ENGLISH EXTRACTS.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume IX, Issue 843, 31 August 1853, Page 3

ENGLISH EXTRACTS.

The Royal Family. — As the birth of another prince very naturally causes an unusual interest to be felt in the royal family at the present time, and as many persons do not precisely recollect what that family consists of, we may state that Her Majesty has now eight children, four princes and four princesses, namely — 1. The Princess Royal, born 21st November, 1 840. — 2. The Prince of Wales, born 9th November, 1841. — 3. The Princess Alice, born 25th i*pril, 1843.— 4. Prince Alfred, born 6th August, 1844. — 5. Princess Helena, born 25th May, 1846. — 6. Princess Louisa, born 18th March, 1848.— 7 Prince Anhur, born Ist May, 1850. — 8. The prince just born. The estimates for Civil Services for the year 1853 have been printed. They show an intention on the part of Government to ask Parliament for a much larger sum for purposes cf education and art than has yet been granted. The proposed vote for public education in Great Britain is £260,000, being an increase of no less than £100,000 over the grant cf last year. For public education in Ireland the proposed grant is £ 1 82,000. A number of smaller vctss swell the total demand for educational purposes to the very handsome sura of £598,423. This, of course, is in addition to the proposed expenditure on the part of municipal boroughs. The trade and navigation returns for the month ending March 5 have been published. In the declared value of British and Irish proiluce and manufactures exported, there b an increase, as compared with the co/respending month of 1852, of no less than £919,000 vrhile the increase in the first two months of the present year amounts to J92,3-2£,157. In imports there is an increase, as compared with th° seme time last year, in coffee, wheat, Hour, potatoes, flax, clover-seed, pdm-oil, pepper, brandy, foreign timber, tobacco, wine, v/pol, cotton, and hides. There is a decrease in fla::-seed, raw silk, rum, sugar, tallow, and tea. In the latter articles the falling off is something over ten per cent. The navigation returns Tor the two months show a considerable increase. They are as follows :—: — Two months. Entered inwards. Cleared outwards. 1852 672.49G 818,017 1853 4 . 748.475 890,644 The increase is wholly of foreign tonnage, there being a diminution of British" tonnage to the extent of 33,955 inwards, and of 44,337 outwards. On these facts the Baily News remarks — " Now, as it is a matter of great notoriety that our shipping are well employed, that sailoro and shipwrights are receiving higher wages than formerly, the just inference, we think, is, that the very large increase in our trade last year — that increase continuing — has more than exhausted our whole carrying power at sea, and that we are obliged to have recourse to the assistance of other carriers. Under that aspect we see at once the foolishness of laying any restriction on our shipmasters employing foreign seamen to any extent they please, for every limitation of that kind will only go to substitute foreign shipping manned by foreigners for

British shipping manned in part and owned in toto by natives as the carriers of our traffic." It is stated that the Earl of Bllesmere is to be appointed ns Her Majesty's Commissioner, to attend the Great Exhibition at New York.

