The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1838-09-04 00:00:00

It is rumoured, but we trust without foundation, that-the
various charities distributed by his late Majesty and his pre-
decessors, to needy and deserving objects at. Brighton, have
been withdrawn.—Morning Herald.
At the late Pembrokeshire assizes, a country girl, during
her examination as a witness, being asked whether she bore
any relationship to one of the parties in the cause, she re.
plied, " No, not at least for nine generations."
A Quebec correspondent of one of the papers here states,
that the Vice Queen, Countess Durham, held a levee there
lately, and issued her orders that no gentlemen should be
permitted to appear at her balls in a black cravat. —Ntiv York
paper.

---A-dwarf cow was exhibited at the Strathbogie cattle show
as a curiosity. This animal is only thirty inches in height,
though four years old. She has a beautiful pair of horns,—
und is exceedingly quiet.—Aberdeen Herald.

JACK BANNISTER'S WIT AT AN AUCTlON.—Bannister
being at an auction in the Strand, where the auctioneer, who
it appeared was selling his own goo-ls, said, " ladies and,
gentlemen, I am not selling goods, I am giving them away."
• Then," said Bannister, " I will thank you for that tea-urn
you have in your hand."

An Irish comedian haVing appeared before a Dublin audi%
epce in an extremely dirty pair of white duck trousers, a
person in the gallery, who had heard the observations of those
around him, at length bawled out, " I say Mr. —, would
not your ducks be better for a swim.?"
Acting the play of Hamlet, with the part of Hamlet omitted,
has long been a standing joke; but something of this kind •
was realised last week at Chichester Theatre, when Othello
was really acted without a Desdemona.
LoNGFon D. —We have good reason to believe that Colotiel
Henry White has resolved upon vacating his seat for Long!
ford. We trust that the conservatives will take the hint and •
be upon the alert. It is probable that the gallant colonel will
'accept the Chiltern Hundreds the first week of the ensuing
session.—Dublin Evening Packet.

A spirited competition now exists between the coaches
running between this town• and Exeter. through Tiverton;
although the distance by that route is thirty-six miles, pas-
sengers are conveyed for 3s. only, and at a speed-faster than •
that of the mails. The journey is performed in three hours
and a half, stoppages included!—Tautiton Coen ier.
During the last three days in which the banking account
of the Court of Chancery was kept open for the payment of
checks, the Bank of England paid upwards of £40U,000--a
sum unprecedented in extent, for the limited period named ! •

