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Leader (1850-1860), 21st May 1853, Edition 1 of 1, Page 487, Untitled Article

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      Untitled Article

      is Peking , the metropolis of the empire . The rebels posted on the base line , four hundred miles long , Will advance , by two divisions , up the sides , and concentrate their attack on the capital . To oppose their left wing , advancing from Woo-chung , an army of Northern Tartars , said to be of "sterner stuff" than the average of the Chinese army , has been levied ; but the people of the provinces , where these new troops are quartered , give a bad account of them , saying : " To us they are as tigers , but to the rebels , as rats . " At Shanghai , the alarm was very great , the commercial interests of the place being closely involved with the districts threatened by the rebels . The Chinese Governor had taken the extraordinary course of applying to the foreign . consuls , for their intervention against the insurgents , but the consuls were not likely to interfere .

      It seems difficult to characterise this movement . One of the early proclamations of the rebel party , full of grandiloquent expressions , 3 ets forth the reasons for the rebellion . Following several examples known to ( Chinese ) history , the rebel chief conceals his name ; but his principles seem of the most revolutionary kind . He speaks of the rights of the people , in a vigorous style ; suspiciously European in his tone , and having a strong flavour of " Louis Napoleonism / ' in his boasts , that the new dynasty is superior to the old . It is remarkable , in addition , that the rebels are destroying all the Buddhist temples .

      Untitled Article

      THE CONQUERED GAIKA CHIEFS . Saitdilli has submitted to the English , with the bitter reluctance of one who has lost sorely by the war . He was once the great chief of the Gaikas , a valiant and vigorous tribe , who cling to his fortunes , even to this day , with unshaken fidelity , and whose broad lands extended for two hundred miles beyond the remote boundary now assigned to them by the English conquerors . For twenty-five years they have carried on a series of wars with other native tribes , or with the English , and

      have made little or no progress in industrial prosperity each war ending in new calamities . As a punishment for their * ' rebellions , " they have been driven out of the Amatolas ; and , although they have now been " pardoned , " their broad lands have been " forfeited to the Queen , " and are now occupied by the Queen ' s troops . But , on their snbniission , 'General Cathcart allotted to them a territory beyond the Kei , between the Thomas river and the country of the chief Umhala . The subdued Gaikas remonstrated : the territory was too small ;

      it partly belonged to Umhala and to Kreih , who would look on them as intruders . They prayed that the Queen would restore them their own lands ; for , if not , they would have "to go to war with each other for grass . " But , finally , after much hesitation , Sandilli had to accept the land assigned to him , surrender up one hundred guns , aa a sign of his submission , and pledge himself as responsible for the security of

      travelling on the great roads running through his district . Before this agreement was ratified , an interview between the chiefs and the Governor took place . Sandilli and his allies professed most amicable intentions , but expressed a wish t o retain their arms , that they might " fight for the Queen of tho English . " In the interview , the Governor , as usual , spoke in t he native etyle . He bore witness to the fidelity of tho tribes : —

      " I have seen how truly your people have adhered to you thoir chiefs , and how you can make thorn happy or misorablo by loading them right or wrong as you choose . Let mo sob that you , Sandilli , and you , Macomo , as well as tho other Gaika chiofs , are as good and as true to tho Queen , our great chief , as your people have been to you . Tho chiefs l * ato , Siwani , Umhala , Kama , and loiso , with in rebellion lis

      others , wisely refused to join you ; they - tened to tho words of Maclean , and remained unmolested , enjoying tho pleasure of peace . Now that you are forriven , and it is peace with , you , Sandilli , my cars will ho Snon to hear your word , and E have placed Brownleo hero , to listen to your wishes regarding the welfare of your people and ho will carry thorn to Maclean and me . Ho wilfrivo you Rood advice , which , if you listen to , you and your people will escape much trouble . Lot there bo no nTro cattl .-8 toaling , \ md thon I shall hope to see you Bitting happily in peace , your gardens *»««»!»» £ vn .. r cattlo ieeding and increasing along tho rivers , and

