OUR HOME LETTLE.

Tuapeka Times, Volume II, Issue 64, 1 May 1869, Page 5

OUR HOME LETTLE.

(From our own Correspondent.) ... , London, XBth,Feb., 1869, -. The discontinuance of the . usual mail via Panainfr not having -officially announced until two or three days beforehand, prevented the despatch of my intended! letter. The shareholders of the unfortunate Company met on the 12th inst., and passed a resolution' authorising the managers to take "the' necessary steps for winding up its affairs. Mr. J. Young, of the wellknown firm of Turquard, Young and Co., has been appointed liquidator. Parliament was opened on the 16th by Eoyal Commission. Tae Queen's speech was read by the Lord Chancellor. On. the same night, Mr. Gladstone gave notice . that, .on the Ist of March, he will ask the House to consider the Acts relating to the Establishment of the Irish Church, and the endowment of Maynooth. Several other notices of motion have been given, but this will, of course,, be the great feature of the present Session. Mr. Disraeli's tone, in criticising, the speech, was very moderate. The Home Secretary, Mr. H. A. Bruce, has been' returned, without opposition, to Benfrewsraxe, while the Postmaster-Gene-ral, the Marquis of Hartin^ton, is still unable to find a, seat. „. Mr. . Green Price, the member for the Badnorshire iJoroughs, has, however, offered to vacate his seat in the Marquis's favour, so that the difficulty will probably be overcome. A loss has happened to the Conservative party, and to the City of London generally, by the death of .Mr. Charles. Bell, who was recently elected as a member in the Conservative interest for the City. He was sixty-four years of age, and had long been a partner in the house of Thomspn, Bonar, and Co., a large mercantile firm. The vacant seat will probably be filled by Baron lUthschild. The Election enquiries have been busily proceeded with. Sixteen have up to this time' been fully heard, and out of these the petitioners have in ' eleven cases been unable to prove their charges. The other five are — Norwich, Sir Henry Stacy unseated ; Bewdley, Sir Henry Glass unseated ; Bradford, Mr. Bipley unseated ; Dublin, Sir Arthur Guinness unseated ; and Westbury, Sir J. L. N Phillips unseated. Others are now being heard, and^will be very speedily settled. •„ The attention , of all i the trading community, and many others, has been much excited by the examination of the directors of the well-known " Overend, Gurney aud Co., limited." These gentlemen, John Henry <srurney, Henry Edmund Gurney, Robert Birkbeck, Henry Ford Barclay, Harry George Gordon, and William Eennie, - were summoned for inducing, by false pretenees,^i>r. Adam Ttam (ihe prosecutor) and sundry other persons to become shareholders in the Company, and so defrauding them-to the amount of throe million sterling. The examanation commenced on the Ist January, t before the Lpfd May or and. Alderman Sir Thomas Gabriel, and afterlight days' investigation, the defendants were all committed for trial. Subsequently, a true bill,, was' returned against them for mjademeanor by the Grand Jury, and they are to appear for trial, ip. the Court of Queen's Benehjj^n the 15th April next. As, however, there is a great number of cases to be heard before this Court, it is considered doubtful whether the trial can take place before January, 1870,- unless a- special sitting is held for the purpose, and, in consideration of the magnitude of the interests involved, this course will perhaps be pursued- . The defendants have all been men of the Mghest standing in the City of London, wMch has caused additional interest to be manifested in the enquiry. Mr. Edward Watkin Edwards, an official assignee of the Court of Bankruptcy, .was galled as a! witness during the examination, and | came out of it in anything but a satisfactory manner. He confessed to j having received £5000 a year from the Directors for services rendered to them, and these services appeared to 1 be bringing them into a great many unprofitable transactions, in addition to which he received payments from j the firms and! companies which he introduced. The attention of the Lord Chancellor was called to the matter; and he instructed one of the Commissioners of Bankruptcy to obtain from Mr. Edwards an explanation of Ms conduct- in entering into an additional engagement wMle holding his official position. The cMef plea brought forward by Mr. Edwards, is that the work waa f done after office hours, and that the Business .of his own office was never interfered with. The matter is still under consideration by the Lord Chancellor. A further call of £5 per , share has been made upon the unfqrtunate shareholders of the Company. A somewhat similar examination is at present going on in connection with the " Merchants' Company, Limited,", two summonses haying been issued against the directors, one for having issued a false prospectus, &c., and the other for having published a circular, Accompanying a call, in which - false statements were made. The defendants in this case had originally been < in business under the name of "Lane, ! Hankey and Co k ; but, according to, ! the ' statements made, they became ! hopelessly insolvent, andthe Company ! was then formed, principally to take'

