The Sun.
London, England, 1859-03-17 00:00:00

ROYAL LITERARY FUND.

The annual general meeting for the election of
officers and for other business was held yesterday,
at the chambers of the corporation, Great Russell-
street ; the Earl of Stanhope in the chair. There
were also present :—Mr. Pepys, Sir H. Ellis, Mr.
Cabbell, Mr. Nichols, Mr. Bell, Mr. Dickinson, Sir
John Forbes, Mr. G. Gruikshank, Mr. Bentley, Mr.
Gruneisen, Mr. Newby, Mr. Spottiswoode, Dr.
Guest, Rev. Dr. Major, Mr. Pollock, Sir Jas. Prior,
Mr. Purton Cooper, Mr. Masters, Mr. Clowes,
Mr. HARRISON read the registrars' and treasu-
rers' reports. the report of grants during the last
year, the auditor's report, and an abstract of the
cash account. The following is a classification of
the authors relieved during the past year :—His-
tory and biography, 9 grants, £315; biblical lite-
rature, 2 grants, £7O; moral philosophy, 1 grant,
£5O ; science and art, 8 grants, £330; periodical
literature, 5 grants, £175; topography and travels,
8 grants, £230 ; classical literature and education,
3 grants, £9O; poetry, 8 grants, £lB5 ' • essays and
tales, 7 grants, £165; drama, 1 grant, £2O; law, 3
grants, £123; medicine, 1 grant, £5O ; miscel-
laneous, 2 grants, £4O.

The following is an abstract of the cash account :
Jan. 1. Balance in hand, £382 1 ls. 7d. ; rents of
the Newton estate, £203 ; dividends on stock, £9OB
Os. Bd. ; subscriptions and donations, £364 17s. ;
anniversary receipts, £977 15s 6d. ; total, £2,886
4s. 9d. Grants for relief, £1,840; rent, &c., £lBl

ls. 4d.; salaries, &c., £225105. 4d. ; stationary, &c.,
£llB 19s. sd. ; anniversary expenses, £262 12s. ;
balance in hand, £20515. Bd. ; total, £2,836 4s. 9d.
The CIIAIRMAN then read the following report :
" The general committee desire to state, for the in-
formation of the general meeting, that they have
received a communication from Mr. Chas. Dickens,
announcing the prospect of a certain offer to the
society,from a person not at present named, on cer-
tain terms and speculations. With these terms and
speculations the committee are at present ac-
quainted, but expect to learn them fully at an in-
terview which they have agreed to hold with
Mr. Dickens and another gentleman a few days
hence ; and they will then proceed to give
to them and to the whole subject their
most careful consideration. Meanwhile the
committee felt it their duty to communicate
also to the general meeting the following
extract from Mr. Dickens's letter on the subject :
The forthcoming annual meeting, therefore, I
shall abstain from attending. The friends who
have been associated with me on former similar
occasions will, yielding to the same reasons, also
stay away. But we confide it to the fairness of the
managers of the Literary Fund to make it known
to the corporation at that meeting, that we do not
withdraw our opposition ; that we hold it suspended
only until the matter shall have been fully con-
sidered.' " The chairman added, that the commit-
tee, not having had an opportunity of learning the
details of the offer, were not able to make any
more explicit statement on the subject.
Mr. GRUNEISEN inquired whether, in the event
of the communication rendering a special meeting
necessary, it would be called at once, or the matter
would stand over to another year ?
The CHAIRMAN replied that the committee had
not considered that point, but there was not the
smallest desire on the part of the committee to
withhold information.

Mr. GRUNEISEN suggested the propriety of sub-
mitting the offer to a meeting before the committee
came to any decision on the subject.
The CHAIRMAN observed that he considered that
a very reasonable suggestion.
A ballot then took place for the election of offi-
cers. Two vacancies on the list of vice-presidents
were filled up with the names of Mr. Gladstone,
M.P., and Mr. Alfred Tennyson ; two in the coun-
cil with the names of Mr. G. P. It. James and Mr.
Edward Foss ; two in the general committee with
the names of Mr. Justice Haliburton and Mr. An-
tonio Panizzi. The other officers were r.ll re-elected.
The usual complimentary votes were given to
the registrars, treasurers, auditors, and other .offi-
cers, and the proceedings terminated with a S ote
of thanks to the chairman.

