The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1849-02-27 00:00:00

THE CHURCH'S NECESSITIES.

(From the Record.)
Lord Ashley, finding that his notice for the 20th, stood
too low on the paper to have much chance of coming on
for discussion, has postponed it to the Ist of March, when
it will be the first notice of the day.

The difficulties which appear to attend the execution of
, such plan, are,--as is usually the case,—partly real
and substantial, partly unreal and romantic. We will say
a few words of each ' • beginning with the latter class.
1. A considerable but natural alarm has been excited
among statesmen, by such propositions as those of Mr.
Palmer and others :—"We must have 5,000 new districts,
and 5,000 more clergymen." Such language as this
seemed to imply, that the whole country was intended to
be cut up into a number of Owenite parallelograms, and
that a downright social revolution was contemplated.
But what is the fact ? Lord Ashley only asks, that an
inquiry shall take place, as to the practicability of divid-
ing all parishes having more than 4,000 souls. How
many parishes will this motion, if carried to the fullest
extent, affect ? Five thousand ? No. One Thousand ?
No. Five hundred ? No. How many, then ? Why,
not quite three hundred. So that, instead of unsettling
half the kingdom, it is only about one parish in each forty
that will be in any manner touched by it.
2. But the same alarm continues in another direction.

Where are the funds to be found ? Will you not want to
build an immense number of new churches, and to endow

some 2,000, or 1,000 new clergymen.
Lord Ashley's notice says nothing of the kind, nor is
such a consequence to be fairly deduced from it. We
have said, that not so many as 300 parishes will have to
be dealt with at all. Of these, a large proportion,—pro-
bably quite one-half, are parishes with 7,000 or 8,000
people, having already two churches, and two or three
ministers ; or parishes with 10,000 or 12,000, having
already three churches, and four or five ministers. All
that will be needed, in such places, will be, a better ad-

justment of the relative position of new churcti ana oia
church,—of rector, and district incumbent, —an adjust-
ment for whicu the clergy themselves are now loudly call-

But there will be many churches to be built, and mm-
isters to be endowed. Of this there can be no doubt.
This necessity, however, exists at present. It is univer-
sally admitted. All that the proposed inquiry will do, is,
not to increase the existing want; but merely to measure

will produce a conviction, not that the supply of the
wants of the church is impracticable; but, on the other
hand, that it is easily practicable. The number of pa-
rishes having 100,000 is, we believe, only about 11 or 12.
The number having from 50,000 to 100,000 is not quite
20. So that an accurate estimate of what the Church
needs to her complete (external) efficiency, might be
formed in a few months. And if it were found that some
300 or 400 churches were plainly needed, surely, rAnem -
bering that voluntary efforts have raised a larger number
in the course of the last ten or twelve years, we need not
despair of entire success. _ _ _ _ _

FRENCH GRAIN.—Of thirteen vessels which arrived at
the port of Bristol, a day or two since, from foreign parts,
all of which were laden with grain, excepting two with
entire cargoes of French potatoes, amounting conjointly
to 164 tons weight, there were six vessels laden with
French grain, nearly all of them being from Nantes. The
arrivals of grain and flour from France have lately been
quite unprecedented.
DISASTER AT SEA.—FIVE MEN DROWNED.—On
Thursday evening last, the brig Maid of the Mill, Captain
A. Wilson, from Glasgow, bound for Rio Janeiro, was
riding at anchor at Ramullen, in Lough Swilly, from
which, during a heavy gale, she was driven on Inch bank.
Five men immediately entered a boat, for the purpose of
casting an anchor, in order to heave her off. Whilst thus
engaged, a desperate squall came on, the boat filled with
water, and went down, and the men were drowned.
A " FLEA AND BUTTERFLY " RATE !—Sunderland, It
seems, is one of the few towns by which a rate has been
laid, under Mr. Ewart's bill, for the maintenance of a
public museum. One learned and worthy member, how-
ever, of the Town Council, when the museum committee
had presented a report last week, took objection to an
item in the accounts, remarking that "he could not see
the advantage of imposing charges on the ratepayers for
fleas and butterflies.' " _ _

