ENGLISH EXTRACTS.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume VIII, Issue 762, 20 November 1852, Page 3

ENGLISH EXTRACTS.

Bribery. — It is estimated that upwards of changed hands in betting on the result of the Liverpool election ; and that it cost the Derbyites upwards of £23,000 and the Free

Traders £4,000. Provincial Synod ov CtecoTT. — * Since the first session, on "Wednesday week, the time has heen fully occupied in the particular congregations composed of bishops and divines, amongst whom the subjects to be treated of in the session were distributed for previous discussion. The second general congregation was held on Sunday, followed by others on Monday, preparatory to the second session. A pontifical' mass was sung on Sunday by the Bishop of Birminghatr, the Cardinal and prelates assisting, and a sermon preached by the Rev. H. Manning, on the words, " I have compassion on the multitudes," which compassion of our Lord is fulfilled in the church ever in new ways supplying the wants of her children, restoring the perfect order of the church after centuries of desolation, and taking up tbe work again as if her bishops had only left it yesterday. The second session was held on Tuesday, at which mass was sung by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Beverley, in the presence of the Cardinal, and the sermon preached by Dr. Newman. He showed that the order of nature is a succession of decay and renovation, but the gifts of grace are scarcely ever restored where they have ouce been lost. Yet such a miracle seemed to be taking place in the present time, and in a manner so marvellous that, contrasting it with the state of Catholics thirty years ago, if the venerated founder of that college could be imagined to have seen in vision, and described the building that succeeded his own, an. l the scene' taking place in it, he would have been simply told it was impossible. But he warned them that this restoration of their church might-be but like an English spring with nian?f"a' keen blast to be encountered, and though the martyrs of the last three centuries could not fail by their deaths to win many souls tot hfe> yet it might be that the purgation they had gone through was not yet complete. It was announced that the closing scene was to be held this day, (Saturday.) — Birmingham Journal, July 17th.

Glamis Castle.. — Lord Strathmore is rehabilitating Glamis Castle, in Forfarshirej the traditionary seat at least of the first Lord Glamis — Macbeth. Arrangements have been made and sanctioned by the Governor for the erection of two new bishoprics in South Africa, viz», one for Natal and another for the Eastern division of the present diocese of Cape Town.

Singular Fall op Buildings in St. Paul s Churchtard.-^-Aii accident of a fearful character happened in St. Paul's Churchyard recently. Messrs. Cooke, Sons, and Co>, Manchester warehousemen, for some time past had been making extensive alterations in their premises, and mofe recently they tiad 'purchased the stock in trade and place of business belonging to Messrs. Morgan and Co., shawl' importers, &c. ! The ' only persons in the last-named building were two women and a man, and the latter haying had his attention directed to the side .walls bulging, he at once gave an alarm to the women, who:- ran out into the street. They had barely succeeded in so doing"," "when the principal walls and floors fell with a crash, and the neighbourhood became obscured in dust. After some time, it was ascertained that no person was killed or injured ; but, unfortunately, there were upwards of £7000 worth of shawls in Messrs. Morgan's premise.*, the whole 'of which became buried in the ruins. Men were set to work to prop up the tottering Walls and remove the valuable salvage ftfojn the debris, and some hundreds of Paisley, Norwich, Chipa crapef; Macclesfield, apd Cashmere shawls were recovered. <

Raggea Schools.— The Earl of Shaftesbury pre&ided at ths Ragged Schools Union meeting : :—": — " The emigration fund amounted during Jfae year to £,612, 6f which £394 have been expended, The general fimdj reached £3,510, frtim which, there 1 re'mairis a haficf, after all payments, of £376^ '^Fburteeif new schools have been op^n'edV and the tofef number of them now inclodedinithe^ttttfori is 1 10; It embraces 2,600 teachers; 200 paid, and 1 3,000 pupjls . The annual income is £2,800, not including the sums raised th< ei^cfr district ; and the i smnuaP subscriptions »re £780^ Tfee unsectarimu character of the edacation grren is fitrictly adh«pa %6l - Hut the most curious d£ jydoperoetfl? 'fit -f he^ moyemcnt is furnished by jthe statfeti^e of the. « $h6?b'l'acl<ing Society," wUich the Report deserve* as in a very pros-

