The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1855-12-11 00:00:00

'nit LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

ANOTHER "NIGHT ATTACK" AT THE NORTH FORT.--'
On Thursday night, about eleven o'clock, the town was
aroused by the booming of cannon, one report following ano-
ther in rapid succession for some time. The cause of this un-
usual summons in the dead of the night was to- give the
artillerymen stationed in the fort at the Huskisson Dock an
opportunity of showing their agility in manning the guns in
case of a sudden surprise, or " night attack." This is an ex-
cellent plan of teaching the gunners vigilance, but it is very
disagreeable to those who retire to bed at an early hour.
eth-tioSiTiEs PROM ME EIMEA.—A collection of in-
teresting relics from the seat of war was brought to this port
a few days since by the screw-steamers Meander and Egyptian,
direct from Balaklava, consisting chiefly of arms, both Rus-
sian and Cossack trophies, accoutrements, &c., together with
preserved ornithological and zoological specimens. Two very
fine camels have also arrived by the same steamers. These
useful and docile creatures were used during the late cam-
pains by our commissariat, and also in the more melancholy
duty of removing the wounded and dead heroes from the
battle-field. The whole of this interesting collection is con-
signed to Mr. G. S. Tyhe, of this town.
ASSAULT AND ROBBERY.—At the Polite-court, on Friday,
William Grand was charged with stealing lead from the house
of Mr. Bradley, in Oldhall-street. About five o'clock in the
morning, Mr. Bradley heard a noise on his roof, and, seeing the
prisoner through the skylight, he fired a pistol at him to
frighten him, and then called for the police. An officer imme-
diately entered the house, and caught the prisoner on the
roof, with about 100 lbs. weight of lead rolled up. He was
committed to gaol for three months ; but, on being taken
down to the bridewell, he kicked the officers so severely that
they brought him back, and charged him with an assault.
The magistrate, for this, fined him £5, or three months' im-
prisonment in default of payment.
ROBBERIES.—During the night of the' 2nd instant, a
bonded warehouse, belonging to Messrs. Barr and Cockhill,
Lancelot's-hey, was entered by forcing the padlock of a ware-
house next door. The thieves then went on the roof by the
jigger-light window, and from thence to the top of the above
warehouse. They broke off the locks on the inside door, and
emptied two packages of tea (about 20 lbs.) on the floor, and
afterwards took about 12 lbs. of it.—During the night of the
4th, a quantity of sheet lead was stolen from the roof of Mr.
Simon's rice-mills, in Burlington-street, by climbing up to
the water-spout, and then over the wall.—During the week
several children have been stripped in the north end of the
town by women.—On the 4th' inst. a gentleman was robbed of
his lever watch in the neighbourhood of Brunswick-road.
A DIFFICULTY REMOVED.—On Tuesday evening the deni-
zens of Limekiln-lane were alarmed by the screams of a
woman, who stood, with clasped hands, opposite a house in
that locality, and implored protection for her child. A large
crowd collected, and the excitement was intense, when the
woman related that she had gone .on an errand, leaving her
house-door fastened, and the child asleep in a cradle, but on
her return the door resistener efforts to open it, and hence
the cause of alarm. Four police-officers made their appear-
ance, and they proceeded with much ceremony to force open
the door, when, lo ! they found the child still sleeping, and on
searching the house, great was their disappointment and
chagrin at discovering—nothing. The anxious crowd were
sadly disappointed at this laughable denotdment of the affair,
they expecting to see some murderous villains brought forth
by the police.
ME BURNING OP THE CONSTITUTION. This splendid
packet-ship was burnt, on Wednesday last, in the river. She
had arrived the preceding evening, and cast anchor in the
Sloyne. The smoke was first observed about eight o'clock,
a.m., issuing from the companion way of the second cabin.
Search was made to discover the locality of the fire, but in
vain. The fire-engine of the vessel was immediately got to
work, and all the hatches closed. A signal having been made,
the steam tenders Satellite and Jackal were alongside in
twenty minutes, and were quickly joined by the steam-tugs
Sampson, Constitution, Independent, and 'Queen. All these
got their hoge to bear on the fire, and :poured in floods of
water until half-past one p.m., but the -fire could not be sub-
dued ; and then, as the last resort, the vessel was beached and
scuttled. Nothing could exceed the .zeal' and efforts of the
captain, officers, and crew ; and so reluctant were the men to
abandon the deck, that all were in great danger, and one of
them seriously burnt. When the alarm was first given, Mr.
Bowman put off in a steamer, and continued during the day
to give encouragement and direction to the hands.

