The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-09-25 00:00:00

ANOTHER ATTEMPT TO MURDER NEAR
BEESTON

(Fro►n the Chester ottraltt.)

In all probability this county wil speedily obtain a horrid
notoriety for the commission of a cune of the worst descrip-
tion—we mean that of wilful and remedidated murder, as
since our last publication, an atempt, at least, has been
made to sacrifice another individeal to the lust of plunder.
The attempt was made in the immelinte vicinity of the place
where the murder of llenshall, as recorded in our last, was
perpetrated. It has been long kit wn to the police autho-
rities of the county, that for a dik,trit of several miles round,
there are numbers of ruffians to be band, who are ever ready
to commit a larceny or a murder, in occasion may best suit.
The individual whose life was in this instance placed in
jeopardy, is Mr, William Bower,manager of some brick-
works at Wardle, where he resides and son-in-law to Mr.
David Skellet, a master brickmakek of Beeston. It appears
that Mr. Skellet has a contract vith Messrs. Jackson and
Bean, railway contractors, and is ogaged by them to do a
certain portion of work, his brief-kilns at Wardle being
managed by his son-in-law, Mr. bwer. The latter indivi-
dual was in the habit of going ore or twice a fortnight to
Mr. Skellet to obtain money to paythe brickmaker's wages,
and the knowledge of this fact by sine parties, it would ap-
pear, had instigated the murderoes attack. On Tuesday
evening last, Mr. Bower visited -Us father-in-law, though
not in this instance to receive mony to pay wages with, and
returned home about half-past seen o'clock at night. Oa
passing through Crimes-lane, a gun was fired at him from
behind a hedge on the road side, the ball of which passed
through his hat, about four inches ielow the crown, and car-
ried it off a distance of several yam. Mr. Bower thus pro-
videntially escaped unhurt, and pic:ing up his hat, he imme-
diately hastened home, in a state o the greatest agitation of
mind, and without any knowledge of the parties implicated
in the murderous attack. It has been generally reported
that a second ball was fired, but as statement turns out to
be incorrect.

On the following morning, infamatiou of the occurrence
was sent from Mr. Dumville, solicitor, of Tarporley, to Mr.
Hill, superintendent of the poliee ii this city, who has since
been indefatigable in his exertionsto discover the perpetra-
tors of the atrocious deed, but litherto without success.
Indeed, we are informed that sith is the terror exercised
over the minds of the farmers and cottagers in the neigh-
bourhood generally, by the lawless ruffians who infest that
part of the countfy, that informatim in such matters is ex-
tremely difficult to be procured. xis stated, however, that
two men, who are not supposed to )e known, were overheard
conversing near the spot, by a cotttger living in the neigh-
bourhood, about the propriety of Wing into the field, or re-
maining by the road side. While Mr. Hill was engaged in
searching some houses in the neighbourhood, he discovered
in those three men, named Thomas 3uest, William Huxley,
and - Dean, some property belonging to the Chester and
Crewe Railway Company, and they were, on Saturday last,
committed for trial for stealing it, In the house were also
found guns, which belonged to themselves. The investiga-
tion will be pursued with the greatest activly, and we sin-
cerely hope that the perpetrators of the attempt on Mr.
Bower's life may yet be brought to justice.

INSULTS TO THE ENGLISH IN FRANCE

(From Galignani's Messenger.)

