LATEST ENGLISH NEWS.

New Zealand Gazette and Wellington Spectator, Volume II, Issue 97, 11 December 1841, Page 3

L AT E S T E N G LI S H NEWS.

i Through the .kindness of a friend , at ' the Cape of 1 Good- Hope, we have been < put in possession of a 'copy of Belts Life in London, of the Bth of August," being one month later than our previous intelligence. ,We believe it is the only paper of so late. a date in the Colony, 'and we therefore give copious extracts. :'■ i. ■- -The, Houses of Parliament will -meet on the* i9t*h! Jinst'. for, f'*the 'dispatch of 'business.'" Much doubt has been expressed as to the first proVable issue upon, "which the strength of part(es jyould 'be .put' to the test. THe'Times, one .of /the supposed^ organs of the Tories, boldly dictated the course to be pursued by its party, and- on 'Monday told Sir Robert Peel that jff tlierfe was' in.' his party one -dissentient to'the ejection of, Mr..' Shaw Lefevre from the Speakership, he;must.at once, abandon all pretensions to office. These were the : words used;; " If -he (Sir : .R. 'Peel) be not wholly supported, 'without even an individual absence, much less the opposition of any few, professing themselves -to :be of' his-party, there is' but one dignified course for *h'iih 'to adopt — to toss up tble Preiniersljip^'so.'crippled in its outset with disdain, and retire intp. that private life which he isicalculated to adorn."

Wedriesday ' T/ie- Morning Post says, "We have reason, to know that. Sir Robert PeeliiaS'Cpmiminicated.tp Mr ,C. Shaw Lefevre his intention to support there-election of that gentleman in the event of his being proposed, on the the ' new Parliament, as Sjpeaterj of the House] of "Commons.- We mayi add .that those' personal . and political friends "of- the Right Honourable Baronet to whom this" intention hasbeen imparted concur unanimously in the' propriety, i, of, this .decision." . . - r r ' . • The Times and Sir Robert are strangely opposed in: their notions of " dignity"— and for once Sir Robert seems to have an opinion of, his own.— Lord John . Russell ■ evidently foresees-a- stornvand- has" sent -the following circular to his supporters :~ Dowmng-street, July 31, 1841. .Sib,— -As.upon the meeting of Parliament, on Thursday, th.c 19th of August,- the House of Commons will immediately proceed to the choice of a Sp ( eaker,.and to the consideration of business of the highest importance, I take the liberty of earnestly requesting your attendance on that day. „ . Ijhave^thehonqur^tobe, Sir,- - v _ ', Yoiir obedient and faithful servant, -, r4 . . J. Russell. Tory Anticipations. — Every hody with a grain of sense in' his head knows that the great stutiibling-blpck _ of. Sir R. Peel's 'administration wiU be Ireland., On' the one hand he will have to -encounter the not un-reasonable-prejudices-of the- Roman Catholics of that country, who see in the restoration of the Tories to power .a, probable renewal of those mischevious' absurdities which were perpetrated under the- name ■of Protestant Ascendancy in former .times, and on the other he will 'have to ( 'bear'the impatient urgings of the ultras, of> his. own. party, .pressing him on to do what- the Irish Roman Catholics fear he will-do. -His own' good sense'and temperate disposition will hardly be', a match for such a combination, of,' difficulties; the latter is the greater one,* and even-now begins to declare itself. In the Cheltenham Journal and Strbud Herald of, Monday, August 2, 1841, there is an article which, considering whence it proceeds, andin what language it is written, we are constrained to believe speaks' the sentiments and "is* the production of. the pen of an ecclesiastical, writer ;.".the odium theologicum is visible in every line. It plunges at once into' the marrow- of the -matter thus — "What would in .reality, be justice to Ireland? , "What would be "fhe, greatest' blessing that could be conferred upon Ireland?" It would puzzle any >one .but 1 a* real theological- disputant to give such an,,answer as the writer immediately doesVgiYes'to'his.own^questipns.. The answer to these questions is. prompt, and confined in a.single word — "-Conquest !'•' ' The capitals are the writer's, not ours ; he has dignified, the word with that soft; of point to show how emphatically, .he . reliejs ' on: the excellency of his recommendation, and how earnestly he desires " to press the thing on the new Tory. Government for adoption. Let us go a little further and see how this " conquest " is to be. achieved: — " The first step towards the conquest of Ireland would be to send over a commanding military force, .not to shed blood but to prevent the shedding, of- blood; Every individual popish priest should then be secured and exiled for life, nor be permitted to return under penalty of death, and all person's found aiding and abetting a popish priest in secreting himself, should also be condemned to exile for life. These men, the priests, &c, might be shipped for some of the colonies, • and there receive allotments of land, and there be kept under strict surveillance." He afterwards adds— ".Such is a simple outline of the measures for the bloodless conquest of

