The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1851-01-28 00:00:00

hu. 28, 1851. Loral griuss. The Rev. W. Pollock preached in St. John's Church, Dublin, on Sunday, in behalf of its parochial institutions. The Welsh Charity Ball is announced for the 25th of February. The Dowager Lady Erskine is the patroness. child of Mr. John Mitchell, the Irish exile, and her fourren, sailed in the Condor for Australia on Wed- Tuesday, The assizes will commence at Lancaster on the 17th of February, and at Liverpool on Saturday, the 22nd of March. It is in contemplation to hold a meeting in this town to consider the desirability of renewing the agitation for the repeal of the tea duties. This evening the Rev. C. M. Birrell, a talented dis senting divi ne , w il l lecture, at the Concert-hall, on Martin Luther." On Saturday evening the Sligo steamer, Connaught Ranger, and the steamer Sea Nymph came into collision near the Huskisson dock. The bowsprit head and cut.. water of the former were carried away. dSir Joshua Walmsley, M.P., has been a guest at Al rpe Re c t ory, the residence of the Rev. J. Aspinall, tin e the past week, where large parties of the neigh bouring gent r y were invited to meet him. Acad. Al a C. Pid geon , th e secre t ar y o f th e Li verpoo l Academy is ab ou t t o l eave Li verpoo l, h av i ng b een sp ringineers, Pointed Professor of Painting at the College of Civil Putney, near London. hiAbout a fortnight ago, Robert Sully, a labouring man, pployed at the railway luggage station, Birkenhead, had ills back acc i dentally broken. He was conveyed to the Infirmary in Grange-lane, where he died on Tuesday. T hursday, official report, read at the Health Committee on unrs daY, set forth that a general cleansing of the " pits" in the Park had taken place, and that 248 dead dogs had been taken thence. The number of feline carcases, if any, Was not enumerated. The workmen in the employ of Messrs. Samuel and -James Helene, on Friday, presented to their manager, M r. Siddall, a valua ble , timepiece, at the house of r ' ria rley, Market-house Inn, Gill-street. Mr. James U Lielme presided. The Rev. W. F. T a yl or , o f Cl aug ht on Fi rs , h as h a d a watch stolen from his drawing-room by an Irishman who was a candidate as organist to the church, and who ob tained admission to the house under the pretence of want ing to see him. On Frid ay evening a commercial traveller, who was stopping at the Stork Hotel, Liverpool, when taking a walk in the n eighbourhood of Williamson-square, at the top of Hood-street, had fifty sovereigns feloniously ex tracted from his pocket. Two ca ses of death , ar i s i ng f rom t h e t oo preva l ent practice of leaving children in rooms where fires are of easy_ access, occurred last week. The deceased were Sarah 'Wilkinson, of Douro -street, aged six years, and Ellen Burke, aged two years and a half. We regret to learn that advices were received in town yesterday from Italy, ncing the decease there of Elias J. Mosley, Esq. a t n i nmo emineThent banker of this town. lamented gentle' had retired thither for the man benefit of his health. elOn Saturday last, the Rev. D. James delivered an !-'ll_Oq ue urchnt lecture, in the morning, in St. Matthew's the , Scotland -road, and, on learnine the amount of collection t henmade , ga ve liberally towards the Same for church LIVE 'expenses. reetin OOL CHARITABLE SOCIETY.—At the monthly Was g of this excellent society, held on the 24th instant, ativen toresolved— That the thanks of the committee be serting i n h is • Editor of the Liverpool Standard for in of the societyis journal the monthly report of the operations On m• Club, ondaY evening, a deputation of the Bold-street tion of Qr Liverpool Friendly Society, the largest institu .,,,._ the kind in town, presented to J. B. Hymns, Esq ., ra-51enut., °t magnificent s il ver tea - urn, as an acknowledg teen r services during the last six ears. chased as their surgeon A n', the Engli s h cap i ta li sts w h o h ave recent l y pur - Irish estates in the Encumbered Estates Court, is Thour esteemed townsman, Mr. Cunningham, the architect. p ro perty lies i n th e county of Cork. Mr. Cunning is.natil now in Ireland inspecting geological districts in the countY of Wicklow for a mining company. On Tuesday evening an alarm was raised in Hamilton square by a lady and her two daughters, resident in that fashionable locality, that there were robbers in the house. °n i nquiry, the alarm was found to be caused by two Police-officers, w h o were in search of a thief whom they suspected to be concea l e d a b out the chimneys of the houses. At the meeting of the Architectural and Archaeological Soc iety, on Wednesday evening, Mr. H. P. Horner in the chair, Mr. Joseph Boult presented a memorial on the subject of the new Building Act sought to be obtained by the Council, and it was numerously signed by the mem bers present, and subsequently forwarded to the Town- THE LATE GALES.—During the past week, severe gales f rom the eastward have been experienced in St. George's Channel ; and fro m var i ous por t s on th e coas t s a dj acen t C t T er ous accounts of di sas t ers h ave b een r e ce ived. O n ur daY the screw steamer Aibatross arrived from Dub- Zt__ after a severe voyage, during which seventy-five head _.eaattle perished. Five also perished on board of the urday night 0-unnlntnia during her run ; and shortly after eleven o'clock the sloop Anna Mary, with coal from T or n t mt. u Aberystwyth, drove on shore on Bubo Bank. t , ,, l Ert SALE AT BIRKENHEAD. —On Thursday and "uay, Messrs. Holme. Slater, and Crook, had timber salesat Birkenhead. The timber consisted of Honduras Mahogany, cedar, rosewood, bird eyed maple. lancewood spars, St. Domingo mahogany, &D., &c. Each day the attendance, which was excellent, included dealers from London, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Birmingham, the midland counties, Manchester, and the manufactu r i ng di s t r i cts , Dublin, kc. The whole of the lots offered the first day were said at good prices, the bidding being most spirited ; and what is quite unprecedented, rosewood sold as high as £7B per ton. On Friday, several of the finest cargoes evil. imported were disposed of at prices equally satisfac tory to broker and merchant. Splendid luncheons were provided for the company by Mr. Gleave, of the Adelphi Hotel. THEATRE-ROYAL.—The most attractive performance at this theatre continues to he the Pantomime, which works beautifully. The dancing of Madame Boleno and Harlequin are alone wor th th e pr i ce o f a d m i ss i on ; an d the ballet per f ormance generally—especially the flag dance, performed by a number of young ladies attired as sailors is very good. During the past fortnight the nienc e Pantomime has been given on fixed nights f or th e conve of the Cheshire people, and of families generally, las the first piece ; and on these nights the audience is e er y fashion a bl e, and the exclamations of delight from the veeseen"tes Present ' present are most pleasing, ana prove that the produeecisb'ywd,thout exception, the best pantomime ever e ingenuity, talent, and comical power of M. 33°Iena,whose benefit, we observe, is announced for to -night. still rein ' am staet utagehhte tdo to e t the srtas taff bumper. of. lk ie l c r e . s, Barry Pears nightly in standard dramatic this theatre, and a - assisted by a vmeary efficient corps of actors and e e a t c i t e re p sses. This gentle ea! popular as he is in Liverpool, will not be fully ap ailpree:ated amongst us until his talents are absorbed by or.t.opolitan demand. He is a careful actor, not without ingigsleptY, and yet, whilst giving us occasional new read rendeer" passages in our great dramatists, never offends by enough4lg himself eccentric. Mere imitators we have n on the stage —men whose sole merit it is that they v ca e. walk in other men's shoes, and speak in other men's Les, Mr. Sullivan is none of these. .....IHE AMERICAN STEAMER BALTIC.