ENGLISH EXTRACTS.

Otago Witness, Issue 92, 19 February 1853, Page 3

ENGLISH EXTRACTS.

TTe extract from the "Empire" the following letter from a correspondent in London, which j gives a summary of the chief matters of inte- | rest, more particularly the American Fishery Question : — London, August 20th. j The last month was remarkable for its excitej ment and anxieties regarding the elections, but, \ since the return of members to the New Parlia- : ment was completed, the re-action has been ! very great, and we have had a period of perfect ] i quiet in the world. As there was nothing of j ! interest to be met with at home, we have been j ; looking abroad for something to talk about, and ; | the United States have supplied us with two j topics, the " Fishery question," and the " Ex- ' I tradition of Kaine, a fugitive from British jus- ' ' ticc." ] The American Fishery Question has assumed ■ an importance, which did not at first sight ap- '■ pear to belong to it; the people of the United t • States are on their hi^h stilts, and talk loud i ' about defending their rights at any cost; this i bluster has been encouraged by Mr. "Webster, ! | the Secretary of the Republic, who has endca- ' ; voured to make this difficulty between the two \ 1 Governments a stalking horse, on which he ' hopes to ride into the Presidential chair; but ! the best proof which can be given that this , I question is not viewed with alarm by the well- , informed and reflective portion of the American , people is, that the New York Stock Market has not been depreciated in the least degree, indeed j ; the price of United States' securities has rather • 1 increased since the first note of war was sound- ' ed in the west. The effect has been different on this side of the Atlantic ; our Stock Exchange speculators have taken advantage of a high range of prices, to get up a little panic, and have so acted on the fears of the public, as ' to run down prices 2 per cent. The question at issue is simply this : — By the treaty of ISIB, , Great Britain secured to herself the right of ■ , fishing within three miles of the coasts of the i | British colonies in North America, and also the j I exclusive right of all the bays and inlets of the said coasts, and to this treaty the United States Government was a consenting party. Nevertheless the American fishermen have been con- j stantly intruding on the forbidden ground, and, j because they have not been determinedly preI vented from committing certain acts of a«gres- | sion, they now think themselves aggrieved when j they are warned off the preserves. There is no doubt that we have the law on our side; the only question is, whether our Government has not been precipitate, in ordering nineteen ships of war to cruise on the fishing grounds, and j seize all intruders, without first giving notice of their intention, seeing that they had in some measure winked at the trespass for thirty years. The Americans do not contend that they have any right to fish within three miles of our colonial coasts, but they dispute the interpretation ! which we put on that part of the treaty which appertains to bays and inlets. We maintain that the measurement of a bay is to be made by drawing a direct line from headland to headland, and that the Americans have no right to pass this boundary. The Americans, on the contrary, contend that all large bays, like the Bay of Fundy, are equivalent to the Ocean, and that we can only claim the preserve of three miles from their coasts. This does not seem to be unreasonable, and their view was indeed, in sume measure, confirmed by Lord Aberdeen," who j gave his sanction, in 1848, to their fishing in the Bay of Fundy. At the meeting of Parliament we shall know what our Government has i really done in this case. In the mean time, we '■ learn from the American papers that Great ' Britain has sent nineteen ships of war to cruise s on the fishing grounds, and the Americans, by < the last accounts, have twelve men-of-war ready { for immediate service, of which five are power- c ful steamers. It is reported that Mr. Baring is about to T proceed to the United States, and that he has * offered to arrange this difficulty with the Ame- t rican Government, which offer Lord Malmes- q bury has gladly availed himself of. There is, t therefore, no fear of any serious rupture between the two countries — but the Derby Ministry are t much blamed for the precipitate manner in a which they have acted, in sending, without, due I notice, an armed fleet to the fishing grounds, at b the commencement of the season, to enforce b

