that, in the opinion of the Court of Directors, a licence from the Bengal government to the banking-house, exonerating them from the risk of such penalties, was granted without an adequate necessity, and was abused by the bankers, in terms of their contracts with the Nizam, and in the exorbitant interest for which they stipulated-"to purposes injurious to the interests of our ally, and discreditable to the British character." The ground on which the continuance (though not, perhaps, the original employment) of those means of raising supplies for a native power, are vehemently condemned on another consideration, viz. their being destined to provide for the pay and establishment of auxiliary native corps, disciplined after the European manner, and commanded by officers from Europe, an object which, it appears from the correspondence, the Court of Directors could not meditate without profound alarm. The correspondence is maintained on the part of the Company in a tone of severity almost unmeasured. In their letter of November 28, 1821, they tell the GovernorGeneral that he has exhibited "not an assumption of discretionary power, on the part of the local government, to suspend the execution of instructions from home, but an assumption to do what you please, and to communicate to us just so much of what you have done as you may see fit. And on what ground does this assumption rest? That we are not qualified to draw right conclusions from the information which is laid before us, but that, from ignorance of all that we ought to know, it is not only unnecessary, but unsafe, to put us in possession of the materials of knowledge. We should be unworthy of the station we hold, if we did not strongly condemn such proceedings defended by such allegations." This is pretty stiff language, and is accompa nied by the charge that Lord Hastings had, in substance, though not in words, lent the credit of the Company to the pecuniary transactions with the Nizam. It is further stated, that Messrs Adam and Stuart had opposed, uniformly but vainly, the whole course pursued by the Governor-General relative to these proceedings. The reply of Lord Hastings in 1823 is designed, apparently, as a justification of his own official conduct, and a reprehension of the Court of Directors. The defence of the acts which were impugned by them is rested on the exigency of the crisis-on the peril of the war which raged over central India-on the intrigues at Hydrabad against the British interest-on the equity of the transactions in which the house of Palmer had engaged—on the moderation of the terms which they exacted-and on the necessities of the public service. 13th.-Manchester has been in a state of extreme agitation, on account of a terrific accident which has occurred. About nine o'clock, part of the uppermost floor of the fire-proof cottonfactory in Salford, recently erected by Mr Nathan Gough, gave way, owing, as is supposed, to the breaking of two of the iron-beams by which it was supported. The bricks, of which the floor was composed, together with the machinery upon it, and the fragments of the iron-beams falling upon the next floor, carried down a portion of that also, and so on to the next floor, down to the ground-floor of the factory, which is six stories high, burying in the ruins all the work-people who hap pened to be standing on those parts of the floors which gave way. About 250 persons, principally children, were employed in the factory; and the scene, for some time after the accident, was dreadful beyond description. The thick cloud of dust raised by the fall of the arches, rendered it impossible for some time to see the extent of the mischief, or to form any conjecture as to the number of persons who had suffered by it. Parents were running about in every direction, in a state of distraction, calling for their children, and wringing their hands when none answered them. At first few persons dared to go near the scene of mischief, from a fear lest the other parts of the floors, or the walls of the building, which were considerably shaken, might fall upon them. After a short time, however, seeing that no further fall took place, a number of men were induced to lend their assistance to extricate the unfortunate persons who were buried under the ruins. A number were got out alive, but all more or less injured; and about twenty dead bodies, chiefly of women and girls, were dug out of the rubbish. “ Missolonghi, 30th July, "With deep regret have we heard of the death of Lord Charles Murray, son of the Duke of Atholl, at Gastouni, on the 11th August (new style,) at 10 A. M. His death was occasioned by a most violent pain in the regions of the head. He was aged 25 years, and, although so young, had evinced from the moment his foot pressed our country, the most noble and philanthropic sentiments, with an ardour to fulfil them as far as lay in his power. "Before leaving this place for the seat of government, he had united his name to that of our countrymen, and had furnished the means of erecting a battery on our frontier line, to which is given the name of one of his most illustrious relatives. "After remaining some days with the government, he set out on his return to this place; death overtook him at Gastouni. "Mr Georgio Sessini, in whose house he was lodged, paid him every attention and assistance, for which the nation owes him her thanks. So soon as our governor, Prince Alexander Mavrocordato, heard of it, he immediately entreated Dr Julius Mellingen to set off for Gastouni, and endeavour to save the life of the noble lord. Fate, however, decreed that he should arrive one hour after Lord Charles had died. "His body was interred on the 12th instant. General Constantine Bozzaris and Georgio Sessini, all the Suliotes, and the whole population, followed him to the grave. The Archbishop Chirilo pronounced his funeral oration. "Deep is the regret which the loss of this illustrious personage has occasioned; the ardour he displayed for our cause will rest long and deep in the heart of every Greek."