ENGLISH EXTRACTS.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume VIII, Issue 771, 22 December 1852, Page 3

ENGLISH EXTRACTS.

It is said that Count Nesselrode has been permitted to resign the office of Arch-Chancel-lor and Minister of Foreign Affairs, in consequence of his ill health and great age, and that he will be succeeded by Baron de Mayendorff. Durability of Mulberry Wood. — Some sound beams, formed from the wood of the mulberry tree, have been found in the ruins of Nineveh, where they are supposed to have been placed at least 700 years before the birth of Christ. Newspaper Editors in the New Parliament. — The opposition press seems to be rather powerfully represented in the new parliament. Mr, Edward Miall, editor of the Nonconformist, and a leading member of the Peace Society, sits for Rochdale. Mr., John Francis Maguire, editor of the Cork Examiner, represents Dungarvan, where he triumphed. over the Whig influence of the Duke of Devonshire, Mr. Charles Gavan Duffy, editor of the Nation, whose trial for High Treason, along with Smith O'Brien, young Meagher, and others, created such an excitement two years ago, has been returned for New Ross, where he defeated the late Under- Secretary for Ireland. Mr. Duffy is a man of^ genius, but hitherto he has no.t, proved- himself lo be a man oflacV-re^i^^Epn^s' as are necessary to the taking of a, strong-posi-tion in the House of Commons. Altogether it will be seen, that the new men returned to par-* liament are persons from whom something more than a certain number of votes may be expected. They will certainly diversify the proceedings of the house when religious questions happen to be under consideration. — Hull Advertiser. The leading Boraan Catholic journals of France propose to raise a fund by subscription to assist Mr. Newman to defray the costs of Dr. Achilli's prosecution against him, which, they say, amount to £20,000. The effects of the County Courts are not more remarkable .in the diminution of the number of cases in Westminster Hall, than in the diminution of the number of inmates- in the Queen's Bench Prison. Till the operation of the County Courts Act, the average number of prisoneis was upwards of three hundred; at present there is scarcely a third of that number, and a full half of these have been in confinement from a period antecedent to the passing of the act referred to. One man has been in prison for the space of forty years. He entered a hale and strong man of 45 i he is now in his dotage. Two have been there for thirty- one years; four for twenty years; and a considerable number for upwards of ten years. Every advance made by our .legislature n providing cheap justice for the people must necessarily have the effect of diminishing th<|| number of prisoners for debt all over the kingij dom. Not unfrequently persons have been "kept in confinement for many years for the mere costs in an action, irrespective of the alleged debt r altogether, as for example in a case where the, judge had ordered that each party should pay his own costs." Cheap justice* will render such cases rare, it being more difficult to run up a large bill of costs for proceedings in the county courts than in the superior ones. A reform in the Court of Chancery will also have the effect of diminishing the number of prisoners in the Queen's Bench Prison. Many of the Chancery prisoners are committed! for contempt ; that is they may have chanced not to appear to some summons at the Master's or Registrar's Oifice, or otherwise, as the case may be, during the progress of-the suit, which may have been prolonged to a tedious duration. The costs connected with such contempts are enormous. If the. proceedings in the cause had been more speedy, no contempt in the shape of non-attend-ance would, have been committed, and the poor J litigant would not have*been put in confinement for a debt .wholly irrespective of and apart from the costs id the suit. The ship Lady Montague, 1 in which there was such a fearful mortality amongst the Chinese emigrants, on their way from China to California, has been chartered by the Government to take out convicts, and it is expected shortly to touch at Portsmouth, Portland, and Plymouth for lhat 1 purpose. Out of a crew of thirty-six persons which* went out in the Lady Montague from Southampton to the eastern seas a few years ago, not half a dozen have returned to England; all' the rest either perished in the ship or deserted from her. Three of those who did return are natives "of Southampton, and

