EUROPEAN EXTRACTS.

Colonist, Volume III, Issue 307, 28 September 1860, Page 4

EUROPEAN EXTRACTS.

The Obituary of the month includes the following :—Lieutenant-General Thomas Dyneley, C. B.; Waterloo officer, aged 79. Sir George Bowy.er, friend and supporter of Pitt and Canning. Lieutenant-General Sir George Judd Harding. Major-General Godfrey, C. Munday, Marquis Lauriston, son of Bonaparte's celebrated Marshal Law, and great-great nephew of the famous John Law, of notorious Mississippi scheme memory. Sir William Home, formerly Attorney-General, aged 87. Lord Elphinstone, many years in India, where he displayed great tact and resolution, aged 57. Sir G. Ward, Governor of Madras. Mr. James Wilsoni whose financial doings had created such a stir in England and India.

We take the following account of the circulation of the newspapers from an article in the Morning Star:—" In 1855 the whole circulation of the daily press of the United KiDgdora amounted to about 70,000, of which the Times claimed 50,000, and the rest was divided among its rivals in London, Dublin, and Edinburgh. The Times had then five-sevenths of the whole circulation of the country. In 1860, the whole circulation of diurnal press in the United Kingdom is about 330,000, of whioh the Times still claims 50,000, or not one-sixth of the whole. The rest of the circulation is composed, with the exception of perhaps 20,000 of the high-priced journal?, of the penny daily press of Londdin^ Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, Birmingham, &c.,' which is supposed to amount to 260,000 daily." These figures may present1 an approximation to the relative circulation of the dear and cheap press, but they are purely speculative, no data existing upon which trustworthy calculations can be based. The writer is clearly wrong in representing the calculation of the Times as remaining at the same amount it was five years ago. It has increased considerably.

In a farewell letter to the New York Mercury, Mr. Bayard Taylor thus sums up his labors for the past 16 months:—" 250 lectures, 30,000 miles travel, 48 Mercury articles, two books published, and one bouse built." The Eight Key. Dr. Colenso, who was appointed in 1853 the first Bishop of Natal, has intimated his intention of resigning his episcopal see for the purpose of proceeding as a missionary to the country of Zulus, in order to plant the Gospel there. To a meeting of che Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, held under the presidency of the Archbishop of Canterbury, this communication has been made, and it has been resolved that the society will undertake to provide the bishop with certain sumß he has asked for, namely per annum for the bishop's salary, JBIOOO for the salaries of missionaries, and. £1000 for building purposes. The bishop having made a similar communication to the Society for promoting Christian Knowledge, the standing committee have given notice that they will recommend, at a meeting to be held in October, that jgIOOO be placed at the disposal of the bishop for general purposes in Zulu land, should his lordship be enabled to carry his plan into effect in a satisfactory manner. Bishop Colenso was formerly fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge. He graduated in 1836, when he was second wrangler. He afterwards became rector of Forncett St. Mary, Norfolk, which he resigned on his elevation to the episcopate.

