PORT PHILLIP.

New Zealand Colonist and Port Nicholson Advertiser, Volume I, Issue 26, 28 October 1842, Page 4

PORT PHILLIP.

Depression of Trade. —ln a conversation between his honour the Judge and the Honorable Mr. Murray, on Saturday last, in the Supreme Court, the former, in allusion to the severe pressure of the times which at present more or less affects of the community, observed to the latter, that the best plan for removing the evil would be to enable the settler to borrow money on his stock. Thus—upon his assigning over ten or twenty head of cattle, or fifty or one hundred sheep, he could be accommodated with money to carry on his pastoral pursuits, to such amount as might he agreed upon for a certain period, which having arrived, he would then redeem his stock, or in default of his doing so, they would then become the property of the person who advanced the money. He really thought some such system should he at once adopted, for the bleeding ought to be stopped first, otherwise the patient dies; and that the sooner a puhlicmeeting were convened to take into consideration the present state of the colony the better. The Honorable Mr. Murray remarked, in reply, that much of the existing distress might be traced to the bad policy of the Government, who, instead of lessening the difficulties in which the colonists were involved, seemed rather disposed to increase and thicken them. What could he more injurious than the late prohibition on the stripping of hark, which formed an article of export to the amount of 8,000/. last year ? It has, besides, thrown many persons out of employment, who now increased the general distress. He knew one gentleman who was about to commence tanning on a large scale, who had been thus prevented. He also knew two other gentlemen who were anxious to form an establishment for the curing of fish on the river, and were refused a license. [We hear that it is in contemplation to call a meeting of the colonists at an early day, to take into consideration the best means of alleviating the prevailing distress, at which, no doubt, many will be prepared to bring forward sound and feasible measures for its removal.— Ed. Herald.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

We have received Adelaide papers to the 7th September. Trade, we are sorry to say, was as dull, and the depression of the times was as great, as it has been at any time within the last twelve months.

Governor Grey, who holds the most unenviable office in her Majesty’s service, appeared to be very unpopular, although we can hardly tell why, for the circumstances which have led to the present state of Adelaide, occurred long before Captain Grey was made Governor, and some of them are incidental to the system on which the colony of Adelaide is founded. The new port regulations, which impose additional, and certainly very high port charges, had created great dissatisfaction. A public meeting was held in the theatre, the Right Worshipful the Mayor in the chair, at which a petition to the Queen was adopted, praying that the Legislative Council might not be allowed to impose any taxes until members elected by the people were added to it. The Town Council, suspending one of its standing

regulations not to discuss political questions, adopted a similar petition. Aecording to Governor Grey’s financial minute, the estimated expenditure for 1843, willbe 34,000/.; and the revenue, including 12,000/.' for Crown Lands, 43,000/.

A bill to regulate the occupation of Crown Lands, similar to the Licensed Graziers’ Act of this colony, was before the Legislative Council: it was proposed to raise an amount of one penny on each sheep; sixpence on each head of cattle; and two shillings and sixpence on each horse; the price of a depasturing license to an owner of land is to be ten shillings; to other persons, 51.; and to cut timber 11/.

In a cursory glance through the papers, we do not see any other events of particular moment.

NORFOLK ISLAND.

We regret to say, that the last accounts received from Norfolk Island show ho,t only that the system introduced there by Captain Machonochie has failed, but that the whole of thq convicts are in a most disorganised and undisciplined condition. Two of the convict clerks employed in the Commissariat Department had been detected in making, false returns, by means of which they had defrauded Mr. Foster, the Superintendent of the jconvicts, of upwards of 40/. The government sheep are slaughtered almost openly, and the meat cooked in the men’s huts. Boats arc built by the convicts, under circumstances that must he detected, were the slightest diligence used in watching them. Although there arc nearly two thousand convicts who ought to be employed, ns labourers, they do not grow sufficient grain for their own use, and the Commissariat department will still have to supply the island with flour from Sydney. Captain Machonochie will he relieved in March next; but such is the state of disorganisation of the convicts, that we should not he surprised to hear of some dreadful outrage being committed before that time. —Colonial Advertiser.

