ENGLISH EXTRACTS.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume IX, Issue 890, 11 February 1854, Page 4

ENGLISH EXTRACTS.

There has been a regular onslaught upon the hotel- keepers of England. The Times received one or two letters of complaint about excessive charges, wrote a leader upon it, and forthwith epistles came pouring in by hundreds. No doubt there are numerous cases of extortion, but the hotel keepers have great expenses, and English exclusiveness requires extra accommodation and comforts i but the system of charging for wax lights, apartments and servants at the rate some do, is enough to cause dissatisfaction. Many of the foreign hotels are nearly as bad, but there are some which present a remarkable contrast. Some very painful scenes have occurred on an estate in the Highlands, by the forcible tjeciion of the poor crofters and cottars from their huts, on the property. Mrs. Mjcdonnell, the proprietress of the Knoydart estate, Glengarry, having been unable to recover any rent from the crofters, for some years, was obliged at last to make an effort to eject them, and substitute a better class of tenantry. She liberally offered to freight a ship, supply them with clothing, and forgive their rent if they wouM go to Australia or Canada ; and about 280 accepted the offer, but 30 of them persisted in remaining in their cottages. Accordingly, after repeated notices, which were utterly disregarded, the law of ejeciruent was put in force, and the houses of the tenants pulled down over their heails. They are now living in the quarries and caves of the district, and do what they can to support themselves by fishing ; but unless some help be speedily given to them, they appear likely tofall victims to hunger and exposure.

Singular Discovery. — There H nothing new under tbe sun. The American Coffin which attracted so much atteniion at the Great Exhibition of 1851, and which, by producing the vacuum by means of an air-pump, was thought to be an entirely new method of preserving corpses from decay, has been just proved to have been known in the middle ages. While demolishing, a short lime ago, the old church of the ancient Welch College at Helmstedt, near Brunswick, a coffin made of lead was found, the lid of which was of glass of immense thickness, and containing tbe body of a young girl, appatently about twelve years of age, which still preserved every appearance of youth and freshness, although the coffin bore the date of 1461. A private letter from a bystander tells us that " the face and figure of tbe chil.l were perfect as in life, not a single sign of decay being visible throughout the whole person. The cheek preserved its delicate rose tint, and thr forehead iis snowy whiteness. The hair, which was of a beautiful gold-colour, was parted on the brow, and fell in long ringlets over the bosom, crisp and fresh as though the child had lain down to sleep the moment before. The dress of white satin embroidered in gold flower, the shoes of white velvet, and the lace apron, all seemed bright as if newly purchased ; and more astonishing still, the bunch of lilies held in the hand of the corpse still looked as fresh and moist as though the dew still hung upon it. The workmen engaged ia the demolition of the building were struck with awe, and immediately went in quest of the chief magistrate of the place, who soon arrived on the spot, accompanied by several of the inhabitants. Unfortuuately, the worthy functionary having recently been made the victim of a practical joke in the town, and being half suspicious that the same thing was intended, would not believe in the reality, and seizing a spade from the band of one of the workmen who stood near, dealt a heavy blow upon the lid of the coffin, and smashed one or two of the diamond-shaped panes of glass of which it was composed. In a moment, and while yet he gazed, a thin cloud of dust or vapour, like a wreath of smoke, rose from the coffin and dimmed the sight, veiling ibe corpse from our view. Wheu it had disappeared, we gazed downward in awe : nothing remained of what had struck us with so much wonder* all had vanished, and left nought behind but a heap of discoloured dust, h few rags of tinsel, and one or- two dried bones."

Naval Coast Volunteers.-— The bill of Sir James Grabam, Admiral Berkeley, and Mr. Osborne has been issued for, the establishment of naval coast volunteers, and for the temporary transfer to the navy, in case of. need, of seaaring men employed in other public services. There are 24 provisions in the bill. The Admiralty is to be empowered to raise not exceeding 10,000 men, to be called the " Royal Navy Coast Vllunieers." They are to be entered for five years, and may be trained and exercised for 23 days in each year. In case of invasion or imminent ilanger her Majesty may order the volunteers to be called into actual service. During exercise

and actual service the men are to have the pay of able seam°n. In case of emergency the officers aud men of the coast guard and seamen riggtr* may be required to serve in the navy for a limited period. Upon invasion or danger seafaring men in public departments are to be called to temporary service in the navy. There are certain penalties set fo,rth, and it is provided that persons not attending when called into actual service may be apprehended and punished as deierteis from the Royal Navy.

