ENGLISH EXTRACTS.

Auckland Times, Volume 2, Issue 56, 6 February 1844, Page 4

ENGLISH EXTRACTS.

( To the end of August.)

Dreadful Explosion and Loss of . Life in Fetter Lane.-—This morning;, 1 at about half-past U o’clock, ilie inltabi- ! tants of Fetter lane were dreadfully alarm- , ed by a tremendous report, occasioned by an explosion of combustibles in the house No. 08, occupied by iVIr. Newberry, a practical chemist, and also a pyrotechnic artist of celebrity. It appears, from diligent inquiries made by the reporter, tha* Kir. Newberry came home at a late hour* and that shortly alter his arrival a tremendous explosion, which seemed to shake the foundation ol the adjoining houses, was heard. Se eral neighbours and a police* nran hastened to the spot from whence the sound proceeded : they discovered the house in flames, the shop front blown to i atoms, and Mr. Newberry lying on the t ground insensible, with no other apparel but his night dress. They had scarcely raised him before a piercing shriek was heard from the apartments above, and on looking up they saw a gentleman with a wooden leg endeavouring to get out of the third floor window. His intention evi dently was to drop from the sill, but as the flames neared him his courage failed, Bud he retired into the apartment, doubt-ler-s to seek by another quarter, but in this lie Was foiled, lor in another instant he reappeared at the window, and, uttering a cry of despair, precipitated himself headlong into the street. It was thought that the fall had killed him,' for he exhi hited no signs of life, and he anti his uutoitunate landlord were removed on shuiteis to the hospital, but ihe landlord expired in great agony shortly after his admission, and the former, at the time of this report being Written, lingered insensible without the slightest hope of recovery. The gentleman proved to be a Mr. Rose, who, with his wife, occupied the first floor of the house, but on this occasion slept lip stairs in the third floor front, in order to accommodate two of his wife’s sisters who were on a visit. Mrs. Rose and her sisters, the Misses M‘Crindell, slept on the first floor, but before any assistance could be rendered them, they had perished, the dense body of fire and flame succeeding the explosion rendering any attempt of their friends and neighbours to save them abortive. The house presents a mere wreck, and the explosion must have been terrific, for the back part of the structure, lacing Bartlett’s buildings, is

very great, and the glass in most of the ! shops and houses being broken by the violence of the shock, which was fell at a great distance from the scene of devastation.

Father Mathew. -The “Apostle of Temperance” lias been busy during the week. On Tuesday he administered the pledge in the Britannia Fields. Islington. On Wednesday lie visited tho district of Paddington, where he held his meeting in a field near the terminus of the Great Western Railway. Befoie repairing to the place of meeting, lie breakfasted at the residence of the Hon. Stafford Jerniug* ham, along with Lord Brougham, Lord G enelg, the Hon. Lady Pet re, Mr. P. Howard, M, P., Mr. M. Milnes, M. P., Lord Bedingfield, the Hon. E. Pet re, Ford Lovat, the Hon. Mrs. Dawson Darner, and a large circle of nobility and gentiy, several of whom afterwards attended him to the place of meeting. On Thursday he visited the retired town ol Enfield, for the purpose of administering the total abjtinence pledge to the inhabitants of that and the adjoining village. Nothing remarkable took place on-any of these occasions. The assemblages Were much smaller than during the previous week.

