The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1851-03-25 00:00:00

Narch 25, 1851. ?Loral patio. atn infant five years old, named Creer, was burned to ,P 1 a few days since in the absence of its mother. a t un Friday a man named Tomley, aged 53, living in WM.:AY-street, fell down stairs and fractured his skull. been addicted to drinking. Of Monday a sailor named Jones fell from the rigging nethe barque Grace in the Brunswick Dock, and received 1"1,11 injuries that he died in a day or two. tiis•Che turn out sailors at Manchester have had serious eolgreements about alleged misappropriations of the funds „i ected retur ned support. A great number of them have "fle.refore to Liverpool in disgust. grand piece, of the spectacle description, written by gelid theatr e : ll m:n of Liverpool, w ill b e p ro d uce d a t th e A m phi- Ildend our. Easter Mo n d a y, i n a s tyl e o f unwon t e d ka9.11 Thursday a young man was fined ten shillings for to."flii twice passed through the contractors' gate at Coodside ferry without payment, under the pretence that "";.I'ree a contractor. ~.itsfl Monday last, Bridget Burns, six years old, residing f,:th her father in Thomas -street, accidentally caught fire, 4, the e ff ects of which she died at the Northern Hos- VI n Wednesday. rnuemes Prescott, a man in the employ of Lord Skel ersdale. at Latham near Ormskirk, died at the Infir mary on Wednesday, from the effects of injuries acciden tally on the 22nd ultimo. f e report of th e Li verpoo l I n d us t r i a l R agge d S c h oo l s A t is the week ending March 19, states that 89 boys and 53 d .„ were on the books, 72 boys and 40 girls in average id attendance, b 4 boys and 5 girls on the sick list, and pand 1 gi r l h ave o b ta i ned situat i ons. 80inue Public are cautioned against a fellow who is now p e _ r e about the town pretending to be a rat-catcher, and timP .es,e,nting himself to be employed by government to 1:11 Lae custom-house and other public offices of vermin. le the modesty to offer to kill rats at 4s. per day . 02 11911 RELTCS.—On Tuesday a short stick, loaded at bray nd with about half a pound of lead, was picked up 4:one of the Cheshire ferries. where it had doubtless of -`° dro pped by some enthusiastic " Paddy ," whose idea k o l t , l l 7, e ePin u the day of his patron saint consisted in 11 " 1 flg do g _ri p who differed from him. LATE W RAILWAT ACCIDENT AT KIRKSTALL.—We of blrs ~,tn.hear that Miss Leyland, of Liverpool, (sister received mckols, o f the Joppa tan works, Leeds,) who tht very serious injuries at the Kirkstall station of eed s and Bradford railway on the sth inst., is pro- Ifresain z favourabiy, A few d'Ys ago a hare made its appearance on the shore some Trantnere and Rock Ferry. It was observed by ,titne labourers, who immediately went in pursuit. The dive fl titers dashed through the mud, to the great amusement ni.lTTlbe r of spectators, but the hare ultimately made a rrsion t aer pars e o the fields near Rock Ferry, and thus baffled On T rs. uesday upwards of sixty Hungarians and Polish ~„ureees sailed from this port for New York. Somewhat mo re than half this number belonged to the refugees who aaal ° w in Liverpool • the others came here from London, tb; ,'''ave been for soli% e time in this country. There were th-el.l Ilolsteiners and several German emigrants on board osnarne vessel. at th.fiteday as Daniel Atkinson, a bricklayer, employed *bogldYvalton New Gaol, was carrying a hod upon his tam e .er alon g the scaffolding of a third storey, the handle sho c k 14 contact with a portion of the build an ig. The thi rt threw him off his balance, and he fell height of to ti r l fee t uPoo his back. He was immediately conveyed satita.e Northern Hospital, where he was found to have hij ap l e n e s d fra c t ure of the ri b s, and very severe internal the c o e lies in a very precarious state. A ucTioars.—Some neeful facts were elicited in Lon on -r ., s e of an application which was made to Mr. Rush ‘° ho whi c h oug ht. to act as a caution to those leWellery °0 induced to attend mock auctions of watches, PaPier-mache articles, &c. The whole system Lee ji° be o ne of roguery from beginning to end; and 11014 Y.,eflo etr ectual way to put it down is by the public re 4te itj a h u uncing the fraud, and exposing those who zut ettors. the Tn . H AbflOT LAMP.—In our last publication, under li tQAle Q d ee eings of the Polytechnic Society, we furnishe d . ties, r etails of the principle, action, and general quail dage o f t he Hadrot lamp—an elegant and artistic appen say the table. It is unnecessary here, therefore, to eh ea tfl e o r re of the lamps than that they are consider ably .. Alleytllt P an candles, and afford a much superior light. ge me" ' of Park er - s t ree t, it w ill b e seen by an a d ver - Pool. La another column, is the sole agent in Liver- Tu t Vett e ,. N.D IAN CH IEF .—Th e following is an extract from :key. r eceived by Richard Rathbone. Esq., from the he Copway, (Kah-go-ga-goh-bowh, chief of r 2 a s reh",l Bs we i Y . tribe of Indians,l dated New York. sth of In .°OO a •—• Congress has closed, and appropriated B nf . d ollars to collect all the north-west Indian tribes, a ueut .. ,,s l° °er next, and hold a general council with them, agent, I.ocentratine. and I expect to go as one of the 60 far enterta ined govern - m' ent. I am ANT ert ained. glad that my plans are as some o w t e r t , h e, TRlAL.—A_few days s ince hi g 6fleisti n 'en, employed at Messrs. M . ilners' works, reo g Safe weighing 15 cwt., into one of the 4 rticl e Tts th Par ed e rope suddenly broke, and the ponderous l a dirt and tremendous force on some very . uneven y con —e e of It was feared that the safe, having fallen flar sider ahle - 1 1 1 ,2!ards of twelve feet, would have sustained doo l r " n °t ; but after the most minute as the lightest injury could be discovered : the smoothly on its hinges, not a rivet was lolidity of ' s and the misfortune has furnished another proof the workmanship executed by the . . .op run ,„. nf th: Date, te _ . I;lll)''sarriNG.—A strict search is now being made a u d e e ss in y 1`, 4 ,,L erpool for'the a pprehension of a woman , 11 a These tn parties La t l i PhY, and a man named John farelueen servants with Mr. Sim hit e f r iti the neighbourhood of E a n a n ii i‘'sk elaa ien e, . a Within the tj ap i c 'e't, weeks they absconded, taking with them one of tra ce ,, e a children, and £l . O in m . oney, and have been tar e ' to this town. Mr. Clarke is rather anxious for the of 4 of nie child, in consequence . of an . illegitimate child ownedUr ~ h. , ' B , who was also inhis employ, having been 314 whilst minding his cows, an on __n netPli , la r k Y was heard to threaten that she wouldleave Mr. Il e e qually childless as she had been left. --../ 4 OVAL OF THE ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH COMPANY. t his eeosPquence of the present premises . occupied by tlio4 ° P 3 Pany in North John-street being found inconve effiee„l has been resolved to remove to more commodious Th e „''' ,ll l Dale street, adjoining the Wellington H e e i t t e e l : tentTit:l(4os, which are now undergoing the 9"el;s7erystreet bei t , s , are four in number • the one fronting a - I t fitted ; ii , aPPro riatelv for the reception of messages. aivi 'ions . e Ztain a P semi-Circular counter, with over 41e-1:1'141)e lighted by one large windo7 g e i r a t s e s nding will be 1;" ° , 1 1 e aide ''' the arartinent. A new line of wires og ees ai n - d". 0 ,w0 frofli eLime-street Station to the new -B ,.. t e ß ad of fe,T e .tri e r ' es ti w i ill be imbedded in gutta percha, hasl... 8 meegt't Pipes. T ' —The model wso far „ I" OF THE DOCKS AND -OWN. . 48 laid uPProached completion that, on Wednesday, it pr e out for private view in the long room over the 41r ead es of Mr. Milner, in Lord-street. As we have , ko te t Y h Ootic e d i t to b " a n that at some length it is unnecessary to say It e ad d __, . , eve n now, _ although many details are yet thWa,,,, visrite,tltrealizes to the full of our foreshadowings. I re IJo c k by h is worship the Mayor, the chairman of Co mmittee, (Thomas Littledale, the Esq.,) the leading '4l,ellreet,lll‘e Archdeacon' Brooks, several o .4 [l. ""'S of the tow and about 500 ladie . f sand gen . tle s - Of The • • n ' •us in their expression ki te; . visitors were unanimous tetie r ratton theure at the beauty, correctness, and , T w at effect of work. It4ii: ef the directors of the London and North-Western el el 444' inspected St. George's Hall, on Friday, withaTte bhoa,,,Poining the site where the statue of Mr. George :``"er - t`l t • Two positions appeared especially clip_ la c. lemires 'Lie northern entrance, which is spacious and P, the lita lt i ,e, or the south vestibule . entering from .t Iv a 1 POrtico, where the light is particularly_ good._ lere I) lti „A: e g „ ri allY determined that, as Mr. Gibson will be hero ;`,' o l. p' u tse of the summer, his opinion takenshould . be_ 'itee-"ling t any conclusion. The statue will be e - ,tepl:,. it a Llio - fo o rthcOming exhibition of the royal acade . - 1 1;41,7 to a sitting posture, of the heroic size ; and is fi''' .l ' - 4Y sPoken of as a work of art. . . ;rea't Cross CHURCH SCHOOLS.