LATE ENGLISH NEWS.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume VI, Issue 466, 19 January 1850, Page 3

LATE ENGLISH NEWS.

The Queen, with Prince Albert and the Royal family, was still staying at Balmoral in Scotland. - It is stated in military circles that a brevet promotion, to commemorate her Majesty's first visit to Ireland, will be gazetted about the middle of the present month ; and rumour attributes to the Sovereign an intention of conferring a distinguishe i honour upon Rear-Admiral Manley Dixon, commander of Her Majesty's naval forces on the coast of Ireland.

The Banner of Ulster contains the follow* ing — " It is rumoured that, in order to erince the gratification which her Majesty experienced from her reception in this town, a title in connection with Belfast — probably that of Baron — will be conferred upon Prince Alfred." A Form of Prayer to Almighty God was ordered to be used in all churches and chapels in Great Britain to remove the plague of cholera. The following return of deaths from Cholera and Diarrhoea was reported to the general Board of Health for the week ending September Ist. Metropolis — Cholera, l,2?0, Diarhoea, 200 ; England and Wales — Cholera, 1,356, Diarrhosa, 170; ScotlandCholera, 132. A most atrocious murder, which had created a great sensation, had been committed at Bermondsey. A person named ' Patrick O'Connor in the Customs, who was .supposed to have been possessedof considerable property, had been murdered by a man of the name of Manning and his wife, whom he was in the habit of visiting. The murder was committed at the house in which the prisoners resided, in Minver-place, Bermondsey, and the body of their victim was buried in the kitchen, the pavement of which had been removed and • hole prepared by them for the purpose, and the body covered with quick lime, which had been procured by the prisoners some time before the murder. Both Manning and his wife had been taken into custody. Scaffoldings hare been erected siuce the prorogation of Parliament, to enable: the artists to complete the frescoes in the new House of Lords. Preparations are also being made to put in the additional painted window, and considerable progress has -been made in executing the frescoes in the Victoria Gallery. A Court Martial had been held on board H.M.S. Impregnable, Captain Sir T. Maitland, Bart, for the trial of Lieut. George Tempest Graham, and Mr. Andiew R. Elliott, master, of H. M. Sloop Ckilders, for desertion. The prisoners pleaded guilty to the charge, and urged in extenuation the horrible tyranny of Commander Pitman their superior officer which had driven them to commit this fatal act. The Court sentenced Lieut. Graham to be imprisoned twelve months, and Mr. A. R. Elliott to be imprisoned six months, and both officers were dismissed the service and declared incapable of ever again serving in her Majesty's Navy. , - j , A Court Martial was also being held on Commander Pitman of the Childers, lor his conduct while in command of that vessel, bat the proceedings of the Court had not (Sept. 4), terminated, It is proposed to hold an " Anglo-Saxon Jubilee," at Wantage, in honour of Alfred the Great, (born at Wantage, 849.) The time suggested is the middle of October, as it is believed that the birth-day of Alfred was between the 26th and the 29th of October, and the latter day is well known to have been the date of his death, in the year 901. It is hoped by the originators of this project that a surplus fund may be raised towards erecting at Wantage a memorial to record the commemoration ; and that a donation may be given to the Royal Literary fund in the name of the Scholar-King. The Ex King of Sardinia, Charles Albert died at Oporto on the 28th July. The increasing state of debility in which he had remained for some days previously convinced his anxious attendants that the unhappy event was fast approaching. "On the 18th instant the Austrian Com-mander'in-Chief issued an order of the day, in which, after stating that the war might be considered as terminated, the whole of Hungary being occupied by the Imperialists; he granted a complete amnesty, ' from the sergeant downwards, to all those Imperial soldiers who had joined the rebel army, ordering them to be again, without distinction, put into the ranks of his Majesty's army as common soldiers. All cadets and non-commis-sioned officers who had become officers in the - rebel army are included in the amnesty, as also all the rebel officers who had not before served in the Imperial army, 'if not particularly implicated.' The Commander-in- Chief will take the necessary steps in regard to the leaders of the rebel army, to the other chiefs or particularly marked individuals, and to the Imperial officeis who had joined the rebels. " What will be the fate of thpse mentioned in the last sentence is uncertain, but I am inclined to believe that the commanders will be sentenced to death, and the other officers to fortress arrest. If the Emperor felt inclined to listen to tie voice of mercy, he could hardly do so, for the Austrian officers one and all declare that they will not served with the rebels, and loudly express, their opinion that unless a severe example is made the discipline of the army is ruined foe ever."— Correspondent of .the Times.

