The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-06-26 00:00:00

NEW ZEALAND.

Lieut. Governor Hobson arrived at New Zealand on the
29th of January, and issued two proclamations. The first
says—
" Whereas her Majesty Victoria, Queen of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, has been graciously
pleased to direct that measures shall be taken for the esta-
blishment of a settled form of civil government over those of
her Majesty's subjects who are already settled in New Zea-
land, or who may hereafter resort thereto, and whereas her
Majesty has been also graciously pleased to direct letters
patent to be issued, under the Great Seal of the United King-
dom, bearing date the 15th of June, 1839, by which the former
boundaries of the colony of New South Wales are so ex-
tended as to comprehend any part of New Zealand that is or
may be acquired in Sovereignty, by her Majesty, her heirs,
or successors ; her Majesty appoints William Hobson, Esq.,
Captain of Her Majesty's Royal Navy, to be Lieutenant Go-
vernor, in and over any territory which is or may be acquired
in Sovereignty within that group of islands in the Pacific
Ocean commonly called New Zealand."
The second proclamation states, " that it shall be notified
to all her Majesty's subjects settled in or resorting to New
Zealand, that her Majesty, taking into consideration the pre-
sent as well as the future interests of her said subjects, and
also the interests and rights of the chief and native tribes of
the said island, does not deem it expedient to recognise as
valid any titles to land in New Zealand, which are not de-
rived from or confirmed by her Majesty.
" Now, therefore, I William Hobson, Esq. captain in her
Majesty's navy, and Lieutenant-Governor in and over such
parts of New Zealand as have been or may be acquired in
sovereignty by her said Majesty, do hereby proclaim and
declare to all her Majesty's subjects, that her Majesty does
not deem it expedient to recognise any titles to land in New
Zealand, which are not derived from, or confirmed by her
Majesty. Ido hereby further proclaim, that a committee
be appointed, with certain powers to be derived from the
governor and legislative council of New South Wales, to in-
quire into and report on all claims to such lands, and that
:.all persons making such claims will be required to prove the
same before the said commission."

DOINGS OF THE SESSION.

(From the Times of yednesday)

The present session commenced on the 16th of January.
We have reached the 24th of June. Nearly thirty-three
weeks have passed, and how have they been employed by the
Melbourne ministry, by courtesy called a goverment ?
Just seventeen acts of parliament have been passed ; but,
lest it should be imagined that the consideration of these has
occupied a reasonable portion of the time we have mentioned,
we beg to state the several classes in which these seventeen
measure would be properly arranged. It will be found that
of the number just mentioned, there are—
_ .

_ .
Relating to Prince Albert
Money bills
Lord Seaton's annuity bill .. 1
Mutiny and indemnity bills.
and of the remaining five two only involved anything like
discussion—the tithe commutation acts amendment, and the
printed papers (or privilege) bills, which iast may be with
more justice assigned to Lord Denman, considering the
amendments made on it by that noble lord, than to the
government ; and one was bill introduced by the Duke of
Richmond.

But it the Melbourne ministry has done but little this
session, it will appear by the following register of dates and
occurrences in the House of Commons that it has suffered
much.

On the 27th of January, ministers were in a minority of 104.
On the 31st of January, they escaped a vote of want of con-
fidence by the small majority of 10.
On the 13th of February, they were in a minority of 10 on a
question of production of accounts of receipts
and expenditure.
On the 27th of February, they were in a minority of 28 on a
motion of Mr. Liddell's, the practical effect of
which was censure on the appointment of Lord
Monteagle as controller of the exchequer.
On"the 26th of March, their minority was 16 on the second
reading of Lord Stanley's bill.
On the 3d of April, ou an attempt to secure the adjourn-
ment of the debate on the corn-laws, they found

themselves in a minority of 110.
On the 11th of May, on the first attempt to stop the issue of
a new writ for Ludlow, the majority against min-
isters was 11.
On the 12th of May, the majority increased to 36.
On the 14th of May, the ministers had the prudence to give
way, and the writ for Ludlow was issued, where-
upon public business, which had during three days
been stopped by the discreditable attempt made
on the 11th of May, was resumed.
On the 18th of May, the second defeat on Lord Stanley's bill
took place ; the majority against ministers being 19.
On the 20th of May, the third defeat on that bill found mi-
nisters•in a minority of 3.
On the 26th of May, .on Mr. Villiers's motion on the corn-
laws, ministers were in a minority of 123.
On the 11th of June, the fourth defeat on Lord Stanley's
bill placed ministers in a minority of 11.
On the 22d of June, the ministers were three times defeated :
1. On the colonial passengers bill, by 40. 2. On
the flour importation bill, by 11. 3. On the
clause in the admiralty courts (judge's salary) bill,
proposed by Lord Hothan, by which the judge of
that court will, after the present parliament, be
incapable of sitting or voting in the House of
Commons. Poor Dr. Lushington !

