A WELL-INFORMED CABINET.—LORD AUCKLAND AND SIR ROBERT PEEL.

New Zealand Colonist and Port Nicholson Advertiser, Volume I, Issue 54, 3 February 1843, Page 2

A WELL-INFORMED CABINET.—LORD AUCKLAND AND SIR ROBERT PEEL.

We have alluded elsewhere to: Lord Palmerston’s magnificent imperturbability—we repeat the phrase, because we know no other word equally appropriate—in braving the taunts, and yells, of the Tory benches, by pronouncing a glowing eulogium upon the success of his own foreign Policy, and twitting them with the pusillanimity of their own. But this was by no means the only peculiarity in the scene, for Lord Palmerston asserted,- and proved, that.the very first act of the present Government .was to identify itself with that very policy in India, which it professed to condemn, by requesting Lord Auckland to continue his services. as

Gdvemor-General, and not appointing, or thinking of appointing, a successor, until his resignation was actually received. If a shell had fallen amidst the Tory benches, it could hardly have produced a greater effect than this communication. Lord Stanley, Sir H. Hardinge, Sir G. Clerke, and many other members of the Government, indignantly denied it; —Sir James Graham merely looked his incredulity;—but the matter was clinched at once by a reference to Sir Robert Peel, whose voice, and gestures, showed that. he was painfully conscious of the fact, though he did not expect that it would have come out so abruptly! Lord Stanley afterwards exchanged a whisper with his leader, the result of which was that not the slightest allusion was made to Lord Auckland in his angry, and, upon other matters, incautious reply. We give the noble Lord credit for great improvement in docility. We doubt whether he would have submitted with equal patience to learn a Cabinet secret from -a political opponent, in the Hous'e of (Commons, in the days of Lord Grey,

T$P very fine, although smalL steam vessels, both named Queen,, have been built for Government; one is intended as- a present from Her Majesty to the Imaun of Muscat; and the native seamen of that country, who arrived here in the Arab 10-gun barque (presented by the Imaum to her Majesty with many other presents) will return in the steam vessel to their original places of abode. The Arab is at present in dock at Woolwich, and the native seamen are accommodated on board the hulk of the Sulphur brig, lately paid off, where they will remain until the Queen steam vessel is ready for their reception. The other steam vessel, named Queen, is intended for the use of the Lords of the Admiralty, when visiting Her Majesty’s Dock yards in their official capacity,. the Black Eagle, hitherto employed by their Lordships, although well adapted for voyages down the river, being too large, to.admit of proceeding to Somerset-house, where their Lordships will probably embark on future occasions in the Queen. The Bank of England seems at last to have become sensible of the complaints that have been urged against them for reissuing light coin. Forty clerks, it is understood, are ordered to be in attendance on Monday (this) morning, and throughout the week, from six to eight o’clock, for the purpose of weighing the whole of the gold possessed by the establishment, and thus preventing the evil complained of. With respect to the scarcity of silver, and the un.willingness or inability of the Bank to pay it, it is said that it will last but a few days, the reason assigned'-for the course hitherto -adapted being, 1 that within the first few days of what is called the “ gold panic” there was a call upon its coffers for no less an amount than 100,000/. in silver. The Royal Family.— The following were the annuities to the royal family in the year ended sth January 1841 : —The Duke of Sussex, 21,000/.; the Duke of Cambridge, 27,000/.; the Princess Mary, now Duchess of Gloucester, 15,958/.; the Princess Augusta, 11,216/.; the Princess Sophia of Gloucester, 7,000/,; her Majesty Adelaide the Queen Dowager, 100,000/.; her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, 30,000/. ' r the trustees of Prince Leopold, now King of the Belgians (a part repaid,) 50,000/. ; the Duke of Cumberland, now King of Hanover, 21,000/.; the servants of King George 111., Queen Charlotte, and Queen Caroline, 14,065/. Charge of the Queen and Prince Albert, 313,197/. Duke op Wellington. —One of the messengers of the Foreign Office is always in attendance at the House of Lords during the time that.the Duke of Wellington is in the House; as it is the usual custom of his Grace to send a - dispatch to her Majesty, stating the nature of the business which has been transacted as early as possible after the House rises. —Ministerial Paper. Loss and Singular Recovery of Bank Notes. —On Thursday forenoon a tradesman, named Gifford, living in James-street, Oxfordstreet, went into a barber’s shop to be shaved. He put down his hat preparatory to the operation, which was taken up by another person, who left the shop with it unobserved. Mr. Gifford, on ascertaining the fact, stated with much alarm, that the hat contained a pocketbook, in which were 45/. iri notes. He immediately made known his loss to the police, who soon, discovered that the lost hat, with its contents, had been deposited in a stable in the neighbourhood of Duke-street, Manchestersquare. The person who possessed it appeared to have been totally unconscious of his treasure, as book.had not been opened, and the hat was carelessly flung down on the floor. The Courier.” —This journal, which had long been in a declining state, appeared on Thursday evening for the last time, and will now be incorporated with the Globe. The following announcement was, published on Thursday in both papers“ The Proprietors of the Courier Newspaper respectfully inform their friends and the public, that they have sold their paper to the Globe, with which it is now united.” The Courier has never prospered since it became a renegade, and its last change to Toryism