—This t bui . ldin i g, in It has Zbobierossliall-street, is now nearly compleed ,7tliltettipect, and is divided into three stories, and sur "lt tl i "Y belfry. There is an open arcade in front, it n " t t h ti - tletl e e t' e o l a t e t .", l is depl . y moulded, with an . appropriate ubild de r ! way 10 , , the string coursing,—" Train up otithrt fr oth i t ypuld go, and . when he is old . he wil a lnot Pron e ,e_ grou nd The building includes an infant school i!v,_ :Li e d hb. ‘.! floor, and a boys' and girls' school, ap ar W all...'.... B , e ptate octagon staircases inserted in the peer'? 8 I,lll4r9atitty feet by thirty feet, on the two upper sch oo l fi s t Y-ground is . ben - eath. The roof of the Iv e r llß ' Baltic is °en and stained, all the timber employed . ~:,_ _killer be' The schools were built by subscription, ,:t"ol we , ing the contractor ; and his estimate of the tt „, ,ric, eXclusive of the fittings, was £1,350. . :th ; 'IuNGARIAIC REF G ES.—The worst forebodings date i e ,sgatel to these men. REFUGEES.—The to__ be realized, and expo tit redo re'clueold, with a miserable allowance for food, &c., I ltio e ed them to a state of almost bordering on.des tttd n• It 4ir k e topl o a PPears:that some of the refugees are tailors, tkli Ytoent has been found for those men. In other e twi craf ts i s o some few more have met with employent li ti ti tli e T t,, eight or ten have had situations offered them soapsf then ,- Which they have accepted ; but the great heels,„ • nsomewhat over two hundred, are in the ittle to Oriel-str W understand that it is pro eLkils t i ° ll .vdr_af.t some_Of the 14,4 will refugees off to the different ,giand, where it is expected their syrnpatlii s 00., IPPort them• On Wednesday night a meeting t. 44t Of tle:',.°l.with a dramatic entertainment for the bene e'an-caeli , poles was held at the Brunswick hotel, Mr. C. t .' s. on Ai r n . too! chair._ The committee reported they had forma'4° 'P e tand, .with whom they had concluded an ,eernent,i,for takng the theatre for the proposed per- A t/ n l tl t k I hey had resolved that the perfor_mance_ v•Prii. to place at the Theatre-royal, on the 2nd of tae, 4,he entertainments will commence with apro tillteotleo,wNten expressl for the occasion by a resident , - P l , to be spoke Y n by Mr. Barr Suivan. This bylollovved b hY 4.- i n Which tlyieCeirat i l l 's admirabe Icomedy of "John Ri ve ': ateo rs. Aftermac h a t r i i i icters will be entirely played h le of the refugees will 41" some musical performances.lyie ° T o this will succeed "kaWslcal pl av Of " The Waterman," in which some Droe,nrs Well known to fame will appear . There is every or e r,et of the house filled toverflowing. Seven bi er 4 tht o f e being the ed a varier refugees are excellent musicians, and me r e , ~y of airs, which were much applauded by W ceti o k Otelltb, g• We learn, too, that there is amongst them ' , "‘te " tn all who was once, connected with the Polish 4 t he 44 ( 1 is ale o ltIll t) Ro ulteu o r t . l capital opera dancer. He will assist e Of th2era o f 41ePerntsertrce. Three or four of them ar '`ltti ' a I profession and more than one all Men of liberal education, HORTICULTURAL CURIOSITY.—There is at present in the Fairfield Nursery a seedling Rhododendron in flower, the indiVidual flowers of which are nearly two inches in diameter, and the truss of bloom large in proportion, and beautifully round. It is one of a large number raised by Mr. John Smith, foreman to Mr. Whalley, who has for the last five years paid great attention to the hybridising of this beautiful genus. The result of his labour is a whole forest of fine young shrubs, of which the lovely spe cimen above-mentioned is the first that has bloomed. It is a hybrid from Rhododendron arboreum album and R. campanulatum. It has a beautifully-formed campanulate corolla, of perfect form, and a bright warm flesh-colour. Being perfectly hardy, it will become a most valuable plant, especially for conservatory decoration. An artist is engaged in taking a drawing of it, so that we may soon ex pect to see it figured ; it certainly cannot be known too extensively. GRAND BAZAAR AND FLOWER SHOW.—The bazaar and flower show which is to beheld next month, in behalf of the Sailors' Home, will be the most splendid and allur ing, and, we sincerely hope, the most productive, affair of the sort ever held in Liverpool— the great fancy fair in the Prince's Park alone excepted. It is under the highest patronage in the land • its arrangements have been con ducted by the most influential parties in Liverpool, and the business, the real business—the traffic department — has been undertaken by ladies who are ever ready to pro mote every work of benevolence. The building is beauti fully adapted for the purpose, and its capabilities will be turned to the best account. The advertisement reads like a fragment of romance, descriptive of some gorgeous eastern gala. Spacious halls, enriched with many-coloured flowers, delicious music, curiosities of various sorts, varied amusements, and sumptuous refreshments, are only a few of the allurements which will be held forth. Altogether the bazaar promises to be most successful, and to fully realize the object of its projectors. A LION'S CUB.—At a symposium of the Irish Catholic Club, Liverpool, on St. Patrick's Day, the Very Rev. W. Browne, P.P. of Carranamon, county of Mayo, presented himself—very irreverently we should say—as " a cub of the Lion," and treated the company to an infant roar, whereby it is net hard to surmise what was under his skin :—" He told the first minister of the crown, and he told him as a cub' from the Lion's fold,' that rather than give up one single gem that adorned their bright crown of immortal religion—rather than yield one inch of the privileges which had cost them so much, and which were achieved by the sacrifice of thousands of martyrs— he told them that if he dared to lay hand on the Catholic hierarchy, every altar in Ireland will be turned into the shrine of an a'Becket, every bishop a martyr, and that the priest, and the people, and the church would be so bound together that their liberties should only be violated amidst the ruins of the British empire. "—(tremendous applause.) This is a fearful bray; but John Bull is not so easily put out of his way as some Irish lions imagine. YACHT CLUB BALL.—The ball in connection with the Royal Mersey Yacht Club took place on Thursday even ing, at the Philharmonic Hall, and drew together a most fashionable assemblage. Amongst those present were— Thomas Littledale, Esq., the commodore, B. Heywood Jones, Esq., vice-commodore, Jonathan Grindrod, Esq., rear-commodore, H. Melling, Esq., secretary, and other gentlemen who take a leading part in the affairs of the club. Mrs. Littledale officiated as lady-patroness. The arrangements were on a scale of elegance appropriate to the occasion. Mr. Gribbin's band occupied the orchestra in the ball-room, and in the hall was placed the band of the Gist Regiment. The supper was laid out in the sa loon, under the superintendence of Mr. Castle, of the George Hotel, Dale-street, and the arrangements in this department were on a scale of liberality seldom equalled. All the resources of the confectionary art were brought into requisition, and besides the more substantial viands, numerous ornamental devices were introduced with admi rable effect. Amongst the most prominent of the repre sentations were a wind-mill, several Chinese pagodas, sailing yachts, and other craft decorated with flags, the Rock Lighthouse, and several other objects of local inte rest. On the table were also placed several silver eups and other ornamental plate, being some of the valuable prizes won by the Sultana, the Bacchante, the Drift, the Vision, and other yachts ; also many of her Majesty's plates given at the yacht club regattas at Cowes, Kings town ,Cork,&c. The saloon presented a most brilliantappear ance. The magnificent hall was very tastefully decorated with a large number of most splendid banners and flags. IMPORTANT DISCOVERY.—At the last meeting of the Horticultural Society, London, various dried vegetables, such as peas, haricot beans, Brussels sprouts, carrots, and turnips, &c., were exhibited from Peyrusset. Moller, and Co., of Paris. These were stated to have been dried by a process peculiar to M. Gannet, the celebrated embalmer of animal substances. This process is understood briefly to consist in dividing the larger vegetables into pieces, and placing them in an apparatus into which dried air is driven, until they have parted with all their water, and have become perfectly dry. In this condition they may be preserved for any length of time, and it is said that their flavour is not at all interfered with, inasmuch as no thing is taken from them except the water they contained, and that, after they are cooked, they are just as good as when fresh gathered. If these facts, therefore, are borne out by experience, the discovery is a very Important one, even as regards vegetables, more especially to shipowners, for they can be furnished in this state in quantity, and at a very cheap rate ; but, in addition to vegetables, fruits, as apples, pears, apricots, &c., and even flowers, may be dried and preserved by the same process, and, owing to the rapidity with which the drying is conducted, the lat ter retain their natural colours almost as brightly as when first obtained from the garden. In confirmation of this, several dried specimens were shewn to the meeting ; and it was stated that others would be present at the great Exhibition in Hyde-park, when it is hoped that addi tional information will be furnished on the subject. THE " KOSSUTH," NEW EMIGRANT SHIP.