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i rksome debate of the St . James's Privy Council , " Farmer Geobgob' was speedily in the saddle—for he always rode his hunter to and from Windsortrotting leisurely along , until he spied in advance some little knot of countrymen on . their return , perhaps , from Smithfield Cattle Market . Setting spurs to 3 us horse , he was speedily in the midst of them . Chatham and the Transatlantic squabble were given to the four winds , and literally , in the words of our motto at the head of tliis article , he commenced a series of queries about the quality , quantity , and prices of stock , with a volubility wMch _ seemed to disregard reply , and indeed rendered it impossible .
The Pbjnce Consort has , from tie commencement of his connexion with this country , manifested a similar penchant for the noblest of ihe arts of peace . Hitherto his judgment in selecting animals designed for the Smithfield Cattle Show has been as lucky as that of his Royal Consort in choosing a day for her open-air exercise . But tie Club is now resolved on a wider field of operation . The interest of the exhibition will hereafter no longer be absorbed bvy- the few favourite breeds—such as his -Royal Highness and Mr . Heath's Devoas and Herefords ; the Duke of Beax 7 Tob . t's . Earl
Siencebl ' s , Lord Leigh ' s , and Mi . Stratton's shorthorns . The list of even this year-comprises long horns , Scotch horned , Scotch polled , Irish , Welsh , Norfolk , and Suffolk or Sussex beasts ; with the usual class ior extra stock . Four classes are devoted to theDevons , Herefords , and short horns . Tke cross breeds have three , and the other breeds tvro classes each . In reference to tie prizes , 405 / . and twelve silver medals have been awarded to the Devons , Herefords , and short horns . The Scotch , Irish , and "Welsh , with , the cross breeds , carry away 315 / . and -seventeen medals as their share . One
point we observed as especially corroborative of an opinion we iave entertained , that English stockbreeders are at length alive to what constitutes their own and the : public advantage iu reference to the _ particular department of rural economy to ¦ which they devote themselves . ( Greater anxiety is manifested to attain perfection in shape aud symmetry , than to overload the animal with a burden of useless fat . It is pleasing also to note , that the judges have so promptly given to this important step in the right direction the impress of their authority and approbation . Awards are no
longer made as an encouragement to the creation of huge fatty humps and excrescences all over an animal ' s body . ; shape and quality receive their meed Of praise ; and feeding seems to be more and more regulated by the desire to produce a carcase profitable io the butcher and consumer—not merely to the tallow -merchant . In short , animals are no longer . prized for the exhibition of fat , but for their obvious capability of fattening . Moreover , no possible advantage can accrue to the fanner from breeding what is called in and in , for why should "we scrupulously maintain a purity of blood , when crossing has been made to exhibit the happiest results ?
It will , doubtless , be remembered that last year ' s exhibition was characterized rather by a certain average excellence than by any individual superiority . There are certainly this year no huge , asthmatic mountains of tallow , bat , in its stead , plenty of substance—beef and beauty . We saw no one animal which , judged apart from the rest and on its own merits , would be considered an inferior specimen , or that was not , in the words of an old jastic saw .
A grazier ' s without , and a butcher ' s withi n . One exception , however—and it is the exception that . proves the rule—must be allowed in reference to the Scotch polled . These black , hirsute monsters , seemed a more agglomeration of suet ; c < More like hippopotamuses than oxen ! " as we onoe overheard a countryman observe , in the purest ' Zummersetshire' Doric . In the cattle shows of former years , one capital defect was too obvious iu many of the Devons
exhibited Wo mean a certain unsightly lankness of hind quarter . Par loss of this is now visible . Theize 13 anoro promiso of beef . Hereafter , in all our great cattle prize contests , quality , not size or weight , will be justly received as the only proper criterion pf superiority . TJbe Hereford breed of oxen is worthy of special commendation , and the cows are even more beautiful than the oxen . But the pride of this portion of tUe tahow is No . 56 a of Class 7 , bred by Mr . W 1 M 4 AM iEUcsiEit , of Withington Court , near Hereford . ; . exhibitor , Mr . Henhy Higgins . of
Woolaston Grange , near Lyduey , who received a first class prize of 15 / ., and the breeder a silver medal . Many , like ourselves , will be inclined to quarrel with the judges for not making this award 251 . In the judgment of breeders and agriculturists this was regarded a perfect specimen of its class , exhibiting the very best points of breed and feed . Well clothed with meat , and promising noble rounds and rich , juicy , finely grained sirloins , it is not so fatted as to conceal its natural symmetry . One remarkable steer of Class 1 Q , short only in horns—for he towers like a hillock above the adjacent beasts—had a continual succession of
admiring visitors . Most of his merits , however , lay iu Ms giant proportions , he being far from handsome , and certainly not in ' extra' condition . We recollect seeing a . much larger and heavier beast—perhaps from the Ukraine—in the stall for pet farm stock , situated in the Park of Sarsko Selo , near St . Petersburg . The farmer stated his weight to be 30001 bs ., and that the Emperor designed sending him to the SmitkfieLd Show of that year—18 tt 7 . .
