The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-01-29 00:00:00

JANUARY 29, 1856.] s Friday morning, as Mrs. Baines, of Rodney-street, was d riving along the Aigburth road, the horse fell : she was thrown out, and broke her arm. the RECTOR FEES.—We understand that the question of Rector fees is by no means settled, and that the Rector in (ends to commence proceedings in the spiritual court fer their recovery under the provisions of the 1 0 th George 4 . The fee !yen by the old table is one shilling, including the registra racm, and the auditor has only allowed sixpence. SECOND WRANGLER AT CAMBRIDGE.—A telegraphic the was received on Friday morning, announcing that second place in the highest in the mathematical honours a t, s eambridge had been awarded to Mr. Rigby, who was edu - Zart in the Upper School of the Collegiate Institution , after g promoted from the Middle School, and was elected as la Fannin g Scholar to Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1852. CRUD BURNT TO DEATH.—An inquest was held, on o aturday, on the body of Richard Henry, aged two years, creek-ran of William Thomas, pilot, living in Glenvale-street, c ,ad. Mrs. Thomas took the deceased to bed on 'a.tarday, the sth instant, and left him alone for a few minutes. On her return, she found the candle removed, and Lae deceased in an adjoining room, in flames. He lingered 111 44 Friday. Verdict, Accidental death." TUE QUEEN V. CAMPBELL.—This case was heard on Satur ilaY, in the Court of Queen's Bench. ' Certain payments, made the guardians of the poor of Liverpool to the rector, the licv. Mr. Campbell, had been disallowed by the auditor. The Point rested upon the construction of the secs. of the 10 th 'uoorge IV., c. 11, as to a table of fees payable to the rector, !lad which was to be fixed by certain commissioners for burials la cemeteries. A. rule for a certiorari had been obtained for bringing up the order of the auditor. Lord Campbell said the court had no power to alter these fees. Rule discharged. SAILING or THE PERSIA.—The landing-stage and piers Were crowded on Saturday, at noon, to witness the departure ° I the largest vessel afloat, the new royal mail steamship •rersia, on her first voyage to New York. Precisely at her advertised time of sailing, the noble ship , fired a signal gun, and began to steam slowly, but majestically, down the river. lier appearance excited the greatest admiration, and many Ernest wishes were expressed on her accent. The morning Was beautifully fine ; scarcely a cloud was to be seen upon the face of the blue sky ; while the sun shone warmly upon the Scene, sniffing with the full glow of hisnadimmed countenance Spann the progress of the great ship. Besides a fair cargo and the usual mail, she had about 7.0 passengers on board. LOCAL WAR ITE3IS.—The steamship Great Britain, having been again taken up by Government, is being refitted Y and repaired for the purpose of being made available for the ton reyance of troops, in which bran& of the service she proved so efficient last year. She will leave the graving-dock on the Ord of February, and will sail 'hence, for Malta, on the 1 9tb, With About 1,100 troops. The screw-steamer Sarah Sands is *Diming refitted for the conveyance of troops to the "East. ak large batch of naval volunteers was forwarded to London (41 Friday night. The complement of engineer having been obtained, Captain Bevis, RN, has discontinued the•ex.amina ton of candidates. ASSAULTING A POLICE4YEEICER.—At the Policeccoart, on Saturday, George Tinsley, butcher, was charged with •an as sault upon Police-officer :218. The complainant was on his teat, in Breck-road, early that morning, when his , :attention 'Was called towards a considerable disturbance in the neigh bourhood. Ou going to the place, he found. the :prisoner and a number of other men,' tipsy, and making a greatmeise. He requested them to desist, when they set upon tim, , wrested his stick away and threw lit over a wall ; took off this belt, and threshed him with it; knocked him dowel, and the prisoner, kneeling on his ched,ifastened upon his nose with his teeth. lie c a ll e d out for help, and the other men took to their heels, and the prisoner svotild have followed, but the officer succeeded in holding him until some one came to his assistance, and he Was secured. Mr. •Mansfield remanded the.prisoner, to give th e police an opportunity of apprehending the others. SUICIDE es -tP - 5 AMERICAN' CILTTAIN.—A determined case of suicide occurred on board the Anrelican barque St. Lawrence, lying in the Huskisson Deck, .on Friday morning. The captain, Charles Henry Webla, was heard snoring very deeply at an •early hour, and at later period he called the rust -mate, who had only just joined the vessel, and told him that he was going to die ; that he ihad , b , mn robbed on all hands by his mates ever since he aeft.Airrerica ; and that he had now no *wish to live. A deoter , wassent for, but the deceased said itis did not want him. The *surgeon perceived that he had been taking, laudanaini, , und ordered strong coffee to be immediately administered, but the deceased would not lake it, neither would he allow himself tote brought on shore. Ie died thename morning. At the inquest, on Saturday, it WaS proved that, on coming inte port, the St. Lawrence came 111 collision with another vessel:; that •healad since lost a law suit, and had become very much • depressed ; that lie had threatenedqo poison himself:; and that on Thursday night be drank an ounce of laudanum. Atverdict of " temporary insanity" , ras returned. Thealeceasedarad a son on board, a Sharp lad,.-about thirteen yeles•old, besides whom he has left a widow and five sous and time•daug‘hters in America. THE CILEIONET. — This beautiful:and:most effective military musical instrument, after many.ye,ars oftedions and wearisome experiments, by professional musicians , of various nations, to accomplish its structure and intonation t las at length received the coup de grace to its ,completion. Mr. Wynne, of the Liverpool Local Pensioneii' band; who , has already made some Modifications on the above instrument, has added another additional key, which, from its.positionand construction, pro duces , four perfect notes t(semitones), namely, the extreme Sharp, or E flat in the chalumeau,. and A sharp, or B flat on the centre of the stave ; making thc,Chord of E flat in the chalumsau complete, and :the scale •oftheclarionet fully perfect in all , its chromatic tones, .which comprise three and three-.'. quarters octaves in the diatonic scale 'of forty-six notes. The A sharp or B flat (on the stave) have been imperfect since the [. first invention of the instrument, producing only hoarse, husky, uncertain notes, not being in• Unison Watt the rich and sonorous . ): tones natural to the clarionet. The:deficiencies in those four notes have been most sensibly; feltiintthe solo, the pause, or slow movement. Nov they have received the ne plus nitral to their perfection. This instrument - can be seen in the shop! window of Jordan's Military Musical instrument Manufactow.' FARQUHAR r. BAINRC AND CO.-4-181 the County Court, on Friday, an action was tried, in which Iveailor sued the owners of the Black Ball line to recover payment of £l3 10s. on a hill of exchange. In 1851, iplaintiff shipped at this port as one of the crew of the royal mail ship Lightning, at that time cern— mended by Capt. J. N. Forbes, After the vessel arrived at Melbourne, the plaintiff was • " compelled " or "pressed" to: volunteer on board H. M. ship Phantom. Capt. Forbes being obliged to let him go, gave him a bill.of exchange upon the . defendants (who are owners of the , vessel) to the amount claimed, stating on the face of the bill that it was " for wages due." The defence was that Capt. Forbes had no power to give such a bill upon the defendants, and a very long argument 'took place as to the acts of parliament , bearing upon the case. It appeared that formerly an act provided that in such eases the government should pay all wages due to the sailor on en tering the navy, and then sue the owners for the amount, but now the custom was to sue the owners of the merchant vessel before paying the wages. His Honoureaid, upon the simple terms of the bill of exchange, he was , bound to give a verdict for the plaintiff; but added that if Mr. forshaw could make out an argument upon the new act of parliament, he would„ upon affidavit, grant a rehearing of thnease. MURDER ON TICE Haan SEAS.—Onev of the most singular incidents connected with the annals of crime came to our knowledge on Friday, on the arrival, at this port, of the ship Owen Williams, from the African coast. It appears that a 'few days before her arrival, one of the hands, John Simmonds, a Manilla boy, had been guilty of somenxt of insubordination or theft, and to escape punishment he took to the rigging, 'Carrying with him a marlin spike. He -was summoned to descend, and on refusal to do so, a seaman went after him. After chasing him aboutzthe yards and shrouds for some time, he was on the point of ;effecting hi s ca p ture, when the lad turned sharply round, and struck him a. violent blow on the lead. The man fell upon the deck a. corpse. The young ruffian was again summoned to surrender himself, but he per sisted in maintaining his elevated positiou,where he remained the whole of the night. On the following morning, several blank cartridges were fired at him, to intimidate him into descending, but these not %acing the desired effect, a loaded :pistol was next fired, and the ball taking effect, the lad came tumbling down the rigging. The wound caused by the shot was not of serious moment, %but in the fall his ,collar-bone was broken, and he sustained several severe contusions. On the vessel's arrival in the river he was conveyed to the Northern Hospital, where he will remain until sufficiently recovered to be handed over to the police authorities. Pam BOILER EXPLOSIOX.