ENGLISH EXTRACTS.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume III, Issue 182, 28 April 1847, Page 3

ENGLISH EXTRACTS.

The Queen had presented to the Duchess of Inverness a pension of £1,000 per annum from the Privy Purse. Naval Aides-de-camp to the Queen. — The following; officers have been appointed to the distinguished honour of aides-de-camp to the Queen : — Sir A. P. Green, Sir N. J. Willoughby, $ir T. F«liow«f, E. H. A' Court,

M. P. ; Sir H. R. Sartorious, Captain A. Fanshawe, Captain Lord J. Hay, and Capt. Sir G. A. Westphall.. Captain Lord A. Fi«zclarence has also been appointed an extra aide-de-camp to her Majesty. The marine aides-de-camp are Colonel T. A. Parke, C.8., and Colonel John Owen, C. B. '

Order for the Organization of Pensioners for New Zealand. — War Office, November .30, 1846. — Sir, — I am directed to inform you that, in consequence ot numerous applications from pensioners who are anxious to settle in the colonies, her Majesty's Government propose authoiising the enrolment of a corps of six companies, each consisting of 4 Serjeants, 4 corporals, 2 drummers, and 76 privates, for settlement in New Zealand, on the conditions hereto annexed. These conditions you will explain to the pensioners in your district at the next monthly payment in December, and you must also make them known as soon as possible, through your out-station Serjeants at those places where the pensioners, being paid quarterly, are not likely to be visited by you before January next. You will observe that the leading features of the present arrangement is to extend to the colony of New Zealand the same principle of defence, by means of armed-pen- j sioners, which has been found to answer so well at home, and by which the old soldier will he enabled, while no danger threatens, to follow the agricultural or other pursuits to which he has been accustomed in his country, i but in the event of war he will be ready to \ take t c field, and join the regular force em- i ployed for the defence oi the colony, receiv- i ing for such occasj^nal service the high rate of pay authorised for enrolled pensioners by the royal warrant of 7th September, 1843. j There is this difference, however, as compar- ! ed with the arraugemems under which they serve in this country, and which you will be careful to explain them, viz., that instead of the pay and enrolment money to the extent of £2, which they have been in the habit of receiving here annually, they will in New Zealand have a cottage and aa acre of ground provided for them on their arrival ; the annual value of which is much more than equivalent to the money payment received for the same service in this country, and which cottage and land will become their own property in perpetuity after seven years of their engagement have been completed. By the arrangements which have been made, coupled with the strict superintendence of the officers j who will be placed over them, it is anticipated that these men and their families, will be relieved from most of the difficulties which have j attended a settlement in a new colony. They will have a cottage to enter on, and a small plot of ground available for cultivation, immediately on their arrival ; they will have their pensions, as in this country, to aid in supporting them, and there is every probability of their obtaining abundance of labour, at good wages, for themselves and their families ; but to prevent any difficulty on that head, the government will engage to provide labour on the public works at Is. 61. per day, for each person enrolled on the force during his first year of residence in the colony. (Signed) L. Sullivan. To the Staff- Officer of Pensioners. The remainder of the order, which is long, points out the general healthiness of the climate, limits the number to be selected to oneseventh of the whole force, and intimates that pensioners who are not enrolled will be received, under certain restrictions, to be mentioned hereafter. A printed code of conditions accompanies the order, which provides a free passage for the pensioners and their families, with rations ; an advance of three months' pension on embarkation ; an advance of money for furniture, and other advantages. A considerable number of pensioners have already offered themselves.

Emigration. — The Princess Royal, 543 tons, and marked A 1 at Lloyd's, has trnbarked 200 emigrants for the Australian colonies, under the directions of the government colonial emigration and lords commissioners. The emigrants are chiefly miners from Cornwall. While in the Sound vast numbers visited the vessel, and expressed themselves much pleased with her appointments.

Portland Roads. — The long- projected breakwaters in the Portland Roads will be soon commenced.

