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Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 5, Issue 267, 7 November 1861, Page 3

■ ‘ 1 1 *it tnW r Sib, —I send you the following; ' .Committee of • ; :the Agnchltural Association. The' Chronicle of the 24th October, in an article on the increasing nuisance of the Thistle, suggests “an anti-Thistle league should be formed immediately, and perhaps it may be within the compass of the Agricultural Society’s. Committee’s duties to make the first movement in its organization.” Your Committee feel, obliged to ; the Editor of the Chronicle for tin* suggestion of the anti-thistle league, which can: be .very successfully jrat in practice by the town and suburbs, men, women, and children, schools and all, turning out on certain, days (twice in the season before the. possibility of the thistle ripening, its seed), armed .with, weeding hoes; &e., it being arranged at a meet-t----in g'called for the, purpose, that all the inhabitants to the right of Victoria avenue as you gotowards .St- Jphn’s brisk, should. . clear off ..the. thistles to the right 1 of the road from the river, bank in tbwii -to the brick-kilns beyond St. John’s bush, thence by the brow of the hill, under Mrs. Hair’s house, and continue on by a small stream, that divides the suburbs from the: country, to the river bank ; this party going out by St. John’s bush and' returning by the river, bank, or the reverse. The other part of - the town would clear to the left of Victoria avenue from the river to Messrs. Parks and Garner’s, farms, and home through the swamp„.and by the racecourse, &c. These would be gala days: for the town, and might be ended by games at: cricket, quoits. &c.i Neighbouring fanners; living within well-defined, boundaries, should, 'join with Ml the hands, they can muster, and go from farm to farm, yours to-day, mine tomorrow', and exterminate the destructive intruder. There must be a combined movement, made for this purpose, and the sooner it’s done; the better, as;it?is .utterlyuseless for any single individual,' however industrious, to battlesuccessfully against the spread of the thistle on his. ground, while his neighbours permit-them to grow round about him. People living in the neighbourhood of absentees should suggest and carry out a combined remedy. Your Committee having ihade'these remarlcs, naturally following, the'Editor’s suggestion of an anti-thistle league, :feels that it cannot take action in this matteras the Committeevpf the Agricultural Association, but only as individuals as anxious to exterminate thd' 'thistle in ‘ company with thb'ir neighbours. }. ; One or this Committee-

Oct. 26, 1861. Sir, —I read Dr. Allison’s letter in a late issue of your journal and think he is quite right in stating that men armed’ -with revolvers Avould be greatly more effective than if they were armed merely Avifo rifles; May I ask you, if the government who pledged themselves if an honourable, peace were unattainable, to carry on the war v/ith vigour, Have taken a.ny step towards arming the settlers Avith such aneffective Aveapon as the revolver. In a close fight the advantage of having such a weapon has been so long known, that Mr. Fox and his coadjutors must be thoroughly aware of it. Have they acted on that knowledge, or are they like their predecessors trusting to the chapter of accidents ?—lam, &c. > -'» ... . Aye Heady.

OTAGO. ' No mail came from the diggings yesterday. The digging of about a quarter of a million sterling in ahout four months shows that Otago must profit greatly by the. discovery that has been made, at least if that yield is continued for any length of time. That amount may be said to - have been divided among 4000 to 5000 diggers, which does not. give a laige average ‘per week to each, but is perhaps more than could be made by regular work at any other calling. The per contras considerable, ip,’thb shape of high -priced-food, bad weather, and heavy work; ; the absence of other new's; our readers ' may be interested by late townsman: — - , srrroon" a T started from Dunedin 4 on .the I.6th of August for the diggings, in company with my uncle and W. Gr-r- —, which formed our party, we had to pay Is. per, lb. for -carting ..our, .luggage,... ;and liad to keep 'withl ih* txuvelling all the We arrived bn the : field on the. 22nd J Am

