The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-01-22 00:00:00

THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

LONDON, BRIGHTON, AND SOUTH COAST RAILWAY.—
The directors have decided upon recommending the payment
of a dividend for the half year of £2 18s. per cent. on the con-
solidated stock of, the company, making the total dividend for
the year 1855 amount to five per cent
THE LETTER-CARRIERS IN LEEDS.—Several meetings of
the sub-sorters, stampers, messengers, and letter-carriers in
the employ of the Post-office have lately been held, for the
purpose of taking into consideration (consequent upon a late
reduction which has been made in the rate of wages) their
present position and prospects. A strike was at first pro-
posed, but ultimately a committee was appointed, with orders
to report to a future meeting, and the proceedings closed.
THE SHIPBUILDING TRADE AT DUMBARTON.—The strike
among the joiners in the yard of Messrs. William Denny Bro-
thers have now extended to nearly every yard in the burgh,
and includes all departments connected' with shipbuilding in
which Unionists were employed. Some hundreds of labourers,
too, who had no connection with unions, have also been thrown
out of employment in consequence of the absence of the other
workmen from the yards.—.Dumbarton Herald.

IN the Court of Queen's Bench, last week, Lord Campbell
granted a rule, calling upon the publishers of the Stockton
and Hartlepool Mercury to show cause why a criminal in-
formation should not be filed against them for the publication
of a libel imputing to Mr. Joseph Ratcliffe Wilson, the town-
clerk of Stockton-upon-Tees, misconduct and corrupt motives
in the discharge of his duties at the annual election of town
councillors for that borough in November last.
POPULATION OF ROME.—The General Vicariate of Rome
has just published an official census of the population of
Rome for the year 1855. In all, there are 177,461 inhabi-
tants; among whom there are 36 bishops, 1226 secular
priests, 2213 monks and other religions, 1919 nuns, and 687
seminarists. At Rome, therefore, there are, in all, five thou-
sand and eighty-one priests, monks, nuns, or seminarists—
that is to say, one to every 35 inhabitants.
AN AMAZON. Among the slain in the engagement at
Mohoumdpore (Oude) was found the body of a woman,
dressed in a garment dyed black ; she was armed like the
rest of her tribe, with a pair of pistols and a sword, and must
have been killed by a grape shot. It is said she was a very
religious woman, and was much venerated in consequence of
having made a pilgrimage to Mecca.—Calcutta Englishman.
AT the meeting of the London Joint Stock Bank, on th
18th, it was stated that the net profits for the half-year and
the balance of £35,724 brought forward on the 30th Jnne
last, amount to £80,355. The directors are thus enabled to
declare a dividend at the rate at 122 per cent. per annum,
and a bonus of 14s. 3d. per share. The remaining £lO5 is
carried to the reserve fund, which now amounts to £160,853.
AMERICAN RAILWATS.—It is estimated that the aggregate
length of railways in the United States was, in December,
1855, 20,260 miles open for traffic ; and at the corresponding
period of 1854, about 17,810 miles, showing an increase in the
mileage during last year of 2,450 miles. The length of line
in course of construction and in abeyance is estimated at
14,000 miles, of which about 3000 miles are in active progress.
THE GREAT GOLD FREIGHT.—The expense of bringing to
England and lodging in the Bank of England the monster
freight of specie brought home in the West India steamer
Tyne amounted to about £7,000. The expense of conveying it
to London by railway after it was landed at Southampton was
£225. There were 75 tons, and the charge per ton was £3.
When specie is brought to Spithead in any of the Cctieen's
ships, one-eight per cent. is -paid for conveying it from Spithead
to the Bank of England.
ASSASSINATION IN LONDON.-31r. George Waugh, a soli-
citor, of Great James-street, Bedford-row, was assassinated, on
Wednesday morning, by a client, named Charles Bradford
Westron, aged 25 years, of Newland-street, Kensington, who
fired a pistol at his victim, and shot him dead upon the spot,
near Hand-court. The murderer was immediately secured,
and, after undergoing an examination at the Police-court, was
committed for trial. The cause of the murder was a dispute
about some property, the deceased being married to Westron's
aunt. _ _ _

