GLEANINGS OF NEWS.

Colonist, Volume II, Issue 112, 16 November 1858, Page 4

GLEANINGS OF NEWS.

From a Pailiamentary return which has just been issued, it appears that the total value of the gold exported from New South Wales and Victoria during the year 1857 was £10,991,398, making the total quantity exported since the discevery pf the goldfields in 1851, 17,023,413 eunces, valued at £64,122,360. This is exclusive pf the value ccined at the Sydney Mint. A tablet of polished Peterhead granite will be placed in the wall at the head of Hugh Miller's grave, in the Grange Cemetery, Edinburgh. The inscription runs thus:—"Hugh Miller, died 24th December, 1856, aged 54 years." The tablet is simi-' lar to that placed over the grave of Dr. i Chalmers in the immediate neighborhood. M. Soyer, so deservedly famous for his labors in the art of gastronomy, died suddenly on the sth August. An appeal is being made for the injured and ruined sufferers of the Western Bank, some of whom are in a state of abject poverty. A fire broke out on the evening of the 2nd August in the Sun newspaper office, Strand. The upper floors of the building were completely burnt out, and the printing of the paper has had to be transferred for the time to the office of the Morning Post. The Morning Chronicle says that a new East India Company is in course of formation for trading, the formation of works for irrigation, the holding of lands, the cultivation of tea,-—in fact, to do all which the East India Company was originally constituted to do, but which it ceased to carry put on assuming the functions of political authority. The United States Government, now that the delusion about "British outrages" has died away, intend to equip an expedition to follow up the discoveries made by the late Dr. Kane within the Arctic circle. A new translation of Shakspeare into the Russian language has been commenced. The first volume contains "Timon of Athens," " Julius Csesar," and " Antony and Cleopatra." Mr. Spurgeon is announced to appear in Belfast. • For many seasons back there has not been so cheering a prospect of a fine harvest as the present one holds out to the farmer. The accounts, come from what quarter they may, show no variation; everything looks promising, and there is only an isolated rumour from some remote district of the appearance of the potato disease in a very mitigated form. A Perth journal relates a fearful predicament:—One day lately, while four little boys were diverting themselves by leaping in and out of an old corn-chest that stood in the stable of a farm in the Carse of Gewrie, the whole of them gpt into it at one time, and drew down the lid, which was furnished in the common way tor a padlock. The holder caught the staple, and made them prisoners at once beyond the possibility of extracting themselves. Fortunately, however, the horses had to be suppered; but the ploughman whose duty it was to do so had performed his task, and was leaving for the night, when he thought he heard some movement in the chest. Aware there was no corn in it, he was convinced he was deceived; but, curiosity prompting him, he lifted the lid, and found the now missed and anxiously-sought-for prisoners still alive, but quite unconscious, or unable to make the least effort for their deliverance. Had a movement on the part of one of them not drawn the attention of the ploughman at the last moment, the whole four would doubtless have been dead before morning. The New York papers contain details of the capture of Mr. J. S. Elliot, late military storekeeper at Weedon, who was arrested at the suit of her Majesty's Secretary iof- State fpr the War Department, on a charge ef having embezzled the sum of £2223 belonging to the British Government. It appears that Mr. Elliot arrived in the; United States from England, accompanied by ah actress, Miss Sinclair.