over the business. They have been examined three or four times, but are j now under remand. i . j Great attention, too, is being given to a trial which is now taking place in the Coiiifc 6f Queen's Bench. Miss Saurin, a, professed Sister of the Order of Mercy," has brought an action against the Mother Superior and a professed Sister of the same Order in Convent at Hull, to recover damages ■ for assault, and conspiracy to drive I ncr from the Convent and have her expelled from, the Order. The damages are laid at £5000. The case has occupied the Court from the 3rd inst. to the present time without interruption, but to-morrow there will be -an adjournment, by request of the jury. Ttie details given by the various witnesses show that convent life is anything but an easy one, and that the nuns have a sufficiency of hard Work to do. It is supposed that the case may terminate next week. ( During last month, a Court-martial was held on board the Victory, for the trial of Captain Wilmhurst on the following charges : — Ist, that, being Captain of H.M.S. Flora, and having command of the Island of Ascension during the absence of the Commodore commanding on the West Coast of Africa, he compelled the master of a vessel, the Bremensis, laden withcotton. &o-, which was wrecked on the island, co apply for a survey of the ship, whereby she might be sold, in | consequence of Ms suspending the labours of the officers, and men who, by his directions, were saving the cargo ; and that at the sale by auction he purchased the sMp and cargo for £20, whereupon work was resumed, aud about 600 bales of cotton were saved, ,2nd, that he was guilty of an act unbecoming of an officer in causing some of the cargo to be sold for about £365, for Ms own benefit and advantage. The enquiry lasted for several days, 'and ended in his being fully and honourably acquitted on both charges.

Madame Rachel has again appeared before the public — this time in a new character. She has applied to the Court of Queen's Bench for a rule calling on her attorney, Mr. Haynes, to answer the matter' of an affidavit, and to show cause why he should not be struck off the roll, on the charge of appropriating sundry "moneys to Ms own use. A rule was granted, and the case ordered before the Master. •It was partly heard yesterday. Judgment was given by the Court of Queen's Bench in the case of Phillips v. Eyre on the 29th January, by the Lord CMef Justice. The action ■was brought last term by Mr. Phillips against ex- Governor Eyre, for assault and false imprisonment during the Jamaica outbreak. Mr. Eyre argued that the Bill of Indemnity passed by the Colonial Legislature protected him &om any ppjjaifcies j but the plaintiff contended "6nat, even if Mr. Eyre could be protected in Jamaica, where the Act of Indemnity had been passed, he could be proceeded against in the English Courts ; and further, that the Act of Indemnity was illegal, since the Governor of a colony had no authority to sanction a legislative measure which was concernfed with his own conduct. Both pleas of the plaintiff have been rejected by the Lord CMef Justice. An Act of Indemnity passed by a Colonial Legislature has authority in England ; and the Governor of a colony is no more debarred from assenting to aßillof Indemnity which shelters himself than the Queen is prevented from assenting to measures wMch deal with her own rights and privileges. TMs most important judgment virtually amounts to the -declaration that the smallest colony can, if possessed of an! independent Legislature, assist in the task of law-making for the whole Empire. A man named William Sheward gave himself into the hands of the police, on the 2nd January, for the murder of Ms wife, at Norwich, on the 15th June, 1851. A murder did take place at that time, the body being cut up in pieces, which were distributed in. different parts of the suburbs of that town ; but no clue to the murderer was ever found. . A lengthened examination of the self-accused man has taken, place, and he is now committed for trial.

Since the commencement of the new year, we have been visited with fearful gales, attended with a very great many shipwrecks and loss of life. The gales have been principally south-westerly, and although our southern coast has suffered very much, yet *from Ireland and Scotland the same bad news reaches us. In the midland counties, great floods have again taken place, as well as in the Thames valley. Every ship that has crossed the Atlantic reports having met with fearful weather. The Southern Empire, from New Orleans, laden with cotton, has been lost /with all on board. The steamer Pereire left Harvre for New York on the 15th January, and on the *20th she encountered a violent tempest, wMch on the following day increased to a hurricane. About two in the afternoon, an immense wave,formed of about 700 tons of water, fell on the deck, smasMng in the roof of the second cabin, and doing an immense amount of damage, Four persons were killed on the spot, two were swept away, and twenty-one more or less seriously injured. The vessel was compelled to put back to Havre, being so much injured that she could not venture, to pursue her journey.

