The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1848-02-15 00:00:00

TO ADVERTISERS. We beg respectfully to call the attention of Merchants, Brokers, Auctioneers, and others, to the important fact that the LIVERPOOL STANDARD IS NOW THE ONLY PUBLISHED W . NEWSPAPER EKLY ON TUESDAY, read on that day by the thousands of Manufacturers and others attending THE TUESDAY'S MARKET IN MANCHESTER. STANDARD is to surroundinc z at all the Newsrooms Inns in that town and the rianufacturing district I SECOND EDITION is published at Half-past orth Mails, containing the 3IARKETS, and any news of importance that nay arrive in the course of the morning Ibt Eibtrpool &tatibarb. TUESDAY MORNING, FEB. 15, 1848 Marichest Guardian sometimes throws off some funny things, with a nonchalance and gravity of manner, which would fain indicate, on the part of the writer, a perfect conviction in his own mind that he is not joking at all. Perhaps, however, if peep into hiS editorial sanctum estation of one of these articles, we 1 e to discern an occasional twitch of 'ties, or a wicked wink of his eye, licate, with tolerable distinctness, ngaged in forging a few argu 'ut both ways, in order, for the ie good easy public of the isequently to be enabled to sy public the ready tact with - , ay positions, which more be enabled to destroy bamboozle tl would o ins publication on headed the West Indies and the if not a piece of the wicked we rt. srked upon, is one of the most we may almost say, impudent per ms or which we ever knew a journalist of to be guilty. After a quarter of a ';nape introductory about things in Trade in particular, our con to twit, amongst others, the .eneral which id. we r fiction ng to be guilty remarkat badinagf nd Free roceed party upon the failure of their pre would be the result towards e trade in corn. He says : ar, of u o what e of the repeal of the corn-laws, and of on of cattle and provisions, have proved )les of the falsification of predictions. ountry party' gloried in their sliding !ultural distress was a ' condition' of as r changes in the undustrial last few years have pre- Aion of agricultural pros le means which free trade furnished he losses and inconveniences of bad ne, bid fair to restore the country to a iealthy and prosperous state, and thus to t least materially to modify, the distress which has hitherto always followed cora- 1 misfortur lete falsification, he says, has I other c needs to account for T could perceive an analogy. sified,—when free trade pro- inced re ri iey alv s discovered some , ecial causes. The iron manufacturer in England sur ved competition, only through the accidental introduc ed by improve- hinery ; the growth of wool by the discovery wool could be worked to a greater benefit in in like manner, agricul t two years, is attributed to a lure of corn harvests, and a rot of potatoes. There has ways been some special cause to account for the success free trade." Now, it is not very clear to us on what grounds advocates of protection may not very fairly 1 special circumstances as having warded off )rarily the injury which they anticipated from Take the first case put by the Guardian the case of the farmer. That class is not ruined Prices of grain have not fallen beyond a pay ' point. They are, on the contrary, just now T a shade below the average attempted to be by the Corn-law of 1842; and they have ring the past year, a point nearly , i; average. The advocate of the agri- Aerest will urge, as the cause of its being, , in a condition 'of comparative pros,lerity, fact that continental harvests have been de ficient; that Ireland, by- the loss of her potato crop, has had to be fed on a better kind of food at the expense of the State, and from private charity. Again, the vast hoards • of the New World have, instead of being poured into these islands, been liffused throughout the countries of Europe, whose lessities have been as great as our own; and ,he American agriculturist and the English ,ulator have been able, by combination and ,rtuitous circumstances, to force up prices, a large portion of our farmers, the sensible portion of them, - _!d the opportunity of realising their stocks musually advantageous terms. They may also that to meet the rush of breadstuffs from rmous prices were paid—as much at 95. per barrel of flour from New York, i inch can now be imported for is. 3d. to Is. 6d. Has not the argriculturist a perfect right thus to account for his temporary prosperity ? Of course has. In denying that he has such a right our contemporary either forgets, or wilfully suppresses, the fact that the Free-trade party have a few little falsifications of their own prophecies and promises to account for; and that we find them adopting, in the efforts, precisely the same reference to " special pauses." We all remember, during the Dng agitation for repeal of the Corn-laws, the pro se, constantly- held out to the working classes, a cheap loaf," "a big loaf," &c., &c. Now, neither had, during the average of the first Trade, either a very " cheap " or a We have neither at this moment. die reply of a Free Trader to admit of mointment would be a recapitulation of - - --(red by the farmer. We Free 'l'rad touched, du as yet e sea me time as or course this disai e causes a re pror ed, as tt _cult of our admitting the Jrn of other nations to consumption in the British ales, a vast extension of manufacturing industry And of employment for the working classes—in We have had instead ned or working short time ; the con -ays all but suspended ; mercantile Ind tradesman's bankruptcies taking place on every side ; confidence between man and man destroyed, and the interchange of commodities for money re stricted to the bare wants of our daily consumption. Of course, for all these sad falsifications of the pledges of our philosophers, we have, once more "special causes" pleaded. Most consistent Free Traders, in the magnitude of your offences of this sort, as compared with those of which you accuse the. Protectionists, how well do you illustrate the dage, that "one man may steal a sheep, and another hanged for only looking over a hedge!" With respect to one important result of our it policy—the infliction of serious injury upon iperty, and alienation of the feelings of their 'in,—the anticipations of the Protectionists nroved to be in every way correct, whilst -‘Thining apologies, fpit. of factories st( ion of .ruilv the Free-trade party are driven to and even misrepresentation of fa The Protectionists stat drawal of adequate pro' would spread suffering, and ultimate ruin among the colonies, who had e. Jarked their capital in those colonies, on the f a ith o f th e secur ity a fforded by British laws ; and th a t w i t h respect to ano th er great rising state, we should find, should we ever unfortunately have to claim aid of their loyal services to protect the interests of the mother country, that our approaches, if not i n di gnant l y and altogether rejected, would be met by coldness and the utter want of that noble enthusiasm which its inhabitants have hitherto displayed towards the Country of their birth. The first portion of our colonies referred to are our sugar-growing pos sesions in the West and East Indies. The other portion is our British American colonies. The Free-trade philosophers, on the other hand, either denied, in toto, that such results would oc cur, or else hedged themselves behind assurances formed upon the data of men utterly, the bulk of boldly that the with on from our colonists e of property, 3s in some of •st a large cl nn of nselves of a Ire The exile* of 1821 of Free "b them, ignorant practically of our colonial system, and of tropical cultivation, that with increased per sonal attention to their planting on the part of the owners of colonial property, combined with econo mized modes of agriculture, improved machinery, &c., British energy would ultimately rise victorious in the struggle to which it was to be submitted. Cheapness of supply to the British consumer was with these men the all-important thing to which every other consideration was to give way. And there were some who went the length of denying that any benefit was to be derived from the pos session of colonies at all; and who would freely have given them up to the first powerful