IRELAND. The “ Repeal Demonstrations” go on as usual. On Sunday last fthe Sabbath is uniformly desecrated iu this way) there was a large gathering of this sort, called “ the Queen’s County meeting,” in the town of Maryborough. 'There was a dinner in the afternoon, at which Mr. O Connell made a speech containing the following characteristic attack on Lord Brougham : “ 'The newspapers made Lord Wicklow abuse the Catholic Priesthood, but it was not true, for none but a base miscreant could abuse the anointed Priests of the living God, Well, by the same account, they had Lord Brougham stalling up to do whatever mischief he could. Did any of them ever see him? —if they did not he hoped they never would, for he really believed he was one of the ugliest beings in existence; it would make a fellow almost t<» look at lit to (Lungkfor). They often saw a head carved on a walking stick handsomer than he was. He was Harry Brougham turned inside out; and the inside was, if possible, uglier than ihe outside. (Laughter). He really believed that such a double-eyed renegade, besides one so ugly, did not exist at the present moment; and be Imped that no one, except some fellow whose stomach could not be turned, would ever get a real v iew of him.” (Loud laughter.) 'The Repeal Association had its usual meeting on Mottday, at the Dublin Corn Exchange. Its most remarkable pro« ceeding was, voting a marble statue of O’Connell, to bo placed in the “Concilia lion Hall,” and afterwards transferred to the new House of Commons when the Union was repealed l He handed in some contributions to the Repeal resit, in particular 401. from the town of Rochester, in the state of New York. Fie then as sailed Lord Brougham in the following strain : “ Now, the next matter that claimed a few words had reference to that miserable rotten remnant ot an old Broom. (Great laughter.) T hat wretched old dri veller, he got up in the House of Lords and talked of 1832 and ’33. ‘ I, 1 savs he, ‘ brought in a bill at that time to change the venue, in cases arising out of political offences, it quieted Ireland then, and I am the man to bring in another now which will, have tlie suite tired.’ Well, how did he act ? Up he starts one night and moves tiiat the BUI be read the first time, and gives notice of moving the secondreading for the next nijit. 'The next night comes and so does old Broom , but he then says, 4 I find a law like this unnecessary. because there is such an one on the Irish statute book already.’ 'The poor old man. I’ll speak of him another time. It is really a terrible thing, that a creature of this kind should be in the House of Lords. (Hear.) It really is. I should think we ought to address the House in a respectful petition, and beg of them not to let him speak or vote in that House until after he had gone to Father Mathew and taken the pledge. (Great laughter.) It i really would be a great use to the man ) himself. (Continued laughter.,) He might • then be consistent for four or fiv« days i together, or he might be a whole week

without contradicting himself. It is worth while trying to do something for him. (Laugh er.) He had some talent formerly, but he has now ail the impudence of a great mind without its reality, (Hear-d Sir, 1 move in conclusion that it be referred to the committee to inquire whether some legal means cannot be employed to address the House of Lords to apply to Lord Brougham to take the teetotal pledge. (Gieat laughter.)

The motion was seconded, put from the chair, and carried amid loud applause and laughter. Mr. O’Connell then announced the rent for the past week to be 9131. l()s, 7d., and the meeting adjourned. On Tuesday there was a meeting at Tara, a small town about 18 miles from Dublin ; and its numbers were consequently swelled by the population of the capital. O'Connell wpnt in procession from Dublin to the place of meeting. “ Hts carnage,” says a Dublin evening paper, “ was immediately followed bv twenty others (most of them diawn by four horses), in which were members of the 'Town Council and other gentlemen. The procession passed down Graftoustreet, Westmoreland-street, Sackvillestreet, and towards the county Meath through Phipsborough. Many thousands of the working classes left town in parties yesterday evening to walk towards the scene of the meeting 'Tire meeting was attended by an enormous multitude, estimated at half a mil • lion, though there is no depending on these Irish calculations. o‘Conuelt’s speech was in the usual strain. He maintained that “ there was no real union between the two countries, and his proposition Was, that there was no authority given to any one to pass the Act of Union. (Cheers.) Neither the English nor the Irish Legislature was competent to pass that Act, and he arraigned it on those grounds. (Cheers.) One authority alone could make such an Act binding, and that was the voice of the people of lieland. ( Hear, hear, and cheers.) 'The Irish Pat Lament was elected to make laws, and not to make Legislatures ; and therefore it had no right iu assume lire aus hoi iiy ro pass the Act. ot Union. The Irish Parliament was elected by the Irish people as their trustees; the people were the masters, and the members were their servants, and had no right to transfer the people to any other power on earth. (Cheers.) If the Irish Parliament had tiansferred its power of legislation to the French Chamber, would auv man assert that the Act would be valid ? (No, no.) Would any matt be mad en ugh to assert that---wou!d any man be insane enough to assert it, and would the insanity ot the assertion be mitigated by sending any nuntbet of members to the French Chamber? Everybody must admit that it would not. What cared he for France ? and he cared as little for England as for Fiance, for they were both foreigners to him. The very highest authority in England had proclaimed them to be aliens in blood, in religion, and in language.” (Groans.) After telling bis audience that “ he had women enough to beat all the army in Ireland, lie proceeded to lecture them on the subject of peace and quietness. “ Wete they ready” he asked *‘ to obey him in the course of conduct he had pointed out to them? (Yes, ves.) When he dismissed them, after the business of the day had been gone through, would tiiey not disperse, and go peaceably to th ir homes. (Yes, yes, we will—every man. Woman, and child (Yes. yes)? And if he wanted them again to morrow’, would they not one and all, come to 'Tara hill. (Yes, yes, and great cheering) ? Remember, be would lead them into no peril. If danger d arise, it would be iu consequence of seme persons attacking them, for they wets determined not to attack a»y person ---(hear, hear)- -but if danger did exist, they would not find him in the rear rank. (Loud cheers.) He concluded by assuring them that they should have repeal in a twelvemonth.