'the next two days, yr.e got about £ adwt. *>f gdld between, us; the next Week.we ounce ; *the following Week •we sot 2 oz. 7 dwts; and the next 2 6Zv 15 dwts. Unole now left for Wellington* but myself and mates determined to try . a little longer' during this next week •we two got. just 1 os.; on the following Monday another mate joined us* and in ttkat week we made 3 ozs. : this present w^V'...W«»- > ft»H»—irloi'n)nL.Jbetter still. Provisions oemg veiy clear, a coBM no ‘vuuui. <or. perhaps, a little over £1 10s, per man, per week. .The sinking on these dig-. gings varies from about 4 feet to as much as 40 _ feet, but not much of the latter. The average sinking 'is about 9 feet. I have not yet cleared my exponoes and first outlay, and Ido not intend stopping much longer unless something better turns up, .of which X am afraid there is little chance, for very few are doing well in this gully now, as the olaims that were rich are pretty well worked out. Plenty of men have amassed fortunes in this gully, but I fear there will be few more do so, as all the fresh holes that are sunk seem to turn out mere shicers. We continually hear of fresh rushes, .but as yot they have availed little or nothing ; hundreds come up to the diggings and return again without ever giving the field a trial. I think if I had taken your advice and waited for five or six weeks that I would, not have come to the diggings at all, although T have not fared so. bacl as hundreds of others have done.” The above seems to give a fair description of the fortunes of the great multitude of those who are doing anything at all. No doubt those who come op good claims do well ; but the great majority of fortunate diggers consist of those who arc making Ids to 20s a day—no. great inducement to any man who has a family to support, considering that his domestic expences are going on as usual in his absence, and that lie is exposed to hardships which may permanently injure his health. Young.,men without encumbrance, accnstomecl to hard work, may make enough to give them a start in life.

SOUTHLAND. Our first Provincial Council met for its first session on August 3rd. At the first meeting of the Council Dr. Menzies was elected Superintendent, almost unanimously ; and in I\is opening address he disarmed what opposition there had been, by stating that as his Executive did not concur in h|s land propositions, he should not bring them before the Council, although lie believed their discussion would have removed what he felt to he misaj)prehensions as to their purport and probable operation. This difficulty thus disposed of, the Counoil soon got through its first, short business session, with these results ? The Provincial Government, the Immigration and British Agent, the Southland Lpan, and Appropriation Ordinances ; besides addresses in reference to-postal matters and education, reserves for recreation grounds, the. £IOOO bonus for a gold field discovery, and the resolution respecting the Eastern boundary. The Estimate? laid before, and adopted by, the Council, assumed a revenue for the nine months ending Dec. 31 of £20,057, of which £IO,OOO are to come from debentures under the Loan act. The expenditure was estimated for the five months ending Dec. 31 at £11,907 —of wliioh about £IO,OOO was plaoed to the account of Surveys, Public "VVorks,Roads, Harbours, Police, Education, Immigration, and the Gold field bonus. So that * ambitious little Southland ’ js not starting on a very extravagant scale as to its (Establishment expenditure; ite chief outlay will be on useful and, reproductive works and measures. Superintendent’s Salary is fixed at £350 a year; Chief ,? Land Commissioner, Chief Surveyor, and Provincial Solicitor, £3OO each; Clerk to Superintendent, £2OO ; Sub-Treasurer (Provincial Accountant) £250 ; Sheep Inspector, £250; and -the few other necessary offices in like proportion.. The appointment of Mr. John Morrison, ' of London, as immigration and British Agent for Southland, has given general satisfaction, and gives good groimd for hope that we shall soon be having direct immigration from, and direct commercial communication with, Great Britain, There is already a goodly field for energy and enterprise up in both matters, At the present moment there are at the least 400,00,0 acres of available land in this province open for application, and of this large quantity a considerable extents—about. 51,000 acres —is surveyed into sections of from 30 to 120 acres. A good deal of this surveyed land is within a radius of twelve miles from the towns of Invercargill and Itivertcm—the farthest is fifteen miles from Invercargill—a natural level road all the way to the shipping port, a part of which has been made and gravelled by the Government. All of this land . is. dotted over with bush, while ample bush reserves secure to the of open land abundance of that great necessary for building and firing. Our export of wool from, this district last season amounted to about eighteen thousand pounds’ worth - ; and next season it may be. expected to, realise at least 5,0 per cent, more, since, :$n addition to tire natural increase of our flocks, we have imported between 3000 -and '4OOO sheep in the last few months, ?and & considerable number more are un-. tderstood to' have been ordered for this_ June mnl September quarters amounted £o two; thousand five hundred pounds, and this branch of our revenue will quickly double with the inauguration .of direct immigration upon a liberal and well-defined principle. ■ ; ~ , . The price of town sections suffers’no in Southland, notwithstanding the continued excitement about the Tuapeka .diggings—an excitement which ap-

