The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-12-27 00:00:00

WEST DERBY GUARDIANS.

The weekly meeting of the West Derby Board of
Guardians was held yesterday, in the board-room at the
Workhouse. The chair was occupied by Mr. Piling.
The other members present were Messrs. Shaw, Roberts,
Mawdsley, Medcalf, Abrahams, Roscoe, Wareham, and
Jefferies.

Mr. Gough reported that the number in the house
last week was 420; this week, 432 ; corresponding two
weeks of last year, :iO6.

The following cheques were issued : —Mr. Potts,
£125; Mr. Roberton, £37 ; and Mr. Lythgoe, £26.
A letter was read from the Poor-law Board, stating
that they had carefully considered the report of Mr.
Mainwaring, their inspector, on the inquiry he had
recently instituted into the charge preferred against Mr.
Bramham, one of the relieving-officers of the West
Derby Union, in the case of the late Mary Ann Nile,
together with a copy of the evidence of the several
witnesses examined at the inquiry. The board regretted
to state that they were unable to avoid the conclusion
that the neglect of which Mr. Bramham had been guilty
was so serious as to show him to be unfit to be con-

tinned in the office of relieving-officer. They accord-
ingly requested that the guardians would call upon him
immediately to place his resignation in their hands.
A copy of the letter was ordered to be sent to Mr.
Brambam.

According to notice, Mr. Shaw moved that a person
be appointed to make inquiry in the common fund cases,
in order, if possible, to lessen their number. He reite-
rated the arguments used by him at the previous meet-
ing, and urged the necessity of taking the step he pro-
posed, with a view of lessening their expenditure. The
officer would be a weekly servant at £l, with a premium
upon each ease got rid of.
Mr. ROBERTS remarked that it was the duty of the
relieving officers to attend to these cases, and suggested
that the motion should not be carried until it had been
seen whether they would attend to it or not.

Mr. ABRAHAMS seconded Mr. Shaw's motion, with
the proviso that the officer should be engaged for one
month, at £1 per week, and a premium of 2s. 6d. for
each case struck off the common fund,

The motion was agreed to; and on the suggestion of
Mr. Abrahams, it was determined to appoint Mr. Bram-
ham to the office, if he complied with the request of the
board to resign his post as relieving officer.
There being no other business, the board adjourned.

LivEnroor, DISPENSARIES.—New cases received
advice and medicine at the institution : North, 171 ;
South, 108 ; total, 279. New cases visited at their own
houses and supplied with medicine : North, 83 ; South,
47 ; total, 130. Rev. Rector Campbell, A.M., Pre-
sident ; Major Bourne, Vice-Presideut of North
Dispensary ; Mr. R.. A. Payne, Vice-President of South
Dispensary ; Mr. Francis Mill, Treasurer ; Mr. F. H.
Langley, Secretary.
CHRISTMAS VOICES.—Waken, waken, children ! The
bells! Do you hear the bells pealing from church
towers ? One, two, three, and a clang ! Loud music
and wild, hut sweeter to the heart than any song that
ever was sung. Sweet bells, glad bells, chiming in our
merry festival. Ding, long, bang ! Do you hear them
bid you laugh, sing, and be glad, for of all days in the
year this is one of joy and love ? Let there be no heart-
burnings to-day, no jealousies, no quarrelling, no angry
words. Be kind and affectionate to one another, and
love one another, and bear no ill-will ; for older people
than you, that have been in deadly enmity for years,
have melted their anger into love in the cheering warmth
of a Christmas fireside; and if you do likewise, and
make it a season of peace and love, and innocent joy,
the bells will not have spoken to you in vain. Then
ring, bells, ring ! The children hear you, and dream of
what may happen ere you ring again. They wish each
other many a happy Christmas, each happier than the
one before, and their hearts are full of love and gladness.
Peal on, peal on! We, that have seen many seasons,
and may count them by the sorrows, cares, and tria's
they have afforded us, may mingle a tone of sadness with
the clangour of the Christmas bells. The memory of a
dear one faded away like the flowers, the recollection of
a friendship broken, an affection slighted, or the perfume
of a good deed wasted on the barrenness of an ungrate-
ful heart, may tincture all our associations with a
gloomy shade that cannot be effaced. But to you, fair
children, to you it is given to draw sweet music from
the Christmas bells. To you it is given, in the fondness
of innocence and faith, to look forward with delighted
eagerness to a future that seems bright to you in the
setting of this day's sun, untrammelled by the doubts,
unshackled by the glooniy anticipations of a more world-
like morrow. To you they speak of life, joy, and love,
springing into birth with Christ.—Glasgow Citizen.

