MISCELLANEOUS.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume VI, Issue 479, 6 March 1850, Page 3

MISCELLANEOUS.

Chartist Statistics. — From a Parliamentary paper just issued upon " Crime in England and Wales for the year 1848," it appears that 266 persons were committed upon charges arising out of the Chartist agitation, of whom forty-six were either acquitted or not proceeded against. Of the convicted parties one was sentenced to death, though not executed, having murdered a policeman ; ten were sentenced to transportation for life ; two transported for ten years ; three to long terms of imprisonment ; fifty-eight to imprisonment for two yeats; thirty to imprisonment from six months to one year ; twentyeight were confined for a few weeks or months, as the case might be : and eighty-eight were fined and discharged. — Leeds Mercury.

The New Prussian Muskets. — In their Baden campaign, the Prussian infantry were armed with muskets of a newly-invented construction. The plan, on which they are made, and especially the arrangement of the charge, are a secret of the Prussian War-office. The new mjiskets are known in Prussia by the name of *' Zundnadelgewehre," from the explosion being produced by the passing of a pin through the cartridge. The barrels are rifled, and the bullets which are shot out of them are spitz kugeln, a kind of conical bullet. They are conical at the point, cylindrical in the middle, and <*globular at the end. The cartridges in which these bullets are

have a layer of explosive mats next to toff bullet, and the gunpowder is at the bottom of the cartridge, which is put in at the lower end of the barrel. On the trigger being pulled, a thin piece of steel fnadel) enters through a hole in the back of the barrel, and piercing the cartridge and the gunpowder, it proceeds to the explosive mass, which is employed for the usual percussion caps. The gunpowder is thus lighted at the front, and every grain of powder is consumed. The charge of powder is 3-24ths of an ounce, while that of a percussion musket is usually 6-24ths of an ounce. These muskets enable a soldier to charge and fire six or eight times without lowering his musket, and 1000 yards is said 'o be a " good killing distance," and 800 yards so sure a distance for hitting that a good shot is pretty sure of bis aim. An approved military authority, in describing the new Prussian musket, says :: — '* The usual musket range is 400 yards, and thus the enemy must advauce 400 yards in the fire of the Prussian troops before they can think of rfttwging it. A troop of soldiens marching in. double-quick time would make that distance in four minutes, and.be exposed to from twenty-five to thirty shots from each Prussian musket. The cavalry, which wants two and a-half minutes to- advance 800 yards, is exposed to twenty shots from each man. As for the arti lery, their charges of grape and cannister tell fearfully at 400 yards, and have but small effect at 800 yards. The artillerymen are thus exposed to the Prussian muskets, and can be picked off as they stand by their pieces."

Heat in Australia. — "The ground was thoroughly heated to the depth of three 01 four feet, and the tremendous heat that prevailed had parched vegetation and drawn moisture from everything. In an air so rarified, and an atmosphere so dry, it was hardly to be expected that any experiment upon it would be attended with its usual results, or that the particles of moisture, so far separated, could be condensed by ordinary methods. The mean of the thermometer for the months of December, January, and February, had been 101°, 104°, and 101°, respectively in the shade.- Under its effects every screw in our boxes had been drawn, and the horn handles of our .instruments, as well as our combs, were split into fine laminae. The lead dropped out of our pencils ; our signal rockets were entirely spoiled ; our hair, as well as the wool on the sheep, ceased to grow, and our nails had become as brittle as glass. The flour lost more than eight percent, of its original weight, and the othei provisions in a still greater proportion. The bran in which our bacon had been packed was perfectly saturated, and weighed almost as heavy as the meat ; we were obliged to bury our wax candles ; a bottle of citric acid in Mr. Brown's box became fluid, and escaping, burned a quantity of his linen ; and we found it difficult to write or draw, so rapidly did the fluid dry in our pens and brushes. It was happy for us, therefore, that a cooler season set in ; otherwise I do not think that many' of us could much longer have survived. But although it might be said that the intense heat of the summer had passed, there still were intervals of most oppressive weather." — Sturt's Australia.