perous condition :—": — " The average Weekly earn- 1 ings of the thirty-seven little redcoated boys thus employed is stated to he at present 7s. each, and it appears to have been much higher during the period of the Gre^t Exhibition. To the other marvellous details of that event, the following figures may be added in the forthcoming report of the Royal Commission. Out of £650 earned by the cleaning of 156,000 pairs of boots and shoes, the sum of £360 was paid to the boys, £140 absorbed in working expenses, while the balance of £151 was deposited in the savings-banks by those boys who had been most industrious and thrifty. The report notices an experiment of employing some young lads as broomers, to sweep the pavements, which met with partial success, and another of getting the most trustworthy shoeblacks, and especially those who had deposits in the savings-banks, stationed as messengers at the railway termini. An attempt to provide girls with work as ' steppers,' or cleaners of doorsteps, has failed, and the report expresses the anxiety felt by the Committee to obtain some suitable occupation for girls as well as boys. The shoeblacking system has been established at Brighton, Liverpool, and Dublin, as weiras in the metropolis, and will no doubt soon be extended to all our large towns. The Union has provided the means of emigration for fifty-four young persons, of whom thirtyseven have gone to Australia' and seventeen to America. VA V A magazine has been established for the use of the children, and has a circulation of 7,000. They have also purchased 8,000 Bibles, at 6d. each. — Atlas" ■ Singular Chase in the Channel. —^On Sunday evening last, the Otillia sailed from the Mersey for Australia, leaving behind no fewer than 23 passengers who had the imprudence to come ashore under the impression, it is believed, that the vessel would not take her departure before Monday. Early on Monday morning they were thunderstruck at finding that she had sailed, taking with her their outfit, necessaries, extra stores, and money. In a state of the most frantic excitement they repaired to the office of the agent, who instantly telegraphed to his agent at Holyhead, directing him to put a steamer in readiness to go in search of the runaway ship, and despatched the whole of the passengers by first train. Arrived at Holyhead, little time was lost in transferring them to the steamer and putting to sea. After a cruise of some hours the Ottilia was discovered at a considerable distance to the westward ; but being on what is called in nautical phrase a " wind," and being, moreover, a vessel of firstrate sailing qualities, she gallantly pursued her course. Every possible means of attracting the notice of the vanishing vessel were put into requisition ; guns were fired, and signals of true " distress" were hoisted, and not a few of the agitated and harassed passengers exerted their lungs with a vigorous hail — a remedy of somewhat doubtful efficacy at four miles range — but to little effect. The Otillia still held on her course, and continuing rapidly to increase the distance between herself and the pursuing steamer, the chase was finally given up in despair, after ap exciting trial of five hours. The passengers . have since returned to Liverpool, as may well be supposed, in a state of the utmost depondency. — Liverpool Mercury, July 23. A Theatre^ for jtur Australian Gold Diggings. — The" celebrated Mr. EUis, the wellknown caterer for public amusement at ,Cremorn_e Gardens, the Flora Gardens, and other popular places of amusement, has just sailed from Plymouth in the Coldstream, for Port Phillip* Mr. Ellis takes withy him scenery, properties, and the necessary" adjuncts for a portable theatre, to be erected at the diggings, a complete band of musicians, and a Thespian company. Mr. Ellis was the originator of casinos in. the metropolis, and proposes to introduce them into Geelong and Melbourne, and thus combine pleasure with gold-seeking.

