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

There will be no steamer due at this port, with American
mails, until the 10th or 11th, when the America, from Boston,
may be expected.
The captain and crew of the barque Maid of Auckland, of
London, arrived at this port, on Friday, in the United States
ship Equity, of Boston, having been picked up in lat. 40 20 N.,
lon. 58 W., having abandoned' their vessel in a sinking state.

THE SUMMARY PROCEDURE ACT.—By several orders in
council, dated January 30, Her Majesty has been pleased to
direct—firstly, that all the provisions of the Summary Proce-
dure Act,' 1855, shall apply to the courts of record established
under the provisions of the act 9th and 10th of Victoria, chap.
95, in respect of all actions upon bills of exchange and pro-
missory notes, where the plaintiff claims a sum not exceeding
£5O ; secondly, that the provisions of the said act shall be ex-
tended to the court of record of the borough of Liverpool, called
the Court of Passage, except so much of section 1 as provides
for the mode of fixing the amount of costs to be endorsed on
the writ of summons ' • and, thirdly, that all the provisions of
the said act, except those of the Bth, 9th, and 10th sections,
shall extend to the court of record for the trial of civil actions
in the city of Manchester.
SALE OF THE WEAVER.—The screw-steamer Weaver, which
was built two or three years ago, by Mr. John Laird, to run on
the Weaver, in conjunction with the Countess of Ellesmere,
from this port, was lately purchased by Mr. H. K. Aspinall,
of Birkenhead, for service in the Black Sea, as a tug and pas-
senger boat. Her name was changed to the Sultana—she was
rigged as a fore and aft schooner, and had one of Messrs.
Scott's three-bladed spiral screws fitted to her ; a trial-trip was
then made, and it was found that, although built for canal
navigation in a light draught of water, she was remarkably
stiff under canvas. After filling up with cargo and coal, she
sailed on Thursday for Constantinople, under the command of
Captain Carr, having been re-sold by Mr. Aspinall. The
Countess of Ellesmere' is going to the same destination, In-
telligence has been received that the Sultana put into Holy-
head to repair a slight defect in her machinery.
CHARGE OF EMBEZZLEMENT.—Richard Egan, a respectably-
dressed young man, was brought up before Mr. Bolton, at the
Police-court, on Saturday, charged with embezzlement. Mr.
Shaw, of the firm of George King and Co., Water-street,
agents to the Dublin and Liverpool Screw Steamship Com-
pany, stated that the prisoner was in their employ as. quay
clerk in the Newry department, and had been guilty of em-
bezzling £37 14. Rd.—Mr. Bolton : What proof have you
that he embezzled the money ? Witness : His own state-
ment ; he confesses that he received Wybergh (the
clerk) : He confesses he received it, and did not account to
you for it ? Witness : Yes.—Mr. Wybergh : That is, not em-
bezzlement, and there is no charge of that nature. Witness :
We want to deal with him as lightly as possible. He is a
good young man, but 'he has a very bad wife. (Laughter.)
The prisoner said there was an entry of over £23 in the book,
which he had not handed over, but he had in reality received
only £l3 of that sum. £lO of it was due by a Mr. John
Campbell, who would not pay until Tuesday (to-day).—Mr. Bol-
ton : Why should you enter money before you receive it ? Pri-
soner : I am in the habit of entering it before I receive it, for
the sake of the head bookkeeper, in order to show as little
outstanding as possible.—Mr. Shaw : We would be glad to
give him every indulgence. Of course that £lO would reduce
the sum. We do not wish to press the charge of felony against
him. Mr. Bolton : You must take your course for the recovery
of the money in the County Court; there is no embezzlement
shown here. Discharge the prisoner. The young man was
then released from custody.