ACOIDENT TO THE MAROO POLO.—On Thursday morning,
as this vessel, bound for Melbourne, was being towed to sea,
when opposite the Sandon Dock,the hawsers which attached
her'*3 two steam-tugs broke. It is supposed that this was
owing to the heavy pull, the high sea, and boisterous state of
the weather, which was !aiming a gale at the time from the
AV N. She.came in contact with- the barque Glasgow, which
was somewhat injured, and 'the Marco Polo, after drifting
awhile, got aground; the aftiportion swung to and fro, and-it
was feared for some time that serious injury would follow.
The most prompt exertions ,were made to get the ship oft-but
.as the water was low it was 'net found possible to accomplish
'the object. However, about six o'clock in the evening,-sbe
was successfully got ,out of her position, and was safely
anchored off Egremont. ,On examination by the government
and Lloyd's surveyors, , was discovered that the vessel had
sustained no injury.; and-She proceeded to sea, at nine o'clock
on Friday morning, with 'no paSsengers, 1,300 tons of cargo,
and the usual mails.

THE NEW FLOATING REFORMATORY.—The hull 'of the
Akbar, 50-gun frigate, for many years a quarantine-vessel in
the Sloyne, has been - transferred by Messrs. Humble and
Grayson into a fine-looking vessel. The old upper deck has
been removed, and -she has now a splendid open-spar deck,
with abundance -of space for a great number of boys to be em-
ployed at one time. The main or gun-deck will be -set apart
for a school-room, mess-rooms, galley, &ie., and the-lower deck
to sleeping-berths. -Below this there is ample -space for store-
rooms, refractory wards, and other purposes. The.ventilation.
will be abundant, and the decks are well lighted from the port
holes, which have been fitted up with neat windows. On the
second deck apartments are being made for the superintendent
and the schoolmaster, and a committee-room will divide the
:rut: 2i.suar Wlll have, ALWLl44.llO4.lliWitnl tifr awat
2,003 boys ; but the committee will not introduce on board,
for the present, more than 300 or 400. In a feyv days the
vessel will be removed from the vicinity of Mr. laird's yard
to that of the Canada Works, and during the winter it is ox-
pected that a number of young criminals will-be drafted on
board. When completely fitted up, she will be-permanently
moored in the Sloyne. Zr. Edward Humbleton has been
appointed superintendent.
HEALTH COMMITTEE.—Mr. Alderman Langsdale preskited
at the meeting of this committee, on Thursday, when the
chairman announced, that the amount at which all the sn tall
property in the borough was allowed to compound had b een
paid in the last year to within £154. The total amount at
which the small property had been assessed was 4=,440; the
owners were allowed to compound for one-half, and of t bat
sum £11,066 had been paid. A long discussion took place re-
lative to the nuisance arising at the north end, from the
deposit there of chemical refuse. Mr. Fresh said the nuisa' ace
would soon be abated, as the Formby highway board I lad
agreed to take the refuse for roadmaking. The medical officer
of health reported that, in the week ending on the Ist instant,
244 deaths were registered in the borough, being one less tl tan
in the previous•vveek, but 18 more than the -average of sthe
corresponding week of the previous seven years.. Of tbe
deaths last week, 178 were in the parish, and '66 in the 011t-
townships. The-decreasing temperature of the -season is : tt-
tended with an increase of bronchitis and other affections of
the lungs, which-tend to keep the mortality above the average.
The deaths from these diseases last week were .436, being 21._
more than the previous week, and 35 more than the weekly-
mortality at the beginning of November. The • mean weekly-
temperature has, in the same period, fallen from 47 to 411--
deg., which was the mean of last week. Of the. total 244.
deaths, 141 were below the age of five, and .23 'between the
ages of 60 and .90.

DOCK COMMIIITEE.—Mr. Charles Turner pregided at the
meeting of this•comtnittee on Thursday. The other members
present were Messrs. Shand, Palmer, Robinson, Brocklebank,
Holme, Barber, Lockett, Gregson, Mondell, Langsdile, Smith,
Anderson, Hubback, Rounthwaite, Rankin, and ;Evans. A
return was produced of the number of tons of goods delivered
into the Lancashire and Yorkshire railway waggons, during
the mouth ending:24th November, 1855, from the north stack
of warehouses, on the Dock Committee's line of railway and
turn-tables. It appeared that the deliveries were :/40 loads,
weighing 627 tons it cwt. 1 qr. 6 lbs. The committee recom-
mendedin
futuret
thato a charge of 3d. per ton be made for goods delivered
Sarsfield, the •cOmpany. A letter was read from Lieut.
ge surveyorsllngeoyst,int go f thatae facilitate
ioat
atbthee ell
tChiet y
should
;navigation:
v bDi
ge.nspb i
il Sdo
ft
uponeat mhe-
ptialeekestpneeitrs' Company, t 1
Horse Channel. AI report was read from Lieut. Lord, to the
effect that it would he extremely difficult, if not impossible, to
place a hell on that buoy, and that even if it were placedthere,
it would not answer. the purpose required. The sub.-committee
accordingly recommended that the proposal be not •com Plied
with, which was agreed to. It was agreed upon,. on- the tre-
commendation of the -sub-committee, that the Board do not
comply with the suggestion of Mr. S. R. Clarke, to construct a
bridge over the river Alt. In the harbour-masters' depart-
ment, letters were read from Messrs. Grimslaw and Co.,
Train and Co. Rie,bardson, Spence and Co., and Guion. and
Co., on the subject of the appropriation of permanent . berths.
The letters were referred ~to the harbour-masters' .committee.
It was ordered that wooden huts be provided for the shelter of
the men in the Wellington Dock. A letter was read from a
,number of the timber merchants of Liverpool, among ,whom
were Messrs. Haihead, Chalosier, Steele, Farnwortlx,,&c.; re-
questing that the Board would not allow the slip at thesouth-
wost side of the Queen'sDockrto be filled up, it being exceed-
ingly useful for the discharge Dantzic cargoes, hie. The
secretary was directed to reply, stating that there was no
intention of filling up the slip .at present. This closed the
general business.

