The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-07-30 00:00:00

0

THE COINAGE.—Last year there were coined 8,448,482
sovereigns, 1,120,362 half-sovereigns, 831,017 florins,
1,368499 shillings, 1,129,084 sixpences, 646,041 groats,
4,1 ;CZ fourpenny pieces, 387,838 threepenny pieces, 4,752
twopenny pieces, and 7,920 silver pence. The total value
of the silver coined was 1195,510, and the real ccst or value
of the metal £192,002. No crowns or half-crowns appear
to have been coined since 1852. The copper coinage of
18.55 included 5,273,866 pence, 7,455,837 half-pence, and
3,440,640 farthings—representing a value of £41,091, the
purchase value of the copper baying been £22,013. In
1855, 199,564,903 oz. weight of worn silver coin were
purchased at a nominal value of £621,550. the Mint value
(5s 6d per ounce) being £553,581, and the loss by recoinage
£67,968.

THE ALLEGED FLOGGING IN THE MARYLEBONE WORK-

HOUSE.—On Monday enquiry, which had lasted three
days, was concluded by the directors and guardians of
the poor of Marylebone, in the board-room of the work-
house. Mr. Ryan, the master of the workhouse, and
Green and Brown, the porters, were the persons whose
conduct was under investigation, it having been stated
in the course of some proceedings before Mr. Broughton,
the magistrate, that they had violently beaten some of
the female inmates of the workhouse with canes, and
with a horsewhip. The surgeon to the workhouse
proved that the girls, who were all under 20 years of
age, had been severely maltreated. On the part of the
master and the porters, it was contended that the girls,
who were of the worst class, were very violent, and that
it was necessary to use the canes, &0., in self-defence.
At the close of the enquiry Mr. Vanheems, seconded by
Mr. Tindall, moved that the master and porters be at
once dismissed. The Rev. Mr. Marks also supported
the motion. Mr. Batting considered a severe reprimand
would be sufficient, with an intimation that a repetition
of such conduct would be followed by instant dismissal.
Mr. Braes seconded the amendment. The Hon. Mr.
Pelham, Mr. Nicholay, and others, having strongly
censured the conduct of the master and porters, the
amendment, after two divisions, was adopted by a small
majority.

INGENIOUS SYSTEM OF DECIMAL COINAGE.--A simple,
ingenious, and very practical system of decimal coinage has
been suggested for the adoption of the Government by Mr.
Arthur Bowes, M.A. (Cantab). of Upper Clapton. This
gentleman observes that there are three requisites indispens-
able to the popularisation of any system of decimal coinage
—l. That there should be as little interference with our
accustomed nomenclature and coins as possible, so as to
avoid practical inconvenience in monetary transactions when
the change takes place. 2. That the capability of calculat-
ing and comparing the new and old systems be simple and
practical ; and, 3. That the new scale and its uses be made
patent to the masses as rapidly, as glaringly, and as uni-
versally as possible. Mr. Bowes then proceeds to propose

that the present farthing (the 960th part of a pound) be
circulated (till replaced), as the 1-000th part. The old
penny of George 111. (still very common) may be taken as
the type of the new pennypieces, which would be made to
represent the value of five farthings. The rest of the
coinage might remain in statu quo, with the addition of one
new coin, to be called a " decime," and the substitution of
the old name of " tester " for what is now called the
" sixpence," a term which would, under the new system, be
obviously a misnomer. Thus :-10 farthings would make
1 decime (of which the penny is the half and the halfpenny
the fourth) ; 10 decimes would make 1 florin (of which the
shilling is the half and the tester the fourth), and 10 florins
would make 1 sovereign (of which the crown is the fourth
and the half-crown the eighth). Mr. Bowes apprehends no
serious loss to the Government worthy of comparison with
the great convenience of the proposed change.

CORONER'S INQUESTS.—Yesterday, the deputy coroner
held the following inquests :—On the body of John Jenkirs,
a master mariner, found dead in his bed on board his
schooner, in the Canning Dock, on Monday morning. Ver-
dict, "lied from natural causes."—On the body of Sarah
Adderly, an infant four weeks old, who was found suffocated
at its mother's breast. Verdict, " accidentally suffocated in
bed."—On the body of a -widow, named Mary Campbell,
(1;0,1 in the infirmary, from injuries received by beinz

Verdict accordingly.—On the body of
, it was alleged, had been ill-trelted by
- The evidence,

school

her teac

awed that the
let death had resulted fron
•om natural causes."—On th
t who was round dead in bed, a

Lowever

allega4ion was unfounded, and
n scarlatina. Verdict, " died
ie body of Margaret Si ebotham,
at her residence 11 Court, Lund-

street. Verdict,‘‘ -natural death."