WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1851.

New Zealander, Issue 502, 5 February 1851, Page 2

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1851.

Accustomed as we are to irregularities and disappointments in everything connected with the receipt of intelligence from England, we are not yet trained into such a spirit of submisiive acquiescence in all the caprices and negligences of which the officials of St. Martin's le Grand make us the victims, as to refrain from expressing our dissatisfaction on finding that the Victory, which has had a good passage from London to our port, has brought so small a portion of the mail which we expected by her, as to mock, rather than to fulfil, the expectations we had reasonably entertained. We have, indeed, papers to the 2nd of October, and of a few days previous ; but the bulk of our files is wanting, leaving a vacuum in the journals regularly posted by our London news agent extending from the 9th of August to the 30th of September. Any information we have respecting that interval has reached us by stray papers which have come into our hands through what may be deemed comparatively circuitous and uncertain channels, or by the extracts given in the columns of some of our contemporaries in the neighbouring colonies. It will be quite in keeping with our past experience of the ignorance or heedlessness of the London Post Office in relation to New Zealand, if it should turn out that the Auckland mail, instead of having been forwarded by a vessel sailing directly to Auckland, has been sent to Canterbury or Otago — whence, if we be fortunate, we may perhaps get it some day between this and the Easter holidays. Under these circumstances we must just turn the materials in our possession to the best account we can, by comparing one statement with another, and dove-tailing the whole so as to present, as far as practicable, an intelligible summary of recent occurrences. , It would seem, however, that few events of any considerable importance were taking place at home ;— at least, so says a weekly paper (the Nonconformist) of the 25th of