—In a letter to r:ssrs. Brown, Shiphass followin pley, and Co., Capt. Comstock gives g Particulars respecting the late outward to age of the American steamer Baltic, from Liverpool t hat New York, an d expressly contradicts all assertions 4, ~,n the Balti c ran ashore or sustained any damage : a `'! ne within 350 mil es o f N ew York, the coals (from ;x__Prournstance which cannot again occur) were so far soausted, that I deemed it prudent to call at Boston for h ea u PPly, but was prevented from entering that port by a borreY north-east gale of wind and snowstorm, when I frequented r the harbour of Princetown, a place much obtained, by which asters, where I knew coals could be out, and we went into on the thirteenth day 11 ``,• The harbour was well known to me as having a al i Q i` rj t T n b a.d bottom, and there I came to an anchor. The fr ee f ro 'mg then light, we were in perfect safety, and as e e II al dan g er or injury as if we h a d b een i n t h e port th at e fL W York. It is not, therefore, true, as s t a t e d h ere , aliot7 e ship was on shore ; neither is it true that we were ae r y ed " °I eithe r provisions or water. Our table was well h 1 fortc e i s : er Y day of our passage, with abundance to spare.. for New hey after arriving at this place we started again Wher e — l ark, (having taken 250 tons of coal on board,) an we arrived on the morning of the Ist of January, voy,, nSi ztY hours afterwards were again ready for another pei t - g e to Liverpool. By reference to the log you will tulles' that on no day did the ship make less than 100 ' ln e, and that against an extraordinary gale, amounting almost to a hurricane, with a sea I never saw equalled." GA L , en, ,--- IN THE A TLANTIC: ARRIVAL OF THE PACKET- I a anoth er -.P 1./E WITT C LINTON AT CORK.—Our marine reports page record the arrival of the New York ZPacket -sh ip De Witt Clinton Captain Funk, at Queens w_a, after six w ee k s attempting to get to the westward. 4.' a ppend a lett er from a passenger. addressed to a gen -ITinan in Liverpool :—" The De Witt Cnton, off Cape Clear, Wednesday, 22nd January, 1851. 1 i ie My dear frnd, o . l cannot Permit, after your ki n d ness t o me , an y opportu abouts to , pass without acquainting you with our where. &c. We are noi bearin u for Crk, and not szi;t ho ut strong and satisfactory cau p se. Si o nce we left ofle,rPool, about six weeks ago, we have had a sad time 1.. ", nothing but violent gales from the westward, enough 1; 1 : 11 , reason to weary the patience of Job. Smallpox alar m 7oken out amongst the passengers, and spread Si - ftglY and rapidly, and we have had nine deaths. .x of the crew are also laid up with it. Under such e(reuinstanees of awful weather and contagious disease on ?sboard, Captain Funk determined to bear up for Fayal, as r water had become short from the voyage being so havin g and protracted, and some leakage by the casks shifted during the gales. It was afterwards con sidered that Fayal being a Portuguese settlement, qua rantine regulations wou ld prevent anc h orage or commu wieation with the shore, Captain Funk therefore consulted with his officers, and finally determined to bear up for Cork on the 17th instant. You will perceive that we ln ado as much progress in five or six days as we did Previously in five or six weeks, p conclusive testi- t wooY of th e sort of weather we have experienced. We shall be in Cork to-morrow morning, and it is possible we may be there for a few days. With reference to the ea Ptaio, it gives me sincere pleasure to say that he is the Personification of kindness itself to his passengers in the cabin and steerage. Icou ld muc h on this subject, but th at as _ . • say . cram* seaman and a gentleman his character is well on t° Yoe- A fi ner sea boat th an th e D e Witt nt does thatnot goat, an d I have been much gratified to !lad your r ecommendation of both ship and captain r te b t e o r so fully verified. I must now bring this hasty idaht," A rather abrupt conclusion, as it is now near mid- EXCURSION TRIPS TO THE GREAT EXHIBITION.—We believe that a great number of persons have availed them selves of a club which has been opened to enable the ope rative classes to visit the Great Exhibition of 1851. The subscribers pay a small sum weekly, and will visit the Ex hibition when the price of admission is reduced to Is. The committee of the club will afford the excursionists every information relative to lodgings, &c.; and it is'recorn mended that each person should provide himself with a stock o f provisions, in order not only to save expense, but to put money into the pockets of the shopkeepers of this town, which would otherwise benefit the metropolis to the injury of those at home. It is estimated that many thou sands of people from Liverpool will visit London in the year 1851 ; and an application has been made to the directors of the London and North-western Railway to take second and first class passengers at a reduced rate, but an answer has not yet been received. _ THE SCOTS FREE ' CHURCH.—(From the Adelaide Times.)—This church and congregation met last Sunday, to celebrate public worship, at the spacious hall of the Exchange, in King William-street. The room at the Freemason's Tavern, which they lately occupied, was found too small for their increasing number, and for seve ral services persons have collected at the doors unable to get admittance. They have now engaged, until their new church is completed, this elegant and commodious build ing (the largest, we understand, in any of the Australian colonies), which will commodiously seat the present con gregation, and such additions to it as the growing reputa tion of their pastor, the Rev. Mr. Gardner, encourages the elders to calculate upon. The assembly was nume rous and attentive, and appeared to appreciate highly the distinguished ability of the preacher, who is a valuable addition to the pulpit talent of the colony.—[Mr. Gard ner was lately resident at Birkenhead.] SEAMEN'S READING-ROOM. — The eleventh report of the seamen's reading-room and schools, in connexion with the Mariners' Church, has just been issued. This, we are informed, is the only institution where navigation is taught gratuitously. The library contains above 600 volumes, and it will be augmented still further shortly. During the past year, 904 persons have attended the navigation schools ; of these, 313 were seamen, and 591 apprentices ; and of these, 76 seamen, and 123 appren tices, were promoted. A sextant has been purchased, and a platform erected on the roof of the building, to enable the students to make lunar observations. The room is very comfortably fitted up; and the committee solicit from the clergy books and tracts for distribution. The daily school for girls, and the Sunday schools, have progressed very satisfactorily. The number of the former in attendance was frequently eighty and upwards. The tea party:last year realized £79 175., from which had to be deducted the expenses, amounting to £3B Ils. We perceive that a similar festivity will take place at the Concert-hall on Tuesday next, which we hope sincerely will prove even more productive. The institution is silently doing an immense amount of good, and deserves to he warmly supported. POPERY PRACTICALLY CONSIDERED.—This most im portant department of the subject of Romanism is about to be taken up in a course of lectures by the Rev. V. I‘l. White, in the Presbyterian Church, Islington. The fol lowing is a list of the subjects :-Ist. Jesuitism, its prin ciples and its practices.-2d. Popery, the enemy of the intelligence, the morals, and the liberties—civil as well as religious—of man.-3rd. Popish methods of upholding and spreading the faith.-4th. Intelligent conviction of the truth of Popery impossible, to be delivered on Thurs day evenings, at half-past seven o'clock. We have much pleasure in calling attention to the opening lecture on Thursday next, on Jesuitism. Englishmen accustomed to freedom, and in ignorance of the doctrines of " proba bility," " intention," and such like, taking men to be what they profess, and to mean what they say, seem to have forgotten the past, and regarding Jesuitism as a thing that was; to look upon it with the eye of roman e, they do not consider that the society is at this moment in active operation in this country, and that Lancashire is its stronghold. So long as a Jesuit remains in the king dom, civil and religious liberty, not less than vital Chris tianity, demands of every sound Pre es'ant holding a public position to lc( ep before the cc mmun'ty those infa mous principles and practices which br,mglit down upon the Jesuits condemnation and expulsim. from every country in Europe, Romish as well as Protestant, not excepting that of the Pope himself. RETURN OF THE UNITED STATES STEAMER ATLANTIC. —We regret to state that the United States mail steam ship Atlantic, Captain West, met with an accident during the heavy gales which she encountered on her outward voyage, which necessitated her return to Cork. The At lantic left Liverpool on the 28th ult. at four p.m. She proceeded against unusually heavy westerly gales until the 6th of January, the ship behaving admirably, and the en gines appearing to be in fair order. At 630 of the 6th instant, the engines were stopped, and it was found that the centre beam or