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Leader (1850-1860), 17th December 1853, Edition 1 of 2, Page 1207, Untitled Article

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      Untitled Article

      ,-fltrong . As for Cochin Chinas , the / are larger , more awk-• ward upon their legs , and heavier than ever , and , there - fore , will , no doubt , be considered more beautiful by discriminating judges . The black and white varieties are . chiefly an vogue at present , but none are without their special admirers , who point out how splendidly the birds in some ' pens are feathered and 'fuffed ' out , while those in others have discolourations of the legs , or some blemish equally fatal to their reputation and standing as fowla . At this season of the year , when turkeys rise so much in estimation and in price , it may not bo useless to point out that the wild American species , distinguishable by its bronzed wing , carries the palm avyay at all . our recent shows for weight and excellence . Being close-feathered birds , they do not look so

      large as they are in reality . An erroneous impression appears to prevail , that because wild in America they are ^ troublesome to domesticate , but this we are assured is not the case . A cock and two hens exhibited weigh 55 ilb . Aylesbury ducks retain their old superiority , but there are some novelties in geese , the ' Embden' beating the ' Toulouse . ' Although the agriculturist may hold in some disparagement the poultry department of the Birmingham Exhibition , the ^ attractiveness of the whole display with the general public depends largely upon that feature . There is something in the very cock-crowing which insures popularity , and the birds seem to have discovered that it is so—for many of them are already snffering from their efforts to outcliallenge each other , and if ghosts , as Shakspeare represents , are scared by such sounds , none will venture during the next few days within earshot of Bingley-hall . "

      The display of pigs was "large and splendid "— : think of splendid pigs ! Another point worth notice , not in connexion with "the pigs , by the way , was the company . It was not only numerous but distinguished .

      Untitled Article

      THE FIRST AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS , Scotland is the first in the field with the much called-for " agricultural statistics . " The Secretary of the Highland . Society has obtained , and forwarded to the Board of Trade , the statistics of three counties —Haddington , Roxburgh , and Sutherland . Mr . Hall Maxwell , in his letter to the Board of Trade , forwarding the results of this first experiment , gives « ome information as to how it was made . " The machinery employed in obtaining the estimates was simple , and proved efficient . In every district there was a -committee composed of the enumerator and of experienced farmers selected from and representing each of the associatei parishes . The nature and object of their services were explained in a circular addressed by me to the members of these committees before harvest . Their attention was called to the standing crops ; and they were requested to institute inquiry and obtain information within their respective parishes . Their observations were continued during the progress of the harvest ; and , at a later period , when experiments in thrashing and weighing hnd been made , the committees were convened by their enumerators , the views of the members were compared and considered , and a statement was prepared and forwarded to me showing the average acrenble produce of each parish , in bushels of grain and tons of ¦ roots . " The corn produce of the three counties is 485 , 133 quarters , a little more than one-hundredth part of "what is reckoned to be the home growth of Great Britain . The cost of obtaining these returns is not . yet published .

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      "MILES GLORIOSUS" ON REFORM . The Western Flying Post reporteth that Mr . William Miles , one of the members for East Somerset , delivered himself as follows at the meeting of the Bruton Agricultural Society last week . lie was responding to "the County Members : " "Wo aro promised a new Heforin Bill ; nnd having had some little employment as chairman of election committees , I think that if n Iteform Bill whs necessary in 1832 it is certainl y not unnecessary now ; because thoro can bo no doubt that corruption exists to a very great extent among tho

      « orough constituencies of England . ( Cheers . ) Now , 1 tliinic that any well-digested scheme of reform which will euro that , and enable honest men to send their representatives to Parliament , will bo worthy of support ; and that any person "ringing forward a proper measure for that purpo . su will desorvo the thanks of Ins country , ( Loud cheers . ) I know jiot what tho measure will be ; it will bo riiflicult to frame ; "lit whenever it is brought forward it shall have my very '' eat consideration . Because it is put forward by Lord John JmishoII , that in no reason why it should bo thrown out . slaving stated thus much , you know what my opinions are upon tho subject ; you know what they have Tboon ; and What my unduavouro have been to support these , opinions . _ •*»» " ¦ us long as you continue mo in tho honourable portion | . which you hava been plmaed to plnoo mo I shall niain"V" t « oso opinions for tho general good of tho country , v iether agricultural , commercial , or manufacturing . " ( Loud

      Ever y little helps , nnd every soldier counts in a Jj « mpnign . Who knows what would not fall if the dories were to abolish corruption !

      Untitled Article

      AU STRALIA : DIGGERS TRIUMPHANT . Auk Victoria steamer arrived at Falmouth on Satur" » y with . maji 3 from Australia nnd the Capo . The uifltralian uccounts eomo down to tho 2 JJrd Sep-« -muor , on which day tho Victoria steamed out of tobsoa't . Bay . Tho intelligence from tho colonies ^ orally j 3 of a most afttj 8 f . lctory charucter . At JUttey tho rural and pastoral diatrieta to tho north

      were very prosperous , and high prices were given for stations . The city is free from robberies , and handsome buildings are . rising in all directions . A Government surveying party was on duty at Port Curtis or Port Gladstone , 800 or 900 miles north . This porfc is said to possess many facilities as a convenient outlet for wool and other agricultural produce , now conveyed expensively by land to Sydney for export .