—The total length of this ship is 170 feet ; breadth, 31 feet ; and depth, 28 feet. Her register is 1,260 tons. Her lines forward are sharp as those of a pilot-boat, diving promise of future fame as a fast sailer. At her head is a full-sized figure, representing Kossuth, attired in the national cos tume of Hungary, and in the act of drawing his sword. The vessel has a sharp and clean run abaft ; and the stern is richly ornamented with a half-length figure of Kossuth, the Hungarian flat and a variety of other emblematical and appropriate designs. The timbers of the ship are ex ceedingly firm and strong, the beams being only five feet apart throughout. She is constructed to carry about 600 passengers, and no expense appears to have been spared by Mr. Tapscott in making the interior fittings commo dious and comfortable. The importance of maintaining thorough ventilation in the temporary abode of so many hundreds of people, must be at once manifest ; and the arrangements of Mr. Tapscott to effect this desirable ob ject are certainly admirable. At the fore part of the ves sel are two pipes, 14 inches in diameter, which run perpen dicularly through both the upper and lower decks, and rising on the outer deck to the height of several feet, flange outwards. These pipes serve to light the lower part of the vessel, but that is not their prime object. Down them rush currents of fresh air, which permeate the whole of the space between decks from stem to stern, while the impure air ascending through two pipes of precisely similar construction in the after part of the vessel, the at mosphere within is kept clear and wholesome. The neces sary conveniences are complete, and constructed upon principles which, as far as possible, will conduce to com fort and cleanliness. A useful but somewhat unusual accompaniment to vessels has been placed on board the Kossuth. It is a fine engine, to which a portable hose can be attached throughout the whole length of the ship, and the decks completely flooded. The engine is worked by a couple of handles, one on each side • when not other wise needed, it can be usefully employed in raising water for passengers from the barrels in the hold. The masts are " sticks" of the'most sturdy descriptions, the main mast and fore mast being three feet two inches in diame ter : all the leverage timbers, too, on deck, and the an chors. are solid and massive. DELAROCHE'S PICTURE.—We had the pleasure yester day of viewing Delaroche's picture of " Napoleon cross ing the Alps," the suggestion being taken from the fol lowing passage in Thiers' " Consulate and the Empire" : " The arts have represented him bounding across the snowy Alps on a fiery charger ! but here is the truth un varnished. He ascended Mount Saint Bernard mounted on a mule, dressed in the grey coat which he always wore, conducted by a guide of the country, displaying in the most difficult path the abstraction of a mind occupied elsewhere, discoursing with the officers he met here and there on the road, and then at intervals conversing with the guide who accompanied him, making him talk of his life, his pleasures, and his troubles, like some idle tra veller who had no better occupation." The artist has represented the great captain in one of these fits of ab straction. The lines of the face are firmly set, and an expression of calmness pervades it, while the eye appears as if the dim and shadowy future was unveiled before its intense gaze. The air of thoughtfulness which is im pressed on the countenance is wonderful, and the relaxed position of the body, and the apparent dangers of the defile along which he is passing, make this introspective mood more evident to the beholder. There are but three figures on the canvas, and all of them seem to grow out of it, to the eye—their delineation is so exquisite, and grouping so natural. The mule upon which Napoleon rides is guided by a weather-beaten old man, whose em browned and aged face proves, even in its thoughtful character, a strong contrast to the more elevated senti ment which lives on the countenance of the man of des tiny. The handling of light and shadow, in placing these two figures in the canvas, is superb, and the closest criti cal scrutiny fails to detect an error or crudity. The background of the picture is a mass of mountains, and the atmospheric effect of snow driven about by a furious wind, gives a tone to the picture which admir ably harmonises with the evident purpose of the artist. They who look on this effort of art will be struck, more than all the rest, with its unusual effect as an embodi ment of sentiment. It is not merely the delineation of an event as it actually occurred,—not the representation, only, of a man in a dangerous situation—not the mere limning of the features, so that one might say, " that is Napoleon, and the scene a representation of his crossing the Alps." As a work of art it takes a much higher ground, and is impressed with the spirit of genius. The artist has sought to impress upon the features the stamp of the mind within, and in the simple accessories of the picture has brought together and mingled the elements of a sublimity which naturally links itself with him who startled the world by the power of his genius. There is a majesty in the very simplicity of every detail, and by the absence of all the common symbols of royalty and power, he has made the presence of greatness:and autho rity more manifest in the character of the face alone. It is a great work of art. We have not spoken, except by implication, of the artistic finish of the painting. There are evidences of the fact, indeed, that painters have at tained expression and character even while they violated the rules of art ; but in this work by Delaroche, there is the freedom and harmony of every part, the evidence of a power to conceive as well as to realise conception, and in that realization to bring to bear all the resources of art. He is a finished artist, and the painting of the figures is admirable, Till LIVERPOOL STANDARD REPLY TO VERAX. TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD, Sin,—l have been favoured with the notice of your correspondent " Verax," in your last number, and with your permission I would civilly acknowledge the favour in your next. I find I have incurred the displeasure of Mr. Verax by exercising my right as a ratepayer of the parish of West Derby, under the following circumstances. The'Rector and Church;rardens wishing to remove the parish church to a more convenient site, with enlarged accommodation, raised for that purpose the sum of £7OOO-, by voluntary contributions, having also a free site of four acres given to them by the Earl of Sefton. They fixed upon a design, the rough estimate of which was about £lO,OOO, and they called a vestry to authorise them to proceed according to that design with borrowed money, to be repaid by instalments, with interest, out of a rate to be levied for the purpose. They also proposed to sell to the parish, for a burial ground, a portion of those 4 acres, the proceeds of which were to go to the building of the church, and thus proportionately lessen any rate that might otherwise be required. The probable amount of such deficiency they could not say; they merely asked for power to lay on such rate as might eventually be found necessary; but, to make it as light as possible, they pro posed to spread it over twenty years. The Chairman thought " perhaps it might be nothing ;" but the Vestry thought it as likely it might be something, and declined both proposals—the burial-ground, because, by the act of Parliament separating West Derby from Walton, they are bound to pay rates for church and burial-ground there for sixteen years to come, from which a new burial-ground at West Derby would not relieve them, nor could they see clearly how land could be sold to the parishioners which had already been made a gift of to the parish church ; and the rate they refused, because indefinite and unnecessary. A poll was immediately demanded on be half of the Rector, the result of which confirmed the de cision of the Vestry. I voted and polled with the majo rity, for the following reasons. 