• TO ADVERTISERS. In a former announcement, it was stated that Advertisements could not be received at our printer's later than Thursday noon ; but as it is desirable to extend the time, we have trans- ferred our advertisements from the first to the fourth page, by which alteration we shall be enabled to receive the favours of our advertising friends until Thursday evening. Our fourth page will, we believe, be a very good situation for advertisements ; for there are very few of our readers, we imagine, who do not dwell, with more or less pleasure, on the poetry and scraps to which that page is usually devoted. The principle upon which the business of the " Fiee Press" is conducted by our printer, is that of low prices and no credit. Our charges for advertisements are- One to three lines.. 2s. Od. i Including the gov- Four to six 2s. 6d. > eminent tajt of Seven to nine 3s. Od. j Is. 6d. and so on in proportion to the number of lines THE ESSAYIST. EXERCISES*, REVIEWS, AND ACTION. No. XII.— RETRIBUTION. How often has it occurred that the acts of arbitrary and oppressive rulers, have produced results the very reverse of that which it has been the object of their wicked or ambitious policy to accomplish. Amongst tbe many examples of this kind which history furnishes, few are more striking than that which occurred as recently as the last century, in the bloody reign of George the Third. There was a people speaking the same language as ourselves and our Irish brethren, suffering tbe same oppressive yoke of the English aristocracy, and hier- archy ; no not the same, for never had it been at- tempted to practice upon our American brethren this unheard of tyranny of locking up their food. Many tyrants in many countries, have resorted to the ex- periment of selecting tbe noble minded patriots whose hearts beat high with the inspiration of truth and freedom, and immuring them in prisons and dungeons; but history furnishes no example of a tyrant cruel enough, or if cruel enough, bold enough to imprison the bread of an entire people, or of a people sunk so low as to submit to an artificial famine. This refine- ment in cruelty, this monstrous tyranny, was re- served for the English aristocracy of the nineteenth century ! And to endure this indignity, was reserved for Britons, yes, those who sing " Britons never will be slaves '." An attempt was made to practice upon the Americans that which is every day practised in England and'Ireland, namely, to impose taxes upon a population not represented. And although the tax was not as with us a tax upon every thing which is eaten, and drank, and worn, though it was only a tax upon their tea, not on their toast or their bread, yet the Americans very wisely said, " this we will not- submit to.'' They had the great law authorities,' Blackstdne and other English constitutional writers on their side, that— " No subject of England - can be constrained to pay any aids or taxes, even for the defence of the realm or the support of the government, but such as are * This title is founded on the name which Col. ThomDson. lias given to his works, recently published, namely, " Exer- cises, Political and others. Six VDIS. London, Effingham Wilson, 1812." imposed by his own consent, or that of his repre- sentative in parliament.— Blaclsstone. They had the eternal principles of right and justice on their side— they bad the courage to appeal to those principles, and they said, " we will not be constrain- ed." A wicked minister supported by a majority of booby landlords in parliament, sent forth fleets and armies to crush the spirit of liberty in America, and borrowed money for the payment of the same, the interest of which is a burthen on our shoulders to this day; but the sturdy and oppressed Americans stood firm for their rights, and this attempt of the English landowners instead of an issue in subjecting the Americans to the yoke, terminated in freeing them for ever from their oppressors, and they stand forth an example to the oppressed in all nations, speak- ing emphatically " go thou and do likewise." Here were results tbe very reverse of what had been in- tended. But this is not all, a rival nation, France, fitted out an armament to assist the Americans, not from any love of the principle at issue, but desirous of doing.' any thing to weaken the power of;, l; er rival. The French troops returned to France strongly im- bued with the principles of their American comrades" France was inoculated with the spirit of freedom- The brave La Fayette and bis followers may be said to have been- the proximate cause of the overthrow of the Bourbons and the old noblesse of France, and although some of the circumstances connected with the changes were such as all good men must deplore, yet they must rejoice at the issue. The number of landowners increased from thousands to millions, and numerous other great improvements followed, which are destined to be the precursors ofotliers still greater. Now, be it observed, that tbe establishment of the American republic, and tbe regeneration of France have their oiigin in the folly of the rulers in their re- spective countries, plunging into wars for objects di- rectly opposed to the results which ensued. Do we therefore in the smallest degree sympathise with the authors of the wars ? Quite the reverse. And equally do we abhor tbe conduct of those who have in our day sent fleets and armies to Canada, to Syria, to India, and to China ; albeit we may take courage from what we find has happened beforehand hope that results may arise the very reverse of those which have been intended. The author of tbe Exercises furnishes us with a very correct description of the origin of these wars. " Two lords or thereabouts, undertook to see visions and dream dreams ; and they announced that without an instant war with a greater in its train, we were to be swallowed up by another somewhere else. They never proved to tbe satisfaction of man, woman, or child, the danger or even the possibility of that war somewhere else. The whole theory of alarm was fictitious, a pure goblin dressed up in a white sheet. But they had an army and a navy at command; and by tbe contemptible deficiency of our frame of govern- ment, they had the power of doing the mischief first and reckoning for it afterwards. And so they went to work, like tbe child that climbs a tree and tears its clothes, in confidence that if it brings down the sparrow's nest, its mother will he so pleased she will not whip it-"— Vol. V. p. 317 and 318, 26 Nov. 1840- In the Chinese affair the children boast of having brought a sparrow's nest in the. shape