TOWN AND COUNTRY.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 1933, 28 February 1867, Page 2

TOWN AND COUNTRY.

Church PnoPERTrTEtrsTEES.--Tlie annual meeting of the members of; this body will.be held.to-morrow, at the College, Library, at 3 p.m.. .., '"; Phrenology.—>Mr Hmhtitdn will deliver his fifth lecture on this subject this evening, at the Town Hall, He will treat of the organs of imagination and Observation';, in reference tq.pqetry and the:flne. : arts.

Yodno Men's Christian Association.— The annual fruit soiree will be held tomorrow evening, at the Towri Hall.; U?he chair will be,-taken by the',Rev-.Ji,i)'Bryen Hqareat.7.p'.m!.. Several.ministersaud;gentleden have kindly, undertaken to,deliver addresses on.the occasion.....-,.' The Wbst Coißx'RbAD-MHRDER;--rlTdfur-ther information has been received tending to throw any light upon''this terrible deed, which ;remairis involved in mystery. The police have not as yet obtained any; reply to the telegram which- lias'been sent to Dunedin respecting it,,, The Weather —After an unusually long period of dry yesterday;; evening a heavy rain came.pniand.contihued.fqr. a considerable time. The rain, was very : welcome to the gardeners, and agriculturists,.as owing to the longspell of: drought.and:the prevalence of hot .wihdsj/aeeompanied.with so much dust; vegetation .was .parched.and in many instances, almost destroyed;';. : The. Lky?..oi iHsoLVENCftr-We. have received a copy of a letter having the above title. It is- written by!Mr Waymoiitli,;of Auckland,.and is addressed to the ; chairman of the Chamber of Commerce in that city. Mr: Waymduth,- wild.-,has -had considerable experience as.an. accountant iii ihaiikriiptcy in ioiidiih and in .bankruptcy; cases", in this colony, offers some valuable: suggestions'-to-wards tht'solution; of thesubjeet;,, .

The Gißc;o's;~the troupe comprising the joint circus ofMessrs; Cooke and -Wilson,and .Vidllc Zqya'ra,arrived in 'Cliristchurch yesterday afternoon from-Hokitika iii one: of their own wngiiims. They, liave.brqught their stud with them, comprising eight arena horses, some of great beauty, and apparently very docile, and a mischievqu9,intetligent,Exmoor pony. TheVcqriipu'ny'report that;they had a very pleasant jourheyi the road being;in excellent and.the rivers low.;. .Tiiey will give their opening performance this evening. The Godlet pedestal .for this stiiUie is nearly completed. The; .base"has been slightly heightened; The f)gure : 'is. to stand upon a large. block:: of : stone, four, feet eight inches in height,,.and; tlirca feet, six irtciies in width. . The. stone/which is "'from Mr Ellis' quarry, at I toon Hay, \y,cighs nearly five tons; : ..One.of; the. surface's.-has been dressed.and polished, arid the other will be done as soon as tlieblockjs placed ;ih''''position-. Tho \york ca'imbtbccqmpleted.before this is done, for feiir. of damage to tlie'stone. The fop surface is atpreserit square, but it is intended that the '(iqriiers shall be,moulded off. The statue will, it is'suppbsed|be ready for inauguration in about three. weeks;from this date.

Kaupoi Municipal Cooncu.—A speoia meeting of this Council was held yeiterday, at the Toll House, Swing Bridge, for the purpose of hearing appeals against the new ratepayers' list. No objections were made, and after sitting the stipulated time the Council adjourned. The asses-ment is shortly to lake place, tenders being invited by advertisement, when the Council will again hold a meeting to hear objections against the several valuations. We have muuh pleasure in stating that the new valuation is expected to be very largely in excess of that of any previous year, which may be attributed to the number of new buildings recently erected in the town. Oamaeu Haces. The local journal informs us that the following horses have crossed the Waitaki, and are now in Oamaru, waiting the race meeting on 7th and Bth proximo ;—Mr Delamain's Musician, Presto, andAtalantaj Mr Moorhouse's Knottingly; Mr Gibson's Hunter, Toi-toi, and The Pet; Mr A. It. B. Thomson's Camel. Stormbird and Virginia are in the vicinity. From the South the following are expected:—Sclioolboy (who was brought out for the first time at last year's Oamaru Haces), Hatter, and the Hampden andManuherikia horses we formerly mentioned. There is some talk of Grey Doctor and Gaffer Grey also viiiting us. Stormbird is reported iu poor form.