1. I considered £7OOO in hand, with a free site, amply sufficient to erect a church adequate to the wants of the locality, and that anything beyond could only be for a church unnecessarily large, or for mere architectural dis play. It therefore seemed to me unfair to impose a rate for such purposes on Roman Catholics or other Dissenters in the distant parts of the parish, who would not partake of its accommodation, and could not even enjoy a sight of its beauties except they made a trip of pleasure to it for the purpose. 2. In various parts of the parish or township (for these are now commensurate), the ratepayers are supplied with churches raised by voluntary efforts in their respective localities, which support their own ministers, various church officers, and all expenses, without any cost to the township or the rector of the parish—namely, St. Jude's, Edge-hill, Stanley, and Knotty Ash churches, not to speak of St. James's, which is just at hand. In Crown street, too, which is also in the parish, they are raising a church for themselves, not thinking the metropolis of West Derby sufficiently convenient, or Edge-hill even, which is three miles nearer than West Derby ; and—to come closer home—even in Fairfield they are about to raise another by the same voluntary efforts, and have not only counted the cost, but lodged the money in the bank. I thought it, therefore, unfair to force upon Churchmen even, a rate for a new parish-church, when they had anticipated the kind consideration of the rector and churchwardens, in providing accommodation for themselves where it would be more available ; and the more so, as they are already rated for the maintenance not only of West Derby church, but that of Walton also. 3. The income of the parish is very large—£lsoo a year, as I was informed by an authority which I cannot doubt till it be shaken by a better. Now there can be no question but this was originally designed for the mini strations of the whole parish, and as it is not called upon for a farthing by any of those churches and localities spe cified, it is thus set wholly free for the immediate locality of the village of West Derby, and that angle of the parish contiguous to it ; and it seemed to me that the other por tions of the parish had fairly done their part in leaving these large means so entirely free for that purpose. Had it been a crowded district, with poor people and a poor living, the cry to come over and help them would have met with a different response from the remotest corner of the township ; but in such a neighbourhood as West Derby, with such wealthy gentry and only such poor as are necessarily interspersed among the rich, a call of that sort, not for church accommodation, but for architectural display, could reasonably expect no other echo than it received. _ _ _ 4. Such are my reasons for disapproving of the proposed rate. But be it observed, that lam not the only clergy man who disapproved of it. I only differ from some in openly opposing it; and I now add my reason for doing so. I bad been much impressed by the lavish expendi ture of church property by some of the bishops in the Ecclesiastical Commission upon their palaces, as exhibited in Mr. Horsman's disclosures in the House of Commons; and, more recently, in Sir B. Hall's letter to the Arch bishop of Canterbury. I felt it my duty to bring this subject at different times before my congregation, to awaken them and stir them up to an effort to reform these abuses, and even too (strange as it may appear to some) in connection with the papal aggression. lam opposed to that aggression as much as any man I think can possi bly be. From the very first I held that some stringent legislative measure was necessary, not merely for the dignity of the crown, but the very safety of the consti tution and the welfare of the country, so far as these could be secured by it. I warned my people, however, not to trust in government for a remedy, as all they could expect from them would be some enactment prohibitory of cer tain titles ; that any legislative measure could only be a palliative ; for the same causes remaining, the same effects must recur at longer or shorter intervals, and that the only effectual barrier against aggression by any church, would be found in the reform of our own. This I urged upon them at the very pitch of excitement, when the Durham torch wassped like some fiery cross from hand to hand, sum moning all England to the gathering, as my congregation can bear witness. Therefore, when an abuse similar in kind to those of the Commission, though infinitely smaller in degree, showed its head in my own locality, necessity was laid upon me to oppose it openly. The article in the Mercury, of the 14th inst., to which Verax refers, I wrote in consequence of not getting an opportunity at the Vestry of stating fully the grounds of my opposition, and on finding my conduct misrepre sented ; I drew it up (I thought) as temperately as possi- ble, and inserted it in that paper, as it coming out the day following. If it seem (as lam informed by some) rather cutting in parts, though temperate as a whole, I regret it, and desire to withdraw any term of expression which appears so ; as my aim is not to he cutting but convincing, knowing that plain facts are only blunted by any sharp pointing. Speaking of that article, an active and efficient clergyman of Liverpool observed to me, " was it fair to direct those abuses against one individual, which are only a part of the whole of the system ?" I give not only the substance but I think the very words ; and it was before a mutual friend who can correct me. I acknowledged there was some force in what he said, if it had been taken so, and that I would make amends the first opportunity. Ido now make amends, and acknow ledge "it is only part of a whole—of a system." Alas ! that it should be so. I cast no exclusively personal impu tation on a rector in such a position. He finds himself in certain circumstances which have become legalized, and therefore may not feel himself called upon to disturb that arrangement. But those not so circumstanced cannot but view it differently, if their vision be not coloured by hope, and the question then arrives—must a clergyman, under the conviction that this state of V.ings is only a part of the whole system, or the character of the system, stand with his finger on his lips, sanctioning it by his silence in particulars, because he cannot grapple with it as a whole,—or, if lie break silence, be classed with the common enemies of the Church ? I venture to think otherwise. If those clergymen who acknowledge and de plore this system (and they are many) were to unite for the removal of these abuses from our Church, as they do for any other good purpose, I feel perfectly assured we would cut the ground from beneath the very feet of her enemies. They cannot point at her doctrines, but only at her deformities. If these were removed, the truth, tole ration, and charity of her doctrines, would be revealed in her countenance, and every pointed finger be lowered. Or if there would be any solitary exception, he would be like a man standing in public, and pointing with vacant gaze at the moon in her fulness, leaving no other impression on the mind of any bystander than the question of his own sanity. Th'anking you, Mr. Editor, for this kind indulgence of space, I respectfully submit this statement as a sufficient reply to all objectors, and remain, 22nd March, 18M Your obedient servant, A. M'CONKEY, Incumbent of St. James's, West Derby P.S.—" Verax" leads his readers to suppose that the Bishop refused a district, whereas he never did, but, on the contrary, was always willing to grant one at any time, if the Rector had consented. LOCAL MEETINGS. WEST DERBY GUARDIANS.—At the weekly meeting on Wednesday a letter was read from the Poor-law Board, as to the question, whether it was legal that the apprentices of the medical officers of the union should attend cases of midwifery as accoucheurs ? The answer was to the effect that a medical officer is bound to discharge his official duties personally ; and in cases of childbirth, where it was impracticable for himself to be present, his substitute must be a person duly licensed ; but there was no impedi ment to a medical officer's apprentice watching in a case of labour, and reporting progress to his principal. A let ter was read from Mr. Austin, the poor-law inspector, stating his retirement from the superintendence of the district. The subject of the charge against Mr. Allen was then brought forward ; but presently such a scene of con fuiion and uproar ensued that the chairman quitted his seat in despair of being able to restore order, and the meeting separated in the greatest disorder. _ ARCHITECTURAL AND ARCHAOLOGICAL SOCTETY.