      The market price for gold at Melbourne was 3 l . 17 s . —rising . Wonderful discoveries were making at the new Ballarat diggings . Three men in six days are said to have raised 1921 b . weight of gold . The diggings are healthy , and the diggers are adopting a more scientific mode than formerly ; they sink a shaft , from 6 to 12 feet diameter , to a depth of from 20 to 100 feet , and from the base work radiating tunnels , which are connected at the outer ends by a circular tunnel . All the produce is sent up the shaft .

      Referring to the social condition of Melbourne , the Argus says : " There is one aspect of onr social condition , respecting which it is of essential importance that correct ideas should be entertained in Europe ; it relates to the supremacy of law and order , the security of person and property . We are far from saying that all is accomplished in this respect that is desirable , or that every man who contributes to the revenue of the State has a right to expect .

      " The outrages to which we had so often to refer eight , ten , and twelve months ago , in and around Melbourne , are now of comparatively rare occurrence-i-a fortunate state of things , however , which will not long endure if our Legislative Council do not rnake a vigorous stand against the unwise and mistaken interference of the Puke of . Newcastle and the Imperial Government with the measure which the Council passed last session against the unrestricted admission into the colony of conditionally pardoned convicts from Van Diemeri ' s Land .

      " Provisions in general are not dear , in proportion to house rent ; at least tea , sugar , butchers ' meat , and potatoes are at a reasonable price : but bread , milk , butter , and such vegetables as turnips , cabbages , &c , are still at a , high figure ; the quartern loaf is Is , 6 d . It is evident , then , that the first and necessary expenses which meet a man on landing are very heavy ; but let not the newcomer be therefore discouraged ; if he is the ' sort of man suited to the colonyand almost all working and labouring men are—he will soon be in a position to meet his expenses , and also to put by money to join one of the many buildiug ' and freehold land societies which the high price of land and extravagant rents have called into active existence within the last few months .

      English readers given to such pursuits as market-gardening , poultry-keeping , dairy-farming , &e ., vvill form their own conclusions of the prospects of those following such callings in a country with a range of prices like those quoted in our market report . Batteisca gardeners , Surrey fowl-tenders , and the dairy people of Kent and Essex will probably lick their lips at the thought of cauliflowers at 2 s . a-piece , eggs at 5 s . per dozen , and milk at 2 s . per quart . We can assure one and all of such that wo have room for thousands of them ; that these high prices do not arise from any natural scarcity ; that the gardener will find plenty of land , tho dairyman any number of cattle , and tho poultry woman hens innumerable

      "It must be distinctly understood , in spite of all tho ' croaking' letters which have swarmed in the English papers , that tho industrious workman may secure employment at . 'high wages the very day lie hinds ; while , at tho same time , the clerk , shopman , or broken-down city idler lingers about our streets dispirited , unemployed , and mi-Boralile . "

      The fact of the greatest moment , however , has reference to tho complete triumph of the diggers over the Government in tho matter of the license fee . Perhaps our readers will remember that Mr , Latrobc , Lieutenant-Governor of Victoria , has never shown any abilities equal to tlie post he filled , and that he has been repeatedly in conflict with the inhabitants . In the matter of the gold license , Mr . Latrobe has behaved with peculiar weakness . When the gold was discovered he insisted on Si . a month from the diggers , saying , when it was urged that thoy would not pay it , that thoy must . However , the diggers did not pay , and tho fee was reduced to 30 s , Never .

      theless , the diggers have kept up constant complaints ; and during the months of Juno and July tho ugitatioi ) gathered strongly to a head , rousing up tho diggers of Bcndigo , tho Ovens , Goulburn , and other places , to form an association , and embodying not only thuir grievances in a memorial * o Mr . Lutrobo , but prescribing their demands . Mr . Latrobe rode tho high horse ; ho was " prepared for anything , " the " law nniHt be observed ; " in fact , ho had collected troops and artillery , and did seem prepared to malco a " determined stand , " i \ a lie oxproased it . Meanwhile , throughout August , ' tho agitation went on gathering greater strength andiinx > etus ; at

      Goulbuni , the commissioners , among whom wo find " Mr . Home , " were compelled to refrain from enforcing tho fee for tho last ton dayB of August , and to release prisoners . By the 1 st September , tho day for renewing the licenses , the Bendigo men had determined to " tender" ton shillings , and if that was not received , to pay nothing . In order that those who adopted these views might bo known , thoy agreed to wear a ml ribbon in tho buttonhole , and red ribbons were the order of tho diiy . Govennnout had ne »* t up a force ; but Ahoy yielded , and a notice was issued stating , on authority , that tho too would not be collected for Septonvbor .