The Sheep stock is , perhaps , more numerous than that of last year . The 'Downs bred by the Puke of Bichmond and Lord Walsingham have the attributes of quality , beauty , and just proportions which belong to first-rate mutton . The cross breeds are greatly improved , their form and outline good . Indeed , perhaps they were the best specimens , and . prove that this breed may be advantageously contrasted with sheep of the purest race . The pigs number 120 , besides 10 extra specimens . Finer , but not fatter , have been penned at this show in former years . Huge specimens of the porcine genus , some of them are perfectly white , some dark
and grisly as the wild boar . They seem mere shapeless masses of lard , and are enough to make one forswear pork— -in Seecula saculorum . Certainly , nothing further could be done to aid the process of fat-making in his department ; still , their short and fleshy hind-quarters show what may be effected by careful crossing ; the more obvious to ourselves , who have shot and hunted the descendants of ' Capinny Cooke's pigs , ' so named by the Maori of New Zealand . Long-legged and lank as greyhounds , still they were probably fair specimens of the best breed known in England when the great navigator visited the Pacific about a . d . 1776 .
A miscellaneous collection of roots and cereals from the Royal Dublin Society attracted a crowd of curious spectators . There ure gigantic parsnips and carrots ; mangolds and turnips equally so . A young inquisitive damsel , who doubtless was familiar with the chiming of Bow bells , ran up , exclaiming to her party in reference to the turnips , " Dear ! see ! see ! here are sheep ' s heads . " Messrs . Gibbs , of Halfmoon-street , have also an extraordinary show . In the instrument department , the galleries exhibit a bewildering chaos of the most ingenious , often most beautiful contrivances for abridging human toil . There are Stibmng ' s steam-plough and portable steam-engines ; Waeneu ' s one
horsepower irrigator ; Lyons ' s steamed root and vegetable pulper—used four times aweek , it feeds two hundred p igs ; Williams ' s diagonal harrows , an undoubted improvement on the elder fashion , and chaff-cutters of the most improved and efficient construction . These agricultural aids , costly only at first , eheap in the end , lose none of their interest to us from repeated inspection . We are old enough to remember when broad cast was universal ; the best farms had no more efficient clod-crusher tliau the trunk of an old tree , when the chaff-cutter worked by hand and knife , and turnips ( mangold being unknown . ) were « liccd by means of a spade Notts . avons change tout cela .
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THE SIAMESE EMBASSY . The Kmbassy from Siam may have its faroical aspeot ; but it is , nevertheless , an important incident in the history of our transactions with Asia . Maids of honour and gold stioks in waiting tittered as the jcwel-beariuff envoys saluted the British throne ai ' fcer the peculiar fashion of their race . There could scarcely be a more conclusive proof of the power of self-deception . The public , not tutorod m royal ceremonies , has a right to make merry with a group of ambassadors advancing in their own fashion ( the fashion of tortoises also ) to lay the tribute of an Oriental kingdom at the feet of our Qukkn . But why should courtiers laugh ? Why should . the Lord Chamberlain bo scornful—he who walks backwards out of tho presence-chamber P
Why should the German prints describe the scene as comic beyond all conception ? Five gentlemen from Siam creeping over a palace carpet might be ^ moved to inextinguishable laughter "by the sight of sixteen Prussian gentlemen daucinir backwards , with tapers in their hands , before a prince and princess at Berlin . Lord Giun ville and the Count de Horny stood at the talrio of Alexaudbr II . while he dined . The West hatli its eccentricities as the East has . Therefore it is wis
e , especially m courtiers , not to suggest sarcasms upon the demeanour of ambassadors presenting themselves to ' Majesty . ' The Siamese Envoys have come from the iar East upon a serious mission which is likely to result in much political and commercial advantage to this country . For manv v ^ -r * attempts had been made to open up relations with the Court of Siam . Sir James Bkookb , during the late reign , visited the country , and . not only failed to conclude a treaty , but met with a discourteous reception , soine gentlemen in his suite being placed in actual danger by the brutality of the populace . The present iirst King is a man of superior
education , and his tnenuly disposition is not unimportant at this juncture , considering the contiguity of his territory with those of Burmah , and the influence exercised by Siam over the large seaboard rangeas far as the limits of Tonquin and Cochin-China . With those countries our trade is extremely restricted , but is capable of great extension . We have oio doubt that merchants interested in the sea-going commerce of Asia regard with great satisfaction . the friendly intercourse inaugurated between Great Britain and Siam .