MR. COBBETT V. THE HOME SECRETARY.—Mr. Wm.
Cobbett, who has been confined in the Court of Queen's
Bench Prison nine years for a debt of £4l, costs of a
Chancery suit, sought, on Saturday, in the Court of Ex-
chequer, to recover £6OO damages from the Home Secre-
tary and the governor of the prison for alleged illegal de-
tainment in the criminal wards of the prison instead of
the more agreeable and wholesome debtors' wards. The
jury found for the defendants.
JENNY LIND.—It is now currently and confidently re-
ported that Mdlle. Lind's marriage with Mr. Harris is to
take place within two or three weeks. Notwithstandir.g
this, it is certain that another round of provincial con-
certs has been arranged, in which she is to be accompanied
by Mr. Benedict. It is still said that she will appear at
Her Majesty's Theatre in the course of the season. But
this seems more than doubtful; and at all events, if she
do appear, we apprehend it will only be at concerts.—
John Bull.
PILOT BOATS.—After the Ist of March next all the
boats in the service of pilots licensed by the Trinity Board,
in the several ports of the English Channel, on the east
coast of England, and in the river Thames, are to be
distinguished by a green light at the mast-head, and by a

flare-up light, sliown at intervals of fifteen minutes. Pilot
boats in the service of the said pilots, at the several ports
in the Bristol and St. George's Channels, by a white light
at the mast-head, and a flare-up light at intervals of
fifteen minutes.

CAUTION TO MOTHERS AND NURSEMAIDS.—A melan-
choly instance of the death of a child, aged 17 months,
occurred last week at Bristol. The child met with an
agonising death from biting off and swallowing a piece of
the wine glass from which medicine was being administered
to it. The medical gentleman who gave evidence at the
inquest, very properly and judiciously observed—" medi.
cines should always be administered to young children by
means of a spoon, or something less dangerous than glass,
because, when cutting their teeth, they are apt to bite."

But we do not wish to evade the other branch of the
subject, or to deny that real difficulties' do exist. These
chiefly concern the proper endowment of perhaps 300 or
400 new incumbents ; and the legal division of these, and
many now existing incumbencies, from the old parishes
of which they form portions.

On the first of these points it•is gratifying to know,

main to the Church. It is anticipated that the Com-
mission over which Lord Harrowby now p
which was cons ituted about Christmas last

le estates of the Church a largely-incre
And the mere relinquishment of tl

lor's patr

le Chancel-

ge, on the part of the Government

whieli Sir Robert Peel'is said to have contemplated,-L
would realise, by the sale of advowsons, a sum probably

approaching two millions sterling.
The personal hindrances, those arising from legal diffi-
culties, interposed by patrons, incumbents, and others
who might suffer, or apprehend loss, from the proposed
subdivision,—would demand considerate attention, but
surely ought not to be allowed to prohibit a great national
improvement. A railway forces its way through the park
of a nobleman, " for the general good,"—and surely the
object we now have in view is still more deserving legal
enforcement.

But it is a happy circumstance, that the patronage of
many of the larger parishes is so vested as to oppose no
hindrance in the work now contemplated. The patron
of Marylebone is the Crown. St. George's, Southwark,
is in the same hands. Pancras is in the gift of the Chap-
ter of St. Paul's, and so is Cripplegate. Leeds, Chelten-
ham, Bradford, Bath, Islington, and St. Martin's, Bir-
mingham, are in the hands of trustees. Stepney, White-
chapel, and several of the larger parishes in the Tower
Hamlets, belong to Brazennose College. In none of
these cases, therefore, could any injury done to private
property be pleaded; since in all of them the patrons
merely hold their power for the public good. And if thE
Chapter of c

Nul's had the right of presentation to
four church..s in Cripplegate, endowed with £5OO a-year
each, instead of to one, endowed with £2,000, they surely
would have no right to complain.

