F
BIGINAL CORRERS
My dear Sir
SIAM
THE FRIEND OF CHINA AND HONGKONG GAZETTE.
DBYOE.
To the Editor of the Friend of China,
in
Om ni u ni
-Maria Christina of Spain, or rather Madam Munoz has had her dowry of £30,000 a year, as Widow of Ferdmand the Seventh, stopped. We are glad of it. Having plundered Spain of valua bles and specie to the extent of more than £4,000,000 ought surely to suffice her Wants.
Slaves in the United States. According to the last Census amounted to 2,487,213: of Free Blacks
COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE.
1 During the last six or seven years, the various descriptions of goods usually imported into this Presi dency from Great Britain, have increased to a rast extent. Printed and dyed goods, for example, have increased from 1.92.000 pieces in 1836-37 to 5,70,000 in 1840-41; Plain Cottons during the same period from 1200,000 to 20 00.000 pieces; Cotton yara from 17.60.000 to 25.00.000 lbs; Cochineal from 60,000 to
THE Siamese Prince. concerning whom you inquire is the elder son of the late King, and on the death of his father was the rightful heir to the throne. On the accession of the present i cumbent, he, to avoid doing homage to an usurper, entered
entered the
he shares in the of the highest dignities of the Kingdom. He is between thirty and forty years old, possesses good men- tal capacities, is familiar with the native books of the country though not a firm believer in all their contents, and has a little knowledge of Latin and English, and speaks made 8 reads Chinese to a limited extent. He has and recently ordered from Eh language, Council issues the notices of meeting, which are
common with the fraternity bad where, there were in the seven principal States 270,000. | 2,10,000 lbs; and most other articles in a similar ratio.
efforts at Romanizing the
printing press and all the necessary apparatus for printing. He has also commenced a font of Siamese metalic type, which are now in an advanced state of preparation The punches are cut, the matrices are formed and the type cast by Siamese artizans under his own instruction and personal, superintendance. He has met with some lit. tle difficulty in different parts of the work, but has received the necessary aid and instruction from the American gentlemen who have now two type foundries and four printing presses in successful operation in the Siamese Capital."
In return for this assistance, he proposes to furnish the matrices for a fout of his type, which are formed more in accordance with Siamese taste, and better a-
dapted to practical purposes, than either the one prepared at Malacca, or the one from Singapore,
What may be the pred
precise object of this Royal high
Priest in thus introducing the printing art into the country is not known, but from the character of the man and the position he occupies, being surrounded by who look up to their
an inquisitive disposi
Sir Charles Metcalfe. We are glad to know that the Diamond Star presented to this much es teemed gentleman by the Bengal Civil Service has been inspected by competent judges and pronoun- ced to be superb,
But in proportion as the importations of these commod. diminished in value, even simultaneously with an in- ities have increased in quantity, they have generally creased consumption. The consequence has been a general downward course of prices with hardly a eingle rally. Take the following as examples:
The Duke of Wellington as President of the couched in these terms; You are desired to "at- tend a meeting of her Majestys Servants. At times, affects not to be a responsible minister of the as in the case of the Paisley deputation, the Duke Crown. What is he then? We hope he will take warning by the fate of Marlborough and remember the caustic lines of Pope,
The Duke of Cambridge, has lately been voted the freedom of the City of London in a gold box of the value of one hundred guineas. We are glad to notice this testimonial as he is personally a very amiable Prince and his frequent friendly and cha- ritable visits to the City, have not a little tended, to popularize Monarchy in that quarter. It is said of him, that his father, George the third declared, I his Childern he alone, had never cost him a of all hi tear or a regret. He possesses the rare privi lege of a Prince of the Blood viz: in not being his habits he may well be, seeing that whilst out in debt-indeed he is reported rich, which with of England for a long series of years (and enjoying
an ignorant, people who and to their priests with the appendager and emoluments of a Viceroy in
tion with a capacity to nobility with trembling
religious veneration, it is reasonable to expect that good will be the result,
Hanover) John Bull has uncomplainingly continued
to pay him his annual income as a Prince of the Blood Royal of England.
Corn Laws. Our unfortunate ancestors, says
Kings to settle." We their Children, have got per- haps a harder thing tobattle, the Divine right of squires. Coals carried annually coastwise from the Tyne exceed, it is said 2,500,000 Tons and sent to Foreign parts amount now to 1,590,000 Tons.
Grey Longeloths, Mule Twist Cochines), 34 in. by 33 yds. No. 20 -No 405-
an as per lb.
1887 7 1836-8 Rypees per piace. 12 1838 7
1832 6 1140 6
1841 51
154 Rs. per lb 12 4
10
9
10 4
ย
7
*
61 9 31
8 781 3 51 8 21
1842 5 And as a proof that prices-at-the commencement of the present year, hand not attained their minimum, we may mention, that Cochineal has been sold in February at 2: in the beginning of March at 17; and ten days ago at 1f Rupees per lb !!
FOR No. 20 Mule twist, 51 annas can now with difficulty be obtained; and almost every other article is in a similar predicament.
Bombay Times.
NAVY.
sailed, or are about to sail, to join the aquadron in the
The total number of vessels that have already
As to the reading ability of the Siamese compared to that of the Chinese, sama idea may be derived from the fact, that the youth who would spend six or eight the Westminster Review, "had the Divine right of || tain H. D. Chads, C · B.; Thalia," 44. Captain C. years in learning to read Chinese would acquire the same knowledge of Siamese in an equal number of months. Add to this, the fact, that there are in the cap. ital alone not less than one hundred public institu. tions of learning including teachers and pupils containing on an average not less than one hundred persons, we may conclude the Siamese to be a reading people. But it is necessary to explain that these insti- tutions of learning are nothing more nor less than the Budhists temples, which occupy the most prominent and inviting sites in the country, and all to a greater or less degree share in the royal patronage. *
Naval Force of Great Britain now consists of 592 Ships of War; of which 107 are armed stea- mers the number of which, it is intended largely to augment.
