Miscellaneous.

Lyttelton Times, Volume VIII, Issue 528, 25 November 1857, Page 5

Miscellaneous.

H. M. ship Iris arrived at Norfolk Island from Sydney, Wednesday, Sept. 23. His Excellency the Governor-General landed there the same day, and remained there till Saturday. The Pitcairn Islanders received him with most welcome demonstrations. It having been found that they were short of provisions, the Governor embarked again on the 26fch, and proceeded to Auckland, arriving there October 1; procured supplies and made arrangements for some more to be forwarded in a fortnight. Sailed for Norfolk Island, Oct. 3, reaching there on the 11th. During his second visit he appointed a chief magistrate and two subordinates —gave them a code of laws for their guidance, and advised them as to their future conduct. Bishop Selwyn's wife was on the Island, and had been there two months ; the Bishop was on a missionary cruise, and was expected to return in a few days. Tiie morning that the Iris arrived at Norfolk Island, Mrs. John Christian, a descendant of Christian of the Bounty, gave birth to a daughter, to which his Excellency stood godfather, the child being named Caroline Lucy, after Lady Denison. Throughout the passage the weather has been very rough, but more especially on Saturday last.— Empire, i Oct. 28.

AstheAtlantic.on one of her western passages, had reached the banks of Newfoundland, she was enveloped in one of the dense f»>gs peculiar to that region. Captain West, her vigilantcommander, was at the time peeping out through the vapour, when one of his passengers, a. rather faint-hearted Yankee, drew near, and said "Rather foggy, captain." " Yes thick enough to cut it with a knife." " Dangerous goin' now, ain't it?" " Yes, sir, hut we carry the United States mails, and must go on." Tearing off his cap, the affrighted Yankee, in a paroxysm of anguish, shrieked, " Tor gracious sake, captain, throw the mail overboard, and stop the ship." Effects of the Comet at Berlin. —The Berlin correspondent of the * Times ' writes, on the 9th instant as follows :—" The comet is expected by the population of these parts to destroy us all next Saturday, the 13th instant. Some of the wise ones of this educated place notice that the man in the moon has already flattened, and scorched his nose considerably by coming in contact with that fiery pass while swinging round our earth, which circumstance j irrefragably proves that the comet must already be very near us." When Mr. Holland, the Government Inspector, v/as, on Thursday last, with several inhabitants of the township, surveying Holbeck Churchyard, they found a venerable looking old man, with flowing hair, of the name of Jonathan Barras, sat on a chair with his elbows resting on his wife's tomb, and on being spoken to he said with tears trickling down his aged cheeks, " Sir, I'm now eighty-six years owd, my wife and me lived together for fifty-nine years, an she wor eighty-nine years owd when she deed, four years sin ; an I want to be buried at top on her; it's varra hard, t'graves sixteen feet deep, an there's nobody in it bud her, an shos in a vault. I've lived abaafc t' churchyard alj uiy life, within fifty yards ah where I am now an it alias war wun at healthiest parts at taan.'j — Leeds Intelligencer. % ' Spirit rapping has occasioned in the United States two more suicides. George Stiles, of Milford, Wisconsin, shot himself through the heart, and a day or two afterwards, his uncle, William Stiles, stabbed himself with tiie shank of & hay fork- Botii were spiritualist*.