GAtiIIETON BOARD OF HEATMEI,--The monthly meeting, as
held at the Aigburth Hotel on Tuesday, Mr. J. A. Tinne in
the chair. The other members present were Messrs. Pratt,
Cooper, Watts, Chidson, Goodwin, and Moss.—The Chairman,
with reference to the contemplated report on the new survey,.
as to the beet plans of drainage for the district, suggested
that one party, of competent enghaeering knowledge, should
be applied ,to, to furnish a drainage report, instead of the
board advertising for reports, and offering a premium. In
Liverpool the Corporation engineers made the surveys and
brought up a -report.—The Law-clerk said that in other dis-
tricts with which he was connected plans had been advertised
for; and in some eases a dozen reports had been sent in, and
there was choice ofgreat engineering knowledge. The further
discussion of the subject stood over until the next meeting.—
Mr. A. Holme sulemitted plans at the last meeting of
board for stables and sheds at the yard where the board kept
their horse and cart, plant, &c. The plans were referred to
the Works Committee, and they now reported that it would
be exceedingly desirable to erect the sheds forthwith, at an
expense of £5O, leaving the remainder of the works to be exe-
euted at a future period. The report was agreed to.—The
Chairman said he had to call the attention of the board to the
fact that the Town Council of Liverpool had published their
parliamentary notice, to include certain townships in the bo-
rough. Ile thought it exceedingly desirable that that board should
appoint a committee to watch over its interests. This board
was affected by the contemplated change. They did not know
exactly what the Council of Liverpool were going to do, ex-
cept what they could glean from a general notice, which set
forth that Garston was to be incorporated with Liverpool.
No report had yet been made to the Town Council on the sub-
ject, and it was therefore very desirable that this board should
have information laid before it from time to time. If the rates
were likely to be increased, of course this board would not
sanction any arrangement for the amalgamation ; but if, on
the contrary, they were likely to derive any advantage, then
they would be only too glad to join Liverpool.—The Chairman
then suggested that the simplest way would be to refer the
matter to the Law-clerk, with instructions to obtain informa-'
tion on the subject, and call an early meeting of the board.—
Eventually this suggestion was adopted, and the board ad-
journed.