General Oudinot bad* teen recalled from ■Rome', and bad published a farewell address ■ to (be inhabitants of Rome and another to the army. The Romans of all parties seemed to regret his departure, as they have seen how sincerely he has endeavoured to remedy the sad state of things at Rome, and with what moderation and humanity he has, throughout, treated the fallen parties. General Rostolan, the senior officer, had succeeded to the command of the army ; he is reported to be a good soldier, but niuch more severe in his measures than General Oudinot. The President of the French Republic returned to Paris from his visit to the Provinces .on Sunday, Sept. 2. His reception in all the towns he passed through was of the ■most enthusiastic kind, and beyond comparison superior to any thing that had yet takes place in any of his journeys to the departments. At Meaux some cries were heard of " Vive la Republigue," from the Artillery of the National Guard. But otherwise along the line nothing was heard but the most joyous and frantic acclamations from men, women, and children of " Vive Napoleon." At Chateau Thiery, and La Terte, there were cries of " Vive VEmpereur," and even at Meaux the same cries were heard. The enthusiasm of the people for the President was indescribable. It was said that the relations between the French and the authorities at Rome were not at all friendly, and that the issue of the negotiations at Gaeta would perhaps baffle all calculation. The Roman population and the French army were, however, on excellent terms, and the French officers did not conceal their disgust at the conduct of the Pontifical Government. The promises of the Pope were of a very vague character. It was believed at Civita Vecchia that the Pope would at last go to Bologna and remain under the protection of the Austrians, Neapolitans, and Spaniards. The number of sick at Rome vias considerable, and the hospitals were crowded ; two hospitals at Toulon had received 1000 sick between them, proceeding from Civita Vecchia, and it would be necessary to establish more hospitals. Signor de Begnis, the celebiated vocalist, died in New York of cholera, a few days before the sailing of the Europa. M. Gerente, the celebrated French painter on glass for church windows, who came to England some time since, 'has died of cholera. The Queen of Naples has been delivered of a princess, who has been baptized by Pius IX. Her names are two-and-thirty in number, the first being — Maria della Grazia Pia. It has been decided that the proposed Vernon testimonial shall consist of a marble bust of Mr. Vernon, with an ornamented pedestal, to be placed in the National Gallery. Madame Sontag is stated to have entered into an engagement with Mr. Lumley for eight months, at the round sum of £12,500. At the end of the operatic season she will sing in Edinburgh, Dublin, and the principal towns in the United Kingdom. Married soldiers, to the number of six for each company, have since July, 1848, been granted one penny a day, and permitted, as an indulgence, to find their own lodgings when corps are in quarters. The privilege has now been extended to the troops abroad as well as at home. A distressing case is reported in the neighbourhood of Neath, in which a young couple were about to be married. When the day had arrived, the bridegroom and his choice, with their friends, being ready to appear at the altar, the young woman was suddenly seized with cholera, which proved fatal the same evening. The merchants of the United States are rapidly exporting machinery, steam-engines, frame-houses, and bricks, to San Francisco. On* vessel carried out from Nantucket 20,000 of the last mentioned article. The Bank of England. — The question, whtther the directors of the Bank of England will reduce their minimum rate of interest is now a topic of discussion every court day in the city. The large, arrivals of bullion during the last few weeks, and the continued decrease of other securities in the bank, together with the promising appearance of the crops, and the present high rate of exchange with the United States, are thought by many persons to be quite sufficient reasons for the bank coming down in its rate. The settlement of the war in Hungary is also to-day referred to as another reason why the directors should adopt this course, as the ground for apprehending any disturbance of the peace of Europe, in consequence of that war, is now, it is alleged, removed. On the other hand, there are a numerous class ot persons, wellinformed on monetary affairs, who approve of the directors maintaining the present rate, and think that no change should be made, at least until the harvest is quite secured. We believe this opinion is held by many of the bank directors themselves ; but a reduction in the rate seems very probable, should the present state of affairs continue. — Globe.