Blue Bbibeby.—At Bristol, in the beginning of the present century, the power adverse to the popular interest was represented by the Blues; and the Blues not only paraded blue cockades, but blue bludgeons. In 1812 there were found in the house of an agent of Mr. Davis, one of the Blue candidates, one thousand eight hundred bludgeons painted blue. At the election in that year one of the anti-blue candidates was Sir Samuel Komilly. He was compelled to retire on the eighth day of polling. The True Blue candidate went on his canvass attended by nine-tenths of the church-wardens, overseers, and tax gatherers of the town. The several parishes furnished eighteen vestries, and each vestry was distinctly and formally organised as an election committee in the Blue interest, acting under orders from the White Lion, or Lion Constitutional Club. When Mr. Davis was canvassing in any parish, the bells of that parish rang until he ci-ossed its bounds, and then the bells of the next parish he had entered set up their peal. The ringing continued until another church had to announce the transfer of the honor to its parish. On the day of polling some of Sir Samuel Romilly's men were beaten from the booth by bludgeonmen, led by a prize-fighter named Watson. The Sheriff faintly but ineffectively ordered Watscn to be taken into custody. The other Liberal candidate, Mr. Hunt, obtaining leave to act upon his own responsibility, dashed forward upon Watson, struggled with him, and dragged him to the sheriff, by whom he wa3 given into the custody of six constables, for conveyance into the presence of the sitting magistrates. On the road the six constables let him escape. Every blue voter, apart from any other bribe, received seven and sixpence after polling; but, in subsequent years, this money payment was in part changed to a Christmas distribution of blue beef. Oxen, decorated with blue ribands, were paraded through the town and each elector who had plumped for the Blue candidate received fourteen pounds of Blue beef and three Blue quartern loaves; but for a split vote only seven pounds of beef were given. Bludgeon men on the stairs of the Guildhall beat back.those who came up wearing the wrong colours. The names of poor men who had voted on a previous occasion for the popular candidate were marked for their ruin—set down in lists, with their trades and addresses, hung ujj. in public-houses; posted on walls; even affixed by churchwardens to the doors of churches. Charity money was spent upon election beer, and *.vas refused to poor freemen who had not voted for the blues. A seat for the city of Bristol was not, in those days, to be had for less than twenty thousaud pounds.— Dickens' Household Words. Citizens and Thieves. —A desperate fight took place in San Antonio (Texas) on the 30th May, between some citizens and a gang of thieves, robbers, and housebreakers who infested that place. The following narrative 'is very characteristic: —" The wife of H. de la was killed in her own house by some seven or eight assassins, and the house then robbed of money and valuables. A reward of 500 dollars was offered this morning for the apprehension of the 'murderers, and Sheriff' Henry, with a posse, hastened to the place. A gang of some dozen desperadoes had collected in the city on the west side of the river, many of them in a darkened room, as a sort of resort for the moment. Here the shooting commenced between the desperadoes and some three or four citizens. Fielstrop killed one of the desperadoes, and was sliot through the head by another. At this awful juncture, Jim Taylor, than whom a braver man never lived, gave orders for some three of his comrades to follow him, and at the same moment he-broke through, the window into the darkened room.' As heentered, Bill Hart, a notorious character, shot him through the breast, and at the same moment a gun was pointed at Bill Hart by another person, when Taylor exclaimed, " he has shot me, let me shoot him," and fired. Both fell. Citizens commenced rushing in well armed, as well as many of the desperadoes, and the shooting became general. The gang of rowdies broke from the room by a back door; many of them, who came up after the melee commenced, immediately fled, finding that they were coming to close quarters. By this time at least 300 citizens had collected, all well armed, for it was well known that this gang of rowdies could have at their command 75 or 100 men within fifteen minutes. Many of them came in sight, but very wisely withdrew. Five persons were killed, two citizens and three of the desperadoes. Taylor may recover." A Mahommedan gentleman belonging to the Staff of a native Prince now in England, writing to a friend in Calcutta, says that '• Princess Victoria Gowrinah, daughter of the Ex-Rajah of Cooi'g, at present under the special protection of her Majesty the Queen, has now passed the age of minority and is marriageable. It was rumoured some time ago, that the selection of a bridegroom would fall on. Maha Rajah Dullep Sing, but a more amusing, story has lately been heard that a British Baronet will probably lead her to the Hymeneal Altar." —Hurkaru. Antiquity of Tabbing and Feathering. —Tarring and feathering, it seems, is a European invention. One of Richard Cceur-de-Lion's ordinances for seamen was, " that if-any man were taken with theft or pickery.awd-there-of convicted, he should have his liead ptrjlledv and hot pitch poured upon his pate, and tfjSg%-tjiat the feathers of some pillow or cußlKpn;Bh;ak.§n aloft, that he might thereby be linown ,fprr~a thief, and at the next arrival of the ships, toany land, be put forth, of the company to seek his adventures, without all hope of return -^tp^lya fellows. — Timbs's Curiosities of History.

