MISCELLANEOUS.
Mr. Landseer.—Her Maiestv has been pleased to confer the honor of knighthood upon Edwin Landseer, Esq., Royal Academician.—Liverpool Albion. West India Mail Contracts.—The particulars of the mail contract, recently entered into between the Admiralty and the West India Steam-packet Company, have just been printed and published by the Government. According to this document, the West India and Brazilian form one contract, which is to commence on the Ist of January next, and to last eleven years. The Company are to provide fifteen wooden steam-ves-sels ; ten of them are to be of 400, four of 250, and one of 60 horsepower. The v are to provide also a sailing vessel of 100 tons burthen. All these vessels are to have light-ning-conductors, and the commanders, and chief and second officers, must have certificate of fitness from the Board of Examiners appointed by Act of Parliament. None of the small vessels are to perforin ths Atlantic service. The Company are to receive£27.ooo a-year from Government, and the penalties to which they are liable are £50,000 for the non-performance of the contract; £SOO for not starting from Southampton at the proper time ; and £2OO for not starting from any other port. They are bound to vary, if required, the route of their vessels employed in the North and South Atlantic Oceans, between the latitudes of 27 degrees north and 37 degrees south, and 20 degrees and 97 degrees 52 seconds west longitude. They are to receive 9s. lOd. for every additional mile their vessels are required to perform in tbe course of a year beyond 547,290 nautical miles. They are bound to make improvements in the construction, equipTYiPnrs ann msnnvnorv triaiw Trapcnip — — —ao mo advanced state of society may suggest. If the packet station is removed from Southampton they are to receive compensation for the expense of removal, and for diminution of receipts. In case of war they are to be paid extra, that is, in the event of increase of rate of insurance, and of the freight of coals. But the extra pay is not to exceed in one year £75,000, nor are they to be paid for additional freight on more than 75,000 tons of coals annually. They are bound, if required, to convey as passengers on board each ship a limited number of officers in the navy, army,; and civil service ot her Majesty, and of noncommissioned officers and soldiers, at reduced fares.— Giane, Damage to the Works of the Harbour of Refuge at Dover.—Dover, Tuesday night.—During the whole of Sundaynight the storm raged with the most fearful fury, tearing away from their moorings nearly all the craft riding at anchor, and sweeping away a portion of tbe e-splanade, and finally completely damaging a very large portion of the Harbour of Refuge. The force of the storm may be imagined when it is stated that the immense coffer-dam by which the walls were surrounded,* although constructed of
huge timbers, was torn up and scattered about i as if it had been so much matchwood. Im- i mense stones with which the walls are being < constructed were washed away; as were also < three diving-bells, and nearly all the appara- ’ tus employed in this great undertaking. The i damage is estimated at £15,000. OnThurs- I day the divers succeeded in fishing up, out of i 18 feet of water, one of the diving-bells out i of the three that were sunk. Deane, the . diver who was employed on the wreck of the i Royal George, is to endeavour to raise the other diving-bells, which weigh about five tons each. Ths awful power of the winn and waves ought to be a lesson to those who are responsible for the strength of this harbour, as well as a warning to the projectors of the electric telegraph, to study their work well.— Bell’s Messenger. The Change in Progress in the State of Society.—ln a paper read by Mr. Porter before the British Association, he shows that it is altogether a mistake to suppose that the rich are growing richer and the poor are becoming poorer” in this country, for there is abundant evidence of a much larger increase in the numbers of the middle i classes than of either the rich or the poor. I He states that between 1831 and 1848 there was a great proportionate increase in the number of small dividends paid at the Bank of England to the holders of money in the £ funds. Also, that the incomes from trades and professions above £l5O a year, which paid income-tax, only amounted in 1812 to £21,247,621, whilst in 1848 they amounted to £56,990,224; and that the incomes below £SOO a year had increased several millions beyond any other class of incomes. Further, that the personal property on which probate duty was paid, increased from £14,757,420 in 1811, to £44,348,721 in 1848—ofwhich the increase was chiefly in smaller properties. Atlas. Mr. Layard’s Latest Discoveries in the Ruins of Nineveh.