AMERICA.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 6, Issue 284, 20 March 1862, Page 4

AMERICA.

Tlie following from a Northern paper® gives a different version of the 'result.o'ffi the Manasssas Steain-rain’s attack from|f? that giveii by the New 'Qyleaiis Press.® This is said to tie tin? only Recount of the§| lactaek upon the blockading squadron ofircj jNew Orleans, by Commander Hojlins, ;ot|| [Greytowh . notoriety, from loyal sources,|| [which' -lias yet come to hand:—The steam-M ship M‘Clellan arrived at . Pass a I’OutreM [on .the morning of 12th October, fromo. [Fort Pickens, with despatches from|| jColonel Brown and Captain Powell, ,Flag|| Officer at Fort Pickens, the purport ofjfj [which, as reported to us was to order otie|| [of the men-of-war to Pickens to assist infif [the proposed bombardment of the Navy® [Yard. At half-past seven a.m., the cap-|| [tain heard guns firing up the Pass, andM after-'picked up a boat containing,aff Dr. Bradford and two men, who were 6ui| their way up to New Orleans, as they! said, under a general permission- fromi Captain Pope, of the Richmond, for alii the inhabitants along the Pass to go® [freely to the city, As he had no written! [vouchers, however, lie was detained aj| [prisoner. Arrived, at the' head of Pass, Captain Grey ascertained that tliegj fleet had been attacked by the batteringS ram Manassas, the armed steamship Sbarg of the West .with, other: armed steaniersl and a long line of fire ships. As there® were 125; barrels of .-powder and oo,oUol| dollars in money on hoard the M‘Clellan|| the Captain thought that if the enemy |j had driven off the fleet it would be foliyl for him to keep on, and aecordhiglyg turned about and headed down the Pass.* When the rebels saw the M‘Clellaii ap-S proachiug they ceased, firing at the* stranded ships, made for him—three of* their vessels turning, into another Pass,! to cu o ? liis retreat. He escaped, how-| Sever, over the bar, and entering the| South-west Pass, went alongside thefj Riclnnond, and delivered the guns and® ammunition which lie brought to Captaiiin Pope. The Richmond was fast ashore,® as well as the .Vincennes and Nightin-a gale. He then went to the Vincennes,|| made fast, and tried for two hours toS haul her off, jerking out the bitts of theji M'Clellan, but without succeeding in the* i attempt, lie then returned to the Kieh-fg [ mond, and bv seven o’clock lie got hergg Isafely off and across the bar. He then® Binade fast again to the Vincennes, witligj athe United States steamer South Carolinaa iat the other side, and after working three* Bhours and a half, the two succeeded ini ■floating her off An attempt to get offS [ the Nightingale was not successful, butg it was thought when -Captain AGray left® next morning for Port Pickens that shew would be got off by tin; steaijiers of the® Ifleet. The whole amount of .damage® jldone to our vessels was very trifling, and! |not only were no lives lost, but not a man! |in either ship was injured. The attempt! iof the reliefs to burn and sink our fleet! iwas an entire failure, and they did ,nofe|j Seven succeed in destroying the stores off plumber for the fortifications which our! 8 troops have commenced lit the head off! Itlie Passes. E . : I I The subjoined extract from a Wash-| iington correspondent of the - A cw York® | Trilmni’, exhibits a picture of I as it appears in these days of warlike! | actualities and alarms. The gay aspect! 1 of society is somewhat different from that! I which Jefferson Davis prophesied it would! I be, in one of his recent letters, although! | the bright side has also its reverse:—i I “ Washington is tlie great , centre, of at! | traction and interest, and "although be-| I sieged by the rebel army, it never enjoyed! | a higher degree of prosperity or presented! | a more lively appearance. Crowds are| I constantly moving up and down Penusy-i | Ivania avenue, and you are never out of| I sight or hearing of the tramp of the sol-i I dier, or tlie music of the regimental band.! I The effect of this causeless and wiekedi | rebellion is seen in utter prostratian| | of the country and the consequent necosp Isity of men of all trades and professions! | to seek employment in the civil and mil-® Sit-ary' departments of the Government.! we find ex-members of Con-1 ggress, ex-legislators, ex-j udges, lawyers,! gjauthors, editors, bankers, and ministers! Hof the Gospel seeking and accepting clerk-| gships in the different departments of the! Krooni of the Treasury depurtn 1 ent- : tfi ere| Parc twenty-jour. clerks ;f ’Signlifg”tfffiV :’ i de-1 ijjmaucl notes.’ Around- 0116 table sit fours #jlu.wyers, at another- you. see two ministersg ■of the Gospel, one of whom has charge offi Pa congregation in the city; at anothevl ■table is found an editor from the state oft ||New York. And you may go through alii departments and find the same slate! got things.” i I