Military Theatricals. — The 60th Rifles, stationed at Halifax, have advertised for a site, upon which they will erect a theatre. Major-General Lord Frederick Fitzclarence is to succeed Lieut.-General tbe Hon. Sir Hercules Pakenham as Commander-in-Chief of the south-west district, and Lieut. - Governor of Portsmouth garrison, in April next. The Paris papers announce the death of the celebrated historian Michelet, whose late work called " Priests,' Women, tnd Families" excited *o much atttntion.

. Her Majesty rod Prince Albert had re ' turned from their visit to Arundel Castl e » where they met with a reception befitting the Sovereign of Great Britain. The most splendid entertainmeuts greeted them during their sojourn there. Her Majesty and Prince Albert, previous to their departure, each planted an oak commemorative of the event. The following is the circular of Buckles & Co., written on the sth Dec, two days before the series closed :—: — We take this opportunity to advise you that our fourth series of wool sales, which commenced on the 25 th ultimo, are progressing, on the whole, satisfactorily, at prices as nearly as may be the same as were realized in September, unless it be for low and ill conditioned wools, which are going perhaps a shade lower. The total quantity to be brought forward will be about 16,000, and the sales will terminate on the Bth instant. The same circular contains the subjoined particulars of the state of the London marketa in reference to articles of Export from this colony : — Our Oil market has been brisk of late- — sperm is now-worth £88 per tun, and southern £28 to £29 ; whalebone has advanced to £240 per ton. Tallow, after touching 50s. per cwt, for a very superior sample, has receded again a little in value, owing to large importations from Russia, but fine Australian Tallow is still saleable at 475. to 48s. Hides have bwen declining in value, and the best cannot now be quoted as worth more than 3d. to 3£d. per lb. Bark bears a nominal value of £7 to £7 10s. per ton, but is really unsaleable even ut that low rate. Our corn market is by no means so brisk as it has been, and \i«j doubt whether 68s. per quarter could now be obtained for the finest samples of Australian, such as a few weeks since would have sold readily at 725., if not at 745. In English politics, there is nothing worthy of mention ; as the saying is, " London was out of town," and the " grouse" and " partridge" were giving the vaiious representatives far more trouble than the interests of their constituencies.

New Governor or the Island o» Ascension. — Captain Hutton, a gallant officer of the Royal Navy, has just received the appointment of Governor of the Island of Ascension. The yams in Jamaica are said to be affected with a disease similar to that which has attacked the potato. Dickens had published a book named the Battle of Life, and Mr. Bulwer a novel name I Lucretia. v The Hudson's Bay Company have fitted up a new expedition to survey the North East American Coast. Mr. Cobden was travelling in Spain, and had been welcomed with great cordiality by the Spaniards ; the testimonial to him hat reached £80,000. Mr. Hudson, known as the Railway King, had been elected the new Lord Mayor of York. The Pope has offered a gold medal (of value one thousand dollars) for the best plan of crossing the great Appenine barrier between Ancona and Rome. Victor Hugo is new employed in writing a new romance. Alexander Dumas has tome half dozen works on his hands. Eugene de Sue's last work, the Martin do, Infant, is a signal failure, says the London Atlas. The banking establishments in Sheffield had agreed to allow their clerks a half holiday every Thursday. Earl Fortescue as Provincial Grand Master of Devonshire was about to have a testimonial presented to him by the masonic fraternity of that province. There are 18,000 windmills in Holland, averaging a force 90,000 horses' power, of which 60,000 are required to keep the country above water. We have received via Melbourne, English news to the 11th December, being a week later than that brought by the December Post office packet. The Iris, by which the news was brought, sailed from the Downs on the 12th Dec, and arrived at Port Phillip on the^2sth ultimo. A memorial to Government, in favor of conferring a pension on Mr. Sheridan Knowles, the first dramatic writer of the day, has been laid down at the bar of the Glasgow Royal Exchange for signature. Archdeacon Shirley has been appointed to the Bishopric of Sodor aud Man. The Kerry Examiner states that the wrecks of upwards of one hundred vessels are floating about the western coast of Ireland. The Liverpool Journal says that, within a circle of forty mile*, the population round Manchester exceeds that round St. Paul's by 350,000.

