The New-Zealander.

New Zealander, Volume 7, Issue 541, 21 June 1851, Page 2

The New-Zealander.

13e just and fear not • Let all the ends thou aiim't at, bo lhy Conntij's, 'J hy God's, and TiutU's.

SATURDAY, JUNE 21, 18J1.

The Address of ihe Governor-in-Chiee at the opening of the General Legislative Council at Wellington, and the proceedings of the Council, having engaged nearly the whole of our available space on Wednesday, we now return to the papers received from New Munster by the Government Brig, with a view of compiling from them such general news as possesses any inleiest. Her Majesty's Birth Day was celebrated at Wellington by the closing of the Public Offices, a Review on Thorndon Flat, and a Levee held by the Governor-in- Chief, which was very numerously attended.. .The Serjeants of the 65th regiment did further honour to the occasion by a dinner at the Mount Cook Bai racks, on Monday the 26th ultimo Their Seijeant- Armourer had tastefully adorned the loom with stars of bayonets and swords, a large chandelier ingeniously formed of bayonets, and other appropriate decorations. Several of the Officers were piesent during pai t of the banquet, and also at a Ball which followed it, and the whole seems to have passed off in a very pleasing spirit of loyalty and harmony. In a late (New Munster) Government Gazette we find the appointments of Jamfs FUy Wodpiiouse, Esq., to act as Private Secretary to the Governor-in-Cuief duiing the absence of Captain Nuqlnt ;— also the appointments of Tuos. Kfbble and Fkancis Uouinson, Esqs., of Manuwata, and Robert H. Rhodes, Ksq , of Port Victoria, to be Magistrates of the Province of New Munster.. .The amount of Notes of the Wellington Colonial Bank of Issue in circulation on the 31M, of May was £6,467 ; the amount of Coin held by the same Office on that day, £4,467. The Criminal Session of the Supreme Court was held on the 2nd instant. At the last sitting of that Court there had not been a single case for trial ; at the present sitting there were only two, in one of which, a charge of robbery, a verdict of acquitted was returned ; in the other, the prisoner was convicted on a similar charge, and sentenced to ten years' transpoitation. Mr. Justice Chapman, referring to the small amount of crime, ohseived that, " Thioughout the different settlements theie existed such a general state of comfort as to afford a leasonable hope that suck a state of

