ENGLISH ITEMS.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 5, Issue 277, 12 June 1865, Page 3

ENGLISH ITEMS.

(From the New Zealand Examiner, March 15.) The Delta, with the light portion of the mail, reached Marseilles on Monday. The letters were delivered in London yesterday morning. The Toonah, with the heavy part, may be expected at Southampton about the 20th. The departures from London for the New Zealand colonies since our last issue have been the Lizzie Southward, for Otago; the Ulcoats, for Auckland; the William Gynther, for Kelson and Napier ; the Canterbury, for Canterbury—all despatchedjby Messrs. Shaw, Savill, and Co. The Albertland Association intend despatching a large body of emigrants in the King of Italy—to leave in May. This vessel has been selected for the particular service on account of her size and splendid sailing qualities, and is by far the finest ship that they have had at their disposal. In the matter of the Taranaki Steel Iron Company (Limited) the Court of Bankruptcy has appointed a final meeting for the 25th inst. Mr. Frederick Weld, the new Prime Minister of New Zealand, is a brother of Mr. Charles Weld, of Chideocke, and a nephew of the late Mr. Weld, of Lulworth Castle, the head of one of the most worthy and respectable of the Eiig’ish Homan Catholic bodies, and nearly related to the Petros, Stourtons, Cliffords, Arundells, ic, He is comparatively a young man, but wont out as a settler to New Zealand several years ago. The salary hitherto attached to the office of Constable of the Tower is to be divided into nine pensions of £IOO a year for distinguished or meritorious service; and it is anticipated that one of the officers selected will be Colonel Warre, for twenty-eight years’ service. He was in the Crimea with the 57th, and commanded the regiment during the later portion of the operations against Sebastopol. He was afterwards in the field during the Indian mutiny, and has been for the last three years actively engaged in New Zealand, where he is still.

The secretary of the Panama, Few Zealand, and Australian Koyal Mail Company, Limited, sends us the following:—“ In confirmation of the statements which have appeared in the public papers, I am desired to acquaint you that, according to advices just received from the company’s local manager at Auckland, an Act of the General Assembly has been passed, empowering the Governor of Few Zealand to contract for the Panama Mail Service, entered into with the Hon. Crosbie Ward, subject to modifications to bo arrranged between the Governor and the company.” The annual meeting of the Bank of Australasia was held on the 13th, Mr. Edward Hamilton in the chair. A report and statement of accounts were submitted. The fourth series of shares having been paid up, the capital of the bank is now augmented to £1,200,000, the amount limited by the charter. The first instalment of £lO per share received dividend in October, last; the second instalment will participate in dividend in April, and the third in October next, after which dated dividends will be paid on the entire capital of the corporation. The directors have declared a dividend on old shares, payable on the 11th April next, at the rate of 6 per cent per annum, and a bonus at the rate of 8 per cent, per annum, being together at the rate of 14. per cent, per annum, or £2 16s. per share for the half-year. A dividend and bonus at the same rate will be paid at the same time on the first and second instalments of £lO each on the new shares, amounting to £1 Bs. per share. The report, after some discussion, was adopted. The Board of Trade returns for the first month of the present year have made their appearance. Contrasted with the corrresdonding month of last year the declared value of our exportations shows great uniformity, the total being £10,389,339, against £10,413,586, while, compared with January, 1863, there is an increase of about 30 per cent. The figures of the cotton trade show similar steadiness as respect this year and last, our total exports of manufactured goods for the month having been £3,025,592, or about 7 per cent, above those of January 1864, both in v'alue and quantity. Of cotton yarns our shipments were* about 17 per cent, less in value, but only about | per cent less in quantity. Of woollen goods our shipments were 18 per cent, below those of the same month last year, but linen manufactures figure for an increase of 20 per cent. Hardwares, also, show an increase of more than 20 per cent., but in the exports of iron there has been a falling off of about 8 per cent. As regards imports, the cotton arrivals were 151,264 cwt. (of which one-

third was from Egypt), against 81,639 cwt. in January, 1864, while our receipts of wheat and flour were only about a quarter of those in January of the two preceeding years, A shocking accident occurred at Erith on Tuesday. By the capsizing of a boat ten young cadets, belonging to the training-ship Worcester, were drowned. An accident not unlike that which happened a short time ago in Winohester-fauih ings took place last week in the Westminster-bridge-road. Messrs Alderson and Co., drapers, of that road, are enlarging their premises, and a new cornice was being put up. About noon, after a few preliminary cracks the whole front fell down, throwing the scaffold poles across the street and burying the contents of the shops. No person was hurt, though several narrowly escaped. At the Cork assizes a young man named Michl. Lynch was indicted for the murder of his father, under peculiar circumstances. The father had, it appeared, some dealings with a woman who lived in the neighborhood, and for the last few years it had been a constant sonrco of annoyance to his family. The prisoner did his best to dissuade his father from going to her house, but to no purpose, and he then set Are to the woman’s cottage and burned it to the ground. She went to live with another neighbor, and old Lynch continued bis visits. In August last the prisoner renewed jliis expostulations, with the same result as before, and, becoming exasperated, he watched for his father one night, and deliberately shot him dead in front of the house where the woman lived. He confessed the whole affair. A plea of homicidal mania was urged in his behalf, but be was found guilty, and sentenced to death.

The Saffron-Hill Murder. —At the Central Criminal Court, yesterday, the Italian Gregorio Mogni, who was charged on his own confession with the manslaughter of Michael Harrington on Saffron-hill, although another Italian had been convicted of the crime and sentenced to death, was tried before a mixed jury. The prisoner pleaded that he had struck the fatal blow, but had done so in self-defence—a statement' which was regarded as equivalent to a plea of not guilty. The case was rendered the more remarkable because it was the object of the prosecution to show, if possible, that the prisoner’s confession was untrue, and that the mortal stab was indicted by Polizioni, and not by the self-accused man. Polizzioni was called as a witness, and denied all knowledge of the murder. The jury after a brief consultation found the prisoner guilty, and he was sentenced to five years’ penal servitude. A dreadful catastrophe has occurred near Edinburgh. A large sugar-refinery, eight stories high, which was in course of erection near Bedbraes, on the Bonnington-road, suddenly fell on Monday afternoon, the whole interior of the building comming down with a frightful crash. Besides the destruction of a large amount of property, at least four lives were lost, and several persons were also severly injured. The edifice was considered to be of a very snbstaucial character, and the cause of its destruction appears to been the giving way of the foundation. On Friday an inquiry was hold at the London Hospital respecting the death of William Batchford’ aged thirty-nine years. On Thursday he was driving a cart close to the Blackwall Baxhvay viaduuct at Limchouso. A train came up and the engine whistled once and then a second time with great loudness. The horse the deceased was leading took fright and and dashed off. Deceased caught hold of the bit to stop the horse, when the animal reared up and dashed him down, his head striking the curbstone, The wheel went over and crashed his skull. He was killed on the spot. Yerdict, “ Accidental death.”