ENGLISH EXTRACTS.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume VIII, Issue 664, 13 December 1851, Page 4

ENGLISH EXTRACTS.

New Zealand Company.—The annual x meeting was held on the 15th July, when the r relations of the colony and the government c were reported to stand thus :—“ Ist. That £ the company shall relinquish its Parliamentary lien upon the waste lands of New Zealand for ( the sum of £268,370 155., with per cent., . in consideration of receiving debentures, fixed , by Parliament as a first charge after the civil j list, upon the general as well as the land re- < venue of the colony, for the sum of £200,000 , (being the amount of the paid up capital of 1 the company,) bearing annual interest as follows : namely, for the first seven years, 3 per ! cent. ; for the following 14 years, 4 per cent.; and after 21 years, 5 per cent, until the principal shall be paid off. That during a period, ' v/hich is at present limited to three years, but of which we yet hope to obtain an extension, the proposed debentures shall be commutable, at the option of the holders, for remission orders bearing no interest, at the rate of £268 for £lOO in debentures; these orders being available as cash, in the proportions undermentioned, in the purchase of New Zealand lands. 3rd. That in places where the terms of purchase heretofore laid down by the company shall continue to be in force, the said remis-sion-orders shall be available during such continuance for payment of that portion of the purchase-money which in such terms is designated as ‘ thevenders’ fund ;’ and in all parts of New Zealand where such terms shall not be iu force (with the exception of Canterbury, in regard to which a separate arrangement will be mentioned presently), at the rate of 10s, an acre in the price of rural lands, and a j po portionate sum in the price of town lands ; I the brlance of the price not covered by the remission order to be in all cases supplied by the purchaser in money, 4. That the debentures shall not begin to bear interest until the Ist January, 1852, on the understanding that the com] any shall receive, in lieu of such interest, all payments which would hive been due to the company from the settlement of Canterbury and Otago respectively, if the company had continued itsr.operations until the 31st of December, 1851, or if the arrangement now proposed did not take effect prior to that date.” Presentation of Plate to the Duke of Richmond.—Tha exertions in Parliament of the Duke of Richmond on behalf of the undecorated military and naval officers who shared in the achievements “ that led to the capture of Paris, Madrid, Washington, and finally to an Honourable peace,” have been acknowledged by the gift of a piece of silver plate, worth 1500 guineas. The presentation took place at Willis’s Rooms on Saturday evening; when two “ hundred of the old Egyptians, Peninsulars, and sealions of Nelson and Collingwood,” met under the chairmanship of Lieutenant-General Lord Saltoun, and, after an exbiliarating banquet, witnessed the presentation of their gift, and heard the Duke’s soldierly acknowledgments. The Duchess was present in the gallery, enjoying the scene and receiving the sympathy of a company of her lady visitors who accompanied

her. Besides the speeches of the chairman and the guests of the evening, there were speeches by Sir Hugh Halkett, of the Hanoverian service, Mr. Guthrie, the eminent army surgeon, and half a score of others; and the veteran convives, most of them silver haired men, many of them wanting limbs, and all of them carrying glistening honors on their breasts, besides the last one which the gift to the Duke acknowledged, lingered to a late hour, renewing ancient friendships and recalling recollections of common peril.— Spectator.

Duelling Extraordinary.—Two foolish clerks, named Tilt and Romford, quarrelled respecting a young lady to whom they were both attached, and a challenge was the result. A meeting was arranged to take place at nine o’clock on Saturday evening, in a field near Highgate Cemetery. At the hour appointed one of the principals did not appear, and after waiting some time his second became so annoyed at his cowardice, and at the sneers of the other parties, that he declared himself " insulted, and demanded satisfaction. Of course a man bearing so chivalrous a name as Tilt could not refuse a challenge. The places were duly measured and shots interchanged. Tilt’s bullet grazed the cheek of the valorous second, while Tilt’s four-and-nine was turned into a “ ventilator,” by the bullet of his antagonist popping in just below the crown, and popping out on the other side. The duellists then shook hands, vowed eternal friendship for each other, with a determination to kick Romford, when they caught him, from Highgate-hill to Herne Bay ; and so they parted.— Standard.