LIVERPOOL Towx CourrciL.—The following is the order
of business to be taken into consideration at the monthly
meeting to-morrow :—The proceedings of the Finance Com-
mittee, comprising a recommendation to increase the salary of
Mr. John Surr (auditor in the Town Dues-office), from £l5O
to £lBO per annum ; and a recommendation to. continue the
contract with Mr. Fraser for printing, for one year, from Ist
March next. The proceedings of the Improvement Com-
mittee, comprising a recommendation to sanction the proposi-
tion of the Library and Museum Committee, as to the site for
new building. The proceedings of the Church Expenditure
Committee, comprising a recommendation to light with gas
the, 'clock. at St. Michael's Church. The proceedings of the
Library and Museum Committee,' comprising a recommen-
dation to borrow a sum, not exceeding £20,000, for the pur-
chase of the site for the new building. The laying of a rate
under the provisions of " The Liverpool Library and Museum
Act, 1852." The proceedings of the Special Committee ap-
pointed on the subject of the proposed removal of the Public-
offices from Cornwallis-street. The : Coroner's account,
amounting to .£55 '2s. 6d. The Mayor's communications,
comprising a letter from the Right Hon. W. L. Bathurst, en-
'closing;order in Council, applying the provisions of " The
Summary Procedure on Bills of. Exchange Act, 1855," to the
Court of Passage.

A DRUNKEN MASTER.—In the County Court, on Thursday,
a young man, tamed Robert Fielding, sued Bryan Holmes,
publican, 12, St. James's-street, to recover £2 as wages for a
week during which he was in the defendant's service, and also
for a month in lieu of notice upon his dismissal. The plaintiff
stated that the defendant engaged him as barman on the 15th
of November last, at a salary of tcs:2o a year, an agreement
being made 'that there should be-a month's notice on either
side upon their-separation. On the 22d of November, after he
had been there a week, the defendant, who had been two or
three days "on the spree," entered the plaintiff's bedroom,
about three o'clock in the morning, and putting the candle
close to his face, said—" You - rascal, arn't you going to
get up ?" He then went into the servant's bedroom, and was
seven or eight times in and out of the plaintiff's room before
four o'clock. The plaintiff then got up, and upon going down
stairs he found that the defendant had broken in the panels of
the bar door with a poker, which was lying on the floor.
About half-past ten o'clock, when the plaintiff was going to
clean himself, the defendant followed him, and said,- " Now
then, you can go altogether ; you come from Bolton, the same
place as my mistress. You had better shake hands with her,
and kiss her before you go." 'When the plaintiff asked him
for the wages due to him, he• said, "No, I shan't pay thee;
thou can put me in the County Court." In his defence,
Holmes said, "The young man didn't suit me, and I discharged
him. He was going out, and I told him that if he did so he
had better go altogether." 'His Ho our: What do you say
about the money he speaks of ? Did you go to his bedroom at
three o'clock in the morning ? Defendant : Not that lam
aware of. His Honour : Were you oober that day? Defendant :
Yes. His Honour : And the day before ? Defendant : Yes ;
for anything I know. His Honour [to the plaintiff]: I give
you a verdict for the amount claimed. (To the defendant):
You had better keep sober, sir. If you had been in the street
at the time of this occurrence you would have been taken into
custody by the police, and been fined ss. ; but being in the
house, you dismissed your servant, and must pay £2.

IMPORTANT To Suirowauus.—ln the County Court, on
Saturday, in the case of Farquhar v. James Baines and Co.,
Mr. Forshaw applied for a re-hearing on a future day, when
Captain Forbes might be able to attend. His Honour, in
giving judgment, said the facts of the ,case were brought be-
fore the court on the previous hearing of the application of
Thomas Farquhar, against the defendants, for a certain
amount of wages alleged to be due up to a given period,
namely, the day on which he left the Lightning, at Mel-
bourne, for H.M.S. Phantom. The act of Parliament passed
last session directed, that whenever a seaman did leave the
merchant service to go on board one of Her Majesty's vessels,
and he presumed it meant voluntarily going on board, because
no other mode was recognised by this act of Parliament,—it
was the duty of the captain, and he was obliged to perform
that duty under a penalty of £2O, to give the seaman, so
voluntarily leaving his merchant vessel, an order or "bill,"
as it was called, upon the owners, payable at sight. It had
been urged that in this case such a " bill" was given to the
plaintiff, and a " bill" was produced purporting to be an
order, by Captain Forbes, to the owners, Captain Forbes being
clearly their agent, to pay a certain sum to Farquhar for
wages. Upon that, he (his Honour) deemed that the wages
were due, and a verdict was given for the plaintiff. Now,
however, Mr. Forshaw urged that that verdict ought to be
allowed to remain over, on the ground that the order obtained
from Captain Forbes was obtained by force, the plaintiff
having, as defendants alleged, by an, affiidavit now put in,
been taken by persuaders, in the shape of thirty or forty
marines from the Phantom, and Captain Dennis, of the
Phantom, having fired a shot across the bows of the Lightning
as a warning that he, Captain Forbes, must band over the
order which be had previously refused to do. No doubt
Captain Forbes would rather give the "bill" than have a
shot fired into his fine ship by H.M.S. Phantom. If, how-
ever, it was the duty of Captain Forbes to give the " bill" or
order, as it would be, unquestionably, if the seaman went on
board the Phantom of his own free will, the application of
compulsion, in causing him to give the order, would not, in
his opinion, vitiate it. He did not feel, therefore, justified in
reversing the order, and he must let his verdict (for the
plaintiff) stand. Hei did not say anything as to the effect
upon a bill given under force, and after a shot had been fired.
