The New=Zealander.

New Zealander, Volume 6, Issue 481, 23 November 1850, Page 2

The New=Zealander.

Be just and fear not : Let all the ends tliou aims't at, be thy Country's, Thy God's, and Truth's.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 1850.

We have English intelligence, via California, coming down to so recent a date as the 31st of July. As it is presented to us almost exclusively, however, in the summaries of the San Francisco papers, which, we apprehend, are themselves only abridgments of similar digests in the journals of the United States, they, as might have h.en expected, are very meagre in their communication of properly English news, on many points which are of interest to us, but of comparatively little value in the estimation of American readers. A similar defect exists, .though to a less extent, in the Colonial intelligence received via Hobart Town by the Adelaide, which, though not of so recent Home dates as that brought by the Arabia, reaches to the Bth of July. We shall endeavour to collate the statements in the several papers, so as to compile from them whatever we can glean of such information as ma^ interest our own readers. The Duke of Cambridge is dead. We have nothing beyond the mere mention of the event. His Royal Highness Prince Adolphus Fue derick had attained the good old age of se-venty-six years, having been born on the 24th of February, 1774. Lord John Russell and his Cabinet were still sailing through troubled waters, — able to retain the helm partly no doubt because of the difficulty — rendered so much greater by Sir Robert Peel's death — of finding a pilot to whom the country would with confidence entrust it. After the condemnation pronounced by the House of Lords on Lord Pal^erst-on's policy on the Greek question, Mr. Roebuck brought the subject before the House of Commons by a motion affirming his Lordship's policy to be calculated to "maintain the honour anddignity of the country,and, in times of unexampled difficulty, to preserve peace between England and the various nations of Europe." The motion was carried by a majority of 46, and so far a vote of cofidence in the Cabinet was secured, which averted the necessity of their resignation. But the success of LordDESART's amendment on the Irish Parliamentaty Voters' Bill (for raising the franchise from £8 to £15) had led to the withdrawal of that measure, the principle of which the Ministers declared was destroyed by this alteraton. They had also withdrawn the Mercantile Marine Bill, the Amended Encumbered Estates Bill, and — as we read with greater surprise — the Bill for the Abolition of the Lord Lieutenancy of Ireland. Considerable opposition was raised to parts (we are not told what parts) of the Budget ; but on this point they were resolved to make a stand, and, if necessary, appeal to the country upon it — a threat which there can be little doubt would, in the existing state of party affairs, go far of itself to secure a majority.

A motion by Mr. Cayley, for the repeal of the Malt-tax, had been rejected by a majority of 247 against 123. A motion, by Mr. Anstey, for a committee to enquire into the right of local authorities to open or retain letters addressed by convicts to official persons in England — founded on the alleged interception by Lientenant-Governor Denison of a letter written by Smith OBrien to the Mover himself — was carried by a majority of 28. Several speakers urged the early granting of a free pardon to O'Brien. A paragraph in one of the last papers, however, states that he was to be removed from Maria Island to Hobart Town, and there kept in close confinement. The admission of Baron Rothschild to his seat for London was carried on the 29th of July by a large majority ; but it was stated that a difficulty presented itself when he came forward to take the oath, inasmuch as he could not, being a Jew, swear " on the true faith of a Christian." We think this report can scarcely be accurate, as those very words always constituted the main barrier to his admission, and any vote of the House which retained them as obligatory must have been seen beforehand to be ineffectual to meet his case. However, such is the only statement before us — with this addition, that the {speaker directed the Baron to withdraw, when a prolonged debate on the question was again raised, the issue of which has not reached us. We have no information respecting the changes in the relations and prospects of political parties which might have been looked for in consequence of the death of Sir Robert Peel, unless we take as such, a statement that Mr. Gladstone had been formally recognized as the Protectionist Leader in the House of Commons, " after shaking hands with Mr. D'lsßAELi,who consents to act under him as his second." The preparations for the Great Exhibition of , 1851 were going forward steadily and prosperously. The subscriptions had reached to from £60,000 to £70,000 actually received, and large sums were sdll expected from the Provinces. The immense number of 245 plans for the Building had bien sent in, but not one of them fully met the views of the Commissioners, who preferred making selections from them to form the plan. It had been announced that the Exhibition would not be kept open longer than the Ist of November, 1851. It had been anticipated that the Queen and Prince Albert would visit Ireland, with the intention of passing a few days at Killarney, and being present at a Regatta at Cork on the 2nd of August. Not improbably, however, the death ot Her Majesty's Royal Uncle might have altered the arrangement. 1 Sir Thomas Wilde had been raised to the Woolsack, vacant by the resignation of Lord Cottenham. The health of the King of the French was in a very precarious condition, the symptoms causing great anxiety regarding the ultimate results. He was confined to his room at the Victoria Hotel, St. Leonard's. M. Thiers had visited him, and, of course, rumour was busy in conjectures as to the object of the visit. It was contemplated to erect a monument to Sir Robert Peel in Westminster Abbey. The present Sir Robkrt had been elected member for Tamworth without opposition. Pate, the miscreant who struck the Queen, had been tried. A plea of insanity was urged on his behalf, but unsuccessfully, as appears from his sentence — seven years' transportation. Samuel Rogers, the poet, had been knocked down by a cab, and his thigh-bone broken. He had been offered the Laureateship, but declined the honour on account of his great age (37). The Lord Mayor of London had given a sumptuous Masonic Dinner at the Mansion House, at which were present not only the Grand Officers and many of the Masters of Lodges in the London district, but a great number of Provincial Grand Masters and Deputy Grand Masters from all parts of the United Kingdom. The gathering is represented as having been extremely brilliant. The appearance of the crops in England and Wales was most satisfactory. A similar report is given from Ireland, especially with respect to potatoes, which were already coming in abundantly and of excellent quality, and of flax, which was more than commonly promising.