of the stolen silver but in the three other cases there is no nest ( non est) and they hope to escape condemnation and whipping because of having brought home one nest although in three out of the four cases the clothes are lorn and there is ho sparrow's nest. Is it quite certain they may not have brought about their ears another sort of nest, namely a hornet's nest. ? For we find such has been almost. invariably the case with those who have engaged in similar depredations and that sooner or later individuals or nations that have pursued a system of bullying or plundering have met their due reward-, " Ask what the bravo gets; suspicion, aversion, enmity, and finally a tripping- up, by superior force, when opportunity favours, and he least expects it. And the same with national bravoes. There has been no specimen of an insolent power of this kind in the world, that has not sooner or later been ground down in the mill of human exasperation. The trade is the most dangerous on earth ; the greatest risks and perils of honesty are nothing to it.— Vol. V. p, 310, 25 Nov. 1840. " What will be thought of all this, when the counter- blow comes upon us, as in one way or other it almost always does in the end ? How pleasant Englishmen will look when foreigners come to dictate to them what goods they shall admit and what refuse; or to settle some dispute between Englishmen and an un- popular dynasty whom they attempt to resist. All this will come, all this (. light to come; it is nature's only resource for human security at all. Nationa! crimes are no more to be compromised with by honest men than particular."— Vol. V. p. 405, 16 Dec. 1810. " Our ministers rage for war, expecting red ribands and various enjoyments from the same. But if the scale should turn against them, as how do they know it will not,— and if, for instance, our country should be ten years occupied by foreign troops, as would only be a just punishment in tbe gross for the public crime,— it is we, not they who must endure tbe suffering. Tbe ministers can order a prayer or two against those who would " swallow us up quick," say God has not heard us— as why should he hear such villains,— and take themselves off whither they like best. But it is we and our children who must face the mischief and stand the brunt of all they have brought us to."— Vol. V. p. 232, 28 Oct. 1840. Unthinking people may say, all this is impossible with our resources, but many nations have had a long series of success to whom it may have appeared as improbable that they would suffer reverses. The " glorious uncertainty of the law " is proverbial, but the glorious uncertainty of war is not less a matter of fact. Our own day and generation have furnished a notable instance of it, and much nearer home than China or India,— a nation at our- very doors, and a warrior whose fame filled the whole earth. " France was viewed as an overwhelming power, leading unwilling armies of foreigners to serve her interests against their own. She became hated as the general enemy; though still feared and served as Britain is among the powers of Asia. At last a great operation failed ; and Frenchmen were bunted back to their capital, as Englishmen will some time be on the like event, if tbe civil people does not wrest the powerof military abuse out of the hands of insane and dishonest administrators."— Vol. V. p. 420 and 421, 22 Dec. 1840. " Napoleon began well, but fell away into a dis- tant resemblance of the conduct of our own govern- ment. Nothing he ever did, approached the general tyranny of the conduct of the English in India ; and the Chinese monstrosity was a thing it would be in vain to seek to parallel with him, or elsewhere. His movement upon Spain which was tbe most un- justifiable of his acts was an attempt to overturn a bad government with the good wishes of perhaps a fifth part of its subjects ; whilst the English in India overturn the better government with the good wishes of nobody at all. With tbe power of the earth appa- rently at his command, Napoleon died in exile. We have nobody worth exiling; but if we set the power of tbe earth against us, we may see the play performed again with the part of Hamlet omitted.— Vol. V. p. 435. Feb. 19, 1840. We rejoice to see the indignation which a large proportion of the provincial press manifests to these " victories " and " successes" and sce l'iat fas' the best guarantee that such calamities may not hap- ' And - now the time in special - is, by privilege, to write and speak what may help to the f urther discussing of matters in agitation. The Temple of Janus, with his two cintrovcrsal faces, might now not unsignificantly be set open: and though all the winds of doctrine were let loose to play upon the earth, so Truth be in the field, ice do injuriously, by. licensing and prohibiting,. to misdoubt her strength. Let her and falsehood grapple. Who ever knew Truth put to the. worse, in a free and open encounter. Rer conf uting is the best and surest suppressing.— 5jt, ILT? ON's AKEOPAGITICA. No. XVI. Price One Penny, DECEMBER 17, 1842. 2 THE HALIFAX FREE PRESS. 3 pen to us but that we shall in due time substitute for a government of home and foreign plunderers a go- vernment of intelligence and wisdom. Hie Irish Press has spoken out manfully and spiritedly on the subject. We have observed excel- lent articles bearing on it in the Tipperary Free Press, The Wexfoid Independent, the Drogheda Argus, and the Nation. It has often happened that whilst a con- queror has been intent on distant conquests his subjects at home have taken the opportunity to free themselves from his yoke. England retains Ireland by a very slender thread and it would be nothing re- markable if intent on making conquests abroad she should have lost the allegiance of that province nearer home the inhabitants of which she has always treated as a conquered people 1 The Corporation of the City of Dublin have rejected by a large majority a motion for a vote of thanks to the warriors who have been employed in the English service although Sir Henry Pottinger and Sir Hugh Gough are natives of Ireland! The people both of Ireland and England are beginning to see that they have a common interest ie preventing such enormities and in requiring a government which instead of pursuing conquests abroad and oppression at home shall promote the welfare and happiness of the governed, whilst the people of England are demanding and will have the ENTIRE ABOLITION of the HUNGER LAW the repeal of the Bread Tax, the Irish will demand the repeal of the Union. The English aristocratic governors instead of carry- ing out reform