LATEST ENGLISH NEWS.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume III, Issue 214, 18 August 1847, Page 3

LATEST ENGLISH NEWS.

[From the Sydney -Morning Herald, 27th July.] The arrival of the John Fleming (Post Office Packet) has put us in possession of English news to the 2nd April, thirty days later than had been previously received direct, and eight days later than the newt vii India. In Ireland the famine continued without abatement ; deaths from starvation and diseases were awfully numerous. The continued drain for gold to pay for the immense importations of food, was causing the utmost alarm among mercantile men, and Consols were as low as 88^. The state of Ireland is too truly shown in the extracts from the limes and other papers ; and, from the neglect of tillage, there is reason to lear that the next year will be even worse than the piesent one. The Ameicans were expressing much sympathy with the distressed, and were sending over assistance both in money and food. The Legislature of Nova Scotia had voted £1000, and that of New Brunswick £12">0 for the same purpose. The General Relief Fund exceeded £250,000, which included a sum of £50,000 handed to the Treasurer on account of the collection in churches under the Queen's letter. The attention of the Government was likely to be turned to emigration as a mode of relief after Easter, an address to that effect having received the signatures of many leading men. The Flouse of Commons adjourned from the 30th March to the 12ih April, for the Easter recess. The Committee on the Navigation Laws were proceeding with their labours. A strong opposition to the proposed alterations was being excited I'y the shipowners and shipbuilders. The 13th of January we noticed a proposal by Mr. Em'erby for the revival of the British Southern Wlialf Fishery, by establishing a station at the Auckland Islands, which had just been granted to him tor that purpose ; but, although the scheme appeared in eve.y way desirable, we were unable, in the midst of the universal railway delusions, and their impending consequences, to hold out the probability of its being attended to. Since that tjme Consols have fallen four per cent., and we had come to regard the chance of raising £250,000 or £300,000 (the required capital) as altogether hopeless. Out of the very difficulties, however, which seemed to threa- j ten the proposal w.th extinction, or, at all events, with temporary failure, a measure has arisen by which the end may be immediately .attained,, and lh : s in & more effectual and.satisfactory way than could have resulted from any other means. The governors and directors of the South Sea Company (subject, of course, to the sanction of a general court) have this day resolved to consider the propriety of advancing the requisite sum ; and England will now, therefore, have the chance of resuming at once- a. branch of commerce and of national enterprise peculiarly her own, but which, through pernicious legislation and defective management, she had suffered to be wrested from her. That it should be taken up by the South Spa - Company, who are known to have a large surplus fund for which they have in vain sought fitting employment, seems one of those obvious suggestions which the moment they are mentioned excite surprise that they could previously have been lost sight of. The precise conditions upon wlrch the advance is to be proposed are yet to be determined, a committee having been appointed for that purpose ; but it is understood that there is no disposition to exclude the public from participation, and that it is merely the object of the company to prevent 'a measure which promises large results both

in a national and commercial sense, and of which they are fully cognizant, from being delayed or lost merely because men's minds are so p re- occupied as to shut out the consideration of its merits. They are justified in the step they have taken, and th it, although the enterprise is one which the public have neglected, they have a fair prospect of securing advantages that will ultimately be highly prized, there is sufficient evidence. Mr. Euderby's experience would give itself some considerable warrant of success ; but apart from this we have .he fact that the Americans, by whom no such advantages are possessed as will attend the present plan, find the trade one of the most profitable that is open to them, and presenting a constant inducement to an influx of capital. That they also find it a chief source of their maritime power is now notorious, and it is to be inferred, that it is. principally from a sense of this fact that our own Government have been led to promote and recognize by all possible means the vigorous and well considered project which is now, we are glad to believe, on the point of being carried out. — Times, March 27» We have again the gratification to announce the approach oi an event calculated to increase the domestic happiness of our Sovereign and the Prince Consort. Her Majesty's accoi chement, it is cofidently stated, will take place in August next. — Morning Post. The Commisfariat have entered into contracfs to supply the army in Ireland with | meat for six months, from Ist April next, at 6|d. per lb., a very high price, and nearly 3d. over the former contract. — Limerick Chronicle. ■ i The Pope has determined on creating an or 'er of knighthood for rewarding persons distinguished by virtue or merit, without regard to creed or nation. It will be divided into two classes ; one o r which is to confer on the members hereditary uobiiity, and the other personal nobility.

