THE DUKE OF ORLEANS.

New Zealand Colonist and Port Nicholson Advertiser, Volume I, Issue 58, 17 February 1843, Page 3

THE DUKE OF ORLEANS.

The late Duke of Orleans was the eldest son of the King of the French, and of her present Majesty the Queen of the French, who is daughter of Ferdinand, King of the two Sicilies. The deceased was a native of Palermo, having been born in that city on the 2d of September, 1810. On the restoration of the House of Bourbon to the throne of their ancestors, the Orleans branch of that family immediately returned to their native country, where the young Prince, now so unhappily removed from this life, commenced his education as a pupil of the public Lyceums in Paris ; for his father, whose early life had been spent under the guidance of Madame de Genlis, was resolved that his son should not he brought up in what Dr. Johnson calls ” ignorance of Princely education,” and for the • first time a French Prince entered an academic class, exposed him self to the fellowship of schoolboys, and contended with the sons of the nobility and gentry of France in the rivalry proper to a place of public education. He has, however, been less distinguished in literature than in arms, having served with considerable reputation in the African war. When the news of that revolution which placed his father on a throne reached him, he was at Joigny with his regiment. Of course he lost no time in attempting to reach his relatives : he was, however, detained by the mayor of Montrouge, but was speedily liberated by an order from Lafayette, and he then thought it expedient to return to his regiment, instead of proceeding to Neuilly, where his father then was. On his return he met the Duchess who expressed a hope that he would support the cause of that portion of the family to which she belonged. His characteristic reply was, that under all circumstances he would do his duty, regardless of consequences. Louis Philippe 1., the King of the French, has now a family of six children, (exclusive of the late lamented Duke of Orleans,) four of

ivliufn are sou#, viz., (lie Duke de Nemours, the Prince de Joinville, the Duke d’Aumale, and the’ Duke de Montpensier. The present heir apparent to the throne’ of France is the young- Comte de Paris, the eldest child of the late Duke of Orleans, who was born in August, 1638, and is consequently in his fourth year. His younger brother, the infant Duke de Chartres, was bom on the 9th of November, 1840. The late Duke of Orleans married, in June, 1837, the Princess Helena of MecklenburghSchwerin, by whom he had the two sons above mentioned. He always entertained a marked predilection for military employment, and. a strong love of military lory, and was understood to be much beloved by the soldiers’under his command, many of whom, sturdy veterans of the Napoleon armies, shed tears as his lifeless body was carried from the fatal spot. — (From the Evening Mail.J Age of the Globe. —ln a with Dr. Lardner, stating how much w|*Hvere indebted to the discoveries in demonstrating the antiquity of the earth; he fCpliedy. “ that we need not resort to geology to prove the fact. For, as it regards the creation of the heavenly bodies, it could be proved that the fixed stars were at such an immense distance,that notwithstanding light moves at the rate of 190,000 miles per second, it would take 300,000 years for a ray of it to travel through that space ere it reached the earth ; so that the stars we now see must have been created more than 300,000 years ago. — Gardiner. Has gunpowder or printing done the greatest mischief to the world ? Printing has done more service and dis-service to the .world; not only because it was prior in acting, but also because its causes reach beyond the effect of gunpowder.As the cause is nobler than its effects, printing is more prejudicial than gunpowder; since gunpowder would seldom be employed in any. great execution, if printing did not first raise such disputes and distractions as are the cause of wars and tumults. A fair field for some of your correspondents to exert their, logic. From ihe Athenian Mercury , published in 1691. Death of a Mjreh. —James Haywood, aged eighty years, who has always resided in a smallcottage, at Butler-green, Chadderton, near Oldham, and who was never married, died on the 16th of May last; and, although he never followed any other trade or occupation than that of a cotton hand-loom weaver, he has left property to .the-amount of nearly 2,000/L 'Upwards of 600/. is in money, out at interest ; the rest is freehold property. . .- o A new scheme of Colonization had been submitted to the New Zealand Company, by a Mr. Rennie, the particulars of which will be found in his letter, here subjoined. The Directors had expressed their willingness to entertain Mr. Rennie’s proposal, provided itme 1, with her Majesty’s approval. Mr. Rennie’ 3 letter appeared in the Colonial Gazette of August 17th, from which we copy it:— NEW BRITISH SETTLEMENT IN NEW ZEALAND. London, 28 tli July, 1842. Gentlemen, —The public expect that the Directors of the New Zealand Company, while seeking to secure the interests of their shareholders by realising an adequate return upon the capital employed, will not limit their operations to trafficking in land, but will act in the capacity of national agents for promoting the colonization of New Zealand, and for applying, upon an extended scale, and under fhe improved arrangements which experience may.n'ow suggest, the saving principle of defraying, the cost of emigration by means of the value which the peopling of a new country confers upon. its. land. Participating in this expectation, I address myself to your Court, with the twofold object of stating the grounds of our conviction that there exists at the present moment an mrgent necessity for making immediate preparations for conducting an extensive emigration from this country to the colonies, and of submitting for your consideration the outline of a plan in which a body of persons whom I represent upon this occasion are desirous of engaging, for founding, under the auspices of the Company, another settlement in New Zealand. After calmly surveying the various remedial measures which have been either adopted or proposed for removing the causes of this distress, we. have arrived at the conclusion, that extended colonization affords the only means by which the causes of the distress which has overspread the country can be permanently abated. To remove without transferring distress, to preserve the peace of the country, to save the .institutions of .England from being swept away in an uncontrollable rebellion of the stomach, it is., necessary that we should resort to some immediately-effectual means of providing for the unemployed and destitute masses. But in what way can immediate relie