China War. Will Sir James Graham, now he is in, say as he did when out of Office, viz. It is a War in which success would not be attended with glory, and in which defeat would be our ruin and our shame?
Glass has been very successfully applied in Europe to the fabrication of Church bells. The tone is alleged to be incomparably superior to that of Metal.
Every native boy in the country is expected to enter the temple, where he learns to read under the instruc tion of the priests, and afterward before he can be eli. gible to office, he must enter the priesthood for three months. But after stating that the Siamese language is simple and easily acquired, and noticing the ample provision made for the education of the young, it is found from observation, that faw if any of the Sia nese
Infusoria. Professor Ehrenberg the great mi- are educated. Many are found among them who, like, some of the Chinese can repeat fluently the sounds crocapical naturalist alleges that Chalk is but without knowing their signification. Bat few Si-product of animalcula of which about 10,000,000
are required to make a pound weight. amese females can read, though as before intimated a person of ordinary talent speaking the Siamese lan- guage might, in less than one year (some say in three months) learn to read it understandingly.
The Siamese books are written either upon palm leaf or coarse paper, resembling paste board and folded to gether like a fes On the former, the characters are Beratched with a style, and on the latter they write with a soft stone resembling a slate pencil, the paste. board first being covered with a composition giving it the character of slate paper. They comstimes write with a pen made of bamboo, using for ink a prepara- tion formed from a yellow stone found in the called horodan. This is reduced with much lab
Water. Their boo ine powder and mixed wit thus copied out on such bulky materials little matter in a large space, whilst the scop amese literature, it such it may be called, is confined to narrow limits. Their books contain some historical
account of their own country, with much
little on the subject of medicine. ligions syrom ( Budhiam
till
Sam Kok Chi
d by foret
the language, and
to your other a
eing but Bi
fabu-
a
The Author of the Pickwick Papers is now on a tour in the United States: we are sure he will meet with the kindliest welcome. We are glad to see that one of the most eminent of the Ameri- can Writers (and who also enjoys a high European reputation Dr Channing, says "Charles Dickens is a writer who illustrates the liberalizing, all-har- monizing tendency of our times, whose genius has sought and found subjects of thrilling interest in the passions, sufferings and virtues of the mass of the people. He shows, that life in its rudest forms may wear a tragic grandeur; that amidst follies and sensual excesses, provoking laughter and scorn, the moral feelings do not wholly die; and that the haunts of the blackest crimes are sometimes lighted up by the presence and influence of the noblest souls. The tendency of his dark pictures is to with our race, to change the towards feeling indifference which has prevailed the depressed multitude, into sorrowful and indig ibility to their wrongs and wo89,"
and Wellington Whilst tens of thou- leon have been sold in Art Union, there is no rait being sold in ller confirm the
Awaken
nant
according
Chinese anas. is fifteen-baing one line-of-battle ship. Cochrane; four frigates, the "Cambrian, 36, Cap- the "Implacable." 74. fitting for the flag of Sir Thomas
Hope; "North Star" 28. Captain Sir J. E. Home; and "Vindictive." 50, Captain J. T. Nicholas; six sloops of war-the "Dido," 20, Captain the Hon. H. Kappel; "Hazard,” 18, Commander C. Bell; Syren.” 18, Commander W. Smith, Harlequin." 16, Commander G. E. Hastings; "Wolverine. 16. Commander J. W S. Johnson; and "Serpent,” 16. Commander W. Mévill; three troop ships-the Balleisle." Captain J. Kingcome "Apollo" Commander C. Frederick; and "Sapphire."'* Master Commander G. H. Cóle; and one hospital-ship, the "Minden." Captain M. Quin The chips of war carry altogether 334 guns. The majority of them baro already sailed; the "Implacable." "Vindictive," "Wol- verine," and "Minden," (hospital-ship), being the only vessels not yet ready. The Wolverine" and "Minden"' will sail in a day or two, and the "Vindictive' in about three weeks. The "Implacable" will take some time longer, as she has only recently been put in commis- sion. It is now understood that the "Carysfort frigate, 26, Captain Lord George Paulett, which has lately been commissioned at Portsmouth, is to proceed to China This will make the number of vessels ordered to reinforce the squadron already there sixteen, and the total number of guns 360, exclusive of those on board the troop-ships, which are armed en flute.
+
Bombay Times.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
In the New York Money Market some excitement prevailed in consequence of a draft drawn by Mr. Ever
at the court of St. James, ett, the American Minister for 12.000 dollars. negotiated in London, having been protested at Washington for non-payment, the depart ment having nothing to offer but Treasury notes, and not feeling at liberty to pay them except at par
The examination of Nicholas Biddle, and others, on a charge of conspiracy arising out of their connexion with the Bank of the United States, took place on the 19th Jan.,-
Jan, before the Recorder of Philadelphia All the prisoners were present in court. The crowd was very great, as the curiosity of the auditory was intense to hear the development in this interesting proceeding. The examination was resumed on the afternoon of the 14th. The Court, after examining one witness, ad journed to the next day. The examination closed on the night of the 17th Jan. A cashier and a teller of the bank were the only witnesses examined: they pro duced books, papers, and memoranda. At the conclu sion of the exam
Recordar stated it as his frm belie
ent causs produced imony before him to
and
Samu
to China