The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1858-09-21 00:00:00

AMERICA.

The steamship Alc;-;;;;;1--U Liverpool Friday,
with New York "dykes to the sth indent, The stem-
.hip Pacific, from Galway, arrived at St. John'. on the
2nd, and the Africa, hence arrived at New York on the
lame day. The political news is unimportant, the cable
jubilee absorbing public attention. It wen celebrated on
the lit with great ic.lat.. The quarantine hospital on
Staten Island has been entirely destroyed by • mob, by
means of fire. One man was shot during the affray.
The 'team frigate Niagara has been ordered to Charles-
ton to convey to Africa the nevus captured on board
the Echo slaver. The yellow fever still raged at New
Orleans. Stooks at New York were dull, and prioes
irregular. Flour we, steady at unchanged prices. Corn
waa 20. lower.

Acicounte from Toronto of the 28th ult., state that
Mr. George Brown had been re-elected to Parliament
for that city after • severe contest. His suomiss restores
him to the seat he yeast-ad • few weeks previous by
excepting_ the offioe of Premier in the short-lived Brown-
Denon Ministry.
-

Tim QUEEN AND THE CA.NADIANB.—The Canadians
recently presented a petition to Her Majesty, praying
that, as she had been pleased to honour the inaugura-
tion of similar undertakings in England and elsewhere
with her presenoe, she would give authority to the Prinoe
of Wales, or some other member of the Royalfamily, to
proceed to Toronto and represent her at the opening of
a crystal palace now in the comma of erection there.
This document was signed by upwards of 180 of the
chief citizens of Toronto and inhabitants of
other parts of Canada, Including, among others,
Sir Alan M'Nab, the Hon. N. T. Belleau, the
Speaker, and 25 members of the Legislative Council,
the lion. H. Smith, Speaker of the Legislative Assein-
bly, Mr. Brown, the recent Premier, Mr. Macdonald, the
present head of the Government, and a large number of
men of all parties in that branch of the Legislature,
Chancellor Blake and eight other of the judges,
and several uiilitary authorities high in own-
mand. Unfortunately, the petitioners presented
their memorial thiough the person who suggested it,
instead of by the Governor's hands. This seems to
have detracted from its effect; but, "in consideration
of the eminence of the persons whose names were at-
tached to the petition" Sir Edward Lytton Bulwer laid
it before Her Majesty, who has declined the request
of her Canadian subjecte. We are sorry it could not
be ordered otherwise, and heartily sympathise with
the disappointed Canadians.

_
BRITISH COLUMBIA.—Sir E. Lytton has made arrange-
menta for opening a bank at Vancouver's Island, and
ultimately in British Columbia. He has also suggested
a plan for uniting &fortnightly postal communication to
New Zealand and South Australia vi 4 Panama, with a
postal service by the same route to Vancouver. Mr.
Brew, of the Irish constabulary, who served with great
distinction in the Crimea, has been appointed to or-
ganize a constabulary police in British Columbia. Two
chaplains are sent to the colony by the Society for the
Propogation of the Gospel.
A SLAVS COMMUNITY.—The parish of St. Mary's, in
the state of Louisiana, has been always known to be
industrious and prosperous. It is exclusively agricultu-
ral, lying in the Teche region, and cultivated with slave
labour, by a class of quiet, relined, and intelligent
planters. The assessment-roll of the parish for this
year, which we find condensed in the Attakapas Regis-
ter, published at Franklin in that pariah, enables us to
see at a glance the solid grounds of that opinion, and to
present them, as studies, to those economists who talk
flippantly of the imperfect results of slave labour. What
would hireling labour have done in St. Mary's for the
whites or the blacks! The population of St. Mary's, by
these assessments rolls, consists of 4,021 whites of all ages
and sexes, and 12,019 slaves. We do not see the number
of free negroes stated, but by the preceding census, five
years ago they numbered 585. The slave property is
assessed at $6,433,250, averaging $535 254. as the value
of each &lave, and about $1,600 a head of slave property
for every white man, woman, and child ia the parish.
The total assessed valuation of all the taxable property
in the parish is $13,978,169, or within a trifle of $3,500
a head for every white inhabitant. The number of
plantations in the parish is 171, and the number of acres
cultivated and in swamp lands is 279,547, of which the
assessed yaluation is $5,948,100. It is difficult to state
from this with accuracy the average value of the culti-
vated land, which is returned at 59,336 acres. The
estimate in the Register takes $5 per acre as the value of
swamp land, and deducts from the aggregate the esti-
mated value of the town lots and buildings in the towns
at $610,000. The average deduced from all the circum-
stance is, that the cultivated land in St. Mary's is to be
valued at $65 62c. per acre—an estimate which the
writer himself is startled with ; but he can only amend
it by estimating some of the uncultivated land at more
than $5 an acre, or in supposing the number of cul-
tivated acres understated. The figures will bear
no other alteration, and they show at all events
an extraordinary state of prosperity. The pro-
ducts of these 171 plantations for the year ending
with the crops of 1857 are estimated by the prices fur-
nished in New Orleans, via., sugar at $55 net per hogs-
head, molasses at 64 net, corn at 70c., and cotton at
$4O per bale, although only 40 bales were raised in the
parish. The total value of the products raised, viz.,-
31,915 hogsheads of sugar, 41,309 barrels of molasses,
401,600 bushels of sorts, and smaller products, is put
down at $2,316,553 50c. The average production is
therefore $39 and a small fraction per acre of the cul-
tivated lands. Taking the excess of 2,019 over 10,000
as the estimate of slaves employed other than in agricul-
ture, the production of every slave on the plantation,
men, women, and children, exceeded $231 a-head, and.
if we take only the working hands, insist be nearly Pk
a-head. The product for every white person, of every
age and sex, averaged $576 a-head. The plantations
being 171, the average of each plantation was $13,547
9e. These are the gross reoeips. The following are the
estimates made of the net mourns. The molasses on
plantations is estimated as paying current expenses, and
the other products, excepting sugar, as consumed on the
place. The sugar, therefore, is net profit. This
amounted to $1,755,325. Each slave, therefore, netted
his muter $175 a year, or nearly 33 per oent, on his
assessed value. The summing up is as follows :—The
171 plantations have an average value each of $72,188,
an average net income of $10,265. There are 970 voters
in the parish, and it follows that if it were equally
divided among the white population each would receive
$3,407 82a. ; if shared among the 970 voters, each would
receive $14,410 48a. • if shared among the whole popula-
tion, including whites, negroea, and Indians, there
would be for each $839 88e. The number of slaves
being 12,019, there are three to each white in the parish,
over 12 to each voter, and over 70 to each plantation.

