The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-04-17 00:00:00

BOitOUGH SESSIONS.

. .
(Before GILI3EnT iztlStEß,Bol,t, Esq., Recorder.)
ins 3+uct 6.0,1tA*.
Thornas Nbrelike (4.4 th+inias i:riottgon 09), Robert
Piegten Ka), deorge Coulter (30), and Peter M'Grath (21),
*etc charged with having unlawfully, and by Means of
false pretences, conspired to defraud certain persons of
the several sums of £1 105.,,165.,.a.ta tpe.
.„ . .
Mr. Teniple conacted ; Mr. Scott
defended the piisAiA icoreliffe and COulter'; Mr.
Littler defended Ei.'Grath'; and Preston Was undefended.
M. reniple, in opening the 'Case, Said .the prisohers
*eh charged with conspiring together to defraud several
person's, ivhose names would be sUbsequently mentioned.
It appeared that a roOM in Ityri,i-st'fca was hired for
the We !of'the priSene:rsl arid that Norcliffe acted as aue-
tioneer, The isth prisoners appeared to act under him,
and wete employed as " sWeetners," to bid for the
afteles offered for sale. In the first case the prisoners
Norcliffe, Jackson, Preston, and Coulter were, charged
with having unlawfully and by means of certain false
pretences conspired to'g,el `to defrkird- m. Clarke of
the sum of £l 10s; in the sec and case Noreliffe,
Coultim, and Piekon were charged with . conspiring
to deffrikd'Yohn Tesmidr of the sum of les ;in the
third case Noreliire 'and Coulter were charged with
having conspired. to defraud Ann Boden of the sum of
16s ; and in -the fourth case Norcliffe, Preston; and
M‘Grath were charged with- conspiring to defraud Wm.
M'Donald of the sum of 19s. In all these cages the
parties were induced to enter the auction-room in
Byrom-street by one of the prisoners ivh_o was /Mimed
outside, 'and who invited the& iii.
Ann Boden, the 'first -Wiitnast, laid that about half-
past .one on the aft&tiol‘ of the sth of March, she went
into•an anotictit‘nom in Byrom-street; where there were
several p*sons assembled, and outside which there was
a man shouting out "cheap bargains, cheap bargains."
While witness was in the shop, a man. with Wooden
leg came in, and asked the ancticrrear to sell his Witch-
for him, as he wanted t^ go to Ireland that night. The
result was that the auctioneer put up the watch for sale,
and the goner Coulter bid 3s. It was ultimately
knocked down to witness for 16s. Not having sufficient
money with her to pay for it at the time, 'she deposited
3s. ; but soon after she-got the watch home she, found it. ;
would not go, and,' therefore, refused to pay the remain-
der.