[the Late Emi’eror of china. : Ilien Fung; the late Emperor.of China; Avas the fourth soil of the late Emperor. jTaou JtvWiing; and was born iiboiit 1805; He ascended tlieThrone of China-at liis tfatherT death, in-1851. Little is known here ,of liis jierSonal 'history/ He J found the country at- that- time in a melancholy position, the result df the Avar Avith-Great [Britain oil aeCotint' of 'thh opium The successes of the' British- ardis 'ln various jxirts of the empire hud compelled the signature of the Treaty of Nanking. Within the Empire all Avas disofgani; sation, and tlie state of'the jiopulation kvas such as to presage a general dissolution of the established authority., Tavo parties were engaged in a hard struggle. [One of these, : which Avas to a certain extent progressseeking the overtliroAV of the Maiichou conqueroi’s, but hithcrtoj [finding no 'support from the respectable classes of'the Chinese, obtained influence with a small party of the friends of the [lmperial -family, and exhibited sounder iviews of the strength of Avestern iiAtipjis [than those generally maintained in China; Accordingly they had, lor a short tiihe the ascendancy;' but, ultimately, tlie reactionary party became successful,‘ the standard of revolt was raised in many of the provinces, and an insurrecribn [broke out, Avhich spread from Kwang : si, [having-' Hung T-sen Tscuen as its leader, [The rapid progress of the civil war filled [with consternation ■ the Court of Pekiu. ilt- Avas said that an attempt Avas made'tc I: s assinate the Emperor in the.palace gardens; disturbances multiplied; the finances of the empire became deranged; trouble succeeded trouble; and flic Emperor himself, probably kept in iguorance of the real state of affairs, Avas at the [mercy of his Ministers. A period of [comparative tranquillity, however, faint at last, but it proved to be .short-lived, [The measures of Sir John Bowring foi the protection of the British flag bufsi lon the'quiet of Pekin, and led to a Aval Avliich terminated in a treaty, signed by the Imperial Commissioners, authorisin'; the admission of a British Plenipoten tin ry to-the (fourt of Pekin. Hoav .this treaty was violated and subsequently eiv forced,’ at the cannon’s mouth, by. Sii Hope Grant and Admiral'Sir J. Hope, ii con junction - with our French Allies, h too fresh in the memory of our readers ti need .-epeating here. : Tlie late Emperor inherited a throiu whose organisation, if Ave may' believt tlie native 'liistorians, dates from abov< 3000 years before the Christian era, ant so far as avc can discover, lie was tin seventh Emperor of the reigning, q; Tartar-Manchou, dynasty, whose _ chip: Tehoun Tchi, Avas proclaimed in the mid die of the seventeenth century. Hi family is said to be composed of a daugli ter and four sons; but, unfortunately in Eastern Asia avc have no “ Almanael do Gotha ” to instruct us accurately, nut must be contented with hearsay in forma tion. The Emperor’s daughter, Avho i reported to be a most accomplished Prin cess (hoAv could it liave been otherwise'?] j was married at the age of fourteen to ; § nephew of the Emperor, and her owi Oousiig Prince Ting-Tsin-Wang, avlk |has the ri putation of being of a ver Ihighly- cultivated mind—for a Celestial jjiis eldest son, Yib-Wei, Avas born aboil Jthe year 1836, and his mother died ii [[giving him birth. The second son is iiv lyears younger than his half-brother (fo pile is by another Avife), and lie is namei lYih-Chun. The third is said to be callei |Yih-Tcliou, and the foui-th, still ybungei |is Yili-Tsuug. The late Emperor hai itln'ee brothers, the youngest of Avhoii |was degraded during tlie preceding reign |deprived oi all bis dignities, and banishei |firom the Imperial Court in consequene "of- an accusation that he avjas implicate yin‘ a secret society for the purpose d Iseizing the crown. On that occasioi itwenty of hi» accomplices in Pekin wer gseized, tortured, and put to death, Avhil 5600 more suffered the same fate in tli vprovinees. It is to be hoped that tli SneAv reign will consummate the advantu |ges Avhich have been inaugurated unde |that of the deceased Emperor, tliroug |the energy of Sir John Bowring and tb | Earl of Elgin. —Mu mi g Chronicle. I Vitalitv IN Horsra.—Some experiment J have recently been made in France by person in the veterinary art, Avith a view r liow long horses may liA r e withon Slqod in certain contingencies, as, for examph [[being; shut up in besieged places. The followin Bresulta have been noted:—A horse may live fc StAventy-five days Avithout solid food, and merel Sdrink water. He may live seventeen Avithon Seating or drinking. He can live only fi\*e day gwhen consuming solid food Avithout drinkin; BAfter taking solid aliment for the space of te idays, but with an insufficient quantity of drinl itlie stomach is worn out. A horse which ha Sheen deprived of Avater for the space of thre idays, drank eleven gallons in the space of thre ■minutes .—Californian Farmer. jfl The British Soldier. —Whoever saw Inon-commissioned officer or soldier in the Frenc iservice Avalk out of a summer’s oA’ening Avit Shis wife and child? Whoever saAV him elite Itlio.House of God with his family around bii iof a Sunday morning? Who can compare th Scomforts of life enjoyed by a French subalter those of a colour sergeant or troop sergean finajor in our service? Nay, avo might go fui gtlier; but the comparison might seem invidious iThus, far, then, for the relative lives of thos gwhe serve in our army at home, and those i Sforeign ranks. Now let us take the most bru Iglance at their conduct in the field. We wt idrop the word “brave,” for wo sincerol Sbelieve that both nations are full of courage; bu iiu point of endurance Ave claim the jialm for oil sown men. They are steadier under fire, moi i cheerful in retreat, and less liable to be d: I sturlibd by a panic than the man of any natio | upon earth. They liave tiberi Reproached wit S being less active on niarch—and, we belio\ T e, av a must-admit this charge: but Ave satisfactoril Saccount for it by the Aveight the. British infat ■try has to carry, and it is in such points alon can sec room for improvement. h - On a field day, or at a review, are there an ■ranks so. steady as ours? Can any troops mov ®Avith'greater precision? Are any more 1 soldiei alike-in their carriage, or cleanly in l their R] Hj*earanoc ?