In inserting the following communication from Brest, it is
but right to remind the reader that the practice of prohi-
biting the entrance of strangers into the great dockyards is
as strictly acted upon in England as in France, and that at
a period of activity like the present the inspection of the
works going forward at Woolwich or Portsmouth, by a
French officer, without a regular permission, would lead to
very unpleasant comments in either of those places. The
accident which led to this breach of order is, in the present
case, satisfactorily explained, and the respectability of the
gallant officer enables him ;o smile at the suspicions to which
he has been subject ' • and it would be unreasonable to look
for indulgence abroad which is denied not only to foreigners
but to Englishmen at home. We must add, however, that
the admiral in command appears to have been more brusque
than the occasion, as is described below, demanded :
" Sir,—An English post-captain, R.N. (Captain Gordon),
who has been travelling for his amusement, arrived here a
day or two ago, and soon afterwards called upon the vice-
consol, like all other strangers. He asked for a per-
mission to see the dockyard, which the consul informed
him he should have in a few hours, or the following
morning. During that day Captain Gordon walked
about and around the town, and re-entered, as he thought,
by one of the principal gates, which took him through a part
of the dockyard which apparently was not private. (Any one
acquainted with Brest will easily understand this.) The fol-
lowing morning it was all over the town that an English offi-
cer had arrived; that he was a spy, and had already been over
the docks without a permission. This report soon reached
Captain Gordon, who instantly went to the consul, and with
him proceeded to the admiral, and explained to him how it
had happened that he had passed through part of the dockyard
without being aware of it. His explanation was of no use,
for the admiral instantly, and in the most public manner, is-
sued orders i hat no Englishman be allowed to visit the ar-
senal. Thus a most meritorious officer had been stamped by
the admiral as a spy. The day before yesterday the Harriet
yacht, with Lords Granby and Rauelagh, came into the
roads, and were detained a whole day in quarantine, for no
other purpose than that of annoying them. They were both
refused permission to see the dockyard yesterday. Most sin-
cerely do I hope that the British government are well aware
of the preparations going on here and in all the other dock.
yards. In ten days seven or eight large frigates will be ready
for sea, in addition to the large number of ships that have
already left the port.—Yours, &c,

". AN ENGLISHMAN

" Brest, Sept. 15."

THE INDIA, STEAM-SHIP.

This beautiful specimen of naval architecture took an ex-
perimental trip on Tuesday, from Blackwall to Sea Reach,
for the purpose of trying her machinery, prior to her depar-
ture on Saturday (to-morrow) for another hemisphere. The
India has been more than once described, and it will be only
necessary, therefore, for us to say, that alterations have been
effected by throwing a portion of the width of the saloon into
the private cabins, and making them drawing-rooms in
miniature, rather than mere ante-rooms for the passengers.
The deck has been raised nearly two feet, and thus the saloon
is the loftiest we rtmember to have seen, and the cabin, or,
as our East India friends would term it, the cuddy, is the
most airy apartment in the vessel.

The day was unpropitious for such a trip ; it was, in fact,
a regular soaker. Hopes were entertained that at noon the
sun would burst through the clouds which impaired its bril-
liancy, and that a glorious evening might compensate for the
disappointment of the morning : it was not to be ;—rain, un-
pitying and unrelenting, interfered with the contemplated
arrangements, and ultimately no less than 60 or 70 gentle-
men were compelled to amuse themselves as they best might
beneath the spacious decks, which, under more favourable
auspices, would have been a delightful promenade.
The experiments were upon the whole satisfactory. The
vessel maintained the average speed which she ought to have
kept up had she been laden, and the inspection of the ma-
chinery afforded the greatest gratification to the gentlemen
present, most of whom joined the company at breakfast on
Tuesday morning.
On arriving in Sea Reach, various manoeuvres were re-
sorted to, with a view to teat the eapabilities of the India,
and all of them were attended with a satisfactory result ; to
use a nautical phrase " She behaved herself well."
A very handsome entertainment was given by Captain
Henderson, on the return to town. Several gentlemen ad-
dressed the company on the importance of steam communi-
cation with India, and their sentiments were warmly re-
sponded to by the meeting. The conviviality was kept up
until a late hour, when the vessel returned to Blackwall.
We have only to add that there were many gentlemen on
board who had served as officers in India. Those gentle-
men spoke in the most indignant terms of the conduct of
Lord Cardigan, in applying the term " Indian officer" to
any one as a term of contumely, and their observations were
cordially responded to by the meeting.—Morning Herald.