THE Cunard steam-ship Asia, Captain Lott, sailed from the
Mersey on Saturday, for Halifax and Boston, with the usual
mails, 134 passengers, and a full cargo.
AMONG the patents recently sealed are the following :
John Lane, of Liverpool, merchant, and John Taylor, of Bir-
kenhead, engineer, for an improved engine ; Stephen White,
of Liverpool, miller, for improvements in washing, cleansing,
and drying grain. -
GAS EXPLOSION.—On Saturday an explosion of gas &-
occurred in a shop occupied by a tailor, in Renshaw-street.
The window was blown out, and a few articles of drapery were
burnt, but no personal injury was occasioned, the family being
seated in the back room at the time. The fire caused by the
explosion was speedily extinguished.
OS3ISKIRIi IN DARSNESS.—Since Saturday week, the lamps
in the streets of this town have ceased to be lighted with gas,
to the great annoyance of the inhabitants, owing to the gas
company wanting to charge £2 per lamp for the winter season,
instead of burning by meter, as formerly, and also to employ
their own lamplightem for an extra sum of £l5.
STEALING A RECEIPT.—Mr. Mostyn Warburton, of 44,
James-street, was brought up at the Police-court, on Saturday,
on the following singular charge :—Ellen Latham said that
she had nursed an illegitimate child of the prisoner's, for the
support of which he had been ordered to pay the sum of £1
12s. 6d. On Friday he called on her, saying that he would
pay the money, and asked her for a receipt. She wrote out a
receipt, which the prisoner snatched from her, and then ran
off without paying the money. The magistrate ordered him
to pay the money forthwith.
SUICIDE BY HANGING.—On Friday night, William Jones,
who resides at 54, Trowbridge-street, committed suicide by
hanging himself to his bed-post, with a neckerchief. The
deceased, who was in the employ of Mr. Taylor, a brewer,
in Trowbridge-street, had been drinking for some time pre-
viously, and on the night in question he had been scolded by
his wife for playing at dominoes in a public-house with a
boy. He accompanied her home about nine o'clock, and
walked directly to his bedroom, where he hanged himself as
above described. At an inquest, on Saturday, the jury
returned a verdict of " Temporary insanity?'
TRIAL TRIP.—The Borysthene, a screw steam-ship, of 1,300
tons and 250 horse-power, made a most satisfactory trial trip
on Saturday, attaining a speed of about twelve knots. This
vessel has been constructed by Mr. Laird for the Imperial
Company of France, for whom he built the Jourdain, and
another vessel of similar class, the Meandre, launched about
a fortnight ago, and to be ready for trial early in January.
The engines for all three vessels are by Fawcett and Co., and of
similar power and construction. The Borysthene, after com-
pleting coaling, is to proceed in a few days to Marseilles, and
will be placed in the French postal and troop service from
there to Constantinople.

Al, the Manchester County Court, a fruit-dealer, named
Lowe, has obtained compensation for damages sustained by the
delay of the Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Railway
Company in the delivery to him of fruit carried along their
line. The plaintiff refused to accept the fruit, which was in
a spoiled state when it was sent to him ; and the defendants
caused it to be sold in Smithfield-market, subsequently ten-
dering to the plaintiff about £26, which they received from the
salesman. The plaintiff refused this also, and now sought to
recover £2O in excess of the £26 which had been paid into
court. The Judge decided for the plaintiff, and ordered the
company to pay £l5, besides the £26 paid into court.

Town- IMPRO.4-ENIENTS.—Workmen are now actively em-
ployed in pulling down the premises at the south corner of
Hardman street and Rodney4treet, recently purchased by the
corporation for the improvement of that locality. A portion
of the site, in .addition to another piece of land opposite the
Jew's synagogue, will be added to Hardman-street, so as to
make it of one uniform width. The improvement, when com-
pleted, will -render the line of thoroughfare comprising Leece.
street, Hardman-street, and Myrtle-street, one of the best
approaches to the town in that direction. We understand
that the corporation have resolved to proceed at once with the
contemplated improvements at the corner of Oldhall-street
and Tithebarn-street. The alterations are much required by
the increasing traffic of that neighbourhood. It is stated also
thatt very large quantity of corporatton laud and property is
about to be disposed of by auction.
-SSEOKE INFORMATIONS.—On Wednesday, at the Police
court, before Mr. Mansfield and J. C. Ewart, Esq., M.P.,
there were several informations against steam-boat proprietors
and others for infringing the provisions of the Smoke Pre-
Tendon Act. The cases occupied the court nearly four hours
--Messrs. Coulborn Brothers,proprietors of the New Brighton,
Fremont, and Seacombe slteamers, were fined 40s. and costs,
-in consequence of the furnaces not being constructed accord-
ing to the requirements of the .act of Parliament.—The Lon-
don and North-western Railway Company were summoned
for an infringement of the act on the 21st November, at
Edge-hill, and were fined £5 and costs.—Messrs. William and
- Daniel Busby, Mansfield-street; for a nuisance from smoke,
on the 13th November, were_ fined 40s. -and costs.—Messrs.
Willoughby were summoned for -an infringement of the act
on board the steamer C,ato, on the.2lst November. Fined £5.
—Captain Samuel Heod, manager of the Woodside Ferry,
was summoned for an offence committed against the act on
board the steamer Queen, on the Illst November. Fined £5.
—Mr. John Watkinsjor offences committed against the act
in the steam-tugs Satellite and Britannia, was fined £5 in
each case.

