A YANKEE EDITOR.

New Zealand Colonist and Port Nicholson Advertiser, Volume I, Issue 90, 9 June 1843, Page 4

A YANKEE EDITOR.

The egotism of the United States editors is commonly as amusing as it is notorious; but there are few newspapers on the other side of the Atlantic who can cope with our friend Bennet (a Scotsman), of the New York Herald, in that particular. Witness the following statement from this paper of the 26th November : ' “ The Progress of the Revolution in the Newspaper Press—Position and Influence of New York and of the New York Herald. “ The glorious revolution in the newspaper press, which we begun in May, 1835, has never been going ahead so rapidly and so powerful as it does at this moment. Only think! In that, memorable month, and in that memorable year, we established this journal on a capitalof not only 500 dollars in money, but industry, experience, genius, and indomitable perseverance, an amount equal to 35,000,000 dollars, being as much as the whole capital of the United States Bank, before its managers swindled its stockholders in both hemispheres, and disgraced the AngloSaxon race throughout the civilized world for the next twenty years. Born and belonging to the glorious Anglo-Saxon race, which now occupies half the known world, and governing two continents, the British in the old continent, and the Anglo-American in the new; I, James Gordon Bennet, determined, over thirty years ago, to pitch my tent, or plant n*y stake, in the city of New York —a city that is destined yet to "outstrip Babylon, Rome, Paris, or London, as much as its glorious rivers and mighty harbours, and wonderful people, and great financiers, and amusing rascals, and lovely women, already surpass every city of its age that has: ever been reared by the hands of man. I had been connected with the numerous ipress of this wonderful city nearly ten years before I started the Herald to revolutionize the world, and to make the glorious city of New York the metro-: polis of the civilized world —the centre of intellect for all ages to come, and the great imperial city for the human race, that will throw all former capitals into the shade. If the London Times is the “ leading journal” in Europe, the New York Herald bids fair to take the lead of that journal, and to possess a greater influence over both hemispheres than every other organized newspaper has hitherto done. We have already shown ourselves to be the very Napoleon of the newspaper press in both hemispheres, and throughout the civilized world. There is no end of the progress of the Herald, and the vast extent of our newspaper enterprise. This journal —this establishment —is the centre and soul of a mighty intellectual, moral, financial, and religious revolution. New York is the great metropolis of this development; and I, James Gordon Bennet, am its Zoroaster, its Odin, its Confucius, its Charlemagne, or its Napoleon, Colonel Webb, of the regular army, testifies to

this wonderful truth ; and when I get into my new six-story building, corner of Fulton and Nassau-streets, with four double cylinder presses, and one magnificent steam-engine—-with 5,000 dollars’ worth of new type, and twenty compositors at fourteen dollars per week—with six talented editors, twenty capital reporters, and 150 news bo,ys—with a circulation of 50,000 copies throughout the world—l mean to set on foot a revolution in France and England, that will make Queen Victoria tremble on her throne, and Louis Phillipe look as pale as death on the pale horse, without saddle or bridle. Such is the * Napoleon’ of the newspaper press, and such are his vast designs to generate the whole world. God save the republic—Heaven bless the memory of Washington—and may Satan take to his hottest quarters all paper-money men and stock-jobbers—Amen !”— lb.

Proposed Scientifc Use of Balloons.— In a few remarks we made some time ago upon the composition of atmospheric air, in connexion with the names of Messrs. Dumas and Boussingault, we expressed our opinion that ere long we should see aerostatic or ballon ascents undertaken with some practical and useful end. The progress of science, we said, had given rise to new views on the subject, in which the voyages of Messrs. Biot and Gay Lussac had been greatly instrumental. The importance of the question inspired us with the desire to consider it more closely, and we will now endeavour to show how it might be turned to the profit of physical science and meteorology, to take advantage of this truly wonderful instrument, now only used to excite public curiosity, as a portion of a popular spectacle. It is unworthy of a country which justly boasts of the invention, not to learn to draw from it some practical good, instead of merely treating it as a toy for children. It is time that all illusion should disappear : that exaggeration should be brought down to the level of truth, and that the professors of aerostatics should be aroused from their lethargy on the subject. There can be little doubt that they might make it the means of new and important discoveries if they were to place it in such hands as the necessities of science demand. To this there are doubtless many obstacles. But it is impossible, even in the present age of indifference, not to feel moved with admiration when we review the history of aerostatic ascents, and look back to the early attempts of this nature which were made, some with success, and- some with the most terrible consequences, by men full of zeal and courage in the task of solving the problem of aerial navigation. We need not enumerate the ascents of Montgolfier, of Charles, of the unfortunate Pilatre du Rosier, of the intrepid Lambeccari, and many others. All that the most daring hardihood could attempt was undertaken by these men, who, by their experiments, faced death in almost every shape. The writer then proceeds to argue that with proper prudence the danger of navigating a balloon is very trifling-; and that the accidents which have happened, compared with the number of ascents which -have been made, are very small in number ; and that the per centage of such accidents is small compared with the per centage of casualties in ordinary coach and railway travelling. “ Once let it be demonstrated,” says he, “ that'balloons are not more dangerous than railways and steam-boats, and we shall have a few words to say on the use of which they may prove to science, in relation to an examination of the different strata of the atmosphere.” The mode which the writer recommends for turning balloons to account for the purposes of scientific discovery is that of uniting a hundred scientific persons in a sort of joint-stock company, by which to start a certain number of experimentalizing balloons in the prosecution of the cause of science.— Journal des Debats. The Maria Orr —This fine ship has been fitted out upon a whaling expedition by her enterprising owner-, Mr. W. M. Orr, merchant, of this place, in a manner which really would do credit to the first whaling port of Britain. We recommend all who have the slightest curiosity as respects the appliances of a whaler, to go on board either her or another of Mr. Orr’s fine whalers, the Wallaby, now ready for sea, where they will be received with every courtesy. Her boats, of which she has an extra number, will be found to exhibit a specimen of whale boat building unequalled, we venture to assert, in any part of the world. In a word, no expense has been spared by Mr. Orr to send this fine ship to sea (as indeed he does the others of which he is the owner employed in the same service) in the very highest possible order.— Murray's Review.

The French Whalers.—* *-GagHnani’s Messenger states (from the French papers) that the Minister of Marine has ordered every French whaler bound to the Pacific to be armed with at least eight guns, not less than eighteenpounders, if short guns ; or nine pounders, if long guns. The reason assigned for this armament is, that the ships should be able to defend themselves against “ the savages .” As there are upwards of fifty of those ships, all fine vessels, in these seas, they form a tolerably strong fleet, in case of accident. What could Hobart Town do against even a squadron of them ?— lb.