are mere youths, named Mansbridge, Millard, , and. Lee. Government officials have visited Southampton. ,, and have taken the evidence of these boys which evideuce is of a most important nature, testifying, as it does, to life and scenes on shipboard of appalling depravity and misery. , The captain used to get drunk every, morning, and the crew were so maddened by; his .conduct that they broke open the spirit stores and medicine chest, and drank all the strong drinks v they could find. Three times Millard had the fever, was delirious, and recovered without medical assistance. It was his province to throw overboard the dead Chinese emigrants in the Pacific, a dozen of whom would die in the night, and be partly eaten by rats before the morning. The water and food the crew and passengers had to live on stank so that they could not approach it until they were nearly starved. Mansbridge is the son of poor .parents. He was an apprentice on board. His friends, of course, were anxious that the indentures should be cancelled, after the terrible sufferings he had undergone, but the owners refused. The boy, however, { expressed neither inclination nor objection to xe--join. . At length his leave -of absence expired, and he was to rejoin,- or his father was to,forfeit £20. As the payment of the penalty was 1 impossible, the father said to his family, as they were at dinner, " Either the boy must join 1 the ship, or you, mother (speaking to his wife, a spirited little woman), must go to London and see the owner." After a slight pause, " Father," said the boy, with a slight trembling of the lip, V Mother had better go to London." And to London she went, and made such good use of her tongue that the owner pretty soon agreed to cancel the indentures. It was through ,the journey of this poor woman that the Government partly became acquainted with the terrible recital of what had happened on board the Lady Montague. Mansbridge has now a comfortable situation in the service of the Peninsular and Oriental Company. The former commander of the Lady Montague, to whose atrocious conduct the disease, sufferings, and death on board of her is to be attributed, is a fugitive from justice. It is supposed he is in the neighbourhood of London. Hia name is Smith, and when he left Southampton he was about thirty years of age, with large whiskers, and of rather a fair complexion. It is sincerely hoped that the Government will not allow him to escape the vengeance of the law.

The Troops in Ceylon. —It is not generally known that the island of Ceylon contributes more towards the expense of its military proj tection than any other of the British possessions. The local Government pays over to the Imperial Government the sum of £23,000 annually ; and it undertakes, besides, to victual the troops on receiving the regulated ration stoppages, and to defray the allowances to the staff and regimental officers, the expenses of transport, barrack supplies, and repair and maintenance of all military buildings and fortifications, so that the only charges upon the British Government, in respect of the military defences of the island, are the pay of the troops, the expense of munitions of war, and the cost of the ordnance establishment maintained for their care and custody, 1 diminished to 4fie%x ; tent^)f the cShtrißTttfion'above-inentibned. The liberality of the calof^feoverniwfint also enables the soldiers to drink 4 Bass's ale at the inland stations, cheaper than it can be had in London, viz., 6d. a quart.

The First Newspaper.- 1 - Some almanacs, state that Friday, July 23, was the anniversary of the publication of the first English newspaper in 1588. A contemporary upon this mentions that the English Mercuric, alluded to as the first English newspaper, and preserved in the British Museum, is a palpable forgery. There are three printed papers dated in the time of Queen Elizabeth, but the type is of a comparatively modern cut ; there are 'four written papers of the same date, but the paper has been found to have a, water mark with the Royal arms, and the initials G.R. These forgeries are supposed to have been perpetrated about 1766. At the beginning of the seventeenth century, as early as 1611, accounts of particular occurrences were published in England, such as " Newes from Spain," 1611 ; " Newes out of Germany," 1612; "Strange Newes of a prodigious monster born in the township of Adlington," 1613; and many others. These occasional pamphlets of intelligence soon became regular publications. In 1621, Nathaniel Butler printed the Courant, or Weekly News from Foreign Parts ; which was soon followed up/by The certain Newes of this present Week, 1622." From that period to the present there has been perpetual progress, till, kt the close of last year, there were 563 journals in existence in England, Ireland, Scotland, and the British Isles. On the recommendation of the Earl of Rosse, president of the Royal Society, the following pensions have been granted. — £200 per arm. to Mr. .Hind, £100 per annum to. Dr. Mantell, and £75 to Mr. Ronalds, of the Kew Observatory,

Pompeian House in Bavaria. — We hear from Bavaria that the Pompeian house which King Louis First ordered to be erected in the midst of the park of his domain is completed, and has become an object of great interest to the arehwologists of Germany. It is executed after drawings by the late celebrated Herr Klentze. The principal mural pictures are by Herr Nilsson, of Munich ; who took the subjects from Pompeii itself, where he resided five years for the purpose. In the middle of the back wall of the atrium is the superb antique mosaic presented to King Louis by Pope Pius the Ninth ; and to, render the illusion complete, the King has surrounded the edifice with orange, palm, and other Italian trees. From the terrace jof the grand court, the eye ranges over a magnificent panorama, embracing in the distance Mount Taunus and the chain of the Odenwald and of Freigericht: — Atheneeum.