An Agency in New Zealand. —The case of Mr. W. Wilson came before Mr. Commissioner Nichols on the 3rd of July at the Insolvent Debtors' Court., The insolvent applied for his discharge. Mr. Murphy opposed for the detaining creditors, Messrs. Abbott, brewers; and Mr. Sargood supported. It appeared that in 1856 the insolvent went with his wife to New Zealand, where, he became egent for Messrs. Abbott, who forwarded beer to the extent of .£1560. The insolvent had made remittances at different times, but the balance due to the oreditors was about £800, which, it was urged constituted a debt incurred by a.bWch of trust. The insolvent, however, explained;that he had been very unfortunate, and had- lost his wiffl, who leapt overboard and was drowned. H» had suffered from the: conduct of another person, and had made offers of settlement to the opposing creditors'. The learned commissioner thought nothing wss proved to warrant a remand, and ordered the insolrent to be discharged. . . ' A Parliamentary paper just published reveals a curious item in the social life of the people of England and Wales. In 1859, from the begin-: ning of the year to Michafllmw, it app«ars that 89,903 persons were chwged before the police magistrates with drunkenness. Of these 10,486 were women. Tha number punished for drunk and disorderly conduct out of the multitude just, quoted was 56,161 personi, of whom 10,486 were women. In the y«ar 1859 there were 306 verdicts of "Died from excessive drinking" recorded. ; : ■ ■ According to statistical tables, there are at present in Europe 18,140 actors,' 21,609 actresses, 1773 managers of theatres; and the number of persons attached in one way or another to dramatic establishments amounts to 82,206. ■•■:.•• V, -'::■'.. ,';.'/■;;■ ;. The promoters of the midnight meetings in connection with "the social evil" continue their efforts.. A few nights ago they succeeded in bringing'together an assembly of 100 women in a lecture-hall in Euston-road. Refreshments were provided with the usual hospitality. Clergymen and other gentlemen attended, an address was delivered, and hymns were sung. The following remarks on the result of the proceedings and the progress of the'movement generally are taken from a report in the Morning p os t : —•«The success .Of the meeting was Very marked, several having determined to go to the different homes; and altogether.it fras.such as to cause the committee to determine upon holding several other district meetings. • The number who have accepted the offers of reclamation from the different meetings has: beln so great that the committee have had to provide additional homes, and it is said that a perfectly independent one is to be founded. This, of course, will necessitate augmentation of the funds placed at the disposal of the committee, and consequently they appeal for increased aid. An interesting case arose out •of the-last midnight meeting: a fine young girl had been seduced by a gentleman's butler, and a child was born. The girl was neglected, and she attended at one of the homea. Tho seducer was sent for, and he promised to marry the girl by banns, but the committee thought they would not let the bird slip through their hands, and immediately obtained a license, with which'the pair were united'without any delay." ' \

The Kegistrar^General reports that the mdre taiity in Scotland this year, so far as it hagone, has exceeded that of any of the last fivs years, the only period for which any certain mortality statistics exist for that part of Great Britain. The deaths in the eight principal towns in June were 1916 in a population estimated to have increased to 908,146, the births, 2928, the marriages, 1006, so that the number of persons who married was more than the number who died in a month of more than the usual mortality; but June was a marrying month, and 618 more couples were united than in May. In the eight towns eight nonagenarians died in the month, one at 98; one person died from intemperance, and five from delirium tremens. Smallpox and its successor, measles, still prevail. Of the. births in the eight towns in June, B'7 per cent, were illegitimate; bo that 1 in 11*4 of the children waß illegitimate. Taking six of the towns, with a mean position of 56 deg. 13 mm. Nort latitude, and height of 144 feet above sea level, the mean temperature of June was 544, or 35 less than the average of the four preceding years.

At Southampton, a few evenings ago, a banquet was given to Captain Allen Young, the brave oompanion of Sir P. M'Clintock, and; the officers of the Fox, previous to their departure upon the survey for the projected North Atlantic telegraph. The proceedings were of a very interesting character, many distinguished explorers and many of science being present, as well as representatives of Denmark and the United States. [The Fox has just sailed on her new expedition.]. ! The special correspondent of the Morning Post who is staying at present at Garibaldi's headquarters in Sicily, furnishes a very minute description 'of the personal appearance, dress, (fee, of the famous chief:—" Garibaldi doe« not give me the impression of being more than from 35 to 38, though I know that his real age is 52. Of all the pictures I have seen of him, that on the cover of the little shilling life published in London is the beat. The figure at Madame Tussaud's would be perfect did it not convey the idea of too small a forehead. But he no longer wears his hair as he used to do, in the long locks a la Nazarene, but very short. There is no change in the beard. He wears light grey pantaloons, with a red cotton shirt, fastened by five small mother-of-pearl buttons, and a silk handkerchief with different colors on a violet ground, .lightly tied by two knots on his left shoulder,' the other two ends hanging loosely over his right. At the moment that I was going into his room, he just came into the ante-chamber, which is always filled with per10ns of every rank and condition, he had so many petitions handed to him that in a moment his arms were quite full, and he was obliged to make them be carried by some of his officers beside him. He wears on his head a hat of the kind called in Italy a pajuolo, of the color of camel's hair, but so worn and battered that a man, without the pretensions to be a dandy, would have considerable objections to such an article of costume. It is, in plain English, '■ a shocking bad hat.' He does not wear any Bword, at least at present. He walks with a step so rapid that his youngest aides-de-camp have the greatest difficulty in keeping up with him. The quickness of step images the quickness of all his movements, military or political as the course of his expedition proves. The Washington of Italy is no exception to the old saying that ' no man is a hero to his valet.' The domestic of Garibaldi who comes nearest that character informed me confidentially that his ' master] is not without his weakness.' He is prodigiously particular about the color and the pattern of these same handkerchiefs which he wears "thrown over his shoulder. He is also very particular about the red cloak, which he carries folded on his left shoulaer when in company, and which he arranges with greab care. Here Garibaldi never changes his picturesque attire, and it seems to become him far better than would any uniform all bedizened with gold lace, and covered with orders and with stars.