Emigration from Dublin. — The quays are every day crowded with emigrants, principally natives of Tipperary, Kilkenny, King's and Queen's Counties, Westmeath, Cavan, and Leitrim. They invariably appear to be ot that class well known in I: eland by the description of " snug people" — or fine able young fellows, of the labouring class, whose energies do not seem to have been impaired by the prevailing distress. About three hundred daily is the number of those who fly from the scenes of destitution which exist to such a fearful extent — and all direct their course to New York, proceeding in the first instance to Liverpool. During the last week of February, Lord de Vesci, solely a: his own expense, sent one hundred persons to New York from his estate in the county of Kilkenny ; and lie not only paid their passage, and gave ordeis that they should be prov.ded with beds, provisions, and everything necessary for their transit to the New World, but he also gave an order on New York that they should receive £1 each on their arrival there. — Dublin Post.

Facts about the Famine. — A. lettpr from the Rev. Richard Boyle To * nsend gives a harrowing sketch of the destitution that still prevails in the doomed district of Skibbereen. It appears*>hat Lor! Dufferin and the Honorable Mr. Boyle (brother of Lord Glasgow), having read, while at Oxford, some of Mr. Townsend's statements, made a collection in that city, and came over to Ireland in order to witness in person the scenes of misery described in the public journals. Arrived in Skibbereen, the noble lord and his companion waited on Mr. Townsend, who acted as their guide in an excursion through the town and suburbs. The Rev. gentleman's narrative proceeds as follows :—": — " I carried them to one of our cabins — the best of its kind. I took them there, supposing it free from disease ; but the state of the woman within told us she was affected with diarrhoea. They were shocked. We went from this to the old church-yard ; there they saw the mode of sepulture now common — of throwing the bodies out of a shell coffin into a pit, and covering them so slightly that a few scrapes of a shovel soon laid bare the abdomen of one that was uppermost. You may be sure this sufficed tor so far. We passed thence to the place occupied by their more fortunate fellowsufferers from the workhouse. These had coffins. They were, however, scarcely covered, and the ends of two of one tier of coffins (for there are three placed one over another in a grave about two feet deep, and the upper one comes level with the surface) were exposed. There was a pit in progress of being filled by bodies from the same house at the feet of these, and I asked why it was left in that uncovered unmade state. The men employed digging a lengthened pit said, that the persons employed by the workhouse authorities had brought four bodies as "yet, and as they expected six more that evening, they left the pit unfinished. His lordship -never saw such a sight before. They had buried six the preceding morning from the work-

' house, and four, more in the evening of the I same day. And they are in the habit of bringing some days eleven bodies to be thus interred. Such was the information given by those disinterested workmen. We left this only to Le witnesses of a scene which, while it baffles description, shows powerfully the terrible effect such a state of things as ours is producing on a people previously brutalised. At the end of what is called the New-bridge there -is a miserable shed at the gable end of as miserable a cabin. The parish coffin arrived just as we reached the end of the bridge. I begged his lordship to stand and see. The coffin was tak^n from the cart ; its very size, to fit all dimensions of persons, is in itself calculated to strike with horror. It was brought to the door ; it was too large further to admit it. One of the fellows began to blaspheme and curse at others not disposed tv do his work. They went in and after some minutes rummaging amongst her dying family of four, which she had left, they brought out the naked and emaciated skeleton of an old woman, a mere little torn remnant of what had once been a quilt being just thrown over the abdomen. One took her by the head and the other by the heels, and flung her into the coffin, making some shocking exclamation. It was too much ; we turned from the sight completely sickened, and his lordship made up his mind that he had seen enough. In addition to the £50 he had collected in Ox- j ford, he gave £10 in remembrance of the scenes he had witnessed. The poor old woman's shattered frame he never forgot the whole evening; and to say the truth when I returned I could eat no dinner. I tried to eat, but could not. His lordship did not know how I could stand such scenes and sights.

