Extracts from our Latest Papers.

New Zealand Herald and Auckland Gazette, Volume I, Issue 61, 19 March 1842, Page 2

Extracts from our Latest Papers.

In 1782 England had but 79 newspapers ; ifc now has 439. A London newspaper is calculated to employ from 60 to 80 persons. In the early part of 1840, it was estimated that eighty millions of newspapers were sold annually in England, which consume 162,000 ream's of paper. M. Boitens, a French medical student, expired lately in great agony from mortification, which ensued from a slight wound in the hand, received while dissecting a dead body. A pension of £4OO a-year upon the Civil List has been granted to Mr,. Snow Harris of Plymouth, the distinguished chemist and electrician. Richard Lloyd, the person who secured Hatfield the lunatic (who died lately) when in the act of firing a pistol at George 111, in Drury lane theatre, died at the Salop infirmary. The Earl of Jersey has given to Viscount Villiers, Upton House, the Earl's fine mansion in Warwickshire, as the residence of his Lordship and Viscountess, Wk

The Earl of Fortescue has been unanimously elected High Steward of Barnstaple, in the place of the late Earl.

A distinguished field officer, totally blind, was lately led to the hymeneal altar by a blooming bride, " fat, fair, and forty.'' Besides her personal attractions, she gives her happy bridegroom a fortune of no less than £3,000,

Mr. Geoi ge Teague, keeper of the Gilt- spurstreet compter, suddenly died in his drawing room from an attack of apoplexy. His Majesty Louis Phillipe having been informed through M, Pinede, the advocate who defended Darmes, that the mother of that criminal was aged, infirm, and without means of subsistence, immediately sent her 300 francs as a relief, and ordered that she be placed in an hospice.

The census taken gives a population of 21,462 to the borough and liberties of Shrewsbury, being a decrease within the last ten years of 2,030 individuals, the population in 1831 being 23,492.

Lord Ho wick has broken up the whole of his domestic establishment. It is understood that he has made arrangements to spend the remainder oi the summer and the autumn on the Continent.

Such is the opposition between the steamers plying between Southampton and Havre, that passengers are now taken at the low charge of Is. 6d. fore, and 3s. aft; In many instances, rather than lose passengers, one of the steamers has taken them for nothing.

At the last meeting of the Royal College of Surgeons, Bransby Blake Cooper, Esq., was unanimously elected Professor of Anatomy and Surgery, in the place of Mr. Tyrrell, who has resigned on account of ill health.

A tessalated Roman pavement has recently been discovered in Leicester. It measures 20 feet by 17 feet, The tesselas are very small, and exhibit a regular pattern divided into octagonal compartments, richly embroidered with wreaths, &c., within which are devices of great variety and beauty. It is supposed to have been 1,600 years in existence. ( The residence of Sir Robert Peel has been so besieged of late by place hunters, that it has been aptly termed the " New Post Office." Another church bell of glass has been cast in Sweden ; its diameter is six feet, and its tone is said to be beyond comparison finer than that of any metal bell. The widow of a grocer at Mont de Marsan (Ain) lately gained a prize in the lotteiy amount- * ing to 35,000 francs, but her joy was so excessive that she died in the office on going to receive the money. In ancient times Sunday appears to have been a usual day on which to convene parliaments. From the rolls of Edward 11. and IV., there are various teste writs, in which the king commands the attendance of parliament on Sabbath-day, principally at York and Lincoln. London, in the year 1835 covered thirty-two square miles, wiih streets und houses from four to five stories high from the basement,containing .from six to twenty rooms each, 185,000 in number, with about 1,450,000 inhabitants. London consumes annually 65,000 pipes of wine, 10,000 gallons of spirits, and 2,000,000 barrels of porter and ale. The natives of Guernsey keep themselves very secluded; they have three classes of society—v the sixties, the forties, the twenties. The first in their evening visiting, carry a lantern with three lights; the second, one with two ; and the * third, one with one. On excavating the earth for the purpose of laying the foundation of a new wall at the Wilton prison, near Taunton, the remains of an oak were discovered sixteen feet below the surface. The appearance of the trunk and branches was that of their having been charred, being quite black, and almost in a fossilized state. The Englishman, Lillycrap, who was arrested at Boulogne, and sent up to Paris on a charge of having a machine in his possession calculated to assassinate the King, has been discharged from the accusation. He only brought over his machine to sell. Amongst the books left by Mr. F. Hall Standish to the King of the French, is a bible "which belonged to Cardinal Ximenss, and which is valued at 25,000 francs. Three sailors of Dover rowed into Galway from that port, a six oar gig, 32 feet long, drawing seven inches water. She arrived on Monday. T-he weather during the voyage was rough, and how those brave tars were enabled to cross the channel is astonishing. The gig is for R. J, Maneergh St. George, of Headford, Esq.

