A COOL HIGHWAYMAN.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 163, 24 May 1862, Page 5

A COOL HIGHWAYMAN.

The Lachlan Miner oi the 19th ult. publishes a letter from that incorrigible desperado Gardner, with the annexed endorsement as to its authenticity :— " We have received the following letter, purporting to be from the hand of Frank Gardner, tiie notorious highwayman of the Lachlan and Lambing Flat road*. Tho circumstances under which we become po.-sessed of the document can be known, and the original copies, together with the envelopes and seals, seen by the curious, on application at this office, and tbey can then use what judgment they choose as to tlie genuineness of them. We give it to our readers as we received it: — "' To iho Editor of the Burrangong Miner; Lambing Flat. " ' Sir, —Having seen a paragraph in one of the papers, wherein it is said that I took the boots off a man's feet, and that I also took the last few shillings that another man had, I wish it to bo made known tliat I did not do anything ofthe kind. The man who took the boot1* was in my company, and for so doing I discharged him the following day. Silver I never took from a man yet, aud the shot that was fired at tho sticking up of Alessrs Horsington and Hewitt was by accident, and tho man who did it I also discharged. As for a mean, low, or petty action, I never committed it in my life. The letter that I last sent to tho press bad not half of what I said put in it. In all that has been said there never was any mention made of my taking tho Serjeant's lnrse and trying him, and that when I found he was no pood, I went back aud got my own. As for Air. Torpy, he is a perfect coward. After I spared his life as he fell out, of the window, he fired at me as I rode away ; but I hope that Air. Torpy and I have not done just yet, until we balance our accounts properly. Air. Greig ha* accused me of robbing his teams, but it is false, for I know knotlling about the robbery whatever. Intact, I would not rob Air. Greig or any one belonging to hun, on account of his taking things so easy at Bogolong. Air. Torpy was too bounceable, or he would not have been robbed. A word to Sir VV. F. Pottinger. He wanted to know how it was the man who led my horse up to me at the Pinnacle did not cut my horses reins as gave me the horse. I should like to know if Air. Pottinger would do so 1 I shall answer for him by saying No. It had been said that it would be advisable "to place a trap at each shanty on the road, to put a stop to the depredations done on the road. I certainly think that it would bo a great acquisition to me, for I should then have an increase of revolvers nnd carbines. When seven or eight men could do nothing with me at the Pinnacle, one would look well at a shanty. Three of your treopere were at a house the other night, ami got drinking and gambling till nil hours. I came tliere towards moraine, when all was silent. The first room that I went into I found revolvers and carbines to any amount, but seeing none ns good as my own, I hft them. I then went out, and in the verandah found the troopers sound asleep. Satisfying myself tluit neither Battve nor Pottinger were 'there, I left them as I found them, in the arms of Alorpheus. Fearing nothing, I remain, Prince of Tobymen, Francis Gardner, the Highwayman.'"

The Burrangong Courier, of the 23rd, says : — Gardner stuck" ujj about twenty-five men on the Lachlan Road a few clays ago, aud several drays. From a carter ho took a small bag ol gold, thanking him for having it about him. He also helped himself to a handsome shawl, of the value of £19, which he found in a box. The shawl he immediately converted into a saddle cloth, as a treat to his favorite liorse. 'There is a man in the lock-up, who was taken by Sergeant Alusgrove ancl a party of police on Sunday, on a charge of murder. It was not known at the time who the murdered man was, but it has since been ascertained that he was Al'Guineas, the bushranger, one of the party who stuck up Pring and Croker's stations a short time ago, and one of the three that had the fight with the police at Brewer's, when Davis was shot down and captured. There are strong reasons for believing that Af'Guineas was shot at the instance of Gardner himself, for deserting Davis during the late fight. Al'Guiness was standing in the bush looking down at the fire, when a bullet from a distant piece treacherously killed him on the spot. Honest men may congratulate themselves that the notorious robbers who have infested our roads for so many months have commenced to destroy each other. We look upon the capture of Gardner, and the breaking up of his whole gang," as an event not far distant now. His most trusted companion, Davis, is in a very precarious state in the lock up from gunshot wounds; Brewer is there also to console the other; Al'Guineas lay unburied where he fell by the hands of his mates three whole days; the man tliat shot him is in the watch house at the Lachlan, and the man that carried the order for the murder lies in tlio lock up with Davis and Brewer.