      Jhat tho ( iuoon ' H army will never bo called upon w F « any chief or tribe of Kali ™ for crimes committed against tho colony , or for rebellion against tho Queen . Thore is an unobtrusive logic in tho reply of the native chiefs : — « When a chief orrs , ho is punished and forgiven , lhw and haa been punishedand

      "In ( Sandilli ) erred , , I ° nX I ¦« iv « m , but , the country you have given him , s no sma Toiso , who formerly occupied it , had but a tmall " rib ' * . Sandilli has a large one , which will not hnd room there . " . ,. Public opinion , in tho colony , inclines to tho belief that tho hid terms imposed upon tho ( iiukw . will force "Jwur If tho tribes bo really ho restricted , XAhTn ^ hi recourse to " fighting one another for irni it " questionable whether they will not pre-£ " combination . gain * the common enemy , winch

      holds from them their ancient territories . The advance of the British rule , and the repulsion , into the interior , of the natives , may be inevitable , but , to make it easy and inexpensive , it should be done with cunning and consideration , not by mere brute force , and the costly application of British soldiers .

      Untitled Article

      LETTER FROM MELBOURNE . The following letter has been handed to us . It was written by a deserving young man who went out to the golden land with high expectations . He is described to us as a young mechanic , admirably qualified for contending with the risks and difficulties of an adventurous career , by his intelligence and skill , an by his active and industrious habits and vigorous health ; was in the enjoyment of a comfortable livelihood , with daily improving prospects at home . His letter is worth the attention of penmen and others not inclined to rough it like navvies . Melbourne , Nov . 27 th , 1852 . Dbae L , I have to inform you that we arrived at our destination on the 22 nd October , after a splendid passage of ninety-two days , which was considered good work . We had most beautiful weather ; scarcely anything to retard our progress or comfort ( such comfort as it is ) . We had no strong winds , no heavy rain , no sickness except the ordinary sea-sickness ; no births or deaths ; only a few women , not many children ; plenty of singing and music ( such as it was ); a limited number of rows ; and the last Saturday we were aboard , just for a pleasant wind-up , a select party of about twenty , whose berths were in the head of the ship , got drunk , and for the sake of varying the amusements , about twelve o ' clock commenced fighting ; and tbe captain ' s cook , who had

      likewise got drunk on the occasion ( not that ho was at all in the habit of doing so more than seven days a week ) , and who was put down the fore -hold , was released by them , about which there was a great noise . Those and other little incidents , which I intend to give you a more detailed account of when I send a description of the voyage , served to keep us in tolerable good spirits ; so that we came to an anchor with a very strong idea that we had accomplished the voyage in a very slap-up manner . But we began to imagine we had better stayed at home when the pilot came on board and gave us such a description ns he did of the place . He told us that there was about 250 ships in the harbour ; that the people who arrived were all obliged to live in tents—there being no lodging to be h found his account well

      had . And sure enoug , we pretty verified when we arrived in the harbour , which we did the next day . Friday was the day we got in ; but we couldn't get ashore till the next day . We found everything quite as bad as had been described . Hundreds of tents were pitched in places on the Government ground , for which they have to pay 5 s . per week ; and most of tho people we met looked as if they were thinking to themselves , " what the devil shall we do . " Fortunately for us , through the influence of Mr . Bateman , we were provided with comfortable quarters at Dr . Howitt's , William Howitt ' s brother , where I have been up to this time . Ann was there a fortnight , and then took a situation as cook at a gentleman ' s house close by . She had some

      difficulty about it ; women are more numerous than they were , consequently people can be more particular who they employ . I am at present painting Dr . Howitt's house , for which I get a guinea per week , and board and lodging ; and Ann is slaving away at this place , and almost breaking her heart to think I have brought her to such misery . But what can I do ? A room ever so small is not to bo got for loss than a pound or 30 s . per week ; bread is 2 s . 6 d . per 4 > lb . loaf ; potatoos , 30 s . per cwt . ; butter from 2 s . to 4 s . per lb . ; Tbacon , 2 s . ; meat , 6 d . ; coals , 6 / . per ton , and wood equally dear ; water per load ( and you might use a load per week ) , 8 s . ( id ; milk , 2 s . per quart ; and everything else in proportion . Tea ,

