ENGLISH EXTRACTS.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume VIII, Issue 741, 8 September 1852, Page 3

ENGLISH EXTRACTS.

The Crystal Palace. — The promenade in the Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon was quite a monster demonstration. The estimate, of the number of visitors ranges from 40,000 to 70,000 ; some 2000 carriages thronged the approaches. Of course the seven military bands, -stationed in different parts df/the building, and the. giant -organ of Messrs. .Willis, which re- ~ mains to this time, v did "their best to please^ The. national anthem, \_playecl by all the bawls 'combined in 'the centre , of the transept as a finale at five o'clock, went with a voluminous unity and grandeur spoke,n of as " sublime." No doubt Messrs. Fox & Henderson would be glad to renew more than oncethe beautiful and very profitable scene ; liut it seems that even the gathering of Saturday last, took place under an official prohibition. At the time the public were enjoying themselves, Messrs. Fox & Henderson held in their hands a double protest in the shape of a note from the Royal Commission, enclosing this announcement from Lord John Manners, as head of the office of Works : — "Lord John Manners feels it to be his duty to take the earliest opportunity of apprising the Commissioners for the Exhibition, that he cannot in any way countenance the appropriation of the building to any purposes other than those which are specified in the royal warrant of the iJOth of September." — Spectator, April 10.

Cardinal Mezzofanti. — At a recent meeting of the Philological Society, T. Watts, Esq. read a paper on Cardinal Mezzofanti, whom he described as being the greatest linguist that ever existed. He certainly was one of the most wonderful curiosities of the Eternal city. During the latter years of his life a sight of the highest interest was annually to be witnessed at Rome. At the examination of pupils of the college of the Propaganda, it is customary for each of the young missionaries of various countries to deliver an oration in his own language. At these meetings Mezzofanti used to attend and converse with almost all the scholars, — " passjng with equal fluency from the dialects of the extreme West to those of the extreme East — from Ivish, which he spoke with ease, to Chinese, of which he was peculiarly fond." Byron said of him " he is a walking Polyglott, and ought to have existed at the time of the Tower of Babel as universal interpreter: I tried him in all tongues of -which I knew a single oath, and, egad ! he-; astonished me — even to my English.'' There is one omission, however, it does not seem that even this miraculous Po«lyglotist could speak Welsh.

Desertion of Seamen at Quebec. — The Committee of Privy Council for Trade " have suggested to the Admiralty the expediency of sending a ship-of-war to Quebec, to remain there during the season, with orders to give assistance in keeping order, and checking desertion in the port." One ship-of-war is not enough to preserve due control over so extensive a port. — News of the World, May 16th.

Persia. — The Tiibats gives a letter containing fuller particulars of the fall of the late Minister at Teheran than have yet been published. Mirza Agazoi, formerly preceptor of Mohammed Schah, who had Jong enjoyed unlimited power," was on the death of that Sovereign stripped of his authority and sent to Bagdad, where he has since died. On the accession of Nas-red-din-Shah, present King of Persia, he' was replaced by Mirza Tagui-Khan, said to be an able man, and, according to Eastern notion, something of a reformer. Like his predecessor, he was invested with unbounded authority, governing in the name of his Sovereign. Whatever the cause, on the 18th November, this man was summoned to the presence of the King, deposed from office, and orders were given to strangle him on the spot. The servants "of the Court precipitated themselves upon him, the fatal cord was already round his neck, when, at the intercession of some high dignitaries who j had witnessed the proceeding, his life was spared to give him. time to make up his accounts. He found means to make known his situation to the Lussian Minister, who came "to his aid with guards.. The people,, however; ratified the covp d' etat, drove away the guards, pillaged the Minister's ESus'e, and never left him until he had been loaded with' irons and lodged in the fortress of Kochan^ an oriental Ham. — Atlas, January 10.