Ireland. It is 'for a Conservative' government, for a 1 Conservative government, alone to achieve this glory." "We have given his words and his style of printing faithfully, and now ask whether the head of a party cursed with. , such followers, 'followers, too, not -without influence, is not in a rriost unenviable , situation.- 'Of" course v we know that- Sir R. Peel will not' -adopt, "he cannot adopt this senseless and stupid as" well as wicked recommendation/ Twelve years ago- the Duke of Wellington foolishly announced' that he conceded the -Roman Catholic Relief Bill to the fear of civil war. If the danger was great then it would be greater now, should such brutal absurdities as these •be now attempted to be enforced,. and his Grace would be the first to stand forward and crush any attempt of the' kind here recommended. But what must be the feelings of the Roman Catholics of' lreland towards a party which contains men who can seriously make- such propositions.'" 'Must they not feel,, and we use the mildest expression that the English language affords, a great distrust of the good intentions of such a party?. And, with a" people, situated like the Irish, .will not this very distrust be. a serious obstacle in the way of peaceable^' Government of the country? Assuming to ourselves for a" moment the office of defender of Sir R. Peel as well as of the Irish people, we denounce this clerical bigotry and brutality, and haying -called public attention, to its existence, look-to see it made the subject of universal reprobation, and ridicule. The M'Leod Affair. — The interest excited by "this matter is increasing in this country, not unmingled with a certain degree of uneasiness, on account of the protracted time during which the subject has been under public consideration ; and some , attempts have been made to represent that .Lord merston has been wanting in his duty to his country, or that the honourable respect due to England no longer exists among' foreign nations. We are sure that each of these things is untrue, and that the delay in releasing M'Leod arises neither from a want of energy on the part of Lord Palmerston, nor a want of good will s in the present Government of, the United States towards this country. The fact is that the delay is the "law's duty." The law of a country like England or the United States must be adminstered according to established, forms, which will not give way to the .wishes k of the Government and must, not be violated .by it ; arid in the United? States the delay is greater than it would be in England, 'because each state having courts of its own and determining to act according to its own rules of proceedings (which it has the full power to do,) the government cannot interfere till the affair is ripe for an appeal to .the supreme court of the United States ; that court will not commit the absurdity which judge Cowan has committed, bufwill recognise and act upon the. broad principles of international law, principles which the States have° beforenow enforced on' their own behalf, and which, therefore, they must and will adopt in the present instance. ' But should the judges of the Supreme Court manifest as great ignorance of the law as Judge Cowan has manifested — should they deny that law which all the great Lawyers in their own Congress have broadly and distinctly asserted — the Congress must then take the matter out of the hands of the Judges, and by a Legislative enactment to put an end to the difficuty. And such will inevitdbly be, the* result ; nor will that result be avoided merely because it is delayed. The duty of England is to insist on the recognition of the plainest .principle of national law that was ever perhaps brought before a Court of Justice or under the notice of a people. England has the power to do it, would be supported in doing it by the voice of the civilized world, and with the full knowledge of these facts we do not believe that M'Leod is in the least danger or that the first principles of law and justice will fail to be completely established. Bell's Life in London states that " Parliament will not be opened by her Majesty, by a Speech from the Throne, until the 24th of the present month (August,) on which day it is expected her Majesty will go to the House of Peers." In reference to the " first-born " of the Queen of England, the Editor thus writes : — " The young princess royal, whom we had lately an opportunity of seeing, is a fine healthy child, with mild blue eyes, full beautifully formed lips, and as far as the features of an infant at such a tender age are capable of expression, hers are eminently so. She is very much beloved by those in immediate attendance upon her — holds out her arms to welcome her Majesty, who, it is unnecessary to- state, is fondly attached to her beautiful child." From the following paragraph it would appear that Lord John Russell has again entered into the matrimonial life: — " Lord and Lady John Russell' arrived on Friday evening at Minto-house, hear Hawick, North. Britain, on a visit to the Earl and Countess of Minto,

from the'Duke'of Buccleuch's seat, Bowhill,"* near Selkirk..' It is understood Lord and Lady John" Russell will be in town by the lOth or. llth." Westminster Conservative Banquet. — The committee for conducting the dinner to.be given Captain Rous, to celebrate his return and triumph of conservative principles in Westminster, have taken the Theatre Royal, Drury-lane K which is to he forthwith fitted up for the dinner announced to take place on the 20th inst.' , The King of Hanover has forwarded, through Sir B. Watson, £100 towards the funds of the Queen's Free-school, in" the ■parish of Kew."~ ' *

The Regent's Park. — There are at present an immense , uumber of workmen busily engaged, under the directions of the Commissioners of- Woods •» and Forests, making preparations for the opening of the entire Great Park. , In the bottom of the plantations of the grounds of the Marquis of Hertford's splendid villa, an elegant suspension chain bridge is being erected over the ornamental waters, the entrance to which will be from that part of the Park fronting Han-over-terrace. There are severaL other en-

trances being made in various ;parts of the park for the accommodation of the public, at which small lodges are to be built for the keepers to reside in during the day. Numbers of elegant, broad, straight, and serpentine gravel walks are being made throughout the interior of the park, all of which will be speedily opened to the public.