A serious collision occurred in the Channel, on the night of tEe 6th inst., between a Prussian barque, the Emma, and the steamer Calcutta, which, latter was proceeding from London to the Persian Gulf, with telegraph cable,. The Emma foundered immediately, carrying down seven of her crew, four succeeding in getting on board the Calcutta, which was then filling with water, and had finally to be abandoned. The captain, mate, and eight of the crew were unfortunately drowned by the upsetting of their boat. Immediately upon receipt of the intelligence, a representation was made to the Loras of the Admiralty, who at once ordered a war steamer to be sent from Plymouth to assist the Calcutta ; and she was finally met with and brought into Plymouth Sound.

From various places we hear of shocks of earthquake still occurring. On the 20th December, the cities of Colima and Mazanils, in Mexico, experienced a very severe shock. Several persons were killed, many houses were destroyed, and nearly all the buildings in both places were more or less damaged. At Calcutta, and generally throughout the Assam district, a very severe shock took place. At Bekrar, many buildings were damaged ; Silchar, the whole station was destroyed. The ground rose twenty feet, and the river changed its course. The earth opened in many places, emitting blue sand and water. The number of lives lost is not yet known. On the 7th inst., two slight shocks were felt at Florence, the furniture in the houses being visibly shaken. Enormous land slips have taken place at Bagatz, tn the Canton of St. Grail, Switzerland, completely blocking up the valley, stopping the flow of the river Tamina, and forming a large lake.

A great calamity occurred during a fox hunt in Yorkshire, on the 4th inst. The fox, it appears, swam across the river "Ore, which, being swollen by the recent heavy rains, was tearing along some fifty or sixty yards in breadth. While some of the huntsmen rode along to try the ford, the master of the hounds, Sir Charles Slingsby, and about fifteen or twenty others, hailed the ferry boat. This was one of the large flat-bottomed kind, which are dragged across the Yorkshire streams by a fixed chain, and are safe enough for three or four horsemen ; but when the two men brought it across, the master was followed by every body who could get in— in all, nearly sixteen or seventeen men, and as many horses. Very few horses canbear the ferrying without fright, and presently the master's horse kicked out at another, who returned it, the result being that the whole lot became nearly frantic, plunging and kicking in all directions. In a few seconds, the boat overturned, and the whole of the men and horses were thrown into tTie> ofcoam, Rnme, of course, being kept under the boat. Those upon the bank rendered all possible assistance, •but the stream was rushing at so furious a rate as to prevent their being able to rescue all. Sir Charles Slingsby, the first whip, Mr. Lloyd, Mr. Eobinson, and th"c two ferrymen were drowned, as well as several horses. The occurrence has cast a great gloom over Yorkshire and the hunting counties generally. Some well-known persons have passed away since the beginning of the New Year. Sir Henry Ellis, who died on the lGth January, in Ms 92nd year, had been for many yeai-s Principal Librarian of the British Museum, from which post he retired on a pension in 1856. His first appointment took place in 1800. The poor little Prince Boyal of Belgium died during the night of the 21st January. He has for a long time' past been a very severe sufferer, and every possible means have been tried for his recovery. Mr. Ernest Jones, the celebrated Chartist leader of 1848, died on the 26th January, from inflammation of lungs. His last prominent public appearance was in defending the Fenian prisoners at Manchester, on which occasion, however, Mb eloquence never exceeded proper limits. William Carleton, the Irish Novelist, is just dead. He acMeved some renown some years since as a depicter of Irish scenes and character, but times have changed so much of late years that Ms novels all seem to belong to a. long past age. Mr. Eobert Keely, the" celebrated actor, died on the 3rd inst., in his 75th year. Two celebrated diplomatists, too, are dead — the Marquis de Moustier, the late French Minister for Foreign affairs, and Fuad Pasha, the late Turkish Vizier, whose death is a great loss to Turkey, especially in the present critical position of the country. Spanish news is tMs time a little more interesting than usual. The insurrection wMch broke out at Malaga has been suppressed, but, unfortunately, not without a serious conflict, in which the insurrectionists had 400 of their party killed and wounded, and 600 taken prisoners. On the 24th January, a Protestant religious service was performed in Madrid for the first time.*" The election to the Constituent Cortes was celebrated with great ceremony on the lltb. inst.- Senor Bivero has been elected President of this_ assembly by 168 votes against 50 given to the Republican candidate — a tolerably sure sign of the feeling of the country generally. Very strong feeling has been excited by the assassination of the Civil Governor of Burgos. On the morning of the 25th January,

in accordance with the orders of the Government, he proceeded to the Cathedral to make an inventory of the jewels, books, and objects of art therein contained ; but directly he commenced doing so the Archbishop cried out, " Thieves ! " whereupon the unfortunate man was set upon by the ,mob, who had been admitted by the clergy and seminarists. He was then struck down by a hatchet and Ms body dragged into the street, where it was mutilated in a most horrible manner. The Archbishop is confined to his palace, and not allowed to communicate with any one.