MELANCHOLY EN]) OF AN ECCENTRIC PEDESTRIAN.—
On Sunday, Robert Wrangha►n, of Barnard Castle, an
eccentric character, of great local fame as a pedestrian,
was sent from that town with a message, express, to
Brough ; and on Tuesday morning he was found lying
dead on Stainmoor, having doubtless perished in the
terrible storm of Monday. The deceased has frequently
travelled from Barnard Castle to Darlington and back, a
distance of thirty-two miles, within six hours. He was
seventy-two years old at the time of his death.—Gates-

/lead Observer.
SINGULAR DISCOVERY.-011 Saturday as some work-
men were repairing a house at Rouselench, near Worces-
ter. in taking off the thatch from the roof they discovered

Otneral Altstritany.

the skeleton of a full-grown infant crammed between a
large beam and the thatch in the roof of the building,
and from every appearance it had undoubtedly been there
a great number of years. When discovered it was wrap-
ped in an old waistcoat, along with a small cloth or towel,
which appeared to be much soiled, as if it had been used,
and put along with the waistcoat. No clue whatever
could be found to lead to a discovery how it came there.
SINGULAR ACCIDENT -A gentleman, near Waltham
Abbey, experimenting with the electric 'light a few days
ago, having an incised wound on his left-hand, touched
the conductor, a copper wire, and shortly afterwards ex-
perienced an irritation, which immediately spread in infla-
mation to the arm. The arm became immensely swollen,
and large tumours appeared all over the body and limbs.
Eminent surgeons have been in attendance; some of the
tumours were opened, and every means resorted to for the
purpose of checking the poison, but without avail. The
unfortunate patient lies without the least hope of recovery.
ANOTHER POPE.—There is a report, which is said to
rest on good authority, that the Jesuits are going to make
a new Pope. The used up infallibility at Gaeta is not to
their taste. They never liked him • and only acquiesced
in his advancement to the tiara in the expectation that his
pseudo liberality would help to throw dust in the eyes of
the many headed monster, while the ring of the church
might be welded more firmly than ever in its nose. Two
Popes, however, (for Pius would not cease to be Pope be-
cause of the Jesuit deposition,) would be no unprecedented
thing. The world has seen three of them ere now, each
denouncing and " deposing" the other, and we are not
sure that the infallible Church has ever infallibly deter-
mined which was the true one. However, this is a matter
in which we feel no concern.
LOVE AND Stricron.—On Friday last Mary Ann Crow-
ther, aged. 22, poisoned herself with a large dose of
arsenic, at Masborough, at the residence of her mother.
A young man, named John Lidster, had paid his ad-

Eliza Cook, the poetess, is about to commence a weekly

periodical.
Mr. Gilbert A!Beelcett has been appointed police ma-
gistrate in room of Mr. Jeremy.
Some young leverets were seen on Monday week on a
farm at Crosthwaite, in Westmoreland.

at the present time, is a Syrian, name.. —.- ....,--,-. - .. -
rile notes of the cuckoo have been distinctly heard dresses to her for a period of one year and eight months;
ar Newcastle-upon-Tyne during the last few days. during that period he had promised her marriage three
A great many joint stock companies are now being !tine!, and once went so far as to put the `• spurrings" in.
el 1 '
''
.....
e et

wound up under the new winding-up act of last session. On the Sunday preceding the tatat event he was
The far-famed Gretna-green is again in tribulation, her when she came out of Masborough chapel, but was
Lord Campbell having once more brought in his bill for unfaithful in that promise also. Mary Ann sent for him
the prevention of run-away marriages in Scotland. just before death terminated her sufferings, and when he
The Jenny Lind concert at Worcester realised £B4O for was introduced to her chamber she said, " John," hold-
the infirmary after the •
payment of all expenses. A mural ing up her arms, " come to me ;" she then placed her
_ . ._

