MISCELLANEOUS.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 558, 7 December 1850, Page 3

MISCELLANEOUS.

The Great Exhibition of 1851. — It may be interesting to such of our readers as have subscribed towards the forthcoming exbibition, or who contemplate forwarding contribution*, to know that the plan of .building for the reception of the works of all nations has at length been decided on. An arrangement has been compiled from the designs sent in, consisting of a series of parallel corridors, 2000 feet in length by 40 in width, having what are termed " waggon-head roofs," of corrugated galvanised iron. The passages will be down tbe centre of each corridor, and the tables, or cases, for exhibition ranged on either side. Jn viewing the whole the visitor will walk through no less than " seven miles" of passage. Mr. Wyld will undertake rhe constructive portion of the work; and Mr. Owen Jones has been appointed to design and superintend the decorations. — Liverpool Albion.

New Scientific Discovery. — The scientific world has been in a state of commotion during the whole week in consequence of the publication of the discovery of the long sought for secret of the fusion and crystallisation of carbon, The Sorbonne has been crowded for the last few days to behold the result of this discovery in the shape of a tolerably sized dia-* mond of great lustre, which M. Despretz, the happy discoverer, submits to the examination of every chemist or savant who chooses to visit him. He declares that so long ago as last autumn he bad succeeded in producing the diamond, but in such minute particles as to be visible only through the microscope, and fearful of raising irony and suspicion, he bad kept the secret until, by dint of repeated experiments and great labour, he had completed the one he now offers .to public view. Four solar lens of immense power, aided by the tremendous galvanic pile of the Sorbonne, have been the means of producing the result now before us. M. Despretz holds himself ready to display the experiment whenever it may be required. The diamond produced is ot the quality known in the east as the black diamond, one single specimen of which was sold by Prince Rostoff to the late Duke of Yoik for the enormous sura of twelve thousand pounds ! — Paris Correspondent of the Atlas. Scene at a Bosjesman Exhibition. — Those singular species of human nature, the Bosjesmans, who were recently exhibited at the Town-hall, paid a visit to Devizes, and on Thursday last a most exciting scene occured. The room was crowded, and Mr. Tyler had given his lecture upon their habits, &c, when some person at the further end from the platform caught the eye of one of the male busbmen, and rivetted his attention by making grimaces and shaking his face at him in a menacing manner. The Bosjesman eyed him intently, and evidently with rising indignation. His eyes glared, his nostrils were dilated, and bis whole frame became strongly agitated. These circumstances were observed by leveral of the audience in frcnt, and by tome it was supposed to be a part acted for effect, and by others to be a demonstration of real passion. .This continued for lome seconds ; at last the ravage,, unable to endure the irritation any longer, suddenly drew an arrow to its point, and let fly at the head of the foolish tormentor. Fortunately it missed the man. The arrow struck hit hat, piercing it through. Then, apparently in a frenzy of passion, he sprang, like an ourang-outang, from the platform among the company ; the rest of his companions were preparing to follow him, when the lecturer (who had witnessed a similar evidence of their irascibility whilst exhibiting them in London) immediately rushed forward and knocked the foremost down. A struggle ensued ; some keepers came to Mr. Tyler's assistance, and it was with great difficulty the Bosjesman could be prevented rushing on his assailant. Three or four men had this little creature (only about four feet high) in their grasp, an t it was all they could do to prevent him getting free ; ultimately be was secured, and taken out of the room. In the meantime the confusion among the company baffles all description. Those who got to the door rushed out as fast as possible; the women shrieked, and caught bold of the men with a deathlike grasp ; and even the men thems»lr*« were well nigh

frightened from their propriety by an strange, and sudden a turn in the performance. The whoop and yell of this wild African were terrific, and brought scalping-knives and tomahawks vividly to the imagination. — Cheltenham Journal.

Social and Financial Condition or Austria. —From 1830 to 1847, during seventeen years of peace, the deficit amounted to 155 millions of florins. The debt of Austria was increased every year since 1818 by 20 millions, whilst the interest was increased 30 per cent. On a state of such disorder came the terrible events of 1848, diminishing the revenue *nd more than doubling the expenditure. The result was too visible in all matters of currency and finance. The bank, wholly in the power of the government, now compelled to make advances, felt its reserve become an incalculable fraction of the amount of notes* issued. In the summer of 1848 the bank, accordingly, discontinued the reimbursement of its notes, and the premium on silver bas gradually iisen to 20 per cent.,, 'that On gold *o 27|i Even the-copper coin disappeared from circulation. And in order to prevent the interruption of all commercial intercourse, the government issued notes of 4s. and 25., which the public found necessary to divide into two and into four parts for the common necessaries of life. Even this did not suffice, and almost all shopkeepers were obliged to pass notes and cheques in change. Government issued nofes of 4d. and 2-fcd. in value. And finally came forth xwangnoten, j notes of forced circulation. Such is the pre- \ cent state of the Austrian currency, without enough in tbe treasury to pay the Emperor's bill charges and railroad fares. And yet this state threatens war, nay comes into our market to help to keep up its monstrous armies. This, however, is but a picture of public distress ; the private suffering is in proportion. In fact, the whole of the Austrian empire is stricken with paralysis, property extinct, and even the cultivation of the soil diminished by at least one-third. , The remedies for this state of suffering, devised by the government, are the maintenance of an army of 500,000 men, the erection of fortresses,- and tbe establishment of convents of Jesuits, of which there were formerly two, whilst now there will be 24, scattered through the empire. The police and inquisition of private as well as public life, is committed to the priesthood, the [ same as tbe Roman states; .and this state of servitude, from which the Austrians, and even the L'odifcardr were exetfspt-since the days of. Joseph 11., bas been restored. Such is the | i empire, such the condition and policy of the government, which can find organs and public writers to belaud and support it in this country. Such is the tyrannical and retrograde government to which they would subject tbe population of Germany, and to which they would entrust the guidance of that country and its defence against tbe ultra-liberalism of tbe west! —Daily News.

