Correspondence.

Colonist, Volume II, Issue 202, 27 September 1859, Page 2

Correspondence.

To the Editor of the Colonist. Sir, —In one of, your late leaders you alluded to Kossuth as a " platform orator," thereby leading tlie public to think lie is nothing.but a 1" gabbler," or: a prominent- member of some ,'' gab 'society." The same kind of off-hand language was used twhile that great man was in the United States. Here is his simple answer to such unjust, ungenerous sneers:— 'ySome here take me for- a visionary. Curious, indeed, if that man who, a poor son of the people,, tqojc the, lead in abolishing ,feudal .injustices a thousand years old ,* created a currency; of .millions in a moneyless nation, and suddenly organisedarmies out .of untrained masses of civilians; iii--rected a revolution so as to fix the attention of the whole world upon-Hungary; beat the old, wellprovided power of Austria, and crushed its future ;by;his very fall; and, forsaken, abaudonedin Ins 'very !exile, is feared by Czars and Emperors, iand trusted by foreign'nations as well as his own. If. that man be a visionary, then, for so much pride, I may be excused that I should like. to loo,k face to face'in to the eyes of a practical hiah on earth." I am, 3-c., -E. TUCKER.,, Nelson, September 23. MELTING OF WO^KINGirENT"7 i ( Ft om the Lyttelton Times Sept. 7.) A meeting was held in the Odd Fellows' Hall, Christchurch, oh Saturday evening last, pursuant to advertisement, ' lo consider the depression of labour," also, to find some means to alleviate the distress of the unemployed and others in Chih>t-. church.' . Besides the advertisement, posters had been printed and extensively distributed through- - out'the "district,1 inviting the attendance w of all working men, and,,the fact that the meeting was about tb take place 1 was therefore very, generally,' known and fully canvassed ia all circles.' Accord-;

1 ingly, by the time named,, seven*o'clock, tlie hall i was full of people,; and as 'the evening advanced ;it becamedensely crowded. Thefroom being of li--1 mited dimensions, we should say that between 130 and 200 persons were present/ including those in the gallery. 'Of this number,'judging from those Iwho took a "^prominent "part in'the proceedings, those wlio were.called upon by name but did not came forward, "and those' who "were conspicuous in applauding and supporting tlie various speakers, it - may be estimated with considerable exactness that about twenty individuals formed,^the i cpre..or mi-' cleus ol the gathering; that about 80or 100 were working men fof\ different,grades, sympathising more or less deeply with the movement; while -the remainder were casual attendants, as spectators, or persons who had come for the sake pf ; a ' bit of fun,' After some little discussion as to who should preside— _ * , Mr.. Michael- B; 'flart was moVed to the chair, and opened the. proceedings by reading the placard ' calling the meeting. Ho was not aware,, lie said, how the meeting was got up, who were tq take part in it, nor whether any and what resolutions were, to be brought forward. He would be happy to do his best to keep order and see things fairly and properly managed, but he must place himself in the hands of those present'to assist him if any case of difficulty should arise. Mr. W;H. Barnes then came forward. He said that for several weeks-the idea'of holding a meeting of this sort had.been urged; several persons' wished it to'be called, but no one was willing .to. call it. A large number of persons had put. their - names to a paper stating their reasons for wishing a meeting to be called, but no one wished to be the one to do it.' Things went^n.^He became aware of a great deal of distress. Men were working and their childrenwere starving. At last he saw himself obliged to make a move, and he himself called the meeting; only his name was printed though there were several others down., The meeting was called accordingly to consider how to alleviate the distress which prevailed among tlie working classes, aiid to see $vyhat could be done to help those whom the depression in the labour market had thrown out Of employment. " (Hear, i hear.);.' -'•* ;,; l * '■<' '! 