THE COLONIST. NELSON, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28, 1860.

Colonist, Volume IV, Issue 333, 28 December 1860, Page 2

THE COLONIST. NELSON, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28, 1860.

The mail steamer Prince Alfred arrived here with the English mail, on Monday evening, 24th instant, after a passage of over seven days from Sydney. The battle of the Volturno was one of the hottest of Garibaldi's contests. In many of its incidents it resembled that of Waterloo. Lamorieiere's short and inglorious career terminated by the capitulation of the whole of his force. The dispoal of the prisoners puzzles the authorities. Cavour makes it conditional that the Pope shall discharge air foreigners before he liberates the prisoners. The Sardinian soldiers are at Tivoli, within a few miles of the walls of Rome. Victor Emmanuel was expected to make his public entry into Naples on the 28th of October; on the following day the votes of the kingdom on the question of annexation will be proclaimed, when he will become King of Southern as well as Northern Italy. The populace of Naples are said to be in ecstacies. Garibaldi's repulse by the Neapolitan troops at Capua and Cazazzo, where the carnage was dreadful, only makes the glorious victory of the Volturno still more glorious. The ex-King of Naples commanded mi person^ and displayed great courage, j The battle lasted from three in the morning till seven in the evening. The Royalist troops are estimated at 20,000 to 30,000; Garibaldis, 15,000; some 4000 or 5000 prisoners were taken by the latter. The Sardinians comiag up completed the victory, and the Neapolitans are shut up in Ijaeta,,where the filial struggle, as far as they are: concerned, -will take place. It will be remembered that this was the place of refugei.of the Pope when he fled from Rome some.years ago. ! , All the foreign ambassadors, except those of England and Prussia, have left Turin. France was the first, though not hostilely, to withdraw. The p O pc has called his Nuncio from Paris. Cavour considers it to be the height of ingratitude to attack France, and therefore has no desire to absorb Rome in the rearrangement of Italian matters. Austria has published a new Federal Constitution. Hungary has her old Constitution restored; vassalage is to be 'abolished, and the Magyar language to be re-established. It is doubtful whether Prussia will aid Austria in her struggle to hold her Italian deminious against the wishes of a united people; or whether she will acknowledge Victor Emmanuel King of All Italy. The disagreement between France^ and Switzerland remaina w statu quo.

