THE WANGANUI CHRONICLE AND RANGITIKEI MESSENGER. “Vertie sans Peur.” WANGANUI, JULY 17, 1862.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 6, Issue 300, 17 July 1862, Page 2

THE WANGANUI CHRONICLE AND RANGITIKEI MESSENGER. “Vertie sans Peur.” WANGANUI, JULY 17, 1862.

maßßßmaiMnmmßmmmmwnßmß&BmmMamatßsmmmmß His Excellency the Governor having nr* rived at Wellington from Auckland in H.M.S. Harrier, on Friday last, was to open the General Assembly in due form on Monday. A sketch of the opening speech is given in the Wellington papers. It includes congratulation on the generally prosperous state of the colony since 1853, but expression of regret that the natives should not be in a more settled state, with an exposition of what His Excellency’s procedure towards them is to be ; his plans will involve a loan of 100,000/ for the construction of roads and for other public works; the volunteer movement will be noticed favourably ; the rapid j rogress of the Middle Island will occasion the location of part of the Executive there, and the maintenance of an efficient postal communication. The estimates will be referred to, and the House called on to consider the question of the military expenses in connection with the Taranaki contest. These are the principal topics which may be referred to, but it would be premature

o comment on them until they are more ormally brought before the public.

lN will be found a notice of a particular kind of iron bridge which it is proposed-'• to' throw over a stroam in Nelson. Of the parti.ukr merits of this bridge we are not prepared to speak. We have long advocated either a pontoon or an iron b ddge for the Wanganui.. The latter kind of communication lias been objected to as too expensive ; but the simple construction, the description of which is given in the Nelson Examiner is not open to that objection.. If the estimate given be correct, an iron bridge of this kind might be thrown over the Wanganui for about the same money as it has generally been considered a wooden one would cost.

There has been some talk here of forming a joint stock company to throw a bridge across our river, as the Government does not seem to intend moving in the matter ; cei*tkin powers would be asked of the Government, in respect to the choice of a site—somewhere about Nixon’s creek has been named by the promoters of the scheme—the nature of the construction, and the levying of pontage. We think there is little reason for fearing that a fair rate of interest would m the meantime be obtained for the money invested, especially after the Itangi'i.coi Road shall have had expended on it the money voted for its construction, and the Wangaehu Bridge shall have been completed. A greatly increased traffic may then be expected from that neighbourhood, provided it is encouraged by the merchants here. There has always been an uncertainty as to _the amountof ferryage levied here, the Government apparently not having thought it worth then’ while to obtain an accurate return, atul the lessees of the ferry, when a question was put to them on the subject, considering it most prudent to say, “ mum’s the word.” But even taking it at the lowest probable estimate, and reckoning upon a moderate increase of traffic, such as the superior communication, and the growing wealth of the country justify the expectation of, it is not an extravagant supposition that not only the interest might be regularly paid, but that in the course of 20 years the capitai might be returned, and the bridge be free. To recommend the construction of a wooden bridge with the expectation of haying the capital repaid would be out of the question. The experience of these bridges in this province limits their duration to five or six years at the outside, and even though a better principle . were adopted in their construction, no timber that grows here can be certainly expected to last above 10 years. To import timber from elsewhere would be as expensive as. to import iron and it would not be as durable. -

The bridge proposed in Nelson is to rest on wooden piles. There inay be some virtue in such piles of which we are not aware. But in a river like ours where the rise and fall of the tide is considerable, there can be little doubt that iron hollow piers would last much longer, and they would not be greatly more expensive. His Honor the Superintendent spoke of obtaining the opinion of Mr. Fitzgibbon the Engineer of the Dun Mountain Rail way who is said to have had considerable experience in making bridges, on the best site and method of construction for a bridge over our river. Perhaps it might be well for the promoters of the scheme referred to, to obtain a report from this gentleman on the feasibility of their project before asking the public to take shares. His approval and an estimate made by him of the expence would give more confidence in the undertaking and thus enlist a greater amount of support. If this scheme be gone into, what will the Governmen t do with the money so long appropriated for the building of the bridge? The shareholders of the Bridge Company would no doubt be -willing that it shonld be laid out on the roads leading to their place of business. It would be perhaps of greater use to them expended in this way, than if given in aid of the building of the bridge, always understanding that this diversion of the bridge money would not lessen the annual votes in the Council for road repair and construction in this district.

We hope that those who have proposed this scheme will set energetically about it. \\ hen the bridge is erected, they will deserve 'hat an iron tablet should be placed at each end with their names and an appropriate eulogy engraved on it, and they will have a monument more pleasing if not mo: e lasting than marble or brass in the gratitude of those who have up to this time been obliged to make use of the present very inconvenient and dilatory mode of crossing the river.

In our last we published a notification of post office orders being obtainable at the post office here for any sum not exceeding .£lO : on any village in the United Kingdom in which the post office has a money order offices, and there are few villages without them. Indeed it has been found that a large paying business can be carried on by the post office in giving facilities for the transmission of small sums of money from one part of England to another, and it is of great advantage to the woi-king classes. No doubt the new arrangement by which small sums can be transmitted between this and England will be very useful. But how is it that when an inhabitant of this place can send k2 to England he lias no similar means of remitting to Wellington or Auckland 1 We don’t know that any better means could be found of bringing the various parts of New Zealand together, and of breaking down that wall of separation that seems built round the various provinces than an internal system of postoffice money orders* Mr. Crosbie Ward has

shewn great ac ivity and 'zeal in the promotion of postal communication between this and ths mother country, and between our various provinces. The establishment of a money order system would he a natural addition to the boon he has already conferred on the country ; and we commend the subject to the consideration of the ministry. If they do not move in the matter, some member should bring it forward in the General Assembly. The Post Master General has published, a Report of the Postal service of New' Zealand in which the following estimate of the cost of .the service under the new arrangement is given. The cxpence of the communication between Otago and Melbourne is not included, tbe Arrangement regarding it not having been completed. Service. r J otal Cost. Sydney and Auckland £II,OOO „ Nelson and Wellington conditional ... 5,000 Intei’-provincial service (I. C.R.M. Co.) 8,000 Two extra, ditto ditto 12,000 Canterbury and Melbourne 3,000 Total £42,000 This sum it is proposed to divide as follows : Imperial contribution £14,000 Province of Auckland 3,000 „ Canterbury ... 2,000 „ \\ ellington ... 1,500 „ Nelson 1,500 Colony 20,000 £42,000 The Provinces ot Taranaki, Hawke’s Bav, Marlborough and Southland, which are not visited by direct steamers from an Australian port, would pay no special contribution.

By some misunderstanding between Capt. Vine Hall and the Postmaster-Ge neral the Sydney and Wellington steamer will be stopped. This is not much to be regretted as we do not see that all the amount of trade between the places justifies the expenditure of £1,500 a year in order to save the difference between steam and sailing vessels in carrying goods, and letters may be sent by steam via Melbour e.

There is news from New York via California, up to the 13th May. It would appearjthat the Federalists have been gaining victories in all quarters. Craney Island had been abandoned by the Confederates, and the Merrimac which lay in the neighbourhood, blown up by them apparently to prevent its capture. New Orleans had been taken. An engagement had taken place between two hos ile flotillas apparently near (airo. On the Confederate side there were six gunboats, a steam ram (che Louisiana) and an ironplated vessel, the Mallory. How many gunboats the Federal fleet had is not mentioned: but one of the boats, the Cincinnati, employed a new arm in warfare, having cleared the deck of the steam ram by means of a steam battery,which poured steam and scalding water on the enemy’s deck with terrible effect. The engagement which continued about an hour resulted in the loss"of‘ two Confederate gunboats with their crews, their magazines having been set on fire by the shells of the enemy. The Federal fleet sustained little damage. The loss of men on either side is no 6 reported. An awful conflagration had been raging in Long Island, New York, for four days when the news left. Damage had been done to the amount of three millions and a half of dollars.

