The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-12-07 00:00:00

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

The state of our columns, crowded as they are with reports of
proceedings of local interest, must be our excuse for the
omission not only of articles of general news, but of cor-
respondence also, of local import. Among the latter is a
communication from Manchester already noticed.
.• . .

A second letter from "J. B." has been reeeived. Its insertion
would necessarily involve a reply ; but the multiplicity of
other matters which crowd upon us, forbid our giving at-
tention to the subject, at least for the present.
Whatever is intended for insertion must be authenticated

by the name and address of the writer; not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of his good faith.
We cannot undertake to return rejected communications.

All communications, Books for Review, etc., to be for-
warded to the Editor must be addressed to the Publisher,
CHARLFs IVILLmEn, and those from London may be sent
to the care of Messrs. Simpkin, Marshall, and Co.

P.littlitrit 101*

THEATRE !ROYAL

MISS FITZPATRICK, whose successful debut in Lon-
don, and subsequent tour in the United States, have distin-
guished her as one of the principal artistes in comedy, is
engaged for TEN nights only, and will make her second ap-
penance in Liverpool, this present WEDNESDAY evening
the ith inst., in THE LOVE CHASE. Constance,
Miss Fitzpatrick. To conclude with THE LOTTERY
TICKET.

Admission : Dress Boxes, 4s. ; Upper Boxes, 3s. ; Pit, 2s. ;
Gallery, Is.

Doors open at half-past six. Performances commence
at seven o'clock precisely.
The Box Office is open from Ten till Three o'clock daily,
for securing Seats and taking Private boxes, under the
direction of Mr. T. Shuttleworth.

Children in-arms not admitted.

ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE.

Sole Lessee, Hr. TV. R. Copeland, 15, Great Charlotte-street.
PABLO FANQUE

Respectfully announces that he has OPENED the above
AMPHITHEATRE FOR A LIMITED SEASON, with one of the
largest Companies of EQUESTRIANS now travelling—
composed of all Nations—Europe, Asia, Africa, and
America! An extensive stud of TRAINED HORSES and
PONIES, PERFORMING MONKEYS, DOGS, &c., &c.
The Entertainments are agreeably diversified by those
UNRIVALLED SONS OF MOMUS, Messrs. HENRY BROWN
and S. LOCKHART.
Doors open at a quarter to seven o'clock, and the Per-
formance to commence at half-past seven.
Prices of Admission—Dress Circle, 35.; Side Boxes, 2s. 6d.;
Pit, Is. 6d. ; Stalls, ls. 6d. ; Gallery, 6d.
SecOnd Price—Dress Circle, 2s. ; Side Boxes, Is. 6d. ;
Pit; ls. ; no second price to Gallery or Stalls.
Second Price taken at nine o'clock to the Dress Circle,
Side Boxes, and Pit only.

ROYAL PARK THEATRE.
Parliament Street, near St. James's Market.

This evening (Wednesday), ALEXANDER THE GREAT.
Alexander, Mr. George Walton ; Rosana, Miss Marriot ;
after which, THE RAVENS OF ORLEANS. To con-
clude with the EMIGRANT'S DAUGHTER.
Doors open at half-past six, commence at seven. Admis-
sion, Private Boxes, 2s. ; Boxes, ls. ; Pit, 6d. ; Gallery, 3d.

HIGH WATER IN THE MERSEY.
THIS DAY—Morning, 3h. 69m.... Afternoon, 4h. 32ni.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1853.