PUGILISM.--JOSEPH NOLAN, OF BIRMINGITAM,
AND JOHN HICKS, OF LONDON, FOR £loo.—The contest
between these men took place yesterday. Nolan wa s the
victor.
CHURCH RATES.—A contest took place at East
Ardsley, near Wakefield, on Saturday last, for a ch. urch-
rate in this parish, which terminated by a majority of 22 is
favour of the rate.
d rating ou f 1
" I say, Sambo, does you know the key to de
mpurostsp iraeribty
be on R e ; S prosperity of de
juSnoou;f?'gu'
—big words, e's‘sKyeyouto
massa's dickshunary. Golly, I ain't lamed nuff to I i nswer
dat." " Well, chile, 'tis de darkey."
THE BANKRUPTCY AND INSOLVENCY BILLS.—
A meeting of merchants and other traders took pie (se to-
day, Mr. R. W. Crawford, M.P.
in the chair, ups n the
question of the amendment of the law of bankruptcy.
At a meeting
in November last a committee was app pointed
to consider the bills introduced into Parliament by the
Lord Chancellor and Lord John Russell. After a care-
ful examination of the provisions of the is ro Acts,
the committee are 'of opinion that the "fie btor and
Creditor" Bill of Lord Chelmsford exhibits; 'many de-
ficiencies, and should be firmly opposed, while they
recommend a steady support to Lord John Rui mell's scheme,
which it was stated will receive some import ant additions.
The committee also propose to refer the bill t o a, select com-
mittee, under whose superintendence every proper amend-
ment may be introduced. After a short diec, ussion, in the
course of which the evils of the present sy sten 'were torcibly
pointed out by Mr. S. Morley and other spec Lkers, a resolu-
tion was carried to present a petition to 7.earliament, em-
bodying the views of the committee. •

Chief Justice Begbie maybe saidto have madehis
official debut this morning in the publication of an
elaborate document, setting forth the various rules
and fees of court, and specifying the terms under
which barristers and attorneys of other British
colonies and American lawyers will be permitted
to practise in British Columbia. It is an ably drawn
manifesto in so far as the composition is concerned ;
but it concedes a new principle, which has elicited
vehement dissatisfaction from an interested few, and
will, no doubt, challenge considerable discussion
amongst the community at large, engendering, as it
does, an apprehension that with the thin end of the
wedge in, as temporary practitioners in our law
courts, our keen, insidious cousins will endeavour
to open up a free entry to many other important
rights and privileges hitherto regarded as inacces-
sible to foreigners. From all I • can learn of the
Chief Justice's character and feelings, whether as a
British subject or a British dignitary, I believe if
any other expedient could have been devised
whereby the ends of justice would be attainable he
never would have advised or sanctioned the step in
question ; neither is there reason to apprehend that
the national honour or the dignity of the high pro-
fession to which he belongs will suffer slight or
blemish through his instrumentality.
Under the official edict alluded to, American
lawyers of approved character and reputation are
permitted to practise for a period of six months only,
before the expiration of which time it is expected
that a sufficient number of duly qualified men may,
arrive from the old country to cope with the in-
creasing litigation of the colony. But, considering
that at present there is only one British barrister
and only one qualified attorney (a Canadian) in the
two colonies of Vancouver's Island and British
Columbia, while it is certain that the population
will increase enormously, particularly in its
American element, during the prescribed period,
I cannot see how the difficulty could have been
otherwise surmounted save by suspending
all legal proceedings, leaving crime to flourish,
and putting up the shutters of the temple
of justice until the members of the long robe at
home could be induced to favour us with the light
of their countenances. Even with the übiquitous
powers of Sir Boyle Roach's bird, together with the
versatile talents and energies of a Brougham and a
Pearson, I am wholly unable to conceive how one
barrister and one attorney could keep pace with the
business of two colonies, following one court into
the fastnesses of the Upper Frazer, then appearing
anon in another, simultaneously sitting in the capital
of Vancouver's Island, and drafting at the same time
the acres of conveyancing required in the alienation
of land from the crown, and the subdivisional sales
from large to small speculators, in colonies where
the leading aspiration of every man is to get hold
of a town allotment or a country farm.
The loudest, in fact, the only, inveighers against
the temporary privilege are a few Canadian lawyers
of " easy patriotism," who come within the category
of a class known as " whitewashed Yankees," from
having discarded, in as far as they could, their alle-
giance tothe British crown by declaring their inten-
tion to become citizens of the United States. The gist
of their grievance is that previous to enrolment
they are required to swear, amongst other matters,
" that they never have changed their allegiance,"
which debars them from the privilege of British
subjects. But, in my humble opinion, their remon-
strances or complaints should be rather' scorned than
heeded ; nor can I understand how m en guilty of
voluntary reneeadism, who " specially" forswear
their fealty to 15ueen Victoria,deliberately re-
pudiate the sacred ties of fatherland,and
can rationally
expect either sympathy or relief. I plead guilty to
a regret, that the constraint of necessity extracted
a very objectionable concession from Chief Justice
Begbie, but I regard the barrier he has opposed to
the " whitewashed" gentry as a trait of quite a re-
deeming character. There is a rumour that our soli-
tary barrister is determined to take high ground
with respect to American practitioners at the coming
law sittings ; but I trust he will alter his intentions.
Roman Catholic voyageurs are reputed to consider
themselves absolved from the obligations of fasting
and penance when they get into twelve-fathom
water, and I think a British barrister located to the
westward of the great Sierra Nevada might re-
nounce the strict prescriptions of the benchers in
favour of an extemporised arrangement calculated
to conduce to public convenience as well as personal
emolument. But referring once more to the " white-
washed Yankees," I trust his Excellency Governor
Douglas will see the necessity as well as the pro-
priety of having an oath of allegiance similar to that
framed by Chief Justice Begbie administered to
public officials of all ranks in both colonies ; for
already there is a large influx of the whitewashed
class from the neighbouring American territories
looking for appointments, and I cannot persuade
myself to believe that parties swallowing the sub-
joined preliminary oath can be considered either as
trustworthy or legally eligible for public em-
ployment under the British Crown—" I, A. 8.,
do solemnly declare on oath that it is bona fide my
intention to become a citizen of the United States,
and to renounce for ever all allegiance and fidelity
to all and any foreign prince, potentate, State, and
so vereignty whatever, and particularly to Victoria,
Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland—Sworn, A. 132,
In reference to American entanglements, another
question of considerable importance has arisen with
regard to the right of Arnericae•built vessels to ply
or trade along the coast, or on the internal waters of
British territory. Some of the authorities here at
first inclined to the opinion that the mere running
up of the British flag constituted a suffiejea
warrant
for such an intrusion ; but after further considera-
tion it was deemed indispensable that before an
American bottom could be entitled so to trade she
should pass by sale into the possession of a British
owner, and under this edict of the Executive Council

