The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-10-29 00:00:00

LOCAL NEWS.

RARE SPORT.—On Monday last, Colonel Stanley, Colone
Hornby, and Captain Phipps Hornby, visiters with the Ear
of Derby, enjoyed a splendid day's shooting over his lordship'
estates in Rainford. When the gallant gentlemen retired
from the field it was ascartained that they had bagged the
extraordinary number of 188 head of game.

A curious incident has occurred ccnnected with the arrival
of the George Washington from New York which is well
worth mentioning, namely, the receipt through that medium
of Jamaica papers to the 3d of September inclusive, which
arc several days later than those received by the last West
India mail. The papers so received, however, contain no
news. Sickness still prevailed in the island, and, if the same
as advised by the previous accounts, must be the yellow fever.
—Times. [We believe this incident is not of such rare oc-
currence as our contemporary intimates. A similar circum-
stance took place a few weeks since.
A requisition to the churchwardens and overseers is in cir-
culation, and has already received the signatures of many
gentlemen of great influence and intelligence, requesting
them to call a public meeting of the town, to consider the
desirableness of applying to Parliament in the next session
for a local act for the management of the poor, which will,
in effect, be an act for exempting this borough from the
operation of the New Poor Law bill.
CORONER'S INQuEsT.—An inquest was held on Wednes-
day, on view of the body of Michael Smith, a lad 14 years
of age. About half-past three o'clock on Tuesday afternoon,
the deceased was waiting to get into the Old Infirmary yard,
for the purpose of getting some rubbing-stones out of the
foundation which is being made there at present. The de-
ceased was in the act of peeping through the gate in the
Haymarket, when a cart di awn by two horses came up, and
the wheel on the right hand-side of the cart caught his head
and dragged him across the gate, when be fell. His head
was all crushed, and his brains exposed. He died in about
twenty minutes after. No blame was attributable to the
carter, as he was not in a situation to see the deceased. The
cart belonged to Mr. Musker.—A verdict of " Accidental
death " was returned.

CAUTION TO LICENSED POSTAI ASTER.S.—The following
incident may operate as a caution to parties whose business
is the letting of horses and gigs ,tor hire. Mr. Thomas
Howard, coach builder, &c., of St. Helens, was summoned
before the magistrates assembled in petty session at St.
Helens on Thursday last, to answer the information of the
excise, for having, on the 21st of July last, let out a horse
and gig to a government officer, without including the duty
payable thereon to the revenue in his weekly return to the
excise, whereby he had rendered himself liable to a penalty
of £2O. Mr. Gaskell Taylor appeared for Howard, and
pleaded guilty to the charge, but made one remark to the
bench in extenuation of the offence, in consequence of which
the penalty was reduced to £5.

COCHRAN'S INK.—The best ink that can be used is that
made by Mr. Cochran, who was for many years Mr. Morri-
son's manufacturer, and, to a great extent, gained the popu-
larity of his ink.

MR. OASTLER AND THE MERCURY.—It would appear
from the following extract from Mr. Oastler's Fleet papers,
that the Mercury has been palnr.ing some of his falsehoods
respecting Mr. Oastler on the credulity of his readers. But
the fellow is treated as he deserves :—" Air. Oastler is obliged
to the friend who sent him the Liverpool Mercury of Oct.
15, 1841. It is evident that the editor of that paper is to-
tally ignorant of Mr. Oastler's opinions, principles, speeches,
and writings. When a writer is disposed to quarrel with a
political opponent, and invents tales which never had exist-
ence in fact, it is natural that he should assert opinions, re-
specting that individual, at variance with the truth. Such
an antagonist may make a great noise, but he can do no harm.
Mr. Oastler is happy to find that a supporter of the whigs,
of the new poor law, and of the factory system, is disposed
to attack him. When he does so, and asserts that which is
truth, Mr. Oastler will deem him worthy of reply, but not
till then."—We may take this opportunity of again recom-
mending these constitutional publications of Mr. Oastler to
the notice of our friends. Not only will their circulation
tend to promote the cause of Protestantism and the true in-
terests of the working classes, but it will also advance the
pecuniary circumstances of Mr. Oastler. They ought to be
circulated in every town by thousands; and the price is rea-
sonable enough surely.

