_Miscellaneous.

The Queen has been pleased to appoint Henry Worsley Hill, Esq., Commander in the Royal Navy, to be Lieutenant-Governor of her Majesty's Forts and Settlements on the Gold coast.—London Gazette, March 7.

The debate in the French Chamber of Deputies on the Secret Ser- vice Fund, grew more interesting as it proceeded on Thursday week. M. de Lamartine made a vigorous attack upon the Ministry, and upon M. Guizot in particular. In the course of some very generali- zing remarks, he argued that it was to the interest of England even, that France should hold the balance of power between the four great nations around her, Austria, Russia, Prussia, and England. Be ap- proved of the principle of nonintervention : but nationalities did not stop at frontiers—England exercised undue influence in certain quarters of Europe, Russia in Turkey; and ought not Spain to be similarly dependent in France ? For if changes in neighbouring countries went to the extent of affecting the interests of France herself, the meaning

of the word "nonintervention" became changed, and a moral political, and diplomatic intervention became necessary. Now he reproached the French Ministry with not having made it their constant study to establish a stable and moderate Government in Spain ; and with the want of a principle— "Let not the honourable Minister, historian as he was, forget that each dynasty was founded on a principle. Louis the Fourteenth prevailed by his

influence in Europe; Napoleon by his military glory ; the Restoration by its

traditions. As to you—(Turning to the Ministers)—you have not adopted any principle whatever; and on that account you will advance towards that

melancholy choice which you have yourselves anticipated—to a peace endured

with shame, or some heroical but useless folly. I conclude with declaring that such a line of proceeding must fall to the ground, not only with you, but with

whatever men may be tempted to continue it. Nay, more, I tell you, and I speak with the accent of a deep discouragement, with that excess of audacity that a mighty grief often affords—France must either cease to be France, or you must cease to be Ministers."

M. Guizot described M. de Lamartine's "excess of audacity" as arraying him against the policy, not only of the Government, but of the whole reign, and indeed of the country ; in which representative Government had been developing itself for the last thirteen years ; while the policy of successive Ministers had been uniform— Know then, (said the Minister) whom you are struggling against, and what policy you are decrying. It is that of France, free and convinced. It was that which he came to support. That was the boldness which astonished him. Of what was this policy accused ? Of two great errors—of thinking and re- peating incessantly that all Europe was in a coalition against France, and could

not endure her greatness ; that France on her part was ready to rise against

Europe. These were the two principal errors with which this policy was reproached ; when for five years, from 1831 to 1835, these were the two ideas

which he and his friends had constantly combated. It was the Opposition who then supported them, and he and his friends combated them against speeches similar to the one just pronounced. It was indeed strange, that the two results which had been obtained by the struggle of five years—one, that

France could live at peace with Europe—that the France of the July Revo- lution, and the Government of July did not menace the security of Europe—the other, that Europe, which had so long opposed the Revolution of July, no longer threatened the security of France, and was willing to be at peace with her—he could not help saying that there was ingratitude and derision in charging those results against the Government which had obtained them.

He insisted on the policy and right that France and England should reciprocally treat as equals ; and he alluded, first to the time when Lord

Grey's Government were reproached with sacrificing the supremacy of the British flag to the French navy, and then to the amicable senti- ments towards France which had recently been uttered in the British Parliament : he would not suffer a sentence to escape him which would not correspond with those uttered on the other side of the Channel— Yes, the feelings of the two countries ought to be goodwill towards each other, but at the same time preserving the freedom of their policy. He had said several times that: there should be no intimacy which would shackle our policy; goodwill, reciprocal good understanding, yet a complete and real it!cle- pendence. But a good understanding was impossible, as M. de Vatry had just said, if words and actions did not agree ; the relations could not be friendly so long as bitter words, sharp speeches, and violent sentiments, were inces- santly manifested in one of the two tribunals : expression should be equally equitable and amicable on both sides : it should be so on their part, and he con- gratulated himself that there was no dissenting voice in that Chamber to such a proposition.