shaft was broken. This occurred in lat. 46 deg. 12 min., long. 41 deg. 30 min. Captain West continued to proceed t o the westward, against heavy wes terly gales, till the 11th January, eleven p.m., intending to run for llalifax ; but, finding the gale increasing, and the ship making but little headway, after ascertaining the wishes of the passengers, he determined to put the ship about, and run for Cork, which port was made on Wed nesday last, at eight p.m. The vessel is in good order, and the steward's department amply supplied. The news reached Liverpool on Thursday night, on the engineer and purser of the vessel, who, with some of the passengers, crossed from Dublin to Holyhead that morning. As no steamer would leave Liverpool for America before Satur day next, the intelligence of the safety of the Atlantic, and all those on board, will not reach New York until a month after her expected arrival, when probably all hopes as to her safety will have disappeared. When off Cork, the passengers unanimously passed resolutions acknow ledging the care and attention of Captain West, through out the most trying circumstances (being deprived of his first officer's services through illness), bearing testimony to the strength and power of the ship, and declaring that it was at their unanimous request that Captain 'West put back to Cork. Messrs. Brown, Shipley, and Co. have chartered the British mail steamer Cambria to proceed to Cork, and there to take on board the cargo of the Atlan tic, and proceed with the same to New York. The Cam bria will sail from this port to-day, and from Cork next Tuuday. Messrs. Brown, Shipley, and Co. are return. ing the fares of the Atlantic's passengers, and many of them have already booked themselves for the Africa. MESSRS. THOMAS ANT) HADDOCK'S CLASSICAL CHAMBER CONCERTS.—The fourth of these peculiarly interesting performances took place on Wednesday even ing last, in the Saloon of the Philharmonic-hall. We were glad to see so numerous an attendance, indicative no less of the excellence of these concerts than of the steadily increasing appreciation of this class of music. Beethoven's Quartett in D, No. 3, Op. 18, two violins, viola, and violincello was most excellently played by Messrs. Thomas, Lawson, Baetens, and Haddock. The Quartett in B minor, Op. 3, piano-forte, violin, viola, and violincello, by Mendelssohn, one of his very early works, and in our estimation, one of his finest compo sitions, was performed in admirable style by Mrs. Beale, Messrs. Thomas, Baetens, and Iladdock, and notwithstanding its extreme difficulty we could not detect the slightest inaccuracy ; and what to us is even more satisfactory than correct execution, the various nuances were observed with a fidelity that left nothing to be desired. The rendering of the piano-forte part by Mrs. Beale was worthy of high praise. The duo for violin and violincello, op. 57, by Kummer, performed by Mr. Thomas and Mr. Haddock, belongs essentially to the modern brillante school; as a composition, it is admirably adapted to display the capabilities of the executants, being the most effective combination of two instruments we ever listened to. We never heard Mr. Thomas to so much advantage, or estimated his playing so highly. We have always looked upon Mr. Haddock as our best intepreter of classical music. The duo in question requires powers of a different order, a more extended knowledge of the finger-board, and of the resources of the instrument generally. Mr. Had dock's execution is as easy and perfect as his tone is pure and refined. The performance was deservedly greeted with warm and repeated plaudits. Beethoven's delight ful trio in G op. 1 No. 2, for piano -forte, violin, and violincello, seldom heard, even in private reunions, is an especial favourite of ours. It was exquisitely played by Mrs. Beale, Mr. Thomas, and Mr. Haddock. This most interesting concert terminated with Mozart's quartett in B flat No. 5, for two violins, viola, and violincello, beautifully interpreted by Messrs. Thomas, Lawson, Baetens, and Haddock. The adagio was loudly and unanimously encored. IMPORTANT GOVERNMENT INFORMATION.—A case of much importance to shipowners and the charterers of vessels for the conveyance of passengers was heard on Saturday, at the County-offices, Clayton-square, before James Lawrence, Esq., Edward Cropper, Esq., and James Bourne, Esq. It was an information preferred by the Commissioners of her Majesty's Customs, under the Bth and 9th Vic.. cap. 100, against Edward Rigby, the owner of a steam-packet, for having proceeded to sea with pas sengers without having transmitted to the Lords of the Privy Council the declarations of the sufficiency of the condition of the hull and machinery of the vessel of which he was the owner. Mr. Hull, of the firm of Fletcher and Hull, solicitors, North John-street, in the absence of Mr. Tindall, appeared to prefer the complaint on the part of her Majesty's Customs, and Mr. Peel, solicitor, on behalf of the defendant. Mr. Hull detailed the circumstance which had given rise to it. On the 30th of July, last year, Mr. Rigby was the owner of a vessel called the Dunbar Castle. On that day he obtained from the Re gistry-office. at Liverpool, the usual certificate of owner ship, on which no question arose ; and on the 4th of August the vessel went round to Preston, under the name of Prince Arthur, and sailed thence on the following Sunday with passengers for the Menai Straits. When she got out an accident took place to the machinery, and the vessel ultimately went to pieces. All the passengers were saved, but two of the firemen perished. The object of the present prosecution was to advertise to the owners of steam-vessels in general that the act of parliament would be most strictly enforced against them, and that her Majesty's officers of Customs would, as far as practi cable, interdict steam-vessels, both for the Irish trade or those on pleasure trips, putting to sea without complying in the strictest sense with the requirements of the act. Mr. Hull called upon the bench to inflict the full penalty of £lOO. Mr. Peel addressed the court in mitigation of the penalty, and in doing so urged that Mr. Rigby had never owned a steam-vessel before, and was never likely to own one again, for he had by this transaction been utterly ruined. He was altogether unacquainted with the provisions of the act, and had acted through ignorance. Mr. James Lawrence said the bench, under the circum stance, had come to the determination of inflict:mg the penalty of .£lO, as they thought the ends ofjust' i ce would be answered by that. Nevertheless, the case was one of those which required to be brought before thr, magistrates, and he was glad to find, the Customs ay' chorities were taking the subject up.. Mr. Hull said it, as the strong desire of the Board offrrade that it shot , '.ol go forth to the public that they were determined to P' an i s h, t h e owners o f steamers. whenever they find their •, easels going, to , sea in sp tuiworthy. state, Enbentore& Ottrbantrai Column. Every movement made in the present day tends to prove that we are about to enter into a race of competi tion with the world at large for the palm of inventive and mechanical superiority. The " Great Exhibition of 1851" is a striking proof that this is to be our destiny, and that we must stand or fall according to the result of this race. With a view of promoting the free interchange of ideas between men of mechanical talent, and especially of our humbler brethren, for whom Polytechnic and other so cieties open not their doors, and for whom our so-called " Mechanics' Institutes" have done absolutely nothing, we purpose devoting a portion of our paper, under the above head, to the purpose of noticing such new inven tions as may come under our notice, and communicating other scientific and mechanical information. We especi ally invite the attention of practical and work'ng mecha nics to this new feature in the STANDARD, knowing well how many of the valuable ideas, suggested in the work shop, have been appropriated by others, through their humble authors not possessing a ready medium for bring ing them before the notice of the public, or of parties who would aid in carrying them out. AN IMPROVED METHOD FOR ATTACHING GUTTA PERCHA SOLES. (17e tro Bon) far at attic /or tin or tit Or or pm 311 \ I" OM ti If dr c5ll Int/ nII El E E 31] 0 11 to The LEATHER SOLE, as here shewn, is pierced with one of the tools, drawings of which are given below : one row of holes slanting to the left, and the next to it to the right, and so with each pair of rows on the sole. If the sole were suf ficiently thick, and the holes continued deep enough, the two rows would meet at an angle, the purpose of which will at once be seen on exa mining the Gutta Percha Soles. The manner of piercing the soles constitutes the peculiarity of the present method, and its improvement on that usually adopted. If the GUTT'A PERCHA SOLE could be torn away from the leather, it would be found to have slanting rows of points, exactly corresponding with the holes made in the leather sole, as shewn in the annexed wood cut. These points form so many keys or rivets, which firmly lock the two soles together. 