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

FERRY COMMITTEE.

This committee in their report stated that the managers
were directed to confer with the captains of the other river
steamers in order to devise a better system of danger signals.
The receipts of the ferry for the last month within the
past two years were—in 1852, £1289 Os. sd. ; in 1853.
£1589 14s. 9d.
The report was adopted, but considerable discussion took
place on one regulation adopted by the committee, by which
all parties officers and others, are prevented from passing
through the contractors' gate, and are compelled to pay at
the toll gate.
Mr. BAILIFF on the part of the watch committee, com-
plained of this arrangement, and said that at the last
meeting they had to pass an account for 2d. for the ferry
of one policeman.
Mr. RAE replied that the inconvenience could be easily
obviated by the watch committee purchasing a number of
tickets at one time, which they could give to the officers as
occasion required.
The feeling of the board seemed to be in favour of the
regulation.

The amount paid in out-door relief in Burton-on-Irwill
union last week, was £22 11s. 3d. in money, and in kind
£ll Os. 3d. The number relieved was 566.
FATAL COAL PIT ACCIDENT.—One of the pitsheadmen at
the Hillhead Colliery, in the immediate vicinity of Kilmar-
nock, fell down the shaft on Saturday morning, and being
precipitated to the bottom, was instsint.”---,. r--•
RAILWAY ACCIDENT.-011 Saturday morning a coal and
a luggage train came into collision at the Sanquhar station
of the Glasgow and South-Western railway, whereby several
waggons wort. damaged, but there was no detention occa-
sioned to the usual passenger traffic.
AUSTRALIAN BANS.—At the half-yearly meeting of the
Bank of Australia held on Monday, the report of the di-
rectors was unanimously adopted. The chairman (Mr. Oliver
Farrer) referred to the dividend of 15 per cent. declared in
October as indicating the progress of business, and stated
that, in addition to the increased amount of profits which
the board had been enabled to distribute, attention had also
been given to the formation of a gurantee fund, towards
which it is anticipated, when the accounts shall be pre-
sented in June next, £200,000 will be found applicable.
The operations of the bank have latterly become enormously
augmented, but, although entailing great labour on the
managers and officers both in London and the colonies,
they have hitherte been conducted without a single impor-
tant loss from bad debts. According to the latest advises
from Sydney the circulation had increased in the interval
between October and July from £659,000 to £915,000 ;
the advances from £971,000 to £1,350,000 ; and the de-
posits from £2,200,000 to £3,800,000. The only discus-
sion which took place related to the future prospects of the
bank, and to the terms agreed upon for the site of the new
London establishment, the explanations afforded being re-
ceived as satisfactory.

DAMAGE TO SHIPPING IN THE kIVER, THAMES ON YES-
TERDAY.—Yesterday morning, from a very early hour, a fog
of intense density shrouded the river in a darkness of the
most opaque nature. At half ebb (eight o'clock) the great-
est confusion prevailed amongst the shipping in the Lower
Pool, and in Greenwich and Blackwall reaches, in conse-
quence of a large number of inward-bound vessels having
brought up in those places on the preceding tide, owing
to the opacity of the atmosphere ; and the shipping outward
bound, in dropping down the river on the ebb tide, un-
avoidably got athwart hawse of the tiers, inflicting serious
damage to smaller craft ; bowsprits, jibbooms, figure heads,
and light spars were carried away, and the bulwarks and
stanchions of two colliers broken in. A small skiff, with
three men on board, was run down and swamped off
Ratcliffe Cross, Shadwell. Providentially the men saved
themselves by clinging to the bobstay of the vessel, and
were taken on shore by a waterman, who picked up their
skiff. It is stated that a barge was swamped at the east
end of the Isle of Dogs, but no authentic intelligence
can be as yet obtained, The generality of the mails
this morning were late, which is attributable to the
glassiness of the metals, a sharp frost having prevailed
during the night. The fog cleared away about half-past
eight o'clock.