The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1852-12-07 00:00:00

THE LTVERPOOL STANDARD, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1852

HEALTH COMMITTEE.—The weekly tneeting was held
on Thursday, in the Council-chamber, Mr. Alderman
Langsdale in the chair. There were also present : Messrs.
Dover, Gladstone, Hodson, Moss, Johnson, Godfrey,
Halhead, Beckwith, and Henderson.—A letter was read
from Mr. Radley, requesting that Tobin-street should be
surveyed, as the foundations were likely to be injured in
consequence of the late rains. The matter was postponed
in order to afford time for inquiry.—Mr. Fresh, nuisance
inspector, said the person appointed to attend to the
smoke nuisances, who was a working engineer, appeared
to be doing his work very well : he had gone to show that
the smoke could be suppressed, and his system, which
was exceedingly simple, answered very well.—An appli-
cation was presented from the inspectors of scavengers,
applying for a weekly increase of wages from 255. to 30s.
per week.—Mr. Beckwith opposed the increase, on the
ground that the saving was attributable to the borough
engineer in the improved working of the business.—The
engineer observed that, without good officers to carry his
plans out, they would, of course, be useless.—A com-
munication was read from Messrs. Fox, Henderson, and
Co., stating that, in consequence of the rise in iron, they
were compelled to increase the price of the street plates
from £lO 4s. to £ll 15s. The committee considered this
reasonable.—A sewer was ordered to be made in Soho-
square, and a crossing in Dale-street.—The engineer sub-
mitted estimates for paving Colquitt-street, in the district
of the Royal Institution.—The medical officer reported
that the mortality of the week was nearly the same as the
previous one, being 180 against 177. The average number
of deaths for the corresponding week of the three previous
years was 201, showing a decrease in last week of 21.
THE RECENT BANK ROBBERY.—About a fortnight
since we reported that £3OOO, in notes, had been stolen
from a youth named Humphreys, in the employ of Messrs.
Brown, Shipley, and Co., while at the counter of the
Bank of England in this town. In consequence of inti-
mation to the police, detective officer Murphy was des-
patched to London. On Wednesday he apprehended a
man named Frederick Clarke, at a poorly-furnished pri-
vate house, in Saville-place, Lambeth, on the charge of
the robbery. Nothing was found confirmatory of his
guilt, but he was brought down to Liverpool, and on Fri-
day morning was placed in company with 12 or 13 other
men, when he was pointed out by Humphreys as being
the person who had spoken to him in the bank. The
prisoner, who is a known London thief, is a well-looking
man, about 36 or 38 years old ; he is five feet eight inches
in height, prominent features, and was habited in an olive
shooting-coot, with a flashy-coloured waistcoat, the whole
of his attire exhibiting that stage of service which produces
the appearance significantly termed " seedy." His whole
bearing is that of a man who ought to be supposed, from
his occupation, not to be one likely to have any legitimate
business in a bank ; be looks like a respectable porter
dressed up. • The prisoner was brought before Mr. Booth,
in the magistrates' room, when Humphreys deposed posi-
tively to the prisoner being the man to whom he spoke in
the bank relative to the loss of the money, and that he
(the prisoner) had said it must have been taken by a man
who had just left the bank. He went with the prisoner
to the top of Cook-street, and the prisoner pointed to a
person running before them. They both then ran down
Cook-street, on reaching North John-street, Humphreys
ran in the direction of Dale-street. After proceeding a
little distance he turned round, and the prisoner was not
visible, and he had not seen him until the previous day,
when he selected him from among the other parties.—
Young, the porter, had a strong impression that the pri-
soner was the person he had met in company with Hum-
phreys, hastily leaving the bank ; but he would not swear
positively to this.—The prisoner was remanded for seven
days, in order to afford time for inquiry.
THE LEVIN LANK.—On Tuesday, before the Judicial
Committee of the Privy Council, an appeal was heard
from the Vice-Admiralty Court at St. Helena, prosecuted
by Messrs. Harrison and Co., of Liverpool, the owners
of the British schooner Levin Lank, and the cargo lately
laden therein, against our Sovereign Lady the Queen,
and Thomas Miller, Esq., the commander, and the officers
and crew of her Majesty's sloop of war called the Ranger.
Messrs. Harrison and Co. are extensively engaged in
importing palm oil from the coast of Africa, and are the
owners of several vessels occupied in that trade. They
have a large factory at Benin, where the oil is collected
and every necessary preparation made for its shipment ;
but as there is not a sufficient depth of water over the bar
of the Benin river, the ships are obliged to cross it partly
laden and anchor outside, where the remainder of their
cargoes is conveyed to them in open boats or in a vessel
or small burden. In April, 1849, the American schooner
Levin Lank was purchased by their agent to serve as such
tender, in lieu of the Maria Louisa, which was then sup-
posed to have been lost, and was from that time until her
seizure, in January, 1850, as alleged by Messrs. Harrison
and Co., exclusively employed in such services. On the
sth of that month she was despatched to Accra for the
purpose of bringing workmen and materials for the repair
of the Maria Louisa, which had been recovered in a da-
maged state. On the 20th, while engaged in her return
voyage, she was seized by. the Ranger and sent to St.
Helena, where she was condemned on the 30th of May,
on the ground that she was occupied in carrying on the
slave-trade. An affidavit made by Mr. Tarraway, an
officer belonging to the Ranger, was lodged in the court
below, in which it was sworn that the Levin Lank was
equipped and provisioned as a slaver. Messrs. Harrison
and Co., who asserted that they had no opportunity of
appearing in the court below, now denied the truth of the
statements contained in that affidavit, and produced coun-
ter evidence. They prayed for a reversal of the condem-
nation, and the restoration of the vessel and cargo, or the
value thereof, and a reimbursement of all the losses they
had sustained inconsequence of theseizure.—After hearing
the Queen's Advocate for the respondents, Dr. Lush-
ington delivered the judgment of their lordships, who
wt re of opinion that there was no just or probable ground
for seizing the ship, and therefore granted the appellant's
prayer.

