ENGLISH EXTRACTS.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume IX, Issue 844, 3 September 1853, Page 3

ENGLISH EXTRACTS.

The works going on at present in the Palais Royal, for the reception of the ex-king Jerome, are so extensive that the Minister of Public Works has had to demand fresh credits to the extent of three millions of francs (£120,000.) The Princess Mathilde is also to have sumptuous apartments in the same palace. The New Copper Coinage. —The contract for supplying the new copper coinage for Great Britain has been obtained by Messrs. Heaton 8t Son, Birmingham. The weight of coin required by the contract is no less than 500 tons, to be minted into pence, halfpence, farthings, j half-farthings, and —novel currency —quarter J farthings. The copper is to be of the best j quality, and the dies are to be supplied by the Mint. The operation of coining this vast weight of metal will be commenced before the end of June, and when once begun, Messrs. Heaton will not be required to furnish more than 80,000 pieces a-day. We may mention that the copper coinage: of Canada and of the French empire are being simultaneously executed by the same house. —Birmingham Jour. A number of refugees, comprising men from all the despotic nations of Europe, waited upon Lord Clarendon, at the Foreign office, with a memorial expressive of their respect for, and obedience to the laws of England, and praying that the demands of their several Governments should not be complied with, which would be tantamount to delivering them up to torture and death. His Lordship assured them of safety so long as they obeyed the English law. In several towns of Italy the inhabitants are prohibited, under Austrian martial law, from assembling in a group of as many as five persons after sunset, under any pretence whatever. In one place a young man had been shot, by sentence of court martial, because a revolving pistol was found on his person.

Ireland.—The arrangements for the opening of the Great Exhibition on the 12th May, I are now all but completed, and the event is looked forward to with the greatest interest by all classes. The published programme states, that the Exhibition " will be inaugurated at 12 o'clock on Thursday, the 12th May, by his Excellency the Lord Lieutenant, who accompanied by the Countess of St. Germains, will proceed in full state from Dublin Castle to the | building. The Knights of St. Patrick will take part in the ceremonial. The Cabinet Ministers. Foreign Ambassadors, and municipal authorities of the principal towns in the United Kingdom have been invited to be present at the opening." A musical performance will take place, the orchestra consisting of 1000 persons. The Lord Mayor has issued invitations for a grand banquet at the Mansion House, on the day of the inauguration. The chief guests will be his Excellency the Lord-Lieutenant, the Lord Mayor of London, the Mayors of Manchester and Liverpool, the Provost of Glasgow, and the Mayors of all the municipalities of Ireland, the Knights of St. Patrick, wearing the insignia of their order, will.also be present, being their first public appearance since the dinner given to King George the Fourth. Already a large number of visitors have arrived from England to be present at.the opening. Each evening the steamer from Holyhead to Kingstown comes in with crowded decks, and a fair sprinkling of foreigners appears among them. • ~ '

A Neglected Earthquake.—ln the "Philosophical Transactions " there is a reference to

an earthquake, which " had the honour " of being reported in the papers of the learned society. This is an honor which it seems has not been accorded to an earthquake at Hereford with sufficient promptitude in the London journals, and the consequence of this slight to a highly respectable earthquake has been some incredulity as to its very existence. A correspondent justly tenacious of the honour of this earthquake writes to the Times — The non-appearance in the Times of this morning of aßy repeits of an earthquake shock having been felt in any other towns has somewhat shaken the belief of the good people of Hereford in the fact that a perceptible, and indeed serious shock, was really felt here on Sunday night. Such, however, was the case, and the evidence of 100 or more people in Hereford and the neighbourhood comld be obtained of the fact. What a tribute is this to the power of the press. The earthquake was an earthquake, or no earthquake at all, according to its recognition in the Times or the contrary. The people at Hereford were shaken in their beds on Sunday night by the shock of an earthquake ; but they were again as much shaken in their belief that they had been shaken in their beds when they found no news of the event in the Times. " Who should know best, yott or the doctor!" says the sailor, in Joe Miller, to his mate who protests against being thrown overboard as dead. And " who should know best, you or the Times ?" is now the established question, valid against the evidence of the senses. On board a ship when sunset is reported to the commanding officer, he gives the word, " make it so ;" without which authority the sun could not go down in the log, nor the pennant from the masthead. And in like manner, a convulsion of nature which shakes people's bodies and crockeryvvare. is not established in their belief or set down in their minds' log, unless the word " make it so " has been passed by the conductor of The Times. The earthquake was the talk of all Hereford, till Hereford round it not in The Times. Where were its rumblings when it made no noise in The Times ? " After all'it was no great shakes," was the disparaging reflection of the disappointed Hereford citizens upon finding no mention in The Times. — Examiner.