LIVERPOOL CHORAL SOCIETY.—This society _gave their
thirteenth public performance on Tuesday, at the Music-hall,
Bold-street ; Handel's sublime oratorio of " Jephtha." The
thanks of the public are due to the society for presenting this
splendid composition to them, as it never before has been
performed here. It would be waste of time for us to say
more of the oratorio itself, than that it is like all Handel's
music, full of sublime and heavenly passages. The room was
filled by one of the most respectable audiences it has been
our good fate to meet, and they seemed duly to appreciate
the soul-stirring beauties of the composition, and to be not
unwilling to give the meed of their applause to the performers.
The band, consisting of about fifty instruments, was well led
by Mr. G. Eyton. Mr. John Richardson presided at the
organ. The number of singers, on this occasion, were about
eighty, of whom, from twenty to thirty, were females ; thus
it will be seen there was full strength to give effect to the
beautiful oratorio chosen. Many of the airs were well sung
by Messrs. Stott, Davies, Earnshaw, and Lunt; and by Mrs.
Morrow and Miss Stott. The choruses were well executed,
but the recitatives were, for the most part, given in a very
indifferent, we had almost said careless, style—the only ex-
ception we noticed was in Mr. Earnshaw, who seemed to
have paid some little attention to the dialogue, so to speak,
,
of the oratorio. The first chorus, ‘ No more to Ammon's
God," electrified the audience, following, as it did, the re-
citative and air " Your forth no more,', sung in a very low
tone and in a monotonous manner by Mr. Davis. Mrs.
Morrow, who we were sorry to observe, laboured under a
very severe cough, and looked very ill, sung in a very correct
and: feeling manner, the air of In gentle murmers," and
also in a very favourable and pleasing style the " Scenes of
horror
~—she again pleased us much in Let other creatures
die," which she sung sweetly, and again in the beautiful
quartet, with Messrs. Stott, Earnshaw, &c., of ‘. 0 spare
i
your Daughter"—this lady is deserving
of great praise for
the manner in which indisposition.
exerted herself, though evidently
suffering from severe nchsposition. Miss Stott, as Usual.
sang sweetly, and we fancied she lees,
in a measure, profited
by our advice, for her enunciation was certainly more distinct
than usual—she gave, a very touching and chaste manner,
the beautiful air of The smiling dawn," and was loudly
was not quite so happy, owing, in some measure,
encored ; in the recitative and air of " Tune the soft melodious
defective flute accompaniment, but she made up for it
in " Open thy marble jaws,,,
tl lute" t
the
e'
and in the " Happy they.
Our space will not permit us to notice the remainder of the
solo singers, further than to say that in some of the airs,
Messrs. Earnshaw, Lunt, and Stott, received deserved SP-
plause. Our favourite. choruses, if we may presume to make
a choice in this magnificent oratorio, axe "When His loud
voice," and " Ho• • and
w dark, 0 Lord," but all is beautiful,
it is difficult to say which is most so.

I ',

4siparrneivrag,-4 r, Egerton takes his benefit et this
theatre on Monday night, when Mr, Hoskins will make his
appearance "for that night only." A new nautical drama
is in preparation, 'which has had a tremendous run at the
Surrey Theatre, London.

CORK TOWN COUNCIL.—At the municipal election for the
city of Cork, on Monday last, fifty-eight radicals and only
aix conservatives were returned. This is the first election
under the Irish Municipal Reform Bill, about which so much
sensation was created at the time of its passing the houses of
parliament.