at home, have been endeavouring to extend their conquests on the shores of the Red Sea, and of the Yellow Sea, and they have been locking up in prison American flour, and European wheat on the banks of the Thames, the Humber, and the Mersey. If whilst engaged in these noble exploits they should have lost their hold on the eight millions of inhabitants across the Irish Channel, whateverview might be taken of it by themselves or by us it is probable that it would be viewed by posterity as a just RETRIBUTION. AN ADJUTANT. ouft letter box. THE GEOLOGY OF HALIFAX. will notice is the different strata which he mentions being dug through before reaching the coal. Mr. Hiley tells us that the section of strata which he gives, may not prove true of any individual colliery, as it is characteristic of most of the parish. I expect he would say that part of the parish where coal is to be found ; and that is a very small part of the parish of Halifax indeed. In reply to this I would say that these strata,, or this section of strata, are not characteristic of any part of the coal field of the parish of Halifax. It is very true that if Mr. Hiley were to sink a shaft at Elland, or at North or Southowram, he would find the hard- bed coal, as he calls it, with these round nodules resting upon it; ( but if he was to test them, perhaps they might be something very different from what he might expect;}' and under this hard- bed coal he would find what is termed the Halifax soft- bed coal; but none of those flat pieces of clay iron- ore would be found, not even if he was to go down to the old red- sandstone. But if Mr. Hiley was to sink a shaft at Shelf, he would find the clay iron- ore, as he calls it, and the two workable beds of coal that are worked at Shelf, and if he was to sink still lower he might perhaps find the two beds of coal that are worked at Halifax* Elland, & c. For now I must tell our informant that the two beds of coal that are worked at Shelf, and the two that are worked at Northowram and at Elland, & c, are four different beds ; und if I add the soft- bed band as he calls it, and a thin seam which is worked in Wadsworth, it will be seen that we have six different beds of coal in the parish of Halifax. I am, Sir,. A'ours respectfully, SAMUEL GIBSON. Nov. 1841. P. S. As the above is in answer to some direct inquiries, more than to Mr. Hiley's paper, you will oblige me by giving it a place in the Chemist. S. G. To the Editors of the Free Press. GENTLEMEN,— The inclosed note was refused by the Editor of " The Chemist." If you should think it worthy a place in your " Free Press," it is at your disposal. Yours & c. SAMUEL GIBSON, Hebden Bridge, Dec. 11, 1842. To the Editor of the Chemist. SIR,— In the 22d number of " The Chemist;" I find an article by Mr. Hiley, of Elland, intitled " The Collieries of the parish of Halifax, and their Chemical and Geological relations." In the article which I have mentioned, there are a great many errors but, before I point out two or three of the most prominent ones, I will just inquire of Mr. Hiley through the medium of " The Chemist," where those sharp ridges ol quartz are to be found, which he tells us are so characteristic of several portions of the parish. Mr. Hiley says " in those valleys, where coal is not to be found, the red sandstone rock may be here and there seen peeping above the surface I expect he would say the old red sandstone ; as he says that it relieves him from the idea of finding coal. I cannot think it is the new red- sandstone which he means, as that rock is above the coal, and would lead me to expect coal under itj Now, in reply to Mr Hiley, I would say that the old red sandstone rock has never been found in the parish of Halifax; nor is it ever likely to be. The lowest stratum that has ever been exposed in the parish of Halifax, was in railway excavation at Millwood, near Todtnorden That excavation was through one of the shales which alternate with the grits & c. that lie between the coal and the carboniferous limestone. Now, if those shales & c. at Millwood should be one thousand feet from the carboniferous limestone, and that limestone should be two thousand feet thick, as it is very like! to be, or perhaps much more; and as the old red sandstone is under these two formations; it is not at all likely ever to be found in the parish of Halifax, So much for the red- sandstone. The next thing THE TRUSTEES' MEETINGS AND THE REPORTS OF THE " GUARDIAN." To the Editors of the Halifax Free Press. GENTLEMEN,— Having the honour ( if honour it be ; and why should it not?) to be a member of ( as it is quaintly termed) the Back Lane Parliament, I cannot but take an interest in whatever relates to that body, both as respects its proceedings, and the character it bears with the public, and with the ratepayers in par- ticular; and whilst I am a decided advocate for all its proceedings being made public, I must protest against the mean, paltry, garbled statements which are pub- lished in the " Halifax Guardian;" such as would justify any assembly in summarily turning the base slanderer out of the room. I am led to make these remarks, from no personal feeling ; never having had ocsasion to complain of any injustice done to me ; but I'cannot remain silent, after reading the gross misre presentations contained tn the report of the proceed- ings of the meeting held on the 5th instant, and the false and slanderous remarks of the viper- editor, pub- lished in last Saturday's " Guardian ;" and which is but a repetition of usual unfairness. I appeal to any individual Trustee there present, if it is possible a more unfounded statement could be published than that " insulting expressions were bandied about." Is not this a gross libel upon the meeting ? If such a publication as this is to be tolerated, then there is an end to all freedom of discussion ; for who will choose to have himself held up to the ridicule of his fellow townsmen ? And let it not be said the state- ments of the " Guardian" will only be taken at what they are worth. If this were indeed the case, I would not have troubled myself, or yon, with these remarks but this is not the case : for so long as these state ments remain uncontradicted, they will be believed by the truthful and unsuspicious, and indeed by all who have not had an opportunity of testing the veracity of the " Halifax Guardian." And how many there are who do not attend any public meeting and therefore, although that publication has attained for itself an unenviable notoriety, it is still neces. sary that its unfairness should be further exposed And with this view I would