pears likely to be oh the eve of reaction, certainly as regards the Yictorian diggers. Thirty-five sections, situated m Invercargill, Campbelltown, and Riverton, sold on Tuesday , for eight hundred and sixteen pounds, but some of the Invercargill sections brought from thirty to upwards of forty pounds. —Southland Neu's, Oct. 5. ■ , , .

TTTE FVNTG A fiEMENT AT. TrtTX.ipa ■ BUN.

The followiqg description of the position of the Confederates is taken from the New Orleans Picayune : By nature, the position is one of the strongest that could have been found in the whole State. About half way between the eastern spur of the Blue Ridge and the Potomac, below Alexandria, it commands the whole country between so perfectly that there is scarcely a possibility of its being turned. The right wing stretches off towards the head waters of the Occoquon, through "a wooded country, which is easily made impassable by the felling of trees. The left is a rolling tablerland, easily commanded from the successive elevations, till you reach a country so rough and so rugged that it is a defence to itself. The key to the whole position, in fact, is precisely that point which General Beauregard chose for his centre, and which he has fortified so strongly, that, in the opinion of military men, 5000 men could there hold 20,000 at bay, The position, in fact, is fortified in part by nature herself. It is a succession of bills, nearly equi-distant from each other, in front of which is a ravine so deep and so thickly,wooded that it is passable only at two points, and those through gorges which fifty men can defend against a whole army. It was at. one of these points that the Washington artillery were at first enccymped, and though only half the battalion was then there, and we had only one company of infantry to support us, we slept as. soundly under the protection of our guns as if we hacj been in a fort of the amplest dimensions. •Of the fortifications superadded here by General Beauregard to those of nature, it is of course not proper for me to speak. The general reader, in fact, will have a sufficiently precise idea of them by conceiving a line of forts some two miles in extent, zig-zag in form, with angles, salients, bastions, caseinates, and everything that properly belongs to works of this kind.

The strength and advantages of this position at Manassas are very much increased by tlie fact that fourteen miles further Qii is a position of similar formation, while the country between is admirably adapted to the subsistence and entrenchment of troops in numbers as large as they can easily be manoeuvred on the real battle-field,.. Water- is good and abundant; forage such as is everywhere found in the rich farming districts of Virginia, and the communication with all parts of the country easy. Here, overlooking an extensive plain, watered by mountain streams which ultimately find theii' way to the Potomac, and divided into verdant fields of wheat and oats, and corn, pasture and meadow, are the head-quarters of the advanced forces of the army of the Potomac. They are South Carolinians, Louisianians,. Alabamians, Mississippians, and Virginians, for the most part, the first two, singularly enough, being in front, and that they will keep it their friends at home may rest assured. Never have I seen a finer body of men—men who were more obedient to

discipline, or breathed a more self-sacrific-ing patriotism.