The Post Office. — We have heard on what we believe to he good authority, that Colonel Maheily is about to retire, on his full salary, from the office of Secretary to the Postmaster- General, and that he will he succeeded by Mr. Rowland Hill, whose claims to the office are, in case of a vacancy, perfectly irresistible. We sincerely hope that this important announcement will piove correct ; for, without any imputation of negligence or inincapacity upon the present Secretary, it is quite obvious that his strong prejudices in favor of the obsolete system of post office management must render him a very unfit instrument for working out plans of a totally different character ; and we believe that few persons will grudge the full retiring salary which report assigns to him.

Spain. — General Flokes. — The Ecuador expedition is completely at an end. At the very moment that the navy of General Flores was seized in the Thames, his army were dispersed in Biscay. The Clamor Publico publishes the following extract from a letdated Vittoria, Nov. 20.— " The expedition of General Flores is at an end, in consequence of the revolt of his troops at the depots of Eurango and that of Ordana, who on being commanded to march to Santander for embarkation, dispersed through the country. A private letter, dated the 16th Nov., states that it was considered almost certain in Madrid that the Queen was in a situation which would very speedily settle the dispute between England and France. M. Henderson had arrived at Madrid on the part of the Spanish bondholders, bnt had not yet had a conference with the minister of finance.

Revolution in Portugal. — Though the probable result of the present struggle in Portugal Is a problem that ordinary persons seek in vain to solve, it would seem that in very high quarters the difficulty is not so great. We judge so from a circumstance that has been stated to us on apparently good authority. We are assured that orders were given, before the departure of the Court for the Isle of Wight, for the immediate preparation of apartments in Windsor Castle, in case the Queen of Portugal and the King Consort should find it advisable to avail themselves of British hospitality. Arrangements are also made for the reception of their Majesties' four sons and two daughters, who may naturally be expected to accompany their royal parents in this involuntary visit. It is added that the mysterious mission of Colonel Wylde about which people have wearied themselves with conjectures, had relerence simply to the offer of this asylum to the royal family of Portugal. — Morning Paper.

Austria. — Vienna, Nov. 14. — The astounding news of the incorporation of Cracow with our monarchy, caused, at the first moment, an extraordinary sensation. The exchange was at first so alarmed, that a deputation of merchants waited on Mr. Kirbeck, president of the finance department. The excitement in the diplomatic circles seems to have been even still far greater. Respecting the future existence of the city of Cracow itself, the Austrian government has provided as well as possible. Cracow is to be the capital of the new created government of West Galicia, and here will be a civil and military governor, and a commander of the place. The evening before yesterday, the Duchess of Bordeaux, who was married at Modena by proxy, arrived in Bruck. The marriage of the younger Archduchess of Modena to the Spanish Infant Don Juan, is to take place in March next.

The Ne w Planet. — The present distance of the new planet, expressed in common measure, is about 3,200,000,000 English miles from the sun, and about 3,100,000,000 from the earth. Its distance from Uranus — whose motions it disturbs — is about 150,000,000 of miles. Its diameter is estimated at 50,000 miles. That of Uranus is about 35,""000 ; of Jupiter, 86,000 ; of Saturn, 79,000 ; of the earth, 8,000. Its cubic bulk is to that of the earth as 250 to 1. The new planet is the largest in our system, except Jupiter aud Saturn ; and since these two planets, as well as Uranus, are each attended by a train of satellites, it is extremely probable that the new planet will have a similar accompaniment. We had the pleasure of seeing the planet on Thursday night from the Calton Hill. It comes to the Traeridian a few minutes before nine, and is within a short distance of Saturn. With a power under 200, it is not distinguishable from a fixed star. — Scotsman.

