The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-02-05 00:00:00

A CLOAK, ornamented with garnets, and valued at 200,000
reals, has been presented by the Queen of Spain to a statue of
the Virgin of Sonores, in one of the churches.
POSTAL COMMITNICATION.—The Government of New South
Wale.; has called for tenders for the conveyance of the mails
between Sydney and Siucapore, via Torres'-straits. The con—
tract is to be entered into from month to month.—.7l/elb.Age.
PROPOSED ARCTIC EXPEDITION.—We hear it is in con-
templation, by some of the savans of the Royal Society, to
make a requisition for another Arctic expedition, to be sent in
search of further relics of poor Sir John Franklin and his lost
companions.— United Service Gazette.
IT is stated that Dr. Redman, a missionary, has verified the
existence iu Africa of an immense sea, without outlet, twice as
large as the Black Sea, between the equator and 10 degrees
south latitude, and between the 22d and 39th meridian. It is
called Ukerewe, or Inner Sea.—American paper.
LEEDS ELECTION will take place to-morrow in the Coloured
Cloth-hall-yard. Mr. Baines, it is expected, will be nomi-
nated and seconded by Mr. J. Wilkinson, flax-spinner, chair-
man of his election committee, and Mr. D. Lupton, chairman
of the Chamber of Commerce.
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A NEW TRADE IN PARIS.—The necessity of paying a tax
on dogs from the commencement of the present year has led
to the destruction of a great number of these animals in Paris,
and principally by drowning them in the Seine. A number
of persons have engaged in the occupation of getting out the
dead bodies and boiling them down, in order to extract the
fat, which is employed in the preparation of kid gloves, and
especially of straw-coloured ones, and is sold at the rate of 2f.
50c. the kilog. At Bordeaux, 5,640 dogs have been declared,
and it is expected that 42,000 f. a year will be raised in that
town by the tax ; and at St. Etienne 2,857, producing nearly

20,000 f. a year.— Galignani.
THE ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH COMPANY.—The generalhalf-
yearly meeting was held on Wednesday, at the offices, Loth-
bury ; General Wyld in the chair. The accounts presented
exhibited a balance of £22,379 in favour of the company. A
dividend of 14s. 3d. per share, being at the rate of six per cent.
per annum, was declared. Mr. Ricardo stated, in reply to a
shareholder, that the number of messages for the first half-
year of 1855 was 372,000, and for the last half-year, 384,000 ;
showing an increase of 12,000. Messrs. Bidder, Till, Hunt,
and Cooke,' the, directors who retired by rotation, were re-
elected, and a vote of thanks to the chairman terminated the