be afforded ? To this momentous question, in our opinion, only one answer can be given : convey the unemployed labor of the United Kingdom to the unoccupied lands of the colonies ; adopt an extensive scheme of systematic colonization. The adoption of an extensive plan of colonization would afford instantaneous relief: it would occasion an immediate increase in the demand for shipping, and for all the various materials required for the equipment and maintenance of the emigrants; and while it thus enlarged the field of employment, it would diminish the number of hands seeking to be employed. But though the conveyance of a portion of our unemployed population to the unoccupied lands of the colonies affords, we think, the only effectual means by which markets can be opened, and the causes of distress removed, yet it does not appear that the Executive Government is prepared to originate any extensive plan of emigration. It may even be questioned, whether, in a movement of this character, Government should take the initiative. An extensive scheme of emigration, if adopted in the first instance as a Ministerial measure, might be rendered unpopular by being represented as compulsory, and might be cried down by the ignorant and unprejudiced as a species of transportation ; while, were it undertaken by a public company, it would be less open to such unfounded objections, and would be presented more in the character of a voluntary and spontaneous movement on the part of the people themselves. Having thus endeavoured to explain the grounds of our conviction that it has become indispensably necessary, as regards the mitigation of distress, the preservation of the public peace,, and the security of life and property, that immediate arrangements should be made for the adoption of an extended scheme of emigration, and being of opinion that, in the present state of public feeling, it is expedient that such arrangements should originate with an incorporated company rather than with the Exe-' cutive Government, we now proceed to lay before the Court of Directors the outline of the plan, in which we are ourselves desirous to embark, for founding, under the auspices of the Company, another settlement in New Zealand. The new art of systematic colonization consists in defraying the expense of conveying the unemployed labor of the mother country to the unoccupied land of the colonies, by means of the marketable value which the approach of an industrious population confers on the previously valueless wastes of a new country. The results of the experiments which have hitherto been made in the practice of this art are encouraging and instructive—encouraging, as affording a practical demonstration of the principle that the cost of emigration may be defrayed by means of the value it creates; instructive, as suggesting precautions for avoiding the causes of difficulty and retardation which have occurred in the earlier experimental settlements. Some allusion to these causes may be useful. The provisions introduced into the act of Parliament erecting South Australia into a British province rendered the commission of practical errors unavoidable. The act prescribed the limits of the province before the character of the country included within those limits could be adequately known ; it forced preliminary landsales to absentee proprietors ; and it precluded the Colonization Commissioners from commencing their operations by advancing the surveys, and by adopting precautions for the accommodation of the settlers on landing, and for placing them on their locations without delay and expense. These impediments to early progress would be avoided under the arrangements now contemplated. It is proposed that the new settlement should be founded on some eligible site on the eastern coast of the Middle Island of Zealand. This part of the coast has been selected, because it presents the very important advantage of having been already examined, and found to comprise an ample extent of fertile land, and to contain several safe and commodious harbours. An advantageous site for the new settlement being in the first instance secured, we propose that the Company commence their operations by sending out a preliminary expedition, consisting of surveyors, civil engineers, mechanics, and a few agricultural laborers. On the arrival of the preliminary expedition at its destination, the surveyors should proceed to lay out the town, and the engineers to construct a landingplace, a wharf, and a road from the wharf to the centre of the town. At the same time a portion of the mechanics should be engaged in erecting, in the immediate vicinity of the wharf, an extensive range of sheds for the reception of goods, and a spacious building, comprising a large dormitory, for the immediate reception of the first body of colonists on their landing. These objects being effected, a portion of the mechanics might, perhaps, be employed in erecting a church and a school-house. And while these several operations are in progress, the agricultural labourers should be employed in clearing and cropping an extensive suburban farm, which the Company might judiciously cause to be stocked with the best breeds of