The amount the distributed among small and large claim- ,
ants must find its way in various channels among the public,..
and so far prove beneficial.—Standard, Saturday. •
RAIN WITHOUT CLOUDS.—M. Arago has received a letter
from M. Wartmann, on the 31st of MaYlast, at 7h. 2m. p,m.,
rain fell at Geneva for six minutes, though the sky Was-per-
fectly clear in the zenith, and no clouds in the immediate
neighbourhood of it. At first the droPs were large and the
rain was thick, but both became .thinner towards the end.
The rain was lukewarm, and the thermomenter just above
the ground stood at 18 deg. 15 cent. 'During the day there
had been frequent alternations of wet and tlry.-Iteriftchir .
Magazine. . .
"
CHIN. CON.—CLOSE v. PAR/MIL-11M the Sheriff's Court 7'
at York, on Friday week, an action was tried, in which the
plaintiff, Mr. James Close, surgeon, Leeds, sought to recover
from Mr. John Beilbv Parker,l drysalter, late of the
,same,
place, compensation in damages for, the seduction of
.the
plaintiff's wi.e, who eloped with the defendant,.orsather.col-
lowed him to Sheffield, in July, 1834, but returned . the came
evening, before the !plaintiff, who had pursued her.. Some
time afterwards she left his house under pretence of going to
see her aunt, a Miss Phillips, but she went away, with the
defendant, and front that day to this, though advettiaementis
had been inserted in the papers, the plaintiff had not been,
able to trace the fugitives. Defendant had suffered judg
ment to go by default. Mr. Blanshard was counsel for the,
plaintiff, and Mr. Travis fur the defendant. Tice damages "• „
were laid at £3,000, and the jury, after consulting for
nearly an hour, gave a verdict for the Plaintiff;.,Dantages,
E 350:
A horse employed in the colliery at Johnston, belouging
to Messrs. Mary church and Owen, Haverfordwest, was a. , •
month ago missing,'and no trace of him 'could be diacnvere4c--
Last week, however, as some boys were cutting same furFen,,;,ii
at the brink of an old coalpit, about 12 feet deep, they:the-1m
covered the lost animal at the bottom. . Assistance being im5,,,;,„2,
mediately procured, the poor horse was released from- the ._t
confinement which he had suffered for three vreeks without
food or water, and annoyed by flies, which had eaten• „
into his fit sh, and, owing to careful treatment, he has now
nearly recovered his former condition. Thirst seemed .to be . ,
the principal suffering endured by the horse; as immediately.
on his release he rushed to his old watering-place,',end,was
with the greatest difficulty forced from it. Hunger -had
compelled him to endeavour to eat some dry roots
were at the bottom of the pit, but, proving too hard to
cate, they were found stuck fast in his mouth.—Welshman... _ ss
LONDON AMD SOUTHAMPTON RAILWAY.—The eighthig
half-yearly meeting of 'the London and Southampton Rail..wissnife
way Company was held on • Friday, at the City of London' - .1:4 -
Tavern, J. Easthope, Esq., M.P., in the Chair. The report:AU! sts,
stated that the traffic on the line; since the partial opening; sttts s•
had exceeded the calculation, and was. increasing weekly
the receipts for the first four weeks beast/4:3;085l for the,,ss
second four weeks £3,755; and fo: the third four weeks ::reeV
£4,218; and this for passengers only, 'no &Oda. or cattle's!!
having been carried up to the present time. The-directors
have fixed the 18th of this month for a further opening. • ,-•
'ibis opening will take the railway to Shapley, which iswithin
a short distance of the great south-western road. The em-
bankments between that point and Basingstoke will be
finished before the close of the present year, and the rails
(which are already contracted fur) will be laid so as to open
the line to that town, or further, very early in ihe'spring.'
The other parts of the line are also in a very advanced state...'
After several speeches, the meeting separated, highly satisfied
with the state of their affairs.
POLITICAL DISSENTERS.—The political Dissenters, hope-
less of success in "the Church-rate" question, upon which
Ministers have left them in the lurch, now betake themselves
to alter the system of education pursued in the ." national .;;.
schools," complaining more particularly •of the use of, the;
Chuictcatachism. It is, doubtless, a hardship, that children
cannot be instructed in religion except in words—that words
fur general teaching must be cast into common forin.H.tind "'
that that form will be framed according to those doctrines Or
which the State approves as best. All this is very hard; but
how can it be helped ? The sectaries will scarcly propose to
exclude religion from education, and it will puzzle them to
Sud any vehicle for religious instruction but words, which' • -
must, for uniform use, be cast into some form. These pious
and dissatisfied persons intimate, that as they wish.to instruct'the children of their own sects in their own doctrines,.'they
ought to have share in the public money. The Wish oft the--;
part of Dissenters to educate the young of their own sects in
their own opinions is natural and laudable; but'Where is ton,
sistency when the clamourers for "the voluntary princple" •
demand the public money for such a purpose ?--o.rfos
Herald. • • •

Dtiriug the last week au interesting spectacle ha's- been •
witnessed on the lawn opposite the Vicarage-house at Stur.
minster, where a young cuckoo is supported anti maintained
by the industry and attention 'of a water-wagtail. This little"
fellow is most careful and zealous in behalf of his gigantiC
protege, and seems not a little proud of so promising' a
youth. If another wagtail approaches the cuckoo, he. is sure
to meet with very heavy blows. The cuckoo can fly quit/
strong, but is still in leading-strings, and seems. 10th to re,
linguist' the flattering attention of its little guardian. `The
two birds constantly roost together.— Wilts Indepepdent.
SOUTH EASTERN AND DOVER 11A ILWA Y.—The extensii?e
works of this national undertaking, atilie Shakspeareeliff
and gallery, are progressing in a manner that must be highly
gratifving to then numerous well-wishers in Dover, and the
shareholders generally. A few mouths more, and this cia,ssie
height will be completely honeycombed by the tutinjel;
galleries and shafts are already formed, and the drift-ways
connecting the shafts have been commenced. 13eynild'ihe'
Shakspeare, the benches on the face of the cliff are finished
-1 •
and it now only remains to cut out the angular mass between
them, when the line will be complete for three miles of the`
most difficult, though we think the least expensive, part of the
undertaking.—Dover Chronicle.
COLOSSAL STATUE ATGOLSPIE.—The gigantic statue. its .
progress to the memory of the late Duke orSutheiland,
which is to crown the summit of the monument atßrif-
wraggie, is now• nearly finished. The artist, Mr. Theak..
stone, has succeeded in funning au admirable.likenessof the
lamented nobleman, and when all the parts of the statue are
put together, its colossal dimensions (30 feet), its elevaled.
situation, and its imposing attitude,•will render" Aye. conspi,
cuous landmark, as well as an oinament, to that country .
which the duke did so much cul!ivate and adorn. Temporary
huts have been constructed on the top of the mountain: for ,
the workmen engaged in placing the statue, and in about a
month the whole will be fixed and completed.—hiverneis
Courier.
AN UNWELCOME VISITOR.—On Thtirsday week,: in the