Whitehall, April 6. — The Queen has been j pleased to order a writ to be issued under the Great Seal of the united Kingdom of Great i Britain and Ireland, for summoning the Right Honorable George Stevens Byng (commonly called Viscount Enfield) to the House of Peers, by the style and title of Baron Strafford, of Harmondsworth, in the county of Middlesex. Gordon Cumming, the famous lion-hunter, is exhibiting his collection in Glasgow. General Haynau had died of a fit of apoplexy, The declared value of steam-engines and other machinery exported in the month ended the sth ult., was »99,932. A female bankrupt, accompanied by a male friend, has absconded from Norwich with £2000 worth of property. A Monster. Wave — During the recent gales a tremendous wave broke over the top of Noss Head Lighthouse, which is one hundred »nd seventy-five fest above the level of the sea and threatened to engulpb. the building and its occupants. The house trembled beneath the shock, and the keeper supposes that at least a ton of water was thus dashed against it, although without damage. The Agricultural Strike at Chipping Warden. — The employers have assented to the wishes of the labourers, by giving them the additional shilling per week asked for. Mrs. H. B. Stowe has accepted an invitation from the Anti-Slavery Society of Cork. The Irish Beet-root Sugar Company is about to declare a dividend at the rrte of 8 per cent, on the paid up capital. The Waterfnrd and Limerick Railway was opened for public traffic between Clonmel and Fiddawn on 15th April. The trial of Thomas Davis, mate of the Queen Victoria, has been adjourned to the 15th of June, the prisoner being admitted to bail. The Isle of Wight Savings-bank has been suddenly closed, "in consequence of a defalcation in the actuary's accounts." The announcement caused the greatest consternation in the island, as numbers in all parts, and nearly every benefit society, had deposits :n tha bank. Rumour is busy as to the amount of loss which will fall on the unfortunate people, and as lo the defective state of the accounts. Only a fortnight since, the Hyde actuary was tri?d at Winchester for embezzling £"0. The position of the wool trade has become such that mor^ than ordinary attention ie directed to it : owing 1 to the rapidly-increasing value of the raw materia l , and the e~'.r?,crdinary consumption going for"""".rd in all cuarters for some months back, and which continues to the present, coupled alco with an inadequate home growth, and de^cier.t imports to supply the requirements of the trade, it is not so surprising that pncoa should rise, but in the last month's business more excitement has prevailed than usual ; timid and incredulous buyers have assumed c bolJne33 in tlieir actions, and the operations oi 1 the month ays such as to warrant the 'belief thut r.il kinds of \ wool will go much higher yet. In tLj York1 shire markets great activity pi eva:lc, aad manufacturers are more satisfied, having 01/tdned a considerable advance en yarns. Already parties are beginning to spea!: of the approaching clip, and great fear is c:,tertak.3d lhat farmers will want such extortiom.blc rates, that manufacturers will be uno.blo tc meet tl.em. Even now quotations arc talked of that will be beyond anything knovra for a number of years. A soiree in honour of Mrs. Beeeher Stowe was held at Glasgow on the Uth, in the City Hall, which was iilled by 2COO persons, nearly all ladies ; Mr, M'Dowall presiding. Mr, Stowe, Professor of Theological I iterr.tere at the Andover Seminary iv Massachusetts, was also present. Ta: YJarcthr/ moved a long resolution, partly en eulogistic criticism of " Una!-- Tom's Cabin," and partly the expression of v/elcome ';o Mr. an'l Llrs. Stowe. This was seconded by Dr. Robeon. Mr. Stowe subsequently tpol'3. Ho asked if <ll that airectionaie interest in Mr 3. Stowe was merited ? " I cannot help reeling in regard to thaS boo!:, ' I don't '"spect anybody ever mads that booi, I '^reot ii Und^r the pressure of a horrid Fugitive Clave Lav?, the book sprang oat of ihc sc:i rca'iy-oadc." Tv?o denominatlcnc, Lc caid, ths Ccotcb. Gacsders cad the desce.idcnta c? ths old Scotch Covenanters, have never been silent regarding slavery, and there is not a Qua!:er v/ao owns a slave. He looked upon t!,3 fugitive Slave Law as the dying struggle of ths system ; and he predicted that the pkntsi'3 izusi either extinguish slavery, or a bloody revolution would. Mrs. Stowe retired early on account of the delicate sta'e of her health. Besides the expression of welcome to Mr. and Mrs. Gtowe, the meeting adopted a resolution against slavery. Edinburgh followed the lead of Glasgow on Wednesday, and entertained Mrs. Stowe at a grand banquet in the Music Hall; the Lord Provost presiding. A sum of £1000 collected under th<? title cf foe " Uncle Tom Penny Offering " was handed to Mrs. Stowe as the contribution of Scotland in bahalf of the slave, to be used at her discretion ; and a silver salvsr, the gift of a few ladies, was presented to her personally. At a meeting of the Protestant Orphan Society in the Rotunda, Dublin, the Rev. John J. Whitestono, rector of Clogher, fell down dead whilst delivering an eloquent and effective address.

Gibson's Venus. — We take the following from the Roman correspondence of the Daily News: — Mr. Gibson, E.A., has completed his exquisite statue of Venus, and aroused the the speculation, admiration, and criticism of connoisseurs by giving a slight flesh tint to the figure, blue eyes, yellow hair, and a delicately colorjea border to the drapery. There is much difference of opinion as to the judiciousness of this proceeding, which, however, is strictly in accordance with the practice of the most renowned sculptors of antiquity ; but the ?oice of the majority of visitors to the studio appears to he favorable to the tint, as it certainly contrasts strongly with the coldness of. the surrounding marbles." There was a large meeting at "Willis's rooms on Wednesday, called by the Archbishop of