" Some weeks ago,'' says the Cork Constitution, "considerable sensation was created in the commercial circles of this city by its being rumoured that a gentleman had arrived at one of our principal hotels who had amassed a large fortune in Australia, the amount of which was put down at about £150,000. The name of this fortunate individual was very soon ascertained to be Charles Frederick Hale, and to several persons whom he has honoured with his acquaintance he stated that he was the son of a timber merchant, who resided some years ago at Wexford—to others, at Gal way ; and that he had gone out to Melbourne previous to the discovery of the gold diggings. His career there, according to his own brilliant account, was a series of unexampled successes. Land which he had purchased for a sheep walk at £1 per acre became, when the gold mania was at its height, so high in value that he had offers for it on all sides for building purposes, and sold it at some £15 per foot. His profits on other transactions were of an equally golden character. He had imported, he said, some fine breeding stock from England, by the letting out of which he had made enormous sums of money. He had now-come back to grace the county of Cork with his presence, and to enjoy the otium cum dignitate with his princely fortune, which amounted to between £150,000 and £200,000. The arrival of such a Croesus —young, too, and a bachelor—naturally created immense excitement, especially amongst parties who had eligible daughters at their disposal. Mr. Hale speedily became a ' lion; ' he was the admired of many a circle, the guest at many a table; he was to be seen in the houses of our leading merchants, or walking arm-in-arm with the principal men in the city. The solicitors were set on the gui vive by an ingenious statement (originated probably by himself) that he was in treaty for the purchase of a large estate in the west of the county, which was then, and is still, in the market. The amount he had offered was understood to be £100,000. In a short time, however, strange hints began to circulate, and singular circumstances were mentioned regarding the "great unknown.' He had a remarkable defect of memory, which caused him very often to forget his purse. He had borrowed a sovereign from one friend and five from another. He had run up bills at the establishments of various shopkeepers. Unfavourable insinuations began to be circulated; matchmaking mammas began to grow uneasy, but all suspicions were dispelled by the gentleman himself, who, having heard the nature of the statements that were made against him, threatened in every direction to bring actions against his slanderers, and by way of proving the groundlessness of their imputations he triumphantly produced a bank book by which there appeared to be lodged to his credit in one of* the principal banking houses in London a sum of over £100,000. This evidence was of course , conclusive. The injured Mr. Hale became a greater lion than ever. His society was courted by all, and fortunate indeed was the individual who secured his company to dinner, or was honoured by being permitted to send him _.his carriages and horses. In the meantime Mr. Hale had changed his quarters to the Baths' Hotel, Monkstown, and subsequently to the Queen's Hotel, Queenstown. The next that was heard of him was at the Devonshire Arms, Youghal, where he had gone tp spend a few weeks pf summer. There, it appears, he introduced himself to the proprietor of the hotel, and produced the card of a neighbouring clergyman, who he stated was his particular friend, and who had recommended him to patronise that hotel during his stay at Youghal. The hotel-keeper, however, had some slight misgivings upon the subject. Perhaps he thought it strange to find a gentleman continually boasting of his wealth, but never giving any tangible evidence of it; at all events, he took the prudent course of communicating with the clergyman respecting Mr. Hale. The clergyman is said to have immediately written back, denying all knowledge of the gentleman—so much so, that he could not imagine how he became possessed of his card. Mr. Hale's career was evidently nearly over. The hotel-keeper: required payment of his bill, but he, as usual, had forgotten his purse. "An information was sworn before a magistrate, and he was speedily committed to the custody of the police. It subsequently appeared that the bank-book which had rendered Mr. Hale such good service was the property of a gentleman in this county, the figures in which had been altered, so as to increase the amount from hundreds to thpusands. It further transpired that the owner of the book was so duped by Mr. Hale, that he was actually in correspondence with him to complete a matrimonial alliance between him and a young lady in his neighborhood. He was quite unable tp say hpw Mr. Hale became ppssessed pf the book, which he thought was still safely locked up in''his escritoire. A constable from Youghal arrived in town to make inquiries with regard to some pawn tickets which were found in his possession, and also tp procure evidence preparatery tp his prosecutipn before the magistrates." The barmaid at the Bell Inn, Alesbury, had her jugular vein very nearly cut a few days ago. A bottle of lemonade had fallen near her. It burst with a loud report, and a portion of glass, very sharp at the edge* struck her neck. An artery was cut through, but the jugular vein escaped that fate by about a quarter of an inch. As a fine, young wpman named Geprgianai Cellins, residing in Lambeth, was walking heme the ether day she accidentally placed her fppt on a fusee, and set her muslin dress en fire. The flame mounted high in the air, and was with difficulty extinguished. She was cpnyeyed to Guy's Hespitaf, where she remains in a dangerous state. It is only a fewdays ago that, a similar accident occurred at the Crystal Palace. A few

