Untitled

New Zealand Gazette and Wellington Spectator, Volume IV, Issue 242, 3 May 1843, Page 3

9E

He's taken something that has disagreed with him. I believe it's six glasses of gin and water. Waiter. — the Chancellor of the Exchequer's wanted. 9th Footman.— Am I ?— somebody lend us a penny.' Survey of the Skies. — A survey of the skies was made on Monday in all parts of the kingdom, on a plan arranged at the last meeting of the British Koyal Society of Agriculture, for the purpose of ascertaining the fornu and position of the clouds in the morning, at noon, and in the evening, together with a great variety of other facts respecting the force and direction of the wind, the state of the thermometer and barometer, and other meteorological appearances and phenomena. The object of this extensive survey was to collect facts respecting the weather, for the guidance of practical agriculturalists. — Globe. The late Lieu tenant- Colonel Toralinson, who is reported in the last accounts from China as having been killed whilst gallantly leading his men through the doorway of a temple, in which a body of 300 Tartars were desperately defending themselves, was appointed to a commission in the 18th Royal Irish Regiment very early in life, and served constantly with that corps till he obtained its command, and thus fell nobly at its head, in the service of his sovereign and country, at the age of 38 years* As his conduct insured the affection and esteem of all with whom he was connected through life, so it was manifested to the last, by the soldiers of the 18th being with difficulty restrained from putting the prisoners to death, so exasperated were they at the loss of their colonel, and by his remains being honoured with a public funeral. Two days after the battle they were placed on board a steamer, which putting a little way out to sea the body was sunk in deep water, the General and Admiral, Coramanders-in-Chief, and a numerous body of officers attending, and the flag-ship firing minute guns. — Brighton Cazette. A gentleman of Black Torrington has an otter that is quite domesticated^ and so tame that it accompanies him about like a dog. The animal is so under command, that it will go into the river, catch fish, and n bring them out to his master. — West of England Conservative.' A Wabxike Family. — There are five brothers named Keegan, now. residing in and about this town, who entered the army about SO years since, and served in various parts of the world, and particularly in the Peninsula, where th^y were in several engagements. These five veterans have lately returned to their native country in perfect health, and are in the enjoyment of good pensions. They bore excellent characters, and honourable mention is made of them by the several officers theyserved under. — Carlow Sentinel. Extraordinary Fish in the Thames. Xhe lovers of the marvellous have been gratified by the finding of an enormous ell in the fiver Thames and the capture of a small whale, a very unusual visitor here, during the last few days. On Saturday the ballastmen engaged in one of the Trinity lighters brought up in a scoop what they first took to be a large snake, but which was soon ascertained to be an ell, measuring nine feet six inches in. length, and two feet in circumference. The captain of a Waterman steamer offered a large sura for the eel, but it was finally disposed of to a fishmonger in Shadwell. The ballastman stated that the eel snorted and barked at- them like a dog when they first took it out of the water. The Miner.'s Dangers. — On Friday, morning last, as Thomas Stevens, of Redruth, was engaged in the Carnbrea Mines, in clearing a pass, the ground suddenly broke away on him. He was partially dug out without apparently being much injured ; but before he could be quite extricated the ground broke away and buried him a second time, and when dug out he was quite' dead. — On the same day Johnson Rule, a young man of the parish of Camborne, was. killed in the same mine, and his father,' and- a person called Thomas "Willoughby, of Illogan, severely injured,' by a stull breaking, away/ The young man, when taken out of the rubbish, was quite dead, but the father of the deceased and his comrade are likely to recover,' although they were buried deeper than their unfortunate companion. — West of England Conservative. Mexican Dogs.— Mr.. Kendall, in the account of his Santa- Fe expedition, speaks of some remarkable dogs used by Mexicans to guard their sheep. He says — " There are very" few men along with this immense herd of sheep; but in their stead was a large number of noble dogs, who appeared to be peculiarly gifted with the faculty of keeping them together. There was no running about, no barking nor biting in their system of tactics ; but, on the contrary, they walked gently up to any sheep that happened to stray from the fold, took it carefully by the ear, and led it back to the- flock. " Not the least fear did the sheep manifest at the approach of

