The New-Zealander. AUCKLAND, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 1853.

New Zealander, Volume 9, Issue 764, 10 August 1853, Page 3

The New-Zealander.

AUCKLAND, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 1853.

lie just and fear not ; Let all the ends thou aim’s! at, be thy Country’s, Thy Goo’», and Truth’s.

Since our last issue, lI.M. Brig Serpent, the brig Hargraves, the American barque fmaum , and the barque Galatea (a new, beautiful, and valuable addition to our Auckland shipping), have cast anchor in onr port —all from Sydney. Our harbour at present exhibits a very animated appearance, having three of Her Majesty’s vessels, (the Calliope , the Serpent , and the Pandora ), the missionary brig John }Vcslcy, and a number of merchant vessels the aggregate tonnage of which is not much under 3000 tons, riding in our waters, in addition to our usual

coasting craft. The scene is to a gratifying degree illustrative of the advancing importance and prosperity of our port. We have English intelligence, brought to Sydney by the I*. and 0. Company’s steamer Chusan , to the 9th of May. This, however, is only a day or two later than that by the Argo, some of the chief items of which were summed up in our last. But we have now a large number of English journals, completing our files to the end of April. These contain many articles which, if they cannot be called very important, yet possess considerable interest, and,will furnish matter for extract on which we shall draw largely in future numbers, when the immediate pressure of claims connected w th the now nearly terminated elections shall have set our columns more at liberty than for some lime they have been.

We have the pleasure of learning from these papers that the Queen had nearly recovered her usual health. Her Majesty was able to.take oul-door exercise, and was to hold a Drawing Hoorn in the beginning of June. In the end of that month the christening of the infant Prince was to lake place, when he >vas to receive the names of “Leopold George Duncan Albert.” The King of Hanover, the Prince of Hohenlohc Langenburg, the Princess of Prussia and the Princess Mary of Cambridge were to be present at the ceremony, and to stand sponsors to the young Prince,

The new,-but avowedly temporary arrangement resolved upon by the Home Government in consequence of the dissolution of the contract with the Australian Royal Mail Company, was explained in the House of Loras by Viscount Canning, Postmaster General, on the 26th April. After urging that the communication was not so bad as had been represented—seeing that “ an alternative communication” was secured by the Singapore line—“ the shortest route that at present existed,”—and after dwelling on ihe necessity for reducing the enormous sums paid from the revenue for mail packet service, —his Lordship thus succinctly slated the plan now proposed . “ The course which it was intended (o pursue was this:—The Government thought that, as in all other mailers where shipping and commercial enterprise was concerned, so in Ihe mailpacket service, it might safely he called inlo action, and with this view it was their inlcnlionlo issue, hy advertisement, an invitation of tenders for Ihe conveyance of one or more mails, in alternate months, from this country to Ihe Australian colonics, Jl was the intention of Ihe Government themselves to prescribe the price which they were ready to pay for this service, and the only condition which they would present would he, to limit the time in which the service was to he performed. They would lie up those who engaged in the service with no stipulations except such as were requisite for the due departure of Ihe ships, and the safe conveyance of the mails. Subject to these conditions, Hie shipping company that would undertake to perform the voyage in the shortest receive the contract from the Government,” An advertisement in accordance with this statement, had subse(|uenlly been issued, inviting lenders for the conveyance, “by steamers or sailing vessels,” of the Australian mails, to be dispatched on the 4lh of Juno. The sum offered for the voyage was 1000 L, and the contractor was to be liable to penalties for delay either in departure or arrival. “ Other things equal, the preference will be given to that tender which specifies the shortest lime for the service.” It

was said that the Australian Company, undeterred by past failures, intended to compete for the contract, and hoped to redeem the lost character of their vessels, by the performance of their new screw steam-ship, Victoria , which was to sail in the first week in June.