Miscellaneous.

Lyttelton Times, Volume X, Issue 627, 10 November 1858, Page 8

Miscellaneous.

The accounts of the progress of the harvest throughout the United Kingdom are satisfacfactory, particularly with respect to wheat, nearly the whole of which has been secured. The crop of barleyappears to be considered indifferent, but that of oats is;on' the average, estimated as good. The fine weather continues to exercise a beneficial influence, and lias a greatly assisted in harvest operations. A meeting of the shareholders orthe Eastern Steam Navigation Company took.place on the 10th of August; Mr. Hope in:the chair. The committee of co-operation having discussed with the directors Various propositions for extricating the undertaking from its difficulties, have come to the unanimous resolution that power should be given to the board to sell the Great Eastern either by auction or by private contract. This result of the labours bfVthe committee appeared to take the meeting by surprise, and led to considerable' discussion. It was urged against the proposal that a great sacrifice will inevitably take place in the disposal of the ship in this manner, and that it is even doubtful whether any bid will be made above £40,000. It was also suggested that a more desirable course than a public sale would be to part with her to a new company, to be formed by the present shareholders or others, or to r iise a sufficient sura by preference shares tockaroff the liabilities,, and. fife her for*.sea. ;One proprietor-aLso intimated his determin<ition| it necessary, to protect his interests by an appeal to the Coort of Chancery. On the other hand, it was stated that many of the debts conY Mat of bill* mnning and open accounts, the settlement of which cannot long be delayed. Hence, a sale by auction may be compulsory and it i« evident that it will be better for the shareholders that the sale shpujd be conducted by the directors. Final *tepV need not absoL lntely be taken before October. Time will thus be afforded for the consideration of any better offer. It was ultimately resolved that the; report embodying the recommendations of the committee be adopted, and that the board be authorised to raise the required funds in such mariner as they may see fit, and to: treat for the lease or private Wle of the Great Eastern, with the proviso that in the latter case the approval of a meeting of the 6 harehol.dera is to be obtained.

A progpecf'.is Uhh been issued of the Malta and Alexandria Telegraph Company, with a capital of £300,000, in £5 shares, to complete the Mediterranean p-rtion of the line to India. A- cable is proposed from Malta to Candia, whence lines will diverge respectively to Constantinople and Alexandria.

The; English Government has granted satisfaction to Spain for.the visits of cniisera in the waters of Cuba. Spain ia to be divided into five great, military commands. The state of Italy is tranquil. The Emperor ot Austria has pranted several reforms to the l-ombarrto-Veviotian Kingdom, by which the taxes will be reduced, &c, &c. It isreported that the King of Holland purposes abdicating the throne.

The Bourse of Antwerp was destroyed by fire on the 2nd August, together with several other public buildings. The Atlantic Telegraph shares of £1000 each, which were recently offered at.£34o, immediately advanced the morning of the receipt of the'telegram of success to a nominal quotation of £800 to £800. Later in the day it was, found that holders were exceedingly firn?, and the final price was £880 to £920. The first tlirough message from NeW York is now awaited with the utmost interest, and moat