Quick Travelling. — The Spanish officer in charge of the mail between Gibraltar and Singapore, and back to England, left Gibraltar for Alexandria, in the Oriental steamer, on the 26th August, a distance of 1828 miles, proceeded from Alexandria to Suez, 272 miles ; from Suez to Ceylon, per Precursor, 3459 miles ; from Ceylon to Singapore, per Lady Mary Wood, 2000 miles ; and arrived at Singapore at 4 o'clock, on Oct. 8, having travelled 7,559 miles. He then returned from Singapore to Galle, per Braganza, 1000

miles; from Galle to Suez, per Hindostan, 3,459 miles ; from Suez to Alexandria, 272 miles ; from Alexandria to Gibraltar, per Oriental, 1,828 miles; from Gibraltar to Southampton, per Oriental, 1,143 miles ; and arrived at Southampton 2nd December, after having travelled 16,261 miles in 98 days ; from which must be deducted 20 days for stopping to enjoy himself, watering and coaling, leaving 78 days. This gives an average of 208| miles per day.

Comforts in the Army. — The 2nd battalion of Grenadier Guards, stationed at St. John's Wood barracks, commanded by Lieut. Col. Sir O. Honyman, are now enjoying privileges formerly unknown in the British Army ; they have a library that would do credit to any institution in England ; it consists of nearly one thousand volumes of various works (the battalion's own property) including ancient and modern history, naval and military history, including the whole of the late campaigns in India, nearly all the new works of our modern writers, together with biography, geography, &c, with some most excellent maps, on a very large scale, maps of India, America, Great Britain, and all her Majesty's colonies. The men are furnished, free of expense, with copy-books, pens, ink, and every accommodation, in the library, so that the man who objects to go to the regimental school may here improve himself. Those men who do not wish to attend either school or library, ca/i have copy-books in the barrack room, frej of expense, by applying to the pay sergeant of their companies. The daily and weekly papers are also taken in at the library, together with the monthly periodicals. Various sorts of games are also followed up in the barracks, such as cricket (of which there is an excellent club, including many of the officers), rackets, quoits, skittles, and foot-ball, and in the evening every accommodation is afforded in the library for chess, draughts, and dominoes, where tea or coffee is provided extra for those men who may wish for it. The members of the library (which is open to all) subscribe one halfpenny weekly, and a number of the officers have subscribed most handsomely towards it. The Adjutant (Captain Bradford) is unceasing in his attention to their comforts and pleasure. The men cannot but feel deeply indebted for the rapid progress which has taken place in the improvement of the morals, manners, comforts, and amusements of all classes of the battalion, the result of which is, there is not one man in the military prison, nor has the commanding officer had occasion to bring any man under the cognisance of a couit martial for these last three months. — Sunday Paper. "VarraGude." — A young Scotchman, the Edinburgh papers relate, was lately in Paris on a visit, and formed an acquaintance with a lozette — one of those ladies who, by the force of pretty faces, extract presents from vain and simple men. She took a violent fancy to a magnificent dressing case in a tradesman's window. The price was £120 — the Scotchman offered £100, and would give no m&' The shopkeeper would take no less thatf£l2p. The lozette, hearing of the negotiation, stepped in, unknown to her inamorato, and gave the tradesman £20, with instructions to send the coveted case to the Scotchman, and get the £100. He did so ; he had his full price, and the Scotchman had the dressing case. It was very handsome — superb. It would be more creditable, he thought, to take it home, and make a present of it to his sister, than«to bestow it on a mere adventurer — the toy of a passing hour — who cared only for what she could get out of him. The lozette waited, and waited — the case never came — and she was lost in astonishment and suspense. At length the news reached her that the Scotchman had gone to Scotland, and the dressing case with him. The lozette was furious — she had lost, not only the case, but £20 in cash — and vowed vengeance against the shopkeeper and the Scotchman, and all Scotland and ihe Scotch !