SHOCKING BOILER EXPLOSION.

LEEDS, Dec. 25.

Yesterday a terrible accident ocenrred at the house of
Mr. W. Langley, Park-street, Leeds, about half-past one
o'clock p.m. A boiler in the kitchen exploded, killing
Mrs. Langley on the spot and severely injuring Mr.
Langley, his daughtPr, and a servant girl. The boiler,
which was made of cast iron, was one of those ordinarily
known as closed self-feeding (fire-back) boilers, and was
used for domestic purposes. Until the matter has
been fully investigated it is impossible to state positively
the cause of the explosion, but it very probably
arose in consequence of the boiler having become red
hot, owing to the water having been drawn off; and the
feeding pipe having become frozen, thus preventing
the boiler being gradually refilled as it became empty;
eventually the ice in the feeding pipe had thawed,
and the cold water rushing into the red hot boiler
generated a quantity of explosive steam, which
caused the boiler to burst instantaneously. The
noise of the explosion was very loud, and its conse-
quences, as already indicated, most disastrous. The
door and window of the kitchen were blown out
the walls were nearly destroyed, and the furniture
smashed, and the window of an adjoining room was
shattered to pieces. Three of the unfortunate sufferers
who were in the kitchen at the time were recovered with
the fragments; Mrs. Longley's body was skockingly
mutilated. Mr. Longley's injuries include severe bruises
of the head and face, and he lies in a precarious state.
The servant girl was also much cut and bruised. Miss
Langley, who is about 25 years of age, was in a passage
adjoining the kitchen, and was knocked down with great
violence ; one of her legs was broken in two places.
Mr. Longley is a partner in the firm of Messrs. Thomas
Langley and Suns, builders, and is a member of the
Leeds Town Council.

FOREIGN AND COLONIAL MISCELLANY.

THE HALF-AWAKENED CONSCIENCE.—The Journal de
Charleroi states that at the moment when the magis-
trates of that place were about to complete the investi-
gation of a robbery of 1,500 f., committed in the house of
a Mdme. Mayence, at Ceurcelles, and when seventeen
persons had already been examined on the subject, they
were informed of a singular incident. Mdme. Mayerice,
On opening the blinds of a window, found on the sill a
bank note of 1,000 f., which she immediately recognised
as one of those stolen. "It is to be hoped," adds the
above-named journal, "that the thieves will not do
things by halves, but will restore the other 500 f.".
THE PREFECT OF THE SEINE.—By a decree pub-
lished in the Moniteur, the Prefect of the Seine is
authorised to take part in the deliberations of the Con-
seil d'Etat.
RAILWAYS IN THE NORTH.—Sir S. M. Pao iS at
present at Copenhagen, making arrangements with the
government to obtain a sanction for a line of railway
through Jutland.
A VALUABLE RELIC.—In Lyons, upon the death of
a very old resident, there was found among his effects a
snuff-box, having on its lid a pictorial representation of
the carrying off of Proserpine by Pluto. The heir
took it to a dealer in curiosities, who offered him at once
300 f. for the box. Roused by this offer to a suspicion
of the real value, which he had not before guessed, the
heir declined to accept, and showed the box to a Parisian
artist, who at once declared its adornment to be from
the hand of Watteau. Its value is something immense
in these days when precious art treasures rate so highly.
The painting is said to be most remarkable. In the
limited space Watteau has painted seven figures with
exquisite finish and delicacy of tone.
STEAM NAVIGATION IN RUSSIA..—A St. Petersburg
journal gives an account of steam navigation in Russia
in 1859, from which it appears that the number of
steamers navigating the rivers and canals of that country
was 358, of which 185 belonged to different companies,
170 to private persons, and three to the Ministry of
Marine. Of the total, 93 belonging to companies and
122 to private persons were on the Volga and its tribu-
taries. The steam power of all of them is not stated,
but that of 214 was 13,175 horse-power. As to the
engines, 112 are represented to have been of high pres-
sure, 67 of low.
THE MURDER OF M. POINSOT.—The linion BOUr-
gttignonne gives the following details of the presumed
murderer of M. Poinsot :—"Jud, who has lately
acquired a celebrity equal to that of the most renowned
malefactors, passed through Dijon in the early part of
last month. When on the 12th of September last he
murdered in a carriage on the railway from Befort to
Mulhausen the Russian Doctor Heppi, he was under
sentence to twenty years' hard labour. On the 3rd
of November, he travelled in a second-class carriage
en the line from Marseilles to Paris with a young
civil engineer of the name of Montalti, who was
returning from Constantine, and on the following
day they stopped together at Dijon at the Hotel
du Cote-d'Or, kept by M. Gillet. ' Beware of
your fellow-traveller,' said M. Gillet to M. Montalti,
for-he is without money ; I have lent him 20f.' In
the evening, when the engineer came in, he found that
his double-barrelled gun, his shooting licence, a pistol
mounted with ivory, and a poWder flask had been
carried off. His travelling companion, Jird, had dis-
appeared. The police were informed of the theft, and
his description was forwarded to Paris. On the 28th of
November this dangerous malefactor was arrested and
locked up, but he succeeded in making his escape, and
fled across the country, as has been already stated, after
knocking down three gendarmes who attempted to stop
him. At the moment of his arrest lie had in his posses-
sion some Russian bank notes and a double-barrelled
gun, which was doubtless that which he had stolen at
Dijon. It was a week after this escape that the murder
of M. Poinsot took place."