cattle and sheep from the Australian colonies. After a sufficient time has elapsed for the proximate completion of these important operations, or some of them, the first body of colonists, consisting of a due proportion of capitalists and labourers, should be dispatched from this country. Under these arrangements, the new settlement will, present a field for the immediate commencement of productive industry. The impediments to early progress which occurred in the first experimental colonies will be removed ; the labour and cost of landing and conveying the goods of the settlers will be abridged; the settlers, on their arrival, will not be exposed to hardship and privation ‘ they will be placed at once upon their will be enabled to purchase at moderate prices, the seed and stock previously provided by : the Company. The capital which ought to be devoted to immediate cultivation will not be exported for the purchase of provisions. The settlement will be made from the first an appropriate residence for a civilised community. MODE OF PROCEEDING. ,1. It is proposed that the Company shall select 100,600 acres of land for the settlement. 2. Of the 100,600 acres thus selected, 600 acres may be divided into 1,600 town sections of a quarter of an acre each; 20,000 acres may be divided into 1,000 suburban sections -Of twenty acres each; and 80,000 acres into 1,000 rural sections of eighty acres each. N.B. The area of the town is proposed to be reduced from 1,000 acres to 600, because in the first settlement the larger area has been found to occasion inconvenient expansion and distance. Of the 600 acres, 200 will be reserved for streets, reads, wharfs, squares, and public buildings and works. The remaining 400 acres will be divided into 1,600 sections, of a quarter of an acre each. A section of a quarter of an acre in a town of 600 acres inay not be less valuable than a town section of one acre in a town of equal population extended over 1,000 acres. Suburban sections are suggested as affording the prospect of a rapid increase in value from proximity to the town. 3. The lands of the settlement may be distributed into 1,600 allotments; namely, into 1,000 allotments, consisting each of one tov/n section, one suburban section, and one rural section; and into 600 allotments, consisting each of one town section. 4. The Company should offer for sale in this country, at the price of 125/. each, the 1,000 allotments, consisting each of a town, a suburban, and a rural section. . . . 5. In awarding the first-named 1,000 allotments to purchases, the priority of choice should be determined by lot. The remaining 600 allotments, consisting each of one town section, should be offered for sale at the price of 25/. each. Provision should be made to enable purchasers to choose consecutive numbers, so as to hold two or more adjoining sections if they desire them. 6. The sum of 140,000/., to be received by the Company for the 1,600 allotments offered for sale, may be appropriated as follow: First, The Company might retain, for defraying expenses not otherwise chargeable, for guarding against unforeseen difficulties/and for its commission upon the transaction £40,000 Secondly, The remaining £IOO,OOO should be primarily charged with the expense of surveys and management ; after defraying which, the residue to be thus applied, One-half to emigration ; onehalf to public works, such as roads, wharfs, bridges, and buildings, for the reception of the first emigrants 100,000 Total £140,000

