Miscellaneous.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XI, Issue 681, 18 May 1859, Page 5

Miscellaneous.

Punishment of the, Sjtoweb-Bath in ixiEßlCA.—Great excitement existed in the Auburn State Prison on. Thursday, the second instant, resulting almost in a perfect outbreak among, the convicts of that institution. The: factsiare as follows : —A negro convict, harried More, on Wedneslay, was overheard muttering threats against a Foreman in his shop (the hame shop), and was seen sharpening a knife. The foreman, deeming his life in danger, immediately entered a ;complaint against More, when the latter was taken to his cell and jonfined until about 10 o'clock Thursday forenoon, when he was removed by his keeper, Baker, and he deputy-warden, B. P. ,Gr.ulick,.tp-be-taken to ;he shower-bath for punishment. As More tras being taken from : his cell .in one of the wings of the prison, he broke away from his keeper, Iran down into the centre;yard, and fled to his! shop. |A convict from the m'achinersliop. pursued and |caught him as he was in the act of entering the jjjshop. The keeper and deputy warden seized More, Iconveyed^ him to the shower-bath, pinioned and jpthrnst him into the rack, and" amid the shoutings land pleadings of the poor helpless negro, let "three parrels of water on to his: head; the punishment, |as Baker afterwards testified,: occupying half-an-ihour. After all the water, wastused up on the negro he was taken from the bath fainting and dying, and immediately carried to. the hospital, where he died in five minutes after his admittance. Tlie fact of his death became known at once in the prison, and at 5 o'clock p.m., as the convicts were inarching to their cells from-the shops, the:companies from the hame and .machine shops caught sight of-the convict who assisted in catching More as he was flying to. his shop, and immediately broke their ranks, and, in a body, rushed after him crying "Kill him!" "Kill him!" The convict iiv-maged to evade them, and after the most intense^ excitement the riot was subdued, and the rioters securely locked in their cells. Coroner Stiltzer held an inquest on the body-of the deceased More. Baker, the keeper, swore that More was ■naturally good natured;,always laughing, but that |when crossed in his purposes his temper was terrible ; that he was perfectly healthy, robust, and |active; that he went into the bath with great reluctance, and was put in, his limbs adjusted, and I his head secured in the hopper only by the united | exertions of three strong men. Baker also testified | that More received three barrels of water, and that I he cursed and threatened, begged and intreated dv- ! ring the punishment; that when taken from the bath he appeared « kind a weak like," and could i hardly stand when they wiped him, and threw some [blankets over him; that in a few minutes he fell over, gasping aiv was conveyed to the hospital. Dr. Cnarles G Van Anden, the physician of the pnson, swore that More gasped but once after entering the^ hospital, and died in five minutes from the time of his adm.ssion. The jury, an intelligent body of eight men, only six of whom were connected, directly or indirectly,with the prison, rendered ! a verdict on the case quite peculiar under the circumstances A fter reciting the appearance of the body ol the deceased, as examined by Drs Van Andeu and Wilkie, " which, was extremely healthy m all its parts," the verdict is, that the death of the deceased was "undoubtedly hastened by the application of the shower-bath/as administered at the hands of his keeper and the deputy warden." Wellington College, near Sandhurst, was to be opened by her Majesty in person, on the 26th of I January.

An Antidote of Questionable Value.-— Dr. Beck, of Dantzio, has just made a curious discovery. He has found an antidote, or rather a counter-poison for .ardent spirits. It is a mineral paste which he encloses in an olive, and which once ahsorbed destroys not only the rising, effect, but likewise the disastrous consequences of drunkenness. He tried several experiments, cm a Pole, an irreclaimable drunkard." The, individual, ■ named Radevil, swallowed three bottles of brandy in succession, and after each bottle ate an olive prepared by the doctor. He experienced. neither. the effect of drunkenness nor the slightest sickness. Collusion in Divorce" Matters.—At the meeting of the Law' Amendment Society, on Monday, an important letter was read from. _ Lord Brougham on a defect which he considers exists in the Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Court. His lordship alleges that no provision has been made .in the.Act.for the detection of conspiracy or collusion between the husband and wife, and he appears to think that the -only chance of protection to the Court is to make the Attorney-General, or his representative, a party to all divorce cases. / : The Emperor of the French is about .to increase the number of his receptions. The high functionaries of the State and the ladies of their.families will be received on Tuesdays and Thursdays. On the same days will be given a grand dinner, to which all the wives of general officers will be successively invited with their husbands. ..'.' . The non-commissioned officer of the 14th regiment of" French horse artillery, who was sent to Windsor by the Emperor'of the French, with the splendid piece of ordnance as a present to her Majesty, had the misfortune to get his leg ; broken. He was cared for at the Queen's expense till convalescent, and presented by_ her Majesty with a splendid gold watch and chain. , A letter from Rome in the 'Independence' of Brussels state that a tranalation of " TJncle Tom's Cabin" has been published in that city, but that the Protestant sentiments expressed in the work have been changed into Romish ones,; Thus, the reason assigned for the cruel whipping of Tom by the ferocions Legree is that Tom believed, in the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception/ ".