—On Friday.moniing a boiler exploded at the Village Colliery, Standish, near Wigan, belonging to Messrs. John Taylor and Sons. The works had just been stopped for the mPn to breakfast. In the cabin adjoining the engine -house, and on one side .of the boiler, which.was uncovered, were three persons—W. Yates, Martha Riding (who had brought her sou's breakfast), and Ellen Harrison. These had just been left by George Kirkham, the engineer, .who had gone into the engine-house for the purpose of setting the engine at work again. Before, however, he had touched the engine the boiler blew up with a tremendous report. The boiler was torn to pieces, and several.portions of it were hurled a considerable distance into an adjoining field. The engine -house, engine -bed, chimney, and cabin were de molished, the bricks, which composed them, being scattered in all directions to a distance of 300 yards. Martha Riding, who was a widow, 70 years of age, and William Yates were killed on the spot. The latter is one of the churchwardens of Shevingtou, a very respectable man, and had only been married about three months. The engineer, George Kirk ham, had his head frightfully mutilated with the bricks, and Was also dreadfully scalded. He is not expected to live. Ellen Harrison was severely injured, but is expected to re cover. The immediate cause of this lamentable occurrence is supposed to he the defective state of the boiler, which, it appears, could not withstand the extra pressure caused by the generation of steam during the temporary stoppage of the engine. MISEIVINNING,THEINFANTSAPPIIO.—The second of a series of miscellaneous concerts was given in the course of the week a the Beaumont Institution, under the conductorship of Mr Frank Mori. The vocalists were Madame Clara Novello, Miss Louisa Vinning (her first appearance), Mille. Corelli, Mr. Sims Reeves, Mr. Farquharson, and Mr. Cooper. Of the singing of Madame Clara Novell° and Mr. Sims Reeves it is scarcely necessary to speak. They were both in excellent voice, and were received with that cordiality and enthusiasm which they deserve. But the great event of the night was the debut of Miss Louisa Vinning, a pupil of Mr Frank Mori. Though very young, she is an old friend, as well as an old favourite, of the public—being, in fact, no other than the " Infant Sappho," who created so much sensation in London about fifteen years ago. Miss Vinning was evidently born to be a singer. It is said of her that she could sing long before she could speak. Her parents, anxious to make a display of her talents, had her instructed and brought before the public. The fashion of the metropolis flocked to hear the baby-singer; and the press published her praises throughout the land. The task, however, of amusing an audience night after night —no trifling matter even for an adult—was deemed too much for so young a child, and. she was withdrawn from public life. Thus the musical world lost its " Infant Sappho, but not for ever. On Monday evening she reappeared under her actual name, and by her prepossessing personal appearance created a feeling in her favour, which her performances confirmed and strengthened. The debutante possesses a fine soprano voice, 3 8 well as a great amount of musical expression. She was loudly applauded, and encored in all her songs ; and, at the termination of " I love the Mlles," by Mr. Frank Mori, she received a graceful tribute from the audience in a shower of bouquets. We augur for Miss Vinning a brilliant future London paper.—[This promising vocalist is the daughter of Mr. Vining, who is anxious to obtain the situation of organist in this town. It is an interesting fact that he was taken from his father when a boy, by Joseph Garrow, Esq., nephew of Judge Garrow, and educated by him for the musical profes sion. He was appointed organist at Torquay, when only twelve years of age.j TIIE SCIIOOLMISTER ABROAD. — The following order was sent to a tradesman in a town not twenty miles from Liver pool, a few days ago :—" Box lice oles, Two peneth cacocon cold, once ounce of therad ;" which, being translated, is—One box lace holes, twopennyworth cotton cord, one ox. thread. TnE gas consumers in Manchester are complaining just now of annoyance from an offensive and sickening smell- which has been for some weeks emitted from the gas burners or pipes, and the cause of, which no one has yet satisfactorily accounted for. AMONG the patents sealed during the week ending the 19th instant, is one to Mr. William Henry Lancaster and M. James Smith, both of Liverpool, for consuming smoke, and for gene rating and diffusing heat in furnaces, and in furnace and other flues. COIL IN VAN DIEMEN'S LAND. — Messrs. James Baines and Co. have received intelligence from their agent in Hobart Town, that coal as good as chitehaven coal has been found by Williams, the celebrated chartist, near that place ; and he advised that no more coal be sent to the antipodes. AMERICAN COTTON TOR RUSSIA. — The Russian consul at New Orleans, Mr. Jones, has forwarded to the ". Economic Society," in St. Petersburg, various samples of American cot ton, and invites the society to endeavour to aim to avoid for the future drawing the supplies of this needful material from either London or Liverpool; but rather to obtain it through American agency, This is mentioned in the Russian journals, as a proof of the good intentions and friendly sympathies manifested in the United States ! Pickirrei 1 LADY'S POCKET.—Mary and Jessie M'Gury (mother and daughter), and Anne Johnson were charged at the Police-court, on Friday, with picking Caroline Greeves' pocket cif lelo. Mrs. Greaves, who keeps a cigar strop in HonglitOn-street, stated that, on Wednesday last, the three prisoners came into her shop and asked if she could tet them have lodgings, and in the conversation the prisoner, Jessie M`Gtiffy, picked her pocket. Jessie M`Guffy was sent to gaol for tinee months, but the others were discharged, as there was 'no evidence against them. TUArrif COMMITTEE.—At the weekly meeting, on Thurs day, a deputation, including a number of ladies, had au interview A'ith the committee relative to awallleged nuisance Ifmn a slaughter-house kept I:ty - a person named Clarke, in Plumbe-street. After some discussion, during which Mr. -6 - I;d — s - to - ne — reco — mmended_the.enfire remoVal. , of every slaughter house from within the borough to some :place at a moderato distance from the town, MT. Haydock gave notice that, at the next meeting, he would move that the - license of Mr. Clarke's slaughter-house be withdrawn. lgr. Beckwith called 'the attention of the menniittee to the letter of Mr. Alderman Toulmin which appeared an the 'Welly Mercury resting the reported proceedingsief the Health Committee. A klagth ened explanation ensued, in the 'course of which several gentle men affirmed the accuracy of last 'week's proceed.—The Medical Officer reported an increase of mortality fore week ending Saturday, the 19th inStarit, as a consequence of the cold weather which :prevailed from the 9th to the nth inst. The deaths from ail causes,-Whi - dh in the previous peek were 228, rose last week *o 262, the corrected average of the same week of former years being'-24 less than the mortality is accounted for by increasednumber of deaths from diseases of the lungs, whidh were 98 against 66 in the preiiious week. During the quarter ending 'the 29th December,'-3231 deaths were registered intim borough, including 157 lin which in quests were :held. This , number is 100 less than the average of the samequarter of the preceding eight years corrected for increase cif pormlation. No death was registered from cholera, being the second quarterir. which this has , oecurred during the last eight:years. 'Diseases of the lungs caused 871 deaths, being 285 .more 'than 'in the preceding quarter, but rather below the average of the corresponding periodof former years. ALLIIGED MITEDEE' 171? THE HIGH SEA.E.—On Thursday, an inquest was held - on the body of William Henry Barnes, late an American seaman on board the ship ! , Driver. The de ceased died in the Northern Hospital, on Wednesday, having been stabbed in the ;ibdomen while tiac-khip was off Cape Clear, by a boy named Peter Connolly, a native of Liverpool In thelospital thedeceased made the folloWing declaration : " I believel 'am'dying. I think it was mi . last.Friday we ar rived here. Whew we were about twenty :-o days at sea, one morning, about four o'clock, we made Cape Clear. The third! roate.gve orders 'boloose the standing.sib. I went and loosed it, .whiehl thou,i,ttrthis Peter ought to:have done. When I came , on.deelofaiktd him if he nearit'to loaf on me. He said, : 4 None of youndamned business? q said, `lf you give me ;may_ of:your - cheek, I will smash .Trir face for you.' I slipped him baclAiEnded across the metal. He then stabbed memith Inife,-Which he took from s. death by his side. saw him-strike me'with the knife. I -staggered and went aft to'the cabin door, , and called for the doctor. While thc . ;' .dattor wasdressing me the captain cam; out of the after part : .of-therabinond.sald to me ' You Banta a bitch, have you go;' another button-bale in you?' _I said; , 4ptain, have mercy cri. 'rut until .I.!get over this." Yessaid lie, 'for two pins Z..! . 7wmtld tie: you up. and flog you in two minutes.' The day we . 