By this arrangement, after setting aside an adequate sum for the Company’s expenses and remuneration, the large fund of 100,000/. will be employed in defraying the expense of the surveys and management, in sending out labour to the colony, and in effecting those improvements by which labour is abridged. This arrangement will be found more beneficial to the capitalist who employs labour, than that of devoting a larger portion of the proceeds of the land-sales to emigration, as was done in the former settlements founded by the Company. The quantity of work performed by tyro labourers, in a settlement provided wjsh jyharfs, roads, and bridges, will be gr|at6r that which could be performed fhojse labourers on a settlement not proved with these important facilities fqr rendeyipg industry effective. Immediate labour, when pqt aided by the results of previous labour, can accomplish little ; when the means of communication are imperfect, a great portion of the available labour of the community must be devoted, not to immediate production, but to overcome the difficulty of transport. Estimated not by the number of hands, but by the quantity of work, the supply of labour will be increased by diverting a portion of the proceeds of the land-sales from emigration to the execution of work by which labour is abridged.

On behalf of it body 6f persons who contemplate the formation, under the auspices of the Company, and on the plaft herein sketched out, of a settlement in NfcW Zealand, to be situated on the Eastern coast of the Middle Island, I have the honor to be, Gentlemen, Your most obedient servant, George Rennie, jurt.

British Association. —On Thursday members of the British As ociation, and others, pursuant to an invitation from Lord Francis Egerton, visited the Worsley tunnel and collieries, belonging to the trustees of the late Duke of Bridgewater. About eleven o’clock the parties entered the extraordinary tunnels, having been previously furnished with suitable dresses, and the appearance of many of them was ludicrous in the extreme. The tunnels are eight miles in length, nearly extending to the town of Bolton; and, taken together, there is no less than thirty-seven, cut out of coal and rock, which are now made subservient to the conveyance of coals in flat-bottomed boats, by being converted into a • subterranean canal. The entrances to the coal-pits are from the sides of the canal (the latter being about eighty yards below the surface), and in these awfullooking places, no less than about 2,000 human beings are employed; the produce of their labours, when in full work, being the cutting, gathering, and shipping of about 3,000 tons of coal per week.

Study of Natural History. —lt has been often asserted, that a lover of natural history cannot be a bad man. I therefore earnestly recommend all those who have leisure, and an occasional vacant hour to fill up, to devote a little of their time to the study of the interesting objects by which they are. surrounded. The man who can find pleasure in watching the wonderful operations carried on in a bee-hive, will not be reduced to have recourse to the gaming-table for amusement; and he who is familiar with the haunts of the eagle, who loves the morning song of the lark, who delights to watch the return of the rooks to their nests, to gather the dew-sprinkled heath, or to nail the trailing woodbine on the porch, will find he has pleasures within his reach, which the votaries of dissipation sind folly never hope to taste.

A Sea BtiLL. —An Irishman, who served on board a man-of-war in the capacity of a waiter, was selected by one of the officers to haul in a tow-line of considerable length, which was hanging over the taffrail. After drawing in forty or fifty fathoms, which had put his patience, as well as every muscle of his arms, severely to the proof, he muttered to himself, *' Sure it’s as long as to-day and to-morrow; it’s a good week’s work for any five in the ship. Bad luck,to the arm or leg it’ll lave me: at last. What 1 more of it yet! Och, murder! the sea’s mighty deep, to be sure.” After continuing in a similar strain, and conceiving there was little probability of the completion of his labour> he suddenly stopped short, and addressing the officer of the watch, exclaimed, —“Bad manners to me, Sir, if I don’t think somebody’s cut off the other end of it!” A Cure for Loquacity. —“ Your hand annoys me,” said a gentleman to a talkative person who sat next him at dinner, and who was constantly suiting the action to the word. " Indeed,” replied the babbler, “ we are so crowded at table, I do not know where to put my hand.” " Put it in your mouth,” said the other.

Solomon has said, “ Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit.” Perhaps this has seldom been done in a more happy Way than in the following occurrence : Some years ago, as the late Rev. Dr. Pringle, of Perth, in Scotland, was taking a walk one summer afternoon upon the Inch, two young beaux took it into their heads to break a jest upon the old parson. Walking briskly up to him, they asked him if he could tell them what was the colour of the devil’s wig ? The worthy clergyman, surveying them attentively a few seconds, made the following reply:—“ Truly here is a most surprising case, —two men have served their master all the days of their life, and can’t tell the colour of his wig!”