Proposed new penal Settlement. — Sir James Matheson, M.P., proprietor of ibe Island o( Nonh Rona', has offered it as a gift to Government, for a new penal settlement. This island is situated in the Atlantic, in latitude 59 deg. 7 mm. 15-48 sec, and longitude 5 deg. 48 mm. 50-45 sec. West. It forms part of the Lewis property. It lies 88 miles N. £. of the Butt ( of Lewis, forming a nearly equilateral triangle with it and Cape Wrath. Its highest point is 360 feet above the level of the sea. On a clear day, Cape Wrath and the Lewis and Harris Hills can be seen without glasses. The island resembles a long-neck-ed decanter, with its neck towards (he north. Its greatest length is nearly a mile, and its greateit breadth the same. At its north end, about half a mile of us length varies in breadth from 10 to 20 chains. Half of this portion is stratified rook, without a particle o/ vegetation. The eastern shore of this part slopes gently to the sea ; tbe western, though rugged and broken, is but 90 feet iv height. The southern portion of the island is broad, and the two hills not less than 350 feet high. The seaward bases of these hills form precipitous cliffs, inaccessible in many places. The rocks round Rona are few and small. Gouldig Beag and Gouldig Mohr are the only rocks more tb«u tno chains from the shore. Another small rock, seen at low watery near the S. W. point, is

dangerous to navigators anchoring in the neighbourhood. The soil of Rona is good, md the pasture, though riot luxuriaii', is beautifully green. Except about 50 acres, the whole island, is 'arable, interspersed with a fevr small rocks; A, small part of the south side had been cultivated, ami produced excellent barley. It ii now rented as a sheep farm. There are five or sx ruinous huts upon it. The smallest is said to have been a church. There is also a graveyard, in which is a rude cross without any inscription. There are neither rats nor mice, and but very few birds in the island. There is no peat moss, and not much sea-weed. There is sufficient spring water on the south shore. Seals are numerous, but not easily killed, and codfish are abundant. The tide rises from five to ten feet, and the south wind 'prevails. The best landing places are Poul Houtham on the south, Skildiga on, the west, and Gevah Sthu ou the east. So well sheltered is Gevah Sthu, that three vessels anchored at its mouth six years ago, and remained one night. But such a thing had not occurred before, and has not been repealed since. The island contains 270 acres, three-fourths of which .are arable.' Some' years siace -it was 'inhabited by several families, who lived by fishing, .and on the produce of the soil ; but in attempting to land on a stormy day, all the^men were lp ; st by Uhe upsetting of their boat. Should Government accept Sir James Matheson's. pff?r of: tbjs island as a : convict prison "aud penaCs,eitlemenf,ut will combine the advantages of Portland prison and a penal colony in New South Wales, being near enough to be controlled by the home authorities through directors of prisons for Scotland, or through a separate board.of commissioners ; and from the small size of the island, and its loneliness, it would have all the terrors and 'none of the attractions, of transportation to Australia, The cost of maintaining a convirt in Rona woulJ not exceed £15 a-year and this on 1000 convicts for four years, wouldsave£loo, ooo. The climate and soil being favourable, the arableparts of Rona might be cultivated by the convicts as a garden farm. This would be a good training for such convicts as might afterwards emigrate, and it would considerably diminish the expeuse-of the establishment. All other kinds of labour usual in prisons could, of course, be done at Rona. As a prison made of galvanised iron may easily be be removed from one place to another, a great difficulty is obviated, as regards the expense of buildings, which, after serving their purpose in one locality, became useless, as>no'w the transfer from one locality to another is .provided .'or. — Observer. " . < , The Morning Advertiser understands that Lord Beaumont and his sister, the Hon. Miss Ssapleion, hare at length seceded from the Church of Rome, and become members of the Church of England. The event of Lord Beaumont's secession bad been for some time deemed probable. Lady Beaumont is, as she has always been, a member of the Church of'Eoglaud. Her ladyship is daughter to Lord Kilraaine. "The Hon. Mr. Stapleton, brother to the noble lord, seceded from the Church of Rome about fifteen months since. ( More than 2,000 political prisoners have passed through Paris within the fortnight ending 24th March, on their way to the colonips as exiles. Nine-tenths of them are destined for Larnbessa, the others for Cayenne. The department of the Basses Alpes alone has furnished more than 1000 persons condemned for real or supposed political offences. Kossuth's return to England was expected in May. • „ ' The Belgian journals give Jong details of a terrible accident in the coal-pit of Elogeus, near Mons. At the date of the last accounts the excavation was still going on, to arrive at tire poor men, sixty in number, buried in the mine, but scarcely any hopes were entertained that they would be saved. , The population of the village were plunged in despair, and were nearly all collected at the mouth of the pit, waiting for news from below. , „ At Vera Cruz, on the 30th January, violent northerly gales had occurred, in which 14 vessels were wrecked, and thirteen lives lost. Goods were lost to a large amount, by which the Mexican Government lost duties to the extent' of 20,000 dollars, and the bond-holders their proportion in the same. On the 20th March, the small screw steamer fitted out by Captain Beatson, to proceed in search of' the missing arctic expedition, by the way of Behring's Straits, was declared ready for sailing. The proposed field in search is east of the meridian of Behring's Straits, towards Kellett's discoveries in 1849, Herald Island, and New Siberia. Captain Beatson takes out autograph letters from (he Emperor of Russia', recommending the expedition to the commanders of the Russian outposts at Siberia and other Muscovite settlements, and desiring them to promote the object iv view to the utmost of their power. ' , »