- Routine on board a. Convict Ship. — At six o'clock every morning, the prison door was unlocked by one of these overseers, who called out, '-'Beds up!" whereupon every man rose from his berth, rolled up his bedding, consisting of a thin mattrass and one blanket, and took them on deck, where, they remained all day to be aired. Then the floor of the prjlson was ' scraped .and swept in, turn by- prisoners who did not fulfil any special office — such as

.schoolmaster, clerk,- captain of the mess. The captains received the day's rations for their respective* messes. Those who |$ked it got something of a wash with salt water, introduced from the forecastle with a leafhern pipe. Ablutions performed under such [difficulties led to many practical jokes, and not a few battles. At eight o'clock a pint of cocqa was served out to each man, which,' with hi£ biscuit, made his breakfast. Immediately 1 , aftenvards school was commenced, books were distributed and exchanged ; the surgeon exjaihined the sick, j heard complaints, and awafdkd punishments. These consisted of confinement below deck, heavy chains, imprisonment in ;a kind of sentry box on deck, resembling a .Chinese cage, in which the inmate can neither sjt, lie down, nor stand upright. ' We had onty one case of-flog-ging. In th 6 afternoon, we-usually had prayers read by the chaplain ; ijometimes with a moral exordium, which was dj|i{veied in an im- ! pressive and earnest manner.' ' At five o'clock we had a pint of tea. Neither our tea nor our cocoa bore much resemblance 4to the beverages which I had previously knbyrn under those names ; bat they vrere w armband comforting. At six o'clock the beds.. were4aken down and arranged : and at half- past six we were mustered and returned, one by one, to our prison, where we were locked in — a sentinel, with loaded musket and fi^ed .bayoset, -being placed at the door. Our night was thus nearly twelve hours long. It being too dark to read, and as it was impossible to sleep much more than half the time, I waS compelled, for four or five hours every night, to hear littlg^else than narratives of offences and criminal indulgences, of the most revolting character. * Obscene and blasphemous songs were nightly composed and sung ; and schemes for future crimes were proposed and discussed with a coolness which I shudder to call to mind. The only check on them was the sentinel at the door, who now and then thrust his bayonet between the bars when it was getting very late, or the men were unusually uproarious, and called'iout- " silence." — Dickens' Household Words. ,-*

The Ladies. — "I have ever found," says a sensible writer, " that the men'who are really most fond of the society of ladies, who cherish for them a high respect, nay, reverence them? are seldom most, popular with the sex. Men of more assurance, whose .tongpies are lightly hung, who make words supply Jhe place of ideas, and place a compliment -in the room of sentiment * are the favourites. A true respect for women, leads to respectful actions towards them ; and respect is usually a distant action, and this great distance is taken by them for neglect and want of interest." A Golden Maxim for Public Speakers. — Talk to the point, and stop when you have reached it. Commend us to the young man who wrote to his father, " Dear fatner, — I am going to be married," and also to the good old gentleman who replied, 'Dear son,— Go ahead.' Portland Bulletin.