Lord Manners. —This nobleman expired somewhat suddenly, at his residence in Brookstreet, on Monday morning, aged 86. The deceased, Thomas Manners Sutton, Baron Manners, of Feston, county of Lincoln, was born on the 24th February, 1756, educated at the Charter House, and having entered as a student at Lincoln’s Inn, was shortly afterwards called to the bar. Appointed Solicitor-General to the Prince of Wales, he (as member for Newark, which town he represented in five parliaments) introduced to the house the claims of the prince as Duke of Cornwall, on which occasion, his talent was highly eulogised by Pitt and Fox. In 1812, he received the honors of knighthood, and in the following year acted as one of the official accusers of Colonel Despard —a duty he discharged without acrimonv or exaggeration. In 1805, he succeeded Sir Beaumont Hotham as one of the Barons of the Exchequer, and in 1807 was called to the upper house by the'title of Baron Manners of Feston. Immediately after, lie was appointed Lord Chancellor of Ireland, and during the period of his holding the seals (19 years), his conduct as an equity judge was held in high estimation. Since his resignation, Lord Manners has been an occasional speaker in the House of Peers, and supported the memorable inquiry respecting the conduct of Queen Caroline. His lordship marriecj, in 1803, Anne, daughter of Sir John Copley, of Sprotborough, who died in ISI4, leaving no issue, and, in 1815, Jane Butler, sister of the present Earl of Glengall, by whom he had issue, John Thomas, the present representative of the family honors, born August 17, 1818. The deceased was brother of the late Archbishop of Canterbury, and uncle to the present Viscount Canterbury.

Destruction by Fire op an Indiaman. —Five Lives Lost.- —Saturday, intelligence of the loss by fire of the ship Georgia, of Newcastle, an Indiaman, Captain Mitchell, bound to London, was received by the underwriters at Lloyd’s, attended with a deplorable sacrifice of human life. The ship was between eight and nine hundred tons burden, and was valued at 7,000/. being splendidly fitted up for tlic accommodation of passengers. She had a rich cargd on board, consisting of jewellery, merchandise, and other valuable property, which perished with the vessel; a loss in total of nearly 20,000/. The unfortunate event oc-. curred on the morning of the Ist of last month, while on her passage to England from Calcutta, which jdace she left in the early part of February. From the accounts brought over by the ship Thomas Sparks, from China, which arrived off Dartmouth on Friday morning, it. appears that early on the morning mentioned, the “ watch” on deck, when the vessel was in latitude 30 south, and longitude 36 east, off Madagascar, discovered a strong smell of burning about the ship; he aroused the commander, Captain Mitchell, and the rest of the ship’s crew, and a strict search was determined upon. On the boats being removed, and the main hatches taken off, the burning was found to proceed from the cargo, when orders were given to remove over a portion of it, so as to get at the fire. The crew, however, had not proceeded far, before a volume of smoke burst upon them, and shortly afterwards it became so intense, accompanied with excessive heat, that

they were forced to desist. Captain Mitchell ithen had the hatches replaced, and blocked up every aperture in the ship, in the hope of stifling the fire. But this proved unavailing, for in about two hours the flames broke through the cabin windows, and likewise from the hatchway over the forcastlc, to the terror and dismay of all on board. Captain Mitchell, perceiving that the destruction of the vessel was inevitable, directed the crew to prepare themselves to leave the ship, which they immediately set about doing, by lowciing the boats (two in number) over the vessel’s side ; the sea was extremely rough, with a heavy gale of wind, and their position being above eight hundred miles from laud—every soul expected to -perish. At about eight o clock the chief mate, with nine of the crew, left the burning vessel in the jolly-boat; and they were directly followed by Captain Mitchell arid the rest of the ship’s crew, four in number, in the small boat. In the course of a quarter of an hour afterwards, the work of devastation had reached the mast, and she appeared embodied in one mass of flame, forming a terrible, though magnificent appearance. At this critical period a vessel was observed at a distance bearing towards the ill-fated ship, and the chief mate turned to make known the joyful intelligence to Captain Mitchell and the rest of the crew, When he was horror-struck on finding that the boat had foundered, and none of them were to he seen. They rowed about in hopes of picking them up, but unfortonately none of the poor fellows ever rose after. The ship Thomas Sparks, which proved to be the vessel they saw bearing down to their assistance, came up along side soon afterwards, and took the chief officer and the rest of the Georgia’s crew on board, and they remained within a short distance of the burning ship until she went down, which event took place at a late hour in the afternoon. The Georgia and cargo are reported to be insured to the extent of 25,000/. — lbid .