Miscellancons.

Colonist, Issue 20, 29 December 1857, Page 3

Miscellancons.

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Hume Riveb.—A^e are glad to learn that the'movement fyr raising a public recognition of the services of Mr. Hamilton Hume, the discoverer of the Hume River, Australia, is not allowed to.lapav Mr! Robert Brown,,of Collindina. isbusy co%ctin^Bubscfipfions for this object; and so cpiiiittftnt"isjtHat gentlenian of the support 'of. the piiuiicV7 thathe has taken upon himself the respomibil ty of ordering.a marble tablet or pe-; •lestal of o'ne'bf the.most experienced stone-cutters in Melbourne. The monument, which will bear a suitable inscription} is to be csurmounted with a hftat iron railing, and will be erected on a spot where Mr.< Hume carved his name on a tree since destro\ed. The cost is calculated at about £200. We trust Mr. Hume may yet live to see this slight memorial of hi9 important public services as an expl >rer. — Sydney Herald, Dec 11.

A Curious Fact.—On this coast, in the neighbourhood of Cnen, resides an old lady, on whose property are some valuable stone quarries, fram .whence the English Commissioners have proposed to purchase materials.for building our Houses of Parliament. It U a curious fact that, by some old records in her fimily, she can prove that the blocks of stone used in building our Westminster Abbey-"were derived from the very same source.—^ portion of the Journal of T. Raikes,~Esq.

Derivation of the Word "Sepoy."—The name of Sejioy, or Sipoy, is derived by Bishop Heber from " sip," the bow and arrow, which were originally in almost universal use by the native soldiers of India in offensive warfare. The sepoys are well trained in European discipline—of a size somewhat less, indeed, than the European soldier, but quite as brave, as hardy, aud as active, capable of undergoing as much fatigue^ and of sustaining even greater privations. "To the attachment and bravery of this array,"-says a writer in the "Penny Cyclopaedia" in 1841, " Great Britain is chiefly indebted fpr':'th'e possession of her Indian empire; and it now, secures to her the indisputed sovereignty over a dominion vastly more extensive tbjiu her own, and separated from her by the distance of nearly half the globe."

Africa'^pf Australia Compared— There is a, striking,;;resemblance between Africa and Australia in'some other particulars./ This resembMjeeJ however, is;;'limitedV to SouthernAfiicai . v fSitj^ountries reach' at their extremities the tenjperate latitudes of the south; but' such latitudes, which have proved so favourable to ra^n in the<north'.have not saved the degradatiqfi;of ithfese southern populations. But what has pro|&biy militated most against them has been their far removal from the great stream of humftn intercourse, which, since the dawn of history, has; been passing and repassing upon the great ihighway of the Mediterranean, and thence westward through the Red Sea or the Persian Gulf, towards China and the myriads of the populous and beautiful islands of the adjacent equatorial archipelagos. From such a cause it may be, that, as Africa becomes more remote towards the south, her population is more degraded, although her climate is more salubrious. Future generations-will have the opportunity that is denied to us, of comparing the effects of these peculiar countries, after an adequate interval, upon their new Anglo-Saxon ! occupants. They make their start with advantages which their predecessors never enjoyed, and with that establishment of constitution that may resist the sinister proportion of surrounding in- j fluenees.-— Victoria and the Australian Gold Mines in 1857.

Canibalism at the Antipodes.—lt is now too well established that infanticide and cannibalism are among the things authentic that pertain to pur common humanity. Our society may be excused for enjoying a long-continued scepticism on this subject that, Australia has mercilessly dissipated. 6 ut, in truth, these revolting features are common to other races than the degraded Australian. Polynesia furnishes a curious contrast between the beauty of nature

and the hidiousness of man. Under a brilliant sky and amidst a gorgeous ; landscape, where the sun's rays dance among,, sparkling coral beds beiieath the bright waters, and the waves are gently murmuring over, the sand and shells that skirt the vast and placid .be'eaii--amidst these scenes of an earthly paradise the hur^an savage seems especially active td darken the picture of joyous existence. Both cannibalism and infanticide prevail in the grossest forins amongst the aboriginal Australians; In the^e practices there is a diversity amongst the different tribes, arising from customs that tradition or superstition has introduced; It is, perhaps, to the strength and peculiarity of such traditional practice and sentiment' that we are to account for parental affection in association with customs so antagonistic. It is common to sacrifice the female infant, particularly the firstborn. The wandering mode of life will not admit of many young children in a:family, and over-burdened mothers appear at no loss for re-lief-—no loss as regards either the laws of their tribe or their own' feelings.— Victoria and the Australian Gold Mines in 1857.