EXTRACTS.

New Zealand Herald and Auckland Gazette, Volume I, Issue 64, 30 March 1842, Page 2

EXTRACTS.

Liverpool and Manchester New Zealand Association. —The appearance of some " certificates," as they are called, of a novel description has caused some amusement in the city. These are certificates of the " Liverpool and Manchester New Zealand Association,' which is to have a capital to be divided into shares of £SO each. The certificate, by the conditions with which they are endorsed, entitle the holders to five hundred acres of land, upon paying the whole instalments on Ivvo shares; but, in point of fact, there does not seem to be any serious notion of ever receiving these instalments, as there is a complete disregard of the responsibility of the parties who wish to join the undertaking. The first instalment is to be paid, not at any definite time, but " when required." and so cautious are the provisional committee of creating any inconvenient pressure, that thirty days' notice must be given previous to any such requisition, Indeed when there is any prospect of this thirty days commencing it is difficult to understand, for the provisional committee expressly state that no holder of a certificate is to be called upon till the committee consider the concerns of the association are sufficiently advanced to justify them in convening a general meeting to warrant the first call. How the concerns of the association ? r e to advance in the mean while is, of course, a perfect mystery ; but at all events, a'quantity of paper is issued at once a farthing of consideration being paid for it, and a material for speculation is thus created for persons who have no property whatever, but who may use this mere representative of nothing to get up some petty rig, and perhaps, if fortunate, turn a few shillings. Generally there Is something like a deposit before an available document can be pro cured, but here is the peculiar features of an issue of paper for nothing/ The liability incurred by taking a certificate is of no very formidable description. The holder, if he neglect to pay deposit or comply with any of the conditions, is to be considered as having abandoned aH the benefits to be derived fro mi the certificate. The detailed object of the association does not yet to have made its appearance, but hitherto it is much like that of the ««Stock Exchange Bank of Deposit." Times.

Letters and journals from Madiid to the 13th s'ate that that city was perfectly quiet, and no o her execution than that of General Leon had taken place. The Regent was on the eve of his departure for the northern provinces, preparatory to which he had issued a proclamation in which he states thrt he confides to the National Guards the safety of the Queen, the capital, aud the country. Notwithstanding the positive charge which has been brought against the Vrenrh government of having originated the insurrection, no single /act has yet transpired which tends in any way to confirm it. Whatever may bs Espa;tero's notions on the subject, it is clear that he is not a little solicitous of propitiating public opinion in France, for in spite of the denuded condition of the Royal treasury, and the disturbed state of the coun'ry, a courier from Madiidarrived in Paris on Sunday last, with funds tor the payment of the greater portion of the arreais of pay dueto Hie French Auxiliary Legion. THE TAKING OF AMOY. We were last week only able to lay a few particulars of the taking of Amoy before our readers, but the following extract from a letter ■which has been kindly lent to us, will, we trust, make ample amends. We also publish below Sir Henry Pottinger's Circular to Her Majesty's subjects. The Chinese seem long to have expected an attack on Amoy, and had consequently prepared themselves for it, as much as their science in fortification would admit; that this has been effective, is more attributable to the very defective state of that science among them, and to their want of courage, than to any deficiency of means, since money and labour seem to have been most

profusedly lavished, during the last twelve months, upon the fortifications of Amoy. Last year, when the Blonde visited that port, it was guarded by one small battery only ; when afterwards the Alligator went there, the fortifications were still in the same state, although a considerable breastwork bristling with cannon was then thrown up in the course of one night. Since that time all the fortifications described in the letter below have been built, and a very large number of cannon cast, of which no less than 802 were destroyed, partly in the arsenals. The Mandarins on this occasion have again given proof of their cowardice, they having been the first to fly, with the Governor of the Province at their head. Such was the unwillingness of the soldiers to stand to their guns, that in some instances they are said to have been chained to them. If this be the case, it is only a repetition of the same expedient hit upon by General Yang-fang in his wars with the Cochin-Chinese. No latter arrivals from the coast, and we have therefore not heard of the departure of the fleet from Amoy. CIRCULAR TO HER BRITANNIC MAJESTY'S SUBJECTS IN CHINA. Her Majesty's Plenipotentiary, &c, has the highest degree of satisfaction in announcing to H. M. subjects, and others who feel an interest iu the question, that the city of Amoy, with its very extensive and formidable line of batteries and fleet of gun-boats and war-junks (the whole mounting upwards of five hundred pieces of cannon), was taken possession of on the 26th instant, after a short but animated defence on the paic of the Chinese, by H. M. naval and land forces, under the command of their Excellencies Rear Admiral Sir William Parker, K.C.8., and Major General Sir Hugh Gough, K.C. B.