Affairs in Syria wear a better aspect. It j is said that the English squadron had left for the Adriatic. Two French vessels remained at Beyrout. The Warsaw Conference included the Emperors of Russia and Austria and the Prince Regent of Prussia. The French Emperor protests against the distrust displayed by his exclusion, declaring that his policy is conservative. ',■> General Harney, of San Juan notoriety, has been recalled by the United States Government. , , The incorrigible filibuster,.Walker, has been executed by the Honduras authorities. He died bravely, in the lull belief of the Catholic religion. He has left a protest against the conduct of a British officer for giving him up to the authorities after he had placed himself in his hands. This matter is viewed in various ways by the people and the press of the United States. Great excitement prevails in some parts of the Union on account of this supposed breach of faith on the part of a British officer. The old original Jim Crow, who some twenty years since,' nightly delighted the laughter-loving cockneys by his delineations of nigger life in the States, departed this life, in September last, at New York. His name was J. R. Bice. \ , Poor Lola Montes is rapidly failing. At New York she experienced .a. paralytic stroke, which has reduced her to a hopeless state of idiotcy. A racking cough is hasten- j ing her to her grave. Sic transit! j Professor Lowe has again failed in inflating his balloon in which he intends to voyage from America to Europe. Political affairs are at a discount in England. The usual amount of horrible murders and other crimes are reported in the papers. A testimonial in the shape of a sword is to be presented to General Lamoriciere by the EnglishCatholics.^ X ■* i'^ The Coventry ribbon manufacturers have tried to induce Mr. Gladstone to allow a drawback on paper, or to put a duty 911 all paper used in importing ribbons, but without effect. ■ Dr. Cumming has been lecturing at Man-. Chester. He expressed! his Welief th^t tlie boom of England's guns would be heard to the last hour of the world's history. r • : The rpws in St. George's-in-the-East I have been recommenced owing to the im--1 prisbriment of a man named Rowe for disturbing the congregation. The scenes are : described as most disgusting, far exceeding the war dances of savages. The beautiful family chapel of the Earls of Shrewsbury at Alton Towfers, where Catholic rites have been so long celebrated, has been reopened according to those of the Church of England. A man named Mullins has been committed for the murder of Mrs. Emsley at Stepney. No further light has been thrown on the Road murder, though two other persons have been examined. Mr. Kent is in a very dangerous state ,of 4 .mental excitement. A grand requiem for the souls of those who fell fighting, in the Pope's Irish Brigade, the battles of the 'Common Father of the Faithful,' has been celebrated at Dublin and other places in Ireland. Archbishop Cullen called Victor Emmanuel • a wicked Ahab who had cast his covetous eye on the vineyard of Naboth, and had shed torrents of innocent blood that will cry up to Heaven for vengeance against him.' Adding that the .* anti-Catholic and brutalised press of England' had praised their proceedings; and that it was a contest between 'virtue an>i vice, light and darkness.' r±"he Queen and Prince Consort, with the Princess Alice, returned to England from Germany on the 17th of October. A new railway bridge is to be erected across the Thames from Lambeth to Hurigerford. It will be opened in 1862, and is estimated, to cost £169,000. The London and Brighton Railway Terminus is now extended to Pimlico, near Buckingham palace. St Paul's Cathedral has been much improved, by the removal of the qrgftn and screen to one side, by which the whole of the magnificent interior of thisl cathedral can be seen at one view. A granite column is being erected in, front of the entrance to Dean's Yard, to Lord Raglan and .eight other 'Old Westminsters', who fell in the Crimea. .The; column is to be sixty-six feet high. The Comte de Paris sustained a fracture of his leg while hunting near Claremont; he is however recovering. The storms on the British coast have been frightful, and the wrecks innumerable. The Prince of Wales has left Canada and got into the States, where his reception is enthusiastic, mingled in some instances with the grotesque. The Broadway, New York, was said to have been thronged with half a million of. people. The Prince planted a cypress tree on the grave of Washington, which simple circumstance has roused the historic recollections of many of the penny-a-liners, who fool their usual habits to their bent. Mr. Binney has been delivering addresses in various parts of England on the subject of his recent visit to Australia. The funds are stationary. Another Indian loan is talked of. The wreck of the Royal Charter has been , sold for £1000; the purchaser, is to under-: take to recover the remainder of the treasure, deducting expenses. There is said to be £40,000 or £50,000 in sovereigns and gold in the wreck. Miss Pyne and Mr. Harrison Bre the joint managers of Covent Garden Theatre. Madame Celeste has the Lyceum. The Italian Opera House has been opened with an Italian and an English company. Mr. E. T. Smith still retains Old Drury, and counts among his company Mr.; arid Mrs. Charles Mathews and Mr. and Mrs. Charles Kean. St. James's is under the direction , of Mr. Alfred Wigan. Sadlers Wells

opened with the Winter's Tale, and Astley's theatre with Robin Hood. The obituary is heavy, this month. Lord French, Duchess Dowager of Saxe Coburg Gotha, Mr. James Stewart, M.P., Sir W. E. Crosbie, Bart., Admiral Charles Gordon, Lieut.-General Sir Harry Smith,- G.C.8., Major-General Sir H. G* Roberts, X.C.8., and the Duke of Richmond. -. ,T'

