Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-01-12 00:00:00

WEST DERBY BOARD OF GUARDIANS.

The weekly meeting of this board was held yesterday,
in the board-room of the Workhouse. Mr. Pitts occu-
pied the chair; and the other members present were—
Messrs. Ledger. Smith, H. Edwards, J. Edwards, Shaw,
Garatte, Pilling, Abrahams, Roberts, Roscoe, Mawdsley,
Metcalf, and Wareham:
The Governor reported the number of paupers in the
workhouse last week to be 644, 'admitted since, 40; dis-
charged, 36; dead, 2; this week, 666, of whom 364 belong
to the Park, corresponding week last year, 729. In the
hospital last week there were, 131 ; admitted, 30; dis-
charged, 14; dead, 5 : this week, 142, 66 of whom
belong to the Park; corresponding week last year, 110.
The following cheques were granted :—Mr. Potts,
£llB ; Mr. Olney, £4O; Mr. Lythgoe, £24.
, A letter from the Finance Committee was read which
stated that the committee, having considered the proba-
ble saving that would accrue if only one workhouse was
provided for the union, recommended that the two exist-
ing workhouses should be sold and a new one built
with the proceeds. They had, therefore, submitted the
following resolution for the consideration of the hoard :
" The Finance Committee, at s recent meeting held at
Mr. Cleaver's office, having considered the probable
saving which would be effected if one workhouse only
were maintained for the union, instead of two ; and
being impressed with the conviction of the importance
of such a workhouse establishment as would admit of
universal facilities for the employment of the poor
relieved therein, and proper classification, recommend
that the two existing workhouses be sold, with the land
attached thereto, and a new workhouse erected in some
more royal part of the union, provided such a scheme
can be carried into effect without burthen upon the
ratepayers."
Mr. SnAw said he could not support the resolution
until it was known whether the two workhouses would
sell for sufficient money to enable them to build another.
Mr. EDWARDS thoight the motion was brought for-
ward is a very premature manner. He considered that
an inquiry should be made into the value of the land in
the neighbourhood. . _ _

Mr. SIAw said the workhouse was in debt to Tox-
teth-park to the amount of £4,700, to the hospital for
£6,400 ; these, with the other loans, made a total of
£17,725. The entire cost of the building was £37,000;
and supposing they could be sold for even £25,000, he
thought the scheme might be practicable, but not
otherwise.

The CHAIRMAN read an estimate which had been
made of the saving to be effected by the scheme, from
which it appeared thk there would be a total gain of
£1,200 per year.
Mr. ABRAHAMS that it would be desirable, before
applying to the Poor-law Board on the subject, to find
a suitable piece of ground. He therefore proposed that
a committee should be appointed to examine the various
sites in the neighbourhood.
Mr. SMITH violently opposed the motion, as he did
not think the scheme would be beneficial.
A committee was ultimately appointed, consistinc, of
the Chairman, Mr. H. Edwards, Mr. Garatte, and
Roscoe.

VELOCITY OF RUNNING WATER.—The velocity of a
stream is greatest at the middle of its surface, and having
measured this velocity the bottom and mean velocities
may be found as follows :—Take unity from the square
root of the superficial velocity in inches per second ; the
square of the remainder is the velocity at the bottom,
and the half of the sum of the surface arid bottom velo-
cities is the mean velocity.
A JOKE FOR THE LADIES. —An editor-of a paper
lately informed his readers that the ladies: always pull
off the left stocking last. This, as may be supposed,
created some stir among his fair readers, and while in
positive terms they denied the statement, they insisted-
that he had no business to know it even if such were-
the fact, and pronounced him no gentleman. He proves
it, however, by a short argument. " When one stocking
is pulled off, there is another left on : 'pulling of this is
taking the left stocking off last."—American paper.
TRIALS OF A NEW WAR ROCKET IN FRANCE.
Important experiments are now. going on at Vincennes
to test the value of a new -invention, the destructive
powers of which are deseribed- as perfectly a%palling.
The invention is a new kind of percussion rocket—its
range is immense, but like all
.projectiles of that kind,
there is great difficulty in obtaining a correct aim. The
inhabitants of the villages all, round Vincennes are pre-
vented crossing the wood which surrounds the polygon
while the practice is going On.—Paris correspondent of
the Morning Herald.