'y^y,.y The Chairman observed that, as Mr. Barnes had i not'proposed;a resolution or; made atiyyarrangei ments beforehand as to the method in which the j proceedings should be he-considered. that the proper, course would he to call upon any person in the room who had any grievance to complain of to come forward and state it;;**.He should have fair play, whoever he was. (Applause.) ; ~ James Laing came on. the platform. He had been twelve years in the colony, arid was by calling a stockman, in which capacity lie had been Employed by Mr. Deans; before the settlers came out*. He stated that he had returned two months ago from the. West C6!ast, arid had been since that time out df; employment. Had been travelling about but could not get work, aiid was in debt fj>r his subsistence.; ', He had "travelled. twice between Christchurch and Lyttelton arid hadfbuiid nothing to":do. What he wanted to know "was—what source of subsistence there was for the people here, wliom the aristocracy had introduced? He would like to ask where was there any source of subsistence, except going grubbing <■ fern root ? There were actually people here working ;to-day arid riot knowing ■ where to find any thing for tomorrow. That was'the state of the working men of Canterbury. He himself was not an idle man ; he had asked here and applied there;* but could not get anything to do. He did not know where to seek an honest living,; there was so many now seeking for the,same thing. "There were 150 persons walking up and down the streets of Christchurch every day all destitute. (Laughter.) The Chairman and some othei-gentleman inthe room asked the speaker a few questioris, as to how he.expected employment in hie calling in the town ; what he had been doing when employment was to be had; and so forth: tq which yarious answers were given, for the most .part repetitions of the above statement. The Chairman then inquired if there was any other person wishing to speak. •';-,. ' ',■ " .';' . »■' '■; John Grove then came forward. .He stated that he was a laboring man, and had paid £12 to, ; come out here ; and* when he came he found lie: had to pay .£1 per week for subsistence. On an average he h&d earned 'only a"pound a Week since his arrival; whereas he was led to .believe that he :shp>ild&et Bs. to 10s. a day; ' jIVoW he'and forty others were turned out of employment.. He* himself had a wife and one child, hut others had several children. In: answer to •questions, he said' that he came out in the Cameo^ahd since theii he had worked a month foi 1 the Government at 7s- "a', day; sometimes he ; was out of employment, iarid, on an average he had not earned a pound a -week.,.' Luke Judd jiad arrived out in the Mystery, jHe left home expecting to better his condition, .but found it quite:t?ie contrary. He had been a month out'of employment, and before that lie worked foi; the Government three week«i but had riot got paid /yet. He believed half the families whiclf ;had :b-,en brought out lately had no means jof subsistence. Being' working * men, they were not; accustomed jq express their opinions;'but he thought, that the prices of rprovisions; and house rent' ought lo be reduced. ;If a man .earned 30s. a week, even if he were a single mail, he would pay. 255. a week for board; arid lodging' aiid when he, had got.his little comforts besides there was nothing left—and all this.time monej' was going out of the : province to fetch more people in, to impoverish, the country. ! When a man left England he abandoned all his domestic comforts, and therefore lie. might expect to better liis-condition. In answer to the chairman, .he stated that he had been emjployed by; Mr. Henwood on beha,lf of the Goverrt- ' merit;. he had applied, for "tlie money,' but could not get. it till.next Wednesday. ~,. — Kinnaird said that' he had come in the Cameosix weeks' ago, since when he had • had only two weeks' work from Government at ss. a day ; he;had four,children with his- wife, ai^d himself, and paid TOsI a week rent; he could riot live at this rate, and gave it up ; he would rather starve than take; j "ss. : a <-Jay; he thought It wasa.greaVshameof Mr.; ; "FitzGerald making promises as he did and getting; people out of, their regular employment to come out here ; lie himself had been well employed in a^eritleman's' house at liome; and besides there ■ 'wasi the difference in the price of food ; lie would be glad to work, and had walked about till"he was tired trying,to get work. There-were ship loads. ' in the same position; he did'not want to give up his situation at home, but Canterbury was painted in most sunshiny) colors.; he was u'howJobliged to. sleep on the floor on a damaged han- ; mattress, arid; had tq. eat off a caskfor the want of a table. The last three, Grove, Judd,, and Kinnaird,': were'poorlookihg meagre men, apparently unused to an 1 unfitted for downright labor. The next was of a.different,build, and gave his name as ; ..Luke. John. Cox ; he was a single, man, and'had' been sent out by Mr. FitzGerald, with a promise of Bs. to 10s. per day; lie had been working for Gpvernment on, the bridle-path, and also T at Dud^, ;ley's*-creek':' yWhen -at the. former; wpi;k lie;had to*, comefotir timesiri.a month'for liis'money, which ; he reckoned at 325.105t.'