Theatee KoTAL.-The first piece played here last evening was Planche's pretty comedy of "Grist to the Mill." Tlie piece is a very amusing one, although the incidents are rather improbable. Miss Fanny Brown took the part of Franciue with a good deal of spirit and vivacity. Some of the scenes between her and the old miserly marquis were capitally played. The latter character was taken by Mr B. N. Jones. Mr Fawcett was the Prince de Conti. The comedy went off fairly enough, but a little more studyon the part of some of the performers would have added to the effect. Mrs B. N. Jones supported the character of the Old Maiden relative with considerable ability. The Marvels of Peru excited the admiration of the audience in their various performances, and the sketch of " The Youth who never saw a Woman" concluded the entertainments.

Cricket.—The contents between the Canterbury and Albion Clubs are to be renewed on Friday next. The Albion Club, which is at present without a ground, lias been invited to play a match on Friday, at the ground in Hagley Park. The game will begin punctually at 10 o'clock on the first day, and will be continued, it necessary, on the following day, at 2 o'clock. The following are the teams. United Canterbury:—Messrs Burnell, Campbell, Cooke, Cotterill, Harley, Mainwaring, Mytton, A. Ollivier, F. Ollivier, E. C. Stevens, and Thomas. Albion:—Messrs Bruce, Calvert, Cuff, E. Cuff, Dawe, Dickejson, Hobbs, Taylor, Turner, and Wood. A very interesting match is expected. We understand that a volunteer cricket match is on the tapis. The Engineers have challenged the members of Nos, 1 and 2 companies to a friendly game, The challenge has been accepted, and the teams on each side will be declared shortly. The match will most likely be played on the ground of the U. C. C. C, on the afternoons of Saturday, March 9, and Saturday March 16. Industrial.—We have been favoured, by the courtesy oE Messrs Aulsebrook and Meadows, with an inspection of their establishment in Colombo street, which comprises a biscuit manufactory and a steam flour mill. On the basement, in a room asphalted, and of the dimensions of twenty-oue feet by eighteen, is placed a Bteam-engine manufactured by Messrs Smith and Co., of Glasgow. This engine is of seven or eight horse-power, but is capable of being worked up to twelve. It consumes its own smoke, and is in this respect, we believe, the only one in Canterbury. It moves all the machinery in the establishment, including the mill and the biseuit works. Adjoining the engine-room is the biscuit manufactory. The dough, after being mixed, is placed on an iron frame, where the process is completed. From 12 to 15 cwt ship-biscuits can be turned out in a day, besides from two to three hundred weight of fancy biscuits. The stamping-machine is a very ingenious piece of mechanism moved by the same engine, and fitted witli cog-wheels set in motion by it. The machine is furnished with moveable dies, which cut out and stamp the biscuits. In another room is the mill which grinds from two to three tons of flour per day. It is supplied with two grind-stones, technically called French burrs. The mill was manufactured by Messrs Proeton and Co., of Lincoln. The whole of the machinery was imported from England by Messrs Fisher. Booth and Co., and arrived without suffering the slightest damage. The machinery for dressing the flour is very ingeniously contrived for the production of the finest samples. The whole of the works occupy rather more than half an acre of ground. Scientific—By the last mail we have received the November