The Express.
London, England, 1848-08-22 00:00:00

STATE OF THE MANUFACTURING

DISTRICTS
Oar correspondent, who dates Ashton, Monday,
says : The authorities here have spent another anxious and
harassing night. The military have bee". under arms, divi-
sions 01 county police and apt dal constables have been held
in readiness at the Town-hall, and armed patrol, both foot
and mounted, have scoured the borough and its environs
from hour to hour. The nature of intelligence in the hands
of the magistrates, it is said, will justify the same precau-
tions and the same harassing vigils again to night. It is said
that on Saturday night, after all the pretending taken, and
all the watching, the ehertista or confederates held a mid-
i ight meeting, but it was beyond the mere precincts of the
town. According to the information received of it the
meeting took place near Droylsden,. about three miles from
Ashton, and the same distance from Manchester. Shots
were heard from time to time. in various directions again last
night, and it is conjectured that these, and rockets which are
occasionally thrown up, are used by the parties as signals.
The policemen who were bound over to give evidence against
M`Dowall, the chartist leader, and against the four en in
custody as implicated in the outrage of Monday night, the
14th inst., have received summonses to appear this afternoon
before the grand jury at Liverpool anises, and their Tensors]
to Liverpool for • AIW days will take away from the sympa-
thisers with M'Dowsll the temptation to revenge, and their
power to destroy the evidence, which was said to have been
their incitement to the murder.
At 'MANCHESTER the confederates continue to hold meet-
hap, and at several of them the men apprehended on Tues-
day night, and liberated on bail, addressed the audience. At
a meeting in the Heyrod-street Institution, a building of
their own, on Sunday night, one of these parties, an Irish-
man, named Donovan, repeated a story he had very humours
nutty told several nights before, about his apprehension, and
the collision between the police and his wife, which, he as-
gored his audience, was about the warmest engagement be
had ever entertained any idea they should witness in their
struggle for the charter. The police, he said, told him they
wanted his arms. His reply was that he had a wife and
family, and his arms were necessary to earn bread for them.
They then explained that it was the fire-arms they
wanted. " Oh, thefirrarms," was his rejoinder, "if it was
the tongs or poker they were after, they blimp& to hie
wife's department of the household business," and furs
enough the wife was not inclined to capitulate without
making them rather hot to handle. He denied that either
he or his associates were in any way implicated in or bad
any knowledge of what was gwg to take place at Ashton.
They had not counselled physical fora, nor been privy to its
use. He did not deny that the partial to that affair were
chartists, and tools would always be hand is say agitation.

SHIPPING.

MAIL/ ARRTVED.—DubIin, 2; Waterford, 1; Donagha
dee, 1; Flanders, 1; Holland, 1.
LONDON, August 22.—Wind this day at noon, S.W.,
fresh breeze and squally, with light rain.
DIAL, August 21.—The Teresa, from Bremen to Balti-
more, arrived in the Downs, reports that the blockade of the
Weser commenced on the 17th inst., and that the same day
a Hamburg balite was taken by a Danish ship of war.
BIDEFORD, August 21.--The stern of a vessel, apparently
a long time in the water, marked Wakona, of Newcastle,"
a piece of a mast, and some plank, have been washed ashore
near Hartland. All the shipping rode out a very heavy gale
from W. to W.N.W. safely.
SWANSEA, August 21.—1 t blew a heavy gale from the
W.S.W. last night, and still continues. The pilot-boat
Forth, in going out of the harbour this morning, carried
sway her fore mast, and put back with some difficulty. The
Commodore, which sailed for Antigua on the 10th inst.
has put back to the Mumbles, reported to be leaky.
LIVERPOOL, August 21.--The Lancashire Witch, which
arrived at Rio Grande from Monte Video, on the Bth June,
went in company with thirtythree vessels of different flags,
some of which had been detained outside upwards of 40 days,
waiting for water; on the 22nd of June there were twenty-
, two vessels detained inside, and twsoty-four outside, from
' the same cause, there being but ten feet of water over the
bar. flu Levenaide had then been waiting inside two months
and eleven days. The Victoria, of this port, from Cadiz
(with salt), was lost near Rio Orande previous to 20th June ;
crew saved. The Xarifa, with a cargo of salt, that had been
refused entrance to Buenos Ayres, direct from Monte Video,
is reported on the 7th June to have been refused entrance a
second time, after being at Rio Grande and renewing her
papers.
WHITBY, August 20.—The Motu*, of Sunderland, was
in contact with a laden brig on the 18th inst. off Rockcliffe,
and was abandoned in a sinking state ; crew saved. The
Bedlington, of and from Shields, with sails split, and very
leaky, has arrived off this port, and taken four extra hands
to asiist in pumping.

THE CONFEDERATES AND CHARTISTS still occupy
the attention of the police. The examination of another
captured delinquent will be found in our Bow street police
report, Yesterday a suspicious character, having a dagger
in his possession, was apprehended near the entrance to the
House of Commons. About six o'clock last evening the
police-roncables who are stationed at the members' entrance
to the house had their attention drawn to • middle ag.d
man in t►e garb of a mechanic, who, fromt he sitting of the
house, was observed to be walking up and down, and
scrutinising the several members as they passed and entered
the house. He was accompanied by a female, who was
decently attired. While they were thus walking backwards
and forwards the conduct of the man attracted the attention
of some of the bystanders, who observed the handle of a
dagger or some other weapon concealed in his bosom. The
constables watched him more narrowly, but no steps were
taken to apprehend him until Mr. Ley, ens of the clerks of
the house, confirmed the statement before communicated to
t►em that a dagger or some other weapon was secreted on
his person. Upon this two of the constables inquired what
he wanted, when in a violent manner he said, "If you
touch me I will do for you as I intend to do for him." At
tt.e same time he pulled ovt a long dagger. This he
flourished over his head, but before he could use it he was
seized and conveyed to the station-house. When appre-
hended be refused to give any name or account of himself.—
A meeting was held last evening in Webber. street, to pro-
pose a subscription for the wives and families of the conh-
derates agd chartists recently arrested. A lad and a very
old man addressed these present, and a beggirg-box was
presented, but the meeting rather hastily broke upon it being
whispered that the police were in the atreet.—Last evening,
a meeting of the London Chartist Union was held at the
Literary Institution, Islington-gran. At this gathering the
resolutions submitted to the meeting deprecated any other
than social agitation as a means of obtaining the charter.

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