September, which expatiates as follows on the dearth of stirring news: — Politics are stil 1 unquestionably at a discount and our daily contemporaries are driven to their wit's end for suitable topics to dress up for Iheir morning dith. Parliamentary reports orr well nigh 'usfd up j" anil although the reports unofficial salaries and metropolitan water supply have for some time affoided a prolific mine to hard-driTen editor*, e»en their riches have been exhausted. All that can hesnid hat been B«id on the jmp-oved condition of the country, the prospects of the harvest, and the unusually low price of the chief necessanei of life, At last, for a time a? le<nt. trie home market i« almost as useless to the editorial cirps as though it were shut up by a protectionist cordon. It has tonsiquently been found ne ressHry to extend ihe range of newspaper lopici Lord Bronghim, in his old (haracter of Lw reformer, and in his new one of " poicher, 1 ' and Lord John Rmse'l's amusement of sending up paper balloon*, hdvins had their duy, our brothers of the broad sheet, in their extremity, have descended to the discuosion of questions connected with the Parks and the Biighton fWilion, while the Trniet of yesterd y breaks through the ordinary rules of editorial etiquette, by giving iv a leader a kind of diary, dre«sed up iv the American style, of Jenny Lind's first ten days in ihe United ! Staes ! The general public ieemi, for the mo-t part, very resigned to this prosaic state of things, aud people isk one another, " What's ths news ?" rather as n mutter of courHe than with the detire or expectation of hearing of any thing exciting. The nation seems icttled down in.o a state of quiet complacency, from which it has no present wish to be disturbed. John Bull is prosperous and lazy, and above all, does not like bis holiday* to be encroached on. Hence it is that the dauijer of the agricultural mind find-, feeb'e utterance at stray meetings like that attended by Mr. Hen\et, M. P., aud the zeal o( polit cal rel<rmers expends itself in an occasional tea- party at the King's Head Tavern, Poultry. Notwithstanding this profession of poverty, we find in the papers several pieces of intelligence which we anticipate will not be without interest to our readers generally. The Queen with her Royal Consort and Children were still at Balmoral, and the annals of the Court from day to day presented little diversity. Her Majfsty's walks and drives, Prince Albert's shooting and deerstalking, the reception of a few distinguished guests at dinner, and occasionally a concert or a ball, made up the sura of the Royal occupations and p.istimes, so far as they are recorded by the chroniclers. A special notice, however, is given of a sermon preached before the distinguished party in Lraithie Presbyterian C hurch on the 22nd of September by Dr. Cumming of the National Scotch Church, Covent garden, (London), irom Isaiah xlv, 22. The (London) Morning Herald's correspondent says,—" It was certainly an imptessive spectacle to see the Queen of England, her Royal ( onsort and her august Mother, surrounded by Highland peasants with their plaids and brogues, and Highland women with their white mutches, united in praising G0d".... 1t was arranged that the Royal Family would leave Balmoral on the 10th of October, arrive at Edinburgh on the evening of that day, and depart from thence to England | on the morning of the 1 2th. Parliament was to be further prorogued from the 1 5th of October to the 14th of November. The Gazette announced the appointments of Lord Seymour, C. A. Gore, Esq., and the Right Hon. T. F. Kennedy, as Commissioners of Woods and Forests The Poole election after a riotous contest had terminated in the return of Mr. Seymour (Free Trader) by a majority of 21 over the Protectionist candidate, Mr. Savage.... A severe struggle for the representation of the University of Cambridge had been anticipated. The candidates were Mr. Cowling, the nominee of the High Church party, and Mr. Wigram who was supported by the Low ( hurch party. Unexpectedly, however, the former gentleman was withdrawn by his committee on the ground that " further to prolong a contest which they had reason to believe would end in the return of Mr Wigram, j could only tend to disturb the peace of the University." Alderman Musgrove had been elected Lord Mayor, and Alderman Caudbn and Mr. G. E. Hodgkinsos sheriffs of London for the present year. The Admirality had conferred the Governorship of Greenwich Hospital on Commander Thomas Colby (1814 ) Apropos to Bishops and trouble as sometimes connected with them, however, — Dr. Phillpots still lets the world know that he is alive, and that his vitality is yet strong enough to enable Kirn to follow up his vindictive prosecution of Mr. Gorham. Powerless any longer to keep that gentleman out of the vicarage of Bampford Speke, "Lord Harry" has addressed a solemnly worded monition to the Churchwardens, in which,after inflicting on those functionaries a copious recapitulation of the whole controversy, he gives them this injunction :— " You have already too strong reason to apprehend that your new Vicar may endeavour to spread the poison of heresy amon* his people by denying the efficacy of the holy Sacrament of Baptism to baptized infants. And, therefore, I now charge you, if you ever hear such false doctrines flow from him, that you note his words accurately, and report them to me, or to the Archdeacon, without delay." •As a London contemporary aptly remarks, — . •• Without pausing to enquire how far the intimation to the simple-minded parishioners of Branvford Speke of the probably heretical teach ng of their new pastor, ia likely to promote their edifii ati n, we can* ,not but express astonishment «t the incon-isteucy ,of the Bithop. in constituting the rur\»l church «•>-- deni—worthy individuals, we hate n« doubt, in the

