ENGLISH EXTRACTS.

Colonist, Volume II, Issue 192, 23 August 1859, Page 4

ENGLISH EXTRACTS.

IE the ultimate success of the rifle corps movement is to bear a reasonable proportion to the energy with which the subject is itill being discussed throughout the country, it will be considerable. Preliminary or further and more advanced steps for the formation of rifle corps, or at least rifle associations, have been taken in almost every considerable town in Great Britain. The primary object of the rifle corps is, of course, to prevent or repel that invasion of England which has been bo often predicted, arid which the career of conquest upon which the Emperor of the French has recently entered is supposed to render more immediately imminent.' Sanguine people are at present talking of the possibility of raising within a few weeks a force of 1,000,000 volunteers who, within a few months, are to lbs excellent riflemen; arid this immense force once in existence would, it is believed, for ever stultify the fear or the threat of an invasion. But the question is, how is such a force, or the half of it> to be raised ? Calculating minds foresee a number of difficulties, and appear to despair of overcoming them if the volunteers are to find, as the late Government -circular.requires! them to do, their own arms and. equipments. In many quarters indeed, the' (jovernment circular is regarded as a positive ; and in several places clubs have been formed which will only consent to become Government corps if the conditions of Government shall be made more liberal. Great numbers of gentlemen, not themselves volunteers, have come forward with subscriptions to furnish accoutrements to those who are unable to bear the expense; but doubts are entertained as to whether this affords a satisfactory basis for the organisation of ai great popular force. The numbers who have actually enrolled themselves as yet cannot be even approximately g*iven. In some places a sort of conditional enrolment takes place, upon the understanding that it shall not" be binding if more liberal terms are hot granted by the Government. For example, at Manchester, about 150 persons have enrolled; themselves, but many of them are unable' or unwilling to raise the means, and unless* some concession is made by the authorities they will withdraw their names. The uniform is a point of great interest. As the corps will have quite a local character they may differ as widely as they please from each other. It will be no easy matter, however, for the members of the same corps to come to an agreement on the subject. : Economical persons refuse to join if the whole expense of equipment exceeds £4 or £5; "which will hardly satisfy a large class of young gentlemen. The Enfield rifle is the general favorite; but a lighter weapon will-' probably be introduced in some of the corps. W.e should add that in the counties especially of the south coast there is a strong determination to raise a force of artillery as well as rifle volunteers. Another cowardly outrage has taken place in the King's County. Condron, a farmer, residing in the barony of Garrycastle, and hia family, were aroused early in ;the morning by the loud barking of a watch dog. <D)aniel, one of Condron's sons, opened the door and went out to see what occasionrd the. dog's barking, when he observed- a party of 16 or 18 persons crouching, behind a hedge a short distance from the house, armed with, double-barrelled pistols, and with heavy bludgeons. On perceiving the party in ambush he hastily retraced bis steps towards the house to give the alarm, when one of the ruffians fired at and wounded him, lodging 37 grains of slugs in his back and neck. Six or eight of the fellows then rushed into the house and made" a desperate ons^ught on the elder Condron with their pistols and loaded sticks. Condron seized the handle of a pickaxe, with which he gallantly defended himself, and knocked one of his assailants down. They inflicted several wounds and bruises on his head and body. Another son- was felled by one of the ruffians. They ordered Condron to give up his land, and advised him not to bring them there again, or to mark-the consequence. This is the second attack.which has been majde on Condron. It appears that the former tenant was evicted from the farm which he holds by the gentleman who purchased the property in the Encumbered Estates Court. It is expected that Daniel Condron will yet recover, though his wound' is a very severe one. W. H. Bodkin, of the Home Circuit and Central Criminal Court, Recorder of Dover, is appointed Assistant-Judge of the Middlesex ■ Sessions Court, in the room of Mr. Pashley, Q. C;, deceased. The Court of'lCommon Pleas has just been occupied wtlic1;. the case of " Swan v. The North British Australian Company." Mr. Hawkins, Q.C., and Mr. Holl appeared to show cause against a rule calling on the defendants to restore the name of Mr. Swan to register of the shareholders of the company; and Mr. Knowles Q.C., and Mr. Hurlstone appeared in support of the rule.—-It appeared that Mr. Swan was the owner of 1000 shares in the company, and executed blank transfer?, which he handed to a Mr. Oliver, who acted as his "broker. Oliver fraudulently filled up the transfers and obtained the share certificates from a box in which Mr. Swan kept them. The tranfers were filled up for 500 shares to Mr. Barry, and 500 shares to Messrs. M'Kewan and Swan, who Became bond fide purchasers for value. The transfers and certificates were then taken to the company to be registered. The company duly gave notice to Mr. Swan at his lasfc registered place of abode that the transfers had been so left for registration, and not being informed that the tranfers were invalid, duly registered them. It was now contended that there,were no laches- on the part of the company, who merely acted in a ministerial capacity,, and that the present registered owners of the shares ought to. have an: opportunity of showing cause against the rule, as theiri: -