Roman. Sum.—Early on Sunday, the private watchman
on the premises of Messrs. George Crowther and Co., cloth
merchants, Churwdl-lane-side, near Morley, having gone off
his post, the works were entered by thieves. Vhe robbers appear
to have been armed, and the watchers at the manufactory were
also provided with fire-arms. Several shotswere interchanged,
and, the neighbourhood having boen alarmed, a regular com-
bat ensued, in which the robbers were worsted. Five robbers
were captured. In the encounter, or rather as one of the rob-
bers (a man named Steel, a carter in the service of Messrs.
Crowther) was attempting to run away, he wes shot in the
right thigh,and was subsequently removed to the Leeds Gen-
eral Infirmary, in which institution he expired on Wednesday
morning, of the wound he had received.
THE SULTAN AS PATER PAMILI4S.—We find the following
curious bit of gossip in the Paris =letters of the Globe :
According 'to the letter from Constantinople, it seems that
the Sultan has brought up the ladies of his family in extrava-
gant habits, which, it seems, lead their august father into
difficulties. One of his highness's daughters, whose marriage
with a son.ef Reschid Pasha, was not long since recorded, is, it
-seems, in debt to the amount of 10,000 piastres, and Alide
Sultana is down' in the books of-Stamboul tradesmen for a
larger sum. It seems rather hard to a Western mind that
the Sultan should be made responsible for the little
'accounts' of his married daughters ; but this, it appears, is
the case, as the Pattie gives us to understand that in conse-
quence of these drains upon his -purse the Padischah's allow-
ance has been increased by several thousand piastres."
PRINCELY BEQUESTS.—The late John Ferguson, Esq., of
Cairnbrook, who died at Irvine on the Bth of January, was
born in that burgh on the 28th March, 1787. At his death
he ha:el:amassed a fortune estimated at about a million and
a quarter, vested in British, Continental, and American SJ-
curities, with small landed estates in Ayrshire and Wigton-
shire. Besides recently distributing among certain of his re- '
latione sums and properties varying from £l,OOO to £30,000,
and contributing largely to charitable and educational insti-
tutions, he has left legacies amounting to £681,000 to and
amongst his known relations by the father's and mother's
side---.the degree of relationship varying from cousins-german
to -cousins in the third degree 'once removed; the legadies
being 'from £5OO to £50,000, and the legatees upwards of 100
in number. There are also 'bequests to the amount of
£20,000 among twenty-four personal friends.
THE SOUND DUES.—A privatedetter from Altona mentions
thatthe Danish government has now lost all hope of bringing
anything like a conference together on the subject of the
Sound dues. The government is-described in this letter as in i
the greatest embarrassment and disunion as to the course to
be pursued towards the flag of the United States, on its first
attempting to pass Kronborg duty free after the expiration
of the present treaty. It is naturally enough feared that the
attempt, if successful, will be imitated by other nations, and
the example become widely contagious. It is even affirmed
that the Danish authorities have at last deliberated upon the
plan of letting the Americans through unmolested, but of
keeping an account against them for presentation when the
subject of the Sound dues shall :have been adjusted. The
Cross =journal announces that the -United States government
has declared to that of Copenhagen that it is disposed to pay
a sum of 40,000 dollars, and not more, in lieu of all demands
for Sound ues, and further, a given sum as equivalent for
maintaining lighthouses, buoys, land-marks, &c.
TAGLIONI'S HUSBAND.— A Paris correspondent says—"An
anecdote much talked of just now proves the sort of morality
of some part of society in this country. A short time since, a
very highly-famed personage, Count Gilbert Desvoisins by
name, the son of a peer of France, and husband of the
famous Taglioni, the dancer, was caught in the act of cheat-
,
ing at cards, and consequently cut ,hy all his acquaintance.
Last week Dr.' Voron, meeting a man whom I will not
name—his name is no matter—a manwery much known and
liked, as .essentially a man about town'—said to him,—
' Why, so and so, how is this ? I 'hear you shook hands
with that rascal Gilbert the other -day. How can you do
such a thing ?' The other looked embarrassed, and at last
replied, Why, look you here •, I shook hands with him
because I felt that, if I did not do so, Gilbert would have a
right to say that I had for twenty years taken him for an
honest man, and only found out now that he was a rogue ;
and I thought avhat a fool he must hold me for in that case,
which is more than I can stand. This speeehhas an immense
success."

PITCAIRN'S IseAND.—An interesting communication has
been received from this place. The inhabitants were all well
on the 14th of September, 1855, the date of the chaplain's
letter to the Rev. T. B. Murray. They had heard of the death
of the Czar Nicholas; but, as no newspaper was on board the
vessel which conveyed the intelligence, they were still in the
dark. Though they had suffered some anxiety from a poor
yam harvest, they had a good stock of sweet potatoes to turn
to, and the "pinch of the year" was past. They were await-
ing the measures of government for their transfer to Norfolk
Island, some having relinquished house-building in expecta-
tion of this important change. It appears, by accounts from
Sydney, that Sir W. Denison, Governor of New South Wales,
had, in September last, under instructions from home, de-
spatched a vessel to Pitcairn's Island, with a view of making
arrangements. It was intended that, on her return to Syd-
ney, a transport should be fitted out, for the purpose of con-
veying the islanders to their new and beautiful abode. All
care would be taken in the manner of accomplishing the ob-
ject which they themselves have sought to attain, and every
respect paid to their admirable principles and exemplary ways.
Mr. Nobbs stated that the church and school were well at-
tended,. His eldest son; Reuben, had died of an attack on the
lungs, the youth having returned from Valparaiso, where he
had held :a mercantile situation, to die among his family, and
be buried on his native island. Mach unanimity prevailed
among the people.
C. J. MARE'S BANKRUPTCY.—An examination meeting
was held on Wednesday, but owing to the accounts not being
ready it was adjourned. The works in progress at Mr. Mare's
yard, for the government and other parties, are being prose-
cuted with great vigour by the assignees for the benefit of the
estate ; and, recently, several large additional orders have
been received. About the beginning of the present month an
order was given by the government for twenty mortar vessels,
of 100 tons each, to be completed for £2200 each. Six of
these are to be delivered in the present month, six in Febru-
ary, and the remainder by the 10th of March. Since the last
meeting, two of the gunboats then in course of construction
have been launched; the remaining four, as well as four
despatch boats, will be lauched some time next month. There
are also in hand for the Admiralty two mortar vessels of an
extraordinary description, which are expected to be able to
throw shells of a ton weight three miles. Should this be
effected, we may easily conceive the destruction which will be
effected in the Baltic ports next summer. Three weeks ago
an order was received from the South Western Railway Com-
pany for an iron steamer to ply between Southampton and
Havre ; the vessel is to be of 580 tons, and is to be completed
by the sth of April. Though this order has been so recently
given, the vessel is already in the cradle. There are also in
progress two large iron ships, of 1880 tons each, for the Genoese
government. The works at Westminster-bridge, the contract
for which was taken by Mr. Mare, are going on as favourably
as possible. In the foundry also very heavy works are in
progress; and the operations in this department are stated to
have been doubled since the bankruptcy. The wages paid in
different departments average about £3,5® a week. All these
works are being carried out under the direction of Mr. Lee,
the official assignee, and Mr. James Johnson, the messenger
of the court. In a failure to so enormous an amount, the
liabilities being supposed to exceed £200,000 (already upwards
of £lOO,OOO has been proved against the estate) the creditors
are naturally anxious as to the prospects of a dividend. At
present we understand the assignees have nothing in hand
which can be made available for a dividend. About £13,000
has been realised by the sale of the bankrupt's splendid esta-
blishments Hyde-park gardens and in Cheshire (about £BOOO
from the former, and £5OOO from the latter); but these sums
have been disbursed in the payment of wages and other ex-
penses incidental to the carrying out of the contracts. When
these are completed a pretty considerable amount will be re-
ceivable by the estate; and the assignees anticipate being able
to declare a first dividend in March or April. Ultimately, it
is thought probable that a dividend of 10.3, in the pound will
be realised.

