THE LOCKING-IN CONTROVERSY.

New Zealand Colonist and Port Nicholson Advertiser, Volume I, Issue 39, 13 December 1842, Page 3

THE LOCKING-IN CONTROVERSY.

[From the Rev. Sidney Smith.] The following letter cannot, consistently with justice to our readers, be withheld from them. They must laugh, of necessity, at its quaintness. It is in reply to Sir Robert Peel’s allusion to the reverend writer in the railway debate of Saturday : —“ To Sir Robert Peel. A cruel attack upon me, Sir Robert, to attribute all my interference with the arbitrary proceedings of railroads to personal fear. Nothing can be more ungrateful and unkind. I thought only of you and for you, as many Whig gentlemen' will bear me testimony who rebuked me for my anxiety. I said to myself and to them, ‘ Our lovely and intrepid minister maybe overthrown on the rail. The locked door may be uppermost. He will kick and call on the speaker and. sergeant-at-arms in vain. Nothing will remain of all his graces, his flexibilities, his fascinating, facetious fun, his social warmth; nothing of his flow of soul—of his dear heavy pleasantry—of his prevailing skill to impart disorderly wishes to the purest heart; nothing will remain of it all but a heap of ashes, but the parish church of Tamworth. He perishes at the moment that he is becoming'as powerful in the drawing-room of court as in the House of Parliament —at the moment when Hullah (not without hopes of ultimate success) is teaching him to sing, and Melmot' to dance.' I have no doubt of your bravery, Sir Robert, though you have of mine ; but, then,, consider what different lives we have led, and what a school of courage is that troop of yeomanry at Tamworth, the Tory fencibles. Who can doubt of your courage who has seen you at their head, marching up Pitt-street, through Dundassquare, on to Liverpool-lane, and looking all the while like those beautiful medals of Bellona Frigida and Mars sine Sanguine, the very horses looking at you as if you were going to take away three per cent, of their oats ? After such speeches as these, the account you give of your own courage cannot be doubted. The only little circumstance which I cannot entirely reconcile to the possession of this very high attribute in so eminent a degree, is, that you should have selected for your uncourteous attack enemies who cannot resent, and a place where there can be no remedy. I am, Sir, your obedient servant, Sydney Smith.” —[The following is the passage in Sir Robert Peel’s speech, which has called forth the above rejoinder ; —“ He repeated, however, that he did not think that it would be expedient to legislate on the subject, but by far the best course

to pursue was, to let public opinion, Which gdnerally acted in the right direction, operate on the railway companies, and he had little doubt i but that would soon' set the matter right. If i there should happen to be any old ladies or ecclesiastic^—(Laughter)—vyho were so excessively timid as to be afraid to be locked u’p in a carriage, he had no doubt that, after' a short time, the railway directors and those persons would settle it between them. He believed that, with the greatest security, the natiire of the suggestions or recommendations to be made to the railway companies would be best left to the direction of the board of trade, assisted, as their opinions would be, by the advice of such distinguished officers an Sir Frederick Smith and Colonel Pasley. (Hear.)”

Fondness of Farm Stock for Salt.— In this country, a small portion only of the agricultural community have tried the. efficacy of salt upon farm stock. The avidity with which it is devoured by cattle and sheep-, and even by horses, is astonishing; while the influence gained over the m through their eagerness to obtain it is equally surprising.- A flock of sheep, or drove of cattle, may instantly, be brought together as if by magic, from every corner of an extensive pasture, provided they can hear the voice or see the person of him who comes prepared with a small quantity of salt; for, on getting a hint that salt is about to be distributed, they come bounding along as fast as their legs can carry them, Though the common practice is to- deposit the salt in small rude troughs, or upon planks of wood or flat stones, yet so anxious are these creatures to get the salt, that scarcely the shyest of them will refuse it from the hand of the person who sup- , plies it. It is an interesting sight to witness - two or three hundred sheep come at the farmers call, bleating and frolicking, and somewhat inconveniently hemming him in by their pres- ; sure on- all sides ; with regard to cattle, it is hardly safe to venture into an open pasture with salt in your possession; for so eager are they to obtain, that they do not allow time for your depositing it upon the places intended for it, or even on the ground, if nothing else be at hand. Huge oxen, with large formidable horns, are rough companions when they press closely around you; and it sometimes happens that you experience much difficulty in getting your . formidable friends satisfied, Horses are under a similar influence, although they'seldom exhibit their partiality in so striking a manner. During some years I owned a fine and noble animal; but when I first purchased him, he was somewhat shy and untractable. In the summer season, he, along with two or three others, was turned- out to grass, and notwithstanding the gentleness and tameness of his companions, it was with the greatest difficulty that he was ; haltered when thus- running at large. Gats, -Indian corn, and other tempting things were i offered to him in vain ; but once he had tasted salt, he forthwith became the slave of his passions ; its talismanic power was wonderful, for from' that day any individual about the farm could easily take him captive, povided half an ounce of salt was offered him as a bribe. Indeed it was not necessary to'coax him to suffer himself to be taken ? on the contrary, he would cpme to his enslaver, and endeavour to coax him out of his salt.— Mark Lane Express.