This brilliant achievement has been happily accomplished with a very trifling loss ; and, in addition to the works, all of which have been dismantled and destroyed, and the guns spiked and broken, immense magazines full of munitions o? war have been either removed, or rendered useless.

Arrangements are now in progress for leaving a detachment of troops on the small island of Koo-lane-su (which is separated rrom the town of Amoy by a channel of deep water), and some whilst the great body of the expedition advance to the northward, so that British or other ships that may touch there during the ensuing season, will find ample protection, and be secure from any risk of molestation. Her Majesty's Plenipotentiary deems it quite superfluous to say one word as to the manner in wiiich this important service has been performed. The facts require no eulogiuin. The Chinese Government vainly imagined they ,had rendered Amoy impregnable, but were undeceived in presence of the viceroy of the provinces of Chekeang and Fokieu (who, with a number of high officers, witnessed the attack from the heights above the town), in the short space of four hours from the firing of the first gun ; and, had the opposition been a hundred times greater than it was, the spirit and bearing of all employed shewed, that the results must have been the same, God save the Queen. Dated this 31st day of August, 1841, on board H. M's ship Blenheim, in Amoy Harbour. HENRY POTTINGER, i H. M.'s Plenipotentiary. A private letter in the Canton paper gives some I additional particulars of this afLiir: The wind has come in from the northward, which will, I fear, interfere with our progress northward, our destination being Chinh ie, the seaport of Niugpo, which we are going to take, ; if not to destroy it. The weather here has been i very hot, but the troops do not, as yet, seem to i have suffered from exposure. Since taking ; the town, the boats and steamers have been emI ployed in destroying the guns in the numerous ; forts. You will scarcely credit the enormous i number of pieces of artillery destroyed ; they amount to eight hundred. This place, it seems, was considered quite impregnable by the Chinese, and enormous sums must have been laid out upon the works In the large battery they \ had a cannon foundry and a powder manufactorv. In the former, there were several heavy guns still in the mould, and all the appa- ! ratus had evidently been in active operation ! up to the time of the attack. Some of the guns I were of large bore, eight inch and greater, with | abundance of hollow shot for them. They have , long been anticipating our visit, and considered themselves secure far beyond any means of annoyance in'our power —how the poor devils have , been deceived. 9 p. m., 3rd September, —The Arsenal is now I burning a grand blaze, and the whole of the war junks have been towed away from the merchant junks, ond are to be burned to-night or to-mor-

row morning-. I went on board a frigate junk an evening or two ago. She was a regular built frigate junk with a main deck as clear as a frigate's, and mounting 6 guns on a side, with two bow ports, besides the guns on her upper deck, making twenty-six or eight in all, for I did not take exact notice of her deck guns. Is not that an advance in naval warfare on the part of poor Fuckee ? But she will go the way of all firewood in a few hours. The Chinese Admiral is at sea with a squadron, and they say will return here and destroy us all! Ay yah ! Canton Press. FORMS OF GOVERNMENT. From the Colonial Magazine. The colonies, as to government, may be divided into three classes—--Ist. Those having a representative assembly, a legislative council, and a governor. 2nd. Those having no representative assembly, but a legislative council, and a governor. 3rd. Those having neither a representative assembly, nor a legislative council, but only a governor. The first class may be said to comprise—Canada (Upper end Lower), New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Cape Breton, Prince Edward's Island, and Newfoundland, in North America; Jamaica, Barbadoes, Antigua, Tobago, Grenada, St. Vincent, Montserrat, Nevis, St. Kitt's, Honduras, the Vi gin Isles, the Bahamas, and Bermudas, in the West Indies; the lonian Isles, the Norman Isles, and the Isle of Man, in Europe. The second class comprises—Bengal, Madras, Bombay. Penang, Malacca, Singapore, and Ceylon,in As ; a; the Cape of Good Hope, the Mauritius, Sierra Leone, the Gambia, and Cape Coast Castle, in Africa ; New South Wales and Van Dieman'sLand, in Australasia; Demarara, Essequibo, Berbice, Trinidad, and St. Lucia, in the West Indies ; and Malta and Gozo in Europe. The third class embraces —St. Helena, Ascension, Accra, and Seychelles, in Africa; Swan River (Western Australasia), and South Australia, in Australasia : Gibraltar and Heligoland, in Europe.