suggest to the Trustees that, in order to give to the public an impartial and an honest report of their proceedings, a reporter be engaged, and a report published of all its general meetings, and distributed gratuitously, or at a small charge, to all" the ratepayers. Let not the expense urged ; for surely it is worth something to the contributors of the rates, to possess accurate inform- ation respecting their application. And there is also another strong reason for them to be in possession of fair and impartial report, in order that they may be enabled to judge properly of the merits or demerits each Trustee, and reward him accordingly with their approval or disapproval ; for this is all the control which they possess, and apowerful one it is- properly exercised. But how does the case stand present? Why, the " Guardian" has, for some months past, been attacking, with its poisonous sting falsehoods, just that portion of the Trustees who have been labouring incessantly to bring- the affairs the Town into a train of liquidating its long stand- ing debts ; and to whom the ratepayers owe more thanks than to any other Trustees since the ( so called) Improvement Act came into operation : and1 those are the very men whom that wise and consistent Oracle," in one and the same article, charges with peculation* and extravagance; andj forsooth, with having recommended " stringent bye laws" for pre- venting the possibility of a recurrence of peculation and extravagance! Just fancy a fraternity of the light finger'd gentry organizing an effective Police Force ! Truly those who deal in fiction ought to have retentive memories. Enough for the present. FAIR PLAY. Halifax, Dec. 13th. 1842. STATISTICS OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA. ( Continued from our ninth number ) RELIGIOUS STATISTICS. State and Prospects of the Religious Denominations of South Australia, up to December 1 st, 1841. Cost. Attend. Coramu Church of England. Trinity Church, North Terrace, £ Rev. C. B. Howard, A. M., Colo- nial Chaplain 2700.. 400.. 130 St. John's Church, Halifax- street, Rev. J. Farrell, M. A., in course of erection 2600.. — .. — St. Paul's, Port Adelaide, supplied by Messrs. Howard and Farrell.. 460.. 60 .. 12 St. Mary's, near the river Sturt, supplied as above 104.. 40 .. 14 St. Peter's, Lyndoch Valley, in courseoferection, and the Bishop applied to for a Minister — ... — .. Church of Scotland. The Rev. Mr. Haining just arrived from Scotland, and; no church erected, the members having hitherto worshipped in the Secession Church, but means are now being taken to organize this body, and erect a church...... — .. — .. — Secession Church of Scotland. Presbyterian Church, in course of erection, Gouger- street, Rev, Ralph Drummond, Pastor, the congregation meeting at present in Mr. Drummond's school- room 550.. — .. 161 Wesleyan Methodists. Gawler Place Chapel, the Rev. John Eggleston, assisted by twenty- eight lay preachers 2041.. 400.. 191 Franklin- street Chapel, South Adelaide 399.. 70.. 29 Kermode Street, North Adelaide.. 160.. 70.. 30 Bowden Chapel, Bowden Village.. 146.. 70.. 13 New Connexion Methodists. New Connexion Chapel, Wright- street, supplied by lay preachers 200.. 60., 21 Primitive Methodists. Primitive Methodist Chapel, Light- square, supplied by lay preachers 40.. 40.. 23 Independents. Independent Chapel, Freeman- street, Rev/ r. Q. Stow, Pastor.. 3000.. 300.. 120 Hindmarsh Chapel, Milner- street, supplied by Messrs. Stow, Webb, and others 200.. 200.. — Albert Town, Victoria- square, a Chapel in course of erection.... — .. — .. — Encounter Bay Chapel, the Rev. Mr, Newland, Pastor, but no returns — ,, — .„ — Baptists. Baptist Chapel, Ilindley- street, sup,- THE HALIFAX FREE PRESS. 3 530.. 50 50 300.. 110 .. 130 800.. 13 .. — 25 — .. 10 plied by lay preachers.... German Lutherans.* ' Lutheran Church, Klemzig, Rev. A. Kavel, l'astor.. Lutheran Church, Hahnsdorf, sup- plied as above 18.. 12 .. 140 Society of Friends. Pennington Terrace Meeting House, North Adelaide Roman Catholics. Meet in Canaan- street, Franklin- street, Rev. Mr. Benson, Pastor Jews. Meet in Currie- street, but no Synagogue There are many out- stations, not enumerated in the above table, at which there is either stated or occasional preaching by the different denominations, as also several Chapels about to be erected. Sunday- Schools, all of which are well attended, are connectedwith most of the aboveplaces of worship. The Baptists have subscribed towards the erection of a new Chapel in North Adelaide, and a Church, on the English Baptist plan, i3 about to be formed there, distinct from the church meeting in Hindley street. The Bible Christians are not mentioned in the above table, but they are a respectable, though not very numerous body, meeting in the old Court- house. CAPITAL INVESTED. In estimating the amount of capital invested in the province, many of the calculations must be of course conjectural; but it appears to amount, on the most moderate computation, to between two a nd three millions sterling. PUBLIC EXPENDITURE. The estimated expenditure of the colonial govern- ment, for 1842, including all salaries and contin- gencies of the year, amounted to £ 34,588 15s. 4d., while the probable amount of revenue was £ 35,000, as shown in the following table :— Customs 25,000 Post Office. 900 Licences 2,800 Fines and Fees 1,300 Land Fund and Miscellaneous ... 5,000 £ 35,000 0 0 BANKING ESTABLISHMENTS. There are two banks of deposit and issue in South Australia, besides a Savings' Bank ; the latter was established in the early part of 1841, when monetary difficulties were beginning to be felt. The progress of the Savings' Bank has been very gratifying, as will be seen by the official return. This Institution is conducted as other similar Institutions at home ; the rate of interest, however, being seven, instead of five per cent. The following is the report pre- sented to the Directors at their meeting, on Monday, December 6th, 1841. Sums Sums Balance Balance Accounts. Dr. C'r. Dr. C'r. £ S. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. Deposit Accounts 397 13 4 969 10 3 571 16 11 B. S. Australia 430 2 4 155 14 8 274 7 8 B. Australasia 543 18 1 233 5 2 310 12 11 Office Expenses 0 16' 0 16 Interest Accounts 3 11 3 16 16 5 13 5 2 1375 6 61375 6 6 585 2 1 585 2 1 The followingtable shows the ntimber of depositors, and the net amount of deposits, at the beginning of each month, viz.:— 1841, April 5 34 £ 130 0 2 " May 3 47 221 3 7 " June 7 52 322 4 4 " July 5 51 376 2 4 " Aug. 2 55 501 19 10 " Sept. 6 55 520 2 10 " Oct. 4 54 536 13 1 " Nov. 2 57 476 6 11 " Dec. 6 57 571 16 11 POST OFFICE. The Post Office Establishment consists of a General Post Office in Adelaide, and of seven branch esta- blishments, the farthest being at a distance of fifty? four miles from Adelaide. The branches connected with the General Post office of the Province are established at the follow, ing places:— Departures Rates of Name. Distance. and Arrivals. Postage. Fort Adelaide. 