Napoleon's Will.—A letter dated Paris, Monday, contains the following statement: — " I regret to find that the courtesy of the British Government, in bestowing Napoleon's will upon his nephew, has been sadly misinterpreted. From certain expressions, which occasionally gleam in the Government journals here, it would seem that our motives have been pitifully misappreciated, and that an impression prevails amongst the adherents of the present dynasty that England complied with a request which she dared not refuse. This is the reward which Britain invariably meets with, whenever she goes out of her way, and leaves the path of rectitude to do service to the foreigner. But now that they have got the last will and testament of their great Emperor, it has fallen amongst them like the apple of discord. A host of claimants for yet unpaid legacies are beginning to swarm in the antechambers of the Tuileries. Napoleon bequeathed in his will, to various friends and relatives several millions, which he had no right to dispose of. But amongst the legacies are the proceeds of the service of gold plate presented to him by the city of Paris, and the superb malachite suit of furniture presented to him by the Emperor of Russia, which rivals in magnificence the sumptuous suit purchased by Mr. Hope, at the close of the Great Exhibition. These, and a vast mass of superb presents from several sovereigns, he claimed as his personal property ; and, professing to believe them to be at his disposal, he bequeathed vast sums, amongst others, seven millions to M. Lafitte, which have never been paid, and which are now claimed by his heirs. He also left large sums to be distributed amongst the soldiers who had fought by his side in the campaigns from 1792 to 1814, and also to the provinces of Alsace, Lorraine, Burgundy, and Franche Comte, which had so severely suffered by the wars, which had converted their fields of waving corn into desolate and blackened deserts. None of these provinces have as yet recovered their claims, but as Napoleon bequeathed his legacies to the widows and children of the legatees in the event of their deaths, hosts of them have risen up, and the Senate has appointed a committee, under the presidence of Marshal Vaillant, to report on their claims.

The Drunken Controversy, —A rather amusing controversy is at present carrying on between the cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow ; and the point in dispute relates to the respective intemperance of the inhabitants. A short time ago a Parliamentaryretum was printed, on the motion of Mr. Hume, which contained some important statistics with respect to the amount of drunkenness existing in several cities both in England and Scotland; and from some researches which have been since made by Lord Provost M'Laren, it would seem that the returns for the city of Edinburgh were very incorrect. Hence the quarrel originated, and a considerable amount of labour has been employed by the partisans of their respective cities, to make out as bad a case as possible for their opponents. The North British Mail, who devotes two columns to the subject, has the following extract from the Scotsman: —" We do not care to plunge into details —we are willing, in the [meanwhile, to take the Edinburgh Return as aggravated by our Lord Provost; only we must alsso, on the grounds already stated, take the Glasgow Return in its corrected form. The figures then assume this very ugly form; — Edinburgh, 9318 cases in 166,000 of population, or 1 in 18; Glasgow, 26,000 cases in 333,057 popu- ' lation, or lin 13. This is what our Glasgow friends have to thank our Lord Provost for. i His Lordship's attempt was, not to raise Glasgow, but to lower Edinburgh —and therewe are, Edinburgh low, but Glasgowglower still." Meanwhile, the citizens of DundefeV are making a conspicuous figure in the official returns for that city. From the prison and police statistics just published, it appears that during the past year 1151 persons, 713 being males and 438 females, were taken into the,custody of the Dundee police for drunkenness, and 1744, of whom 907 were males and 837 female, for disorderly conduct.^ The .Dundee