proceedings.
COLONIAL EXPENDITURE.—A return, moved for by Lord
Seymour, M.P., shows that the grand total expenditure in-
curred by Great Britain for the year 1853-54 for the colonies
amounted to the sum of £3,288,338, whereof £2,941,687 (gross)
was devoted to military charges, the net amount having been
£2,687,070 ; £590,040 to civil charges (gross), and £49,950 to
naval expenditure, making a net total amount for civil, mili-
tary, and naval establishments of £3,291,663. The Post-office
collections exceeding the civil expenditure amounted to £3,325.
Of the above amounts for civil and military expenses £238,911
was appropriated to Gibraltar, £295,740 to Malta, £513,969
to the Cape of Good Hope, £104,574 to the Isle of France,
£130,730 to Bermuda, £47,651 to St. Helena, £149,376 to the
lonian Islands, £72,466 to Hongkong, £152,536 to Jamaica,
£283,613 to Canada, £120,943 to Nova Scotia, £94,765 to
Ceylon, £87,326 to New Zealand, £71.313 to New South
Wales, £264,287 to Van Dieman's Land, and £133,835 to
Western Australia.
TnE EDINBURGH ELECTION.—The requisition to Mr.
Adam Black, signed by 1,124 electors, was presented on
Saturday week. Mr. Black consented to stand, and invited
the electors to meet him on Thursday last, when he stated his
views upon public affairs. The names of Sir Wm. Johnston,
on the No Popery" interest, and the Hon. T. Bruce on the
Conservative, have been mentioned. Another candidate, Mr.
Francis Brown Douglas, advocate, one of the magistrates of
the city, is brought forward on account of the unpopularity of
Mr. Black's views with a large body of electors on the subject
of Maynooth and the Scotch Public-house Act. The new
candidate, in his address, expresses his opposition to the May-
nooth endowment, and his determination to resist any inter-
ference with the Forbes M`Kenzie Act for restricting traffic
in intoxicating liquors. Mr. Douglas having obtained nume-
rous supporters on both these grounds, the election is likely
to be a keenly, and probably a closely contested one. Mr.
Brown Douglas is in public politics a Liberal-Conservative.
PERPETUAL MOTlON.—George Wather, tailor, a man aged
seventy, applied at Lambeth Police-office, last week, under pe-
culiar circumstances. He stated that he was a tailor, at Brid-
port. Owing to the extravagance, &c., of his second wife, he
became reduced in circumstances. About four years ago he
ventured on a third wife, and carried on business in a small
way, until he by accident discovered that which had for cen-
turies baffled the greatest philosophers, namely the "perpetual
motion." His friends said that, doubtless, he would meet with
distinguished patrons in London. Encouraged by their re-
presentations, his wife and himself set off with just sufficient
to bring them to town. On their arrival they had only 3s. 6d.
left. His impression was that he should be possessed of thou-
sands in a few days, but, to his utter astonishment, neither
the authorities at Marlborough House, the Lord Chancellor,
nor Lord Palmerston, would entertain his invaluable discovery,
nor, in fact, could he find any one who would. Thus he was
reduced to the utmost destitution, and was without the means
of getting back to Bridport. He was relieved out of the poor-
box, and obtained a pass home.

SHOCKING AFFAIR IN SUTIIBILLA.NDSHIRE.—We find in
the North British Daily Mail an account of some extraordi-
nary proceedings near Thurso, Sutherlandshire. A young
woman committed suicide, and the body was found in the
river. A question arose where to place the body until a coffin
could be got ready for the interment. The Free Church
minister commanded that the body should be taken to the
parish church, as the only proper place for it. On the other
hand, the minister of that church demurred to the proceeding,
especially as there was an empty storehouse near the very place
where the body was found ; or if it was thought that a church
was more desirable, the suggestion arose that it ought to be the
church where the deceased herself worshipped when alive, and
that, as already stated, was not the parish church, but the
Free Church of the district. This, however, would not do for
the Free Church party. They proceeded to acts of violence.
They broke open one of the windows of the parish church, and
thrust in the body of the suicide : and, not contented with
this, they placed it, streaming with blood, on the communion
table of the parish church, where it lay till the following day,
greatly to the dismay, if not horror, of all the members of the
Established Church in that place.

PRINTING A.NEWSPAPER IN TILE WOODS !—We are doing
what, perhaps, has never been done in the United States
before : we are printing the Wisconsin Mirror in the woods
—not a dwelling except our own within half-a-mile of us,
and only one within a mile ! The forest oaks hang over our
office and dwelling, the deer and rabbits are shy around us,
and the partridges and quails seek our azlquaintance by ven-
turing nearer and nearer our doors. The noble Wisconsin
is bearing onward its immense burdens of ice, majestically
and silently, within sight of our windows ; and the snow-
capped bills, covered u ith scattered oaks and pines, peer up
in the distance. There is romance and reality in all this, and
we feel almost willing to publish a paper in such a location
just for the excitement of the thing. But most of the romance
is soon to be spoiled. Already several dwellings are in pro-
gress near us, and before many weeks they are to be occupied
by enterprising neighbours ; and, when spring and summer
shall come, we expect such a clatter of axes and spades, and
trowels and saws and hammers, that we shall hardly be able
to write our editorials without introducing more or less of
the confusion. The fact is, we expect a large village—yea, a
city—to grow up rapidly around us ; and that is why we are
here—printing in the woods ! Wisconsin Mirror, Jan. 1.