As might be expected from the skill with which he has chosen his position, and the system with which he encamps and moves his men, General Beauregard is very popular here. I doubt if Napoleon himself had more the undivided confidence of his army. By nature, as also from a wise policy, he is very reticent. Not an individual here knows his plans or a single move of a regiment before it is made, and then only the Colonel and his men know where it goes to. There is not a man here who can give anything like a satisfactory answer how many men he has, or where his exact lines are. For the distance of fourteen miles around you see tents everywhere, and from them you can make a rough estimate pf liis men, but how many more are encamped in tho byeroads and in the forests none can tell. The new comer, from what he sees at first glance, puts down the number at about 30,000 men ; those wl\o have been here longest estimate his force at 40,000 to 50,000, and some even at 60,000 strong. And there is the same discrepancy as to the quality of his artillery. So close does the General keep liis affairs to himself, his left hand hardly knows what liis right hand doeth ; and so jealous is he of this prerogative of a commanding officer, that I verily believe if lie suspected his coat of any acquaintance with the plans revolving within him, lie would cast it from him. The General’s head-quarters is a little farmhouse, about fifteem feet by twenty, fronting on one of the roads that lead to, Alexandria. The ground floor' is divided into, two rooms. The front one is filled with desks, at which clerks sit writing, or engaged in business of a varied cha racter! The back ope appears to be used as a store-room or kitchen. Above, the same division continues, and the front 'raomris~" - nTe~Greneml*s .apartment. It is about fifteen feet long by ten wide, and hung with maps of the State and country around. In the centre is a plain pine, table, on which lie, neatly folded np, what the visitor would naturally take to be , plans, specifications, surveys, geometrical drawings, &c., and. by their side military reports. Everything has the air of neatness, coolness, mathematical calculation. Of course, there is nothing in the room

but what pertains to the office, and to most eyes it would appear somewhat bare ; but what there is, is arranged with so/ much taste that, the general impression is by no means unpleasing. ■ The General is in his room the greater part of the day, apparently; occupied With his plans and reports. There, ’hour after hour, he sits alone by his neat little pine table, maps, plans, and specifieations before him,-ahd large-open-window S-behind and around him—at first- sight the cold, calculating, unsympathising mathematician. Every now and then an aid enters with a report or a message, which is delivered in military style, deliberatelyexamined in silence, the corresponding order promptly written out, or delivered in as few words as possible, and our mathematical iceberg is alone again. When a visitor drops in, however, at a leisure mornent, the formality of the officer readily gives way to that easy interchange of civilities which characterises our people at home, hut nothing more.

The ’Federal army advanced on the 17th July, and took possession of Vienna and Fairfax Court-house, which was found evacuated, the Confederates having retired towards Manassas Junction.

On the 18th, tha Federal troops advanced as far as Centreville, which, was also found evacuated. General Tyler, commanding the right wing of the Federal army, sent on an advance body of 800 men with a battery, supported by four companies of cavalry, under General Richardson, from Centreville towards Manassas Junction to reconnoitre, y/hen within about three miles of the junction a masked battery opened a heavy fire on the Federalists. They were then ordered into the woods, but were there met by a hot fire of musketry from concealed foes, and another masked ball battery opened fire upon them in the rear. Reinforcements] arriving from Centreville, General Tylero accompanying them, Colonel Richardson] again commenced firing on the Confederate batteries, which responded vigorously. After one hour’s fighting, the Federals were com-pelled-to'retire;' During the engagement no Confederate troops could be seen, all being concealed. The Federal loss was reported to be forty killed and wounded.

