The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-04-02 00:00:00

MEETING AT SOUTHPORT.

On the evening of Monday, a public meeting of the
ratepayers of North Meols was convened at the Town_
hall for the purpose of hearing Mr. Joseph Stoner, of
Ormskirk, a candidate for the guardianship of the poor
of that parish, deliver his sentiments, and enable Messrs.
Baker, Hunt, and Linaker to attend that the ratepayers
may judge as to the qualifications of the several candi-
dates. Mr. T. Stanley took the chair. The only persons
on the platform were, the Chairman, Mr. Stoner, and
Messrs. Hunt and Baker, while about 200 persons occu-
pied the body of the hall. Before the business of the
meeting was commenced, Mr. Hunt said he should hold
the chairman responsible for any libellous language that
might ba uttered by Mr. Stoner, and he wished that to be
distinctly understood.

The Chairman having briefly addressed the meeting Mr.
Stoner came forward and in a very lengthy address
reviewed the past conduct of the guardians of the union,
which he strongly condemned, • and likewise that of the
inspector of schools, and the system of centralization, and
concluded by asking if such persons were to represent the
ratepayers?
Mr. Hunt then produced two letters which had been
written by Mr. Stoner, the contents of which were a
personal attack on one of the guardians, and said he was
present then to answer any charge which might be brought
against him, but as no charge had been made, which he
expected, it was for the rate payers then present to say
whether they would again re-elect him.
After an exciting scene, Mr. Esttv moved, and Me.
Dixon seconded, a motion to the eff Tt that the rate-
payers would again support their present guardians. This
motion was unanimously adopted, after which most of the
company left the hall. Mr. Stoner, however, still occu-
pied the platform, and in an address of considerable
length, proceeded to animad7ert upon every conceivable
topic, and concluded by moving that the ratepayers ought
not to support their present guardians. This motion,
however, did not find a seconder, and Mr. Stoner and the
Chairman then retired, and the meeting dispersed.

INQUIRY INTO THE LOSS OF ANOTHER

LIVERPOOL SHIP.

Yesterday morning, at eleven o'clock, Messrs. Mansfield
and Captain Schombergh held a court of inquiry in the
Grand Jury room, into the loss of the Liverpool ship Daniel
Grant, belonging to the Messrs. Lockett, of this town.
The inquiry was ordered by the Board of Trade, under the
432nd section of the Merchant Shipping Act. The investi-
gation was, however, at the suggestion of the Messrs.
Locketts, in order to satisfy the underwriters of the ship.
Mr. Tyndall appeared on behalf of the Board of Trade.
James Edgar Brown, the master of the late ship, was
present, and just as the inquiry commenced, Mr. Lockett
said the captain had been in their employment from a boy,
and they had great confidence in him, and held him in high
estimation. They would give him another ship, having the
highest opinion of him.
It appeared from the opening statement of Mr. Tyndall,
that the Daniel Grant was a vessel of 470 tons, and that
on the 19th of April last she sailed from Shanghai, in
China, with a cargo of tea and raw silk, for Liverpool. It
appeared that all went on well until the 16th of
May, when she struck on the Helen coral-reef,
in the Pacific-ocean. She subsequently went down,
and it would appear that the captain had acted
with great coolness, energy, and determination. That he
sent the boys and his wife away from the wreck first, the
men afterwards, and that at last he himself and the officers
of the vessel left, not before she was actually sinking. They
were ten days out in open boats, and were subsequently
picked up by the ship Kingstown, the master of which
treated them kindly and considerately.
The captain of the Daniel Grant (Mr. Brown) was exam-
ined at great length, and he attributed the loss of the vessel
to the reef being laid down wrongly on the chart. By the
chart which he had he was some distance from the reef.
which was only a small space above water. It was sun-
down when the vessel struck ; he had made the same voyage
before in the same ship, and had been 16 years in the trade, five
years as a master. He had a certificate from the Board of Trade
and had passed his examination in Liverpool. Ile put in
several first-rate certificates as to character and competency.
He was examined at much length by Captain Schombergh,
and then the carpenter of the ship, named John Pollock, was
examined, and he gave the same account as the captain of
the loss of the vessel. He stated that the conduct of the
captain was of the best description, and that but for his
energy and firmness, and cool determination, the lives of
the crew might have been lost. The court decided to send
up the certificate to the Board of Trade, but stated that
they would suggest its return as soon as possible. The
court gave every credit to the captain for his conduct after
the vessel struck.

The case of the Europa will be resumed this day.

POLICE
COURT.-YESTERDAY.

(BEFORE MR. ALDERMAN HOLME.)

THE FORCE of HABIT.—A fellow, named John M'Donnell
alias Elizha, was brought up on a charge of attempting to
commit a burglary in the house of Mr. Dent, pub!ican, back
Chapel-street. At one o'clock in the morning the prisoner,
with two others (who escaped), were found endeavouring to
break into a grid over the cellar of the house stated. The
prisoner, in reply to the alderman, said he could not help it—
it was all the force of habit. His worship said : I find you
have been convicted of felonies no less than twenty-one times,
and that you have besides been five times discharged. I think
it would be a great blessing to the country if you wore sent
out of it. I will rid the town of you for three months. Let
him be sent for three months with hard labour.

