The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-02-18 00:00:00

IMPORTANT 70 RAILWAY TRAVELLERS.

At one of the London police courts, on Monday, Mr.
Thomas Harrison, a stock-broker, residing at Enfield,
appeared to a summons in which he was charged, under
rather peculiar circumstances, with having unlawfully
impeded one of the officers of the Eastern Counties Rail-
way in the execution of his duty. Mr. George Croxton,
the station master at Stratford, stated that, in consequence
of inforination he had received, on the arrival of the
Enfield train at that station, on the morning of the 10th
inst., he accompanied one of the collectors to the saloon
carriage appropriated to smokers, for the purpose of col-
lecting the tickets. After inspecting the passes of three
other gentlemen. which Were promptly produced, he
requested the defendant to show him his ticket to which
he carelessly answered, " But what if I've lost it ? On
telling him that in that event he must pay the fine, the
defendant replied, with a laugh, " Then I must
try to find it." The Prisoner then slowly pulled out a
number of miscellaneous articles, consisting of envelopes,
gun wadding, a penknife, and razor strop, each of Which
he successively examined, with mock deliberation, and
carefully set them aside, with the repeated observation,
" That is not it." , The defendant at length pointed to an
empty pipe case, which was lying before him, and
remarked, "I believe it is in there ; will vou have the
kindness to rummage it up for me." The jocose pro-
ceedings
of defendant were greeted with bursts of
obstreperous mirth from his immediate companions, in
which he himself heartily joined, until some of the
passengers at the back of the carriage impatiently
complained of the delay, when he ultimately produced a
season ticket from his side pocket. The witness added
'hat the usual time occupied in collecting the tickets was
a minute and a half; but in consequence of the obstructive
conduct of the defendant on the occasion in question, the
train was delayed ten minutes at the station. In cross-
examination the witness admitted that he was aware at
the time that the def-ndant had previously taken out a
season ticket, but. explained that under a recent regula-
tion all passengers were required to exhibit their tickets
each time they travelled on the line. The evidence of
the last witness was fully corroborated by Inspector
Turner and John Frazer, the ticket collector. Mr. Lewis,
jum, who appeared for the defence, after raising some
technical objections, which were overruled by the magis-
trate, submitted that there was no wilful intention on the
part of his client to impede the progress of .the train,
although it was undoubtedly the fact that several gentle-
men, who were well known to the officers as the holders
of season passes, naturally objected to the inconvenience
of being arbitrarily compelled, contrary to the previous
practice, to produce their tickets each journey. Ia
answer to a question from the magistrate, it was init.
mated by Mr. Barnard, who conducted the prosecution,
that the summons had been taken out under the 16th sec-
tion of the statute 3 and 4 Vict., c. 97, which enacted
that any person who should obstruct or impede any
officer or agent of a railway in the execution of his duty
shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding £5;" and, as
the perverse conduct of the defendant in this instance had
not only been productive of serious annoyance to the
general body of the passengers, but was calculated to have
occasioned a dangerous collision with other in-coming
trains, he was instructed to press for a conviction. Mr.
Hammitt said, that after attentively considering the
evidence, he was decidedly of opinion that the defendant
had wilfully caused an obstruction, which came within the
meaning of the act, and should therefore convict him of
the offence ; but as he understood that the only object of
the railway authorities was to vindicate whatever legal
regulations they thought proper to establish, he should
merely impose a penalty of lOs and costs.

Loss OF A FRENCH SIETE OF WAR.—We are sorry to
learn that the French steam corvette the Duroc, which had
been expected for some time in China, was lost on the
coast of Java, on her way from New Caledonia to Hong
Kong. Our worthy allies have been unfortunate in these
waters with their ships of war.—North China Herald,
Dec. 13.
SUICIDE,OF A GENTLEMAN OF PROPERTY.—Last Satur..
day, the coroner held an inquest at Sunbury, respecting the
death of Mr. Pailip Alford, sixty-one years of age, a
gentleman of independent means. He latterly became
possessed with the belief that his agent was conspiring with
some persons to wrest his property from him, and reduce
him to absolute want. He shot himself with a horse-
pi4tol.
CORN MEASURES.—An attempt is being made in the
midland counties to establish some uniformity in the sale of
corn at the different corn markets. At Wolverhampton, on
We lnesday evening, resolutions were passed by the farmers
to sell wheat in future by the •ba.g of 9 seore 101bs gross, or
72;bs net per bushel ; and malting barley by the imperial
(patter of 32 quarts per bushel, instead of by the bushel of
38 quarts, thus assimilating the weights and measures to
those adopted at Birmingham. At a large meeting of
Lamers, recently held at Gloucester, it was resolved to sell
wheat in that market at 601bs the bushel ; but the millers
and some of the dealers have resolved to bay only at 621bs
the bushel.