7 miles. Twice daily. 4d. Gawler Town. 25 " Twice a week,. 8d. Morphett Vale. 16 " Onee a week. fid. No- orlunga.*... 211 " Ditto. 6d. Wlllunga 29* " D'tto. 6d. Encounter Bay 54 '* Ditto. 8d. Port Lincoln. • Occasionally. 4d.. * The returns of this denomination are evidently in- correct; the numbers of communicants being stated as greater than that of attendants. Probably the numbers hould lie reversed.— En. F. P. The following table exhibits the number of letters and newspapers despatched from, and received at, the General Post- office, Adelaide, from the 31st of August, 1839, to the 31st of August, 1841 :— LETTERS. NEWSPAPER5. Aug. 31,1839, to Aug. 31,1841. From To From To Creat Britain 16,654 27,051 21,703 40,057 Australian Colonies 10,323 11,168 19,976 13,078 Other places 454 793 445 3,078 Post offices in the Province... 4,481 7.722 600 2,653 Town Letters 11,668 11,668 43,560 58,405 42,783 58,866 The postage charges upon all letters received in, or sent out of, the Colony, except to the Australian Colonies, is 8d., but newspapers and periodical pub- lications are transmitted free of charge. Besides the Government Gazette, there are publish- ed in Adelaide, four newspapers, a monthly magazine an almanac, and occasionally a valuable statistical paper, under the title of the South Australian News Letter. PORT ADELAIDE. Port Adelaide is a safe and commodious harbour, capable of containing a great number of vessels with safety. At present ( Dec. 20, 1841.) there are six barques and ships, four brigs, a steamer, aud five schooners, lying there. Two barques, each of up- wards of 300 tons, two brigs, and two schooners, are alongside the wharf, discharging and lading, and the remainder on the opposite side. Five of these, viz., two barques, two brigs, and a schooner, are loading cargoes for Britain, and three undergoing repair. EXPORTS. From this colony there have been, from its com- mencement, exports of sperm oil, black oil, and wool; these have rapidly increased, so that during this season four vessels have arrived in London, by which there have been received 1,627 bales of wool, 174 casks of oil, 256 bundles of whalebone, besides packages of seal skins, gum and stringy wood, planks, leather, two casks of salted beef as samples, etc. Two others were loading in the colony in February last, chiefly with sperm oil and wool, for England. A most important change has of late taken place in the commercial relations of South Australia, and the neighbouring colonies. Hitherto, South Australia has been, in a great measure, dependent on these colonies for the supply of flour, sheep, and cattle, and had nothing to give in return, but hard cash, or bills on England. Now the case is altered ; she can raise a sufficient quantity of grain for all the wants of the colony. One or two shipments of fat cattle, besides supplies of butter and cheese, have been sent to Van Diemen's Land; and some shipments of slates and other articles made to Sydney. This traffic will un- doubtedly incrsase, to the obvious advantage of both colonies; and judging from the geographical position of South Australia, and the western parts of the ter- ritory of New South Wales, there is good reason to expect, that the settlers in these parts of New South Wales, will by- and- by receive their supplies from South Australia, by the noble stream of the Murray ; and that the wool of their flocks will be shipped, not at Sydney, but at Encounter Bay, in the colony of South Australia. ( To he Continued.") A reverend gentleman, enlarging on the sin of swearing, said, " You never, my dear hearers, heard a dumb man swear:— then ought not you to be ashamed to swear, who are so much more highly favoured ?" THE THAMES TI/ NNEI..— This stupendous work is finished, and Wapping has reason to be proud of such a truly wapping undertaking. Perhaps no enterprise ever had so much cold water thrown upon it, and never was there a project which it seemed at one time so difficult to get through with. The engineer has worked like ahorse,. and has scarcely ever been out of the shaft. The original shareholders, whose pockets were well drained in fruitless efforts to drain the tunnel, have now the satisfaction of once more running through their property. For some time the ardour of the projectors was damped by the works going on too swimmingly. When accidents were every day occurrences, the tunnel was a matter of interest; but, since the water has been effectually kept . out, it has become a dry subject. On more than one occasion the Company would have been swamped, in spite of all hands being put to the pumps* if go verninent had not lent them their sucker. The funds, iu fact, were at low water mark long before the works reached the same desirable point; and the more the tunnel was set afloat, the more were the shareholders aground in their undertaking. But the perils are now past, and the tunnel remains as a monument to British enterprise. We should call it, perhaps, a pillar to the fame of the engineer, if it were not that a pillar is incomplete without two things, one of which, the shaft, has been taken away, while the proprietors have long since lost sight of the capital.— Cruickshank's Comic Almanack for 1843. OUR CHATTER BOX. " Dora" has sent us some lines " To Ellen on her Birth- day;" and we think the first quartrain will suffice for those of our readers who can distinguish poetry from prose run mad. It is as follows :— " Ellen, you ask me for a line, To mark your natal day. The subject is so threadbare^ now, I scarce know what to say.'* R. E. has transmitted to us a piece marked " Original," and called " The Withered Rose." It is " original" enough, no doubt; but originality does not necessarily imply merit. We quote a few lines, by way of specimen : — " But a few short days ago, It was the fairest in the row; But now, alas! its leaves are gone, , And its little work is done." Another would- be poet, who signs himself J. C. has sent us an effusion which we transfer to our columns, with as close an approximation to the manuscript as it is in our power to attain. Nov 28 1842 To the Editors of the Free Press GENTLEMEN And is my name awritten there Where holy men the lord doth fear And shall j now a witness be Of what the lord ath done for me Sure than it is my duty too to teach men What they aught to do In doing this my heart should be Fixt never lord on ought but thee In provedance thou dost provide for all the men thy hands ath made for in the world thairs bread in store to feed the rich to feed the poor than let not men thy name blaspeme by keeping back what thou ast given but let the world thy goodness know by getting what thou dost bestow J. C. EREORS OF THE PRESS.