I Frightful Destitution in the Highlands. — We regret to learn that destitution, disease, and death, are committing the most desolating havoc amongst the Highlanders. In Strobiand the people are without food, or the means of purchasing any. In one hut were found a man, his wife, and five children, crouched around the dying embers that were lying on the grate, over which were the ears of com they were drying for their food. A poor hdlf-fanmhed wretch applied at a kitch-en-door of a farm-house for food. His wretched condition excited pity, and he was brought in, and had bread and fish given him. He ate the fish, but put the bread in his pocket. Upon being asked why he did so, he replied that he would take the bread to his infant, whom he left at home crying for food. At Sleath and Streath the burials are so frequent that a green sod is not to be seen in churchyards. The people are glad to get a meal of herrings and cold water. First, cholera attacked and' carried them off, and now dysentery is completing the ravage. Although Sleath and Streath compiise a population of 3000, there is neither a physician nor a compouuder of medicine in the districts. Au old retired doctor, whose infirmities render him incapable of execution, is the only person to whom they can apply for advice. In the House of Commons, on the 22nd March, Mr. Fox Maule moved the second reading of the Bill for altering the established term and conditions of service in the Army. Having been read a secoi d time, it was ordered to be committed on the following Monday. The Court had returned from the Isle of Wight, and taken up their abode at Buckingham Pa ace. The London Gazette, 24th March announced the appointment of Viscount Torrington to be Governor and Commander- inChief of Ceylon : and Mr. James Robert Macintosh to be Lt.-Governor of St. Chiistopher. It is confidently stated (says a Morning Paper,) by persons who ought to be well-in-formed on the subject, that the present Parliament will be brought to a close, by means of a dissolution, about the end of June, or beginning of July. The registration returns are mentioned as being, in the opinion of the Government, sufficiently in its 'favour to justify this appeal to the country. O'Connell is reported to be out of danger. His physician conceived he had strength enough to undertake his intended trip to the Cout!nent» A certain heaviness is said to hang over his mind. The first division of the pensioners enrolled for service in New Zealand, consisting of se-venty-five men, under the command of Capt. Kenny, late staff-officer at Sheffield, will erabark in a few days for that colony. This detachment is composed of artificers, who are to clear the land and build the barrack cottages for the recently formed battalion, the head quarters of which will shortly be under orders lor embarkation for the same destination. On the 23rd March, a deputation on the subject of steam communication with Australia, the ('ape of Good Hope, and the Mauritius, had an interview with Earl Grey at the Colonial Office. The deputation consisted of Messrs. H. Buckle, F. Margies, P. W. Flower, H. Watson, S. Yenning, Joseph Maitiand, and C. D. Hayes, and was headed by Mr. J. Evelyn Denison, M. P.