4c - eked:l sent for:Peter to come dow.mard see me, but be did not tome. I. do 'not know what be ihipped as, but he is rnki parable seaman. He belongs to liiveppool." The prisoner is t.bout-sixteen years' old, round-faced,-stout-built, and pock ararked. His height is about 5 feet 14 inches. The prisoner, after being ,- cautioned in the usual sway, said the deceased 'slicked anda.bused him very much,and that he bad two Wit messes to prove it. He also said that the deceased had "threatened to him before, and .he was afraid he would s carry out that threat. The jury returned a verdict of " man ,sdaughter"sagainst the prisoner, v.lnwes committed for trial. EXTR.42OIt9TNAIZY POISONING , ONSES AT MANCHESTER:— 'Con Wednesday, three men were Placid. at the bar of the Mau achester City Court-horse, before Mr..Rickards, Mr. Igoe, Mr. J. A. :Turner, magistrates, on = a charge of poisoning, 'Which; in , some .of its main feabures,vresembles the Rugeby cease. The piisoners were Thomas :Dull Holland, a surgeon, .James Monaghan, and a man named Barry. A man. Dann*: FAwarcl.Danu is implicated in the , sanne charge, but has been , conricted.foranother offence,andisserving a period of imprisou- anent. Mr. Bradleugh appearedonbahalf of the Diadem In surance Company, as prosecutor. :It is understood that the prisoner Hdiland, who is a surgeon,ihas made a confession or statement to:Mr. Bradleugh, revediug, the whole of his tsar-is :actions "with the other prisoners, lvhich statement is to the , •-effect that,' being surgeon to theMiaclem Insurance Oomyrany for the4listriet, the prisoners had applied to him to pass John Monaghan (the prisoner Monaghan's father) as a good aife, rand thatnnbsequently they were inhis surgery when he was mixing a solution of white lead Witk-water, and asked him if b tould.nott be done without assuming a milky colour. lie 'then shewed them that it could 'be Mixed with whiskey so rag to becolouriess. There was reason to believe that some sof :this mixture was given to the odil ;man Monaghan, who died some monthsago, when the prisoners ,and Dunn applied for 1300, the-sum for which Monaglaffelife had been insurid, butweretrefused the money. His disclosures had also led to the belief that two other persons hacbbeen similarly poisoned. Mr. Bradleugh stated that the 'charge against the prisoners, along with Dunn (who was in prison , for embezzling mangy belongingta an insurance company;),:was for having dedroyed the life of one John Monaghan, the' father of the prisoner -James Monaghan, to obtain the sum of-X3OO from the Diadem Life Insurance Company. His first application would be to the bench to:liberate Holland from , the -dock, so that he might the examined asa witness. There was.reason to believe, from .the disclosuresiae had made, that 'lie -was willing to further -.the ends of justice, and his evideneewac of great importanee towards establishing the charge against the other prisoners. 'The magistrates having consentedio ths.application, Thomas Bull Holland was removed from the cloth to the witness-box, -and subjected' to:a long and painfal examination of some hours. 'Theexarnination was most painful to 'listen to, because Hol land,prevaricated to an extent which rendered it almost im possible to .get half-a-dozen consecutive , sentences from him without 'the grossest contradictions. - Probably this was to some extent inconsequence of a warning from the bench that he was not bound - to answer any question that might crimi nate himself. Eventually the magistrates determined on granting , a remand.—A case was under• investigation on Wed nesday afternoon, at Manchester, in addition to the above, in which two children in a burial club, andhose parents would be entitled tof.i.',6 each on their death, are suspected to have been poisoned. Doug COUKETTEE.—The weekly , meeting of the Dock Committee was held on Thursday, Mr. Turner in the chair. Mr. Mondel brought the subject of telegraphic communication with Holyheadlormally before the committee in the following resolution:.--." That it is now expedient thata system of electric telgeraphic communication be established alarm the line of coast to Holyhead, and that the same be tarried out under the direction and at ,the cost of the Dock Trustees, and that a sub-committeebeappointed to obtain estimates:" Mr. Mondel, describing the origin of the present Semaphore,line, said that the act was.obtained in 1825, and, in 182'Z-the:line (comprised of eleven stations, including Liverpool) was in operation. In the year 1849,thelline was re-organised and improved at con siderable expense. The system adopted was perhaps the most perfect which was extant at that time, and itdid suffice very well in clear weather, and during the day; butit was useless in thick hazy weather and at night. If the tomniittee, thirty one years ago, felt themselves empowered to carry on a system of telegraph which had been maintained at a-cost of £1,500 per annum, from a time when the tonnage entering this port was only 1,200,0001.0ns per annum, surely they ought to keep pace with the times, and at once improve their commu nication with Holyhead. The question had recently been re ferred by the general committee to the Marine ,Committee, who endeavoured to make an arrangement with the Electric Telegraph Company, which would answer the purposes of the port; but the terms asked by the company were so high that he was convinced that it world be much better and ,cheaper for the dock trustees to establish a line of their own, along the coast, to Holyhead. Such an accommodation was posi tively required by the commercial community of Liverpool, by whom he did not mean the merchants and underwriters merely, but included with them the mariners frequenting the port, the pilots, and the passengers and emigrants sailinerom Liverpool, who had really a greater interest in the matter 'than even the merchant and the shipowner. It was of vital import ance in the case of vessels sailing from the port,to know the state of the weather at Holyhead ; and yet, during the last year there were more than sixty days, during which no tsemaphorej telegraphic communication could 'be held in consequence of tire fog. During the month of December, last year, no communi cation could be held for ten days; and, of the twenty-four days of the present month, sixteen or eighteen days were days upon which there was no communication. Now, it happened that this very foggy weather was the most favourable to ves sels quitting the -port, as tthe wind which generally pre vailed then was from the 'south; but it also frequently hap pened that when' this description of weather prevailed near Liverpool, a furious gale was blowing in the Channel, which caused sad havoc amongst the ships which had been thus tempted to quit the port, ignorant (on account of the useless ness of the semaphore during fog).of the state of the wind at Holyhead. From this -cause several wrecks had occurred within the last few days. It was under such circumstances that the Tayleur sailed; and numerous other cases in 'point might be cited. The dock trustees maintained a life-boat establishment, at a cost of £2OOO per annum , but accidents might occur at night or during fog, comparatively close to. the port, and yet the men be unaware of them. The Ocean Monarch was lost within sight of Ormshead ; but, if a tele graphic communication had existed along the coast, a fleet of steamers might have been despatched from Liverpool, which could have saved the whole of the 200 persons who perished by that disaster. In conclusion, Mr. Mondel urged that his proposition should be adopted, even upon economical grounds, as a large number of "repeating stations" would be ob viated, and the expenses of the line greatly reduced by the use which would be made of the electric line in conveying private messages.—Mr. Smith seconded the motion.—The Chairman did not see how, even were the telegraphic line established, they could dispense with the semaphore for sig nalling purposes.—Mr Mondel thought the semaphore might be dispensed with altogether.—The subject., the great import ance of which was admitted by nearly all the members of the committee, was referred to the Marine Committee—After a short conversation, it was arranged to add Mr. Gladstone and Mr. Hubback to the committee ; and the general business thou terznivated. THE LIVERPOOL. STANDARD. GENERAL INTELLIGENCE. IT is stated that a new bank is about to be formed, called the " International and London -Joint-Stock Bank," with branches at Paris, Brussels, and New York, and agencies in many of the other cities of Europe and America. It is to take the business of an already existing establishment. - - - LORD CR4iI3OI7IME, who has been totally blind from in fancy, lectured, last week, at the Kilndown Reading-room, Kent, on the " Crusades." Amongst the auditors were his lordship's brother, Rord Robert Cecil, M.P., and Lady Mildred Hope, his lordship's sister ; A. J. B. Beresford Hope, Esq., the Misses Alderson, &c. ; and the room was densely crowded. The lecture excited much interest and attention. TIIE Morpeth Grammar-School, founded by Edward VI., I has been in abeyance for the last twenty years. "It is said that the bailiffs of a defunct corporation, who were the trus tees of the school, perverted thew trust by granting a lease of 500 years of part of the school to the owners of an adjoining estate, at the inadequate rental of £lOO a year. This led to a Chancery suit, which became so venerable that it lasted nearly three generations of men, but which resulted, a year or two ago, iu augmenting the revenues of the school to £540 a year." Since then the trustees and the Charity Commissioners have not agreed as to a mheme ; and the trust is once more in the Court of Chancery. NEGLECTED LAN D.--The Court of Queen's Bench was last week called upon to decide, in the case of the Churchwardens of Holborne v. Heaton, whether land allowed by the owner to lie waste could be rated to the relief of the poor. The de fendant had appealed from the rating to the quarter sessions of Stafford, where the rate had been confirmed. The present court confirmed this decision, with costs, Lord Campbell re marking—" I think if only a part is rateable, the whole is rateable. Part of the land produces grass or herbage, on which cattle may be turned, or which may be mowed and employed profitably. It is exactly the same as if the land grew barley or wheat, and the owner did net reap it, but allowed it to be devoured by crows and vermin. In such a case the property would undoubtedly be rateable to the poor." CAN Tnrs BE Turrn p- 2 The Inquirer newspaper of Satan. , day narrates the following A lady in this country, who has travelled lately in America, has issued a book containing her impressions of what she had seen. She is not unknown in this country for her sympathy with our white slaves, and her name has an honourable place in the history of reforma- Cory schools. This lady, the Hon. Miss Murray, adopted in the Southern States the tone of the society she found there, and agreed heartily not only in what was said of the white slaves in England, but also in what was said 'of the black slaves in Carolina. She has, therefore, not hesitated to pub lish in her book , opinions favourable to negro ilavery, even to the extent of dogmatically saying that the Almighty created negroes to live tinder restraint, and that slavery is a means ' designed by providence for the making of some good Chris tian men andwomen.' As one of the queen's ladies-in-wait ing, Miss Murray wished to dedicate the bock to Her Majesty. It is understood, however, that on seeing the proof sheets, her majesty not only refused the dedication, but required that Miss Murray, if she published it, should resign her place at court." Sitercrrem- DEATH BY FlRE.