The Harvest. — The wheat harvest lms commenced in various directions, and especially in the neighbourhood of London. The weather has been variable, but at present no serious mischief has been done by the rain. The pride of corn has risen, and the 41b. best wheaten, is now risen to lOd. Meat also advances in price, and tea and sugar are " looking up." This is far from a pleasing prospect for the country, the more especially as in the manufacturing districts the greatest distress prevails, and a vast number of workmen have been thrown out of employment. A great number of our best workmen have bean transferred to the continent, and ere long British goods will be at a serious discount — even now the demand is hourly decreasing. The price of the 61b. loaf in America is equal to sixpence British. -

. The Oyster Season. — The saleof oysters on Wednesday morning at Billingsgate. The supply was good both in quantity and quality, and Mr. G-oldham reports that the oysters are finer this season than he has seen them for several years. To prevent impositions on the vendors, Mr. Goldham has laid down a regulation that the particular designation of each cargo shall be painted on a board, in large characters, and made fast to the lower port of the rigging, so that an inferior oyster cannot be substituted for superior ones. The Rochester and Wliitstable companies have, as usual) furnished the largest portion of the supply at Billingsgate. The fine flavoured small natives do not make their appearance at market till the second week in September, but the owner of every oyster stall' already boasts of a . supply of " real natives." The nuisance of "pray remember the grotto" was never more annoying, and ought to be suppressed by the police.

The Ones. — In 1701 the succession in the house of Hanover was carried in the British Parliament by a majority of one. In 1831 the Reform Bill was carried by a majority of sone.5 one. In 1841 Sir Robert Peel's motion of "Want of Confidence in Ministers was carried by a majority of one. One" seems a most mighty unit in our annals.

The magnificent line of the. Great Western .Railway is now opened throughout. One of its remarkable features is the tunnel at Box Hill, whichjbas been drilled through solid rock for nearly three miles. The sutnrait-level of the line is atSwindon, seventy- six miles from London. It is 253 feet above the Paddington station, and 275' above the terminus at Bristol. The orignal estimates have been more than - doubled in actual -construction ; upwards of £5, 000, 000 having been disbursed. From London to Bristol, 120 miles, oue may now go in four hours ; and from London to Bridgewater, with the aid of the Exeter line, in five hours^andVa half.

The youthful* bride elect of Lord John Russell, accompanied by her mother. Lady Minto, was conspicuous for her zeal on behalf of her affianced Lord, in the gallery at Guildhall during the City ''Election, waving her handkerchief, and frowjng to every voter who came to the poll for his^jjordship. She wore at her bosom a large bow of his Lordship's colours, blue and white. " y * • '

The Members of the Irish Bar presented a "round robin' 1 to the Earl Fortescue (Lord Lieutenant), remonstrating against Lord Campbell's appointment as Irish Chancellor. There were several grounds ; the first was, that he was an English barrister.

Sir John Campbell, the late Attorney-Ge-neral, and Member of Parliament for the city of Edinburgh, has been appointed to the office of Lord Chancellor of Ireland, vacant by the resignation of Lord Plunkett. • Sir John, . israised to the peerage of the United Kingdom, by the name, style, and title of Baron Camp- . bell, of ,St. , Andrew's, in the county of • Fife. .

Mr. SheiT has' been appointed Judge Advo- ' cate General: , ~ ; Colonel Anson/ Clerk of the Ordnance ; Captain Plumridge, Ordnance Storekeeper ; Mr. Bannerman, one of the Commissioners of ' Greenwich Hospital ; and Mr. E. J. Stanley, Postmaster-General.

Sir Thomas Wilde had been appointed Attorney General. Mr. Dundas, Mr, Austin, Mr. Sharpe of the Chancery bar, and several other learned gentlemen have had the appointment of Solicitor General offered them, but declined 1 under the present prospects of the Government — Sq.says the Toiy Standard. , Lord Surrey has been called to the Upper' House, by the name, style, and title of Baron Maltr avers.

Mr. O'Connell, having lost the election forDublin, is returned for Cork.