number of the Bulletin de la Socitte Geographic. Among other'papers it coniains a letter addressed by M. Sedillot to the Secretary of the Society on the subject of a fixed meridian for universal adoption. The following is a translation of a portion of the letter * * * * "For nearly fifteen years the question of the adoption of one common meridian has been agitated, and the Geographical Society of t ranee published an appeal to the principal Governments of Europe on the subject. It is somewhat surprisintr that so simple a question should have occupied such a long time in its solution. The principal objection raised against the adoption of the scheme is this—- ' Navigators are well acquainted with the charts drawn on the different meridians; they have not thelabour of making any reduction to sgale, and it is almost impossible that any maritime disaster can arise from using th/se charts.' Now Captain Roux's letter strongly asserts exactly the contrary, and states that a captain of a ship having obtained tbelongitude from a foreign source, was deceived in his calculation and lost his vessel. The truth is that the real objection to the adoption of one uoiversal meridian is the national pride which induces each Government to select its own meridian, and to endeavour to secure its acceptanci by other nations. England lias selected Greenwich, France—Paris, SpainCadiz, Russia—Pulkowa, the United StatesWashington, &c. Thus it becomes almost impossible to select a spot which will be satisfactory to all. The great idea would be to draw up one chief and universal meridian, which would not chafe any national prejudice. The Fortunate Islands were formerly suggested. The Arabs selected Arina, to which they applied the term of " Cupola of tho Earth." Why should not this spot— Arina, be adopted as the common meridian ? Humboldt proposed it some time ago. A line might easily be drawn from it to a given point from the equator, at an equal distance from Paris and Washington, which would coincide with the magnetic line proposed by Columbus. A single table of longitude, corrected from those already employed, would be sufficient for universal use, and it would be cquilly welcomed by the Oriental and the Christian States. Rural Deanery Board or Otaqo and Southland.—The annual meeting of this Board was he'd in St George's Hall, Dunedin. on the 21st instunt. The Lord Bishop o£ Christchurch presided, and delivered an address of some length. He stated that the Bishopric of Dunedin had been underiuken to be formed, provided that the sum of £SOOO could be raised for the endowment of the See. The different religious societies in Englan I had contributed to this object, and £.OO per annum, equivalent U £IOOO hud been supplied from the Ohristchureh Bishopric Kmlowment Fund. There was a balance of £7OO still required to complete the £50.j0 required. His Lordship remarked '.lut as that odusion was probably the last on which he Bhould address them as their diocesan, ho wag desirous of returning his acknowledgments to the Board for the assistance he ha i received from every member of it in the discharge of his episcopal functions, and in conclusion ho reviewed the affairs of the diocese, and g.ive some statistics with reference to the condition of the various churches. The Board met again in the sf me place, on the following'lay, when a petition from the Southland portion of it was read and received, of which the following is the concluding sentence :—" We, therefore, earnestly pray that at the ensuing meeting of the Rural Deanery Board, we may be formed into a