Advertiser, in commenting upon the returns, remarks :—": —" It is surely deplorable that no less than 2895 —or about one in every 28 of the population, including man, woman, and child, and even mariners not enumerated in the census—should have been apprehended for drunkenness." " I regret,'* says the superintendent, "to have to say that drunkenness, the obvious source of crime, still remains undiminished ; 1744 persons having been apprehended and brought to the police office, accused of disorderly conduct, chiefly arising from drunkenness, and 1151 being drunk and incapable of taking care of themselves, making in all 2895 during the past year, being only six persons fewer for disorderly conduft than in 1851."

Rachel and tub Bonaparte Livery. — There is a curious story current in the fashionable circles to account for an order which has appeared in the Moniteur, prohibiting all persons, except members of the Imperial family, from adopting the Imperial livery for their servants. An actress of one of the theatres who is said to be a favourite of a member of the Imperial family, has for some time past adopted the fraperial livery. She has a very pretty coupe', in which she goes out frequently, but the livery of her servants had not attracted much notice. Wishing to cut a great figure at the j promenade of Longchamps, she requested her j " friend" to lend her his carriage, and, as he i had nothing to refuse, the request was granted.' She invited a great and celebrated tragedienne to accompany her, and the two ladies in the Imperial carriage, with four horses, and a piqueur in front, made their appearance on the Champs Elysees. When the carriage came near to the guardhouse at the corner of the iue de Chaillot, the non-commissioned officer, seeing the Imperial carriage and the Imperial livery, ordered the drums to beat. The guard turned out and presented arms. When the officer in command came out of the guardhouse and recognised an actress in the carriage he was very indignant, and immediately drew up a report to the colonel, by whom it was forwarded to the Commander-in-Chief. Not long after this scene at the guardhouse, the carriage d'emprunt was met by that of the Emperor and the Empress, and the Empress is said to have asked the Emperor who the ladies were. The Emperor said she would learn from the Prefect of Police ; and on his arrival at the palace the Prefect was sent for. An inquiry commenced, and all the facts came out. The member of the family who had acted so thoughtlessly was severely censured, and the officer was thanked for his report. Then came the order in the Moniteur about the Imperial livery.—Examiner. Sale of Mdllb. Marthe's Goods and Chattels.—There was a great assemblage of the beau monde, including all the actresses of Paris, at the auction-room, in the Rue dcs Jouers, on Tuesday, to witness the sale of poor Mdlle. Marthe's goods and chattels. This charming little actress charcoaled away her life the other day, out of grief for the loss of her lover, Prince Camerratta, the Emperor's cousin, who had committed suicide but a few days before. Poor little Marthe! how often have we watched her tripping across the stage, radiant with youth, and those indescribable charms which take the reason prisoner, and lap it in elysium ! And now there were Jew brokers and snuffy old brocanteurs, tossing about her cachemires, and poring with their lynx eyes, through magnifying glasses, at her diamond necklaces and earrings, and bracelets, and tiaras. How horribly it realised Hogarth's wonderful picture in the " Harlot's Progress," where precisely the same scene is going on, whilst the wretched victim lies there in her coffin. The display of jewellery was very superb. It was but the other day some five or six years past, that she came to Paris a country girl, and now she dies and leaves thousands of pounds' worth of diamonds and shawls. In one of Beaumont and Fletcher's comedies an incorrigible slut, who had been turned away by her master for idleness, &c, was met by him covered with lace and feathers. She met his surprise with a curtsey, " Please, Sir, hasn't you heard I've been ruined." The laces, and cashmeres, and gems, which were sold to-day, were the property of a ruined damsel—but peace to her manes ! Hers is, indeed, a sad story, and the world must be a little blind to her defects, and ever kind to her virtues, for of these poor Marthe had ample store.