EXPLOSION OF GAS.—Yesterday morning, about six
o'clock an explosion of gas took place at the house of Mr.
Piper's, 55, Windsor-street, Toxteth-park. It appears that
Mrs. Piper was awoke by a strong smell of gas, and she in-
stantly got up and proceeded with a lighted candle to the
room from which she imagined the smell proceeded, and sud-
denly an explosion took place, shattering the top room win-
dows, and forcing the lobby wall. The hinges of the back
parlour door were wrenched away, and the house literally
shook throughout. Fortunately, Mrs. Piper and all the fa-
mily escaped any serious injury, excepting the burning of her
eyelashes, &c. The shock was heard in the neighbourhood
for some distance. It is supposed that the gas had been in-
cautiously suffered to escape in the parlour all night, and
ascending to the top rooms, the ignition took place there in-
stantaneously.

THE NEWS FROM AMERl6A.—Though the anxiety about
the trial of 11.1`Leod is considerably diminished since the in•
telligence brought by the George Washington, much interest
Still exists about the probable effect of the result of the trial
on the inhabitants, who are represented as being so extremely
sensitive as to the acquittal or condemnation of the prisoner.
It Was expected that the trial would continue about a week
beyond the period brought by the last advices, which would
assign the 11th or, 12th instant as the day on which the case
Would terminate. This would afford ample time for the in-
telligence to reach Halifax prior to the leaving of the Acadia
on the evening of the 18th instant. The Acadia may be ex-
Pected this morning or by the evening's tide, having now
been out about ten days and a half. We are quite prepared
for a second edition if she makes her appearance before four
o'clock.