Deaths from the Intense Heat. — On Tuesday, July 6th, between the hours of eleven and three, the thermometer ranged from 80° to 82° in the shade, and inthe sun it was sometimes upwards of 120°. In New Oxford-street several females fainted, suSS'. w,ere carried into shops for assistance. ►- Atii&e- corner of "Totten-ham-court-road a respectably dressed n^an, said to belong to a firm in the city, was observed to stagger and fall heavily; medical assistance was immediately procured, but life was extinct. This was evidently a coup de soleil, and a similar occurrence happened to a female in the Old-street-road. A youth in the employ of Mr. Suggett, camphine lamp manufacturer, Cold-bath-square, fainted from the excess of heat, aud it was some time before he recovered consciousness. The horrible deos of misery and filth in the vicinity of Gray's Inn, throw forth the most noxious exhalations ; and Mr. Whitfield, the district medical officer, states that, used as he is to all sorts of scenes, the present (state of those wretched abodes quite overpowered him. No less than 12 fever cases had broken out within the last few days ; and It is impossible to conjecture where it will stop, if such weather continues. — Illustrated London News.

Accident to the "America** Yacht. — The America yacht, Lord de Blaquiere, in coming into Portsmouth harbour upon an ebbtide on Wednesday, under sail, ran into a fishing ernack, and carried away the smack's port quarter bulwarks ; she then slewed round, and in endeavouring to avoid other mishaps, took the ground on the Portsmouth shore, within a few yards of the floating bridge, and remained a fixture for several hours. She would have gone over on her bilge or starboard broadside, but tackles were run out from 'her mastheads to the bollards of the floating bridge to keep her upright. It is thought her copper will be damaged, and the hull and masts strained by the accident. - ' /*'■ A case of extraordinary- ferocity in a horse has given rise to, law before the courts of Rouen. It appears ,tb^;_ ? .a man named Blanchard had sold-a. horse tqrfL-fa'rmer named Delaisement. ' The latter, however, refused to receive it, on the ground that he had learnt that it was' vicious and dangerous, and ordered the man who brought it to him to take it back. In returning, the horse several' times attempted to throw the youngj-man who was riding him, and at length succeeded in getting him off his back. The animal tlien rushedjat him, bit him in the breast, and* 'tried to trample on him. The horse at lengm caught the flesh of his thigh between his >teeth, and tore it off in a most savage manner, leaving the bone exposed. He then went some -little distance and with his forepaws formed a hole of some depth : and then, returning < to . his victim, jwho was lying almost senseless on the ground, he smelt around him, as if reflecting,, how to drag him to the hole. Some noise, however, at the moment struck his ear, and he galloped home. When he , arrived his mouth. was stained with blood, and bits of flesh were; still adhering to it. The young -man who was so dreadfully treated had to have his leg amputated. He subsequently brought an action against Blanchard and Delaisement to recover damages.

A cqurt-martial is about fefeing held in- this garrison city;,(Venice), at his own demand, on an English officer .of the " Kaiser " Regiment, under circumstances somewhat singular. The gentleman is a Mr. Foster, a very distinguished