      coffee , and sugar aro the only articles that are reasonablethey aro about tho same price as at homo ; so that there ia little chanco of any one without capital making themselves very comfortable . Mr . Bateman and his party left for tho diggings on tho 8 th November . Mr . W . Howitt had only left three days before wo arrived . The roason I didn't go with them is , that I was not rich enough . Tho place they aro gone to ( the Ovens ) is 200 miles from Melbourne . Tho camera chargo IROL per ton for taking things there . It is necessary , bosido taking tools , &e ., to tako throe months provisions ; and to do ho my purso was at too low an ebb ; therefore I made an arrangement with them to Bond mo word if it was worth while for mo to

      oomo , and I expect to hear this week . If tho account is unsatistactory , I shall go to soino of tho nearor places , cither Balarat or Forest Creek , although tho chances of doing much thcro aro very limited , on account of tho numbers that aro already there ; . Such , dear L ifl tho etato of things with mo at present . A wife almost brokenhearted—myself almost mad . No homo , or homo comforts that wo have boon accustomed to ; no friends to condolo with us ; and an exceedingly misty prospoet of monthsAnd

      tho future—at any rate , for tho first twolvo . what I sav is - " 11 tho . io » who have written thoso glowing accounts of tho beauty of tho diinalo , that havo induced tho separation of friends , and caused hundreds to abandon what was most dear to thorn . Tho only beaution of tho oliinate that I havo aeon or heard of since I have boon hero nro witliorod grass , leafless trees , hot winds , which blow tho beastly dust almost through ono ; tho air full of insects , of all aorta anxl eizos . You can't positively onon vour mouth but what you got it full . In fact , thcro able to cimcoror

      is nothing pleasant that I havo boon . xa either so dirty that you can roarcoly walk about , or bo dusty that you got nearly blinded . And , however much 1 ¦ hoSd So aomS of my old friends to bo with us I should bo Borrv indood to B * y , cozne . Forhaps-m fact I havo no

      doubt there is money to be made here . But comfort la not to be purchased . I don't wonder at people returning as soon as they have accumulated a little capital ; for I see nothing that could attach , one to the place . Sickness is frightful ! The influenza is taking off a great many ; and it is confidently expected that when the very hot weather sets in ( beginning of January ) that fever will make fearful , ravages , the sanitary condition of the place is so much neglected . Therefore I say to all , stay at home . I have no doubt of being able to do well as far as getting money is concerned , providing I have my health . A letter came from William Howitt yesterday , stating that he was very ill with dysentery , which is a very common complaint . He was only got half way to the Ovens , and had been five weeks on the road . Five weeks going 100 miles , and had two first-rate horses , and only a load of 14 cwt . ; that will « rive vou some idea of what travelling in the bush is . The

      horses that he bought cost him 180 guineas . He was obliged to buy a fresh cart—the one he brought with him being much too heavy for this country . That is a mistake very common : few of the carts brought out are any use for the diggings . People coming out as we did , with only a few pounds , find it very difficult at first to do much , good for themselves . An every day scene at the wharf v , passengers just arrived , with open boxes—every one his own auctioneer—disposing of all they have to enable them to proceed up the country . In fact , things altogether are quite alarming to new arrivals . I think I need not trouble you with any moro of the horrible , as I have given you nearly enough . I hope you are quite well ; and that all our acquaintances and friends are the same . And if you . will be so kind as to circulate this amongst them I shall be obliged , as I have no heart to write to any one else till I can give them Bome information of a more pleasing description than this . * * *

      Untitled Article

      r LONDON SEWAGE . We have been favoured with some extracts from a letter addressed by Mr . F . O . Ward to a sanitary colleague , on the proposed scheme ' of draining London by two large tunnels north and south of the river . He objects to the tunnel scheme , and proposes one he thinks will be better . " It is necessary , " lie says , " 1 . To reduce the London eewage into a manageable bulk by intercepting the sewage proper before it fall into , and mixes with , the brook-water of the Fleet , and the other arched over streams which drain "wide extents of country .

