The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1847-09-14 00:00:00

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

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JENNY LIND AND Mat. BUNN.—A singular application
was made to Mr. Justice Williams, sitting in chambers,
yesterday week, on the part of Mademoiselle Jenny
Lind, in reference to Mr. Bunn 's action against her for
breach of engagement. The plaintiff being threatened to
hold the defendant to bail, Miss Lind desired to compel
Mr. Bunn to make such application forthwith : she was
apprehensive that Bunn might cause her to be arrested at
the moment of embarkation for the Continent. Mr.
Justice Williams said he could not grant the application.
In the Judge's Chambers, onTuesday,beforeMr.J ustice
Williams, the question was argued as to the liability of a
member of parliament for arrest. It appears Mr. Dun-
combe, the member for Finsbury, had been arrested at
the residence of his father, in Yorkshire, on a writ at the
suit of Miss Elizabeth Goudy, for the sum of £3,400.
The defendant brought the case before Mr. Justice Wil-
liams, to have the writ discharged on the ground of his
exemption from arrest as a member of parliament. Mr.
Justice Williams said that it had been laid down by Judge
Blackstone that members were exempted for forty days
after each prorogation of parliament, and he could not
gainsay such an authority. The defendant was conse-
quently discharged.
BANKRUPTCY AND INSOLVENCY.—The new act on
bankruptcy and insolvency will take effect on to-morrow,
the 15th instant. _ It contains 21 sections, and is entitled
" An act to abolish the Court of Review in bankruptcy,
and to make alterations in the jurisdiction of the Courts
of Bankruptcy and the Court for Relief of Insolvent
Debtors." By the act the insolvency business of the
Court of Bankruptcy is transferred to the Insolvent
Debtors' Court within twenty miles of the post-office, and
the other business of that court, as well as the district
courts in matters of insolvency, is given to the rew county
courts. The new rules by the Insolvent Debtors' Court
have not as yet been printed ; the new forms are, however,
in a state of preparation. It is understood that the four
commissioners of the Insolvent Debtors' Court whose cir-
cuits are abolished by the act, will hold several courts at
the same time. but such an arrangement would seem to be
unnecessary, as the business under the two systems now
committed to them could be disposed of by one court sit-
ting daily, without huddling parties into a room, and
destroy the respect due to the administration of public
justice.
CHURCH-RATES.—At the recent Stafford Assizes, Mr.*
Justice Pattison, delivered judgment in the case of Regina,
v. Bedwell, awhich had been previously tried at Staf-
ford before Mr. Baron Parke, at the Spring Assizes, 1845,
when the defendant was pronounced guilty, but judgment
was deferred, in order that certain objections which the
defendant had urged, might be fully argued in town be-
fore the learned Baron. These objections having been
disposed of, the defendant was brought up at the recent
Stafford Assizes for judgment, and Mr. Justice Patteson,
for Mr. Parke, sentenced him to six months' imprison-
ment in the County Gaol. He had been indicted for dis-
obedience to the order of two justices for the payment of
15s. assessed for church-rate in St. Botolph parish, Staf-
ford, and £1 12s. 3d. costs. His lordship, prior to pass-
ing the sentence, asked the defendant if he could pay the
amount, and on hearing that he could not, passed the
sentence. We do not refer to the case in any spirit of in-
timidation, but we would earnestly entreat the attention
of those who oppose (conscientiously we hope, and not
factiously) the collection of the Church-rate in this town,
to the remarks of the learned Judge in delivering judg-
ment. He said—" It does not become any individual to
set up his own private and obstinate opinion in opposition
to the law ; and if such a course is carried on, it will
certainly turn out that the law is the strongest." It is
not our intention to argue the legality of Church-rates, as
it has been over and over again established, and in allud-
ing to the above case we are only influenced by a desire to
prevent the parish money from being squandered in use-
less litigation, and to avoid the unpleasant consequences
which must inevitably fall on those who resist the collec-
tion of the rate.