these dogs ; and there was no necessity^for it. They appeared to me to be a cross of the Newfoundland and St. Bernard species, of a very large size, "and with frank open countenances, and, from what I could learn, extremely sagacious." — Times. Anti-Matrimonial Parish. — A correspondent -informs that the parish of Silchester, famed far and near for its remains as a Roman Town, is scarce less worthy of note for the numbers of bachelors and spinsters it contains. Some time since, at a vestry dinner held there, it was a remarkable fact, that there was not a married man amongst the party, which consisted of seven ;. and on a recent occasion, when a gentleman from a distant county, by way of example, led one of the damsels of the neighbourhood to the altar, the minister could not tell him the amount of the fees, declaring, that though he had been in office for ten years, this was the first marriage by license that had taken place. — Berkshire Chronicle. English Smugglers in Spain. — The Vigie de I'Ouest states that the English smugglers who were captured at Cherrueix had been tried before the tribunal at St. Males. Two were condemned to 500 francs fine and three months' imprisonment, the third to three months' imprisonment for contumacy. The boat anchors and yawl in which they arrived from England were" ordered to be confiscated. The goods seized consisted of 222 pounds weight of tobacco in rools, six pounds weight of common dell't, and four pounds of fine gunpowder. — Times. Encouragement to Commerce. — The Journal dv Commerce of Antwerp announces that the British Queen, on her arrival at New York, on her last trip, was ordered to pay tonnage dues to the amount of B,ooof. or 9,000f., and in addition to this expense it was refused to reimburse the entrance duties on her coals on her leaving the port, which would cause a loss of 4,000f. or 5,000f. more. The Belgian vessel, the Mercator, had also, adds this journal, to pay this unexpected increase of tonnage dues. — Ibid. Death of a Patriarch. — On Monday last, William Taylor, aged 102, died at Old Moss, Fyvie. He retained his faculties to the last, and was hale and hearty till within a few days of his death. About two years ago he opened a ball on the occasion of a local festivity, and led off the merry dance with a degree of vigour and hilarity that would have done credit to a youth in his teens. Nothing gave this worthy old patriarch more pleasure than to talk of the stirring events of '45. He recollected well the Duke of Cumberland's army marching north, and gave a graphic detail of its arrival in the parish of Fyvie. He was in the field with his father at the time, who, on seeing them approach, and- dreading their devastating propensities, despatched William "to place the poultry in a situation where they would be free of scaith ; and, while others had their barn-yards cleared, the feathered tribe'of the tenant of Old Moss lived to see other days. Among the remarkable incidents that happened on this occasion, William used to relate that the stable in which the Duke's cavalry were accommodated was the parish-church of Fyvie, the seats of which were taken out to make room for the horses. — Aberdeen Herald. Penzance.— The schooner Earlof Devon, was sunk in the Bay on the 3d of February, 1841, and was purchased as she lay for 200 guineas, having baen raised and brought into tlie pier with great labour, and at a coast of from £1,200 to £1,400, was brought to the hammer last week, and knocked down for £260. — West of England Conservative. We rejoice to learn that the Wasp corvette ' has been commissioned at Chatham by Capt. Drew, who so gallantly distinguished himself during the revolt in Canada. The Whigs, with all their bluster, stood too much in awe of Brother Jonathan to do justice to this gallant officer. It was reserved for a Conservative Government to give him the well merited and long-withheld reward, — Brighton Gazette. Admiral Sir Edward Codrington ' hauls down his flag, and will be superseded in the naval command at Portsmouth, either by Sir Charles Rowley or Sir John Talbot, and should a vacancy occur with eithe: of the present members, Sir Charles, who is deservededly popular, is very likely to be elected a member of Parliament for the borough. — Times. Shipwreck. — The Konigsberg Gazette states that an English ship, bound to St. Petersburgh, name unknown, laden* "with a valuable cargo of tin and cotton, was wrecked on the 6th instant, near Cravitz. It was said that the vessel had been abandoned by her crew. The leaves of the log book, subsequent to the 4th July, had been cut out. An Efficient Defence. — A man was entering Lyons a few days back, when something in his appearance excited the-suspicions of the octroi officers. He was politely requested to enter the office, and on his peremp-