He had not sufficient evidence before him upon that point.
Mr. Forshaw : Upon a future action we shall have to discuss
that; there are six others. His Honour : Then you can have
all the points raised at once.
MELANCHOLY SIIICIDE.—On Saturday morning, about
half-past ten o'clock, Police-officer 248 (William Ward) was
called to the public-house of Mr. Helliwell, Bridport-street,
where a young man lay on the floor of one of the bedrooms,
with his throat cut in three places, and an open razor lying
beside him. He was still alive, and the officer asked him his
name. He replied " William Moffatt." The officer further
asked him " Who has done it?" (inflicted the wound) and the
young man gasped out "myself," and in a few moments ex-
pired. A surgeon had arrived shortly before and attempted
to'save his life by sewing up the wounds, but without avail.
An inquest was held the same afternoon, when Mr. and Mrs.
Helliwell stated that the deceased came into their house about
ten o'clock on Friday morning, with a portmanteau, and
stated that he had just arrived from Ireland. He appeared as
if exhausted from excitement or sickness. He gave them his
name, and said he was a clergyman's son from Newry. He
added that he had been a very wicked man, and had left a
servant girl at home in the family way by him, and that his
father had refused to let him marry her. He had been
spoiled, he said, by his parent's indulgence, and expressed a
fear that he bad broke his "poor mother's heart." After par-
taking of breakfast he went to bed, and remained there until
two o'clock in the afternoon. About half-past nine o'clock he
went to bed again, after paying Mrs. Helliwell two shillings
for the accommodation he had received, and expressing a wish
to be called at six o'clock, in order to catch the early morning
train for Manchester. He was heard about five o'clock next
morning walking about his room restlessly, and about six
o'clock Mr. Helliwell took him a cup of tea. He appeared
in great trouble, however, and refused to take it, saying
that he should go to Australia. About ten o'clock • Mrs.
Helliwell went to his room,, and found him as described.
Upon the deceased was found a Punch's Pocket Book, for
1853, containing sundry letters and papers, but no money.
One was a letter dated June,' 1855, from the Secretary of the
Dublin and Belfast Railway Company, regretting that a situa-
tion, for which the deceased had applied, was filled up, and
enclosing his testimonials, signed by the vicar and curate of
St. Peter's, Drogheda, several justices of the peace, and other
gentlemen. The deceased appeared to be a fine young man,
of about twenty-one years of age, light complexion, sandy hair
and moustache, and bright blue eyes. The jury returned a
verdict of temporary insanity. Shortly after the termination
of the inquest, Mr. Haggarty, who keeps a temperance coffee-
house in Hood-street, came into the court and stated that the
deceased had arrived at his house on Thursday morning. He
appeared greatly agitated, and gave the same account of him-
self as he did to Mr. Helliwell subsequently. He continually
exclaimed " Oh ! the girl, the poor girl ; I have ruined the
girl I" His conduct was so suspicious that he was put to sleep
in a treble-bedded room, along.with some recruits, who stated
that several times during the night he tried to jump out of the
window. About ten o'clock he left the house, with his port-
manteau, and was not seen by Mr. Raggarty again until the
suicide became known. A small brass plate was found in Mr.
Haggarty's kitchen, after the deceased left, with " Rev. C. J.
Moffatt, Newry," engraved upon it. The corpse awaits the
instructions of the deceased's friends, who have been written
to to ascertain their wishes as to its disposal.