MELANCHOLY AFFAIR AT MARLEE LOCH.—On Monday
week, two young women belonging to Perth, and two lads,
said to be either from Dundee or its neighbourhood, had been
spending Hansel Monday, were drowned. They had ventured
upon Marlee Loch, near Blairgowrie, the ice of which was not
sufficiently strong to bear their weight. One of the young
women was in the service of a respectable family in Perth, and
the other lived with her mother.—Scotsman.
THE CIIRRENCY.—The rumour that Ministers are discuss-
ing the propriety of an issue of one-pound notes has been
current in numerous circles during the last fortnight. The
object is the withdrawal of an equal amount of gold coin.
By this plan it is suggested the metallic reserve of the Bank
might be increased, and after making due provision for the
convertibility of the new one-pound notes, a portion of the gold
thus obtained might be rendered available for the exigencies
of the war. We must repeat, however, that no authoritative
information of any description has been put forward.—Daily
News.

SALE OF PALMER'S RACING STIID.—The brood mares,
horses in training, and yearlings belonging to the notorious
William Palmer, were put up by auction, by the Messrs.
Tattersall, on Monday, last week. Many of the leading
patrons of the turf, and most of the trainers from the north
and south of England, were present. Major Grove, Her
Majesty's commissioner from the royal paddocks, bought
Trickstress for 230 guineas; but, although he appeared to bid
anxiously for Nettle—a decidedly superior animal—he at last
let her go, Mr. F. L. Popham purchasing her for 430 guineas.
Nettle was first favourite for the Oaks last year, but she fell
over the chains soon after starting, and her jockey had his
thigh fractured. The Chicken was knocked down" for 800
guineas ; the first bid was 300, and Mr. H. Hill spiritedly
advanced the price until he reached 780 guineas, when he
stopped. The horse was ultimately sold to Mr. Harlock, who,
it was understood, bought him for "a noble lord." For the
three-year-old filly, by Melbourne, out of Seaweed, Mr. Sargent
gave 590 guineas. Staffordshire Nan was purchased for 300
guineas.

Ax UNHAPPY MISTAKE.--A melancholy accident hap-
pened on Sunday night in the cemetery of Montmartre, near
Paris. In consequence of numerous thefts which had lately
been committed in the tombs, orders had been given to the
guards to exercise the greatest vigilance; during the night-
time they were armed with carbines, and were instructed to
fire even after a single challenge, if unanswered. On the
night in question, M. Vaulabelle, the director of the ceme-
tery, being desirous of ascertaining by personal inspection
whether his orders had been executed, proceeded to visit
the different parts of the cemetery alone. Having reached
a part of the wall which had been particularly noticed as
bearing marks of a recent escalade, one of the guards stationed
there, named Mabille, challenged him three times, and, most
unaccountably, receiving-no answer, fired. A groan convinced
him that his shot had taken effect, and calling to his com-
panions, he hastened with them to the spot, where they
found, not the nocturnal thief they expected, but their own
chief, weltering in his blood. They instantly conveyed him
to his room and procured surgical aid, but in vain. The ball
had penetrated through the body not far from the heart,
at the same time fracturing two fingers of his right hand,
which the victim had thrust between his coat, when buttoned
up, and his waistcoat. M. Vaulabelle has left a widow and
two young children. Notwithstanding the excellent character
of Mabille, he has been provisionally placed under arrest.—
Galignani's Messenger.
ENTRY OF A. NUNNERY.—At the Leeds Court-house, on
Monday, three respectable young men were charged with
burglariously entering the convent of the Sisters of Mercy, in
Cross-green-lane, York-road, Leeds, early on Sunday. The;
charge was instituted by Sister Mary St. Joseph. In defence,
it was urged that there was no felonious intention in the
matter; that they had all been drinking together at the
Queen, in Roimdhay-road ; that at midnight they left that
house considerably excited by liquor; that on their way
home one of them proposed to his companions to go and have
a lark at the nunnery ; that they all agreed, and went down
to the nunnery, and obtained admittance into the garden by
climbing a wall ; that they had then no intention of entering
the house, but finding the sash of the library window un-
fastened, they had entered that room and thrown about several
articles found upon the tables; that they had also thrown
several devotional books and other articles out of the window
into the garden ; that when they were alarmed by the police.
man's rattle, they did not offer any resistance, but gave
themselves into custody • and that there was no felonious
intent. After a brief deliberation, Joseph Richardson, Esq.,
chairman, intimated that the bench were willing to take a
merciful view of this case; and if the prisoners would pay £5
each to the Leeds Infirmary, they would be discharged. The
money was immediately paid, and they were discharged from
tugtody.
AFFECTING INSTANCE -GE SUDDEN DEATH.—On Tues-
'day night, Mr. John Burgess, shoemaker, of Lowestoft, was
'expecting his son home from a sea voyage of between three
and four years' duration. He had, we believe, been disap-
pointed in meeting him two or three nights,.and on Tuesday
'was again on his way down to the station to meet the ten,
p.m., train. It appears that the train had arrived, and, when
against the Crown Hotel, the son, on his way up, met the
father, but neither appeared fully to recognise -each other. The
son walked on and the father overtook him, looked at him,
and passed ahead of him, not even then identifying his son,
until the latter said, " Hold hard, father, don't be in a hurry,"
when he stopped and said, "Is that you, John !" They
walked on together, when the son went into Water's beershop,
and wished the father to go forward and break the news of his
arrival to his mother. "Observing that .he looked pale and
excited, the son wished him to take something, but he did
not, and proceeded to inform his wife of the son's arrival, in-
tending to go back and return with him. The son, finding
he did not come, feared that his mother had been upset, went
home, and found his lather a corpse on the floor. On re-
turning he bad opened the door and exclaimed, " Maria,
John !"—and fell down dead before finishing the sentence.
He was a most affectionate father, and, no doubt, the joy he
experienced on the return of his son was more than his frame
could bear.—Norfolk Chronicle.