Canterbury, for the purpose of taking measures to raise contributions towards the endowment of Colonial Bishoprics. The meeting wasv important, from the quality of its constituents ; among whom were the Bishops of London,. Winchester, Oxford, Exeter, Chichester, Norwich, Llandaff, St. Asaph, Lincoln, Quebec,, and Cape Town ; the Duke of Newcastle, the Earl of Chicbester, the Earl of Harrowbyv Lord Lyttelton, Lord Redesdale, Mr. Edward. Cardwell, Sir Robert Inglis, Sir John Pakington. Sir Walter James, Mr. Beresford Hope, Dr. R. Phillimore, and Mr. Justice Coleridge, According to a report read by the Reverend E. Hawkins, twelve years ago a meeting had been held in the same room to concert measures for erecting additional Colonial Bishoprics ; the result of that meeting was, that fifteen new bishoprics were endowed ; eleven,, wholly or ia part, out of a capital of £173,000. When these fifteen bishoprics were founded, there were only 274 clergymen wiihm the limits of their dioceses ; now there are 503. It is now proposed to erect Bishoprics at Perth in Western Australia, at (Sraham's Town in Natal, and to form a division of the diocese of Toronto. For this purpose a sum of £45,000 is required. The resolutions called for the extension of the episcopate generally, " till every province of the Colonial Empire of Great Britain had its own resident Bishop ;" and then specially affirmed the need for the bishoprics mentioned above. In moving the first resolution, the Bishop of London strongly expressed his opinion that whenever the State refuses to promote a great spiritual object, the Church must take the work into her own hands and do it herself. Ths Duke of Newcastle, who came in just at the close of the Bishop's speech, moved, by request, the resolution relating to the proposed bishoprics for Graham's Town and Natal. Occupying the position he (the Duke of Newcastle) had the honor to fill at this moment, he felt he was performing one of its duties by attending thi3 meeting. He believed it was unnecessary now to impress upon any member of the Church of England that they wished to extend a missionary or parochial clergy in our colonies : to do it wisely and well, it must i>3 done by an extension of the episcopate. It was only necessary to impress upon them, that v:i'h the episcopacy they would soon double, trebls, and even quadruple the number of the clergy, and thus they would extend the blessings cf the Gospel under the care and supermtsndence of the Bishops. They would forgive hinti if he said — because thi3 was a point upon which his present position entitled him to speak, however short his experience has been — that it is not msraly the extension of the clergy in our colonies, but it is their superior character v/hich is promoted by the extension of the episcopate. Among ths other speakers, were Sir John Pakington, Mr. Cardwell, and the Bishop of Oxford. The sum of £3000 was subscribed at the meeting.-Spectator, April 23. Tb.3 projected Roman Catholic Cathedral, to be on the grandest scale, quite free, with sermons ia ten different languages, has made such substantive progress that a plot of ground has been purchased at the north end of Hatton Garden, ar.d tv> o architects have been named — Sigr.or Gualandi, of Bologna, and Mr. J. Har-greave-s Stevenr,. The commencement of the structure has been postponed, however, as the ground would bo required for the City Terminua P.ailvvay if Parliament should sanction the scheme. Jt te proposed to attach free schools to the cathedral. Collections of money for the work are making in this country and throughout Roman Catholic Europe. — Ibid, Ths Nottingham manufacturers have received more orders on American account than can well be executed ; and the scarcity of hands is so great that foreigners — including Frenchmen, Germans, Hungarians, and Poles — are beginning to be employed as workmen. The Charge against Louis Kossuth. — The " seizure of arras " a fortnight ago, which report connected with Kossuth, has at length been made the subject of more formal in- ; quiiy, and we have the proceedings of the police court befors us. The defendant in the case is Mr. William Hale, a maker of war-rockets at Rotlierhiihe ; but the position taken by the counsel for the Crown shows that Kossuth is regarded Bs the employer of Mr. Hale, and that the practical object is to prevent some warlike proceeding which the Hungarian is supposed to have ia preparation. The lawyers, however, ha7e as yet only thought it desirable to proceed a~ainat Mr. Hule, under a well-known act limiting tha amount of " gunpowder" which any private person cc trader may store within a certain metropolitan circle, and a forgotten act prohibiting the manufacture of fireworks. As to the former, Mr. Hale replies that bis rocket composition is not " gunpowder ;" a point on which chemists differ. As to the latter, he admiti the offence, as sharing it with persons who supply Cremorne and Vauxhall. The connexion be- | twesn Mr. Hale and Kossuth is asserted by three Hungarians whom the rocket-inventor employed. On tha other side, however, it is averred that Kossuth has been besieged by claims for assistance from Hungarians, whom he has placed advantageously ; that these men were recommended to Mr. Hale from the same charitable motive ; that they had been discharged for ill behaviour; and that the accusation to which they depose was preferred after they had been discharged, and had vainly asked Kossuth's intercession. This is the neat result of (he examlnaI tion at Bow-street ; aod the reader can judge for himself how much it proves, or leaves unproved. The magistrate has sent the case to a higher tribunal — the Surrey Sessions ; and it is | probable that both sides have reserved some part ! of their case. — Spectator, April 30.

