The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1849-03-13 00:00:00

COURT. AND FASHION.

The Queen of the Belgians arrived at Dover on Mon-
day, where she was met by the Duke and Duchess de
Nemours, who accompanied her to Claremont.

The Marquis and Marchioness of Salisbury gave a mag-
nificent entertainment on Wednesday to his Royal High-
ness the Prince of Orange, at the family mansion in Ar-
lington-street.

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

The Preston Chronicle states that a person, paying a
temporary visit to that town on Thursday, was arrested
by the bailiff of the County Court for a debt, being a
balance of one shilling, the costs upon which were twenty-
four shillings.
The valet of a gentleman travelling on the Great Wes-
tern Railway, on the 10th of May, 1848, sustained frac-
tures of the right leg and right fore arm. One of his
eyelids was severely lacerated, and, in fact, torn from the
brow. In addition to these injuries, the whole of the
right side, as well as the right ankle, was most severely
contused. These injuries rendered him incompetent to
perform his duties, and he was awarded, in the Court of
Exchequer, last week, £750 damages.
GRAND JURIES IN DANGER.—In the course of the
proceedings in the Central Criminal Court, the other
day, Mr. Alderman Farebrother thought it would be an
excellent arrangement if grand juries could meet a few
days before the sessions commenced, and then they could
have plenty of bills ready for the courts to go on with.
The Common-Serjeant hoped it would not be long before
the grand jury system was entirely abolished ; it did not
afford any protection to trade, and was useless excepting
in political cases. Mr. Alderman Farebrother said the
grand jury was one of our ancient institutions, and we
had broken up enough of them ; no good could arise
from abolishing this one. He could not help thinking
grand juries were a great protection to society. The
Common-Serjeant—" I do not think they are of the least
value, except as I have said before, in political cases, and
then they may be done away with. I know the Attorney-
General has got a bill in his pocket to abolish them
entirely." Mr. Parry, and several other gentlemen of
the bar, having expressed their opinion in concurrence
with his lordship, the matter was dropped.
BIGAMY BY A SOLICITOR. —At Worcester Assizes,
Henry Stanton Pyke, aged 46, attorney-at-law, pleaded
guilty to a charge of bigamy. In 1824 the prisoner was
practising as a solicitor in the county of Norfolk, where
he became acquainted with Miss Emma R. Howlett, a
young lady of most respectable connexions, to whom he
was married on the 4th of August in that year. He lived
with her, but not very happily, until the year 1838. Sub.
sequently, he obtained a situation as assistant clerk to the
magistrates at Stourbridge ; and was at that time accus-
tomed to visit Worcester frequently, and thus became ac-
quainted with Miss Eleanor Moss, a young lady of consi-
derable personal attractions, to whom, after paying his
addresses for some twelve months, he was married on the
12th March, 1844. They lived together about two years,
when, in consequence of her husband's poverty, she re-
turned to her father's house. Some time afterwards he
sent for her to London, where he very shortly deserted
her. After that occasion, he was for some time lost sight
of, but the fact of his previous marriage having become
known to Miss Moss's friend, he was at length accident-
ally discovered in Liverpool by one of the unfortunate
lady's own sisters, who was residing there, and appre-
hended at his lodgings, where he was living with a lady in
first-rate style, in the month of January last. His first
wife had no family by him, but his second has one child.—
Mr. Cooke, for the prosecutor, after the prisoner's plea
had been received, addressed the court in aggravation of
punishment, commenting on the high respectability of the
EzijsmeT.'? second. 2 wife's.. fam!ly.,..nc,kaver ruin he had
addressing his Yordship, said that after what VP. VA%
had said he felt bound in justice to himself to ask his lord-
ship's permission to put a few questions to the prosecutor,
Mr. Moss, which he obtained.—Mr. Moss at first de-
clined to answer the prisoner's questions, but his lordship
told him he was bound to do so, as he had brought any
unpleasantness that might arise therefrom on himself by
the course adopted by his counsel.—The prisoner then
elicited from the prosecutor that his eldest daughter had
two illegitimate children, and his second, one illegitimate
child; and that she was in the keeping of a gentleman,
being still unmarried. Prisoner said he could advance
much more against the morality of the family, but did not
wish to do so.—His lordship said what had now transpired
entirely altered the complexion of the case, and deferred
sentence.

POLITICAL MISCELLANY.

_4_

Mr. William Rathbone has been solicited to become a
candidate for the representation of Bury, Lancashire, but
has declined.

Now is the time to try the arbitration system of Messrs.
Cobden and Bright; and we sincerely hope they may be
induced to accompany Sir Charles Napier to India, espe-
cially as Lord Gough has so signally failed to pacify the
Sikhs and Affghans.
THE NAVIGATION LAWS.—On Friday a deputation of
shipowners, consisting of upwards of 50 gentlemen, from
Glasgow, Greenock, Newcastle, Sunderland, and other
principal sea-port towns in the kingdom, had an inter-
view with Lord John Russell, at his official residence in
Downing-street, for the purpose of urging upon his lord-
ship the necessity of reconsidering the bill now under the
consideration of the House of Commons for the repeal of
the Navigation Laws. Amongst the members of the de-
putation were noticed, Mr. Masterman, M.P., Mr. Card-
well, M.P., Mr. G. F. Young. Mr. Dunbar, chairman of
the Shipowners Association, Mr. H. C. Chapman,
Mr. T. Bold, and Mr. W. R. Coulburn. The depu-
tation were introduced to his lordship by Mr. Master-
man, M.P., and Mr. Cardwell, M.P. After Mr. Dunbar
had eloquently expressed himself, Mr. H. C. Chapman thus
addressed his lordship,—He commenced by adverting to
a public meeting which had been recently held in Liver-
pool to protest against the repeal of the existing law.
That meeting was so numerously attended that the usual
place of holding public meetings in that town was incapa-
ble of containing a tythe of the people who crowded
round the doors to obtain admission; in consequence of

which the Mayor adjourned the meeting to the Amphi-
theatre, the largest building in Liverpool. [Here Mr.
Chapman read his lordship the resolutions passed at the
meeting, which were to the effect that the bill recently
brought into Parliament to repeal the existing law was
eminently and directly calculated to discourage British
shipping and navigation.] His lordship would allow him
to observe that this meeting was not composed of the
friends merely of the Navigation Laws, but it was a
town's meeting, and the streets of the town were placarded
by the free-trade party, calling on their friends to come
to the meeting in great numbers, and support an amend-
ment which they meant to propose, affirming the necessity
for the, repeal of the existing law. Only about 20 persons
held up their hands in favour of the amendment, and the
motion condemning the bill for the repeal of the law was
carried by a large majority. Mr. Chapman concluded,
by intimating to his lordship that a petition signed by
about 24,700 of the inhabitants of Liverpool, would that
evening be presented in the House of Commons, praying
the House not to pass the bill for the repeal of the exist-
ing law.—Mr. G. F. Young, and two other gentlemen,
then spoke, when Lord John Russell said that as his
mind was made up he could only receive their representa-
tions, but that the bill must be proceeded with.