country which might be disposed to.take them into its pro tection, or, in the American phrase, to "annex" them. With respect to' our sugar colonies, we shall have to refer to them in another article. Of the almost entire ruin, however, of the West India portion of them, men seem pretty generally agreed; whilst it can scarcely be shown that the inefficient measures just proposed for their restoration to prosperity are not as heartless a _mockery, and affectation of sympathy, on the part of the Government, towards the West India population, of every class, from the planter to the emancipated negro, as it would be to offer to an exhausted dying man the assistance of a wheat straw to enable him to climb to the summit of a mountain. If our eastern planters are not as yet so far on the road to destruction, they are at least steadily progressing on that road. With respect to Canada, we learn by each succes sive mail that a large portion of its loyal population are already beginning to , canvass the amount of advantage derived from their present anomalous connexion with Great Britain, whilst the republican French faction in the lower province are busily en gaged in sowing the seeds of an insurrection, of a similar kind to that which, a few years ago,• before the heart of her mother country was turned from them, and the eyes of her legislators were blinded with the dust of the anti-national Free-trade philo sophy, her hardy and gallant settlers so nobly put down, without any other than the aid of their own strong hands and determined loyalty. " ASSAULT OF ARMS" ! ! OF THE ATHENRUM CLUB. We entered upon the perusal of a paragraph in the Manchester Guardian, under the above startling heading, with no slight wonder what an " Assault of Arms" could have to do either with the AthenEeum Club, or with the pacifically-disposed people of the city of Manchester. Remembering some little of Mr. Cobden's recent diatribes as the absence of all necessity for fortifications, arms or armies to protect our shores, whilst we live under the millenium of free trade, the idea of getting - up a tourna ment, we thought, denoted one of the most singular changes of public feeling hitherto evinced in this Jim Crow age. On getting through a few lines of the para graph, however, we find that it referred to an- exhibition, by the pupils, of their skill in fencing and single stick, to encourage proficiency in which offensive and defensive sciences some public-spirited and patriotic citizens have presented the institution with two silver meaals, to be yearly contested for by the members. This, of course, is all harmless enough, although rather out of keeping with the opinions, as to the necessity of being taught either small sword or broadside practice, generally understood to be entertained by our neighbours ; and, moreover, pregnant with some danger of loss of valuable business time, as tempting the juveniles to convert occasionally their yard sticks into foils, and take measure of each otl- for suits is' 'os instead of measuring either -ner _ ginghams or fustians. We were a little shocked, how ever, to notice that " the intervals between the conflicts were filled up with rounds of boxing." The sports of Moulsey Hurst, within the same walls, which have echoed to the refined eloquence of D'lsraeli, Dickens, Lincoln, and other literati ! This is a sad declension. Bat the worst has to be told. Our reporter proceeds—" The meeting, which being also of ti their entertain very numerous, a great many ladies npany (9 seemed highly pleased with and, by applause and clapping of hands, &c., encouraged the combatants in their 51 pointedly marking any clever cut or thrust doubtless. also, every case of " first blood down blow," " facer" - or " cross buttock ggles, and or " knock inflicted by the amateur pugilists. WI merits A. bull fight, or a The ladies, too, taking delight in lat will come next to surprise us? the next annual fencing and single stick match, " the intervals between each match being filled up with a round of"—Bolton purring or genuine Rochdale up and down_ Fie, ladies, fie r We- had rather see you stitching or PREVENTIBLE SICKNESS AND MC IN LANCASHIRE, )RTALITY We have received a highly important table, issued by the Health of Towns Association, on the preventible excess of sickness and mortality, and the consequent expense, created in this county. It is founded on the returns of the Registrar-General for the year 1841. It gives the population of the several towns in. Lancashire, the number of deaths and births in each town in the year, and in proportion to the inhabitants ; also, the number of deaths of infants under one year, which shows, from their susceptibility to the influences of the atmosphere, the high ratio in which the rate of mortality is placed in many of our towns. The average length of life in Ulver stone is 41 years 8 months •, in Ormskirk, 27 years 3 months; in Warrington, 26 years 7 months; in West Derby, 21 years ; and in Liverpool the average length of existence is much shorter than in any other town in Lan cashire, being only 20 years and 5 months. The deaths of infants under one year are in Ulverstone 1 in 11 ; in Ormskirk, 1 in 10 ; in Warrington and West Derby, 1 in 6 ; in Liverpool, lin 4. Thus the proportionate loss of years of life, preventible in each district, compared with Ulverstone, is—in Ormskirk, 14 years 5 months ; in Warrington, 15 years 1 month ; in West Derby, 20 years 8 months ; and in Liverpool, 21 years 3 months. Where there is premature death, there is of necessity premature and often lengthened sickness • indeed, for every cas e of death in excess, it is calculated. that there is an increase of at least 28 cases of sickness, and averaging these at £1 per case, the annual cost unnecessarily incurred over that expended at Ulverstone, from want of sanatory measures, for sickness alone, is—in Ormskirk, £1,932 ;in Warring ton, £5,628 ; in West Derby, £17,752 ; and in Liverpool, £lOl,lOB. The loss arising from the deficiency of pro ductive labour is estimated to average 7s. 6d. per week each, male and female, and the funerals £5 each, which will give a total' loss on the year's deaths, in sick ness, funerals, and labour, in Liverpool, compared with Ulverstone, of £834,815 ; in Manchester, so compared, of £677,533; and in Lancashire, again so compared, of £4,080,995. The following will at once shew the urgent necessity for the strenuous exertions of our Health Committee in the promotion of sanatory regulations ; for, taking Ulver stone to be perfect—and there can be little doubt that even its condition might be improved—the expense ari sing yearly from want of drainage, want of water and ventilation, would do much to effect the object :—Total number of adults prematurely dying—in Liverpool, 2106, or 94 to every 10,000 of the population ; Ulverstone, 128, or 48 to every 10,000. Number of all classes killed by epidemic, endemic, and contagious diseases—Liverpool, 1677, or 75 to every 10,000 of the population ; Ulverstone, , 35, or 13 to every 10,000. Deaths of all classes from dis eases of the respiratory organs—Liverpool, 2539, or 114 to every 10,000 of the population ; Ulverstone, 105, or 39 to every 10,000. Liverpool. Ulverstone. Proportion of deaths to t 1840 lin 27 lin 56h- {1839 lin 30 lin 60 population of 1841. ... 1841 lin 30 lin 56 Proportion of births to the f 1840 lin 30 lin 31 population of 1841. ... . 1 1841 lin 29 lin 31 Proportion of marriages to j - 1840 lin 69 lin 159 the population of 1841.. 1 1841 lin 67 lin 161 If it be said that a town is necessarily more unhealthy than the country, may it not reasonably be asked in reply, can we not remove or at least mitigate, the causes which pertain to the locality, and which we ourselves have ori ginated ? It was well said the other day by the Times. Man made the city, and man can do much to improve his own work, and render it not less salubrious—may we say still more so ?