An agreeable connecting link between the preceding epitome of English news and the .Foreign European intelligence which we now proceed to notice in a few of the leading particulars, is the full adjustment of the differences between France and England to which we lately referred. A grand diplomatic dinner had been]given in celebration of the restoration of friendship between the two Governments. France itself, however, was in considerable political turmoil. Dissatisfaction with the new Electoral Act had been stimulated on its being ascertained that it would disfranchise about two-thhds of the whole body of electors. In Paris the number of electors is 74,000 ; under the old law it amounted to 240,000. The personal popularity of the President had been much impaired by the proposition ,laid before the Assembly to increase his salary from 1,200,000 francs to 3,000,000 francs. Many believed that the prospect of

obtaining this great augmentation of income to extricate him from his pecuniary difficulties, had been his inducement to concur in the mea- ( sure for destroying that universal suffrage by which he had been placed in office 5 and the London Daily News severely reproached him with having committed " an act of political suicide, as complete as ever was committed by the most forlorn of bankrupts" — a virtual "abdication," which " wants alike the grandeur of sacrifice and the sublimity of despair.". .A young man named George A. Walki-.r, who was arrested under suspicious circumstances, had confessed that he had for a long time been watching for an opportunity to assassinate Louis Napoleon. But he was supposed to be insane, and the affair was not considered of a political character. . . The most recent excitement, however, was connected with a stringent law just enacted against' the press. Its principal features ate a requirement that every newspaper article^ must be signed by the name of the writer, and the imposition of stamp duties, which will 'add 60 per cent to the price of newspapers... An abusive article directed to the Assembly had appeared in the Journal Pouvoir, which is considered the President's organ : the Editor was brought before the House and fined 5,000 francs, by a majority of 725 to 119. . .The Revenue was represented by the Finance Minister as greatly improving, although it appeared ' from his own figures that there would be a deficit of 12,000,000 francs, for 1850, which added to the deficits of 1848 and 1849 would amount to a geneval deficit of 575,000,000 francs. .The Alta California of September 28 comments on the formation of puffing and speculating Joint Stock Companies, selling shares (as we suppose is to be inferred from the context) in Californian property ; — the writer says, " We should much like to know where are located the claims of these Parisian Companies : — it would seem that the El Dorado is considered a Joint Stock possession by the whole world." Denmark and the Duchies were again engaged in bloody conflict. The following is the only account of their warlike proceedings which we find in the papers. Let us hope — until further accounts are received — that there is exaggeration in a report so frightful as that ten thousand men were killed in a single battle between their forces. Actual hostilities have been re -commenced between Denmark and the Duchies— the latter having been declared by the former in a state of blockade. An action took place between a Danish man-of-war ' and a German steamer Bonni, on the 2 1st, in which the former suffered considerable injury and wai forced to retire. On land, the hoitile armies were at the last dates face to face, and at the king of Denmark intends severe coercion, bucked by the active support of Ruisia and the passive support of the other great j owers, including Eng'and, there remnins no doubt that a severe Conflict will ensue. A preat battle was fought at Idstedt, or Ichitadt, on the 26th July, by the Danish army consisting of 45,000 men, and ths Schleswig Holstein army, of 28,000. Some reports make the two forces more nearly approach equality in numbers. The battle commenced at 3 o'clock in the morning, by an attack of the Danes upon both wings of the enemy. It raged till 2 o'clock, p. m., with almost unprecedental fnry, as may be judged by the 1 number of the slain, which was estimated by several* officers to be as many as ten thousand men. Until 1 o'clock a. m. fortune seemed, notwithstanding the immrnse numerical superiority unexpectedly displayed by the Danes, to fovonr the former, as they succeeded twice in forcing the Danes to their first position between Oversee and Ausackerholz. At that hour, however, the Danes brought fresh troops into the field, and an immense force of artillery againit the centre of General Willisen's position in front of Idstedt, and after a frightful cannonade of two hours duration, followed up by a successful attack, the Sclileiwig- Holstein army retired in good order through Schleswig and MAsunde to a position in tho south, at Schestedt. The loss on both sides is very great. The batteries at Eckernforde are dismounted. Lubec has withdrawn from its alliance with the Duchies and made peace with Denmark, but Hanover is determined to support their cause. A general European war is likely to grow out of it. Russia sides with Denmark in feeling, Prussia and Germany with the Duchies*