soldier, twice decorated for services in the Italian as well as Hungarian campaigns. 'It was his ill fortune to become acquainted with a fel-low-countryman, who' had taken up his residence here for the purpose of compiling an architectural work, a portion of which has already been published ; that ill fortune having occasioned a charge being made," either directly or indirectly, by the architect and author, to the effect that "Captain Foster had purloined the jewels of his wife. This is felt to be a cruel case, inasmuch as though the court-martial may acquit him, unless the real thief be discovered, he must throw up his commission in the Austrian service ; a verdict of " not proven " being insufficient to wipe away the stain of such an inculpation. The regiment is so fully impressed with the high character of their English comrade in arms that they have clubbed their dollars, and offer a large reward for the detection of the true robber. The affair occupies all Venice, and on the Rialto, or under the colonnades of St. Mark, nothing else is discussed. Many duels are anticipated. Odd Freak or k Swakm of Bees.— From time immemmorial " the little busy bee " has been noted for an attachment to rural life, and the arduous pursuit of business amidst the choicest flowers of ttie garden and the fragrant •' scriptures of the earth" -which grow on flowery mead and balmy heath. - The active, noisy little fellow has always jbad the credit of being a devoted florist from choice — one of those happy beings, who, like Jenny Lind and other geniuses in art, find profit in the indulgence of a most delightful occupation* What would the naturalist think, then, of a swarm of b?cs deserting the sunny 'glades, bespangled with Flora's honey-yielding , sweets — deserting such a charming spot as the " Our Village " of Miss Mitford, in the pleasant month of July, and settling down in the heart of a* smoky town ? The strangeness of the hallucination we have nothing to do with. We simply state a fact. Last Monday afternoon a swarm of bees, tired of the monotony of " gathering honey £li the day from every opening flower," came sailing merrily down Glossop-road, led' by their despotic queen, to the music of their own lively hum (in the key of the bee natural.") They took an eaay flight down Fitzwilliamstreet, but, seemingly not finding the locality to their liking, they returned in the same direction, and, taking a fancy to a very central situation at the junction of Devonshire-street, Fitz-williara-street, and Glossop-road, then made an attempt to settle upon the door of a cooper's shop. But findings there no rest for the sole of their foot, they moved *off a few yards distance, and finally alighted on a gas-lamp. The little " Crystal Palace," coated over with such a curious animated vestment, became an object of notice to every passer-by, till a considerable crowd had assembled. There the little colonists remained, however, for about two hours, coolly confronting the gaze of the crowd of Human spectators. How 'ihey intended, in that region of paving stones and brick buildings, to provide the next repast for their too dainty stomachs, or what they proposed to do when the lamplighter came and illumined the tenement of which they had so confidingly taken possession, we do not pietend to know, and we are hot aware -that they communicated -their prospects or intentions to any humau being.' The policeman on duty passed and repassed- many a time ; but each member being armed wilh a well-pointed weapon of defence, these free and easy immigrants from the land of balmy sweets, no more heeded his injunction to "keep moving," -than if they had come with a special indulgence from the Secretary of State. And why not, seeing that they v/ere a royal escort, acting under the command of their queen in person. The climas of the adventure was brought about in this wise. A thrifty tradesman iv the neighbourhood, knowing- that "the errcnt tribe would be hnrd set to earn a living in that sterile region, and conscious of their pecuniary value in their proper sphere of action, procured a beehive, and holding it to the lamp in an inverted position, swept the whole army of bees into it. The hive was then placed upon a board, to prevent the escape of the bees, and the truants were conveyed forthwith to a bee proprietor near Dronfield, where they are now improving each shining hour for the enrichment of a new master. They had only a brief experience of town iifs, certainly ; but if they came for the purpose of comparison, and made good use of the opportunity, perad venture they may have arrived at this sound conclusion — that it may be all very well just now and then to have a " fly off " to a town for a change, as the industrious population of Sheffield make a jaunt to Wharncliffe or Worksop on a Whit Monday ; but that for sober, industriously-disposed individuals in their branch of business, the time-honoured custom of their ancestors to ply their calling in a nice rural hamlet, amidst an ocean of flowers, is after all decidedly the best. — Sheffield Times.

Gusxavos ApotPHus At Heligoland. — Of all our colonial settlements or dependencies beyond seas, the little Isle of Heligoland in the North German waters is the.leastcoslly or troubleseme. Its utility as an advanced sentry-bos to ourselves, and its invaluable worth as the site of a great northern beacon to all mariners, need no commentary. If is seldom that any transaction occurring ia this unpretending spot is chronicled in newspapers. The remote insular territory of Queen Pomare is much more frequently heard of, with its, doings in the distant Pacific j nay the Island of Icbaboe, "looming" far off on the coast of Africa, occupies a far greater space at least in the agricultural eye. The news from this holy islet would have kindled additional fervour in the bosom of Captain Dalgetty, were he alive to learn the tidings of a statue being at last erected iD the British possessions to the great Lion of the North and bulwark of the Protestant religion. How that desideratum among o the trophies which should adorn her Majesty's dominions, and the tributary memorials which monu-' mental art should have long since erected to that gallant champion of the faith came to be accomplished without drawback or disfigurement, the interference of a committee, or the perpetration of a job, we -hasten to explain. A .Hamburgh paper has the following intelligence :—": — " A very Jarge statue in bronze of Gustavns Adolphus, King sf Sweden, designed by -M." Vogelbjerg at Rome, and cast in the Royal foundry at Munich, . fell last year iato the sea near Heligoland, as it w.a3 being conveyed to Gothenburg!), in Sweden. It wa3 got up by the inhabitants of the island,

