Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-02-10 00:00:00

SALE or Picruars.—Mr. Griffiths offered for sale
yesterday, at.; his rooms in Church-street, the large
collection of continental paintings which he has had on
view for seine, days past. There was a pretty large
attendance, and a number of paintings were sold at
very fair prices. The sale will be resumed to-day at
twelve o'clock',
FIRE, LAST NWllT.—About half-past seven o'clock
last night fire iya.s discovered in the cotton sample-room
of Messrs. H. and H. Nicholson, in Virginia-buildings,
corner of Relnford-street. An alarm was instantly
given, and Mr. Hewitt, with one of the fire-engines,
and a party of the fire-brigade, from Hatton-garden,
were speedily 'on the spot. A reel from Prince's-dock
also arrived. At first the fire assumed a very threaten-
ing aspect ; but by dint of great exertions on the part
of the firemeniit was confined to the apartment in which
it originated,'Od was finally got under by ten o'clock.
The stock, we understand, was fully iasured by the
West of England District Insurance Company.
AceinENTSPhilip Rourke, labourer, residing in 28
Court, Chisenhale-street, fell into the hold of the steam-
ship :Melita, 'in Huskisson Dock, and sustained a com-
pound fracture of the thigh, 'so severe as to necessitate
amputation.-John Malley, a' labourer, residing in
Porter-street, fell into the hold of the steamer Sligo, in
Clarence Dock, and injured his knee.—William Robin-
son, a sailor on board the ship Guy Mannering, fell
from the topmast yard, at sea, and fractured his thigh.
—Michael Smith, aged 12 years, residing. at 28,
Escombe-street, sustained severe contusions of the body
by getting crushed'between waggons belonging to Mr.
Thompson, at the New North Docks.—Henry Jones,
aged 12 years, residing at 25, Athol-street, was severely
injured in the arm by getting', entangled with the
machinery at Mr. Wilcockse rope works, Bootle.—The
above cases were received and treated at the Northern
Hospital yesterday.
HISTORIC SOCIETY.—Last night a meeting of the
literary-section of 'the Historic Society was held in the
grand jury-room, at St. George's-hall. Mr. 1114Quie in
the chair. 'Mr. T. Da:wson, exhibited a book of the
Brazen FateS of the Temple of San Giovanni, Florence;
Familiorum Colloquiorum Formula 3, 1519 • De Mcdicis
et Infirmis Collectanea, 1530 ; De Tribus Menstris Eecle-
slam nustantibus ; The Dutch Fortune-teller,. discover-
ing thirty-six several questions which old and young,
married men and women, bachelors and maids, delight
to be resolied of; brought into , England by John
Booker, 1714 ; &c., &c. , The assistaht secretary
announced the following donations :—From the society :
Proceedings of the Royal Society, Nos. 35, 36, and 37.
From the --society : Proceedings of the Royal' bublin
Society, Nos. 12, 13, 14, and 15.—The paper for the
evening was "On the populition of Lancashire and
Cheshire, during the fifty years, 1801-51, part iv.," by
J. T. Danson, Esq.,, F.S.S., and T. A. Weeton, Esq.
At.the conehision of the paper' a cordial vote of thanks
was accorded to the authors of the paper. The chair-
man, obseryed that the papers were most valuable to the
society ; and Mr. Mayer said-that, , to use a hackneyed
phrase, though the papers were dry to read, they were
invaluable in themselves. (Applause.) The meeting
then broke up.
MARINE DISASTERS.—A collision took place yester-
day, on the river, Which fortunately has not been attended
with results of a serious nature, either to life or property.
The Eclipse for Ostend came in cohtact with the schooner
Britannia. of Fleetwood; and had her jibboom carrier'
away. The barque Dumfriesshire, from Callao to Queens-
town, with guano, has been abandoned at sea. The crew
were taken off and have arrived at Greenock. At Pleet -
wood, on the Bth instant, several vessels broke from their
moorings andgot adrift; some lost bowsprits and others
had their sterns stove in. The Rover, a steam-tug, be-
longing to Liverpool, lost a funnel and had stern and
paddle-box stove. The schooner Roe, from Liverpool,
that was ashore near St. Bee's, has been got off and
towed into, Whitehaven. Among the long list of casual-
ties which lye have already recorded as occurring to
vessels on the 30th January, we have to notice to-day
that the Qaeen Mab, which arrived here yesterday,. while
lying-to in a heavy gale from the south-west on that
day, was struck by a sea which carried away all the port
bulwarks and stanbhions—swept the decks of long-boat,
galley, and three anchors, , besides carrying away the
foreyard and foretopgallantmast, and filling the forecastle
with water And forcing off the hatches. The cook was
also washed overboard. The weather at the time was
exceedingly thick and hazy. The Royal Lilly, from
Singapore to London, has been totally lost, the crew are
saved.

