The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1854-01-03 00:00:00

THE STRIKES.

WIGAIT.—The strike of factory operatives in this town,
now in its fifteenth week, has been somewhat altered in
character during the past few days, though it is yet far
from a satisfactory termination, The three mills at
Hindley still remain closed for want of hands, as also several
at Wigan. The total number of operatives now at work is
about 2.000, or about one-third of the whole number, but
1,000 of them are employedat Messrs. Eckersley's mill alone.
The adjourned meeting of coal proprietors was held at
the Royal Hotel, on Thursday, Mr. James Darlington,
manager of Ince-hall Colliery, in the chair. It was con-
sidered that the strike of colliers might now be taken as
ended, and, after a brief deliberation, the meeting was
adjourned for another fortnight.
PRESTON.-It appears from the returns that the number
of unemployed hands relieved this week from the Trades'
Union funds, was 15,720; last week, 15,781: decrease,
61. The amount distributed in relief this week was
£2,944. Bs. 3d. ; last week,£2,93B. 12s. : increase, £5. 165.3 d.
In addition to their ordinary payments, the weavers' com-
mittee has this week given sixpence each to 2,120
children. Many hands are obtaining employment else-
where, upwards of twenty spinners and their families
having already left Preston, and nearly one hundred per-
sons having been removed by the poor law officials. Pub-
lic meetings continue to be held by the operatives, mostly
in the open air, and the interest they excite is unabated;
the attendance, in spite of frost and snow, being as large
as ever.

A FATAL SLIDE.--On Thursday, as a boy, named John
Whitehead, of Trelfall-street, Park, was sliding on a pit
in that neighbourhood, he fell, whereby his skull was so
fractured that he died four hours afterwards.

YESTERDAY was observed as a holiday by the cotton
and general produce brokers, and by many other mercantile
houses in the town. Some of the banks were also closed,
including the Union Bank, Borough Bank, Bank of Engl
land, Heywood's Bank, and North and South Wales Bank.
THE GREAT SEAL of Ireland has been placed in com-
mission, in consequence, it is said, of the intention of the
Lord Chancellor to proceed to London, respecting the
Reform measure for Ireland.

THE DUKE OF HAMILTON has purchased Beaufort-
house, in Arlington-street, London, for £60,000.
The EMPEROR OF THE FRENCH has ordered Messrs.
Orsi and Armani, merchants in London, to pay 700 francs
into the funds of the Dreadnought, hospital-ship, moored
off Greenwich. It is stated that Louis Napoleon sub.
scribes to many of onr charities.
FIRE.—On Saturday night, the hat manufactory of
Messrs. W. and F. Townend, Cheapside, London, was
destroyed by fire. The premises adjoining were also con-
siderably damaged. _ _ _

RAILWAY ACCIDENT.—On Thursday a train from Old-
ham dashed into a Yorkshire train which had stopped at
Newton-heath, a new station on the Lancashire and
Yorkshire Railway. All the passengers of the latter train
were scattered about upon the line, or thrown down an,
embankment. The guard was picked up labouring under
severe concussion of the brain. Jane Sykes, a young lady
aged about seventeen, on her way home to Lindley, near
Huddersfield, was found in an insensible condition,
and expired in the station. Her grandmother, with
whom she was travelling, Ellen Lord, wife of R.
Lord, tailor, of Syke's-hill, Preston, was taken to
the Manchester Royal Infirmary, dreadfully cut ;
and seven other persons received serious bruises and
personal injuries. The station-master says that he had
turned on the down red light, signifying " a train at the
station." It is said that the Oldham train, which does
not stop at the Newton-heath station, only starts 5 minutes
after the Yorkshire, which does stop at the Newton
station, so that there is a continual danger of accident.
An inquest was held on Saturday, and the jury returned
the following verdict :—" We find that the death of Jane
Sykes was caused by the collision of the express train to
Oldham with the Yorkshire train, and that the death was
accidental. And the jury take this opportunity of ex.
pressing their regret at the apparent carelessness of the
Lancashire and York ire Railway Company in allowing
the express train to start at so short a time after the
above train, and would suggest, that in future more care
be exercised, especially in foggy weather."

,
LECTURES ON THE DEMORALIZING TENDENCY OW
POPERY.—Two lectures were delivered in the Temper-
ance-hall, Bond-street, by Mr. W. P. M`Carthy, o
Birkenhead, special missionary in connexion with th
Protestant Reformation Society, on the evenings o
Thursday and Friday last. On the first-named evening,
the chair being occupied by Mr. Parsonage, the lecturer
commented at considerable length on the illiberality'
evinced towards him at a Romish meeting held in the
Concert-hall, Lord Nelson-street, on a recent occasion, at
which, after being invited to speak, he was uproariously
.refused a hearing. He also commented in strong terms
upon the misrepresentation put by Mr. Macdonald,
Roman Catholic lecturer, on a speech made by Mr.
M`Carthy in Birkenhead. To the misrepresentation he
(Mr. M`Carthy) gave the flattest and most emphatic con-
tradiction, and said that, while he admitted Mr. Mac-
donald was a well-conducted private gentleman, he
must brand him with dishonesty as a lecturer. Mr.
M`Carthy then proceeeded at great length to expose the
falsification of Scripture by the Romish Church, when it
quo.t
suited the purpose of that church to do so,
and
Ile
Indw dwelt
several instances in which perversion of scripture had
been made and sanctioned by that c
b vi
worship offered byminuteness severity
RoAianists to the
rgin
with much and?n tbMary. The
e idolatrous
lecturer next directed attention totb
ane blasphemousu
expositionh.le
of the
merles connected with the doctrines of transubstantiation.
The second lecture was devoted to
iniquities of the confessional.

Tun NIAGARA, British and North American Iloyd
Mail steam-ship from Boston, with advices to the 21st
ult., had not arrived at the time of our going to press.
Should she arrive in time, we shall publish her news in a
Second Edition.

PHILHARMONIC-HALL.
THE GRAND TRIUMPHAL MARCH
Will be Repeated THIS EVENING by
THOMAS'S UNRIVALLED BAND

OF
SIXTY PERFORMERS.
(See Advertisement in another page.)