—Miss ',Caroline Luttrell, se cond daughter of Colonel Luttrell, of Kilve Court, Somerset, died on Monday last week, from the mock and exhaustion caused by accidentally setting fire to her dress while lighting the tapers on a Christian tree. ''On Friday week, Mrs. Luttrell entertained some friends ato family riunion, and one of the Amusements was to be the diStribution of presents from a Christmas tree. During the 'evening the deceased yo rug lady sileft the circle for the purpose 'erf lighting the taperson the tree, and desired none of the party to visit the room 'until she Tang the bell. To insure that no intruders would enter, Miss Luttrell turned the key of the door, and commenced ring up the tree. Unfortunately, she commenced lighting thetiower tapers first, and then treading up to light those on thelsigher branches, her thin evening dress caught fire, and Shewas immediately envelopedlintliames. She ran to the bell ' mid pulled it violently, send afterwards unlocked the door and proceeded towards the room Where the company as eembled. On meetinglersurrounded with flame andsmoke, *heir horror, it may be 'conceived, was extreme. Her;brother, /assisted by others, v4th great -difficulty extinguished the Mame, but not until after 'receiving a severe burn ontthe hand. ;Medical assistance was immediately sent for. Miss ILuttrell's elids, face, and neck 'were found to have sufferedenost from ikthe flames ; but it was - firstlhought that no fatal result would tifollow. The exhaustion, 'however, and shock caused to the hsystem were too great, and enlidonday she died. The deceased :''was in her 25th year. RALWAY REFORM -'On Tuesday, a meeting of shareholders in railway companies 'was i held at the London Tavern, for the purpose of takinginto consideration the seriously depre ciated value of their property, and especially - to<consider a plan which it is believed willarrest further depreciation, and speedily place railway propertyiin a sound and healthy con dition. After speeches from 'Mr. Malins, the "chairman, Mr. Vance, Mr. E. J.. Herapath, 'Mr. Buller, Mr. ( Goetz, Dr. Cowan, and other .gentlemen, it was agreed •to 'form an association, to be called" Theltailway Proprietor? Associa tion," the object being the prbtection of railway property and its restoration to e, fair and legitimate valueereitrieting the closing the capitg.account,-and the suppression of ruinous tariffs by territerM arrangements. In theeoureerff a short conversation, it , was stated' that railway -Shareholders were under great obligations to the press generally for the able and straightforward !stunner: in , Which they had defended their rights, and made 'known i injaries inflicted , upon them. A committee was then appointedetensisting of 'Mr. Leech, Mr. Hoare, Dr. Cowen, and Mr. •T. Tegg, Mr. Buller, Mr. J. J. Leon, Mr. Hobson, and Mr. Mitchell, to carry out the objects 1 of the meeting ;sand the latter was adjourned .to the 31st instant, for the purpose of 'enrolfing members and for general business of the SVOCiatiOn. FATAL BOAT ACCIDENT.-'OII Wednesday• morning, be tween nine and tan o'clock, the Alma shore boat, about 17 feet long, left Mutton-cove, Devonport, for Her Majesty's ship Exmouth, lyingin the Sound. • :The boat carried twelve per sons :—viz., surgeon B. A. Anderson, paymaster Walter J. Bateman, surgeon Charles Harper, Mr. Fielden, midshipman; sergeant Stevens, marine, artilleryman ; Mr. Beat, wardroom steward ; and Ppyle and Toll, marines, all belonging to the Exmouth ; Matthews and another :person in the service of an upholsterer at Faymouth, and Fairfoot and Lambleewatermen. The boat had herenainsail, foresail, and mixen set, and was steered by Mr. Harper. On nearing St. Nicholas Island, Dr. Anderson proposed going to the eastward, but the evatermen, who were in the fore part of the boat, said there was no danger. She, therefore, kept her-course, and passed over the bridge of sankenrocks between the island and Mount-Edg cumbe. The wind was south-westenot very strong; but the sea rolled heavily end filled the overladen boat, winch 'conse quently went down. Those whocoald not swim clnngto those who could. The ',boat rose keel up, -:but soon sank from the number who got on her. She again reappeared, gunwale up, and was again borne down. Atidength a boat approached from the Sauspareil, in charge of Lieut. Pollard, who-rescued six. The Sanspares gig saved another. The boatsnenepulled immediately for the Mutton-cove Inn, where Messrs. Ander son, Harper, and Malden promptly-received medical care, and are doing well. Best, the steward -teals° recovering. Stevens, Toll, and Las:able are injured. Mr.l3ateman and the other four were drowned. Ax EXTELORDWIAT ACCIDENT occurred at Batir•early on Tuesday. A vat of beer, containing , alearly 400 barrels, be longing to Mr. G. Bracher, of the Portland-brewery, exploded with such force and,noise as to shake many of the neighlsonr -ing houses, and induce a belief among the inhabitants that an =earthquake had taken , place. Beneath' the brewery is a-court •of houses running parallel with it ; and - the floor of the house .in which the vat was. is considerably dove the floors of the houses in this court. Most of these houses were more or less injured by the sheek,and the beer forcedats way through the ,walls of three or four of them, the inmates being startled from their beds by the noise of the explosion—,which is describedas t being like that of a piece of ordnance—and the rushing of the 'beer. One of these Louses, situate immediately contiguous to ,ithat part of the brewery where the vat was, was occupied by La man and his wife and ten children, the whole of whom had, Ito escape into the street: in their night-clothes. Three of the children, indeed, who were sleeping in a turn-up bedstead in tfue kitchen, were resoncd with some diffioulth having been I immersed in the beer,,which rushed through the walls, forcing out large stones, and inundating the roomcto the depth of some feet. The house presented a most remarkable appear ' ance. Everything was saturated with beer, .the drawers of the; tables, the boiler, te„,were filled with the same liquor, which had overflowed all the furniture, and plaster and large stones lay about the floors, -.which were covered with thick barmy froth. The beer rushed from the brewery and houses beneath into the street, which was completely flooded with the liquor, and the scene presented was such as is .seldom wit nessed. The beer was of the hest description, and had been brewed about twelve months. The vat was blosnitto pieces. 1 7 4LRAL CARICIA.GE Accumea.—On Tuesday, as Miss Par nell, the daughter of Mr. Hugh Parnell, of Upper :Clapton, was proceeding in her father's-carriage along Baker-street, at the baekof the Royal Free Hospital, Gray's-inn-roadoLondon, the whole of the Coachman's seat,.together with the footboard, suddenly gave away, and fell forward on the haunches of the horses. .George Jacobs, the coachman, and a footman were on the box, and falling with it wereetnable to extricate them selves. The horses becoming frightened started forward at a wild gallop into the Bagnigge-wells/road, until they arrived close to the House of Correction, when, turning off on the pavement, the animals dashed headlong into a shoemaker's shop. The • .occupant of the shop escaped by a back door,at the instant, or his death must have been inevitable. The horses and carriage were overturned, Miss Parnell was thrown forward with great violence, her bead going through the front window of the carriage, the glass,eutting her face sir a fearful manner. The coachman and footman were entangled beneath the vehicle and horses. The latter plunged in a frightful manner, and the men for several minutes lay directly beneath the animals' hoofs. Assistance basing arrived, -the sufferers were quickly extricated and the horses set at liberty. Miss Parnell, who was bleeding profusely from .various severe wounds about her head end face, was removed to her father's residence. The coachman was most dreadfully injured; he was removed to the Royal Free Hospital, where be expired soon afterwards. The footman was not so severely injured. CURIOUS GEOLOGICAL DlscovEnr.—The new dock at West Hartlepool, which is appreaching rapidly towards com pletion, has in its progress reLealed several facts of great geo logical interest. Beneath the mush, sand, and silt of the "poop or slake—which has extended considerably beyond its present boundary—there exist the remains of an ancient forest, with its timber, trees, and other plants, as they grew and decayed on the spot, forming an accumulation of vegetable matter of considerable thickness. In this, besides the hazel nuts in great number and perfection, we are not surprised to find the antlers and harder portions - of the stag—the hart of the olden time ; portions'of the skull of an ox have also been found. The level of this forest is now nearly that of low water, conse quently below the present sea drainage. Beneath the forest andthe blue clay (the earth in which the trees grew), there is a thick bed of clay, sand, silt, and gravel—having numerous imbedded boulders of waterworn stones, many of them of several tons' weight. The whole bed is, the well-known "alluvium," " diluvium," or "drift" spread over the country, beneath the soil and above the stone. In cutting the timber pond at the north-west angle of the new dock, which is en tirely in this "drift," a portion of the tusk of an elephant was discovered some days ago. The fragment, which is about 18 inches long, is of that end which has been imbedded in the jaw, and exhibits all the ordinary characteristics of such a spe cimen. This is the first instance within our knowledge of the remains of elephants being found in the county of Durham, but, curious as it is, it should not, as a matter of scientific in vestigation, excite in us any feelings of surprise, inasmuch as this same "drift" has, in various localities on the Yorkshire coast, produced portions of the tusks and grinders of elephants, which are now preserved in the museums of York, Whitby, and Scarborough ; and in the well-known cave of Kirkdale, near Kirby Moorside, were discovered the bones of elephants and those of various other quadrupeds in great abundanee.