tablet will be erected to record her munificence. arms rouna ms necx sou Kisseu mm, um,aniu, .....ve
An Irishman, named Brennan, has died at Newcastle- brought me to this sad end ; but do no:, treat another in
on-Tyne, in consequence of injuries received from two or a similar way." She only lived a few minutes after this
three of his countrymen in a row. interview.—Derbyshire Courier.
Henry Mitchell, one of the inmates of the Perth Luna- DESTRUCTIVE FIRE FROM DOMESTIC IMPRUDENCE.
tic Asylum, was killed the other day, in a struggle with —A fire broke out a few nights since on the premises of
one of the keepers, whom he assaulted. Mr. Henry Pagett, of the Red Lion Inn, Wolverhampton,
The Devonshire Chronicle says that one day last week, and which resulted in the total destruction of the unin-
a sportsman who was shooting wild fowl on the river Exe, sured property, estimated at little less than £l,OOO. The
fired into a flock of teal, and killed 49 birds by the shot. landlord of the house managed to escape down stairs, but
Lord Denman has decided that the reservoirs of the his wife, and the servant girl, who first gave the alarm,.
Huddersfield Water-works Commissioners are liable to be were compelled, from the progress made by the flames, to
rated for the relief of the poor. leap from the windows of their respective bedrooms. The
A fisherman, of the name of Campbell, while fishing at house, and all it contained, together with £lOO in money,.
Gairloch, the other day, caught a cod, in the stomach of were consumed. The disaster seems to have resulted from
which were found twenty•eight herrings, three flounders, the dangerous (practice of leaving clothes before the fire
and a crab. to dry. It is to be regretted that, although the house had
A Sheffield journal states on Tuesday night, a needle- been insured three years ago, the owner, a young man,
grinder, who was somewhat intoxicated, lay down on the lately married, from motives of economy, discontinued
heap of ashes near the Park Gate Ironworks, and was suf- the payment of the interest, and is thus deprived of his
focated by the mephitic vapours arising from the cinders. property.—Wolverhampton Chronicle.
epsded at Westminster during The death of the Countess of Bridgewater has again
of fees to brought the extraordinary will of her husband under no-
The Earl of Bridgewater bequeathed a large pro-
eerty to his great nephew, the present Viscount Alford,
Between February, 1848, and the same month in 1849, on condition that he obtained the Marquisate or Dukedom
there have been thirty-five new journals started in of Bridgewater ; but if the Viscount could not obtain
England ; but thirteen of them have already ceased to either of these honours, then the Egertons of Tatton to
appear. inherit the property. No minister of the crown has yet
The carpet manufacture at Barnard Castle has lately been induced to advise the crown to grant the dignity
very much improved. Several additional workmen have under such circumstances. It was felt that the precedent
recently been employed by the different firms, and the would be too dangerous, as plenty of people would soon
demand for goods is steadily increasing. follow the example of the Earl of Bridgewater in obtain-
At a late rnApting of the Frome A '^ultural Society, ing honours for their descendants or relations. On the
• 1 act

£9-',387 ; in Scotland, during the same period, to 168, fees

Mr. S. Pocock, of Thoulstone, stated that on his farm, other hand it was not thought a fair case for a specia.
part clay and part sand, he had tried pig manure against of parliament to set aside the Earl's proviso, as was done
guano and bone-dust, and found it quite equal to guano, in the case of the Duke of Portland, because thereby the
whilst it beat the bone-dust hollow. Egertons would be unjustly deprived of their rev..trsionary
The American steam-ship United States has been par- right. So the case stands at present, doubtless a bitter
chased by the Neptune Ocean Steam-ship Company, and thing to Lord Alford, to see so fair a property pass away
is intended, with the Franklin, belonging to the same from him, but at the same time it would never do to allow
company, to ply regularly, and carry the mails between subjects to confer honours in the peerage in this way.
New York, Southampton, and Havre. PROGRESS OF THE GAS MovlssEND.—Much excite-
ment exists in London at present on the subject of the
- last week, one of the speakers

Bunn and Jullien talk of opening Covent Gar

en join

• ,f •
English talent that can be obtained. Balfe is to be the
composer and chef-d'orchestre. The affair is to be called

amounting, it.is said, tc

part of an immense fortune,
£BO,OOO, to Mr. Coleman, a farmer residing in the same
village.
The joint-stock bank projected by Mr. Macgregor, I
M.P., formerly secretary of the board of trade, is about to
commence operations. Under the title of the " British
Bank," it is intended to be conducted strictly upon the
Scotch system