Canada has been the scene of renewed disturbances. On the 15th the Government made several arrests of persons implicated in the riot which resulted in the destruction of the Parliament house. These arrests were made during the day, without opposition, except in one or two cases, but in the evening a large mob assembled and proceeded to the house of M. Lafontaine, the Attorney-Gene-ral, which they were about to assail. It proved, however, that the house had been filled with men to protect it, and as soon as the assault commenced those inside fifed some 30 shots upon the mob. Only one shot took fatal effect, killing a young man named Mason. One or two barricades were thrown up in the streets, but they were speedily demolished by the troops, who were in considerable force. They made no attack, however, upon the mob. The funetal cf Mason was attended by an immense concourse, the coffin being dressed with red. No further outbreaks have occurred, Donegan's Hotel, in Montreal, the 1 finest in Canada, was entirely consumed by fire on the 16th. - The Emperor of Russia is still at Warsaw, where all the notabilities of St. Petersburgh are also assembled ; the city is so crowded with strangers that single rooms are letting for a ducat a day. The Grand Prince Michael, who had an attack of apoplexy, was still alive when the last accounts left, but there were but slender hopes of his recovery ; he had lost the power of speaking. The .police of the frontiers of Poland is more rigid than ever ; scarcely any stranger is allowed to enter the country at all. The Emperor has addressed a letter to Prince Paskiewitsch, thanking him for ! bis •conduct and that of his army during the campaign in Hungary i as the highest mark of the Imperial favour, the Prince is informed that in future he is to be received by all the Russian troops with the same "hontrars -as the Emperor himself, even when his Majesty in ay be himself present. These Royal honours are all that the fortunate General -can receive from his Imperial master as a further mark of his gratitude, for wealth, orders, «ad Tank had been before bestowed on him with a prodigality that left nothing mo-re *© give, The description* of the state of the garrison of Koreorn, the surrender of which is reported but men officially confirmed, are perfectly frightful. During the sortie by which the large <owivoy of cattle and provisions was taken from the Austri«ns, the prisoners and part of the garrison made an attempt to prevent the return of the troops by drawing up the bridge over the Danube, and to surrender the place. The attempt failed, and the Hungarian portion of the garrison took vengeance for the treasou with the most ruthless severity. Many were thrown into the Danube and ■ part of those engaged in the affair decimated, Three civilians, inhabitants of Komorn, were hanged. It was an outburst of desperation, and since tbe event the greatest disorder has prevailed among the troops. Provisions are plentiful, and the stores of wine abundant, and seeing that the defence could not be much longer continued, the soldiers have given themselves up to debauchery. They drink, sing, curse, shout, and weep by turns, from morning till night. Duty is neglecteJ, the sentinels sleep on their posts, and the inspecting officers go their rounds drunk. A great number of prisoners and persons whose service was compelled have taken advantage of the confusion to escape. The sick are left unattended, medical aid it is almost impossible to procure, for of the 12 surgeons who were in the fortress six have died. Those who perish are no longer buried, but thrown into the river ; and all is disorder and despair. Yet during the long defence the conduct of the same garrison is said to have been excellent ; the military duty was punctually performed, and the prisoners , kindly treated. Now all chance of success is lost, the same men have become a wild and savage mob. Something like the same scene may be found in those old descriptions of shipwrecks where the crew have seized the spirit room, and drink to intoxication as the vessel goes down. General Avezzana, the defender of Genoa, and late Minister of War at Rome, has returned to New York of which he is a naturalized citizen. A public testimonial of gratitude and esteem is about to be offered by his Italian countrymen there. Fears were entertained by his immediate friends respecting the health of General Narvaez who is described as in a very bad state. The complaint he has been for gome time past suffering under had lately increased. B[e had frequent vomitings and spasms, which reduced him to a state of great debility, and'produced a serious effect on hii spirit! and mind ; and those most attached to him and his fortunes admit that he is no longer the same man. ' A banquet in celebration of the- hundredth ■birthday of Goethe was held at Berlin, Au* gust 28. The number of tickets issued was ! between 400 and 500. Baron Yon Humboldt presided.

