Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-04-21 00:00:00

LOCAL INTiTILIGENCE.

THE FIRE IN TABLEY-STREET.— We understand that
the damage done at the .fire in the cooperage in Tabley-
street, is about £.500 or £6OO. During the progress of the
fire, John Whitehouse, a labourer, slipped on the kirb-
stone and broke his leg.
AN OLD WOMAN KILLED BY A FALL.—On Saturday,
an old woman, named Mary Rothwell, 70 years of age,
residing at 10 Court, Circus-street, while in a state of
intoxication, fell down some cellar steps, and received such,
injuries that she died yesterday morning. An inquest will
be held this day.

Tn CANADIAN MAlLS.—Yesterday, the weekly com-
munication between Liverpool and the St. Lawrence was
inaugurated by the despatch of the screw steamer North
Briton for Montreal and Quebec. During the whole of the
summer steamers will be despatched weekly from Canada
and Liverpool. The North Briton took out above 160
passengers, one third of whom were in the cabin._

SERIOUS AFFRAY BETWEEN Two CARTERS.—Yesterday
afternoon, two carters were unloading cotton in the
Clarence dock, when they fell out, and one of them took
up a cotton hook and deliberately split the other's skull.
The injured man was removed to the Northern Hospital ;
his name is, James Hamilton. The other carter was
arrested, and will be brought before the magistrates to-day.
QUICK DISCHARGE.—BONE AND MUSCLE V. STEAM.—

The ship Noemie, Capt. Johnson, discharged her cargo,
consisting of 1,900 bales Charleston Cotton, in the Stanley
dock,. in 16 working hours. Yesterday (Wednesday)l the
Ship Potomac, Capt. Reed, discharged and weighed 1,534
bales New Orleans Cotton, (being equal in weight to 2000
Charleston bales), in the Bramley-Moore Rock, in the
almost incredible short space of ten working hours, thus
proving at once the superior advantages and facility of the
open docks over the enclosed docks. The stevedore Jas.
M'Convill, and the master porters M'Cabe and Tipper,,
personally superintended the discharge -
It is a well known maxim that "time is money"—the
terms are relative ; so to save one is to save the other. - We
save both time, and economise' patience, and present good
tempers, when we have a good PEN—a:bad one upsets pati-
ence and temper. Preserve all, then, by purchasing your
steel pens and other stationery, at E. T. Hall's whole-
sale steel pen warehouse. 23, South John-street. John.
Gillett's, Thomas 'Lowe's, G. W. Hughes, and other maker's
pens at is per gross. Good Pen Holders 2d per dozen.
Two WOMEN BURNED TO DEATH --- On Tuesday night,
as we have already stated, a fire broke out in a court off
Spitalfields, Whitechapel, and that an old woman, named
Spelman, was severely burned. She was removed to the
Northern Hospital, where she died a few hours- after her
admission. About the same hour and day, a young
woman, named Mary Roberts, residing at 15, Dover-
street, Toxteth Park, was sitting at the fire when her
clothes caught fire, and she was severely burned on various
parts of the body. She was taken to the Southern Hospital,
but the injuries she received proved mortal, and she died
yesterday morning. We understand that inquests will be
held on both cases this day (Thursday)
1 CLAREMONT LITERARY ASSOCIATION.

—On Tuesday even-

ing last, the fifth annual soiree of this society was held in
the School-room of the Claremont Independent Chapel,
Kirkdale, and very numerously attended ; Mr. Thomas
Nicholson, president, in the chair. After briefly reviewing
the subjects which had occupied the consideration of the
members during the past session, and expressing his satis-
faction at witnessing the progress made, the Chairman
called' upon Mr_ John Rowland to read a paper on " Bright
Prospects ;" Mr. G. Lingham following with a humurous,
paper on-" Old Clothes ;" and Mr. J. W. Reader with an
"Essay on Poetry." An interval of half an hour, when
refreshments were partaken of, and social chat indulged in,
formed a pleasing feature in the entertainment. Mr. T.
Gibb then read a paper on " A Voice from the Rocks;" and
Mr. I. B. Baxter a humorous paper on " The Age we live
in." Mr. W. B. Luckman, in an entertainment entitled
"An Evening Party," was very successful. During the
evening, several select pieces were sung by Miss Lingham,
Messrs. J.Webster, and J. Tunstall, jun., under the effective
leadership of Mr. A. Lingham ; and the proceedings, of an
interesting character throughout, were terminated by sing-
ing the National Anthem.
DR. STERNDALE BENNETT'S " MAY QUEEN" AT THE
•PHILHARMONIC HALL.—At the next subscription Concert
of the Philharmonic Society, on Tuesday, the 26th inst.,
the committee will, for the first time, introduce to the mu-
sical public of Liverpool Dr. Sterndale Bennett's new
cantata of " The May Queen." This charming work, the
composition of one of our most talented, genial, and original
composers---the director of the London Philharmonic So-
ciety, and Professor of Music at Cambridge---
was originally produced at Leeds, on the occasion
of the opening of the new Musical Hall in that town. It
was an immense and decided success, and the verdict of the
Leeds public has since been ratified by the unanimous
decision of the metropolitan critics and musical connoisseurs.
As " The May Queen" will be new to the majority of our
townsmen, we quote the following brief notice of it from
the _Musical World :---" The text, or libretto, of this in-
teresting work is furnished by Mr. H. F: Chorley, who has
performed his task in a very pleasing manner. The story
is founded on a quality destined to last, not for an age,
but for all time,' namely, woman's coquetry. The period
of. the action is May-day in the good old times. The May
Queen has long been wooed by a fond and constant swain,
but, like a great many others of her sex---Bien Jou qui s' y,
fie, as Francis the First said---has a natural taste for a
little bit of flirtation. This taste she indulges with a
forester, called Robin Hood, who, resolving to make the
best of the occasion, endeavours to embrace her. This, of
course, excites the lie of her old lover, who formulates his
indignation in the shape of a blow administered to his
enterprising rival. As this argumentum ad hominem is pro-
pounded on the royal domain, the unhappy young man has
rendered himself liable to have his hand chopped off.
'When affairs are in this unpleasant posture, the Queen
herself arrives, and, having learnt the true state of the
case, and found that the offender was fully justified in
what he has done, remits the penalty, with an injunction
to the erring fair one to be faithful to her old' love, and
turn a deaf ear to Robin Hood, who, after all, is not a
bold forester, but a noble attached to the court, who has