• IT is not an unusual occurrence, it would appear,
in this town, for those who are directly entrusted
with the preservation of the law to be the first
and readiest to violate it. The police, generally
speaking, are a most efficient body, and admirably
adapted for the purposes for which they were
intended by the Legislature. And, no doubt, the
public are but too willing. to overlook any slight
indiscretions on their part, owing to these con-
siderations. But there are times when they both
palpably violate the law, and step far beyond the
limits of their duty, when no palliation can be
offered for their officiousness, and when their petty
assumption of authority merits severe castigation.
Those entrusted with such power as the police
possess, should be extremely chary in the employ-
ment of it, and instead of. going beyond rather
keep within the boundary assigned to them.
From our police report of yesterday, it will be
seen that the Messrs. RILEY were placed in the
dock on the charge of assisting the escape of Mr
M'CURTIN, who lately committed a forgery of an ex-
tensive nature on Sir DAVID ROCHE, of Limerick.
We venture to say that such another bungling
affair never came before a judicial bench, or such a
hum•drum, patched-up story ever met the public
ear ! With all its demerits it has the merit of
originality !
Mr. CLOUGH, the police superintendent, was the
first to giVe his evidence, which consisted in a
reiteration of the facts of the forgery committed
by Mr. M'CURTIN, but which was entirely irrelevant
to the charge alleged against the gentlemen in the
dock. After his tiresome rigmarole was ended,
he said, with regard to the aiding and assisting in
the escape of Mr.M'CunTIN, he would just submit
the evidence which he had to prove the case. And
what was that evidence ? Why the first witness,
SULLIVAN, swore that he was a detective officer,
and that Mr. CLOUGH gave him instructions to
' visit Mr. RILEY'S house and make inquiries
for his absconding partner. Upon his doing
so, he found the Messrs. RILEY leaving their
residence in a cab, and he arrests them on the
charge of being, accessories after the fact, which
charge is most perseveringly alleged in court.
However, before any positive evidence is offered,
up gets Mr. CLOUGH, and informs the court, to its
amazement, no doubt ! that just that moment, the
lady upon whose testimony the whole allegation
rested, informed him that she had been entirely
mistaken as to the identity of Mr. IN/Tull:rug, as
she mistook the younger Mr. RILEY for the author
of the forgery. Upon which the accused gentle-
men were immediately discharged from .eustedy ;
the magistrate testifying that the unjust deten-
tion of the Messrs. RILEY, on such a henious
charge ought not, in the mind of any body, ope-
rate to their prejudice, as it appeared they had been
arrested under a mistake, but that if there
was any injury received they had their proper
remedy.
It is our candid opinion that the whole affair
has been " botched up" by the police authorities
That the Solicitor to the Bank had no hand, acts or
part in the nasty transaction, is clear, as Mr. AsPIN-
ALL, the barrister, stated that that gentleman repudi-
ated it altogether. That the detective officer had acted
upon his personal authority is very doubtful ; but
it is more doubtful still that he should have been
led astray by the statement of a lady. Detectives
are not such fools ! They know well the scent of
their prey ; and if at all comeatable, can with the
instinct-of a blood-hound trace, track, and pounce
upon it. Is it likely that SULLIVAN had not in his
pocket a full and true description of the pretended
object of his search? Is it possible that he could
wilfully and knowingly mistake one party
for another ? Is it to be believed that
he was ignorant of such a gentleman as Mr.
RILEY, jun. ? And when the lady told him of the
father accompanying Air. M'CURTIN, did it not at
all occur to him that she might have been mistaken
as to the identity of the culprit. There is some-
thing at the bottom of all this, which must be sifted
and exposed to public censure. If SULLIVAN has
been so rash as to have taken such reprehensible
authority upon himself, he deserves to be directly
discharged from the force. But if it can be shown,
which is likely, that he has merely been the instru-
ment in the hands of his superiors, then we say,
let those parties be dealt with even in a severer
manner. We hope that the Messrs. RILEY will in-
stitute a suit at law, in order to seek reparation for
the illegal and barbarous treatment they have
received.

The police have been appointed to aid in the
maintenance of law and order. When they are the
first to transgress, they most righteously deserve
condign punishment. We justly boast of personal
liberty in this country ; but if such unwarrantable
authority as the police, from time to time, assume,
be permitted to go unrequited, we shall soon be in
a similar position with the subjects of continental
despots. No man can be sure of his safety for
four-and-twenty hours together; and as for our-
selves, we have no certainty but that in our mid-
night peregrinations from our office, we might
chance to be taken for a burglar or assassin ! The
idea of such pericletation is anything but consola•
tory. If such an open violation of duty as we have
alluded to, be permitted to go unpunished, then we
say, farewell to the justice of our laws—the spirit
of our constitution—and the glory of our country.
Then the language employed by HASTINGS, in King
RICHARD 111., would not at all prove a false
augury :

" Miserable England !
I prophecy the fearful'st time for thee
That ever wretched age hath look'd upon."

THE growth of empire, the value of dominion,
may be traced by a glance at the remotest village,
or the smallest hamlet embraced within its grasp.
The cabin of the Irish peasant.— The log-hut of
the squatter in newly-acquired territories.—The
rose-crowned cottage of the English labourer,—and
the wild and lonely abode of the Highlander, are
the landmarks by which we are enabled to trace
the march of empire. From the threshold of the
peasant who has been out-run by civilisation, and
the pioneer who goes in advance of dominion, we
witness the same result. Majestic cities filled
with temples of religion.—Schools of classic learn-
ing.—Halls for the study of man's material condi-
tion.—Courts for the administration of justice.—
Storehouses for the reception of food and luxuries
for millions of beings.—Places assigned for the
safe custody of the people's treasure.—Harbours
for the reception of the world's ships.—Almshouses
for the indigent.—Hospitals .for the sick, and
huge marts of industry—homesteads- of employ-
ment, where, by the knowledge of a simple art or
science, millions of souls are enabled to exist in
comfort and in affluence.