LOCAL INTELLIGENCE. The Tur akin a Bridge.— The late floods have undermined the piles supporting the bridge on the north bank, one of which at least, the one furthest up the stream had not been sunk into the ground above 7 ft., and the bridge has been in great danger of being carried away. Another flood would certaiuly destroy it. Mr. Nixon, the sub-treasurer, with a promptitude which does him great credit, lias got the contractors for the Wangaehu bridge, who canuot now proceed on account of the flood, to commence to protect the threatened piles, and it is to be hoped they will be able effectually to avert the threatened danger. Census —The result of the tremv'al census of hist December lias just been published. The fo'lowiug figures refer to the

in'the time of divine service, Mrs. Wingate, a widow, residing ill Victoria Avenue, was maltreated by a soldier. He knocked at the door and asked if another soldier was there, and on being told that he was not, forced his way in, knocking down Mrs. Wingate twice in her endeavours to prevent him. She then-got out of doors and endeavoured to alarm the neighbourhood by her cries, when he knocked her down a third time and put his thumb uu her wiud-

pipe as if to choke her. Her cries brought,-, out Mrs. Clarke, who resides iy the next house and the soldier ran oil. Means are being taken to d'seover him. This outrage is the more daring, as there are houses on both sides and within a ‘few feet of Mrs. Wingate’s. The Flag Staff, York Stockade. — We are glad to learn that Major - Logan has consented to one of his men 'being' employed to make signals, as in tlie'’ days of admirable Pellat, so that we shall now dinow when vessels are in sight and in the ljver, as well as have a display of bunting on Gala days. Messrs Stokes and T. B. Taylor, the committee in charge of the flag staff, are receiving subscriptions for a supply of new flags, and the payment of the signalman, and any one who has 5s to spai’e for so good an object may band it over to either of these gentlemen. The Government is also to contribute its quota.

A MAORI KILLED BY A EUROPEAN.

A very unfortunate occurrence took place on Monday afternoon about six miles up the Wanganui river. A settler there of the name of William Lister heard some dogs about his place and having had several pigs killed some time previously by Maori dogs went out with his gun, a double barrelled fowling piece to have a shot at any that he might see prowling about. He put a bullet into oue barrel for a shot at a dog and some small shot into the other in case he found any pigeons. He had not gone far when he met a Maori man and boy carrying a pig, which they had just killed He claimed the pig as liis, and the- Maofics assisted him to carry it to his house. He threatened to take out a.summons against them, but not being able to speak the maori intelligibly proposed that they should go to a Mr. Jackson’s his brother-in-law who. lives in the neighbourhood and can speak the maori language, in order to have a talk over the matter. Thither they proceeded accompanied by Mrs Lister carrying an infant. The Maori who had a stick in his hand with an old file tied on,-, the end of it persisted in walking behind Lister, and they had not gone far, when he said to the young lad. “ Let us spear him.” “ No” said the boy, “ that would be wrong.” Immediately after, he drove the spear into Lister’s back. The wounded man turned round and fired his gnu at the Maori. It missed fire, and the Maori immediately rushed upon Lister, caught him by the hair of the head and dragged him to the ground. A struggle took place between the two. The Maori boy having first dropped a hatchet he had in his hand threw himself on the combatants with the view, as he says, of separating them : but Mrs.' Lister, thinking he intended to help his friend took him by the hair and drew him off with some difficulty, in one ot her clutches bringing a handful of hair out of the back of his head. Lister succeeded in picking up the hatchet with which he gave the Maori three blows on the side o r the head which killed him. The Maori boy then ran off. Intelligence came to town in the evening that Lister had been wounded by a Maori and Dr. Tuke went up to see him. He found that the weapon had entered the back between the left shoulder blade and tlie spine, and had come out between two ribs, puncturing the lung slightly. He had the man brought down to town, : n-1 he now lies in the Colonial Hospital much better, the wound not being of a verv serious nature.

On his return between two and three on Tuesday morning Dr. Tuke -informed Major Duric the Resident Magistrate of the occurrence, who immediately set off for the scene of the unfortunate scuffle, accompanied by the Rev. Messrs. Richard and Basil Taylor, several of the Putiki chiefs, viz :—John Williams, Mawae, Geo. King, and Abraham, and Wumi, a Wangaehu native a relative of the deceased who also belonged to Wangaehu.' On their approach to Waipakuru, a pah near the scene of the occurrence, they met a deputation from a rmanga, which the natives there had already held, itlth a letter from them intimating that they considered the Maoil in the wrong as the aggressor, and that lie had only received just retribution for his intending- to kill the pakf.ha. The Resident Magistrate had a meeting with the natives and took the deposition of the Maori boy.. At this meeting several speeches were made 'by the natives, expressive of the best feeling towards the settlers, disclaiming any connivance with the man in stealing the pig, and deprecating any attempt to cause a disturbance in consequence of his death. A messenger was sent oft' to the Wangaehu natives to inform them of the true state of the case, lest an incorrect report might excite them to mischief. The neighbouring settlers fearing immediate revenge might be taken by the Maories had assembled at Capt. Smith’s, but on the Rev. R. Taylor’s going there, and informing them of the turn the affair had taken they returned to their homes. It was at first supposed that the deceased was a brother of Pehi, one of the principal chiefs on the Wanganui river, in which case the affair might have been a serious one ; but fortunately t‘ e man Was of comparatively low extraction and not very good character. His name is rewini Unukawa, and that of the boy Mokena. An inquest was held on the body yesterday, but was adjourned till to-day. A meeting of the natives interested is also to be held in the Court-house to-day. We believe the garrison were on the qui vive on Tuesday, in the expectation from the exaggerated rumours abroad, that their services might possibly be required. Fortunately there was no occasion for a display of force.