tory refusing was forced along and taken before the receiver. The moment he found himself before the chief officer he drew out a bladder full of spirits of wine, and threw it, before he could be prevented, into the redhot stove. In a moment the flame flew over the tables, registers, and papers, and some difficulty was experienced in extinguishing it. He was about to make the same use of a second bladder, when the officers rushed on him and seized it. He defended himself like a madman, biting one, tearing the face of another, and was preparing to use offensively a pair of scissors which he had snatched up, when he was overpowered. Monument to the Scotch Reformers. — On Saturday, at the Marylebone Vestry, on the minute being brought up for the recommittal of a report of a committee relative to the erection of a monumental column to the memory of the Scotch Reformers of 1793-4, Mr. Salmon moved the non-confir-mation of the minute. A discussion of some length ensued, in the course of which the character of the Scotch Reformers was vindicated by the several speakers. On a division there appeared — for the non-confir-mation 13, against it 18; majority for the re-committal of the report (which is tantamount to being in favour of the erection of the column) 5. — 7t7nes. The New Tariff. — Southampton, October 20. — The Morlaisien, French steamer, arrived here this day from Morlaix (Brittany,) after a short passage of 20 hours, with about 120 head of cattle, in excellent condition. This steamer arrived at half-past 1 o'clock, p.m., and by the exertions of her agent, and the superior efficiency and excellent regulations of the Customs, was ready to proceed to Havre, her destination, by 3 o'clock in the afternoon. This must denote if anything can, the advantages of a port which, even without the assistance of docks, offers such facilities as to enable in so few hours to land such a cargo. — Ibid. Effects of the Tariff. — At our cattle fair the show was good, but the demand slow, andprices extremely low. As compared with last year, the reduction in price is nearly 30 per cent. One grazier informed us that the feeding of a lot of cattle which he had bought in the spring had cost him £70, and that he could not now get the price lie had then paid for them. The pork- markets, too, are falling rapidly. On Saturday last 30 carcases were shown in our market; of these only 18 were sold, at 3s. 9d. to 4s. per stone. At the same p jriod last year the price was ss. 9d. Both loud and deep are the curses now heaped on the heads of the " farmers' friends " by the agriculturalists. — Carlisle Journal. Statue of the Queen. — On Tuesday an immense block of freestone was brought to town from Binny quarry. It is the last of a number of huge blocks supplied by Mr. Lhind, taxman of the quarry, for the erection of a colossal statue of her Majesty Queen Victoria, now being executed by Mr. Steell, sculptor, and which is to be placed in the north front of the Royal Institution, Prince's Street. This stove is upwards of 22 tons weight, and was brought to town on a waggon drawn by 16 powerful horses, assisted at difficult parts of the road by a number of Mr. Lhind-'s men. It was safely lodged in a large wooden building, Bread-street, where Mr. Steell is already far advanced in the the formation of this gigantic structure, and which, when completed, will weigh upwards of 90 tons. From the well known talents of the artist, the beauty and solidity of the Binny stone, and the commanding situation it is to occupy, this statue of pur beloved sovereign cannot fail to be an object of great attraction, and will complete the beauty of the splendid building which it is intended to adorn. On the morning of the Queen's arrival in Edinburgh, and when proceeding down Hanover-street, Prince Albert pointed out to his royal consort the proposed site of the statue (his royal highness having previously been made aware of what was intended), and we are informed that her Majesty afterwards expressed herself highly gratified by this mark of loyalty and attachment to her person on the part of the directors of the Royal Institution. — Caledonian Mercury. The - Niger Expedition. — The" last wreck of the Niger expedition has been extricated from the fatal river'; and the peopb at the Model Farm, with the relics of the property, "have been brought, to Fernando Po. To the very last the events have been such as to stamp the expedition with rashness and cruelty ; ,even this supplemental expedition, greatly reduced, and profiting by the experience of previous disasters, suffered in proportion. Of eight or ten whites on board, but two were not laid up in sickness, the commander being one of the two. Again, it was a servant of the gentleman who warned Lord John Russell of. the utter failure of the expedition who helped to rescue the Wilberforce on fetuning from 'its second voyage ; a black boy, who had learned the use of the

steam-engine on board Mr. Jamieson's trading steamer, worked the engine of the WiU berforce as it passed the Delta. The expedition has effected some discoveries. It has discovered that which was told to its projectors before it sailed from England, that the slave traffic which it was equipped to suppress in the Bight of Biafra had already ceased there; and that the legitimate commerce which it was to introduce had been rising and flourishing in the Bight for 20 years. It also discovered, what was told to its projectors before it left England, that the site chosen for an agricultural settlement could not be approached without imminent risk to the lives of Europeans. Auother notable achievement has been, that the expedition went up the river about two thirds of the distance previously ascended by merchant vessels ; and its crowning feat is, that in attempting to carry out the plans of the African Civilizatian Society, by carrying up merchandize, it has for the time expelled honest commerce — the very thing that it was to establish! What next ? — Spectator. The Wreck of the Russian Ship-of-War. — Chistiania, Oct. B—Lieutenant8 — Lieutenant Sigholt, who commands the North Cape steamer, has reported to the Finance Department, that according to the returns of Capt. Treffin, there were on board the Ingermannland 32 officers, besides the Captain, 830 foremastmen, 24 women, and 9 children — in all 896 persons. Such of them as were saved and reached Norway were embarked on the 3d of October, in Christiansand, on board of a Russian corvette and a Findlandish sloop. Among these were the Captain, 13 officers, 472 men, 6 women, and 1 child. Altogether 493 persons. It is, besides, understood that some have been saved by English cruisers. However, about 400 men have been drowned. — Times. Death of Lord Edward Clinton. — We exceedingly regret to state that intelligence was received at Clumber, on Tuesday morning last, of the death of Lord Edward Pelham Clinton, fifth son of his Grace the Duke of Newcastle, in the Chinese empire. His Lordship was born on the 18th February, 1816 ; went out to that part of the world about a year ago, and was recently promoted to a lieutenancy. The full \. articulars of this melancholy event have not transpired.