The MEDrcAx Licensing System..—At the present time-there exist in-England, Scotland, •■and Ireland, as many as twenty-two 'licensing :bodies, acting in open competition with one '■-another in the granting of 'degrees and diplomas to practise the various departments of ■medicine and surgery; Some -of these 'institutions have bat a limited power -to grant the licenses, whilst others have no iegal powers er authority whatever to authorise those who may ■obtain their degrees or diplomas to practise either medicine or surgery; and, what is still more extrovdinary, in no one of the two-and-twenty is there anything like a uniform system -of examination or plan of education, whilst in others there is no security to the public of competency on the part of'those who may obtain a diploma to practice, as/for instance, the College of Surgeons of London, where candidates are examined only in the elements of anatomy, iphysiology, and surgery, and yet go forth to \ fi'uctice -ynedicine, midwifery, and pharmacy, n others of^these-institutions, again, there is but a territorial-"jurisdiction, as in the faculty 'Or Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow; whilst -a physician or surgeon qualified to practice in Scotland or Ireland is not qualified to practice in England, and vice versa. All this has led to an amount of confusion and corruption by which the public are the loser , and a certain few of the corporations and their examining boards are. the gainers, in the shaps of large fees for diplomas. Of these institutions, the Scotch Universities and the College of Sur--.geons of London, in consequence of requiring but a small amount of education, derive the greatest income. Lazy and-indolent students hasten to those places whe.i#tmt a snrall amount of education is deemed irecessai-y and a jnere nominal test in the shape of examination required. A Good Shot.—Mr. Bass isa man of cricketing celebrity in/England. Whilst practising with other members of the liurton-oii-Trent Rifle Club, he wasone day unexpectedly joined %y a bey} r of ladies, one of whom requested to a specimen-of Mr. Bass's shootinsr. A two"'iach bull'ri-eve being placed, four successive shots were fired at 110 yards. Every shot '••-want through the same hole, a little to "the left * of the centre, without breaking the outer edge of the paper. On another occasion, when lunch 'had been discussed on the banks of the river rTrsnt, arid the black bottles looked as though '"their occupation was gone, employment was "found fov them. A wager was laid that the Tbottles should be re-corked, and thrown into 'the river, seventy yards from the shooter (Mr. ■t'Btss), and that whilst floating the cork of each -should be hit to win. If the body of "the bottle was strusk to lose. Every cork was ■struck. The weapon in this ease was a pistol •of peculiar construction, with a TO-ineh rifle Ibarrel. The staple fixed in the stern of a flattbottomed fishing boat was struck the first shot, sfor* a wager, at 300 yards". -A swan was shot 'through the head at 170 yards. A duck feedjng»upon a weir at 320 yards, and a hare at LSO yards; both shot dead. & boy was seen angling upwards of 90 yards from the bridge on which Mr. Bass was standing, with not less than two score lookers-nn. A bet was made that Mr. B. would break through the upper ■jiart; cf the fine rod the boy was using the first shot. Ths weapon in this case was the pistol before-mentioned. The shoe was made; the 3ine, with the whalebone mounting, fell from the rod. The boy stood aghast- The wager was won, and hauded over' to the little fisher•man. . j

The Great Britain which left Melbourne on the 21st May,'had not arrived. It is known that, a few days after she sailed, the vessel must have encountered a severe storm, which *would have induced most captains to have put $>ack; but, Captain Gray's peculiarity being never to turn round unless absolutely compelled to do so, it is -thought ih at he exhausted his small supply of coals-in Wing through the storm. t£his circumstance coupled with the fact that •the Great Britain is deeply laden, and her bottom fou], has accounted for her delay up to now; .and hence no great fears are entertained as to ihev safety. The money market, too, being easy, 3ier supply of gold is not so anxiously looked •sfor as it would otherwise have been.

It is found that our Crystal Palace -will not .answer as a speculation. So far as the shareholders are concerned, their money is sunk, and it must be small satisfaction-to them to receive, in lieu.of dividends, the assurance that their •undertaking is at once the wonder of the world an lan honor to England. Another speculation, ■of a less imposing nature, has also broken -down, —that is, the Surrey Gardens Company. 'With proper and economical management there -seems to be no reason why this latter should not have succeeded.