Completion of the EEectiuc •TELEtSRA>H to Bristol.— The Electric • Telegraph ;Co^n- t pany have just completed their thorough range^f wire (118 miles) from London to^ Bristol, la addition to other advantages, the completion of the communication "places the .commercial community of Bristol and the adjacent districts'in direct telegraphic communication, not only with London, but, by roeans^ of the cross country .line' of telegraph already in existence between Bristol and Gloucester, and Birmingham and Derby, connects the 1 West of England with those' and other towns, as well as with Liverpool, Manchester, the North, and Scotland.. Several hundred men ate now employed upon the link remaining to be completed between '..Bristol and Exeter, of about 73 miles, and which it is expected, will be finished by June. — Times, April 14.

Proclamation for Assembling Parliament. — The bill brought from the .Lords to shorten the time required for assembling Parliament after a dissolution thereof, was on Wednesday printed by order of the House of Commons. It is proposed to enact, "that so often as ber Majesty shall by her royal proclamation appoint a lime for the first meeting of the parliament of the United Kingdom of Grea? Biitain and Ireland after a dissolution thereof, the time so to be appointed may be at any time not less tha;» thirty-five days after -the date of such proclamation, the act of the fifth year of Queen Anne, chap. 8, or the act oi 7il» amUJib -William ,111, chap. 25, or any other law or usas'e to r the conuary notvitlisian'Mng. — Sunday Times,. April 11. ' ..." :

Wine Imported. — It is shown Ly the trade und monthly accounts relating to trade, winch have just been issued,, that whilst the quantity of -tea entered for home consumption has increased, the quantity of nine has decreased. In the month ended the sth of March, 3850, the quantity was 556,018 gallons entered for home consumption ; and in the like month, of 1851, the -quantity was 539,450 gallons ; and in the corresponding period of the .present year 492,212 gallons. — Times, April 10. Shrivenham House, the property of Viscount Barrington, was entirely destroyed by fire on the night of Wednesday last. The amount of property consumed was very great. — Ibid.

Literary Forgeries. — M. de Bacourt, one •of the executors of the late Prince de Talleyrand, has written a letter to the public journals, stating that frauds, similar to those lately discovered in England relative to Shelley's letters, have heen attempted in France for letters falsely stated to have been written by the late Prince. " I have in my possession «t present," says M. de Bacourt, " a certain number of those letters, imitating exceedingly well the writing of the deceased Priuce, but which have been declared by the persons intimate with the deceased, such as M. Gnizot, the Duke .de.Broglie, Count Mole, Duke Pasquier, &c, to be forgeries." — Examiner, April' 10.

Death of the Hon. Edward Montagu. — This young gentleman expired on the 3rd inst., at the tender age of 16 years. He was the only son of Henry Lord Rokeby. The announcement of the bereavement will be received by a large circle with deep regret. — Ibid.

A New Colony. — A new kind of colonisation is at present being tried in Senegal. Some months back t slaver filled with negroes being captured, they were at their own desire taken to Senegal and placed on the banks of the Cazamanca, with their wives and children. They live by fishing and husbandry, and obey very submissively a mayor put over them. The last accounts state that this little colony is in full prosperity. — Ibid.