—A few weeks ago, we announced Mr. Layard’s return from his expedition into the desert, and the rescue of some of his larger antiquities from the mud of the river, and their embarkation for England. We have since, however, received further particulars of his most recent discoveries at Koyunjik, which are extremely interesting. He found, as has been stated, a chamber, which is completely filled with terra cotta tablets, the inscriptions on which, we now learn, are stamped in, so that, though Major Rawlinson thinks it very probable that these tablets may be records of the empire, it is still not unlikely that many of them may in fact be duplicates, or a collection of, manifestoes for issuing to the people or their immediate rulers; in short, a sort of Assyrian official printing-office. We believe that no fewer than twenty-five cases are on their way to England. In the pyramid at Nimroud, also, a unique statue has been discovered. It is from four to five feet in height, in gypsum, elaborately carved and very perfect. There is also a high relief of the king, very beautifully executed, standing in an arch eight feet high, and covered with minute inscriptions. Mr. Layard’s last communication is dated Akra, 17th July, where we are sorry to say he had been confined by a severe attack of fever. The inefficient assistance he had received had caused him to over exert hinself; and thus he had been stopped for a while on his way to Van to secure inscriptions. He hoped to pass great part of the winter in Babylonia, and to return home in the spring. The very important discoveries he is now making render it imperatively necessary that his exertions should not be stayed for want of funds.— Literary Gazette. Failure of a Dry Dock at Naples.— A very remarkable engineering blunder has caused the entire destruction of a dry dock built near the Mole of Naples, at an outlay of some £30,000. Yesterday the whole fabric fell in, from the pressure of water, fortunately when no workmen were on the works. The blame is attributed to Prince Ischitella, the Minister of War. It appears the king had been warned by some Neapolitan engineers that the walls were too slight ; and for some time past the works were pronounced as unsafe by more than one English gentleman, whose professional knowledge at once discovered the error. Had the accident taken place a short time earlier than it did hundreds of lives would have been lost.— -Italian Correspondence of the Daily News. Terrfic Storms.—The American papers are filled with disastrous accounts of a storm that had visited extensive districts of the Union. In eastern Pennsylvania, particularly, its visitation was most severe, and it is impossible to tell as yet what is the extent of tne uamage. The Schuylkill and Delaware rivers have risen to an unprecedented height, and the lower portions of Philadelphia have been submerged, while loss of life and a general destruction of property have followed in its wake. From the damage sustained by the railroads through which it has swept, and the general detention and disarrangement of the
mails, we are at a loss to know what the end may he. In New Jersey it was equally severe. I On the upper lakes, too, several storms have I occured, the last of which on the 30th ult., 1 was very severe, so much so, indeed, that i navigation was wholly impossible. A letter from Philadelphia says—“ The damage along i the Schuylkill River alone exceeds 1,000,000 dollars, and at least 50 lives were lost by its < sudden flood. Railroads are stopped in every direction, owing to the destruction of bridges, and, calculating from Maine to Georgia, it is estimated that the damage by freshets wfll not be less than 3,000,000 dollars. ".—Hell'S Messenger. Steamers to America. —The extension of steam communication between England and America is making rapid strides, and it would really seem as if, in a short time, news from New York may be expected nearly every day in the week. The Ocean Steam Navigation Company have just announced that in addition to the Hermann and the Washington now running between Havre and New York, which call at Cowes, Isle of Wight, for passengers, by a branch steamer from Southampton a new steamer the Franklin, will be placed on , the line, and take her first departure on the i 10th October, whilst another vessel now build- ’ ing to be called the Humbolt, will be ready to < enter the line early in next spring.— Bell's Messenger, September 16. Munificent Liberality at Bristol. — Bristol has just afforded another splendid example of individual generosity and public devotedness. Owing to the exertions of several individuals consisting chiefly of members of mercantile firms of the parish of Redcliffe, Bristol, it has been determined to enlarge the building and increase the efficiency of Guineastreet Hospital in that city. One gentleman alone, Mr. Eaton has contributed towards it the munificent sum of £5,000, and Mr. George Thomas no less than £l,OOO. It has been justly remarked that such liberality would do credit to the most munificent period of the local history of even Bristol’s merchant princes, renowned as she deservedly is for the extent of her public charities. It is proposed that the future structure shall be erected in a less backward situation than Guinea-street, so that it should be, as one of the great public buildings, an ornament to the city.