. .
course of the afternoon, a fat cow, purchasedby Mr. Lissom,
butcher, at Lancaster, was brought there- for.the purpose of
being slaughtered, and the poor animal being fatigued with
travelling, (having come some distance from the country)
in passing through St. Leonard-gate, she walked, into the
house of Mr. Ivison, !miser, and coolly marched up stairs
into the best bed-room. This unwelcome visitor alarmed
some of the inmates, and created considerable sensation in
the neighbourhood for some' time. The good man of the house
laughed heartily at the circumstance, whilst Mrs. Isison
vowed vengeance upon the harmless beast and its luckless
owner. However, after some difficulty,. the inoffensivecre.o7,
tore was dislodged per force from its. place of. rende,4YPOss
amid the unrestrained laughter and mirth of many. of
,the _
spectators.—Preston Pilot.
STRONG FACTS IN REGARD TO IiORSIE4tACING.—,A.WIiter
in the Louisville City Gazette, thus tersely presents•this mat-, •
ter Races, it is said, improve the (steed, of --horses: -
And what if they did, if they -degrade the breed of- men ? •
But I doubt the truth of the position. Some few startling
or stubborn facts are on the other side. I never heard of
in Arabia, yet the best horses and the,.best Islood-i-n the
world are there. The great racing stock of England•and- •
America came from the blood of the Godolphin Arabian.
There are no races in New-England,. yet the New-England
horses are worth in this country limm• fifty to a hundred per
cent. mote than southern horses. The horses for the plough!
dray, saddle, stage coach, or gig, in New England,-would
bring. under the hammer, fat higher prices in racing sections.
of the country than their own horses.. Racing only. improves
the breed of race horses. I was told in Virginia, by the
stage drivers, that their best horses were brought from :Ver-
mont and New Hampshire-the Green 'Mountain horses are ,
the best in the country for symmetry, strength, fleetness, and
endurance ; vet there is no racing in New England. Racing,
then, is surely not essential to making good horsesi." • • .
INTERRSTING EXPERIAIENT.—It may be known to sprat,-
of our scientific readers, that Professor Airy _fuss' for some-,
time past, been engaged in a series of eiperiments,'havirig,
for their object to supply some means by which ifie..Variationtl.,
of the compass, on board steamers, might be rectified. T.hoe,
experiments were! undertaken at the request of the.Getiff4` •
Steam Navigation Company, and their fine ship, the
how, has been placed, for the purpose, at the disposal:6oor-
Professor. 'There having. been good reason fur believisig,
that the plan suggested has been so far matured as to affool.,
fair prospect of practical success, the Company made an 'eX-
cursion, on Wednesday, down the river, in the Rainbow, in
order to ascertain the working of the new systetn. For this
purpose, four compasses, besides those ordinarily appropris'
:sled to the ship's use, were placed on frames, erected along
the middle of the deck, and below each; -at a depth Yarying,
according to circumstances, was a shallow deal case, contain-
ing a magnet, placed parallel to, and at different degrees of
radiation from, the line of the keel. By these nieans ._
magnetic influence of the metal of the ship and engines 10"
,
not only beets ascertained in its precise extent, but reCtifiF?s,.
so that the true bearing is seen with perfect accuracy. Ttilf
was, on Wednesday, proved to the entire satisfaction
o_
Professor Fat adav, and other scientific gentlemen, who `were
on board ; and the discovery was evidently as gratifying '
them as it cannot
,f,a.hiletthoebreuinngortrxesttlifnuritcsoeionnnswerqcoi
steam navigation,
tional objects. The General Steam Navigation ComP,,_
intend to despatch the Rainbow, in the course ofd we" be
two, on her voyage to Antwerp; and, if her rate of goin!_n
in any way answerable to the ca abilities -she eXhibite.l
Wednesday, they must be very fast, indeed, who can K'
the
her in sight. In the course of her progress up antl."7.
river, the opportunity was afforded of trying he* ;at
several of the fastest of the Gravesend licrats2•'and. the.
was perfectly conchs rive as to her superior velbitY• °,oll,l.l.re-
markable characteristic of the ItainboKl4llol
neral notice, was the entire-absence'of triotiOn'a, n" thtWhwas
from the working of the engines. In the-. cabins,
altogether imperceptible, and,-but for therapirlitY*wiln7.oh
ear oer'.n:l°_-_
the vat ions objects in view were.pasSea, 'the stnootlirnZti,u,to
which she glided along would have rendefed
believe, that she was inuring with any. eitrisortirl.d4,vd,r,gb;
of speed. The Rainbow it will be.teccillected, Was Du,'
Mr. Laird, of North Birkenhead.