terests might ho seriously affected by th< decision of the court.—The court directec that the rule should be amended by making the present registered 'shareholders of thi shares in question parties to the rule. Th< argument to stand over. The Lord Chancellor has' within the las few days conferred silk gowns on tw( members'of the Chancery bar—Mr. Johi Hinde Palmer and Mr. W. D. Lewis. Th< former gentleman was called to the bar ir 1832 and nas lorig Thad a large practice At the recent election he contested Lincolr upon Liberal principles, and was onl) defeated by a small majority. Mr. W. D Lewis was called to the bar in 1844, having in the previous year published his treatise upon " The Law of Perpetuities." Wher the system of legal education, was established in 1847, Mr. Lewis received the appointment of Lecturer on Real Property, an office from which he retired in June, 1852. The learned gentleman was subsequently appointed a member of the Registration of Title Commission. 'He is a Conservative, and was defeated at Sanwich onlj a few weeki ago. At a meeting of the Parliamentary Reform Committee on the Bth of June, Mr. James White in the chair, the committee having taken into consideration the then critical position of the Reform question, in connection with the amendment before the House of: Commons, expressing want of confidence in her Majesty's Ministers, it was moved by Mr. S. Morley, seconded by Mr. Duncan M'Laren, and resolved, "That, in the opinion of this committee, it is the duty of all real Reformers to support the amendment; and the committee trust that the Liberal party will succed in their effort to obtain a change of Administration,* in order to secure the early introduction of a measure of real Parliamentary Reform." A Roman Catholic meeting or demonstration was held in St. James's-hall on the Bth of June. The object was to impress upon the Government the necessity of granting the Roman Catholics the privilege of chaplains in workhouses and prisons. M.' Kossuth has left England, after having had an interview with.M. de Persigny, the French ambassador. Some 300 Hungarians have returned from America, and follow him to Italy. [Before his departure Kossuth addressed large meetings in London, Manchester, Bradford, and Edinburgh on the subject of the war in Italy 1. He strongly urged upon England the policy of of neutrality; and did not hesitate to express apprehension that the Derby Cabinet (which has just been overthrown) -was prepared to involve this country in the war on the, side of Austria. Kossuth announced that he expected shortly to be engaged in his native country in the cause of Hungarian independence.] Prince Esterhazy left Vienna on the 3rd June for London. It is understood by the Spectator and Daily Neivs that he comes on an extraordinary mission. But the Ministerial Herald staiea that he has been intrusted with no mission at all. A sanitary commission for India has been appointed. Mr. Sydney Herbert presides. A considerable fund is being subscribed for the reimbursement of Sir James Brooke. It now amounts to between £6000 and £7000. By an Order in Conncil navy chaplains are to be placed on an equality of rank and pay with army chaplains; and the relative ranks and rates of pay and half-pay of medical officers of the army and navy are to be assimilated as nearly as possible. James Patteson, Esq., of the Northern Circuit, son of the Right Hon. Sir John Patteson, has been appointed Secretary to the Law-Courts Concentration Commission. A Paris journal publishes a curious account of a contrivance invented by a M. Meudt for the decomposition of water, and combustion of the hydrogen thus obtained. The •apparatus consists of a small copper boiler, provided with a safty valve and a pipe which passes into a tubulated bottle with two necks, placed near the boiler. From the second tubulature another tube passes under the boiler. About two litres (nearly half a gallon) of water are poured into the latter, and about half a litre of weak tarwater into the tubulated bottle. A spirit lamp being applied to the boiler, the steam thus generated penetrates into the bottle, where it yields its oxygen to the tar, by which oxide of carbon is generated. The hydrogen of the steam being thus set at liberty, accumulates in the bottle, and then passes through the second tube to the bottom of the. boilers, where it meets the flame of the spirit lamp. A most extraordinary .effect,: approaching as near as possible to the visionary principle of perpetual motion, is the result; for the spirit lamp being; taken away, the hydrogen generated burn's with its own flame and makes the water boil;' this engenders fresh steam, which is deebmposed as before, and furnishes a new supply of hydrogen, which feeds the flame and soon, not ad nifitimi, but until the water in the boiler is exhausted; all that has to be done in order to have a perpetual flame is to keep up the supply of water, and also, when necessary, to renew the tar water. This discovery, applied to steam-engines and locomotives, a task which the inventor has already performed, is capable of producing an immense saving of fuel. An appeal by the empress to the French public for contribution* of old linen to make lint and bandages for the wounded is placarded all over Paris, with the additional intimation that offerings will be received at all" the Mairies. " Crowds of people are reading these bills with a sad interest. The stern realities of war are brought home to the. mind when the inhabitants of such a vast city as Paris are told that there is pressing necessity for immense quantities of old rags to be sent all the way to Italy to assuage the sufferings of the wounded. No mere figures could speak so eloquently. The prefects are collecting linen in the departments." The Bulletin says that "the Duke of