THE IF ON TRADE

,o one cus-

said that 3s- 6d. per 1000 feet was c
tomer and 6s. per 1000 feet to another.
was, in London, 16s. 2d., and Liverpool I4s. The residual
w.. of nmell more value in London than in Li-

—The iron trade is remarkably
re than usually abundant. So de-

cheaper in the former place from that source alone, as the
larger the quantity of gas made the cheaper was the pro-
duction ; the cost of manufacture could form no ground
for its greater cheapness in provincial towns. The qutin-
tity of gas consumed in London was 500,000,000 cubic feet,
conveyed through sixty miles of mains ; while in Liver-
pool there was but 211,000,000 cubic feet consumed ; but
this quantity was conveyed through 150 miles of mains—
in Loudon, therefore, there would be less loss- from a
leakage. Another speaker said they were all entitled, as
traders and commercial men,, to have the benefit of com-
petition in the supply of so great a necessary as light.
One ton of coals, which he could get for 125., would pro-
duce from 9000 to 10,000 cubic feet of gas—consequently,
his gas cost but ls. 21d. per 1000 feet, the coke and resi-
duum paying the cost of manufacture. If proper economy
was used, Is. 6d. per 1003 feet would afford sufficient pro-
fit when the supply was large. He was supplying the
Great Western Railway Company at Swindon at ls. Bd.
per 1000, and certainly did not lose by'_it.
SPIRITED CONDUCT OF A CLERGYMAN.---A few nights
since, as the Rev.-Mr. Lamprell, of West Wickham, was
on his way home from Cambridge, on his pony, he was
stopped, about a quarter before twelve, by six or seven
men. One seized hold of the bridle, and was immediately
felled by a well-aimed blow from Mr. Lamprell. The re-
mainder set upon him and pulled him from his horse ; and•
while the struggle was proceeding the man who had
knocked him down cried out " Stifle the —; he has
bunged my eye up." They then proceeded to rifle Mr.
Lamprell's pockets, and succeeded in obtaining £4 12s in
money, a gold lever watch and chain, a pencil-case, a
comb, with a cheque-book, some memorandum hooks,
and some other papers. They had a handkerchief tied
round Mr. Lamprell's neck, and their hands over his
mouth, and. he offered to surrender all he had, telling
them not to be cowardly enough to hurt him, or if they
meant to do so, to murder him at once. They then re-
moved the handkerchief. While down, one of the rascals
rubbed some dirt over Mr. Lamprell's face. Finally,
they let him get up, and then made off over a gate in the
direction of Fulbourne. Mr. Lamprell called out to know
where his pony was, and offered to write them a cheque
for £5 if they would find it. One replied, " Oh, its gone
the way you coom." Mr. Lamprell shouted out that his
papers were no use to them, and one fellow then pitched
the papers over the hedge. "My hat," said Mr. L. ;
that is no use to you, and will lead to your identification ;"
when another vagabond returned to the gate, and pitched
it over to him, with a memorandum book in it. The last-
mentioned fellow then made off, with Mr. Lamprell in full
chase, but was unsuccessful in catching any of them,