He now came to Spain, and insisted that there the policy of France had been decided. The two countries are connected by natural ties of geography and history. Of the two great sovereigns whom M. de Lamartine bad mentioned, Louis the Fourteenth succeeded in his policy, Napoleon failed. Napoleon failed, because he attacked the independ- ence and honour of Spain, and raised up hostile parties and obstacles to the Governments which succeeded him ; and the growth of the consti- tutional system in Spain now forbids that half-possession which con- stituted Louis the Fourteenth's success. The present Government had gone upon the principle that political intimacy might subsist without domination, and that in internal changes Spain could right herself.

After M. Gaizot's speech, which had a great and obvious effect on the Chamber, the debate was adjourned.

It was continued, with comparatively less:interest, on Friday ; and the general discussion having closed, the separate clauses of the bill were taken into consideration. On the first clause, giving to the Minis- ter of the Interior an extraordinary credit of 1,000,000 francs for the secret expenses of 1843, M. Lacrosse moved an amendment, to reduce the vote by the nominal amount of 50,000 francs ; declaring, that it was not a question of figures, but of confidence in the Ministry. On a division, the amendment was rejected by 242 to 197.

On Saturday, the ensemble of the grant was put to the vote ; when the numbers were—Deputies present, 399; for the grant, 244, against, 155; majority of votes for Ministers, 89.

Intelligence has been received from Lisbon, that the Portuguese Go- vernment have, in the main, acceded to the demands of this Govern- ment in respect to a commercial treaty; inter alia, the duties on woollen goods are to be reduced by two-fifths ; and on cured fish from New - foundland they are to be reduced from 16 to 8 testoons the quintal.

The packet-ship United States has arrived at Liverpool, with in- telligence from New York to the 8th February. The Oregon Boun- dary Bill had passed in the Senate. A New York paper gives the following account of the closing contest-

" This bill was again taken up, and Mr. Choate and Mr. Benton occupied some hours in a discussion on the North-eastern Boundary line. When they had paused for a moment, Mr. Archer obtaining the floor, said he wished to put a stop to this unparliamentary and irregular debate, and with that view he should motion to recommit the bill to the Select Committee. He hoped the vote would then be taken on the motion to strike out the provisions for the grant of lands to settlers. "After some confusion as to the mode of proceeding—in the course of which Mr. Benton and Mr. Choate, by way of interlude, took another bout in relation to the question whether the North-eastern boundary line should be North or South of Hunter's Island—the bill was put back into Committee of the whole, where it was open to amendment. "Mr. Linn, Mr. Sevier, and other friends of the bill, then disclaimed any in- tention to vote for the motion to strike out the clause granting land to settlers; for the reason, as they said, that it would render the act wholly inefficacious. Mr. Calhoun said, he would prefer that the bill be recommitted to the Com- mittee on Foreign Affairs, for an inquiry into the effects on our Foreign rela- tions. The striking out of the provision for granting lands to settlers would obviate only a part of his objections to the bill.

"Mr. Bagby gave notice that his vote on this bill was not to be considered

as inconsistent with his opinions against the late treaty, as expressed last summer.

"Finally, Mr. Archer moved to strike out from the bill the provision for granting land to settlers. The motion was lost—yeas 22, nays 24. A motion to recommit the bill was also lost—yeas 22, nays 24. The question was then taken on ordering the bill to be read a third time; and it was announced to be a tie vote—yeas 23, nays 23. The President pro tem, stated the question was lost. A Senator then requested that the yeas and nays should be again read. On reading them, it was discovered that Mr. Clayton's name had been errone- ously recorded in the negative. The vote was then announced—yeas 24,

nays 22. "The bill was then passed."

