The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-12-20 00:00:00

NORTHERN TIMES.-LIVERPOOL, SATURDAY.

seven extremely well. Amongst the last, those who dis-
tinguished themselves most were Jervis. Phillips, Niel.
ing, Pelham, Orchard, and O'Sullivan.
The attentiou of these lads, during the three hours I
detained them, was unwearied, They appeared deeply
interested in the proceedings, and anxious to avail
themselves of the opportunity of naming.
On the 19th of September, I examined part of the
Modern Division of the Upper School in French and
German. I was forcibly struck here by the excellence
of the arrangement by which German was made com-
pulsory. It did not escape my attention that German
was probably intended to replace Greek; and, for the
cultivation of the mental faculties, no better substitute
could have been adopted.
I kept the pupils of this class long, and nothing could
exceed the zeal of the greatest part, and the attention of
all.
Eight pupils were examined. The replies of three
were unsatisfactory, of three others tolerably good ; and
of two extremely gond. Three answered well in German.
The ietipils that afforded the most satisfaction were,
Moore, Howat, and Elliott ; their German was scarcely
less satisfactory than their French.
Finally, I examined the 2nd and 3rd classes of the
Classical Division of the Upper School, Here I thought I
perceived the study of the French was not held in so
much honour. The pupils seemed less zealous in the
pursuit.
This group consisted of fifteen pupils. Seven declined
the examination ; of the eight examined, font- replied
tolerably well, and the four others very satisfactorily.—
The most disting-aished of the latter was Pountliwaite,
and after him, though at a little distance, Fairclough,
and finally, Clough and Sirdefield.
I deem it my duty, in conclnding this report, to add
my testimony to the advisable state of discipline which I
found in the various classesi examined, and to the gen-
tlemanly bearing of these pupils.
would here, too, express my acknowledgments for the
extreme politeness and marked ateention I received from
the masters with whom I had the good fortune to cone
into contact. I cannot refrain from remarking that
there appeared to me to be a sound, healthy feeling,
tone, and bearing throughout the whole Collegiate
Intitution. I have the honour to be, Reverend Sir, your
humble and obedient servant, (Signed)
A. SPIERS, Ph.

The Rev. Rector Campbell moved the thanks of the as-
sembly to the Lord Bishop and the Mayor for the honour of
their attendance, and for having granted so mueh of their
valuable time towards the advancement of the institu-
tion. He was an advocate for the union of Church and
State, and he, therefore, moved the vote of thanks to
both together. (Laughter and applause.)
The Rev. Dr. M'Neile seconded the motion, and, in
doing so, took the opportunity to caution the boys that,
however they might admire art and intellectual endow-
ment, religion was that which they should cultivate and
prize above all. It was one thing to soften, to civilise,
to polish : it was another thing to christianise. The
foundation of education should be, not art but religion—
not art, but the Cross ; not logic, from Aristotle, but
righteousness from Christ. (Applause.)
The motion was carried by acclamation.
His Lordship briefly acknowledged the compliment.
The Mayor also briefly expressed his thanks for the
honour done him, and the pleasure he had experienced
in attending on the occasion. Heilad done but a little
towards the foundation of the institution, but he hoped
the proceedings of that day, when they would go forth
to the public, would induce his fellow townsmen to give
that encouragement and support to it which it so emi-
nently deserved. (Applause.)
The national anthem was then sung ; after which
the blessing was given by the Lord Bishop, and the
school broke up.

GREAT SEIZURE OF GAMBLING IMPLEMENTS
IN LIME STREET.