—than the village, the mansion, and the farm." It was shown in the last return of the Re gistrar-General, that a London child of 15 is twice as likely to die in the course of the next quarter of a year as a country child of the same age ; and among men the chance of dying is increased from two in the country to three in London, and, if so, " the liability to suffer from epidemics is raised still more." The ravages of the in fluenza are described as much worse in the districts where filth abounded—elsewhere as " mild," " fatal to few ;" and again, to quote from our contemporary, " these ravages are mainly in effect the ravages of closeness, filth, and stench ; the ravages of bad sewerage, bad ventilation, bad food • of profligacy, and other human plagues. So it appears 6om the comparison of London with the country, and so it appears further from a comparison of the several metropolitan districts one with another. Taking London altogether, the mortality during the last six weeks of the year was 80 per cent. above the average. Lewisham, in cluding Blackheath, Svdenham, and Elthare, is one of the healthiest districts of London. Here the increase was only 60 per cent. on the usual low average. St. George's in-the-East is one of the unhealthiest districts, and it suffered four times as much from influenza as Lewisham. This is an extreme case, but, on a comparison of all the districts, it appears that the epidemic' —we are quoting the words of the report—' killed twice as many people in the insalubrious parts of London as it did in those less unhealthy.' Hence, whatever the origin or character of the pestilential element, its lethal force evidently depends on the local conditions with which it is combined. Hea ven speeds the arrow ; man envenoms the barb." WEST DERBY BOARD OF GUARDIANS. - At the weekly meeting, on Wednesday, ICir. Sheppard took the chair. Mr. H. S. Taylor, surgeon to the Fever Hospital, reported that fever was on the increase. Mr. Smith moved that the clerk of the board be requested to write to the Poor law Commissioners, respectfully entreating from them an early decision on the case of the required division of Tox teth-park from the township of West Derby, as expressed by the resolution, adopted in the presence of Mr. Austin, poor-law inspector. The board divided, when there ap peared for the resolution 5, against it 4. The motion, as proposed, was, of course carried, and the proceedings terminated, THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD. ?Loral fitivr.i. A new steamer will commence plying on the 3rd of March between. Liverpool and Ulverstone. The acceptances for the Liverpool Grand National Steeple Chase amount to 83, and for the Chester Cup, 106. Mr. Matthews, of Wakefield, and Mr. Plant, of Li verpool, have been appointed to the choir of Carlisle Cathedral. At a meeting of the Hide and Skin Market Association on Wednesday, it was decided after rather a warm discus sion not to remove the market. We understand Phillips' full and splendid Quadrille Band was in attendance, last Tuesday evening, at Sir John Gerard's, New Hall ; and, as usual, gave great satis faction. The anniversary dinner of the Apollo Club was held at the house of Mr. Elmes, in Richmond-row, last week, when the chair was taken by Mr. Richard Laidlaw, the president for the year, and Mr, Richard Holden acted as vice-president. At an early hour on Monday morning a malicious at tempt was made to set fire to the stable of Mr. Carr, coach proprietor, Birkenhead. A light had been intro duced through hole in the wall ; some straw took fire, but fortunately the flames soon expired. The Caroline brig, of Liverpool, which- was wrecked on the sands under Penrylm Castle, in December last, has been moved beyond the Perch at Cardigan bar, by Mr. Bremner, of Glasgow, who successfully moved the Great Britain steam vessel. _ ANTI-CHURCH AND STATE SOCIETY.—A- meeting of this foolish body was held in the Concert-hall, on Thurs day evening, Mr. R. Johnson in the chair. The meeting was addressed by Mr. 'Williams, the London secretary, Mr: Miall, and other gentlemen. The Rev. H. H. Higgins, the incumbent of St John the-Evangelist Church, having found it necessary' to pro cure relaxation from his arduous-pastoral duties, has gone to the continent for a short time. His pulpit, during his absence, is filled by the Rev. George Gibbon, MA., of the Dingle. BIRXENHEAD.—There are now many inquiries in-Bir kenhead tbr houses of the better class, and several have been let during the past week. There have also been 100 new conttactors at Woodside Ferry, since the commence ment of 1848. These are symptoms- of slowly reviving vitality. SPOTS ON. THE ffuN. On Thursday afternoon, two very large and several small spots, were observed on the sun's disc. At the same time the face •of the sun pre sented a singular appearance, being corrugated all over, much like the ripples left on the sand,- by the retiring tide. This appearance is a very unusual one. ANOTHER HIGHWAY ROBB ERY.—Thenotoriety which this neighbourhood enjoys for robberies ifr still kept up. Mr. Robert Palmer, son of the late gardener to the Earl of Sefton, was, yesterday week, knocked down and robbed near West Derby village r by three footpads. The villains of course are still at large.. _ _ SPECIE ImpouTs:—The total amount or specie re ceived at this post from New York, during thepast week, is £63,000 which has been brought by the following ves sels :—the Waterloo., £22,000; the New York , Zlo,.ooo ; the steam-ship Cambria, £10,000; and the Queen of the West £21,000. THE THEATRE-RaleAL..—lt is said that Me: H. F. Aldridge, the able leader of the Philharmonic Concerts, will be the new lessee of the Theatre-Royal. Various rumours have been afloat during the last few days;: but having made the necessary inquiries, we have thellighest authority for stating that nothing positive can , be put forth upon the subject at present. LECTURES ON PALESTINE AND THE HOLY LAND.— We- have much pleasure in directing the attention of our readers to what will doubtless prove a very attractive course of morning lectures by J. S. Buckingham, on the, to Christendom, most interesting countries in the world — Palestine and the Holy. Land. They are to be given in the Royal Assembly-rooms, Great George•street, and the first lecture, we perceive, is announced for this day, Tues day. THE GAS BILL.—The inquiry before the Government Commissioners terminated on Wednesday. The general tendency of the evidence was in favour of amalgamation, upon the ground that that amalgamation would, if effected, cause a saving in the general outlay of the company, and would consequently lessen the. gas rates upon the inhabi tants. There is very little doubt that the bill will be passed, almost without any opposition on the part of - the House of Commons, though it seems to place a complete monopoly in the hands of the existing companies. Tun COLLEGIATE INSTITUTION.—The library attached to this institutioi, though opened only in April, now numbers nearly four thousand volumes. The first selec tion*was entrusted to William Gregson, Esq., barrister, of the Inner Temple; and it is not much to say, that, for its size it is the best in Liverpool. The directors have a considerable sum of money•in hand, and will very shortly increase the library to nearly double its present number of volumes, chiefly of works in the lighter ranks of lite. rature, though other branches will not be overlooked. SERIOUS ROBBERY.—On Friday, the recorder at the sesions was oczupied several hours in the trial of Kirby Smith, a marine store keeper. William Bell, a carter, and James Wilson, a porter,. who were Charged. the atter with stealing, and the two •former with receiving ten bags of cotton wool. the property of Messrs. Thomas Haigh and Co. Smith was acquitted, but the other two were found guilty, and they were sentenced—Wilson to eight months and Bell to four months' imprisonment. Nine other prisoners have been sentenced to ten years' trans portation. _ _ THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE, BIRKENHEAD.