separate Archdeaconry Board or Archdeaconry, and that Mr Tanner may ' lie appointed chairman of such Board." i In answer to a question, the Bishop said that i he believed that Dr Jenner had been consecrated Bishop of Dunedin, by the _ Archbishop of Canterbury, but he had received no official information oa (he subject. He learned by the English journals that two Bishops had been consecrated, and he understood that one was for Nelson, and the other for Dunedin, After some further discussion with reference to the endowment of the bishopric, the meeting broke up. Mns. FitzGeiuld's Concert. This concert which was in aid of the Refuge, took place last night at the Town Hall, and was attended by a full and most respectable audience. The music performed was of a superior description, and wag evidently much enjoyed. It is not our intention to write a line of criticism on the various performances. The occasion was such as to make remarks of a critical nature Bimply impertinent. The inspiration of the music was benevolence, which is above all art and all criticism; and the worthiness of its special object in this instance is, we think equally beyond all question. The concert commenced with a quintette from Haydn, by Messrs Bonnington, Wood, Button, Martin and Lee, accompanied by Mrs Hamilton on the pianoforte ; which was followed by a song from Miss Dearden, "The Old Arm Chair." Miss Desrden was encored and responded with "Little Bird on the Green Tre«." Mrs FitzGerald next appeared and was received with much applause. She sang" Regret," with violin obligato by Mr C. ltonuiugton. Mr Carder followed with H. Leslie's song, " Speed on my Bark." The celebrated glee " The sisters of the Sea," by Jackson, was then sung by Mrs FitzGerald, and Messrs McCardeli, Stansell, and Rutland. A lady amateur, whose name we are bound in honor not to mention, since the wishes it to be so, then sang "Com e bello," from Lucrezia Borgia. She was encored and responded with an English ballad. Mr Wood gave some selections from operas on his flute, accompanied by Mr Bilton on the pianoforte. He was encored, and Weber's air "Calm slumber brought each morrow," by Mrs Beechey, brought the first part to a conclusion. The second division was opened with Beethoven's grand sonata in F major, by Mr Bonnington on the violiu, and Mr Dayrell Reed on the pianoforte. Mrs Wood then favoured the audience with Sir H. .Bishop's bravura "Bid me Discourse," and was encored. Mrs FitzGerald followed with another bravura by Bishop " The Gentle Lark" (flute obligato, Mr Wood); she also was encored, and sang "The Western Wind was Damp and Cold," accompanying herself on the pianoforte. The lady amateur again appeared, and sang " In questo semplice," and was again encored. Messrs M'Cardell, Stansell, and Hutlaud then sang the glee" Oppressed with grief, oppressed with care," which was followed by the favourite " Stirrup Cup," by Mr Carder; and Miss Dearden, who had been the first vocal performer, now appeared again as the last, and Bang " Auld Robin Gray." She was agaiu encored,and sang "John Anderson, my Jo," which ended the concert.

The Postal Conference. The Sydney Morning Herald of Feb. 13 says:—We understand it is finally arranged that the Postal Congress, to commence in Melbourne on the 4th March will embrace the whole of the Australian colonies (Western Australia excepted) including New Zealand. The Congress will probably consist of twelve Ministers of the Crown, each of the six colonies, namely, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, New South Wales, Queensland, and New Zealand, to be represented by two Ministers. The Colonial Secretary, Mr Parkes, the Postmaster-General, Mr Docker will represent New South Wales at the Congress. The object of the Congress will be to consider the whole of the ocean mail services connected with the colonies, in order, if possible, to form an Australian Ocean Postal flystem, in which the whole of the colonies shall participate, with the responsibility equally distributed amongst them. Native Meeting.—The Southern Cross of Feb. 15, contains the following:—Our Ngaruawahia correspondent furnishes us with a somewhat lengthy report of the proceedings at a large native meeting held at that place for the purpose of talking over affairs connected with the recent outbreak at Tauranga. From the names of the speakers mentioned, it would appear that several natives of great influence were present; and it is, therefore, highly satisfatory to find such a unanimous disapproval expressed of the action taken by the Pirirakaus, and the few other rebels who have joined them on the East Coast. Mr James Mackay, jun., Civil Commissioner, was present at the meeting, and at the request of the assembly, made a statement of the causes'that had led to the commencement of hostilities, and which will, no doubt, be perused with interest by many who have, up to the present time, been unable to ascer tain for what object arms had been resorted to.

The Peninsua or Corea,—Corea, into which the French have penetrated, and over which they will probably assert at least a protectorate, is a peninsula of Asia, lying to the northwest of China, and separated by the straits of the same name from Japan. It is about five hundred and eighty miles long, and from two hundred to two hundred and sixty miles broad. Not much is known of the country. It is populous, and, in the southern part, well cultivated, though the climate is said to be cool. Corea has been held in turn by the Tartars, Chinese, and Japanese, but since the beginning of theeighteenth century, has been nominally tributary to the Emperor of China, to whom annual presents were sent. The Coreans seem to be somewhat superior to the Chinese, many of whose customs they imitate and whose language they partially use, though in various respects they resemble more their neighbours of Japan. The prevailing religion is Budhism, and the King has hierarchical as well as secular powers. King-kaitao, on the Kiang river, near the middle of the peninsula, is the capital, and there are few towns of much importance. The Coreans are quite expert in many branches of manufacture, and produce some valuable articles of export, though their foreign commerce is very limited, being mostly with China and Japan. Like other kindred nations, they have adhered to a policy of exclusiveness, which this French invasion will at least break up. Corea will prove a valuable acquisition to the French, as it contain! good harbours, is naturally a rich country, and will give the'u an enviable commercial and political position in Eastern Asia.