SHOP LIFTING.—Sarah Hughes, a young woman well
known to the police as a shop-lifter, was brought up on a
charge of having stolen fifteen yards of moreen from the shop
door of Mr. William Hughes, draper, of Scotland-road. The
prisoner was caught in the act, and was sentenced to three
months hard labour.

STEALING A COAT.-Mr. Woods, pawnbroker, White-
chapel, ()barged a man named John Molloy, and a female
named Maria Penlington, on suspicion of having stolen a coat.
Mr. Woods said on Friday evening ho took in a coat in pledge,
and on Saturday morning he received a notice that it was
stolen ; he, therefore, had an eye on the matter, and
on Saturday evening the male prisoner went to release it,
when Mr. Woods gave him into custody, and on learning
that the woman had given it to the man, he had her arrested
Also. It did appear that the woman had stole the coat, and
she was sent to jail for a month, and the man was discharged.
The conduct of Mr. Woods was commended as very proper.
ROBBERY AT ST. GEORGE'S HALL.—Patrick McDonnell
(father) and John and Francis McDonnell, (his sons) two
returned convicts, were brought up by detectives Thompson
and Scaife, on the following charge. From the evidence of the
officers, and also that of Mr. Gardner, the librarian at St.
George's-hall, it appeared that the latter left a bag containing
shirts, collars, fronts, and other things, in the lodge at the
gate, and, on Tuesday last, the bag and contents were stolen.
On Monday night the officers arrested the two younger
prisoners, and on one of them was found a pair of boots, be-
longing to Mr. Gardner, and on the other a pair of stockings,
the property of the same gentleman. On searching the
lodgings of the father, in 10 Court, Preston-street, they found
a variety of other property, that also belonged to the prosecu-
tor. The older prisoner, on being asked by the police where
he got the articles, told them his brother had given them to
him. The three prisoners were fully committed for trial.
AWKWARD MISTAKE.—Two females, named Mary Anne
Harrison, and Mary Lyett, were brought up by officer 228,
on a charge of having stolen a snuff box from a person,
described as a" gentlemen, named Henry Jennings." Mr.
Bluck appeared for the prisoner s. The policeman said the
prisoners were in a public-house in St. James-street, and it
appeared that the complainant went in there also. After some
time he called the witness, and gave the prisoners in charge, for
stealing his silver snuff box. After the charge was
entered at the bridewell, Mr Jennings found the
box in the lining of his coat. Mr. Bluck : Where is he
now ? Policeman :He does not appear. Mr. Bluck : I
will make him appear in another court to answer this case.
Alderman Holm : It is very unfortunate for the gentleman,
who ever be is, that he gave these women in charge—he has
done so, although it appears he had no right to charge them. I
do not say the policeman had not a right to take them when
they were given in charge to him, but it appears they ought
not to have been given into custody by the gentleman for
stealing his snuff box, when it was not stolen by them or any
one else, but found in his own coat at the station. I think it
is most unfortunate for the gentleman that he has charged
them without any cause. It is a great hardship on the pri-
soners to be brought here on such a charge, and I now, with
these remarks, discharge them.
MID-DAY ROBBERY IN A SHOP.— Two very ill-looking
persons named John Mulhern, and Margaret O'Brien, were
brought up by detectives Scaife and Thompson, charged with
having committed the following gross outrage in the
shop of Mr. Cohen, Old Hall Street, on the 22nd
March, in the middle of the day. It appeared from
the evidence of Mrs. Cohen, who although small in
stature, exhibited a degree of moral and physical courage
rarely to be met with in the fair sex, that on the day in ques-
tion the prisoners entered the shop and asked to be shown some
trousers. Whilst she was handing some off a shelf, the man
took three vests off the counter, and gave them to the woman,
who, it seemed, had a double skirt to her gown for the purpose
of stowing away property in it. Mrs. Cohen saw the move-
ment, but said nothing at the time, until sho got assistance, as
her shopboy had gone out for change. The man asked again
to be shown some trousers, and again he took some Vests from
the counter, and gave them to the female prisoner. This was
also observed by Mrs. Cohen, who then went round the counter
and boldly seized on both the prisoners. The man, in a ruffianly
manner attacked her, and after a sharp struggle, he succeeded
in getting the female prisoner away, but Mrs. Cohen held on
by him with heroic determination, calling for help. The shop
boy coming in at the time, seized on the ruffian, and gave him
a black eye with a blow of his band ; but the fellow was too
strong for Mrs, Cohen and the boy, and succeeded in escaping.
Both prisoners were then described to the police, but were not
seen again until the officers arrested them in hitechapel, on
Monday night. They were then placed amongst a number of
persons, and were at once identified by Mrs. Cohen and the boy.
They were fully committed for trial.