We referred particularly in our last to the extraordinary weather of June, 1860. On only seven days did the thermometer in shade reach 70 deg., the maximum h«at for the month being 73*5 deg.,—a great contrast to June, 1858, when it was 92-2 deg., or 187 deg., higher. Of late years the lowest maxima have occurred in 1843 and 1852, when the temperature; reached 77 deg., or 3*5 deg. higher than in June, iB6O. June was moreover, unuiually rainy. Rain fell on no less than 26 days. The change which has now taken place in the weathar has every appearance of continuance.

A letter in the Opinion Nationale says that a Serg»ant Valentino, sent from Naples to assassinate Garibaldi, was fortunately recognised at Palermo, and that he escaped from vengeance by jumping into the sea and swimming to the Neapolitan frigate Parthanope.

An actress, named Desmortieres, having had some years ago serious domestic afflictions, retired from the stage, and became very religious. But recent events compelled her to resume the exercise of her profession, and she obtained an engagement at the theatre at Lyons. A few nights back she made a debut in the MSmoires dv Diabk, but to her dismay she found her memory failed her, and that she had entirely forgotten how to tread the boards, or use appropriate gestures. She went home in great agitation, and the next day had disappeared. Nothing has been heard of her; since, and it ia feared that she has committed suicide.

; ATurin letter says ; :—A lady coming direct from Paris has already.left this''place for Genoa and thence for Sicily, taking with her a present to Garibaldi' from . a French armourer. The gift is a coat , of, mail, dagger proof and bullet proof. 'Its workmanship is perfect, and it is valued at upwards of 5000fr It may; be worn under the uniform''like a shirt, for it is extremely flexible, light, and portable. ■ jln the Memoires de Garibaldi, writeo by Alexandra Dumas, and for some time past in course ©f publication in the Sieelt, Garibaldi relates that so, far back as 1833, tfhen mate of a ship which was then at ■< Marseilles, he, .saved from droWning a schoolboy named ; Rambaud, who, whilst playing in a barge in the t port, had accidentally fallen into the water, and that bo had toiplunge three times before be rescued the lad. "As I had just before been condemned to death," said Garibaldi, " I had assumed the name of Pane, and it is probable that the person I saved never knew: my real name." The Siecle now.publishes a letter signed " JV Rambaud, 9 Rue de l'Bcluse, at the Batignolles," in which the writer says that it was he who was saved in 1833, and that it is " with great emotion and joy that he had learned the real name of him lo whom he owed his life." A party of Guides of Chairiounix planted the French flag on the summit of Mont Blanc on sth of July, with cries of" Vive '^Empereur I"

There has been a "monster" Competition of Brass Bands at the Crystal-palace. One hundred and fifteen bands, numbering above 2000 performers, gathered from all parts of England, and played against each other, for prizes given by the Crystal-palace Company arid by the prin oipal musical-instrument makers iv London, and have likewise played together, united in one enormous body, which filled the Great Handel Festival orchestra. The effect produced by the combination of 2000 brazen instruments was something beyond the power of imagination to realise—it was astounding and overwhelming. Heenan and Jack Macdonald sailed on the 4th of July for America. They were accompanied to Southampton by Tom Sayers, Mr. Gushing, of the Alhambra Palace, and a dozen or fifteen friends. The Benicia Boy was evidently counting upon an introduction to Morrissey, and ever and anon exclaimed, in high glee, «• Wait till I get home I" " Morrissey j won't fight," some one remarks. " Ah!" shouts Heenan again, "he must." It is reported that, after all, Heenan returns to America without his belt, the manufacturers having detained it till the cost should be defrayed. But this is not the case. The belt has been paid for.