William Simmonds, a watchmaker, etetteMl he had
examined the watch, and eonsiddroall, north about ss.
John Tesmier deposed ;lint on the sth of March last he
was indueed to athr a room in Byrom-street, where an
auction lets taking place. A man with a wooden leg
came in with a parcel, which he said he wanted the
salesman to sell, as he wanted the money to go to Ire-
land with. Witness bought the cloth which was in the
pared for S.l 10s, - - _
William Lazarus examined the eleth4 tend it was
not worth more than 163. whoa:go:le.
William M'Donal/, the next witness called, said that
one night in larch he went into the auction-room in
Byrom-street. While in the room, a man with a wooden
leg came.in, and asked the auctioneer to sell a watch for
him, as he wanted the money and was going to Ireland
by the ten o'clock boat. Witness bid for the fratifr, itkAl
got it for 19s. Sometime after he i!sail aidiased it he
found that it went tot Past ty about eleven days a-week.
(Laughter.)
Olarke deposed that on the 17th of March
he was walking along Byrom-street in company with
his wife, when he was invited to walk in to the auction-
room by one of the prisoners, who was standing outside
the door. A person with a wooden leg came iato the
shop shortly after witness entered, and taking a watch
from his pocket handed it to the enetioikeei lip AltpOse
of. He alleged as a reason Tht parting with his watch
that he wanted to go 'to Ireland that night by the ton
o'clock boat. Witness and another man bid for the
watch, which the auctioneer declared to be a good
serviceable silver watch. The other man who was
bidding with witness offered 19s for the watch, and it
was finally knocked down to the witness for £l. As
he had not sufficient money with him to pay for it
immediately he deposited 2s 6d, and sent his wife home
to pawn some things that he might be able to pay for
the watch. During the absence of his wife he par-
chased a chain for ss, whick they represented" to be
gold. After he had had the wads F tbeit lime he
found that it was a good' watch 'oh a working matt, as it
gained three boats in one hour.
William Simmonds, a watch maker, examined the
watch produced by the last witness, and said it was a
German silver one, and not worth ss. The chain was
worth about 6d. •
In cross-examination ,by Mr. Scott, the witness
admitted that the value of the chain might be rather
above the sum he had named.
Thomas Skuce, the next witness, was a polite-officer.
On the 19th of March he went to the sale-room in
Byrom-street for the purpose of apprehending the
prisoners, and he there saw Norcliffe acting as salesriaan.
He also saw Jackson and Preston. Norcltffo, kspon
being apprehended, stated to the witness that he did
not offer the watch as a silver one. The prisoner
M'Grath was taken in an etattion-room in Park-lace.
This being the whole of the evidence for-the prosecu-
tion, Mr. Scott addressed the jury on behalf of his
clients. In the course of an able and powerful speech
the learned counsel remarked upon the inconsistency of
many portions of the evidence—that , portion, in parti-
cular, relating to the value of the articles bought at the
suction. With respect to the watches, it was eotatithat
curious that Simmonds was brought to speak to the
value of an article which, upon his own showing, he
never bought or sold. That at the outset must strike
the jury as very odd, Simmonds was probably a journey-
man, but why had not the prosecution brought some
master watchmaker who would have been competent to
speak to the real value of the watches in question.
Watches with German-silver cases Were extremely com-
mon, and the railway companies had provided their guards
with excellent German-silver.watches at a comparatively
trifling cost. The price, 55., however, which Simmonds
had put upon the watch, was evidently too low, as the
watches were manufactured by taking an old movement,
putting upon it a new -dial-face, and making some
minor alterations in its appearance. These three items
alone would cost upwards of 125., and the price for
which one of the watches was sold was 195., thus
leaving a little -more than 6s. of profit to the seller.
With respect_ to the cloth, it would also be seen that it
had only been sold at the rate of 15 or 20 per cent.
above' the cost price; and he would like to know how
often retail dealers sold at a less profit. The auctioneer
(Norcliffe) in. praising these articles lad done no more
than is done every day by auctioneers of the highest
respectability. The auctioneers very often praise lap
the articles they are selling; not so much because they
think people believe them, as that they may have,some-
thing to talk 'about. In the present case, becatie the
witnesses had been foolish enough to believe the -repre-
sentations of the auctioneer with regard to articles
which from their price must be of an inferior kind, he
did not think that was a sufficient ground for conviction
by the jury.
.Mr. Littler having addressed the jury on behalf of
ll‘Grath, the Recorder commented upon the volumin-
ous evidence which had been adduced, and the jury
found all the prisoners guilty on the first count.
The learned Recorder in sentencing the prisoners said
it was a great mistake to suppose that anything could be
said in the way of praise in an auction-room. A great
deal of plunder had taken place in this town as well as
others by means of ,these auctions-.-, He IfadlopixT thaf
the lesson which was read to some prisoners two years
ago would have had the effect of deterring others from
pursuing the same course. Such, however, did not
appear to have been the_ fact and ho therefore felt it
necessary to pass severe sentences in the present case.
Noreliffe was sentenced to fifteen months imprison-
ment, M'Grath to twelve months', and 'Jackson and
Preston to six months' each.

STATISTICS OF THE Naw Yon PHESS.—There appear
in New York six-and-thirty papers, of which nine daily
and fourteen weekly are printed in English;- nine in
German. In the French language appears the Courrier
des Etats-Unis, in a daily and weekly edition, with
11,000 subscribers ; in Italian, the Eco dell Italia, and
in Spanish, the Cronica, which has only an edition of
500. Of the Weekly Tribune, 212,000 are printed; of
the New York Ledger, 160;000; of the Weekly Mercury;
100,000; of Harper's Weekly, 75,000 ; of Daily
Herald, 90,000 ; of Duly Sun, 70,000; of Daily Times,
36,000 ; of Daily Express, 25,000 ; and of Daily Di-
bevy,
_39,000.