Amidst the numerous exciting topics and occurrences in California, the people and journalists seemed to find time and disposition enough for earnest discussion on political questions. The leviathan question of this class was, as may be supposed, the admission or nonadmission of California as a State into the Union. Those who took a deep interest in its admission were for months kept in a very tantaliziug state of suspense, alternating between hopes and fears. The latter prelominated on the receipt of the intelligence brought by the last mail but one before the Arabia left; but the balance turned again on the hopeful side on the arrival of the news received last of all, from which it appeared that, on the 12th of August, after a long and fiery debate in the Senate at Washington, the California Bill was " engrossed," — a proceeding which was regarded as satisfactorily indicative of its ultimate success. The Picayune, in this view, says, " We think we may safely predict that the next mail (due about the 3rd of October) will enable us to rejoice at the consummation of that union, so long, anxiously, and patiently sought for." Some local agitation was produced in San Francisco by an Ordinance for fixing the salaries of the City Officers, in which the payment was generally extravagantly high — the Coun-cil-men (who had been elected by the people without the slightest idea of their receiving any pecuniary remuneration) having voted to themselves, a sum of four thousand dollars a year each, being upwards of thirty -eight dollars a night for every night they meet. The Mayor

(Mr. Gfary) very propeily exercised his official right to veto this measure, and assigned his leasons for doing so in a clearly reasoned document. The Council-men were inclined to press their case, however ; only retaliating on the Mayor by leducing his salary to the nominal amount of ten dollais. The matter was not finally adjusted at our last dates. To those who are still flocking to California, however, these political or corporation matters will be of little or no immediate importance. The grand question for them will be — what are they to to do — how are they to live ? Sanguine as their hopes may be, they cannot expect to locate advantageously in San Francisco, where, as has been well known for some time, very many are already destitute for want of employment of any kind, and very many more who were accustomed in former days to comparative ease, comfoit, and affluence, are now not only compelled to drudge at the most servile occupations for subsistence day by day, but are glad when they can get the drudgery to do. 13ut what of the mines ? Alas ! here there is no better prospect. To quote from a graphic article entitled " Going to the Mines" which we find in a newly established journal — the Illustrated California News, (to which, let us say in passing, we wish all prosperity, on account both of its intrinsic merits and the interest we feel in the Avelfare of its able Editor), " The times are past in which gold could be gathered almost for the pains of stooping to pick it up. Labour and sweat, ' the penalty of Adam,' are now exacted to the uttermost, before the earth will yield her harvest ; and even then to that she will presently refuse it, yielding to nothing less than to the compulsion of the all-conquering giant, steam." The principal hope appearing for them is the obtaining some means of subsistence by agricultural pursuits ; and with this view it is believed that numbers will press farther on, especially to Oregon, where " fair fields and pastures new" are said to hold out strong inducements to such as can reach them. Then, perhaps the issue may be that a proportion of those who undertook the enterprise, may — after having endured incalculable toils, privations, and sufferings — attain to a livelihood derived from agricultural or similar industrial operations, such as many of them might have enjoyed, or were actually in the enjoyment of before they entered upon this wildly speculative chase after uncertainties. There are some other aspects in which we may yet consider Californian adventure, society and prospects, but, for the present, wo shall confine ourselves to a notice of one additional and affecting aspect of the subject. Amongst the many distressing considerations connected with the results of Californian adventure, the vast sacrifice of human life which it has involved, demands more attention than it has generally received. Numerous instances 'of death by suicide, starvation, and murder, occurring in California itself, have been noticed from time to lime in our own and other columns, and the inference would of course suggest itself to every reflective mind, that the number of such occurrences reported in the newspapers must bear but a small proportion to the actual number taking place, especially at the mines, and on the journeys from one part of the country to the other. Even in the principal towns no means exist of preparing returns which could afford anything like an adequate idea of the number of those who, under varied circumstances of disappointment, destitution, despair and crime, die, unrecorded, uncared for, and unknown. Cut even could this be accurately ascertained, a fearful necrological list would still remain to be filled up. We refer to the multitudes, — we believe it is no exaggeration to say the multitudes, — who have perished and are still perishing on their way from their homes, to the tempting land of delusion, and on their way back again, when sick of California and sick for those homes (which alas ! they were never again to see), they endeavoured to retrace their steps. The accounts of the sufferings of the " overland immigration," which appear in the latest papers, are, if that be possible, even more afflictive than those which we had from Ireland during its famine, disease, and misery. Deaths in the desert from actual starvation frequently occurring :—": — " those with wagons having no food but their poor exhausted animals," which the Indians took every opportunity of stealing, many being thus left six hundred miles beyond the settlements : — "footmen, subsisting on the putrified flesh of the dead animals along the road :"•— such were some of the features of the sad pictures as drawn on undoubted authority, even before a new feature was added by the appearance of Cholera, which had broken out so virulently, as to carry off in three hours, eight persons out of one small train. Nor should it be omitted that fghts between the immigrants and the Indians were of daily occurrence. A Report of Colonel Ralston to the Relief Committee at Sacramento (which will be found in another column) speaks sad volumns on this subject. According to a still later Report from Capt. Waldo, dated Sept. 15, 20,000 were yet beyond the Desert, of whom, he says, '• fifteen thousand are now destitute of all kinds of provisions, yet the period of their greatest suffering has not arrived. It will be impossible for ten thousand of this number to reach the mountains before the commencement of winter." " Many of them are women and