LEGREE IN PARIS.—The election of the new Presi-
dent Lincoln seems to have strangely exasperated the
slave-holding Americans, not merely in Carolina, but
also the stray loungers whom the labour of their serfs
enables to exhibit their vulgarity at Paris. On Thurs-
day last a scene occurred in the common breakfast
saloon of Meurice's. At one table sat the Hon. M. Col-
burn, son of Lord Seaton, and next him were seated
two African chieftains, from Ashantee, well-informed
gentlemen, speaking French and English better than
most of the Southern Legrees from Alabama, discussing
the affairs which had brought them to the Imperial
Court of France. Three American slave-drivers
were at work, a la forerchette, in a distant compart-
ment, when they espied the natives of Africa, on which
they insolently advanced to the table and vented their
course and unmanly prejudices in the most ruffianly
language. The member for Waterford, Mr. Blake, as
well as Lord Seaton's son, protested against this under-
bred and ill-mannered conduct of the Transatlantic
bullies, whom the law of France would soon bring to
their senses (if any exist), and teach them that educated
chieftains from that quarter of the globe are higher in
the social scale than folks whose escutcheon is a cart--
whip, and whose only peerage book is an old voluvre of
the London "Newgate Calendar."—Paris Letter.
FRENCH SAVINGS BANKS.—The llioniteur publishes
a report to the Emperor from the Minister of Com-
merce on the savings banks in i 35 -In the' course of
the year twelve new banks were authorised, and that
mado the total number 433, of which 415 were in opera-
tion. The resources of these banks, consisting of dona-
tions from the Government, subventions from the Coun-
cils-General and municipal, gifts, were 10,099,841 f.,
or 377,830 f. more than in 1858 ; and the expenses of
administration 1,321,639 f.. or 37,790 f. less. The
number of depositors' baoks issued by the 415 banks in
operation was, on the Ist January, 1,041,993, and in-
creased in the course of the year to 1,249,951; but
from that figure must be deducted 128,486 for the closed
accounts of depositors, so, that there remained on the
31st December 1,121,465, being an increase in the year
of 79,472. The number of books issued in 1859 was
21,247 more than in 1858, or upwards of 12 per cent.;
and the number paid off was only 6,897—n0t quite 51
per cent. The Minister remarks that these results are
highly satisfactory, and even exceed the most sanguine
expectations. The departments in which there' was
the greatest number of books in proportion to the
population were the Seine--1 to about 7 ; Seine-
et-Maine, 1 to 11; Seine-et-Oise, 1 to 12 ; and the
Rhone (Lyons), 1 to 13; while those in which it was
the smallest were the Lot, 1 to 277; La Vendee, 1 to
310; Corsica, 1 to 330; and the Ariege, 1 to 450.
The towns in which the greatest number of new accounts
were opened in the course of the year were :—Paris,
32,933; Lyons, 4,881; Marseilles, 3,935; and Bordeaux,
3,394. Of the new books issued in 1859, 71,137 were
to workmen, 33,727 to servants, 10,014 to clerks, 7,253
to soldiers and sailors, 44,002 to persons of different
callings, 32,313 to minors, and 250 to mutual benefit
societies; the total sums paid in first deposits by the
holders of the said books were 37,143,483 f. The report
then gives some details respecting the purchasers of
rente, from which it appears that the sum employed in
that purpose at the demand of the depositors was much
greater than in 1858, and that the number of persons
who required the purchases to be made presented the
large increase of 65 per cent.