THE ROBFAEHY ,GE 'aso.—At the Police-court, on Satur-
day, George Fothergill,.a clerk in the employ of Messrs. Cox
Brothers, was charged with stealing £350, the property of his
employers. 'On the:22nd of Nov. the:prisoner received £420,
which he was•told topay to Messrs. James Aikin and Co.
He, however, got 'drunk, and after .buying some clothes :for
which he gtaid, S.Zdas.,,he accompanied some girls to a house
of ill-fame un Albion-street. Here his .money was taken from
him. As .fimercantile..rm, who paid the bank notes (lost .by
the prisoner) to Afessrs. Cox Brothers; could give none of their
numbers, and as tiler had paid another sum in bank notes the
same dayto other parties, under the sameeircumstances, there
was no evidence. tovonvict the prisoner, who was discharged.
He was immediately brought forward •as a witness against
Anne Ledgerwood, Mary Burns, and Henry Green. The
tatter Keeps bIW iLatubc to tick, 'Aline rviatergal 'Anti
robbed, .and where the female prisoners live. The only
evidence.q.gainst the females was the fact that Ledgerwood had
changed a£s note at Jackson's public-house, on Copperas-
hill. inspector Murphy, who apprehended the prisoners, said
that for the. present ,no trace of the notes existed, as the
numbers were ..not .:known. The, prisoners were ultimately
remanded till Wednesday, in order to afford the police. an
opportunity of making further inquiries.
ILLIVELLUGHTER
_.1171 HOTEL-MEEPER.—An inquest

was •held on Thursday, on the body .of Ambrose. Donleaire,
aged thirty-four, a native of. Donegal, who had met with his
death under the • following circumstances :—He .arrived in
Liverpool with his wifea few days ago, and took lodgings in
Carlton :.street,- intending to commence business in this town.
On Wednesday. night,.ke and another. Irishman, named. Mac-
kenzie, who is about to.emigrate to Australia, were drinking
at the :.Arnerican Hotel, in Regent road, kept by Patliek
Conolly?when some angry words arose between the deceased
and thelandlord, in reference to a ganaecfbilliards.which they
hadjust-had. The deceased struck • Conolly, and then ran
out of the house, followed by Conolly,. who caught him in the
street. _As he passed out Mackenzie saw kim take something
from the. tap-board. A setae ensued in the street. The de-
ceased -suddenly called teat 9 Police," and.-dropped. Conolly
iminediatoly left him,• and was returingto the house, when
Mackenzie, who had pereeived him let something fall in the
street; udging that.,hchad stabbed Donleaire, secured him
until thq police arrived. ~Conolly. himself.was bleeding from
a wound'on ene of his thsa. els ; but the deceased was found an
a -dying-condition,•havinp-received.a.wound.in the site, pene-
trating to: the cavity :of the heart, and another in the abdo-
men:from:Which the. bowels protruded He:was conveyed to
the Northern Hospital,,lut he died en the way. In the
streeta.kcife of formidabledagger-like appearance was found.
The blade ris about a foot long, and shar,poeinted. It has
upon it isevtral inscriptions, " American Hunting Knife,"
" Roughand Ready," " Tryune," &c.; and is.alre ornamented
with a :number of curious devices. Both Conolly and. Mac-
kenzie were taken into custody, and were present at the
inquest, when Mackenzie was,admitted to.'evidonee. Against
Conolly thejury returned a. verdict of " Manslaughter," and
he was •aonunitted for trig.