Waikato MiHTAitr Settlers.—Matters appear to be far from satisfactory iu some parts of the Waikato. The correspondent of the Southern Cross, writing from Hamilton on Feb 5, says:—Since my last communication a mnrked change has taken place in the settlement. The majority of thesettlers who enrolled in Melbourne have now fulfilled their full time of service-on the 26th of January last; and the remainder of the men's time will expire between this and the 4th of March. Already some dozen families havt abandoned the settlement, and before the end of March many more will have taken the same course, af'er nearly three years'toil. Several have sold their house, town acre, and farm section for a le-s sum than will repay their expenses to the sister colonies, lr. is strange that statesmen like Mr Stafford and many of our legislators could not devise some Bche ne whereby the tile of population could be prevented from leaving our shores. The only men doing well here at present are lawyers and hml ngenis, charging something like £4 for a conveyance. It would be a blessing if some of our law reformers would introduce an Act like the Torrens Act of South Australia, whereby conveyancing would be smpli lied and cheapened. There is one more subject and 1 have don?. When the men's time exp red upon the 26th of last month, the sclidoliii istcrs were among the number, mid they were the first to leave the settlement. The consequence is there is no public school now open for the children to go to, numbering six or Beven. hundred. The ministers of the different sects resident ln-re have been appealed 10, but like the rest they seem panic-struck, powerless for good. Could not the Provincial Government do something in the matter ?

Wellington Land Purchase Loan.— i The Independent of Feb. 22 says:—Tliis loan I of £30,01)0, sanctioned during the last session of the Assembly, mainly for the purpose of i providing funds for the then pending pur- i chases of the Manawatu and other blocks, has I been now entirely disposed of. Beingobliged i to be placed on the market quickly, the loan j was at first advertised for sale in Now Zea- i land, but money being just then scarce, only a small portion was sold, and the balance of the debentures was sent to Messrs Lcnnon and Cape, the well-known stockbrokers of Sydney, for disposal in that colony—the General Government meanwhile making an aJvance on them, to enable Dr Featherston to complete the Manawatu purchase on the sth of Decemtar last. The debentures bear interest at ten per cent., and have been sold at rates varying from par to three per cent, premium, all back interest being cancelled. We notice in the share list of the Sydney Morning Herald that while Queensland ten per cents and these Provincial Government of Wellington debentures are quoted at 103, ten per cent, debentures of the General Government of New Zealand are quoted at only 100 J. The explanation of this apparent anomaly probably is that the two former are for fixed periods of three and five years respectively, while the currency of the latter is very short. Tue Haast Rush.—The following items of news are taken from the files of the West Coast Times received by the overland mail: Amongst the passengers from the Haast river by the Bruce on Feb. 18, was Mr Cooper, of the survey department, who, during the preceding fortnight, was engaged in a general survey of the southern diggings and in laying off the Haast township. He also visited the Okari river, and reports very favourably of the locality as possessing the best site for a township south of Hokitika. Mr Cooper very courteously supplied us with a few later items of Haast news than those we have already published, the most important being the discovery of a new patch or lead of gold upon the terrace next inland to the gully that was first opened. The prospects obtained were not very rich, but promised small wages, and the diggers were sanguine that much better results would be obtainel as the ground was worked into. About one thousand miners make up the population of the Haast district, and it is satisfactory to know that very few are to be found hanging about the township, a general determination to thoroughly prospect the country having been apparently arrived at. Nearly one hundred men, heaTily swagged, departed southward across the Okari River, with the intention of testing some likely - looking country about Jackson's Bay, whilst a considerable crowd left in an opposite direction to try what the country is made of between Arnott Point and the Haast. Another township is to be laid off on the banks of the Okari, It appears that new ground has been opened in the Haast district, as on Feb. 19 a rush set in to a beach terrace, situated a few miles north of the river. The discovery was made known at Haast Town immediately prior to the departure of the William Miskin, and Captain Hepburn informs us that, when steaming down the coast, he noticed hundreds of diggers hurrying along the beach towards the newly-found place. More than one hundred miners had taken passage in the Miskin for Hokitika, and were absolutely onboard, but the reception of suchintelligencecaused them to hasten on shore again, and join in the rush northwards. We hear the prospects obtained were not rich, but stated as being fairly payable.