LETTERS TO . THE EDITOR. Wanganui June 24, 18G2. Sir,— To my Surprise in your last Issue I observed thatj the would-be Cavalry Carp's, of Wanganui wish to put their paws on the money which the General Government granted* to,, the First Enrolled Cavalry Corps for . ferryage'and forage. It was proposed by their Lieutenant and seconded by Corporal Pawson, that the amount of £97, belonging to the original corp 3 be handed over to Sergt." Major Roberts, all very good if they or can get it. I fone, say not; in the first place, that money was granted to the first .corps, mustering m all about some 54 officers i a ni£ troopers, partly to meet the exigencies of the great expense the troop was atand what tliey c mtnbuted out of their own fund the General G overnment wish now to refund to them. Since the time that this was announced to them on a general parade the money has not been forthcoming, and the corps has since then sheen twice resworn- A great-many left with disgust and several have left the settlement since the first enrollment. For my part—l cannot see what claims this newly erected corps has to do with that money or to .propose any scheme of their own for the appropriation of a sum of money which they have not any legal claim, or title to whatever. For my part the only object I can see is this, that they have got so many of the would-be swells in the corps, and they wish to make it as expensive as possible .p-' that they can ' 1 “~ the corps, and tM‘ i ,oorer ones see this and wi«h to appropriatdK < aiu 'l ,1 i u « occasioned: by deaths andiTcmo'.^K, r T this settlement, to. enable them to scratch with some, of the more wealth^t^2Pf rs ‘ As one of the okt*SßS«^’' oul(i suggest that a meeting be called of connected with the old troop, and' in the meantKne'im’' that money be lodged in safety until such time as the decision of all or part of the said corps is arrived at. 1 would propose a dinner & ball, or a service of plate to our honoured Highland Captain as a mark of respect and esteem from his old troopers. If none of these propositions would suit then give the whole amount or tile surplus caused by deaths or re-\ moval from the settlement to some charitable purpose, and in my opinion there is a good call upon our charity in the Wanganui Chronicle in behalf of the poor boy who "lost his arm the other day. In conclusion I would fain hope, for the credit of the corps, that there is not one amougst them that would degrade himself by appropriating dead men’s money for new dresses and Napoleon's &e., or to make a fund of it far any other purpose. My advice to the cavalry is simply this ; as they are starting a fresh corps to make it an honourable one and supply, their own funds for their blacking and pipe-clay. Hoping they may appreciate these remarks. / I rernain, .. ft : ; •4k Old Carbine. j July, 1 1862. ■ Sir, —Although answering^the letter of “An Englishman” in your last impression, may seem like taking a sledge!; hammer to brain a gnat, (it sliows such utter "want of knowledge of the subject under discussion) yet as silence may seem to imply that it is unanswerable, I trouble you with a few lines trusting to your kindness to find space for them in your columns. I am aware that some English farmers quite as little informed on the subject as himself, wage war against all the smaller birds, and would as lie says laugh any one to scorn who told him he was in the wrong. I have heard English farmers laugh at the advantages of Super Phosphates, deep draining and the reaping machine, yet somehow .or other these things are accomplished facts. I know that the farmers of Prance and jjtlio Mauritius killed off all small birds till they found the insects destroyed all their crops, and recently in the former country an act has bet n passed by thejLegislature protecting the.n, and that in the latter country a large sum has been spent in importing them from the neighbouring Islands. But we need not go so far for examples, for if we turn to Melbourne, I suppose wo shall find more than eno man of my mind, as a society is there formed for tlie purpose of introducing such birds, and I find by a recent paper that it has just turned out a number. An Englishman is quite burking the question when he confines hi 3 remarks to Sparrows and Swallows. I said ‘ ‘ small birds and insects as feed on these pests. ” I never said Sparrows were to cat the Aphis. Perhaps an Englishman may recollect a little nursery rhyme beginning thus “ Lady Bird Lady Bird Fly away home.” ' Well the Lady Bird is no bird but an insect which feeds entirely on the Aphis, and as it breeds very fast where its food is plentiful the more Aphis the more Lady Birds, so it prevents the total destruction which we see here, of the entire cabbage tribe. It is contrary to the laws of nature that any tribe of living things shou.d be destroyed, but wherever there is a bane there is an antidote, if we only knew how to avail ourselves of it. That sparrows and all birds will if driven to it by hunger inflict some injury on us I will admit, but an Englishman allows it is only in severe winters there is any fear for the gooseberry, currant &c ; we have no such winters here as would drive them to such food ; besides is an Englishman sure they have, no other motive than to eat the buds, is he sure no insect was hid in it ? As he appeals to English fanners ; let me tell him I claim that honorable distinction for myself and that on the farm I recently held in England, 1 had three acres of Apple orchard, and that in the whole of them and in some hundred acres more in the parish there was not so much American blight as will be found in the smallest apple warden here. It was not the fashion there or anywhere, to my knowledge for miles round, to kill small birds, and perhaps this had something to do with our exemption from that nuisance ; I will not say it was so ; but of one 'thing I am certain ; that the birds prevented our trees from being eaten up by caterpillars, for on opening,a thrush (we had a large number) which 1 (in my then ignorance) thought was making too free with the buds, I found its crop quite full of ca- , terpillars which it had extracted from the buds casting the husk away as unfit for food. An Englishman says “Swallows are birds of passage and would not live here all the year.” That is true as far as England and other countries either too cold or too. hot are concerned, but it does not prove it would be the same liere. We know they remain all the year in Australia, and 1 think they would find food enough to induce them to remain' here, but that does not signify, if they cannot find food, the insects upon which they feed would not be here to annoy us, and as they are birds of passage depend on it every bird born here, if alive, would return to the very Bpot it was born at. the following spring. 1 am, &c. Kara Avis.

Sir, —A correspondent in your last week’s impression, signing himself aogEugli hm: n deprecates as useless the importation of sparrows and small birds from England into this province. . He alleges what is perfectly. true that they are often destroyed; and farmers’ clubs are I know constantly formed for this purpose, giving a reward of so much per head for all killed. But he forgets or is not aware that such destruction is often stopped, because of the rapid increase of noxious grubs when the sparrows are at a very low ebb. No one would I suppose attempt to argue that the numerous variteies of aphides which haunt our fruit-trees, flowering shrubs, and vegetables can be obli-

terated by these means. But I am satisfied that black-birds, thrushes, starlings, and even the underrated and scandalized sparrows would be found of great use in this, which is likely to become an agricultural district. Such birds as the bull-finch and tom-tit would be, better omitted because of the havoc they commit amongst the buds of fruit-trees in spring ; but the harm and loss caused by the other classes which I have enumerated would certainly be more than counterbalanced by the good they would perforin. Nor need we be surprised at this when we recollect that all these things are ordained by an all-3ecing Providence, “lie who ordereth all things for our good.” I am Sir, Yours &c, A Settler. . fWangauui, July 12 1862. Sir,- —I hear the service (Militia Volunteers) has not gained much by the oh•mge which has lately been effected here in. the officer commanding'those corps, the previous commander had established a Militia and Volunteer office nearly in the centre of the town miich to the convenience of both branches ; near to and midway between a strong Picquet of the 57th Regt. and the court house where the police are stationed, thus rendering it secure from any surprise. or_ might attack from the natives who are now threatening the Magietreitcs by letters, that they will remoygjby force two of their own people whobavebeSn convicted of theft, without they are immediately given up to them:—The presentgallant commanding officer has dominated himself in the,same house I'ecently occupied by his predecessor, out side the town across the creek and has removed the militia office to a small house in his own immediate neighbc-urbee'l.. solely for his own convenience. Cue unlil have thou^trfiiTit an cxpciienccd soldier woidd TtSarfiad more circumspection thfl-n to establish the office out of the. town, across the creek,, ami' close to the bank of the river,, so isolated that in these dark nights a inaori could easily steal all tlie arms ami ammunition without fear of de. tection, and there is frequently a considerable quantity of cartridges deposited in the office. I do not mean to question the bravery of tlie gallant commanding officer, but his judgment seems to omount to nil; it is to the great inconvenience, both corps must suffer as a body, aud the facility with which, arms, accoutrements, and ammunition might all be so easily swept away by the natives, that I object. These remarks arise from no ill feeling, but to express iny opinion that if it became- necessary for the ease and convenience of tbc Major commanding, that the militia office should be removed more nearly to liis resdenee—-surely some place miglit be found of greater security and with due consideration to the convenience of tbc men under his command, many of' whom have to come several miles to tlie town upon: all drill days, &c. I am, Dear Sir, An Old. Soldier. IRON BRIDGES. ‘(From llie kelson Examiner , June 28) • Tlie number ami habits of the rivers of Nelson aud many other parts of the colony are serious obstacles in these early days of our existence to free communication. Yery few of them will admit of abutments in the bed of the stream. Freshets twenty, forty, or sixty feet in height, bunging, down logs of tlm largest size, debacles of ice and snow from the mountaii a, and tlie wandering propensities of tlie streams, make it necessary to bridge at one span, if at- all, the full extent of the flood beds of rivers which are quite insignificant in their every day dimemims; and the great cost at which this is done is a prohibition, in many important cases, to doing it at all. The colony therefore owes a debt to those who will take trouble to procure or give information of economical mellu ds of bridge building, and many of our readers m this town will be thankful at this moment for suggestions that may make the vote of ifl,ooo for a cart-bridge over' the Mailai

sufficient to carry out the purpose, in a safe and workmanlike way. . Such a suggestion is made in a plan just placed in our hands by Mr. FitzGib’bo*', who lias been in communication with several practical men in England on tlie subject of cheap bridges. The plan is from Mr. Dredge, the wellknown patentee of a' peculiar' suspension bridge. It does not profess to be original and, indeed, like a vast number of modern inventions is rather property of a national than of a personal kind. It lias been adopted at Niagara for a railway bridge of 800 feet span, over which locomotives pass daily ; and has been reproduced in other places, among the rest at Chelsea, where Mr. P. Barlow, junior, has recommended it after a visit to Niagara to examine the bridge above named. It is a suspension bridge, stiffened by frame girders and tierods.