A NEW SET or CARDS.—A French paper manufac-
turer has invented a new pack of playing cards, each
card represents some remarkable fact connected with the
history of Napoleon I. or of Napoleon 111. All the
figures are of the same period, the costume is perfect,
and remarkable for the execution and brilliancy of the
colours. The pack of cards is called Cartes de 1 'Ere
In:pride. In place of kings there are four emperors,
including the Prince Imperial; four Einpresses, includ-
ing the Empress-mother. In place of knaves, four
Bonapartes, brothers of Napoleon L For aces there are
four islands, viz., Martinique, where the Empress
Josephine was born, the island of St. Croix, Elba; and
St. Helena. _ _

THE NEW ROMA.N GENERAL.—GeneraI Lamoriciere's
letters from Roma continuo to speak favourably of the
state and prospects of the Pontifical army. It is said he
is of opinion that the gendarmery, who forma corps of
4,000 men, arc pretty nearly, if not fully, equal to the
French troops of the same arm. The. officers of the
artillery are also spoken of highly, and the line will, in
a short time, with a little drill and discipline, their pay
punctually given to them, their food good and sufficient,
and their comforts generally cared for, turn out as
efficient as any other troops. With respect to the pro-
fessed rioters, the general says that before he arrived at
Rome they could bo had for 30 sous a head; since his
arrival the price has increased to 3,1 francs.
THE DISSENSIONS IvST. GEORGEIS-IN-THE-EAST.—
On Sunday the services at St. George's-in-the-East
were more pacific than on Easter Sunday, although there
were no more than a dozen policemen to keep order. It
sympa-
thised with the rector were in attendance
was evident that a large number of
who indeed
attemptedvere the yttoh at
interruptthey completely persons
;sow hnou sympa-
m
responsesoverpowered numerous
tesvice- by saying the
in opposition to the choir. At the close of
the service there were the same tumultuous proceedings
as before ; people rushed. towards the altar, but did not
few way
police
the rails,
make their
before the mewho were in attendance succeeded
and it was some time
in clearing the )
church.

PRIZE-FIGHTING Al\tD PRIZEFIGHTERS.