but they demanded sucb an exorbitant sum for salvage that the municipality of Gothenburgh refused to pny ir, and leh the statue to them. A week ago it was put up for sale by public auction by the islanders, and 1,200 persons assembled. The upset price was 1,300 marcs, and only one offer was made, that of 2,000 marcs (7,270f). After a delay of three hours, the auctioneer declared the statue sold fox that sura, and it turned out that the purchasers were the municipality of Heligoland. The amount giveii is not equal to one- fourth of the value of the metal alone, and as a work of art it possesses great merit." We congratulate the islanders on the process by which, they have got such an appropriate as well as ornamental addition to the simply utilitarian glories of their lighthouse., Legendary tales of sainted effigies miraculously floated from Palestine to Spanish or Italian seaboards are rife iv the Mediterranean ; but these images are mostly of olive timber (except one in mahogany), and no specimen occurs of migratory bronze. It is some comfort to hear of the great Gustavus emerging into light on British ground right opposite the coast of that Germany he «truggled to liberate, at the moment when his last lineal descendant is about to contract ft" matrimonial alliance with one who embodies a very .different principle just now iv Europe. — Globe.'\

Traffic in Arm-/ Commissions. — There are, we have heard, generally about 1,800 persons' names on the Comraander-in-Chiefs list for commissions. Lord Fifzroy Somerset stated as much in his evidence before the Select Committee on Army and Ordinance Expenditure. To ex-» pect that Lord Fitzroy should remember these names, or the particular claims of one-tenth part of the number/ were absurd. He trusts to his lists and to the recommendations of officers who write to him or attend his levees, and, if names are brought before him with a fair word in their favour, he does not hesitate to select them for commissions. This opeus the door to the jobbery carried on, to the infinite scandal of the Horse Guards. That the excellent and hon. Military Secretary may know to what extent this goes on, we unhesitatiogly state that there are persons of all classes, in town and elsewhere, putting themselves in communication with the gemlemen who prepare young men for the army, offering, for certain sums, to get iheir names brought forward some mouths earlier than they could otherwise hope for. No less than four persons, totally unknown to each other, assured a friend of ours the week before last that'they possessed this mysterious power. Of course they were very close as to the manner in which the thing was done ; but, one of'them having demanded £300 or -€400 to effect a certain object, he was roundly asked into whose pockets such a sum would go ? He answered, in great confidence, that he was obliged to bribe certain necessitous general officers, who would, wait upon Loid Fitzioy Somerset, and, on the strength of their rank and services; solicit the favour of his speedily nominating the youth who was to pay the amount. The others asked much less for what they proposed to effect, and declined to state how they accomplished the end ; but, that they had the means, they were prepared to prove by reference to certain successful cases— that is to say, certain preferential nominations obtained through thsir means, at no distant date. — United Service Gazette.

