ENGLISH NEWS.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume III, Issue 122, 30 September 1846, Page 3

ENGLISH NEWS.

In the Sydney Morning Herald of Sept. 9, is contained the following English news to the 9th May, extracted from the Launceston Examiner of the 29th August : — Mr.Sm ith O'Brien had been committed to tlie custody of the Serj ant-at- Arras lor contempt of the House in refusing to serve on any Parliamentary Committee whose labours were not specially devoted to the interests of Ireland. Mr. O'Brien having been appointed in his turn to serve on a committee of inquiry into a gr.'up of English railways and refusing to attend brought matters to an issue, ami as he' persisted in Ins resolution he was, on a motion canied by 133 to 13, committed to the custody of the Serjean-at -Arms, and at the latfst date continued in prison. The lush Pacification Bill was "shoved out of the way of the Commons;" its first reading having been carried by a large majority — 274 to 149. Tins having been done, the third reading of the Corn Importation BUI was moved, when Mr. Hint presented petitions from Sydn y and various places in New South Wales, praying that Australian wheat might be imported into England duty free. Messages from the Queen were submitted to both Houses^ stating that her Majesty was desirous to confer some signal mark of hei favour on Viscount HaHinge and Lord Gough, for their distinguished services during the campaign of the Suilej and the Punjaub, to descend to their two nextx t surviving heirs male ; and lecommending the respective Houses to | adopt such measures as may be necessary for j the accomplishment of the object. The Times stated that pensions of £5000 a year to Viscount Hardinge and Lord Gough would be the ministerial proposal. It was also said that the East India Company were to display th-ir accustomed lihetality towards the same- parties ; the probability being, that Viscount Hardinge will have a pension of £5000 a year, and the Conimander-in-Chief one of £2000; makingfrom both sources £10,000 a year to the one, and £7000 to the other. The Town Council of Edinburgh agreed to a congratulatory address to Louis Philippe. The late Captain Hamilton, Port-Glasgow, has bequeathed the munificent sum of £20,000 to be divided between the sustentation fund and the various missionary schemes of the Free Church of Scotland. A catastrophe at Cashel was caused by the giving way of the floor of the Market-house, while a number ot men were congregated to receive their wages for some work provided by the Relief Committee : about sixty persoi.s fell, of whom thirty-seven were earned to the Infirmary more or less hurt. Two men have died. Keying, the Chinese High Commissioner, has contributed, through Rear-Admiral Sir Thcmas Cochrane, a sum equal to 6£190, in aid of the Thames Floating Hospital' for the relief of seamen of all nations. Ti>e Wool Sales lor the present year were expected to commence on (he 14th May.

Coal Trade on the Midlands. — To show the amount of traffic which we are contemplating on the Midlands line, I may state that we have it under consideration to ordi-r 10,000 coal waggons. Hitherto, the coal owner has lound the waggons, the company have not found them at all. The coal owners 011 the York and North Midland Hue supplied us with a bad description of waggon, they broke down m the line ; therefore, last year, we ordered 1000 waggons, which we are now supplying to tliem. They coat about £75 each. — Hudson's Evidence.

The Lesser Wellington Despatches. — :A supplemental volume of .he Wellington Despatches shou d lie published, containing the replies of " F. M. the Duke of Wellington" to the private notes o*' the Briiish public. Thp Glob? communicates the richest that we have seen, of these amusing epistles — . A Dr O pen has, it seems, been publishing some plan relative to the payment of the National Debt, by Government taking in hand the working of all the railroads in the rking«Jom. Amongst others to whom he wrote on the sqbject was the Duke of Wellington ; His Grace's reply is perhaps the best that has yet appeared, as it certainly is one of the most characters tic. Here it is. • " London, November 7, 1845. F. M. the Duke of Wellington presents his compliments ro Dr. Oipen; he has received his letter. The Duke has no relation with any railroads, and declines to interfere, in any manner, in their concerns. He entreats Dr. Orpen to communicate his opinion to any other individual in the community whom he pleases to select. He cannot address one who is more determined than the Duke not to interfere in affairs over which he has no control." People ate getting to think the Duke rery rude ; but they pass it off with an indulgent smile, and say that he is also growing old. They forget, too, how he must be pesteted with this importunity of notes ; scarcely a day dawns for. him without its urgent " Billy -do."

Every great inventor who has a new plan of p lying off the National , Debt, blowing up the French Fleet, or, writing music for lovesonjjs, or cutting corns submits, his plan for the Ducal approval and concurrence. It !« no joke to be the universil releree of all the quacks in the Uniteil Kingdom. How woull you like that kind ofjncessant intrusion? Not at all. You, too, would be apt to tell ppople to mind their own business, and leave y>u to mind you-s. The only wonder is, that the Duke puts his homely rebuff into so very formal a shape. Imagi le the nuisance ol being treated by the public with as much familiarity as if you were Wright or Widdi,combe, exchanging nightly pleasantries with them over the toot-lights ; when, in fact, you are up to your ears in national business, and exchanging nightly i/wpleasantries. with the Opposition. Depend upon it, you, too, would grow bitterly facetious, and would fling back railway projects, ballad, or quack corn-plaster, with something worse than a Wellington no<e.