THE FRANKLIN PRINTING PRESS.—We are informed
that, in consequence of the unfavourable state of the weather
during the past week, the owner of this interesting relic has
cancluded to allow it to be seen during Monday, Tuesday,
and Wednesday. of next week, from 12 a.m. till 9 p.m.,
during which hours the press will continue working ; it will
therefore be closed on Wednesday, Nov. 3rd, at 9 p.m., to
Prepare for a private exhibition to the mayor and a number
of invited friends of the owner on Thursday, after which it
is to be immediately repacked and despatched to America.
The public will hereafter be admitted by applying at the
door of the Medical Institution, Mount-pleasant ; and we
hope that they will prove their gratification at seeing the old
press, by liberal contributions. to the Printers' Pension So-
ciety, for which object a box is deposited in the same room.
Ma..ilontNSON'S LECTURES.—Mr. Robinson commenced
a course of lectures upon picturesque scenery, at the Portico,
On Tuesday evening last. Mr. Robinson commenced by
describing the shape of the earth, the origin of the tides, the
appearance of the moon, and other matters connected there-
with ; he then drew the attention of the audience to numerous
Phenomena, and descanted upon the beauties of scenery in
various countries. His remarks were extremely plain and
matter of fact. He conveyed to his auditory in a very simple
mode the great truths of nature, and he illustrated his lecture
by very clever views, designs, &c., which appeared and dis-
appeared in a very singular manner. We can recommend
our readers, and especially those who have the care of the
adolescent, to attend Mr. Robinson's lectures ; they, as well
as their young charges, will be edified, instructed, and enter-
tained. The next lecture takes place this evening.
MECHANICS' INSTITUTION.—On Wednesday evening the
theatre of this institution was crowded to excess to hear Mr.
Sheridan Knowles lecture on the drama. It is very long
since we have heard anything that has given us such pleasure ;
sod we are confident that all those who listened to the elo-
quent, enthusiastic, and admirable poet, must have expe-
rienced the same delight in hearing him. He traced the
origin of the drama from its very fountain head, then he
tracked the course of the stream to the Greek and Latin
Poets. He commented upon the unities of time and place,
and gave instances where they were violated by the ancients,
although they have been so highly extolled for their adhe-
rence to them. Sheridan Knowles—for we cannot "Mister"
a man so familiar to us—then -recited in a fine and chaste
style specimens of the ancient drama. He afterwards, in
showing that an obedience to the unities would have marred
our best dramas and crippled the imaginative poets, drew
attention to the characters of Shakspeare, and pronounced a
strong eulogium upon him. He painted the character of
Juliet in terms that drew forth the most enthusiastic applause,
' while his pourtrayal of Macbeth's character was vivid in the
e areme. He closed the lecture by reciting his own charming
poem of the Smuggler. We were glad to see Mr. Knowles
looking so well, and he appeared gratified by his most cordial
reception. The next lecture takes place to-morrow, when,
no doubt, there will be a still greater attendance ; and we
can safely promise that those who will be present will have
such a mental treat as they have not enjoyed for years. We
Intended to have given this delightful lecture at length, but
circumstances have prevented us.
A BEGGING IMPOSTOR.—A man of rather decent ex-
terior, who had recently been tried, convicted, and im-
prisoned, under the name of M` Inlay ' • but who now
``hailed" as Charles Copeland, was yesterday placed at the
bar of the Polisie-court, on a charge of begging by means of
a forged letter. Mr. Jones, a gentleman whose testimony
was heard from the bench, stated, that the prisoner had
come to him with a letter, purporting to be written by Mr.
Pilcherd, representing him as an individual of merit, and
worthy of pecuniary assistance ; the prisoner's object being,
as he suspected, to obtain money on false pretences, he gave
him into custody. Mr. Pilcherd was sent for, and said that
the letter was not- written by him, and that he was not aware
he had ever seen the prisoner before. Mr. Dowling pro-
duced a letter, found amongst others in the prisoner's pos-
session. It was couched in the mysterious slang phrase of
the fraternity of those who live by their wits, and the reading
of parts of it excited some curiosity. It. appeared to have
been intended for a brother chip in Kidderminster, named
" New, but had been intercepted by the apprehension of
the writer. The following are some few extracts :—" I find
that all the larkers have been equally unfortunate, so I have
no reason to complain." Alluding- to a person whom he
calls " the Don," he says—" if he wanted my assistance I
would readily go to the parsonshop to raise money for him.
About negrohead tobacco I have inquired the price • best
cavendish rolls 4s. 6c1,, negro-head -Is. 3d. per lb. If you
want any 4s. will do. 1 shall not lie able ro come to Kid-
derminster before February ; and Ned, when you see me, I
think you will see me a slap-up crocus. What think you of
it? I don't think but it is the best trade yet. lam in good
condition at present, considering I have bcen in so long. I
bad a few pounds sent from home to me when I came out,
so I was not so Laily off as if I had nothing to do. lam
getting a pound here in the square, and will leave for Man-
chater in ten or twelve days. If you want any tobacco
write to me soon, and mention whether it is negro-head or
cavendish—that is, round or flat." The letter was signed
simply " Mac." The 'prisoner said the letter was not his.
Mr. Rushton said he thought the prisoner would not so soon
have forgotten his incarceration, and sentenced him to three
months' imprisonment.
MR. ANDLRSON'S STATUES.—These very clever works of
patience, industry, and talent, are beginiug to attract at-
tention. Wattle and Meg, the first creations of the artist's
skill, were formed out of a stone 21 tons, six years ago, and
were executed in five months ; the block out of which old
Clootie and his prize were cut weighed 8 tons, and was com-