The Canada Clergy Reserves Bill,— The bill for relinquishing the Canada Clergy Reserves has passed the Upper House ; Lord Derby resisting it ineffectually. He tried to economise his resources, Napoleonically, by not attacking the entire- frour, but concentrating on a point, and he chose the very centre point: be resisted the proposal for giving up to colonial control the lund already derived from the sale of clergy reserves. He chose to call this, the turn-ing-point of the whole question, a matter of detail ; just as a linch-pin might be called a matter of detail in the structure of a carriage., But the House of Lords treated the detail with not- less consideration than the whole, and declined, by 117 to 77 S to follow the ignis fataus.— - SpecUHar % April 30tb,

The Dtiko Millioxark and his Eccehf aic will. —Pope has told us how some people " die and endow a college or a cat." We hate seen, even in oar time, some eccentric bequests; bat in Paris there is a dying millionare, who is perplexed with the wildest phantasies that ever were aroused by Death's approaching footsteps. This old man has been sadly annoyed by finding bis coach incessantly surrounded by crowds of country cousin*, even to the third and fourth generation, who sniffing, vulture like, the carrion from afar, have flown hither to hover round the deathbed. In order to scare away the vultures be has intimated to them that he will celect as i bis heir any of his relations who chooses to bind himself to accompany his body into the vault, and remain there for twelve months. During this period be engages that a sumptuous repast shall bo provided daily in tho channel house, and at the expiration of the twelve months he will settle 20,000 francs per cnoum on tbs sharer of bis grave. Ths relations have recoiled under this strange condition, and it has been accordingly extended to other persons, cot connected with the dying man, but the conditions arc less favourable; be simply offers 1000 francs psr month so long as the person remains in the vault with him. A provincial actor and a couple of bankrupts are candidates for this legacy; but tbs authorities are going to interfere to prevent the desecration. j j | j

A -Quick Passage.—Messrs. Cribbs, Bright and Co., the owners cf the Eagle, arc about to present Captain Boyce, the commander, with with a handsome silver salver, appropriately inscribed, in commemoration of his bringing the vessel from Melbourne to London in the shortest time the voyage has yet been accomplished, namely, 76 days,—Liverpool Courier.

Sir George Grey.—On Monday a public dinner was given at Alnwick to Sir George Grey, M.P., for the purpose of presenting him with a testimonial, subscribed for principally by the working men of the district, to chovr their appreciation of the right hou. baronet's services to the Liberal cause, particularly during the recent contest of the northern division of the county of Northumberland. Atlas, April 8.

Accident to the Duke of Montpensiek. —On the 12th nit., the Duke and Duchess 6s Montpensier narrowly escaped a serious accident. On turning a corner of one of the streets of Seville, the hind wheel of the carriage came with such violence against a post that the pole was broken, and the six horses, being released by the breaking of the traces, ran off. Fortunately no other mischief was done, and the Duke and Duches3 returned on foot to their palace. — Atlas, Bth April.

Thb Indian and the Innkeeper.—Colonel Putnam used to tell a story of an Indian, upon Connecticut River, who called at a tavern in the autumn for a dram. The landlord asked him two coppers for it. The following spring, parsing tbe sane bouse, he called for another,, and had three coppers to pay for it. " How is tliis, landlord, says he : " last fall yo-u asked but two coppers for a glass of rum, now yoa ask three ?" —" !" says the landlord, "it costs me a good, deal to keep rum over winter. It is as expensive to keep a hogshead of Turnover winter as a horse. 1' —" Ah I" says the Indian, " I can see through that, he won't eat so much bay ; may be he drink as much water," This was sheer wit, pure satire, and true humour, in one very short repartee.

Crauford and Wellington.—l bave heard a number of anecdotes of General Crauford, He was very clever and knowing in his profession all admit, and led on his division on the day of his death in tbs most gallant style; but Lord Wellington never knew what he would do. ... On one occasion be remained across a river by himself—that is, only with his own division, nearly a whole day after he wa3 called in by Lord j Wellington. He said he knew he could defend bis position. Wellington, when be came back, only said, "I am glad to see you safe, Cracford." Tbe latter said, " Oil, I was in no danger, I assure you." " But I was from yoar conduct." said Wellington. Upon which Crauford observed, *' He is crusty to day."—Prlvais Journal of F. S, Larpent, Esq.