Ie Colonial Bishopricks. — It has been de>f finitively settled by the Committee for the s Management of the Colonial Bis>hopricV Fund, y that the present diocese of Australia shall be s divided into three separate sees ; the central c portion being superintended by the Right c Rev. Dr. Broughton, now Bishop of Austras lia, but whose title will henceforth be Bishop . of Sydney. The district of Port Phillip it is c intended shall also form a separate s c, under ( the namr of the Bishopric of Melbourne. - Out of the northern coast of New South Wales . another diocese, w'th a name to be derived ; from one of the principal settlements (New- , castle or Maitland) probably, will be formed, f The colony of South Australia is also forth3 with to be erected into a new diocese. The ■ Rev. Charles Perry, M. A., of Trinity Col- » lege, Cambridge, who has recent'y been ap- » pointed to the bishopric of Melbourne, in > Australia Felix, will be consecrated in the ' course of a few days, and will shortly after- : wards depart for his diocese. It is understood that the Rev. Augustus Short, late stu- ; dent and censor of Christ- Churchr, Oxford, and Bampton University lecturer, is likely, to obtain the new Bishopric' of Adelaide; and the Rer. R. Allwood, chaplain to the Bishop of Australia, that of Morpeth, Australasia. His Holiness Pope Pius IX. has been graciously pleased to confer the Grand Cross of the Order of St. Gregory the Great on the Earl of Shrewsbury. The exceedingly limitei number to which this distinction is confined, as well as the high rank of persons generally receiving it, makes it an illustrious mark of regard from the Sovereign Pontiff. The order was accompanied by a very flattering letter from his Eminence the Cardinal Secretary of State. The King of Prussia has nominated Sir David Brewster to be a Chevalier of the Order of Merit, in the room of Admiral Krusenstern, the celebrated navigator. The Bishop of Oxford has been presented by the Queen and Prince Albert, and the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, with four windows of stained glass for the chapel which his lordship has erected at Cuddesden Palace, for the use of his household. H. M. Steam Sloop " Sphitnx." — This fine new steamer, of 1,050 tons, 500 horse power, was run ashore in Brixton Bay, Isle of Wight, 1 6th Jan. 1 847. A Court Martial, subsequently held, dismissed Commander Craggs from the ship, ordering his name to be placed at the bottom of the Commanders' list. The Master, Mr. Wallis, was likewise dismissed the ship, placed on the list of second Masters, and rendered ineligible to become a Master again for one year. Mr. James Campbell, chief clerk to the Secretary of the General Post-office, has been appointed assistant-secretary in the room of the late Mr. Lawrence. Mr. Dyce has been commissioned to paint, on the walls of the Staircase at Osborne House, in fresco, on a large scale, an historical, or rather poetical subject — " Neptune yielding to Britannia the sovereignty of tha seas." The congregation of St. • John's Chapel, Bedford-row, contributed on Sunday, Jan. 10, the munificent sum of £1,240 and upwards in aid of the destitute in Ireland and Scotland. In Cairo, Mehemet AH has* constructed a new mosque, of Egyptian marble, said to be the most splendid in the world. Consequent on the vacancy in the East India direction, caused by the death of Mr. Aste!l, M. P., Mr. Ross Donnelly Mangles, late of the Bengal Civil Service, General Caulfield, C. B. of the Bengal Army, and Captain Eastw ick, late of the Bombay Armjr, have determined on going to the poll. The impression seems to be that Mr. Mangles will be the fortunate candidate. A new instrument called the baryton, between the viola and violoncello, has been in« vented in France. A Scotchman visiting a churchyard with a friend, pointing to a shady, quiet nook, said | — " This is the spot where I intend being >laid, if I'm spared /" Operations without Pain. — Instead of giving any more cases in proof of a thoroughly established fact, we think we shall do service to our readers generally by inserting the following letter, addressed to a daily contemporary, on some interesting points connected with the application of the new agent : — " The exact qualities of vapour of ether, and the precise modes in which it acts on the nervous system, require much investigation. Every day produces new cases- in which surgical operations are performed, under its influence, without pain to the patient ; but it is not invariably successful. This day, at the Optbalmic Hospital, Mr. C. Guthrie completed the serious operation of lithotomy,' the patient declaring alter it was over that hi l.ad not felt the knife. Many other cases are given in the papers ; but it appears that the ether does net equally affect all cases. "In one instance reported in London, the patient, a woman, was a bug time before insensibility could be induced. It was known that she was agin,