40 I , tiN iii N.B. Solution is to be used as hu the ordinary way. The tools required for this improved method of attaching Gutta Percha Soles are very simple, and may had at the grindery shops, or you can old files. j = 30010 0111 riE ot, 011 011 as laitat am a r THE LIVERPOOL STIAINIARD. A TELESCOPE THE COLUMN OF &dente anb 3L?orttruiture. BONDIS - RING 07 SATURN. In our last we promised to resume this interesting sub ject, and it will be remembered that we broke off with an extract from Mr. Lassell's, in the observatory journal of his friend Mr. Dawes, to the effect that the space be tween Bond's ring and the planet was dark. It will be remembered also. that though the news from America reached Liverpool and London by the 3rd, Mr. Lassen received no account of the discovery till the following morning, before which he had made the observation de scribed. Thus had Mr. Lassell all the merit of making an independent discovery, though it was sooner and better, i. e. more clearly, made in the United States. It may have struck our readers, as it did us, that reference to Bond's ring was rather odd, in a record made before this ring had been heard of; and we cat short our narrative till we could make inquiries. It is with much pleasure and satisfaction that we are able to cast the blame of this error upon the Editor of the Proceedings, who, in abridg ing Mr. Lassell's account of the phenomenon, inadver tently gave the name of Bond's ring to the peculiar veil covered-like belt observed within the broad and bright one. In the next number of the Proceeding: a full ex planation will be given. FAYE ' S PERIOD./CAL COMET. In the public prints we have recently read of the dis covery of a new and very faint telescopic comet by Mr. Bond, of the Observatory of Cambridge, near Boston, U.S. This is an error. The comet seen by the American astronomer is the periodical comet of Faye, discovered here about two months ago. Observations were made on it at Cambridge on the 28th and 29th of November, and 6th and 7th of December last ; but it was not till the Ist and 4th of the present month that Mr. Bond found it. In a letter from Mr. Bond, which we have seen, he calls it Faye's comet. It may be observed that it was seen at Starfield about three weeks ago. PASSAGE OF LUMINOUS BODIES ACROSS THE FIELD OF I n the Proceedings of the Royal Astronomical Society, fol Dec. 13, 1850, we find a curious communication by the 14 W. liesd, vicar of South Minims. Upon the 4th of Set )last, while preparing to watch the planet Mer cury, s i thalf-past nine, a.m., his attention was drawn to innumerable " self-luminous" bodies passing from east to west, with unequal velocities, across the field of his te lescope. In brightness they resembled Venus, and their discs are described as being " perfectly round and well defined." If these were real bodies, the number must have been prodigious, for he beheld them at intervals during about six hours, in a zone several degrees in breadth. They subtended angles varying from 2 sec. to 20 sec., and they are said to have borne a magnifying power, but without disclosing anything remarkable. What this phenomenon was, probably we shall never know, for there does not seem to have been another ob server. The Editor of the Astronomical Proceedings , conjectures " an abnormal state of the optic nerves of the observer," and the duration of the appearance is pre sumptive evidence that it was so. Besides, the rev. gentleman is certainly wrong in considering them " self luminous," unless he accounts for them on electrical theory, in which case the " well-defined" disc, and other objections, may be urged. Neither is his reasoning con clusive, for he says—" They appeared self-luminous ; as, when viewed even near the sun, they still retained their round form, without gibbosity or crescent shape." The most authentic instance of the passage of bodies across the field of a telescope is the observation of the as tronomer Messier. The description is interesting, and though before us, is too lung to quote; but the curious will find it in the Mem. Acad. Paris, 1777, p. 464. Suf fice it to say, Messier witnessed the passage of numerous dark globules across the solar disc, about noon, for five minutes. No observation of the kind had been previously recorded. In the year 1823, Hansteen noticed a luminous meteor cross the field of vision, while using his telescope for an astronomical observation ; and the writer has not only ascertained from a distinguished astronomer, but he has himself witnessed, the recurrence of the phenomenon ; these, however, were sporadic cases. The phenomena witnessed by Hansteen and Messier are evidently very different. The dark bodies may have been asteroids or meteoric bodies interposed; and the probability of this is increased by the observation of Gas paris on the 11th of May, 1845, confirmed by Capocci and Demartini, of many non-luminous bodies crossing the sun. The bright objects, on the other hand, were most probably particles of dust strongly illuminated, or birds under the beams of an unclouded sun. HORTICULTURAL. Beechwood Seedling Potatoes.—This fine early seedling was tried by us some time since, and answered admirably, being earlier than the early Kemp, and a more mealy and better- flavoured sort. Not having heard of it for the last two years, we imagined it was lost ; but we find the hol ders have been raising a stock, and are now offering it for sale. A sample which we have just received fully bears out the good character we formerly gave of this potato. By the advertisement it will be seen that Dlr. Tynan, of Great George-street, is the owner of the whole stock. NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. The Gazetteer of the World. Fullarton and Co We have received the second division of this important work, and must confess the pleasure it has given us in examining its closely printed pages. No similar work has ever before been attempted on the same complete scale,and nothing but the great reduction in the price of everything connected with bookmaking, could have enabled the pub.. fishers to offer the public so valuable a work of reference at so trifling a price compared with its importance. As far as we have been able to test this Gazetteer. it brings us up to the present state of geographical information, even to the description of the smallest town in the world. Some particulars of the publication will be found in an advertisement in another column. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS Contributors to this column ?mil oblige by sending their contributions not later than Saturday ; and written on one side only of the paper. _ _ _ llenry.—We are not aware Of the lelithyosauri having been found in any other than the Blue Lius formation. Your fossils from America most probably belong to other genera. J. Deacon.