seems to have hastened its end. Weekly Chronicle. . .

A Church built in a Day.— The parishioners of Rhyme, who, had been denied by the lordly possessor of the soil a rood of land oli which to erect a tabernacle for the worship of God, at length, recently, through the kindness of Mr. H. L. Lumsden, secured a resting place on the confines of the adjoining parish of Auchindoir. All that now remained to be done,was ? to get the sanction of the General Assembly; and this was given in a way that marked the indignation of that venerable body at oppression, and its sympathy with the oppressed. The 13th of June will be a day long remembered at Rhynie. At one o’clock in the morning a party in charge of 30 horses proceeded to the woods to bring the timber that had been cut for the purpose. Others repaired to the hills to fetch the stones that had been made ready, and by the time the materials reached the appointed site, a large company of masons and carpenters from the parish of Rhynie and surrounding district had assembled. Every one seemed animated with an ardour in the cause. Their labour was gratuitous —their enthusiasm knew no bounds. The erection rapidly proceeded, and by eight o’clock in the evening, a large well executed and commodious church was nearly prepared for the assembling of a congregation. The work was altogether marvellous, and to none was it more so than to those who had hitherto triumphed over the parishioners of Rhynie. The server of interdicts was upon the spot, but the interdict itself was wanting. —Edinburgh Witness. The New Music Hall. —The projectors of this building have abandoned the intention of erecting it in Leicester-square, in consequence of the ground being required by the commissioners of woods and forests for the improvement of the streets of the metropolis, for their contemplated alterations; and it will now be built in the vicinity of her Majesty’s theatre, the site having been purchased. Sir Edward L. Bulwer has recently completed a new drama, which Mr. Macready has accepted, and it will be one of the earliest novelties at Drury-lane next winter season.

The Danseuses op the Opera. — Cerito, Guy Stephan, and Fieury, attired in the costume of their favorite ballets, have ascended to the top of the Adelaide-galiery, where M. Claudet has taken their likenesses by means of the Daguerreotype. This has been rather a curious experiment, as the danseuses have been in the act of achieving some pas while they have been copied on the plate. This is one of the advantages of the instantaneous process by which the likeness is caught. Cerito was attended by. M. Desplaces, and they were not only.taken singly, but also executing a pas de deux., Guy Stephan and Fieury have been grouped together in a similar manner, and the likenesses are preserved among those exhibited in the gallery. Serious Assault. On Saturday week, Alexander Robertson, one of the burgh officers of Dunbar, was stabbed by a prisoner whom he had apprehended for creating a disturbance in the street. It appears that the man had been making a noise, and, upon his refusing to desist, the officer had taken him into custody. When about to enter the cell in the lock-up, the prisoner drew a clasp-knife from the sleeve of his jacket, and stabbed Robertson in the stomach, and on the chin. On Monday, Mr. Sheriff Riddell and the procurator-fiscal proceeded to Dunbar, and made the necessary investigation. Robertson was found to have been very seriously wounded in the stomach; and his life is considered to be in imminent danger. The prisoner was committed to the prison of Haddington for further examination. He gives the following account of himself:—Says his name is Eugene Ernest Augustus Whelps or Guelphs, Prince of Osnaburg, Count of Dublin, &c.; that he is a son of their late royal highnesses the Duke and Duchess of York; that he was born in the year 1 SOI; and that, in 1808, he was taken away from St. James’spalace, London, by Lady Ann Hamilton and another lady, who conveyed him in a coach to a vessel, in which he was taken to Belfast; that he was there landed, and received by an old soldier, named Michael Roddy, alias Caldwell, who had been in the Derry militia, and who has been since transported ; that Roddy kept him in a house in Blue Bell’s-entry, Belfast, and then sent him to a remote cottage in the county of Antrim, where he was kept until 1814, when he made his escape, and bound himself as an apprentice to William Robinson, weaver, Brewery-lane, Carrickfergus ; and that he has since travelled over most parts of England, Ireland, and Scotland. He gives an account of his ,residence in St. James’s-palace and Windsor-castle, and, upon being repeatedly questioned, never prevaricates. His age is 41, height 5 feet inch, dark brown hair, whiskers, and beard, the latter large;. he, is dressed in a striped jean jacket, moleskin trousers, and a black hat; he has a scar above the left eye, one on the left arm, and one’en the nose; he is subject to a religious mania,' and it' is supposed he lias escaped from, a lunatic asylum. His appearance and language is that of a person who has been well educated. —Edinburgh Advertiser.