Sewerage ojp London. — The amount of sewerage within the City of London — that small centre which does not occupy above an eighth of the space on which the metropolis stands, bat which, notwithstanding, includes fifty miles of streets — goes under 47f miles of them. The tunnelling fq& the purpose of dtawing off refuse under the re^t of the town must be prodigious, for the ordinary daily amount of London sewerage discharged into the river Thames, on the north or Middlesex side, has been calculated at 7,045,120 : and on the south side, 2,457,600 cubic feet, making a total' of 9,502,720 cubic feet — a quantity equivalent to a surface of more than 36 acres in extent, and 6 feet in depth. In other words, this vast body of bane is allowed to poison the water of the Thames and the air of London, and by consequence the health of the people, when, by judicious management, it might be converted into a blessiug ; for it is the finest possible manure, and, if properly dealt with, could be made to fertilize the land for hundreds of miles round London. We perceive that the " Gardeners' Chronicle" — a first authority on this subject — promises half-a-dozen crops per annum on grass land ' by the use of London sewerage as manure » and Mr. Chadwick shows its economy by stating, from actual experiment, that the cost of labour in applying it^ to the land is no more than Is. Bd. per acre, while the ordinaiycost of a less efficient top-dressing in present use is fram 13s. to 14s. per acre. A company has already obtained full legislative powers for diverting the fetiid but most valuable refuse into the agricultural districts by means of underground pipes and steam-forcing agency, Thus London will soon become a vast centre of sewerage — and there is great room for the extension of the centre ; for a vast

portion of the metropolis itselHs still without the means of drawing off refuse. It will scarcely be believed that it is only within a year or two that Buckingham Palace, ,the residence of her Majesty,' had the advantage of sewers ; and the parish of St. James's, with 168 streets and alleys, has fifty- eight of them totally Without sewers. — Cunningham's Handbook for London.

Library of the British Museum. — A Parliamentary return " shows that the total number of volumes of printed books received from 1814 to 1847 inclusive, under the Copyright Acts, by the trustees of the British Museum, amounts to 55,474; and the number of parts of volumes, including music, to 80,047. The number of maps, charts, &c, received since 1842 amounts to 187, and the number of parts of maps, &c. to 131. The total number of volumes of printed books contained in the library of the Museum at the end of the year 1848 amounted to about 435,000 ; the number of maps, plans, and charts to 10,221 ; the volumes of manuscripts to 29,626 ; the rolls of various^Citids to 2946 ; the number of charters and instruments to 23,772 ; the number of manuscripts on reed, bark, and folded, to 208 ; the number of papyri to 55 ; and the number of seals and impressions to 851." The number of volumes in the Bodleian Library of Oxford is about 220,000, and the number ot manuscripts 21.000. — Chambers's Edin. Journal.

Suicide Statistics. — A very curious statement and calculation was published in Paris by M. Pairet, a medical professor, relative to the number of suicides committed in France for thirty years. From the records of the police, it appears that the total number «f suicides attempted to be committed were 6872, and three-fourths of the individuals were unmarried. We subjoin the figures furnished to him by the police, showing the relative numbers of male and female suicides :—Crossed in love, 97 males, 157 females ; jealousy, 39 males, 53 females ; mortified pride, 27 males, 27 females ; calamny and loss of reputation, 97 males, 28 females ; remorse, 37 males, 12 females ; disappointed ambition, 110 males, 12 females ; reverse of fortune, 283 males, 39 females ; gaming, 141 males, 14 females ; other species of misconduct, 208 males, 79 females ; domestic chagrins, 524 males, 260 females ; misery, 511 males, 594 females ; fanaticism, 1 male, 13 females. It would therefore seem to follow that somewhere about five women died from love for three men ; that ibe ladies have considerably the advantage*, or rather the disadvantage, in jealousy ; that in pride they are on a par with the lords of the creation ; that in calumny and loss of reputation they bear with three times tile fortitude that men evince ; that they feel only about one-third of the remorse which the other sex experience ; and that to the sorrows which flow from disappointed ambition, reverse of fortune, an,d gaming, they are exposed in a very slight degree in comparison with their yokefellows. This calculation, it will be remembered, applies but to French ladies. In what light a simita*-ealculation would exhibit our own fair countrywomen, we presume not to conjecture. — Liverpool Albion.

The Effect of Charcoal on Flowers. — About a year ago I made a bargain for a rose-bush of magnificent growth and full of buds. I waited for them to blow, and expecteJ roses roses worthy of such a noble plant, and of the praises bestowed upon it by the vender. At length when it bloomed, all my hopes were blasted. The flowers were of a faded colour, and I discovered that I had only a middling multiflora, stale-coloured enough. I therefore resolved to sacrifice it to some experiments which I had in view. My attention had been captivated with the effects of charcoal, as stated in some English publications. I then covered the earth in the pot in which my rose-bush was about half an inch deep with pulverised charcoal f Some days after I was astonished to see the roses, which bloomed, of as fine a lively rose colour as I could wish ! I determined to repeat the experiment ; and therefore, when the rose-bush had done flowering, I took off the charcoal, and put fresh earth about the roots. You may conceive that I waited for the next spring impatiently to see the result of this experiment. When it bloomed, the roses were, as at first, pale aud discoloured ; but by applying the charcoal as before, the roses soon resumed their rosy red colour. I tried the powdered charcoal likewise in large quantities upon my petunias, and found that both the white and the violet flowers were equally sensible to its action. It always gave great vigour to the red or violet colours of the flowers, and the white petunias became veined with red or violet tints ; the violets became covered with irregular spots of a bluish or almost black tint. Many persons who admired them thought that they were new varieties from the seed. Yellow flowers are, as I have proved, insensible to the influence of the charcoal. — Paris Horticultural Review. Water. — Large quantities of rain-water have frequently been collected and examined