pleted, three years ago, in six months ; and the block out of
which Tam, his horse, and the witch are cut weighed 16 tons,
and was sculptured only last year. This last work took the
artist fourteen months to accomplish. and lie was offered for
it when completed two hundred guineas. Of the admirable
workmanship exhibited in these various groups it is difficult
to speak in terms of sufficient praise. The grouping and the
attitudes are admirable, the expression is exquisite, and even
the working up of all the details, down to the pin in Meg's
" jup," the pen of the exciseman, the sark of Paisley harp of
witch Nanny, the nails in 'ram's shoes, or in those of his
mare, the fiddle, apparently hollow, of Clootie—all, all, are
wrought up with such a finish, that no description can do
them full justice. The supports of the figures are admirably
contrived, so as to form part of the grouping. The cask of
the exciseman, for example, forms the connecting link be-
ween the base and the figure of Clootie, while the excise-
man's hat, lost in the scuffle, serves to support one of his
feet. The arch stones of the brig, and the legs of Nanny,
serve as a support to Tam and his mare, and so on of other
supports, . Nothing is thus lost, but all shows the skill,
ingenuity, and resource of the artist. Any attempt, in the
brief space to which we must confine ourselves, to do justice
to these beautiful figures, or to the artist who formed them, •
would fail, and we must let it suffice to recommend the
reader to call and judge for himself by inspection. He will
soon forget that the materials on which he gazes are of stone,
and will think himself in the veritable presence of the parties,
rendered so celebrated by the pen of the poet, and now em-
bodied in reality, and furnished with a local habitation and a
name, by the exquisite touch of the artist's chisel. We
strongly recommend a visit to these inimitable figures, in
the firm belief that every spectator will admit, that he him-
self, especially when the smallness of entry money is con-
sidered, is infinitely a greater gainer by the visit than the
unassuming artist.
CHARGE OF STEALING A LARGE QUANTITY OF IRON.—
At the police-court yesterday, James Conway, keeper of a
marine store, Matthew Robinson, a night-watchman at a
foundry, and Peter Morrison, day porter at the same place,
were placed at the bar on a charge of being implicated in
stealing a quantity of iron.--A police-officer stated that about
eight o'clock on Wednesday morning he observed the pri-
soner Conway go up to a loaded cart in Crompton-street,
nearly oppositethe gate of the Waterloo Dock. He (prisoner)
spoke to the man who drove it, and went with it to the weigh-
ing machine in Bath-street. Witness afterwards ascertained
that the cart contained iron, weighing 48 cwt. 3 qrs. net.
The owner of the cart stated he had been called on, on the
previous night, by a man whom he did not know, (not one
of the prisoners so far as he could recognise,) and who was
accompanied by Mrs. Conway, the wife of the prisoner of
that name, but who said nothing. The man engaged a cart to
take sonic-iron from the Liver Foundry, in Crompton-street,
to Launcelot's-hey next morning, (Wednesday,) as early as
convenient,. and he sent the cart accordingly soon after six
o'clock.—The carter who drove it said, that the prisoner
Robinson opened the gate to admit the cart, and also shut it
after he had taken his load. Two or three men assisting him
to load the cart, with iron-bolts and screws, and scrap iron.
This was about seven o'clock in the morning. The prisoner
Robinson, on being told that the cart had come for some iron
for the Mersey Forge, said it was in the shed, and ordered
the men to load it. The prisoner Conway went with the
cart down Crompton-street, and along Waterloo-road. Con-
way then told him to go and get it weighed at the Bath
street weighing machine.—The weighing-house keeper said
that the carter and Conway had the cart and its contents
weighed. The gross weight was 78 cwt. 1 qr. They did not
nay for the weighing, saying they would return with the cart
to get it tared, and would then give the names of the parties
from whom it was received, and going to, so that the ticket
might be filled up. They didnot, however, return. The cart
was driven to Launcelot's-hey, and kecked opposite to the
prisoner's (Conway's) store.—The policeman followed it and
saw the iron ; but as no one offered to take it away, he went up
and took Conway into custody. Mr. John Finch and Mr.
Duncan Littlejohn stated that they were trustees of the es-
tate of Messrs. Marsden, Rodgers and Co., to which the iron
belonged. It had been sold to the Mersey Forge Company,
and an order had been made out for its delivery. The pri-
soner Morrison was authorised to deliver it, but not the pri-
soner Robinson. The former had charge of the yard in the
day, and ought to have been there at six in the morning :
the latter had no authority to deliver it.—As no evidence
appeared against Morrison, he was discharged. Robinson
stated, in his defence, that he was perfectly innocent ; that
he thought the cart had come from the Mersey Forge Com-
pany • that Morrison was frequently late in coming to the
foundry in the morning, sometimes so late as eight or nine
o'clock in the morning, and that in his absence he had fre-
quently delivered articles in this name. it afterwards aps
neared, by some further evidence, that Robinson had after-
wards (on the same day) called on the weighing-machine
keeper, and asked him if he had weighed a load of iron, ad-
ding, in replying to a question put to him, that he feared
there was something wrong. An order was also produced
for the delivery of th iron ; but this, it was again contended,
Morrison alone ought to have attended to. Under the cir-
cumstances, Mr. Rushton committed both the parties for
trial ; but having strong doubts us regarded any guilty con-
nivance -on the part of Robinson, he was allowed to be libe-
rated on bail, himself in £3O, and two others in .£l5 each.
The prisoner appeared, front his dress and demeanour, to be
much above the usual class of persons employed in his line
of life.—The prisoner Conway applied to be also admitted to
bail, but this Mr. Rushton peremptorily refused.