evenings ago, also, a female was standing at the bar at Vauxhall-gardens, talking to a gentleman, when some one near threw down a lighted piece of paper on the ground. She stepped back, and her dress (a light gauze) caught fire, and completely enveloped her in flames. She was rescued with difficulty and conveyed to a hospital. The following facts relate to one of these singular cases in which human beings are frightfully tortured, sometimes for years, owing to .the unaccountable presence arid movements of needles in the body. •A. Mr. John Jones was formerly for 16. years in the employment of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company, and for the last eight years of that time he was the station superintendent in Salford. About eight years ago he felt pricking sensations in his chest, and the pains gradually grew more severe, until, seven years ago, he was compelled to resign his situation. Since then he has scarcely been able to work at all. He has experienced the most excruciating pains in the chest, as of being punctured with knives, the pains being so acute at times as to cause temporary distertipn pf the bedy, and almpst paralysis pf every ppwer. His arms and his legs have been similarly afflicted, the seat of the pain frequently shifting, but remaining fixed for some time at each point. He has been under the care of our leading medical men; and he has been treated for indigestion, spasms, &c, all without beneficial result, for his sufferings ceased not, and he became a shadow of what he had been. About a month ago the pains seemed to have fixed themselves in his left leg. A swelling as large as a pigeon's- egg appeared and disappeared two or three times, accompanied by pains which rendered it impossible to walk. Some time afterwards he fancied that he felt some sharp substance in the midst of the swelling, and he made a puncture with a needle in hopes that the unwelcome substance might thus be assisted out. A few days ago, while limping about, he felt something from the swelling catch in his trousers; he soon found a needle protruding; and, after some trouble, he succeeded in drawing it out. It was quite black, the eye being choked, and it is 1| inch long. Of course Mr. Jones has no idea when or how the needle entered his body; but the pains he so long suffered are now all but gone, and he hopes speedily to recpver his former vigorous health. A seaman named William Thistle, belonging to the Tyne, is in the custody of the Newcastle-en-Tyne pplice on a charge of embezzling nearly £1000 belonging to Messrs. Stevenson and Scott, shipowners, of that town. The circumstances of the charge made against him are peculiar. Messrs. Stevenson and Scott were the owners of a vessel which, during 1857, sailed from Bombay. A mutiny occurred among the crew at a place called Mangalore, and several of the men were given in charge and found guilty. A day or two afterwards, the vessel took fire, and the master was burnt, or came to his death by. some violent means. Thistle, who was the chief mate, then took the command, sold the ship and stores, and appears to have put the money in his own pocket. He also drew bills in the names ofthe owners of the ship. On the evening of July 24 he was arrested in London, and has been remanded. " A few nights ago," says the Illustrated Times, " there was seen the unususEspectacle of a veritable negro, black as a coal, sitting in the place of honour under the gallery in the House of Commons, which is set apart for the peers of England when they come down to listen to the debates. The appearance of this gentleman in such a place excited a good deal of attention; and it was generally thought to be a mistake to place him there. 'Surely,' it was said, 'the gallery for strangers was good enough for a nigger, but to place him amongst the peers was an error.' But on inquiry being made, it was found that the coloured gentleman bears a higher title than the proudest peer—for he is a veritable king—and not a .king clogged by constitutional forms, but as despotic in his dominions as Louis Napoleon is in France; nay, more* for he is absolute, his will is law, and the life and property of every subject is at his mercy. He, is King of Bonny, on the western coast of Africa, and whom he will he can set up, and whom he will he can put down. His majesty is an old man and somewhat paralysed in his limbs. He was introduced into the House by our metropolitan monarch, ; Mr. Thwaites. He talks English well, and his sway is as benevolent as it is despotic, we understand. One of his achievements deserves record. He has put down cannibalism in his dominions, and taught his subjects to feed upon the fruits of the earth, instead pf devpuring one another." It is currently reported that the splendid officers' quarters at" -Dover Castle are intended as a residence, for the Prince of Wales and his military instructors, his royal highness being destined for the profession pf a soldier. Mr. Rarey has written a letter to the Times, strongly advocating the disuse of " blinkers" for carriage horses. He says, from personal experience, that herses go much better without than with them ; soon get accustomed to all the objects of street and road; and are less likely to be frightened when they have the use of their sight than when they hear noises which they cannot account for. They would also, he adds, often avoid collisions with other vehicles and with foot passengers if they could see freely. Blinkers have almost been given up in America; and Mt. Rarey is sure that, if the cabmen of London would dp without them fpr a year, they would net again resert to them. He pub-; lishes a letter from a Lpudon cab-proprietpr to the same effect. On the 6th August the Marquis of Queensberry shot himself by accident in the grounds at Kinmount. The marquis, who had gone out rabbit-shooting, was observed' by some men working in the grounds to shoot a crow, and they afterwards heard