TILE BALTIC TRADE OF RusslA.—Letters from Elsinore,
of the Bth instant, state that the weather continued mild, and
that a number of vessels with coals and salt had proceeded to
Riga and Revel. An American ship and two fruit ships from
Messina had arrived at Revel in five days from Copenhagen.
Another American vessel, the Telegraph, from London for
Revel, was reported in the Cattegat. The apathy of the Allied
governments in having taken no precautions against the pro-
babilities of a mild season, and the consequent continuance of
open water, is a subject of general remark. Advices from
.Memel give the statistics for the past year of the Russian
exports and imports carried on through that port, and demon-
strate that the traffic, the profits of which,constitute one of
the inducements for the complicity of Prussia in the prolonga-
tion of the war, instead of being checked, is largely increasing.
The quantity of flax exported was 47,000 tons against 32,230
tons in 1854, and of tallow 25,140 tons against 15,500 tons.
Hemp shows a moderate diminution, the totals being 17,930
tons against 20,510 tons in the preceding year; but this is
attributed to the amount of the supplies already on the market.
With regard to the goods sent into Russia, the totals last year
were 6,466 tons of cotton', 4,821 of sugar, 376 of indigo, 4,216
of oil, 2,093 of coffee, and 532 of rice. In addition to these,
all kinds of munitions of war are stated to havebeen forwarded
across the frontier with such perfect connivance on the part
of the Prussian authorities as to have reduced the current
prices for them to a point in many instances almost approach-
ing those in times of peace. The port of Konigsberg has like-
'wise, in its degree, been characterised by corresponding
Activity. The stocks of goods in bond at Memel on the 31st
-of last month are stated to have been :—Hardware, 117 tons;
wine, 52 tons; fruit, 40 tons; spices, 64 tons; coffee, 45 tons;
rice, 98 tons ; tea, 108 tons; sugar, 6 tons ; oil, 28 tons ; salt,
26,500 tons ; and herrings, 5,020 casks.
ATTEMPT TO POISON A WlFE.—Thomas Robson, alias
William Wilson, was brought before the magistrates at New-
eastle-on-Tyne, on Monday, on remand, charged with attempt-
ing to poison his wife, Elizabeth, and her fellow-servant, on
the Ist of December last. The prisoner was a deserter from
the Coldstream Guards, and was separated from his wife. On
the Ist of December he had gone to see her at Mr. Foster's.
His wife and her fellow-servant, Frances Dobson, sat with
him in the kitchen three hours, and he appeared to be kind
and affectionate to his wife. His wife saw him to the door,
and, as they were parting, he pulled a lemonade bottle out of
his pocket, and said that it contained whisky. He told his wife
that he had brought it from Scotland for her—that she had
to take one-half of it when she went to bed, and give the other
half to her fellow-servant, and that it would do them good.
On returning to the kitchen, Mrs. Robson showed the bottle
to her fellow-servant, and took a mouthful of its contents. It
tasted in her mouth like alum water, and shortly after swal-
lowing it she became violently cramped in her stomach. Her
fellow-servant also drank a small quantity. She shortly after
became sick, and felt other unpleasant symptoms ' • both women
were ill all night, and next morning they found a quantity of
sediment in the bottom of the bottle. Upon submitting the
sediment to a chemical test, Dr. Richardson discovered it to be
impregnated with sugar of lead ( a poison), in the proportion
of twenty grains of sugar of lead to each ounce of liquid.
Twenty grains of sugar of lead are sufficient to poison one
person, so that, after the sediment had been drained off, there
had been sufficient poison left in the bottle to kill five persons.
When apprehended, at Acomb, the prisoner had denied that
he was a married man, that his name was Robson, or that he
had been at Newcastle on the Ist of December. He was again
remanded.
DEPUTATION FROM THE GREAT DESERT OF SA.UARA.—
The Akhbar gives the following interesting account of a
deputation which has just arrived at Algiers from the Desert
beyond the French possessions in Africa :—A considerable
sensation was created on the 6th, at Algiers, by the arrival
there of a deputation of four Arabs belonging to a tribe in-
habiting the Great Desert, and known under the name of
Tooaregs. Since the conquest of the country bordering on
the Great Sahara has been effected by the French troops, it
has become a matter of interest to the French government
to establish a friendly intercourse with the tribes inhabiting
the Desert itself,—a space measuring upwards of 400 leagues
from north to south; that is, from Onargia, the last oasis oc-
cupied by the French, to Timbuctoo. The tribe above men-
tioned is divided into eight different branches,—the Azguer,
bordering on the regency of Tunis; the Hoggar, inhabiting
the mountainous range of that name; the Ahir, living south
of R'at ; the Ennebigh or Lemden, in the vicinity of Tim-
buctoo ; and the Kelooel, the Boodal, the Kelgueres, and the
Itissa tribes, occupy the country between the black population
of the Soodan and the far whiter race inhabiting the north of
Africa. The Tooaregs are very nearly white. They inhabit
tents made of tanned hides, and live chiefly on the produce of
the chase, their camels, and a kind of fleeceless sheep called
demman, of which they possess immense flocks. In the south
they cultivate rice and maize ; those of the north have but lately
turned their attention to agriculture. The men wear two
large gowns, a white and a blue, of Soodan manufacture, a
kind of woollen or silk caftan reaching to the ground, and
wide trousers, closing at the ankles, with a gaudy trimming all
round. They wear no stockings, but red leather sandals,
of good workmanship. On their heads they wear a red skull-
cap, covered by a kind of turban, from which a blue veil
descends to as far as their mouths, while a kind of cravat, be-
ginning from the occiput, covers the lower part of their faces,
thus quite hidden from view, while their women, on the con-
trary, wear no kind of veil, and enjoy the greatest liberty.
Their weapons consist of a long poinard, called derala, and a
double-edged sabre; a lance, a musket, and a shield made out
of an elephant's ear. The deputation above-mentioned was
received in the most friendly manner by the Governor-
General of Algiers, their own behaviour being respectful and
dignified in the extreme. "You possess," said they, " cloth,
silk, cotton stuffs, and pipes; bring us those manufactures of
yours, and others too, and we will exchange for them ivory,
skins, perfumes, wax, gum, and gold-dust. We shall on
both sides derive considerable profit from this traffic,
which will also cement our friendship." The Governor-
General intends, it is said, shortly to test their triendly feeling
by sending a caravan into their country—an expedition which,
if crowned with success, may re-open the commerce Which
was aucioutly carric4 CO with the centre of Africa,