In the first class, the people, through their representatives hj the House of assembly, regulate the leveying of taxes, and control, to a certain extent, the expenditure thereof. In the second class there is no immediate power over the council, except that of pubhc opinion in the colony. And in the third the governor is responsible alone to the home government. Lower Canada was, until the recent rebellion, an illustrative example of the first class. Estimating the population at half a million, the number of electors was at least 80,000, of whom nineteuths were proprietors of the soil. These elector returned eighty-eight representatives to form an assembly (like the British House of Commons), whi(;h elected its speaker, held its annual sitting at Quebec, the capital of the province, and was renewable every four years, under the provisions of what is termed the Quebec, Act of which has been called Mr. Pitt's Act, though reaJly drawn up by Lord Grenville.

The qualifications for an elector were—in the counties, being possessed of real property to the yearlv value of forty shillings sterling; in the town's, of the yearly ve'.ue of five pounds, or paving rent to the amount of ten pounds sterling annu.ilW. No religious disabilities as to electors, but clergvmea and Jews were not eligible as representatives. Elections by open voting. No property qualification required for representatives, who, moreover were paid eighteen shillings a-day while the session continued, and four shHl;ngs a league travelling expenses to and from the capital.

/The assembly thus described wasempewereito make laws for the "peace, welfare, and good government of the province," such laws not being repugnant to the act of 31 G. 11l c. 31. The assembly claimed, and if an adequate civil list were granted, the imperial government would have been disposed to concede, a sole control over the finances of the colony, both as to the extent and mode of levying the taxes, and the distribution of the same.

The legislative council, or upper house, consisted of thirty-four members, appointed by His Majesty for life. The chief justice, protestant bishops, and several public functionaries were exofficio included in the list of members. The house held its sittings at the same time as the house of assembly ? and its functions, in relation to the latter, were as those of the British house of lords to the house of commons.

The governor of the province represented his Majesty, in whose name he assembled, prorogued, end dissolved the two houses, which, however, he

was obliged to call together once in every twelve months. The governor gave, withheld, or reserved, for the further signification of his Majesty's* 1 pleasure, the royal sanction to bills proposed and passed by the other two branches; but laws assented to by the governor might be disallowed by the King within two years. The governor was assisted by an executive coun. cil of eleven members, holding official rank, and appointed by the crown. The executive council in the colonies is somewhat similar in its functions to the privy council in England;

In some of the West India colonies there is only a lieutenant-governor, with a governor over several islands and settlements —thus, the governor of Barbadoes has under him the lieutenant gover. nors of St, Vincent, Grenada, Tobago, and British Guaiana. The authority of the lieutenantgovernor is almost equal to that of the governor,' the main difference being in the salary and emoluments of office.