several shots. The last, shot they heard, was about half-past 3 o'clock, and at 4 his lordship's cousins, Mr. Johnstone. Douglas,. of Lockerbie, and that gentleman's brother, who have been residing at Glen Stuart, came to the men inquiring if they, had seen his lordship, and were directed by them towards the place where he had been last: seen going. The two gentlemen proceeded a little further down the grounds, and where overwhelmed with horror on discovering the body of his lordship prostrate on the earth and covered with blood. Life .was found to be quite extinct, and the limbs were beginning to stiffen. A gunshot wound, pierced the left breast through the back in a slanting direction—the death-wound, doubtless, ofthe unfortunate young .nobleman, and through which the life blood had flowed by which he was covered. The gun, a double-barrelled one, was found lying by his side, one of the barrels empty; and it is supposed that when loading the emptied barrel the piece had unexpectedly gone off and caused instant death. The late Mrs. Elizabeth Hutchinson, of Hyde-park, whe died last menth, has left the residue ef her property to be divided between St. George's Hospital, the charity, called the Houseless Poor, and Queen Charlotte's Lying in Hospital. The executors have proved the will under £45,000. A further dividend of Is. (making 13s. 6d. in the pound) is announced by the official manager of the Royal British Bank. The submarine telegraph to the Channel Islands has been successfully laid. Communication now goes on continually between Alderney and Southampton, There was to have been a grand balloon, ascent the ether evening at Cremerhe. Shortly before 7 o'clock, the ballppn being well filled with gas, and the aerial veyagers having taken their seats in the car, the signal was given te " let go."y The machine rose majestically. Upon getting over the Clapham-road, the: balloon was seen by the thousands; who were witnessing its progress to commence rapidly descending. The machine kept falling, and when about 250 feet from the ground, the silk work was seen to collapse, and the crown fall over on pne side. The men in charge pf the ballppn got as Ipw in the car as ppssible, and then werked the ropes the best way they could to keep clear of trees and house-tops, but all of a sudden dpwn came the ponderous machine near a tavern, the escape of gas at the time being almost enough to suffocate those who rushed forward out of curipsity. Those who were in the car were not seriously injured. The accident, it is believed, arose from one ofthe valves acting imperfectly. The efforts which Russia has been making for some time past to increase her navy are so considerable, says a letter from Poland in the Vienna Gazette, that her own building yards are not sufficient for the purpose. She has been having ; vessels built in England, France, and America, I under the,superintendence of officers of the Russian'navy. The re-organisation of the Baltic fleet is now complete, and reckons 27 ships of the line and several. smaller vessels, withont counting gun-boats. As the number iri the Black Sea has been reduced, the government has endeavoured to compensate for this loss by increasing the flotilla in the Caspain Sea,. and by creating a respectable naval force in Eastern Siberia, and at the mouth ofthe River Amur. As the diligehce which plies between Guelma: and Bona, in Africa, was a few nights ago proceeding along the road near the village of Penthievre, the horses all at once reared up and refused to advance,.and the driver perceived a gigantic lion seated in the middle of the road. He at once informed the passengers, and they all manifested the greatest consternation; but at his suggestion they lighted chemical matches and burnt paper. The light ofthe moon was, however, so strong . that it paralysed the glare of the flames, and they j produced no effect on the lion. The con--1 sternation of the passengers was on the in-, crease when the animal relieved them by walking slowly away. The Corriere Mercantile of Genoa relates the following curious mode of taking revenge on an unfaithful wife:—A wealthy inhabitant of the Vico die Vecchietti (a street in Genoa), had obtained unequivocal proofs of his wife's bad conduct. Without getting into a passion or proceeding to violence, as most people would do in such a case, he simply turned his wife out of doors with her paramour, ?nd then sent for a carpenter, whom he directed to set up a catafalque, such as is used in Roman Catholic churches for the funeral service. This done he sent invitations to all his friends for the following evening, when they found the room lit up with burning tapers. Their host made them stand round the catafalque and requested them to chant the service for the dead, he himself acting as conductor, thus intimating that his wife was thenceforward dead to him. He then conducted them to a well-pro-vided table, where he entertained them until a late hour. The painful dispute between Sir E. Bulwer Lytton and his wife has been arranged, as mentioned in our last number. Their sdn, Mr. R. B. Lytton, writes to the papers stating that Lady Lytton, who had been placed in a private house, not in a lupatic asylum, is now free from all restraint, and about, at her own wish, to travel for a short time, in company with himself and a female friend and relation of her own selection. Letters, have .been published from Dr. Conolly, who was Sir Edward's referee, and Dr. Winslow, to whom Lady Ly tton's lawyers applied, approving of this course; find Dr. Winslow adds, that it ir " but an act of .justice to Sir Edward B. Lytton to state that, upon the facts which I have ascertained being submitted to him, and upon the certificates of the medical men whom he was obliged to consult, the course-'.which, he, has .pursued throughout, these painful proceedings cannot be considered as harsh or unjustifiable."