France. — Considerable sensation had been created in France by the escape of the celebrated Algerine chief Bow Maza, who had been allowed to visit several public places in company with a guardian, to whom be had contrived to give the slip. Illegal and political societies were rife, and numerous operatives had been fined for belonging to them. ViceAdmiral Arnon Dessausayes died at the advanced age of 74. The Belgian Ministers had sent in their resignations. Government securities were feeble, but considerable confidence was manifested in railway shares. Great preparation were making &t Strasburg for the reception of the President of the Republic. An Owner WantJbd.; — We read the following story in the Pressef: — "There has just been found > in the neighbourhood of Annecy, in Savoy, an empty balloon, lying on the grounds The car and all the cordage were perfect, and there was every appearance of the balloon having fallen solely from the gradual escape of gas. At the bottom of the car were found a gentleiban's cloalc and a lady's bonnet and shawl, -and in the latter a very handsome album was wrapped up. On the first leaf of the album there was a pencil- drawing of the panorama of the;, mountains of the country, signed ' Eliza de lU r There was nothing td indicate the origin of this mysterious balloon. From the direction of the, wind, it is supposed that it came from France, but beyond that all is a mystery. — 2w»ftf, Jane 29.

Alleged Loss o* Her Majesty's Steamer " Harpy." — The principal news brought by the Toy 'fi;om the Brazils \s the rumoured ]os of her Majesty's steamer Harpy, on the 24th of June. The/ Harpy waei out from Pernambuco, in great distress. Her machinery was out of order, and there was . no .water or fuel on board. ' Th£ news~of this disaster was brought to Lisbon on : the 16th gf July.by a Portuguese ship, the master of which had supplied ihe Hdrpy with some necessaries to reach f*ayal ; but it was feared gne would not be able to do so, as he obsef yed * her going/fast to leeward. Up to the 2nd instant, she had not , reached Faval.

Thk Edinburgh Election.— The following is an extract from a lettei* from Edinburgh, dated July 14 ;— "One of the' incidents of Jhe election contest was the appearance of Professor \VHson, is rawch disabled by p^fV 1 of his lower lim'% to. vote for'Macaulay. '-Ijftk i^'ad cbme ih froA, jjis bVpther's place, eighit n^iles disf^iit, arid^'Mi not befen seen in public |mcc jhii jßJttack till'Whis occasion brought him out. Hjf^sympathies with genius are ' as strong as

The Corning House at a Powder Mill. — It is one of the most dangerous ; and what makes this worse, i? the fact that the process is of that kind which requires the constant presence of the men. They cannot set the machine to work and leave it for a given time, as in the case of some mills previously described ; they must always remain on the spot. It is the " corning house," — sometimes called "grainging," as it is the process whvcb reduces cakes and hard knobs of gunpowder into grains- — a very nice and as it would appear, a sufficiently alarming operation. . . The first object that seizes upon our attention, is a black square frame work, apparently suspended from the ceiling. Its ugly perpendicular beams, and its equally uncouth horizontal limbs, would be just the thing to bang the dead bodies of tortured victims on. We cannot help following up our first impression. The men here, who stand in silence, looking intently at us, all wear black masks; On the left there is reared a structure of black wood reaching to within two or three feet of the roof. It is built up in several stages, descending like broad steps. Each of these broad steps contain a sieve, made of closely woven wire, which becomes finer, as the steps get lower and lower. In this machine we notice iron axles for the wheels, but our attention was directed to the rollers, which were of zinc. Thus the friction does not induce sparks, the action being also guarded against external blows. At present the machine is not in motion, and the men at. work here observe their usual silence and depressing gravity. We conjecture that the machiue, when put in motion, shakes and shifts the gunpowder in a slow and cautious manner, corresponding to the seriousness of the human workers, and with an almost equal sense of the consequences of iron mistaking for once the nature of copper and brass. " Put on the house," says Mr. Ashbec, in the calm voice always used here, and nodding at the same time to the he:d corning man. A rumbling sound is beard — the wheels begin to turn, the black sieves bestir themselves, moving from side to side ; the wheels turn faster — the sieves shake and shuffle faster. We trust there is no mistake. They a.l go faster still. We do not wish them to put themselves to any inconvenience on our account. The full speed is laid on ! The wheels whirl and buz — iron teeth play into brass teeth — copper winks at iron — the black sieves shake their infernal sides into fury — and the whole machine seem 3 bent upon its own destruction — the destruction of us all } Now one small spark — and in an instant, the whole of this house, with all in it, would be instantly swept away ! Nobody seems to think of this. And see !— *how the gunpowder rushes from side to side of the sieves-— and pours dowu from one stage to the other. We feel sure that all this must be much taster than usual. We do not wish if. Why should pride prevent our requesting that this horror should cease ? We hear, also, an extraordinary noise behind us. Turning hastily round, we see the previously immoveable black frame work for the dead, whirling round and round in the air with frightful rapidity, while two men with wooden shovels are shovelling up showers of gunpowder, as if to smother and suffocate its madness. Nothing but shame — nothing but shame and an anguish of self-command, prevents ourinstantly darting out of the house — across the platform — and headlong into the river !—-Dickens's. Household Words.