Telegraph Routes to India,—The Times of Dec. 16 says :—A. register of the performance of the telegraph to Tndia during the first nine months of the current year presents some highly interesting features. The messages in that period were 22,886, of which 22,610 were of a commercial or private nature, and 276 were Government despatches. The larger portion went through i'urkey, and the average time occupied by that route was 4 days 11 hours and 13 minutes, the shortest transmission having been 2 hours and 4 minutes, and the longest 23 days. By the route via Russia the average time was 10 days 3 hours and 5 minutes, the shortest transmission being 11 hours 10 minutes, and the longest 25 days. Tims far, therefore, the Turkish route, compared with the Russian, has on the average been more than twice as rapid; but it is to be observed that while the Turkish lines have not improved in speed since the beginning of the year, the Russian have almost uninterruptedly advanced in management, so that the average time, which was 21 days 1 hour and 50 minutes in January, beeame reduced to 2 days 10 hours and 55 minutes in September, during which month messages by that route actually occupied little more than half the time required by the Turkish. During the month of June some messages were transmitted by a third route—namely, via Alexandria, the average time of which was 2 days 20 hours, but this course has not since been available. Between the head of the Persian Gulf, where the messages by each route must concentrate, and Kurrachee, the average time has been 4 hours 16 minutes, the shortest having been 44 minutes, and the longest (ho exceptional case, consequent doubtless on an accident to the cable) 6 days and 23 minutes.

The Morhons,—ASaltLakepaper says:— When a man joins the Mormon Church, as it exiits in Utah, he is required, as a proof of his sincerity, to donate to the tithing office one-tenth of all his possessions—no matter what they are, or how extensive they may be. A man with 100,000 dols in money must, upon hit entry into fellowship, gire the tithing office 10,000 dols of it. This is the first grand principle of Utah Mormonism. If the man during the year makeß 40,000 dols by a judicious investment of his remaining 90.000 dollars, he must give the tithing office 4,000 dollars of the amount. This ib the second grand principle of Utah Mormonism; and upon these two principles hang all the laws and the profits. If a man has no money or other property, he is required to give one-tenth of his labour to the tithing office j thus he labours nine days for himself, and the tenth he gives to the Church in such manner as he may be directed, In this manner the Church claims one-tenth of every labouring man's time—one-tenth of every trade represented in the territory—onetenth of a man's life, talent and industry, If a man engages in farming and raising wheat, cattle, horses, sheep, &c, he must calculate what he has raised, say 100 bushels of wheat at twenty day's labour—the tithing office demands ten bushels of that grain. Should he be idle thirty days, the tithing office claims 3 days from him on the ground that he may do as he pleases with twenty-seven days, but has no right to idle away three days belonging to the sheep he must give away one-tenth of them; he must give one-tentli of the increase. If he has a cow, and the cow gives ten quarts of milk each day, the Church claims onetenth. In fact, the Church ithing system penetrates the most abject abode of poverty in the Territory, and extracts from it the one-tenth—if it only amounts to one hen's egg. The tithing Bystem is a source of large revenue. It is reduced to a science. Those who have the administration of the system manage to live well, own the finest farms, the best stock, and have the greatest number of women on their premises. It grinds down the people by its very oppressive nature, and serves to build up the favoured few who have the satisfaction of handling the funds. Now what becomes of all this tithing fund? Do the people who pay it ever know? Have they In n furnished by the titliingfkm with the bahnce sheet of the same, shewing how much Inn he™ expended and how much remains on hand ? Have the Tax Laws of the nation ever reached this fund ? We assert, with a full knowledge of what we are writing, that at no time since the Mormon advent into Uiah, has any public statement of the condition of the fund been made to the people. The Mormon lenders are inclined to exaggerate their numbers, and set down the population of Salt Lake City as 25,000, and that of the whole territory as 125,000 ; but the Gentiles, p inting to the census of I GO, which gave but 40,295 in all Utah any there cannot be over 75,000 now in the entire territory. A centleman who lias investigated the matter somewhat fully this season, believes