things would continue, and that the amount of crime would remain as conspicuously small as at piesent." The offer of the Governor-in-Oiiikf 1o invest the 1-lult settlers with the dignity and privileges of a Corporation had been brought under the consideration of the Settleis, — incidentally in pait however,— at a Meeting held ostensibly for the put pose of fixing the lines of load by which most general accommodation would be afforded, and at which Mr. Fitzgerald, the government Surveyor was in attendance. After the business of the roads had been disposed of, the formation of the Hult Community into a corporate body was discussed. Mr. Ludl/vm, who seemed to speak with some authority, held out the inducement that fifteen hundred acres of "good government land" would be assigned to the proposed Cor-poiation,—one-thiid for the endowment of an Hospital ; one-third for a Grammar School ; and the lemaining thitd for the River Trust ; and that, in addition to this they would have onethird of the Land Revenue of this District for the construction and repair of Roads, Bridges, Drains, &c, — (a privilege, we may remark, considerably curtailed "by the reservations to the Wardens of Hundieds of one-half of that third in the cases of all Corporations, agreed to in the Council, as stated in our last). Mr. McEwest pioposed that no Incorporation should be accepted until free Institutions were established. This proposition was ordered to stand over till the next Meeting. The following Resolutions were ultimately carried :—: — That Ihp offer of His Excellency the Governor-in-Chief to form the inhabitants of the Ilutt District into a Corporate body be d. liberately and carefully considered , and to enable the settlers to do so, that a Committee be appointed, with power to send a Depulaii m to learn from His Excellency the responsibilities of the Body Corporate, their power", the endowments for public purposes, 'and if possible a draft of the Chai ter proposed to be granted. Tliat the C<irnmi:tee be instructed to cnu«e a copy of the proposed Charter to be cuculated amongst the settlers, with any further information they may rtceive preparatory to a future Meeting. We have no account of what the Deputation thus appointed did or learned. The members of the Church of England had entered upon the work of aiding in the education of the poor in the Wellington district. A meeting to consider the best means of establishing schools for the vvoiking classes of their communion was held in St. Paul's Church, Thorndon, on the 21st inst. Aichdeacon Hadfield presided, and Sir George Grky took pait in the proceedings. The Resolutions embodied a recognition of the obligation on the members of the Church to provide Education for their pauper members ; and the agreement to establish a school at each end of Wellington for the piupose, — the first school to be in the neighbourhood of the Church of St. Paul. A Provisional Committee was nominated to superintend the concern ; and subscription lists were opened, to which Sir Gforge and Lady Grey contributed £20 in the way of donation, and £5 as annual subscription. At a subsequent Meeting of the Provisional Committee, held on the sth inst., it was ascertained that the amount actually subscribed was £201 13s as donations, and £54 13s. 6d as annual subscriptions. It was agreed that the Bishop of Ntw Zealand should be lequested to concur and co-operate in the establishment of these schools, and that the Government should be coi responded with on the subject of a giant of land for them. We can have little doubt that these lequests will be acceded to, the Bishop being no doubt willing to forward the promotion of Church Schools, and his Excellency the Governor- in-Chief having made the promotion of education a marked feature in his administration of the affans of the colony. The Session of the Mechanics' Institute had commenced, and, at least so far as Leclui es were concerned, promised to be attractive and prosI perous. The Rev. W. Kirton had opened the session by a lectme on Astronomy, at which Sir George Grey was present. Mr. John Symonds an old and respected colonist, was drowned in crossing the Otaki River. An Hospital was likely to be established at I Nelson for the benefit of Europeans as well as natives. The house lately occupied by Mr. Bell, being pait of the Company's estate, had fallen to the Crown, and was offered by the Governor-in-Chief to Major Richmond as an official residence; but that gentleman liberally suggested that it should rather be appropriated to this benevolent purpose... lt has been resolved to hold a Cattle Fair at Richmond on the first Mondays in March, July, and November. The one Otago Witness we have received is occupied chiefly with discussions and contentions respecting (or, as our contemporary nationally expie&ses it, "anent") the Poit Chalmers Road. ..An Association had been formed in connexion with the " Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland." Committees were appointed for " Agriculture," " Hoiticulture," " Live Stock," and " Mineralogy and Agricultural Chemistry." Lyttelton appears to be getting on apace, if we may judge fiom the number and vanety of the advertisements in Mr. Godley's Times... The " Pilgrims" had got up a grand grievance of their own arising out of the appointment of a Nelson gentleman, (Mr. Howard,) to be their Postmaster. Mr. Godley had recommended somebody, and Sir George Giily

thought fit to give llie post to somebody else So Mr. Godley's Times says, " This appointment has given gieat offence to the Canterbury colonists." We had hoped that their scctarunnsm was confined to their Church-of-Englandism, and that they might at least have so far expanded their views as to treat the colony as a whole, without setting themselves up in an affected, if not factious, independence.