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Australia . —The condition of the people at Melbourne is better than when "the previous news was received from Australia . The Government has provided temporary work for a large number of the xmemployea , and others have found work in private establishments . Still , according to the Melbourne Age , " Victoria is receiving from the Old World more immigrants than , m the present condition of our land system , she can readily absorb . It is calculated that at least 30 , 000 have been
added to our population during the past year , and immigrants are still pouring in at the rate of 1000 a week . If the land question were settled on a legitimate basiSj this would be a source of real pleasure and profit to tlie country ; but , under existing circumstances , the emigrant , full of hope and enthusiasm upon lauding here , too frequently quails before the impediments cast in the way of honest industry . " Collisions continue to occur between , the Chinese and Europeans at the gold fields . Mr . Haines has obtained the sanction , of the House of
Assembly to withdraw his ' Bill to provide for the residence of the Chinese in Victoria ; ' but some kind of legislation on the subject , with a view to checking Chinese immigration , will probably soon take place . A Mr . John Oakes has been lately in Goulburn , purchasing horses suitable for service in India , and the subject lias been brought before the attention of the Legislative Council of South Australia , in order that Government facilities may be given for slapping one hundred horses . Stranou Occurrence . —A young lady was taken by rail from London to Folkestone about a fortnight ago , in so utter a state of helplessness that she was quite
speechless . She was placed in the carriage at Londou by a person who gave the guard a sovereign to procure her any refreshment she might want on the journey ; and she had some tea in the waiting-room . On arriving at Folkestone , she was taken on board the Boulogne boat by one of the harbour policemen , and placed in the ladies' cabin , where she was kindly attended to by the passengers ; but she expired at Boulogne . A large lftbel was found fastened to her dross , and in her purse ( winch contained 7 l . ~ ) was found a piece of paper , stating that she was a governess , and that she was going to her brother-in-law at Amiens . Her friends were telegraphed
to , and proceeded to Boulogne , but too late . The Ladies of St . Makqaukt ' s . —Archdeacon Otter has addressed a letter to Miss Greamo , tho Lady Superior of St . Margaret's , East Grinstead , in which hosnys : — " It is with great pain that I perform tho necessary duty of requesting that you will remove my name from the list of tho supporters of St . Margaret ' s Home , lne withdrawal of the Bishop ' s sanction would alone Havo compelled mo to take this step . I could not , with ft < lue in
regard to liis authority , havo continued to support an - stitution which had fallen under his disapproval . Hut 1 must also declare that my own judgment loads mo to tue same conclusion , and that my convictions are in full accordance with tho sentiments expressed in his Lordslup . 1 lottor to you . This duty performed , I gladly turn to another , which is to state that my sense of personal obligation towards your Ho « iety remains unaltovcu . iu conduct of the two sisters who havo been employed as
nurses in my pariah has been such as to claim iny ui - qualified admiration and regard . " . A Readino Room at a Manufacto ry , —iho-worKmen at Messrs . Maudalay and Co / u , engineers , I , artil > cUiT have held a general meeting at which they adopted an address of thanks to their employers for giving thorn » woll-furniflhcd and lighted reading-room and library .
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H 9 ° _____ THE LEADER , . ' . pro ; 408 , December 12 , 1857
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Dec. 12, 1857, page 1190, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2221/page/14/
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