. 'When others came Wiih ; him'to ask for their money they Were told that if they did not,leave' the yaidihey.vvould be turned _ out; he left the .Goverrnnent"works at last because, he would not go up to mid-leg in water and sludge-: clearing Dudley's creek, for 7s. a day. When ; lie "came to be "paid he was stopped a day \&nd ': a half s pay because iwo''days had been raining ;; and npw he was offered 30s. per week; he had thrown up 303. a week asa gardener in London. He could not get that sort qf work heie, and \>hat could he do ? He was lodging with a man who had a family, btft he could not expect to bo sup-' ported by him to the detiiment of his own children. He considered two guineas as little enough, not equal to 15s. at home, wheie'single men out of that could save ss. a week, equal to 255. heie. He knew fifreen men who were1 out of J work—had^ 'neither work nouanoney. The people heie weie reducing wages and .throwing labouiing'men aside, like- a rotten iag.~- Neither butter nor milk-was to ,be had in .the place; .'l,os, and 15s. a \yeek paid 'foi- a room out'of ss. a day;' after that a m_ni could hot'even get' a loaf of bread.' He would call on gentleraQ---, in the room to explain how employment

"."*, J ' • A -*' was to be got. He believed if men were not'so "dependent upon thu masters they would com]*-* ■forward and speak out.' [ /- - * ."' * . Mr.' Barnes'balled upon those "'who* hiiil Bigtl'ed - the'paper with' him^arid ivho h&dspoke, to^him'to ' come forward and give thfe' same Bei_tih.e_.t-i publicly. ...-,-• XA '-■ 'if o one. else appearing,; *■•-"?: ✓ .'lf :, Mr. W. Magrath took' the platform.' t [His^re- > marks were.delivered rapidly, with a strong brogue,, which somewhat interfered with their audibility. His speech was of considerable "length,-and if-re- * ported verbatim, would be a good specimen 'df a peculiar school ofeloquence. We have only room, v < however, for a few passages.] He wished^he worldlier meil'tohear him j'but it "was Ttomsc of asking for he saw one-half ofv'those in tho room * ' were government officets. He would tell them Mis—and it was the simple truth of naturc-r-they would be made as .great" slaves of here/as* it*1 his country, where jhey, lived on potatoes aiid baitermilk. (Laughter.) He was a.Padd^and^they all knew it. There, even on their* 'ltfd. is'a-ilay,' t ; they could get their oatmeal (laughter) and be happy. But here they could* get oatmeal at all at all. He had been as hard working a'manaa any in New Zealand.. Would any.one just.look at his lingers and see the flesh fairly rubbed - '.off. and the bone.looking through—and ,yet. he could mot X put his nose out of his door for fear of a sheriff's bailiff. (A laugh.) Oh.! he ,did'nt.-care, .anybody might know it,for all'it mattered Vo'liim'.' He had been unlucky in the contracts he took; ho owed money for timber, and it f might lie 'found'mortgaged on half the culverts in |_.c country,'and Mr. Sutcliffe (who* was pi-escnt)-.buld J bear him out. He appealed to those''who'wtfrked'wit.rhim^-'was he'not a good master? (A''vb.ce~Yes.) iiWould . he not.have paid them 'honorably if he" could? But it was no use talking; they were all.going down hill .together, and would end .in..the.workhouse—if there was one, which there wpsiit. And he would propose a resolution that the gentleman in the black hat there (Mr. Moorhouse) illiquid give them a vote in the next Council for a workhouse. (Much laughter.) He (Magrath) had not come out as a working man, but to use a-quill; but now he was leduced to the pick and shovel. And there was another thing he would tell Jhem ; I hey .were going to be trampled, on, and' made Indian serfs of; he would tell his .Honor^ his face that he was raising a body of riflemen', as an auxiliary police force, to keep the laboring- men down. He had served in a similar. force once at home and he knew what it was. - (Mr. Moorhouse here came forward.) If his honor wanted to speak he would wait: he wished his honor wouldkindly come on the platform, he mightspeak with pleasure; but he should like the working men to bo allowed to reply. (Mr. Moorhouse took a seat on the platform.) They had come here to seek means to alleviate the distress of the working men: but he could tell them ss. a-day would not cjo it. *-. In his opinion they ought'to go fo Government, ' to the fountain head, and ' make application for- relief. Placards had been published in the .old country, and circulated all over the land, promising men Bs. to 10s. .a-day. He had been two years in the place and was no better than when he came; his belief was that the Government was putting for- * ward all the inducements they'coiild to bring out people, in order to have wages reduced to 2?. 