RAILWAY AFFAIRS.
The Bishop Bishop Auckland and Weardale have sanctioned the
sale of the line to the Wear Valley.
Mr. Wilcox has retired from the secretaryship of the
Chester and Birkenhead Company, and Captain Charlewood
has been appointed the secretary of that company, now
amalgamated with the Cheshire Junction Company.
GREAT WESTERN MOVEMENTS.—Our readers must not
feel surprised if they should hear presently that the Great
Western Company had become competitors for the pos-
session of the Chester and Birkenhead line, in order to
command the large traffic which will, no doubt, be drawn
by the Birkenhead docks.—Herapath's Journal.
One day last week, while a train on the Bristol and
Birmingham Railway was passing over the viaduct at
Chosen Hill, near Gloucester, some burning coal fell
from the engine ; and a labourer, named Barnard, kneeled
down for the purpose of lighting his pipe, but before he
could rise, another train came up, knocked him down, and
killed him on the spot.
From official returns it appears that the amount of traffic
for the last week, on upwards of 3,152 miles of railway,
was £204,202, thus accounted for :—.£115,056 for the con-
veyance of passengers only •, £43,712 for the carriage of
goods; and a remainder of £45,434 for passengers and
goods together, not respectively apportioned ; being an
increase of £29,908 over the corresponding week of last
year, when the mileage was about 2,525.
THE ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH AND BRADSHAW'S RAIL-
WAY GUIDE.—The successful application of electricity, or
galvanism, to telegraphic purposes is the wonder of the
age. At present we can scarcely realise the fact that a
signal may be communicated instantaneously, from one end
of the kingdom to another ; but it is quite true. Electri-
city travels with the rapidity of light or lightning ; and an
operator in London, touching the key of his telegraph,
will ring the bell in Edinburgh at the same instant as the
one in his own room. And the invention is yet probably
in its infancy, though it has been demonstrated that a
printing apparatus may be worked a thousand miles off.
The Electric Telegraph has been in extensive operation
in America for some years. In this matter Brother Jona-
than has happened to "go a-head" of us ; an association
has, however, been formed, called " The Electric Tele-
graph Company," who have secured some patent rights
and are now engaged in laying down the telegraph on the
principal lines of railway. Bradshaw's Sixpenny Rail-
way Guide for this month (September). in addition to the
railway and steamboat intelligence, contains a very neat
map of England and part of Scotland, indicating those
lines on which the telegraph is in operation and those on
which it is in progress. At present the use of the tele-
graph has been chiefly confined to railway purposes, but
the Telegraph Company expect that by the commence-
ment of te next year the principal towns io the kingdom
will be connected ; and they propose then to convey com-
mercial intelligence and other information for subscribers
and the public, so that messages may be conveyed at any
time from one part of the kingdom to another. Further
information may be obtained from the map and from a
perusal of the Company's prospectus, which will be found
at page 119 of the Guide. The invention is of the highest
interest and importance, and one that concerns the whole
community.

THE GREAT BRITAIN STEAM SHIP.