Loss of a Vessel and Fifteen. Lives. — The barque Argyle, Capt. Young, for Quebec, was totally wrecked off the Eastern Coaat of Newfoundland. The passengers and ere*, numbering 17 souls, of whom two were females, took to the long-boat just before the ship went 'Jown. They kept the boat head to wind the whole of that night, and part of the next day, when they hoisted sail and made for a westerly course. On the third day their position became most alarming; the water and provisions were exhausted ; the roaster did all be possibly could to cheer them on, aad one and all laboured to make way by pulling the oars, &c. Th,« next day, however, jiassed^ and following night, with the succeeding eight days and nights, without a sail appearing in sight. During that long space of time many miserably perished. "On the 6ih flay two of the crew died from want } on the 7th Capt. Young lost his two mates ; the male passenger died also on that day. Ou the Bth several hands became delirious from drinking sea- water to quench their ihirst, contrary to the urgent appeal* of the master not to touch it. One man, whilst in this state, leaped overboard and was drowned. The females possessed extraordinary constitutions, otherwise they must have quickly died from their awful privations. A heavy sea was continually running, with strong westerly gales, and it was as much as three men could do by bailing out the water to keep die boat afloat. On tbe evening of the ninth day their frightful situation was at length discovered by a French brig called the Harmony, belonging to St. Malo, Captain Preville, who, observing at a distance the helpless condition (f the boat, bore down to its as* sisiance, and picked up the wretched people in lat. 50, N., long. 32 W. Their condition when hauled on board was truly awful, some being inanimate and in a dying state. The master of the Harmony placet! every comfort he possessed before them, applying every possible remedy to resuscitate those whose lives were in danger. Two, however, never rallied, but shortly died. Captain Preville lost no time in making for a small port on the coast of Newfoundland, which he succeeded in gaining in a few days. By tbe last accounts it appears that the survivors were fast recovering. In all, the number who perished amounted to fifteen persons, — Liverpool Paper.

Dectmal Coinage. — The select committee on dfcimal coinage have issued their report. In considering the difficulties of a change, the committee specially refer to the cases of the United States and Ireland. In the former country, the old system of pounds, shillings, and pence, which was common to it. and the mother country, has been recently superseded by the decimal system of dollars and cents, and no difficulty appears to have attended the chi-nge. In the case of Ireland, where 3-3 Irish pence formerly made an English shilling, for which 12 English pence were substituted, accompanied by a corresponding change in the whole lrrsh coiuage, a prejudice was originally felt on the part of the j.oorer classes, in consequence of their believing, that as they only got 12 pence for a shilling where they formerly received 13, they sustained the loss of a penny in every shilling. They soon found from experience, however, that the injury was only imaginary, and the change in the coinage was made without difficulty. " The other difficulties to which your committee have referred, viz., those of a practical character, arising from the necessity of a re-adjustment of a large number of existing ccnt'acts and obligations based upon the present ty^tem of coinage, are not, in their opinion, in any way insuperable; but the precise point of view from which to consider them must, of course, depend in some degree on the exact system which may be adopted: and your committee wil^ therefore, now proceed to discuss this subject, the consideration of which must also precede the consideration of the means of bringing the decimal system into practical operation. The first question to be decided is, that of the basis or unit of the new system of coinage : and your committee have no hesitation in recommending that the present pound sterling should be recommended as that basis. Considering how much the pound is interwoven with ail our ideas of value, that it is the fulcrum on which all our exchange transactions with the whole world turn, and that every alteration in its value would lead to infinite complication and embarrassment in all our commercial dealings, in addition to the fact of its being the legal standard value, it appears to your committee that it would be vain to propose any alteration in it, even if it were advisable on other grounds ; but it fortunately happens that the pound sterling is in itself eminently adapted to form the basis of a decimal system of coinage. Its tenth part already exists in the shape- of the florin or two shilling piece, while an alteration of four per cent, in the present farthing will serve to convert it into the lowest step of the decimal scale which it is necessary to represtnt by means of actual coin, viz,, the thousandth part of a pound, to which it appears to your committee that the name of the mil should be attached, in order to mark its relation to the unit of value. The addition of a coin to be called a cent, of the value of 10 mils, and equal to the hundredth part of the pound, or the tenth part of the florin, would serye to complete the list of coins necessary to represent the moneys of account, which would accordingly be pounds, florins (or dimes, as has been proposed to your committee, as expressing the relation of value Ko the pound) cents, and mils."