by Dr. Smith, and he says, " I am now s?atisfied that dust really comes down with the purest rain, and that it is simply coal ashes." No doubt this accounts for the quantity of sulphites and chlorides in the Tain, and for the soot, which are the chief ingredient-. The rain is also often alkaline — arising probably from the ammonia of the burnt coal, which is no doubt a valuable agent for neutralising the sulphuric acid so often found. The rain water of Manchester is about 2\ degrees of hardness, harder, in fact, than the water from the neighbouring hills which the town intends to use. This can only arise from the ingredients obtained in the town atmosphere. But the most curious point is the fact, that organic matter is never absent, although the rain be continued for whole days. The state of the air is closely connected with that of the water : what the air contains, the water may absorb ; what the water has dissolved or absorbed, it may give out to the air. The enormous quantity of impure matter filtering from all parts of a large town into its many natural and artificial outlets, does at the first view present us with a terrible picture of our underground sources of water. But when we examine the soil of a town, we do not find the state of matters to present that exaggerated character which we might suppose. The sand at the Chelsea Water-works contains only 1 -43 per cent, of organic matter after being used for wefks. In 1827 Liebig found nitrates in 12 wells in Giessen, but none in wells two or three hundred yards from the town. Dr. Smith has examined thirty wells in Manchester, and he finds nitrates in them all. Many contained a surprising quantity, and were very nauseous. The examination i of various wells in the metropolis showed the constant formation of nitric acid, and in many an enormous quantity was detected. The presence of the nitrates in the London water prevents the formation of any vegetable matter ; no vegetation can be detected even by a microscope, after a long period. The Thames water has been examined from water near its source to the metropolis, and an increasing amount of impurity detected. All the water of great towns contains organic matter ; water purifies itself from organic matter in various ways, but paiticularly by converting it into nitrates ; water can never stand long with advantage, unless on a large scale, and should be used when collected, or as soon as filtered. — Kentish Independent.

Spanish Etiquette. — The -following is one of the most amusing absurdities of Spanish etiquette, la one of his fond fits, Charles had presented the Queen with some fine Andalusian horses, that she might enjoy the pleasures of the chase. One of these was brought into the < court of the palace, and the Queen sprang into the saddle ; but at that instant the steed, startled bj some noise, suddenly swerved, and she was flung to the ground, her foot being still held in the stirrup. All saw her danger, but they feared to go to her assistance, for the ■ rigid laws of Spain denounced the touching of a Queen's foot as an act of treason. Two cavaliers, Don Luis de las Torres and Don Jaime de Soto Mayor, braved the peril, and saved the Queen. But Maria Louisa had to exert all her influence to obtain for them the royal pardon ; and even after it was granted, they were secretly warned to quit Madrid and never to speak of the illegal service they had rendered to theirsovereign. — Taylors Memoirs of the House of Orleans. \

Singular Proceeding. — A curious circumstance has just occurred. A lady dressed with great elegance, and assuming the title of Countess of Wissembacb, lately visited several midwives wishing them to procure her, for a sum money, a new-born child. On the commissary of police of the quarter of St. Avoye being informed of the circumstance, he waited on the lady at the Hotel dv Lion d'Argent, Cour Batave, where she had taken up her residence, and found her in possession of an infant child, which she had procured from a woman at Belleville. The commissary, when he first the lady, was surprised to find that she had the appearance of being in an advanced state of pregnancy, but on further investigation it was found that this appearance was produced by artificial means, and on examination of her papers, the real cause of the affair was discovered. The pretended Gounless was named Kosnig, the daughter of a farmlabourer at Wittembach, in Switzerland, and had become the mistress of a man of fortune residing in the neighbourhood, whom she wished more strongly to attach to her by pretending to be a mother, for which purpose she had come to Paris to procure a child, which she had been able to purchase of the mother, a female residing at Belleville, for 3f. She was taken to the prefecture, and commited for trial. — Galignani.

