MISCELLANEOUS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XI, Issue 671, 13 April 1859, Page 3

MISCELLANEOUS.

(From the 'Home News,' Jan. 17.) ■The Jewish communities in Prussia, who had applied to the government to interfere in the Mortara affair, have just received a reply in the negative.

The ' Perigord ' mentions the following annecdote of Mgr. Martial, the newly-appointed Bishop bf St. Brieuc. When informed that ■he was intended for that bishopric, he at first refused, but. on .his Majesty insisting, the bishop said, "Well, Sire, I accept, but allow me to make one condition, which is, that when I instal myself in my episcopal palace, I shall not Have the pain of thinking that''there are around me houses the heads of which are absent from them; grant me, therefore, the return to their homes of the exiles belonging to the diocese I am about to direct." The Emperor consented, and fifteen exiles received permission to return to France. v . •

A meeting has been held at Ostend, to discuss the question: of forming a gambling establishment at that place. The, meeting decided that a petition should be sent to the King, praying for an authorisation to found a gambling-house and conversationrooms similar to thoseexisting at Spa. The petition has received many signatures.

At Nice, .within.the-last., few days, the death has taken place of the youngest daughter of Orsini, aged six years. She was of a frail cbnstitution, and it-was thought at the time that she would scarcely be able to suvive the fatigue of her journey to Paris with her sister and mother, for the purpose of a farewell interview with her father.

We read in the ' Ost Deutsche Post ':—" A frightful crime has been committed at Palermo. The Pro-cureur-Gene.ral Rainco has assassinated his wife by stabbing her with a poignard, and she, too, in the eighth month of her pregnancy. She had been married fifteen ": years. Her husband, who was the father of ;two daughters, of whom the eldest was fourteen years of age, seems to have been carried away by a fit of jealousy. After committing the act he threw himself into the sea and perished A so-called will, written by his own hand, bequeaths all his fortune to the eldest of his_ daughters, and disinherits the youngest."

A despatch from Vienna announces the death of the Archduchess Marie Anne of Austria. The deceased'duchess was born on the Bth of June, 1804. She was sister of the Emperor Ferdinand 1., who abdicated in favour of the present emperor, and of Archduke Francis Charles,, father of the -latter. She was consequently aunt to the present emperor.

A duel was fought at Nice, a few days ago, between a Frenchman, M. deLusy, and a Nicois, Count de Sais,si. A dispute arose between these gentlemen at the .Philharmonic club, in the course of which the count, a young pan of four-and-twenty, so far forgot himself as to tear the ribbon of the legion of Honoxir from tire coat of the frenchman, who is an old gentleman of sixfcjv The pair'proceeded to St. Laurent dv Var, on the -French .frontier, where they exchanged shots. Count de,Saissi.fell t.o the ground with'a ball through the chest, and his life Is despaired of.

T.he '-Gazette' of December 17 announces.that .the Hon. Mr. Talbot has. been appointed Sefjeant-nt Arms to the House of Lords, in the place of Colonel. Percival. deceased.

The appointment of Mr. George Dundas to be governor of Prince Edward's Island is officially anjnounced. Mr. .Frederick Cleeve, Paymaster of the Navy, is made a Companion of the Bath. Dr. Thos. ; Watson has been appointed Physician extraordinary to the Queen in the room of the late Dr: Bright.

On the 18th of December, Lord William Graham was returned for Herefordshire without- opposition. The iioble lord avowed himself to be an,advocate of what lie called "Conservative progress," but mani:fested'a peculiar kindness for the' Radicals. At (Brecon, on the 28th of December, Major G. C. Morgan, son of Sir Charles Morgan, Bart., of Tredegar Park, was returned without opposition for the county, in the place of the late Sir John Bailey, Bart. ' "•■ ' ' " ."'■.'