All the arrangements for the sailing of the Atlantic cable fleet were completed on the 30th •of July, when the respective partions of the ■cabk on 'board the Agamemnon and the Niagara were joined together, and messages were sent •throughout the whole line; upwards of 2500 •miles, in less than one second. After the join-' ang of the cables, the whole was transferred to: the Niagara, in consequence of the starting point of the.expedition being now settled to be' from the Irish shore instead of from mid-ocean.; The Lord Lieutenant, who had been a guest of \ the Koight of Kerry, went to Killarney.to.be1 present at.the starting of the expedition, which! took place on the 6th of August, on the shore; of Vaientia Bay, about three miles from Cahir-' ; eiveeal The shore-end of the cable was handed i *o his excellency, and laid with great ceremony! xacL in the most -safefactbry manlieif. The' greatest interest was felt in the progress of the' work, and arrangements were made for keeping: v'& oohsiant coramunication v/ith the,ships. " Gn.

the 10th of August it was stated that the operations were going on as satisfactorily as possible. Nearly 300 miles had at :that date been accomplished, and the depth of water in which the cable was being submerged was about 1700 fathoms, or about two miles. The transition from shallow to deep water had been effected without difficulty, the ships were saiiing with a moderate breeze, and paying out at the rate of 5 miles per hour, and messages were frequently interchanged between the ships and the shore, Everybody on board was well, and confident of success. On the 12th, however, it became evident that an accident of some kind had occurred. Up to 4 o'clock on the morning of the 11th constant messages had been received, but f:t 4 o'clock the electric signals suddenly ceased. On testing for insulation there was found to be a total loss, which seemed to have occurred at a distance of from 350 to 400 miles from Valentia. In the absence of any means of communication it was, of course, impossible to guess at the cause of this embarrassment; but the return of tlie Cyclops on the following day cleared up all obscurity. The cable had been by some means inj ux-ed, and a length of about 300 miles was lost. It was hoped, however, that a considerable part might be recovered. The information brought by the Cyclops has been since confirmed by the Niagara, Susquehanna, an 3 Agamemnon, which vessels arrived in Plymouth Sound on the l«4th of August. They brought intelligence of the complete fail- ' ure of the enterprise. The severance took place I at a quarter to 4 o"* clock on the morning of the : 10th, when 335 nautical, equal to 380 statute, miles had been laid in a direct course of 260 to 280 miles from Valeßtia. The wind was southerly, te ship going Ihrea O1 four knots. The quantity of slack thus expended was greater than expected at starting, and more than could be afforded, the retard strain was therefore increased to a pressure of 3000 lbs., and the cable broke. This extra expenditure commenced on the previous evening, when a strong breeze and heavy swell .prevailed, and a powerful undercurrent was experienced. This current forced the wire .from the ship at a considerable angle. When the break was applied with increased power, the stern of the Niagara was down in the trough of the sea, and the extra strain created by her rising w.is the immediate, cause of the cable's parting. The general opinion is that the season is t>o far advanced for another effort now; but the utmost confidence is still expressed in the ultimate success of the undertaking.