-(Extract from the Greek Chronicle.) We annex an extract of a letter written by one of the new settlers at Algoa Bay. There will be found scveral inconsistencies, which we do not pretend to reconcile, in the writer's statements, but it is obvious that the prospects in that settlement, which proved so disastrous to those who first ventured thither, are materially improving. "Port Elizabeth, Algoa Bay, June 18, 1824. "We are now becoming in some degree settled here, and the colony is so far improved, that none who now come out would incur any risk of encountering the difficulties we met with at first. The way is now paved, and persons with moderate views, and a capital of five hundred pounds, would soon become independent. For labourers, in particular, great advantages present themselves, and the people of that class already here really feel themselves of so much importance, that they are, in demeanour at least, like the nobility .. of the country. Though I pay them very high wages, I am compelled to use urgent entreaties to get anything done; and at this moment, so important a person is our cobbler, that I can neither get a pair of shoes mended for love nor money. The only drawback on the labouring class is the heat of the middle of the day for about four months. The cautious Dutch sleep in the middle of the day, but the English labourers spend their time drinking, and are, therefore, generally incorrigible drunkards. Printing is at present prohibited here; but we expect that the next arrivals from England will bring out an order to remove that prohibition. Indeed, the obstacles to improvement here are so temporary, that they are hardly worth alluding to. Almost all the individuals here who are in authority are half-pay officers, and very far from sagacious in what concerns the management of an infant colony. You may take a specimen of their political sagacity. We have but one butcher in Port Elizabeth: another butcher applied to the Land-drost (a colonel) for permission to begin business, but this officer told him he did not see any occasion for two butchers. The climate here is better than at Cape Town, and, for my own part, I had rather settle my family in the country than in a large town. I should do very well indeed, if I thought only of myself, and not of making provision for my family, whom I long to have with me; but I tremble at the risk of placing them here, until I have a home fit for their reception. I am, therefore, straining every nerve to improve the land I have got, and to build a house. I have already enclosed my land at considerable cost, and have built some small houses for the accommodation of the workmen. I am now projecting the building a good house for myself, which I hope to be able to accomplish for the small sum of 150l. I have, at present, nothing but out-goings, and have derived no benefit yet from the produce of my land. I do not expect to get produce from my garden till near September, and I have constantly one man at work, and have sometimes employed several.-Clothes are excessively dear. My flock of sheep and goats have greatly diminished, and we have not sufficient shelter for cattle in the rainy season, and from this cause I lost, lately, three cows out of ten. You will say I have not managed badly to get on as I have. I have five horses, a chaise, and cart; but I have never had a ride in my chaise, although I brought it with me from Cape Town, for I can get no servant to wait upon me. The necessaries of life, however, are extremely cheap. If you cannot get roast beef in England, come here and you will have your sirloin at twopence per lb. ; besides which, you will have grapes, peaches, melons, &c., and wine for about 3d. a bottle. We hope for a free trade here, and no military superintendence. We are all true John Bulls, and hope to have the Coventgarden election one day or other." NOVEMBER. FATAL DUEL. 3d. We regret to learn, that on Saturday morning, a duel was fought in the vicinity of the North Queensferry, between Captain Gurley and Mr Westall, which proved fatal to the former, who was shot through the heart. We have collected the following particulars respecting the above duel :The parties, who were Captain Gurley and a Mr Westall, the latter having been lately connected with the firm of Fisher and Co., lace merchants, London, had been at the Don caster races, where Mr Westall lost a bet with Captain Gurley of seventy guineas. At the same races, Captain Gurley lost a bet with a friend of Mr Westall's. The parties very lately met together at the Black Bull Inn of this city, when, after a most friendly recognition of each other, Captain Gurley reminded Mr Westall of the bet which he, Mr Westall, had lost. Mr Westall again informed the captain, that he was authorized by his friend to set the one bet against the other; upon which Captain Gurley called him a swindler, to which Westall replied, by calling the captain a liar. The captain then seized a poker, and aimed a blow with it at Westall's head, but the weapon descended upon his shoulder, and with such force, that it broke in two. Mr Westall was rendered insensible by the blow; but when he recovered, he went into the coffee-room, where he indulged in the most abusive language against Captain Gurley. A challenge ensued, and Salisbury Crags was chosen as the place for deciding the quarrel next morning. At the time and place fixed, the parties, along with Captain as Captain Gurley's second, and a medical gentleman, appeared. But Mr J, who had been employed to act as Mr Westall's second, was absent, in consequence of his attendance having been prevented by indisposition of his father, who had come to the knowledge of what was intended. In consequence of that gentleman's absence, it was arranged between the parties that they should adjourn to North Queensferry, in order to afford Mr Westall an opportunity of engaging another second. Captain Gurley, his second, and the medical gentleman, accordingly, repaired to South Queensferry, and were about to push from shore in a boat when they observed a carriage approaching, for D which they waited. This carriage contained Mr Westall and Mr DS, who had agreed to act as Mr Westall's second. They were received into the boat, which conveyed the whole company across, and on the heights above North Queensferry this tragedy was completed. From the Hampshire Telegraph. 