ALL ships preparing at Plymouth for service in the Baltic
are ordered to be ready by the Ist of March.
THE London, 90, from the Mediterranean, arrived at Ply-
mouth on Saturday. She is to be fitted with all speed to con-
Fey shot and shell to the Baltic.
TIIE railway between Cairo and Alexandria is now open to
general traffic, and passengers come down in seven hours, the
only break on the line being on the Rosetta branch of the
Nile, where the ferry is not yet completed.
THE Lord Chancellor has been solicited to sanction the half-
holiday movement on Saturday, and the interests of 10,000
persons in the law have been urged on his lordship, who has
promised to give the subject his anxious consideration.

THE first sod of the Fife and Kinross Railway was cut on
Monday. This line will leave the Edinburgh, Perth, and
Dundee Railway at the Ladybank station, and will pass
through the towns of Auchtermuchty and Strathmiglo.

MEETING OF PAEmAmENT.—An official announcement
that Parliament will meet on Thursday, the 31st instant, and
that "public business of great importance will be brought
forward without delay," has been forwarded to the ministerial
members of the House of Commons.

THE SUEZ CANAL.—The commission for the piercing of
the Isthmus of Suez has arrived at Alexandria from its ex-
ploring journey. The results hitherto ascertained are
favourable. The commission considers that it will be easy to
pierce the isthmus from Suez to Peluse direct.
A LADY is likely to succeed Count Ouveroff as President of
the Academy of Sciences at St. Petersburgh. Two male can-
didates are in the field,—M. Noraff, Minister of Public In-
struction, and Baron Modeste de Korff. But the chances
are said to be in favour of the Grand Duchess Helen.

A NEw PLANET was disdovered on Saturday 12th inst., by
M. Chacornac, at the Observatory of Paris. Its brilliancy is
equal to that of a star of the ninth or tenth magnitude. It is
situate in the constellation of Cancer, some few degrees to
the south-east of the nebulous Praesepe.

ABOUT thirty years ago a new city gaol was built at
Norwich. A gallows was made by a man of the name of
Stratford, to be used when required, over the gateway.
Within a few years this Stratford was hung on it for poison-
ing, and there has never been any occasion to use it since. He
thus became his own first and last victim.

ON Wednesday mornine the West India steamer arrived in
Southampton Water in the midst of a thick fog. Although
she continually fired guns and sent up rockets, none of the
boats which went off to her could find her, and the persons in
them were obliged to return to land for compasses to enable
them to steer their course to the West India moorings.

AT the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Toronto, on the 27th Dec.,
the youngest daughter of Mr. Cooke, musical director, met
with a painful and untimely death. The deceased was attired
in a fancy costume, when the light fabric forming the skirt
of her dress caught fire, and, the injuries she suffered in con-
sequence were so severe that she died next morning.
TILE MILITARY SPIRIT.—A few days ago a crowd of ragged
schools-boys gathered round an empty house in Greenock,
and, having resolved to recognise it as the Redan battery,
boldly penetrated it. They set to work tearing down fire-
places, smashing all the windows, and otherwise sacking their
prize. Two of them were brought before the police-court, but
were dismissed with an admonition not to allow their patriot-
ism to run to such extremes in future.

ENGLAND'S DECLINE.—Those who talk about England's
decline, and fix her position as a third or fourth-rate power,
because she has lost 30,000 men before Sebastopol, talk
twaddle. The loss of ten such armies would only serve to un-
veil her resources, and bring out the indomitable energy of
her people. She is a maritime power. Her commerce estab-
lishes her rank among nations, and her navy is strong enough
to foster, guard, and watch over that commerce in every quar-
ter of the globe. When the first shows symptoms of decay,
or the latter is powerless to protect, then, and not till then,
will Great Britain lose her prestige, and fall from the lofty po-
sition she has for centuries occupied. Her successor, as mis-
tress of the seas, is even now at her side, moving along with
rapid strides ; but that successor is neither France nor Russia,
nor any of the worn-out nations of the Old World.—New
York Times.