— In a paragraph headed " Venice by Moonlight," in the 13th number of the " Free Press," there was a typographical error. Instead of " the effect of the floods of silver light upon the twinkling fretwork," it was printed—" upon the tumbling fretwork ;" and the blunder of the com- positor, like most other blunders of other people, was not discovered until pasS remedy,— I had once occasion to state, ( says a reporter,) that a noble lord was confined to his bed with a " violent cold;" next morning 1 found his lordship represented to be con- fined with a " violent scold !" In the same way, on the occasion of a recent pntertainment, I had said that the first point of attraction and admiration were her " ladyship's looks ;" this compliment was trans- ferred by the printer to her " ladyship's cooks 1" My praises of the " Infant Lyra" were converted into a panegyric on the " infant liar !" In an aecount of General Saldanah's conduct at Oporto, I observed that he " behaved like a hero," while the printer made it appear that he looked " like a hare." We shall enumerate a few more of these errors, equally droll and amusing. A gentleman was yesterday brought up to answer a charge of having " eaten" a hackney coachman, for demanding more than his fare ; and another was accused of having stolen a small " ox" out of the Bath mail-— the stolen property was found in his waistcoat.— The Russian General Kachinoffhowsky was found dead with a long " word" stuck in his throat. Smithfield Festivities ; The " air" was crowded with people of all descriptions. At two o'clock the Lord Mayor drove through it in his carriage. The conflict was dreadful, and the enemy was repulsed with considerable " laughter !" Robert Jones was yesterday brought before the sitting magistrate, on a charge of having spoken " reason" at the Barleymow public house. In consequence of the numerous accidents occasioned by skating on the Serpentine River, measures are taking to put a " top" to it. When Miss Leserve, late of Covent Garden Theatre, visited the Hecla, she was politely drawn up the ship's side by means of a single " hair." At the Guildhall dinner none of the poultry were eatable except the " owls.'" We ( says the John Bull) often suffer in . this way. About two years since we represented Mr. Peel as having joined a party of " fiends" In Hampshire, for the purpose of shooting " peasants ;',' and only last week, in a Scotch paper, we saw it gravely stated that a " surgeon" was taken alive in the river, and sold to the inhabitants at 6( 1. and lOd. per lb. Every one remembers the fate of Baron Grimm. He declared that he had produced an immaculate work, and defied the critics to find out a single error ; for, as he averred, he. had scru- tinously " read every line himself." The critics set to work ; when lo ! they pointed out no less than- three hundred errors ! and the poor Baron died of a-' fit of chagrin ! 4* THE HALIFAX FREE PRESS. POETRY. ORIGINAL. SYMPATHY. A SONNET. Friend, hast thou ever felt the thrilling sense Of heaven- born soul- inspiring sympathy, That sweet diffusive love whose Are intense Burns up the tinsel of humanity, Subdues ill will, disperses envious strife, And sweetens all the ills of human life ? ' Tis a rich treasure, but by few possessed, A jewel which adorns its owner's breast, A virtue great, which nothing can outshine, A pure effusion from the fount divine. ' Tis what the Christian for the Sinner feels, That holy deep solicitude which steals Into the heart of every child of grace, And seeks the general welfare of our race. JOHN WALTON. SELECTED. A FASHIONABLE BALLAD. NOT BY ONE OF THE BAILEYS. I stood amid, the glittering throng; Fiddle de dee, fiddle de dee And there I stood confoundedly long, Like the fine folks whom I stood among. Fiddle de dee, fiddle de dee! I stood, and stared, and stared, aild stood; Fiddle de dee, fiddle de dee! To have seen me stand would have done you good ; For I stood just like a log of wood. Fiddle de dee, fiddle de dee! And I stood, and I stood., till the dawn of day ; Fiddle de dee, fiddle de dee! There I stood, xamid the throng so gay; Yes; I stood till at last I went away, toddle de dee, fiddle de dee ! THE DEAF xMUTE'S SOLILOQUY. BY J A ME 3 MONTGOMERY. ( From the Forget Me, Not for 1843.) To me, while neither voice nor sound From earth or air may come, Deaf to the world that brawls around, The world to me is dumb. Yet well the quick and conscious eye Assists the slow dull ear: Sight can the signs of thought supply, And with a look I hear. The song of birds, the waters' fall, Sweet tones and grating jars, Hail, tempest/ wind, and thunder— all Are silent as the stars— The stars that, on their tranquil way, In language without speech, The glcry of the Lord display, And to all nations preach. Now, though one outward sense is seal'd, * The kind remaining four, To teach me useful knowledge, yield Their earnest aid the more. Yet hath my soul an inward ear. Through which its powers rejoice : Speak, Lord, and let me love to hear Thy Spirit's still, small voice 1 So when the Archangel from the ground Shall summon great and small, The ear, now deaf, will hear that sound, And answer to the call. • euii SCRAP ROOK. " A thing of Shreds and Patches." A youth was charged with pointing a fowling- piece at a gentleman, and threatening " to bring him down," Tlie worthy magistrate, with a decision truly Hiber- nian, " bohnd him over to keep the peace, and took away his gun."— Bentley. Martin Foikes, the antiquary, remarks, that cur English Kings, on their " great seals," have been always represented with beards; whilst, on their " coins," they ha? e always exhibited themselves smooth- faced.. How is this ? Is it that the \ nvigiver is more terrific than the moneytato' ? or that the latter is the more barefaced of the two ? AN INFTCISITIVF, MAN.