CORDVER POR CIIRSTER DIVISION Op CHRSHIRSI...-W8
draw the attendou of the electors to Mr. Massey's address,
which appears elsewhere. Mr. Massey is highly recom-
mended by Mr, Faithful Thomas, the present coroner.

THE, SOIREES FOR THE SEASON.—it gives us great plea-
sure to learn that those delightful meetings, the Royal Insti-
tution Soirees, which have for several seasons contributed so
much to the instruction and gratification of the elite of the
town, are to be continued, and that there will be four during
the ensuing winter. The committee, we are informed, are
Making strenuous exertions to secure the services of eminent
lecturers, and to adopt such measures as will add considera-
bly to the interest of the meetings.
DEATH BY BURNING.--CAUTION TO PARENTS.—OR
Wednesday, a boy of four years of age, residing with his
parents, at No. 3, Standish-street, was left in the house,
yesterday week, by himself a short time by his mother.
During her absence his clothes caught fire, and on her return
she found him in flames, which were soon extinguished, and
he was carried to the North Dispensary, where he was at-
tended to, but he was so much burnt that he died on Wed-
nesday last. The inquest was held this day.
ROBBING A CuiLD.—Yesterday a girl named Mary Kelly
was placed at the bar of the Police-court, on a charge of
having taken the shoes from the feet of an interesting female
child, who was produced. A female stated that she had
seen the prisoner with the child in an entry in Chesterfield-
street, and heard the former say, " My dear, I'll take you to
our door." She suspected something wrong, and followed,
when she found the child without her shoes, and saw the
prisoner run off. She pursued, crying, "Stop, thief!" A
young man came up, but as the prisoner also cried, " Stop,
thief," he was puzzled at first which of the two to seize.
He, however, saw the prisoner throw something over a rail-
ing in Ratbbone-street, and secured, her. The shoes were
afterwards found on the ground behind the spot. It ap-
peared the prisoner had before been committed for stealing a
necklace from a child in a similar way. She was committed
to gaol for three months.
AN ALLEGED DESERTER.—At the police court yesterday,
a tall, stout, and rather good-looking man, named Edward
Riley, was placed at the bar on a charge of having acknow-
ledged himself to be a deserter. Three privates of the Rifle
corps appeared, and stated that they had gone into a public-
house to get a glass of beer, and there met the prisoner, who
stated to them that he was a deserter from the 4th Dragoons.
The prisoner, who treated his accusers with great apparent
nonchallance, denied the charge in toto. "Is it likely," he
said, " if I were a deserter, that I would tell it to such chaps
as these,—that I would throw myself into the hands of my
worst enemies ? I never wore the cloth for a day or an hour,
and never shall. They have missed the fish this time any-
They have made a bad job of it." (Laughter.) The
t, however, were not quite satisfied with this disclaimer,
and ordered that he should he examined. Mr. Dowling ac-
cordingly procured the " Hue and Cry," and the prisoner was
put down, and his dimensions, complexion, &c., &c., ac-
curately scrutinised, with a view to prove him to be one of
the numerous military runaways in that periodical, but it ap-
peared that he could not be identified, though M r. Dowling ex-
pressed his conviction that lie had been a soldier. He was
accordingly dismissed, I\lr. Rushton remarking that he would
probably, after what had happened, not again represent him-
self as a deserter. The prisoner left the bar, muttering nothing
complimentary to his accusers, who had certainly " missed
the fish" they expected they had hooked.
- - -

