The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-11-15 00:00:00

r JUVENILE DEMORSLISATION.--At the Birkenhead
Police-court, on Thursday, Mary Mellon was charged with
stealing a small quantity of coals belonging to the Brymbo
Canal Company. It was stated that a general practice
prevailed in the township of mothers sending out their
children for the express purpose of stealing coals. Mr.
Bramah, solicitor for tlie Birkenhead dock trustees, stated
that the attention of the trustees had been called to the
evil, and they would be glad to co-operate with the coal-
owners for the purpose of preventing the sad demoralisa-
tion of the children, who were absolutely sent by their
parents into the dock yards to steal. The mothers of the
children had been seen on the watch, whilst their offspring
were plundering. The boys were furnished with a canvas
bag, and the girls with a strong apron ; and it was not
only a daily but 'an hourly occurrence to see these children
making off along the Corporation-road from the dock
yards, with as much plunder as they could early, or they
sometimes hid their booty under the custom-house depot.
The magistrate said that the bench could not sit there
hearing continually cases of small quantities of coal being
stolen, unless the owners adopted measures to protect
themselves. It was a serious case of robbery, and they
could not fill their prisons with young prisoners.—Mr.
Bramah hoped that Mr. Hancock and others would
pay some attention to the subject, and endeavour to
meet the trustees in doing something essential to pre-
vent the evil.—The Rev. Mr. Fielding : It must be so,
for really it is demoralising.—The subject then dropped,
and the prisoner (against whom there had been no previous
complaint) was discharged with a caution.

SHIPPING AND MERCANTILE
MISCELLANY.

THE SPLENDID SHIP MILES BARTON, belonging to
Millers and Thompson's Golden Line, has arrived at Port
Philip, after a passage of 82 days.
THE SEA SNAKE was on Thursday towed out to sea,
on her first voyage to Adelaide. She has been fitted with
the patent improved square sails, invented by Mr. Norman.

TILE SHIELDS SEASIEN met those of Sunderland on
Wednesday. The latter adhered to their resolution not
to strike, and, as the seamen of other ports sided with
them, and the Tyne men were left quite unsupported, it
is believed that the great body have given up the idea of a
turn-out.

SCREW STEAMER QUEEN.—This beautiful little steamer,
after a run of 33 days from Cork, arrived at Bahia on the
2d October, and sailed again for Melbourne on the 16th
October. The Queen sprung her mainmast about 7th
September, in a severe gale, and experienced head winds
most of the passage. She takes Captain Graham and pas-
sengers of the Breadalbane steamer on to Melbourne,
which vessel was condemned at Bahia.
LA.uNcrt.—On Saturday week, there was launched from
tne shipbuilding yard of Messrs. Smith and Rodger, near
Govan, on the Clyde, a fine iron screw steamer
named the City of Sydney. The dimensions of the
vessel are as follows :-760 tons measurement, 180
horse-power, 200 feet keel and forerake, 274 feet breadth
of beam, and 174 feet depth of hoid. This ship is the first
of seven steam vessels at present building on the Clyde
intended for the Australiasian Steam Navigation Company
of Sydney, for the inter-colonial and coasting trade of
Australia, in addition to nine vessel already built. These
steamers, when completed, will increase the compaay's
fleet to sixteen steamers.

THE MARCO POLO sailed on Wednesday for Melbourne,
under command of Captain M`Donnell, late chief officer.
She had on board 620 passengers, a heavy cargo, and a
considerable amount of specie. The crew, including
stewards, &c., number 79, so that altogether the number
of souls on board is 700. Two of the most powerful of
the Steam-Tug Company's vessels had been engaged to
tow her out of port, and proceeded along with the ship.
In order that there may be no detention, and that this
celebrated clipper may have a fair chance of again per-
forming the voyage in first-rate style, the two steam-tugs
were to aecompany her until she arrived off Cork. The.
Marco Polo carried a large quantity of letters and news-
papers. . .