—. Durham County Advertiser. A TAVERN, at Bristol, was struck by an electric flash, on Thursday, and much damage done. Two persons narrowly escaped with their lives. THE WILL OP THE LATE MR. THOMAS CIIBITT is one of the longest on" record, and extends to 380 Chancery folios, covering 30 skins of parchment. The personal estate exceeds £1,000,000, and is charged with the highest amount in the scale of probate duty, the stamp being £15,000. The widow has an immediate bequest of £20,000, and an annuity of £B,OOO. MURDER OF A CHILD.—On Thursday evening a child about three months old, named Wilfred Dakin, was murdered at Sheffield by his uncle, a knifegrinder named James Hill. It appears that Hill called at the house of the child's father, who as well as the wife were out at work, and said he would take the child out for a walk. In the house at the time there were only the child in question, his two sisters, and two neighbours' children. The uncle and child were seen walking together. At night the absence of the child of course created alarm, and, a search having been made, it was found in a place known as the " brickkilns." The head was nearly severed from the body. The spot where the child was found is only about 100 yards from the house of its parents. On being asked why he killed the child, Hill said he did not know. Some circumstances are mentioned which tend to prove that he is insane. On Friday afternoon the prisoner was taken before the magistrates at the Town-hall, Sheffield, and, on being informed that he was charged with the wilful murder of his nephew, he replied, " Yes, I cut his head off." He was remanded. LIB PuttEs or BEAD.—A very interesting little sheet is circulated by Samuel, Brothers, Ludgate-hill, London, showing the highest and lowest prices of bread (best and seconds) and wheat during each year for the last 21 years, that is from January 1, 1835, to December 31, 1855. From it we find that the lowest prices of bread were, in 1850 and 1851, —namely, Id. per quartern for best, and sd. for second, flour being 40s. to 325. per sack, and wheat 445. ltd. to 355. 6d. per quarter. The highest price was in 1847, when best bread was Is. Oid. per qnartern, flour being 755. to 445. a sack, and wheat 102 s. 6d. to 495. 6d. a quartet. Taking the maxima of each, the price of bread, flour, and wheat do not appear to constantly observe the same proportion. Thus, in 1847, when wheat was 102 s. 6d. a-quarter and bread ls. Old. a-loaf, flour was 755. a-sack ; while in 1855, when wheat was 83s. Id. a-quarter, and bread ls. a-loaf, both lower than in 1847, flour was 775. a-sack, or 2s. higher. Again, we find best flour quoted at 60 s. in five several years, with best wheat varying from 78s. 4td. in one year to 60s. ld. in another ; 10d. a-loaf for best bread, how ever, invariably corresponding with the 60s. for the sack of flour, The table altogether is of a very suggestive nature. DINNER TO THE CRIMEAN CoREESPONDENT Or " THE TIMES. "—A very gratifying meeting took place at the London Tavern, on Saturday; when a dinner was given to Mr. William Russell, the Times' correspondent in the Crimea, by about 50 of his friends, to which number were added a few friends more or less connected with literature and art. The meeting was strictly social, and, therefore, of course, I have nothing to say of the proceedings, except 'that, as a journalist, I could not but feel that the press itself, as an institution of the country, was honoured in the person of a gentleman, whose celebrity rests solely and nobly on his having done his duty as a news paper writer. General Sir De Lacy Evans was present; and were it permitted to record his tribute to Mr. Russell's ser vices, it would be most pleasant to me. Let me say, too, that a well-merited courtesy was paid to Mr. Woods, the accom plished correspondent of the Morning Herald, who was in vited to be present. Society was very well represented in the muster which appeared upon this occasion. One story, which I heard of General Shirley, I will add. During one of the assaults, the general's eyes became choked up with the dust, which the terrible bombardment brought in clouds from Sebas topol. He sat 'down in a hole, where a shell had burst, to rub this dust out. Some 'lrishmen, hurrying past him to the attack, took it into their heads that he was weeping, and bawled out, " Don't cry, general dear, but stop there—sure we're going to 'take the place for ye !"—Correspondent of the Inverness Courier. MURDER. —The Exeter police apprehended, on Thursday, a woman, named Mary Weeks, on suspicion of having mur dered hereon. It appears that a few days ago the body of a fine boy, agecl about four years, was found in the Exe river, near Starcross. A black apron was tied tightly around its face andlead, and there were indications that the poor child had been tfoully murdered. Information was forwarded to the Secretary of State, who immediately offered a reward of £5O to any person who would give information about the child. During`the past week a person residing in Exeter has COM muniegted with the police, and the result is that the woman Weeks, who left Exeter on Wednesday for Plymouth, has been apprehended. She appears to have lived as servant in two or three public-houses in the city, and had an illegitimate child df the same age, and having similar appearances as the murdered boy. The child was kept by a person in Exe-lane until a few days ago, when, in consequence of her refusal to keepiit any longer, Weeks came and took her boy away, and said -she would send it home to her mother, who resides at Stioklepath, near Okehampton. , One might, at nine o'clock, a woman resembling the prisoner 'was seen, apparently weeping, /bantling near the river Exe, and a.child's frock and another article of wearing apparel were subsequently found near the spot. It is, therefore, suspected that the boy was thrown into 'theeriver Exe, at Exeter, and that the black apron was tied round its face and head 'to preventite3making any alarm and to faellitate its death;and 'that the body was carried down by ' the current to the spot•near Starcross;where it was discovered. Tun EMPRESS •OF 'WPM FEENCIL—The pregnancy of the `Empress of the Erma is an event -scarcely second toany of the present age in importance, not only to the destinies of :France, but to the interests of Europe and the world at large. 'Sinister rumours have been set afloat in Paris brthose dis affected to the Bonapartist dynasty:: and it is in the 'highest degree imperative that the gestation of her Imperial Majesty, and the birth of &direct heir to the empire, should receive the highest scientific attention, and be watched with the greatest and most impartial assiduity. We alluded to this subject in the last number of - the Lancet: and we are informed, on good authority, that 'Dr. Locock wishes it to be mentioned, that certain of the points referred to by our " Correspondent," are net entireirterrect. The Empress was in this country in April 'last, andwe 'believe that Dr. Lecock was consulted at that time ; and he was subsequently-summoned to the Palace of thelTuileries. The Empress Eugenie did not become preg nant until the last week in June. Dr. Locock was first eon sultedtin this country, and he then attended a consultation of distinguished physicians and surgeons in Paris before that auspicious event occurred. Dr. Locock has not yet been re quested to attend at the approaching accouchement of the Consort of Napoleon ;he has not, therefore, declined to attend. There are reasons of state, in France, for and against his attendance, but if his presence should be called for, we do not seewhy Dr. Locock should refuse his services.—Lancet. We read, in a letter from Paris :—" The Empress's secretary is wholly occupied in replying to the expressions of solicitude and good wishes which arrive from all parts of France, to getherorery often, with relics and consecrated articles, which the senders believe will assist powerfully in obtaining the desievelreault. Amongst the gifts, however, is one of a diffe rent kind, namely, a pigeon which was taken in its cage by a voltigear, on the occasion of the assault , upon the Malakhoff, and nponrthe very spot. The authenticity of these antece dents &the bird having been ascertained, the present has been accepted and the donor rewarded." BRUTAL MURDER :OF A WIFE ,AT BATlL—Between twelveand one o'clock on Saturday night, the 19th instant, a woman named Eliza Howell, living in Avon-street, was kicked in the abdomen by her husband, and bled to death in about twenty minutes. What renders the case more shocking is that the unfortunate woman-was very near her confinement, and the life of her child as well as her own has consequently been saaitesed. The prisoner, James Howell, was brought before the magistrates at the -Guildhall on Monday, when a crowd assembled,in the Market-place. Howell,evho is about thirty years of age, is a eostermonger, and is well known about the streets as a hawker of oysters, nute,.&c., under the soubriquet of." Ferret." His .wife also carried about turnip greens, and was. about the same age as her husband. Four children have been the fruit of the marriage, but they are all dead. The principal witnesses .examined were is labourer named John Brown and his wife, svho occupied two •rooms on the garret floor, .adjoining prisoner's bedroom. From their evidence it appeared that at about half-past eleven .o'clock on Saturday night they heard the prisoner enter his room, utter ing angry exclamations, and threatening repeatedly that he would kill her. About ten minutes afterwards the prisoner's wife came up-stairs, rand when outside the door she said, "Are you in Jim?" He answered " Yes, I am, you - ---- where have you been all night?" His wife said, " I wasdooking for you, hot I could not find you." The prisoner then appeared to come out of the landing and push her into theroom. He pushed.her into the room, and the sound of two'blows was then heard. After the blows something fell heavily, and the prisoners wife cried out " Oh," and said, "Jimaou have killed your child, and you have killed me:' She then said, "Jim, look,abnut and see what you have done." After she said that the prisoner ran down stairs as hard as he could. Brown and his wife, entering the deceased's room, found her king on the floor, which was covered with blood. She said,. 