Punishment of Death. — A very numerous and highly respectable meetirtg was held at Exeter Hall, for the purpose of promoting the abolition of the punishment of death. The body of the large hail, and also the galleries, were densely crowded long before rhe proceedings commenced. Not only was every seat occupied, but great numbers were obliged to content themselves with stand* ing room. A considenble portion of the meeting consisted of members of the Society of Friends of both sexes. On the platform, amqn^ many others, were — Lord Nngent, Mr. John Bright, M.P., Mr. W. Ewart, M.P., Mr. D. O'Connell, Mr. Milner Gibson, M.P., Mr. W. J. Fo;x, the Rev. H. Christmas, the Rev. Dr. Mortimer, Mr. Serjeant Quuning, Mr.- ,R. R. Moore, Mr. Sunuel Gurney, Mr. John Meredith, Mr Henry Vincent, Mr. T..8. Wrightsbn, the Rev. Dr. Campbell, the Rev. Dr. Candlish, .Mr.' J. C. Barclay, Mr,. F. F. Buxton, and "G. W. Alexander. At the hour appointed, on the motion of Mr. S. Gurney, Mr. Ewart, M.P., was called to the chair. The following resolutions were adopted :—": — " That the efficacy of criminal laws depends less upon the severity of punishment than the certainty of infliction ; and that laws which cannot be carried into execution without shocking the feelings of society, and sinking abhorrence of the crime in sympathy for the offender, are contrary to reason, inconsistent with morality, and opposed to the interests justice — objections wiiich m<>3t forcibly apply to statutes enacting the punishment of death." " That n the opinion of this meeting, uo fallib'e tribunal should be intrusted with the power of inflicting an irrevocable punishment; that awful instances of the condemnation cf innocent men, convicted upon what appeared at the time the clearest evidence, prove the fallibility ol the best constituted courts, and the necessity of adopting some punishment which may be recalled in the event of subsequent proof of the innocence of the supposed criminal, in place of a punishment which takes away that whicl man is powerless to restore, and consigns to a premature end a helpless fellow-being ; thus closing the gates of mercy which God would leave still open, and shortening the time fur rrpeutauce which he should still extend. *'

Death of Mr. John Liston, the Comedian. — The admirers of histrionic excellence will learn with regret, th it this matchless disciple of Momqs has " shuffled off thU mortal coil," at the age of 69, having been born in the year 1776, in the parish of Si. -Ann, Sohoi His death-took place on Sunday lasj, at his house, Gewrge's-terrace, Knightshridge. Hjs name is associated with the brightest recollections of- the British drama, when Kemble, Y.oun?, Cooke, .Emery,- Johnstpne, C. Kemble, Fawcett, -Mrs.- Siddons,- Miss O'N«*il, Mrs. Dickens, Miss Stephens, Mrs. >G|hbs, and a host of others, shed lustre- on the' boards of Cdvent Ga.d'-n TnoaCre",'- 3 He was. liberally educated at the Suho- School, and his first profession in life was that of a teacher at the Grammar School ot'Sfc, Martin's, Castle-street, Leicester-square. -.The-task of teaching the young idea how to shoot he soon declined, and r - throwing jlo.wn the b rch rod, became a professor of the sock and buskin. After the usual itiuerancy of a country actor at Weymouth, whpre he first appeared as Lord Duberly t in the Heir-at- Law, and made whar was considered a total failure in the line of comedy he directed his attention to, what is professionally termed th* heavy business, alias .virtuous fathers, usurpers, dukes, and tyrannical barons. He shortly after appeared, in Dublin with considerable effect, sustaining nwny characters of * serious cast. Hi's next remove was Co the York Circuit, then under the direction of the well-known Tate Wilkinson, and while in-this company he deteriiinei once more tc- woo his favourite mji&e Thalia, and quitting Tate, he joined Stephen Kerable's company, at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Sunderland, Durham, &c, and -was. soon recognised as a rising actor. At this tjmg^ All,. Charles Kemble, then on a, visit-to.hi* brother

