Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-01-25 00:00:00

COURT FOR THE CONSIDERATION OF CROWN
CASES REVERSED,
THE QUEEN v. Rounsrsox.—The prisoner was convicted
of obtaining two dogs by false pretences, and was sentenced
by the Recorder of Liverpool to seven years' penal servi-
tude. The point reserved was whether a dog was a
chattel so as to come within the statute. Mr. Littler,
for the prisoner, contended that a dog was not a chattel.
kr. Brett said, it was not a chattel at common law, and it
was not so, because in the books it was stated that it was
not thought right that a man should die for so inferior an
animal ; but as to a horse, that was stated to be good for
food, and, therefore, stealing a horse was made a capital
offence. The punishment for stealing a swan was, that
it should be tied up by the beak, and the offender should
pile up wheat until It was covered. ' Mr Baron Martin
said that did not bear much proportion to seven years'
penal servitude. Lord Campbell said it was clear that
stealing a dog was not larceny ; that being so, and there

specific purtishmen

or stew:

ing 11. chi, it would not be right to say that obtaining a
dog by false pretences should subject the offender to seven
years' penal servitude. Conviction quashed.

FALL OF A WAREHOUSE AND IFiON
FOUNDRY AT SOUThWARK.

An accident, of a fearfid character, which, had it
occurred an hour sooner, would have been attended with
a sacrifice of several lives, took place 'about ten minutes
after six o'clock, on Saturday evening last. From the
particulars it appears that at the extreme end of Irank-
side, in a thoroughfare leading to St. 'Mary Overy's
Deck, is a range of buildidgs used as wharves and ware-
houses for sundry purposes, amongst which were the ex-
tensiVe premises known as the Bank-end Wharf, the
property of Messrs. Archer and Sons, millers and wharf-
ingers, and the premises known as the landing wharf
and iron foundry belonging "to Messrs. Stephen Carey
and CO. The first-named building- was ereeted as far
back as the time of Queen Elizabeth, and rested against
the eastern wall of the foundry of Messrs Carey. The'
first-named contained many hundred quarters of corn in
sacks, the weight of which no doubt was the primary
cause of the accident, for all of a sudden the persons em-
ployed in Messrs. Carey's works noticed the wall that
separated' the two wharves bulging, which indUced them
to give information to4he proper parties. Fortunately
the workmen, eighteen in number, left the wharf
two hours sooner than they did the preceding
day, or if they had not the loss of life that
unquestionably must have followed, would have been
fearful to contemplate, for the whole length of the western
wall shot out, causing the roof to part in three places,
carrying with it about one-third of Messrs. Carey's
foundry. The noise occasioned by the fall of the two
buildings was so great, that many persons imagined an
explosion had taken place in the foundry; but as soon as
the confusion had somewhat abated,. and the dust dis-
persed, vas found that the warehouse belonging to
Messrs. Archer and Son had fallen, and the whole of-the-
grain contained therein buried in the debris. One-third:
of the roof of Messrs. Carey's foundry was also levelled
with the ground.