In the House of Commons, on the Ist October, there was an interesting debate on the third reading of the Poor Law Commission Bill. Mr. Fielden, Member for Oldham, moved that it be read a third time that day three months; Mr. Sharman Crawford seconded. Among those who took part in the debate were Mr. Wakley, Capt. Pechell, Sir C. Douglas, Mr. Cobden, Mr. Rennie, Capt. Polhill, &c. On a division the numbers were : For the amendment, 18 ; against it 133 ; majority 115. ■ Parliament was prorogued by commission on the Bth of October. The following is a copy of the speech:— "My Lords and Gentlemen,—We are commanded by her Majesty to acquaint you that it appears advisable to her Majesty to bring to a close the present Session of Parliament. " In conformity with the advice of her Parliament, and in pursuance of the declared intentions of her Majesty, her Majesty has taken the requisite measures for the formation of a new Administration, and the arrangements for that purpose have been completed by her Majesty. " Gentlemen of the House of Commons, —We have it in command from hsr Majesty to thank you for the Supplies which you have granted to her Majesty for those branches of the public service for which complete provision had not been made by the late Parliament. " My Lords and Gentlemen, —The measures which it will be expedient to adopt for the purpose of equalizing the publie income and the annual expenditure, and other important objects connected with the trade and commerce of the country, will necessarily occupy your attention at an early period after the recess. " Her Majesty has commanded us to repeat the expressi § of her deep concern at the distress which has prevailed for a considerable period in some of the principal manufacturing districts, and to assure you that you may rely upon the cordial concurrence of her Majesty in all such measures as shall appear, after mature consideration, best calculated to prevent the recurrence of that distress, and to promote the great object of all her Majesty's wishes, the happiness and contentment of all her people." [ln reading the Speech, Lord Lyndhurst, says the Morning Chroiicle, laid particular emphasis on the words "after mature consideration."] The Lord Chancellor then declared Parliament to be prorogued to the 11th November next. — Colonial Gazette, October 13, 1841. During the first six months of the current year there were born in Paris 10,500 legitimate children, 4,735 natural children; the number of marriages was 4,400; the number of deaths, 12,660, and the persons taken to the Morgue were 150, An event has occurred in the southern States of America, which for a few days excited intense anxiety and alarm, particulajly in Louisiana. It is no less than the discovery of a plot of the negro slaves, extending from Bayou Sara to Natchetz, along the Mississippi, to murder their masters. The intended massacre was fortunately prevented by an overseer on the plantation of R. J, Barrow, Esq., at Feliciana, having overheard at night the conversation of the slaves under his care, and their intended plans. The ringleaders were immediately arrested. At Point Coupee a negro boy killed his master, and, when about to be taken, shot himself; but whether the ranrder and suicide had anything to do with the plot, has not yet transpired.—lt probably had, as the boy's master was kind and affectionate, according to the accounts in the Louisana papers. The ringleaders of the conspiracy were tried almost immediately ; and it is said that the most conspicuous among them are already executed, Another event has also excited much interest. For the last few months about six hundred stray Indians, negroes, and a few whites, had their abode near Fort Leavenworth, near Arkansas and the Missouri frontiers. They built a log fort, and committed depredations on the Choctaw nation of Indians, all of whom are under the protection of the United States. Three companies of dragoons were sent to disperse or capture these organized marauders, but the intrenchments were found too strong to be taken without cannon. A company of infantry and two pieces of artillery were added to the besiegers, who began to batter the fort, The band of desperados defended the works for some time, but at length formed in front of the fort and gave battle. They were charged, however, by the dragoons, great numbers killed, and all the rest captured, A large region of the wilds of the far West was thus freed from a dangerous association. A cannon was stolen from the United States arsenal, near Auburn, a few days since; and not long before two cannons were taken from other posts. Rumours are afloat to the effect that these robberies have something to do with a contemplated movement in Canada, or on the frontier; but the truth is, no one knows the motives or object of these arms-seeking burglars. The particulars of the population of the United States, as exhibited in the return made to Congress under the last census, were received by the late arrivals from New York. It appears to comprise 14,181,575 whites, 386,069 free coloured, and 2,483,536 others, making a total of 17,051,180. The number of seamen in the United States is estimated at 6,100, but is not included in the above return. "Be content with what you have," as the rat said to the trap, when he left his tail in it.