The Royal Irish Yacht Club have named Wednesday, the
Bth July, and following days for their regatta. in Dublin
Bay. Sir Robert Gore Booth, Bart., vice-president, has
presented the club with a beautiful cup of fifty guineas value.
Several new members have been created. A very handsome
cutter has just been, launched in the Liffey for.- Blake,
Esq. It is expected the spirit of these races will this year
revive.

CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT.—MoNnAy,

(From the London Standard of Monday.)

ARRAIGNMENT OF EDWARD OXFORD FOR HIGH TREASON,

- AND POSTPONEMENT OFITHE
This morning, at nine o'clock, Mr. Sergeant Arabin and,:
Mr. Alderman Lainson took their seats up:in the bench,
and were shortly afterwards followed by' the Hon. Fox
Maxile, M.P., Hon. E. J. Stanley, M.P.' Major Anderson,
and in a few minutes the court was filled in every part by a
highly respectable auditory. The arrangements made by
the sheriffs were to-day precisely the same as those which
tended so much to-the public convenience during the trial of
the convict Courvoisier last week.

At a quarter-past nine o'clock the prisoner was placed at
the bar to be arraigned on the indictment. He advanced
with a smile to the front of the dock, and manifested great
firmness and self-possession. He was respectably dressed in
a suit of blue, and his general appearance was youthful and
prepossessing. At this time Mr. Sydney Taylor and Mr.
Bodkin, who were retained as counsel for the prisoner, were
in court ; and, on the prisoner being placed at the bar,
Mr. Sydney Taylor rose to make -an application for the
postponement of the trial, but
Mr. Sergeant Arabin declined to entertain the application,
which, he said must be made to the judges, when they and
the counsel for the prosecution had arrived.

The prisoner was then removed from the bar. In the in-
terval which elapsed from this moment until the arrival of
the judges, several distinguished personages were introduced
by the sheriffs to a seat upon the bench. Amongst others
we noticed the Duke of Brunswick, with his equerry, Baron
Audlow, Lord Colchester, and a numerous body of elegantly
dressed ladies. Mrs. Oxford, the mother of the unfortunate
prisoner, sat in the box usually allotted to jurors in waiting.
She is a good-looking woman, apparently about forty years
of age, and was respectably attired in black.
Precisely at ten minutes before ten o'clock, the Attorney-
General, Sir Frederick Pollock, Mr. Adolphus, and Mr.
Wightman, the counsel for the prosecution, entered the
court and took their places at the counsel's table. The At-
torney-General was accompanied by one of his sons. At
this moment the anxiety of the auditory was intense. Mr.
Maule, the soiiictor for the Treasury, had been in court from
its sitting.
At five minutes past 10, the Lord Chief Justice Tindal and
the Right' Hon. Mr. Baron Parke were ushered to their
seats on the bench by Mr. Sheriff Evans, Mr. Sheriff Wheel-
ton, Mr. Alderman Thomas Wood, Mr. Alderman Gibbs, and
Messrs. Under Sheriffs France and Jackson.

Proclamation for silence having been made,
Mr. Clark, the Clerk of Arraigns, in obedience to the order
of the Court, directed Mr. Cope to place Edward Oxford at
the Bar. A death-like silence prevailed, and every eye was
turned to the dock.

The prisoner in a few seconds again appeared, and advanced
with a light step and a smile upon his countenance to the
front of the bar.

