The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-02-09 00:00:00

THE AFRICAN MAILS.

PLYMOUTH, FEBRUARY 7.
The mail steamer Retriever arrived this afternoon.
She brings 1.824 ounces of gold, 226 puncheons of palm
oil,and a full cargo of African produce. Fernando Po
was very unhealthy, but business was brisk. At Came-
roon trade was suspended. A similar condition of affairs
prevailed at Bombay and Calabar, and the consequences
of the late rebellion are now being felt by the traders.
At Lagos things were quiet, and a good business doing-
Town and shipping healthy.
Her Majesty's steamer Hecate had destroyed au
American brigantine, named the Chadsworth, of New
York. She was fully equipped for slaves. The crew
escaped.
A great deal of dissatisfaction had been created at
Accra owing to the authorities placing a duty on
British and French imports. Already several merchants
have established factories on Dutch territories where no
duty is levied. The Columbus, of Liverpool, was at
Teneriffe, leaky, and likely to be condemned.
Oil at Old Calabar ranged from £lB to £24, and at
Bonny at £l7. Mr. Stanton, the surgeon, and Mr. liars,
chief officer, of the Hants, had died of fever. At Sierra
Leone, trade from the interior steady, notwithstanclin,. the
unsettled state of the country. 'War has recommenced in
the Ntmtz. At Cape Coast Castle loud complaints of the
additional import duty. The Governor of Bathurst had
zone to Spalla to conclude a commercial treaty with the
Bing.

The number of lives lost by the collision which caused
the Josephine Willis to founder, is believed to be between
sixty and seventy.
We understand that the designation of the new Order
which we have already announced is " The Order of
Valour," the decoration is termed the " Victoria Cross."
The coining of silver, which was interrupted in
October last by a sudden and severe pressure for gold on
the part of the bank of England, has lately been resumed,
and will enable the master of the mint to furnish, in a
short time, a sufficient supply of threepenny pieces, and.
silver coins of other denominations, for the use of the.
public.
THE MAYORALTY or BELFAST.—One of the acts of the
town council, at its quarterly meeting on Monday, was the
election of Samuel Gibson Getty, E.g., one of the most
estimable and deservedly popular of the highest mercantile
class in Belfast, to the office of chief magistrate of the town
for the current year, in the room of Captain nouns,
Verner, resigned.
MELANCHOLY DEATH.—Captain Maher, of the Gla-
mcolprgtaaiinishuiorempLeirethztinlteiofamnnitrayn,dwohfothbeutrelacrteul
jytinsgncseteardeadt
Swansea, met with his death, on Thursday in a shocking
manner. The captain went to a party on Wednesday
night, and returned to his lodgings at an early hour on
Thursday morning. About six o'clock a smell of buraing
linen was perceptible in the house. A gentleman named
Tomlinson, on entering Captain Maher's room, found it
full of smoke, and the bed furniture on fire. When the
flames were extinguished the lifeless body of Captain
Maher were found on the floor, and close beside him his
favourite dog, also :dead. It is supposed that while Wl'
dressing himself on a chair the deceased, fatigued War'
being up all night, had fallen asleep, and owed the•
candle to fall against the bed curtains. Deeeased was
partially dressed, and had evidently been suffocated by
the-smoke.
ANOTHER CLERGYMAN IN TROUBLE.--A commission
issued by the Bishop of Durham to inquire into charges
of drunkenness against the Rev. Alexander J. Howell,
perpetual *curate of Darlington, has been sitting for the'
last few days in the Town-hall of that town, and brought
its investigations to a c lose last Monday afternoon. 'rho
cemmissioners were, the Ven. Archdeacon Thorpe, Rev
Messrs. Eade, Dike, and Dugard, and Mr. .1. 11. Aylmer,
a magistrate of Durham. The proceedings were con-
ducted with closed doors, bnt the decision was given in,
open court. Archdeacon Thorpe said he had been deputed
by the commissioners to state their unanimous opinion
that the charges of drunkenness, and something like
habitual drunkenness, had been so far proved as to pre-
sent prima fade evidence against Mr. Howell, and it was
their intention to make that report to the bishop, who
would be morally and legally required to proceed against
him. He would (the ven. archdeacon repeated), be not
only morally bound, but legally bound to do so. The
costs of the defence have been met by a subscription is
the town.

.e.CTENSION OF THE IRON TRADE IN THE NEIGHBOUR'
HOOD or LEEDS.—Somo weeks ago, we
mentioned the'
erection of a blast furnace at Beeston, by Messrs. Hard-
ing, who had discovered a valuable bed of iron ore upe°
their estate; and now we have to add that this valuable
trade is on the eve of very considerable extension on the.
opposite side of Leeds. Messrs. Lassey and Wilcox ane,
Mr. Garside have, in working their collieries, come r pen
beds of iron ore identical with the Low Moor bed, and
are carrying on the excavation of the ore wit'., ~,eeess'
The ore is considered to be fully ecrial to tb- , i;k-',,--n will
the Low Moor bed, and all that Messrs, * "" 8, wilcoS
have raised is taken by the Low UOol'
l'asseY
whilst the
Bowling Company are eustornars l' company,
trrnplanlye'of the ore
also extending its operatioar:int.
won by Mr. Garside. Th.%
)'. .nle elrwon'oCenapanv ig
ascertainedi to
have secured fully 3faa no,
A- -- , es of land in the same 1( c ility 3(1
Messrs. Lassey And C,',.'s works, and are actively engage.
in preparing i
to w'''.. the iron upon the estate. This ore 11
ahre same direction.- Their
with the -'"D",v Moor bed, and both quantity and quality
are unexa-eptionable. At present, we believe the Farnleie
1-oe of first quality; indeed, it is identio
Company do not intend erecting a blast furnace on tb
spot, but propose carting the ore to Farnley works.
THE CRIMMA.—SEBASTOPOL, JANUARY 22.—The enerole
opened a
instanth, eavy fire late on the evening of thc,
20th about ten o'cloc, p m., fro m soe nes.
batteries on that part of
the kMackenzie ridge whict,
A'
walls in to the northward of the Tchernaya valley.
large quantity of shell was thrown in the direetie"
towards the position at Traktir but was not preiceed 4
ruins
far enough. At the same time, the Russian batteries
on the heights above the Inkertnann valley fired with
more than their usual activity. Some of the work, `,"O
the north side sent an occasional shot or shell into t"0
of Sebastopol and its suburbs. The shelling Cr"' t
the Mackenzie heights continued rather heavy for fib 03,11,
an hour and then subsided. Our Allies have just e°:,,r
pleted some batteries connected with their position, e
i.i,
the Tchernaya, and have lately commenced another r7"rs,
to defend their lines in that direction. A weekly 11,ed
fair, for the convenience of officers, has been establi"
„,
in a central situation, and a sergeant appointed on auctioneer. The weather has continued mild. '-',6.,
Friday afternoon our engineers blew up, most suce,e,7ot
fully, the bottom of the west dock, which was one :tub,
under water. To-moriow our Allies are to complet;.iog
demolition of their half portion of the docks by hit°
side
up the front half of the entrance and the right half s
of the basin,