Mr. Serjeant Wells received the honour of knighthood.on December 30th, oh his appointment to be a Judge of the {Supreme Court at Calcutta. Mr. Couch, of the Norfojk Circuit, is to succeed Mr. Serjeant Wellsas the Recorder of Bedford.1

A writer in the new number of the 'Westminster Review' urges' the, public payment pf members of /Parliament.' we believe," says the 'Westminster?'1 that'every member of Parliament ought to receive a handsome salary—Boo a year at

lorst, perhaps 1000—imd'be bound to give the nation his undivided energies.- The law still subsists by which lie may claim wages from his constituents, but with modern -notions this cannot easily or generally be '-resuscitated. To be paid by them would be thought degrading, to be paid from the Queen's Treasury is an honour." Mr. Albert Smith has sold his narrative of his recent visit to China to Messrs. Iloutledge. Mr. Monckton Milnes, M.P., Mr. Tom Taylor, arid Mr. Theodore Martin, have consented to act as judges of the poems submitted in competition for the premium of £50 olYuved by the Crystal Palace Company for the best poem in honour of the poet Burns. Those gentlemen have already commenced their examination. The number of'works received up to the Ist of January—the period named in the conditions—amounted to no less than 600. The ' Ayr Observer' publishes the following letter fro;n Mr. Thomas Curlyie, addressed to its editor:— "Chelsea, 2nd of January, 1859.—Dear sir,—l very much approve your and Mr. Milnes' notion about the' Misses Begg, and I hope you will not fail to get it executed with all the energy and skill that are possible, and with corresponding success. Could all the eloquence that will be uttered over the world on the .25th January, or even all the tavern bills that will be incurred, but convert themselves into solid cash for those two interesting persons, what a sum were there of benefit received, and of loss avoided, to all the parties concerned! I think the question ought to be everywhere put, pointedly,'yet with due politeness, wherever, in Scotland or elsewhere, there is an assemblage of men met to express their admiration, tragic pity, &c, for Burns, what amount of mor.ey they will give to save from indigence these two neices of Burns?. The answer, virtual answer, which the question got in 1842, threw rather a dismal light to me on such assemblages; but they ought to be tried again, with more direct emphasis; and every shame will perhaps force them to do something towards saving indigent merit on the one hand, and saving on the other what is too truly a frightful (though eloquent) expenditure of payment to a certain locality we have all heard of! In much haste. I remain yours truly, T. Carlyle."'

It was announced a few weeks ago that the life of Geueral Sir W. Napier was despaired of. " His friends are now able to indulge the hope that he may be spared for some time longer to enjoy the honour and reputation which he has so well earned."

A Tekrible Dream.—A singular instance of delusion from the effects of a dream has recently occurred. Esther Griggs was charged at the Marylebone Police Court with the murder of her child. Sergeant Symmonds, on duty in East-street, heard a woman crying, "Oil save my children!" He'entered a house, and in an upper room found a woman in a night-dress repeating the cry. In the mean time an infant had been thrown from the window and fatally injured. The woman cried out, " Where's my baby? Have they caught it?" The woman had, she says, dreamed that the house was on fire, arid had jumped up and had 'thrown the baby through the window. The constables were of opinion she would have thrown her two other children into the street had they not arrived so opportunely. No evidence was given to show any intention tp commit murder. Mr. Broughton, however, remanded the woman, remarking that it would be most dangerous to lay down the doctrine that, because a person was dreaming whilst committing an offence, they were not culpable. The death of Lord Clyde's father took place on the 22nd December. The remains of the venerable old man were interred on the 27th, in Warriston Cemetery. .The funeral was strictly private. A monument to Duncan Ban Macintyre, the Gaelic poet, has recently been erected in Greyfriars' churchyard. By a large mass of the Gaelic-speaking population of the Higlunds Macintyre is regarded, in some respects, as at Burns, and'tho ' Scotsman' states that funds have been subscribed for the erection of another monument to the poet amid the striking scenery of his Glenorchy. At Glasgow, on New Year's Day, while the audience were leaving the pit of the Queen's Theatre, on the Green, a number of children were severely injured by the crush, several being knocked down aad trampled upon by the crowd, and one poor girl of about 14 years old, was killed by the effects of the pressure.