'Jim has killed me," and died in a short time. Her body. was.completely blanched, as was also that of the infant, whose life it Was vainly attempted to save. It appears that the prisoner.and his wife had been drinking together in the course of the,avening, and had quarcelled at the Seven Dials public-house, when the prisoner gave his wife a backhanded blow in the face. He afterwards left, and the wife went away with another woman. Ax ELOPEMENT EXTEA.OEDINAIT. Harrogate was thrown into a state of excitement on Sunday, by an event which has supplied considerable food for gossip in the absence of more profitable engagements. On Saturday a young lady, aecom; panied by a gentleman considerably her senior, wearing a fine enou.sta,che, and having all the appearance of a military officer, arrived by the evening train at the conve Brunswick Railway Station, where they engaged a cab to y them to White Hart Hotel. On their arrival at the inn, they repre sented themselves as a married couple, and, consequently, suitable accommodation was prepared for them, All went on smoothly and uninterruptedly until Sunday evening, when the old .adage, that " true love never does run smooth," was verified. About six o'clock that evening, two gentlemen, with a hasty business-like air, made their appearance, and, after making sundry inquiries about the railway station, pro ceeded to the residence of a police officer, to whom they con fided the secret of their mission; at thesame time acquainting him that one of the mysterious strangers was a detective, and the other the brother of the fugitive lady, who having, it is said, just attained her majority, appeared to think that she had no further need of parental care or restraint. On their reaching the hotel, the "happy" Pair were at dinner, which they were allowed to finish without interruption. When the repast had been well discussed and dessert served up, the waiter was requeited by the three pursuers to conduct them to the room and introduce them by merely opening the door. The infu riated brother of the lady abruptly entered, and, like Hamlet'S ghost, " made her blood run cold," She shrieked and fainted. No time was lost in parlying. A post chaise being waiting at the door, the lady was speedily placed inside, and hastily driven of by the detective and her brother, and the gallant Lothario was left lamenting over his fate to the remaining policeman, who kindly advised him to take a comfortable night's rest, and then depart by the first train in the morning. The young lady is the only daughter of highly respectable and wealthy parents, residing in one of the fashionable squares of London ; and her seducer (according to his own statement) is a married man, with half a dozen children, but is separated from his wife, and holds a commission in the army. Until recently he was admitted as a friend into the family circle, bat his too close familiarities with the young lady hastened his expulsion. By way of eluding pursuit, they had taken tickets through to York, but left the train at Church Fenton, for Harrogate. The party in pursuit, therefore, on arriving at the former place, found themselves at fault, and the keen perception of the detective enabled them to return to the latter place and try Harrogate. The seducer had by him a pair of loaded pistols, which, on his arrival at Harrogate, he took from his pocket and deposited in his portmanteau.—Leeds Mercury. JENNY LIND has given forty guineas to the Cheltenham Hospital. The following advertisement appears in a Paris journal : " The parents of a young lady, aged twenty-one, handsome, well educated, and possessing 4,300 francs per annum—but affected with St. Vitus's dance—offer to unite her to a doctor from forty to forty-five years old, who will pay her incessant attention.‘' A FRENCH lady of property, who has just obtained a guar dian for her son on the ground of his inability to manage his own affairs, alleged against him, amongst other things, at the civil tribunal of Paris, that he had fitted up a studio at great expense, and " painted there a portrait of the Emperor, six times as large as life, although he had no taste whatever for drawing." A VETERAN BuprooN.—On the 3rd, died, at Constanti nople, a certain mussahib (Imperial buffoon), named Said Effendi, at the age of 121 years and '7 months. He had served four Sultans as jester, and, notwithstanding his advanced age, the venerab!e old gentleman was often called up by the present Sovereign, and ordered to say witty things, and to perform antics, which latter he generally did with remarkable agility. THE WEATHER IN PARIS.—A Paris letter, of Wednesday, the 23rd, says :—" This has been one of the most extraordinary days ever seen at this season of the year. From morning to night we have enjoyed warm sunshi n e, and seen a deep blue sky streaked with light fleecy clouds, sailing gently before a soft westerly breeze. Windows are thrown open, fires let out, ladies show forth in spring dresses, Talmas and `Lord Rag lans' are hung on their pegs, and people complain that a single coat is too hot. Should this weather continue but for three or four days, we shall see the trees sprouting in January." THE SHIPWRECKED MARINERS' SOCIETY has just received from the corporation of the Trinity House a gift of £5O, and from the East India CoMpany their annual donation of £25; also notice of a legacy of £lOO, left by Miss Elizabeth Herbert. The value of the service rendered to our maritime population by this institution may be judged of by the fact that on the 18th it distributed £5OO among the widows of drowned seamen and fishermen ; and it is only lately that we had a notice of a disbursement by it of £5OO in one week, to relieve the distress caused among mariners and their families by the fearful ship wrecks on our coasts in the beginning of November. - - ACCIDENTAL POISONING. — On Tuesday, three gentlemen were accidentally poisoned at a dinner party at Provost M`lver's house, Dingwall, Scotland. It appears that the party consisted of Provost 3rlver, Mr. L. M. Mackenzie, of Findon, two Romish priests, and several ladies. After dinner, and when the ladies had retired, the gentlemen were seized with pains in the throat and mouth, and in half-an-hour the two priests and Mr. Mackenzie were dead. Provost M'Jver remains in a hopeless state. The case is undergoing investi gation. It is believed that the roast meat was garnished with the root of henbane, and that the wine excited the chemical action of the poison. Mr. Mackenzie was about to become son-in-law to Lord Lovat. None of the ladies were affected. SUICIDE FOR A LARK.—David Lothian, a seaman of drunken habits, was sitting in a lodging-house at West Hartlepool, on Monday, where he declined to take any breakfast. Be had a half-finished glass of ale before him, which he removed into the back kitchen, a room in which nobody was at the time. He staid away only about a minute ; and when he returned he set down his tumbler, which was now empty, upon the table, and then threw a phial, which he held in his other hand, under the firegrate, with the exclamation, " There, that's done." A man said to him, in a jocular manner, not suspecting anything serious. " Aye, many a thing's done." I asked, Are you breaking glasses ?" and deceased said, "You'll all know e'now." He then pulled off his boots, lit his pipe, and went up stairs smoking. A woman rose after he went out ; she said," What is he doing ?" and proceeded to pick up the broken phial from the fireplace, on which was the word poison ( laudanum.) He was found up stairs, quite sensible, and confessed to having taken laudanum in his ale. The stomach-pump and galvanism were applied, and, as he appeared to recover, he was taken to the police station, where he sank and died, In answer to a clergyman, he muttered something about " having revenge." A witness said deceased did not appear sorry for, but, on the contrary, laughed at, what he had done. He didn't think he expected he would die. He thought that the deceased took the laudanum for a " lark," and that he had an attachment for a female in the house. THE SOUND DuEß. — The conferences on the subject of the Sound dues were really opened at Copenhagen, on the 4th inst., by the Minister von Scheel, who stated that the Privy Councillor Bluhme was appointed plenipotentiary for Denmark, and then quitted the apartment. There were present the repre sentatives of twelve different states, among whom was the special plenipotentiary for Russia, the author on statistics, M. de Tengoborsky. Bluhme laid before the meeting the Danish proposals, consisting of a plan for the capitalisation of the Sound dues, the particulars of which are already known to our readers. His opening speech was interrupted, when he came to talk of Denmark's willingness to make concessions, by M. de Tengoborsky, who stated that it was Russia who was most eager to make advances, and had expressed herself against the abolition of the Sound dues, as Mecklenburg and Hamburg had previously done. Baron Lagerheim, the special plenipotentiary for Sweden and Norway, riftlied to Bluhme's speech. As all the documents and statistical tables promised by Denmark were not yet finished, and as a general view of the receipts of the Sound dues from 1840 to 1847 was de manded by some of the plenipotentiaries, the conferences were adjourned to the end of this month. After some formal difficulties with respect to the protocol, the meeting was dis solved. The number of vessels that passed the Sound in the month of December amounted to 691, of which 163 were Prussians, 109 Danish, 90 Swedish, 69 Norwegians, 68 English, 66 Germans of different states, and 27 Dutch. THE RIIGELEY PoisoNlNGs.