Tlie design before us is for a bridge 400 feet in span, with a sixteen feet roadway. It consists of four wire cables, two on each side, about three to three- unl-a-luilf inches diameter, resting on timber frames or towers sixty fe<t high, with iron capping; the extremities of the cables to landward aie carried down to sunken masonry. T 1 e floor beams are suspended in the usual way by ties about ten feet apart. Immediately below the cables on each side, is a latticed timber framing, seven feet deep. The lat- 1 tice bars are pieces of plank, eight inches wide, fastened at the intersections with iron bolts. The tie or suspension rods pass through tl.o centre of this latticed framing. It is proposed further to stay the structure by diagonal tie-rods fastened to moorings in the bed of the river, above and below the bridge. It no doubt occur to some reader acquainted with mechanics, that there is a radical inconsistency in applying a rigid framing to a suspension bridge. A rope or chain stretched from point to j oint, with a weight hanging across it, alters its shape when the jdaee of the weight is changed. Every washetwoman knows this by experience of- the You must either cripple your rigid framing, or your chains or cables will be useless. There are two answers to this objection—first, the lattice framing, aeven feet deep and 400 feet long, is not more rigid than a three feet stick of green supplejack. It will yield considerably in its general form, but it is stiff enough to distribute the weight of a load passing across the bridge over a considerable number of tlie suspension or tie. rods, instead of allowing it to fall on'the one or two nearest : by this means the wave which occurs on a suspension bridge is ranch diminished. And, secondly, the ties moored in the bed of the rirer take mucli of the freedom f.uw

the chaius or cables, so that the stress is in lines quite different from those which obtain in an ordinary suspension bridge, where the chains are practically free to assume any shape the position,-.;.-,of the weight on the bridge may impress 'on them. It is not proposed that the wire cables should be twisted ; they are to be bundles of parallel wire, overlaid or served, as the sailors say c with a binding wire like the covered strings of a violin or piano. This form of a rope is found practically equal in strength to a'regular'cabu-luid’Tope, and is much .cheaper, especially for colonial use, ns it. would cost less freight in the form of coils of wire than in the Intractable form of wire cable. The rope is to be preceYved by a mixture of tallow and tar applied hot. It is e.-fimn'el that bridges of tlie dimensions i i this design, at any spot within twen'y miles, by a good road, of a ]0 t where the materials can be imported direct from England, may be made at from £7 to per running foot in span, including the cost'of a machine for serving the cables. THE ROMAN QUESTION^ The following extracts from the French aiiii Laban correspondence of a well inf r-. mod Eni'li.sh periodical, give a lucid deseiiption of tho present state of affairs in Italy:—. Following the. example set by England, :he French Government has adopted the practice of communicating to the Chamber of Deputies, and publishing, the princij al official documents which it has indited in the iiv'orviu of the legislative sessions. Consequently, we are now made acquainted with the notes sent to M. tie Lavalmte, the .French Ambassador at Home, by M. Thouvenel, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and with the answers of the representative of Franco. The perusal of these documents has strongly awakened public interest in France. A first, point has been clearly cPercrmrstrated —namely, that the Emperor and hiscounsellors' are weary of the perpetual obstacles which impede the solution of the /foman question. This state of uncertainty cannot remain for an indefinite period. Tiro French garrison at Rome entails a heavy cost on the national treasury. Italy is discontented aud disturbed. Napoleon 11-L,. in return for his services,, has reaped onbf the menaces and the plots of the Jesuitical party,

This is decidedly too much for endurance. M. 2'houvenel requested the Marquis de Lavalette to demand from the Pontifical Court if it can indicate any sAntion whatever to the problem now at issue between the - Papacy and tlie Italians. A sicoml point is proved with the same ‘ certainty by these official documents—■ • namely, that the Pope and his Ministers ■ obstinately persist, in the most absolute manner, in uot making the least concessionfur the conciliation of the contending parties. Cardinal Antonelli has replied to M. de Lavalette,, iiji.ciirt and brief terms, that neither Pius IX., nor his successor, nor tlie College of Cardinals, nor any ecclesiastical authority, can enter into any negotiations, under any form' whatever, vith the spoilers of the domain of tlie . Papal Church,

This is the position of' affairs: The French Government, during the last year, lias lost rather than gained ground at Rome. The opposition of tlie Pontifical See is more categorical; it embraces the future as wed l as tlie present. All the liberal journals, even the most moderate,.agree in counselling statesmen to abandon useless attempts at arrangement, and to leave the Pope to bis own strength, or rather to his own weakness, by recalling the French garrison, /rell-iuformed persons assure us that Napoleon 111. inclines more and more towards this course

Greek has met Greek in Italy, and tlio fug of war goes forward.. The nation lias resolved that the temporal sovereignty of the Tope shall cease. Antonelli and the.* Court of Home have • determined that the Papacy shall not bate one tittle of its pretensions, nor yield one square foot of its patrimonial domain. A great deal of slmffl.ng and trickery has hitherto entered into the diji’omacy of the civil and the Jcsuitkm of the ecclesiastical combatants; but now the arena bas'been narrowed ; the foes' are face to face and hand to band : and the struggle draws to a close. “No concession is the motto of either party; so that momentous events are looming in the distance. 7’he Government lms strengthened its position, by submit ing this perjdexed question to several of the leaning universities, obtainin'* from all of them the reply that the monarchical powers of the Pope are in no sense necessary to his position, dignity, and influence, as spiritual head of the Church The Pope, on the other hand, under cover of the canonization of twenty-three Japaneso martyrs, Ims called to Home in May next the bishojis of the Catholic world, in order, it is said, to raise the ‘‘ temjioral power” to the place of a dogma—sacred and superior to all discussion—in presence of which every true believer must bow the knee in respectful adoration. //Tatever may be the final resource of the nation, this is to be the last- resort of the Pope;' and it Will over-ride all such paltry arguments as precedents which may be cited touching ct s ions of territory by previous occnjiants of the chair of St. Peter. Though Antonelli v

enjoys a most unenviable fame, one cami. t but admire the firmness and vigour with vvldcli, even at the eleventh hour, when every hope of aid has fled, he rej>eats the famous dictum, “ Non ptissumns.*’ . . The position of the parties has been make clear by recent occurrences. The Marquis Lav - leite, the French Ambassador at Rnm r lately received very definite instructions o urge the Pope-to solve the Roman question, which threatens to involve the peace of Europe. He courageously discharged bis mission at the Vatican, and was answered by Antonelli, who, his antecedents and character, has in bis hands at this critical moment, strange to say, the interests