The weekly consumption. of water in Liverpool is stated to be 75,514,023 gallons. ; ; : ■

At Chatham, another screw-steamer of war will shortly be launched, of 300 horse-power, and mounting 91 gnns. The Channel squadron is to be augmented by the addition of twelve sail of the line. ..:,:. , , .. •

T!ie subscription for the Wallace ■ monument amounts to upwards of £4000, and moiiey is. still coming in. Designs have been called for, and the drawings are to be publicly exhibited, so as to elicit general opinion as to their respective merits. Her Majesty's Government have at length resolved to comply with the prayer which both Houses of Parliament presented in their last session, and abolish all the services for the State holidays, with the exception of that appointed for the anniversary of her Majesty's accession. The first copy of Burns' Poems issued from the press was presented by the bard.himself to Hugh Morton, a fellow-ploughman on the farm of Lochlie. The volume is now in the keeping of John Morton, of Riccarton, near Kilmarnock, son. of the above named party. It is stated in the Irislv papers that the abolition of the Viceregal office of Lord Lieutenant has positively been determined upon. The christening of the twenty-sixth child of a couple named Wonters, residing at Lierre, in Belgium, took place lately.; Twenty-two of the offspring of this prolific couple are still living. Ministers, it seems, intend to ask for a considerable increase in the naval estimates early in the approaching session. ' , Colonel Henry M. Durand, C.8., of the Bengal Engineers, has been elected a member of the Council of India. ;:-

The Prince of Wales arrived at Frankfort on the evening of January the 14th; He left next morning for Italy, by way of Munich. ; .

Queen Christina, the Duke de Rianzares, two of their children, and a suite of thirty-three persons, had arrived at Marseilles on their wayto Rome.

Atshbrt time ago it was resolved to throw open the Crystal Palace and grounds on Sunday after- ; noons to the shareholders of the company". On the 19th of January a meeting was held at the Bridge House Hotel, London, forrescinding this resolution. A ballot having been taken, -there was found to be 17,021 votes against the motion; it was consequently declared by the chairman (Mr. Farfluhar) that the palace and grounds would' be open as heretofore. The numbers were—Eor rescinding the.resolutionpersonal votes, 6731; proxies, 68,026; total, 75,764. Against rescinding the resolution—Personal votes, .16,268pproxies, 76,517; total, 99,785. 'Galignani' states that a battalion; of the 70tli Regiment had been caught in a violent snowstorm, on their march to. Coristantia. Twenty-two' of the men perished, and on the survivors'reaching their, ■destination sixty were obliged to go into hospital with their hands and feet frost-bitten. Interpreters are being selected by the Government for Japan, and a corps of officials is shortly to sail for that distant region. Among the corps are several young men who go out expressly for the purpose of learning the Japanese language; and studying the manners and customs of the people, so, as to act as iDterpreters, and be otherwise.useful to British subjects settling in or trading with that country. Whether by design or accident (says the ' Glasgow Herald,') we know not, but: it is certain one of .the future interpreters lias been brought from the heart of the Highlands, where the Gaelic language is spoken in, its purity. ■••■': ■-•'. The native Indian • addresses to the Queen, in auswer to her Majesty's proclamation, have been published in the ' London Gazette.' , Their spirit is universally loyal. Mazai Pacha, the general commanding at. Roustouk, and second son ot Rescind Pacha, was lately thrown from an open carriage in which he was taking an airing, and alighting under the wheels of a heavily laden cart, which passed over his body, he was killed on the spot. ■■■■;.; The Queen has contributed, through the Bishop of London, £100 to^the funds of the Metropolitan Relief Association, v - On the 20th, Messrs. Newall and Co. were to send off from Liverpool, in two ships, the cable manufactured by them for the Indian telegraph. It is reported that Cardinal Wiseman for nearly two years has been' suffering from diabetes which is gradually growing npon him. Serious riots amongst the militia stationed in Edinburgh had taken .place The most active amongst the rioters have been taken up and promptly dealt with, receiving sentences varying from thirty days to two years.