Lord Chief Justice.—Let the prisoner be called upon to
plead.
Mr. Sydney Taylor rose and said, that he was instructed
on behalf of the prisoner to make an application to postpone
the trial upon facts set forth upon affidavit.
Lord Chief Justice Tindal.—How can you be heard upon
any motion of that sort until the prisoner has pleaded ? I
presume the trial, and not the arraignment is all that you wish
to postpone. The law requires the prisoner to plead, and he
must plead before an application to postpone the trial is made.
After a short pause,
' The Clerk of Arraigns proceeded as follows :—Edward
Oxford, you are• indicted, and the indictment states, that you
being a subject of our Sovereign Lady the Queen, did, on
the 10th of June inst., within the jurisdiction of the Central
Criminal Court, being a false traitor to our said Lady the
Queen, maliciously and traitorously compass, imagine, and
intend to put our said Lady the Queen to death, and with
such wicked treason, on the said 10th of June instant, you
did maliciously and traitorously shoot off a certain pistol
(then held in one of your hands) against the person of our
said Lady the Queen, loaden with gunpowder and one leaden
bullet, with intent thereby maliciously and traitorously to
shoot, kill, assassinate, and put to death our said Lady the
Queen, and thereby you traitorously made a direct attempt
against the life of our said Lady the Queen. And the
indictment states that on the same day you did afterwards
maliciously and traitorously shoot off and discharge a certain
other pistol, held in one of your hands, at the person of our
said Lady the Queen, and loaden with gunpowder and one
leaden bullet, with intent thereby maliciously and traitor-
ously to shoot, assassinate, kill, and put to death our said
Lady the Queen, thereby again traitorously making an at-
tempt against the life of our said Lady the Queen. How
say you, Edward Oxford, are you guilty or not guilty ?
The prisoner, in a firm but rather flippant tone, said, Not
Guilty.
The affidavit of the prisoner's attorney was then read. It
set forth that the deponent had been engaged for the prisoner
on the 16th instant, but that he had lost considerable time
since in ascertaining whether Mr. Humphries, who had been
first engaged to defend the prisoner, had declined to do so.
It then proceeded to allege, that, in consequence of the ab-
sence of many material witnesses, who resided at a distance
from each other and from the place of trial, it was found im-
possible to collect and put together the various proofs neces-
sary for the instruction of counsel to defend the prisoner.
The state of the public mind was also urged as an additional
reason for the postponement of the trial. The greatest part
of Mr. O'Connell's letter was introduced into the affidavit,
which the deponent submitted must have the effect of in-
flaming the minds of the jury prejudicially against the pri-
soner.

Mr. Sydney Taylor again rose, and was about to urge some
observations upon the Court in support of the application.
Lord Chief Justice Tindal.—Had you not better hear the
Attorney-General first, and then you will be able to reply to
his observations? .

Mr. Sydney Taylor acquiesced, and resumed his seat.
The Attorney-General rose and said he should have felt him-
self called upon to oppose the motion if there had been nothing
stated in the affidavit which had just been read, except the
observations upon the present state of the public mind, and
upon the paragraphs reflecting upon the case, which from
time to time had appeared in the public newspapers ; for he
(the Attorney-General) had such confidence in an English
jury, that he well knew that the accused would have a fair
and impartial trial at their hands, even if the court was now
at once to proceed with this solemn inquiry and investiga-
tion. He was sure the jury would utterly disregard both
what might have been stated to them, or any of them, in
conversation, or what had appeared in the public newspapers.
He was sure they would look only to the evidence that might
be adduced before them, and would not be influenced by
anything they had either heard. or read. But when he found
the professional adviser of the prisoner stating on his oath
that the prisoner's friends had important and material wit-
nesses to bring forward on his behalf, and that he was not
prepared now to bring them forward, God forbid that he
(the Attorney General) should reject this claim, feeling, as
he did, that it was the last importance that the administration
of justice should be acknowledged to be pure and impartial.
He should be extremely sorry if in future times, when this
transaction came to form part of the history of the land, the
records should be enabled to make a charge, that the At-
torney General of the day should have refused to consent to
an application to postpone the trialwhen an affidavit had been
read, stating that material witnesses might be brought forward
if time were allowed to show that the party accused was not
amenable to the law, inasmuch as, he was not, at the time of
committing the act charged, in a state of mind to make him
answerable to the law for that act. On that ground without
hesitation, he consented to a postponement of the trial. The
next sessions of the Court would be held in about a fortnight,
and he could not but express his earnest hope that in the
meantime no discussion of this case would take place in the
public prints—that there would be no further publication of
letters addressed by the prisoner to the Secretary of State,
and that there would -be a general consent to abstain from
everything that could in the remotest degree steel the public
mind against the accused, or create a suspicion upon the
pure administration of justice. With these observations he
at once on the part of the Crown yielded to this application
on behalf of the prisoner.
Lord Chief Justice Tindal.—Mr. Attorney-General, you
have taken a high and most proper course. I beg to express
my entire concurrence in the earnest hope that in the mean-
time, between this period and the trial, the public prints will
observe a profound silence on the subject of this case.
After a short desultory conversation between counsel on
both sides and the-court, the trial was fixed to come on on
Thursday, the 9th ot'July next.
The prisoner, who throughout the entire proceeding exhi-
bited great levity of manner, was then removed from the
bar, a smile still playing upon his countenance. Many of
the distinguished persons present shortly afterwards left the
court.