of the most uuscripturul, persecuting, ami pretentious hierarchy the ..'world ..has ever, teen. The defiant reply substantially was: “ VVe cannot. The present Pope ..cannot, nor can .any successor of his. No more can the,(College of Cardinals, nor any general council! It is true we are not at one with the Cabinet of Turin, hut we are in excellent harmony vvhh Italy. Tiie Pope is an Italian, and the tjr?t of Italians, and the Italians are with the Pope.*’ The Cardinal Secretary of State‘doubtless hoped that this subtile fallacy would not see the light, at Past until the poison it contained had done •its work. . Fortunately, the details of this Tnterestihg interview were published to '-the world, and the people gave an immediate and mmistakeable refutation to \he falsehood, that tlie “ Italians were with the Pope.” There is not a town or village throughout the length gnu breadth of the Peiuusula y/hi.ch during the last fortnight ha? not had its .demonstration. Residents in Italy have .been accustomed f-r two years ..hack tp processions, and .flags, and national music. Put this last .eclipsed s.ll former ones by its spontaneity, respectability, unanimity, and entire absence of i i<>\erpmeut interference. Tho people ol Italy have st.opd up as one man to re-echo, \ nil brazen threat and stentorian lung, the watchword on their streaming banners, on their hat-, on the walls, of the town, * Long live Borne, the capital of Italy ! Hqwii witli the Pope-King!” But there is an,o'her question quite as important, which the Government and j ep, le seem to have answered in a way satisfactory to themselves, without sub milling it to the decision of any learned men —Can the King and Pope live together within the walls .of the Eternal City? •Wul t,be spiritual and temporal jurisdictions co,-opcra!c peaceably for the welfare ol Italy ? Is it possible for the Papacy and piyil liberty to go hand in hand, or eyen tp ro.-exist and make progress in the same .jomntry ? Not a doubt of it ? say the rulers mpd the ruled. It is tq be feared the Colleges of Germany and England would give -ji very different response, were their judgjnent consulted on tire matter.

THE AMERICAN IRON-PLATED WAR VESSELS.

Describing the Merrimac, the New York Tribune says: — “ Tire spar - deck of tire Merrimac was -281 feet long and 52 feet broad i:r her .Original condition, and sire drew 23 feet of water. She rated ah,out 4000 tons burr then. Ilcr frame'was of live oak, filled in solid, and caulked 14 feet out from the kelson. Forward tire ship had JO live pak breast-hooks, fastened through .and through with copper under the water and iron aboye; aft she hyd seven breasthouks. The engine was 800 horse-power, with a 2-blu4ed propeller 14 feet in diameter. The Merrimac was launched in 1856, Since then tho Merrimac Iras been raised, placed ppon the dry dock, and covered with an entire shorting roof of railroad • iron. This additional weight nearly broke lrer down' ,]!j)on the dry dock, and they found almost much difficulty in launching her as was •found iii;. launching the Great Eastern. {/Owing to a mistake in calculation, bn being launched she was found to sink four feet .deeper than before, so as to take in water. sQ.sbe wa3 again taken out, being hogged -in the operation and otherwise so strained -that the Southern newspapers pronounced her a (failure, and it is more than probable :that with no opposition she would never flare go to sea. Slip is probably a very good ■moveable . floating battery. Above the water’s -»et)ge site is said to present nothing but her roof of railroad iron, with a smoke gfajk rising a few feet above'it. From the accounts which we have of the light, her rate of speed is .very moderate. She mounted ten 100-pound Armstrong guns, which are reported to have smashed through iron mail as thick as that of the Warrior and Black Prince, but which do not appear to'have made any impression on the Monitor.

'Tlie iron-clad floating battery. Monitor, yvas built in 100 days, to designs by Capt. Ericsson. She is described as follows ,v

“ Externally she presents to the tiro of flie enemy’s guns a hull rising but iibout 18 inches above the water, and a sort of Martello tower, 20 feet in diameter, and 10 feet high. The smokestalk during action is lowered into the hold, it being made with telescopic slides. The luff! is sharp at both ends, the bow projecting and com? ing to a point at an angle of 80° to the vertical line, It is flatbottomed, 6| feet in depth, 124 feet long, 84 feet wide at ihe top, and is built of light.f inch iron. Another, or upper hull, rests on this with perpendicular sides and sharp ends, 5 feet high, 40 feet inches wide, 174 feet long, extending over the sides of the lower hull 3 feet 7 inches, and over each end 25 feet, this serving a 3 a protection tp the propeler, rudder, and anchor, The sides of tie upper hull are composed of an inner guard of iron, a wall of white oak 30 inches thick, covered with irou armour six inches thick.

“ When in readiness for action, the lower hull is totally immersed, and the upper one 13 sunk 3... feet 6. inches, leaving only 18 inches above water. The interior is open to the bottom like a sloop, the deck, which is - bombproof, coming flush with the top 'p[ the upper hull. No railing or bulwark of any kind appears above deck, aud the only things exposed are the turret or citadel the wheel-house, and the box crowning the smoke-stalk. The inclination of the lower hull is such tlnit a ball, to strike it in any part, must pass through at least 25 feet of water, and than strike an inclined iron surface at an angle of about 10°. Iu the event of the enemy boarding the battery, they can do no 'harm, as the only entrance is at the top of the turret or citadel,'which cannot easily be scaled, and even then only oue niaii ut a time lean descend iiito the hull.

“ This turret is a revolving bomb-proof fort, and mounts two 11-inch guns. It is protected by 8. thicknesses of inch-iron,

overlapping, >!so\that at no one spot -is there more-thun one inch thickness,of joint. A shell-proof flat roof, of perforated iron, placed on forged beams, inserted six inches down the cylinder, covers the top. The sliding hatch in this cover is perforated ;to giye light, and for musketry fire in -case tire battery is boarded. A spur-wheel, 6§ inches in diameter, moved i,by a dqubfe cylinder engine, turns the turret, guns,-and .nil, a rod connected with the running gear of the; engine enabling the gunner do -control ,lhe aim. The guns move in Jorged-iron slides across the turret, ? the,carriages being made to fit them accurately. -“These guns were'furnished with 400 wrought iron shot by/the Novelty Works, each ball weighing -484 lb?., and costing #47, The balls were made by forging square blocks of iron, which were afterwards turned in the lathe.. Cast-iron shot would break agaiusjt a Vessel as tjie Merrimac.” *' — _

A correspondent of fire 'New~York Tribune describes a -visit to the Mon./;, jr after" the engagement of the Bth jijLirch. “I visited the Monitor torday. Two shots of the .enemy struck her on t heed go, above the surface, and tore up a few inches of nhiting, and penetrating about half the iTiahlelcr of .the ball,.# ; »nhug a complete illustration of her impregnability. As the worst the enemy, with the most powerful gun's afloat, could do, the I'act settles all quesii ms on that point. The shots referred' to are as mere scratches on a pugilist after his antagonist has done his best for four hours to knock him down. On her lower, where the ||mimac’s shots struck square and with full force, there are three of four indentations not exceeding three inches in depth. Her deck is blazed in several places where shots struck and glanced off. The wheel house has several similar 'indentations, though -not as deep. These are all the marks the Monitor hears as .the .result of the action, The officers and men declare that they are perfectly willing to take her anywhere for all that the enemy's guns can do, po matter with what skill they may be served. “ The A/errimac.undertook to run the Monitor down, and ran bows on, her prow projecting oyer her deck. The shock that cut the Cumberland and Congress down made an indentation scarcely perceptible, and produced no extraordinary effect. In this attitude the two ships exchanged shots, the mouths of their guns king but a-few yards distant, and it was here that the Merrimac was penetrated, though the Monitor was scarcely scratched. It was doubtless the Intention of the enemy to hoard her, and some of the Merrimac’s men actually jumped aboard of her. But. there was no opening or place of entrance to be found, nor were there any men to be seen. At this moment the tower began to revolve, and the ports to be open, and the men scampered hack, ami the Merrimac drew off, probably confounded ft£ the results of her hasty visit.”