—We strongly recommend you not to move plants of any value now. Many herbaceous plants will bear much exposure to frost ; but it is better not to risk them, for frosty weather would prove a severe trial even to well-established plants, should it now visit us. ADJOURNED SPECIAL MEETING OF THE BIR KENHEAD, LANCASHIRE, AND CHESHIRE JUNCIION RAILWAY. A meeting of this Company was held at the Town hall, Birkenhead, at one o'clock on Saturday, to deter mine on the subject of station accommodation at Birken head. The meeting, which had been twice adjourned, was presided over by JAMES BANCROFT, Esq., who stated the nature of the correspondence which had passed between that Company and the North Western. lie recommended that a Bill be prosecuted, notwithstanding the probability that ar rangements would be made with the North Western Company. This course he advised as an alternative, should there arise impediments in the way of a satisfactory arrangement with the other Company. Mr. W. JACKSON, M.P., suggested an addendum to one of the resolutions binding the Board not to take any further steps in obtaining the bill, should it be necessary to go so far, without bringing the matter before the shareholders. Mr. TREVOR, of Chester, thought the proposition of the hon. member for Newcastle did not go far enough, He thought that no arrangements with the London and North Western Company should be finally concluded till the shareholders had been appealed to. (Applause.) Mr. CHARLES HOLLAND protested against trusting im plicitly to such accommodation as might be furnished by the North 'Western Company, and referred to impediments thrown in the way of their traffic recently by the other Company, and he thought an adjournment of the meet ing would be desirable. • Mr. KNox thought that the meeting, to be consistent, should require that the further arrangements and particu lars should be laid before the proprietors. lie also thought it would be well if, when next they meet, the heads of the former agreement referred to were read over. He was afraid that, whether good or bad, it was now under the seals of the companies, and could not be altered •, but hav ing arrived at that position, he thought it only due to the proprietors that the particulars of that agreement should be stated, that they should see whether the company really was in a position to take traffic from Chester to Manchester without the control of the London and North- Western Company. (" Hear, hear," and applause.) Tt was stated, he thought, at one of their meetings that such was the fact, that the present agreement between the companies made them perfectly independent in that res pect. He went on to'complain of obstruction on the part of the North-Western as concerned the Shrewsbury Compa nies' traffic, amounting to total exclusion, and advised the Birkenhead Company to get into Manchester entirely in dependent of the North-Western. Mr. Rum:AE:4s advised the company to assume an independent position, and asked to have the agreement which had been referred to as subsisting between the North-Western and Birkenhead , Lancashire, and Cheshire Line for the providing by the former of station accommo dation at Manchester be read, The CHAIRMAN replied that the agreement had been brought there with the view of having it read over that day. The clause in the agreement to which Capt. Huish had referred in his letter as sufficient for arranging the subject of station accommodation at Manchester was, that, if they applied for that accommodation, the terms should be settled by arbitration. (" Hear !") Then, as to the rumours and strong observations which had been made by their old friend, Mr. Knox. (Laughter,) It was not true that the company had made arrangements with the through traffic committee of the other companies to conduct the iron on to Manchester. He went on to re fute the charges implied against the North-Western Company. Mr. GIBSON read the agreement where it was ordered to be left for the perusal of all the shareholders. The CHAIRMAN said the board had arranged before hand, that if there was any difficulty with the question. the meeting should be adjourned tiil the last day of February, when the half-yearly meeting would be held, which could be made special for the purpose. Several proprietors expressed their satisfaction at the chairman's statement. anci the meeting was then ad iolzrnect, @~ mo easily make them o This tool has three sharp-pointed prongs, which will be found to be more convenient than more, for old soles or stout new ones. With a hammer drive the points into the leather. When you have made one line of slanting holes in the sole, reverse the tool, and you will thus form a complete dovetail. = This tool has 12 prongs, which is used for lighter work, pump-soles, and for inner soles, that is to say, when the Gutta Percha sole is put on the welt. LAMPORT'S IMPROVED PATENT WINCH The increased average tonnage of the mercantile marine of this and other countries has, from time to time, sug gested the necessity of employing mechanical powers to facilitate the execution of the heavier labour on ship board. Numerous patents have been granted for improve ments on the windlass, and now we have before us one applied to the winch (the right of which has been pur chased by Messrs. Henry Wood and Co., of this town.) It promises to become extremely useful. At the top of the machine, which is a light iron frame, is a barrel fitted with crank or lever handles similar to an ordinary winch ; but below this is another barrel, which is connected wtth the upper by spur-wheels of multiplying power, but may be put in and out of gear at will. Running parallel with the upper barrel is a shaft with cranks to be attached to the pump pistons, which can be worked either separately, or attached to the winch, or the winch itself may be worked from the shalt, which would give terrific power. At the back of the machine is a large fly-wheel, so placed as to be athwart ships, and to work close up to the fore part of the main mast, where it is perfectly out of the way. It is 'connected with the pump-shaft by a bevel wheel and thence,:of course, to any portion of the apparatus. One peculiarity in this invention is that pumping, warping, hoisting, heaving in or lifting by Gypsey's slack chain, &c., may proceed at one moment, or that each motion may be used separately. The invention is that of Mr. Lamport, and bids fair to be extremely beneficial. TO CORRESPONDENTS The steering apparatus that has teen so much admired on board the Daniel Webster is an American patent, but it is not new. It has been in use some years on the river Thames. "A. D.—Mr. Paxton has written a letter in favour of opening the exhibition to the public free. [Would it not be prudent to make it free to depositors only ?] "ENQUIRER." - Out of the whole cost of an English patent the Government receives £37 .Os. for stamps—the remain ing amount is demanded as fees, and but a small portion of __it goes to the public revenue. _ The description - of Messrs. Brown's pump shall appear in our next. A number of American captains trading to Liverpool have determined to present Charles Mackay, Esq., LL.D. with a pair of silver candlesticks and tray, as a small token of their appreciation of his exertions to procure the use of lights and fires on board ships in dock at Liverpool. The articles are very beautiful, and were manufactured by Mr. Mayer, of Lord-street, doLiisioN.—A highly flattering testimonial, copied into our advertising columns, has been received by Messrs. A. and R. Brown, in reference to the collision between the Kalmazoo and the Charles Chaloner, off Holyhead. It is couched in terms that must he taken as a tribute to their merit. For years they have made the improvement of ship pumps their study, and from time to time progressive inventionshave appeared. The last has only been patented a few weeks, and they have already the satisfaction of knowing that it has been the means of saving a large amount of property, if not of life. FIRE IN RANOVER-STREET.—on Wednesday morning a fire broke :out, about a quarter to eleven o'clock, on some premises in Hanover-street, which are now occupied by Messrs. Morris, Napier, and Co., ship-chandlers, Mr. Gaskell, a cotton-dealer, and a block-maker. The flames were subdued at twelve o'clock. The damage done in this brief space of time was considerable, but will be covered by the insurances. Morris, Napier, and Co. are insured in the Phoenix for £3OO ; Mr. Gaskell in the Imperial for £2OO, and the North British for £150; and the block-maker in the Leeds and Yorkshire for £3OO. LAUNCH OF A LIVERPOOL SHIP AT ARDROSSANI— Tuesday a splendid new ship of 850 tons, named the Dorothea, and built for Messrs. Barber and Rotheram, of Liverpool, was launched from the building•yard of Messrs. Barr and Shearer, Ardrossan. She is designed for the Liverpool and Charleston trade, and will be com manded by Captain M`Kenzie. Amongst the company present at a subsequent banquet were the Earl of Eglin ton, W. Miller, of Glenlee, Bart., &c. Mr. Mason, from Liverpool, acknowledged the compliment on the part of the owners. That this was the largest sailing vessel ever built in Scotland was a fact which, he thought, reflected great honour on the builders. ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE.—The performances of Monsr. Franconi's equestrian company at this theatre continue to attract excellent audiences, and their pleasing diversities of character, the talent and taste of the various artistes, with the splendid appointments provided by their leader, give unqualified satisfaction. A morning performance is given on two days each week, for the accommodation of the inhabitants on the Cheshire side of the river, and families living at a distance from town, to whom a visit to an evening one would be inconvenient. On these oc casions the attendance is very select, and the juveniles must thank the management for giving them opportuni ties which, without such an arrangement, they would perhaps not enjoy. During the past week the perform ances have been unusually varied and attractive. The little equestrian prodigy, Le Petite Frederic, is a smart and promising rider, and his feats appear to afford especial delight to the junior portion of the audiences. Mad'selle Louise, as the Numidian Maid, upon a bare backed steed, astonishes us at the daring displayed, and, at the same time, the confidence which she possesses in her own powers. As specimens of what training can accomplish, the pony " Cheri," and the steed " Waverley," intro duced by Mr. Bastien Franconi, are wonders. The latter and his rider appear to the spectator to be connected like the fabled Centaur of old. The Shawl Exercise of Ma dame Angeline Franconi is a very graceful act of equita tion, and the Three Nations, a changing act by Mr. Powell, is clever and picturesque. Monsr. Russell con tinues his feats as a Bottle Equilibrist, balancing himself upon decanters, placed one upon another in every form of pyramid and other device. with a precision and daring which would have led people, in another age, to imagine that either the performer was a shadow, without weight, of that some charm had been used to deprive his bottles or the tendency of ordinary bottles to break. Part Second presents us with a graceful Pas de Deux by Madame Henri Franconi and Mr. Powell. The Penny Trumpet performance of the Clown, Mr. Tomkinson, is very rich and clever, and the Stilt Exercises of M. Baguet, and Slackwire Performances of Herr Maus are really wonder ful. The former gentleman is in verity an accomplished little fellow, and funny withal. Madame Julia, as the Beggar of Tottenham Cross, and Signor Perini's Eagle Horseman are vary pleasing. The concluding piece— " The Lesson of .Equitation, or the French Amateurs in the Riding School, is highly laughable, The Clowns are throughout very efficient, And full of wit sad drollery. THE ISLAND OF ACHILL. A few years ago this island was almost unknown. It is situated in the remotest part of the - County of Mayo, from the mainland of which it is separated by a channel similar to that of the Menai Straits, which divides Anglesea from 'Carnarvonshire ; and this channel varies in width from 2CO yards to several miles: In some parts it has the appearance of internal lakes. The approach to Achill (or the Island of Eagles), is through an inhospi table and barren part of the County of Mayo—and the generality of the island is of a mountainous character, possessing much bog land, but many portions of it are now cultivated, and nothing but capital and industry are required to change the whole face of the district. From its northern and southern shores some of the most mag nificent views in Ireland are to be obtained. The distant mountains in Conemara, including Croagh Patrick, to gether with the bold headlands which form Clewes Bay, and which resist the Atlantic waves, the numerous islands which appear in the distance, and the broken outline of shores, bays, and mountains are seen on every side but one ; and on that side, the gaze is lost over the ceaseless rolling of the mighty Atlantic, which in storms hurls its moving acres of water against the iron-bcund headlands oF Achill, which lift themselves in some places 1;800 feet above the level of the ocean. The island contains 23,000 acres, and is about thirty-two miles in circumference. Its highest land is 1,530 feet above the level of the sea, and it con tains stone and various sorts of marble in great abundance. Sixteen years ago it was inhabited by a race of people scarcely one degree above barbarism. It was known to exist, because it was marked upon our maps ; but as to any knowledge of its inhabitants, we were as ignorant of them and their habits as we were of islanders in the South Sea; in many instances, indeed, we were much more so. But light was to be thrown upon it ; and if we mistake not, this almost unknown spot is destined to exercise a most important influence upon the condition of western Ireland. In the year 1831, according to Mr. Noel, the islanders were visited by a famine. Hun dreds were living upon seaweeds ; and after the famine came a raging typhus. A most excellent and pains-taking clergyman of the Church of England and Ireland, the Rev. Edward Nangle, hearing of their desti tution, and being at that time in ill health (which required him for a long time to suspend his ministerial labours) undertook the charge of a cargo of potatoes sent for their relief. Whilst among them, he preached the Gospel to them in the Irish tongue ; and, finding them willing to listen to him, he conceived the design of a mission, founded on the Moravian plan, which should at once raise them not only from destitution, by inculcating habits of industry and self-dependence, but should also elevate them in the scale of intelligent beings, by afford ing to them and to offspring the means of education, and save them from religious ignorance, by giving to them the Word of Gad. He obtained from Sir Richard O'Donnell a lease of 130 acres of land, at the nominal rent of £1 per acre ; and, several benevolent persons in Dublin aidin g him with funds, the wild moorland was reclaimed, a house was built, and a schoolmaster and Scripture reader took possession of it. In 1834, another house was erected; and as the prospect of being useful increased, Mr. Nangle personally took charge of the settlement, and was soon aided by several scripture readers and schoolmasters. As may be supposed, this invasion of the papal darkness which brooded over the island met with every species of oppo sition from the Romish Priests. They refused to allow the poor children to attend the schools. The parents who permitted them to be taught were cursed from the altar ; and persecutions, happily unknown in England, and which would hardly be credited, were directed against the devoted man, who had left the society of Dublin to carry out his work of benevolence in this distant, and to him dangerous, spot. Every falsehood that malevolence could invent was directed against him ; his motives were im pugned ; he was subject to attacks from the poor ignorant people, to whose best interests he had devoted his life. His few converts were publicly stigmatised as " children of the devil," and every contumely and insult was poured upon him and his adherents. But Mr. Nangle, though a man of great meekness and forbearance, possesses, in a remarkable degree, the quality of decision, as well as of patient endurance. He persevered in his good work, almost against hope ; but the struggle in which he was engaged, and the persecu tions which he underwent began to attract notice, and funds were supplied him to erect a church and school. The children who were educated by him began to exhibit signs of intelligence which were not lost upon the surrounding peasantry. Other children were sent to the schools, and many of the parents having listened to the sublime liturgy of our scriptural church, and having been taught from the bible (a book of which, until then, many of them were utterly ignorant) refused to attend mass any more ; and the little church had soon a congregation of about one hundred worshippers, and which number kept steadily increasing. The rage of Dr. M'Hale knew no bounds. He determined to crush the Protestant heretics at once. He therefore paid a visit to the island, as he said, " to put a final extinguisher on the sinister specu lation." The priestly splendour with which he was surrounded contrasted most bitterly with the rags of the poor creatures whom he went to visit, and accompanied by thirteen priests and a crowd of people, bearing banners, on which was written, " Down with the Schismatics," he performed High Mass, and successive priests warned the people not to salute the converts, or deal with them. They were not to borrow or lend, buy or sell. They were to he cut off from the charities of life; and if any one dared to violate these mandates they were to be accursed ! The Protestant religion was declared to be " the offspring of Hell ;" and all Protestants were doomed " to inevitable destruction." But this vision of magnificent wickedness passed away ; and by many the thunder was disregarded. The converts stood the shock. Another Church was added, and another school was built. An hotel was built to accommodate the travellers who visited this persecuted spot. An excellent physician, who took a warm interest in the success of the mission, became a resident. More land was reclaimed ; and that which