Ballaarat Races.—We observe that some of Mr. Duppa's horses figure therein as follows. —On the first day for the Maiden Plate of £50, 5 soys added, If mile, the bg Rob, 6 yra lOat lib (Ray), third; time 3 mins 24 sec. On the second day for the Grand Stand Stakes £50, 2 miles, the bg Wildrake, 5 yra second.,, The Great Spring Handicap, value £358, If railed eh m Phoebe, 6 yrs 9st 7 lb, fourth. The Selling Stakes of 50 soys, Rob (£7O), fourth. On the third day the Townplate £100, 3 miles, Wildrake third. Bells Life says "the only item; of interest for ourselves that attach to the meeting are, that the New South Wales colt " Colonel still appears to go ahead; and that Mr. Duppa's nags seem to have raced themselves out of all their form." Drunk and Disorderly.—Two men, John* Williams and John Stadden, passengers per Prince Alfred, were brought before G. White, Esq., and find each 10s. and costs, fur oausing a disturbance in the town, and breaking the windows of Mrs. Drew, milliner, ffco., Trafalgarstreet. Birds.—By the .Prince of Wales clipper ship, which left the docks on October 8, a very in* teresting consignment of birds was made from a portion of the sum of £500 latejy sent home for such purposes by the government of Victoria. Theso consisted of two pairs' of white swans, six pairs each of gold and silver pheasants, five pairs of common pheasants, presented by the Duke of Newcastle; three pairs each of j Chinese, Egyptian, Barnacle, Canadian, white- ' breasted, and Brent geese, six pairs each of teal, i summer teal, wild ducks, shell ducks, Carolina [ duoks, &c.; a good number oi doves and smaller birds, and two or three pairs 1 of the beautiful South American Curossam, The birds left the docks in very fine condition, and admirably arranged in their several coops, and we hope will be the means of adding to the natural resources of Australia. ~,< ' Artillery for New Zealand.—Captain H. Mercer's No. 3 Field Battery 4th Brigade Royal Artillery, fully equipped with 12-pounder Armstrong guns, has been placed under orders for New Zealand, with an intimation that their departure from head-quarters, Woolwich, will take place towards the latter end of November. New Zealand.—The Nation, which expressed intense satisfaction when the first intelligence of the New Zealand disasters arrived in England, oontinues its disloyal rejoicings. It says:— " The news from New Zealand by the mail just arrived is considered by the Britons of a rather disheartening charajter. It amounts to this, that the valiant Britons, who ran at such a splendid pace from the natives whom they at* tacked, as reported by the previous mail, have been ever since afraid to renew the experiment, and have now scarcely courage enough left to act on the defensive. It is greatly t» be feared that the gallant and patriotic natives will in the end be overpowered by British force, as were the people of Oude in their struggle to maintain their own king, the ruler.of their own choice, against British usurpation, but the world must honor them for their noble spirit and high courage, and every patriotic heart all over the world must wish them success. We most earnestly hope the report that the Tipperary Militia Regiment of Artillery has volunteered for New Zealand is untrue. Much that is good cannot be expected from men who. wear the livery of England, bat we trust the great shame alluded to has not been committed by any regiment of Irishmen. v Sydney Mint.—A number of the most intelligent of the Sappers and Miners of the Royal Engineers have been selected from among the companies at head-quarters, Chatham, to proceed to Australia, for employment at the Royal Mint at Sydney. Christmas Day.—A large number of pleasure seekers having determined upon an excursion to the Rabbit Island upon this holiday, numerous boats and lighters were put in requisition for the trip, and for embarking and debarking the closely packed passengers, who amounted to about eighty persons. The weather however bad determined that no sort of amusement, nor description of excursionist should profit by the day, for having held up sufficiently long to get this party out of the harbor, it poured down with rain for many consecutive hours, completely drenching everyone to the skin. The Waimea sands were however resorted to, and some damp joy attempted, as well as rather moist reflections partaken of, but it was impossible to struggle against the effects of the "down upon them" that the weather appeared' to have, serving all alike; Ceats, bright and glossy at the outset, became degenerate, under a blankety appearance, and trim* muslins possessing the contours of an inverted convolvoley returned under the semblance of a crinkled savoy. For most of the other parties projected the bad weather commenced too early to admit of a start, and an in-door recreation followed. The day was altogether as miserable as we remember for some years past, and quite a contrast to the one which followed it, which by common consent bad become a very general holiday, and the fineness of wbibh induced large pleasure parties to go out in all directions,; the Maitai valley being the most patronized, and every one appearing to make the most of the opportunity. The Boulder Bank also bad its visitors and pic-nks; the refreshing sea-breeze offering a cooler situation than the inland valleys to those whom inclination led them in that direction.