      Here was a change 1 The fact is , that "firm and determined man , the Lieutenant-Governor , had on the 30 th August proposed to the Legislative Council the total abolition of the fee ! A committee met , and it was agreed to . recommend the council to pass a temporary act commuting the 30 s . a month into 2 / . for the remainder of the year ! Of course this was equivalent to the success of the diggers ! But here our accounts drop the story .

      Untitled Article

      We have news from the Cape of Good Hope up to the 7 th November . At that date " three regiments had left for Madras . Colonel Nesbitt , of the 60 th Foot , Commandant of British Kaffraria was drowned on the ] 13 th of October , in crossing the Kieskamma river . Some apprehensions were entertained that the Kafirs would revolt again as soon as their crops were gathered . The Orange Sovereignty people continued to be excited on the subject of the proposed abandonment of the country by the British . They hope to have their case well stated in the British press , and they have sent two delegates to represent them in England .

      Untitled Article

      JAMAICA NEWS . The steamer La Plata brings news up to the 27 th of November from Kingston . Sir Henry Barkly had obtained the first success of his policy . The House of Assembly was in session , and had passed the Import Duty Bill with some important reductions of the tariff ! A great struggle took place Telative to the duration clause of the bill which the retrenchment party wished to limit to the 31 st of December , 18 . 53 ; but , after several divisions , it was carried , by a majority of one , to extend its duration to the 30 th of December , 1 S . 54 . The bill had been

      sanctioned by the Council and Governor . The question of responsible government was fixed for debate on Wednesday , the 20 th , and it was contemplated Government views would be carried out and the guarantee loan accepted , as all parties were tired- of the general dead lock . The return made to the Honse of Assemblies by the Receiver-General showed a deficiency of 200 , 000 / . up to the January quarter , which Avould have to be added to the debt of the country , as it never could be discharged by ordinary taxation .

      Untitled Article

      TESTIMONY OF A " TRAVELLER IN ITALY . " Some time since the Times published an admirable letter in defence of the calumniated Liberals of Italy —especially of the movement , or national plirfcysigned , " A Traveller in Italy . " On Thursday , the same journal printed another letter from the same pen . We . cut out one or two passages of interest even for our readers , who have been kept well-informed on the subject . Tho first relates to the advocacy of assassination , by the Papal party : — " During the existence of tho Roman Republic emissaries from Gaeta went about the provinces endeavouring to influence the superstition of tlie lower orders , anil again oxcita n Jacquerie against the Liberals ; such documents as tho following were circulated among the peasantry : — ' Republicans or Liberals mean only men who would destroy our religion itself and all its ministers . Gather yourselves together ,

      and plunge your weapons into tho hearts ot tlio . se enemies ot God , and pray to Him that Ho will destroy them utterly , even tlieir very infants , —exterminate their race . ' Theso emissaries . did not succeed in their object , or but very partially ; yet , is it to be wondered at , when llieso things aro considered , that tho Liberal cause was . sometimes stained , as at Imola and Ancona , by the assassination of persons who were known as supportera or spies of the fallen Government ? Siifli , who was Minister of tho Interior under tho Ki- 'public , in enjoining upon tho authorities of Ancona Uie most ncvoro measures for tho punishment and repression of llu-so assassinations , wrote thus : —' The perpetrators of thftsc crimes ard traitors to the Kepublic , and ruin ilio work of an entirct people in tho cause of tlieir redemption ; every net of illegality or of violence which bears the . stamp of political rjjvengo is . an execrable relic of jmst times , and an imitation of thtt crimes of priestly Govennnout . ' "

      The second vindicates the gallant Garibaldi , and the devoted Ugo JJassi . ' Among those Italians who have ino . sfc been tho victims of calumny and misrepresentation is Garibaldi . During tho fciego of liomo ho was represented in the . French papers , and ( sometimes in tins English , as a lender of Coudottiori , a brigand n pirate , a chief of nnsassiiiH . Listen for a moment to nin history . Born in tho middling rank of lift * , ho was obl iged to nV , when utill young , from I iih native city , Genoa , during a persecution of tlio sect of Carbonari , of which ho was a member , lit ) afterwards went t <> tho Brazils with tho object of engaging in houio comuiorcinl undertaking , but , devoted to tho cause of liberty , ho noon joined a mnali band

      of Italian refugees who wero . serving uh volunteers in Montevideo , defending th « cimiho of liberty and tho republic , ilia desperate courage , hia personal prowess as a soldier , and hit * heroism , never stained l > y nny act of cruelty , made him tho thane and admiration ol tho country ; lit ) quicklyro . se to tho ra . ik of general . But Garibaldi was uioru tlmn a warrior . If he took awiiy lift' , it waa from devotion to a cause whiolt ho believed to bo th . it , of humanity , nnd ho disdained to contaminate th « purity of lib niotivu by receiving lichen or rewards for his H « rviccn , ami he lived always iu tho greatest poverty . In 18 ' 17 ho returned to Italy . His doodn at liomo « ro well known . When tho siogo of l'toiuo was over , and thu city tukvu possession of by tlio French , ho collected about

      Untitled Article

      December 17 , 1853 ] THE LEADER . MO 7 M

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Dec. 17, 1853, page 1207, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2017/page/7/