Loss OF THE PACKET-SHIP ST. DENIS.—The New York
papers contain accounts of numerous shipwrecks, attended
with loss of lives, the most serious among these disasters being
the foundering of the Havre packet-ship St. Denis, a double-
decked vessel of 997 tons burthen, which has made regular
trips between Havre and New York during the past eight
years. She was built in 1848, and fitted up in handsome style
as a first-class ship. The crew, including the captain, num-
bered thirty-three souls, and there were three cabin and ten
steerage passengers. The cargo was a full one, and the vessel
was separately valued at 65,000 dollars, 28,000 of which were
covered by insurance. It appears from the statement of the
first-mate and other survivors that the ship encountered a
terrible hurricane when two days out of the port of New York,
by which she foundered 130 miles from Sandy Hook. Great
exertions were made by the captain to save the passengers and
ship, but without success, 11 of the 46 souls only being saved.
These were picked up by the captain of the ship Naples,tbound
to New York. All the passengers, the captain, second mate,
steward, &c., were drowned. At about noon on the day when
the vessel was lost, she being then rapidly sinking, her mizen-
mast cut away, and the sea breaking furiously over her, the
first-mate got out the long boat, which, although badly stoved,
they succeeded in keeping afloat by constant bailing. At
about 10 minutes before 12 they left the ship with all that
could be persuaded to take to the boat, viz., the ship's first
mate, the third mate, and nine seamen, the captain and pas-
sengers refusing to leave, on the ground that it was no use. as
the boat could never live. The first mate hung about the ship
for a few minutes to induce others to leave, but, as no more
would leave, they pushed off, and in ten minutes snore
the ship went down. At half-past five on the following
day the boat, as above-stated, was picked up by the ship
Naples. Captain Follansbee had sailed in the employ of the
company, (Boyd and Hincken) for nearly tweh e years. He
resided at Brooklyn, where he leaves a wife and seven children.
The second mate leaves a wife, but no children. Francis
Weiss, one of the cabin passengers, was married on New Year's
Eve, and was returning with his young wife to his fatherland,
with his small accumulations. He and his bride went down
clasped each in the other's arms. J. B. Petty, one of the lost-,
was a brother of the Hon. K. Petty, a senator of New York.
SOCIAL PROGRESS AT MELBOURNE.—In spite of com-
mercial reverses, however, population has continued to pour
in, and building has been carried forward in the city with
great spirit. At this moment the population of the colony is,
as nearly as can be ascertained, 283,000, of which number
30,000 have arrived within the last six months. The pro-
portion of males to females may be set down as fully three to
two, so that there are somewhere about 60,000 marriageable
men who cannot find wives in the colony. In the region of
intellectual progress some gratifying indications are observ-
able. A public free library is in course of erection, and will
soon be in operation. The University building is going for-
ward. The Exhibition has been most splendidly successful,
and in every way creditable to the commissioners and the
colony. The existing literary institutions are flourishing, and
new ones are rising into existence. Booksellers' shops are
multiplying, and the taste for reading of a superior kind is
spreading. We have reason for concluding that no adequate
ideas prevail in England as to the completeness or character
of the buildings in this city. Melbourne is no longer a mere
collection of scattered stores, rudely built of battens and bricks
without any pretension to style or arrangement. Melbourne
may now be styled a substantially-built as well as a populous
city. Viewed in connection with its rapid growth, this city,
in the character, capacity, and even beauty of its buildings, is,
perhaps, unique in the history of the world. A great portion
of the shops might, without suffering by comparison, be placed
side by side with those of Cheapside or the Strand. Many of
the streets are now susceptible of great improvement ; but,
considering the rapidity of their construction, and the im-
mense amount of traffic which passes over them, they are
generally in a very creditable macadamised state; the foot-
paths are being flagged with Yorkshire stone, and, in some of
the principal streets, the visitor might suppose' that he was
walking through the best parts of an old-fashi coned city or
town at home. It is a new feature in Melbourn; life to have
houses in a state of competition ; but, in consegiface of it,
rents, which had risen ridiculously out of all proportion, have
now become reduced to fully one-half, and, in some instances,
to even lower rates. A well-built brick house, which at the
highest times was worth £8 per week, now lets for £4 or £5,
and houses which then let for Z 5 per week are now offered at
from £2 to £3 per week. In the neighbourhoods of North
Melbourne and Collingwood, there arc many comfortable
houses without occupants, and which_ htM Decia 19 for vatic
time.—Melbourne Argus.