'ao- 7 sought for were subject too high duty. Now Sir, I should like to enquire whether. if an oﬂicer has a right to inspect the shoes on the feet ofa female, he has not an equal right to view any part of the dress she may thinl; proper to wear; ifthe instances I have ad- duced are false, it is very easy to contradict them, and then I shall be bound to show my authority,—if they are true, Mr. Bluebeard had no heard whatever com- pared to the bristles of Prince Edward Island ,' though a SCION ofmy profession, I am not yet quite reconciled so perjury, on the contrary, I am rather shocked at the ‘t'ferent instances which our courts, and we have se- veral of them, present. Custom-house Oaths, are sometimes not considered perjury in the breach—I can't exactly agree in that opinion. and I certainly hink that they ought to be as much as possible dis. enraged and done away with. Let any one think of the ad valorem duty. and see the encouragement, the premium oﬂered for false swearing. You shall bear further from me‘lir, my motto should be

“ Anousn." I shall endeavour to awake not only the living but the dead, by regarding past. present. and future.

Your’s, Ire. A SPRIG OF THE LAW. 3 September 6, I832.

“ he East India Company’s Wrought I ran Steam

Vessel.

=1 "1A steam-vessel hasjust been completed for 0 Hon. East India Company, which is built wrought iron, under the superintendance of 'eutenantJohnson. She has been built by essrs.Maudslay and Co., the celebrated en- neers who furnish the steam apparatus for e Government steam-packets, at their , arfin the Belvidere-road. near Westmin- ,ster-bridge. This extraordinary steamer is wvintended for towing vessels on the river Gan- .ges; it is, however, not yet decided whether, ~:. after she is launched, she will be taken to ﬁpfevw and sent out in one of the Company’s ,; shi s, or whether she will be taken into a dock, Panda vessel of large dimensions built pur- so as to enclose her, to hear her to The whole of the vessel is

’ sely ' or destination. . uilt ofirou with the exception of her deck, :f which is of plank; she is ﬂat-bottomed; the .iron is half an inch thick, in large plates, ' which is rivrted together by curiouslyecontrr- ved rivets on an improved method. Her length 71 is 125 feet, and she is abont twenty.four feet ' 'n breadth. and eleven feet between decks. be number of rivets used in building this 'esscl is upwards of 30,000, and it is expected

that she will not draw more than one foot ele- , 'en inches water. The steam-boats at pre- ' ent used on the Ganges are found not to an- swer, on account ot some 'worm which eats ' into the wood, and in a few years destroys ,; them. This has led to the determination to ;‘ build iron steam-boats. She has been seven *months building, and lately 300 men have ‘ I'been employed upon her; and. when her steam 3 engine is on board, with all the apparatus and I,“ the ﬁtting-up. it is computed that she will have cost 20,0001. Although the cost is im- ' ease, yet, from the durability of the materiel, here is but little doubt that the Company will . s2 gainers in tho end. Iler steam-engine is 60 "horse power, and the interior will be ﬁtted up with every convenience in a very handsome anner; the sides are painted black, with bite streaks, and altogether she has a. very ht and elegant appearance. This vessel launched from Belvidere wharf Saturday

THE BRITISH AMERICAN

afternoon, the ﬁrst of this description that ever ﬂoated on old Father Thames. The En- deavour Richmond steam-vessel was engaged on the occasion, and moored close off the wharf. A number of the Directors of the East India Company and theirfriends were in the Endeavour, and also the friends and ac- quaintances of Messrs. Maudslay. Every thing beingin readiness, at precisely tq’n mi- nutes past three o’clock, r. at. the signal was given for launching, and she glided smoothly off the stocks, and dashed into the Thames in the most majestic style possible, amidst the shouts of the multitude. The Chairman of the India Board struck her on the bows, as she went off,- with a bottle of wine, and named her the ‘t The Lord William Bentinck.”

Our readers may rely on the authenticity of the following announcement :—On Saturday morning a French gun-brig of war appeared off Boulogne, and sent in her boats, with a de- mand for all the pilots of the ort, who were then examined, and as manyo them as seemed to be acquainted with the navigation of the Schcldt were detained, and the rest dismissed. Orders were next sent northward for the pi- lots of Ambleteuse, Calais, Dunkirk, 8w. the same distinction being observed in command- ing the service of those only who _had ex- perience in the Sceldt navigation. The pilot: from the northern ports proceeded on Sunday and Monday to Boulogne, where they were taken on board by the gun brig: and on Wednesday morning she was seen standing away under a ress of sail to the westward, in the course 0 Cherbourg, where, as prepara- tions for such an event have been made upon the largest scale, it is supposed the com- bined French and British squadrons will ren. dezvous, preparatory to the great attack upon the independent King of the Netherlands... Standard.

