ENGLISH EXTRACTS.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume VIII, 12 May 1852, Page 3

ENGLISH EXTRACTS.

Lord Granville. — We^re enabled to announce (says the Globe) that Lord Granville has been appointed Lord Palmerston's successor. The evidences of statesmanlike abilities and attainments which have been afforded by all the noble lord's recent speeches are abundantly sufficient to justify his promotion to a more elevated position of public trust." It is asserted that Lord Granville's tendencies are decidedly liberal — more so, it is alleged, on many points of general politics, than those of Lord Clarendon or Lord Palmerston ; though he lacks the prestige of the one and the long experience of the other. Granville George Leveson Gower, second Earl Granville, and now her Majesty's Secretary of State for Foreign affairs, is a comparatively young man, having been born in 1815. He graduated at Christ Church, Oxford : was for a short time attache" to the British Embassy in Paris, and subsequently under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; was appointed a railway commissioner in 1846, in which year he succeeded to the earldom ; master of the Queen's Buckhounds, July, 1846; Vice-president of the Board of Trade, May, 1848; was M.P. for Morpeth, from February, 1837, to February, ] 840, and sat for Lichfield, from September, 1841, to January, 1846 ; was appointed a Depoty-lieutenant of Salop, 1846; Second Major Staffordshire Yeomanry, 1848. Earl Granville was, it must be remembered, Chairman of the Council of the Royal Commission of Great Exhibitjon, 1851. The first earl was a distinguished diplomatist ; he was uncle to the Second Duke of Sutherland, and was long known as Lord Granville Leveson- Gower. Mjlleb v. Salomans. — The " great case," as it will some day be called, of Miller versus Salomans, was disposed of in the Court of Exchequer on Monday, in a very short time. Mr. . Channel! and., Mr. Macnamara.were. for Miller, the champion of the ultra-Protest-ants in the House of Commons, against the Jewish aggression ; and Sir Fitzroy Kelly, vdth Mr. Peacock, Mr. Goldsmid and Mr. Willes — an extraordinary combination of legal ability — were for Mr. Salomans, the Jewish aggressor. Mr. Macnamara had explained the pleadings, and Mr. Sergeant Channel had made a long opening speech, when the Judge, Baron Martin, suggested, that as the facts, did not seem disputed, the doubtful law might be better determined by preparing a special case for the court above ; and he offered to prepare the case himself. After consultation of the forensic array, it was agreed that the kind offer of the Judge should be accepted. The jury found a verdict accordingly; and Baron Martin will frame a case on which the opinion of the Court can be taken, to determine whether a Jew may or may not legally sit in the House of Commons. — Spectator, 1 3th December.

Snow Storms in France. — Heavy falls of snow have taken place in some parts of the south of France. Between Puy and Nismes the quantity has been so great that the roads are impracticable. The mails cannot proceed, and the 54th regiment of the line, on the way to Avignon, was last week obliged, from excessive fatigue, to stop several days at Puy, and afterwards proceed by way of Lyons. The cantini ire, who followed the regiment in a little cart, had her vehicle upset, and her chaufferette having set fire to her clothes, she was burned to death before assistance could be afforded. Three persons, who attempted to proceed frotn Puy to Nismes in spite of the dreadful state of the roads, also perished. — News of the World, 7th December.

Bombardment of Salee bt the French. By the Peninsular and Oriental Company's ship -Sultan,' we have impoEtant advices from Gibraltar, describing the. operations of the French fleet on the coast of Morocco. RearAdmiral Dubourdieu, with the ships under his command, having cast anchor off Rabat, demanded an indemnity from the Governor of that fortress for the destruction to French property, allowing only two hours fcr consideration, and threatening that if these demands were not complied with he would bombard jthe place. To this communication the Governor replied that he would be obliged to communicate with the Emperor, before he could comply, and two days would elapse before an answer could be received. The Admiral immediately prepared for action, and five hours after sending this communication, the tide being high and favourable, the vessels under steam commenced to bombard both Rabat and Salee, and continued for eight hours to pour into those places a storm of shot and shells, until Salee was nearly razed to the ground, and Rabat was considerably damaged. The Moors in- the meantime did their best in returning the fire from the Castle of Rabat, and from some other pieces of heavy ordnance which they brought to bear on the French fleet ; seven men were killed on board the Henry IV., the Admiral's ship, and many also severely wounded. We have no return of the casualties on board the other ships of the squadron. On shore the loss" of life amongst the Moors was very great. After committing this great devastation the fleet weighed anchor and bore up for Cadiz ; but the last account from the Signal Station at