The Yeomanry.—A Derry paper states that the non commissioner! officers of yeomanry ihioughout ire!ami have received orders from their respective captains of companies, in pursuance of instructions fiom. the Castle, to furnish lot th with a return of the men of each corps, when they were disembodied, and ot their aims, and whether they can be now available*

The Irish papers abound iu murders and outrages, particularly iu Tipperary. Qn Monday morning a man, named Thomas Hennessy, was waylaid on his farm at Kilpatrick, in the barony of Kilnemanagh, and so brutally beaten and otherwise wounded by some unknown assassins, that the wretched man died about six o’clock on the same evening. There is as vet no cause assigned for the diabolical deed. 'I he Lord Lieutenant It rs offered a reward of loot. lor the discovery of ihe m m dei t rs.

Murder of Lifut. Mackey, Adjutant of the Fifth Fusurers. —The /lublin Mail gives t e following account of this lamentable occurrence ”Pa> sonstown, August 12.-Our barracks have again, alas, been t'»e scene of a death s ill more tragical and to be lamented than that which so lately excited the sympathies ot the pub ic. At about half-past four yesterday (Friday) evening, on the Adjutant’s dri 1, a man (I have not been able to learn his name) stepped from the ranks, and asked t e Adjutant, Mr. Mackey, for ieave to fall out for a coup eof minutes. He got lea v e, and retired to a quarry-pit t*at was near-for they were exercising in the ‘fourteen acres, 1 a large field adjoining the barrack-yard where he loaded his piece with a ball cartridge; he t en returned, an<t, when he get within about five yards of Mr. Mackey deliberately aimed and shot him through the body ; the ball entered beiow the shoulder-b ade, and catne out under the seventh rib, and then lodged in a soldier’s knapsack, where its fatal course was providential y stopped. 'The murderer, immediately on the dreadful act being committed, dropped his arms, and said, C I give myself up, 1 don’t want to run.’ The first intimation we had of it i) tire town was Mr. Forest, of the sth, riding at a most tremendous pace into t e Duke-square, in search of Dr, Menderson, the surgeon, and in such a state of agitation that he could scarcely speak. Dr. Henderson, and a'so Dr. Baker, of this town, sprung on a car, and were on the spot aunost immediately; but the decree was passed—he had not spoken a word from tee time he received The shot, and a few minutes aft r they arrived he breathed his last, leaving a widow and live infant helpless orphans to deplore his untune y end. A Coroner’s inquest sat on the body of Lieut. Mackey on Saturday, when the Jury, after some deliberation, brought in a verdict of ‘ Wilful murder against the prisoner.’*

Singular Fact. I saw yesterday an experiment of a very extraordinary nature. U e put a mouse and a scorpion under a gHss together. ’The mouse was immediately slung by the scorpion, and to all appearance mort ily, It remained for some tune in a kind of lethargy, but, on a sudden, it collected its strength, and as in a fit ot frenzy, fed upon the scorpion killed it, and eat its body entirely up, leaving nothing but the claws. 'The moment it had swallowed the scorpion, the swelling disappeared ; no signs of pain remained, and the poor animal was set at liberty, in great health and spirits. 1 had refused my belief to this a long time, against the testimony of a great many Italians* As I would believe no other eyes but my own, i shail not be affronted if you do not give credit to a word of, tins story.- Jesse fa Georye Se'wyn and his Contemporaries.

The late Storms and Rain.—Serious losses have been sustained by tha holders of property in the Bed lord level, and particularly in W isbeaeh and Peter hour ugh. llt the fens alone, upwards of *2,000 acres of -»h.o bay crop, ot the value ot at least 10,0001., have been totally destroyed, aud the past mage of 1,000 beid of cattle entirely inundated. 'Tire consequence of' this sad dsastei is ‘hat upwards ot 1.000 persons (men, women, and children), have been th'own out ot employment, and are to be seen about in the most abject state of wretchedness.— John Bull, August 19, 1843. _