J.N. 1,1859.
Since the black raw weather softened down into
a mild genial temperature, for several successive days,
leading sanguinenew-comers to believe that an early
spring season was about to make amends for the late
rigours, so prevailing did this anticipation become,
that numerous late arrivals from the Upper Frazer,
en route to California, determined to remain in Vic-
toria, while several of the more impulsive absolutely
returned up river by the Otter yesterday to com-
mence their operations. This morning., however,
was ushered in with a tempest of wind and sleet,
which still hisses and spits with frigid venom
through the shingled roof as I write, blistering the
paper with wet blots, which you must not mistake
as having been caused by tear drops of regret at
my new-year prospects in this "new and happy
land," as Henry Russell would call it. I might, I
acknowledge, be much more comfortable airing my
slippered feet before a gentleman's seacoal fire in a
small Pimlico parlour; but the few temporary chills
and drawbacks endured by those who help in rocking
the cradles •of these infant colonies will be amply
compensated for on an early day, and hopeful minds
will cheer and sustain them against physical incon-
veniences until that day comes round. The men
who could think repiningly of carpets and easy
chairs and spring mattresses, early lamb, and the
other delicacies of the season, won't do for the cas-
cades and the frozen rapids. We want lads with
good hearts, willing hands, and good digestions,
whose motto is " never say die." And to as many
of this class as come, rewards proportionate to their
industry await them, not alone on the goldfields,
but in the fields of agriculture, in the lands of pas-
ture, in the pursuits of trade and handicraft, and in
the varied paths of professionil employment. This
is no highly-coloured nor inflated prediction. The
great and immediate results which followed the
auriferous development of California and Australia
will likewise accrue in British Columbia when her
golden resources are fairly brought to light, as they
will be in the course of a very few months, for
every day since I last wrote brings to hand accu-
mulative evidence of the abounding and wide-spread
deposits of the precious metal in the vast regions
watered by the Frazer and its countless tributaries.
Last evening I examined some splendid samples of
large nuggetty water-worn gold, from Bridge river,
which its owners said they picked from the crevices
of rocks into which it had been washedby the rapid
current ; and as these crevices are considerably
above the bed of the river, immense returns are
very naturally looked for when the waters so far
subside as to allow the bar and bottom to be care-
fully worked. But this is not all, rich dry diggings
have been discovered in various quarters. In a
locality called La Fountain, at the head of the Lil-
lovet trail, a great district of comparatively level
country has been found to be auriferous throughout;
and 80 miles beyond it, in a north-easterly direc-
tion, between the Cascades and the Rocky Moun-
tains, there is a vast open fertile prairie region,
called the Canoe country, which yields largely, all
the samples from there that I inspected being of a
most beautiful character. In a word, if the Go.
vernment and the wealthier mercantile classes
are equal to the occasion, supplying sufficient
means of reasonable travel and moderate freight,
in proper time, no doubt whatever exists
but that the amount of treasure which will
be dug up, and the consequent trade which must
follow, will astonish even the most prejudiced
hunters in the older gold-producing countries. In
my next you may look forward for information
founded on strict ocular demonstration, as I have
made arrangements to ascend the Frazer to its
upper waters immediately after the arrival of the
next European mail. The rivers are tolerably low
at present, and still steadily falling, so that I shall
be on the ground in the most favourable season for
seeing the bar-washing operations, but my prin-
cipal attention shall be directed to examining and
prospecting for dry diggings and quartz reefs,
which must always constitute the principal field
for money operations during the summer season,
when the rivers will be at their greatest height.
There are two saw mills at work on the Frazer
River, and the requisite machinery for several
others has been ordered from San Francisco, so
that there is every reason to hope that quartering
and weatherboards will be cheap and abundant in
the mining districts, enabling diggers to establish
themselves in comfortable and comparatively sub-
stantial quarters before another winter overtakes