Shipment op Qukensland Cotton. —The shipment for England of four bales of cotton from Queensland, is an event in the history of cotton cultivation in Australia, which calls for some notice. — The steamer Telegraph, which arrived from Brisbane on Tuesday last, brought down from Air. Panton,.of Ipswich, four bales of Sea Island cotton, which are at present ia the stores of Alessrs. Gilchrist, Watt & Co., to whom they are consigned for shipment. The bales are about the usual size of wool bales, but the cotton is not closely pressed, aud the aggregate weight is only a little over eight hundred weiglit. The cotton is of very good quality" long and firm'in staple, and thoroughly cleaned. Its value, we are informed, in the ordinary state of the English market would be about 15d per lb., but in its present exceptional state consequent on the blockade of the American ports, the value would probably be about 2*. The present position of the market iv Englaud is extremely favorable for the produce of cotton. We notice in a Manchester broker's circular, dated February Bth, that the stock of American cotton had declined during the previous five weeks to the extent of 10.000 ba'es per week, at which rate the existing stock would be exhausted in thirteen weeks. The quotation of middling N. Orleans was 12Jd., its price in February last year having been GJd. The. cotton was grown on a small plantation near Ipswich belonging to Air. Paiiton, who mentions in a letter accompanying the bales tbat he is planting this season twelve acres with cotton, and expects that it will yield 400 liis. per a ere. Air. Pnnton also states that cotton is easily cultivated, and expresses his opinion that it could he grown to advantage on the alluvial flats ofthe Hunter, Hawkesbury, and Hastings, and of course on the more northern rivers." Occasionally, bales of cotton have been sent home from Queensland, chiefly as samples of what could be grown, but the bales produced by Air, Panton may he spoken of as the first shipment of cotton from' Australia as an article of commerce, and will be regarded with much interest both in there colonies and also in England. We understand that Alessrs. Gilchrist,.Watt, & Co., will offer every facility to persons desirous of inspecting the bales, wliich are shortly to be shipped for England.—Sydney paper.

A Friendly Society.—How much English rhodomontade would resemble tho American, if the literary class here belonged to the same social stratum, is amusingly shown by the prospectus of an apparently bankrupt " Friendly Society," (with L 125.000 capital, of which L 705 was paid up.) which has been read at Guildhall this week, on the occasion of a small dispute between the secretary and the editor of the Beehive. By way of persuading working nun— not successfully, we apprehend—to take shares in tins Frieudly Society, its gifted .secretary drew up a statement which, as he stated with much pride, he considered the " looking-glass of life." It runs thus: — " In the United Kingdom there are about 30,000,000 of us, pushing and jostling each other, each striving to get the best standing on this little slice of the great ball of earth; twirling and slashing through space at a terrific pace—shooting like lightning around its course - at one season plunging us into the tropical heats of summer, at the other leaving us in the chilling frosts of winter: . . . at one time being all things to all men, at anotjier time nothing to nobody, or yourself either—playing every part in turn, and assuming all shapes and forms—bantering aud bargaining- cheatjng and being cheated—undermining ancl being overreached —trapping and being trapped —sniggled, snaggled, harpooned, bamboozled, and humbugged."— Liverpool Albion.

Duty on Cotton Yarn.—ln reply to a deputation from the Alanchester Chamber of Commerce, who presented a memorial urging the reduction of the duties levied on cotton yarn aud goods imported into India, Sir Charles Wood stated that the financial accounts from India were highly satisfactory, but tho full official documents had not yet reached the Government, ancl it would, therefore, be necessary. to wait sometime—say six weeks or two months. He had every hope, however, that the information already received would be confirmed, and he promised that " the moment he ascertained that the state of the revenue would admi tof it. the reduction of duty should le made."— Albion, Alarch 24.

THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT AND THE

AMERICAN BLOCKADE.

A Parliamentary paper, lately pijhtishcd a mass of correspondence fiwm .the British Minister at Washington, .the consuls in the American ports, the admiral on the station, and the' officers under his command, Lo theyfeiieral effect that the blockade maintained by the' Federal fleet is not effective. Earl Russell, however, declares his opinion ou fhe subject in the foi lowiug despatch, which he addressed to Lord Lyoiis cm' the 15th'of February:—'.." Her Majesty's Government have had under their consideration the state of the lilocka le of the ports of Charleston aiid 'Wilmington/ It "appears'from the reports received from her Majesty's naval officers that; although a sufficient blockading force is stationed off those'ports', : various ships : have . successfully eluded tho blockade ; a question might therefore be raised as to whether such a blockade should be considered as effective. Hor Majesty's Government, however, are of opinion tliat, assuming that the blockade is duly notified, and also that a number of ships is stationed and remains at the entrance of a port sufficient really to prevent access to it, or to create an evident danger of entering or leaving it, and that these ship* do not voluntarily permit ingress or egress, the fact that various ships may have successfully escaped through it (as in the particular instances here referred to) will not of itself prevent the blockade from being an effective one by international law. The adequacy of the force to maintain a blockade being always and necessarily a matter of fact and evidence, and cue as to which different opinions may be entertained, a neutral State ought to exercise the greatest caution with reference to the disregard of a lie facto and notified blockade ; and ought not to disregard it, except when it entertains a conviction which is shared by neutrals generally having an interest in tho matter, that the power of blockade re abused by a State either unable to institute or maintain it, or unwilling, from some motive or other, to do so.