£ ULMERS’ LIBRARIES. A merry 1 fe seems the soldier’s when,. heralded by the spirit-stirring crash of military music, in gay uniform and glittering accoutrements, borne on proud prancing chargers, or a thousand feet falling in one majestic tramp with the regularity of machinery, a regiment marches through the streets, making the sad-coloured taiment of the civilians who surge in front, behind, and on each side of the brilliant procession look doubly sombre, and greetedjwitli admiring smiles, on the fair faces, one of which flpeers through almost every pane in almost every window. But follow the soldier to his barracks, and how dearil y monotonous his calling appeal’s ! He has no privacy, he cannot select his company. He has, to be sure, good plain food, tolerable [clothing, and sufficient shelter; but small is the. comfort he can get either in refectory or dormitory. A soldier, it may be said, ought not to expect comfort, but surely it is not necessary to add to the haxdshps lie must suffer in time of war, unpleasantness in time of peace, which have no influence in preparing him to endure those hardships. Men are none the fitter for an arduous g.arppaign because they have been accustomed to sleep almost as closely and as indecently packed as a slaver’s cargo. Again, it may be said that many soldiers find .barrack accommodation an improvement on tho wretched hovels in which they were reared. It is not, however, much for a nation to boast of that she houses her defenders better than they wquld have been housed had they continued paupers ; and, besides, the British army is now recruited to a larger extent than is generally supposed by respectable, spirited; young men qf the middle clas3 whom fortune has thrown, or .vho have got involved in some temporary scrape or foolish love affair. These must find barrack-life a very wearisome existence. Were it rendered [pleasanter, members of their class might enlist without taking the sergeant’s shilling as just preferable to a plunge in the nearest river or canal, and beyond a question the tone of the ranks would be very considerably raised by such recruits. One of the last labours of that true “ Soldier’s Jfriend,” Lord Herbert, was to appoint a committee “ tq inquire into and report on the present state and on the improvement of libraries, readingrooms and day-rooms” for the army. The this, committee was recently presented te Parliament. Lack of space, of .light, of warmth, of quiet, a forbidding aspect, and an overdone qf what then writers and readers with pharisaic monopoly of eulogy call * c good” books, seem to have been the chief defects which the committee discovered in the military reading-rooms already established. The committee suggest that the existing garrison libraries should be improved by large additions of the books which experience has shown' are best suited to the

soldier’s novels, Biographies (not. .exclusively “ religious’ ’) na-rrati ves-of troy> -el, adventure, and discovery. It may be interesting to enumerate some of the novelists whom tlie British soldier reads with greatest pleasure. We will take them at random as the names occur— Walter' Scott, James Maryatfc, Cooper, Dickens, Ainsworth, } Grant, Disraeli, Countess of Blessihgton, Miss Edgeworth, Thackeray, Whyte Melville, Frank Sinedley, Wilkie Collins, Charles Reade, Ourrer Bell, Douglas Jerrold, Dumas, Theodore Hook, Cockton, Miss Porter, Smollett, Dudley Costello, Carleton, Eugene Sue, Charles '".Kingsley, Siiirley Brooks, Sala, Mrs. Gore, Miss Stowe, Mrs. Trollope, Maxwell, Washington Irving, Fielding, Mrs. Radcliffe, Richardson LeveiySamuel Warren, Lockhart, Miss Austen, ‘Bulwer Lyfcfcon, Defoe, Cervantes, 1! ans Andersen, Miss Bremer, Michael Scott, Mrs. Marsh, ILalibu'ton, Mrs. S. C. Hall, Hawthorne, Mary How--’tt. Miss Mitfqrd, Galt, Mrs. Gaskell, Horace ■ T.hop.vi s» .Hughes, Goldsmith, Lover, Miss Smith, Morier. Such a list as thi^L ms to .prove a healthily Catholic committee recommended that(- 0 the approval of thoefvy^^>^ nt of tbo hoaSSWfftr a garrison library .should be selected for it by a committee of subscribers, and that every such li- vary should be supplied witli an assortment of maps, charts, to soldiers’ clubs, they/ suggest that two or more spacious rooms should be set apart in every barrack for reading, writing, harmless games like chess, draughts or bagatelle, smoking, and refreshment. Self-government, and absence of restraint, as far as is consistent with military discipline—especially in reference to dress (an unbuttoned jacket, or downright shirt-sleeves and no braces, being p, treat to a soldier) ; large cheerful grates, not sullen stoves; gas, if possible, or else moderator-lamps,; or a sufficient quantity of composite caudles in candlesticks superior to those of 'the barrack-rooms ; forms with backs \to them, plenty of chairs, moveable tables neatly made, like the immovable, of stained wood,"instead of workhouse-like rough ■ uncoloured deal, and divan-seats ; and such refreshments as tea, coffee, boiled eggs, bread and butter and cheese, ginger-beer, lem onade, soda-water, nuts, oranges, and other fruits, meat-pies, audjjtobacco, obtainable at cost price at -the bar, are, in the opinion of the committee (composed of men who know soldiers well), indispensable requisites to render these clubs attractive. To render them still more triumphant rivals of town publics, it is recommended that men, after'answering their names, should be allowed to remain in them an hour or two after tattoo.

Besides intramural Soldiers’ Clubs, extramural Soldiers’ Institutes, or ‘ Homes’ have been started—some purely secular, some purely religious, others of the character of -that peculiar musical entertainment Mr. Tittlebat Titmouse desiderated when he requested Miss Tngrag, in a spirit of compromise, to give him “ a little of both ” —the both being the “Battle of Prague” and “Before Jehovah’s awful throne.” '1 hose hybrid institutions have' beep 'the least successful, soldiers not liking, to use their .pwn phrase, to be “entrapped” into a profession of piety. The purely secular have been by far the most successful. “ There. seems to be,”’says the report, “scarcely a difference of opinion as to tlie necessity of exclu iing positive religious instruction and exercise from soldiers’ clubs, whether in or out of barracks.” Let not the soi-disant “salt of the earth ” fume at this remark, as though a stronger acid than that which they contain had been poured upon them. Those who make tire remark also recommend “ the opening of military chapels and chapel schools at suitable hours, for the purposes of private devotion; and that where these do not exist, a room should be appropriated for the purpose.” In reference to the “ Homes,” the committee content themselves with remarking that it will be time enough to found such institutions in other important home and foreign stations where they do not exist, when those that are to be started, at Aldershot and Chatham shall have proved successful We are glad to find that the committee are not satisfied with simply trying to add to the soldier’s comfort when out of his barrack-rooms, but wish to make these, too,. look as “ homelike” as possible. Their recommendation, again, that drinking-fountains should be erected in all barracks is an excellent one, and so is their suggestion (whatever General Walker may say) that “a large building constructed as a theatre, hut also suitable for lectures, concerts, aud any kind of instructive or amusing exhibitions, might be a useful auxiliary to the other means recommended for providing recreation to the men within the barracks.” Finally, the committee recommend that soldiers should be allowed to work at the trades they exercised before they enlisted, tools being found for them by. Government, and be employed on military works ; —a certain portion of their wages being deposited in the regimental sayings’ banks, in" order that they may have a little money laid up for them, when they obtain their discharge. This suggestion, if carried out, will require a yery delicate ap-. paratus of offsets.' It will not be fair to the general-labour market to send into it men who are already lodged, clothed, fed, and paid, unless the cost of their lodging, clothing, food, and payment can' be equitably substracted from the value of their work in a way that will make it fall upon themselves. 11l blood, too, we think, must almost necessarily be bred amongst members of the same corps by such an arrangement, since some soldiers know no trade, and the wage-winning worth of the trades of those who were handicraftsmen so widely varies.— Scotsman.