FEARFUL BOILER ExPLosiorr.—An occurrence of a fright-
ful character took place between seven and eight o'clock on
Monday morning, last week, at the New Inn Works, in the
occupation of Messrs. George and Alfred Hickman, at Lea-
brook, near Wednesbury. At these extensive works there are
five boilers in operation. Two of these (oblong-shaped) were
under the charge of a man, named Thomas Stackhouse, and it
was through the explosion of one of them that the catastrophe
occurred. It appears that the puddlers were about to make
their first " draw" in the morning, when without any pre-
liminary alarm, the boiler exploded with a terrific crash which
was heard for a considerable distance. The effects were most
destructive. The roofs of the mill and other buildings belong-
ing to the works were shattered by pieces of the exploded
boiler, which were sent with irresistible force in all directions ;
a high-pressure engine of 20-horse power was broken; broken
pieces of iron and bricks were projected into the adjoining
premises of Messrs. Bagnall, showering down upon the roofs,
which were thereby damaged, and the roof of the Bush Inn,
at some distance, was driven in. The damage done to the
works and machinery is estimated at upwards of £5OO. But,
great as is the loss of property, a serious destruction of human
life attended the explosion. Three men at work on the spot
at the time were instantaneously killed, and it was found that
no- fewer than eight of the workmen had been injured. They
were lying about the works, prostrated in all directions. The
cause of this sad affair is involved in some mystery.
WASN'T SIZE DROP'T ox.—A report (the whole truth of
which we do not warrant) has been widely circulated in this
neighbourhood for the last few days, and which we give as
follows :—A certain woman, living in a village on the summit
of the hill between Halifax and Bradford, who, it is stated,
felt somewhat desirous of getting rid of what she thought to
be a clog to her joys—viz., her husband—hit upon the following
plan, in order to quit, in a quiet way, the incumbrance. She
applied, one day this week, to the druggist of the village for
six pennyworth of "poison," (arsenic), and on being questioned
as to what purpose she intended to apply it, she refused to give
an answer,and so the "poison" was not supplied. The druggist
having had his curiosity a little excited, sent for the woman's
husband, and informed him of the fact, asking him if he
knew want she could want with it, after which the man made
an answer by very jocosely saying he could not tell, unless she
wanted to poison him. At last it was agreed that if she went
a second time something harmless should be sold to her, and
the man informed of the fact. This was done, and a small por-
tion of magnesia was exchanged for the sixpence. The husband
was informed how the "bull was running," and went home at
noon to a meat pie for dinner, but, unfortunately for the " wo-
man trap-layer," he had lost his appetite, and so he freely
invited his " better half " (?) to partake of the good pie she
had made. Seeing, however, that she also was without an
appetite, he found himself an appetite, and, as the phrase goes,
he set to and "pitched" into it. The "gude wife" would, doubt-
less, then imagine that everything was going on nicely, and so
all was. After dinner, of course a little rest, and during rest
came on sickness, then thirst, the kind wife furnishing water
to drink. After water the man became still worse, when the
"sharer of his sorrows" pretended to be much alarmed indeed.
Ultimately the poisoned man died. The woman's fears and
cares, now that he was dead, all left her, and she went up
stairs and put a strong cord through a hole in the floor, going
down again to adjust it nicely round the dead man's neck ;
after which she again went up the stair and began to pull
away at the rope. In the mean time the cord was put round
the table leg, and that useful domestic article was suspended
in place of the other one. John, having now seen the "move,"
stole up quietly to see the rope rightly fastened. On the feel-
ings of the perfidious woman, on seeing her dead husband so
suddenly come to life again, we cannot enlarge. Suffice it to
say, that, in addition to her internal feelings of dismay, she
very shortly had her external feelings also, for we are told that
the tragic scene ended in the man giving her " a right good
walloping."—Leeds Intelligencer.

THE AMERICANS AS PAINTED BY THEMSELVES.—There
is not much doubt that in point of morals at the north and
east we are retrograding. We build great clippers and astonish-
ing bridges, but in the arts we are behind the old Greeks; in
the graces we sadly need missionaries; a wild Indian is more
polite, more generous, more civilized than many a New York
politician; in morals we have examples of deformity almost
as gross as those of the lowest South Sea Islanders ; and
future historians will write that we are more superstitious
and bigotted than the most insane worshipper of Brahma,
the most profound devotee of Johanna Southcote, or the most
ardent disciple of witch-hanging, Quaker-whipping Cotton
Mather. The criminal calendar of 1855 will substantiate a
great deal of what we have said. The Mormons at Utah—the
Free Lovers in New York and Winconsin—the insane asylums
filled with maniacs on the subject of spiritualism—the general
tendency on the part of a large portion of our infatuated
people to run after anything that is new, however absurd it
may be, and the readiness of certain papers to sustain novel
doctrines without any regard to their foundation or tendency,
is further evidence that, although we may be "smart people"
in the making of revolvers and patent pitchforks, we are in
some respects the greatest mass of fools that ever lived in any
age of the world. There is not so much talk now-a-days
about the spiritual humbug, but we hear of it frequently
through its effects. (Some incidents are here given.) 'We
have thrown together these facts to show that, while we are
boasting of our elightenment and our greatness and our learn-
ing, we are still, in some respects, little better than savages.
The spiritual delusion has spread into all ranks of society,
from the highest to the lowest ; the free love and affinity
humbug has grown out of it, and the tone of public morals
has been much lowered. The home circle has been dese-
crated wives have left their husbands children have
disowned their parents. The victims of all these delusions
have been swindled and humbugged and murdered right and
left. And the end is not yet.—New York Herald.
VALDE OF IMMIGRANTS IN AMERICA.—We have estimated
in a previous article the moneyed loss sustained by the country
in this year's decrease of immigration. We drew the estimate
merely from two palpable sources of profit which would be
cut off by cessation of immigration, leaving others less appa-
rent, though equally real ; these two, namely, the direct per-
sonal property imported by each immigrant, and the value of
his labour. The first we estimated at $13,600,000, that is,
the amount which would have been imported by the 170,000
immigrants who this year have stayed at home. The second,
reckoning the value of the labour as at least equal to the cost
of living—namely, $2 per week to each person, we made
$17,000,000. The total loss, then, for the coming year to the
country would be, on this estimate, $30,000,000. Such esti-
mates are, of course, only approximate. We designedly un-
derstand them. The value of labour is its profit. In a new
country like this there can be very little doubt that wages
would double without immigration—that is, the mechanic
would receive $3 instead of $1 50 per day for his work ; the
farm-labourer $2 instead of $1; the laundress $1 50 instead
of 75e. This amount is now in effect gained by the producers
of the country who employ hired labour, and would be lost
by the withdrawal of this labour. On a broad statement each
immigrant is worth—is a profit—to the nation of at least $2
per week, or what he consumes over and above the expenses
of his labour ; some, of course, will be worth more, some
less ; but this would be an average and moderate valuation.
It should be remembered in this are included two sources of
individual profit—the gain to the employer in the labour and
the gain to the producer in the articles consumed. These to-
gether would swell up the profits of the foreign labour, now
lost, we believe, considerably above our estimate. The first
gain mentioned, the import of personal property, is, of course,
a pure gain, even more than the same amount drawn from
some gold or silver mine in America. No labour, even, is
given in exchange for it. Foreign capital lent us on interest
is, of course, no such permanent value. Its worth is the pre-
sent profit of using it. The interest we pay for it goes to
other countries, and the principal must eventually be with-
drawn. Such moneyed estimates of the value of men as these
seem low and selfish, and yet there are some who can be
affected by nothing else. It is desirable to show to them that
in this case humanity and property lie in the same path.—
New Pirk Daily Times',

