The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1836-12-06 00:00:00

FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE.

SPAIN.

PORTUGAL.
( Private correspondence of the Times.)
Lissom, Nov. 26.-1 regret to say much dissatisfaction has
manifested itself among the troops in the Aletntejo, fomented
by the agents of Don Miguel, whose appearance there, well sup-
plied with money to huy them over, has unfortunately been at-
tended with considerable success.

At Braga, a French colonel with a nninber of Miguelite fol-
lowers, have established their quarters near Malaga, for the pur-
pose of recruiting and organising a force for the Don, which,
upon being known, the authorities sent a force of the national
guard in pursuit of them, who wounded and took prisoners a
lieutenant-cohTitel, Joao Carvalho Roza, and a few of his fol-
lowers.
On the 18th instant a steam-boat, supposed to be one of the
expedition in the cause qt Don Miguel, expected from the States
of Modena, appeared the coast of Algarve, and was seen and
chased by tbA Portoguese schooner of war Liberal, but, through
the darkno"f the night, they lost sight of it. It is conjectured,
froin the number of vessels cruising there, viz., the Magicienne
and Partridge. (British,) L'Oreste, (French,) Eiize, Tagtls,
and Liberal, ( Port uguese,) that they will find it a difficult mat-
ter to effect a landing.

Exchange upon Goadon at thirty days' sight, 55 per tnitree,

MIDLAND COUNTIES RAILWAY:

( From the Leicester Chronicle.)
The engineers of the Midland Counties Railway heed bode
tnarked out the whole of the line of this important tiudertaking,
between the three great towns of Leicester, Nottingham, and
Derby ; and we are enabled to give our readers a description
of the route, which, ere many years have pasted away, will be
one of the great highways of England. Commencing about
two miles south of Leicester, at Knighton Spinney, it passes
this town in a curving line, through the Freeman's Piece,
(where a short tunnel is guaranteed to the Freemen, in (rider
to preserve the entirety of the common as a grazing pasture.)
Crossing beneath the \Velford-road at the commencement of
the acclivity, and passing beneath the New-walk and London,
road, the levels of which, we believe, will not be disturbed, it
runs off from the latter place in a straight line towards Barkby,
lassing to the east of Thurmaston Lodge, the residence of Mr.
leyrick ; from whence, with a great curve, it sweeps to the
west of Svston, crossing the Melton-road at the windmill, and
piercing the high banks of the Wreak near Syston mill. From
the latter point, a straight line runs to Sileby, through which
village it passes by the old manor house. From thence, an in-
sensible cures sweeps by the lime kilns, and through the village
of Barrow ; and then along the side of the cliffs which over-
hang the Soar. At an angle of the river, near the Navigation-
house, it crosses into the flat grounds serroundiug Lough-
borough, touching the latter place at the last houses on
the Nottingham-road. Coutinuing in the same direction,
and making a short cut across the Loughborough mea-
dows, it again crosses the river, and enters the slightly
elevated ground on the east of Nortnanton. With gentle
curves, and inconsiderable elevations, it next reaches Sutton
Bonnington, and passes close to the old dilapidated church of
Saint Anne's, where conseerated ground has not deterred the
engineer from taking his " best line" beneath the very walls of
the sanctuary. Emerging from the cutting through the rising
ground on the cut of Sutton, with a low embank:4oot, it tra-
verses Mr. Strutt's meadows at Kingston, on the west lido of
Mr. Stokes's house; and then, passing to the east of Ratcliff,
it plunges into the heart of Red Hill, a singular escarpment of
red marl and gypsum. which, with picturesque boldness, looks
down upon the Trent. Here, the river being crossed by a
bridge of considerable dimensions, the lines diverge, on the one
.and to Derby, on the other to Nottingham; these diverging
fines being again connected, so as to make the line between these
important termini complete in itself. This portion of the line will
be nearly horizontal, and the gradients of the whole highly favour-
able for the use of locomotive engines : more so, we are informed,
than those of any line of similar extent in England. The dis-
tance between Leicester, Nottingham, and Derby, by the rail-
way, will be nearly the same, as by the present road: that Wl°
say, the distance in space travelled over in point of time, which
must henceforth he an essential element iu the computation of
distances,—the difference will be as three to one, and the transit
between the remotest of these places will rarely occupy more
than three quarters of an hour. The rate of travelling on the
Manchester Railway, is, upon an average, 26 miles an hour;
but the speed upon a railway with such considerable inclinations
as one foot in 96 feet affords no criterion for estimating the rate
of travelling attainable upon a more perfect line, such as the
Midland Counties, where the greatest inclination will be about
one foot in 500. According to an arrangement made in Parlia-
ment, the execution of the works upon the line from Leicester
to Rugby, is deferred until nfter next Midsummer: in the mean
time, exertions are being made by another Company, to effect a
shorter route to London, by way of Northampton and Harbo-
rough. The Midland Counties Company, also, are preparing to
extend their line nerthwarilly through the inining district of
Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, to fall in with the North
Midland Railway about tour miles south of Chesterfield. This
will materially abridge the distances between Sheffield and the
great towns of Yorkshire and London, and will secure to Lei-
cester the decided advantage of the direct road from the North
of England to the Metropolis,—en advatatnge which; if nature
had not marked out for it, its commercial importance, its pope_
Infirm, and its rapidly-extending manufactures, would have en.
titled it to claim. It will secure to Leicester, also, an advan-
tageous competition in the supply of coals, (which, to a certain
extent, we already possess,) and be a guarantee that this essen-
tial article of consumption will never again become a mono-
Tlly, either in Leicestershire or Derbyshire. In every point of
view, we hope the parties will he successful in their application
to Parliament fur an extension of the line; and we shall watch
with particular interest in the proceedings there. We are not
of those alarmists who see in railway projects nothing but bub-
bles and chimerical speculations, which will end in ruin and
disappointment to the subscribers. Railways are not bub-
ble schemes, but solid and tangible objects for the investment
of capital: they are an invention which completely distances
competition, and which; under proper auspices, and with pru
dent arrangement, must afford a profitable revenue.