—On Friday last the Lord Bishop of Chester visited this college, and dined with the Principal and several of the neighbouring clergy, with all the students. The Right Rev. Prelate afterwards delivered an address to the students in the chapel, on several subjects connected with the clerical office. He remarked that though the church does not promise promotion to all candidates for honours, she at the same time denies not to the diligent and the learned. His lordship expressed himself much pleased at the arrangements of the College; and after visiting all the apartments of the students, took his departure- in the afternoon. AGREEABLE MUSICAL RE-UNIONS. We learn that Mrs. F. E. Davies has added a new feature to her scho lastic establishment., in North Bedford-street, by opening, on Thursday, a series of practising musical soirees, where amateur ladies and gentlemen may, without over-stepping the precincts of drawing-room society, acquire,.at a small expense, a precision and correctness of style and execu tion seldom attained by unprofessional students. The privacy of the soirees prevents our free eKercise of the editorial privilege, but we may add that, as their musical direction has been confided to Mr. H. V. Lewis and the Misses Hammond, we have the strongest, assurance of their being eharacterised by good taste and ability.— Albion. ALLEGED NEGLECT AT THE SOUTHERN HOSPITAL. — On Tuesday night a man was brought to the Southern Hospital who had fallen into the Queen's. Dock. There was some detention in receiving him, and the surgeon not being on the premises, a further loss of time occurred before the usual remedies were administered. He died. When the case was brought before Mr. Curry, he remark ed, in strong terms. on the neglect which appeared to have been manifested at the hospital. The jury recom mended that the case should be laid before the trustees of the hospital, in order to prevent a recurrence of similar neglect in future.—[We have been waited upon by the trustees, who have expressed their annoyance at the un toward event, and their determination that the repetition of such a calamity shall be avoided.] STRANGE ATTEMPTED BURIAL.—About two o'clock on Thursday morning, the wife of Thomas Hoy, a poor Irish labourer, residing inMatthew's-court, Back Chester street, Birkenhead, gave birth to an infant. It was a six months' child, and lived but half an hour. Between eleven and twelve o'clock, on the same night, a police constable on duty in the neighbourhood of the Roman Catholic Chapel, observed two women in the churchyard, scratching a hole with their hands, for the purpose of burying the corpse, which had been enclosed in a rude home-made box as a coffin. They were stopped, and an inquest held on Saturday morning, before Mr. Churton, the coroner, when the above facts were legally elicited, and a verdict of " Natural death" returned. Hay's wife had no surgical assistance during her confinement, but was attended by an old woman, named Ann Campbell, who stated to the police, that, by the priest's authority, she had herself christened the child. RELIEF TO THE Pam: Mn. RUSHTON AND THE OVERSEERS.—Last week a young man named Evans, a cripple applied to the Parish-office, in Fenwick-street, for relief. He was furnished with an order to break stones, but protested that his lameness totally incapaci tated him for any such employment. He was sent away, however, without examination into the truth of his state ment, and without further relief. The young man, des perate with hunger, thrust his crutch through a shop window, that he might be taken into custody. He wrote, when in Bridewell, to Mr. Rushton, detailing all the cir cumstances of the case. A parish surgeon was called in, who gave it as his opinion that the young man's lameness totally unfitted him for the task of breaking stones. On Saturday Mr. Rushton sent for Mr. Gray, to remonstrate with him upon the impropriety which his assistants had committed in turning away the man without any examin ation or any relief whatever. He said, " Mr. Gray, I would wish you to take official notice of what I shall read. If any more parties are brought here, having been refused relief by your subordinates ; and if you overseers do not attend here when you are summoned, I will, under the 9th of George 1., chap. 7, sec. 1, order relief myself ; and, having taken care to summon you to attend me, if you do not attend or order relief, I will indict you! There, that is in a small compass to remember ; and I will carry it Out. " FARNSWORTH'S PATENT BRICK-MAKING MACHINE We had the pleasure, a few days since, of inspecting a machine, the invention of Mr. Farnsworth, for the pur pose of moulding bricks from clay, in the state in which it is taken from the ordinary bed, thus dispensing with the difficult process of tempering, and also the necessity of drying the bricks preparatory to their being submitted to the kiln. The machine is extremely compact ; at one end there is a receptacle for the clay, in which are placed four spiked rollers, which, working at different speeds, act as cutters, and so completely separate the immense masses of clay that they pass from this mill in pieces not larger than bullets. At the other end of the machine is a large horizontal circle divided into six moulds, and as the circle passes round each compartment is consecutively filled with the small pieces of clay, which are almost im mediately submitted to a pressure of several tons, by means of an eccentric-worked from beneath, and forced perfectly into the form of a brick, which is delivered into the surface by a simple incline. Every portion of this machine is worked by one motion, and it is calculated that it will make from 25 to 35 bricks per minute, worked by a five-horse engine. There are many advantages to be derived from this invention, but the most important seems to be the superior shape, twine% and conseque9t 44 , bility of thy hrich§, ACCIDENTAL DEATH BY DROWNING.-At one o'clock on Saturday, John Brady, a seaman on board the ship Governor Davies, being in the Victoria dock, and two of his shipmates were passing from the quay to the vessel by a stage, when Brady happening to step upon one of the planks which was on what is called " a cant," slipped, fell down into the dock, and almost immediately sank. The body was recovered in about twenty minutes, but life was totally extinct. ___ ST. SIMON'i PARISH CHURCH.—The Bishop of Chester has fixed the Ist of March for the consecration of St. Si mon's new Church. This building is the first-fruits in Liverpool of Church reform, by making the body free for the poor, and of improved ecclesiastical architecture. We regret to learn that it is still in debt. Great exer tions are now making to have all matters arranged for the reception of the Lord Bishop, who has, as well as the Rectors of Liverpool, taken a most lively interest in the progress of the building. We congratulate the minister and his parishioners on the success which has attended their efforts ; and we are sure that such an event as the consecration of a parish church (it is upwards of a century since St. Peter's was consecrated) will be welcomed by all who take an interest in religion. THE NATIONAL RATE OF TAXATION.—A good deal of conversation, and no little complaint, have recently come under notice in this town and elsewhere, relative to the rates in which the poor are now laid in various localities —somebeing almost exonerated from' any burthen, whilst others are mulcted in a large per tentage. At a public dinner given last week at Hull, to the ex-governor of the workhouse of that town, the subject was strongly remarked upon by one of the speakers. It appears that in that locality " two portions of one man's establishment (in Hull and Sculcoates) are quarrelling which is to main tain the poor. The speaker argued for the more-exten sive or national system of rating; for now in settling parochial disputes, L3O to £5O are often spent in quarrel ling which parish is to maintain a pauper—to the gain of lawyers only. Why, he asks, should Liverpool be rated at upwards of ten times the amount reruired for the same' purpose in many of the rural districts ? He thus proceeds; " When the whole island of England is - one and the mine interest, I cannot see why one is so much more highly: rated than another. It is- said that a national rate would bring a more lavish expenditure. If that should be the case, it would be in favour of the pauper. I say let there be a national rate. We have been brought under the Poor-law Commissioners, and I' say I don t object to it.. I , say that a local distribution, and a national superin tendence is good ; and if there were a national rate, local distribution, and government superintendence, it would, in • my`opinion, be the best thing we could have." CAUSES , IN THE ASSESSCFASt COURT. This court, which sits simultaneously with the quarter (or rather pe riodical) sessions for this borough, was held last week. The following were the principal causes e—West v. M`Kay, en action in which plaintiff, a porter; 'sought £5OO damages for bodily injury—the breaking of his thigh—by a push from the defendant. Plaintiff was- in the employ of Messrs. Winstanley, auctioneers, and defendant was the keeper of a tavern in Roscoe-street. No proof of provo cation was given, and the jury returned a verdict for plain tiff, damages .f.2s.