—The coroner's inquest on the body of Mr. Walter Palmer terminated on Wednesday in a verdict that he " died from the effects of prussic acid, ad ministered wilfully by William Palmer." Additional evi dence has been collected which has led to the re-exhumation of the body of Cook, and to an enquiry into the conduct of other persons as accessories. The friends of Mr. Leonard Bladen, the collector for the firm of Charrington and Co, the brewers, who died suddenly in the prisoner's house, are desirous of having his body exhumed, and it is said that Government has determined that the whole of the circum stances connected with the mysterious deaths of so many persons shall be thoroughly sifted. An official inquiry is also in contemplation with respect to the conduct of Mr. Ward, the coroner of the district, in connection with charges against the prisoner. The reason why the body of Cook was re exhumed on Friday was, that an experiment had been tried upon a cat. Strychnine was administered to the animal, which afterwards died, and an examination of the body followed, the result of which was that strychnine was dis covered in the spinal marrow. It was then resolved to re exhume the body of the late Mr. Cook, which took place on Friday morning, at six o'clock ; and we understand that the examination of the spinal marrow of the body took'place on Saturday, and that the result will be stated at the trial by medical witnesses. A WEDDING INTERRTIPTED.-011 the 25th of October last a family of distinction, residing in the Chaussee d'Antin, gave a grand banquet in honour of the signing of a contract for the marriage of their daughter, a young lady of great beauty, and possessed of 28,000 f. a-year, with Louis Elie Adolphus, Baron de Selhausen, a young man of 25, chief of one of the most ancient and distinguished baronial houses of the province of Silesia. In the midst of the banquet a rude-looking stranger arrived, and demanded to see the Baron. The concierge told him that on account of the joyful event of the day the family had given orders that no visitor should be admitted. The stranger insisted, and the concierge, getting angry, threatened to turn him out by force. At length, after a good deal of altercation, the stranger espied a large bell, and began ringing it furiously. This drew all the inhabitants of the house to the 'windows, and the man then cried in a loud voice that he wanted to see Baron de Selhausen—at the same time threaten ing to ring the bell until his request should be complied with. The concierge at last allowed him to go upstairs to the family, with whom the Baron was. Stalking into the middle of the room, the man cried out, " My name is Bozeluc, and I let out carriages for hire. I have let out carriages to the Baron de Selhausen, and he owes me 700 f.; but he will never pay me, for •he is a swindler, and not a baron at all ! lam not the only man he has cheated—tailors, glovers, hotel-keepers, up holsterers, painters, gilders, all sorts of tradesmen, in fact, have been swindled by him ! Good people," added Bozeluc solemnly, turning to the young lady's parents, " you had better put off the marriage, for I tell you again the man is no baron, but a swindler!" The marriage was postponed, and the soi disant baron was, after some explanations, handed over to the custody of the police, until inquiries could be made about him. It was then ascertained that, instead of being a baron and a German, be was only the son of a ruined tradesman of the Ile de la Rinuion (Bourbon) ; that he had come to Paris to accept a place as clerk in a bank ; and that, finding his salary insuf ficient, he had taken to Awindling, and had carried it on with such skill that he not only made a vast number of dupes, but contrived to gain access to very good society. He has been tried and sentenced to two years' imprisonment and 50f. fine. Galignani's Messenger. - - - • -- LIABILITY or UNDERWRITERS.--A recent trial in the Court of Queens Bench of an insurance case at Lloyd's has excited much attention, the verdict apparently being little calculated to increase the confidence of mercantile men, whether at home or abroad, in appealing to English law upon points which depend in any way upon commercial custom. Mr. Engelhardt, of London, on account of the Netherlands sugar refinery in Amsterdam, bought of Messrs. Goodall, Chilton, and Co., a cargo of sugar which had just arrived off Plymouth from Bahia. On the cargo reaching Amsterdam it was found to be damaged. Lloyd's agent at that place imme diately took the usual steps on the part of the underwriters ; the injury was duly ascertained to have been caused by sea water ; and the captain made the requisite declaration that it was owing " solely to the labouring of the ship and the gales encountered during the voyage." The loss amounted to £1668, or about 19 per cent. The underwriters for some time took no notice of the claim, but after a lapse of three months announced that they would contest it. An action was accordingly brought against them in the Court of Queen's Bench. The ground of resistance was that, instead of the sugar having been damaged by the voyage, it was iu a bad state at the time it was shipped. The bill of lading disproved this, since it certified that the sugar had been " shipped in good order and well conditioned ;" but Lord Campbell ruled that " this was no evidence at all against the underwriters," and hence, as Mr. Engelhardt had not summoned from Bahia the shippers (who have since failed and left the place) or witnesses from the plantations where the sugar was grown, the jury declared the claim to be invalid, and the underwriters tree from all liability. The case was especially hard, because on no inter pretation of it should the loss have fallen upon the buyers of the sugar. Either the damage occurred during the voyage and the underwriters were liable, or the sugar purchased of Messrs. Goodall, Chilton, and Co., on the faith of a clean bill of lading, was not what it was represented to be. Under these circumstances, Mr. Engelhardt has drawn up a narrative of the proceedings, pointing out to his brother merchants the serious results involved in the decision. The chief of these is, that it must, for the future, weaken all reliance on the value of a clean bill of lading; but there are also two other points of only slightly less importance—namely, the illustration it affords to the tec hnical obstacle s which may be interposed to the recovery of claims by buyers under policies of insurance on floating cargoes, and the way in which underwriters at Lloyd's will disregard or set aside the acts of their own public agents. In this case, observes Mr. Engelhardt, "Lloyd's own agent at Amsterdam was a principal witness, and came over to England to testify to the perfect regularity of the survey, the sale and all other proceedings in reference to the cargo, and to his firm belief in the justice of the claim." In conclu sion, it is to be remarked that Mr. Engelhardt and his cor respondents have been urged to appeal against the verdict, or try a new action. With their experience of legal technicalities and delays, however, they shrink from a further expe nditure of labour, time, and money. "If the underwriters, or any of them," they say, "are disposed to submit the case to practical commercial men, whose decision would be prompt, just, and inexpensive, we are ready to join issue with them again, but not otherwise." IN the Court of Common Pleas, lately, an action was brought to recover £32 10s., the price of a hundred thousand snowdrops. A verdict for the plaintiff was returned. ME Bristol Mirror asserts that about ten days before Christmas a Cochin China fowl was lost at Bath, and was found alive, after a fast of 22 days, in an empty barrel. LIB priory of Holy Island, familiar to the readers of Mar mion as Lindisfarn, is in process of restoration to the appear ance it presented in ancient days. Tin Times says Sir George Grey has advised Her Majesty to remit the remainder of the sentence of twelve months' im prisonment, passed upon Mr. Jackson, of Doncaster. IT is said that in future tickets-of-leave will only be granted to convicts on condition of the licentiate absenting himself from the county of his old domicile and practices. • His re appearance in which infers his apprehension and return to the hulks. TICE Messager du Midi states that surveys have been ordered for the extension of the railway from Paris to Cler mont as far as the Mediterranean. The new line is to traverse the Gard and join the Montpellier railway at Marseilles. IT is stated that the new decree of the French government, • which substitutes fixed duties by weight on the importation of wool for ad valorem, amounts to a-reduction of duty of about one-half. - - A. LETTER from St. Petersburg says, that in the course of the last campaign in Asia more than 60,000 images of saints were despatched from that city for the edification of General Mouravieff's army. Ox Wednesday morning there was another general fall in the price of bread in London of one halfpenny in the 4 lb. loaf, the best wheaten bread being 9d. and in some places W.; and the full-priced bread 101 d and 11d. THE STEAMER BELGIQUE has put back to Southampton, with one boiler burnt, and five feet of water in her hold. She had proceeded 700 miles west of the Lizard, when compelled to return. The passengers and crew worked day and night to keep her afloat. THE Leeds Chamber of Commerce has now under discussion the propriety of forming trade associations in connexion with the chamber, the particular objects of which shall be to watch over the interests, and regulate, to some extent, the customs of the respective branches of trade in the district. THE arrangements on the Egyptian railroad give great sa tisfaction. The railway carriages are very superior; each one costs £4OO. The Egyptian Transit Administration realised a profit of £75,000 last year, and this sum is likely to increase when the railway is made use of for the conveyance of Egyptian produce from the interior. A QUEER FISII—A codfish about 181 b. weight was caught a few days ago in Brodick-bay, Island of Arran, by Andrew Hamilton, a seaman, and in its gullet was found a thick silver plated spur with leather strap attached. This unusually strange circumstance has excited no little surprise, and even consternation, among some of the natives. IN 1851, 5,000 widowers were married to spinsters, 2,400 bachelors to widows, and 2,700 widowers to widows. More than 7,000 widowers stand here by the side of rather more than 5,000 widows. In one case, a widower of 90 was married to a spinster of 80. The youngest widower was 20, the youngest widow 16. LORD ASHBURTON has placed himself in communication with the committee of the Yorkshire Union of Mechanics' In stitutes, and offered to engage a gentleman at his own expense, for one year, to deliver a series of lectures before the members of the Yorkshire Mechanics' Institution, on subjects of interest to them, and to place him under the direction of the committee of the Union. POSTAGE TO THE EAST INDIES.