— Leeds Mercury. Spain as she was. —The following curious statement of the gradual loss by Spain of her colonial possessions has appeared in a Madrid journal:—“The Spanish dominions once occupied an eighth of the known world. Our country has been the greatest of the globe, and in the days of its splendour neither the gigantic empire of Alexander, nor the vastness of that of the present Czar, could be compared to it. The sun never set upon our territory, which contained 80,000 square leagues, and 60,000,000 inhabitants. Of so much richness and power we have lost more than two-thirds in the course of a couple of centuries. In 1565, we ceded Malta to the Order of St. John. France afterwards took possession of it, and ultimately the English. In 1620, Louis XIII. incorporated Lower Navarre and Bearn with France. In 1649, our Government recognised the conquest of Rousillon, made by the same monarch. In 1640, Portugal emancipated herself, with all her transatlantic possessions. In 1581, we began losing the Netherlands. In 1648, they made themselves independent. The English took from us—in 1626. the island of Barbadoes; in 1655, Jamaica; 1704, Gibraltar; 1718, the Lucayas; 1759, Dominica; 1797, Trinidad. In 1635, the French made themselves masters of Martinico; in 1650, of Granada; 1685, of Guadaloupe; in 1697, we shared St. Domingo ; with France. In 1821 we lost our half. In 1790 we abandoned Oran, after the earthquake. In 1791 we ceded our rights over Oran and Mazalquivir to Morocco. In 1713 we ceded Sardinia to the Duke of Savoy. i Parma, Placentia, Luca, and other districts ! in the north of Italy, were ceded to princes I of the reigning family. In 1759 we lost s Naples and Sicily, in consequence of the j Infante Don Charles selling them to occupy ■ the Spanish throne. In 1800 we ceded , Louisiana to France, and in 1819 Florida ■ to the Americans; and, lastly, the South ) American colonies emancipated themselves, 5 by turns, from 1816 to 1824.”— Atlas.
Parisian Items.—Paris, Friday Evening.—Whatever some of the journals may say, you may rely upon me when I assure you that the cry of “ Vive I’Empereur !’’ yesterday, at the review, was set up by nearly a fourth of the troops, and that none cried “ Vive la Republique!” There were few cries of “ Vive la Republique I” from tbe crowd. One of the colonels is charged with having cried “Vive I'Empereur!” and the Permanent Committee of the Assembly are discussing as to whether they shall demand an official enquiry. Louis Napoleon has been urged to make a formal declaration of his disapprobation of the imperialist cry in the Moniteur. but he has refuseds He says he
wifi never sanction a violation of the consti.lS" but he«in n<.«-interfere trihmions of the Minister of War. It is feared that if any attempt be made to punish the men who cried “ Vive I’Empereur! tn-re will be a general revolt. The police have arrested some young men for cryu g . Henri VI” on the Boulevards. They are custody, and an inquiry is going on ; but there is reason to believe they were drunk. You may expect some serious results if Permanent Committee of the National Assembly should be intemperate. lhe chief abators in it are the Republican Lamoriciere and the Orleanist Chambolle ; but ine majority appear more reasonable. Chambolle has proposed the immediate convocation o. the Assembly. This has been rejected. Some of the journals state that General Changarmer, to show his disapprobation of the President s treating officers with champagne, left yesterday immediately after the review, and refused to take any refreshments. This is untrue. Changarnier went with the President, and partook of wine with the officers. M. Thiers formally denied the statement of his having gone to England to negociate with the Duchess of Nemours the fusion of the two branches of Bourbons. Everything, however, is taking a monarchical turn. At the review, yesterday, many of the peasants shouted, “ A bas la Republique I” The funds are heavy, in consequence of the fear of a collision between the Assembly and tbe President. The five per cents, to-day closed at 92f. 10c. — Correspondent of the Liverpool Albion, Oct. 24.
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New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 582, 1 March 1851, Page 3
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2,437MISCELLANEOUS. New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 582, 1 March 1851, Page 3
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