Such are the cities of these modern times, and
such is Liverpool. Look back upon the old Nor-

nan castle, and the primitive fisherman's hut of
tie seventeenth century, and then cast the eye
song the banks _or the Mersey, and over the broad
area of the town to-day, and nark the progress.
'Jake up BRAITHWAITE POOLE'S hand-book of the
ommerce of Liverpool, .and, if vanity were less
Ticked than suicide, we might sit down in our

tiumph, and let posterity shift for itself. But
here is work still to be done. A brilliant career
thould have no end. Suppose England had sat
sown quietly at the end of the last war, to live on
the spoils of victory, where should we be able to
find Liverpool, Manchester, Preston, Birmingham,
and the many other large towns around us?

In order to enable the reader to form a correct
idea of the magnitude and importance of the trade
)f this port, we will quote a few passages from Mr.
POOLE'S book :—" Liverpool is the chief emporium
for Cotton in the world, the imports into which
" market, during the last ten years, at average
" prices have exceeded in ,value 14,000,0001. per
c' annum ; the remittances and.• payments such
' working cloSely approach 50,000/. ; and the
brokerage alone, at one-half per cent., including
spceulative transactions distributed amongst a
hundred cotton-brokers, has been estimated at
200,0001." Let,us here reflect for one moment
on the mutual advantages which England and the
cotton-gr Owing countries derive 'from this source.
In the first ten months of the present tear,
England exported
,no less than 27,152,7711. of
other manufactures, so that on her import of
14,000,0001. of the raw material she realised a
profit of 13,152,7711., in addition to supplying the
wants of her own people, while the payment or
14,000,000/. to the cotton growers was not less profit-
able to the producer.

Mr. POOLE next tells us, that "Of the total
" miscellaneous traffic in the port of Liverpool,
". that is, exclusive of the coasting trade and
" minerals, nearly one-half consists of two corn-
" modities—cotton and timber; and it is remark-
" able that, during the last year, 1852,, the imports
"of each averaged 1,000 tons daily. About six-
" sevenths of the cotton is brought from the
" southern states of North America, which produce
" upwards of three-fourths of the entire' growth of
" the world ; and as nearly four-fifths of this
" American production is purchased by spinners,
" in Lancashire and Yorkshire,' it is reasonable to
" suppose that the bulk of this traffic will always
pass through Liverpool." Here our author is
quite right, for independently altogether of our
close proximity to the great seats of manufacturing
enterprise, there is no port in the kingdom capable
of containing to the same advantage, the immense
amount of shipping required to carry on such a
traffic. Yet what is all our foreign trade compared
to our coasting traffic ? The number of ships
employed in our foreign trade is only 29,866, with
an aggregate tonnage of 6,546,320; while the
minaber of vessels engaged on our coasts is 123,599,
with an aggregate tonnage of 11,350,010. These
figures being taken from the returns of the entries
inwards and outwards, in both cases, show exactly
the magnitude of one traffic when compared with
the other. With respect to our Cotton trade, Mr.
PooLE also states that " the imports of cotton into
" Great Britain are entirely centralised in the port
" of Liverpool, with the exception of about 150,000
" bales. Upwards of • five-sixth's of the cotton
" imported is ware housed in Liverpool before
" being dispatched into the country for consump-
tion. The Stock held in the port 31st December
" last was estimated at 577,810 bales, exceeding in
" value 5,778,000/. Even the Cotton imported
" into London, Hull, and other sea-ports, if not
" sold direct to the spinners or re-exported, is
" frequently sent to Liverpool for sale ; and the
" number of bales brought by inland communi-
" cation last year rather exceeded 4,000. "
The increased accommodation afforded by rail-
ways, for the transit of cotton into the interior, has
materially helped to increase the trade. Of the
2,000,000 bales forwarded inland last year, it ap-
pears the railways carried 1,243,176, and the river
and canals 744,364. .0f this large quantity Man-
chester takes 20 per cent. ; Ashton and Staly-
bridge, 13; Rochdale, 12; Bury, Bacup, &c., 9 ;
Oldham, 81; Stockport, 8 ; Preston, 61; Bolton, 6 ;
Hull, 5 ; Glossop, 4; and other places 1 per cent.
It would be difficult to form an idea of the advan-
tages which accrue to the country generally, from
the importation and use of this one commodity.
In addition to yielding a large income to all our
established means of transit, it leaves a profit with
the shipowner, merchant, broker, warehouseman,.
the engineer, the operative, his wife and children,
and the mill owner; and when it becomes a _ .
manu-
factured article it passes away into another circle,
where it leaves an equal, if not a greater, number
of profits.
In taking to herself by far the greater share of
the credit due to the establishment of the cotton
trade, Liverpool seeks no more than her right.
If it was not for the encouragement given by a few
far-seeing men of this town to the first venture that
was made to introduce it into England, the traffic
we boast of would not be in existence. There are
other branches of trade and commerce, however,
of nearly equal value and importance to which we
shall draw attention at an early date.