On the 21st the whole 6f the Federal army advanced on the Confederate batt-. eries at Bull's Run three miles from, Manassas Junction. Great; bravery Was! displayed by the Federal tsops, and after: nine hours’ fighting they suceeded in capturing three of the Confederate batt- s cries, but with heavy loss” on both sides. At this time, General Beauregard is reported to have been reinforced by General Johnson with '25,000 men. The Confederates then attached the Union army, and dyove them in disorder from the ground. A panic, from some cause, entered among the Federal troops, and the whole _ army fled in open disorder towards Washington General M’Dowell endeavoured to rally his troops oh Centreville 5 and Fairfax Courthouse, but found it impossible to check the retreat ; the road from Centreville to Alexandria was strewed witli men wounded, or fallen from exhaustion. > The Confederates pursued as far as Fairfax, and might have taken Washington had they followed up their advantage. The Boston Courier gives the following account from one engaged : «I was in the fight on Sunday all day, until we got completely off the field, and were on the road toward Vienna. On Sunday morning we were within two or three miles of the place. We encamped by the side of a road, close by a wood, and then formed in line of battle, and proceeded steadily down through a thick wood into a ravine (Bull’s Run), and kept firing constantly in' order to draw out the enemy and unmask his batteries. “ After a good deal of firing, they opened upon us. We then fought our way down irit the plain. The Wisconsin Regiment and the 69th tackled a large party, estimated at a number of thousands—total about 17,000— partially hidden in some brushwood, and. succeeded in dyiying them completely away at the point of the bayonet. They were in great disorder all over the field. General M’Dowell came in at the other end and headed them off, while Colonel Hunter approached on the right with his division, and the action then became general. It continued untill abo.u,t four in the afternoon, when all stood still, and we thought the battle won. “The Generals collected on the hill, and were cheering and shaking hands. General M’ Dowell took his flat off, . complimented Corcoran, and said the victory had been won.' All the reinforcements on the other side, under Johnson as was supposed, came down upon us, and tire men being couipletely exhausted gave way, until they reached the road. Colonel Corcoran had only Captain Meagher with him after Lieutenant-Colonel Haggerty was killed, which happened in the first engagement. I saw him fall by a musket ball. Thomas Francis Meagher was the most conspicuous man in the. held, liding on a whitehorse with his >haf uqff, and going into the battle most enthusiastically. At one time our regimental opplour was taken. Meagher seized thejjjyeen flag of Iceland and went to the ftjont, leading the men to the charge. .The colq,ur was recaptured, the enemy was driven back, and wo then • formed in hollow square, by orders' / -and-retreated steadily off the ground-” ■ v - / , Froih sources vA have 'the'' - following* relative to fho battle “A special despatch fo. the Charleston Mercury, date July, 23, says As soon as it became evident that the enemy meant to give battle, President Davis hastened tp the scene of action, arriving in time tQ take part in the -battle, He

immediately assumed command of the centre. General Beauregard was commander .of the right wing, and General Johnston of tlie loft. It was against General Johnston’s command themnemy concentrated their best troops,who fought most obstinately. At one time the left was pressed so severely that ‘the .issue of conflict; in that direotion seemed doubtful.' "It was there Colonel Barton’s Georgia Regiment was posted, which was so terribly cut up that a large body of our troops from the centre was sent at a critical moment to the left’s assistance, and turned the tide of the battle. The enemy broke and fled before the impetous charges of the Southerns, and the battle soon became a rout.”

... Southern accounts report that five confederate Generals were killed, viz.,—Barton, of Georgia ; Bee, of South Carolina ; Kirby and Smith, of Florida ; and also Colonel Johnson, of Hampton’s Legion. Beauregard had his horse shot under him. President Davis sent the following bulletin to the Congress assembled at Richmond:— “ Manassas Junction, Sunday Night. “ Night has closed upon a hard-fought field. Our forces were victorious. The enemy was routed and fled precipitately, abandoning a large amount of arms, ammunition, knapsacks, and baggage. The ground was strewed for miles with those killed, and the farm-houses and the ground around were filled with wounded. Pursuit was continued along several routes, towards Leesburg and Centreville, until darkness covered the fugitives. We have captured several field batteries, stands of arms, and Union and State flags ; many prisoners have been taken. Too high praise cannot be bestowed, whether for the skill of the principal officers or for the gallantry of all our troops. Tlie battle was mainly fought On our left ; our force was 15,000, that of the enemy estimated at 35,000. The Northern accounts give the number of the Confederates as 125,000 ! half of whom were engage ; and their own as 25,000.