persons connected with.the American trade,are sanguine of the permanent impulse it will give to the commercial intercourse of the two countries, and the economy it will a!so effect by frequently preventing the profitless shipments backward and forward of goods or specie. Very little else has been thought of during the last few days than the late demonstration fete, or ceremony at Cherbourg. The speeches of his Majesty the Emperor, oh the occasion, [ have attracted considerable attention,,and have .done niiicK to, disabuse the public mindrpf.an intended, invasion on the part of France op some convenient occasion. His Majesty ,ob•seryed*3Qb'at it appeared to be his destiny ; fa accomplish in peace the ' grand designs: the Emperor conceived daring the war. It is only fair to say that Louis Napoleon performed admirably the duties of host/. ' The spirit in ; which he invited Queen Victoria to view . his vast, preparations sustained him- while he exhibited to his royal guest the. strength,and imposing features of the place. He received her .right royally. She had come to see the place: her host determined she should have a just, conception of its strength. Every gun belonging to the fortress was brought into active service for needless; salute. Her Majesty could scarcely move without 3000 guns being called upon to repeat the unnecessary emphasis of ;their presence. It was not sufficient to contemplate the Sebastopol of the Channel from the bay. The whole scene—-the miles of fortifications, the vast workshops, the entire arsenal—must be presented in a coup d' ceil, as if still delicately. to confirm to the august visitor the hint which the. occasion and the invitation were intended to convey. And all this compliment has been paid with a courtesy and received with a simplicity which form a curious incident in the history of the French alliance. It is satisfactory to know, however, that the British Government is not insensible to the fact thatfromthis time forthwith; an efficient Channel fleet must be constantly maintained. For many years past a squadron of this nature has been a mere holiday affair, causing \ a temporary expenditure, essen-' tially disgusting to a certain -portion of the community. We hope that there will now arise a national feeling of unanimity on this subject. The plan for the drainage of London and purification of the Thames is to be effected by means of a loan of £3,000,000, in a 4 percent, stock redeemable in forty years. The, hull of the James Baines destroyed by: fire in Liverpool docks has been sold by auction for £1080. It may be? stated that James Baines originally cost £35,000. Jt is Relieved she wilt be rebuilt, as her hull is in very good condition,,being heavily sheathed with yellow metal and copper fastened. After the sale of the hull, the sails, chains, anchors, &c, were disposed of, and averaged very fair rates. -■The Marquis of Queensberry has been killed by a gunshot in Scotland^ accidentally, it is said, though many persons regard it as a case of suicide, the deceased nobleman haying recently sustained some heavy losses on the turf. *A startling-piece of hews comes from one of' the oldest -of. our colonies. A "repeal"-cry has been raised in Canada. , The upper province— English in blood and Protestant in religion— .wants to be severed from the lower, the people of which are.mainly of French extraction and Roman Catholic in religion.' ■ M. Soyer, the well known cusinier, is dead. Hpr Majesty Queen Victpria arrived on the evening of the 12th August, at the station near the Castle of San Souci, (Prussia) where her august daughter, Princess Frederick William,1 was waiting to receive her. The royal train, then stopped at the -Potsdam -station, where were assembled the members of the Royal family, Princes Augustus of Wurtemburg and William of Baden and the Prince of Hohenzollern. A company of Grenadiers of the Guard, with colours flying and ~band playing, acted as a gnard of honour. Her 'Majesty- was warmly greeted by the assembled.multitude.

Sir Colin/CainpbeH's peerage, and Sir John Lawrence's baronetcy have been gazetted. Sir Colin becomes Baron Clyde,of Clydesdale. Mr. Pemberton Leigh has been raised to the peerage as Baron Kingsdown. Lord John Russell and Lord Palmerston had previously offered him a peerage, but their offers were declined. It is now reported that Mr. Tatton Egerton will be made a peer; his son has been elected to succeed him in the representation of North Chesire.

In China, the allied movements continue to drag their slow length along, to. the disgust of every one, more especially those who have a personal.acquaintance with the Chinese. The Rejection of Ottawa by H. M. the Queen for the futnre capital;of Canada, has given rise to a ministerial crisis in that country which resulted in the resignation of the Ministry, the formation of a new one, a?id votes of want of confidence in the latter by both houses. A dissolution was expected. : The East India Company has stolen, a march upon the Government, by voting to seats in the New Council of India seven members, to form theirquota,.whom they knew Government dill not; want--and. would not select j,leasing un/elected tmeh a« Government aro anxions/ to Tallin. The chohen seven are Mr. Charles Mills,

Captain John Shepphard, Mr. Elliot Macnaghten, Sir James Weir Itogg, Mr. I^oss I). Mangles, Mr. W. , J.; East wick, Mr! H. T. Pririsep. The Goyerrinjeht has elected . Sir Henry Rawlinson, and: Sir. Frederick Gurrife. They nominated also Mr. J. P; W.illoughby, Sir R. H. Vivian, and Sir G. Pollock. The entire.Board was to ,be made up by the first September,. when the East .India ,company will cease to exist.