TERRIFIC GALE AND GREAT DAMAGE. TO

PROPERTY

On,Stinday morning, from an early hour, a terrible gale
of wind, Mewing from W.S. W., and accompanied by heavy
showers of rain, broke over the metropolis and suburbs,
and continued with but little interruption up to nearly
four o'clock in the afternoon, doing considerable damage
to property in various parts. The southern districts seem
to have very severely suffered. In the neighbourhood of
Clapham, Norwood, Dulwich, Home-hill, Sydenham, and
vicinities, trees were uprooted, while many greenhouses
were injured, and in some instances valuable exotics and
other plants destroyed. The-torrents of water having,
filled the ditches in the above high ground, it rushed
down with great impetuosity. A large pond in the.
Sydenham-road also burst its banks, overflowing the gar-,
dens in the vicinity, and doing a vast amount of mischief;
In the course of the storm, the inhabitants of Hill-street;
Walworth, were greatly alarm4d by hearing a frightful
crash," caused by a double stack of lofty chimneys falling
from a house in, the street. Fortunately, the immense
mass was precipitated on an out-house in the back gar-
den, which was entirely demolished. Near the same
spot several new houses are in course of erection, and a
large quantity of timber, in lengths of about thirty
feet, were stacked. against- a wall. About half-past two
o'clock, as a lady and gentlemen were passing, the, whole
stack of timber was blown clown, one of the pieces striking
the lady on her arm, and severely injuring her. In
William-street, in the same locality, a piece of the coping
of a house was disleged, and fell with great force upon
the roof, a _ portion of which_ 'was forced in, and in the
same street a very heavy laden gutter was wrenched
awey, tearing with it a part of the roof. In the Royal-
road, Kennington-park, about noon a violent gust of
wind tore up. the zinc from the roof of Mr. Giles7s house.-
Tho metal was hurled high in the air, and then dashed
violently upon a large conservatory
.in the rear, smashing
a great quantity of glass, and doing much damage to the
plantS In the Camberwell New-road a very high zinc
chimney was split Up as if it had been a piece of paper,
and near the County Court a heavy piece of the coping-
stone of a house was lifted from its position and dashed
with great violence into the road, Several persons are
reported to have been injured by falling slates, flower-
pots, &c., which made it extremely dangerous to pedes—
trians. Near the Elephant and Castle, Newington, as,
a boy was passing along he was suddenly thrown nibp the
road under the horses' feet belonging to an omnibus, but
fortunately the vehicle did not pass over him, although hei
was injured by the horses' hoofs, so that he had to be
conveyed home. Along the different roads the
tradesmen's sun-blinds, where they had not been removed
On the previous night, were in Some instances.
torn in shreds •by the violence of the wind. The
lanes in the vicinity of East Dulwich presented a strange.
scene, some
_parts of the roadway being completely
covered by the broken branches of trees. It was so far
fortunate that the course of the wind was down the
stream, or the damage to the different vessels lying in
the Pool would have been much greater, although
several of the craft were driven from their moorings-
The gale, about six O'clock abated, but the rain con.
tinued for some time longer, and about eight o'clock was
followed by a violent storm of hail.

BURNS CENTENARY.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE NORTHERN. TIMES,

Sir,—The disembodied spirits of the old, sturdy,
true-blue Covenanters would, I fear, feel little
flattered by the claim preferred by your utilitarian
correspondent " Cui Bono," who proclaims himself
to be the living representative of those departed
worthies, and the exponent of their probable views
in regard to the homage now paid to the genius
of the Poet Burns.

. doubt not , that those
_extreme enthusiasts,
among them who were the pink of self-complaceht
perfection, the quintescence.of sectarian acerbity,
and who fancied that an inveterate hatred of
heterodoxy was the surest test of theological
orthodoxy—the Holy Willies arid Daddy Aulds' of
that age—would acknowledge his fitness to ex-
emplify their spirit ; but his usurpation of the
mantle of the ancient Covenanters, who were the
defenders of the rights of conscience, is a libel on
their geheral character.
We may lament that human infallibility is
Utopian,—that to expect perfection even in the
" Unco' Guid" is -chimerical,—but we are com-
pelled, nevertheless, to admit the 'unpleasant fact ;
and we naturally arrive at the conclusion that in
our common Christianity, an indispensable ingre-
dient is that charity which prompts us in judging
of human nature, "To gently scan our brother
man."

I iegret that, in the perusal of the poet's writ-
ings, the congeniality of those sentiments, so fre-
quently inculcated , therein, has left a lighter
impression on the mind of your correspondent thap
any disgust created by the facetious and objec-
tionable features of his works.

The pen of Burns was the ready slave of his
innate feelings, never the venal tool of others.
His manly and independent tone, his abhorrence
of hypocrisy in every shape, the difficulties under
which his muse was nurtured, the neglect which
he experienced at the hands of his cotemporaries,
imperatively demand our sympathy ; and though
he was less a Joseph than a David, when exposed
to temptation, the above qualities will survive
alike Pharasaical hypercriticism and misanthropi-
cal detraction.

" Cul Bono" may rely upon it that Liverpool
will show, by the success of the commemoration
here, that the city which produced the Poet's
biogragher will be no party to the disgrace
attached to the disparagement, or neglect of un-
mercenary genius.—Yours, obediently,

PRO BONG PIIBLICO

DEAFNESS.—We understand that numerous cases of
deafness were cured by the celebrated aurist, Made.Pi°
Gardner, during her former visits to Liverpool ; it will,
therefore, be scarcely necessary to remind those of our
readers who may be suffering front this distressin'g afflic-
tion, that so favourable an opportunity as the present, of
obtaining that lady's advice and assistance, should not be
lost sight of. Madame Gaul= may be consulted at N,O,
100, Duke-street,