—Ross v. Bate : an action brought by the proprietor of the Liverpool Clikmicle., to recover £8 10s. for printing and advertising.the exhibition of the whale at Tranmere. The jury, making, some abatement for advertising in Manchester (not within the jurisdiction of the court), returned a verdict for plaintiff, £5 4s. 6d.— Kevintv: - Jones :, an action to recover damages from Mr. Jones, 1 iscuit baker, Fenwick-street, for bodily injury, by being knocked down by defendant's gig:and' horse. Da mages awarded, £lo.—Mooney and wife Nicholl and wife : Both are publicans. and damages-were sought for false imprisonment of Mooney's wife; -on , a charge of stealing , spirits from defendant's house.. Verdict for plain tiff, damages 408.—A case for debt we' decided, showing that the- wife of a captain of a ship, deceased, was not liable during.the life- of her husband, nor until she had authentic information of his death.—Pearce v: Livingston : The plaintiff, sought damages for being: turned out of his situation with defendant, an earthenware dealer in Lord street, without three months notice, as agreed upon when he was engaged. Plaintiff ibad a salary. of £2OO a year, but soon after entering upon his situation ; absented him self on the plea of illness, although he was seen walking about, apparently. well. Verdict for the defendant. THE ROSCOE Ceun.—The annual meeting took place on Thursday , evening last, in the theatre of the Royal Institution. Mr. J. A. Tinne was called to the chair, and there were present a large number of our literary towns men. The secretary read a letter from Ms. IL IL Sand bach, urging that ladies should not be admitted to the discussion class. A letter was read front Dr. Trail, highly approving of the Institution. That gentleman had for warded a handsome donation of books. The Report, read by the secretary, Mr. Boult, showed the satisfactory progress of•the Club. The Club-room being found to be too small, steps had been taken to procure a branch establishment in the neighbourhood of the Exchange. Upon the whole of the accounts the Club were in pos session of assets,. beyond all liabilities to the amount of upwards of £2oo.—The receipts of the Coffee-room had increased from £2B weekly to (last week) £4l. To the library 600-vols. had been presented during the year. It was the opinion of the Committee that miscellaneous lectures should not be prosecuted at present, the expense being great, and the advantage questionable.. "In con clusion, (the report says,) the Council wish to express their confident expectations that the Roscoe Club is destined to fulfil the high and important :object of its for mation, andthat it will keep the position it has already attained, of being one of the most valuable institutions of the town." Mr. Estill in moving , the passing of the report alluded to the satisfactory state of the Club, and highly commended the valuable services of the secretary. The following gentlemen were elected trustees t—Messrs. H. R. Sandbach, E. Estill, T. Theruely,. G. H. Law rence, J. R. Jeffrey, T. Booth, J. A; Tinne, J. P. G. Smith. R. Gladstone, S. Thornely, W.. Cross, and T. Littledale.. The Archbishop of Dublin was elected a member for life, in consideration of his friendship to the club, and his large donations of books. A resolution was passed recommending to the new Council such an altera tion in the laws as would exclude ladies, as the club had no means of affording any ostensible benefit in return for their subscriptions. Mr. Boult, the secretary was elected a member far life. The usual votes-of thanks were passed, and the meeting separated. THE CH:ASE, The CHESHIRE HOUNDS will meet on Wednesday (to-morrow), at Wilkesley Village ; on Thursday, at Cholmondeley ; on Saturday, at litavensmoor Windmill; each day at half-past ten o'clock. _ _ _ Sir W. W. WYNN'S Hoimps. will meet on Wednesday (to-morrow), at Erddig ; on Friday, at Carden ; on Satur day, at Bangor _ ; each day at, half-past ten o'clock. POLICE INTELLIGENCE. JUVENILE OFFENnEas.,--Storey, the active police officer, charged Charles Turner and William Bradhurn,. two urchins, with having, attempted to rob several shops in Pitt-street, about five o'clock on Thursday evening. Turner, the elder lad, who is a notorious thief, was com mitted to prison for three months ; the other, an ex tremely young boy, was sent to the overseer. EXTENSIVE ROBBERY. — Edward Turner, a warehouse man in the employ of Messrs. Sanders and Claxton, corn merchants, was on Thursday committed for trial at the sessions, by Mr. Rushton, on a charge of stealing a large number of bags, the property of his employers.. Papers in possession of a witness named Brierley, of Preston, proved that the latter had purchased 3,000 of the bags from the prisoner at different times for £42, all of which were afterwards sold in Preston and its neighbourhood. DEFRAUDING AN EMIGRANT.—On Saturday, John Byrne, a middle-aged man, was charged with having been a party to defrauding, by false pretences, Pat Carley, a poor Irishman, of a sum of £2 10s. The statement of the complainant was to the effect that, on Tuesday morning, the prisoner and Mr. Jones, the second mate of the packet-ship Siddons, came to his lodgings, and offered him a passage to New York in. that vessel for £2 10s. (the only money he had), if he would consent to act as "Jemmy Duck," and feed the fowls on board ship. To this the poor fellow consented, and the party, which also included a person named Gaskill, adjourned to a neigh bouring public-house. Carley paid the money to the prisoner, who handed it to Jones. He went on board the Siddons, was stowed away by the second mate, but dis covered, turned off, and the vessel has since gone to sea. Gaskill appeared in court to testify apparently in favour of the prosecutor. He had suggested, he said, a receipt pro duced, as a security for the money which was paid down. Mr. Rushton expressed his opinion that the witness Gaskill, who had come under pretence of serving Carley, was one of the same class as the others, and lived by plundering poor passengers of their money. The prisoner spoke up and said, " Yes ; he got 10s. of the money. I only got three glasses of brandy." Mr. Rushton, after referring to the act, ordered the prisoner to be put back, and an information to be laid against him. He indig nantly ordered Gaskill about his business, and said, " Never let me see you here again, either as a witness or , in any other character." DARING ROBBERY.—One of the most barefaced rob beries that has ever been committed in this town was per petrated on Thursday evening at the shop of Mr. Sewell, watchmaker, of South Castle-street. About a quarter before seven o'clock, Mr. Sewell's foreman was alarmed by bearing one of the shop windows, which are made of strong plate glass, smashed from the outside with a brick, and instantly some person in the ',street snatched 'eight gold watches and two gold cases, of the value of £l2O, or thereabouts, with which the thief made off. The shop man instantly rushed to the shop door, with the view of pursuing the plunderers, but to his great surprise he found that the door had been secured on the outside by turning the cross-bar, so that it was utterly impossible that he could get out without the assistance of some person in the street who unfastened the door. It appears, however, that some other parties had seen the transaction, and not only captured one of the thieves, but they also recovered some of the stolen property. Three men were seen lurk ing about the Belvidere Hotel, and one of them having given something to the other two, the party went towards Mr. Sew e ll' s shop. After staying near the door for a short time, one of them smashed a window, and having stolen the watches and divided them as quickly as possi ble between them, they ran off in different directions. A. police-officer. who had seen part of the transaction, pur sued one man named William Power, and tripped him, causing him to drop something which proved to be a gold watch. Ultimately, in consequence of the alarm, a num ber of persons joined in the pursuit, and the prisoner was overpowered and captured. Another gold watch was picked up by a boy in Gilbert-street ; a third was picked up by a little boy named Robert Price, and a person named Pickford found the case of a gold watch. The value of the property recovered was stated to be about £5O. It is much to be regretted that the prisoner's com panions escaped with the remainder of their booty. On Friday, Power was brought up WM.