THE ITYBTERY OF A £1049 NOTE.-At the ,Police-court,
on Saturday, Mr. Mansfield „was occupied for five hours in
investigatiw the following ease, which arose-sole7y from the
carelessness :of four persons, through whose haraida,s, bank note
passed,thevalm of which noneof them can telL Mr,Thompson,
a railway contractor, has an oftize in Blackstone-street, and in
the adjoining: Highfield-street le,the shop of 31r...lan:ves Kelly,
provision dole,. Mr. Thompson!s clerks and Mr. Kelly have
-frequently Ikea) in the habit of changing bank no:twat:id gold
for one another. On the 16th of _November, Mr.,l)ransfield,
Mr. Thompson's :cashier, sent an Irishman, named Brady,
nartoe,inptitiedMbere. •Tiailitir-nedpas,botionni'zsdt t
oexmlpp6al,yoyinit ootc3,
ielt
t.
ot
olaeAlpilyur.reLnowhfith a £2O
,4ino.tvimngentbioel
ftoregßrweiry the value mtehoe,
aceom
and the latter, ted dr
,
ing large notes .atiMr. Kelly's, never,looked at it, but walkedg.
into Mr. Kelly's shop, and said, "Please change me a.,#;100
note." Mr. who knew Bradyavell, was busy at the
time with two .customers, so he, without looking at the'
note, banded liracly.eloo in gold. Beady paid some money
to Mr. Lumb, made ,his purchases, awl took back to Mr.
Dransfield, in a bag, 02. 3s. On seeing this, Mr. Dransfield
raid, " How did you bringr me so much change "
,out of the £lOO note,"Aaid Brady. On &his Mr. Dransfield
I:looked at his pocket-boek, and found that be had a £lOO note;
,but supposing that Mr. Thompson might,have given him. a
,41,00 note for a ae :note, he altered his cash-book, and de-
termined to wait and ask Mr. Thompson .about it. Mr.
Thompson, before leaving the office that flay, gave Mr.
,Drattefield what he considered £l4o—in one note of £lOO, and
two:notes of £2O each ; hut!neither he nor Drnasfield looked
is carefully at the notes, and neither could swear as,to what they
were. ..On the night of the aforesaid 16th of November, Mr.
Kelly-balanced his cash, and,could find no £lOO note, but dis-
covered that he had a £2O ;note over. This pnuled him
eXceediugly.- He -searched everywhere for the ENO note he
habit aornbtliseinosanlov
supposed be had received from Brady, but he could find
nothingof ,it. He communicated with the police, .and, in
company with detective-officer Sullivan, waited upon Mr.
Deausfield ,and Mr. Thompson on,the afternoon of the 17th
nit. To these gentlemen Mr. Kelly said he had lost a ,41.00
note, but mentioned nothing about the extra £2O note in his
possession ; while Mr. Dransfield and Mr. Thompson, feeling
assured, from Mr. Kelly's statement, that he had really lost
the £lOO note, said nothing about the en 3s. they had re-
ceived from him, believing that, in mistake, Bar. Thompson had
given Mr. Dransfield a £lOO note for £2O, neither of them being
able to tell the numbersof the notes or their amount. So matters
went on till last Thursday, when a man named 0:0 rady, living in
the same house as Brady, and having heard him talk about
the change he got from Mr. Kelly for the note, gave informa-
tion to Mr. Kelly, and the detectives immediately took Brady
to the Bridewell, where he was closely questioned, and almost
frightened out of his life, by Mr. Kehoe, inspector of the in-
door police. He did not get to bed till twelve o'clock, and
having to be at the office before six o'clock on Friday morn-
ing, and feeling a " sinking " after his fright at the Police-
office, he took a glass of whiskey and a pint of ale before
breakfast. At the office a dispute arose between him and Mr.
John Thompson, a nephew of his master, in the course of
which Brady's face was rather damaged. Smarting with pain,
he rushed off to the Police-court, and told a piteous tale to Mr.
Mansfield, who granted a warrant for the apprehension of
Thompson, and a man named Maud, a time-keeper in Mr.
Thompson's employ. In the meantime, Mr. Kelly and the
police considered that this would be a good opportunity to
investigate the mystery of the £lOO note. Mr. Mansfield
said that the case had arisen from the carelessness with which
business men managed their money matters. He thought
there could be no imputation upon the conduct of Mr. Drans-
field ; and, with respect to the assault, Brady, who appeared
to have been the aggressor, had not sustained injuries which
called for special notice. He must, therefore, dismiss the
ease,

QUICK SAILING.—The Ghana, commanded by Captain
George Black, has made the voyage from Newcastle-upon-
Tyne to Bombay and back to Liverpool in seven and a half
months; and the commander has been presented by the
owners, Messrs. Joseph Heald and Co., of Newcastle, with a
handsome gold chronometer, manufactured by Messrs. Gow-
land and Son, South Castle-street, Liverpool. -

THE FREE LENDING LIERIRIES.—During the month of
November, 33,195 volumes have been lent and returned, being
an average of 1276 per day on the 26 days in which the libra-
ries were open, and an increase on :the previous month of
those lent and returned of 4823 volumes as compared with
the corresponding month of last year; the receipts and issues
have increased more than threefold, and the borrowers more
than doubled. It is computed that between 14,000 and 15,000
persons passed in and out of the libraries during this period,
being about 560 per day.

- -
BUSINESS OF THE COUNTY COURT.—The first December
court opened on Tuesday last, there being no fewer than 1,009
cases entered for trial. For hearing the remainder of them,
Joseph Pollock, Esq., the judge, made the following arrange-
ments :—Monday, 10th, adjourned cases ; Tuesday, 11th, 70
at ten, and 50 at twelve o'clock ; Wednesday, 12th, 70 at ten,
and 50 at twelve o'clock ; Thursday, 13th, 20 large cases of
£lO and upwards, and 100 other cases, at eleven o'clock
Friday, 14th, adjourned cases, and 100 others, at eleven
o'clock.

