ENGLISH EXTRACTS.

New Zealand Herald and Auckland Gazette, Volume I, Issue 38, 29 December 1841, Page 3

ENGLISH EXTRACTS.

Alteration in the Solitary Confinement System. —-Sir Peter Laurie, in adjudicating upon some case of little importance at the Mansionhouse, on Tuesday, made an important announcement on the subject of prison discipline. He felt great gratification in being able to assure the public from the chair in which he sat, that the Penitentiary System, which had been so loudly reprobated by men of humanity, was abdut beingaltered. He had heard from unquestionable authority, that after the long trial which had been given to the solitary and maddening process in that place of punishment, it was at length discovered that the cruel rigours of the place were not productive of the good anticipated ; that the silent and solitary system, instead of causing an improvement of morals, deprived, several of the wretched delinquents sentenced to pine within its walls, of the use of the:r reason altogether; and that the Government was at length awakened to the necessity of prison reform as regarded the Penitentiary. Three men and three women had completelely lost their reason last year, and the same number of men and women had lost their reason within the last six months.— Standard, London, Aug. 18. Her Majesty’s accouchment was not expected to take place before the middle or the end of October.— lbid. First Newspaper. —lt is stated by E.Grochet, of Brussels, from a marginal note in the hand of Adrian de Butt, a Dutch monk of the 15th century, that the first newspaper of which any trace can be found,, was printed in 1455; It It contained intelligence of the peace of Karanian with the king of Cyprus, and the conquest by the Turks, in 1454. An exhibition of an African lion took place in Paris some time ago, into the mouth of which a young female put her head with great courage ; but unfortunately for the imitator of Van Amburgh, the animal’s ire being excited, he barked, and proved to be a dog in disguise. The great fiscal question relative to the establishment of a national bank had not been solved at Washinguon. Ships of the Line A first-rate man-of-war (such as the Trafalgar, launcheu at Woolwich, on Monday week), requires about 60,300 cubic feet of timber, and uses 100,0001bs. of rough hemp in the cordage and sails for it. The ground on which the timber for a 74-gun ship (little more than half the size of the Trafalgar) would require to grow, would be fourteen acres, It requires 3000 loads of timber, each load containing 50 cubical feet, 1500 well grown trees, of two loads each, will cover fourteen acres at 20 feet asunder; 3000 loads of rough oak, at 2s. per foot, or £5 per load, will cost £15,000. If all these calculations were doubled, they would be but little beyond those that would apply to the splendid ship Trafalgar. This will give some little idea of the magnitude of these gigantic and magnificent vessels.^ Atlas. July 3. Thames Tunnel. —On Thursday, at 2 o’clock, p. m., Sir Isambard Brunei passed through the tunnel, and ascended* into the shaft on the Middlesex side of the river. The small portion of the distance, about twenty-five feet, now incomplete, is connected with the shaft on the Middlesex side of the river by a driftway, through which, at the end of the tunnel, Sir Isambard passed. About an hour afterwards, Mr. Hawes. M. P., and Mr. Hutton, late M. P. for Dublin, accompanied by Mr. Mason, one of the assistant engineers, also walked from Rotherhithe through the tunnel and the driftway to Wapping. Mr. Page, the acting engineer, was in the shaft, and, with the men, received Sir Isambard with loud cheers, who shortly addressed the men, thanking them for their courage and perseverence. Thus the great problem of the practicability of forming a roadway under the Thames, without interrupting the ■navigation, is ‘ttMm.r i

JIB DESPERATE with an armed sxUvfet, (From Silbcrbaneas Shipping List, of 28th ult.). The following is an extract of a letter received per Speedy, from St. Helena and dated 28tii August, 1841 :—“ H. M. S. Acorn, on her passage from England fell in with the noted slave brig Gabriel, and after a chase of 15 hours]took her, not however without exchanging a few shots, by which the Gabriel’s masts were carried away, she would otherwise have escaped, being a very fast sailing and beautifully modelled vessel, she was from the Havannah bound on a slaving voyage to the coast with a full cargo, of cottons, woollens, gunpowder, spirits, wine, &c., mounted with a long tom midships and two carronnades abaft, with a crew of 65 men. The Gabriel was sent in here for adjudication, and the Acorn, after landing 63 of the crew on the coast proceeded on her voyage for the Brazils.’’ “A few days previous # to the arrival of the Gabriel, another aroied slaver the Aslrea, had been sent in he having been taken by the boats of H. M. S. Persian, also bound on a slaving voyage from the Havannah to the coast with a similar Cargo. These boats (the pinnace and gig) under the command of Lieut. Sommerville being detached and cruising along the coast in shore fell in with the Aslrea, when the slaver used everything in her power to run down and sink the boats; during this manoeuvring them, rines (4 iu number) kept up a steady fire which was returned by the slaver with cannister and grape from the longtom midships, and with musketry. One shot went through the bottom of the pinnace, and with difficulty she was kept afloat, on which the boats made the best of their way alongside and boarded the slaver, hot however before two of the boats crew were killed and three wounded (one of the latter since dead.) Just Lieut. Sommerville was in the act of ascending the side of the vessel and the Captau of t ver had raised his arm to make a desperate cut u. the Lieutenant with a very heavy sa ■ shot through the forehead by one of the nur.sncs and fell dead, so that the Lieutenant on getting on.d»ck almost stumbled over him, a most desperate conflict then ensued and before the crew would surrender they were obliged to cut right and left.’’ Total loss on the side of the Portuguese, 19 killed—English, 3 killed and 2 wounded. The crew of the slaver consisted of 50 men-—the English 18 only.—The boat sunk alongside the slaver with every thing in her. The Astrea is a very beautiful vessel, and like the Gabriel would have proved a very ugly customer to merchant-ships. “We are overwhelmed here at present with captured slaves, (close upon 2,000) and at a loss for their accommodation. Those apprenticed to different individuals have turned out very excellent servants. It is intended to send to the Cap* in future all vessels arriving here with slaves, which would have been done with the vessel sent in here last week with 380 slaves, but being so leaky and her sides patched up with painted can vass to prevent the water rushing in, humanity forbade running the risk of her reaching the Cape. They were therefore landed, and the vessel demned.”