A correspondent of the London Times under the signa-
ture of "An Eye Witness," gives a most interesting ac-
count of the exertions made to float the Great Britain,
and of the perils attending that triumph of British energy
and skill. After describing the preparations made on the
23rd and 24th of August by the crews of the Birkenhead
and Scourge, along with the engineers and men employed
for the purpose. On the latter day, the carpenters of the
Birkenhead and the Scourge were busily engaged in ma-
king the temporary rudder and preparing the lighters for
their position alongside the Great Britain. This position
was to be under large logs of wood stretching out from
the ports, called outriggers, kept down by large timber
shores. Others of the ships' crews were employed in se-
curing the " camels," which, however they might have
served as levers when filled with sand, were ill adapted to
the work of lifting the ship as now applied ; for, being
neither wind nor water tight, they were most of them
useless as they were unmanageable. Others were la-
bouring heavily at the pumps. The tide rose high, and it
was whispered that the gallant Captain Claxton, whose
energy is no less conspicuous than his judgment, had de-
termined, if possible, to heave off his heavy charge upon
the hawsers and cables of the iron ship itself. Surprise
and anxiety mixed with misgivings accompanied the an-
nouncement. The great Britain, lifted by the lighters,
camels, empty barrels, and rafts of wood, evidently moved
and very slowly yielded, and only very little to the strain
employed. All was animation, hope, and joyful expecta-
tion, every heart responding to the captain's hearty cheers.
Darkness came on—a sudden crash was heard as the fall-
ing in of a roof, and now a noise like the report of can-
non announced the failure of the blocks of wood, the
wedges, and the camels, which, bursting from their how-
ser bands, by which under the engineer's directions they
had been too lightly fastened, became useless. It seemed,
in fact, as if the enormous body with which they had to
deal had surpassed their calculations and baffled their
energies.
On Thursday, the 26th, her Majesty's ship Birkenhead
steamed ouietly into her position as it had been previously
occupied, 'and carefully marked by buoys, having let go
both bower anchors and veered to 100 fathoms upon each
cable. The hawsers, 400 fathoms, laid down on the former
trial, were taken in through the stern hawse holes, and on
this occasion they were passed over litie large paddle-box
boats, each capable of containing 140 hmen, lashed together
and placed close to the screw of the Great Britain, to
which they (the hawsers) were fastened. A fulcrum, was
so provided' fcir the lever which the hawserS would thus
form for lifting the massive burden they were designed to
move, without diminishing the force of the tremendous
strain to be employed in dragging it from its stronghold.
The signal was given—the bars of the capstans were ready
manned, and they began to heave, but they heaved in
vain. When the Birkenhead took up her position the
water was smooth as a millpond. The rising tide lifted
the lighters with their logs of wood up to the outriggers,
and the rest of the varied apparatus ; but the Great Bri-
tain overwhelming these with her monstrous wefght
seemed to bid defiance to the means devised by human
skill alone, although applied with steadfast perseverance;
some power superior was requisite. The camels, which
were water-tight, were too large to be confined with the
haWsers used, powerful though they were, and they
bounced out of their stronghold with loud reports. Such
as were leaky became waterlogged, and helped to obstruct
the heave. The lighters seemed to slip from under their
burden; the blocks flew out of their places, some of the
outriggers and their shores yielded to the pressure, crack-
ing with a frightful noise, and the great and powerful, but
steady strain upon the hawsers, by the purchases and cap-
stans of the Birkenhead, was utterly futile. The iron
mass could not be moved this day by this means, added to
the lesser, although more numerous, purchases employed
in the Great Britain itself. The signal, " She won't
come off this tide," cast a damp of disappointment over
every countenance, and of despair as to the result over the
spirit of many deeply interested in the stirring event.
Every exertion was made next morning to remedy the
causes of failure. and the dreaded south wind brought in
an increase of tide.
On the first signal " heave," the hawsers already on the
stretch were hove with a steady working step. " Heave
with all your might," was responded to by the increase of
pace applied with all the vigour of the men, each vying
with his fellow to lift the vessel off. " She moves"
animated every countenance ; each eye sparkled with the
light of hope, which warmed also every heart with an in-
expressible mixture of gratitude and joy. The hawsers
came in nicely. " She is all your own, boys," was re-
sponded to with cheers and fresh exertion. The great
steam ship obeyed the hempen calls of her iron consort.
The weight again seemed all at once to increase, as if the
sand had come in contact with the Great Britain ; but it
was not'so. Her gallant captain, elated, as well he might
be with success and gratification, had prudently cast his
anchor, limiting the distance of the first movement of the
leaky vessel to a point so near the low water mark as to
secure her floating with the next flood tide ; but still so
high and dry upon the sand as to admit of an inspection
of her bottom, and such reparation as might diminish the
influx of water, and justify or not the attempt to float
her on the ocean.
The retiring tide exhibited the celebrated iron steamer,.
upright, high and dry, at once the astonishment and the
admiration of every beholder. Now were to be seen the
carpenters, and every one else fitted for such work, with
staves and wedges of wood and oakum, and grease, and
everything that could be used with probability of success,
stopping up holes, repairing breaches and stanching the
leaks, which were terrific. At this juncture the Irish
labourers refused to work the pumps, which compelled
new labours from Her Majesty's crews. These indefati-
gable men were ready, though their summons was ex-
ceedingly short. A light at the Peak was to announce the
want of men, and in five minutes, dark though it was when
it appeared, away went 25 of the men who had been la-
bouring for previous days and nights, from each of Her
Majesty's ships. The motion of the Great Britain was
diligently watched. A messenger came for men to take
up hawsers and bring in the paddle-box boats from the
distance of near two miles. The boat was presently
manned and pushed off. It was too dark to see what was
going forward. But soon the foresail was spread—the
wind which had lulled veered round from south to west,
and now a gentle breeze from north-west came off the
shore and favoured the floating off the Great Britain from
the beach. She evidently approached the Birkenhead,
insomuch as to create some apprehensions of her running
foul of her. With her came the paddle-box boats, and,
then the crew of the Birkenhead to heave up the anchors.
It was then made known that Captain Claxton had been
forced to slip his cables and cut his hawsers, to escape
being stranded afresh on the shallows of Dundrum Bay.
To enable the men to heave the anchors, they had been
taken from the pumps. Meantime it was apprehended
that the leaks being so great, and the accumulation of
water so rapid, the ship would scarcely keep afloat. It
was a moment of intense anxiety. The labour of heaving
the anchor seemed to have increased tenfold, and every
moment begot the painful feeling that without help at the
pumps she must go down. She appeared low in the
water, and, in fact, the engineer betrayed such misgivings
as to require that both the Birkenhead's paddle-box boats
might be lashed alongside, in case of an emergency he
seemed to dread. The anchors up, the towing hawsers
were soon attached, and when she yielded to the paddle
wheels of the Birkenhead much anxiety subsided. The
return of men to the pumps reduced the water mark.
Fresh hope was excited, and Strangford Bay, some two
hours' distance, promised security to the heavy charge.
The sun began to dawn, and we passed St. John's Light-
house, when " Direct for Liverpool " was shouted from
the sister vessel. On reflection, however, it was deemed
by Captain Claxton, that men of whatever mettle, ex-
hausted as they had been by the almost incessant labour
of three days and nights, could not stand to the pumps, as
it was needful, for the many hours era the port of Liver-
pool i)e made. The pilot provided was well ac-