(' ,M r , Rushton an 4 committed for trial, LOCAL MEETINGS. DISTRICT PROVIDENT SOCIETY. At the annual meeting on Tuesday, the Mayor took the chair, end urged with much force the admirable objects which the institution possesses on the generosity of the public. The report first noticed with regret, that, in so large a town as Liverpool, the annual subscriptions to so useful a society should barely exceed a single thousand pounds. The casual donations, inclusive of a legacy of £2 25., between the Ist of May and the 31st Deeember, were £173 13s. The total number of cases in which re lief was granted duffing the past year was 32,696, at a cost of £2,607 12s. 6d. ; but the great majority of these cases was during the first four months—the number between the Ist of May and the 31st December having been con fined to 9,663 cases, of which 3,633 were English, 5,465 Irish, 248 Scotch, 298 Welsh, and 24 not ascertained. The total number of cases relieved in 1846 was limited to. 11,845, of which 6,003 were Irish ; and the total relieved in 1845 was only 6,646, of whom 3,567 were Irish. The committee regret that in the face - of the increased demands upon the society, the number of honorary or voluntary visiters of the society should have continued to decrease, a loss of 51 having occurred during the past year, 202 names only being now left upon the books. The report next referred: to a falling off in the deposit account, and attributed it in some measure to the falling off of the visiters, but more particularly to the general distress which prevailed. The amount deposited in 1846 was £8,036 3s. 2d., and there was returned in , the same year £8,488 ; while in 1'047 there was deposited £64409.105. 51d. and returned £1062 6s. 4d. The report next noticed the success which had attended the establishment of a branch office in Bispham-street, and the consequent establish ment of other branch offices in Jordan-street„ in October, and at the Church of England Schools, in Bond street, in December. The greatest number of depositors at any one time in 1847 was- 2,103, against 3,206 in 1846, and 3,545 in 1845. The committee, in conclusion, state that they have not this season deem ed it necessary to make an extraordinary appeal to the liberality of the public; but if the demands upon the society should continue as heavy as during the past month, when £5OO were granted in relief, they fear that the funds- will soon be found quite inade quate to meet the necessarydisbursements, and, therefore call upon the subscribers- to interest others on behalf' of the society, and so preventit's langaishing.—The balance= sheet of accounts from the-lst of May to the 31st of De cember last, shews that the-balance on the Ist of May, in favour of the institution, was- £1,998 7s. 54d. ; and, on the 31st December, £1,559‘ 1:1§: lid. The treasurer ex plained that this apparent decrease was chiefly owing to the extra amount of arrears, in consequence of the accounts being- made up to the 31st of 'December, instead of the 30th of April ; and he alluded with pleasure to the fact that some very considerable donations had been made to the institution since the Ist of January,. amongst which was one from Mr, Moss, of £2o.' Still, it must be remem bered that the balance was now materially lessened ; as, since the Ist of January, £5OO had been expended in re lief; On one day, the monetary relief amounted to £6 , lls. 6d. r and upwards of ICOO. sixpenny loaves were also "distribu ted.—Among the resolutions, which will be found in our advertising columns, was one submitted by Dr. Reynolds, with a view to see whether the society had not suffered in consequence of the discontinuance of pre miums -to deserving depositors. The Rev. J. Monk said he considered that with some necessary restrictions to prevent imposition, a return to the system of premiums would.increase the number of depositors among that class of persons whom it was mostly the object of thesociety to assist.- THE liADIE CITARITY.—The annual meeting of the friends to -this invaluable institution was held on Thursday, the Rector Brooks in the chair. The report stated that the past year had not been so favourable as the preced ing, as regarded the state of the funds: The receipts in 1846 were - £1262 6sy 2d., and the expenditure £lO4l 7s. 6d, leaving a balance to• the credit of the institution of £220 18s. Bd.. The receipts for the year just terminated, were £973 95. 5d.,. and the expenditure £lO3l IN. Bd., leaving a deficiency of £5B ls. 3d., which, deducted from the balance of £156 remaining in the-hands of the trea surer at the end of the year 1847, would leave a surplus of £9B 7s. sd. The balance in the hands-of the treasurer was small when the demands upon the service of the in stitution, were likely. to be increased by the prevailing des titution, and would probably be greater than during auy former year.. ROYAII INSTITUTJON.—The annual meeting was. held on Friday, Dr. Raffles presiding. Dr, Raffles read a long address regretting the loss of Samuel Turner, Esq„ fellow of the royal society, who had been removed by the hand of death, Very little worthy of especial-notice had taken place with respect to the museum ; but Mr. Johnson had catalogued a list of birds - and they had made purchase s of specimens on conchol4;gy and ornithology. 'Reference was next made to the great number of persons who had visited the, museum without doing any damage to the propertv:ofthe institution. The state of the Royal Insti tution gehool next came in for a share of commendation, and the chairman said that it was in a still more sufficient state than ever, so far as regarded its adaptation to a great commercialtcommunity. He could like to see one thing done in conexion with the institution, and that was the establishment of a society for preserving and arranging reports, documents,, and memorandums-relating to. the town and -district. The treasurer's statement was next read, from which it appeared that the receipts during the past year amounted. to £935 16s. 7d., and-there was now, after payment of their debts, a balance in the hands of the treasurers and bankers of £333 19s. led. • DOCK COMMITTEE.—The deaths of Mrs. Pritchard, keeper of the lighthouse at Point laynas, and Mr. William Williams, keeper of the telegraph on Holyhead mountain, were reported.. it was referred to the marine sub-com mittee to recommend successors. Wm. Blundell was ap pointed one of the crew of the Liverpool life-boat, in the place of -William Woods, deceased. In reply to the ap plication of Mr.. Barber, to be allowed to discharge his vesseLin the Albert Dock without weighing the cargo, the committee recommended that, in consequence of the ad ditionaLsecurity afforded in keepingthe accounts, the sys tem of weighing on land be continued, more especially as any reduction of charges which could be made by omitting that operation would be very trifling : confirmed. A let ter was-read from the:Shipowners' Association„expressing their unqualified approval of the clause proposed to be in serted in the new dock bill for the recovery of the freight of goods warehoused in the Albert Dock, and offering to supply evidence in support of the clause (free of expense to the Dock Committee) before the Committee of the House of Commons. SELECT VESTRY.