The Thugs of India. —A curions and mournful narrative appears in a late Delhi Gazette, announcing the death of a British officer by the bands of Thuggees in India; a race of barbarians whose crimes, we hoped, had become traditionary: — " Some months ago we announced the discovery of the remains of a human body near the village of Busseean, and the circumstances which led to tbe supposition that they were the remains of the late Lieutenant Brockman, of her Majesty's 50th Regiment. Recent inquiries have confirmed tbe supposition, and there now remains but little doubt that tbe body found is that of the unfortunate young officer. It appears that a Thug had been seized by the authorities at Loodianah with a view to undergoing the punishment of his crimes, and, after much cross-questioning and denial of his guilt, the man was threatened with transportation, but subsequently admitted as an approver, upon which he deterrainjed at once to make ' a clean breast of it/ and promised to tell a true story, which was to the following effect; — That the day before the battle ot Moodkee, when our troops were on their march upwards, this man and some other Thugs were sitting bebind a well, when a European, walking alone, left the road, and came towards the y. ell. They immediately rose and set upon the man and strangled him. They found some money in his possession, which they took, and buried the body in a field. At first but little credit Mas attached to this story, but from the fact of Lieutenant Brockmau being missing, and the Thug offering to point out the spot where the body was buried, further inquiries and a search were ordered, the result of which was the discovery of the human remains alluded to. From inquiries that have been made, it seems that Lieut. Brockman was going up wiih H.M. 29th to join his own regiment, tbe 50tb, which corps was a little in advance, and that on the very day mentioned by the Thug he started from the camp at Busseean, in the hope of overtaking it by a d6uble march ; but from the time be left camp, tbe unfortunate man wai n«ver heard of. ;

i' The; ojriy .discrepancy between the : atorf of the Thug a'tul the other reports of poor Brock man's disappearance is, that 'the former stated tbe murder io hare' uken plice rather later in the day than tbe time Brockman was known to bave been at Busseean, and bis stoutly maintaining that lhe deceased Vat not going in the direction of Fer6£epore,but, on the contrary, returning. Curiously enough, however, that which seemed at first to throw a doubt on the Thug's story proved its strongest confirmation, for 1 , on further inquiry,- it has been elicited that the ill fated young man bad started with a party from Busseean, bad gone some short distance bey ou d that Tillage, bad then missed a camel, and gone back alone towards Busseean to look for it, and from that time was never heard of again. He is said to have been last seen sitting beside a. well near Busseeart, but tl.e eye witness of this fact is not forthcoming. Ii is also stated' that 1 the forage cap belonging to tbe deceased was found in the well, but, owing to the time that has elapsed since the fou! deed was perpetrated,' the parties concerned' arVall aogctyXfafajftopli ihe 50th having gone to England, : thaVtliere are but slight hopes entertained or obtaining any further clue to the sad business^ especially as no one knows from whom the information originally came. It must be remembered that Busseean is a British Pergunnab, and it would have been almost impossible to murder any European in an ordinary way without tbe body being found. There are other circumstances connected with the. discovery which lead < us to imagine the murdered European to bave been the missing officer, and several coincidences tend to make tbe fact as certain at such things can be. The Thug who made tbe confession did so after he was admitted as approver, and prefaced his confession by saying what was past was past, and he would conceal nothing. His companions, as a matter of course, deny any complicity in tbe murder, and the immense difficulty io the way of collecting circumstantial evidence sufficiently decisive as to time and place to use against them lead us to fear that tbe matter mast drop."

England's Good Name. — Our late proceedings in Greece hwe induced foreign nations to make a little alteration in our national njckname, by adding a letter to it. Instead of calling us John Bull, they now everywhere style us John Bully. — Punch.

