ENGLISH EXTRACTS.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume VI, Issue 456, 15 December 1849, Page 2

ENGLISH EXTRACTS.

The following letter 'is from the Downpatrick Recorder :—": — " July 13. — Sad work yesterday evening at Dolly's Brae, near Castlewellan. I have been there to-day, and learned the following particulars; — There was, as you know, an evident intention to attack the Orange procession at that place ; indeed, an anonymous challenge had been sent to Mr. Shaw, (Lord Anglesea's agent,) a day or two previous, couched in the bitterest langnage, desiring to meet the Rodens, the Keowns, the Skinners, the Pig-drivers, (the police), «nd the handfql of soldiers to protect the las*

march that they (the Orangemen) shall ever have, in spite of all Her Majesty's forces to protect them, and they should see who would be uppermost.' Government, as yon know, sent a troop of dragoons, with the company of the 13th light infantry, and about fifty police, the former under the command of Major Walhouse, the Utter under Mr. Tahiteau, R. M. The -Major disposed his forces so as to command the pass, and so far all went on. quietly, on the Orangemen coming to their place of rendezvous — Tollymore Park — though there were numbers of Rihbonmen at the place armed to the teeth, with every kind of weapons, guns, pikes, &c. Nothing, however, took place except an incident that nearly proved fatal to Captain Skinner, LordDownshire's agent. He had gone a road to the left, towards the townland of Leitrim, and met a large body of Ribbonmen, whom ho mistook for Orangemen. He accosted them ' Well, boys, are you from Ratbfriltnd ? They mistook him for Lord Roden, and made a furious attack upon him, and had nearly succeeded in piking him, and would have done so if it had not Deen tor one of the parties, who stepped forward and saved his life, for there were many from-* that quarter, and other parts — Crossgar, Hilltown, and Lough* ' inisland. It was on the return of the Ratbfriland, Ballyorrian, Ballyward, and other lodges, at six o'clock in the evening, at about half a mile beyond Dolly's Brae, where a large body of Ribbonmen were posted, that this melancholy and distressing occurence took place. Seeing the Orangemen coming up, they gave an immense cheer ; one of the Orangemen returned the cheer by discharging his gun in the air, when immediately, a volley was fired by the Ribbonmen, and a complete engagement took place, which lasted nearly half-an-hour ;. when four Ribbonmen, one Orangeman, and a girl looking on, were killed, and a considerable number wounded. Lieutenant Therry, of the 13th,. was attacked by a pikeman. He parried off the blows, and, I believe, took the man prisoner. Sub-Inspector Hill was also attacked. A policeman, in defending him, nearly bayoneted his officer ; but the man was shot. There have been about forty prisoners taken, who have been brought to Rathfriland, where the inquest is being held. One young man lies dead in Castlewellan ; another, and a woman badly wounded ; and I am told many are found in the ditches, at the dam of Artanna: but the real truth will not be known until the evidence at the inquest. Captain Skinner, nothing daunted went in the evening,, on the return of the Orangemen, to Dolly's Brae, where he lost his horse, and ( had to walk home. The Orangemen of that neighbourhood were escorted by the Clark hill, Cloughram, Clough, and Newcastle lodges,, to put them past that place ; and it was after they had left that they were attacked further on, and this deplorable catastrophe occurred. Drs. Brabazon and Hunter went this morning to see the wounded men ; but as they had the precaution ot having some police with them the people would not let them be seen. The worst feature on the part of the Orangemen is that they set fire to all the houses and burut eleven, and nearly burned an old woman and a cripple."

The Defalcations of Sir Thomas Turton, Bart. — On Tuesday a meeting of the sufferers from the appropriation to bis own purposes of moneys placed in the custody of the above-named gentleman, in his capacity of Registrar* General to the Supreme Court of Judicature at Calcutta, was held at the London Tavern, Bisbopgate-street, Mr* Alexander in the chair, " for the purpose of considering the best course to be adopted ia order to obtain compensation." The chairman stated that two or three thousand person* had been sufferers from the transaction, and not only this, but t great number of the widows and orphans of officers slain in battle had been defrauded. This was an additional motive for increased exertion. (Hear.) The Government had at present no funds out of which to afford compensation, and the East India Company disclaimed the responsibility. Their only resource, then, was the passing of a special Act of Parliament ; but in order to prosecute operations with the proper degree of vigour, several hundred pounds should be contributed. The wag in which he should propose to raise this sum was by a certain per centage on the amounts claimed, and to this proposition he trusted no opposition would be offered. The Hon. Stuart Wortley, M.P., would, probably, introduce their bill next session, and, as it was a money one, it was not likely to meet with any opposition, except perhaps from the East India Company, and that might be overcome. 13 kimately it was resolved that "a per centage of £1 on the amount of each claim should be demanded from the sufferers, by means of which it wts expected to introduce a special bill to the notice of the Legislature at the commencement of next session. It would appear that tbe defalcation amounts to between £90,000 and £100,000.— -Illustrated News, July 27. ,