Stephen, saw Liston,* and predicted his N future* excellence, ami having powerfully recomtnen? dcd him to George Colman for the Haymarket Theatre, he appeared before a London audience on the 14th of June, 1805, as Zekiel Horftespun, in the Heir-at-Law, and Skeepfnce, in the Village Lawyer, with good,though noc brilliant success. On the 15th of October, in the same year* he made his bow at Coven t Ga den Theatre, as Jacob Gawky, in the Chapter of Accidents, with complete success. Hi* career from that period till 1823, was one course of uninterrupted popularity. In 1807, Liston added to his good fortune by uniting himself to Miss Tyrer, then a charming ballad singer and farce actress, who has proved to him • most excellent wife. By his marriage he has « sou and daughter, now Mrs. Rodwell, wife of the composer and author. His son is a. capt#in in one of' the foot regiments. In 1823, Liston was induced, by the offer of £40' per week, to quitCovent Garden Theatre for Drury Lane, where he remained till' October; 1831, when Madame Vestris engaged him for the little Olympic Theatre, at (he enormous, salary of £100 per week. At this theatre?he continued six seasons —indeed, with the exception of s few nights at Coventgarden afterwards, he, closed his theatrical campaign, 'without taking a formal farewell of the public, alleging as his excuse that he was unequal to the painful usk of bidding a public adieu to his friends. During the season of Paul Pry, at th« Haymarket Theatre, Morr s, the proprietor, cleared £7000, Liston receivin? £60 per week. For many years, in the provinces, when starring for a few nights, his attraction was so great that he has received from £250 to £350 as his shire of the receipts in one week, in the towns of Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, &c. In his habits off the stage he was retiring, and associated but little with his dramatic brethren. He was ever ready to recommend and foster rising talents, and with is death the stage has lost an incomparable artist, ftud society a polished gentleman. ' -* -'

Hospitals. —At the late anniversary meeting of the friends of the German Hospital, a comparative view was given by Dr. Freund, one of the physicians, of the'population, cases of mortality, and hospital accommodations of the towns of London, Paris, Vinina, St. Petersburgh, Berlin, Warsaw, and Manchester, from which it appears that Paris, with a jpqpulatton of 1,000,000 had 10,000 be>ls ; St. Petersburgh, with a population of 476,00 ft .and an annual mortality of 10,000 to ItjOOQ. had 6000 beds; Vierna, with a population of about 400.0J0, and an annual mortality-of 16,000 to 17,000, had 3700 beds; Bejlin, with a population of 365,000 and an annual mortality of 8000 to 9000, had 3000 beds ; Warsaw, with a population of 150,000 had 4000 beds ; Manchester, comprising a population of 360,000 h id 193 beds, and an infirmary for luna'ics ; whilst London with a population of 2,000,000, and an annual mortality of 45,000, had only 5000 beds, ju;>t half the number the Parisians had for half the population of London. Paris fifty years "ago" had.6ooo beds, and London, in 1800, had but 4300 beds ; it should be added that there are wards for the sick in the poor houses of the continental towns, as well as in the work-houses of London, but they are no where included in this statistical account.

What is a Vagrant? — At the Clonrael assizes lately, the Grand Jury brought in bills presenting three prostitutes as vagrants, when the following conversation between the Court and the Jury took j-lace : — Judge Ball : Gentlemen, I nio not tlii'ik you can present them as vagrants ; it may be a defect in the law, or tne legislature might not have contemplated the transportation of this c!ass of persons ; but certainly they are not vagrants under the Act. — Foreman i What is a vagrant, my lord ? ( Laugh te,r)7-Court : 1 must refer yuu to the Act of Parliament. (Laughte. .)•— Foreman : We have not the Act in the gran. l jury room, my lord.— t Go,urt : -Well, gentlemen, I will read for you what the Act says — the lOih and I lth*Ghartes~l., cap. 16:— "All cosherers aud,- idle wanderers who cesse themselves and their lolfo'wers, horses and greyhounds (laughter) upoiHhe fioor inhabitants, compelling them to find them in necessaries, &c. ;" and a more recent Act, the 6th Anne, entitled an Act for the more effectual suppression ot Tories (loud laughter), robbers, and rapparees, says— •> "That all loose, idle vagrants, and such as pretend t,o be Irish gentlemen (laughter), and will not work, are vagrants." — Foreman : Thank you, my lord.- (Laughter.) — Upon the Dublin Evening Past remarks : — " The class of • Irish gentle men,' described by Sir Arthur Brook , in fhe.Hou&e.&f Commous, on Monday last— •» those who never possessed £500 a year, and. ajpedthe;B!yle"and expense of £5000, whilst screwing down their tenauts to powder-— this, class ot. Iri^B landlords are clearly embraced by the.stayjte_.of Queen Anne as 'loose, idle, vagrants,, vphjjf pretend to.be Irish gentlemen, and #UV_n©i -w&rk.' There is s fair chance; however, that Sir Robert Peel's measure' will '.brine" their nobles to nincp«ac«.'

A» ThJon Market House. — ThVGlasgoW , papers describe, an iron 'market house for ' Honduras/ that- ha< just bWn completed by' Messrs. iEdingtdn of Glasgow. It " measures' 1 108 feet* l«,ng by 6d feeV wide; artd is sur- ! rounded by a colonnade or verandah 12 feetj widtj 'supported by handsome fluted «dlumns. The interior or main building contains numerous stalls for the sale of the various market' conimoJities, and is ventilated by 'means of jalousie blades, fixed in the manner ot Venetian' blinds. There is besides a ventilator on the topj'that nothing may be wanting to encourage a delicious coolness in the hot climate for' which it is intended."