Stafford Ministry.—The opposition to the Stafford Ministry seems to be of a formidable character. ' At Auckland, as we have before mentioned they can look for very little support. At Nelson it is Baid that both Mr. Stafford and Mr. Weld will probably lose their, seats while at Canterbury and Otago the feeling is decid idly against them. The New Provinces Aot has been their downfall., Like Frankenstein, they have conjured up a monster that has .destroyed them. At Auckland; at Canterbury, and Otago, the same spirit which has influenced the Wellington elections appears to be prevalent, the desire to return a set of members who will aot together. The Provinces have Jtwakeaed to a sense of their own interest,and of their :awxi danger, and che same arguments are employed in eaoh Province in support of united action.-*?* Wellington Spectator.

RIWAKA SCHOOL EXAMINATION. The examination of the above school took place on Friday last (21st, inst.). It was expected that the Inspector of Schools would be present on the occasion, but the weather being unsettled and' a fresh in the Motueka river prevented his attendance. The comntittee having waited considerable time, in expectation of his arrival, requested the teacher, Mr. Thomas Gilpin, to place the children in classes, and to examine them according to his usual custom without comment, allowing themselves.,to make such remarks as would enable them to award the prizes, and to judge of the progress made. The fourth or youngest claw being called up, the examination commenced in reading, spelling, arith-metic,-and geography; the committee expr^sred themselves highly satisfied, being convinced that the youngest class had received a reasonable share of the master's attention. ! The examination of the third class commenced; it was very evident that great care had been taken to impress on the minds ot the children the nature of each subject, there was. nothing superficial—it made no difference in.what form the questions were put, the answers invariably were to the purpose, and showed the .class to be well advanced, and that the teacher had Btrehuously done his duty. Many of the second class not being present in consequence of the unsettled state of the .weather, the committee decided to request the inspector to award the, prizes of this class at his next examination, also a prize reserved for the best general scholar. .-,■•<, The first or head class was called up, when a most careful examination commenced : the prizes were well contested in reading,:spelling, grammar, arithmetic, and geography,; In the latter branch the face of the map was not. required, the whole class being familiar with the subject in a most remarka-, ble degree; they could tiaiihe any country, place, or part of the globe^-rthe teacher merely tratiug the outline and describing the position on the back of the map!—slates and pencils were procured. The teacher invited any person present to test the ability of his pupils—some intricate questions were proposed and the answers were soon produced. The Rev, Mr. Calder, of Nelson, being present, was requested toask a few questions. He' stated that he was perfectly satisfied with Mr.' Gilpin's examination* and considered itjhighly ere-, ditablo to the teacher, and the course ot instruction pursued by Mr. Gilpin. He had his most cordial approval. , The copy books being examined and the prosjresa approved of, the, members of the committee present expressed their satisfaction at the manner in which Mr. Gilpin had conducted the1 school, since his arrival in the district; The prizes.being awarded, which consisted of some very suitable books selected by the indefatigable'representative of the'district at the central board (D&vid Jennings, Esq.), to whose zeal and exertions the cause of education 'is much indebted, the children retired apparently well pleased with the part they had acted. TOWN ELECTION. The election of the members for the City of Nelson in tlie House of Representatives took place yesterday. Three polling places had been appointed, viz:—the Court House, the Oddfellows' Hall, and the School House, Bridge-street. Under the new regulations the excitement and display of previous polling days was altogether absent, and it became a very quiet affair indeed; a few carts for the voters, or occasional placards acting as reminders of the occasion where every other trace was wanting. At six oclock, the Returning Officer, J. Sharp, Esq.,. announced at the Court House the result of the day's polling, which was as follows. Domett. Stafford. Robinson. Court House ... 130 ... 129 ... 43 Oddfellows' Hall.. 17 .. 13 ...65 School Room 46 ... 43 ... 41 193 185 149 Mr. Domett thanked the electors for returning him at the head of the poll. It was the proudest day of his life. On a former occasion after an absence of eight years they had returned him as their representative and with this second proof of their confidence he felt proud. U c haji never asked an elector for a single vote, but he believed other members had done so. tie returned thanks for himself and also on behalf of Mr. Stafford, to the committe, tor whose strenuous exertions they were so much indebted. Mr. C. Elliott returned thanks on behalf of Mr. Stafford, regretting that that gentleman was not present to do so more fittingly. . ,