drinker. On Saturday last ether iras tried upon a miner, whose leg required amputation in consequence of an accident. The , patient inhaled the ether for 23_ minutes, aria" for the last ten minutes the strength oiF the vapour ■was increased by the application of heat, yet no stupefaction, nor even partial insensibility, ensued. The operating surgeons, who had been successful in previous cases, accounted for the fact by the habits of the man, who had been a great smoker and drinker, and bad thus impaired the susceptibility of the nervous system to narcotic or other analogous influences. At the Westminster Medical Society, on Saturday last, Dr. Snow said that an im- ! portant point with respect to the vapour of ether was the great effect of temperature on its relations to the atmosphere. Att increase of only thirty degrees in the temperature of atmospheric air causes it to take up just twice the quantity of ether. Another of its qualities should deter ignorant persons from tampering with it. The vapour is highly inflammable, and if used by candlelight great risk oF explosion would be incurred. Its weight would induce its accumulation near the floor, and the application of flame would lead to most dangerous consequences. Some French surgec ns have even contemplated the possibility of a case iii which the combustion induced by ignorance might extend to that portion of the vapour of ether contained in the lungs of the patient. This is, however, very unlikely. Indeed, from some experiment made in London, it would seem tl.at the expired vapour is not inflammable. The dangers, however, are too many to justi'y the employment of the vapour by uninformed persons, and are sufficient to require the careful investigation of the scientific surgeon. Criminal Lunatics. — A visit to the criminal department of hethlem Hospital is productive at present of strange and painful associations in regard to the administration of justice in this country. Hadfield, so justly saved by the eloquence, and wisdom of Erbkine, is no more. Dalmas, the Battersea-bridge murderer, is removed by transportation — a sentence which probably is well adapted to the extent of his guilt ; for there had been a heavy injury to his head in early life, which might be fairly taken in extenuation as to the motives of his act, though the measures afterwards adopted by him for concealment showed that he was still susceptible of motives, and therefore a responsible agent. The Greenwich murderess is at present in Bethlem, where her. case will afford very mischievous evidence to all such hysterical young females as may be cognizant of it, how comfortably life may to appearance be spent after the indulgence of splenetic cruelty, provided a human being is destroyed. There is not about her the smallest evidence of insanity. The Honourable Mr. Tucket, cool, indifferent, and self-possessed, enjoys there the immunity from punishment which a wellchosen counsel can at any time obtain for an eccentric culprit, where the punishment of death is manifestly too severe for the occasion, and yet nothing but the plea of insanity can avert it. Oxford has thefrequent gratification of being stared at as the man who shot at the Queen. Captain Johnson's cold, close, sub-acid visage, and quiet, gentle demeanour, is awfully contrasted in our recollection with the demoniacal violence which drink and fear, operating upon cruelty, could produce in him, without the smallest warrant of insanity. While Macnaughten, the murderer of Mr. Drummond, a man really under the influence of monomaniacal impulses, is, in these walls, as certainly prevented from outbreaks of violence by a consciousness that they would be followed by a period of seclusion, as he might, perhaps, before have been, had the laws of bis country, or rather the principle on which those laws are carried out, furnished him with some definite reasons of self-control. lam far from affirming that all those unhappy persons deserved death. I only mean to suggest that for the sake of preventive example, they required some form of punishment. — Majo. Departure of Tom Thumb for, America. — Tins astonishing and clever little prote'gi took his departure . for Boston, in the Cambria on Thursday. He is accompanied by his protector, Mr. Barnum, and his parents. In taking our leave of this miniature heio, we would briefly glance at his unparalleled success since his artival in Europe. He has appeared before more crowned heads than any person living — that is to say, in the exhibition line. He has been absent from America be-* tween three and four years, and weighs no more now than the day he left his native shore ; but his intellectual faculties have improved immensely. He "speaks French fluently — plaj^s "the piano — is learning the violin ' and other , 'instruments. He played in a Ft ench piece in JPjaris and the principal French cities ; was elected member of the Dramatic Society in Paris ; has played Hop o' m$ ~ Thumb, and Bombastes Furioso, with great eclat in London and elsewhere. He has re« ceived many valuable presents from the prinj cipal sovereigns of Europe ; has kissed' more

than a million and a half of ladies :, lias exhibited before 3,000,000 of persons, and the gross receipts of his exhibitions, including his theatrical performances, and his private levees at various palaces, and at the houses of the nobility of England, France, Belgium, Spain, &c, exceed £150,000, which, reckoning 56 sovereigns to the pound avoirclupoi.se, would make 2678 pounds weight ot gold ; and as the General weighs but 15 pounds, it follows that he has received 178 times his weight in gold. In silver, the weight would be 46,875 pounds, and would make 3125 silver statues of the General, of the same weight as himself.