A beautiful monument is about' to be erected in the chancel of Howick Church, in memory of the late Charles Earl Grey. It hai 'been executed by Mr. Bedford, after the del signs of 'Mr. Francis, architect. 'This fine and elaborate specimen of monumental architecture is a highly enriched example of the ' decorated Gothic. The mortuary inscription it short and simple, merely setting forth that the monument is "In memory of Charles, second Earl Grey, K. G., born Much 13, 1764: died July 17, 1845."

The Graceless Coinage. — "A straw thrown up into the air shows which way. the wind blows ;" so does the new coinage recently, issued from the Mint. All coins hitherto circulated in this country have home the stamp of the principles on which the Sovereign of these realms wears the Crown and wields the sceptre. The royal effigy has ever been surrounded, by an inscription setting forth the name of the kingdom " Britanniarum Regin*," the title on which the kingdom is held ; " Dei Gratia" and the religious character of the kingly office, "Fidci defensatrix." Why, then, are all these particulars omitted on the "florin" pieces just put into circulation ? Why have we there a bare " Rcgina" substituted for the proper constitutional title of our sovereign ? Is it not enough that we should have novel kind of money, with an outlandish name, inflicted upon us ; must we have the foreign notions of the regular authority foisted upon us at the same time ? Our beloved Queen is the Queen, not of the "Britishers," but of Britain; She is queen, not by the will of the people, but " by the grace of God ;" She is not without * profession of •fait}*, in her official character, but is, by virtue of her Royal office, the " Defender of the Faith," — of a definite faith, — the faith, to wit, of the United Church of England and Ireland. Why, then, is all reference to this omitted ? Or is it, because the whole of her Majesty's servants, being too careless, of all creeds to defend any, and having substituted the principle of the democratic will for the principle of, a Divine ordinance, are determined that her Majesty's titles shall run parallel with their unconstitutional and godless race ? — John Bull. National Characteristics, or the English and French Navvy. — " In excavating a portion of the first tunnel east of Rouen towards Paris, a French, miner dressed in his blouze, and an English 'navvy' in his white smock jacket, were suddenly buried alive together by the falling in of the earth behind them. The accident caused the deepest concern ; Mr. Meek, the English engineer, instantly commenced sinking a shaft, which was accomplished in the short space of eleven hours, and the men were thus brought up to the surface alive. The Frenchman, on reaching the top, suddenly rushing forward, hugged and embraced on both cheeks his friends and acquaintances, many of whom had assembled ; and then, almost instantly overpowered by conflicting feelings — by the recollection of the endless time he had been imprisoned, and by the joy of his release — he sat down on a log of timber, and, putting both hands before his face, he began to cry aloud most bitterly. The English 'navvy' sat himself on the very same piece of timber, took his pit- cap off his head, slowly wiped with it the perspiration from his hair* and face, and then, looking for some seconds into the hole or shaft close beside him through which he had been lifted, ins if he were calculating the number of cubic yards that had been excavated, he quite coolly, in broad Lancashire dialect, said to the crowd of French and English who were staring at him, 'Yaw'se been a darnation short toirae abaaowt it.' " — Stokers and Pokers.

A Respectable Family. — The Paris police arrested in an omnibus an elegantly attired woman, named Fillette Nathan^ alias Fanny Duperret, as she was in the' act of committing a robbery. The prisoner is a most accomplished thief, and has undergone long periods of imprisonment for robbery. The family to which she belongs, consisting of eighteen members, including th& father and the mother, have always lived by robbery, and have all without exception been condemned. The sentences passed at different times on the family amount to 209 years and 10 months of imprisonment, 100 years of which consist of hard labour at the hulks, 35 years close imprisonment with hard labour, and 1 74 years' and 10 months' simple imprisonment. Many members of this estimable family are now in the prisons or the bagnes, and some have escaped to England and the United States.