- A MODERN' JACK SHEPPARD AT BIRKENHEAD.—
It will be in the recollection of our readers, that on
Tuesday last, two men named James and Thomas Brown
were committed for trial. by the county. magistrates at
Birkenhead, on a charge of having been the patties who
had of late been in the habit of robbing out-houses in
the hundred of Wirral. The prisoners were confined in
a cell in the Birkenhead bridewell until they could be
removed to Knutsford, where they would be tried at the
quarter sessions. It appears that yesterday morning,
at six o'clock, according to custom, the prisoners, who
had been taken over night to the north end bridewell,
were brought down to the main bridewell at the Town-
hall, so that at eleven o'clock they might be taken before
the magistrates, and dealt with according to the nature
of their offences. Amongst .the men so brought down
yesterday morning was Patrick • Welsh, of Field-street,
Birkenheid, who avas charged with being drunk and
disorderly., He was placed in the cell with the two
brothers Brown, who appeared to the officer to be fast
asleep when he opened the cell door. Welsh had
only been a few minutes in the cell, however,
when James Brown went to the . further end of it, and
returned in a, few moments saying that he had made a
hole through the wall, and then was their time to escape.
Thomas, Brown and Welsh refused to go, but James
Brown •-made his way through the hole, and, having
reached the shed where the fire-engines are locked up,
ascendedby a ladder to the sitylithf, and so escaped.
About breakfast time the escape was discovered by the
bridewell-keeper, and the police were put on the alert.
It was ascertained that the runaway had been to 14, Ben
Johnson-street, Liverpool, early in the morning ; that he
had taken his breakfast there, and as soon is possible left
•

the house in company with the woman, with whom
he cohabits. This is all that is known of him at

present. Ho is about 40 years of age, stout build,
brown and gray hair, pale complexion, and about 5 feet
10 inches in height. • It is a curious fact that the
prisoner,. in order to make his escape, had wrenched a
small piece of iron about six inches long off a fanlight
in the cell ; that with this apparently insignificant
instrument he had contrived to remove the bricks and
rubble which constituted about one-half of the wall, and
had, their ,picked the mortar from a portion of a large
block eit stone, 1 foot 6 inches long, by 9 inches broad
and 6 inches thick, which he had subsequently. forced
outwards ;into the fire-engine shed. The wall was at
least 2 feet thick, and the risoner must have been very
industrious to have succeeded in such a task as this.

TOXTETII-PARK BOARD OF GUARDIANS.

The weekly meeting of this board was held yesterday
in the board-room of the Public-offices, Park-road.
Mr. H.• S. Alpass occupied the chair, and the other
members present were—S. Siddeloy, M. Johns, John
Wilson, J. D. Carter, Jos. Wilson, J. Moss. William
Baines, Jos. Brundritt, G. W. Hunter, J. B. Hughes,
J. Harrison, A. Miller, undAGrindrod.

Cheques to the amount of £95 were granted for out-
doot relief. Tho number of paupers in the workhouse
this wall is 393. In the hospital there were 80 sick,
being the same as last week.

The minutes of the'last meeting having been read and
,confirmed,
Mr. MILLER said that at a meeting of the overseers
last weak, they asked Mr. Cleaver to make out a balance:
sheet containing a detailed account of money received
from the overseers of the guardians. In the year 1858-69
there was £14,300 paid by the late overseers; but all
that could be found In the office books, of this transac-
tion wds a statement on mie leaf, £14,300 paid over from
the overseers to the guardians. It was desirable that
they should have a clear account, that they might print
and circulate it for the satisfaction of the ratepayers. He
would,,therefore, move that Mr. Cleaver be instructed
to prepare a balance-sheet, both for the years 1858-59
and 1850-60, and that, in future, these accounts be made
up half-yearly.
The CHAIRMAN said they at present got the returns
half-ye,arly.
Mr. 'BARNETT upon being called in stated that he was
unable, to furnish the balance-sheet.

Mr. CLEAVER said the reason he had not given it to
Mr. Barnett was because he was told the overseers
would prefer having the accounts in a permanent form.
The motion was then seconded and carried.
The minutes of the Building Committee were next
read, and their confirmation moved by Mr. Harrison.
Mr. Moss called the attention of the board to that part ot
the proceedings is which it was stated that the insurance
was to be given to the " Royal." He could not
allow this to be done, as he believed it to be a gross
Job. The insurance had been -given to the Royal, in