SHOCKING MURDER AT SHEFFIELD.

-Earls, on Tnesday morning Ins: a horrid murder was com-
mitted at Sheffield, by John Farmer, a butcher, residing in Far-
gate, in that town, on the body of Joseph IV'lks, his step-son.
The wretched perpetrator of this crime has for several years
pant been occasionally much addicted to liquor, and when in a
state of intoxication exhibited all the violence of An insane per-
son. His malignity on these occasions was principally directed
towards his wife and her two sons by a former marriage. This
war produced by a strong imprelaiarr, then all powerful on hia
mind, that he was suffering injury from them in a pecuniary
way. On the night in question being in liquor, lie went home
about eleven o'clock, and having sat down in a room where his
family were at supper, the first thing lie did wita to put his hand
In hie pocket arid draw therefrom five £5 notes, which be
threw in the tire. They were snatched from thence by his wife,
who prevented their destruction by immersing them in some
ale which chanced to be on the table. Farmer then took up a
table knife and made a stroke at her. This being observed,
she gave grey, And received only a cut on the neck, *filch other-
wise might have been fatal. Upon this outrageous behaviou
taking Pieces 01 the members of the family left the house, wit
the exception of the utifortimate youth, who was afterwaidh
murdered. He had gone to bed en hour previous to the above
occurrence taking place, and the infuriated man wps thus lefe
in the house alone with the poor boy. It is believed that Far-
Pier, after a while, then went up stairs and burst open the door
of the room where his stepson was sleeping, and what took
place afterwards can only be conjectured. A little before one
o'clock, two young men passing the house end hearing some
noise, approached the shop-door in order to discover what WAS
goffig on ; when the door opened, and out rushed the young
man Willis, who declared his father had stuck him. They
conveyed him to a neighbouring public-house, the inmates of
which being aroused, he was taken in, laid on a table, and sur-
gical assistance procured ; but the medical men from the first
pronounced it to be A fatal case. He languished about three
hones, and then expired. Two watchmen being called in, they
burst open the door of Farmer's house. They then went in,
accompanied by Mr. Thomas Hunt, and found the author of
the deed walking about the house without his coat. After ap-
proaching him with care. they threw the lights of their lan-
terns, increased to dazzling by reflectors, into his face; then
all three closed and secured him. On Wednesday an inquest
was held before Mr. Badger, and a post mortem examination
look place on the body of the deceased, in the presence of the
jnrv, when it apyeared that a wound had been inflicted between
the fifth and sixth ribs on the right side, measuring about six
inches in length, which had produced death. In what part of
the bons, the fatal deed was perpetrated dirt not appear in evi-
tne wefrn;.b.n_t seemed the youth was anticipating violence when
nll, from having slept with his trowsers and stock-
if ton,h bail been
table and chairs being Amity, about the door as'
before the jorv, :Id RS a barricade. The father was brought
Inner inquired if ;le after the evidence was read to him, the co-
that ow I;.(ll.l,,,,unything to say, when he briefly re-
rlissioorohoi,„, of tocinest. to9nritl, and exl. ssed
• snort verdict u;: "t 5 and e
- huinee
111
ero.,•• ''•