Our reinforcements to India now amount to 30,000 men. Already 13,000 have been despatched, and 5,400 of the China force diverted to Calcutta. 5,400 are in course of embarkation, and the remainder will be embarked in the course of another week. Our home defences will be provided for by recruiting, by the formation of new battalions, and embodying a portion of the militia. The impression in England now is that we have seen the worst of the mutiny. Our readers will be gratified to* learn the extraordinary despatch with which the Bast India Company have sent troops to suppress the mutiny and relieve the sufferers in India. Below we give a list of the VES3KLS DEPAETED SINCE JTTUE 10. Ships. Men. Ships. Men. Amazon „ 252 QueenoftheSouth 750 Nile 108 Khersonese ...^...., 800 Areta .. 228 Scotia 250 Barham .138 Mathilda Atheling 350 Ulysses 218 Atheloe 185 Sir Geo. Seymour 252 William Hammond 230 8ucepha1u5......... 252 "Whirlwind 250 Surrey 266 Sussex 359 Ellenborough 252 Bombay 402 Calabar 258 Defiance 400 Prince Arthur ... 300 Walmer Castle ... 400 Adelaide 226 Albuera 252 Cressy 238 Ballarat .300 Seringapatam...... 250 Liverpool 400 Owen Glendower... 300 Octavia 276 Ramillies 249 Blenheim 336 Cambodia 240 Tyburhia 330 Aliquis 402 Monarch.. 360 Sutlej 288 Louisiana ......... 400 -Roman Emperor... 235 Sir Robert Sale ... 294 Castle Eden.. 258 Forerunner......... 200 Alnwick Castle ... 400 Agamemnon 220 Merchantman 340 Warrior Queen ... 350 Robert Lowe ...... 450 James Baines ...... 996 Thebes 300 Champ, of the Seas 996 Carthage..... 300 Vernon 350 Caledonia 450 Scotland 350 United Kingdom... 400 Genghis Khan 450 John Bell 400 Victoria 450 Sydney 320 Lady Jocelyn ...... 800 Australian 329 GoldehFleece 1000 Lightning 700 Sarah Sands.... 500 Herselia 280 Sedgmoor.. 400 Waterloo 300 Bombay Castle ...420 Southampton 300 Hydaspes.... . 607 City of Manchester 800 Alipore 393 Making a grand total of 72 vessels and 27,452 men. How Cawnfoee was Lost.—The loss of Cawnpore was entirely owing to the destruction of the Commissariat stores at Allahabad. These stores, as likewise goods of all kinds belonging to the General Steam Navigation Company*, were lodged in godowns within easy distance of the fort guns. At the time of the insurrection, marauders, not even sepoys, but simply that class of men which, ready for any villany, are found in all large towns, ware permitted to advance underthe walls of the Fort. The godowns were gutted under the very nose of Gren. Simpson by plunderers whom - a few rqands of grape would have scattered, but not a shot; was fired, and the stores were left to take care if; themselves. The only plea that General Siinp-J son has put forward as an excuse for his con.; duct is, that the Sikhs could, not be con trolled, f But this is scarcely an excuse; this does nbt ex-; plain the surprise, the'terror with which the' entry into the fort was made. This offers no S(