TIIE second daughter of Queen Christina is engaged to be
married to Prince del Drago.
THE Roman finances show a deficit of a million of crowns in
a revenue of twelve millions.

IT is announced that the Commissioners of Customs have
granted permission to fortify foreign wines in bond with
British spirit.

MR. BODKIN having declined to accept the office of assistant-
judge of the Middlesex Sessions, Mr. Pashley will be appointed
without delay.

IT is said that Sir John Dean Paul, Bart., and Mr. Strahan,
the convict bankers, are busily employed in prison, the former
at tailoring, and the latter at chairmaking.
SWITZERLAND still continues to be visted by shocks of
earthquake. On the afternoon of the sth, sharp shock's were
felt at Briggs, in the Upper Valais, at Aarau, and at Inter-
lacken ; and, in the night of the 7th, a shock was felt at Lode.
AT an influential meeting, held on Saturday, at Cambridge,
of members of the Senate, it was announced that Mr. Walpole
had consented to be put in nomination as a candidate to
represent the University. The Hon. G. Denman is also in
the field.

LAWTON, a clerk in the bankrupt banking firm of Palmer
and Green, of Lichfield, has voluntarily given information,
convicting himself of being a defaulter to the amount of
£7,300. He was in the habit of re-issuing notes which had
been already cancelled. He states that the money was used
for the purpose of enabling a lady to prosecute a chancery
suit, and that it is not improbable the money will be repaid.

THE NAVAL OFFICER SENTENCED TO BE HANGED FOR
CowAnDlen.—lt is said a letter has been received from an
authority high in the Admiralty, in reference to the case of
Lieut. Dennehy, which states that the entire facts of the case
were not before the public; however, the Lords of the Admi-
ralty had commuted the extreme punishment to transporta-
tion for life, which the unfortunate officer will have to under-
go. His father, a veteran officer of the navy, who is well
known and highly respected, is connected with the packet
service on the Cork station.

ONE of the principal officials of the Office of Works is
missing, having left the office on Monday evening about six
o'clock, and arrived at home at ten, and left his house again
at two o'clock in the morning, from which time to the pre-
sent no trace of him has been entertained. A letter was re-
ceived by his mother without date or address, merely stating
that he was well, but without giving any clue to his where-
abouts or his reason for absenting himself. From the state-
ments of his friends, it appears that he has for some time been
in a very excited and nervous state, and they are very appre-
hensive that his mind has become affected.

CONVENTION wurr JAPAN.—The Gazette of Tuesday
evening contains a copy of the convention between Her Ma-
jesty and the Emperor of Japan. The ports of Nagaski and Ha-
kendale shall be open to British ships for the purposes of
effecting repairs and obtaining fresh water, provisions, and
other supplies of any sort they may absolutely want for the
use of the ship. Only ships in distress from weather or un-
manageable will be permitted to enter other ports. In the
ports of Japan, either now open or which may hereafter be
opened to the ships or subjects of any foreign nation, British
ships and subjects shall be entitled to admission, and to the
enjoyment of an equality of advantages with those of the most
favoured nation, always excepting the advantages accruing to
the Dutch and Chinese from their existing relations with
Japan.
A MAN ROLLED TO DEATIL—A fearful accident occurred
at Aberdare, in Glamorganshire, last week, resulting in the
instantaneous death of a young man, named Robert Thomas,
who was employed at the Gadlys ironworks. The deceased
was engaged in the forge; and the rollers, which are used in
the making of bar iron, had been changed for a fresh set, and
were just started, when the deceased, for the purpose of
adjusting a portion of the machinery, stepped too near, and
his garments being caught by the revolving machinery, he
was dragged between the rollers and whirled round and round
through a space of but a few inches in diameter. Before the
machinery could be stopped he had been carried round at
least 20 times, and his remains were so fearfully mangled as
to be almost undistinguishable. He uttered but one exclama-
tion as he was drawn in, and the next instant he was dead.
He was a promising man of about 20 years of age, and bore an
excellent character.

ESCAPE OF CONVICTS FROM DARTMOOR.—Ou Thursday
week, a convict, named Stewart, who bad made his escape from
the Prince Town prisons, broke into the dwelling-house at
Horsey-hill, belonging to the Rev. Thomas Kitson, of Shiphay.
After making his escape, he broke into and robbed a cottage
at Spitchwick. He then prcceeded to Horsey-hill, got into
the barn in the evening, and lay there until the next morning,
when he broke into the dwelling-house, and stole about £7 in
cash, coats, hats, two silver saltspoons, and other articles, the
chief part of which belonged to the Rev. M. Morton, who is
living at Horsey-hill. The inmates were aroused by the noise
he made, but he fled before they were enabled to get down-
stairs. He left his prison dress, marked "D. P.," at Horsey-
hill. Another convict, named William Dixon, escaped from
Dartmoor on Saturday evening last, with the prison dress on.
It is reported that Stewart has been captured at Ottery St.
Mary, where he offered some of the silver spoons for sale.—
Dorset County Chronicle.