Porpoises and Alligators. — Mr. Couper told me that, in the summer of 1845, be saw a shoal of porpoises coming up to that part of the Alatamaha where the. fresh and salt water meet, — a space about a mile in length, — the favourite- fishing ground of the alligators, where there is brackish water, which

shifts its place according to the varying strength of the river and the tide. Here were seen about fifty alligators, each with bead and neck raised above water, looking down the stream at their enen ies, before whom they had fled, terror-stricken, and expecting an attack. The porpoises, no more than a dozen in number, moved on in two ranks, and were evidently complete masters of the field. So powerful, indeed, are they, that they have been known to chase a large alligator to the bank, and, putting their snouts under bis belly, toss him ashore. — Lyell's Second Visit to the United States.

An Unpleasant Adventure. — The correspondent of the London Daily News, writing from Constautiuople, 20th July, says :-r-" A very unpleasant adventure befel the Sultan's mother and one of his Majesty's sisters on Friday last, at the Sweet Waters of Europe. The valley of the Sweet Waters is situated about three miles from Constantinople, and, in fine weather, is a pleasant shady place. Here, on Friday afternoon, in the spring time of the year, when " hearts do lightly turn to love," Turkish ladies congregate ; and certainly, there is not a prettier sight in the whole world than to see these dark-eyed beauties grouped under the shadow of the great plane trees that darken the chrystal waters, which with murmuring song glide onward to the Golden Horn. The gorgeous colours of their graceful dresses, and the flashing of countless jewels on their heads and bosoms, as they recline with charming grace on cushions of rich brocade or damasked satin fringed with gold, form a picture whose beauty would well repay Maclise, or his townsman Fisher, for a visit to Stamboul. On a little island in the centre of the river is an airy kiosk, and on either side of it the water is made to splash over a marble barrier, and fall into bronze basins, shaped like gigantic shells. In different parts of the broad waving meadow, carved and gilded carriages, with bright coloured draperies, are drawn up ; watched with jealous care, and armed to the teeth by the guards of the harem. There arrived here about a week since a Count of no great distinction in France, but he is rich, and travels with miniature grandeur through the ESst. He is dissatisfied with the present state of things in his native country, and has exiled himself for a time from the salons of Paris, the scenes of so many of his tender triumphs. On last Friday our Count went to the Sweet Waters of Europe. Besides the usual long waistcoat and blunderbuss-shaped trousers, that no female heart on the Boulevard-de-Grand could resist, be carried an opera glass. This latter instrument he managed with captivating grace in staring at the Moslem beauties. It happened that whilst he was engaged in this cruel operation of "torturing the hearts of these bright-eyed Circassians, that the carriage of the Sultana Valide, who was accompanied by one of the Sultan's sisters, stopped close to where he was standing. The opera glass was instantly levelled at these ladies, who accepted the attention of this grotesque Giaour with a great deal of good humour. Old people ara a kind of privileged class in the East, which, perhaps, accounts for the good natured condescension of the Valide, for noticing the contortions of the poor Count, and the perseverance with which he stared, she sent one of her people to ask him for the loan ot his opera-glass. It appears that the laughter of the Sultana and her companion, and of the other ladies in the neighbourhood, had ruffled the temper of our friend, for he refnsed the Sultana's request. The Sultana's mother, outraged in her dignity, ordered her carriage to drive on, and a murmur of anger arose from the crowd that remained. Two of the Sultana's attendants then came up to the Count, and through his valet de place, advised him to send the opera-glass after their mistress ; but the great man, looking on them with dramatic scorn, turned on his heel, and walked away. The eunuchs were furious, and, urged on by the crowd, they fell upon the Count, and belaboured him with their courbashes (heavy cow-hide whips) in a cruel manner. The Count seemed to be of the same turn of mind as Moliere's valet, for, after being well beaten, he mildly gave up the opera-glass, but added, that her Majesty would take particular care of it, as it was a souvenir given him by a lovely duchess on his departure from Paris. This absurd adventure has now become a grave affair. The Count has made a formal complaint to the French ambassador of having been beaten by the eunuchs of the Sultana's mother, and the ambassador has demanded satisfaction from the Porte. The ministers of the Porte naturally think that they, and not the French ambassador,' have a right to complain of the insolence of a French subject who, contrary to all the rules of society, stares with marked impertinence in a public place at the Queenmother, and, when she, in a very sensible and good-natured way, tries to get rid of the annoyance, offers her Highness an open and public insult."