A Fountain of Honour.— We read in the Droit : — "Our readers may remember the history of the famous impostor who represented himself to ba Count Pontis de S'te. Helene, and -who played hie part with such perfection that Louis XVIII., keen as he was, was deceived by him. The police have just laid hands on an adventurer, who promised, if allowed to go on, to equal the | high deeds of Cogniard. This individual pretended to be the last scion of the illustrious family of- Gonzague. He called himself Duke of Mantua, Prince of the Rotran Empire, Officer of the Legion of Honour, Grand Officer of the Order of Stanislaus, Knight of the Order^ of Military Yaiour of Poland, Grand Master of the Order of ths Redemption, Lieutenant of the Grand Master of the Supreme Order of the Four Eraperors of Germiny, Protector of the Orders of Merit of Prussia, and of the Lion of Uolsiein, fee. In 1845 the pretended Prince de Gonzague lived at Paris in great style, and was received by high personages, to whom he h?d exhibited papers which left them no doubt of the quality which he assumed. Under the last reign he solicited the title of General in the service of France, and for some time it was in contemplation to appoint him Colonel of the Foreign Legion. Meanwhile he obtained the entree at Court. However, it was discovered that under the name of Count Manizouski, a Polish refugee, the soi-disant Duke of. Mantua-received an allowance from- the French Government. That discovery brought disgrace on him, and he thought it prudent to remain in the shade. A^ few days back a briliiant equipage drew up before the grand entrance of the Elysee. From it alighted o gentlemat> ( covered with orders, who declared bis- name to 'be the Prince de Gonzague, and asked to see the Prince President on the instant. General Roguer, feeliog sora'e suspicions' from, the tone and manner of the stranger, replied that the Chief of the State could not at .that moment receive any one ; he would, however, take care to mention to him the visit thus made. As soon as the visitor had withdrawn, the General sent to the Prefecture of Police to ask for information concerning him. An in.quiry'was at once instituted, and the result was that a warrant was issued ngainst him. A perquisition having been made on Wednesday at his apartment, in the Roe Montabor, a discovery was made of the means by which the sham Priuce de Gonzague supplied the expense of his luxurious existence. He had taken on himself the right to confer all the orders mentioned above, for which he caused large sums to be paid. It was thus that be decorated with three crosses, for a considerable sum, an engineer of the Place,de la Bastille, .who had acquired a large fortune in manufacturing machinery. The illustrious dignitsry did not confine himself to selling titles and crosses to honourable persons ; he gave them also to individuals who had been disgraced by judicial condemnations. He bad metamorphosed into a baron another adventurer who had been liberated from, the prison Mazas, and who, by his assurance, succeeded in making a number of dupes. It is supposed that it is by ■ (he aid of papers purloined from the succession of the Gonzague famiiy, of which do member now exists, .that the adventurer who has just been arrested was able for 15 years to abuse the public credulity. His trial will, without doubt, bring to ligbLmany cuiious facts." .