It was recently stated that an old man named Abraham Cann, nearly three score and ten years of age, was res'ding in an;obscure village in the north of Devon in a state of great distress. In his d»y he was the champion wrestler of England, and held the belt against all comers, notwithstanding the temptation of large sums of money which were known to have been offered to him as the pries of ibis baok. Severalgentlemen, feeling that it would be a disgrace to the county if a man so genuine were allowed to eke out the remainder of his days on parish pay, commenced a subscription for him, which has now reached a goodly sum, but is insufficient to purchase for him an annuity, that being the object of the friends of the veteran champion. A communication has just been received from Lord Palmerston stating that he had directed that a donation of £10 should be paid1 to Abraham Cann out of the Royal Bounty Fund.

The Paris Bourse is affected by anxieties of a financial character. The negotiation of the £12,000,000 of railway obligations has only just been completed, and the payments remain to be effected, whilst it is generally believed, in spite of all official denials, that a government loan will be brought forward in some form before long. France has now two expeditions on foot, one to China and the other to Syria, and our own experience is conclusive that ordinary sources of revenue must be inadequate. ' A deputation from the Royal Geographical Society, consisting of Sir Roderick Murchison, Mr. Merivale, Dr. Shaw, Mr. John Arrowsmith, Messrs. Surges, proprietors in Western Australia, and Mr. Francis T. Gregory, the surveyor of that colony (in the absence of Mr. Roe), had an interview with Mr. Fortescue, Under Secretary of State for the Colonies, on July 24, at the Colonial-office, to request the partial aid of her Majesty's Government in exploring the region of Northern Australia, which lies to the north-east of the colony of Western Australia.

The journals of this morning- publish a report on the state of the Atlantic cable in Trinity Bay, Newfoundland, wbioh has been made by Mr. Varley and Captain Kell, the gentlemen deputed by the Atlantic Telegraph Company to recover the cable. The attempt has failed, only some seven miles of the cable having been raised, and this consisting of a number of pieces. Much of the cable was in a very bad state; which the above gentlemen attribute to the rocky character of the bottom. After making a great many attempts the two officers were compelled to abandon the enterprise.

The Constitutional Defence Association of Manchester have held a meeting at Manchester, at which they passed resolutions pledging themselves not to cease from their labors until the House of Commons had vindicated its privileges by repealing the paper ducies; and declaring that it is expedient to return to the ancient practice of granting taxes for one year only, subject to renewal by an annual vote of the House. The Liverpool Reformers have held a meeting on this question, and resolved to convene a public meeting on an early day.

The Belgians are giving a regular ovation to their king on the occasion of his journey through the provinces. At the various demonstrations which hare taken place, the whole stress is laid on the unanimous wish of the Belgians to preserve their separate national existence, their constitution, and thoir dynasty. The supposed annexationist views of France are, of course, referred to. The latest reports are from Gharleroi, near the French frontier, where the king's reception was even warmer and more noisy than elsewhere. .

One of the Dublin papers gives the following account of the arrival in that city of a batch of the Pope' 3 Irish, recruits, who, it seems, have returned to their old land much sadder, if not wiser, men than when they embarked in their precious wildgoosi chase after fame in the service of a hard taskmaster:—" At half-past 11 o'clock yesterday afternoon, G9 young men, who a few weeks since, filled with martial fervor, left this country for the purpose of uniting with other foreign mercenaries to protect the Roman shepherd against his aheep, were landed at the North-wall, having been conveyed from Liverpool -by one of the City of Dublip-Gompany's I steamers. They immediately, by common con-, sent, proceeded in a body to. Lower , Abbey-, sjreetVand took up their station opposite to the piß.ce of the Morning News. Their number and toil-worn aspect, their cadaverous;jfacea and general appearance of wretchedtiess, attracted ptiblic attention, and in a few minutes they were surrounded by 'an inquiring'and 'syinpa-. thising crowd. The great majority 'of them; maintained a sullen silence; some only noticed questions put to them by shaking tbeir heads or shrugging their shoulders; some were disposeds to be communicative, tnd spoke without .■ re-■* serve and with indignation.; These • were aoon the centres of grpups of people, wliom they in- , formed that they!had been misled and deceived^ —that all had been ill-treated,; and maDy of ; them almost starved. The greater part had reached the Eternal City, the remainder turned back on the way;: alt were rejoiced to reach their native1 land, even in the destitute coudition" in which they were. They had come to Abbeyilr'eet, they said, in the of seeiug 'the ag^ht,' and were grievously disappointed on finding that the house was locked up, and that ' tl|e, agent' was not to be seen. : They had-no money to take them to the places; from whence the'v; came. ; 15$ other 'emigrants/ .theyi.said^ were .Vabout; the t docks', in Liverpool; in >> the same 'ukortunate plight as s themselves.: -, The