6\ a day. He had heard a well known,influential, and wealthy man declare that he would not till art acre of land until wages came down to is. Cd.-a day. They ought to go at once to Government and ask them to give them son c hing to live upon. Ho would advise them to go to no undei strappers*, but the head of the State at once.; He. had no hesitation iv saying that the Governnunt would be ready to come forward in the matter if they were respectfully addressed. [The address was.accompanied and followed by repeated vociferations and laughter.] His Honor the Superintendent then rose and said that he was there from a curiosity to, learn whether there really existed any of that distress among the working men which was the advertised reason for calling tlie meeting, in orderihat, if such distress was manifested, -he might be the better enabled to devise measures for assisting iif its alleviation ; but that his pres-nce was not to be regarded as indicative of a.disapproval of, or dis're to suppress popular discussion ; he endeavoured constantly to recollect lint he owed his elevated public position to popular confidence, and that having accepted that position it wa3 his duty to sanction and encourage open and manly public discussion of any topic tint interested .the general community'; he had not purposed makingnspcech that evening,-but having been expressly- invited to do so, he would say a -word or two by way of advice, and to remove the erroneous impressions that might, reasonably be looked for as the natural rtsult of uncontradicted statements, by the'foregoi g speakir. Mr. Magr.ith had injudiciou.ly said some very mischievous things. During his humourous speech he had caught that patriot's eye, and he was glad to,say that he immediately perceived on Mr. Migrath's countenance a roguish consciousness that he was taking very qmstionable liberties with facts in his endeavour-to leid the feeling ofthe meeting to-the conclusion lie do i cd. In fact it-must have been obvious to all that tlie impromptu assertions of.the orator were not t' c offspring of his ov.n conviction : he acquitted l.im of any premeditated snl malignant intention to work evil. But Je.t mischief should result'from what had been said, he now felt it, necessiry to invest that gentleman's speech With more of im, o•- " ranee, than it deserved by at once stating that it was in substance a tissue of absurd misrepresentations—he would notice one matter particularly, Mr. Magrath had said'that the' Govei nn.cn.'' were .endeavoring to levy a volunteer rifle corps, jn order to" have in that body a strong police, which vyould enable them to compel submission to, a very low rate of wages—or word, tb that "effect! This was .not true. Government had never inteifereJ wit'i the price of labor at all; he was anxious to see the rifle corps embodied i s the nucleus of an army for the defence of the province ; he hoped to see that corps creditably established, and ready-.to fulfil its proper uses. But it, was ridiculous*, in the extreme1 to suppose that a free and spirited public would believe in the existence of a latent desire . even, much less of an overt intention, on the part ofthe Government to use the rifle corps'as an •instrument of arbitrary oppression.' Such an idea was extravagantly foolish. But in periods of excitement many arc to be found to, apcept for a moment as facts what reflection convinces thenarc reckless and unprincipled fabrications. The intention of speakers like Mr. Magi at h was to produce 6o much of present discontent as was necessify to answer a capacious j^sing purpose—but ' - whether that whimsical c.id was to ; be bought at the expense of much or ,little permanent mischief and disorder was an enquiry/that he believed did not .trouble Mr. Magrath and his compatriots. Mr.'Magrath. was pleased-to speak in very handsome terms-of himself (the Superintendent). Th'w was very gratifying'- of course. But there was another circumstance which was much more comforting to him, And that was 1, that he never felt himself more at ease, more perfectly conscious of safety and protection^ than *he did when in the midst of assemblages like the present. He should never be afraid to trust his person or hia . honor to rthe keeping of the general publicofiCanterbury even iv moments of the greatest excite- ** ment. (.Cheers.) As-head of -the* Canterbury Government he had no present intention to provide any material increase to the ordinary police force, which, although not'numerous, was quite equal to the maintenance of order. 