cided. a start has the market taken that on
the principal houses in South Staffordshire issued circu-
lars announcing an advance of 20s. per ton.
A fine boy, four years of age, died last week at Tenter-
den, in Kent, from partaking of part of one of the green
ornaments used to decorate a Christmas cake. Violent
sickness came on shortly after the ornament was eaten,
and the lad, after lingering a few days died from its effects.
On Monday week, a game hen, belonging to an inhabi-
tant of Howrigg, in Cumberland, laid an egg of the usual
size, which was boiled and broken, and was found to con-
tain, embedded in the white, another egg, perfectly
formed, with the exception of the shell, and about the
size of a common cherry.
A labourer living in Westminter has died " from the ef-
fects of chloroform properly administered" by several me-
dical men. The deceased took the chloroform before
having one pf his toes taken off. One of the surgeons
stated that much larger doses had been given to patients
without injury,
It is said that the whole of the farms on the road from
North Cerney to Cheltenham, a distance of about 10 or
11 miles, are either now in the hands of the proprietors,
or about to be vacated by the tenants at Lady-day next.
The soil of that district is very thin on the brach, and it
therefore will not admit of tenants paying rent at all at
the present low price of corn.
A few Bays since, a cow ran after a lady in the streets
of Darlington, and attempted to gore her, but the animal's
horns entangled themselves in the dress of the lady, who
was raised from the ground in such a manner that she
was seated on the cow's face. The cow, confounded at
being thus blinded, crossed the street, and quietly de-
posited her fair burthen uninjured on the pavement.
The types and press of the Staffordshire Punch-bowl,
a penny publication indulging in attacks upon individuals,
and issued at Hanley, were on Wednesday seized by the
police, and on Friday Mr. Peter Cooke, the owner, was
I fined in the mitigated penalty of £5 and costs (11s. 6d.),
for using the said press without having entered it at the
, Clerk of the Peaces office, pursuant to the Act 39th Geo.
. 111. cap. 79. j

WEST INDIAN MAIL.—The next ship expected home
will be the steamer due on the 7th March, with the mails
from the Pacific, Wcst Indies, &c. The mails due on the
22nd February may probably not reach England until a.
day or two after the arrival of those due on the 7th March ;
and no correspondence from • Mexico can be looked for
previous to the 22d March. The name of the steamer
due on the 7th of March is not known. _ _ _

• _
On Friday last an explosion took place in one of Mr.
Daniel Round's coal pits, known as the Henge Colliery,
in the parish of Rowley Regis, Staffordshire. An explo-
sion of sulphur took place in the pit while the men were at
work ; and three colliers of the name of Bate, father, son,
and uncle, all living together in one house, were killed
almost instantaneously.
REVIVAL OF THE OFFICE OF ABBOT IN ENGLAND.—
The ceremony of consecrating an abbot took place at the
Monastery of Mount St. Bernard, in Charnwood Forest,
on Sunday, whin the Rev. J. Palmer, otherwise Father
Bernard, the superior of that monastery, was installed in
that office, and presented with a crosier, rings, mitre, and
gloves, each of which were separately blessed and sprinkled
with holy water by the omanist Bishop of the midland
district, Dr. Ullathorne. This being the first occasion of
th e kind in England since the Reformation some interest
was excited in the neighbourhood. _ _ _

AN AFFECTING SCENE.—One of the sufferers by the
recent Caledonian accident when brought up to the Cita-
del Station in the luggage train, was placed on a chair in
the refreshment-room. A limb had been torn off the
poor man's body, and the fortitude with which he bore
his dreadful loss excited general sympathy and admira-
tion. Looking down with an air of the deepest resigna-
tion he exclaimed, " Where's my foot ?" The bye-
standers, who had been regarding the poor fellow with a
melancholy interest, burst into tears. About ten hours
after that we saw the severed limb, still clothed with the
shoe and stocking, taken from a heap of shattered car-
riages, dripping with blood.—Carlisle Patriot.
WIGTON HORSE FAIR, &c.—This fair, which is the
largest in Cumberland. was held on Tuesday last. It is
somewhat remarkable that, although agricultural stock of
every other description have lately declined, and still are
falling in value, yet horses maintain high prices. There
was a tolerably good show, and, a large number of south-
country dealers being in attendance, a great number of
animals were sold. Strong draught horses were in the
greatest demand, the prices varying for the first class
from 35 to 48 guineas; second class, from 18 and 20 to 30
guineas apiece. Horses suitable for the saddle, harness,
and hunt,ng, from 30, 35, to 50 guineas. The show of
young horses was not very good ; prime ponies were also
few in number. _ _