Tun GIRL RIMaCER.—This girl, it will be remembered,
was the prosecutrix of her mother and aunt, who were
sentenced to death at our last assizes, on the charge of
having attempted to poison her. Subsequently to the
conviction of her mother and aunt, she went in a car to
the Northern Hospital, where she stated that another
person had given her a glass of what ought to have been
wine, but which the girl alleged to be poison, and she was
ill from its effects. Mr. Batty, one of the surgeons,
applied the stomach pump, when it was found that there
were found no traces of poison. On Wednesday last she
was tried at the sessions before the recorder on the charge
of stealing a quantity of wearing apparel, &c., belonging to
an old woman named Price, in Finch-street, under the
most heartless circumstances. The prisoner stated that,
a night or two before, she was taken to the house of the
prosecutrix to lodge. She paid the old woman two shil.
lings, and the latter subsequently wanted half-a-crown
more, which she did not give her. She afterwards went
to bed, and lay with her money in her hand all night. In
the course of the night the old woman came to the bed
and began to search for money, but could not find any.
She persisted in her statement that her aunt attempted to
poison her, and further stated that Mrs. Price kept a
house of an infamous description ; that she sold wine,
spirits, and ale, to men and women indiscriminately—Mrs.
Price totally denied the allegations which the prisoner had
made against her, and the jury immediately found the
prisoner guilty. It then turned out that the prisoner had
been previously convicted of felony and imprisoned four
months. Inspector Wilson, of the police, stated that
Mrs. Price was a respectable widow, who took in lodgers,
and he was positive that every allegation stated by the
prisoner was false. The prisoner was ordered to be im.
prisoned for eighteen months ; but it is understood the
term will be reduced. On Friday the following letter
relative to the elder Rimmers, was received by Mr. Booth,
the magistrate :—" Whitehall, Ist 852—Sir,—
With reference to your letter of the 26th Dec.,dctober, stating
that you have committed for trial, on a charge of felony,
the witness on whose evidence Ann and Sarah Rimmer
were recently convicted for administering poison, and that
she appears to be quite unworthy of credit, I am directed
to acquaint you, that Mr. -Secretary Walpole has very
carefully considered the whole facts of the case, and has
communicated with the learned judge before whom it was
tried, and he regrets to say, that there does not appear to
him to be any sufficient ground for doubting the guilt of
these prisoners, or to warrant him in advising any further
interference on the part of the crown with the sentence
which has been passed upon them.-1 am, sir, your obe-
dient servant, H. WADDINGTON.—Thos. Booth, Esq.,
Liverpool."

HORTICULTURE.

OPERATIONS FOR THE WEEK

Stove, Conservatory, Greenhouse, 4^o.—As there is now
some hope of change from the dreary and prolonged wet
season we have had, we may venture to make some pro-
gress in the winter work. Damp and mildew will have
made their way into the conservatory and greenhouse, as
a necessary consequence, in spite of every precaution.
The only remedy for the former is fire-heat, and for the
latter finely-powdered sulphur sprinkled diligently over
the affected leaves,—all other remedies are mere waste of
time and money. Camellias and daphnes should be well
watered—thatis, the soil at the roots should be well satu-
rated from time to time, and never allowed to get com-
pletely dry. Heaths and New Holland plants must have
plenty of fresh air, if possible; it is as essential to them now
as at any time in the year. Damp and frost in winter,
and scorching of the roots in summer, are the only things
to be feared with these plants.
In the out-of-door department all work had better be
suspended, if possible, whilst the ground is so completely
saturated.