— The usual fortnightly meeting of this society was held on Wednesday, Mr. J. A.Picton, the president, in the chair. The Chairman referred to a subject of interest to Arch aeologists, the recent discovery of the site of the old pool during the excavations in the neighbourhood of Paradise street, Whitechapel, Lord-street, and Church-street. The bridge has been brought to light which formerly spanned the watercourse of the pool. A brook ran out from the pool in the higher part of its course, flowing along Whitechapel and Paradise-street. The pool was in the process of time narrowed, and a breast wall was carried along to narrow the channel. This wall, during the latter part of the excavations, was laid bare for some portion of its distance, and it resembled, as had been suggested, something like what the Fleet ditch in London presented in one part. The bridge was ten feet span, not more than nine feet wide, and the rise of the arch would pro bably be about four feet. It was tolerably well con structed with squared stones; arid it was interesting to compare the present rush of life and noise in the locality with the smallness of the accommodation required for the traffic eastward at the time the pool was in existence. Mr. Strype contributed the paper of the evening, pointing out " the objects and advantages of the study of archmo logy." The subject was treated in a most eloquent and comprehensive essay, which gave rise to an animated and interesting discussion, in which the Chairman, Mr. Chas. Reed, Mr. Joseph Boult, and Mr. H. P. Horner took part. Mr. Reed announced that the next subject for the students' design was a roadside inn, in the Italian style, to be sent in that day month. HEALTH Comm-re:E.—The weekly meeting was held on Thursday, Mr.-William Bennett in the chair. Mr. Fresh having made his weekly report of the clearance of nuisances, a discussion ensued respecting the erection of slaughter-houses in Plumb-street and Norman-street, Dr. Duncan objecting on the ground of health. The subject was ultimately postponed for a week. The Medical Officer of Health reported that mortality of the borough continued rather higher than the average, the mean temperature having, for the last four weeks, being lower than usual, and diseases of the lungs more than usually prevalent. There were registered during the last week in the parish of Liverpool 163 deaths, and in the extra-parochial wards 63—making an aggregate of 226, against 239 in the previous week, and 215 in the corresponding week of the three years preceding. Consumption caused 40 deaths, and other diseases of the lungs, exclusive of hooping-cough. 45. The deaths from zymotic diseases were 53, the same as in the previous week. None of this class of diseases showed any tendency to increase, with the exception of small-pox, which proved fatal last week to 7 children— none of whom had been vaccinated—and 3 adults. Typhus caused 10 deaths ; hooping-cough, 1 ; m asels 6 ; scar latina, 2; croup, 3 ; erysipelas, 2 ; and influenza, 1. The Medical Officer had communicated with the Medical Relief Committee of the Select Vestry on the subject of the increase of small-pox, and the large proportion of fatal cases in which vaccination bad not been performed. The mean temperature of the week was 434 degrees, a degree and a half higher than the previous week, and one third of a degree below the average of the same weeks of the five preceding years. The reading of the barometer was below the average on every day except Tuesday. The mean of the week was 29.76 inches. The rainfall amounted to 17.20ths of an inch. It was stated that the receipts for bathing at the Pierhead baths during the week were £3l6s. 6d., and the expenses were £5. Mr, Dover thought it should be known that the baths were opened to those who wished either hot or cold bathing. SELECT VESTRY.—The Rev. Rector Campbell presided at the fortnightly meeting of the vestry, held on Tuesday, at the Parish-offices. The Workhouse Committee's pro ceedings showed that there were 1,876 persons in the house against only 1,760 in the corresponding period of last year. The committee recommended a commutation of the rations accorded to the governor, Mr. Evans, and to his servant girl, to a fixed money payment of £:35 a year.—Mr. Denton warmly opposed the reduction, characterizing it as a paltry attempt at economy. He moved, as an amendment to the adoption of the proceed ings, that £5O be allowed.—Mr. Willaner illmported tLe amendment. It was degrading, he said, to a man who had the charge of a building containing nearly 2,000 people, to deal h such a way with him, it was not treat ing him with the respect which they ought to show, and he trusted that the amendment would be carried.—After a somewhat desultory conversation as to the amount and quality of food consumed by the governor and his servant, Mr. Abraham moved that the question should be re ferred back. It would be a great injustice to the rate payers to raise the salary of the governor, who was already grossly, extravagantly overpaid. This was nothing but an attempt to get an increase of salary. The gover nor had already £3OO a-year, and had a house and at tendance allowed him.—On the division, Mr. Denton's amendment was lost, and Mr. Abraham's carried by a considerable majority.—Mr. Woodruff moved that it be an instruction to the committee to make the allowance £4o.—Mr. Earle: I move that you attend the governor's feeding time, and see what he eats. (Laughter.)—The matter then dropped.—A letter had been received from the Poor-law Board, sanctioning provisionally the division of the town into twelve medical districts, and the various medical officers had been appointed to all the localities except one (marked A in the plan). There were three candidates for the office ; Messrs. Dunlevy, M'Clellan, and Hobson. Mr. Dunlevy was elected ; the salary being fixed at £l4O, with vaccination fees ; the whole time of the surgeon to be devoted to the duties of the office. cx COMMITTEE.—The usual weekly meeting was iursday. The proceedings of the sub-commit ks having been read, Mr. Fisher asked whether held on T! tee of wor it had been decided to carry out the Wapping docks, according to the plan agreed on in 1848. He saw they had commenced the work at the north-west corner.— Mr. John Hartley: That is only to get the mortar-mills up.—Mr. Fisher suggested that instead of making two docks, the enlargement of the Queen's Dock would be more for the accommodation of the trade, and to keep up the communication with the Salthouse Dock. He would give a notice of motion upon this subject.—Mr. John Hartley : There has been nothing done to militate against your object.—Mr. Bold : The object is to get more quay space.—Mr. Fisher said that instead of making the Salthouse Dock so much larger, he would take the space off, and make a larger space inside, because he believed that those would be used as export docks. In the Albert Dock, a vessel with imports could be discharged in a short time, and they wanted export rather than import docks.—Mr. Steele intimated that he had a simi lar suggestion to make, and the subject was referred to the sub-committee, Mr. Fisher and Mr. Steele being recommended to attend.—A series of long communica tions was read relative to the party to whom the £5O voted by the committee for the Southport life-boat should be paid. The contending powers were requested to at tend before the sub-committee, to which the subject was referred.—Mr. Garniss was appointed superintendent of the timber docks and the Harrington estate, in the room of Mr. Jones, lately deceased • and a police-constable, named Nelson, was appointed' deputy, his wages being fixed at 30s. per week.—Mr. Bold stated, by these ap pointments, that £lOO a year would be saved to the trust. — A letter was read from Mr. Hodgson, the senior harbour master, recommending the appointment of a dock master, and twelve dock gatemen, to the - Wellington Dock. He said the Stanley Dock was quite full of vessels, and all the berths in the Nelson and Bramley-Moore Docks were occupied.—Mr. Bold said it was desimble to impress on the public mind that the prejudice to the north docks was dying away. He might also state that there was a greater amount of tonnage in the docks of Liverpool than ever was before—(Hear, hear.)—The suggestion of Mr. Hodg son was then agreed to by the committee.—A letter was read from the Town-clerk, requesting a conference be tween a committee of the Council and the Dock Com mittee, to ascertain whether the latter body might require the land upon which the pierhead baths now stand. On the motion of Mr. Turner, it was agreed to, on an ex pression of opinion on the part of the committee, that it was undesirable to erect baths on the present site.—The chairman stated, in reference to what port should be the point of departure for the American mail, that a gentle man had complained that the Dock Committee was so supine that they had not brought before the Commis sioner the advantages of Liverpool as a point of departure. —The proceedings then ended. MR. ROSSON AND THE LIVERPOOL " CATHOLIC" MEETING.