• I, • ,
TI-c Mast Piine:e of__WaltS T
'do attended it fight,
though he he professed to haVe ite Ste:nat.h for its
His very presence; • he,VeYer: .Watt
that the pastinle fathiritialila', arid Ole allied
'sovereigns and pae\ tanOt over to 1 ng.and, after
the tc.Ctit " on the Continent; Lord Lowther
:could think of no More aceeptable.troat.to those august
personages than a breakfait at his hence hi Pall-mall,
followed by a series of, boiing-niatches in.his,drawing-
.
morn. Th 9 picked athletes of thc.daY t't set their
very best style, an'A thf with ali tife iithsttotts
•
strangers, so appreciated the exhibition that, within a
day or two, it was repeated in their presence, amidst
:the loudest demonstrations of applause. The graceful
and manly Jackson so delighted the spectators, who, for
the first time, saw all the pugilistic qualities united in
one man, that Jackson—ex-Cockney builder, Surrey
innkeeper, and Prot4A of Calonel Harvey 45ton—be-
came the hero of the day, gaire leeiona to Eyre; Was
4)ainted hY, artists, Was be-Written by biographers, and
pocketed, as a professor of the art, an amount of guineas
from noble Pupils which could not have been acquired
in ten times the period by any ten professors of
philosophy. • •
The last interview between pugilism and royalty
when they may be said to have shaken hands, and parted-
-was at Coombe Nlratr.en-, 3t17, 46 the
Czar Nicholas, affehded by Lord Yarmouth, witnessed
the 'figtit between Fisher and Bon. The formes was the
conquerar ; and at the close of the fight his second,
"Bill Richmond," presented him to the Czar. Nicholas
took off his hat to the bruised and blaeding victor, • who
held out a puffed hand, which the Autocrat condescended
to touch with and shake between hislingers, Si_hte thfi
grand presentation pUgillits hen foreign to the
air of aerfrtsin44t those of the "Countiy," "sessions,"
assize." • •
As a point belonging to the -history of this art, we
may refer to the method of training. The methods
have widely differred at various periods, , and only
reached. a common-sense method when the art itself
was denounced as worse than useless. In the days of
Figg and Broughton, and indeed long after, an ttiglish
athlete in traiiiibg Was tetliiireil to rise a 4 ?-e, 'He took
gentle exercise (Wen • breaiefatteri 144 d ;hie
• A
and resits at clpv*lii‘, am, itihed at one, on Dinners corn-
pogiA Atlattly of stewed veal and boiled fowls !—per-
haps the two most indigestible and least nutritious of all
dishes that could be placed before him. His " tea," at
four o'clock, Consisted of rusks and chocolate ; and his
supper, at seven, of rennet milk or milk pottage. For
drink;in-the-strongersense of that word; lie allOWed
red wineand water; includiagp.atr-a7ptr!tBf Milted -wine,
after a Rises of oCeasiohAl
over, triartiti tilulfo till btd-time was considered a good
sanitary Course of treatment. The time alluded to was
nine, previo"ls to which, he was recommended to place
, . .
his feet and legs in a warm bath, sponge the upper part
of his frame with cold spring water, and never to indulge
in letting out blood, taking idphysic, or applying soap
to the surface of his body
By stich ihearis ,Was I 5 be bfecibil tb.l •
and oerlititnal bit Which health
depeicti and den the clerical amateurs of pugilism.
saw no harm in it. -On the contrary, the catechism was
laid hold of in support thereof, and our great grand-
fathers were told that it was " by temperance, sober-
ness, and chastity," that a boxer was trained so to
extenuate his fat, empty the cellular substances, harden
the muscular fibres, and improve his breath, as to be
enabled to strike without betornlng
and to bear being stritek.*iiherit turnink pallid Or
The process now is diifesent froul,.the ab'e
the inlimetiot in the hate2biam I Still niadfi
Me TCYEaeiii VlAiiiing is so healthy, simple,
and pailott, that it might have been drawn up by Miss
Florence Nightingale—only for this, that when it.has
brought two men to such a high pitch of health that it
could neither be surpassed nor even long maintained at
the same height, the same men arc ent face to face to
undo all, rapidly, violently, intarlottly t 6 mat the •
perfection,' destroy the striatum, _dud beakitit'd hide*
ruin all the strength and Manly.. beatify which it had
taken tannic)). time and pains to achieve,. •,
To judge from statistiot;
big the face., destrayt 'the. pok,ch. mail. Al .:boxeo I
haVe load a attavaty to ihto dropsy or consumption. I
They are speedily unfitted fer their calling, and,their
highest ambition seems to bellae.ownership).of
holm A taY-ra've jac/isen realise=d for--
tune, and Ghltey, Atha NVAS illii ilal as great, hi nelbat as
in victory; betaihe d Member of Parliament for Ponte-
fract. This is the highest position ever attained by a
pugilist; but„ for the one who was a senator, there have
been scores who died paupers—mere wrecks of htimanity,
stealing away to workhouses or hiding in some back
slum, and there, unheeded or unknown, 'dying, in nine
cases out of ten, long before the allotted tin=e of man;
Big Ben is the only practitioner it'he is said t 8 have
been touched by a sense Of rtligtori. Protightori dabbed
to the last in the statics; and it is a singular feet, that
the Wards—,Toe of the last century, and Jem the ,
present one'-are the Co4ple dislingeied 14e
of art. Old Joe had a,fair ,`,:tialler'+'' at "his bong In
Swalloyq-aregt, M of our own drys not
only 'celitet.o. MO artists' pictures to Adorn the Cham-
pion nBl:es in Oxford-street, but painted so respectably
himself, that critics have declared he might have
acquired fame and some fortune had he been more
addicted to the easel than the .ring. The Liverpool
judges seriously spoke of his pictures at the various
exhibitions in that growing city, as displaying more
than ordinary talent.
From the period of the artistic Ward,. pugilism.„hae'
slowly declined. The tone of society inirresk;edl Gild it
was no longer necessary thttt nihil &hohld be prepared to
chastise ruflia.Aiset: kin*. a "great fight" and a "great
era's" fote*ed ; but the whole affair into the hands of
the "roughs," and gentlemen " fought shy" of all con-
nection with them. Then it was that_ Deaf Burke, in a
fight with whom. Simon Byrne was killed, crossed the
Atlantic, and challenged America. "On the 30th of
May, 1837, says the author of 'Fights for the Cham-
pionship," he .fought and beat O'Rourke, narrowly
escaping with his life from the friends of thn latter,
who, armed with bowie-knives; .tilitatehea to make
mincemeat of him, betailse he presumed to beat their
pet. In the rolloWlilg August he defeated one O'Con-
nell, hear N'ew York, and then set his face towards Old
tegland.”
The wounded "honour" of America was supposed to
have been appeased by the result of a battle fought on
Crookham Common, in February, 1841, between Ham-
mer Lane and Yankee Sullivan, in which the latter was -
the ViCtOr. Well-grounded suspicions arose howevet,
that the so-called Yankee was really an Itth lad who
had resided in America;" and now a genuine American,
named Heenan,. and -nick-named the Benicia Boy, has
come Over Jhere) and his seeking an opportunity to do
the best for h's country in au encounter with Tom
qyers. 'a renowned little fellow, of some 10 stone odd
and 5 ft. 8 in. in height. . .
This Tom Sayers is the hero of the week. Three of
four days hence his fame will either inereatt in splen-
dour orit will darken and go dna/A. heefight-will be
his Waterloo ; and we sh-e.ll hot be grieved should it
prove to be last bitab of its kind. The ring has had
its uses, or it never could have maintained itself in
existence. But the use of it is, we think, past.
is no longer.' necessary for a gentleman- to be able
to thrash every ruffian in the -street. No gentleman
ever gets into street rows or tavern brawls. Hence
he finds no more need to use his-fists 'than 18-iWitlld_
find to use cudgel or rapier. The public peace is an
affair of police, and private differences are.settlediby
friends: at the club, not by a ring and a fight in the
public street. In the progress of manners we have
come to recognise as a law of daily life, that the unarmed-.
man n=ay not be struck, Even a bruiser does not think
it fair to 'strike a mad who cannot -spar. Thus,
there is a sort of moral disarmament effected by mutual
consent. .That this change is in favour of chi-
valry and courtesy, no one can doubt ; nor is it pusst-
ble to believe, with some of the fiercer admirers of the
noble art, that English gentlemen have 'degenerated in
strength or courage since this change. Alma, Inker-
man, Delhi, Lucknow, Answer for that. Boating,
cricket, rifle drill, are the substitutes for boxing a
generation which is certainly not wanting in manliness
and prowess. Hence, though the ring will long retain
its interest for the student of English manners, boxing
may now; like carte and tierce, pass out of being with-
out moral or material loss to mankind.—Atheamon.

