ENGLISH NEWS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume V, Issue 275, 20 June 1855, Page 4

ENGLISH NEWS.

' [We devote the greater portion of our space to-day to the publication of intelligence from the mother-country in order to fill up the gap which the irregular arrival of colonial papers occasions The proceedings of the Provincial Council will be given in our next. In this arraugemeiu we trust we are consulting the wfshes of thg great majority of our readers.] , T

The obituary of tke months of January and February contain the names of*tb.e Yen. Juli lls Hare, John Henry Vivian, Esq., M.P., ViceAdmiral B. Hodgson, Viscount O'Niel,-General Sir W. C. Eustace, K.C.H., — Forbes, Esq M.P., Joseph Hume, Esq., M.P., Viscouut Ponsonhy, the Earl of Leitrim, Miss Mitford author of' Our Village", Lord Robertson, Sir Geovge Wombwell, Xieut. Col. Hugh Andmy Fraser, Lieut. Gen. Archibald, Maclachlan Gen. Sir Andrew F. Barnard, G.C.8,, G.C.H.' Sir Adam Ferguson, Major-General Sir James Dennis, X.C.8., Major-General Henry Robert Milner, Rear-Admiral Forbes,*Rear-Adtniral Sir Richard O'Connor, X.C.8., General Carpenter, Dr. Joseph Phillimore, D.C.L.,F.R.5., Rearz\dmiral Sir John Hill, and the Rev. R. Jones, Professor of Political Economy, &c, East Indian College, Haileybury. ' -

An excessive frost lias prevailed for many weeks past in London ; but more genial weather has now set in. On the 20th Januaiy, the river Thames was'frozen over to the extent of at least three miles above Richmond, and was sufficient' iy hard to bear the weight of men. The passage of the river was completely blocked with masses of ice, and all traffic stopped, the effect of which was to throw about 50,000 men out of employ, ment. On the same day two coal brigs laden with coals broke away from their moorings, and drifting iip the river did serious damage to the numerous cm ft with which they came in contact, In their course they came in collision with the splendid Aberdeen steamship Royal Victoria, of 800 tons burden, and moored off the Thames police station. The steamer was soon carried away from her moorings,l chains, anchor, and gear snapping to pieces. The piles which sustained the huge floatiug pier and its massive timbers s at,th^ Aberdeen Wharf were carried away. The whole* was'sunk below the ice,'and in a few minutes not a vestige of the pier was to be seen. The steamer and brigs, after overcoming the impedifnent;VdUfte3J| towards the f Newcastle wharf, and the floating pier and piles were in an instant destroyed. ' The steamer and ships were carried by the .tide as far as the Union Stairs pier, .about half a mile from Wohlgemutb's wharf, where they were stopped about 5 o'clock, when it was nearly high water. On the ebbing of the tide the three vessels floated down the river, and having cleared all obstacles in then: ■way up, were driven on shore at Execution dock. In the afternoon the Royal Victoria steamer and fhe two coal brigs came up again with the flood tide, demolishing the craft, boats, and everything that came in their way.— Home News.

Bread Riots.—The iron hand of Winter presses upon us, more severely than it has for many a year; and unless the pressure be relieved, it seems likely that the " difficulty" now felt by trade and labour will become disaster. The navigable rivers are frozen ; cotton-laden ships have been^kept off by adverse winds ; land is .closed against industry'that depends directly upon the soil ; frost renders many constructive trades, such as building, impossible! and-com-merce, already shaken by the overtrading in the great extra-European markets, and shaded by the apprehensions of war, is suspended by a season that puts down alike the business and the pleasures of coining Spring. The poor suffer fearfully, not only with mears denied, hunger, and cold, but from circumstances which are only inconvenient to other classes. The ordinary duties 'of household life become painful to a frame nipped with hunger, and to hands aching with cold. The vicious take advantage of the season to mingle with the distressed: , "bread riots" have disturbed Liverpool, arij'c have been imitated at the Eastern end of Loiidon ; where a flag inscribed " Bread or Blood" imparted a revolting air of melodramatic quackery to the pretended rebellion of hunger. Policemen have cleared the streets of the rioters ; the workhouse officers and charities are labouring to keep down the growth of destitute mobs; but any increase to the suspension of work threatens to necessitate measures on a much larger scale.— Spectator.

■ There were serious riots at the East End of London onWednesday and Thursday. TehVof

thousands of the poor are deprived of employment by the severity of the weather, especially in all vocations connected with the river. Measures have been taken by the Guardians and Police Magistrates to supply the destitute at least with food ; but the number of applicants was sojgreat that the officers could not relieve them enough. Mobs collected, under the leadership, fo;r the most part, of stalwart and turbulent Irishmen; who, loudly demanded " bread," paraded the streets, and pillaged the shops, not only of food but of money. In this alarming state of things, most of the shops were shut; and a kind of terror prevailed from Whitechapel to Hackney. The police, however, regardless of numbers, rushed upon the ringjeaders and arrested many. All day on Thursday, the magistrates in Stepney, Worship Street, and Southwark—for tlwre were some rioting in Bermunsdey—were engaged in dealing with the fellows under arrest, and several were committed for trial. They also received deputations from the inhabitants asking for protection, begging that special constables might be sworn in. The Thames Police Magistrate declined to grant the latter request'; but Superintendent Howie was present, and assured the applicants that he had a large increasing force at his disposal, and that he would be ab>e to maintain order. It was evident that the example of Liverpool had not been without effect, for it was spoken of with zest by the rioters.— lbid.

The real distress endured by the dock labourers and other workpeople at Liverpool at this inclement season has been used as a pretence by a set of thieves and disorderly ruffians to get up " bread riots." All Monday morning gangs of lads and violent women, headed by a lew desperadoes, unfavourably known to the police, rushed from street to street, demanding food from bakers and piovision dealers, and pillaging where they could. Many shops were ransacked both of money andjjoois ; money was also stolen fromjpublic-houses ; and to prove that they were not merely hungry,'the mob wantonly smashed the windows of shops where they had been "relieved ■with food, or which they had previously sacked. One shopkeeper, Mr. Phillips, stood in his doorway ..with two loaded pistols —the m,ob quickly, retreated from that demonstration.'VFor^a $n»e-. the rioters met with no resistance from the police, 'for the.outbreak had been unexpected; and even when the police had mustered" in -forced the "pillagers "were"in rso mairy b'dhds, "and'were so -widely spread about the" town, that it Avas difficult to cope with them. However,Wi number of the ringleaders were captured, anNPevti'n-' lually the disturbances were quelled. Most of the prisoners were Irish, and known bad 'characters : one had got possession of four loaves, and £2 in money.

On Tuesday, sixty of the rioters were sent to prison, the term for the worst ' being three months. In passing sentence {Magistrate pointed out the peculiar misbehaviour insetting up " bread riots" at Liverpool, as the affluent had been so ready to provide food for those who needed it. He mentioned that a baker who had been employed to make bread for gratuitous distribution had been compelled to ask for the protection of the police from marauders. Ibid,, Feb. 24.