--The talk is, that as Mr. Rosson has been en gaged in rubbing the rust off the old armour, which he fancied be should never want again as he had hung it up in Moor-hall, no wonder that he has no time to spare for improving the Port and Harbour of Chester, the glory of which achievement must soon pale its twinkling fires before the grand enterprize of emancipating his " ancient church" from what he tastefully calls " the fell claws of Wluggery ;" and that since he is going a-soldiering again, there is no hope of securing again for the old city his important and unbought services, not that, like the patriot of old, he " loves Chester less, but he loves Rome more ;" that his definition of Whigs and Tories is no doubt very correct and very candid; but that if, as he states, he has had experience of Whig trickery from his youth, he ought at least to have been as candid at Chester in July, 1850, as he is in Liverpool in March, 1851 ; as had that been the case, he would not have hurried here to recommend the electors to support a pure Whig of a place-hunting family, when an honest and independent Conservative was in the field as a candidate ; and that if he is to play Marplot again after this fashion, he should do it with greater consistency of principle ; but that after the display that he has just made, some of his former friends are beginning to think that Cestrian affairs will get on none the worse without Isis interference. The further talk is, that in his melancholy attempts to be facetious on the dramatic genius of Dr. M'Neile, he was modestly forgetful of his own capabilities in that line ; since there is no doubt that Mr. Rosson would play Bombastes Furioso to the life : and his bold defiance from the Liverpool stage of Lord John Russell, whom he de scribes as ' a man very small in person, and as great a pigmy in intellect," (never mind the bull) reads rather like a travestie of the valorous challenge. "Whoever dares these boots displace, Must meet Bombastes face to face." —Cheater Courant: 13f5trtrt gam The present worthy propriety of llooton is at present at Rome making extensive purchases of works of art. A French vessel laden with wheat and flour arrived in Preston on Wednesday. A thunderstorm passed over Wigan on Thursday even ing. According to the Manchester papers, the sum of £8,572 has been subscribed for the formation of a free library for that borough. The Earl and Countess of Wilton are entertaining a succession of visitors at Egerton Lodge, Melton Mowbray. The earl and countess and family come to town for the season shortly after Croxton Park Races. At Ormskirk, three fellows have been committed to trial for the attack on the house of Mr. Tyrer, of Simons-wood, last week, and firing at the inmates. They were identified as being implicated in several other similar outrages. A child has died at the Grey Mare Inn, Rochdale, from the bite of a monkey, which its father had recently pur chased. The animel suddenly sprang at the child's head and bit it before it could be removed. It has since been destroyed. During the night of Saturday last the keepers of the Ribble Lighthouse, Lytham, captured no lees than 100 birds. It is only on foggy or hazy nights that they are taken. They are attracted by the light, and fly against the glass lantern. Some come with such force that they instantly kill themselves, others disable themselves, but the greater number receive no injury, and keep fluttering about outside till they are laid hold of. DISTRESSING CIRCUMSTANCE AT LEA.—Early on Thursday morning last, as a poor Irishwoman was walk ing from Liverpool to Chester, she was taken with pains of labour, and was delivered of a fine dead child on the midden-stead of a most respectable farmer, in the pre sence of his wife and others. The poor woman was de. posited in a cart on straw, and forwarded to Chester work liouse, where she is , now doing well. MARRIAGES OUT OF THE DISTRICT.—SeveraI persons have publicly asked pardon of the Vicar of Rochdale, for having conspired to deceive him, by representing that they were residents of Todmorden, when in fact they were resident at Walsden. The object of the misrepresenta tion was to enable some of the party to get married out of the district. The vicar was about to prefer an indict ment against the party, but in consequence of their sub mission be has abandoned his intention. EXTRAORDINARY CASE.*--OR Thursday, just before the closing of the business of the Borough-court, Man ' chester, an intelligent-looking little girl was brought be fore Mr. Maude charged with shoplifting. It appeared she had visited a boot and shoe shop, in Oldham-street, td purchase a penny boot-lace, and whilst the person who served her left the shop for a moment to get change, she was seen to steal two pairs of women's boots, which she slipped under her mantle. She was of course detained and a policeman sent for. when the officer at once re cognized her as an old acquaintance. Snbsequently it was ascertained that young as she was (only between thir teen and fourteen years of age) she was keeping house herself, and that by her skill as a thief she not only paid the rent, 3s. 6d. per week, and supported herself, but also contrived to maintain a young brother, eight years old, who lived with her. When her house was searched a large quantity of property was found there, which there is little doubt she had stolen, consisting of drapery, in great variety, ribbons, silks, laces, &c. FEARFUL EXPLOSION. —On Monday evening a dreadful boiler explosion took place at Stockport, by which much property was destroyed, and many lives lost, at the Park Cotton Mills, beside the river Mersey, the property of Mr. Henry Marsland. The boi ler that exploded was nearly a new one, of about 40 feet in length, and 10 to 12 feet in diameter, being an immense cylinder, perforated with fire-place and two flues. About half-past five o'clock in the evening, whilst the mill-hands were all at work, the boiler was observed suddenly to rise from the immense bed of brick-work in which it had been fixed, and taking a north westerly direction, it shot with the rapidity of an arrow along the narrow part of the quadrangle, and burst through the wall of the lofty por tion of the mill, destroying a large portion of several of the lower floors,. and then setting fire to the remainder. The noise of the explosion was terrific. The weight of the boiler is from 11 to 12 tons. The worst part of the calamity is, that a nun.ber of the workpeople were buried in the ruins of the portion of the mill destroyed, and killed. The hands in the upper part of the lofty building were placed in imminent danger. Upwards of 80 persons were in this part of the mill, out of about a thousand em ployed in the entire works. Some let themselves down from the windows by straps and cords into the yard. A number of them escaped by leaping- from the windows into the river Mersey. A man and boy, who were in the sixth story, happily escaped, this way without injury ; but ano ther man fell on his head, and was killed instantaneously. The engineer escaped, but the fireman was killed imme diately the explosion took place. The cause of the ex plosion has not been ascertained. The damage is esti mated at about £5,000. The boiler which exploded was of 30-horse power, constructed on the high-pressure principle, and calculated for a pressure of 301bs. to the square inch, but at the time of the accident was only being worked at 241bs. pressure. No fewer than twenty lives were lost, and as their bodies were dug out of the ruins, the grief of the bystanders was indescribable. LANCASHIRE AND CHESHIRE UNION OF MECHANICS' INSTITUTIONS.—The annual meeting of this Union was held in Chester on Wednesday, J. Aspinall Turner, Esq. president, in the chair, and delegates from the various institutions in the two counties were present. After a few introductory remarks, the chairman called upon the secretary, Mr. Thomas Hogg, to read the report. Under the head of " New institutions" the report stated that " During the past year, new institutions, with fair prospects of success, had been open at Ormskirk, Waver_ tree, Pendleton, and Denton, in Lancashire, and at Tar porley, in Cheshire ' • and the establishment of others was in contemplation at Radcliffe Bridge, and at Crawshaw Booth, Rossendale." The committee strongly urged the amalgamation of similar institutions existing in the same town, whereby it was thought that much wasteful expendi ture of money and energy might be saved. With regard to the number of members in the various associated insti tutions it had , in the aggregate, decreased during the year. The greatest decrease was perceptible in the large towns, and was to be attributed in great measure to the increase of supplies of knowledge in other ways. It was stated that " At the close of the present year, there will be, in Lancashire and Cheshire, buildir erected express entif for the use of mechanics' and other literary and s., institutions, at a cost of £55,500. Six of these have been erected during the past ten years, and, from the efforts now making, there can be little doubt that as great a number will be erected during the next ten years." Of lectures the committee reported that 196 had been de livered at sixteen institutions, but the attendance was neither satisfactory nor encouraging. A portion of the revenue hitherto devoted to this purpose might, thought, be with great propriety now devoted to libraries, to which great attention had been paid in all the institu tious during the past year. Newsrooms, with a large sup ply of papers and periodicals, were found indispensable. The suggestion to form preliminary savings banks in con nection with meckanics' institutions had been tried in Lancaster and Manchester. In the former, the number of accounts opened was 320, the average number of de positors each week 150, and the sum deposited £4; in the latter place the experiment could not be considered suc cessful, the number of accounts opened being only 136. The Treasurer's accounts were then read, showing a ba lance in favour of the Union of £7. 