      " 2 . Having thus rendered the London refuse manageable , to convey it by sewer-aqueducts , aided , where necessary , by steam-lifts , to the sandy , barren moorlands of Surrey and Hampshire , whers it is wanted , instead of taking it ( like coals to Newcastle ) to tho immediate environs of London , already superabundantly supplied with moisture and with manure . " 3 . To couple tho town operation of the collection and conveyance of tho sewage with the country operation of its distribution : i . c , to buy or rent , at tho present low value , a suitable tract or tracts of the Surrey or Hampshire moorlands ; to pipe these lands with distributing pipes , aa employed with so much success by Kennedy , Mechi , and others ; and to relet tlie lands so improved , along with the sewage supply , at an increased rental . of the the two

      " 4 . To interest in tho proceeds operation classes of persons by whose aid it must be performed , namely , 1 . The householders who produce tho sewage , and . 2 . Tho capitalists who find tho money for turning it to account . . " 6 . To create for this purpose two classes of shareholders . Class A including , under suitable conditions , tho owner or occupier of every hoftso draining into tho system . Class B including tho subscribers of tho joint-stock capital . Class B to receive first , say ten per cent , for their money ; Class A then to come in for , say a moiety of the surplus profits . N . B ., Class A , tho so wage-producers , to bo wholly froo from risk , though having a fair prospect of gains , tho object being to put an end to the resistance hitherto offbred to all plans of metropolitan drainage , by rendering tho scheme nonular with tho London householders . "

      Mr . Ward adds , "I have before mo valuablo official documents concerning the cost of convoying the fertilizing mud of tho river Escaut to tho Belgian moors , and concorning tho cost and profit of applying this mud to these moors , and relotting the moors so improved at tho increased value . I havo also before mo tho results of positive experiinonts on surfaces of moorland thus improved . These Belgian moorlands aro analogous to our Sim . 7 and ITampshiro moorlands ( vide Sir Charles Lyoll in Geological Society ' s Transactions ); tho mud of tho Escantis far less fertilizing than town drainage , aud my calculations , with a wido margin for contingencies , go to show a profit of thirty por cent , for tho capital required , oven supposing London to bo drained da nnvo , an to a great extent would be necessary , owing to tho dilapidated condition , oxcessivo size , and insuflicient slope of the existing sewers . ,,. „ ,, London 111 low

      " Immediately on my return to ( a days ) I shall draw up ' estimatoK of tho cost , with closo details , of every part of tho operation . 1 . Collection of the sowago by house drainage and main drainngo in London . 2 . Aqueduct conveyance and steaui lift of fho sewage to tho moors . 3 Purchase or ront of tho moors . 4 . J'ipongo , < fcc . of Mio moors . 5 . . Intimates of tho profits , supported by oxporiiiionlul and documentary proof . " The tunnel sewer nohomo , in its presont form , will in my opinion involve groat oxponHo . and utter disappointment , ho faros the profitable agricultural utilization ot tho rofuso of London is concornod . Tho drainage of London ( I say it with irrof ragablo facts « ind figuros boforo mo ) cannot bo profitably accomplished , unless in immediate connexion with tho fertilization , of a proportionate tract of barren lands . Ami in . tho present stato of tho London administrations , and tho present temper of tho London ratepayers , tho resistaaoo to tho operation cannot bo overcome , unions mot by the moans I propoBO , of interesting the ratepayers

      Untitled Article

      May 21 , 1853 . ] THE LEADER . 487

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), May 21, 1853, page 487, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1987/page/7/