An attempt was made on the 6th to induce the Senate to reconsider the bill; but in vain. It encountered early opposition in the House of Representatives ; and after various resultless motions, it was referred to the Committee on Foreign Aff.irs, of which Mr. Adams is the Chair- man ; and that is considered tantamount to a defeat.

The President had addressed a message to Congress, stating that the Government would be unable to pay its expenses for the next fiscal year, and calling upon the House to make provision for the public ser- vice. This will cause an extra session to be held.

Accounts from Kingston, of the 4th February, represent Sir Charles Begot as very much worse. Dropsy had supervened.

A terrible earthquake has devastated the West Indies. The first in- timation of it was received by the Forth steamer, which arrived on Monday, and which left St. Thomas the day after the earthquake, and therefore brought very imperfect accounts. The Actmon steamer, how - ever, had been despatched to windward to collect further information ; and it arrived at Falmouth on Tuesday, with much fuller intelligence. The earthquake is noted to have begun in St. Thomas at half-past ten o'clock in the morning, in Antigua at sixteen minutes before eleven, in St. Christopher at fifteen minutes before eleven ; and its duration is esti- mated by various writers and in different places at a minute and a half or two minutes. The loss of life, as yet ascertained, is inconsiderable ; the loss of property immense.

The worst of the convulsion appears to have been felt at Antigua ; where it destroyed almost all the public buildings, nearly every wind- mill and sugar-work on the island ; and put a perfect stop to every occupation. 'The approach of the earthquake and its terrible effects are graphically described by a gentleman who was in the island at the time- " There was nothing ;ery remarkable in the atmosphere on the morning of the 8th February. The sun was shining hot and bright, and the sky nearly without a cloud. The wind was regular, blowing fresh, and rather cold, front the usual quarter, N.E. The only thing that could be noticed was a deep pur- ple haze, rather unusual at this time of the year, hanging over the different islands, and shutting in the horizon : very little rain, however, had fallen for some time past, and in consequence the earth was parched up. About twenty- three minutes before eleven o'clock, I went on the quarter-deck of her Majes- ty's steamer Dee, which was lying alongside the wharf in English Harbour taking in coals; the men, women, and children were on shore in the dock- yard, enjoying themselves, cooking, playing—altogether forming a sort of far. Suddenly I saw the cliff behind the coal-yard vibrate to and fro, and the smooth The Antigua Herald says, that not one building consisting of stone- work had escaped injury ; and many families in the town had been obliged to resort to the ships for lodging. The destruction of property in the two minutes was incredible ; and it was of a kind to entail fur- ther loss- " The immense loss of property occasioned by this visitation," says the Antigua Herald, "will require several millions of pounds sterling to replace. Indeed, when the great length of time it will require to replace the wind-mills, engine-houses, and sugar-works that have been demolished or otherwise de- teriorated, shall have been considered, it will be evident that the present most luxuriant and large quantity of canes which crown the fields will unavoidably be sacrificed for want of mills to grind and sugar-works to manufacture the

present bountiful standing crops. • * We are persuaded that many years will elapse before Antigua will recover the prosperous position from which she has been dislodged by the adverse occurrence to which we have but briefly and very imperfectly adverted. Indeed, we are at present at a loss to conceive the means by which the cultivation of the island can possibly be resumed or continued without the liberal assistance of the parent state."

" The little town of Falmouth" says Mr. Clark, the surgeon of the Actteon, also suffered severely—

"Time church and school-house are a mass of ruins, and every stone or Mick building was damaged more or less. In this place, as a person expressed it to

me, the very graves were turned inside out '; some of the coffins having been absolutely pitched up out of their dark and narrow cells. There is an old woman living here about one hundred and twenty years of age, whose family to the fifth generation still survive ; and she declares that in the course of her long life she never experienced any thing like it in severity."

The island of St. Christopher suffered much, though less than Antigua. The time when the shock occurred was recorded by the stoppage of all the clocks at half-past ten.