AMERICAN BLIGHT, Thejfbllowing letter hasjappfea’rediti the Lyttleiton Times : The public are indebted to you for in•Berting letters correspondents, Treating of that pest the -•/merican blight : by collecting and publishing the experience of various cultivators, valuable information is'diffused and attention drawn t'b">the Subject; and although lam not so sanguine, as “Pippin,” to pronounce oUr receipts “infallible,” yet I know the disease .can be cheeked and made ’.manageable. 1 Tlie American'Blight is nowhere (and I h ave studied its peculiarities) better understood than it is in the West of England. I will give a few particulars of culture, which any individuals can try either way,—by manuring tlie root ef the tree (a rationaljjand effectual method) or by painting the diseased branches with a solution to kill the insect. In 1847 my father occupied an estste3Wo<?tton, near Crediton, Devonshire. We had about 20 acres of orchard ; one of them, Go nark orchard, had been neglected for years, but tho trees were young. They produced no apples, and, in fact, were a mass of blight. \\ itli the plough and spade we broke up tlie land, ridged it to take away all stagnant water, had it laid fallow the following year, and a faggot of gorse, three grips, was laid .round each tree, secured by a few sods. The renovation was gradual, natural, and healthy; the gone, as it decomposed, forming a rich vegetable mould. 1 lie trees produced innumerable fresh fibres, these being essential to the weiL being of a plant by promoting a vigorous flow of sap, and producing strong luxuriant foliage. The second year fgwe made 28 lihds. of cider, where before we did not grow as many apples. 1 liriving trees throw off and overcome tlie blight. Peat is one of the very best and most lasting manures you can put round a fruit tree ; naptha is extracted from it, and it contains decomposed vegetable mould. I have seen two orchaids, only divided by a fence ; one of them had a whcelbarrowful of peat put round each free, —with that exception, the other orchard was managed in the same way. The trees which received the peat were loaded with fruit, on the other trees there was hardly an apple, and the good effects of the manure continued for years. r lhe numerous roots push out and absorb nutriment from the. surrounding surface, whilst the spir > roots on the other trees were^ starved and struggled for exi-tence Straw in the, colonies is often wontonly burnt to get rid of it. Clippings of fences are an unsightly nuisance in the way. Let a bundle of either substance be laid vonud tlie roots of a few trees for an experiment ; as it rots it promotes germination of the fibres—an essential function and main [support for a healthy tree. Naptha, in the experimental trial grounds of the Horticultural Society, at Kensington, is pronounced to be an effectual antidote for a diseased tree. I have faith in it, but have never tried it; it is extracted from peat. Petroleum, kerosene, and purified earth oils will be substitutes. A quart of turpentine, in which dissolve 1 lb of black soap, I have tried, and it is a most effectual remedy, as it instantaneously destroys insect life ; ; penetrating the chinks and crevices in tlie bark of trees. It is soon absorbed,“and leaves the porcs of the skin open and* free. On* the other hand, I agree with your correspondent, that oils clog up the skin and prevent exhalation ; a primary necessity for the continued health of a plant.

MISCELLANEOUS, The Two Henries. —A singular will case was heard on Monday, at the Devon County Assizes. A man named Fleming left his property iu reversion to his “ grandson Henry. ’ : JI e died, leaving two grandsons named Henry, and the question arose as to which Henry was intended. The Judge stated that the child of the eldest son would take the legacy in the absence of any strong proof that the other was intended. The jury, after hearing the evic euce, gave a verdict in accordance with the Judge’s suggestion. Extraordinary Story. —The Cornish Times announces the death of a. very remarkable woman at Liskea.d. This woman was born in 1814, and 'when about sixteen years of age the first .appearance of an extraordinary disorder developed itself. “ She was taken first with a weakness in her legs. The next phase of the disorder made its appearance about tlie lips, which became parched; a blaek thick coating forming on them, which at intervals 'would peel off iu scales, and after a few years this coating extended over and completely covered her face. For more than twenty-eight years she made use of no animal food, and the only sustenance she partook of was a little fluid, or a currant biscuit, which would last her a fortnight; and from Christmas 1860 to November 1861 she was never known to take anything whatever. On two or three occasions since then she was persuaded to take a little tea or coffee, but it was immediately ejected from the stomach. A short time before o her death, a portion of the coating came off her lips, and shortly after her death the whole mass fell-off, the coating forming a complete east of the countenance, It weighed about half a pound, and averaged about half an inch in thickness. Her face was without a blemish, and presented, a most perfect appearance, but her body was reduced to a skeleton,. She retained her faculties to the last, was perfectly con-, tented, but had no craving for food.”'

Canadian Emigration to British Columbia. —-The movement towards the gold-fields of British Columbia, which is

aim ,st depopulating some -parts of Califor- : nia, and is raging with some intensity in the States, has reached some parts of Canada too, ami several hundred adventurous spirits , are going to follow the few who have already left in starch of fortunes on the Paciiic coast. The papers of the Atlantic provinces are rather discountenancing —.hey fear the exodus of even a few, and' they are pointing to the well new gold-fields of Nova Scotia .as a preferable quarter for people to try Their luck. T hardly know which to take. I hope a large number of immigrants will go to both. What a future for this northern portion of ; the Continent, do not. these new gold discoveries open up J The Nova Seotia eoal mines are the best places on tlie Atlantic coast of America for procuring coal—nay,. I think the only place., and the-supplies there are inexhaustible, Vancouver’s Island is the only spot where coal is to be found on the l’acifie. Tuns, facilities for steamboat and railway travel are provided at either end ot the great trans-continental route. The harbour of Halifax on the one side and Victoria on the other are the best in all America—both always free from ice, well protected, ami capacious. The valley of the St. Lawrence extends a thousand miles ; and more between these extreme points. The valley of the Saskatchewan runs a thousaii 1 miles further, both of these being i i British toriitory, in i he direction of travel between the oceans, ami so -level ja; to be almost natural beds for railroads. Ere many years l see that railway trains must run on British ground from one side of this new world to the other, carrying not only the gold of California and Columbia towards Great Britain, but also the teas and -silks of China ami Japan, ami the rich productions of oin Indian empire, returning with the finer manufactures of English anvils and looms fot the sup]dy of the populations of two continents.— Canadian News. An Extraordinary Fortune-Telling Case.— A case has just been tried at Exeter, before .Mr. Justice Blackburn, of an extra ordinary character, according to the story of the prosecutor. Cinderella Small, aged sixty-one, was indicted for stealing £32 from Thomas Horsfall, a labourer, residing .at Stdkenliain. The prosecutor’s story was us follows :—Tam a labourer living at Stokenliam. The prisoner came to me in October, I had then my sight; now I am blind. She wanted to tell my sister her fortuue, ami then she wanted to tell mine. She Took a book out of her basket and read it. She said she did not think I should work for iny master at Christmas, and that some evil would befal me. She asked me for 55., and I let her have it. She said if I would give her gold she would keep off the evil. 1 don't know that I believed it, but L thought there was something in it. She told me to put a sovereign on the book and put my hand on it, and kneel down and say the Lord’s Prayer. I dkl all this, and as soon as I took my hand off the sovereign she took it up and put it in her-pocket. I got nearly blind about Christmas. She came again in January ami said, “ Young man, I must touch your fleshami she crossed my hand. She read a prayer, and then called me into a little back-kitchen. She told me to kneel down and say the Lord’s Prayer. I did so. She asked me for some gold to put on the planet book. I put down a sovereign, and then she took it up ami 1 heard the purse close. She then took a common stone and rubbed down my nose. 1 gave her £2. On the 21st January she called, and bad AT 17s. Hie came again on the 7th February, ami said she should call again the next day, as she wanted “ so-and-so” to cross the planet. 1 went next day and drew £l7 Os. Id. Shortly after I got home the prisoner called. My mother and sister were pre.eut. A'he said, “ Well, young man, how’s your eyesight ?” Ami she called me into the back-kitchen and told me to kneel down and say the Lord’s Prayer. I <Ji 1 sc, Then she sad, “ I want the m noy you have drawn to put on the planets.” 1 said, “ I have not got so much.” She then said, “ Yes, von have, ami I must have it,” I held on that I could not spare it. She said, “ I draw forward, You draw back. I can do nothing more far you. I must have £3O to cross the planets.” I gave her £3O. She said she must have something more, and I gave her a sovereign. She then said -lie must-have the money on the other side, “ and / will return it to you again next Thursday.” 1 said, “ mind, under t iml this is lent money.” She said, •* Yes, she’d re* turn it on 'J hursday. and by that time 1. should have-my eye-sight as herself.” She did not call again on the following Thursday. I then communicated witii the police, and I heard her voice last Monday week before the Magistrate. Cross-examined —I am thirty-two years old. 1 never saw the p'r> souer before October, She goes about with a basket, I did not believe it when she first began. I gave her ss. for telling my fortune, and £1 fur keeping off the evil. 1 thought she Vas a promising person, as she said she was the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter. 1 don’t know that I ex* j ected to see the fiist sovereign again. My eyesight failed before Christmas; it was good then, 1 had lost one eye before that. When I lost my eyesight I began to have more faith in her. My brother was present on one occasion. When I gave her the £32 1 believed she would cure my sight. When I was saying the Lord’s Prayer she said something also. I thought 1 might have been “ ill-wished” or something of that kind. I only expected to have the £32 back aga’n. I drew the-money to give some to her. She asked-'nte to tie up the £32 in.a pocket-handkerchief.-■ The jury found the prisoner guilty. The prisoner fell on her knees and begged for mercy, stating that she had eight children, and had never done anything before. The learned judge said the offence had been very clearly proved, and the jury could not have found any other verdict. He did not think, how--ever, ffiat there were many foolish people who would act in such a way as the prosecutor had done, and it would not he neces-. sary to pass a very severe sentence to operate as an example ; therefore the sen-