1 Gibraltar mentions that the French fleet cast anchor in Tangier Bay at 1 p.m., on the 29th ult., and was preparing to bombard that place. Her Majesty's ship Janus had been despatched to Tangier, for the protection of British interests. Her Majesty's ship La Hogue had also started from Lisbon with the same object, and it was reported that Commodore Martin's squadron would follow. M. Borrell the French ConsulGeneral in Tatigier, was on board the French Admiral's ship. Great consternation prevailed at Tangier, and the batteries of that city were being placed in the best postiire of defence, in order to give the French as warm a reception as possible. — News of the World, Dec. 7. Gold in Australia. — It is doubtful if the whole amount of gold hitherto raised in the colony can be estimated with any approach td accuracy. The value (at Sydney prices) of that known to have been shipped between the 28th of May and the 18th of August, in the Thomas Arbuthnot, Mary Bannatyne, Bondicar, Mountstuart Elphinstone, and her Majesty's ship Havannah, exceeds £50,000; which, as other ships have certainly taken away small sums, is probably very much under the quantity produced in the first three months, even supposing that little remains unsold or hoarded. As little "dependence must be placed on any calculation of the prdduce of the mines, at present, although the minimum may perhaps be arrived at with some degree of certainty. The commissioners' returns of the licenses sold in August had not yet been made public, but it was known that nearly 2000 had been issued during the first few days of the month at the Summer-hill and Turon Creeks, and the numbers were increasing so fast that the appointment of a third assistant-commissioner and a further addition to the mounted constabulary (the expenses of which establishment had before been advanced to £350 a month) were considered necessary. The most moderate accounts consider that not fewer than three thousand Were at work at the two places abovementioned, besides those at the " World's End," which the chief commissioner had procpeded to visii. Taking the average of each person's earnings at 10s. per every day in the year, supposed to be the smallest constant gain which would induce people of the class generally employed to abandon their usual avocations and style of living, for the inevitable hardships of severe work and exposure, the production would be £1500 a day, or at the rate of £543,000 a year. That this is not overrated is proved by the late ai rivals of treasure by the escort and post, which have averaged £10,000 a week, or at the rate of £520,000 annually. If the above be anything near the truth, it will show that up to the present time the license fee of Is. a day is in fact a royalty of 10 per cent., an amount which it is believed has never been realised long by any Government. — Account of the Discoveries of Gold in Australia by Captain Erskine.

Notes op Newspapers. — There were sold of the Times of Tuesday, Feb. io! 1840, con"-" taining an account of the Royal nuptials, 30,000 copies; and the following curious calculations were afterwards made respecting this publication. The length of,a column of the Times is 22 inches. If every copy^_qf Jthe Time^ \heh printed could be cut into 48 single columns, and if these 48 columns were tacked to each other, they would extend 494" miles and 1,598 yards. To give some idea of the extent of that distance, it may be sufficient to say that one of; the wheels of the mail which runs from Fair mouth to London, and again from London to Easingwold, a small town twelve miles beyond York, might run all the way on the letter-press so priuteJ, except the last 167 yards. The same extent of letter-press would reach from London to Paris, and back again from Paris to Canterbury, and a little further. The 30,000 papers, if opened out and joined together, would coTer a length of 22 miles and 1,280 yards ; or, in other words, would reach from the Times office in Printing-house square to the entrance hall in Windsor Castle, leaving a few yards for stair carpets. It is recorded that 20,000 copies were in the hands of the newsmen at 8 o'clock in the morning. Since 1840, the circulation of the Times has greatly increased, and what was then deemed wonderful on an extraordinary occasion, is now exceeded daily by 8000 copies — the present daily circulation being about 38,000, which are worked by greatly improved machinery at the rate of between 8,000 to 10,000 per hour. On the 2nd of last May the Times, containing an account of the opening of the Great Exhibition by the Queen, circulated the enormous number of 52,000 copies, the largest number ever known of one daily newspaper publication. Nothing can illustrate more forcibly^ than these statements the great utility of tile machinery employed in multiplying with so miraculous a rapidity such an immense number of copies. When we look at the great talent — the extensive arrangement— -the vast amount of information on a variety of topics — the immense circulation — the rapidity with which it is thrown off, and the correctness of the details of the Times paper — we are constrained to pronounce it the most marvellous political journal the world has ever seen"; What would our forefathers have said to this wonderful broadsheet, which conveys information of the world's movements to the teeming population of the United Kingdom, and also to-the people of other and distant climes? — Notes and Queries.