A despatch of the Louisville Courier, dated the 23rd, says that tlie Confederates captured 63 cannon, 25,000 stand of arms, 1200 horses, and all the stpres and provisions of the Federal forces, valued at 1,000,000 dollars. The New York Herald gives the.loss of the Federalists as 2SO killed, 729 wounded and 477 missing. A lady taken prisoner by the Confederates and compelled to act as nurse, reports their loss as 1200 killed an l 500 wounded. The Times Correspondent writes regarding the Federalist commander :- , “ General M'Dowcll was sitting with some officers before his tent, under the trees which shaded the place from the sun. He is a man in the prime of life, some forty and odd years of age, very powerfully built, with a kindly, honest, soldierly expression in face and manners, and it was pleasant to see that, though he was not proud of being “ whipped,” there was no dejection, other than that a man should feel who has been beaten by bis enemy,' but who knows he lias done his duty. . The 'General was kind enough to go over the plans of the attack with me, and to, acquaint me with the dispositions he made for carrying o,ut the orders he had received to. make it, and to my poor judgment they were judicious and clear. With the maps laid out on the table be-, fore his tent, he traced the movements of •the various columns from the commencement of offensive measures to the disastrous advance upon Manassas. It was evident that the Confederate Generals either were informed or divined the general object of his plan, which was, in fact, to effect a turning movement of his centre and right, while his left menaced their right on B.ull’s Run, and to get round their left altogether ; fov they had soPn after he moved, advanced their columns to meet him, and brought on an engagement, which he was obliged to accept on gronnd and at a time where and when he had not contemplated fighting.” The New York Journal of Commerce says :—“ Few of our readers, we suspect, are fully aware of the reaction which has taken place in the. public sentiment of the Northern States on the subject of our present national difficulties. In nearly every city, town, and neighbourhood from which, we have intelligence, there are accounts of a revolution in the public mind, which must soon produce a powerful reaction, and lead to more careful examination into the causes and the probable consequences of the war.”

SCRAPS FROM AMERICAN PAPERS. A Yankee letter-writer disposes of several notables thus The French Emperor is pegging away vigrously at) his j Life of Caesar ; the Pope is suffering still j from erysipelas, old age, and general debility ; F. Joseph, of Austria, is sadly given to drink ; Queen Victoria, although able to bold a Drawing-room, lias really been seriously • affected, nervously and otherwise, by the death, of her mother, and other causes.; Garibaldi is now as well as usual—has never suffered from more than an ugly rheumatic gout or gouty rheumatism. The Princess Mary of Cambridge, whose betrothal to the Duke of Newcastle has been announced, is a very comely personage, but very stout—so stout j, an fact* that she finds crinoline entirely - superfluous, except around tlie bottom - of - her skirt ? and ft-& said that' it has been necessary of late i to enlarge the door of her carriage. A marriage was fproposed between her and victor Emmanuel, and he was delighted at the ■prospect of a connection with the Royal Family of England, through the owner pf so charming a face as that of the portrait

which was shown him. But when, on his visit: to England, he saw the lady-rii Re qalantuomo, himself no slender lad—■ he retired precipitately from, the negotiation. “ I cannot marry that woman,” said he ; “ she’s broad enough to sit upon the seven hills of Rome.” A Citizen of all the States.— A son of the Emerald Isle, but not himself green, was taken up (for he was at the time down near a rebel encampment), not fax’ from the Manassas Junction. In a word, Pat was taking a quiet nap in the shade, and was roused from his slumbers by a scouting party. He wore no special uniform of either army, but looked more like a spy than an alligator,-and on this was arrested. “ Who are you 1 What is your name ? and where are you from 1” were the first questions put to him by the armed party. Pat rubbed his eyes, scratched his head, and answered questions to answer, anyhow ; and before I answer any of them, I'd he after axin you by yer lave the same thing. “Well,” said the leader, “we are of Scott’s army, and belong to Washington. “All right,” said Pat, “I know’d ye was gintlemen, for I am that same. Long life to Gineral Scott!” “ Aha,” replied the scout, “ now, you rascal, yon are our prisoner,” and seized him by the shoulder. “ How is that 1” inquired Pat ; “ are we not friends?” “No.” was the answer ; “we belong to General Beauregard’s army.” “ Then you told me a lie, me boys ; and, thinking, it might be so, I told you another. Now, tell me the truth, and I’ll tell the truth, too. “ Well, we belong to the State of South Carolina,” “So do I,” promptly'responded Pat, “ and to all the other States of the country, too; and there I am thinking I bate the whole of ye. Do you think I would come all the way from Ireland to belong to one State , when I had a right to belong to the whole of ’em]” This logic was rather a stumper : but they took him xxp, as before said, and carried him in for further examination. It is pretty evident, from this specimen, that Pat needed no prompting in a closer examination, and bearing no evidence that he was a spy, they let him off; and the more readily, as While, he assured them he was no “ polititioner,” he persisted in thinking that any man was a great fool to belong to only one State, when he has a right (as he said) of belonging to thirty-four States, “besides the territories.” Kingston (Canada West) News. Newspaper Idiom. — The following morceavx are taken from the Crescent a Kentucky paper, edited by “ Colonel” Faxon of the “ Tennessee Tigers” ; they refer to General Prentiss who commands the Federal forces at Caii’O and to these forces themselves :