4 For himself he was not in the least apprehensive. He wash) the habit of sitting by his own fireside "with doors open to receive ali^ comers; he did ,npt" believe the existence of organised bodies of evil doers,—*(hear hear,)—and he felt himself quite,competent tQ to' deal with any individual ruffian, ■houldrsuch an ono' at any time venture »\\ outrage .upcin his person or property. His honor .then. explained ,l,hat ,the temporary, dillness in the labor market was not in any degiee a trihutahle, to the measures i of. Government; that it-was^an inseparable atten- ' dant,upon mercantile depression, -which'in its turn was refei able to causes of an exceedingly arbitrary character—not t to jovertrading, hut to the fact ■that wo were insufiicjentlv'prov'ided'.with'monwd ciicuktion, an evil wlu»lTlieha4^oQd(«asoat%

hope would soon disappear *and give place to that high prosperity, which the .commercial soundness Of the Province deserved.. The. Superintendent itthen related a passage in hia own; advent ures, • illustrating the success which, generally,attendee ' ■■■■ honest determination to overcome difficulties ; and advised those who complained of want of employment- and low wages to take employment* he trtices offering; in the assurance that this the -SSSSfofthe year a>y a puriod, of great demand for labor and: a consequent increaseof w ? ges> he remarked . also -that they must necessarily expect that m S^mplpyers the price of labor-should have t -Sme relation W the price of produce of abori It w£ complained that Government had lowered --the standard of labor to five.shillings a .day-he would explain this five sh.lhng humbug fins five shilling payment originated solely with him-. ~ self ' Government had given temporary employment' to some twenty poor men who professed ■ themselves unable to get other occupation. He was • f eehsible'that most of those who would ava.l. themselves of this chahce were men not nt all desira-. . Wo as permanent government laborers. Ihe executive Government, in their character of stewards and trustees of the provincial estate and funds, ' . -were of 66urse as anxious to procure serviceable men as other people were, and for all experienced labor gave the full market price. But they never, could consent to pay seven shillings for labor ■ * worth only half-a-crown. If the same system of payment were extended to all Government purchases and disbursements he was afraid he should have a very unsatisfactory account of his steward- '•_.' ship to give to,4heir representatives in thecouncil. A The men in the five.shilling.gang were not used *' to hard manual.labor—they might be industrious '''*' and respectable, but they were not "navvies;" in fact not the men he should select for profitable ' «sei>n the Government works. They might, and many of-them would, be very good hands oneday - or other.. But they had their business to learn.•• jMen coming out to a wild young country should reckon the cost, and remember that, a • colony* is only a good home for the self-denying and stout-hearted, who have courage to carve out ot, rough hard work and hard living the competence with which in a comparatively short time A they are sure to be recompensed. There were : many in that room whom he recognised as (employers of labor at this time, who but a very few fehort years ago "were very poor men, but very good : laborers; these had found the reward of their industry and frugality ; his honor concluded by expressing his gratification at observing the very orderly and decorous manner in which the meeting was conducted, and thanking them for their attention to his remarks, stepped off the platform amid applause from all quarters of the room., An arrival by one of the last ships asked whether he might address a question to the Superintendent; his honor returned to the platform and was 'asked—-" Are < you prepared to discontinue immigration." To which his honor replied that he had not attended that evening to make any defence or excuses for himself or the Government; neither was he disposed to make any unseasonable disclosure of tho policy of the Government; he wished it to be distinctly