the true population iauuou I.ioujj i w 7" territory, and 15,000 to 1(5,000 for the ci Yet because an ordinary-size I house, y,\Ji at the East would scarcely lie occupied b more than eight or ten people, is here fon I to comprise within its four walls from twot twenty' wives,'each surroundel by a l ar „ ° interesting, and constantly increasing furailv' it is a matter of no small difficulty to es «* mate the number of peop'e by their oV e )" lings. Children fairly swarm, stout" strongly-built, ruddy-faced, it must be con! fessed that so far as physics! deterioration is concerned, polygamy cannot yet be justj v charged with degenerating the race.

The Isthmus op Darien,—A party 0 f Engineers under Mr Davidson, sent out bv the United States Government, are now \ n this city making arrangements, preparatory to starting for the Darien, for a more com. plete survey of that portion of the Isthmus' with a view to the construction of a shm canal, than has yet been made. Indeed hitherto very little information of a satisfactory nature has been derived from su t ! veying expeditions in that region, and it jj desirable that speculation as to the practicability of so important a scheme, should be set at rest, and something direct, positive and reliable in reference thereto given to the world. We have before us the report of Rear-Admiral Davis on the subject, but it is too lengthy for publication in our columns The N. Y. Herald in alluding to it says -J Kear-Admiral Davis presents a summary of all the surveys and reconnoissances which have been made of these routes, together with a stitement of the advantages and disadvantages of each. He gives decided preference to the route across the Isthmus of Darien, convinced as he is by the results of even the imperfect explorations hitherto made, that this route is straight, short and apparently practicable. At each end of this line, from the Gulf of San Miguel to Caledonia Bay, there are natural harbours, spacious, deep, secure—in short, admirable in every respect. On the Pacific side there is a rise of tide suited to the construction of docks for building and repairs. The line cuts the Cordilleras at a depression at least thirty feet belcw any that has ever been reported, and several hundred feet below any that has actually been surveyed. Its course is direct, free from obstructions and exceptionally healthy, while its outlets open upon coasts where violent storms are rarely known. The plains on each side of the dividing ridge are of easy slope and reidily penetrated. The Savnna river itself would form apart of the canal; and, finally, accepting the particular statement of Dr Cullen as fully reliable, a ship canal may be cut on this line without locks and even without tunnel, and yet not surpass in difficulty, in labour, or in amount of time or money consumed in its construction, several other monuments of human genius and enterprise in past times and in our own day." Thus does Admiral Davis sum up the advantages of a ship-canal twenty-six or twenty-seven miles in length, on such a line as that described by Dr ■Cullen, with a cut of two miles only through hard rock. The Admiral is confident that in respect to time, money, and difficulty it would fallfar short of that tunnel which is now in progress under the Alps at Mont Cenis for the purpose of connecting France and Italy by a continuous railway. He presents, moreover, a number of tables which shew the saving in distance from New York to Cilcutta, Canton, Shanghae, Valparaiso, Callao, Guayaquil, Panama, San Bias, Mazatlan, San Diego, San Francisco, Wellington, in New Zealand, and Melbourne, in Australia, by the Isthmus of Panama, over the Cape routes, amounting in each case of five of these ports to fourteen thousand miles; the total amount of tonnage and trade affected by the projected canal (467,831,130 dols), and, finally, the yearly saving to the trade of the world that would result from the use of the canal (49,530,208). An isthmus canal, which will at once make a yearly saving of nearly fifty millions to the trade of ; the world certainly commends itself to the