United States — A serious outrage has been committed at Lincolnton, North Carolina, at the Marion Court. It appears that Colonel W. W. Avery, in an unarmed and defenceless condition, was passing from the court-house to his room, after an arduous charge of duty to his client, in the case then pending, wherein Fleming was a party, when he was' attacked by Samuel Fleming, who, having armed himself, used a cowhide, which he had secreted about his person. In Morgantown, in the same neighbourhood, a few days afterwards, when Judge Battle had taken his seat on the bench, in the afternoon session, Fleming, fully armed, walked within the bar of the court, appearing in Col. Avery's presence for the first time since the attack with the cow-hide ; whereupon the latter rose and shot Fleming dead on the spot. The ball, it is thought, passed through his heart. Col. Avery at once placed himself in custody of the proper officer with a view to a judicial investigation. — The New York Herald says that the Spanish difficulty ■ is ' definitely settled :—": — " The Spanish Consul is to go to New Orleans in a Spanish national vessel, and

his flag is to be formally saluted. Judge Sharkie is to go to Havannah in a national Vessel, and his flag is to be saluted. The President will recommend to Congress to make good all damage sustained by the Spanish Consul. As for the losses sustained by Spanish residents, they will seek their remedies in the courts, and it is promised that the government will afford them every proper assistance. — Atlas, December 13. The Newry Telegraph makes some startling revelations with respect to the ramifications of " ftibbonism " in the North of Ireland :—": — " We meant," says the Telegraph, " that on almost every estate in the district, blood-money, the means whereby to defray the wa^es of hireling assassins, is now being levied — l£d. the acre being the assessment. We believe that the executive has learnt further, that while this black-mail is exacted, rent payment is prohibited, except on a scale determined by the conspiracy, averaging some 6s. Bd. in the pound on the existing rental ! We believe that the Castle authorities have heard, moreover, that other dues besides those claimable by the landowner have been proscribed, the fact being that, within this present week, while armed marauders have patrolled the Quin estate and the adjoining lands, the scene of the Powell tragedy, forbidding rent to be paid in excess of the stipulated amount, notice has been at the same time given to the baronial constable with all due formality, advising him of the certainty of the doomsman's early visit to his dwelling, should he presume to attempt levying the rate specially assessed for the maintenance of the extra police stationed in the district subsequent to the murder of Coulter.

The Proposed New York Exhibition of 1852. — We have inspected the designs of Sir J. Paxton for the building of the Exhibition proposed to be held in New York in the' ensuing year. They are three in number, consisting of a ground plan, and exterior and interior views, and are exhibited in the drawing-room of the house, No. 43, Clarges-street, Piccadilly, the London offices of the project. The ground plan is a rectangle of 600 ieet by 200, laid out in a main avenue, with two side aisles, formed by two rows of coupled columns. Projecting beyond the line of the pillars, and supported by large brackets, are the galleries, one on each side. These spaces are not to receive goods, and are not furnished with columns to support any portion of the upper part of the structure. By this arrangement a novel feature is imparted to' them, the absence of which was perceived in the building at Hyde Park, viz. : — that the view from them will not be impeded and divided in the slightest degree. Owing chiefly to considerations founded on the nature of the climate of New York, these plans exhibit a marked deviation from the " ridge and furrow " principle which pervades the Hyde Park^uilding. Heavy and violent falls of snow in the winter season have rendered a different-plan of proceeding necessary, and though in point of- architectural beauty the edifice will greatly fall short of our present ideas 4 the union of external grace with the general efficiency of the construction, has been cleverly managed. The building is provided with_pitch roofs, brojten^ by. the upright glazing of the galleries, and attaining an elevation 6f more than ninety feet in the centre. These roofs are covered with slate, as.glass woukl not be strong enough for the purpose, and the upright sides are adopted, with scarcely any variation, from the London building, the twenty-four feet divisions being retained, and all the minor details of the glazing and ventilation. The gable at each end contains an exact copy of the fine semi-circular windows, with radiating styles, which form so striking an element of the beauty of our own building. Many entrances, closely similar to those at Hyde Park, are formed underneath, and a proportionate number of exits and entrances elsewhere. At the angles are pinnacled turrets, containing winding staircases, which, however they may conduce to economy of space, give somewhat of a chapel-like aspect to the edifice. The general effect, however, is exceedingly good, and the interior is at once grand to the view and simple in its details. The building is intended to be erected in Madison- square, a large open space at the end of the Broadway, and its estimated cost in English money is about £28,000.