«There is a man now vegetating at Cairo, by name Prentiss, who. is in command of the forces at that point. His qualifications for the command of such a squad of villains and cutthroats ai’e : he is a miserable hound, a dirty dog, a sociable fellow, a treacherous villain, a notorious thief, a lying blackguard, has served his regular five years in the penitentiary, and keeps Ms hide continually full of Cincinnati whisky, which he buys by the, barrel to save money. In him are embodied all the-leprous rascalities, and ip this living sore the gallows has been cheated of its own, This Prentiss wants our scalp. We have no objection to lxis having it if he can get it; and we will propose a plan by which he may beeonie possessed o,f that valuable article.. It is this i-rraLet him select. IfiO of his best fighting men, or 250 of the lager beer Dutchmen, and we will select 100; then let both parties meet at a given point, where there will be no. interruption of the scalping business, and then the longest pole will knock the ‘persimmon.’ If he does not accept this proposal he is a coward. We think the above proposition fair and equal.” “ When the bow-legged, wooden-sho.ed, sour-krout stinking, bologna-sausage-eat-ing, hen-roost-robbing Dutch sons of- -- from Cairo had accomplished the brilliant feat of taking down the Secession flag on the river bank, they were pointed to another flag of the same sort, which was fiyin" gloriously and defiantly about two squares distant (and which their guns did not cover), and defied, yea, double-big, black dog dared (as we used to say at school) to take that flag down. The cowardly pups, the sheep-dogs, the sneaking skunks dare not do so because those 12 pieces of. artillery were not bearing upon it. And these are the people who are sent by Lincoln to ‘crush out, the South 1” : . ,• • -

4 THE SCOTCH THISTLE.

(From the Scottish Farmer.) A correspondent wishes for imfon nation as to which of the Thistle tribe is the true Scotch Thistle. This is really a puzzler. If we arc to place any reliance on the figures which profusely ornament many of our old Scotch books, ox* take as true representatives of any natural. plant those vile excrescences which the older Scotch architects, have stuck up in every possible shape aixd form, as finales to dooi*s and windows, gable heads and doorways a taste which some of the modem professors of the art seem so very anxious to copy—or if we trust to the taste of scxilptors in stone or engravings in metals, we must conclude that the species from which one and all of these thistles have been taken are either now lost to the I loiu of Scotland, or else that the representations are us great n piece of imaginative-caricature as the animal with one horn that forms one of the suppoiters ofthe Scotch crown. Many different species have-been _ dignified with the name of Scotch Thistle. It is pi’obable, say some authorities, that a common species, such as Cardtius la%ce-

