ENGLISH NEWS.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume II, Issue 70, 7 February 1846, Page 4

ENGLISH NEWS.

The Great Britain made her homeward fctrip from New York in fourteen days and a half. She sailed from New York at noon, August 31st., aud made land on the morning of Sept. 13. Ac address of congratulation was •presented by the passengers to Capt. Hosken on the completion t>f his first voyage, and expressive oftheir entire satisfaction with the excellent arrangements' made on board for their comfort. The -Great Britain brought 600 tons of general cargo, and 57 passengers. It appears that daring the whole voyage the -vessel was never worked at a greater pressure than 600 horse power, although her engines are of 1000 horse power. The vibration generally complained of in paddle wheel steamers is scarcely felt in the Great Britain, even at the Bternmost part of the vessel. The wire

rigging is not found to answer *o veil as was anticipated. s * In the Obituary for September are ttoe names of Royer Collard, an Eminent French Statesman, an eloquent speaker, and an able writer, at the advanced age of 82; —Cal. Cromwell Massey of the East India Company's Service, who died at St. Lawrence, Ratnsgate, at the patriarchal age of 103 ; and Sir F. F reeling, the grandson of the well known Secretary of the Post Office. Doncaster Races.—-.Mr. Watt's chesnut horse, the Baron, was the winner of the great St. Leger Races lest year, Major Yarburgh's Miss Sarah coming "in second; and Mr. Mostyn's Pantasa think At starting the odds were 11 to 1 -against the Baron—the race was won by a length. Mr. Salvin's Alice Hawthorn was the v.inner of the gold cup. The last portion of the old British Museum, formerly known as Montague House, wars -disposed df by public auction on Sept. 1&, and was to be cleared away immediately for the site on which the new front of the British Museum was to be erected. A large fire occurred Sept. 35, at the market town of Morton Hamptead, 12 miles from Exeter, by which no 'less than fifty dwelling houses were destroyed, besides a vast amount of other property. On Tuesday afternoon, September 16, at two o'clock, an alarming fire broke out in the warehouses belonging to Sir Charles Price, & Co., oil merchants, nearly adjoining Black -Friars Bridge, by which their premises were entirely destroyed, and considerable injury done to the adjoining premises of Messrs. Hoppe, and Messrs. Capel. The fire is generally supposed to have been occasioned by the running over of some turpentine in the boiling house. Serious apprehensions were entertained in the neighbourhood, from the -immediate pioximity of the City Chartered Gas Works, which were only separated from the burning buildings by the intervening premises of Messrs. Hoppe, coal merchants, and their fears were considerably increased when it became known that several tuns of oil, vitriol, and turpentine, were upon the burning premises. Immediately the directors of the gas works became aware of the imminent danger in which they were placed, messengers were dispatched to -all the shopkeepers and large. establishments in the vicinity to request that they would instantly light -up the gas in their various premises, and thus, by lowering the quantity in the gasometer, considerably decrease the amount of damage that would have occurred had an explosion-taken-place. This request was of-course complied with, and the shops in "Fleet-street and neighbourhood consequently presented the unusual appearance of being all lighted up at mid-day. Gas was also withdrawn from the gasometers, by being allowed to escape at-a distance from the scene of conflagration. The fire originated in "that part of the premises termed the turpentine warehouse, a large brick building, sixty feet loner, and fifty feet wide, situate on the western side of the works, and adjoining the property of Messrs. Hoppe. The flames at one time ascended at least 100 feet above the buildings; they were seen at a great distance, and the smoke spread over Bridge-street, Fleet-street, Chancery-lane, and the river, in such dense masses, as to obscure the light of day. The heat was also insupportable where the engines were placed, and was felt at a considetable distance. One of the'fire brigade was so severely scorched as to leave little hope of his surviving the injury, and another man was burnt to death who was working an engine that was destroyed by some-lighted vitriol. An awful explosion took place on the 17th September, in the Laboratory Department of the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, by which seven persons were killed, and the building set Ob fire. The fire was prevented from spreading to the other buildings. The roof and walls of the building were afterwards taken down as they wete much shattered by the explosion. The Jamaica line of railway between Spanish Town to Kingston, is completed. The locomotives have been astonishing the natives at the rate of ten miles an hour.