Enthusiasm of a Young French Sotdieb. — The Courier de la Somme narrates the following interesting fact : — A young sol- » dier, whose laudable conduct during- the affair of June obtained for him the reward of the Cross of the Legion of Honour, was presented to the President of the Republic at the late Amiens banquet. The young man was* so Wsll received by Louis Bonaparte that

■ his eattiusi*Stn >waV uncoritrblhibje ; he tbreVr his arms <rdund the President's neck, and kissed him on both cheeks. The Minister of ; War and General Cfarangarttier receife^the same 'friendly 'escalation amidst the appliiise of the'speewtors.

TtlE '"BfcfeMbttDSfeY H'ORBOR. — '©bd'l lightning pursuing murder is become a true and active thing. What w«s a figure Of speech is now a working minister. A phrase in the mouth of poetry is now a familiar presence — a household retainer, doing hourly errands. We have brought devastation into servitude ; we have made a bond slave of destruction. Thus, murder hai hardly turned from its abomination — scarcely set forth upon its shuddering flight — when the avenging Jightning stays the homicide. Marvellous is the poetry of our daily life 1 We out' act the dreams of story-books. The Arabian tales are flat, crude gossip, against the written activities of our social state. Sinbad, with his wonders, so many glories about him, is become a dull fellow, opposed by the electric workman, the clerk of the lightning. Murder with its black heart beating thick, its brain blood-gorged, reads the history of its damnation. Hundreds of miles away from its ghastly work, murder, in the stupidity of deepest guilt — for the greater the crime the greater the folly, that ever as a shadow accompanies and betrays itj-^-ratirder, with forced belief in its impunity, reads its owh doings chronicled and commented upon in the neMi spaper sheet ; and — so far from the victim's grave, the retreat so cunningly assured, tbe hiding-place so widely chosen-^mufder draws freer breath, and holds itself sedure !! — • And the while, the inexorable lightning — the electric pulse — thrills in the wires- — and in a moment idiot murder stammers' and grows white in the face of justice. In the marvellousness that sublimates the mind of man, our electric tales make poor work of the Arabian. Solomon's Genii may sleep in their brazen kettles. They are, in truth, the veriest smoke compared with the genii of the wires. In the contemplation of this last atrocity — a horror that, traded upon, seems to taint the wholesomoness of daily life ; for,* in every variety of utterance, murder cries to us in the public streets — in this last great wickedness, there is matter for sad congratulation, for mournful thanksgiving. An abomination is committed, and — so wonderful are the means of apprehension, so sure and so astounding in their operation— "-and guilt bad but a few gasps of fancied freedom, andio ! guilt is captive. Considering the certainty — the fate that travels the wires — we take hope that from the self-conviction of discovery —from the disheartening belief that there is no escape — no evasion from the consequence of crime, the miserable wretch tempted to evil will turn in his mind the many odds, and refrain upon the lowest principle — that of calculation. This is something. The murderer in mind who would not be stayed in his guilt by the thought of after lightning, may pause, awed by the thought of lightning ready — the unerring telegraph. And, in tbe present hour, there is another cause of mournful pride to the English nation. It was a solemn business, a stern and awful work begun, when the Fire Queen, with her black flag of smoke, stood out from Portsmouth, bound to cross tbe Atlantic, if need were—^ stay and overhaul the Victoria, freighted with: the curse of murder. There is a fine, stern lesson in this, a noble sermon preached extempore to embryo crime. Justice at the Home-office makes the wires speak, saying to a certain Admiral — " Send a fast sailing, ship to sea, that retribution may be done upon bloodshedders." There is something, so«lemn, awful, in the warning uttered in ttiii. It says to crime — " Though the sea compassyou, though you have baulked pursuit, arid justice, like a hound at faulty beats and grope 1 * confounded — though you have begun ttfdoutft the profits of blood, and how to^mafce the most of them, how, in your new "country to live a life of impunity And caste— nevertheless, give up the dream ; dismiss the'vision, and awake to horrid truth. For there,- in the horizon miles' away, in thin dark vapour, the man at the mast has seen and. reported- it* r and, with every ten minutes, k become! m'of 6 distinct, and now the distant gun is tieird across the water, booming command ; and the ship's yards swing round"— she' lays tfo ; and, how rapid the ceremony, hoir brief the* time ! and murder, aghast and manacled, is made again to turn its face towards the land 1 it has outraged with the sacrifice' of Wood 1,-—1 ,-— PuncH.