10th. This morning his Majesty's discovery ship the Griper, Captain George F. Lyon, most unexpectedly arrived at this port, and ran into the harbour, direct from Davis's Straits, with the signal of distress flying, having lost all her anchors and cables in fruitless endeavours to get into Repulse Bay, whither she was under orders to proceed, for the purpose of cooperating with Captain Parry in search of a north-west passage. The circumstances which have led to the failure of this branch of the north-west expedition are attributable to stormy and severe weather, which prevailed in a more intense degree than the oldest northern navigator remembers, and to the extraordinary bad qualities of the ship for the purposes required. It appears that the Griper left Stromness on the first of July, and made Cape Chudleigh (on the Labrador coast) on the 2d of August, having fallen in with icebergs three days previously, and from which time she was beset with drift ice. In this passage she was found to make so little progress, that the Snap (her provision tender) was frequently obliged to take her in tow. From Cape Chudleigh the Griper was obliged to stretch to the northward, to Resolution Island, as the field-ice prevented progress up Hudson Strait; they were, however, enabled to make slow advances to the westward, close to the Savage Islands, until they made Salisbury or Nottingham Island, but which place could not be ascertained from the impossibility of making observations off the Upper Savage Islands. Some canoes of natives came off to them, who appeared to be of the same description of Esquimaux with which our navigators were before acquainted. They were dismissed with liberal presents, and appeared much gratified. From Salisbury Island the Griper proceeded to the south point of Southampton Island, in which they were assisted by a strong current setting down Fox's Channel; but on their rounding Southampton Island, this current, which then came down Sir Thomas Rowe's Welcome, (up which they wished to proceed,) was directly against them, and nearly caused their shipwreck. Southampton Island was found to be laid down with tolerable accuracy. Off the south-west end of the island the Griper was obliged to anchor, in consequence of suddenly shoaling her water in a gale of wind she parted one anchor, but brought up again with three anchors a-head, in quarter less four fathoms water; when the tide fell, the sea was so heavy that the rudder continually struck the ground, and was lifted almost out of the gudgeons; this was on the 1st of September. On the weather moderating, the Griper proceeded up the Welcome, but a northerly gale of wind springing up, the ship was driven into Hudson's Bay. However, by perseverance, and taking advantage of every favourable breeze of wind, she reached Cape Fullarton, the larboard entrance of Wager River, and within about sixty miles of the spot (Repulse Bay) where she was intended to winter. The coast on the American mainland was found so rocky and extremely dangerous, that she was obliged to stretch off for Southampton Island, whence she endeavoured to make for Repulse Bay, but was driven by the tide directly to the southward and westward, against what was supposed to be Wa ger River. Here strong breezes and a heavy snow-storm set in, which made it necessary that the ship should be brought to with three anchors a-head and made snug. The sea rose rapidly, and broke over the ship with tremendous force, forming thick coats of ice in an instant, so as to connect the shrouds together half way up the rigging. The snow also fell so fast that the men had much difficulty in keeping the decks clear. The ship all this time pitched so dreadfully, that the cables came over the bumpkins, one of which was thereby broken. During the night, a large stream of ice was discovered coming down upon the ship, but, most happily, it parted before it reached her, and some small portions of it only struck against the bows, which did no damage. The wind continued to increase, as well as the snow; at five o'clock in the morning the starboard cable parted, and, on the ship swinging to the other three anchors, she was struck by a sea and parted from them all. Her situation at this time was the most perilous that can be imagined, every individual momentarily expecting that she would drive on shore. Means of preservation, however, were not neglected; the trysails were got on her, though it was so dark that no object could be discerned, and they did not know so much as which way the ship's head lay, from the compasses having ceased to act, the ship being, as it is supposed, directly over or near the Magnetic Pole. Whilst presuming, in this distressing dilemma, that the wind had shifted off the land, as the water deepened, a sight of the sun, and subsequently of the other celestial bodies, was obtained, (of which they had had no view for some days,) and the ship was found to have been drifted out of the Welcome, after having attained lat. 65. 30. There was at this moment no anchor left in the ship. Notwith |