NEW INVENTION IN BAKING.—An invention has just
been made in Glasgow, which promises to be of great ser-
vice in the process of baking. As it has not yet been pa-
tented, we are not at liberty to enter into details. Some
idea of its effects may, however, be formed from the fact
that a little model, a mere toy in appearance, standing
upon a table less than a yard long, and only half as wide,
is fully capable of doing the work of five or six bakers—a
class of men whose labour is well known to be none of the
lightest. The dough is both made and moulded by the
machine into loaves of the required size and shape ; and,
by an original and ingenious process of mixing and knead-
ing, which can be done either with on without harm ; the
usual loss of weight, attributed to evaporation in "raising
the sponge," is avoided; and a great laving in flour, as
well as time and labour, is consequently effected. The
bread manufactured in the model of the machine is of the
most excellent quality.—Glasgow Citizen.
HEADIFRENDING OCCURRENCE.—A lone cottage on

the banks of the Kingsbridge Estuary was on Sunday the
scene of a singular but shocking incident. The cottage
was inhabited by a labourer, his wife, and child ; the hus-
band had gone from home to visit a sick relative, and at
the usual time the wife went out to a pigsty adjoining the
cottage to give the pig its evening meal. She entered the
sty, leaving the child, between two and three years of
age, outside the door, and whilst inside, the child, in play-
ing with the fastening of the door, contrived so effectually
to bar her (the mother) in as to defy all the efforts to
liberate herself. The child, tired probably of waiting,
returned to the cottage, and pushing the door, fastened
himself in the kitchen, as his mother was in the sty. The
little fellow then, it is supposed, got playing with the fire,
and was soon in a blaze; the agony of the mother need
not be described crt hearing the Door child's shrieks, to
which she added her own for assistance. The father re-
turned at this juncture, and promptly extinguished the
flames, but too late to save the life of the child.—Exeter
Gazette. _ _ _

Loss OF THE ROYAL WEST-INDIA MAIL STEAMER
FORTH.—Accounts have, been received at Lloyd's of the
loss of the steamer Forth, belonging to the Royal West
Indian Mail Company, on the Alacranes, on the 31st of
January ; but we are happy to state that the crew and
passengers were all saved. The Forth proceeded into the
Gulf of Mexico with the mails carried out from England
by the Avon. The former ship, according to advices
from the captain, dated the 11th of January, was to leave
Havannah the next day for Vera Cruz direct. The Forth
was a noble ship, and made 16 successful voyages to the
West Indies, Mexico, &c., previous to this disaster. She
was built at Leith in 1841, by Menzies and Co., and was
of 1147 tons register, with engines of 450-horse power.
She left Southampton on the 2nd of September. and was
due there on the 22nd instant. It is not at all likely she
had any specie or much cargo on board. It is worthy
of remark that Mr. J. B. Rowland, her surgeon, was
wrecked on the same spot in the ill-fated Tweed, and it
was this gentleman's graphic account of the wreck, that
excited so much interest at the time of this unfortunate
occurrence.
THE GLASGOW CATASTROPHE.—It is now ascertained
with certainty, that the loss of life consequent upon the

oors, on

sixty-five persons. It will be observed that the great
majority of those killed were youths—principally appren-