Interesting Discovery.—An interesting discovery has lately been made in Egypt. There is known to exist on Mount Zabarah, in an island of the Red Sea, an emerald mine, which the Pacha of Egypt has for a long time wished to work, and which had been abandoned in the latter end of Ivlehemet All’s reign. A British company has lately solicited, and obtained permission to recommence the works which, it would appear, promise great wealth. In executing some operations lately, Mr. Allan, the company’s engineer, discovered, at a great depth, a gallery of the most remote antiquity. After considerable labour, he succeeded iu finding ancient tools and utensils, and a stone, on which were engraved hieroglyphic characters in a great measure erased. This circumstance proves the truth of Belzoni’s conjecture that the mine was worked in ancient times. The nature and form of the tools, utensils, and gallery, prove that the Egyptians bad made great progress in engineering. It would appear, on studying the stone, that the mine goes back as far as Sesostris the Great, who according to the most general opinion, lived about 1650 years, B.C.,and who is celebrated by his conquests and his monuments. — Bells Messenger, July 16.

The Screw Steamer “ European.’ —This steamer is performing remarkable I passages between Glasgow and London—reremarkable, indeed, when her regularity and the distance, and varieties of tile and wind are considered. Her last run up is seventyfour hours, from the Broomielaw to London Bridge, or about sixty-eight hours from river to river.— Scottish Guardian. Diamonds.—The presence of so many rare and valuable diamonds in the Great Exhibition has directed considerable curiosity towards the history and origin of these most precious stones, none of which puzzled chemists and philosophers generally as the large black diamond exhibited by Mr. Mayer, of Liverpool. This extraordinary stone was found about four years ago, in the new diamond mines discovered in the debris of a mountain range, about 300 miles from the port of Bahia, in the Brazils. It is of the great weight of lull 350 carats, and is yet uncut, presenting, in fact, the same appearances as it did when first discovered. It appears to have been once attached to another piece, which to carry out the usual form of diamonds, would make it nearly twice its present size. This black diamond has hitherto baffled the skill of the lapidary, as from its extreme hardness it cannot be cut by the usual process adopted in the transparent specimens, but hopes are still entertained of accomplishing it. Its appearances are very singular, showing evident mark of having passed through great heat, somewhat similar to the scoria formed on the sides of MountJEtna during an eruption. So great is the interest excited by this diamond that Mr. Mayer bas been requested to exhibit it to the French Academy of Sciences in Paris, where some light may perhaps be thrown upon its formation. Many fine diamonds, of great size and value, are now found in Rajah Brooke’s territory of Sarawak, in Borneo; serveral from that island are now in Mr. Mayer’s possession. The admirers of these valuable stones can view some fine specimens, polished and in the rough, as well as a large black one, in Mr. Mayer’s shop window, Lord-street. ihe Paris Rag Gatherers,—The Gazette des Tribunaux gives a curious account of a banquet of the rag gatherers (chiffoniers),

at a public-house called the “ Pot Tricolor." It appears that some time ago the chiffonniers formed themselves into a fraternal association, and they have met at regular periods to discuss politics in general, and, in particular, the affairs of government. There is an aristocracy, however, even amongst them; and they have three rooms. The first, which bears on the doors in chalk, the words “ Chambre des Pairs,” is for the chiffonniers who have good baskets and crooks mounted with brass ; the second, which is the “Chambre des Deputes,” is for chiffonniers who have baskets and crooks, but in a bad condition ; and the third, which is that of the “ vrais proletaires,” is for the poor wretches who have only a bit of canvass in which they place their pickings. On Friday the three chambers fraternised in a general banquet. They were served with a huge gibelotte, for which they were made to pay before it was placed on the table, and they were obliged to deposit a certain sum as a guarantee for the knives and forks. After drinking several political toasts in wine at six sous per quart, they gave up the knives and forks, and consumed the amount of the deposit in brandy.