Death of* John Doe and Richard Roe, — On the 24th of October next, those celebrate! characters will legally cease to exist. By an act passed in the late session (15 and 16th Viet, cap. 76,) it is enacted that " instead of the present proceeding by ejectment, a writ shall be issued directed .to the persons in possession of the property claimed, which property shall be described in the writ with reasonable certainty."

A Reporter's LitfE. — The life of a reporter is somewhat of an anomalous one ; his tasks require considerable skill and judgment to execute them neatly and properly. His fidelity must be assured, for his responsibility is great, and the character of the journal to which he belongs depends upon his truth, and the public intelligence is led or misled by his representations. The class ought to have taken a higher stand in literature and general estimation than they appear to have done ; one prominent cause of which is probably to be found in the nature of their employment. They are not so much as they were nigbt- birds ; but yet are» to a certain extent, debarred from the social relations and pursuits of day. At first the occupation is exciting, and always improving) and t know of no better preparatory school for the bar, or almost any description of public life, than, the training of a session or two in Parliamentary drudgery. It is like reviewing and by forcing the mind to consider many interesting and important questions, it creates a sort of universality of talent, not always superficial, but always ready ; this is a great advantage, and we have only to look around us for men who have attained high celebrity and station, which may be clearly traced to this kind of schooling. In a little time, however, the sameness of the work, notwithstanding its varieties, become exceedingly unsatisfied and irksome. Occasionally, a brilliant affair may light ug-iihe imagination, but the tedium of a long continuance of mediocrity to deal with is wearisome beyond endurance. To divert this, and in their nocturnal transitions between the House and the the printing-office, orqt the close of the business, it is most natural for the reporter to seek some relaxation and .amusement, and this induces a habit of tavern pecreations, entertaining, clubs, and whimsical debating societies, to pass the intermittent hour t\ir all is over. In the olden times inebriety, or father indulgences closely approaching it, was almost the rule : now, we believe it to be the rare-exception ; for Parliament, with its afternoon irjeeting* and watchman* like call of " past iwfrlvj o'clock," to wind up proceedings, does not demand such heary sacrifices from those who sreljj? orgam to the wide world. -^•Autobiography tfeWtn. Jerdan.

Department qjt Practical Art<. ; — A new "department, styled'^be Department of Practical Art, has,iince thjp'preat Exhibition doted, been added to the Boafji of Trtde. In paint of fact, this department is neither more nor less than a kind of central directing School of Design* It has be^n placed under the direction of Mr. Henry Cole, C.B ; aifd Government hat given it a Jocqt in Marlbofough House. There a suite of rooraV have beep fitted up as class-rooms, a theatre tar lectures, and a museum in Which '< manufactures of • high ordt r of excellence in

design or of rare skill in art workmanship" are exhibited. To commence this museum, Government granted £5000 -for. the purchase of sped" mens from the Great Exhibition ; and of this? sum £4217 Is. 51. lias befen expended on textile manufactures, chiefly from the East Indies, work* in metal, mainly from France, enamels, ceramic manufactures, and wood-carving. These objects, uniting beauty in art .and usefulness for the ordinary purposes of life, have been collected with the view of furnishing the students of thff Schools of Design with studies and examples. The museum, together with the annual exhibition of the works of the students in tie Schools of Design, were opened to the public on .Thursday. . The characteristics of the exhibition arc these : the barbaric Orientals and the old workmen of France and Italy show a thorough command of hand work and material, in the freedom which gives life to completeness of design, and in the power of subduing splendid material to an harmonious effect ; while our young students exhibit promise, especially in the more mechanicals an«l smaller works, especially in lace and textile designs. — Spectator.