go to the theatre. Their circumstances may be known
from the fact, that on the persons of the whole sixty-one,
at the Clyde-street Hospital, there was only found a total
of Us. ld. The highest sum was 4s. Oid. ;- several had
only ld., and the majority nothing. One of the lads,
named. Hammond, who was severely hurt, but who is
recovering, describes the heat as having been overpower-
ing, and the sense of suffocation so intense, that almost
every other feeling was lost in a burning thirst. Cries
for water and fresh air were yelled out on every side, but
no relief reached them until numbers became quite deli-
rious and frantic. A little boy immediately behind him
appeared to suffer dreadfully at first, but his cries gradu-
ally became weaker and weaker, until they at length
ceased altogether, and then the lad Hammond knew that
the poor boy had ceased. to exist. He attributes his own
preservation, in a great measure, to a little boy who had
got himself seated on a man's shoulder, and who kept up
a sort of circulation of air by waving a handkerchief
backwards and forwards. According to this lad, who
seems very intelligent, there were two alarms given, the
first of which was easily quieted, and great numbers who
had made a rush to the staircase, being assured that there
was no danger, returned, and resumed their seats. The
smoke from the front of the gallery occasioned, as has
been already stated, by the slight charring of the wood
when the gas got ignited, still, however, continued ; and
it was observed that the attempts which were made by
parties in the neighbourhood of the spot to subdue it
only tended to increase the density of the vapour ; the
half-subdued feeling of terror again got the mastery of
the occupants of the gallery. and a general and simulta-
neous rush was made to the door. Among the cases most
deserving of sympathy we have to record the following:—
A man named Andrew Donachy, aged 42, foreman cork-
cutter to Bailie Mitchell, during the interim occupied by
his wife in cleansing up their humble abode in East
Clyde-street, proposed to take the children to the theatre.
Being a man of convivial habits, she felt no anxiety at
his not returning shortly after the hour of closing the
theatre. Supposing that he was enjoying himself in the
house of an acquaintance, she retired to bed, and it was
not until an early hoar on Sunday morning that she was
apprised of the fact that the bodies of her husband and
her two children—one a daughter, aged 17, and the other
an infant, aged 4 years—were lying dead in the Clyde-
street Hospital. Bereft of the support of her husband
and the solace of her children, she is left childless and
lonely, in a state of delirium.
THE CHARGE OF RAPE AGAINST AN ATTORNEY.—
' Mr. Robert Henry Bartlett, solicitor, charged with a rapt
1 lon the person of Miss O'Grady, in his own house

6th of November last, underwent another long examina-
tion before the magistrates at Epsom, on Wednesday.

The complainant corrected her tormer sta
ral particulars,,. especially transferring the date of tl
alleged assault from the 6th of November to the 19th of
October. The two women, also, altered their former
statements. Mr. Bartlett gave a long Recount of the
intimacy between himself and the complainant, which he
deicribed as perfectly voluntary on her part. He com-
plained of harsh and cruel treatment towards himself,
and said there were four or five gentlemen preient,
pointing to- Mr. P. Borthwick, the complainant's coun-
sel, with others, who, with the two women, had been
guilty of a conspiracy to extort from him the sum of
£7OO, and he would indict every one of them at the next
sessions of the Central Criminal Court. Mr. Borthwick
indignantly denied this charge, and called for its instant
substantiation or retractation. Neither, however, was
( attempted, and ultimately, the accused was again remand-
-1 ed. Mr. F. B. Hughes, short-hand writer, was present,
' and took full notes of the prbceedings.—On Thursday,
Mr. Owens, who appeared on behalf of the accused, ten-
dered evidence to prove that Miss O'Grady's mother had
been heard to declare, that as Mr. Bartlett would not
come to her terms and pay £lOOO to stop proceedings,
she would be revenged upon him, and, in fact, that the
case had been originally treated by the prosecutrix and
her friends as a civil, case ; but the magistrates 'veld such
proof to be inadmissible. Mr. Owens then addressed the
bench on behalf of his client, not attempting to deny the
moral blame that was attributable to him, but strongly
contending that there was nothing in the case to render
Mr. Bartlett the object of a criminal prosecution. Seve-
ral witnesses were examined on behalf of the defendant,
whose statements, however, threw no light on the sub-
ject. After some consultation between the magistrates,
the Chairman said—We have come to this conclusion,
that from the evidence there is but too much reason to
think and to fear that this unfortunate young woman has
been very ill used—that where every generous and manly
feeling should have been called forth to protect and de-
fend her, she has been sacrificed. It is not without doubt
in our own minds that we have come to it—that there is
not enough in the evidence to raise that fair and " pro-
bable presumption" that the legal crime of rape has been
committed by the prisoner—to induce us to send the case
for trial. The prisoner is therefore discharged, and this
' case is ended.—This announcement was received by the
crowd of spectators with audible marks of satisfaction,
which were immediately repressed by the officers of the
court. Mr. Bartlett having been formally discharged,
was here taken into custody by Mr. Keane on a civil pro-
cess for the debt for which he had been originally placed
in Horsemonger-lane. Ho was conveyed back to prison
under' proton,