The New Zealander.

New Zealander, Volume 5, Issue 372, 7 November 1849, Page 2

The New Zealander.

Be JMbt ('ml le.ii nut: Let all the eudh tlion miiib't at, be tliy Gauntry's, 'J i«v (io»' £ and Truth's.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 18 49'

By the\4von,] which} anived here on Sunday from Sydney, we are put in possession of several back numbers of the Journals of the neighbouring colonies ; and by the New Zealand Company's ship kelso, from London to New Plymouth, we have English intelligence to the 4th of July inclusive — being, however, only a few days later than that which had previously reached us. The most inteiesting news from England is the resuHof the election for the city of London. Baron Rothschild having accepted the Chiitern Hundreds on the rejection of the " Parliamentary Oaths Bill" by the House of Lords, immediately offered himself again as a candidate. Lord John Manners was put forward as his opponent. The nomination took place on the 2nd July, and the palling on the 3rd, when the " Jew candidate" was returned by a majority of 3,515 — the numbers being, Rothschild 6,619; Manners 3,104-. This was a far. higher majority than was ever attained by any former candidate — and, it is believed, it would have been still higher, had it not been that many were so certain of the result, that they <Jid not take the trouble of Toting. Thus the House of Peers and the metropolitan constituency, supported by a majority in the House of Commons, are formally arrayed against each other on the question of the admission of Jews to Parliament. There can be little doubt, we apprehend, that the Peers will yield. The issue of the unprincipled aggression of the French on Roman liberty remained undetermined at the latest date. Despatches from General Oudinot, dated Santucci, June 24, contain details of the siege operations against Rome to the 23rd inclusive, but nothing decisive had resulted, excepting that the walls of the city had begun to give way in several places. A third edition of the (London) Morning Herald of July 4, states however that on the preceding (lay M. Odilon Barrot had

announced to the French Assembly that on the 30th of June the Roman Assembly had come to a resolution that the city could be no longer defended, and that the municipality had accordingly sent delegates to General Oudinot to treat for a surrender. This will probably be found the fact, as the Romans could have had little prospect of maintaining a long resistance to the force marshalled against them — a force which, according to the most recent account, was receiving rapid augmentations, and was about to be increased to 50,000 men, under the command-in-chief (it was believed) of General Bedeau, who had already left Paris for Rome. It is likely then that the " Eternal City" has surrendered to its invaders ; but it needs no prophet to predict that its capitulation is only "the beginning of the end."