apology for the defenceless state m which the native mercHante irpon whom the very^xistance of the Cbihinisaariat depended were left. One and all were obliged to seek refuge in flight; Arid when General Neill arrived at Allahabad, there .'was not only no Commissariat, but no ■materials out of which one could have been organised. It was this that delayed the advance of the troops on-Cawnpore. But for the want of supplies the advanced column under Major Renaud could have started ten or fifteen days earlier than it did, Cawnpore would have been sived, and Lueknow would long before now have been succoured. All this might have been secured had the scum of the populace been but kept clear of the guns. But this course was not practicable, the Sikhs who, under General Neill", displayed such gallantry, and wreaked their vengeance for the murder of some of their companions on the townspeople, were not then in a mood to obey, and would not only not have fired themselves^ but would have resented the j interference of the Europeans. In fact, the guns could not be worked, and General Simpson had amply testified his military genius |by getting into the fort at all. But this does not explain the want of preI paredness; if proper precautions had been taken; if the stores had been removed to a place of security, and, instead of being left outside of the fort, had been carried in, there would have been no such destruction of propertyand no future delay. It is the duty of an officer in command of a station to provide against contingencies, and if he neglect to do this it' he show/that in his own province and department he possesses no capacity beyxmd that possessed by ordinary men, it is abundantly exemplified that he has mistaken his profi'siipn, and-that the man who selected him fora post- of trust has been gniltyrof ah error in judgment. It was the negligence and incapacity displayed at Allahabad which lost Cawnpore. We do not say that the latter town might not have been saved if the true nature of the mutinies had been, discovered at the first, but the entire destruction of the Government stores at Allahabad and the consequent total disorganisation of the Commissariat Department destroyed even the last hope. It is not. perhaps vinpjeasing to trace all our disasters to the incapacity of some of those men with whom we have entrusted authority and station, upon whose abilities, ripened by experience, and through age not liable to be swayed by impulse, we have relied. It is not perhaps unpleasing to recollect that the Jullunder mutineers reached Delhi solely because General Johnstone failed in his duty, or that the Dinapore regiments are now committing such/devastation, because General Lloyd betook himself to the steamer directly he heard the sound of firing. Though such facts do not say much for our system,...yet they say a good deal for the valour of our troops, who retrieved the mis> takes of those men,' who, even if they hadacted with but moderate activity, never would have caused such losses. Thera are other ways in which these things are not distasteful. The imbecility of General Simpson enables us tb vindicate the energy of General Havelock, who, in spite of the want of stores and supplies, in spite of absence of provisions, and merchants to supply. such provisions, started for Cawnpore after so short a delay.— Friend of India. The Great Eastben. —This extraordinary production of industry, capital, and ability, has now so far progressed as to ensure its completion within a limited period ; indeed, it is anticipated, the launch will take place within two months or thereabouts—-the preparations for %vhich event are in rapid progress, the piles being driven in and the waj's laid. The noble j vessel is completed to such an extent as to give a correct idea of what she will ultimately be. Now, we think, is the time for persons to inspect her who wish to have a full idea of the amazing amount of ingenuity, mechanical contrivance, and correct calculation necessary for such an undertaking ami the wonderful correctness with which such details have been executed; in going through the whole ship, not one appearance of an endeavour to make things fit, of a miscalculation, or of an afterthought presents itself; everything appears to be the result of deliberate contrivance and careful elaborate calculation. In the state she now is, ere the main floors be laid, her prodigious capacity is more apparent than when she shall have been furthef" progressed ; the mind is more distinctly able to appreciate her enormous structure, and to ex 4 amine the thousand and one wonderful scientific adaptations which are now beautifully displayed! Before we do so, however, let us for one moment consider the rapid strides made in the construe-1 tion of iron vessels since thar first introduction j into use as canal boats. But a few years have J elapsed since the Iron Duke and Ironsides (the first ocean-going iron vessels, we believe) were built: the ships gradually increasing in number and size, until the Great Britain satisfactorily proved that only increase in dimensions was wanted to insure increased security. A survey of the Great Eastern ; wiil at once satisfy the most scepticaHhat ihtspidea has been acted on and fully earned out in her construction.,: We learn, also, by the publication.of the-vesult of ia ; .recent series, of experiments made afe Liverpool,; rigging of iron wire,; applicable, to. all ma-j ne. ,P Brpose3, niay be economically, manufate-j ,turea,,farßQrpassing the Jiesj; Russian or Manila-! hemp;cordage in strength, elasticity and ;light4 ness, preheating flthe. ■, great advantage,- of? .offering far, less superficies; : fco the resistance of' wind. It seems almost as.-ifcOld Neptune hadi .determined to patronise r V Ulcan and his Cyclo-? pean workers instead-pf r Pant and" his sylvan! •r^ropamons.^ • The substitution of iron for wood < in ehipb^ilding will undoubtedly create a conti- \\ nuous.an^- extensive demand for that, metal ;V M^JMs?\?*g3 large:exj)eoditare in mining and1

"manuTacturing wages- As long, as we prove triue tp'Satsel'ves'ty ehcbtoagfing:these f interestsi arid keeping the Vestige" as the cheapest arid beat market, it wijl be of incalculablel advantage to the United Kingdom, as ho' country can com* pete with us in production; It is nM our intention to go into details, of the quantities of • materials used in, or of the'stupendous dimensions of the ship; they are already sent forth to the world in every variety of form requisite, "and'may be'purchased,, together with a supposed correct portrait, for a trifle; we only'invite our readers' attention to the magnitude of the results likely to accrue from the success of so gigantic an undertaking, to the innovation thus made on air stereotyped ideas of the " greatestextent" to which any projects may be carried, especially when such physical difficulties have to be overcome, and when prejur dice and time-honoured customs have so much influence. — Mining Journal, August 15.