Invasion op Caboul by the Arabs—Revolt of the Affghans. —The first recorded invasion of this unsubdued tract was. in the year of the Hijra 44, (of our Lord, 64) when an Arab force from Mery penetrated to Caboul,, and made converts 12,000 persons. The prince of Caboul, also, must have been-made tributary, if not subject, for this revolt is mentioned as the occasion of a fresh invasion of his territories in 62 of the Hijra." On this occasion the Arabs met with an unexpected checkthey were drawn into a-defile, defeated, and compelled to surrender, ,to purchase their freedom by an ample ransom. One old contemporary of the Prophet is said to have disclaimed all compromise, and to have fallen by the swords of the infidels. The disgrace was immediately revenged by the Arab governor of Sistern ; it was more completely effaced in, the year 80 of Hijra, when Abdurehman, governor of Khorsan, led a large army in person against Caboul, and avoiding all the snares laid for him by the enemy, persevered until he had reduced the greater part of the country to submission. —E Ip/tinstone s History of India.

A Lesson for Scolding Wives. —And I dare say you have scolded your wife very often, Newman,” said I, once.- Old Newman looked down, and the wife took up the reply. “ Never to signify—and if he has, I deserved it.” “ And I dare say, if the truth were told, you have scolded him quite as often.” “ Nay,” said the old woman, with a beauty of kindness which all the poetry in the world cannot excel —“ how can a wife scold her good man, who has been working for her and her little ones all the day ? It may be for a man to be peevish, for it is he who bears the crosses of the world; but who should make him forget them but his own wife ? And she had best, for her own sake—for nobody can scold much when the scolding is all on one side.” — Bulwer's Student.,

> American Blustering. —-In proportion - as courage is praiseworthy, so is blustering ridiculous: The American army, though remark-’ able for courage, can boast its parolles. One of these gentry (Ross Bird, a captain in the 2nd United States Infantry), when, serving with General Jackson against the Indians,' was put under’ aiTest, and riot befog brotoght to a 1 court martial for a considerable time, lie tendered his resignation to his commanding officer, Lieut.-' Col: Russell. The following is the concluding passage of his letter “In leaving the service, I am not abandoning the cause of republicanism, but yet hope to brandish the glittering steel in the field, and carve my way to a name which shall prove my country’s neglect; and when this" mortal part shall be- closeted in the dust, and the soul shall wing its flight to the regions above, in passing by the palefaced Moon , I shall hang my liat on- brilliant Mars, and make- a report to each superlative star! and arriving at the portal of heaven’s high chancery, shall demand of the attending angel to be ushered into the presence of Washington!!!” The- following fac-t will enable our readers to judge of the small amount of, danger which exists in travelling in this country. The total’ number of persons who travelled by railway in Great Britain and Ireland, in 1841, was 18,246,265 ; and the accidents were only as 1 to 145,963. It is hardly possible to conceive any mode of travelling in which the risk is sosmall as this; aad it is satisfactory to know that the amount of risk is diminishing every month, as the new lines become so consolidated, the engineers more experienced, and the whole system of discipline more perfect. On lines like the Liverpool and Manchester,' on which the system has become thoroughly settled and understood in all its parts, the accidents are'reduced to such a point as to be scarcely appreciable. — Liverpool Times.

To Relieve Choked Cattle. —(From a' Correspondent of the American Silk-growers and Farmer’s Manuel .) —“ A neighbour of mine called'on me ! one morning, a few years since, to assist him in relieving an ox of his, that was choked some time since during the night, in consequence of breaking into an orchard. The ox- was much bloated and in great distress, and it appeared it could not live many minutes. While making active preparations in order to relieve him, an elderly lady belonging to the family,-emptied part of the contents of a small snuff box into" her hand, and applied it to the nose of the ox. The relief was almost instantaneous. The bloat rapidly diminished, and the ox in five minutes after ate some hay laid before it. I never heard of the remedy before, nor have I known- it tried since; but in that case" it was effectual.”

Temperance' Statistics. —From' a circular recently published by the New York Temperance Society, it appears that, within the last ten years, 166,879 persons have enrolled themselves as members, of which number about 107,000 have signed the Total Abstinence pledge. Licensed liquor shops have decreased in the ratio of 63 per cent. ; the manufacture and importation of intoxicating drinks, 67 per cent. ; pauperism about 33 per cent. and indictment for crime has been reduced about 75per cent. Sugar hi the Olden Time. —In the reign of Henry the Fourth of France, sugar was so rare in that country, that it was sold by the ounce, by apothecaries; nehrly as' Peruvian bark is now sold.'