OPPOSITION TO THE BOUNDARY EXTENSIOS.—At a meet- I
ing of the parishioners of Wavertree, held on Thursday, at the
Lamb Inn, the Rev. Mr. Badnall in the chair, Mr. Brancker
moved, " That this meeting pledges itself to use all legal
endeavours to prevent the union of the out-townships with the
borough of Liverpool." Mr. Charles Howell seconded the
motion. Mr. Bardswell moved the appointment of a com-
mittee of five or seven of the inhabitants of Wavertree to
investigate the question pro and con, and report to a further
meeting if there were any cogent grounds whereby an opposi-
tion could be supported with effect. Mr. Thomas seconded
the motion, but, on a division, the original motion was carried
by a large majority.
STRANGE DEATH OF A SCHOOLBOY. John H. Smith,
about seven years of age, son of Mr. John Smith, Springfield-
bs street eoent
e, ao
fs cbhi
so ltaere
e inb
etr
sh
i3nl et
be h:
en
ni c sr
e'
olfn
as tni t
eul tdi
eorn ,
bN4v
as
se nbte home
com-
plained very much of a severe pain in his head. On reaching
home, Mr. Cooper, surgeon, of St. Anne-street, attended him ;
but he died on Thursday night. Before his death, he said that
one of his schoolfellows had sat upon his head. Mr. Cooper
ascribes the death of the deceased to an affection of the brain,
caused by external injury.
LIVERPOOL CHEMISTS' ASSOCIATION.—The fortnightly
meeting of this society was held on Thursday, in the Royal
Institution—Mr. H. S. Alpass in the chair. The secretary,
Mr. Mercer, read a letter from G. Wilson, Esq., managing
director of Price's Patent Candle Company, stating that he
should be happy to present the society with a series of speci-
mens of the products of their manufactures ; and also read
a letter from Mr. Elliott, of BlisWortb, on the subject of iron
slag for building purposes, stating that the common clays con-
tain all the elements of slag, and may be applied to every pur-
pose for which the patent vitreous slag is applicable.—Mr. W.
Dantec read a paper " On a New Process of Purifying Water,
in order to!prevent Incrustation in Steam Boilers and for other
purposes." He first alluded to the evils arising from the use
of hard or sea water in steam boilers, and to the various plans
which had hitherto been adopted for their removal, all of
which had been found more or less injurious or inefficient.
He then proceeded to describe the method he proposed for
purifying water, which has now been for a long time in use
on a large scale. The agent he employs is the hydrate of
baryta, which has a great affinity for both sulphuric and car-
bonic acids, and when added to water containing sulphate and
carbonate of lime, carbonate or sulphate of baryta is formed,
while the lime cannot remain any longer in solution, because
the acids by which it was held in solution have _been with-
drawn. The baryta is mixed with the water in a separate
tank, and the clear water only allowed to flow into the boiler.
After the reading of the paper some discussion took place, in
which the chairman, Mr. T. Edwards, and Mr. Mackinlay
joined.—Mr. Mercer then brought before the meeting the
subject of the "Theory of Positive Photographic Printing."
He described the details of the two modes by which positives
are obtained, viz., by the action of light alone or by the action
of light in the first instance, and the subsequent employment
of a developing agents and explained, as far as they were un-
derstood, the chemical decompositions and reactions which
take place in the different stages of both processes. After a
discussion, and some remarks from Mr. Rowland, a vote of
thanks was passed to Mr. Dantec and Mr. Mercer for their
communications, and the meeting separated.

LIVERPOOL GAS INQUIRY.

-- -4,-

THE Directors of the. Liverpool Gas Company have pub-
lished a reply to the report of the Special Committee of the
Town Council on the state of the gas supply in the Borough,
which was presented on the 30th of October last. It is diffi-
cult to do justice to the company by any attempt at abbrevi-
ation, and our space will not admit the re-publication of a
pamphlet of thirty pages. We, however, subjoin some extracts
relating to the more important points.