The 2nd class of colonies are those which have no representative assembly, but whose affairs are presided over by a legislative council and a gover. nor. This is a subordinate step in colonial go. vernment. The legislative council consists of a few of the principal officers of the government; viz., the chief secretary, of the colony, the colonial treasurer, the chief justice, the attorney general, the bishop or archdeacon, and the commander of the troops. To these are sometimes added a few of the principal merchants or landed gentry of the settlement. The whole are appointed by the crown, qu%iu diu se bene gesserint, or, in the case of the government functionaries, so long as they retain their official appointment

The council is presided over by the governor, and, in some-instances, its proceedings are car. ried on with open doors, (a.s at the Cape of Good Hope, New South Wales, &c) In some colonies there is, in addition to the legislative council, an executive council, consisting of the principal offiv ial servants of the crown, who are to the government what the privy council in England is to the Queen. The government of India, is legislative and executive but not representative. The coun. cil appointed to aid the governor-general or governors of the respective presdencies of Ben-°-al, Madras, Bombay, consists of the oldest and ablest servants of the company, nominated by the Court ot Directors in London, to whom is added the commander of the forces in each rtrasxlency. These councils each consist of four members—they aid, and advise, and to some extent control, the governor-general or governors of Madras and Bombay in all exeuutive and legislative acts; and though the governor-genenal or governors mav, on cases of emergency, act independently of the council, yet the reasons must be recorded in writing by both the disputing parties, and transmitted to England for final adjudication,

The Bishop of Calcutta has no seat in the supreme council, nor have the church dignitaries at either of the other presidencies.

It is evident that, in the second class of governments, the ruled have but little direct control over their rulers ; and that with the exception of responsibility to the fluctuating and distant authorities in the mother country, it is a government of the aristocracy of rank, wealth and talent in the country in the colony. It must not from this be thought that a government thus constituted is unsuited to some of of colonies It is merely pointed out that a combined legislative and executive power is one« those early and precarious states of societv w» require the most vigilant care, prudence and good management. The third form of government consists sotff of a chief appointed in England without assert or council, and subject to little or no check " u! that of the Colonial Secretary of State. This form is confined to a very few settlements, it is, in fact the first or elementary stage in c 0 ' 0 " nial government, and the moment numbers, wealth, and intelligence become somewhat con centrated, it must pass into the second stage, which of itself is but a preliminary step to representative assembly governments. (fir' The foregoing statement will convey a surj ently distinct view of the nature of our colo domestic governments. In some instances ' are acts ot parliament, and in others rova \." „, ters under which the government is carried

A Quaker's Letter.—Friend John, I d , ; thee to be so kind as to go to one of these s men in the flesh, called attorneys, and let bun ( out an instrument with a seal thereunto, byn> « whereof he mav seize the outward taberna George Green, and bring him before the lao. men at Westminster, and teach him to do would be done by.

,'e piling.—We never recollect to have seen a r- fpjvible expose of the absurdity of the of righting duels, than is contained in itj Rowing laconic account of an " affair of 3. ' r >" extracted from a recent English paper:— y !(jne t * lose sil ' y affairs called «an affair tenor/ to °k P' ace at Wormwood Scrubs, on r sday morning. Mr. H. Launcelot and Cap. j having some pique unknown, vindi--5d their dignity by standing exactly sixteen L apart, and propelling small pieces of lead ;' ' a j„steach other. Having done so once without 'I f reSU lt, the seconds tried to reconcile them, ft they were inexorable. The next interchange j gullets, lodged in the fleshy part of Captain • grave's thigh; the ball was extracted on the i J The offended honor of the two was soothed . tfr. Launcelot's success in driving the lead • jo the Captain's thigh; they shook hands and • jot home!" .' t { native of Massachusetts, while shaving himK cut off his head, and did'nt see it lying on je floor till he put on his spectacles. ; Rum, when in hogsheads, is capable of doing I little mischief, but when it gets into men's ia ds then look out. New York. —The total population of the Emire State, ascertained by the late census, is 432,835. This is an increase in ten years of ,919,1 32. The increase for the ten years preceing 1830, was 22,000 more than that for the last id jms. Clerical Self-denial.—A lady once heard a ianpreach, and was so enraptured with him that tesvnt him a letter to the following effect:— Dear Sir, there's my hdnd (my heart you have tlrwdy,) with my fortune which is very considerab'e. Will you accept? I am, &c,, Anna. ['Ae clergyman, unmoved by the entreaties of the ovely fair one, replied in the following ternns : ilaiJam, give your hand to industry, your dowry o the poor, and your heart to God.