FOREST TIMBER. . | (From the Mark Lane Express:) • *1 largely as iron is coming into -use foil juilcling purposes, we cahnot do without! limber. Our indigenous supplies aro| becoming more and . more, deficient, ; ,:afel night be the land is highly! ind exterisiyely cultivated. In-tbiii, tlier6l .8 ngthinglb, regret,,for it is, cheaper, and! jetter to import.timber.,than ; to it;! die land can be far more usefully'.andl profitably employed than under forost:! As respects the. Government forests;,? they! icarcely cover the outlay, and labour, be-! itowed upon them; In the notes on the! ;rade and commerce, of the IJuited King-1 lom, given in the catalogue of the woods! exhibited in the British section of the! Paris Universal , Exhibition in 1855/, the! jross value of the timber in England .and! Vales was, estimated atMronv 40 tolSOg nillions sterling. In the > total area pfi lie royal forests there are 122,022 acres,! md 51,012 acres besides .are enclosed foil he growth of timber.; The entire eattenra if woodland in Scotland is calculated, at! ibout 1,000,000 acres. Ireland - is com-! Kiratively destitute of timber. In ship-i juilding about 40 cubic feet are required! per ton for the hull and fittings, SQ. thatl i ship of 1000 tons requires 40,000 cubic! eet. In the-United Kingdom and eban-l id Islands about 250,000 tons of mercaiirg ;ile shipping.are built'annually, exclusivel if the vessels of war. There arc nearly! 3,000,000 tons .of merchant shipping ail present registered in the. . British Empire.| fo keep these and our royal navy inrej pair, and to build new vessels, must draw! leavily upon the. forests of the world.! Lhe scarcity of good -oak, especially forj nival timber, is almost alarming, arid) die cost of it beyond all bounds. , The! Admiralty find, therefore, they must seek] in new quarters lor supplies, and must! pe more economical with their best tiin-J her. It is the same 1 in France and] America. Fortimately for Great Britain] die lias many distant possessions where] plentiful supplies of .building timber are] bp be had, and to these increased attention] is being turned; New Brunswick and] Canada,'British Guiana and British India,] Tasi iiaiiia, Ne w Zealah d, and •• V a nebu^er! have vast forests of, excellent; timbdr,! well ! suited for the- purposes. Required;;] and to these attention; should be rather] directed than to. our own forests, which] are quite inadequate to produce any] quantity; indeed, the sooner some of these ■ tire disforested the better. The an mud! expenditure on .the royal woods and forests] amounts to £53,000, and the receipts are? only £4OOO to £SOOO beyond thihi From] these forests only about £12,000 of navy! timber is obtained annually, chiefly from! the New Forest,- Dean ' Forest, and the? High-meadow Woods. : 1 -■ Trees, too, are a marked desideratum; pi France, especially lor sliip-building.l Ever since the revolution of 1789, .which! was followed by the sub-division of Hands into' innume'rable small holdings, forests] and woods have yielded.more and more to] the axe, and no new plantations having! taken tlieir places, the country is becoming gradually denuded of trees. Already in-j dependency of abput. 10,000 acres wliiclij have been planted by a society, a great! insurance company and several, large! capitalists have turned their energies to the subject; and the President of the! Association of the South is covering! about 25000 acres, with seedling trees;] which will prove one of the most extensive forestal improvements in France. 5 In British Guiana the woods foi* build-] ing .and other purposes equal those of! aiiy other part of the world; 115 described! kinds are enumerated. The fitness oil these timbers for naval architecture is remarkable. Sir Robert Schomburgk says,] of these, the green heart, the . Mora, andj the Souari are, of nil the woods, the best adapted for ship-building. Within the last twelve years a large quantity,of' thej green heart has been sent to Liverpool and Greenock; and persbns interested inj shipping have pronounced it, .after-ten! years’ trial, to be superior to oak fori strength and ■ -durability. It actually commands a higher price; and is now one of the approved woods on Lloyd’s Regi-j ster. Had these woods been known and extensively used in the royal dock-yards; !fifteen or twenty years ago, it is the opin-, ;ibn of competent judges that dry rot and 1 Kyan’s patent would not have been] much heard of. And not to speak of the' [rapid decay of vessels .built of English and African oak, and the consequent [repairs, how great would have been thpj [saving to Government! British Guiana [is able to furnish the finest aud most lasting timber in the world, and in! [quantities sufficient to supply all the iship-bixilding establishments iii Great Britain. But it is not British Guiana alone that can come to our aid. Tasmania has recently put in her claim, and has sent forward most excellent timber, suited to many constructive purposes. The Mora trees of Trinidad have also lately been; brought under the notice of Government. All these are admirably suited for shipment—an important element in their commercial value. I