With reference to the evidence before the committee, the

directors say :
On the appointment of the special committee of the Council,
in June last, an official communication was made, on the part
of the committee, to the directors, that they might, if they
thought fit, send some person to represent the company at the
meetings, accompanied by a request that the officers of the
company might be examined by the committee. The directors,
having every reason to believe that the proceedings of the
committee would be conducted in like manner to those of the
committee in 1847, gave instructions to their officers to attend.
At the first meeting, which was attended by Mr. Carson and
Mr. King, on behalf of the company, it was observed that, in-
stead of the inquiry being conducted in the usual manner by
tne committee, or any officer of the Oupoiatiou, Mr. ticay,
the secretary of the Guardian Society, who had been invited
by the committeato attend, was constituted to all intents the
prosecutor of the company, and opened his case in a speech of
considerable length. In consequence of this, and of certain
allusions made in the course of the proceedings to the possible
' establishment of a new gas company, Mr. Carson stated, that
although the directors would gladly meet any charges of not
having managed the affairs of the company according to their
act of parliament, it ,could not be expected that they would
'allow evidence to be given by their officers which might be
used for purposes prejudicial to the company ; and that before
any evidence was given he should wish to consult the
directors.
On the subject of the gas supply in the borough of
Liverpool,- the directors say::—Under this head the first
charge in the report of the committee is, that notwith-
standing the • reduction made in the price of gas on the
Ist January last (1855), from 4s. 6d. to 4s. per 1,000
cubic feet, rather 'more than 11 per cent., the bills
delivered by the Gas Company were larger in amount than the
bills for the corresponding period of previous years ; and, as
connected with this charge, another, namely, that in some
cases the company have charged by " computation.'.'
In reply to these charges the directors do not wish to con-
ceal the fact that, in many instances, the quantity of gas con-
sumed during the quarter ending March 31, 1855, was greater
than that consumed during the corresponding period of
1854 ; but they submit that any of the following causes may
have contributed to-this result :-
Ist. It is the practice of the company -to commence the
quarterly examination of the meters, for the purpose of ascer-
taining the quantity -of gas consumed, about a fortnight before
the expiration of each. quarter, and the examinationxenerally
occupies about three weeks. As a redaction-of the price was
to take effect on the.lst of January last, 1555, the company,
in order to avoid, as far as possible, the complaint that gas
consumed during the:first part of January was included in the
kst quarter of the previous year, and was ,:charged at the
higher price, commenced the examination rather earlier than
usual, and employed an. additional number of persons, so as to
have the meters examined •by the end of the year 1854. This
-caused the first quarter of 1855 to include 12 or 14 of the
Phortest days of .the year--,a difference equal -to at least 12
per cent. As an example, it may be stated thatin Lord-street
the first quarter of 1854 included the consumption between
tlaegth of January and the 4th of April ; while, us 1855, the
corresponding quarter included the consumption: between the
98th December, 1854,and: 2nd April, 1855.
With reference to the meters, they say :
It iss not true-that, in the majority of cases, the meters in
use have been manufactured by the company : the greater
mamba were manufactured by the patentee ; but,,since the
expiration of the patent, the company have manufactured a
number of meters, and have purcliaeed others.
On the question of the illuminating power of the:gas, the
directors, after referring to some experiments, say :
The directors are convinced, by other evidence than the ex-
periments just referred to, that tho,average quality of the gas
supplied to the inhabitants of 'Liverpool is not lower than it
i was prior to the amalgamation of the two companies.; and
untrue,
deterioration
rui teoh,rae eornsf
heognuutladtl thete
ht t
japvuehi
ni ibc•
meheona sn
osymuays
made
aletiine
,evtdiotahirl loss,
1.'91,00@, is
evidence to support
5.5 TO InE SUPPLY TO TUE -SIIIIIIRD4N DISTRICTS.
It has always been the ilesire of the directors to meet every
reasonable demand for a supply of gas within the limits of
their act ; but they deny that, in supplying the suburban
,districts, they have been regardless of the interests of the in-
:habitants of the borough.
De question ofdeakage is one that has been well considered
by the directors, and they can state with confidence that the
legkage of their .company is below the average Qtother large
companies in the kingdom.
as TO TIM:COMMITTEE'S CONCLUSIONS.
In a former part of the report it is stated, on the authority
of Messrs. .Clegg and Taunton, " that au overcharge of water
causes the meter-to register more gas than passes through it,
but thatan
ndedercwhaitrhgewcaftewrawteerrehaabsotuhet
egeouantr,a,ryiteiffseecvti.d'
evident,
therefore,
is also stated, in another place," that the numbers overcharged
and
ullci
inaccuracies.; And the directors cannot but regard the conclu-
sion arrived at by the committee, namely, " that, taking into
consideration the overcharges made from incorrect registration
of meters, the present price of gas is far too high," not only as
altogether unwarranted by the premises, but they contend that
undercharged
that the company, ere no gainers by these alleged
a correct mode of reasoning should leave led,the committee to
a conclusion exactly the opposite of that expressed in their re-
port; for if, by the erroneous registration of the meters, the
Gas Company have obtained a greater ;revenue than they were
entitled to, then, by a correet registration, their revenue would
necessarily be reduced, and they would be the less able to
afford gas at the present price, much less would they be able
to supply gas at the reduced price.
In the remarks already made, the directors consider that
they have sufficiently replied to the second, third, and fourth
of the committee's conclusions, namely, those relating to the
registration of meters, the illuminating power of the gas, and
the supply to the suburban districts ; and, as regards the com-
mittees assertion, that the meters in use are generally of im-
perfect construction, the directors deny this; and would refer
to the following paragraph in Mr. Clegg's report to the
committee : —"I do not think there is much the matter with
the meters themselves, either as regards workmanship or
materals."
The other points alluded to in the reply are the reduction of
the price of gas, the suggested competition, meter-inspector,
and cost of manufacture.
The reply concludes by saying : —The directors believe they
have substantially replied to the various charges and observa-
tions contained in the committee's report; and they would
hope that the council, having now the whole question before
them, will consider that they are best promoting the interests
of the inhabitants of the borough, by adhering to the principle
laid down by the council in 1847, and by discouraging all at-
tempts to disturb the settlement of gas supply then effected,