dinharfte of their respective duties in their own proper •sphere of life— the censort of Mr. Gorham. at to the h-trmony of the doctrinei propounded by him wiih the authorised teaching of the Church of En»lanil, or their divergence fn.m it, a point on which he has so frequently and emphatically pronounced the tnrompe* tency of the accomplished lawyers who from the judicial Committee of the Ppvy Council to decide." Nor is this all. At a still later date, the Guardian asserts on the authority of n " correspondent in Devonshire " that " the Bishop of Exeter had refused to accept testimonials signed by the Archbishop of Canterbury "! — " Thin is" (remarks the Morning Herald) as if on« of the Vire Chanrellor*. irritated that the Lord Chancellor should have reversed one of his decisions, should res'lve that in future the orders and rules of he Chancellor should have no elect in his Court. Dmh'less the arm of authority would ioon make the inferior succumb to the superior. Whether [be Archbishop will chose to take notice of this piece of impertinence, remains to be seen." The actual work of constructing the building for the Grand Industrial Exhibition of all Nations had commenced, and the contractors expected to complete within three months this extraordinary edifice, whic'i is to be formed entirely of iron and glass, and to cover more than eighteen acres of ground. The Executive Committee of the Exhibition had received a letter from the Earl of Elgin intimating that the Canadian legislature had voted £2,000 in aid of its Funds. H.M.S. North Star, Master- Commander J. Saunders, which vent out in May 1849 with provisions for Sir John Franklin and the Arctic Expedition, had returned, arriving at Spithead on the 28th of September. We regret to find that she brought no tidings of Sir John or his brave companions. She had passed through great hardships, having been beset in an ice-field, with which she drifted helplessly about for several greeks ; but though her people hal suffered much from the intense cold, she had lost only five hands during her perilous trip and Arctic winter quarters. On the 21st of August last, she fell in with the Lady Frank in, Captain Penny, and her consort, the Sophia, and on the 26th spoke the Felix, Captain Sir John Ross, in Lancaster Sound,—- all well On the 30th, she communicated with the Prince Albert, Commander Forsythe, who had seen Captain Ausitn's ships in Wellington Channel ; but though the season had been most favourable for exploration, none of these vessels had then gained the smallest information respecting Sir John Franklin. Still the gallant men engaged in in the search did not despair. Sir John Ross thus concludes a despatch to the Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, dated " August 22, off Admiralty Inlet" — " Animated as we all are with an unfeigned desire to rescue our unfortunate oeuntrymen. I most confidently hope that, with a kind Providence, our united and humble endeavours will be crowned with success." Some justification of the anticipation was, we are happy to say, obtained the very next day after this despatch was written. The Prince Albert which arrived in England shortly after the North Star, reports thai, on the 23rd of August, Captain Ommanet found traces of a party having been at Port Ri'ey, especially a pi^ce of rope certain'y manufactured at Chatham dock -yard, and most probably made Vetween the years 1-841 and 1849. • The conclusions of the Morning Beraid are that " it is altogether impossible lhat any party in possession of Government stores other than Sir John Franklin's expedition cou'd have left the traces referred to ;" and that " there cannot be the slightest doubt that the trail of the Franklin expedition, or some detachment of it, has been struck." Earnest y do we hope that these conclusions may not prove over sanguine ; at all events, further intelligence will be looked for with a revived and deepened intensity of interest. Captain Ommaney was pushing on for Cape Walker, the point which Ross failed to reach. There, it was expected, he would at once determine the radius of the search which the squadron should make. | [Since the above was written, we find in the Sydney Herald of the 14th inst, received last evening, a statement made by the New York correspondent of a California paper, to the effect that some Esquimaux Indians had picked up a cask containing papers relating to. Sir J. Franklin, which had been brought to a trading port in July last. — and that it had been jsent to England, so that the real contents could not be known until intelligence was received from that country.] The Superb steamer, Captain Priaulx, had been wrecked on the Minquiers Rocks, in its passage from St. Malo to Jersey, with the cala mitous result of the loss of seventeen lives, — besides which three or four persons remained unaccounted for. The evidence on the inquest showed that much b'ame attached to the master,, a'though the jury softened his conduct down to culpable " imprudence." He, however, manifested a lively regard for his own safety, by being the second to get into the boat, and ! obstinately refusing to assist his mate in the t dangerous duty of endeavouring to preserve others. It is remarkable that the Superb was lost near the identical spot on which, about a week before, the excursion steamer Pol/ca, commanded by the same master, was run, to save the lives of the passengers, the vessel having sprung a leak. Several destructive fires had occurred in England, One, which broke out in Mark