A singular story of the recovery of a marriagering is related by the ' Scotsman'-.— Last summer the wife of a miner-at Clifton, near the head of Loch Lomond, lost her marriage ring whilst engaged in putting in or building peats, and, notwithstanding that .every search was made for it at the time, it could not b3 found. About a fortnight ago the Cat brought a rat into the house, and around the necikof the rat was the missing marriage-ring. It is supposed, as rats are known to carry off coins or pieces of silver or gold, that the.ring had been taken to the rat's nest, where it had gone over the neck of one of the young on'is, and remained there until the animal had advanced in growth, aud curiously enough, been captured by the cat.

His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales has started on a tour on the Continent for some months. After this he is to go to Rome, where it is understood he will reside for some time to enable him to study the antiquities and objects of classical and artistic interest. He will travel incognito, and be accompanied by his Governor, Colonel Bruce; Captain Grey, Equerry in Waiting; the Rev. C. Tarver*, (Chaplain and Superintendent of the' prince's Studies), and Dr. T. Chambers. The Queen of Spain having conferred the Order of the Golden Fleece on the Prince of Wales, the Prince was lately invested at Windsor Castle.

Amidst the general festivity of Christmas day the inmates of the metropolitan workhouses and unions were not forgotten. Upwards of 60,000 men, women, and children, inmates of those establishments, were furnished with a plentiful dinner of roast beef, plum-pudding, and vegetables, and an allowance of porter. In addition, the aged men had gifts of.snutF and tobacco, and the women presents of snuff and tea. whilst the children were supplied with fruit and cakes. In some parishes the allowance was more than in others ; the average quantity allowed to each person was Boz. of meat, £ffi of bread, £335 of potatoes, 8 ozs. of pudding, and a pint of porter. In some, small sums of money were given in lieu of the presents of snuff and tobacco. In all, "the guardians used every effort to give some comfort to those who had the misfortune, on that usually joyous occasion, to be inmates of the metropolitan pauper establishments."

A very active subscription is going forward at present in London for the Field-lane Refuges for the Homeless. It has been shown in a very vivid manner, by articles and letters iii the 'Times,'within the last few days, how far the claims made on these charities exceed the means at their command.

'On Christmas-Eve a savage-murder was perpetrated in the tow,n of Derby. Two men, the one named Bland, the other Edwards, both of very doubtful repute, seem to have found it impossible either to avoid or tolerate each other's society. A few weeks ago they had even a regular stand-up fight. On Christmas Eve they met at a public-house. While they drank together, some old "grievance" was raked up. and they went into the yard to fight the quarrel out. The landlord, however, prevented the fight this time, and the two men returned to the tap-room. They had some more drink and shook hands ; but soon afterwards Bland mads a sudden plunge with a knife at the throat of Edwards, inflicting a frightful wound just beneath tho chin. Edwards died instantaneously. The assassin was taken into custody on the spot.

I)i\ William Engledue, of Southsea, si physician of considerable eminence, has committed suicide by swallowing a dose of prussic acid. He had during the past fortnight been "confined to his residence with symptoms of a dernnpement of tho digestive organs, which had produced great taciturnity even towards his family, and great depression of spirits. Dr. Engledue was the younger brother of C'apfni:i ,T. R. Engledue, supermtemk'nf of the Peninßuhr and Oriental "Steam Packet Company's ships at Southampton. A case of Lynch Irw has occurred down at Reading. This peculiar kind of Judicature is very unusual in England, and the circumstances of the present case supply ' art unusual excuse. A girl named Mary.Newell was tried a, fortnight ago for drowning her illegitimate child. The poor girl did

