COLONIAL INTELLIGENCE.

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume I, Issue 47, 28 January 1843, Page 188

COLONIAL INTELLIGENCE.

Capital Punishment. — In England and Wales, with a population of 16,000,000, in 1839, there were eleven executions ; ten for murder, and one for an attempt to murder his wife by poisoning : and, in 1840, there were only nine executions, all for aggravated cases of murder. It may not be out of place at the present time to contrast with this the number of executions that have lately occurred in this colony :—ln: — In New South Wales, for the last four months, there have been three at Port Phillip and five at Sydney. The same proportion, taking the population of each into account, would give no less than 3,000 executions a r year in England and Wales ! — Geelong Advertiser. Steam Communication. — Mr. Whytelaw, of Sydney, is now on a visit to New Zealand, for the purpose of making preliminary arrangements for regular and constant communication between the two colonies. — Ibid. State of Melbourne. — The change in the aspect of affairs in Melbourne has been lately of a most dismal description. It almost seems as if Shakspere's prophecy were' to be realized, in a commercial sense, when the* great firms themselves Shall pass away, And all that they inherit shall dissolre, ' And, like the baseless fabric of a vision, Leave not a wreck behind." Better times have been so long looked forward to in vain, that a feeling of despondency appears to have usurped the place of Hope. Instead of asking the questions, " Who is gone ?" " Who is going ?" and " Who are likely to go ?" it is more appropriate to ask " Who will be able to Btand?" No one can answer the question, affirmatively for himself; and how can we rely on each other ? The times are of the most critical description ; the whole system of commerce being in such a tottering state that " Even the "lightest touch might urge Its headlong passage o'er the verge." We have heard a number of Melbourne houses particularized as being in such a situation ; but there is no occasion to anticipate the approach of evil tidings, as they are proverbially known to fly too fast. The most remarkable rumour is that respecting a leading limb of the law, who has, a la Dutton, been " carrying on right and left." We hope that ample contradiction will, ere long, be given to the report. 'To rely upon rumour is to play with an edge-tool, and we therefore wait in patience the arrival of the catastrophe to the eventful drama now in course of action upon the stage of the commercial world. — Ibid. If a stranger, on visiting the metropolis of Australia felix, is asked what he thinks of the place, the reply, in nine cases out of ten, will be, "It is getting on too fast by half, sir ; the people are beginning where they should end." »As such opinions are strengthened by a Lord Burleigh shake of the head, the speaker gets infinite credit n for his sagacity, and both the hearer and the heard lose themselves in conjectures as to when the prosperity of Melbourne shall pass d\vay, and, unlike the " baseless fabric of a vision," leave many " wrecks behind." We, however, in awarding due praise to the advocates of an opinion so oft " crammed into our ears 'gainst the stomach of our sense," are free to confess the possession of ideas directly opposite. We have the hardihood to avouch our belief that, with a rapidly-increasing export trade, and our imports day by day decreasing in all those articles which can be deemed material to man's existence, Melbourne is not " getting on too fast," but is, by its speedy acquisition of importance, affording indubitable evidence of the wealth and energy of its inhabitants, and of the unsurpassed fertility of the country to the produce of which it forms the outlet. It is to be wished that those wiseacres who are so ready to predict our downfall would reflect that, were the evidences of our prosperity unreal, the monetary panic which, like a fearful plague, has crippled and almost crushed the energies of surrounding settlements, and from which even we are not scathless, would ere this have palsied the efforts of the most vigorous, and left us as an example and a warning to repress the enterprise of colonies in all time' coming. In proof that such is not our case, we can triumphantly point to the stately edifices which, even in our present depression, are springing up on every side. — Port Phillip Patriot. The Bubble Bank. — The robbery of Major Lockyer, of Kissing Point, Parramatta River, of his whole property, to the amount of about £25,000, by Mr. Boucher, on the part of the British and Australasian Bank, who purchased it for their bills, returned protested, which reduced the unfortunate gentleman to ruin, was brought before the Court of Chancery on the 28th July. — Ibid. Twofold Bay. — His Excellency the Governor has been pleased to direct it to be notified, for general information, that a settlement at Twofold Bay will be opened to location in the commencement of the month of March, 1843, and that some town allotments, as well as grazing lanJs, will be sold as early in that month as circumstances will admit of. The sale will take place in Sydney, in the usual manner ; and further notice will be given as soon as the particulars are received from the SurveyorGeneral. — Government Gazette. Infamous Proceeding. — During the proceedings of the Supreme Court, on Wednesday last, an anonymous letter was delivered, per post, to his Honour the Judge, on the bench. It, threatened that his honour would be burnt in effigy, as a Guy Fawkes, before he left the district. There can 3>e but one opinion of the contemptible and scandalous miscreant who could thuft outrage the dignity of the bench and disgrace 6uf -province. No man, who sincerely wished the acrimoniei and] animosities which here recently be*n displayed in tfeis place to

subside, could possibly commit such an act; itself incendiary of the highest nature — no gentleman ever writes an anonymous letter. — Port Phillip Gazette, Nov. 26. The Times. — We have much pleasure in calling attention to the fact that times are decidedly improving; trade generally is assuming a more healthy tone, and the bill or kite system is daily losing ground. The spirit of litigation is not raging with such ferocity among us, the prevalence of which is a sure sign of a debased people ; and the lawyers, getting up the cry of " the craft in danger," have been compelled to form themselves into an association for the mutual defence and protection of each other. In short, matters with us are much better than r."2 had reason to expecQ considering how suddenly and how deeply we were engulphed in commercial distress. Providence has blessed us with a most favourable season for cultivating the soil. There is more than double the number of acres of land under cultivation this year than there t was lastj and the season has been 4nx>r*.thafi usually favourable for getting in the crops'; and the occasional showers at short intervals, together with the many atmospheric changes from heat to cold, which we have lately experienced, are peculiarly adapted for bringing them to an abundant maturity. This year's clip of wool will also exceed that of any former year by at least fifty per cent. — Port Phillip Herald. Bad Times (From good authority). — Convinced as we have for a considerable time been, both from official records and private information, that the monetary affairs of the province are in a very depressed state, we confess we were not prepared to hear that our condition is so bad as it appears, from the opinion of his Honour Judge Willis, they are. His honour stated from the bench on Tuesday, that " the whole town was insolvent." This is certainly rather consolatory. — Melbourne Times. Government Land Sale. — We are happy in being able to state that, out of the 68 allotments of government land put up to auction on Wednesday last, only one of 648 acres was purchased, and that at the minimum price of £1 per acre. Ihis will prove more incontestibly than almost any other evidence that experience has taught the colonists a useful lesson ; and it forms the best grounds of hope that the district will be ere long in a much more prosperous state than it ever yet has been, parties being more disposed to make the lands productive which they have purchased than to exhaust their means in the attainment of additional tracts which they are unable to cultivate or otherwise turn to profitable account. — Ibid.