The celebrated Roman pavements at WoodChester, near Stroud, Gloucestershire, are now opened to public inspection, and will continue 4 so till the end of the. first week in August. They are numerous and extensive, and among them are some of the finest specimens of the art. They will well repay a visit from the antiquarian and others. They were«principally discovered by Dr. Lysam in 1793, and are fully described in his work on the antiquities of Woodchester. They are situate in the beautiful vale of Rodborough, the icenery of, which is so much admired by all who visit it. Important to Emigrants. — Yesterday (Tuesday) Mr. Mansfield, tne stipendiary magistrate of Liverpool, gave his decision in a very important case which was heavd before him on j Saturday. The point involved was, whether the charterer of an emigrant ship is liable, in case of the detention of that ship under certain 1 circumstances beyond its appointed day of sailing, to the passengers for the retnrn of the passagemoney and compensation for loss of time. The complainant was a person named M'Turk, who, with others, had taken passage's in the City of Lincoln for Australia, and tfae'clefendaut was Mr. J. Johnson, the charterer of the vessel. Johnson had failed to pay the whole of the contract money to the owner, who detained the vessel in the river 15 days beyond the specified day of sailing. It wts contended for the defendant that he was not the cause of the detention of the passengers in the sense of the 82nd section of the Act of Parliament, recently passed for the protection of emigrants.' Mr. Hull, solicitor, appeared for the plaintiff, and Mr. Forshaw, solicitor, for the defendant. Mr. Mansfield observed that it was a most unfortunate occurrence, but, as the case had been fully argued, there could be no reason why judgment should not be given. There were two ways in which the payment of Ithe first £5 by the plaintiff might be regarded, namely, either as a deposit or part payment of the contract ; but so far from the day of sailing not having been specified that was one" consideration for the payment of the money. Then, as to Mr. Johnson not being the owner of the vessel, he had certainly acted as such, and could not now be allowed to repudiate the ownership. The wording of the act at one time led him to think that the case did not come within its yeaning, but further consideration had changed that opinion. The plaintiff was therefore entitled to his passage-money and something as compensation, — £15 passage-money and £3 compensation, to be paid immediately. The Chambered Mound of Newgrange, Meath. — About five miles from Drogheda is one of the most extraordinary relics of the past in the kingdom — the chambered mound of Newgrange, in the county of Mcath, often quoted because of its resemblance to the Treasuries of ancient Greece, and other structures of the Pelasgic period. The mound in which the apartment is formed is of large size, is covered with grass and j trees, and has around it the base of a circle of upright stones, some of which, seven or eight feet high and four or five feet square, still remain. The chamber is approached by a gallery about 50 feet long, the outer half of which is about four feet high, with sloping sides of upright stones, three feet two inches apart at the top, and three feet six inches at the bottom, covered with fiat stones. In one part of the gallery the stones have been squeezed together at the top, "so that it is. necessary to move upon the hands and knees to obtain access. The plan of the chamber is made cruciform by these recesses, one in front of the entrance gallery, and the others east and west. The chamber is domed over by large stones placed fiat one upon the other, each slightly over- j banging, and gradually approaching the centre, where a single flat stone covers in and completes the whole, at the height of about 20 feet from the floor. The width of the chamber, from east to west, may be 20 feet. In each of the three recesses is a large flat stone, slightly hollowed on the upper surface, so as to form a sort of basin. This singular construction is made further extraordinary by the circumstance that en the face of many of the stones are carved, or rather engraved, volutes, circles, and zigzags. The flat stones over the gallery at the entrance are of considerable size, 12 oi 14 feet long. — The Builder, , Electro-Biology. — A lecture upon this subject was delivered on Thursday evening last, at the Corn Exchange, by Dr. Darling. We have not time to enter into any details of the positions .taken by the lecturer, but we candidly acknowledge that we were truly astounded' by the experiments, and left the lecture room bewildered with what we had witnessed. All the marvels of "the wondrous Michael Scott" were more than liter- j -ally realised by tbe modern wizard Dr. Darling. He " Could make a ladye seem a knight ; The cobwebs on a dungeon wall Seem tapestry in lordly hall ; A nut-shell «eem a gilded barge, A sheeling seem a palace large-. And youth seem age, and age seem youthAll was delusion, nought was truth." •Dr. Darling stated (before he commenced) that he could not ensure success; he, therefore, invited as many as pleased to come upon tbe platform. 33ight persons, all wett'-known 'residentsln the town, came forward — and, among them two young gentlemen from Mr. Button* academy. They seated themselves, and ' in the hand of each was placed a piece of metal plate, which they were instructed to look at for a quarter of an hour. AH was silent during this interval ; and, at its close, the lecturer selected the boys from Mr. Button's for his experiments, which were triumphantly successful. First, he-placed their hands on their heads, and defied them to remove them ; then he compelled them to do so ! He placed a stick in their hands, and defied them to let it drop ! He compelled them to walk against their will ; to be seated, in spite of their inclinations, and set the audience into roars of laughter by compelling them to continue hopping for several minutes. He placed a coin in their hands, telling them it was so hot they could not hold it, and they dropped it with a degree of speed highly amusing to all present ! He gave one the toothache, and tbe poor fellow appeared in soch pain that the audience cried out for his relief, and it wa3 at once removed. He made them shiver with cold ; and then, so excessively hot, that they were fain to take their coats off! As to their tisje, it was gone. One of them, whilst drinking water had all the enjoyment of a glass of good port. He was told he had drunk too much, and be reeled about the platform drunk as a St. Alban's voter on the day of election* Instantly this was at an ;

end ; and.water pme aa crystal became to the spellbound foil of ilngs and dirt ! Io imagination, they were assailed by wasps, and they rushed about the platform ludicrously tearing at their hair and endeavouring to remove their assailants. He gave them the cramp in the legs ; he defied them to utter a word ; they forgot their own names ; he made one of them ' fancy that the other was a young lady. He made them imagine that the room was the sea, gradually rising, and from its progress they endeavoured" to escape upon the chairs. One very laughable effect was that produced by his, telling them to str,ike him, their blows invariably falling on one Bide or other \ in short there is no sensation, no movement, no feeling, or impression which he did not make upon the boys. They laughed, cried, went to sleep, and instantly awoke — they supposed their clothes were of different colours, — in fact the command he possessed over them was the most extraordinary wo ever witnessed, and as there could be no collusion we must acknowledge that Dr. Darling succeeded in establishing a aeries of facts beyond, the explanation of all present. The company were v kept in roars of laughter during the whple ,of the lecture.