Yesterday, the police court presentel a most unusual appear-
ance, owing to a seizure made on the preeions night of a vast
quantity of " royal lottery tables," and other articles, from the
piece of waste ground at the corner of Limo street, behind the
stall for the sale of compounds kept by Startup and Brown.
Those of the inhabitants who have had the curiosity to look
into the place during the evening aro well aware of its contents,
and the company that frequent there; but, for the information
of those who were never inside the walls, wo can assure them
that it was, perhaps, one of the most disgraceful places of resort
in the tewn. Every evening it was occupied by about ten or
a dozen stalls, in which wre placed round tables, with figures.,
And the mode of playing was by dropping a ball down an
inclined plane, or by turning a large brass needle, and
claiming the number at which the ball or needle stopped.
Apparently the play was for nuts or paltry chimney orna-
ments, but the chief and most profitable amusement to the
owner was the playing for money, and some of them have
occasionally reaped a rich harvest when they Iw:7e been able
to " catch an unplucked pigeon." The principal persons
who frequented this place were children, some of tender
years, and young lads. This place, of late, had become
rather notorious, and hence the seizure by the police; and,
perhaps, a more creditable piece of work was never better organ
nised, or carried out with better results, hence the appearance of
the police court, The tables of the court, and the avenues
leading to the docks, were filled by the gambling tables
mentioned—nut bags and measures with false bottoms—
while at the dock stood ten persons at ages varying from 12 or
14 to 50, the owners of the property taken. When the case
was called on, the court was densely crowded by persons
anxious to hear the result, it being understood that the seizure
had been made under the same authority that the " Christmas
lotteries" had been directed to be stopped on the preceding
day. From what transpired in the course of the hearing of
the case, it appeared that the whole seizure was made by the
detectives, and under the superintendence of Inspector Chew,
assisted by detective officers Carlisle, Povey, M'Culloch, and
a strong body of the police, and the way in which the capture
was made reflects the highest credit on the ability, judgment,
and zeal of those officers, who have thus succeeded in routing
out one of the most disgraceful nuisances in the town. Besides
the gambling implements seized by the police, the following
persons were apprehended by the officers, and placed at the
bar—John Cusack, John Higgins, Robert Croffer, Nicholas
Cusack, Thomas Cusack, Henry 'Wallace, Wm. Armstrong,
Jaseph Gablin, Patrick Garrow, and Stephen Malley. Mr.
Snowball appeared to conduct the case on behalf of the
defendants. After a brief consultation between Mr. Mansfield
and the clerk of the court, Mr. Garnett, the latter informed
Mr. Snowball that the charge was preferred against the
defendants under the statute for "gaming out of doors."
Inspector Chew, in making the charge against the defendants,
said, from instructions which I received I went and seized
these gambling tables on the piece of land at the corner of
Limo street, belonging to Mr. Bennett, who let it to a man of
the name of Clarke, living at 13, Hotham street, and he sub-
let it to these parties. Last evening, between seven and eight
o'clock, I sent some men in plain clothes to see whether there
wis any gambling going on, and upon their informing me such
was the case, I sent others in, and went in myself, and when
I found that each officer was by the side of the men who were
taking the money, I gave the signal, a body of the police came
in, and the place was cleared of all except those in the dock,
who, with their gambling tables, were taken into
custody. I found some of them gambling. These
tables are so made that the owner can have the ball go in when
they like by pressing upon it, and they have sweetners who
always win, but if I was to try I should never win. There
has been great complaints made of this place. I met three
small children going in with large chimney ornaments in their
hands, and upon asking them where they were going they told
me their mothers had sent them with the ornaments to tell
other little girls that they had won them, in order to induce
them to play. Each of the officers will give you an account of
what they saw. Mr. Snowball then rose and said : I appear
on behalf of these men, and I have only to say that I have
looked over the act of parliament under which they are charged,
and I find it impossible for them to got from it, therefore I
have advised them to acknowledge the offence, and to place
themselves on your mercy as to the punishment to be awarded.
But, in mitigation of that punishment, I may say that they
have stood there for the last five years, and have always paid
rent for the standing, and have never before been interforred
with by the police. This procedure has come so suddenly that
it has taken them by surprise, and they tell me that if they
aro not punished they will never do so again, and, I think, if
you look at the position in, which they are placed, and seeing
they have been locked up all night, you will say they have, for
this their first offence, been adequately punished ; therefore,
as they have promised tot to repeat the offence, I hope you
will act mercifully with them. I would also remind you that
there has been no proclamation issued by the police, telling
that they were not to do so, so that in point of fact they were,
for I date say they did not know that they were committing an
offence, morally innocent of offending against the law. They
will plead guilty, and throw themselves on your
mercy. Mr. Mansfield : Have any of them ever been
here before ? Inspector Chew: No, sir, Mr. Snowball :
You will see that some of them are very young lads,
and if it had been stopped five years ago, some of them would
have scarcely left their mothers breasts. Mr. Mansfield :
What do they play for ? Inspector Chew : For nuts and such
things as chimney ornaments, but generally for money. One
man told me he had lost 17s at one of the tables. Mr. Snow-
ball : There is no evidence of that. They all plead guilty,
and in mitigation of the punishment, they say they will not do
so again. Mr. Mansfield: Mr. Snowball has taken a proper
view of the case, and it is the best ho could have acted on as
an experienced and intelligent advocate ; and as you have acted
on his advice, I shall not inflict on you the full power of the
law in such cases, especially as the prisoners have never been
charged with any offence before ; but such practices must be
abolished, as there is a great amount of gambling going on
throughout the town. We are not to be told that it has been
done before; it is quite sufficient for me to know that such
practices are forbidden by the law. If there was no other
reason, that is sufficient that such practices should be pro-
hibited. The legislature has, most wisely, adopted measures
to prevent the encouragement of gambling, the spread of which
is so enticing, that it may often lead to the committal of crimes
to carry it out. To prevent this is the duty of the police and
the magistrates. I think, under the present circumstances,
the law will be satisfied by the warning given to you, and
through you, to your associates, if I direct that all the imple-
ments taken from you should be destroyed, and the prisoners
discharged. You are now discharged, but be cautious how
you act in future. The prisoners all thanked the magistrates,
and were at once discharged, the gambling tables, &c., being
handed over to the police.

THE LATE CHARGE OF MISCONDUCT AGAINST

THE POLICE.

In our imprepsion of last Saturday, we published the parti-
culars of a case, in which Mr. Thomas Smith, a contractor,
was charged with being " drunk and disorderly" on the West
Derby road. On that occasion, several policemen were called,
who preyed the case ; but, for the defence, other witnesses
were examined, and their evidence went to show that although
Mr. Smith was drunk, the policeman was the first aggressor,
by ordering him out of tips gig, and then treated him most
shamefully. Oa that occasion Mr. Mansfield dismissed the
case, at the same time informing Mr. Smith that he could take
out a summons against the policeman for the assault committed
upon him. At that time Mr. Smith did do so, and the case
should have come on for hearing yesterday, but, at the time
appointed, no Mr. smith was in attendance to prefer the charge,
the excuse being, that he did not wish to have his name appear
in the newspapers—a fact well known on the former occasion,
or he would not have offered a bribe to the reporters to sup-
press it. However, after the case had been withdrawn, Mr.
IL Holme, surgeon, and John Hutton, a postman, stated
before Mr. Mansfield that they witnessed the afftir, and said
that Mr. Smith was very drunk and violent, a-id that the
police behaved with the greatest forbearance and leniency.
They also stated that they came forward to make that state-
ment from what they had seen in the newspapers, and not from
having been asked to do ca by the police. We understand
that there were several other witnesses prepared to give
evidence that the police behaved well on the occasion, and did
not use the slightest unnecessary violence, although they were
very much ill treated by Mr. Smith.