Calabria, who has now,, on the death o: Ferdinand 11., ascended the throne o' Naples, is an artist of. considerable merit. As a; sculptor he has produced many markable, works, and has engraved manj medals, which are at present in the Museum of Naples." . .; An extraordinary poetical feat is in process at Paris. The proprietors of the Zribrdirie jfroitvelle announce that tliey.wil] publish every Saturday " sixteen quarto pages of poetry," by M. Mery, descriptive of" La grande epopee militaire gui ,se prepare en Italic." The prospectus dwells particularly on the fact that the muse of M. Mery will always be inspired by the very latest news from the seat of war. The first number or "Premier Chant" of this poetical periodical is entitled " Napoleon en Italic." The trial of Mr. Smethurst, referred to in another place, has been postponed till next session. . ■ : * The South Eastern Railway Company answered a summons before the magistrate at Southwark, taken out at the instance of the overseers of Battle, in Sussex. It was complained that the company had refused to make a return of traffic, or permit ah inspection of their books, for the purpose of assessment, thereby rendering themselves liable to a penalty of £300 and £60 a day afterwards. Mr. Burcham decided that the act on which the claim was grounded had been nullified (although, probably, through an oversight) by a subsequent enactment, and the summons must therefore be dismissed. A^sad accident occurred a few days ago to a party of excursionists at Watchet, off the Sonierset coast. ' While a boat was on its wa'jr from the shore laden with passengers for tho steamer to return to Bristo 1, it suddenly sunk, and six of the unfortunate people were drowned. The coroner's. jury met the day before yesterday to investigate the, facts connected with the lamentable murder of her two children and suicide by Mrs. Croft in St. Pancras. Mr. Wakley, however, considered it necessary to have a surgical examination, and the proceedings were accordingly adjourned till this day. The Mercers' Company recently voted a donation of £100 towards the fund for the sufferers by the conflagation in South Australia. An addition of considerable interest will be shortly made to the oriental objects of art exhibited in the South Kensington Museum. Lord Elgin is about to lend various specimens of Chinese and Japanese art manufacture collected by him on his •recent mission to the East. Among them is an unusually large and very fine example of Chinese ancient cloisonne enamel. It is a deep brass salver with an elaborate cover, the whole of the exterior enamelled with rich and harmonious arrangement of colours which oriental art so often exhibits. There are other smaller pieces of the same work, also excellent of their kind. A fine cracklin porcelain jar with bronze mountings and various other good specimens are among the collection. An extremely interesting lecture has been delivered by Mr. Skaife of Blackheath in reference to some photographic experiments in relation to the velocity of shot and shall, and the possibility of using photographic means for registering the character of the motion. The phenomena presented were of a novel and peculiar kind, and they suggested the idea of a.practical application. In the narrow compass of some four inches Mr. Skaife has resumed an entire photographic apparatus which can be carried in the hand, and which, working by means of a trigger, can be used with ease and certainty. Mr. Skaife has denominated his instrument the pistol-camera, and the value of it will speedily be seen in various ways. The weapon is levelled at an object, and a microscopic photograph is taken on the instant. Thus the scout may photograph a : hostile movement, and the microscope discloses the position of the enemy. The, mariner at sea can hoist the machine to the very vane at top of the mast, and photograph the view around. The travelling student of natural history can photograph the wildest roebuck, the fiercest lion,,the- most sudden meteor, the the most inaccessible rock. The watchman can photograph the criminal flagrante delicto. The instrument may be made the means of domestic discipline or endearment, —the spoiled child being shown " how- it looks when it is cross; " while the enchanted suitor can catch the sweetest aspect of assent and immortalise it for future reference. Indeed; the effect of the discovery can scarcely be estimated to its full extent, socially or practically.