was a few years ago one of the darkest places in Ireland, had b ecome , i n a measure, civilised, and the very face of the country was changed. The more intense the hatred of the priests, the more was sympathy enlisted on the side of those against whom emit hatred was disected. Both a printing press and types were presented to the settlement in 1835 by some benevolent individuals in York and London ; and it has since been most actively employed in disseminating information. Step by step, under the fostering care of Mr. Nangle, has this settle ment advanced ; and at the very place, where sixteen years ago, there were nothing but poor wretched Roman Catholics, living in mud huts, and sunk in the lowest po verty and deepest ignorance —there are now above 1000 well taught persons who have left the Romish communion, and who are consistent members of our national church. Some of these were educated when children by Mr. Nan gle, but have now become parents themselves, and even those who still attend mass, seeing the superior education which is afforded, send their children to the church schools in defiance of the fulminations of the priests. The Achill settlement has now grown into a village, and has some good houses. There are on the island six churches and thirty schools, a good hotel and a printing office. There are also four resident clergymen and six scripture readers. The much abused but devoted clergyman, wi , o, in the midst of privation and banishment, has sacrificed his health and risked his life to benefit this island, still sur vives to see the fruit of his labours. Turbulence has given way to peace and subordination with more than 1000 of the inhabitants, and they are now numerically strung enough to protect themselves from those dastardly assaults which used formerly to be committed, and which have not yet wholly ceased. God has blessed the work, and Achill is at this moment an instance of what scriptural education is capable of doing for the darkest part of unhappy Ireland. Sir Richard O'Donnell was the owner of the island. Circumstances have recently brought it into the market. To have become the purchasers of the island would have been to Dr. M`Hale and his priests a great triumph. The land held by Mr. Nangle was only leasehold for 31 years, of which term a considerable portion had expired. Had 1 it fallen into Roman Catholic hands, it is clear that no renewals of the lease would have been conceded, and churches and schools must have passed into other and Romish hands. Mr. Nangle made a simple but eloquent appeal for aid, and asked the Protestant public to raise for him the sum of £4OOO, to enable him to purchase that portion of Achill on which the settlement was founded, and which he ascertained could be purchased. Such is the public appreciation of his character, that, instead of £4OOO, above £lO,OOO was soon raised, and, amongst the subscribers, are some benevolent men of Liverpool. We have now to name a circumstance which, in deference to an expressed wish, we should not otherwise have done ; but it has now been made public by others. The sum of £7OOO more would purchase the whole island, with the ; exception of one or two townlands, which had been pre- viously sold. The public subscriptions for the purchase are vested in the joint names of Mr. Napier, M.P. for the University of Dublin ' Mr. Brooke, and, we believe, the Hon. Somerset Maxwell. Among others applied to for a subscription were Mr. Samuel Holme and Mr. William M'Cormick, of this town. These gentlemen urged the purchase of the whole island, and, with true Christian benevolence and cbaracteristic disinterestedness, at once offered to advance the money still wanting. They were joined by Mr. Thomas Brassey, the eminent railway con tractor, who most liberally offered to become a party to so desirable a work ; and we believe we are correct in stating that these three gentlemen have offered to cede to the trustees all they have purchased, if the subscriptions ap proach the amount ; or otherwise to cultivate their portion of the island, so as to afford employment to the inhabi tants in such cultivation. In the first case, the trustees would have nearly the whole as an endowment for the churches and schools, and which would eventually enable them to extend the benefits of Church of England instruc tion to other parts of the main land. In the latter case, and probably the most desirable, they would still have above half the island for an endowment, and these three spirited and noble-hear ed men, all possessing capital and practical knowledge, would be induced to embark some of their capital in reclaiming the land, building farms, and so giving employment to the population—a measure which would do incalculable good to such a district. Such men are wanted in Ireland ; and in this respect the operation of the Encumbered Estates Act is likely to prove a blessing, by enabling the overloaded lands in that country to pass into the possession of men such as our townsmen. But the island having been happily secured, instead of causing the subscriptions to lag, ought to be a stimulus to further liberality. There is a striking movement at present in the whole of the western districts of Ireland. While some few of the upper classes in England, and some of those who were called clergymen of our church, have gone over to Rome—thousands of the peasantry of western Ireland have embraced Protestantism, and churches are urgently needed for their accommodation. Dr. Plunkett, the Bishop of Tuatn, asks for ten new churches in his diocese alone, for the use of the members who have no places of worship ; and we hope that his appeal will not be made in vain. If Ireland was Prete*. tant, instead of being the difficulty of every administra tion, and requiring a vast army, and an enormous pol i ce force to keep it lit. subjection, it would become the right arm of England, and there would be an immediate rusk of capitalists into it, who would give employment to its warm-hearted and generoas, but misdirected population ; and the cultivation of its millions of neglected acres— the working of its.rich mines—and the establishment of manufactures, would re-act upon England, and prove a blessing to the whole empire. But this we fear will not be the case, so long as art ignorant and besotted priesthood grind down the intelli gence of the people, enslave their minds by super stition, and in the holy name of religion prevent all education except such as the Synod of Thurles chooses to impart. Yet we will not despair for Ireland. We wish to see a thousand more Saxons" such as our three townsmen ; and we venture to express a hope that their example will be followed, and that the now useless districts of Ireland may have the advantage of English_ capital, intelligence, and industry, which, with sound scriptural education, will do more for the permanent wel fare of that country than all the brawling agitators have ever done; for the one would raise Ireland in the scale of civilization, while the other has so far tended to sink it in degradation, and instead of being an advantage has proved to be a curse. In giving this hasty sketch of Achill, and in pointing out what has been done there, and may be done elsewhere, we say to all, both clergymen and lay men, look at Achill, and " go and do likewise." THE BIRKENHEAD DOCK QUESTION. Some very lengthy official documents, connected with the carrying out of these works, and the present position of the parties connected with them, have just been given to the public, comprising a letter from Mr. John Laird to the holders of dock bonds ; a report of the resident engineer, Mr. Abernethy, to the dock trustees, upon the state of the works ; and another from Captain Hookey, dockmaster„. to the same, upon the amount of traffic which the docks, as proposed to be at present completed, could accommodate and work efficiently. As it is entirely out of our power to give insertion to the whole, we shall endeavour to place the substance of these documents in an intelligible shape before our readers. Mr. Laird's letter consists chiefly of a vindication of himself and the dock trustees from some aspersions levelled against then' by Mr. Rendel and by the committee of bondholders, with respect to the manner of the appointment of Mr. Abernethy. Mr. Laird reminds these parties that, in consequence of a notice from Mr. Rendel in November last, repudiating all responsibility if certain walls were proceeded with, the trust had deemed it their duty to call in the services of another engineer, who, it had been pre viously determined, should be resident on the spot. In the exercise of this duty, and