DOCK COMMITTEE MEETING YESTERDAY.—MCMIRI*3
present :—Messrs. Benn, Horsfall, Barclay, Holmes, Evans,
T. Holt, Sands, Booth, Bulley, Tobin, Chapman, Middle-
ton, G. Holt, and Aikin. The Sub-committee of Works
recommended that a gas lamp should be placed at the head
of the Clarence Graving Dock, for the better protection of
property during night. The Dock Surveyor reported that
he intended finally to close the entrance to the Canning Dock
on the 4th November, which would, of course, block up the
Salthouse Dock and the Canning Graving Docks, notice of
which had been given to the Corporation. A letter was read
from Captain Murdoch, of the sloop Pilot, complaining that
the master of the George's Dock had allowed a vessel just
come in from sea to go into a berth before the Pilot, although
the latter had been waiting three or four days ; and, accord-
ing.to the captain's statement, there was room in the dock at
the time he was prevented from going into a berth. The par-
ties were called in, and a long examination took place, the
master of the dock justifying himself by saying, that there
was not room for the Pilot, but the other vessel being a
smaller one, he was enabled to let her go into a berth sooner.
The captain also stated that the dock master did not use
proper respectful language towards him. The parties were
then ordered to, withdraw, and after the committee duly
considering the case, they resolved to admonish the Dock
Master, and to inform him to afford coasting vessels every
facility; and also to endeavour to keep his temper. Mr.
Evans said they ought to discourage direct appeals to the
Committee, for all of them ought to be made, in the first
place, to the Harbour Master of the respective district, and
afterwards there was an appeal there. They had been occu-
pied nearly an hour, with all the disadvantages of distance
and time, and want of all the circumstances which the Har-
bour Master would have had at the instant presented to him.
This proposition being approved of, the Dock Master was
called in, and the Chairman said to him, that during the ex-
istence of the present press for room, all the Dock Masters
had been directed to give to all vessels every accommodation,
and the Committee had even dispensed with the standing
rules in some cases with a view to accommodate, and the
Committee thought that Captain Murdoch was not treated
with the civility and attention he was entitled to. There
appeared to have been room for this vessel, and the
reason why he was refused was not stated to him. In
point of fact, they both lost their tempers, but the Com-
mittee thought that the matter ought to have been stated to
the Harbour Master, and whenever a complaint was made,
he must give the Harbour Master an opportunity of inves-
tigating it, who would give a report of the case to the Com-
mittee ; that would exonerate him from much blame, and
save the committee much trouble. He must also endeavour
to keep his temper,.for that was not the first time they had
had him up before them on a similar occasion. The Marine
Surveyor submitted a general report of his department, and
of its state of efficiency, which was read. A letter was read
from Messrs Rankin and Gilmore, requesting the return of
dock charges paid on the Lady Falconer, which vessel had
been unable to get into dock, and had proceeded to the Clyde.
The Committee were not satisfied that they had the power,
and the matter was referred to the Solicitor. The request of
J. and A. Walker to be allowed to dedicate a chart of the
coast from Liverpool to Holyhead to the Dock Committee
was granted. The reply of the South Harbour-master to a
letter sent to him by Mr. Mason, the Secretary, by direction
of the Sub-committee, was not considered a sufficient answer,
and he was directed to give the subjects in the letter his con-
sideration, and report thereon. His remarks about " gaol
• delivery" and putting up with the inconvenience complained
of, were considered by the committee very improper. Sundry
other matters of minor import were disposed of, and the
committee adjourned.