We return to the recently received English journals, in older to condense from them some information regarding matters which we have postponed noticing, — not because they were inferior in impoitance, out because other claims on our columns, and the pressure of intelligence of a more immediately interesting character, prevented our devoting to them the attention and the space which even a summary view of their principal points would demand. The vital question of Public Education — the magnitude of which is at length seen in somewhat approaching to the vastness of its proportions — had been presented in one or two new aspects. The secular educationalists had recently made a powerful struggle to secure the ascendancy of their plan. The scheme piomulgated as " the Lancashire system" had, under the guidance of Mr. Cobden and others, expanded into the " National Public School Association," the support of which its advocates would force upon the people by law. Its most characteristic feature is that " Nothing shall be taught in any of the schools which favours the tenets of any religious sect." This is called " religious protection," the protection obviously consisting in ejccte/ow,-— preventing the instruction of the young in any doctrine which, however fundamental it may be in the belief of ninety-nine out of a hundred professing Christians, is objected to by the hundredth individual. Indeed the adherents of the system were not agieed amongst themselves as to whether any religious element at all should be admitted. Mr. Cobden would have the Bible introduced wherever the local managers could unite in favour of it ; while an equally prominent mover in the scheme, the Rev. Mr. McKerrow, 'maintained that "it violates the great principle of religious freedom to introduce the JBible m our public schools." The latter view evidently found much favour with the principal promoters of " Secular Education ;" hut, as is truly observed by the Leeds Mercury, (a journal honourably identified with the progiess of Education, although too much wedded to rigid Voluntaryism, in efforts which afford ample scope for both Government aid and private liberality) — " the People of England never will submit to the compulsory exclusion of religion by law from schools which all are compelled to support.". .. .Another project had beon advanced which almost instantly found considerable favour. Its originator was the "Rev. C. Riciison, one of the minor canons of the cathedial of Manchester, and its primary sphere of operation was intended to be Manchester and Salford, Setting out from the fact that tbeie is a vast amount of school accommodation in those boroughs which might be profitably employed, it is proposed to levy a rale not exceeding five-pence in the pound, for the support of schools; and to extend support to all schools, without impediment or distinction, which are open to inspection by the Committee of Council on Education ;—; — the administrfttion of the public rate shall be in. the hands of a Committee appointed by the Town Council ; — all patents may send their childien to the schools, but Pool -law guardians shall be empoweied to require that out-door paupers shall do so, the parent being, however, at peifect libeily, in every case, to choose that one of the several schools to which he may prefer to send his children, and to withdraw them from any matter of instiuction of uhich he may disapprove ;—; — and, (past>in<* over other arrangements, to come to the most important,) no child shall leceive any denominational religious instruction to which the parents shall in writing object ; at the same time that the reading of the Scriptures is to form a regular part of the daily exercises in every school. The plan, of which this is a mere outline, had been received with a remarkable measure of united approbation, and the Committee by whom the piepaiation of a draft bill founded upon it was undertaken, included clergymen and laymen of the Established Church, Wesleyans, Independents, lloman Catholics and Unitaiians. Sir J. Kay SiiurxLKWOßxn, also — who is well known to represent the views of the Government on National Education — had given public expiession to his general conciurence in it. The scheme was to be brought before Parliament ; and the friends of educution every where will anxiously watch its progress, and await the issue of a proposal which aims at the amicable adjustment of one of the most agitated, as well as one of the most momentous problems of the age. We need scarcely add, that although primarily designed for the Manchester district, it is meant ultimately to extend with more or less modiu> cation to the country at large. A gieat meeting of the Puseyite and High Chinch paity had been held in London, to petition the Queen for the revival of Convocation* Speeches weie made and resolutions passed at*> tnbuting the Papal AggressioYi in great measine to " the ciippled state of the Church of England, the dnect consequence of the long continued suppression of the synodal func-