Mr. E. -S. Erskine, now Secretary of Legation at
Stockholm, is appointed Secretary of Legation to the
mission at St. Yetersburg. • Mr. Edwin Corbett, who
was secretary to the late mission at Florence, is ap-
pointed Secretary of Legation at Stockholm.
" The eruption of Vesuvius continues and increases,"
writes a friend 'from Naples, " and during the last week
the surface of the mountain has undergone great changes.
On Friday night last the discharges were so loud and
strong that the whole neighbourhood shook; and these
were followed by a hissing sound, as of a rapidly-
flowing river. Looking into the crater, one sees a body
of liquid fire; and on one occasion a tri-coloured jet
was thrown up ; so that it is generally expected that'
Commendatore Ajossa will send up a body of police
to take note of and suppress this treasonable demon-
stration. The three colours—blue, violet, and black
—were not, it is true, the Italian colours ; but we do
not stand to trifles here; number is as suspicious an
element as colour. As these variegated circles of fire
made their appearance, the crater shook with the
violence of .the effort. From the foot of the mountain
a stream of water and of lava issued, and ran so rapidly
that in one hour it advanced a mile ; its course was
then slower, and always in the direction of Torre del
Greco. Towards Rosma the Guides counted twenty
currents; and in the midst of them had 'been formed a
lake of fire full forty feet in circumference. The
appearance of the mountain from' Naples is, of course,
'very striking."—Athenreum.
CITY TIWIWAYS.—The Illustrated News of last
week gave a woodcut and account of the Metropolitan
Railway now being constructed, from which it appears
the length of road will be about four miles, and capital
800,000, or an average of 1;200,000 per mile. Now
it occurs to one who has seen the practical working of
the city passenger railroads in New York, Brooklyn,
andsh e2r0e0)B:
000 st Boston,
shouldnp ,ert that
ti
es similar irl
used
sroerodt ones ei
instead
times
:,oseatusdowl
pad)
pisoeibfun
much
as applicable to
the English metropolis; and if so, the wonder is that
tramways, costing in single lines
pfreormeZerunlaic,th6l.wodoaaesy
to
as
ae
c4rdo2osi
4;151
double
than
in America. (where iron is 40
line of trams. For passengers the odgcdalsirrhaesrn,eicrerneegeuducishrecitain:
favour of
IsthoefAtmhreereicamninsyustteesm,
instead of at stations from half a mile to a mile
apart, avoiding long walking or the cost of cab-hire.
The cars are roomy, airy, and comfortable, being twenty-
two feet long by eight feet wide, and eight feet high. The
trains, used by other vehicles, saving the ratepavers a good
sum, are laid through streets as crowded as Cheapside,
Ludgate-hill, or the Strand. Witness Chesnut and Walnut
streets, in Philadelphia, where 160 miles are laid through
it and suburbs. The lines or tracks, as they call.them,
are laid down in the middle of each street, the passenger
cars are drawn upon these by horses. Bells are attached
to the horses, and night lights to the cars, give warn-
ing of their approach. Horse passenger railways are
now laid through twelve cities in the United States,
ranging from 60,000 to 760,000 population, all being
profitable to their stockholders and useful to: the public.

111 E DAILY TIMES, TUESDAY, APRIL 17, 1869.