;

( From the correspondence of the Times.)
b RUSTO, Nov. 19, General Eguia's Head-quarters.—ln my
letter of yesterday I mentioned that, owing to the increasing
numbers of the Christinos column under Espartero, Egnia in-
tended to blOckade the town and remove the cannon. How-
ever, it now appears that the Chrietino general is afraid to attack
Villareal. Eguia will therefore continue the siege as soon as
the weather will permit. The cannon are therefore to remain
in the batteries. The weather has been so very bad—in fact,
for ten days it has rained almost incessantly—that the roads are
nearly impassable. This morning two Men were caught coining
out of Bilboa with despatches from the governor of the town to
Rspartera. They were hid in the collars of their coats. Both
of the men were ;hot by order of Villareal. The garrison con-
tinues to fire at our batteries. 'l'wn deserters from the town say
that the loss of the Christinos in the Convent of St. Augustin,
on the first day's attack, was 700 killed and wounded. The
soldiers of the line wished to surrender, but the Urbanas would
not listen to it.
Nov. 21.—At last we have got a fine day. Should it conti-

hue, we shall most likely commence the attack on the Convent
of St. Augustin to-morrow. This day has been employed in
placiplacing Ave cannon about 300 yards in the rear of the bridge of
ng
ve canzon about 300 yards in the rear of the bridge of
uchana, so as to command a part of the rivet, should any
steamer attempt to cotne up. Eguia has also sunk a great quan-
tity of boats across the river between Bilbea and San Matnez.
The Christinos gun-boats and fort of Desierto have been tiring
at the battery Making near Luchatia fur the five guns, but no
shot came within 300 yards of them. Ahead of the gun-boats
is an English brig-of-war, which has not fired at toe Carlists ;
most likely not wishing to throw away their shot it the ridicu-
lous manner the Christinos sailors du. Should the weather
continue line we shall most likely be able to tire against the
town to-morrow. Espartero has made a flank movement to his
left, and is now at Castro, on the south-east, with 10,000 men.
Villareal has sent part of his forces to Sontraorostrn which is
,halfway between Espartero and Portugalette. By this move-
ment the Christinos cannot advance to the latter town without
great loss, the Carlists being in possession of a bridge they
must piss. Should Villareal obtain a complete victory, it
would he attended with the most extensive and important con-
sequences. OF a defeat I think there is no chance; the nature
of this country is in favour of Villareal : in fact, he would find
it ditlicolt to adopt any lino of march from Portugalette to
)3ilhoa, where he Wilt find a strong line of defensive positions.
Espartemknows this; and my own opinion is, that he will nut
attack the Carlists. Why lose so much time? I hear that
Evans made a sortie yesterday, and was repulsed. The night is
fine; we certainly shall open our batteries to-morrow. St.
Augustin will be in ruins by to-morrow night. Of thegarrison,
there is no alouttt they will defend themselves well. They know
what they deserve ; at least, I know what they deserve, for
firing on a flag of truce and killing the officer, and this in
answer ta,their own letter.
Nov. 22.--1 Open rev letter to say we attacked the convent
again to-day, but without Success. Tho.town will now be
blockaded.