foot and carriage ways were by thia time quite obstructed, and it required the intervention of three constables to clear them. The tfrowd and the great body of the returned emigrants soon ' moved on,' but for some hours afterwards several of them might be seen walking up and down the street, and casting anxious glances at the windows opposite, in the vain hope of catching the eye of ' the agent,' and of being furnished by him with the necessary means of reaching their distant homes."

Messrs. Gibba, Bright, and Co., intend to erect an obelisk at Moelfra to the victims of the wreck of the Royal Charter. [A letter signed, " S. Leigh Sotheby," has been addressed to the Times with reference to the above announcement :—" I desire to be permitted to state that the obelisk now proposed will be merely to the memory of the crew of that ill fated vessel, and not in any way connected with the memorial stone I have, in concert with others, proposed to be placed in the churchyard at Moelfra. On application in February : last from my nephew, Mr. A. Rich, to Messrs. Bright and Co., those gentlemen stated ' The best way will be for, you to coufine your energies to raising one in memory of the passengers, to which please add our names on your list as subscribers of .£lO, while we will take upon ourselves the expense of raising a memorial in memory of Captain Taylor, the officers, and crew.' Permit me to take this opportunity of adding, that the memorial stone for which, as an appendage to the ■■* Hughes Offering' many sympathising persons tav« already subscribed, k now in progress and will in the course of the autumn be erected/]

Two very interesting matches came off rocently at Chatham Garrison: the first between six sergeants of the Royal Engineers, armed with the Lancashire rifle, and siz sergaants of the 3rd Depot Battalion, armed with the regulation sergeant's -rifle, each sergeant firing five rounds at each of th« following distance?, viz. ;—4OO, 500, 550, and 600 yards (2nd class). The sergeants of the 3rd Battalion, proved themselves the best shots, having made an average of 1483, the sergeants of the Royal Engineers making 13*83. The second match was between two sergeants of the Royal Engineers and two sergeants of th<? 3rd Depot Battalion, each sergeant firing five rounds at each of the following distances, viz.;—150, 200, 250, and 300 yards (3rd class): the sergeants of the 3rd Depot Battalion were again the winners, making the unprecedent average of 2700, the sergeants of the Royal Engineers making 20-50. ', ~ . .

" The Japanese ambassadors/ says a New York letter, " took their departure in the Niagara on the 30th June, much to the joy of our oity, which has been taxed, according to the usual estimate, about 10,000 dollars a day during the 10 days of the visit for their entertainment. They carried with them an immenst quantity of specimens of our domestic manufactures some of them purchases, and others the gifts of inventors and tradesmen desirous of tempting our Oriental friends into an extension of commercial relations. Our Japanese friends have certainly acquired an extraordinary degree of information respecting the material resources of our country; and their, curiosity extended to everything except its religion. To.that they exhibit a singular indifference, refusing to attend religious service?, and declining peremptorily the presents of Bibles and devotional works, which were abundantly, showered upon them. Since their departure I hear a move? ment has been set on foot in our churches to hold prayer meetings for the conversion of the Japanese to Christianity; The authors of this project must have something of that faith which is said to • remove mountains.'"