attention of the commercial classes everywhere Statesmen and philanthropists are already aware that its prospective advantages to mankind cannot be over estimated. United States Taxation.—The Nw

York Times of a recent date says:—The subject of taxation is a vital one to every person in this country, and it becomes deeply interesting to know how our Government meed its enormous obligations, and where are its great sources of internal income. ' The dry report of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, in this view, will bear a further analysis. In three years, we learn from his statements, the amount from internal taxation has almost trebled itself—rising from 117,145,758 dols in 1863-64, to 310,906,948 dols in 1866. Of this large sum, nearly onefifth is derived from the income-tax, of 60,894,135 dols; this again has more than quadrupled since 1863—64, being then 14,919,279 dols. From this tax paid on income, 26,570,809 dols were at five per cent., and 34,501.122 dols at ten per cent. The Commissioner makes returns of the number of persons in 185 districts—or nearly 87 per cent, of the whole—paying taxes on different incomes j and we discover that 190,189 persons in the free States hare less than 1,000 dols per annum, and more than 600 dols; 162,513 have more than 1,000 dols and not more than 5,000 dols; and only 31,000 show an annual income of over 5,000 dols. We next observe with great satisfaction that nearly 30,000,000 dols of our taxes (or 29,198,178 dils) are raised from distilled spirits and 115,130 dols from fermented liquors. The experience of all countrees agrees that one of the most profitable and the soundest objects of taxation are distilledliquors. Such a tax encourages the use of light wines, lessens intoxicaiion, and is laid on luxury, and a pernicious luxury. We regrit to hear from the report that this tax is so largely evaded, and to observe that it has only increased about one million dollars since 1814. In the fiscal year ending Nov. I, 18C6, it bids fair, however, to be much larger, reaching 37,627,995 dols. The tax is now 3 dols a gallon, or ten times the tax of 1864, | Again, among luxuries, we find the tax on tobacco to be 12,339,921 dols. in 1866, having almost doubled sin e 1864; on cigars, 3,474,438, or more than doubled since 1864, when it was 1,355,424, The production, however, of taxable tobacco has fallen off singularly from 63,748,351 pounds in 1864 to 35,748,351 in 1866, which even making the allowance meniimed of IOOdO.OCO pounds entered early in 1864 to avoid the duty, would seem to indicate that the tax had been made so high as to become prohibitory, and thus cause our people to give up to a certain degree this indulgence. On petroleum, a very questionable tax raises the large sum of 5,317,3;)6 dols, more than doubled since 1864. On iron anl steel the tax has nearly quadrupled in amount since 1864, being 13,728,133 dols. against 8,694,1« dols. A very important source of income to the Government is from revenue stamps, undoubtedly one of the most judicious taxes on the list. This has risen nearly three times siuce 1864, from 5,894,945 dols to 15,044,375 dob. Licenses, too, have more than doubled their return, it bjing dols in 1864 and 18,015,743 dols in 1866. The taxes on bank dividends amounted to 4,186,023 dols, and on deposits to 2,099,635 dols; on insurance dividends and premium' to nearly two millions; on railroad dividend' to nearly three and a half million* of dollar* From this it will be seen where we derive our immense internal revenue, which is said to be the largest internal revenue ever taken by voluntary taxalim from a modern people in a single year. Incomes, stamps and licenses, liquors, and tobacco are the great sources.