Electric Clocks. — London might take a useful bint from the electric clocks of Berlin. This new invention has given us a clock which, at the same time that it is simple, inexpensive, and readily repaired when out of order, is easily adapted for the conveyance of all sorts of useful signals. For example — it is used in that city as a messenger in case of fire. The communicating wires have been recently completed — and it is now possible to announce the outbreak of fire in any part of the Prussian capital at every engine station within the walls in a few seconds. The watcher observes the red flame rUing against the dark sky. In an instant his band is on the wires, the message speeds along the electric line, the danger is made kuown to the proper officers, ;and in a few minutes all the, means of resisting a conflagration at the disposal of a great capital can be brought efficiently to bear on the menaced point. Compare this with our own slow and cumbrous mode! Afire breaks out. No one is on the watch in any central position to give notice. It is discovered as it may chance. When the discovery it made, it is nobody's express duty to run to the fire station, The police, needed to maintain order and to protect properly on the spot, are content to make a signal of distress which, is rarely heard in the next street* The firemen have to trust to casual information, not only to the fact of the accident, but as to its exact locality. Through all this improvidence delay is caused, the fire gains head, fears are wantonly created, and property is unnecessarily destroyed. The introduction of electrical clocks and a system of local telegraphs would tend veiy much to diminish the loss, the fear, and the excitement consequent on this to some extent unavoidable incident on great cities. — Athenceum.

Tub Linen Manufactures. — Important Discovery. — The Belfast News Letter says : "We have the satisfaction to announce a discovery the importance of which it is not easy to over-estimate, as marking the date of a new era in the progress of our staple trade — one scarcely less valuable than the invention of the Jacquardloom, and one which will reflect lasting honour,

as it will entail the most splendid advantage on the north of Ireland, where it has first come to light, and whpre it is in a course of actual development. It is well known that one of the greatest difficulties hitherto to be contended with in the proce&s of linen manufacture is the great length of time required to bleach and finish for sale the woven fabric* Those unacquainted with the art of preparing linens for the markets will be astonished to learn that it requires three months to bring the manufactured material to its proper colour and to that exquisite finish which has* enabled Irish linens to maintain the highest character, and command the highest price, in the markets of the world. Now, it must be obvious that an immense advantage would be derived both by the manufacturer and by the consumer if this delay could be materially abridged. The tediousness of the process absorbs, or rather locks up, during the interval, an enormous capital, thus restricting operations, preventing to a considerable extent legitimate speculation, and of course largely enhancing the price of the commodity to the purchaser. This very serious difficulty, this great impediment, at the very threshold of the trade, is now likely, we understand, to be almost entirely removed. We have learned that one of the first linen houses in this part of the country has discovered an invaluable process by means of which linen goods can be bleached and finished within from ten days to a fortnight. And let it not be imagined that the vast and manifest importance of this discovery is in any degree diminished by the least inferiority in the article produced. The reverse is the case. We are assured, so far from the new process tending to injure the fabric, or deteriorate its commercial value, it greatly improves the quality of the article, being unattended with any of the injurious effects produced by the old process. Of the nature of this process it is not within our power to speak. We can only speak with the utmost certainty and confidence of its effects, and of the great advantages it will confer upon the community. By improving the quality of linen fabrics, it will place them once more far a-head of the competition of the cotton goods and cotton mixtures, which has latterly run them so close ; by the unlocking of so large an amount of slumbering capital, it will give great activity to the linen trade, afford a larger margin of profit, aud, by consequence, a wider field of employment ; whilst it will also have the effect of enabling the manufacturer to supply bis goods to the public at a cheaper rate, thus conferring a lasting benefit upon the country at large. In short, by its means, an entire revolution in the condition of the trade will be effected. The time, too, is most propitious for the development of this astonishing discovery and its practical operation on the largest scale ; for we learn with the most sincere pleasure that the advices from the East and West Indies, as weil as from South America, are exceedingly favourable for this particular branch of our native manufactures ; and -we have no doubt that we shall soon have a start in the supply of linens to these markets which will enable us to distance all competitors."