Accrumrr.—A man, named James Walker, residing in
Trueman-street, fell from the roof of a house in Peter's-
lane, and, strange to say, none of his limbs were broken, and
he escaped with the exception of a few slight bruises. The
above case was received at the Infirmary.
SUICIDE IN THE QUEEN'S HOTEL.—Oa Monday, a very
painful case of self-destruction took place at Mr. Curchods,
the Queen's Hotel, Lime-street, in this town. The unfor-
tunate man who destroyed himself was named James Smith,
a native of Aberdeen, who had been for some time in the
employ of the Cunard company, in the capacity of mate of
one of the British and North American mail steamers; but
who it appears had recently been discharged for, it is stated,
unsteady habits. On Thursday evening, the deceased went
to stop at the Queen's Hotel, and nothing peculiar was
observed in his manner to lead to the belief that he would
attempt self-destruction. On Thursday, or Friday last, the
deceased obtained, from Mr. Wingate, druggist, Elliott-
street, to whom he had been introduced by Mr. Fisher,
senior surgeon of the Cunard line of mail boats, a quantity
of prussic acid of full strength. Mr. Fisher had formerly
prescribed prussic acid for the deceased in a diluted state, and
he represented to Mr. Wingate that Mr. Fisher had directed
him to obtain it undiluted, as what he had before taken
medicinally, had not had a proper effect. On those represen-
tations Mr. Wingate gave him prussic acid. Smith was last
seen alive between 12 and 1 o'clock, a.m.' on Monday morn-
ing, when he obtained a light from Bridget Riley, the
chambermaid of the Queen's Hotel, for the purpose of goinc,
to bed. At this time he seemed to be very cheerful. The
deceased then retired to his room, but as he did not make his
appearance at a reasonable hour next morning, the chamber-
maid concluded he had left his room unobserved, and finding
the door was unfastened, she entered the room about four
o'clock in the afternoon, and saw the deceased lying in
the bed undressed. His face seemed pale, and this led her
to believe he was dead, and she immediately raised an alarm.
Mr. Carolan, surgeon, was called in, an on examining the
bed, he found a bottle which had contained prussic acid,
and the deceased smelt strongly of it. This at once led him
to the conclusion that life had been destroyed by means of
poison. Mr. Carolan also found a small slip of paper, on
which was written in pencil the following words —" The
underneath will be understood---Had more leniency been
shown this would never have happenel---disgrace from such
a quarter is insufferable." On the person of the deceased
was found, a letter directed to his sister, Miss Smith, 34,
Chapel-street, Aberdeen, in which he tells her that he had
exposed himself to all sorts of hard weather in different
climates ; that his constitution was breaking up ; and to be
cast adrift upon the world was insufferable. lie added,
"Before you get this, the hand that wrote it will be cold
in death. ". Mr. Blake, the beadle of the coroner's court,
also found on the deceased, amongst other papers, a first-
class master-seaman's certificate. Yesterday, an inquest
was held on the body, and a verdict of self- destruction,
whilst labogaing under temporary insanity, was returned.

MONETARY AND COMMERCIAL.

LIVERPOOL, TUESDAY EVENING.

The specie brought by the America amounts to
433,130 dollars. This will be a valuable addition
to the large quantity brought by.the Orinoco. The
intelligence brought by this vessel, having been so
fully given in our paper of yesterday, it is un-
necessary to reprint it here. Its importance,
however, is sufficient to show that we spare no
pains or expense in obtaining advices, even later
than any other paper in England. This fact must
be universally admitted, and cannot be lost on a
commercial community.
The receipts of Cotton . advices from America,
for the week ending 23rd November, continue
limited, being only 63,732 bales, against 108,691
for the corresponding week last year.
The exports to Great Britain are also on a very
moderate scale, being, only 14,759 against 59,699.
The total receipts to 23rd November, are 352,381
Against