Post-Oiiice at San 'Francisco. — "A dty or two after, my «friV*V *1»* Reamer Unicorn came into the harbour, being the third which had. arrived without bringing a mail. These repeated failures were too^urach for even a patient people to bear ; an indignation meeting in Portsmouth Square was called, but a shower, heralding the rainy season, came on in time to prevent it. Finally, on the last day of October, on the eve of the departure of another steamer down the coast, the Panama came in, bringing the mailjtjor July, August, and September, all at once! Thirty-seven mail-bags were hauled up to the little Post-Office that night, and the eight clerks were astounded by the receipt of fortyfive thousand letters, besides uncounted bushels of newspapers. I was at the tin.c domiciled in Mr. Moore's garret and enjoying the hospitalities of his plank-table ; I therefore offered my services as clerk-extraordinary, and was at once vested with full powers and Initiated into all the mysteries of counting, classifying and distributing letters. The Post-Office was a small frame building, of one story, and not more than forty feet in length. The entire front, which was graced with a narrow portico, was appropriated. to the windows for delivery, while the rear was divided into three small compartments — al'a 1 ' newspaper room, "a privata office, and a kitchen. There were two windows for the genera) - delivery, one for Ere.nch and Spanish letters; ' and a narrow eotry at one end i>( the/ bujlding, "on Which faced the private boxei., to the number- of five hundred, leased to merchants and others Vat the rate of 50 per month. *' * The Panama's mail -bags reached the Office about nine o'clock. The door's were instantly, closed, the windows darkened, and every prVpara|ion made for a long siege. The ajtack from without commenced about the same time. There were knocks on the doors, taps on the windows, and beseeching calls at all corners of the house. The interior was well lighted j the bags were emptied on the floor, and ten pairs of hands engaged in the assortment and distribution of their contents. . The work went on rapidly and noiselessly as the night passed away, but with the first streak of daylight the attack commenced again. Every; avenue of entrance was barricaded ; the crowd was told through the keyhole that the Office would be opened that day to no one : but it all availed nothing. Mr, Moore's Irish servant could not go for a bucket of water without being surrounded and in danger of being held captive. Men dodged his heels in the hope of being able to slip in behind him before be could lock the door. We laboured steadily all day, and had the satisfaction of.

seeing the huge pile cf letters considerably diminished. Towards evening the impatience of the crowd increased to a most annoying pitch. They knocked; they tried shouts, and then whispers, and then shouts again ; they implored and threatened by turns; and not seldom offered large bribes for the delivery of their letters. ' Curse such a- Post-Office and such a Post-Master!' said one; 'I'll write to the Depattment by the next steamer. We'll see whether things go on in this way much longer.' Then comes a messenger slyly to the back door: 'Mr. sends his compliments, and says you would oblige him very much by letting me have his letter ; he won't say anything about it to anybody.' A clergyman, or perhaps a naval officer, follows, relying on a white cravat or gilt buttons for the favour which no one else can obtain. Mr. Moore politely but firmly refuses ; and so we work on, unmoved by the noises of the besiegers. The excitement and anxiety of the public can scarcely be told in words. Where the source that governs business, satisfies affection and supplies intelligence, had been shut off from a whole community for three months, the rush from all sides to supply the void, was irresistible. In the afternoon, a partial delivery was made to the owners of private boxes. It was effected in a skilful way, though with some danger to the clerk who undertook the opening of the door. On account of the crush and destruction of windows on former occasions, he ordered them to form into line and enter in regular order. They at first refused, but on his counter-refusal to unlock the door, complied with difficulty. The moment the key was turned, the rush into the little entry was terrific ; the glass faces of the boxes were stove in, and the wooden partition seemed about to give way. In the space of an hour the clerk took in postage to the amount of &600; the principal firms frequently paid from <4?50 to for their correspondence. We toiled on till after midnight of the second night, when the work was so far advanced that we could spare an hour or two for rest, and still complete the distribution in time for the opening of the windows, at noon the next day. So we crept up to our blankets in the garret, worn out by forty-four hours of steady labour. We had scarcely begun to taste the needful rest, when our sleep, deep as it was, was broken by a new sound. Some of the besiegers, learning that the windows were to be opened at noon, came on the ground in the middle of the night, in order to have the first chance for letters. As the nights were fresh and cool, they soon felt chilly, and began a stamping march along the portico, which jarred the whole building and kept us all painfully awake. This game was practised for a week after the distribution commenced, and was a greater hardship to those employed in the Office than their daily labours. One morning, about a week after this, a single individual came about midnight, bringing a chair with him, and some refreshments. He planted himself directly opposite the door, and sat there quietly all night. It was the day for dispatching the Monterey mail, and one of the clerks got up about four o'clock to have it in readiness for the carrier. On opening the door in the darkness, he was confronted by this man, who, seated solemnly in his chair, immediately gave his name in a loud voice: 'John Jenkins!' When, finally, the windows were opened, the scenes around the Office were still more remarkable. In order to prevent a general riot among the applicants, they were recommended to form in ranks. This plan once established, those inside could work with more speed and safety. The lines extended in front all the way down the hill into Portsmouth Square, and on the south side across Sacramento Street to the tents among the cbapparal ; while that from the newspaper window in the rear stretched for some distance up the hill. The man at the tail of the longest line might count on spending six hours in it before he reached the window. Those who were near the goal frequently sold out their places to impatient candidates, for ten, and even twenty-five dollars ; indeed, several persons, in want of money, practised this game daily, as a means of living ! Vendors of pies, cakes and newspapers established themselves in front of the office, to supply the crowd, while others did a profitable business by carrying cans of coffee up and down the lines." — Taylors El Dorado.