t( " Whenever you see a neighbor's penknife or ' fi pencil case lying on his desk, pick it up and pockw - It it, lest some one should steal it!" « The above advice some one has put in practical !n ' operation by appropriating a penknife of ours m [which we had kept, for a wonder, nearly an ensure week. We know this much about it, that if ,( 1 the person who took it undertakes to cut his throat • teJ&h iViitwJll find the handle to be the sharpest " part of it.— American paper. d Hard to Get.—An editor down East adver- : tises for "a devil of moral character." i . Professional.- Very.—A lawyer was once jj accused of disgracing the bar, by taking silver of j aclient. "I took silver," replied, he, "because I could not get gold ; but I took every farthing the fellow had in the world, and I hope you don't ■ call that disgracing the profession." ! Origin o? the Tri-coloured Flag.—We are told, in Swinburne's " Courts of Europe,' that in j 1789, on the departure of M. Necker from Paris, an insurrection followed, during which the people, amounting to several thousands, choosing M. de la Salle for their commander, adopted as their cockade the livery of the then popular Duke of Orleans; its colors were red, white* and blue. The Unrivalled British Constitution.—A sentence is sometimes as good as a volume. If a man ask you to give some idea of the laws of England, the answer is short and easy : in the laws of England there are somewhere about one hundred and fifty by which a poor man may be hanged, but not one by which he can obtain justice for nothing ! Dress of Snobs.—The tailor, like Iris, is iiovm by his bow, and by always appearing in misfits: the linen-draper's assistant by his fidgety habit of drawing out his cane betwixt his finger and thumb to the exact length of a yard. The ambitious counter-skipper is also readily detected ~u his imitation of the newest fashions in the 'Ost sordid materials : yet still more by the black and stunted penny cigar, stinking and wnt (like the carriage of the smoker; all on one side. The Execution at Rome.—A letter from Home of the 29th July gives official details of the dreadful occurrences which arose out of the execution of the three assassins on the 20. h of the same month. Three persons, (a woman and two children) fell dead on the spot; eight were mortally wounded; forty were wounded with pierc- "% and forty-nine with cutting instruments; 587 others were wounded, and ten had an arm or ;' e g broken, When the place was cleared of the crowd 479 men's hats, including 69 belonging to ecclesiastics, 180 hats or bonnets of women, canes, 19 little abbe mantles, two monk's Mantles, and ten work-bags or purses, were picked

Enduring Affection.—There was, says the Picayune, a man in New Orleans, thirty years ago, who wanted a young lady to marry him. He got the question as far out as to say—- " Madam, will you''— when his heart failed him, and he ran away to France. Yesterday he came back and said "Have me?" and the old lady said-—" Certainly." As a pendant to the above, the Clipper gives the following: °

We can beat you there. Some time during the revolutionary war, a young man called upon a friend of his, since dead, and borrowed ten dollars—saying as he took the money—- " You shall have it again"— But his gratitude choked his utterance, and he could say no more. A few days ago, a very old man called on the grand son of the money-lender, and shaking him warmly by the hand, exclaimed—- " When it suits my convenience."