Austria possesses a vast amount of! timber, which her Government wisely! seeks to turn to the most profitable ac 4 count. Unfortunately, the best kinds! are yielded by the most mountainous dis-J trictev froip vwhepce .’the difficulty and! cost of removal are ‘ very great; : and it is] an acknowledged fact that the same soft] or species of tree, whether oak or pine,] which after els most admirable-wood on the! poor soil of the elevated mountains, is nearly valueless, except for firewood, at the foot of the hills, and in the accessible plains; where there is a richer soil* washed 'down fiom the. high ground, and a far ■\vanuci dim

1..--T-ha--Austrianempire'is clotSjd with [forests, jyhich .annually, furnisli sdtfeiteen [millions .of cubic “ cords ’’ of all [descriptions.. » In some -rprovinces ■ the [country is almost,y wholly* cohered with [trees; in others .the./ proportion iris -small. |Th4; circumstance, .combined -r with-; the [different prices of labour /andkihe irregularity; of demand, causes -an extreme [disparity, in .the-.value of yoodrin various parts of the Austrian Empire; so that [while timber.is extensively exported, it is also-' largely 1 ’ ini ported from.-' Switzerland ;'The [average,,value of the [yearly export' of Wo'oa, of - all kinds for [building," &cq in logs/ beams,fplanks, <kc., [exceeds one million - sterling. . Shiprbuildfing is ; conductoii, - p - riiicipally at Trieste, [Venice, and Frame,'‘with ‘a steadily in[creasing activity. 1 The annual value of [ship-building .in Austria is estimated at |£l ‘ besides some ‘ thousands for [repairs.. THe’Austrian' oak is allowed to sbe superior to all ' others in dimensions [and- quality. One section,, from. an oak [64 years old, shown at' Paris, measured [three feet in. diameter, and?elicited the [admiration of ship-builders and engineers [of all nations. ' '

Austrian, fir i* equally valuable'as i Austrian oak. The » establishment of [railroads cauaes*an, immense f demand foi* itimber; eaclip sleeper measures three cubic-; feet, and onelmile of single rails [requires .8000 sleepers, which lasting ion an average five gives a yearly .demand for 1600. [sleepers for every 100 miles; * Austria, [like many, other European countries, is {always laying down new railways. • The [Government takes m(;asures to secure- the {national., forests—-those ; sources of the [empire’s weahh—-and the exaimplo. should jiiot be lost to Great Britain; for in many ;of the British colonies, : especially; the North American ones, fire and the' axe [commit .wholesale destruction; upon , the {forests, without any regard for tlie ifuture, [which should have a thought, as'well as [the present;