Lane (London), consumed property estimated at £120,000. The premises in which it originated were extensive pnd magnificent, having been erected after rie-igns by >ir Christofhfr "Wren, and formerly used as the town residence of the Foreign Ambassadors. The roof of the Corn Exchange caught the flames, and that important edifice was saved only by the strenuous efforts of the fire brigade. .. .The most destructive fire ever known in Gravesend had burnt down a large number of houses in that town ; and shortly after a second fire broke out, which, however, was checked before it committed any serious ravages .... There had also been an alarming fire at the Grove, near the floating harbour, Bristol, which, for some time placed the shipping in that harbour in great jeopardy. They, however escaped, but other property to the value of £6000 was destroyed. Amongst the more flagrant acts of crime we notice the murder of a much respectpd c'ergvman, the Rev. G. E. Hollest, Perpetual Curate of Frinilfy, near Fiirnboroogh, who was shot by burglars who got into his bed-room at night ; — thiee men strongly suspected of the atrocious deed vveie in custody : lh? poisoning of a housemaid in a q ntleman's family at Brix'on, near Lapgbame, by the rook, wbo was also suspected of having poisoned her mistress, Mr.s Severne, who h*d died suddenly a few weeks before: — and a robbery with an attempt on the life of Mr Cureton, who is employed for the British Museum us puichaser of coins and antiquities. Three men pretended to have business with him about a coin, and, having obtained admission into his toom, beat him into a stale of insensibility, and then cairied off coins and meria's to the value of about £300. Government had offered a reward for their detection. The merchants of London were endeavouring to form a Chariiber of Commerce, on a plan which might make it a court of arbitration (or the settlement of dispute* according to the usages of tradf, so as lo avoid the enormous sac iific« 8 often made by appeals to the Courts of law. A requisition for a public meeting on the subject, signed by upwards of 200 firms, had beeu presented to the Lord Mayor. Amongst the recent deaths, we notice that of Admiral of the Red, Robert Dudley Oliver, fa' her of Captain Ojiveb of HM S. Fly He died at Dalkey, near Dublin, on the l»t of September, in the 84th year of his age. After his long and gallant services in the Navy, (which lie enteied in 1779), Admiral Oliver bad been distinguished in bis la ter years for his steady and efficient support of the Bible Society, and other religious and charitable institutions in the Irish metropolis. The Casite Eden, for the Canterbury settlement, sailed from Gravesend on the 29th of September. Other ves&els were to follow in October and November, — the Canterbuiy Association seeming quite unaware of the embarrassment which cannot fail to arise from pouririg s>uch multitudes of immigrants into a place so inadequately prepaied for their reception. . . .The Emu was to sail for Wellington and Auckland on the sth of October. ....The Cornelia was to have " quick despatch " for Wellington and Nelson. . . . And Willis & Co. adv* rti&ed a ship of 700 tons, (not named) to follow the Victory, and sail f*o i Auckland, New Plymouth, Wellington, and Otago, on tht 31st of October.

By the arrival of the Helen S. Page, which reached our port yesterday afternoon, we hdve Sydney papers to the I6ih ult., together with other colonial journals. They do not, however, con am any intelligence of immediate importance or interest. Tliere hau been no later news from England leceived at Sydney than that which had already been published there. In the Herald's markft note of the I lth ultimo we find the following respecting the prices of the important articles of Wheat and Hour : — Wheat, Flour, &c— The report from Briellat's Mill uas follow* : A plentiful supply of wheat has been received this week, boih inland and coaitwiie, for which previous rates have been fully supported — <6i. 6d. to 6s, 8d- lor prime samples, and a proportion* Kte pi c for other qualities. It is not however expected that these prices will be much longer maintained. The usual busines* has been dine in flour at former quotHtions, — name ly £\7 for fine, and £15 for ■econd-,— but there is a tendency downwards. Bran li. to is. 3d, per bushel. At Mis*rs. Barker and Co's Mills there has been a tolerable supply, chiefly by the road from the Camden and Windson dist<i<ts, which ha* been freely pun based at from 6s. to 6s. 9J-, accor* ding to quality. Flour remains at last quotation— j£ 1 7 for line , £16 for seconds, and ) 5 for ration, per ton of 2000 Lbs. Bran, ts. 2d. to Is. 4d.