" It would be difficult," says the St. Christopher Advertiser. "to say from what quarter the shock was experienced, for walls have been thrown dewn in

every kind of position and direction. On its approach, it conveyed the im-

pression that the motion came immediately from under our feet, striking up in a perpendicular direction. The shock commenced with a gentle throbbing,

attended with a hissing in the air ; which, as the severity of the convulsion increased, resembled more a rush of tempest accompanied by the usual rum- bling noise from the earth. When at its climax, the frightful sounds occa-

sioned by the cracking of houses and the crush of walls—by the falling and breaking of furniture—by the crash of crockery and glass—added to the screams of women and children, and the already terrific noise of the earth quake itself—beggar all description.

" The convulsion was supposed to have lasted for a minute and a half or tn o minutes ; but that short space was sufficient to be productive of most clisas trous consequences. We have heard of the loss of one life only. Three women were together washing clothes at a rivulet about three miles from town, when a cliff fell and crushed them. They were all severely injured, having suffered several bruises and fractures, and one of the poor creatures has since expired. We have not heard of any other injuries having been personally sustained, and we trust that these are the only cases which have occurred throug..out the island."

The buildings were violently damaged; they are described as "rent and torn "; boiling-houses were "split "; one house was demolished entirely ; all the buildings on one estate situate on a cliff were "pitched into a ravine," and shattered to at ms. At Sandy Point, an orifice opened in the ground, out of which sprung fumes of sulphurous vapour. The loss of properly is estimated at above 100,000/. sterling.

At Nevis, the damage is estimated at half that sum. Here a curious index of the earthquake was discovered- " After the earthquake had subsided, it was observed by a Black man at first,

that the sloop had moved a little from its former position; and, on examina- tion, he was surprised to find that one of the props on the South side had suc- cessively shifted its place, and left twenty distinct indentations or marks upon the side of the vessel." surface of the dock-yard undulate, like a carpet under which the wind has crept, from huge chasms and rents in the earth. The huge vessel quivered and shook with such rapidity and force, that it was with great difficulty I could keep my legs. On turning my eyes up the harbour, I savr a hill called Monk's Hill, as it appeared to me, toppling from its summit, enveloped in a cloud of dust. The water in the harbour foamed and bubbled; and in many places a white substance rose, as if thrown up from the bottom. How shall I describe the terror and con- sternation that in a moment seized upon those that were on the wharf! Some rushed on board in all directions, and scrambled up the sides of the ship ; others, in their distraction, threw themselves into the sea: even some of the sailors jumped overboard; but, providentially, no accident of a serious nature took place. When the shock was over, to my dying day I shall never forget the horror that was depicted on the countenances of all. Men gazed at each other in blank and terrible dismay. I can remember one thought that startled me, as the earthquake of Lisbon flashed across my mind ! should the sea rise ? Horrid was the idea! but that in a moment gave way to the fear that the men would get jammed between the piles of the wharf and the vessel, as she was rolling fast and with violence. The only sound that can convey the slightest idea of the noise that accompanied the shock, is that of a heavy waggon-train passing rapidly by in a hollow way, and the sensation that of grinding on a coral rock.

"The day after, I rode into St. John's. Here and there huge masses of rock, of many tons weight, detached from the hills, and plunging through the cane • pieces, forming a road, clear as if the plough had passed over the track had bounded on to the hard road, leaving perpetual evidence of their fearfur\.„...... power : houses in ruins, mills split from top to bottom, or totally destroyed— churches with only part of the outer walls standing—rents and seams in the ground—every thing showed that the desolation extended over the whole island. Coming suddenly on the town, the spectacle was perfectly awful. In part of a long fielding, formerly a barrack, the walls had given way in the centre, and the roof had fallen in and broke its back; a new brick wall, surrounded by a railing, was thrown down ; the barracks, where a detachment of the Forty- seventh are stationed, a confused mass of rubbish. The tower of the cathedral is standing, but it will, it is feared, have to come down ; the remainer is de- stroyed. The court-house, a massive stone building, though apparently on the outside not so much injured as the rest, is virtually destroyed. The Moravian and Scottbh churches have fared better, and the Government-house has escaped pretty well, It is impossible to detail every thing; but of all the mills in the island only three are fit to work. The crop is nearly ready, and one of the finest known for years; and it is feared that a sufficient number of mills, even of a temporary nature, cannot be got ready to make the sugar be- fore the canes rot. An enormous quantity of wine and other liquors have been destroyed. The sea in the harbour rose above two feet ; and in several places a stinking, black, bituminous matter, rose through the cracks and fissures in the earth. The lose of life has not been proportionate to the damage done : seven persons are known to have perished ; but many accidents of a serious nature have taken place. Had it happened in the night, thousands would have been killed."