New and Fearful Mode of Execution—A frightful mode of execution has recently been adopted by the Great Mogul. A box, each side of which is fifteen feet square, is constructed of timber about eighteen inches thick, dove-tailed together, and braced with iron-rods. The outside of the bottom of the box is covered with a plate of beaten iron, one inch in thickness. The interior is filled with perfect cubes of granite, weighing in the aggregate several thousand tons. A machine is erected after the manner of an ordinary piledriver, on an enormous scale, and of tremendous strength. The mass is raised by powerful machinery, cast in Birmingham for the express purpose, though it is to be presumed that ths machinist by whom the work was furnished had no idea of the horrible purpose for which h was inteuded. The human victim is placed upon a block of granite, of a

corresponding surface buried in the Mrth immediately below the enormous mass, and also, covered with a plate of iron. At the signal' by the vicramadack, the executioner touches a spring, the mass falls, and the victim, crushed at once, ii suddenly annihilated, and spread out like a sheet of pasteboard. The huge weight being again raised, the flattened body is withdrawn, and dried in the sun. When completely prepared, it is hung over the walls of a puMkr building, there to serve as a warning to {he multitude. :

Clearing Land. —A correspondent of the Hobart Town Observer gives the following hints for clearing heavily timbered land : — *' The settlers at the westward, and I presume those upon the H uon and other thickly timbered localities, have discovered that to clear land effectually is no longer attended by profitable results. They have found that even to fell trees, leaving the stump and burning the off trunk and branches is unprofitable. A new system is, therefore, adopted. The larger trees are killed without the labour of felling them, and when dead they are not -more detrimental to vegetable growth than the mere stump. To kill the trees speedily and in an effectual manner is, however, of the greatest importance; otherwise the tenacious growth of our indigenous timber will prostrate the efforts of the agriculturist. I have known settlers bestow much unnecessary labour in barking a tree from top to bottom, By this process it retains life for two years, during which period the crops will surely fail from two causes —the shade which the leaves throw over the ground, and the deleterious properties conveyed in the droppings of the foliage. The process is indeed so plain that it seems almost superfluous to describe it. Nothing can be more palpable than the fact that to extinguish the sap is the object desired. This in decidedly not conveyed through the bark, but iv the cuter ring of the wood itself. This ring in all our timber is of a whiter colour and softer substance than the inner wood, and in a full grown gura is about an inch in thickness, though iv saplings it averages two inches. The term applied to this thin ring by bushmen is very appropriate—'the sap.' To kill * tree then, it is only necessary to cut through the sap. It is needless to strip the bark more then is requisite to make an incision thus far. If the smallest particle however of this white outer substance of the wood remain uncut, the tree will flourish in full vigour 4 hut if the process 1 have described be adhered to, the leaves will at once begin to droop, and in a fortnight thus wiH strew the ground.

Smut in Wheat. — We have extracted the following letter from the Sydney Morning i^erald, describing a cheap aud simple remedy for the prevention cf smut in wheat, which •may be found useful to our fellow settlers :—: — (To the Editor of the Sydney Morning Herald J Gentlemen, — Last year my wheat crop was dreadfully affected with smut, I should think one-fourth of it wns lost: having sowed the -seed, which was -clean, without any preparation, but merely soaking all night in water, and drying it in the morning, with as much lime as it would carry, f also sowed ten acres with smutty seed, having been about twelve hours soaking in a solution of bluestone. I tried two acres the old way same as last year. The blue-stoned wheat has turned out perfectly free from smut. The limed wheat is rather smutty, but n<*t so much so as the plain wheat soaked only in water, which I consider one-fourth smut. As I am aware (hat many settlers, either from ignorance, indolence, or prejudice, lose much wheat from smut, I am induced to send you the results of the above experiments, and have no doubt you will induce many wheat-growers to try the same. I must add that the whole received the same attention in tillage, and in the same description of soil. I dissolved half a pound of blue stone in hot water, and when cold, soaked three bushels all niglit in the mixture, with water enough to cover the seed. In the morning I spread it on a sheet of bark, and let the liquor drain into the tub, and it was sewn after breakfast. I then added a quarter of a pound more bluestone in solution to the tame liquor, and at night put in another three bushels of seed, and tbus kept adding a quarter of a pound of the bluestone to every three bushels of seed. The wheat need not be dried, as the liquor being only plain water prevents it adhering. I sowed it broadcast and harrowed it in, and sowed early in tke season. I calculate that the blueitoned wheat will yield me about twe»ty-uve bushels of first-rate quality, while the plain wheat will not yield half that amount to the acre. The cost is so very trilling, 9d. per lb. ; for the bluestone, and the trouble so little, being j less than ptekling, that I am surprisedHhe plan is not more generally adopted. The millers .give a better price for clean than smutty samples, and the gain in quantity is very considerable; corrosive sublimate is another certain preventive of the smut; but ai the expense is greater, and it is more troublesome and dangerous, I recommend the bluestone. A South Countrt Farms*.