rights which have been allowed to lie in abeyance for many years, thereby irritating the American people, and raising a difficulty, which should have been a subject of diplomatic negotiation, and which must after all be settled by amicable arrangement. There has been a great excitement in the United States about Thomas Kaine, ari Irishman, -who was accused of attacking his landlord in Ireland, with intention to murder him. Kaine fled to America, and is claimed by the British Government, under the treaty of 1842. The Americans have endeavoured to make out that Kaine -acted under political provocation, and that his is, therefore, a political and not a moral offence. That this is a political ruse, there can be no doubt. The Irish have become a strong party in the United States ; great numbers of them have votes for the President, and the Whig party has taken a side in this disgraceful question, in order to secure the Irish votes. There is no doubt that Kaine attacked his victim with intent to murder — and how the sympathies of any man can be enlisted in behalf of such a ruffian, is most wonderful. The United States, to their honour, like our own free country, afford shelter to all political refugees, of whatever country or creed. they may be; but they "will never lend themselves to protect thieves and murderers — there will always be a wide distinction between the politics of the United States and its criminal code. Kaine is to be surrendered to the British authorities, I and will be brought back to this country aiid I tried for his offence; if convicted of wounding • with intent to murder, he may be hanged t but if the intent to kill.be not proved, he will be transported for life. This surrender of a criminal to justice may have a good effect in Ireland; it will show the Irish that they cannot commit murder with impunity; and that the United States Government will not c helter criminals, although it offers a place of refuge to political offenders from the oppression of tyrants. ! A crowd of about five thousand, principally ! Irishmen, were assembled for the purpose of j rescuing Kaine from the hands of the police on i his way from the court to the prison. At a ! given signal they were to make the attempt. j The authorities anticipating this, mustered a i strong body of police, each armed with a locust I club, the officers being provided with six-barrel revolvers heavily loaded. "When the signal was given a rush was made towards the prisoner, ', but the strong force of the police, with much difficulty, kept them back. Stones of large and ■ small dimensions were then thrown among the j police, and several unsuccessful attempts were ! made to rescue the prisoner, many of the ring1 leaders receiving their deserts for their daring | attempt. Severe injuries were inflicted on both sides. The American correspondent of the "Times"' says, that " new steamers and clippers are every day being ; put on the berth for Australia, while 1 others are being built expressly for that distant 1 trade." The railroad from Chagres to Panama j is almost completed. The emigration to New York in the first • seven months of 18-32 amounted to 179,051 persons, against 160,5"9 in the same time in 18ol ; they were mostly Irish and Germans. DISGHA.CErQ' FttOCEEDIXGR AT THE LAI'E 1 ELECTIONS IN IRELAXW. 1 The convulsion into which the general election has thrown the whole of Ireland, with , scarcely an exception, may be best estimated by ■ the work it has imposed on the military. Troops? i were despached to the principal focuses of u>j ligio-political conflict at Belfast, Limerick, Cork. and other minor centres of disturbance. The temper of the country, in its worst forms, was never more thoroughly brought out. The priests j were, of course, the great agents ; and it must be confessed that the Orangemen in the north were not much behind them in violence. Fearful collisions, which the police in vain attempt- | ed to restrain, took place in the streets of Belfast, where two Deilnites were returned. Considerable damage was done to properly ; amongst the fiercest of the mob were respectably dressed women, who were seen supplying I the combatants with huge paving-stones and brickbats, which they carried from the rear of their houses in baskets, in their aprons, and in crocks, to the street- front ; and while the stones were flying, and balls whizzing above their heads, young girls were breaking the larger 1 brickbats into more handy missiles for the use of the rioters. t In Cork, where two liberals obtained a signal triumph, hardly less disgraceful scenes took place. Even in Dublin the rioting threw the city almost into a state of siege for a few hours, especial indignation being vented upon the house of a priest who had voted for the Conservative candidates. But the worst of all was Limerick, where not a syllable could be heard in the court-house, a scene of demoniacal f'uiy. Numbers of persons were seriously injured ; one man was Hung from a gallery and spiked on the rails; and the windows of eveiy Komim Catholic who supported Mr. Russell were smashed. The military were attacked with stones; 5 of the dragoons were unhorsed, and 2 officers wounded. The troops had to charge, and the result was that 13 persons were rext day under hospital treatment. A local paper gives the following brief picture of the streets of Limerick-on the day of the election :—: — The city in a state of siege. Artillery with lighted matches make an exciting display as they go through the streets with their guns of heavy metal. .Dragoons parade the streets with drawn swords and c.trbines loaded. The approaches to tlie cily in eveiy quarter are occupied by strong detachment's of military and police. It is evident throughout all these conflicts that the religious element was in the ascendant; yet, notwithstanding all the efforts of the Freetraders and the Defence Association, we' believe Ministers have, upon the whole, established a gain in. Ireland: — Ho^TE News.