children, widows and orphans, their husbands and fathers having died with the cholera." A vigorous effoit was in progress in the principal cities, and an honourably liberal sum had been subscribed, to send them relief ; but it was only too certain that, in almost countless instances, the relief would arrive too late. The magnitude of this special, and, it may be said, public distress, must command general attention ; but who can compute how many private cases of equally disastrous suffering and death have taken place amongst the small parties, and the solitary individuals who have embarked in the perilous enterprise from America and other countries ? The aggregate can never be known in this world. A similar remark would apply to the misery and loss of life on the return from California. We have been repeatedly struck by the number of deaths incidentally mentioned in the references to the passages of the great steamers from San Francisco to Panama ; although that could afford no idea of the undoubtedly greater number of victims of blighted hopes returning from the land of gold and disappointment, whose broken down constitutions finally sunk in the travels which still lajf before most of them in crossing the Isthmus, and the future steps of their homeward journey. To take a single instance, because itis the latest we have seen, the Evening Picayune of September 23, contains a list with a brief history of those who had died on the last voyage of the steamer Panama, which had been supplied by the Purser of the vessel. It contains the names of eighteen persons (most of whom were in the prime of life) who had died in that one vessel, on that single voyage of some twenty days. What may the aggregate in all the ships in all their voyages, be supposed to be 1 The thoughts and feelings thus suggested are so mournful that we willingly turn from the subject, merely quoting the appropriate and touching words of the Picayune; — •' Many of those whose names are here recorded, but a little while ago left home, wife, children and friends, to woo the fickle goddess Fortune, with bright anticipations of returning soon, laden with the glittering dross from the possession of which they imagined so much happiness would flow. Alas ! Their hopes are ended now, and they 'sleep the sleep that knows no waking ;' — and while the devoted but widowed wife, and the orphan children are earnestly looking for tidings from the absent one, Death has long since forgotten the conquest he made, and the desolation he spread when he cut off from life those victims whose demise we now record."

Returning to the news from the United Stales, we find that the New President, Mr. Millard Fillmore, (who, according to the Constitution, has now passed from the VicePresidency to the highest office) has been greeted with — so far as first appearance can indicate — the general approbation, or, at all events, the unmurmuring acceptance of the public. Some solicitude, however, was naturally felt as to the composition of his Cabinet. This anxiety was set at rest by his making the following nominations, which were " promptly and cheerfully confirmed" •. — Secretary of State, Daniel Webster ; Secretary of the Treasury, Thomas Corwin ; Secretary of Interior, James S. Pearce; Secretary of War, Edward Bates ; Secretary of Navy, William A. Graham ; Post-master-General, Nathan R. Hall ; AttorneyGeneral, J. J. Crittenden. The ratifications of the Nicaragua Treaty between England and America had been exchanged, and the most favourable expectations were entertained of the success and beneficial results of this great scheme for uniting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Numerous deaths from Cholera were still occurring in various parts of the States ; but, on th« whole, the severity of the dreadful scourge seemed to be abating.