Mowing a late meeting of the Fairford aiid Cirencester Farmer’s Club, the advantages of moving whieat were discussed, after which the following resolution was agreed to : —“ That the subject of the advantages of the practice of mowing’ wheat having been fully discussed, and there appearing, from the statements of different members who have adopted it, to be a saving of from 3s. to 4s. an acre compared with reaping; that mown wheat is ready for carting much sooner than when reaped, and that the land is cleared more expeditiously; that these advantages combined hold out an inducement to give the practice a fair trial; and it is, therefore, strongly recommended to the members of the club to try the experiment on a limited scale, and report the results and their opinions to the club at some future meeting.”— Gardeners' Gazette .

Anecdote of B rah am. —The Boston Transcript gives the following : —“ A somewhat laughable incident occurred the last time Mr. Braham was here. The incomparable vocalist had heard so much about the celebrated Elder Knapp, that he one evening went, with some members of his family, to hear and see the somewhat eccentric divine. Having been obliged, on account of the crowd, to listen to the sermon at something more than a “ resp’ectful distance,” the prince of tenors, when those who were seeking after religion were invited to come forward and seat themselves in the pews near the pulpit, wishing to obtain a nearer view of the preacher (not being able, owing to his shortsightedness, to distinguish a man from a mouse a rood from his nose), and not understanding the purport of the invita:ion, walked deliberately up the broad aisle, and seated himself in one of the pews in close proximity to the sacred desk. As he was, with the aid of his eye-glass, scrutinising the figure and features of the Elder with the eager gaze of curiosity, completely absorbed in liis work, a reverend gentleman inquired of him, in tones of soothing tenderness, what was the state of his mind, and how he felt ? ‘Never better in my life, thank you,’ responded the vocalist, on the point of grasping the hand of the stranger, who had, as he thought, merely inquired after the state of his health.” In the case of a disputed will, presenting however no features of public interest, which is now before the Paris tribunal, the following interesting account was given of the testator, a French officer. M. Rault, who was made prisoner at the passage of the Beresina, was sent to Siberia. A letter which he wrote from thence to his relations in France, complaining of the cruelty of his treatment, was stopped at the Russian post-office, and laid before the emperor. Instead of aggravating his. condition/it became the foundation of his fortune. Alexander sent for him to St. Petersburg!!, and took him under his protection. M. Rault established a great commercial house for French wines, and in twenty years was able to retnrn to his own country, with a fortune of 800,000/., and died lately, leaving it among his relations, some of whom are small farmers in Brittany.

Belgian Colonization. —The last American papers mentioned that some members of a Belgian Commission, after choosing a place for a colonial settlement in Central America, had arrived at New York on their return to Europe. It appears from the Belgian papers, that the Chief Commissioner, Colonel de Puydt, has just returned to Brussels. Ii is said that the mission has been completely successful. Colonel Puydt has obtained from the Guatemala Government the transfer of the district of St. Thomas, which includes a fine bay entering from the Gulf of Honduras. The Belgians begin already to boast of the noble commercial port which they will possess, and of the great city they intend to build.