FILLIBUSTERING EXPEDITION AGAINST TIGERS.—A Cali-
fornia paper states that a company of disappointed filibusters
were about to proceed to Singapore to offer their services to
the authorities there in destroying tigers. " A full supply of
Mexican saddles, Sharpe's rifles, the largest size of Colt's re-
volvers and bowie knives, and some strong hand-nets have
been procured. A store of strychnine has also been provided.
The party, which is to consist of twenty persons, (nearly now
complete, six only being still wanted to make up the comple-
ment,) will leave here by an early opportunity for Hongkong,
from whence they will proceed to their destination. Two of
the party (Englishmen) have been resident in India some
years, and are familiar with tiger hunting. They are reputed
to have killed between them about fifty-seven royal Bengal
tigers. The celebrated Striped Bob, the glory and terror of
Wombwell's Menagerie, in England, was captured by them on
the Sunderbunds, at the mouth of the Gauges. Three more
of the party are Frenchmen, who have been accustomed to the
chase of wild beasts in Algiers. The remaining members of
the company are Americans, most of whom have had encoun-
ters with grizzlies in their time. The party are all compara-
tively youthful."
NEW PREMIUM ON ENLISTMENT.—Lord Panmure has ob-
tained the sanction of the Crown to a measure of vital
importance to the success of recruiting for the army. A
warrant will immediately be issued, granting to soldiers the
bounty money without the deduction of a single shilling on
account of necessaries. An entire kit will be given to the
soldier at the public expense. On the s‘sore of expediency
this is commendable, but the measure merits the higher
praise of being fair and just to the soldier. A very consider-
able number of men embrace the service in the conviction
that they are to receive the bounty in full. Accordingly,
when they are enlisted and come to be paid, they find, to
their consternation, they are to be mulct a third, and often
one-half the amount, to supply them with under clothing,
and certain other articles of equipment. This naturally
creates discontent—a feeling at all times to be avoided, and
especially at the commencement of a soldier's career. He
may have entered the service expressly to maks certain home
uses of the immediate price of his sacrifice of his freedom,
and, when he finds that that object is unattainable by the
heavy deduction to which he has been subjected, he is
naturally soured, and his whole career becomes coloured by
his early dissatisfaction.— United Service Gazette.
THE EMPEROR AND THE CIIILD.—The following incident
marked the review of Tuesday :—" At the moment when the
Emperor was passing in front of the Zouaves of the Guard,
the son of the cantiniere of the regiment, a boy of about seven
years of age, and already wearinn, the Zouave uniform, drew
near the Emperor and presented to him a fine bouquet of
violets. His Majesty bent down from his horse, and touching
the child with his hand on the cheek, he said, Thank you,
my little friend ; go and take your bouquet to the Empress,'
pointing to the balcony where her Majesty was seated with
her ladies, and then proceeded with his inspection. But how
am I to get to the Empress ?' said the little messenger, in
great embarrassment. ' I will show you the way, my little
man,' said a deep voice near him ; and the boy, looking up,
perceived that it was the tall drum-major of the Zouaves who
had volunteered to serve him as guide. The tall man then
took the boy gravely by the hand, and in a few minutes,
thanks to the imperturbable repetition of By order of the
Emperor, a bouquet for the Empress,' they soon arrived near
her Majesty. The Empress accepted the flowers, embraced
the little boy on each cheek, and asked him his name and
those of his parents, and appeared delighted with his present.
At last the child, after having been caressed and kissed by the
ladies, returned with his tall comrade to the court below. It
may be imagined that he was asked a thousand questions
when he came down, but all his faculties seemed to be concen-
trated in the one fact of his interview, as his constant reply
was, ' the Empress embraced me.' "—Galignani.

SIIIPBUILDING IN NEW Yous.—The statistics of last year's
shipbuilding may be readily comprehended in a brief space.
Owing to the unfavourable state of trade and other adverse
circumstances, the department of shipbuilding has languished,
so that the business of the shipyards, always a faithful index
to the general prosperity of the country, affords but a poor
show, in comparison with former years. The total tonnage,
both launched and on the stocks, is 53,775, against 97,553 last
year, a material falling off. The year 1854 was unprecedented
in the extent of shipbuilding at this port, while the year 1855
shows a smaller business than any of the last eight years.
The juxtaposition of two such extremes renders the diminu-
tion of business the more apparent. The sudden and entire
cessation which has taken place in the construction of clipper-
ships is quite noticeable, not one having been built during the
. past year. Only six full freighting ships have been launched,
against 26 in the year 1854, mostly of the sharpest description.
For some months past there has been an over supply of clip-
pers, as the ordinary freighting ship, having greater capacity,
(speed being a secondary consideration,) could be employed
with better advantage. The same influences which led to
the creation of clippers (they arose from the gold discoveries)
gave birth to a considerable number of large and expensive
steamers, which are now withdrawn from service, as not
adapted to the wants of trade at present. 'On the East River
side several of these steamers, each of which cost hardly less
than half a million of dollars, may be seen moored to the
wharves, unused, and in the same position as for months past.
A smaller class of steamers now receive the preference, owing
to the increased cost of running larger vessels. The saving
effected, chiefly in fuel, by substituting the former for the
latter, is said to equal nearly $lO,OOO per month in some in-
stances. The aggregate value of vessels launched during the
year just closed, estimated at $O5 per ton, is 82,024,760. The
prospect for an early improvement in shipbuilding is regarded
as very dubious.—New York Journal of Commerce.