Death of a Wealthy Miser.—On Mondav morning last Mr. Robert Smith, who washy trade a Smith, died at his late residence, No. 12, Great St. Andrew's-street, Seven Dials, in the possession of funded, freehold, and leasehold property, it is stated to the amount of nearly £400,000. He was of the most singular habits from early life, and was left a considerable sum of money by his father, with which he speculated in the funds and in building houses, his speculations turning out almost always to advantage. In the neighbourhood of Mornington Crescent, he built between 153 and 200 houses, besides having many other houses in different parts of the town. His property in the funds is believed to exceed £: 00,000. He was born in the house in which he died, and resided in it throughout his life, being about 70 years of age. Though of this immense wealth, his habits were most penurious. His mode of living was scarcely sufficient to support nature. He had no servant, but a woman used to come occasionally to char. His neighbours knew little of him, as he had no associates. His house exhioited the appearanee of a tenant not provided with the means of keeping it in decent repair, and the windows were cleaned about twice a-verr. He has left a brother and sister. The former will inherit the property, as he has left no will. The latter, who was early "crossed in love," was allowed by him f 1 a* week. She is a woman also of eccentric habits. Mr. Smith once held the office of overseer of the parish of St. Giles, in which he was a resident.— The Britannia, Oct. 2. PORT PHILLIP POLICE. Assault.—Sarah Dillon appeared to prefer a charge of assault against her master, Mr. James Gordon, of William's Town, for " baitin' and turnin' her out." Bench. —Wasn't your master satisfied with you? Sirah.—Satisfied !—if all the saints in the calendar wa" to walk bare footed out o' the picthurs, he'd grumble, your worship. Bench.—What work had you to do ? Sarah.—Mendin' stockins; —I'm not used to fancy work or dhress makin', your worship, and he'd a mind to be vexed. Bench.—Had you nothing else to do ? Sarah.—Troth I had to mind a gossoon of a child, an' a mighty contrary little pochaun of a two year ould divil it was. Bench. —What were you turned away for? Sarah. —Mr. Jordan seen me sewin* so he did and tould me to get up an' mind the child, and thin let a curse out o' him, an' wid that hit me a lick wid a boot, so he did, (crying); I hav'nt got my " back " in this country to taach him civility, an' he took a dirty advantage of my dissolute situation, so he did. Oh wirrasthiu! wirrasthru! to think o' my comint all this way over a power of the salt say to be ballyragged by a foreigner. Mr. Jordan here deposed that Saily was despatched on some trifling message, and remained out for five hours, and on her return acknowledged to Mrs. Jordan that she had been in company with two sailors, her shipmates. He (Mr. Jordan,) was so indignant at her impudence and effrontery, that he rose from a sick bed, to which he had been confined for three weeks, and desired her to quit the premises and his service ; as to an assault, he was unable, if inclined to commit one, from the state of weakness to which he had been reduced, and which Dr. Cussen, his medical attendant, could prove. The complainant having no evidence to support her charge, the case was dismissed. Alice Allan, whose appearance had all the dullness of an apple dumpling without any of its sweetness, appeared to prefer a charge of seduction against Mary Purcer, whose riant countenance was a perfect relief to look at. Magistrate.—Well Mrs. Allan, what do you charge the defendant with. , Alice.—Seducin' my nieces. Magistrate —That's rather a serious and perplexing charge.

Mary.—Major dear Magistrate.—You mus'nt speak until you've heard all. Alice.—Och how mighty coaxin' ye are, don't mind her sur, she'd wheedle a hot praty out o' the mouth of a young pig. I'll tell yez the rights of it major. I've got two nieces—fine girls—oh roaring girls—one six fut high in her stockin' feet, wid a pure fut to take hould av a fiure—well she's marriageable like—troth I think the poor colleen's a nathural taste that way. Biddy will ye marry? says I, I will, says she (divil a word o' lie in it), is it Mick? Are you fond of him ? says I, could'nt I bate the two eyes out a him? says she, and wid that it was all smooth. Magistrate.—\ou must confine yourself to the charge. Alice.—Well I'm comin' to it—when me nieces id vex me, an' I tuk a bit av a broom handle torason wid them, Mrs. Purcer (she lives cheek by gowl aside my dure,) 'd open her dure for them to run into. I wint in afther them an' she said her man was as good as mine. Well I did'nt say agin the likes, only her husband 'd be a thrifle handier if he could see out av both eyes—for one's like a bad ehillin' with th' other lookin' for change. Magistrate—l must really dismiss you if you don't keep to the charge. Mary—(With a killing twinkle) sure you don't mind her Major jewel. Magistrate—(Softening) you must be quiet till she has finished her statement. Alice—Well when I wint in she axed me what I wanted, and jumped at me an' ture me gound, and broke me gowld earings. Mary—Ah thin do I look like such a nathural born infin. Magistrate—(Floored) the whole is extremely frivolous, the case is dismissed. Mary cast a grateful look at the Bench, curtsied to the complainant and rolled out.