The Sun.
London, England, 1865-01-31 00:00:00

Gallant Lifeboat Services.

PENZANCE, Monday Night.
A rather exciting scene occurred here yesterday.

It blew very heavily from the, S.E. The brig
Willie Ridley, of Plymouth, bound from Plymouth
to Newport, in ballast, at anchor in Guaras Lake,
drove from her anchorage during the night to within
hall-a-mile of the shore opposite the Western Es-
planade, and in a most dangerous position. The
Penzance lifeboat of the National Institution was
thereupon at once manned by Captain Fellowes,
R.N., the Inspecting Commander of the Coast Guard,
and a volunteer crew, and launched. She was
buried by the tremendous surf, and it :was thought
she would have been lost on the rocks, several of
her oars being broken. Subsequent attempts, how-
ever, were more successful, and after great exertions
the brig was reached in safety, and the crew of
eight men taken into the lifeboat and brought
on shore through the breakers. The
poor men were very glad to take advantage of the
boat. Captain Fellowes, and the lifeboat crew,
behaved most nobly, and they were loudly cheered
by the thousands of spectators on shore. The ves-
sel ultimately held to her anchors, and is now safe.
An important service was also performed by the
Southend lifeboat, belonging to the National Insti-

tution, a few days since. Observing the brig
Elizabeth, of Lowestoft, in distress, the lifeboat
immediately put off to her help. After great exer-
tions the lifeboat's crew succeeded in bringing the
vessel and her crew of seven men into a place of
safety at Harwich. The crew of the boat exerted

themselves• to the utmost extent, and, indeed, had
they not done so, the vessel must inevitably have
gone down with her crew.

The Bank Returns.

The Banker's Magazine furnishes the returns of the cir-
culation of the private and joint-stock banks in England
and Wales for the four weeks ending the 7th of January.
These returns, combined with the circulation of the Scotch
and Irish banks for the same period, and the average cir-
culation of the Bank of England for the four weeks ending
the 4th of January (the nearest date furnished by their
returns), will give the following results of the circulation
of notes in the United Kingdom when compared with the
-previous month :

Dec. 10, Jan. 7,
1501. i 1865. Increase. Decrease.
Bank of England 19,8(6,118 19,571,118 £235,020
Private Banks 3,058,541' 2,959,367 99,174
Joint-stock Banks 2,751,1i9 2,737,410 16,7e3
—
Total in England. 25,61,,,8221 25,267,925 £350,897
Scotland... 4,626,7991 4,3c5,591 3O ,2 5
Ireland 5,872,70 5,661,0:e 211,67
United Kingdom 16,11 Q,323 . 35,254,512 I £863,781

And as compared with the month ending the 9th of
January, 1864, the above returns show a decrease of
£702,149 in the circulation of notes in England, and a
decrease of £731,103 in the circulation of the United

Kingdom.
On comparing the above with the fixed issues of the
several banks the following is the state of the circulation:—
The English private banks are below their
fixed issue ... ..• .E 1,253,419
The English joint-stock banks are below their
fixed issue

488,917

Total below fixed issue in England ... £1,742,336
The Scotch banks are above their fixed issue... 1,576,320
The Irish bailks are below their fixed issue ... 693,468
The average stock of bullion held by the Bank of Eng-
land in both departments during the month ending the 4th

of January was £14,116,259, being an increase of £162,742
as compared with the previous month, and an increase of
£3,284 when compared with the same period last year.
The following are the amounts of specie held by the
Scotch and Irish banks during the month :
Gold and silver held by the Scotch banks £2,378,119
Gold and silver held by the Irish banks 2,216,413

£4,594,532
Being a decrease of £99,451 as compared with the pre-
vious return, and an ncrease of £236,655 when compared
with the corresponding period last year.

RAILWAY ACCIDENT AT ARDWICK.—un °MAU'
day afternoon a collisioit occurred on the railway near the
Ardwick station. The train arriving in Manchester at 430
p.m. from Sheffield, ran through a goods train that was
crossing the line, near Ardwick, overturning and breaking
ome of the trucks, and strewing the goods on the line.
The engine and tender of the passenger train were also se-
riously injured. The passengers were shaken, but none of
them sustained serious harm•
MANSLAUGHTER NEAR SCARBOIIOUGH.—OHSatUr-
day, a man, named Thomas Lidster, was brought
before the Mahon Magistrates on a charge of having caused
the death of John Pickering, at Stanton, near Scarborough,
on Thursday night. No evidence was offered, and pending
the Coroner's inquiry the prisoner was remanded for a week.
Soon afterwards Mr. J. M. Jennings, the East Riding
coroner, opened an inquest on the body of Pickering at Sax-
ton. It was shown after leaving work on Friday the prisoner
and the deceased went to the Ganton public-house, and
there quarreled and fought. After a round or two the de-
ceased's wife fetched the deceased home, whence they
were accompanied by the landlord's son. Lidster, how-
ever, had followed unobserved, and called the deceased
out of his house, saying that he (deceased) had chal-
lenged him to fight and he would fight. Deceased replied
he did not wish to fight, and thereupon Lidster put one
foot behind deceased's heel and then pushed him over •on
his back. The deceased fell heavily with his head on
the ground, fracturing his skull. Death resulted shortly
afterwards. The jury unanimously returned a verdict of
manslaughter, and tho coroner made out his warrant for
the prisoner's committal for trial at the sessions.
ATTEMPTED MURDER AND SUICIDE AT OLDHAM.
—On Saturday morning a machine joiner, named
Joseph Whitehead, living in Albert-street, Oldham, at-
tempted to murder his wife, and afterwards succeeded in
committing suicide. The man was solue time ago employed
by Messrs. Platt and by Mr. Lees, machinists ; but he
has for some time been out of work, and has latterly been
in a low desponding state of mind. His wife was confined
of her second child on Saturday week, and from the time
of her confinement up to Friday night the husband slept
at his mother's house. His wife was in bed on Saturday
forenoon, and during the temporary absence of the nurse
the husband made a deliberate attempt to murder the
poor woman. He inflicted a cut under her eye with a table
knife, and another in the centre of the upper lip, but she
struggled so effectually as to prevent him carrying his de-
sign into effect. Her screams brought tho nurse upstairs,
and, on observing her enter the bedroom, Whitehead drew
the knife across his throat, inflicting a fearful wound. He
fell backwards upon the floor, and died before medical as-
sistance could be procured. Though the attack was made
on the woman very suddenly, she was enabled to catch hold
of the knife, and her hand was severely cut by the force
with which the husband drew it out of her grasp. The
deceased is said to be about 35 years of age.