tence would be six months’ imprisonment, with hard labour.

The Approaching Bifle at Frankfort. —A letter from sa y S . 'i’he Federal rifle match this yeer will be most brilliant. The subscriptions already exceed 100,000 florins (£8,600.?) The money.prizes will be paid in new twtfthaler (deces, ’Which the aree City of 1* rankfort will have struck off in Commemoration of this match. Two Testrmrants are to be established in the large building which is to be constructed on the shooting giound. The calculation is that more than 4000 persons will take their meals there, and that there will be consumed daily 30,000 bottles ot wine, and, at least, 90,000 pots ot beer; 370 waiters have been already engaged for the -service. A special journal will be publislrnd during the continuance of the match. Vital Statistics of 1861. —In tne year of 1861 the births in Great Britain were 802.598, timl the deaths 497,624, so that the natural increase was 304,9.74. T.ii-s is the laigest number of. births tliat ever occurred iu any year in Great Britain, but happily not the largest number of deaths'. Upon an average 2200 children were-born every day, 91. an hour.; and 1363 persons died daily, or almost one every minute. It is impossible to st.-y how far the natural increase of the population was reduced by migration, .'because there is no record. of the 'immigration; all that we know is that 91,770 emigrants left the shores of the United Kingdom last year, of whom about 39,000 were of English or Scottish oiigiu. 7’iiere is in Scotland a rather higher birthrate and a lower death-rate than in Erg'-aml, ami yet a much lower rate of increase m the poj uiation, showing.that a much larger proportion of the people emigrate.either beyond seas or to other parts of tbe United Kingr dom. The of season in the proportion of births was, as usual, quite marked in 1851. The greatest number of births always takes place in the fiist half of the year; last year the number was greatest ot ail in tbe spring quarter —April to June. The return of marriages is n< t yet |comp' e,e for England:; the largest number is always iu the last quarter; in Scotland June and December are the favorite months tor matrimony. The returns show, as „ever, how much the inhabitant of the town has to contend against agencies hurtful, to life, from which hisarjnntry neighbour is comparatively free ; the difference is especially striking in Scotland, where, in the town districts -4 persons in every 1000 died in the year, ami onlyi,l6 in the country districts —two in the country to three iu the town, in Glasgow ami .Dundee very nearly half the deaths were of children under five; ami the children in those towns were literally decimated iu the year, for, as nearly as can be ascertained without the detailed census returns, out of all the children under five years of age about one in every ten died. At the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, the mean temperature of the year was 49.4: at the Ordnance Survey Office, Edinburgh, 49. In Scotland the average of 55 stations of the Meteorological Society showed 1674 hours of sunshine iu the year, which would have given for four days in every week eleven hours of sunshine iu the summer, half of the year, and five in the other half. The highest temperature in England was 89.5 in August, in Scotland 85.5 in June; the lowest in Kng'and, 1 deg ; in Scotland, 3.7; both in January. England. rather suffered in many parts from want of rain, and the total amount collected at the Royal Observatory vai only 20.8 inches; in Scotland generally the average was 45.07 inches, and iu pints the 1 iad was very excessive; at Tcndrum, in Perthshire (with the returns for April deficient), it was of the enormous depth of 134 inches, more than 11 feet.—a Very deluge. .1861 had its fault-, but with the births above the average, and the deaths b. low it, it ought not to be counted a bud year.

MARKETS. Wanganui July 17, —Wheat 6s barley os, oats 6s, maize 6s per bushel, flour (at Netlye mill) £l7, (iu town] £lB per 2000 lbs, potatoes £3 per ton, bread—4lb. loaf lOd butter wholesale Is 4d retail Is Cd. per lb, bacou wholesale 8d per lb. Holloway's Ointment and Piks.—Spring varieties—Scarcely a function in the human body escapes some inconvenience at this season—the stomach, the liver, the brain, and the skin, aro chiefly the afflicted functions; and for these Holloway’s remedies are certain antidotes. _ The Ointment should be rubbed upon the skin, as near as possible to the disordered- organ, with great regularity and perseverance, while the Pills aro taken in appropriate dozes, which are. always plainly indicated in the book of directions, surrounding each packet. They speedily remove the irregularities of females, and with certainty and safety restore the most delicate, and nervous invalids from misery to , beauty happiness and health. Holloway’s Ointment and Pills prove always mild, soothing and restorative, 43

Agents for the “ Wanganui Chronicle’ 1

Turakina —Messrs. Franklin and Hurst, Rangilikei— Mr. Thos. Scott. Wellington—N. Lyon, Esq. Anckland-r- Messrs. Williamson and

Wilson Nelson-r- Messrs. C. & J. Elliott. Sew Plymouth — *-F. U. Gledhill, Esq London— Messrs. Smith, Elder & Co

whole country:— 1858. 1861. European population (ex101.915 elusive of military) 59,323 Houses' (do) •12,812 22,376 Land fenced 235,501 409,467 „ erojp.d 141,007 226.478 Horses 14.912 28,265 Cattle 137.183 193.134 Sheep 1, 523,316, 2,760,163 Wellington Province shews the following result 1858. 1861. European population ex12,566 elusive of military 11,753 Houses . 2,799 3,081 Land fenced 40. HI 4 76,611 „ cropped Horses 26,024 3.199 55,313 5,117 Cattle 35,799 49,323 tfheep 155,994 247,940 Serious Outrage—On, Sunday evening

CALENDAR. ("Last Quarter July 19 4. .52 a.m Moon l New Moon July 27 8. 44 a.m July. S I. rises. S . sets i. High water at Heads 17 7 22 4 33 '2 26 2 50 18 7 21 4 39 3 13 3' 37 19 7 21 4 39 4 1 4 25 20 7 20 4 40 • 49 5 13 21 7 19 4 41 5 34 5 58 22 7 10 4 41 ' 6 22 G 46 23 7 18 4 42 7 10 7 34 24 7 17 4 43 7 58 8 22