olatus is most deserving the name. Some have fixed on doubtful native species, such as Silybim Marianutn and Onopordium Acanthium. Neither of .these are, however, reconcilable with history. A Marianum is appropriated by the Roman Catholic church, who say the white marking on the foliage is- commemorative of mflk of the Virgin Mary. 0. Acanthium is not only, like the last, a doubtful original species to Scotland, but, like C. lanceolatvs , of much too great a height. For one historian says, that afterthe landing of Queen Scota, she reviewed her troops,°and being fatigued retired, and on sitting down was pricked by a thistle, from which circumstance she adopted it as the arms of her new country, with the motto, Nemo me imptine lacessit. Another says, on the eve of an attack by the Danes, one of the enemy having trod on a thistle, cried out with pain, which gave intimation to the Scots of their near presence, and hence the thistle became dignified as the arms of the country. With these two exceptions, we meet with no other reference to a matter of equal importance, in an historical point of view, with that of the legends in connection with the Coronation Stone, which all historians have treated on with great minuteness. However, if any reliance may be placed on the authorities above given, it is quite clear that it must have been a low growing species, like Cnicus acaule ; for, whether we take into consideration the accident to the Queen, or the barefooted Dane, or the' configuration of the flower head itself, it| more closely resembles the representations we find on many of the sculptured stones than either of the others. Some have supposed it to be Carduus acanthoides; but”this, as well as all the rest, is less formidably furnished with those strong spiny scales with which the receptacle of Silybum marianum is so amply provided. This circumstance, while it agrees better with those sculptured representations found on the oldest parts of Stirling Castle, Linlithgow Palace, or Holyrood House, especially with one on the top of a garden doorway opposite the new fountain, in front of the entrance to the latter, which is more like the head of Cynara Scolymus, the globe artichoke, a native of the south of Europe, than aiiy thistle in the world.

Uncertain as we are regarding the species of our national emblem, or even of its being a native, we are no more so than the English are regarding the species of rose they have adopted. No double roses existed in Britain at the period it was introduced into, the national escutcheon ; therefore it must have been borrowed from the French, who even, in their turn, cannot now tell what species of Iris their Fleur de Its is meant to represent. Nor are the Irish agreed- as to whether their shamrock is derived from a species of Trifolium, or from OxalisAcetosella. The ancient Britons, as the Welsh call themselves, have adopted the Leek, Allium porum , a native of land.

MARKETS.

Wanganui. —Wheat 7s 6d; oats 5s 6d to ss9d per bushel, flour £2O per ton, potatoes £5, fat cattle 20s per 100 lbs. In retail—bread Is per 4 lbs., cheese Is 3d to Is 6d, butter Is , bacon and ham Is per lb., eggs Is per dozen. Canterbury, Oct. 5.-—Wheat ss, 5s 6d, oats 4s 6d to 5s 6d, and -barley 5s 6d to 6s, scarce. Flour £lB to £2O per ton; ewes 30s; mixed cattle £5 per head ; colonial beer, £6 per hhd. 11l retail—bread lQd 4lb loaf, bacon Is 3d, cheese Is, ham Is 6d, butter Is lQd, beef 5d to 9d, pork 9d, mutton 6d to 8d per lb, eggs Is 3d per doz ; coals £4 to ;£4 10 per ton ; firewood £2 per cord. Nelson, Oct. 10.—Wheat 7s to 8s per busheL Flour £2O per tbn. In retail—Bread Is per 4 lbs, butter Is 6d, cheese Is Bd, beef and mutton 6d to Bd, pork 8d per lb, potatoes 7s per cwt. MELBOURNE Oct. 4 Wheat, 6s. to 6s.6cL; Oats, 3s. to 3s. 6<L ; Barley, ss. to 6s. 6d. ; Maize ss. to ss. 3d. per bushel;; Flour, Adelaide, £l4 to £ls, per ton ; Ale, Bass’s new, £8 to £8J.04 Porter, 61. to 11. per hhcl. Q&. to 10s.3cL per doz. Bacon, 101cL to Cheese, lid. to 13d. per lb.; Rice, \6l. per ton; Tea, Congou, 91. 105.. per chest; 234 to 26s- per box ; Tobacco,. Honeydew, Is- 6d-"to 2s. p : lb.

CALENDAR./;

Moon ( First Quarter Nov. 9th .10.23 p.m \ Full Moon Nov. 18th 12.45 a.m Not, S. rises. S. sets. High water at Head3 7 4 50 6 34 1 41 2 5 8 4 49 . 6 35 2 28 2 52 9 4 .48 6 30 3 16 3 40 10 4 ' 48 6 38 4 5 4 29 11 4 ..47 0 39 4 52 5 16 12 4 4G 0 40 5- 40 6 4 13 4 40 6 41 1 6 23 6 51 14 4 45 6 42. 7 3,5 7 39