" There are now," says the Manchester Examiner, " more, than 20,000 weavers out of work in the neighborhood of Coventry, and there does not appear to be any likelihood of an adjustment of those.' prices' which form the foundation of the present unhappy, strike. The manufacturers continue to repudiate the pricelist for which the operatives contend. There has been an increase of 74 per cent, of 'French silks and ribbons during the three months since the treaty came into operation, and this increased competition has of course affected our markets, more particularly that of Coventry, which has both plain and fancy goods." Madame Emilie Zulavaky Kossuth, sistar of Louis Kossuth, died at her residence in Brooklyn, New York, on June 29, aged 43 years. She had lived in America since the memorable visit of her brother. . . In the year 1859 1054 persons, trading singly or in partnership, were deolared bankrupt. 893 bankrupts passed their last examination, and the debts stated in their balance-sheets amounted to j>3,645,037. £1,057,834 was. realised by the ceurt during the year, and after deducting mortgages, rent, &c,^ £939,193 remained with the official assignees for administration, the charges attendant upon which amounted to £316,347, or £33, 11s. 2d. per^ cent, (but of which percentage the bankrupts' allowance and payments for carrying; on* trade, &c., took «E5 6s. lid.), and after paying certain: debts in full there remained £687,244 available for dividends to the body of, the creditors, being £73 3s. .53.' per cent, on the amount realised for administration. The commissioners, in going through the cases that came before them for the award of certificates, noted the apparent (jiiujes of the bankruptcy under these beads :— Reckless' and unsouad speculations and excessive trading in 295 cases ; interest, discounts, accommodation bills,- suretyshipj-124 cases jin- . competence, neglect, jpe'rabnal extravagance, 323 ' cases ; ; unavoidable : , misfprtunes, ■ 145, cases. Certificates were refused in 30 cases, suspended in 195, granted, immediately in 706. Of the business transacted very nearly one-half was done in'the London Court. . _,

Economical Bridge. ;«■ * The modern, principle of bridge building invented by .Mr. Kennihgton seema■well suited to this country, both. for foot passengers and for ;heavy traffic, For the former it is applicable asameans of crossing chasms or gullies, and for general:; traffic; it is the most economical mode that can be adopted in crossing; rivers. ' Wood is the material employed. In England Quebec pine has been ■wed, in, some instances, and the oak in ,pth«rs. In Newi Zealand the black pine would ido admirably for the purpose. It -has long been known that; the tensile •trength of fibrous substances is very great, but this faculty in timber has riot heretofore been employed to any extent, or for any important purpose, in the horizontal position. Some years ago; a bridge of 150 feet span was erected for the Earl* Talbot over, the river Trent, iii Staf^;

fordahire, and is used as a common fo&d yet for heavily laden vehicles. The Roadway is ten feet wide. It is composed of six longitudinal " stringers" of oak, five inches by five inches at either end, and tapering to two inches by two inches at the centre. The several fractional lengths are combined on the strongest- principle known in carpentry. The abutments are planned on the most perfect mathematical forms, to resist the several opposing forces. The stringers are secured to the abutments by iron bolts, and thence extend to form an inclined plane, as an approach to the bridge, and are finally lodged m timber o? stone at the several termini. The roadway consists of planks 2| inches thick, laid diognally over the stringers, bolted down, and covered with a layer of fine gravel or other similar material. The /.battlements- may be ornamentally designed to increase the beauty of the structure. The increased substance of the-stringers towards the bearing removes the load from its own weight, which would, be the consequence of an equal scantling throughout the entire length.: As it ii,; the bridge, with all the tension which is applied, takes a festoon-like form, rising slightly; at the supports over which the stringers are ■> strained!, and dipping gracefully in the middle. By adopting some approved process to render thp^timbeiir indestructible, a durable bridge can be erected, upon this principle, at one third theexperiseof almost any othtr form of structure, and that, too, with an extent of span ronly attainable hitherto by the costly suspension form. For foot passengers only, 100 feet may be passed by a bridge with five stringers, varying from one'inch at the centre to three in* ches square at the abutments, with inch planking nailed•■■••■■■diag6tially;^up.9n r ' ! tiiepi..;; The abpye plan -would be: well suited for crbssing the Taieri River close to the hills on the west, side; as also many other riven and creeksi in the settlement.; Any person; interested in this descHption of bridge may;; bbtaiii further information by addres«n§ E^., at the; . Witness Q&Q%.~Qommunkatca to Otago Witness* , -';':[ '] ;',,' /;; '■ [■'..