BANK NoTBs.—A very curious forged note has just be'n
discovered in Paris. A landlord, collecting his rents in
one of the poorer quarters, found among the money he had
revived a forged bank note, of a resemblance so astonish-
ing that it almost defied the closest scrutiny. When
examined thoroughly it proved to have been entirely
written by the hand. The water mark was made by
cutting out the letters required, and pasting thinner paper
over the holes This was done so delicately that the letters
had all the appeararea of those on a good bank note. The
caligraphy was of an astonishing excellence ; but, wha`• is
•
surprising, there were several orthographical errors in the
wording. Ceux was spet eux ; au, ont, ouront ; and so on.
The amount of the not? is only 100 f. (X 4 sterling). It is
evident that this sum would not have com?ensated anybody
for the labour required to produce the note. It is supposed,
therefore, that some oddity (an Englishman by common
consent) has taken the trouble to turn forger- for mere
amusement, and to test the capability of his triwers in that
profe,sios has passed the no`e. On this supposition, the
errors are introduced by cleric.; to render the passing of the
note more extraordinary. Perhaps there islome stupid bet
in the case.

ANTI POLYGAMY.—The Anti Polygamy sky is gathering
up its thunder, and a destructive bolt seams impending
against those jolly Elders of Morrnondom who dress up
the flesh and the devil in such fine-twined spiritual linen.
Utah is large, so large that it may be compared to ancient,
Roma. There is the central sacred city and there are the
provinces. Now, ono of these quasi provinces, wilich is
cotangent to California, has ramued under the august and
obscene presence of Elder Orson Hyde. That prophet and
apostle has been appointed Probate Judge of Carson
Valley in Utah, situate eight hundred miles from S ilt
Lake City. The buSitiess of this region is entirely with
California. These facts being joined to the still more
pungent one that the infernal old Orson fetched with him
" one of his spiritual wives," have led to a petition to
Congress praying dutifillly that said Orson and Orsoness
may be incontinently kicked out, and that Carson Valley
may, ba annexed Jet California, thus being freed from the
presence of ecsfatico.roligious, tyrminico.politic and
polynxorial loafers, who ventilate the patriarchs more
freely than did the Roundheads—who whine- and snivel
forth the holiest text while they live in a manner worthy
only of MahommNi and his infidels. In our Washington
correspondence will be found an account of this petition-
to Congress. The she Orson gets it " thirteen to the
dozen," of the heaviest blows of Amazon indignation. She
is likened unto that highly co:oured woman of the
Apocalypse, known as the scarlet lady. The male
Carsonites, too, are furious against the Orsoness. They
let the Judge—the Orson—know that they will not intro.
duce their wives and daughters to a scarlet woman, and
that as their valley is not soiled now by the solemn jokers
and their drabs it may be kept unpolluted. So they wish
annexation to California, But the Committee on Terri.
tories are adverse to the petitioners, Therd are two
reasons for this : one is, that California is already too
large ; the other, that the means proposed against the
Mormons are not sufficient. The committee are of
opinion that some mnasure of wider scope is necessary to
effect a radical cure:of the moral and political pestilence
which makes Utah the scandal of the American public.
Such a measure is now on the calendar—the bill for the
prevention and punishment of polygamy—and there is, so
we are told, no legislation more earnestly demanded.
Thus it will be seen that a swashing storm impends over
the MorMon State. The altars of Baal will be thrown
down, and' there is danger that a direct communication
may be opened between Salt Lake and Salt River.—
N. 1. Tribune.