7s. 6d.--A meeting was held in the evening, presided over by Mr. William Wardell, Esq. banker. it was etneral I,lFlisrtliativ. The Jewish Chronicle denies the alleged conversion of Baron Rothschild to Chris'ianity. The Doncaster Chronicle, of Friday, contains twenty sales of extensive farming stocks. The rumour that the Duchess of Kent has joined the Church of Rome has been contradieted by Lord Howden. The South Shields Police have just been supplied with gutta percha caps ; a light and elegant article of dress. Arrangements are making for opening a fifth Orange Ledge in Shrewsbury. The number who r.ttended the Assize Ball at York, /on Monday evening was nineteen. A sixpence of the reign of King Edward the First, in good preservation, was turned up a few days ago in the garden of Mr. Appleby, builder, Barnard Castle. . . - A child was killed in Southwark on Wednesday by the falling of a coping stone upon its head, from the front of the Tailors' Arms public-house, Gravel-lane. The Lord Chancellor has placed Mr. T. Latimer, editor of the Western Times, on the commission of the peace for the city of Exeter. Jane Wilbred who suffered so much from the barbarity of the Sloanes, has had nearly £3OO subscribed for her. It is intended to place her in a situation of respectability. Large quantities of Egyptian wheat are now selling in the Thames at 235. a quarter, it is thin-skinned, and pro duces good sound dry flour. Thei:e is living at Diss an extraordinary child of more than a year old, weighing less than five pounds—the weight of a good chicken ! At the York assizes, on Wednesday, John Firth was acquitted of the charge of murdering his brother by shoot ing him. The Bristol Town Council have resolved to establish a market at Clifton ; the estimated expense of the site and building is £5OOO. The executors of the late Sir M. A. Shea, President of the Royal Academy, intend to sell his works by auction during the present month. „ The lunatics in the Gloucester County Asylum were indulged with a visit to Wombwell's Menagerie last week, and conducted themselves very well. It is stated that in connection with the Wesleyan re formers there are 48 chapels, 78 local preachers, 151 leaders, and 2298 members. The quarterly statement of the 'Wesleyan Conference, just published, strikes out the names of sixteen preachers, for their adherence to the reform movement. Two highly-respectable and well-educated members of the Roman Catholic Church, renounced the errors of PoperV at Holy Trinity Church, Amblecote, Worcester shire, a few days since. The Birminghomfournal says that a gentleman living at Broseley possesses a tobacco-pipe bearing the date of 1695, and made at Broseley, which is said to be the first place where tobacco-pipes were manufactured in England. Mr. Jackman, of Houndaller Farm, has sold to Mr. Pearless, of Taunton, five acres of wheat, to bo delivered at the Tiverton Station, at the ruinous price of 2s. per bushel.—Exeter Post. Two men were killed and several others injured by an explosion of fire-damp in Hey's colliery, Ashton-under- Lyne, on Monday last. The explosion was caused by a young man foolishly taking off the top of his lamp when the lamp was lighted. Mr. G. Norman, agent to the Duke of Rutland, has de nied altogether the report mentioned a few days since in 7'he Times, that the estates of his grace " have just un dergone a revaluation, and the result of it, as currently reported, is generally an increased rental." A few days since, a serpent at the Zoological Gardens, Clifton, ate a fowl, and afterwards swallowed the drugget, which served for his bed, and which measured two yards and a half long by one wide ; nor does he seem the worse for his meal. Last week one man was transported for life, one for fifteen years, four for ten years, one to two years, and four to eighteen months' imprisonment for poaching and so severely injuring a gamekeeper that his life was de spaired of for some time. A paragraph is going the round of the papers stating that Lord Courtney, heir to the Earldom of Devon, fags hard as a poor-law secretary, giving a portion of his salary to the creditors of his father, and banishing wine and other luxuries from his house. At the inquest held on Mr. Russell, Mr. Wakley ob served that in all his experience he never knew such an extraordinary number of sudden deaths as at the present time. In two days (Monday and Tuesday) he had re ceived at his office no less than thirty-one notices of sudden deaths. On Thursday the Lord Mayor of York presented, on behalf of the subscribers, to Mr. John Duncan, editor of the Yorkshireman newspaper, a purse of about sixty gui neas and an elegant silver snuff-box, for his independent conduct in the management of that newspaper. and espe cially for his fearless exposure of some railway directors. General Sir Charles Napier arrived in London on Wednesday, having travelled from Dover by the South- Eastern Railway. The gallant general stopped for a sh or t time at Folkestone, where his family are residing. Oa his arrival at the London-bridge terminus the railway officials greeted the veteran with three hearty cheers. SINGLE TENANTRY. — It is a curious fact that of all Lord Dinorben's tenantry in thecounties of Anglesey and Carnarvon there is not a married pair; all are single, either old maids, bachelors, widows, or widowers, together wimth, indeed, deed, bachelor ish a u g ri ni en b t to teds man age the whole. ISliatilUgan- is At the Yorkshire spring assizes during the past week, the grand jury ignored the bill for manslaughter against Joshua Ingham. EA:I. magistrate of th e county an d chairman of one of the West !tiding sessions. A married woman living near Winchester was last week crushed to death between two trees, one of which had been just cut down by her husband, and fell across the other, against which she was leaning at the time. The Ipswich Express says that within 21 weeks of last year a rat-catcher, named Pooley, sold at a single public house in the town no fewer than 11,465 rats, for the pur pose of "rat-pitting." The authorities of the town have since put a stop to the " sport," but during those twenty one weeks Pooley received for his rats no less a sum than £253 Os. Ild. CHIIDLEIGH.—Sir Robert Newman having recently ordered the rabbits on his property to be destroyed, up wards of 1400 have been killed in a very short time on Mr. Reed's estate, at Ashcombe. As it is calculated that seven rabbits consume quite as much as two sheep, the advantages from the more general destruction of " the little varmint" cannot well be imagined.— Exeter paper. SETTING THE THAMES ON FIRE.—The eccentric but talented Dr. Crofts, of Coventry, intends at the coming exhibition, to set the Thames on fire in reality. It ap pears that he has invented a composition to make water blaze on the application of flame, and will experimentalise on a portion o f t h e T hames, and at the same time explain his invention for the benefit or amusement of ne public. At the York assizes, on Monday, Samuel Firth, one of the partners in an extensive cotton mill at Helifax, and Joseph Halliwell, engine-tender, were indicted for man. slatghter. The circumstances out of which arose the charge of gross negligence on the part of the prisoners, causing the death of 12 persons, are familiar to our rea ders. The jury found the prisoners not guilty. Lord Bexley's will has just been proved at Doctors' Commons, by which all his personal property, sworn under £120,000, has been bequeathed to his nieces, the Misses Parry and Mrs. Thornton. Footscray- place, along with his other valuable estates in Kent and Glou_ cestershire, have been left to his nephew, Arthur Vansit tart, Esq., of Shottesbrook Park, Berkshire. The conscientious cause of dissent is at sixe, in Sunderland. More than one Conventicle congre are by the ears, and the pious strife seems not likel3 soon allayed. These good Christians, can with ha and sevens 'ion y to be eye, see a mote in the Established Church, -.- marvellously blind to the beam in their own religion* but they are communities At the half.yearly meeting of the proprietors of the Bank of England OR Thursday, a dividend at the rate of 4 per cent. for the half-year, free of income tax, was unanimously agreed to in accordance with the recom mendation of the directors. The profits on the business of the past half-year had exceeded by £32,000 those of the previous half-year, and the directors were able to tarry a sum of £12.775 to the rest. ROBBERY BY THE AID OF CHLOROFORM.