Our intelligence from California is both more copious and more recent than we are usually favoured with. We make some extracts today, and shall continue them on Saturday. Although the accounts are in several respects inconsistent, if not contradictory, they substantially bear out the view for which we have always contended, — that, with some inducements which are undoubtedly of a very attractive character, the " Gold Region " presents much — very much— to deter and almost to terrify intending emigrants. We have before us letters received in this town which give a view of the state of California, which we make prominent in this part of our paper, because we have reason to believe that the channel through which they come is trustworthy. One writer says, — "We arrived here (at San Francisco), after a passage of 97 days, and I cannot give expression to my feelings as to the horrible place I had come to. In the first place, when our vessel dropped anchor, all our crew ran away, and we were compelled to discharge our cargo ourselves. There are very few houses here : we live under a sail. If you want anything to eat, the price is six shillings pej* meal, and not of a very dainty kind. Very bad meat is from 9d. to Is. per lb.; washing, 325. per dozen. At present there is no chance of our getting from this horrible place, but pleaEe God we expect to get away in about three months. Sailors are getting from 150 to 200 dollars per month ; carpenters, 1 2 dollars per day ; board and lodging, 6 dollars per day." Another says, — " On landing I heard the most wonderful statements of the mines. In fact, the accounts were such that it was impossible ; to withstand the temptation of visiting them ; and as you will see, no other course was left to a young man coming without merchandise. No house or covering of any kind was come-at-able in the town ; the. few wooden houses were occupied by the richest merchants, and other pecple were crowded in tents. I enquired at the Post Office if there was any communication with New South Wales, and was told it could only be through England, via New York. I accordingly wrote home to my mother, stating my position, and my intention of visiting the mines, — which are situated by land and water conveyance about 250 miles from the town. After making the necessary arrangements, I joined a party and started ; and to my sorrow, I experienced another to the many disappointments I have met with in life. It was quite true that gold was obtainable, but at the risk of health, life, and starvation, the shelter of heaven being the only covering, — the heat of the sun excessive, — fever and ague — and the great gains greatly exaggerated, a half or quarter of an ounce of gold a day being the gains of the most expert and robust miners, and that is just sufficient to pay their rations. So after looking at affairs with an awful disappointment, I and the rest were obliged to abandon such a life and prospect, and returned to town risking the dangers ~ of the Indians, and the fatigues and sufferings of travelling. At present,! am doing nothing, and although wages for carpenters only, and labourers is eaonnously high, still a crust in S dney is far p referable. Living is enormously high, and I can forsee perhaps great misfortunes, for thousands are coming fiom every part of the world : 80,000 are expected from the United States,, 150,000 from South America, and tens of thousands from other parts of the world. And you must understand that this country produces nothing in the shape of provisions. Bad and dear meat. So what the end will be only God knows. You may perhaps receive very flourishing accounts of this place in Sydney and elsewheie, but you may depend upon it this is a true one. The town is stocked with goods, and the enormous duties levied by the government on English goods will destroy their importations. On the arrival of ships they are immediately deserted by all their crews, and left like logs on the water. What is to be the fate of the hundreds of vessels from the States and elsewhere ; the Lord only knows, the ships boats being worth more than the ships." For the present, we leave these homely but striking statements, by persons who have seen and felt what they describe, to make thetr own impression, without comment of ours.

The late hour at which the Government Galette ha* come into our hands prevent! oar i doing more with reference to its contents just now, than finding a place for an important despatch from Earl Grey to Governor Grey on the Exile question ; and thus, in a

single sentence, congratulating our readers on this quieting of the apprehensions which were extensively — and not without reason — entertained, that New Zealand might be added to the list of penal colonies.

Wesleyan Day School. — A public examination of the children of this School took place on Monday before the Wesleyan Ministers of the district and a number of respectable inhabitants of the town and neighbourhood, in the school-room connected with the chapel. About 120 children were present. They were examined in the usual branches of secular instruction, and also in the Wesleyan catechisms, in all of which, as well in the repetition of lengthened portions of Scripture, and in the singing of hymns, they acquitted themselves in a manner which was highly gratifying not only to their own friends but to,the friends of education generally, and which spokewell for the ability and diligence ,of ,#[i\ and Mrs. « Hurry, the master and mistress of the school, i The Rev. A. Reid, of the Wesleyan Native j Institution, Thtee Kings, also questioned them for some time according to the plan of the j Glasgow Training system (every additional exhibition of which manifests more clearly its admirable adaptation to the development of the mental powers of the pupils) ; and the answering of the children afforded satisfactory evidence that they had not merely learned a number of lessons by rote, but that they understood the words they used, and were progressing in the acquirement of real and practical information. The visitors generally gave" expres* sion to the pleasure with which they observed the advancement of the scholars in the learn - ing which is beneficial not merely for time — but also in the knowledge which is of paramount importance to responsible beings destined to live in eternity. We are grat fied to hear that the school is now so prosperous as to be self 'supporting, even at the low rates charged for tuition ; and we trust that its usefulness will be yet more generally extended, — as, although it is denominational in so far as being avowedly connected with the Wesleyan Church, it is designed by those who undertook and who still are accountable for its maintenance, to be open to all who may think fit to avail themselves of its advantages.