The Diplomatic Body and Ministers of State were received, on the Ist January, by the Emperor of the French at the Tuileries, as usual. The speech which he made^was of a most peacable character, and gave great satisfaction. An outbreak of Arabs has taken place in Algeria. A great many of the tribeß never gave in their adhesion to France, and these rose and advanced towards the colonised territory. On the 2nd inst., an engagement took place between 1200 of the French soldiers and 3800 Arabs, ending in the defeat of the latter with great loss. Since then, other encounters have taken place, and the Arabs have been completely routed. The Duke de Tescher and the Princess Bacciochi, relations of the Emperor, died on the 3rd inst. A great deal of excitement and ill-feeling is felt towards Belgium. The" unfortunate " Luxembourg " is again the cause of dissension, but tMs time Belgium, and not Prussia, is concerned therewith. Among the Belgian railroads not belonging to the State is the Luxembourg line, wMch runs from Brussls to Naumur, and thence to Luxembourg. The company to which it belongs is not very prosperous, and it has recently entertained propositions for ceding the line to the French Cheinin de Fer de l'Est. Under ordinary circumstances, this arrangement would not have excited much attention, as the French Chemin de Fer dv Nord already owns lines running up to Nions and Liege, across Belgian territories ; but just now, partly owing to the death of the Prince Eoyal and, consequent possible extinction of direct heirs to the Belgian throne, and partly to apprehensions caused by the rumoured projects for the annexation of Luxembourg to France, public feeling in Belgium is unusually excited ; and the idea having spread that the cession of the railroad introduces the thin end of the wedge for the annexation of Belgium to France, a Ministerial Bill has been hastely brought before the Chamber at Brussels, interdicting the cession of any railroad to any foreign or native company without the previous sanction of the Government. The French papers complain bitterly of the groundless suspicions upon wMch the proMbition is based.

Tl-.^ Conference upon the Eastern question met at last in Paris, and held six sittings. The Greek representative, however, claimed to sit upon an equal footing with the Turkish representative, but this being denied, he announced Ms intention to telegraph to Athens for instructions. The Conference, therefore, continued sitting, regardless of Ms absence, and finally signed the protocol, some little delay having taken place in consequence of the Turkish ambassador having to await instructions from Ms Government as to the manner in which he i was to sign. This difficulty finally adjusted, the declaration was transmitted to King George, and the Con- 1 ference awaited a reply before finally closing its deliberations. On receipt of the protocol, the Hellenic Ministry, not being willing to sign it, resigned ; and after several attempts to form a ministry that would sign it, the protocol was at last sent back. The result will be declared to the Conference today: it is, of course, favourable, but the exact tenor of it is not known. One thing, however, is certain : the question of peace or war between Greece and Turkey is for the present settled, though, doubtless, a continental outbreak would lead to all the present treaties, protocols, &c., becoming but so much waste paper. A Paris letter says : — "It is solemnly announced that ladies will wear in their hair tMs year silver dust ; this fashion has been started by the Duchess of Madrid." j A New Bonnet Material. — At a meeting of the Eoyal Botanical Society on Saturday, the assistant secretary, Mr. Sowerby, exhibited a bonnet which had been received from Jamaica. It was made of a novel material, said to be the skin of the leaf of the Indian dagger plant. Mr. Sowerby had found by microscopical examination, that the substance agreed in structure with the cuticle of the Yucca. The skin has the appearance of glazed tissue paper or very tMn wood shavings. As it is exceedingly fragile, it would scarcely be suitable for clothing wMch is meant to be of any durability. The largest samples are 1\ to 2 feet long, and as many inches broad, Hundreds of divorce bills are being pressed upon the attention of the Delaware Legislature. These bills are actually delaying important matters of State and public interest. Marriage, says a correspondent, has lost even the dignity of being called a " lottery" in Delaware. Dissatisfied parties are sure of separation upon almost any trivial pretext by feeing a lawyer to act in the lobby.