tions;" and an address to her Majesty was adopted pi ay ing for the revival of those functions " upon the basis of the existing Provincial Convocations of Canteibury and York.'^ An amendment, proposed by the Rev. J. E. Cox, declaring that in the piesent agitated state of the Chinch, discussions in Convocation could not conduce to peace, unity, or concord, was negatived by a large majority, and indeed the reverend mover could scarcely obtain a hearing for the faithful strictures on Tractarianism with which he introduced it. Preferring to this meeting the Spectator remarks, " It was but the languid effort of a paity in the English Church, who long to revive a defunct and marrowless skeleton, that could not effect a single living act in the dnection they would move it, even if it were re-articulated and placed in gaunt reality before them." The Times pronounces a similar judgment :— " A body more useless for any of the purposes of peace, order, or good government cannot be imagined ; but unfoitunalely their uselessness would be no guarantee for their inaction ; though powerless for good, they would be able to do an infinite quantity of evil." A reforming Italian monk — Father Gavazzi , W as delivering a course of " Orations" at j the Princess's Concert Room, in London, on the Church and Couit of Rome, which appear to have produced an extraordinary sensation. The papers describe his oratorical powers as nearly unparallelled, and judging from extracts which we have seen, (as given in a { translation in the Daily Mews) we can easily ( conceive that some of the passages, delivered as ' it is said the Father delivers them, must have been almost electrically powerful. Indeed we have rarely met with more intense bursts of scathing eloquence. The Daily Xews remarks, " the influx of hearers and the enthusiasm of this new church o_ ' lefugees 1 is a fact of growing importance ; and when considered with reference to the immense gathering of Italians which the Crystal Palace will attract to the spheie of the eloquent Fuar's irresistible oratoiy, its telling effect on the future prospects of the Peninsula can scarcely be overrated." The Criminal Repoits of the Metropolis and its neighbourhood exhibited an extiaordinary number of burglaries, and of robberies effected by an apparently systematized plan of striking down persons by sudden blows on the head, and then rifling their pockets. One case of crime, howevei, occupied an especially large share of public attention. Mr. bLOANE, a special pleader, was charged with ill-treating his servant, a poor palish girl named Jane Wilbred. The investigation was instituted on the application of the Secietaryof the Free Hospital, into which the girl had been admitted, in, as was apprehended, a fatal sickness. It appeared that she had undeigone a long series of cruelties of the most fngTitfui character, some almost too harrowing and others too disgusting for minute description. In the infliction of these acts, Mrs. Sloane was frequently the piincipal pei former, Mr. Sloane sometimes holding the gill while his wife mal-treated her, and a young lady, their niece, being generally a tacit spectator of the homble punishments. The popular indignation was so strongly excited that it was with difficulty Mr. sloane escaped from the mob on his leaving the police-office. The case stood fur tiial at the January session of the Cential Criminal Court, and the Grand Jury leturnc-d a tiue bill against George Sloane, and Thtresa, his wife, for misdemeanour ; but the trial was postponed until the next session, on the ground, sworn to by Sloane, that owing to the excited state of public feeling it would not he safe for him to take his tiial. Mrs. Si.oane for a considerable time eluded the vigilance of the police, although the ablest officers of the Detective force were engaged in trying to trace her. At length, two of the officers having reason to believe that she was at Boulogne, j»oceeded thither, found her just leaving for England, took their places in the vessel unknown to her, and at Folkestone, just as she landed and probably thought that she was unrecognised, effected her apprehension. The trial would take place early in February. The Lords Commissioners of the Admirality had again advertised for tendeis for a monthly steam-packet service with Australia,— the tendeis to be deliverable on the 13th of Febiuary. New Zealand was not to be included in the contract. Voluminious printed conditions were attached to the form of tender, the most impoitant of which was that the mails are to be conveyed monthly from Singapore to Sydney on the ai rival of the outward packets of the Peninsular and Oriental Company, and are to be taken from Sydney to bingapoie, so as to meet the homeward packets horn China. The Times throws consideiable doubt on the piacticabihty of the p] an , — a t all events as respects its being immediately brought into operation ; and argues that the Peninsular and Oriental Company must be precluded from any share in the contract by the stipulation that no member of the House of Commons shall be admitted to share j n it t — some of the Directors of that Company beino- members of Parliament; and also by the stipulation that the vessels are to be of wood, while most of the Company's vessels are of iron, and consequently unavailable for the proposed Ausliahan service. Several popular names had been added to the Pension List. Dr. Knxo, the learned and i