Wesleyan Missionary Tea. Meeting. — The Tea Party given on Monday evening by the members and friends of the Wesleyan Church to the Missionaries assembled- -in this- town attheir annual District Meeting, was attended by a number sufficient to iill the large school-room to what would have been inconvenience, but for the excellence of the arrangements, and the regularity and harmony with which they were carried out. The Rev. Tfios. Buddle presided very acceptably and effectively. In the course of the evening, addresses were delivered by the Rev. Messrs. Hobbs, Buttle, Whiteley, and »Sm\les of the New Zealand mission, and the Rev. Mr. Watsford, of the Feejee mission. Various deeply interesting statements were made illustrative of the progress of religion amongst the natives, and of their zeal and liberality in its support ; and Mr. Watsford gave some especially thrilling details of the revolting cannibalism and cruelty prevailing in Feejee, and also of the equally cheering and astonishing effects of the Gospel there. After prayer by the Rev. J. Buller, the meeting- separated — all feeling that this social and religious occasion had been found both pleasurable and profitable.

New Zealand Flax. — We have received t he following communication from Mr. Holman, of Wangarei, whose persevering efforts in cleansing the Phonnium Tenax we have already, on more than one occasion, noticed. We understand that the model designed to illustrate this plan is nearly completed, and will, in a few days, be exhibited, when pracical men will be enabled to> form an opinion of the adaptation of the scheme to its proposed object better than they could do from any merely verbal descripion. Meanwhile, the su bjoined letter will be read with interest : —

To the Editor of the New Zealander. Sir, — Having promised several of my friendi to bring before the public my plan for' cleaning the New Z aland Flax, allow me, through the columns of your paper, to give a general outline of the plan adapted by me for that purpose, and alio a few remarks on the plant itself. It is now six years since I turned my attention to the prepatin* of flax, conceiving it to be of great importance to the colony that an available export be procured, and feeling assured that it will repay the exertions of any one who may be fortunate enough to discover the means of making the article in question marketable. I have, therefore, for the last thirteen months, devoted my time and attention to the object before u» ; and, lam happy to say, it has been attended with success. Although the article is not of he finest quality, yet it is iiiirketabld and meets with eady sale at a paying price. My objec , first of all, was to produce by the simplest moans an article that would find sale and pay expences of working, trusting to time and longer practice for the finer material. Attention should be paid to the cultivating the plant, si, I have no doubt, the flax may be much improved by it; in fact tome few handfuls of native cultivated flax that I have been able to procure, has confirmed me in that opinion. The cultivation of the /lax will not be found expensive, as it will grow almost anywhere, and one fartoff every four feet with a plough would be suffici* ent. Ido not think it neceuary to break the whole of the'ground up for that purpose at that would teud to increase the expence and deter parties from trying the experiment. 1 The mode adopted by me for cleaning flax is as follows :— the flax is cut by the natives and brought to tils mill, where two Europeans are to receive it and pass it through the first process of scraping and hackling it by

means of the mill ; it is then tied in bundles, c* h weighing about lib. when dry, and then put into tha mill. dam and let lay there until the gum ii dissoWed, which will take from ten days to twenty-one days : it is then taken from the water and passed through a pair of pliin roi'ers, with a ton pressure on them ; then wtishad and dried ; it ii then fit for market. Particular care should he taken in selecting the flax ; the thinner and mure flexible you find the leaf, the more fldx will be produced from it. The fl.ix which the plant contains it not the only valuable or useful property it has ; as there it alio a larsje quantity of »urn which may be found useful at a manure glue, it not being loluble in water when heat has been applied to it. Alto, the gam used with tome of the refuse fl x would make felt for ships' bottoms or tops of houses, a specimen of which I have in town with me. The model is in a forward state, and will be ready for inspection in a few days— notice of which will be giveo. By inserting this in your paper, you will oblige Yous obedient serrant, H. C. HoLMAK. Auckland, Not. 6th, 1849. *