it in a frenzy of desperation at being- treated harshly by her seducer, who refused to assist ber or to support the child. S!ie was convicted, with a strong recommendation to mercy, and sentence of death was passed on her in the usual form. During the progress of the trial a general feeling of sympathy was evinced for the young woman, and this became the more intense when Francis, the seducer, gave his evidence, in which lie admitted that lie was the father of the murdered child, and had refused io render assistance or afford shelter to the young woman on the night she called upon him, after walking eight miles with the child. Immediately after the trial finished, and the unfortunate youm* woman was sentenced to death, .Francis left the hall, and proceeded to the Great Western Railway station, to go by train to Wallingfbrd, where ho lias taken up his residence since the tragic affair. Ho was followe 1 by a mob, which increased as it approached the station, the feeling becoming irresistible to wreak vengeance 'upon the fellow who had first seduced the young woman and then wholly and unmercifully abandoned her. He was at length thrown into a stream, where he was compelled to remain up to his neck in water fora considerable time. Ultimately some gentlemen interfered, and supplied him with the means of getting by train to Wallingford, he having had all the money shaken or. taken out of his pockets by some person or persons in the crowd. She has since been respited.

There is at present iii process of erection at Burton-on-Trent, a brewery which, when completed, will cover nearly four acres of land, and present a facade of more than a quarter of a mile in length. This brewery,.which has been designed for Messrs. Samuel Allsop and Sons, is intended for the exclusive production of East-India pale ale, for which beverage the demand, both home and foreign, lias of late so largely increased that all existing means of supply have altogether failed. In proof of this fact it may.be' mentioned that recently, when the Council for India invited tenders for 36,000 hogsheads of pale ale for the troops in India, only about half the quantity was competed for, and that portion chiefly by London brewers. Messrs. Allsop's new brewery adjoins the railway station at Burton, and will-form an important addition to the industrious establishments of that busy town. There are at present nearly 500 artisans employed upon the works, which are to be completed, under a heavy fine, early in February next. The contract for the shell, or first portion of the building, amounted to £83,400. .

Messrs. Newall & Co., of Birkenhead and London, have liad entrusted to them the important duty of manufacturing the-cable for the Indian and.Australian submarine telegraph. The cable has been, manufactured at the Birkenhead works, and is now ready for shipment.

In the new catalogue of the British Museum the authorship of the famous " Vestiges of Creation" has been attributed to Mr. Robert Chambers, of Edinburgh. " The Bookseller," we observe, is now authorised to deny that Mr. Chambers is the author of that work. It says that what probably.gave rise to the"report in the first instance was the fact ttutt some of the proof sheets were forwarded to him.

With regard to the Irish viceroyalty the ' Derry Journal' publishes the following extract from a London letter. The subject referred to lias been a current topic in Dublin tor several days past, and an article in the Sunday organ of the late ministry has given strength to the rumour that some move is on the tapis in the direction indicated:—"l have learned that correspondence has been going on between the Irish office here and officials—and others outside tiie official circle—on the subject of the viceroyalty, and from what has reached my ear I have no hesitation in saying that the abolition of the office is determined upon. Don't understand me as saying that the Government will originate a bill with this object in view. They will do nothing of this straightforward nature; but they are aware that a bill will be brought before the House of Commons by an independent member—not Mr. Roebuck this time—and the members of the Government will give no opposition, either in its incipient or other stages. So far, then, as the ministry are concerned, the Lord Lieutenancy of Ireland will cease to he one of the institutions of the country before the lapse of another year."

Mr. Justice Willes is about to retire from his position of one of the judges-of the Court of-Com-mon Pleas, and the present is, in all probability, the last term in which lie will take his seat on the bench, of that court. Since the establishment of the Court; of Probate and Divorce, the business has gradually accumulated until it has at length outstripped the powers of the Judge ordinary (Sir Cresswell Cresswell) to deal with it. It is intended at the com-., mencement of next term to appoint a second Judge of the Probate and Divorce Court, so that two courts may sit at the same time, and this office Mr. Justice Willes has accepted. The Judgeship of.the Court of Common Pleas, which will' become vacant by the transference of Mr. Justice Willes to tho Court of .Probate .and Divorce, will, it js .expected, be conferred upon Mr. Kenneth Macaulay, Q.X?., member for the borough of Ca.mbridge.4 '■■■''.','. .."."