NEW INVENTION.—THE NEW FOUNTAIN PEN.—A greater
annoyance than a bad steel pen can hardly be met with—the
difficulty is to get a good one. Amongst the recent improve-
ments the new "fountain pen," just introduced by Rudhall
and Co., is the best we have ever seen. By a simple hut effec-
tive contrivance the ink is retained in a fountain, by moans of
a second inverted barrel, above the writing nib, andthis barrel
can-be taken out at any time, so the nen can he kept perfectly
clean without any chance of being corroded. Another feature
in this pen is, that one din in the ink will last for five niinutcs'
quick writing. The pen itself is of the finest description,* and
in merchants' offices, banks, and indeed in every place, it Ns
ill
he found to fill a want felt by every one up to this time. We
have tried this splendid pen, handed to us by Mr. 1.. T. Hall,
South John-street, and can pronounce it
perfect, and we are
re all who use it will give a full verdict in its favour.
•

Our readers h we only to send their address to L. E. Perrier,
77, Regent-street, \V., London, and they will receive; free by
post, 105th edition of the •' INVALID'S OWN GUIDE," or
natural restorer without medicine or expense of perf .et diges-
tion, strong nerve 4. sound lungs and refreshing sleep to the
most enfeebled, effectually removing indigestion (dyspepsia),
nausea, and sickness, even during pregnancy, debility, ner-
vousness, palpitation, cough, asthma, incipient consumption,
dropsy, constipation, flatulency, diarrlitea, dysentery, bilious-
ness, fevers, sore throats. [catarrhs, colds. not=es in the ears,
rheumatism, gout, impurities, eruptions, hysteria, mmralgia,
irratability, sleeplessness, acidity, palpitation, heartburn.
headache, despondency, cramp, spasms, sinking, fits, bronchi-
tis; also children's complaints.. Accompanied wi,h numerous
successful cures which had resisted all medical treatment, and
been abandoned as hopeless.

TRADE AND NAVIGATION RETURNS.

The following are the amounts of the principal articles
of commerce eiported from England in the month of
November for the last three years _ _

1838. 1859. 1860.
£ £ £
Appal el. and elopes 285,040 234,800 225,087
Beer and ale 128.327 133,913 91,302
Coals and culm 191,383 222,832 272,849

Cordage and cables 8,9.53 14;471 11,430
Cottons, calicoes, muslins, &c 2,960,141 3,321,392 3,328,998
Cotton yarns 84'4,051 912,797 812,108
Earthenware and porcelain
Fish, herrings 56 147 22,426 25,910
Haberdashery, &c 294,631 291,559 237,488
Hardware and cutlery 291.531 308,275 311,918
Leather, unwrought 31,053 38,457 31,830
Ditto, wrought
Saddl,ry and harness 26,971 23,203 30,132
Linens (cloths of all kinds
and cambrics) 285,439 414,1.52 375,175
Linen yarns 149,065 180,046 149,090
Steam machinery 43,044 61,817 129,921
Other machinery 150,463 273,227 242,620
Metals (pig iron) 59 537 57,900 101,575
Bar iron 178.165 168,969 182,134
Railway iron ... 237,350 168,6 .2 245,926
Cast iron 49,095 46,496 87,106
'Wrought iron 225,415 231,831 219,893
Steel unwrought 43,712 70,723 88,139
Copper unwrought 81,322 38,832 42,802
Di to, sheets and nails 145,303 135,627 108,828
Ditto, wrought or other sorts
Lead 36,959 34,920 52,773
35,2 V

Tin, unwrought le. 941 - .0 21,684
Tin plates 100,,.
874 84,506 98,324
Oil,
. seed 100,507 83,826 100c908
Painters' colours 30,681 30,873 33,545
Pickles and sauces 23,683 16,369 19,016
Plate, plated ware, jewellery
and watches. 49,284 36,027 46,994
Salt 17,2.52 17,371 30,555
Silk manufactures (silk only) 52,363 55,035 51,415
Other articles of silk 19,393 2.5,993 14,007
Silk manufactures mixed with
other materials
Silk, thrown 79,753 57,959 61,442
Ditto, twist and yarn 21,871 18,560 33,877
Soap 15,547 88,030 16,200
Soda 73,339 72,487 76,476
Spirits (British)
Stationery 92,523 58,519 54,209
Sugar, refined 49,058 26,062 9,847
Telegraphic Wire & Apparatus 1,080 4,337 38,083
Wool, sheep and lambs' .... .. . 38,025 45,556 122,009
Woollens, (cloths of all kind,
duffels, and kerseymeres) 155,619 245,008 207,702
Woollens, (mixed stuffs, flan-
nels, blankets, and carpets) 235,444 285,i43 296,322
Ditto, worsted tuffs 280,136 317,227 227,027
Woollen and worsted yarn 238,372 326,520 303,592