— There was a man on board this boat with a light fresh- coloured face, and pepper- and- salt suit of clothes, who was tl e most inquisitive fellow that can possibly be imagined. He never spoke otherwise than interrogatively. He was an embodied inquiry. Sitting down or standing up, still or moving, walking the decks or taking bis meals; there he was, with a great note of interrogation in each eye, two in his cocked ears, two more in his turned up nose ar. d chin, at least half- a- dozen more about the torcers of his mouth, and the largest one of all in his hair, which was brushed partly off his forehead in a flaxen clump. Every button in his clothes said " Eh ? What's that ? Did you speak ? Say that again, will you ?" He was always wide awake, like the enchanted bride who drove her hus- band liar, tic; always restless; always thirsting for answers ;' perpetually seeking and never finding. There never, was such a curious man. I wore a fur great- coat at that time, and before we were well clear of the wharf, lie questioned me concerning it, and its price, and where I bought it, and when, and what fur it was, and what it cost- Then he took notice of my watch, and asked what that cost, and whether it was a French watch, and where I got it, and how I got it, and whether I bought it or had it given to me, and how it. went, and where the keyhole was, and when I vound it, every night or every morning, and whether I ever forgot to wind it at all, and if I did, what then ? Where had I been to last, and where was I going to next, and where was I going after that, and had I seen the President, and what did he say, and what did I say, and what did he say when I had said that ? Eh ? Lor ! Do tell Finding that nothing would satisfy him, I evaded his questions after the first score or two, and in particular pleaded ignorance lespect- ing the nan e of the fur of which the coat was made. I am unable to say whether this was the reason, but that coat fascinated him ever afterwards ; he usually kept close behind me as I walked, and moved as I moved, that he might look at it the better; and he frequently dived into narrow places after me at the risk of his life, that he might have the satisfaction of passing his hand up the back, and rubbing it the wrong way.— Dickens's American Notes. THE REIGN OF TERROR.— The " Life and Adven- tuies of 0. Steininger, a soldier of fortune," has recently been published at Stuttgart and republished in England. This " Captain Dalgetty" of real life was a Suabian, and passed a chequered existence in the various armies of Europe, deserting the service of bis paymasters as the humour took him. In 1791 he entered the French service, and went through the horrors of the Revolution. He says :— In Nantes, the Deputy Carrier raged most fearfully. Daily from 11 to 12, and from 4 till 5 o'clock, was the guillotine at work. Every body who was handed over, as sus- pected of being a friend to the aristocracy, was slaughtered. Frequently 600 or 700 were led out at once.: a regiment was then ordered out, and they were shot. At first cartridges were used ; but sub- sequently this method of killing them was discon- tinued, as, on seeing the flash, they would throw themselves to the ground, and the balls flew over their heads. As they lay on the earth the bodies were searched for plunder ; and if any showed signs of life, he immediately received a quietus from the bayonet or sabre. During our two months at Nantes, on two separate occasions a massacre was made of women and noble ladies, each time to the number of 150. My regiment bad once this office to perform. It was heart- rending to see girls of between sixteen and twenty years of age, with shrieks of desperation, fly supplicating to the soldiers—" Et vous, vous ayez le cceur de tuer une jeune demoiselle comnie moi!" But the order was given, and must be obeyed. These ladies had sometimes articles of value about them. I myself found on one nine louis in gold. But the most horrible of all these scenes were the well- known Novades " when women of all ranks and ages, old and young, were drowned by heaps at night in the Loire. Carrier and his myrmidons, for vile purposes of their own, had long spared one monastery, till at last a peremptory ordered arrived from Robespierre for the execution of ils inmates, and further delay was impossible. * * * I sallied out for a stroll on the Pont Neuf in all the splendour of a new plume. Abutting on this bricge, there was a tower, which served the purpose of a prison. Within were con- fined several ladies of rank. At this time there was a regulation, that a republican soldier might marry a noble female prisoner, and thus effect her liberation. At the same time, however, he became responsible for her conduct. If it chanced that she was afterwards found guilty of any aristocratic complicity, the hus- band was at once considered as an accomplice. The ladies in the prison, wishing no doubt for liberty, called to us, holding at the same time billets- doux in their hands, " Citoyen, citoyen." We were well aware of the meaning of this. The billet- doux con- tained an offer of marriage. As there were some pretty gills amorg them, we immediately inquired for which of us the notes were intended, aud they forthwith explained. The note intended for me contained an invitation to come into the jailer's lodge, and have a conversation. Away we went to the jailer's, apd sent for the parties in question. When they came, each one instantly rushed into the arms of her chosen squire. Mine was most affectionate and tender. I could save her life, she said : she was possessed of considerable wealth, a castle in La Vendee, and so forth. We sent for biscuits and wine ; and, partly influenced by their charms, partly touched with their misfortunes— partly, too, blinded by the glittering prospects they lit Id out to us— promised to marry them. Next day we actually did . rait on our captain, and represented the case to him. But he prudently admonished us on the great hazard we ran in marry- ing females belonging to noble families, for whom we should have to be responsible, and who, as soon as they escaped from the guillotine, would take the first opportunity to decamp, and thus involve us in diffi- culties. This brought us again to our senses. Wishing, however, to give the girls an answer, we went to the jailer for the purpose of seeing them once more. But they had just been sentenced to death, and next morning, at eleven o'clock, they were to be guillotined. In the square where the guillotine used to work, was thecolfee- house at which we breakfasted. At eleven the unhappy creatures were brought to the spot . Believing in our asseverations, they still gazed around with longing, lingering looks, as if in hopes ol discovering us. We carefully avoided theirglances, which every moment became more and more sorrow- ful, the nearer they approached the scaffold. My chosen one was the second to mount, and in a few moments the five beautiful maidens were no more. to the " Grecian" to- night, and as I'm ( rather liaid up, send 5s. by the bearer. Yours till death, TC'M. She sent him the 5s., and accompanied him to the Grecian— where she had to " pay the piper." His. next letter ran thus :— June 28,1842.