indefatigable labourer in the field of sacred liteiature, — Mr. Petrif, distinguished Ibr his elaborate works on the Round Towers and other Antiquities of Ireland, — Mi. Poole, author of Paul Pry, &c, — Mrs. Belzoni, the Avidow of the famous traveller, — and Mrs. Liston, the widow of the celebrated surgeon, were each to have £100 per annum. Ilei Majesty had also gianted pensions of £50 per annum each to Mrs. Sturgeon, of Manchester, widow of the writer and lecturer on electricity, and to the aged mother of Duncan, the enterprising African traveller. In Scotland, the continued distress in the Western Highlands presented a painful contrast to the generally favourable state of the commeicial, manufacturing, and agricultural interests of the country. At a meeting of the heritors, clergy, and other influential persons connected with the Island of Skye, most afflictive statements were adduced respecting the actually existing destitution, and the yet deeper suffering that thieatened. The remedies suggested were, extensive emigration, and laige expenditure on local improvements; but it was declared that the landed propuetors were unable to provide funds for either purpose, and an application for Government aid was resolved 0n... 1n the Edinburgh Free Church Piesbytery it was also agieed to appeal to Government to save the Western Highlanders from "dying of staivation befoie the face of day " Her Majesty had practically recognised the principle that " property has its duties as well as its rights," by ordering the establishment of schools in the neighbourhood of Balmoial, which are to be suppoited at her own expense. A number of neat cottages were also in course of erection on the Birkhall estate, the mansion on which was to be enlarged for Prince Albert. It was intended, soon aftei the meeting of Parliament, to introduce an Encumbeied Estate Act for Scotland. The seat for the Falkiik district of Burghs, vacant by the lemoval of Loid Lincoln to the House of Lords, was likely to be contested by Mr. George Loch, — who had issued an address, which, however, was characterised as " evasive and pitiful/ 1 especially because it made no leference to the Papal Aggression — and Mr. Baibd, of Gartsherrie, who formerly represented the district. "Sailors' Homes" were in course of establishment at several of the piincipal poits through the country, — chiefly by the efforts of Captain Hall, a native of Leith, and commander of the Nemesis war-steamer during the last China war, who has been instrumental in establishing those valuable institutions in vaiious parts of England and li eland, and was making a tour of Scotland for the same purpose. The Glasgow papers dwell on gratifying improvements in the state of the population in their city, as shown in the reduced rate of mortality (the deaths in 1850 having been 3,270 less than in 1849, although the population had increased more than tluee per cent ) ; in the great increase in the consumption of tea, sugar, and butchers' meat ; and in the general decline of pauperism, and the augmented operations of the National Secmities' Bank. The city was crowded, however, by Barra and Uist (Western Highlands) people, who flocked in to seek relief fiom famine . . A committee of the iron-trade of Glasgow had been appointed to consider the best means of removing a strong prejudice found to exist in England against the use of Scotch iron.. .The Roman Catholics of Glasgow were about to establish a newspaper, to le called the Thistle, for the defence and advocacy of their principles : — they had also purchased for £1,500 a property in Charlotte-street on which to elect a Nunnery. The Edinburgh Ladies Female Emigration Society had held a Bazaar, the pioceeds of which amounted to about £700. The Fiee Church Education Committee had vetoed the appointment of Dr. Gunn, who had been nominated by the Government to the office of Inspector of Dissenting Schools in Scotland. A public dinner had been given to him, however, at which those eminent Free Church-men, the Rev. Drs. Begg and Guthrie attended. The Rev. Dr. John M'Leod, of Morven, was to be proposed as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Established Church ; and the Rev. Dr. Duff was named as likely to fill the same office in the Free Chinch Assembly.

Mechanics' Jnsjitutk.—A Lecture on "Gold and Gold finders, uith some account of the Diggings of New Zealand " was delivered last evening, by Augustus B. Abraham, Esq., to a large and icspectable audience of the Members of the Institution and others of our townspeople. Ihe conclusion of the Lecliuc was so close on the lime of om going to piess, as to pieclude us fiom giving any outline of it. We may say it was one of the most inteiesting we have heard delivered in the Hall of the Institution, and th.it we hope to Le able, in a future numbci, to lay a portion of it before our readci s.