour. He repeatedly left and re-entered the House; tendered Ids hand to members on the Opposition and Ministerial benches; punched several members in the side; snatched a letter from the hand of Captain Fitz Roy, and otherwise so insulted him that the gallant member assumed a threatening attitude, which caused Mr. O'Connor to make an abrupt exit. In a few minutes he again entered, and commenced a second course of eccentricities, which elicited loud cries of "Order," in which Mr. B. Denison was joining, when Mr. O'Connor directed his fingers to the honourable member's face as if about to pull his nose. Mr. Denison thereupon demanded the interference of the House ; and ultimately upon the proposition of Mr. Walpole, seconded by Sir J. Pakington, it was resolved that Mr. O'Connor should be committed to the custody of the Serjeant-at-Arms. On being searched, a roll of bank notes was found in the interior pocket of his vest. On the officer's taking them for security, he is reported to have said, " Do not take those, I shall not cut anybody's throat with them." It appeared that he had been in the habit of indulging excessively in brandy, from which he is now strictly prohibited. On the Thursday following, two medical gentlemen waited upon him, and in consequence of the incoherence of his conversation, and his previous eccentric conduct, they certified that he was of unsound mind, and not fit to be at liberty. During the interview he repeatedly addressed one of them as " your Majesty." There is no doubt that Mr. O'Connor will be placed for the present in some lunatic asylum. The Subscription Lists of the proposed Australasian Pacific Mail Steam Packet Company are closed. The total number of shares to be allotted was 12,500, of £20 each, and the number applied for was 40,253. It is expected that the vessels of the Company will commence running next year. They are to be of about 1,400 tons burthen, on the auxiliary principle, with 300 horse power. The Panama route is in great favour at Sydney, and to aid its progress, Mr. Donaldson has given notice of his intention to move in the Legislative Council a series of resolutions, including a proposal to present an address to the Governor General, praying that his Excellency will cause to be placed on the estimates for 1853, the sum of £6,000 for this object, which contribution it is proposed to continue for three years, to the first Steam Company which shall establish a monthly line of Steamers between Sydney and Panama, by which the interchange of letters to and fro between London aud Sydney shall be brought under 130 days. The Crystal Palace.—The scheme for the removal of this enormous building to an appropriate site in the immediate neighbourhood of the metropolis has been definitely arranged. Sydenham, a station on the Brighton Eailway, has been fixed upon as the spot on which the Crystal Palace is once more to display its graceful proportions. It is to be placed in the midst oi a park of 150 acres, which is to be planted with specimens of every tree which can be grown out of doors in England. The Palace itself is to contain a winter garden of 18 acres in extent, filled with the

choicest plants and ilowers. Within its walls flower-shows are to be held, which will put to shame the exhibition of Chiswick or the Eegent's Park. There are to be sculptures by the chief living artists, and casts of the most celebrated works of antiquity. Geology and minerology will receive their appropriate illustrations, while specimens of the most striking costumes and manufactures of the various na* tions will be laid out as at the time of the Great Exhibition. Not the least interesting part of this splendid spectacle will consist of samples of machinery, such as those which were seen at work last year in the northern section of the building, when it stood in its full glory in Ilyde Park. In a word, as far as it may be possible, no effort will be spared to make the Crystal Palace what it was last year, and something more besides. The building itself will show to much greater advantage when placed in the midst of a large open space, filled with shrubs and trees, than on its old site in Hyde Park, where the immediate proximity of the Kensington houses spoiled the effect", as seen from the south. Nor, as far as the arrangements for passing to and fro are concerned, will there be much reason for regret. The situation in which the building is to be placed is as easy of approach for the greater proportion of the inhabitants of London as the former site. It is but an affair of a few minutes to pass from the London-bridge to the Sydenham station. There are to be also extra lines from Waterloo, Vauxhall, and the Bricklayers' Arms, so that the inhabitants of any portion of the metropolis may have the opportunity of visiting the Exhibition with a tolerable degree of facility and comfort. We may well hope that the possession of such means of rational and instructive recreation will tend to educate the people to nobler habits of enjoyment, to purer desires, and more elevated thoughts.— Times.