MISCELLANEOUS.

Auckland Times, Volume 2, Issue 57, 13 February 1844, Page 3

MISCELLANEOUS.

Yankees on Repeal. —The following “ startling'■annunciation,” we are told, is at this moment in the hands of Sir Robert Peel“ James Bergen, of New York, is authorised to pledge the truth and honor of a distinguished American practical Engineer and Pyrotechnist, whose name is known to some members of the Executive Committee of the IJnited Irish Repeal Association, but who, for obvious reasons, would at present remain unknown, that he is the inventor and sole possessor of a new destructive projectile, by which he is able, with the greatest secresy, accuracy, and certainty, to destroy with one shock any edifice in England or any ship upon the Irish coast, and that upon the instant when it shall be known that British steel has, on Irish soil,drawn Irish blood, he will, as an American hater of despotism, take the necessary measures to place this power at the disposal of Daniel O’Connell and the Irish people. He also declares his willingness to assist in fortifying the harbours of Ireland upon this new, cheap, and terribly effective plan, and having tried it, he can convince even the chance victor of Waterloo, that the combined navy of England could not enter Cork harbour, without the certainty of destruction io every ship and to every man. Me is ready to go to morrow, and asks no man’s aid in. this enteriMizw.” Now who is “James Bergen?” We will tell Sir Robert that lie is a relative of Bishop Higgins, and the Grand Marshal of the Repealers of the city of New York ! Still more startling however, are the “ annunciations” of the distinguished General Hubbell. Ihe “ New England Reporter” says, “ A tremendous Repeal meeting was held at Philadelphia, at which four hundred and fifteen dollars were collected | Resolutions, brilliant in their spirit, were passed, one of which expresses the hope, that it England must use coercion, America will not be tardy in using the same . One of the speakers Was the distinguished General Hubbell, who spoke with a rich and glowing eloquence : hear him miscreant Peel dare to pierce an Irish

bosom or cleave an Irish head with h mercenary sabre, and it is not too muc to say that the flames of war will l lighted up in Europe , or wrap the un\ versal world /” American Manners. —The followin description, by the late Lord Sydenham is equal to anything in “ Dickens’s Amer icati Notes.” “ We have a hostofYan kees, either in the house, or arriving dail from the opposite shore, a gun-shot o*i to see Mr. Governor Thomson. Yo never saw nor can imagine such a set o people ; but they are great fun. I gav them a review yesterday <4 the 92d, Highland regiment, in kills, which de lighted them not a little, I guess. I over heard one of them say, ‘ I guess the*' Britishers do it a’most as handsome a the Buffalo Citizen Militia!’ Anothe said to me to-day, meaning, T presume, t< pay me the highest compliment, “ I opinionate that you are very like our old Hickory (Jackson) ; yon downs them ever lasting locusts of place goers, aud won’ stand no up but your own.’—Pretty true bv the bye. Yesterday on the balcony r Yankee lady was walking with her littU girl ; the child said, * Mamma, I can’i bear this,’ —upon which mamma looker daggers at her, and said, ' How can you talk so before the Governor ? —You should say, l can’t tolerate this.’ Such is their delicacy of language. What it is practically you may imagine from the circumstance of my bed-rooms opening on a balcony that is common to the house ; and there is not a young lady in the hotel who does not walk up aud down staring into the window of the room, which is about eight feet square, every morning whilst 1 am going through Ihe processes of my toilette.”

Cool Resolution. —ln a despatch from Sir Charles Napier to Lord Ellenborough, dated Camp Abukukur. January 22<1, 1843, is the following anecdote : “ I must tell your lordship an anecdote of Major Waddington, of the engineers. In blowing up Emaum Ghur, he took three mines to fiie himself-they were close together: having fired ihe fusees of two, he. with his characteiistic deliberation, proceeded to apply bis match to the third, which would not ignite. An officer who was with him cried out ‘ Good Gou, W addineton come away ; the two mines will explode directly,’ and immediately the officer very properly ran off to a ttee, itself much too close, but he did not like to leave the Major, whose answer was, will) his accustomed slow way of speaking, 4 1 can’t help (hat, this mine must be fired ;’ and there he actually remained till the third was lighted, and the other two did explode, and he escaped, walking away (for the officer told me it could not be called a run for any one but Waddingtori) under a shower of mins, with his hands over his head to save it from the falling bricks. This Was a very foolish thing to do, but one cannot help admiring the cool resolution of the man.”

REBECCAISM. ( From the John Bull.) The state of tlie counties of Carmarthen, Cardigan, and Pembroke, is at present, undoubtedly, such as to create the greatest possible alarm. Ihe W elch in those counties—hitherto proverbially the in"st loyal aud peaceably-disposed people in the kingdom—-have now become reckless, daring, and riotous ; manifesting a spirit of disobedience to then superiors, which, unless check, d either by the strong arm of the law, or the speedy redress of a few of the grievances of which they complain, cannot but fail to bring misery on a land which has heretofore been almost typical of contentment and peace. It is, of course, natural to inquire the cause of all this mighty revulsion in the teelings and dispositions of so loyal and orderly people as the sons of Cyimy. Tile English reader has as yet only been told that the whole disturbance originated in h repugnance to paying turnpike tolls, and a disuse of the provisions of the New Poor Law, l iiese reasons for so widely— piead and well-or-ganized an insnrreeti n against all law and audio rity must seem extremely vague and unsatisfactory, at d a brief sketch of the disadvantages under which die Welch (armor labours, and ol the causes which have induced him to take the law into Ins own hands, cannot fail to be ir.t. resting and instructive.