The Sallyport of Windsor Castle. — Extensive improvements have for several months past been in progress at Windsor Castle, under the direction of her Majesty's Commissioners of Woods and Forests, who, after a period of 28 years from the commencement of negociation, have succeeded in completing the purchase of a]) the houses on the Casile side of Thamesstreet, between Henry the Eighth's Gateway, on Castle-hill, and the bottom of the Hundred Steps. These houses have been removed, the street is widened and much improved, and the most'ancient part of the Castle now abuts on the town, towering majestically above, the buildings which surround it, with the same protective appearance as in ages past, when the first huts of Windsor were raised beneath its walls for shelter, and security. The workmen engaged in levelling tbe ground between the Garter Tower and the old Belfry Tower, known as Julius Caesar's Tower, discovered at about six feet below the surface, a passage cut through the chalk rock, on which the castle is built. Tbe filth and rubbish are now being got out, and many cartloads .have already been taken away. The passage is 6 feet wide and 10 feet high ; the sides are built of sound masonry, and it is .arched over with massive stonework. At present it has been traced to one of the Minor Canon's houses in the Horseshoe Cloisters, adjoining Julius Caesar's Tower, where the entrance is bricked up. JFrom this part there is a gradual descent into Thames-street ; thence it appears to pass under the houses in the direction of tbe River Thames; but this part has not yet been explored. Hundreds of persons have already descended into tbe passage ; and it is conjectured that this is the ancient sallyport from tbe Castle, made as a means of escape in the case of siege or invasion, and that it passes under the river to Burnham .Abbey, which is about three miles distant, where there is a corresponding passage proceeding in the direct line to Windsor. It is expected that if the. excavation is further traced from beneath the cloisters, this passage will be found to communicate with one in the quadrangle of the Castle, which, it will be remembered, was discovered a few years ago to lead under the eastern part of the Castle, in tbe direction of Old Windsor, and in all probability to the ancient Castle of 01J Windsor, which was known to have been built there by the Romans, and occupied by William the Conqueror, at tbe time when he built Windsor Castle as a hunting seat, which, according to Doomsday Book, was completed in 1086 ; and it is very remarkable that, although history furnishes indisputable proof of there being a Castle at Old Windsor, and its being occupied by Saxon princes as well as by William the Conqueror, there are to be found no traces of it at the present day, although Roman roads •have been discovered and Saxon urns dug up within a short distance of that neighbourhood. It is to be hoped that the Dean and Canons' of Windsor, or the Commissioners of Woods and Forests will continue the exploration of this extraordinary passage, which has created so much interest among the curious who have already visited it. — Times. March 9.

A New Life Boat. — A day or two ago, any one strolling along the Cheshire shore might have seen lying on the beach at low water, nearly opposite the magazines, a strange-looking red structure, which ou closer inspection, would be found to be another of those praiseworthy inventions having for their object the saving of human life from the perils of a stormy sea. It is called " Richardson's Patent Tubular Lifeboat." Two large circular metal tubes, gradually curving upward tnd decreasing, in diameter towards each end, in outline not unlike two Indian prahus, and firmly connected by an iron band at their extremities, which incline to each other at an acute angle, so that the space between the tubes- is gradually enlarged as their diameter increases. Each of these tubes is lined by, or rather incloses, a stout Macintosh airbag. To give "additional buoyancy and probably to act as a "fender," a stout canvass piping, about the thickness of one's wrist, apparently also inflated, is carried along the outer fide of each tube. Along the tops of these tubes is fastened a strong wooden grating, crossed by seats for 16 oarsmen, the rowlocks being of wrought iron, and forming a sort of light railing round the grating. Such is an imperfect sketch of this ingenious boat, though perhaps raft would be a better term. Its good qualities to be extreme buoyancy, a form well adapated to make way through the «ater,and,from

Us breadth of base, almost impossible to overturn.' There seems, bowever,to be too little space between the grating and thofta, so that the oarsman's legs are almost at right angles with his body, to the manifest insecurity of his seat. The absence, too, of anything like a gunwale roundtheboat except the rowlocks before- named, would, we fear, be found to be a serious deficiency, especially when it is borne in mind that those who are rescued are frequently almost helpless from the combined effects of fear and cold. In practice these objections may not be so weighty as at first sight they appear ; the idea of forming a boat on such a principle is a good one, and we hope it may be ultimately I made to fulfil its humane purpose. — Liverpool Mercury.