—On Wed nesday, at the Middlesex Sessions, Mary Ann Mavne was convicted of stealing a purse and nine sovereigns from the person of John Evenson. It was supposed that the pri soner had used chloroform to produce insensibility, and Mr. Sergeant Adams postponed passing sentence until he could obtain a professional opinion on the point ; should such prove to be the fact, he said he would most assuredly sentence her to transportation. THE CASE OF THE BIRDS.—At the Exeter assizes on Wednesday, Robert Courtice and Sarah Bird, who have been long in custody on the charge of ill-treating their parish apprentice, were brought before Mr. Baron Martin, to receive the sentence of Mr. Russell Gurney, by whom they were tried. They were sentenced to 16 months' further imprisonment, with leave granted to send affida vits on their own behalf to the secretary of state, in hope of a mitigation of punishment. Great excitement has been occasioned at Gorfield, near Wisbeach, by the poisoning of Mrs. John Dearlove, the wife of an extensive farmer, Suspicion has fallen on a female servant, who had been exasperated by the means adopted by her mistress to rouse her in the morning. Oa one occasion Mrs. Dearlove threw a basin of water over her in bed, and on another pulled the bed clothes off. It is supposed the girl was impelled to the act by a spirit of revenge. SWANSEA. DOCKS.—The Marquis of Worcester visited these docks on Monday, accompanied by his solicitor, Mr. F. Hooper. At the request of a deputation. which waited upon him for the purpose, his lordship, after a careful examination of the plans, consented to take the office of Chairman of the Dock Company, stating that no efforts should be wanting on his part to put the works into progress this spring. It is understood that his lord• ship's subscription as a shareholder will be augmented to £lO,OOO. A HIGHLANDER'S MISADVENTURE.—A Highlander had occasion to locate himself for one night lately in Perth, where he procured very comfortable lodgings. Being shown into a carpeted bedroom which was lighted with gas, Donald slipped off his clothes, blew out the gas, went to bed, and shortly afterwards was nearly suffocated with the (to him) unaccountable smell which pervaded the room. Fortunately the landlady discovered the cause, and had the gas properly stopped, or the result might have been serious.—Scotch paper. NOVEL CONTRIBUTION. —On Sunday evening last during the course of a collection in St. Oswald's Church, Durham, a walnut of the ordinary size, and apparently whole and sound. was dropped into one of the plates. On dividing the shell in the usual way, was found—not the ordinary kernel—but an outer rind of white paper, inside of which was another layer of the same material; inside of that another ; inside of that another; and, in side of all two £5 notes, compressed into the smallest dimensions, and enclosing a slip of paper with the words " a nut for the vicar to crack," written upon it. FLIGHT OF A CARRIER PIGEON.—The instinct of the carrier pigeon has often been exemplified in a manner to excite astonishment. Almost as singular a case as has ever been brought under notice occurred on Saturday week. Some weeks since, Mr. Martin, who was formerly gamekeeper to W. Stirling Crawfurd, Esq., of Calder, removed to Farnley-hall, in Yorkshire, taking with hire some birds of th e A n t werp b ree d . On Saturday week one of these pigeons reappeared at Calder, carrying be tween the claws of the feet an egg, which, rather than suffer to be placed amongst strangers, had been conveyed in that fashion from beyond Leeds. It was slightly broken. TRIAL FOR MURDER. —Eliza Smalley, who mixed with the breakfast of her mistress, Frances Page, a farmer's wife, some of the arsenical solution used by farmers to soak wheat-seed, has been tried at Lincoln. It will be recollected that the girl admitted the administration of the poison ; but declared that she only did it to make her mistress poorly, in revenge for cruelty. Mr. Justice Coleridge told the jury that if the girl purposed to injure her mistress, and by mishap caused her death, it would be murder; but if she purposed only to annoy or inconveni ence her mistress, and by mishap caused death, the crime would be manslaughter. Verdict, " Manslaughter." Sentence, fifteen years' transportation. A CHILD BURIED ALIVE BY ITS MOTHER.—A single woman, named Clarke, is in custody at Wingfield, Suffolk, charged with burying alive her infant, six weeks old, in a meadow. It was found about six inches under the ground. After being remanded she made the following confession : —" I was fearful that the young man who - promised to marry me would not do it if lie knew that I had a child, and I, in consequence, was anxious to get rid of it. I had. not entertained the slightest notion of murdering my child until T came out of one of our neighbours' cottages, where I saw a spade standing outside the cottage. I took up the spade. went into the meadow, dug a hole, and laid my child in. I then covered the child over with earth ; and, to stifle its screams, I stamped upon the sod. When the child was covered up with the earth I heard it cry. I then sat down upon the place where I bad buried it, and in a short time after I went home." CHICORY.—The Lancet of Saturday completes the exposure of the chicory question, by a detail of the ex tent to which this article of adulterated. Out of thirty four samples of chicory obtained horn retail and whole sale dealers nearly half were mixed with other materials, such as roasted beans, burnt corn, and acorns. Con siderable quantities of sand or grit were also found, but these were supposed to have been caused by the dirty state of the roots, although there is abundant reason to apprehend that earthy and mineral substances are not un frequently used. Carrot, parsnip, mangold-wurzel, dog biscuits, a kind of burnt sugar, known as " black jack," and a worthless, if not pernicious, article from Egypt, supposed to be lupine-seed, are also largely introduced, eighty tons of the latter having been offered within the last few days by a Scotch house at less than lid. per lb.—a price, however, which will hardly enable it to com pete with acorns, of which 500 tons were recently tendered to one firm at something below three farthings a pound. ANOTHER FATAL BOILER EXPLOSION.—The neigh bourhood of Glasgow is obtaining a most painful amount of notoriety for the frequency and extent of its accidents on land and water. On 'Wednesday night the boiler of the engine attached to the flax-spinning works of Mes.irs. Finlay son, in the village of Johnstone, exploded, by which eight men and boys were instantly deprived of life. It is believed that the works had been temporarily suspended while the work people were taking some refreshment ; but, meanwhile, the engineman had kept the safety-valve fully loaded, the consequence of which was a tremendous explosion. The persons who were killed had been smok ing or resting themselves in the fire-room. A lare portion of the building was blown down ; and while exertions were making to rescue the sufferers from the ruins, it was discovered that the mill itself was on fire. This was caused by the hot cinders having been driven through the partitions fnbrie wi with inn it t s o v t a h l e n a i n b le e r contents,apartments s o b f e t e l n i e a fa l ea c t o o s r t y . w h T O l h l y e consumed. ATTEMPTED MURDER AND SUICIDE.—A strange tra gedy was enacted in this town yesterday (Friday). Be tween eleven and twelve o'clock in the forenoon the in habitants of Blenheim-square were alarmed by the report that Mrs. Widdop, wife of Joseph Widdop, gardener, who occupied the lodge at the top of Well Close-place, Black man-lane, had been shot. On hearing the report Thomas Kay, cowkeeper, proceeded to Widdop's house, on enter ing which he found a man named Thomas Scott, a white smith, with a small pistol in his hand. Mr. Kay closed the door and went towards the window outside, but before he reached it be heard the report of a pistol. He then looked through de window and saw Scott fall on the floor. Before Mr. Kay got there Mrs. Widdop had fled from the house of her husband to that of Mrs. Wales, Bien heim-squree, and stated that she had been fired at by the man Scott. She was examined by a surgeon, who found that she had been wounded on the left side by a ball. The ball fell from her dress when she was examined. It had penetrated her clothes, and appeared to have come in con tact with a bone of her stays. The skin beneath was broken, and it is supposed that she may have fractured, but no serious consequences are apprehended. Her fall, was found by Mr. Her assailant, after he was seen r i el d en a d e r . b John Rhodes, collector, sitting on the house floor, bleed. ing from a pistol shot wound in his side. He was asked by Mr. Rhodes what he had been doing, but he made no reply. Wm. Hales, policeman, who was on the spot soon after the alarm wa s given, procured a coach and had Scott conveyed to the Infirmary, where he 110Vf lies under treatment. —Leeds intelligencer,