SCOTLAND.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 5, Issue 264, 17 October 1861, Page 4

SCOTLAND.

[From our own C'ovre.'pondc-nt, ] Glasgow, July 25, 1861. The summer with us here has been one of the most delightful we have had for many years past. During the month of June the weather was in general bright and warm, with occasional slight showers, and during the present month we have had frequent heavy rains, while the temperature has continued high. The heavy rains have in some cases damaged the hay crop considerably, but the grain crops are looking luxuriant, and there i 3 a prospect of a very early and abundant liar vest. August is likely to be our harvest month in the Lothians and other warm and fertile districts. Business in general is excessively dull, and we have recently had some heavy failures. A company in the iron trade here, the Monkland Iron and Steel Co., which has long held a high position in commercial circles, came down the other day with liabilities supposed to be nearly half a million, and there are rumours current that the investigation will disclose a state of things not by any means creditable to the parties concerned. What if it should be shown that a company with unlimited credit has been for years in an insolvent condition, and that men have been living like princes who knew, or at least might have known, that they had not a farthing ! Another worthy, who has been cutting a dash with a palace in the west end and a beautiful villa at the coast, compounded the other day, his creditors accepting eleven shillings on the condition that the houses were disposed of, and the bock keeper, who knew something of business and, was believed to be honest, should be taken into partnership. Some of our firms largely connected with America are being severely tried by the state of things on the other side of the Atlantic, but it is believed the pressure will be but temporary. It is obvious that by this time the American markets must be empty, and that -when Jonathan comes to himself, he will feel more than ordinarily desirous to send us the raw material and receive our manufactured goods. In politics we are very quiet at present, but a little stir has been given by the elevation of Lord John ELussglhto the house of Lords, Lord John has been in the Commons for nearly half a century (I think he was there before the battle of Waterloo), and he has taken a prominent part in all our great political movements during that important and eventful period. He is a man of admirable natural ability, and liis tact and experience, together with his excellent moral character and aristocratic connexion, have enabled him to exercise a powerful influence over that party to which, from personal conviction as well as family traditions, he allied himself, and to which he lias faithfully adhered. During recent years Lord John, as Secretary for Foreign Affairs, has done signal service to the cause of constitutional liberty on tbe continent, and particularly in Italy. The celebrated Cardross case has been decided by tbe Court of Session in favour of tbe pursuer McMillan, tbe judgment of tbe Lord Ordinary being confirmed. This of course has caused great excitement. The Witness announces that the defenders will immediately appeal the case to the house of Lords ; and that Sir Huo-li Cairns, the eminent counsel, has been retained on behalf of the Free Church. The returns of our last census have now been mostly published and are very interesting. The results however in many cases have much surprised the public and overthrown many calculations. Thus, as respects the population of the metropolis, it is not only considerably under three millions still, but the rate of inorease during the last ten years is less than it was during the previous decade. The. more agricultural counties have fallen off, while the manufacturing have increased, Lancashire the most marked. But it is in. Ireland that the results have been most unexpected. The total population of Ireland is only-about 5,700, 000, being a falling- off of nearly 800,000 since the last census, which in its turn hacl been a serious falling off from that of 1841. The decrease is ascribed entirely to emigration. In its ecclesiastical bearings the Irish return is very interesting, and has thrown the adherents of the

Church of-Rome into raptures. Contrary to general expectation the proportion of Catholics is as 3hto 1. Of? the the 5,700,000 people, in “round numbers four millions and-a-half are Catholics, and the remainder comprise .Protestants of all sects. Even in,Ulster the Roman Catholics are most numerous. .As compared ■with twenty years ago however, the latter have diminished in a greater degree than the Protestants, owing to the emigrants" being chiefly Catholics, the gross decrease in the numbers of, the adherents of that church during that period being over 2,000,000. The annual rifle competition of Wimbleton has come to a.close, and has this year been very interesting, and keen. The chief prize; the Queen’s, consisting of £250 and a gold medal worth at least .£SO more, has been won by a Mr. Jopling, a clerk in the war office. The champion of last year, Mr. Ross, fell rather behind this time, owing to his suffering from inflammation of the eyes. Most of the other principal prizes were carried off by Scotch riflemen. The Prince of Wales’ prize of £l5O, Prince Albert’s of £IOO, the Duke of Cambridge’s of £SO, the Association Cup of £SO, and the second prize of the Rifle Derby, worth about £IOO, were won by Scotchmen, beside? a host of minor prizes. All this spolia opima thus carried back to the land o’cakes will doubtless fire the aspiring souls of other Caledonian youth, and make them turn their steps southwards with greater alacrity than ever. They richly deserve both their honours and substantial rewards. Col. McMurdo, Inspector General of Volunteers, (himself by the way a Scotclimr A said, at a public banquet given by the London Scottish Volunteers to Lord Clyde a few days ago, that in Scotland one in every 26 of the population was a volunteer, while in England it was only one in every 46. He might have added as an important feature that, the former include aren of all ranks and conditions from the artisan upwards. I am sorry to hear that you have not yet contrived to put down the Maories, or at least that you have not so convinced them of the power and determination of the Europeans to put down and prrnish rebellion, as to make any future rising most improbable for a long time to come. Surely General Cameron and Sir George Grey will put matters to rights. They are regarded by us as men of more mind and mettle than the poor red-tapists you have had among you. I trust you will not fail to keep the colonists wide awake to the folly and danger of allowing themselves to be ever at the mercy of inefficient hangers-on and incompetent scions of the aristocracy. Our colonies have been injured to an incalculable degree by this course of procedure:

Kovel Ferry.— Through the liberality of the Earl of Seafield, a ferry boat of a novel construction was placed on the Spey at Cromdale some four months since, which is now claiming a good deal of attention. Two boats fac-similes —resembling whale boats in construction, are placed alongside each other, kept apart by a small beam laid atop, and secured down to tlieir respective sterns. The platform placed across the boats, with its side rails and seats for passengers, differs in nowise from the deck of some of the ferxy steamers which ply across the Tyne at Shields. Landing stages are made to suit, mounted on wheels, so when the river rises or falls they can be wheeled backward or forward in an instant. The passage is made by means of a heavy chain, which lies at the bottom of the river, and is therefore no impediment to floating, and can be tightened or slackened by means of a spoke winch, which is placed above flood mark. It is necessary that it be moderately slack however —about thirty feet of spare chain being required for its proper -working. In order to cross, the boatman turns a small crank, which, by the aid of a perpendicular shaft, acts upon a toothed wheel placed inside one of the boats. This turns the heads of both boats (without moving the platform) to an angle of about 45 degrees; they are kept in that position by means oif the light stern beam before referred to. The stream now running against the right or left bows, according to whichever side the boats’ heads are turned, aids in propelling them across. Another crank is now turned by the boatman, which heaves up the chain from the- bottom; and as soon as of the chain is turned over, its weight falling behind, assists in heaving up the remainder., In this manner, by the force of the stream, and the weight of the chain, the boat crosses almost without any exertion on the part of the ferryman. The people of the district appreciate the boon thus conferred upon them by his Lordship, which serves all the purposes of a bridge where bridging is well nigh impossible.