REMOVAL OF A PORTION OF Lot's WIFE T o North America.— The Norfolk Beacon, (U. 5.,) in speaking of the Dead Sea exploration expedition, say 3 :—": — " Among the curiosities belonging to the Government, brought home in the United States store ship Supply, the following are particularly worthy of mention, as calculated to excite a degree of interest seldom attached to such things; a number of specimens of the water of the Dead Sea, the river Jordan, ami the pool of Siloaro, and fragments of the pillar of salt into which Lot's wife was transformed, as a punishment for her disobedience of the commands of the Almighty. In regard to this we are informed that the pillar from which it was taken rises nearly forty feet high, and stands exactly on the spot designated by the Bible j that Lieutenant Lynch, the commander of the Dead Sea expedition, expresses the confident opinion that it is the representative of what was Lot's wife. We believe it has not been ueen before for many centuries. Josepbus records its existence. Accident to the Nassau Balloon, at Vauxhali. Gardens. — Last evening, Mr. Charles Green, the veteran aeronaut, Mrs. Green his wife, »nd others, making altogether eleven individuals, got into the car and on the hoop attached to the balloon, intending to •scend as usual from the Gardens. r i he balloon proceeded in a northern course, but it was soon observed to be descending so rapidly, that it was generally thought a considerable leakage of the gas must have taken place, and that an accident of a serious character was inevitable. Mr. Green perceiving the extreme danger in which he was placed, commenced emptying the sand-bags or ballast as <juick as he possibly could, but even this did jiol prevent the gradual sinking. On passing over the St. George's Road, near West- • square, it was painlully evident to the thousands who were looking on that the balloon must come in contact with some of the buildings, and in an instant it landed od the roofs of the houses Nos. 94 and 95 on the north side of the London Road, and only one house removed irora the nunnery, which was formerly the Roman Catholic chapel. Tbe car, in which seven of tbe aeronauts were seated, struck the front of the bouse with considerable force so much so, that three 'of the persons who were standing on the hoop were thrown forward on the roof, which fortunately happened to be a flat one, but the forth clung to the net work of the balloon. The machine .being thus lelieved-Jrotn the weight of three of its occupants, instantly rose into the air to a considerable altitude, when a fresh current of air carried it in a southerly direction, apparently towards Croydon, where the descent was made without any accident.

Lusus Naturae. — We (Brussels HtiYaldJ have 10 record a lusus natura, of which, in modern times, the Sicilian RiUa-Chrisun% and the Siamese brothers were the most memorable instances. At Eerneghem, a village three leagues from the town- of Bruges, forming nearly the central point between Bruges, Thoorout, and Osteutl, were born on the 28th June, two children of the female sex completely unfed to each oilier. The two bodies join at the sides; the ligature union beginning a little below the right breast of the one, and the left breast of the other, and continuing as iar as the navel, so that the children do not look each other in the face, bat areturned one towards the other in an oblique position. Their heads, arms, thighs, and legs, arc perfectly free, and they have the proper use of all their limbs, and their position is such as to permit iheir mother to nurse both at the same tirae without difficulty. The curate of the parish baptized them the day of tbeir birih in the names of Marie and Sophie. The parents are poor servants, working and residing in a small (arm held by an old bachelor. The husband's name is Tangbe ; his wife, aged about thirty-eight years, has four other children. This birth has made some considerable noise in the neighbourhood, and the curious already begin to besiege the farmhouse where it took place.

Truth. — The late Rev. Robert Hall had so great an aversion to every species of falsehood and evasion, that be expressed himself very strongly on the subject. The following is an instance: — Once, while he was spending an evening at the house of a friend, s lady who was there on a visit retired that her little girl of four years old might go to bed. She returned in about balf-an-hour, and said to a lady near her, " she is gone to sleep ; I put on my nightcap and lay down by .her, and she soon dropped off." Mr. Hall, -who overheard this, said, " excuse me, Madam : do you wish your child to grow up a liar?" " Oh dear no. Sir; I should be shocked at such a thing." " Then bear with me while I say, you must never act a lie before her — children are quick observers, and soon learn that which assumes to be what it is not; it is a lie whether acted or spoken." This was uttered with a kindness which precluded offence, yet with a seriousness that could not be forgotten.