In some parts there were slips of stole ard earth, and the mountain- sides were torn and disfigured. The earthquake at St. Thomas is described by Captain Fayrer, the commander of the Forth-

" I was sitting at table with Mr. Comrie, of the Colonial Bank at St. Thomas, his private house being on a declivity half-way up the highest part of the town. We were suddenly surprised by a confused sound. very much resembling the action of a strong draught of one of the large steamer's flues with the door shut, attended by a hissing sound. Our first impulse was to fly to the balcony. Every thing was on the move—the windows rattling, and the plaster of the room falling off. The streets immediately presented an extra- ordinary. scene—people running out of their houses, wringing their hands, and crying, in all directions. This noise and vibration lasted three minutes. The 'hock came horizontally, then a perfect calm. All business was suspended : and the affrighted inhabitants hastened to return thanks to Divine Providence, at their respective places of worship, for their escape from destruction. A ball was to have been given that evening ; which was suspended. The ships in the harbour felt the shock very plainly ; so aid a French brig off Tortola. A vessel arrived from St. Kitt's, and reported that the Court-house and the Custom-house had fallen."

One lady is said to have died of fright. Friday the 10th was ap- pointed a day of thanksgiving; the shops were all closed, and the churches were opened and thronged with the terrified inhabitants.

Much anxiety was felt about the fate of Mootserrat ; which had been seen by the commander of the Thames, Captain Hest, enveloped in a cloud of dust. It was reported that five lives had been lost in the island. The war-schooner Griffin had been sent to ascertain the facts.

The Griffin was also to go to Guadeloupe, where the master of a merchant-vessel saw flames issuing from a volcano, clouds of smoke and dust ascending from the coast, and people running out of their houses and dropping on their knees. No intelligence had been received from Dominica, St. Lucia, or Mar- tinique; which are supposed to lie in the course of the earthquake. It is reported that the shock was felt at Barbados and St. Vincent ; but very slightly.

Hayti has been visited by another calamity. The West India mail brings intelligence from Port-au-Prince to the 15th January ; and on the 9th of that month a most destructive fire broke out in the richest part of the city. About 400 houses, chiefly consisting of shops and warehouses, containing a great quantity of valuable property, were de- stroyed. The damage is estimated at eight or ten millions of dollars. In consequence of the conflagration, many fatuities were utterly ruined, and business was completely suspended. The number of lives lost was not ascertained ; but it was supposed to be inconsiderable. It was rumoured that the fire origined in the laboratory of a chemist.

Intelligence from Port Nicholson in New Zealand, to the 5th Onto- b?r, announces the death of Governor Hobson, at Auckland, on the 10th September, of paralysis. The papers account for much of his unpopu- lar and impolitic conduct by the impaired state of his health in his later years. His death is supposed to have removed the great impediment to a satisfactory settlement of many disputes with the Government, of which the influence had extended to this country. Mr. Willoughby Shortland, the Colonial Secretary, had assumed the interim administra- tion, and had began it with some popular acts.

The papers say, "It is expected" that a party of Sappers and Miners will be sent from Woolwich, under an officer of Engineers, to survey the Oregon Territory.