—On Tuesday, a special meeting of this body was held to consider &motion submitted by Mr. Thornely, and the necessity for which he enforced by a very able and lengthy address. The motion was for the appointment of a committee for effecting a reduction in 'the expense of sending Irish paupers to their own coun try—the magistrates' forming so large a portion of such items—and for memorialising the Town Council and the House of Commons, relative to the injustice done to the parish in this respect by recent legislative measures. Prior to 1845, said Mr. Thornely, the expense of sending Irish paupers over was borne by the county, but since then the parish has paid the expense. The cost of send ing over the paupers to Ireland, from- Liverpool, for the quarter ending 23d Docember , last. (2,6 85 families) was £l6lB, of which £276 was paid for magistrates' clerks' fees. The families consisted of 4,448 persons, and amon g these were only 478 from the hospitals, the rest being vagrants. None of these persons had any claim on the parish, and the expense of sending them home ought to be paid out of the consolidated fund,: and the Vestry ought to petition parliament for a redress of the grie vance . Mr. Thornely next alluded to the " Five Years Assess ment Act," the operation of which was, he contended, in this parish and several others partial and prejudicial to the interests of the poor themselves. The fees paid were 2s. for each summons, 4s. for a warrant, and 2s. for each pass. The sum paid for passes for the half-year ending March last, was £252, and for the following half-year £459, the fees for the former period amounted to £445, and during the latter to £Bl3. The charge for these things was lower in Manchester and Stockport, though much less business was done. Mr. Thornely then alluded to the enormous expenses which the parish had lately been called on to pay, and mentioned as instances £7,000 a-year to the Corporation, £lO,OOO for the erec tion of schools, £6OOO for carrying recent acts of parlia ment, a large amount for new buildings, besides the cost of the late Irish influx, and the wonder was, under such circumstances, that a 3s. rate saw us through the exi gencies. The Water Works ceased to be liable to rates the moment they became the property of the Corportion, doubtless because they were then the property of the bur gesses, and on the same ground he (Mr. Thornely) claimed exemption for the parish from the payment of magistrates' clerks' fees, the fees being the property of the burgesses, and the burgesses being the ratepayers. The sum of £6,948 had been paid for these fees since the act came into operation. Mr. Thornely concluded by re commending that the clerks of the select vestry should pdircaesllenytbsayds—tetmhaotftahsese parishioners and n erawere fill up the passes. Mr. Ferguson seconded the m oti on . He said that Mr. Thornely's speech had pro v ed th a t the levying calledt h the r rates nwtaos pay y what they had no right to pay, and that until a national poor-rate were adopted, justice would not be done to the people of England. An equalization of taxes was abso lutely necessary, and until the Vestry went to parliament with a very strong hand, and showed that the people of Liverpool were exceedingly ill-used_ in this matter, they would not have themselves righted. The motion Was carried unanimously, and the following gentlemen were appointed a committee to carry it into effect : The Rev. Rector Brooks, Mr. Ferguson, Mr. Urquhart, Mr. Lewin, Mr. Poole, and Mr. Thornely. Eitstrirt ROJO. H. Brooke, Esq., of the Grange, is the sheriff for Cheshire for the present year. Sir Robert Peel has subscribed £lO towards repairing the Independent Chapel at Bellshorn near Blackburn. The assizes commence at Lancaster, on Saturday, wh ence it had been a ngs the Judges proceed to Appleby, &c ., and flnish k a i tLi fi v h er e: Liver pool. The Chester Courant ment io ns that on Sunday l as t t wo butterflies were taken, one in a g arden at C hester, and the other at Plas-yn-Yale. A os ewi sechoked found inPrestonouat . deadt attempting paper pt ii mentions nng ctoadsily,eayu t swallow t Brook , a, o ro n aFriday , ewh h, ewrwhich was found i nha Mr. Paul Dyson, of Manchester, well known in the betting circles, vms found drowned in a brook near the Reservoir, on Sunday week. There is no doubt that his death was accidental, his watch and money having been found on his person. The operatives in Blackburn who recently turned out on the proposed reduction of ten per cent. on their wages, h av e gone to work again. on the understanding that when better time; eoUle ? OW uasteg will make up the reduq, tic, Peb. 15, 1848. E. R. Harris, Esq., of Preston, has been appointed deputy prothonotary for this county, in the place of the late Mr. Forrest, who committed suicide. The poor-rates in Walton-le-Dale are now after the rate of eight shillings in the pound per year. Even that high assessment is scarcely equal to the demand upon the parish through want of employment by the factory opera tives. FOWL STEALING.—At Ormskirk, on Monday, William Rimmer, an old offender from North Meols, was charged with having stolen a quantity of fowls from Mr. William Rimmers, farmer, Formby. Prisoner was captured at Liverpool on the 3rd instant, offering the fowls for sale at St. John's Market, and was conveyed to Ormskirk. The fowls being identified, he was committed to take his trial at the next Kirkdale Sessions. FEARFUL ACCIDENY.—An awful accident occurred at Buckley, near Mold, on Tuesday. As two of the men were at work at the colliery the roofing of the mine fell in, and killed them both upon the spot. They were so firmly embedded in the fall that gunpowder was necessary to separate the mass before the bodies were removed. On the same day, and in the same mine, one man was killed by an explosion of fire-damp. ME DARING HIGHWAY MOHBERY NEAR MANCITESa TEll.—Two of the men, named Connolly and O'Brien. eon cented in the robbery of the Rev. N. Germon, head mas ter of the Manchester Grammar School, were apprehended on Tuesday, in a little alley in Blakely-street. On Wed. nesday, they were placed before the magistrates. Mr, Germon; swore to their identity, and they were remanded to complete the evidence. O'Brien is an Irishman. Co nolly was-born at Liverpool, but of Trish parents. The coalinasters in the Ruabon district, finding no ad vantage in working at present prices, have resolved to give notice of a general redaction of wages, to-take effect in the course of this week, The Brymbo company have already done so, ant/Vie men have met the reduction in a proper spirit. The British Iran Company's men, at Ruabon, have now been out of work since Christmas'. The rate of wages being quite out of proportion to the profits of trade, the company were compelled to give notice to , their work people of a proportionate reduction of wages: MYSTERIOUS CJtSE.—On Friday afternoon last, an agent for a house in BlOom-street, Manchester, which had far some time been unoccupied, found in the yard an earthenware jug, covered with a lid, and within it the body of an infant. Information was given to thepolice, who found another jar also containing the body of an in fant. Both bodies were in a state of decomposition, and were filled up with water. The last occupants of the house were two single ladies, one of whom died in it, and 'the other, it is stated is new in a lunatic asylum. They used to take lodgers. An inquest was held, the result of which was a verdict of "Found dead." EMPLOYMENT IN MANCHESTER. — Prospects are rather discouraging at present in the manufacturing districts, owing to , the advance, though slight, in the price of r cot ton •;• the spinners will be unable, if the advance is main tained, to purchase adequately- to the full employment of their mills, and thousands of hands will thus be thrown out - of employment. The number of hands working full time in Manchester is nearly 1000 more, by the last return, than - the preceding one, and there is• a considerable in crease in the number of hands wholly out of work, whilst' aboutsoo hantis have been added to those on short time. Most of the mills around Manchester are working short' time, and the operatives are suffering severely from low wages and the privations of the season. NORTH' LANCASHIRE AGRICULTURAL. SOCIETY.