— MY LOVELY FOIL,— Pray forgive that little indiscretion on my part with respect to Matilda, whom I detest in my heart. It was her fault and not mine. Do not withold from me mercy, or I shall die a victim to love and Mary Williams. Come or send to me ere I die ! and, if you can, lend me a half- a- sovereign until to- morrow, as my tailor is waiting, and won't go without some money. Your admiring lover, P. S.— Pray not to forget the money. T. W. Mary was fool enough to send " Tom" the half- sove- reign, and afterwards to lend him lis. 4d. for cigars, brandy and water, & c. Then, wben. be wished to break off the connection, he invented the following excuse:— Septemlx- r 19.— Mary, the die is cast— I have been deceived. You were at the " Conduit" on Sunday night without me, and talking to two men— so you car. not expect to see me more, for on next Sunday three weeks I shall be married to your rival and cousin, my dear Matilda. Yours, TOM WRIGHT. " Tom" was called upon for his defence, and said, " Why, you see, this yourg woman had r, o or. e to take notice of her until I did ; and then, as a matter of course, she used to pay for everything when I took her out, which she now wants to make me pay." " Oh ! gentlemen, ( cried Mary,) it's false ; lor before I knew him, there was Mr. Roberts the butterman, Mr. Wilkins the tailor, and others, but I sacrificed them all for him !" " What do you say to those letters, Mr. Wright ; and your promise tomake the young woman your wife ?" ( said acommissioner.) Mr. Wright : Never did such a foolish thing. Got a temper— couldn't put up with it. Look at Ac letters. June 19, 1842.— MISTER TOM,— So you were at the " Albert" last night, without letting me know. I saw you talking and flirting with Miss , the actress Don't let me catch hold of her— that's all. You'd better come to- morrow, or it will be worse for you. I shan't 20 and see Love's Sacrifice on Friday, for I think you're sacrificing my love by your shame- ful conduct. Yours, MARY WILLIAMS. There's a specimen of her writing ( added Mr. Wright) you should only hear her tongue.— The commission- ers decided that the defendant must pay Mary what he had borrowed ; and poor Tom had to send his half- and- half" coat to his " uncle" to raise the money for the " vixen," as he called her in his anger. AN ORNAMENT TO HER SEX.— In " Notes by a Reader of Historj'," in. Fr. azer's Magazine, we find this curious passage :— " The, following is a summary of the exploits of. the Queen of Syria, Cleopatra bv name :— She had. been the wife of three Kings of Syria, and the mother of four. Two of her husbands slio had been the death of; and of her sons, one she murdered with her own hands, and would have served another after the same fashion, only he poisoned her instead." SEA BATHING;— Home Topke ridiculed sea bath- ing, and said, if any. of the seal species were sick, it. would be just as wise for a fish physician to order them to go ashore. Porson dtclared that sea bathing was only reckoned healthy, because many persons have been known to survive it. But Sheridan's objection to salt water was most quaint:— Pickles," be said, " don't agree with tne." A POCKET LOVER.— At a metropolitan Court of Requests, recently, Miss Mary Williams, a young lady sporting one of those new articles of dress called " cardinals," summoned Mr. Thomas Wright spooney- looking young man, dressed in a half " Chesterfield" half " Taglioni" kind of coat, for £ 1 6s 4d., money lent to the said Mr. Wright. Mary revealed to the commissioners the story of her wrongs. Thomas Wright had courted her— had borrowed money from her on pretence of marriage— and then transferred his affections to her cousin Matilda. One of his first letters to her was as fol- lows :— June 14, 1842,— DEAREST POLL,— How gratifying it is to me to know that you love me, and for me to know that not another creature on the earth has ever gained my affections but you. You must go with me ADVERTISEMENTS. HALIFAX MECHANICS' INSTITUTION The Members and Friends of this Institution are respectfully informed tllat, on Wednesday Evening, Dee. 21st, 1842, a Lecture on the REVIVAL OF LEARNING, in the Middle Ages, will be delivered, in the Old Assembly Room, by W. Morris, Esq. The, Lecture to commence at Eight o'clock. ' Membersadmittedon show - ing their Tickets, and Non- Subscribers on payment of- 6ix- pence. Ladies' Tickets, admittingthem to all the Lectures for the Year. Four Shillings each. TO THE TRUSTEES UNDER THE IMPROVEMENT ACT FOR THE TOWNSHIP OF HALIFAX. GENTLEMEN,— Your acceptance of my grateful acknow., ledgements for the kind and efficient support I received from you in the recent contest for the Chief Clerkship, will add another fuvour to those already conferred upon me. It will be my endeavour to fulfil th^ requirements of the situation I am appointed to sustain, in such a manner as shall be honourable; to myself and satisfactory to you. I have only- further to solicit your favourable indulgence in discharging those duties which seem to demand more than ordinary care, skill, and attention. Again expressing my obligations. Believe me to be, Gentlemen, Your obedient Servant, JOSEPH COCKIN HOATSON. West Hill, Halifax, Dec. lfitb, 1842. LE'STER HOUSE, NO. 1, Northgate End, Halifax. Esta- blished for the Sale of all kinds of the best and cheapest Stockings, Knitting Worsteds and Yarns, Gloves and Ready made Shirts, & c. Women's Stockings and " Gloves, Men's Stockings and Gloves, Children's Stockings and Gloves, in great variety.— Men's Merino and Lambs' wool under- Shirts, Drawers, and Pantaloons, much cheaper and superior to Flannels— Many qualities of men's cotton and linen ready made shirts, shirt- fronts, shirt collars, stocks, and braces, — Purchasers are respectfully. invited to try the Le'ster House, where there is kept an extensive assortment of Stockings and Gloves— Elastic wool under- shirts and drawers, recom - mended as a sure preventive of rheumatism and gout Every article belonging to the hosiery business, and par., ticularly suitable for the present season, is sold at astonish- ing low prices, at the Le'ster House, No. 1, Northgate End, Halifax. JAMES WHEWALL, Proprietor. November 2Sth, 1842. HALIFAX -.— Printed and Sold, for the Proprietors, at the General Printing Office of H. Martin, Upper George Yar .