Marshal Soult. — At the end of last week there occurred an event which recalled the first revolution in a purely historical and biographical point of view — the death of Marshal Soult. On Monday the journals had long biographies of this last and greatest of Napoleon's Marshals ; . but .the stirring events which, have since suggested the~ possible birth of a young empire under~Napoleon's nephew, have ahrost swept away an interest in the removal of the most famous living representative o( the empire of Napoleon himself. The career of Je»n-de-Dieu Soult closed, on the 20th of last month, nearly on the spot of his birth. In the same c#m'raune of the department Tarn, where he was born, of unknown parents^ in 1769, he died, the most famous military captain, (after the greater leader under whom he served), and one of the richest and most dignified nobles of his nation. Every student recalls the main features of his career — his early entry into the army ; the fame and promotion which his superior ability and cool mastery in critical positions procured him while yet scarcely a man ; the still higher commands and fame which he attained under the eye of Napoleon ; and his ultimate rise to be the most talented lieutenant of the Emperor, alike in all the great enterprises which placed Napoleon at the climax of his power, and in the struggles which he put forth before his last fall. The gaining of but one of the great battles which Soult won in Spain, or the fighting of many of the battles which he could not gain, would have stamped the fame of a great general. The reader also recalls the ability which he showed as a statesman, and the tact which he showed as a diplomatist, in the civil service of the government of Louis Philippe, which his military prestige contributed immensely to establish and consolidate. We remember how that Soult, the Marshal who had always been fighting us under the Empire, was the strongest advocate of the " British alliance," and of " peace at all price," under the regime of the late Napoleon of Peace. And lastly, Englishmen pleasantly remember the generous reception which their country gave to their great "hereditary foe" when he came to England as the Ambassador of his King to be present at the coronation of Queen Victoria. The recollection is still fresh of how the popnlace were delighted to see him in the streets arm in arm with the great captain of England, his ancient foe ; those who heard it, will never forget the shout of welcome, spontaneous and unusual in a sacred place, which greeted him in Westminster Abbey J and novr he is gone, we recall his earnest words at London Guildhall, of hope that two great nations, who had learned to respect each other so much on the field of war, should henceforward maintain an " eternal alliance " of peace. — Spectator, Dec. 6.

Frightful Colliery Explosion near Sheffield. — The colliery district around Sheffield, so noted for disastrous milling explosions, was the scene of another sad calamity on Saturday last. Three persons have perished in the Woodthorpe colliery, two miles and a half south of Sheffield, worked by Mr. John Rhodes, the lessee. The three .colliers are Charles Stones, of Gleadless, ages 23, unmarried ; and Samuel Bacon and William Ramsden, youths of 18 years of age, hoth of Handsworth Woodhonse. They were killed hy a iremendous explosion from fire-damp, which took place at half-past three o'clock on Saturday afternoon, an hour or so after all" but six or eight hands had left the pit. There was one avenue in the pit that was surcharged wiih inflammable gas, so that all the colliers avoided

entering it with exposed lights, but the youth Ramsden, though a collier, was a stranger there. He descended the pit to visit Bacnn, his companion, and for some reason unknown he went into the dangerous board-iiole with a naked candle ; the consequence was, that his light caused an instantaneous explosion, so powerful as to project larjje quantities of debris out of the mouth of the shaft, which is 164 yards deep* Ramsden's body was consumed to ashes ; Stones and Bacon, who were respectively 15 and 40 yards nearer the shaft, were killed by the concussion. The pit is ventilated by only one shaft instead of two. — Leeds Mercury, Dec. 15.