understood that he did not stand before them as a politician but as Superintendent of the province, whose business it was to reserve his political opinions for the proSer place and audience; he therefore begged to ecline answering the question; his honor soon after left the hall. After his honor had concluded his address, Mr. W. H...Percival spoke a few words; he commended the course pointed out by the Superinten-dent,-and exonerated the Government from blame ; he advised, however, a speedy reduction in rents ; and prices of produce, and a stoppage of immigration ; and proceeded to explain his position and riews with regard to the rifle corps. Mr OHiver took occasion also to address the meeting, and Mr, Magrath followed in reply. Mr. Bridge, as President of the Farmers' Club, made a statement as to the currrent rates of wages during the past five years; he said that on returning from 'England in 1854,iie' found "wages rapidly rising; they were then 6s. a day, but soon rose to 8sSince then he had paid higher sums; but only once, and for a short time, 7s; he had not been aware till very lately of any deficiency of employment, and other farmers were in the same state of ignorance. The wages of agricultural laborers han not been reduced. Mr. Canies then came forward with a resolution to the following effect ;-r»" That placards he printed and distributed throughout the United Kingdom and the neighboring colonies, setting forth how things are here, the rate bf wages, provisions rent; -firewood, &c.; and that a full and accurate report of this meeting be made out, and sent to all the newspapers of the neighboring colonies; he advocated this plan, because lie thought it promised to do most toward relieving the distress of those now seeking work by preventing the introduction of more labor;, he knew the mischief that had been- done by the Government distributing placards:, all over England, promising wonderful things to all who should come out; and lie ■: thought the best way to counteract tho effect of these: was*to distribute similar placards from the working men themselves; he thought the latter Would be most believed; he himself was pretty well known in his part, and lie was sure tiiat whatever Bill Barnes put his name to, would be believed and attended to. Trie resolution as read was seconded by Mr. Edmund Ford, and on being put from the chair y,, was carried by a large majority. [l Mr. Magrath proposed, seconded by Mr. Goodwin,- a second resolution :—" That a committee of . seven, working men be formed to carry the foregoing resolution into offect." ". The resolution was carried, as also another - naming the committee, with power to add to their number. On the motion of Mr. Barnes, a hearty vote of thanks was then proposed and given to the Chairman for his able and impartial conduct in the chair, to which Mr. Hart replied, in suitable terms., ' v ■ ■ The meeting then broke up, at about hatf-past ten o'clock. . RUSSIA. We hear that Russia is ready with an army of 200,000 men to support France, should France be attacked by Germany. yi 'GREECE. Trieste^ July 5.-—Advices have been received from Corfu to the 28th ult. Tlie screw liner Marlborough, four sailing ships of the line, and "' one aviso steamer, originally bound for Athens, on * receipt ,of important despatches last week took y another direction. The frigate Euryalus, having '■■-'' -oh board Prince Alfred, has already been ordered to proceed with all speed. The Russian steam service between Odessa and Trieste has been dis71J continued. BRITISH COLUMBIA. Advices front California to May 30 have reached _ St.'Louis overland. The accounts from Fraser -;•-" River are represented as still discouraging, and tlie • l shipments of gold were quite small. Governor Douglas has issued a decree. providing for the naturalisation of aliens after a three year's residence in the colony, * ~..." :"::: y MALTA; ■ , Mr. Griffith, M.P., has again brought up the subject.of military salutes to religious processions in Malta! _ He asks for returns of the dispatches of Sir H. Bouverie, the governor of Malta, in 1842-3, recommending that all' military salutes to religious ceremonies or, ecclesiastical dignitaries should, cease to be rendered by the garrison after tho decease of the then Roman Catholic Archbishop. INDIA. Political intelligence from India, per Bombay, „ arrived at Suez at 3 30'a.hv June 25, The dissatisfaction ,among the European troops is rapidly subsiding j many rebel leaders of note have taken advantage of the amnesty. The Nana is still at l*rge, The Jfunjah is (^ukt.