them.
In the absence of business there is abundance of
gossip, and most stores, offices, and hotels gather
their daily groups, who discuss politics, prospects,
and small local matters. Having got the freedom
of the city without the ceremonial of a snuff-box, I
am permitted to take part in the conversaziones,
blit I apprehend I have lately given umbrage to
my new acquaintance by originating the idea that
it is on the cards to erect an independent capital for
British Columbia, if not on the waters of the Frazer,
on some of the numerous inlets which indent its
seaboard, some of which penetrate between sixty
and eighty miles into the interior, almost without
soundings, and with the boldest of beaches—all of
them sheltered throughout, while those called.
Hong's and Lewis' Inlets take directions with re-
spect to the gold regions which would curtail the
distance from thence to the coast one-third, and
considerably diminish the difficulties of transport as
well. But the government discourage private ex-
plorations. Their policy is clearly an emanation
of Hudson-Bayism, and it is, in my estimation,
equally palpable that so long as our colonial rule
here continues to be impregnated with the hide-
bound selfish policy of that effete company, and
imperial interests are made to succumb to the grasp-
ing greed of its insatiable proprietary, we shall pro-
ceed in a halting unsatisfactory manner, havinr, the
island exalted at the expense of the mainland at
every opportunity, only because every Hudson Bay
Company's governor, chief-factor, factor clerk, func-
tionary, and hanger-on, owns land in Vancouver's
Island and possesses town lots in and around Vic-
toria which would be depreciated 100 per cent. be-
low their present estimate if each colony, in Ameri-
can phrase, " was upon its own hook." It is their
vital policy, therefore, to continue, and strengthen
the colonial copartnership which at present exists.
Hence the discouragement of an expedition which
might possibly precipitate the discovery of a harbour
in the main and put the nose of Victoria out of
joint. Hence the inactivity of the surveying squad-
ron at Esquimault, which has let a season pass
away without as much as buoying the channel
through the bar entrance to Fraser River, lest even
the full advantage of that recent discovery might
become in any wise antagonistic to the metropolitan
sovereignty of the island capital. This much, how-
ever, is known, that there is a depth of 22 feet at
high water in the channel, and that the bottom is
of a nature which can be most easily dredged, while
the impetuous current of the river affords a guaran-
tee that any artificial deepening of channel will be
kept free from sudden accumulations of deposit.
What, then, is to prevent Langley from becoming
the port of entry for British Columbia in case no
better is discovered ? The bar of the Mississippi
in 1830 was no better than the Fraser, and yet one
of the greatest maritime and commercial cities in
the world has arisen on its banks. In its natural
or early state I believe there was only 17 feet
over
the bar Of the father of waters, and at present
its outside
limit is 27. What then is to prevent
that a the
and
from being deepened in the
same ratio
supply a site
which to erect a capital, there are no cotton bales on
we can find piles of gold for
the purpose, and sl
ours is
British
which will be free
from the scourge of an
" But," say
the citizens of Victoria:lll.a.l
o o 'ha
Col
por2t,;
Wherein lies the advantage t
I reply : You enjoy the benefits of untaxedu i ulb a
imports
and levy duties on that proportion consumed in
British Columbia, spending the proceeds in official
salaries and in the beautification of your
capital.
Let the miners, who will constitute the bone and
sinew of the colony, eat untaxed bread, also wear
untaxed clothes, and use untaxed implements, if
need be, which they can have all the cheaper, too,
from being imported direct. The freight and insu-
rance from London will be the same to Langley as
to Victoria. So that over and above the scale of
duties imposed under the present system on goods
going into consumption in the Frazer, there is to
be superadded the intercolonial freight from Vic-
toria to Langley (12 dollars per ton), and the in-
surance, which I take it will be quite equal to
that charged on the long voyage. Thus, putting
duties, extra freight, and insurance together, the
Vancouverites would be enjoying the necessaries
and luxuries of life some 15 per cent. cheaper than
the British Columbians, who are looked up to as
the future producers of that staple which is to de-
fray the cost of government, sustain commerce,
support trades and professions, and promote the