The way in which the gves have become so numerous is ratilt r curious. A turnpike trust is composed of trustees, that is, Magistrates (ex officio) of the district through which the roads pass; a cettain number of what are called taliyholders, and the officers of the (rest, die clerk, one or two road surveyors, and the treasurer. It is perhaps necessary to expl i;n that the term tally-h'dclers means a class of gentlemen (principally, however, Magistrates) who have advanced money for the purposes of the trust, and for which they receive a bond or 4< tally,” securing them the payment of their principal, and interest at five per cent. It is of course to die advantage of these gentlemen (as well as to that of the clerk, survey-

save the feeding of a small number of sheep. This land of course requires a plenti'ul supply of manure to bring it to perfection, aud the farmer is necessitrfled to use lime in immense quantities almost every year to make his farm produce sufficiently for him to pay the high rent and taxes which are demanded of him. The lime is obtained principally at Llangendeiroe, at a distance of about six miles from Carmarthen, the price being four shillings and sixpence for a three-horse load. It requires three such loads to manure one acre. Many of the farmers send their carts for lime from Lampeter, a distance of nearly thirty miles, and that twice a-day during the liming season. One would think that the expense of purchasing this manure was enough ; but no—between Llangendeirne and Lampeter, the turiq>*ke trusts have erected a number of toll-gates, and the tolls exacted for every load of lime conveyed the whole distance along that road, amount to about 3s. 9d. So that from being 4s. 6d. originally, the price of the load ot lime has increased in the short journey of 30 miles to Bs. 5d., besides the wear and tear of carts, use of horses, wages of men, &c. This is a dreadful expense for a small farmer; aod when it is considered that for a farm of 100 acres, there will be requited 300 loads of lime, the price of which will be 671. 10s., while die toll exacted will be 561.55., there will be less surprise excited that a feeling of great dissatisfaction with such a state of things very generally exists. 7’liis is the price at which lime can be obtained near Carmarthen, which is the cheapest place for the purchase of that species of manure in the whole principality. At Haverfordwest, however, the limestone is obtained at Williatnsion Park, in a creek of Milford Haven, a distance of about eight miles (from whence it is brought in barges), and the price of a load of lime when burnt in the fcllns at Haverfordwest, is at least lOs., exclusive of tolls, which amount to 9d. a gate, the gates being no less numerous than near Carmarthen. On some roads the gates are as frequent as six in seven miles and a half, including side gates; in fact, there are scarcely six miles of load throughout the three counties but what there is a gate or two to pay.

This being the ease, the farmers naturally felt indignant at being so highly taxed, and at the same time in many places having to pay a heavy toad rate, whilst in others they must keep the roads in repair altogether; and imagining that as the trustees were mostly Magistrates, (and as they apprehended interested parties), justice would be denied them if they complained, ihey proceeded to redress, as they conceived, their grievances by breaking down the gates. They began with the Whitiand Trust. Ihe threatening notices to the toll collectors having been alt signed with the name of “ Rebecca,” the disturbances were soon designated the 4i Rebecca Riots.” The trustees of the Whitiand Trust found themselves compelled to publish the accounts for the last year ; this course however gave no satisfaction, and the gates are now down, and at most of them no toll is ta&en. On the Fishguard ITust it was said that the Local Act constituting the Trust had long since expired, and public indignation was roused against the trustees. The gates were demolished repeatedly, and eventually the accounts tor one year were published. This was not enough to satisfy 44 Rebecca,” and the trustees have not thought fit to re-eiect the gates. The Tavenspite Trust was seived in the same manner. From Pembrokeshire the Rebeccaite movement spread to Carmarthenshire aDd Cardiganshire, and there no effort has been made by the trustees of any trust to appease the public wrath by the publication of accounts or otherwise, than by filling the county with troops. Promises of redress have been made by a committee nominated on ihe Newcastle Trust; but it is believed they never will be fulfilled. AU the Magistrates now avow their anxious wish to redress grievances, yet they do not show any alacniy in finding what those grievances are, but want complaints to be brought before them by the farmers. They, on the other hand, fear that by complaining they will render themselves conspicuous, and so become marked men ; they, therefore, prefer to carry on their system of gate-levelling, trusting that ill time justice wilt be clone.

Meanwhile the destruction of gates continue, and the tarraets have almost to a man refused to be sworn in as special constables to protect the peace. Grand Project.— lt is in contemp ation to build an aqueduct over the Irish Channel, for the purpose of supplying England with hot water,—Punch,