—From the Ist of Febru ary the postage upon letters forwarded to the East Indies, via Southampton, will be reduced to a combined British and Indian rate of 6d. the half ounce. Letters forwarded via Marseilles will be liable to the same rate, with the addition of a French transit rate of sd. per quarter ounce. AT Castle Eden the other day, in an assault case, the Rev. Mr. Park, in announcing the decision of the bench, addressed the defendant in the following manner :—As the assault is not proved, we will dismiss the case on your paying the costs, but, if you refuse to do so, then we shall fine you for the assault ! —Darlington and Stockton Times. FROM statistics given by the Cornish papers, relative to the profits of mines during the past year, it appears that on every £5 share in the Buller Mine, there has been paid for the year just ended a dividend of £l3O, and the market value of' a £5 share is now £650. Similarly, on a £sk share in the Basset Mine, £137105. has been paid, and the shares are selling—or, rather, would be purchased—if offered, at £4lO. EDUCATION OF PAUPER CHILDREN.— A circular has been issued by the Poor-law Board relative to the education of out door paupers' children. It gives an abstract of an act passed in the last session on the subject, and, without requiring the guardians to carry into effect the provisions of the act, re commends them not to lose sight of it. The guardians are empowered to defray the expense of schooling for children of recipients of out-relief so long only as the parents are ' chargeable, and the cost is to be placed to the same fund as the parents' allowance is charged. Orphans and deserted children may also be sent to school by the guardians. The selection of the school or schools is left to the discretion of the guardians. THE NEW BILLS OF EXCHANGE ACT.—At the judges' chambers a decision of considerable importance has been given under the new Act on Bills of Exchange and Promissory Notes. A plaintiff named Smith issued a writ in one of the superior courts against a defendant named Evans, on a promissory note for £l3 6s. and costs. The defendant's attorney took out a summons to stay the proceedings upon the payment of the debt without the costs, on the ground that the parties resided within the same county-court district. The application was opposed, and it was urged that the new act authorised all actions on bills and notes to be brought in the superior courts, irrespective of the amount. Mr. Justice Crowder was of opinion that such was the law, although he thought with others of the judges that there had been an oversight or omis sion in the framing of the act. The plaintiff's attorney sub mitted that it was very important that a decision should be given on the point in reference to other cases. The learned judge decided that the summons must be dismissed, thereby establishing the principle that in all cases on bills of exchange and promissory notes under the new law the proceedings may be by writ of summons in the superior courts. By the new rules, costs are allowed in all cases under the act. A RAILWAY ROMANCE.—A singular affair occurred on the Wear Valley Railway (Durham) the other day. A gentleman from Birmingham found himself seated in a first-class carriage, his vis-a-vis, and the only other passenger in that compart ment of the carriage, being a blooming lady, answering to the alliterative description of "fat, fair, ann forty." The train had scarcely moved a hundred yards from the station before the lady suddenly leaped from her seat and exclaimed to the other passenger, How dare you, sir ! What do you mean ?" The gentleman, astonished, replied that he did not understand; he had done nothing to harm her. Again and again she sprang from her seat in apparent terror and rage, and declared with vehemence that her neighbour was a villain, and she would have him taken into custody at the next station. The gentle man protested his innocence, and asked what he had done; but the eccentric lady still kept leaping from her seat, raving against his treatment, till the gentleman decided that she was mad, and resolved, on the arrival of the train at the next station, to give her into custody. As her eccentricity did not abate, he, on the arrival of the train at one of the stations, was about to carry his resolution into action, when she sud denly sprang to the door, and screamed out " Guard, guard," at the top of her voice, and presently collected not only the guard, but a crowd of people around her. She then com menced her accusation in words both loud and deep, protest ing that the gentleman had improperly pinched her legs, and the gentleman, horrified at the charge, protesting with equal vehemence his perfect innocence. At this juncture, when matters looked serious for the gentleman, the guard happened to recollect that he had placed a basket under the seat of the carriage containing a live goose, and, pulling it out, the mys tery was explained, the bird being the criminal, and having caused the lady's fears and the gentleman's apprehensions. This explanation was received with perfect good humour and satisfaction by the parties concerned, and the train renewed its journey amid the convulsive laughter and applause of the assembled multitude. A MEMOIR OF WILLIAM PALMER.—It appears that Mr. William Palmer is a member of a very wealthy family, and is now in his 34th year or thereabouts. He was educated for the medical profession, was a pupil at St. Bartholomew's, recived the diploma of the College of Surgeons in 1846, and settled at Rugeley, his native place. He seems, however, to have paid more attention to the " turf" and what are com monly called sporting pursuits than to his own profession, and to have confined his practice to his own family and friends. His name appears in the London and Provincial Medical Directory of 1851, and again in 1855, as that of one of the persons who had neglected to inform the . editor of that work of the nature of their qualifications • hence it has been hoped that his claim to be considered one of ourselves was not a just one. But his name appears in the list of the College of Surgeons ; and we may suggest, in passing, that it will be necessary for the future to be cautious in assuming the exist ence of no qualification, merely because none is recorded in the Directory. He married in 1847, Anne, the natural daughter of Colonel William Brookes and Mary Thornton, his house keeper. Colonel Brookes, who, after quitting the East India service, took up his residence at Stafford, died in 1834, leaving considerable property, and more than one natural child. To Anne Thornton he bequeathed, by a will dated July 27, 1833, nine houses in Stafford, besides laud, and the interest of 20,000 sicca rupees, for herself and her children, and ap pointed Dr. Edward Knight, a highly respectable physician of Stafford, and a Mr. Dawson, her guardians and trustees. To Mary Thornton, the mother of Anne, the Colonel be queathed certain property, which was to pass to the daughter at the decease of the mother. Mary Thornton departed this life, it is said, while a guest at Mr. Palmer's house, in 1848 or 1849. Now,although the will of Colonel Brookes would seem clear enough to any one who was ignorant of the law, and al though, in the present state of the law, as we are informed, it would be sufficient, yet it was discovered by the legal fraternity some years since that the language conveying the: - bequest to Anne Thornton was not sufficiently forcible to con vey it to her absolutely, but only to give her a life interest in it; insomuch as at her decease it was liable to be claimed by the heir-at-law to Colonel Brookes. Under these circum stances, there was nothing unnatural or unusual in the idea that Palmer should insure his wife's life, in order to protect himself from the inevitable loss which must ensue in case of her decease; and, since her property consisted of 17 acres of land, valued at between £3OO and £4OO an acre, besides nine houses, and the interest of the sicca rupees—probably alto gether worth at least £4OO per annum, upon which he had borrowed largely from his mother—there could be no doubt of his having such an interest in his wife's life as would jug• tify insurance. Accordingly, in January, 1864, he insured her life for £3,000 in the Norwich Union, and in March in the Sun for £5,000 ; there was also an insurance in the Scottish Equitable for £5,000. It appears that proposals for insurance were made to other offices ; but there seems nothing unusual in this, for be might only have had in view to obtain the best terms, unless, indeed, such proposals were made after the full value of his wife's property had been covered. To proceed: Mrs. Palmer died on September 29, 1854, under circumstances which we shall proceed to examine, leaving only one surviving child, a boy of seven years ; and, as if to justify the husband in effecting an insurance, an action was brought within a month by Colonel Brookes's heir-at-law to obtain possession of Mrs. Palmer's property. Palmer brought up the life poli cies on the Sun and Norwich Union on the 16th of October, 1854, and employed Mr. Pratt, the solicitor, to obtain the money from the offices. Mr. Pratt, who seems to have acted with entire bona fides, and the caution usual among lawyers, required to be furnished with evidence of the husband's pecu niary interest in his wife's life, took counsel's opinion on every step, and obtained the £B,OOO from the offices on the 6th of February, 1855 ; strangely enough, the £5,000 from time Scot tish Equitable was paid through a banker, unknown to Pratt. —Medical Times. I 4 , 11 MI • • ■