DELIVERANCE or A WHITE WOMAN FROX SLAVERY.
—The Maysville (Kentuak) Eagle of the 26th of August
says:—" One of the most remarkable and intensely
interesting oases ever brought before a court of jmitice
was tried and disposed of in our Circuit Court last week.
The plaintiff, Ann Goddard, wee • handsome young
woman, about 21 years of age, perfectly white, with
long, luxuriant, and straight hair, graceful and easy in
manners, and having all the appearance of an mown-
plished and well-bred lady. Her features bore the
highest marks of European perfection, and there wee not
the slightest indication of Afrimn blood in her veins.
She brought suit here for freedom, alleging that she had
been forcibly arrested by the officers and lodged in the
negro gaol of the late James M'Millan, under the claim of
the defendant, Mary Goddard, that she was • slave,
" when in truth she was • free white woman." The
snit was brought nearly two yearn ago by the Hon.
It. H. Stanton, and proseented by him, with the assist-
ance of the Hon. W. H. Wadsworth, said Judge J. D.
Taylor, and defended by the Hon. H. Taylor and Mr.
T. C. Campbell. When the jury was sworn, the only
testimony relied on by the plaintiff WAS the exhibition
of her own person for their inspection, her counsel
claiming that her appearance was primed facie evident*
of her freedom ; and the presumption thus being raised,
of °ours° the burden of proof rested upon the defendant
to prove her a slave. An attempt was then made by
the defendant to prove her the daughter of a mulatto
named Matilda, by whom the plaintiff bad been reared
from infancy ; but in tide they did not suomed, as no
witness VIA introduced who was present at the birth
of the child. The cue was ably argued on both sides,
and much feeling was manifested in the community on
behalf of the plaintiff. When the Jury brought in their
verdict, to the effect that she was a' free white woman,'
the judge was compelled to address the audience upon
the impropriety of any demonstrations of applause in a
court of justios, in order to keep down • universal ito-
pulse to thew the satisfaction given by the result."

the peasantry, dare neither fight, nor stop, nor disperse.
The spies report their misery as frightful. In Boondee
they had food only once in two days, and even that
Was torn from the villagers by force. However,
from all I can learn the gang have ceased to be of the
smallest political importance. Of course they are •
nuisanos, like • gang of Oradea in an English village,
but the State cares little for their movements. Even in
Ouch) affairs are brightening. The rebels had besieged
Mann Singh in immense numbers at Shaligunge. They
were determined to punish him for making a separate
peace, and pressed the assault with rigour. Mann Singh
held out as long u he could, and then wrote to Lucknow
for aid. The Commander-in-Chief had prohibited all
forays, but he yielded to this request, and Sir H. Grant
was ordered to relieve Shaligunge. He left Luoknow on
the 21st of July, and, leaving the Rajah of Kupoorthulla
half way on the road to protect his communications,
reached Fyzabad in eight days. The enemy declined to
await his approach. The three bands of which the be-
sieging army were composed fled towards Gonda, Sul-
unpora, and Tends. Kenn Singh came into camp; the
British General entered ',Tuba, and in a few hours the
shops were re-opened, and order was restored. It is
calculated that by the dos* of the mutiny we shall have
added £40,000,000 to our debt in India and England ; in
other words, the deficit will have increased to £41,000,000
sterling a year. The native army has been actually in.
creased by the recent enormous levies of Sikhs, Pun.
jab..., and Pathans, till all idea of airing in that quar-
ter hu disappeared. We have to pay 45 battalions of
additional Europeans, °offing in transport, horses, coin-
missulat, pay, allowances, Ate., nearly 28,000,000. This
raises the deficit to 27 000,000 • year. Against this we
have to set the surplus revenue of Gude and of the
lapsed and confiscated jaghiru, the whole of which, re-
dueed as they are by immense gifts to faithful chiefs.
will not sawed 21,000,000. We have, therefore, to
provide for • deficit of £13,000,000 sterling. These
figures are those of one of the coolest thinkers in India,
Whose occupation is finance, and they demand at least
attention. The remedy suggested is the disuse of •
native army, but unless this be ordered from England it
will never be attempted here. The expenditure going
on startles even those who believe that India can bear
more taxes.

--flie—fiZietiu-les of the Cawupore Memorial Church
have announced that the Bishop of Calcutta, who is
about to leave England for his diocese, has kindly un-
dertaken to make personal inquiries in India, with a
view to determine the most eligible lite for the proposed
church, so ea to carry out the designs of the promoters
with as little delay as possible.