Failure in Glasgow. — Letters from Glasgow announce the suspension of the house of John Cabbell and Co. Their transactions were very important, and they have numerous accounts open for various kinds of colonial and other produce. They were also, it is said, interested in tallow and iron speculations, and their total liabilities are variously estimated at from £250,000 to £400,000. Their foreign connexions were large, and the loss is likely to be widely diffused. — News of the World, Dec. 7. An Excellent Rule of Court.- -Lord Campbell has laid down as a rule, that every plaintiff or defendant who is to be called as a witness must be out of court from the commencement of the case until he is put into the box, and that as soon as he has been examined he must again leave the court. — Leeds Mercury, Dec. 13.

Fraternity. — There are very few persons in Gloucestershire that know anything of Earl Fitzhardinge's fox-hunting establishment who do not know something of "Sara the Runner." In fact, so constant and unremitting has been his attendance in the hunting-fi Id for many years past, that (without being in the service of his lordship) his presence on these occasions seems as indispensable and necessary almost as that of the hounds. Some time since Sam, like the rest of the world, was smitten with the desire to see the Great Exhibition, and for this purpose he travelled to London. How he went 1 do not know, but most likely he walked there. Behold him, then, one fine afternoon in his scarlet hunting-coat, white hat, and leathern inexpressibles, knocking at the door of Lord Fitzhardinge's dwelling in Spring-gardens. " Was the Earl at home ?" he asked of the servant who answered to his knock. "He was at home, but was engaged, and Sam had better call again." "No; he had just arrived in town, and wished particularly to see him j and would thank the servant to tell him, that Sam'l Cornock, of Nibley, near Berkeley, was there." The servant hesitated a moment, and then did as he was desired. He returned almost immediately, and requested Mr. Sam'l Cornock, of Nibley, near Berkeley, to walk in. In he went, and was ushered, hat in hand, into the presence of bis lordship. "Well Sam, 1 ' exclaimed the Earl. "Well, my lord," " What brings you to town, Sam?" "Why, yon see, my lord, I've come up to see the Expedition; but I thought I'd first call and tell your lordship I was here*" "Ah, I see>; but where are you going to stop while you are here 1" " I don't know, my lord." " Then make this your head quarters ; you can have a bed ;_ and now go down and tell the servants to get you something to eat," said the earl, tossing him a sovereign. Now, having made good his footing, as he called it, Sam proCeede 1 to wait upon some more of his aristocratic friends, the Dukes of Beaufort, Bedford and Sutherland/-Lord Adolphus Fitzclarence, &c. Sam found himself quite a lion, and fed and feasted accordingly ; dining one day at one duke's, the next day at another's; taking tea at the bouse of s third ; indeed, he! says his difficulty was to arrange bis numerous invitations, that he might give them all a turn. He went to Apsley-house, where he saw the Duke of Wellington. "So yon are here Sammy, are you?" said the duke. "Yes your grace," said Sam, making his best bow. •• The Duke of Bedford told me about you ; you run with the hounds, don't you ?" " Yes I do, your grace." "Here's a sovereign for you, Sammy." Sim was so elated that he took his hat and gave his grace three cheers in hunting fashion. Sam also saw the Queen. He was directed by Lord A. Fitzclarence to stand at some spot she was going to pass in her carriage ; the carriage went slowly" by, and her Majesty looked out and smiled at Sam, as he stood up between two life-guardsmen, with drawn swords. Sam took off his chape, v and cheered most lustily, till the royal party was out of vi-iw. Sam said Lord Adolphus Fitzclarence afterwards told him that her Majesty afterwards wished to see him that she might know if he was a like caricature that the Duke of Beaufort had given her. A day or two before Sam left, the Duke of Beaufort said to him, "You must dine here to-day, Sam." " I ana much, obliged to you for the invitation," he replied, " but I am sorry to say that I cannot accept of it, as lam engaged at Apsley-house." Sam, went back well lined in purse and person, and is now following the hounds as usual. — Bristol Times.