Statistics of Wesleyanism. — The Wesleyan Conference territorially covers every parish in England, with 1688 ministers under its orders, 15,000 local preachers, and 30,000 leaders, stewards, and trustees, with 468,313 members of society acknowledging its sway, and perhaps 2,000,000 hearers affording their countenance. The immense amount of their chapel and other real property has been estimated at more than three millions sterling ; while the annual revenue of the body, from every source, is probably not much less than a million. The income of their missionary society for the year 1845-6 was more than £112,000: in 1840 by a mighty effort £171,687 of chapel debts were extinguished, and the centeuary fund fell little short of a quarter of a million. The product of the weekly pence and quarterly shillings contributed in the classes — of the yearly and July collections — suffices for the maintenance (in far greater average comfort than any other body of Christian ministers) of more than fifteen hundred ministers, with their wives and families : for perhaps no married minister re-

ceives less than an equivalent of £175 per annum, and perhaps none more than £350. The theological institutions at Richmond and Didsbury contain seventy-four students; the Kingswood aud Woodhouse Grove schools provide for the education of two hundred pupils ; proprietary schools have been established at Sheffield and Taunton ; the last return shows that their Sunday-schools are attended by 500,000 scholars ; and of the 700 day schools which it was determined to form at the clrife of 1843, more than one-half have been already called into existence. — Church of England Quarterly Review.

Speculation in Newspapers. — A firm in Paris, M. Duvegrier and Co., have entered into a contract with the proprietors of the four leading French journals — Les Debits, Le Constitutionnel, La Presse, and Le Siecle, to "farm" these journals, that is, to take every copy they'at present publish, the number not to be increased, nor any additional copies sold to any one iut the "farmer." Upon this principle a Mr. Thomas, a newspaper agent, in Catherine-street in the Strand, has tendered to contract with the London morning papers, the Times, the Chronicle, the Herald, the Post, and the Advertise^ to farm all their advertisements, that is to say, to pay them a certain sum per annum for the right of advertisiug in those journals, and no advertisement is to be received or inserted, upon any pretence whatever, that does not come from him. It is said that the securities he is to give for the regular payment of his rent amount to £200,000. This is certainly an extraordinary speculation. Mr. Thomas is a grand advertising mono] olist. A part of his plan is said to be a great reduction in the price of advertisements, the newspapers 1 being bound to insert all he sends, exactly upon their present plan as to size of type, &c. He calculates upon making up in number more than will compensate him for the reduction of price upon Mr. Hill's uniform Penny Postage plan.

Paper made from Cotton. — At the last meeting of the Paris Academy of Sciences, M. Dumas said that M. Schonbein, the inventor of the explosive cotton, had succeeded in making from cotton a paper clear and transparent as glass, and flexible as ordinary paper. The friction of this paper excites electricity in a very high degree. When a portion of it is placed in the dark it becomes luminous, and if it be rubbed against common paper or cloth it adheres to it with such force that it cannot be removed, This fact, added M. Dumas, was beyond contestation, for he had frequently made the experiment himself.

A Fishy Capital. — Let us, for a moment, step ashore in what our author styles the fishiest of modern capitals, St. John, Newfoundland. Here codfish are the one thing universal; acres of sheds, roofed with cod, laid out to dry, boats fishing for cod, ships loading with it, fields manured with it, and, best of all, fortunes made by it. The accomplishments of the daughter, the education of the son, the finery of the mother, the comforts of the father, all are paid for with this profitable fish. The population subsist upon it ; figuratively, not literally. For, although the sea is alive with cod, the earth covered with it, and the air impregnated with its odour, it is carefully banished from the dinner table, and "an observation made on its absence from that apparently appropriate position, excited as much astonishment as if I bad made a remark to a Northumberland squire that he had not a head dish of Newcastle coals." But the abundance which renders it unpalatable to the Newfoundlanders, procures them more acceptable viands, and all the luxuries of life. The climate ungenial, the soil barren, crops are difficult to obtain, and rarely ripen ; even potatoes and vegetables are but scantily compelled from the niggard earth ; fish, the sole produce, is the grand article of barter. In exchange for his lenten ration of bacallao, the Spaniard sends his fruits and Xeres, the Portuguese his racy port, the Italian his Florence oil and Naples maccaroni. Everywhere, but especially in those " countries of the Catholic persuasion," where the fasts of the Romish church are most strictly observed, Newfoundland finds customers for its cod and suppliers of its wants. — Blackwood's Mag.