While alluding to the French periodical press I cannot resist the temptation of mentioning an instance of the manner in which the laws relating to the.press that require the signature of the writer to every, printed -article, are interpreted by journalists, as well as the amount of geographical knowledge.some of..them, possess. On the 20th of last month there was pt\blishe,d in the ' Journal des,Mines', a ; brief account, (dujy signed) of the Atlantic telegraph, condensed from, the descriptions that had appeared in. the, ' Times,' and with the measures reduced to the French standard. In that account occurred, an evidently .typographical error, " Queenstown, Iceland," for " Queenstown, Ireland." A week afterwards the same article was republished in the * Presse' of Paris, with the signature of M. - Alph. Lauvray, apparently Accepting the nominal paternity of the production. Fromthe ' Presse' the article was again copied intothe 'Journal dv Havre;' arid.finally in the ' Moniteur,' <pf the following Saturday it; appeared as .taken' from the Havre paper.. But. the best part of the story is that the original blunder is repeated in all. Neither seem to ; be .aware that Iceland is not a British possession or that Queenstown is in Ireland.— Times Paris Correspondent. When Black 'is White.—A black man once went to i ortland and attended church. He went into a good pew, and the next neighbour asked the man that owned it,why he put a nigger, into, his pew f "Why sir, he's a Haytien." Can't help that, he's black." '• Why sir, he's a correspondent of mine." "Can't help that, he's black." "He's worth a million of dollars." "Introduce me."

The account given in the ' Argus' of the meeting of the Melbourne Chamber of Commerce/with respect to the; steam ; postal communication, confirms the expectations by the telegraphic message. The mercantile community, as represented by Chamber, have taken up the following positions : That a postal line 'by1 Suez is the best for Victoria- that to be thoroughly efficient it should be an independent line and not a bniiich ; and that, to secure it, Victoria should pledge herself to bear equally with Great Britain the expense of the necessary subsidy. This is precisely the position in which New South Wales had already placed itself with regard to the Panama route. The sameniajl, will therefore Ul>e\tp..Englaiyd''the' i l'iberal offers of the two leading, colonies of Australia,', each undertaking to patronise a" grand trunk/line of coxximnnicaiion.^Sydney Mop'ninq Meraid. A " great" attraction in the shape of an erior-; mously fat boy has been exhibited at Hockih^s Assembly Room, during the"week. We went to" see him yesterday; and though we had previously seen" what professed to be pictures of him on the: walls, we were not. prepared to cast our eyes. Upon such a ponderous piece of flesh. In this instance the art of puffing could ho further go;, and the, pictures stop short of the reality. There he stands: or rolls along—a living Jump of lard; backing, himself against all comers, weight' for age, for he weighs sixteen stone and a-half, about four times the weight of an average boy of his years. This plump prodigy was born at Bris- { bane Water, in: New South' Wales, on the 29th j November, 1848, being the son of a sawyer named Abernethy, and he was baptised iniSt. Andrew.'s Scots' church, Sydney, on the 20th February, in the following'year, as is testified by the certificate of Dr. M'Garvie. the esteemed minister of that church. The curious, who would like -to see who was his father and who was his mother, can do so, both of them being present in the exhibiting room. There is nothing extraordinary about either of them affording any clue to so very substantial a result; the mother, indtied, is rather slightly made. But the big boy was quite little when he was born; and it was not till he was twelve months old - that he commenced to extend himself in suchundue proportions, and he has been at it ever since, and there is no telling when he will stop. If he were notiuseful as a subject ofexhibition it would-be a very serious thing for the parents, who move in the humbler walks of life, and doubtless viewed with feelings of apprcnension approaching to dismay, the spreading propensities of their offspring. It is said that sometimes he grew so much in one night that his mother' could not swear to him.in the morning. He must be a very dear child; for though it does not take, more to line his stomach than that of -an ordinary boy, it will take a great deal to coyer his back; and though he may be able to exist on slops, it is quite certain that he can. never be clothed in them: everything must bemade to measure, and good measure too. The teetotalers ought to buy or lease him, as he is a striking instance: of what would be the advan- : tages of the Maine Liquor Law; for his flesh is firm, and he never tastes intoxicating liquors of any kind; Altogether, he is the finest specimen : of fal »u>ck that we have seen for many a long day; and it would seem that New South Wales, finding that it produced so few great men, had. wisely moderated ita pretensions, and gone in for the manufacture of- "great boys," and. the abolition of cornstalks. . -..