after full examination, hav ing found him to be a practical and talented man, they appointed Mr. Abernethy in December last. Mr. Laird . repudiates the idea that he himself had any previous personal acquaintance with the gentleman in question, although he had met him during the performance of both their public duties. He concludes by recommending the bondholders not to commit themselves unadvisedly to any course which might be proposed to them by the parties who were agitating in London a certain course, involving the creation of further preference bonds. The report of Mr. Abernethy contains the suggestions and alterations which, since his connection with the works. he has felt it his duty to make with a view to carry out the instructions of the trustees, to forward the opening for traffic of a portion of the great float at the earliest possible period, in which he enters at great length into a refutatiore. of the objections urged against them by Mr. Rendel, and also some aspersions made by that gentleman upon pre vious opinions as to the works, given by the resident engi neer. Into this portion of the report we confess our in ability to enter, although it will be fully appreciated by those more intimately connected with the scheme, or ac quainted with engineeling subjects. The main alterations appear to be an increase in the size of the lock and entrance gates to the great float, the former being increased froth 60 feet breadth to 70 feet, and the principal gate from 75 feet to 95 feet, which he considers required to meet the future wants of trade. The outer sill of the lock he re commends to be raised 9 feet ; the sill of the principal en trance gates lowered 7 feet 9 inches; and that of the fifty feet gates and upper sill of the lock 3 feet 9 inches. One of these entrances, he thinks, might be dispensed with. With respect to the Birkenhead forks of the basin, he ad vises its postponement for the present ; and doubts the propriety of having two sluicing currents at all, as likely to create a deposit. Mr. Abernethy proceeds to combat Mr. Rendel's ob jections to his plan, into which we repeat we cannot enter further than to state that his reply is very satisfactory, and his reference to the course pursued by Mr. Rendel with respect to these works, in which so much was spent, and so little of useful dock space completed, is very happy. The following are his concluding remarks with respect to the alterations which he proposes : "Having thus noticed the salient points of objection urged by Mr. Reticle' against the alterations proposed by me, 1 do most distinctly deny that they are a mutilation of the general features of the plan proposed by him, but simply an alteration of details necessary to carry out the scheme with safety, and to suit the growing wants of trade. The entrances proposed by Mr. Rendel will not, under any circumstances, admit the largest class of steam-vessels fregnenti.ig the Mersey, nor the larger class of sailing vessels, except when the water in the Float is impounded at a level above that of ne: p tides, so that the only entrance to the Float during neaps would be through the lock, an entrance obviously insufficient for working a Float of such an eytensive area. I think it necessary that the entrances should be made sufficiently wide, and that the sills should be laid at such a level as to admit the largest class of steamers and sailing vessels during all states of the tide." " I am still of opinion that the water s'iould be impounded in the Float as soon as it is practicable, and any further deepen ing which may be required can be executed by the dredging machine at a cheaper rate than is at present paid for excava tions ; and to effect this a machine was prepared by the trust several - years ago, at an expense of ,tll,OOO. "I am preparing a further detailed report on the present position of the works and the best means of completing them.' , Captain Hookey's report consists merely of a reply to some misrepresentations of his views as to the working of the docks, circulated by a committee of the bondholders, and are of no great interest, inasmuch as we noticed the report and evidence so misrepresented at the time of their publication, A FITTING OCCASION FOR DIVINE WORSHIP. TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD. SlR,—Different occasions present themselves for open ing our Churches : can a more fitting one present itself than the day and at the time when our beloved Sovereign opens one of the most memorable Sessions of her Parlia ment ? If the thunders of the Vatican, or the thunders of a Canon Law mean anything, how much more the thunder of the Tower's gun that announces a Protestant Queen upon the throne of her Protestant and Legislative Assem blies ? And how much more, in an infinitely higher degree, shall the thunder of a nation's prayers tell, at a crisis perhaps unparalleled in England's annals, and at the opening of a session pregnant with events that may be fraught with the destiny of kingdoms. May I then suggest, through your widely-circulated columns, the special opportunity that the 4th of February next affords of assembling the congregations, if, haply, God of his infinite mercy may so bless the great council of the nation, that with all due regard to the right liberty of the subject, in the best defence of the true Protestant faith in Church and State, " Peace and happiness, truth and justice, religion and piety may be established among The insertion of the above in your forthcoming columns will oblige, Sir, your faithful servant, H. B. W. HILLCOAT, D.D., Incumbent of St. Matthew's Church, Scotland-road. Vestry-room, Jan. 25, 1851. SEWERS WANTED TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD. Stn,—Allow me, through the medium of your journal, to call the attention of the sanatory gentlemen of this part of Cheshire to the disgraceful condition of Limekiln lane, Duke-street, and the other streets in this locality. During the whole of the winter the streets have been ankle deep in mud, with a constantly increasing quantity of refuse thrown from the various not too particularinha bitants of this locality. The want of drains and sewers causes, I have no doubt, a serious amount of the sickness in this neighbourhood, which want is the more seriously felt owing to the pig-keeping and live-stock propensities of the inhabitants. Pray, Mr. Editor, can you assist a party who cannot quit under three months notice, tee abate this evil I—Yours, Mr. Editor, A CIIESIIIREMAN. Lower Tranmere. PROTESTANT DEFENCE LIVERPOOL COMMITTEE PAPAL AGGRESSION TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD. SIR.—Mr. George Holt having been one of the requisi tionists to the Mayor, to convene a town's meeting, for the purpose of resisting papal aggression, I took the liberty of addressing a note to him, of which 1 subjoin a co Receiving no answer I inserted his name on the com mittee, in accordance with the tenor of my note. I have since received a communication from him, of which also I subjoin a copy, as the best method of giving " such early public explanation as the unauthorised inser tion (of his name) so justly calls for ! !"—I am, sir, Yours respectfully, H. .1. WEBSTER, Secretary to the Executive Committee. 7, Rumford-street, 27th January, 1851. 7, Rumf, January, 1851. SIR,-At a prelimin ar y meeti o rd-street ng, recently loth held at the Claren don-rooms, it was resolved that a committee of laymen, of great influence in point of name and number, should be or ganised, for the purpose of watching the proceedings of parlia ment, and conferring with its members in relation to papal aggression and encroachment. We venture to assume, unless we hear from you forthwith to the contrary, that we have your authority, as one of the requisitionists to the Mayor, calling the late town's meeting,of placing your name on that committee.—Remaining, Yours most respectfully. ... H. J. WEBSTER, Secretary to the Executive Committee. George Holt, Esq l a Bs lo l n . gr list of names purporting to be the "Liv er p o ol Protestant De fence Committee," of which you are one of the secretaries or No. L i l: , , e , I p n o d o i a l - .3 b l u a i i l l d o i n f gs o , .7 t d h a J y a i r e a r r ye is, treasurer. In that part of the list where the al phabetical arrangement , would assign it, appears the name of ' George Holt, common. councilman." This insertion having been made without any authority from me, you will please give orders . for its immediate withdrawal, and also give such early public explanation Ro th e ImauthoriSlMlx insertion so justly calls for. Your obedient tempt. Mr, H. J. Webster, liso. nom.