INCREASE OF LUNACY. —The returns presented to
the Essex Quarter Sessions last week exhibited a melan-
choly increase in the number of patients in the county
lunatic asylum. In 1854, the total was 307; in 1855,.
334 ; in 1856, 370 ; in 1857, 399 • in 1858, 406 ; and-
in 1859, 419. The proportion of female patients con-
siderably exceeds' that -of the other sex, the numbers
being 242 women, -and 177 men. In the Norfolk
couuty asylum there are at present 331 patients—viz.,
146 men, and 185 women. This is an increase of five
as compared with the preceding quarter, and of about.
30 during the last six years.
GREAT FALL OF CLIFF AT RAMSGATE.—From the
East and West Cliffs some thousands of tons have fallen
in consequence of the breaking up of the late severe
frosts. On Sunday a very heavy fall happened from the
East Cliff, near the Refectory Tavern, blocking up the
road running between Messrs. Strong and Barnes's ship-
wright yard and the cliff, sweeping before it the yard
fence, the trunk used to steam planks in, as well as the
copper and furnace, at the same time burying a quantity
of ship timber that was placed under the cliff. Fortu-
nately there was no one passing at the time of the fall.
From appearances there is a great deal more to fall,
there being cracks on the top of the cliff four feet from
the edge.—Kent Herald.
There appears to be a general movement of the Euro-
pean mind towards China and the Eastern seas. Accord-
ing to rep.orts of a non-official, but reliable, character,
the Duc de Brabant is exerting himself to infuse a new
element into the Anti-Sinonsian confederation, and is
desirous of giving the Belgian army an opportunity of
displaying its valour under the walls of Pekin. It is
stated that the proposed force is to consist of 32 guns
(four batteries), and 8,000 men. Ships are to be hired,
the force is to be attached to the Frenchr and M. Bour-
bel is to be Belgian plenipo ! Even bird's nest soup may
be spoiled by too many cooks.—Army and Navy Gazette.
THE CZAR AND THE JEWS.—A house belonging to
the crown was sold at Sebastopol by public auction.
The Israelitish congregation bought it, destining it for
religious purposes. The Emperor having heard this
sent them back the deposit, amounting to 20,000 roubles,
with the intimation that they should accept this sum as
a mark of the Imperial good will, and that they should
employ it in the adaptation of the building to its new
purposes. In the town of P—, being a place of pil-
grimage for devotees, the Emperor was asked to order
the demolition of a number of houses belongino• to poor
Israelites, and which would have enlarged the area of
the convent containing the church to which the pilgrim-
ages were made. The Emperor not only refused, but
recommended the, poor tenants of these hovels to the
authorities.--Jewish Chronicle.

WIFE AND WIDOW IN LESS THAN A WEER.-A
respectable farmer residing in Denton, and a woman
who lives in Dukinfield, had been, it is understood, for
some time engaged to each other. On :Monday week,
the woman went round with her milk in the morning
and night as usual, except that in the morning it was
observed she was considerably earlier than usual and
was in a great hurry. On Saturday last, the farmer
paid her a visit, but in a short time complained of being
unwell. She advised him •to go home, and went out
to accompany him part or the way, but soon returned,
as the man was too ill to proceed. Medical aid was
called in, but he did not live many hours. Strange to
say, as soon as death took place, the woman produced
her marriage lines, proving that she had been married
to the man, at Cheadle Church, on the previous Mon-
day.
At the Marlborough-street Police Court, on Monday,
Maurice Richards, aged twenty-six, a private in the
Royal Artillery, stationed at Woolwich, was charged
with stealing a letter from the mansion of the Earl of
Derby, 23, St. James's-square. The prisoner called
at the mansion late on Saturday night, and asked
to see his lordship. Lord Derby was not at home,
and after the prisoner quitted the premises, it was
found that he had carried off a letth which lay on
the hall table. He was pursued, and the letter was
found in his huld. It required no less than three con-
stables to get him to the station. He was quite sober.
The prisoner said he had been out in India, and came
home on his discharge ; that he had re-enlisted about
three weeks back, and was now a bombardier in the
Royal Artillery.—Mr. Beadon asked him why he went
to Lord Derby's. The prisoner replied that he hoped
he was not called on to criminate himself.—Mr. Beadon
told him he might do as he liked about answering the
question.—The prisoner said he should say no more at
present, and was remanded for a week,