We have via Adelaide, news from Mauritius to the 25th Oct., some of which possesses considerable interest. Sir George Andersons short but brilliant and prosperous administration closed on the 19th October, when he embarked on board the Buckinghamshire for his new seat of government in Ceylon. He was accompanied to the wharf by nearly the whole population, ana the press was loud in praise of his entire policy. Until the arrival of the newly appointed governor, Captain Higginsun, the authority was confided to Major General Sutherland. The subject of steam-communicalion with Europe iiad occupied much attention in the

Legislatite Council, "and it had been finally resolved to offer Messrs. Blyth and Co., £12,000 a year for the establishment of a monthly communication between Port Louis and Aden,— a distance which it it is expected will be regularly accomplished in about twelve days. Respecting the advantages of tliis line, the following fact stated by the Adelaide Observer is worth notice : — We are informed that Cop'ain Pryee of the Jack, on a former voyHge, took from Adelaide to the Mauritius several letters specially addressed to England by wav of experiment. The letters were duly postfd on arrival at Pot Louis, Htid although six days elapsed pieviou*. to their bm>g foiw*rde<. ihey reached Enelnnd within 66 driys from Cap am Pryce'i departure hence. We mention (he ciromsiance as stronuly confirmatory of •he impressions entertained in favour ot the Mauritius nnd Aden hm\

Crown Lamds Ordinance —Klection of Wardens ■— The remaining eleciions have taken place, with the following results. On the 30th of January, Capt M'Donald, and Messrs. Bryan OHara and Pkter Searls were chosen for the Hundred ol Hovvirk ; (the votes for Captain M'Donald, and a Pf na'Oner nam^d Michael Healy, being equal, the Commissioner decided by his osting vote in favor of the former): — on the Ist of February, Lieutenant Hickson, and Messrs William Gordon, and John M'Anulty were chosen tor ihe Hundred of Otahuhu -.—and, on the 3rd February, Messrs. ?. Mellevin, Thomas Poynton and Thomas Buder for the Hundred of Pupuke. We cannot but regret that the Licenseholders at Howick should have in effect declared that Pensioners are in ihfir estimation better qua!ifi> d to discharge (lie duties of the Wnrdenship than experienced settlers and practical agricul uralists. There are nirinv things (or the efficient performance of which old soldiers may be fitter than farmers, but we do not believe that the supervision of cattle-runs is one of them ; and we are at an utter loss even to conjecture on what reasonable grounds those who voted for their election to an office for which their previous occupations and habits must have be^n but a poor preparation indeed, can reasonably account for so strange a choice. Recurring for a moment to the election for the Auckland Hundred, we may mention that, in addition to the thiee gentlemen chosen as Wardens (Major Matson and Messis. May and Mayne) the following weie also propo&e'l, and voted for bv various m^j'juties: Mr. James Farmer; Mr. Joseph OsBORNE ; Mr. JOSEPH NEWMAN ; Mr. ACochranr ; Mr. A. Rooney ; Mr. Joseph Clarke. Mr. Foster, of the Grange, (one of the Wardens of last year) was also proposed and seconded' for re-election, but he expressed his deterniin<tion not to act again, and at his .urgent request his name was withdrawn from the List.

Soiree. — It will be seen by our advertising columns that a Soree of the Members of the Mechanics' Institute and their friends will take place in the Hall this evening, when tea will be provided under Mr. Gorrie's superintendence, at seven o'clock, — the Band of the 58ih Regiment will, by the kind permission of Colonel Wynyard peiform, — and it is expected, addresses will be delivered, A very agreeable evening is anticipated from this combination of a'lrartions.

Coroner's Inquest. — On the 14th ult. an inquest was held at Howitlc, before Captain McDonald, on the body of a boy aged eleven years, named Peter Parker, son of a Pensioner, who Wds drownel while bathing 1 in a guHy about a mile fiom Howick,on the preceding Sunday. Verdict accordingly.

The Band of H M. 58th Regt, (by the permission of Lieutenant-Colonel Wynyard, C.8.), will perform in the grounds in front of the old Government House to-morrow afternoon from four till six o'clock, p.m.

PROGRAMME. Overture— Op,. . •• Masaniello,". . Auber. Melange— Op .. "I Due'Foscari,".. Verdi. Cavatitia— Op .."Lucrezia Borgia,".. Donizetti Aria, c Cay.— Op. "La Donna del Lago".. Rossini, "Waltz.. " A Deux Temps,".. Jullien. Quadrille. t." Les Sept Montagnes,",, Bohman. Ballad.. " The Light Guitar,".. Stevenson. Ballad.." The Dream,".. Knight.