—The annual meeting of the subscribers to this society was held on Saturday last, at the Bull Inn, W. Garnett, Esq., in the chair; The accounts, it was stated, had been ex amined, and showed a balance in favour of the society of about £lOO. The following officers were elected for the ensuing year:--President, the Earl of Burlington ; vice presidents,.T. R. W. France, J. N. Farington, P, Daw son, and Le Gendre N. Starkie, Esqrs. ; committee, T. Birchall, W. J. Garnett, J. Peel, A. R. Ford, J. Fair, J. German, W. Lamb, A. Begbie, J. Binns, C. Birket, D. BoagoeT:Marsden, and W. Rhodes, Esqrs. Deputations from Kendal and Yorkshire attended, to propose the ex tension of the society's limits to those places, and their proposals will be considered on the 12th March next.— Preston paper. A remitrliable example of what may be accomplished by courage and' perseverance under the most discouraging circumstances is presented in the history - of the "Com mercial Bank•of England," the seat of which is at Man chester, with a copy of the present directors' eighth annual report•of which we have been favoured. This un fortunate bank was among the hotbed creations of the banking mania which overtook many parts of the United Kingdom, and none more so than Manchester, some twelve or fifteen years since. At the eighth annual meet ing, held last week, the directors were enabled to present a liquidation, all but complete, out of the elements of dis order with which they were embarrassed. The total lia bilities of the unfortunate bank are now reduced to £1,684 16s. which there are assets to cover of £2,007 19s. Bd., leaving the small balance rescued out of the entire wreck of £323 3s. 3d. DARING HIGHWAY ROBBERY. — On Friday afternoon, as a cheese-factor, (whose name we have not learned,) was walking from Adlington to Macclesfield, he was stopped, near the railway bridge at the former place, by two men resembling hawkers, each of whom presented a pistol and demanded his money. They snatched at and broke his watchguard. A man came up and the robbers ran off. The alarm being given, the landlord of a public-house near at hand mounted his horse, and, joined by others, pursued the chase, and came up with the fellows after a run of about three miles. One of the pursuers, named Wyatt, was fired at, and the ball went through his arm, but without touching the bone. The brother of the same man was also fire& at,,,and more dangerously wounded . in the thigh. The two robbers were finally appreliended. A surgeon succeeded in extracting the ball from, the body of the man most severely hurt, but he is still in a precarious condition. The robbers are, of course, committed for trial. MANAGEMZ-NT OF THE ATHENAEUM—AN-AWKWARD DISCLOSURE.—The manner in which the loose religious and moral principles of one Dawson, a lecturer; embroiled the directors of the Athenaeum with the friends and sup porters of the institution, will probably not have faded from the memory of our readers. If not, it will be re membered that in consequence of Mr. Dawson's opinions becoming known to the Bishop of Oxford and others, they declined to take part in the proceedings of the soiree at which Dawson was to be present. The other evening, there was an adjourned annual meeting of the members of the Athenaeum, in the course of which the conduct of Mr. Langley, as secretary, was very freely discussed—so much so, that Mr. Langley became hard pushed for suit able weapons of defence. He was charged with incompe tence and neglect of duty ; and. by way, we suppose, of shewing his competency as the depository, amongst other things, of confidential matters, he let out the following instance of foul play on the part of Mr. Edwards, the chairman of the board of directors. The passage is thus reported in the Courier of Saturday Mr. Langley then read a minute, with the view of proving that he was placed under the direction of Mr. Edwards, as chairman of the board. He then read a letter to himself from Mr., Edwards, of date September the 18th, 1846. It commen ced with dear sir,' and proceeded thus Do not say a word about the Bishop of Oxford's letter to any, one.' (Loud laughter.) Send me word by the train which leaves at a quarter past five this evening, whether you: have answered him. if not, Watkin and I will cook the affair—(roars of laughter)—and endeavour to place hint in a wrong position, if we cannot prevail upon him to alter his mind.' (Laughter.)" This was obviously an awkward disclosure for Mr. Edwards, and not over plea sant, we should think, to " Watkin ;" for it very broadly insinuates that " Watkin" is just the kind of man'to assist in "cooking" a dilemma for a bishop. It is certainly,not very creditable to the taste or candour—to use a mild phrase—of either party ; but we trust, nevertheless, that it will be put down to indiscretion and vulgarity, and that the blab, Mr. Langley, will not have succeeded in injuring the institution itself. Whilst upon the subject of public literary institutions, which profess in some degree to edu cate their members, (but without any disparaging refer ence whatever to the Athenaeum,) let us suggest the pro priety of founding in this city a Collegiate Institution, upon principles somewhat similar to the noble institution in Liverpool, which, among the more respectable of the middle classes, has almost superseded the Mechanics' In stitution. Some institution of the kind is much wanted, and we should like to see one raised by the hands of Churchmen.—Manchester Courier. EXPLOSION OF A STEAM BOILER : Mims LIVES LOST. —On Friday morning last, a steam boiler, on the premises of Mr. Thomas Riley, spindle-maker,. Medlock-street, London-road, Manchester, exploded with a loud report, and was followed by the appearance in the air of bricks, stones, iron bars, and other materials. Great consterna tion prevailed in the neighbourhood. A smithy at the workmenback w a and s apprentices destroyed, ere andknowiwnthtino b it e M busy r. atthe Rile y' time. Strenuous exertions were made by the police and others to extricate such of them as might be found to be alive. Mr. Statham, of the firm of Tennants and Co., happened to pass at the time, and, narrowly escaping himself, sent his workmen to assist. Several workmen and lads were extricated from the ruins. An elderly man, named Turner, who was at work over the engine-room , was found, and but little injured. The boiler had buret suddenly, and the whole building tumbled down. The following were found dead ; Henry Hughes, an appren tice, about 18 years old; Charles M'Curdy, aged 16; Joseph Atkinson, a lad 15 years old, residing in Britain; street ; John Davies, about 18 ; Samuel Chadderton, age ( ' 10 ; Samuel an d J o h n Wadsworth. The last two were children of Mr. Wadsworth, butcher, of Medlock-street , from the back door of whose house there is a passage, leading to Mr. Riley's premises. The children, one of whom was seven, the other two years and a half old, were playing in the smithy when the explosion occurred. . 11. brother named Richard was with them, who escaped with slight injury on the head ; and also the lad Chaddertol mentioned above. The bodies of those who were fowl!: dead were taken, some to their respective residences, and others to a stable adjoining the Royal Oak, in Downing: street. Those who were injured were conveyed to infirmary. Ten other persons were seriously hurt. 1 701 of the materials of the building, and many pieces of me, were thrown to a great distance, and did more or less jury—premises being injured and parties uarrowly eseaP: ing with their lives. Two dogs were buried alive in horse-shoe forge adjoining, but were got out, and testiAr; their gratitude from their release in a variety of ways ;- their deliverers. The engine was found to be completeiti shattered. Strange to say, notwithstanding the gene destruction, a Dutch clock in a shed close by, continuo" for some hours ticking as steadily as ever, seemingly 0 1 1 '; a ffected by the shock. O n examin i ng the rema i n s of t o boiler, it was discovered (it is said) that it had been ill* weak and inefF.aent condition, in parts reduced to. 1-1 6 0 ( of an inch in, thickness, with patches badly secured- "„ the truth of this report, we, of course, know Mr. Riley, the proprietor, was apprehended on Saturn, L horning, but was liberated on bail, Another suffer v: 4 I Benson, died, after the:fatalities stated. Three perse;. 1 (survivors) are atilt in a premien* state in the incomes'