The Maine Liquor Law.—The Daily News gives the following account of the second Maine Liquor Law, the first having proved a failure : " The Maine law of 1846 was a failure. The rum sellers went on selling—secretly if they could, and openly rather than not at all —paying the penalties and going on again. While the rum was there it was sold ; and the individuals who bestirred themselves to get the law enforced suffered from the malice of the rum interest. It was very hard work : for all the strength of the spirituous party was put forth in a last desperate effort in the elections of 1849. After a long and arduous struggle the r sober party triumphed ; and the result was the celebrated Maine Liquor Law, which passed on the 2nd June, 1851, by a majority of 86 to 40 in the one house, and 18 to 10 in the other. Some may ask here, as many asked there — What more could be done by law than prohi. biting the sale ? The one thing more that was wanted was the destruction of the liquor : and this is the most striking feature of the new law. The intoxicating liquor, wherever found under circumstances which indicate sale, is impounded until the matter is tried ; and on the conviction of the seller, the liquor is poured out upon the ground. Every city and town is required or permitted to appoint annually, through its municipal officers, an agent, who is licensed for the year, under responsibility to the magistracy, to sell spirits for the purposes of the mechanic arts and medicine; and up to this time, it appears that a sufficient supply is obtained for all such purposes by this provision. There is a general purification—the smell is not in the air — the dram shops are not open before the eyes — the temptation does not beset the will—the struggle does not perplex and weary the brain and conscience."

The New Screw Three-decked Man-of-War.—The Duke of Wellington, 131, screw three-decker, Captain H. B. Martin, C.8., in the steam basin, got her funnel up yesterday morning and lighted her fires, the machinery being ready for trial. It reflects no small amount of credit on the engineer department

of this dockyard that the gigantic motive power of this colossal ship should hare been got ready for trial by the very day intended —the commencement of the financial year-—con-sidering the delays and trouble in getting her machinery piecemeal from the Clyde, for the want of efficient transport accommodation in the first instance. No one who saw the en-gine-room of this ship a fortnight ago would have imagined she could have had steam up yesterday, but so she had, and, what is more creditable to chronicle, there was no mishap, no scalding of the engineeis by escape of steam, &c, but all the mighty parts worked well, and exhibited but the slightest symptoms of warm bearings from the newness of the gear. Many officers and strangers assembled to witness the first working of the screw in this famed ship, and among them no less a personage than Captain S. Bourgeois, the second capiain of the celebrated French screw line of battle ship Napoleon, who attentively inspected, inside and out, the Duke of Wellington. RearAdmiral Fanshawe, and mnny others were also present. The result of the " steam-up" trial was deemed eminently satisfactory, 20 revolutions having been attained. The next highest spring tides are on the 9th and 10th, and it is intended the Duke shall go out for public trial at Stokes Bay on the former of those days, or on Monday, the 11th. —Home News, April 9.

Execution of a Family of Murderers. — Ennis, 6th May. —This being the day appointed for the execution of the persons convicted of the barbarous murder of their relative at Milltown, Malbay, a small bathing-place about 14 miles hence, some excitement was expected, but the number who attended to witness the executions was comparatively small. As the place of execution is differently constructed from that in Clonmel only two could suffer together; and, owing to a wish expressed by the parties, Richard Stackpool and his wife Bridget were executed together. About a quarter to one o'clock they made their appearance on the scaffold, accompanied by the Rev. Mr. Quinlivan, one of the Roman Catholic curates of the town, who had previously come forward and exhorted the assembled concourse to pray for them. There were two executioners employed, and while one of them was adjusting the rope round the neck of the female, she called to him in Irish, to " squeeze it well;" and after the caps had been drawn over their faces, the fatal bolt was drawn, and both were launched into eternity. Neither party made any declaration as to their guilt or innocence on the scaffold, but appeared to be occupied in prayer during the short time they were on it —scarce two minutes having elapsed from the period of their arrival on it until the platform* fell. After being suspended for three-quarters of an hour, the bodies were lowerd, and shortly before two o'clock, the other wretch, Honora Stackpole (whose husband, Thomas, would also have been tried last assizes, but that he was ill) was conducted to the place of execution. She appeared considerably weaker than the others, and when she gained the platform, turned round towards the reverend gentleman in attendance, who addressed some observations to her, after which appeared to continue praying praying until the dreadful fall which terminated her earthly career.