Caution against Cholera—People should es- pecially take care not to eat ices, or rather ice-creams, at least in the way in which they are usually taken in England after a various dinner. When the stomach is loaded, an in- jection ofa thick conserve is enough to sur- prise the heartiest stomach. Let the coagula- ting power of cold be added to this mass, at the precise- time when an active stimulant is most wanted, and it is really a wonder that the patient does not expire on the spot. Several cases of cholera in wealthy life are owing to this barbarous but common practice of eating “ clotted" ice after a hearty meal.— .Morning Paper.

Copy ofa Despatch from Viscount Goderich, His Majesty’s principle Secretary of State for the Colonial Department, to His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor.

No. It Downing-street, lst August. 1832. Sir,

I have received your Despatch ofthe 14th of April last, numbered 15, enclosing an Address of the House of Assembly to yourself, praying the appointment ofa Court ofEscheat.

Ihave to express my entire approbation of the discretion which induced you to suspend your decision on the appointment of a Court of Escheat, until you could receive instructions from me. The appointment ofa Court of Es- chcat is 5 measure to which the Crown must always have recourse with reluctance; and which should never be adopted except with great deliberation. In the present instance, it is proposed, that Lan’ds should be forfeited in

Prince Ewward Island, for the non-performance of a condition requiring each Township to be settled with a number of inhabitants, forming- the proportion of one person to eve 200 acres within the Township. For the purpose of reinvesting Lands in the Crown, under a breach ofthis condition, the Assembly would considerit sufﬁcient, as may be inferred from the proceedings before the Committee on this subjectﬁhat a Township should be proved tocon- tain acertain numberofacres, and not to contain a certain number ofsettlers. The establishment of this point might be enough tojustify aforfei- ture under the letter ofthe Grants ; but I can- not feel that it would form a fair and equitable ground for proceeding to that extent. I am assured. and the statementis supported by its intrinsic probalrlity, that some Proprietors have sent out more than the number of persons which would have settled their property in the prescribed proportions, but that the 1'- sons have subsequently changed their resi- dence to other Lands. These Proprietors would forfeit their grants, under the mode of proceeding contemplated by the Assembly. Other Proprietors, on the contrary, without making any effort for the fulﬁlment of the con- ditions imposed on them, ﬁnd their lands settled in the prescribed proportion, by the s ta. neous resort of independent emigrants. hose Proprietors escape, under the proceedings contemplated by the Assembly. Thus it is obvious tl at the proposed course could not be followed without great injustice. A bounty would be given to Proprietors whose lands are good and inviting to settlers. at the expense of Proprietors whose lands are inferior. ltmay be suggested that the course could be amended, by requiring Proprietors whose lands do not contain a number of Settlers, to prove that at least they have made the at- tempt to provide that number of settlers. In this manner, however, a long and doubtful inquiry would often become necesssary; while [consider it essential to the institution of proceedings for forfeiting Lands to the Crown, that they should be capable ofa speedy deci- sion, and of one capable of been foreseen nearly with certainty. Unless with these» conditions, I never should consent to unsettle the minds of the Colonists by appointing a court of Escheat.

In concluding this despatch, I think it right to advert to a rumour, that much restlessness prevails among certain classes in Prince Ed- ward Island, from an expectation that the property of the owners of Townships will be Escheated, and that any portions now occu- pied will be vested in the occupants, without be. ing subjected to rent or other obligation.

I cannot attach much credit to this rumour; but at the same tune it may be proper to make one or two observations upon it. If an lands were Escheated in Prince Edward Islan , it is probable that such portions of them as are actually occupied would be continued to the oc- cupying tenants at their present rents. There would however be no remission of the condi. tions on which the lands are now held of the Proprietors; and assuredly there would be no free grants. This mode of dealing with the public propert has been abandoned in almost every British Colony. You will shortly receive instructions for abandoning it also in Prince Edward Island, and for substituting in its stead,a system of alienating by Public sale such lands as there may be occasion to dispose of. I have taken this notice of the sub‘ect, in order that, should such a misconception 6 pro - bable, you may be able to prevent the tenants oflands in Prince Edward Island from formin the erroneous notion that they would gain any