I The Ellora,-having -on board the Calcutta nrid China and tlie Bombay'tnaUs^rrived at Marseilles .at npon July 3rd. Tlie Alma grounded at Mooshedgerah, near, the, Harnisti Islands,, in the Red Sea, at 3 a.m.' on the _.2th of June. She heeled over, immediately, and the^staidjoard and sternports'beirig put under water, she filled rapid ly from above;. Tlie mails, passengers,' and crew: were all saved, and it was confidently .believed that tlie vessel's bottbih was not; injured, and , that she might be got off. Twenty-six of; the; Alma's, passengeis came on in the Ellora;; the remainder are on; board the Pera, which, left Malta on the. 30th of June; and nlay be expected at Southampton on the 9th instant.' The Columbian, with the Australian mail, had hot arrived at Suez on the -26th of June. : The mails ex Ellora left for London by special train at 2 6'clocki •" -'"•'■ ; '•'■' ■".'■ '"■■ r. 'AA- .y The Bombay mail has arrived. The dates are Bombay, to J one 4; Madras, May 24 ; Calcutta, May 17; aiid Hong Kong, May 5. y ]..[,■_ The Bombay Times says:-rTho wise measures takeh.by Lord Clyde to allay thediscontentof the i European .forces of the late East India Company have resulted inthe re-establishnient of order and discipline throughout their whole.,body. .There are but few comparatively who would accept an absolute discharge, even wero it offered, arid the most generous course would be to grant a fresh bounty to the whole. The: Delhi Gazette has tlie following telegram : —From Major Bruce. Between Gamp Newulgurgh and the Jorwah Pass. Dated 21st May. After a night's, march Sir H. Grant came upon Nana Bala Roa, and Rajah Bevee Bus's foroes iii the Jorwali Pass early this morning; ; The jungle was very thick,. whioh favored all attempts ofthe rebels to Hold the position, armed with two guns* As soon as the heights were crowned they fled in great disorder up tho Pass, and over the hills a number were killed, and their guns and camp taken. The "force pursued them up the Pass and over the hills. Lieutenent Torrens of the Bays, A.D.C., slightly wounded, and there are several casualties in the 7th Punjab Infantry, the only corps engaged. The life of the Nawaub of Furruckabad has been spared. He is in effect pardoned, on the sole condition that ho shall immediately quit the British territory for ever. It is said that the Sikhs having got hold of the rumour that bounty i 3 to be had by kicking up a dust are following the example of the Bengal Europeans; they say they enlisted to serve John Kumpanee and not the Ranee. ' CHINA. The Ron. Mr. Bruce, the Minister to Peking and the new Superintendent of British trade in China, arrived: at Hongkong in the Magicienne on the 26th ultimo, but did not hind officially till the 2nd instant, when he assumed the charge of the Superintendency. Sir John Bowring leaves for England by this mail, after ten years in China, but no news has anived of the appointment of a successor. In these circumstances the Acting Governorship devolves on Colonel Came, the Lieutenant Governor, who has been connected with the colony since its formation. AMERICA. A letter from Rock Island, on the upper Mississippi, says tlie river was higher there than had been known for 26 years. CANADA. Authentic accounts from the Huron district, Canada, states that great distress exists.among the inhabitants in that region, for want of food, and | that unless immediate relief is obtained actual I starvation will ensue.