assumed his rustic disguise for purposes best known to
himself, but which we are all, probably, able to guess.
Professor Bennett's music to this agreeable little plot is
most charming, simple, unaffected, and excellent. The
overture, which, by the way, is not new, being known
some years back, under the title of Marie du Bois, to
lovers of music, is fresh and captivating. Indeed, the
whole work breathes an aroma of the pure, fragrant forest
glade, green leaves, and blossoming May."

" Did I hurt you ?" said a lady the other day, when she
trod on a man's toes. "No madam, I thank you, seeing it
is you. If it were anybody else I would have hollered out
murder."

A chap went out duck-shooting the other day with an
awful kicking old musket ; he had got the bang of it, and
when he fired leaned forward to counteract the effect of the
recoil. Seeing a nice flock of ducks, he crept up on an old
log, took good aim, inclined his body forward and pulled;
the gun snapped, didn't go off according to calculation, and
per consequence the individual did—went head-foremost to
the bottom, musket and all.—American Paper.
CAPTAIN CARNEGIE AND SIR JOHN PAKINGTON.—

Captain Carnegie has addressed a letter to Sir John
Pakington expressing his surprise and indignation at the
taunts levelled at him by the latter in the late discussion in
Parliament, and accusing the right hon. baronet of omitting
various important circumstances from the explanation.
Captain Carnegie's own account is to the following effect :
On accepting the appointment to the Admiralty he expressed
his readiness to "start for any place that offered me a fair,
and reasonable prospect of success," and in fulfilment of
this promise, he prepared to contest Portsmouth, and the
vacancy expected at that port not taking place, placed him-
self in communication with Dartmouth, other places being
taken also into consideration. When the dissolution was
announced, Dover was pressed uponhim by Sir J. Pakington
and Devonport was alluded to by some one else. In reply-
ing to the latter suggestion, the gallant captain stated his
opinion that it would be impossible for any government can-
didate to contest Devonport with any hope of success, as " I
could not suppose that the dockyard labourers, to be dis-
qualified by the Reform bill, would support a nominee sent
down by a government that had determined to deprive
them of their franchise." And with regard to Dover, he
announced to the right. hon. baronet, on the morning of
the 6th, that Dover was a place which "I could hardly
expect to contest with success," but "I added that I had
hopes elsewhere, and that an interval of 24 hours would
enable me to ascertain whether the reports from another
place were sufficiently favourable to warrant me
in standing for it. To this remark of mine you answered
by stating that, in your opinion, I had no option
and you left the room to attend (I believe) a cabinet,. while
I left for the purpose of tendering my resignation of an
office which I could no longer wish to hold under such
an imputation. That offer of resignation must have
been communicated to you on your return the same day,
for yon then sent for me, and, after alluding to it, and
expressing your regret for having made use of
hasty words, you still strongly urged me to stand
for Dover, and stated that Lord Derby coincided with
your opinion.. I then informed you of the political
difficulties which attended the representation of Dover,
and mentioned the awkward circumstances in which I
should be placed if I went to Dover with the Government
Reform Bill, tied like a millstone, round my neck. But
these political objections were not the only ones I foresaw
I should have to encounter ; it was very soon made clear
to me that there was only one possible method by which
either of the sitting members for Dover could be deprived
of their seats, and this was a course I could not condescend
to adopt."