FISHING STEAMER.—An iron steamer, intended for
the " Deep Sea Fishing Association of Scotland," has been
launched on the Clyde. She is about 100 feet in length,
and 16 feet beam : her measurement about 100 tons, and
her engines are 30-horse power. The propelling power,
on a totally new principle, by the patentees, our talented
townsmen, Messrs. Ruthven, requires neither paddles nor
screw. One important feature of the invention is that,
by a simple move nt, the vessel can be either stopped,
turned, or backe ' almost instantaneously, without re-
quiring the steam to be let off or the machinery stopped,
which, with its other advantages, will certainly tend to
create a complete revolution in steam navigation. The
vessel was built by the Messrs. Ruthven, and is named
the Enterprise.—G/asgoio Herald.
ROME.—Heavy losses have been sustained by the owners
of three Birkenhead vessels sent to Civita Vecchia, owing
to the vexations quarantine regulations enforced, and the
very limited amount of lazaretto accommodation. A cor-
respondent, writing from Rome on the 31st Oct., says :
" This state of things has just been complicated more than
ever by the arrival of a third British vessel, the schooner
Doctor, Captain Lobb, from Liverpool, which came into
port on the evening of the 29th current, and obliged the
British vice-consul, Mr. Lowe, to address a despatch to
the papal delegate of Civita Vecchia, on the serious loss of
time and expense which must necessarily follow. The
goods per Candidate now in the lazaretto cannot be got
ready for free pratique for three weeks to come. This
period, therefore, will have to elapse before the discharge
of the Doctor can commence, if indeed ilia Doctor's
patience holds out so long, otherwise there is no alterna-
tive save that of sailing to Leghorn, where, although
quarantine exists, at any rate there is no want of the
localities necessary for the purifying operations ordered by
the authorities.
Art UNKNOWN WRECK Asuous.—We learn from a
letter, dated Tobermory, November 8, that a brig, appa-
rently about 400 tons burden, was cast ashore bottom up-
wards, and settled down on a rock, on the Wednesday
preceding, between the islands and Gunna, win the West
Highlands. At ebb tide the wreck is left ary, but, al-
though she has been carefully scanned, no name can be
seen on the ship. nor have any papers as' yet been found
which might enable Lloyd's agent to identify her, and
trace the owner of the ship or cargo. She is laden with
deal and sawn timber, is evidently of British build, and,
from the growth on the sides and bottom, appears to have
been under water for several months. The cargo extends
right fore and aft, from which it is pretty evident that the
cabin must have been on deck; but, as we have said, the
keel being uppermost, this has not been positively ascer-
tained. The hull is quite entire, and there is little doubt
that she has foundered, and that all hands have perished.
Lloyd's agent is doing his best to save the cargo, and has
broken through the bottom for this purpose ; but the work
is difficult, for the ship lies on nearly the wildest and most
dangerous part of the west coast.—Shipping Gazette.
THE PERSIA.—This case was brought before the Ad-
miralty Court on Friday. This was a salvage suit, and
was instituted by Mr. Hugh Williams, a pilot, and the
masters and crews of five smacks, consisting of 34 hands,
to procure remuneration for services rendered to the Per-
sia on the 11th of July last. The Persia of 2,200 tons,
timber laden, from Quebec to Liverpool, ran stein on
upon the rocks, about half a mile to the southward of an
inlet called Port Griffith-creek, on the South-west coast of
Holyhead. The weather was represented to be very thick
at the time, and the wind, which was from the S.S.W.,
although light, occasioned a heavy ground swell. Mr.
Williams naving heard of the occurrence, proceeded
over-land, and found her, as he alleged, upon two ledges
of rocks, on which she was rolling heavily. His services
were, in the first instance, refused, and also those of a
steamer, the master stating that he had telegraphed to
Liverpool for four steam tugs, which would arrive by two
p.m., in time to get her off that tide. He was afterwards
induced to employ Mr. Williams and the other salvors,
who succeeded in getting her into a place of comparative
safety until the tugs arrived, which was not until the
evening. The value of the property was £17,337, and a
tender was made of £250, which the salvors refused.
The Judge, bearing in mind the large amount of the pro-
perty rescued, was of opinion that £250 was insufficient,
and allotted £4OO.

TILE SAPPEtinz, a fine new ship of 1,140 tons burden,
commanded by Captain Bird, shipped a valuable cargo a
few weeks ago at the Broomielaw, Glasgow, and sailed on
Saturday week for Melbourne, having 110 passengers on
board. At midnight of Friday she was to the southward
of the Copeland Lights. The night was very dark, but
the weather was not what a seaman would call bad. The
position of the ship was then quite well known to the
captain, who ordered her to be hove round in a tack off
the land, but in doing so she missed stays, and, in spite
of every effort to wear her, went ashore, broadside on,
about twenty minutes past twelve o'clock, at what is called
Barrel Isle Rock, Bar Point, about a mile north of Bally-
halbert, and about twenty-two miles to the south-east of
Belfast. About au hour after the ship struck the main-
mast went overboard, and she was still thumping on the
rocks ; and about three o'clock a.m. the foremast was cut
away, and the ship eased a good deal, and became firmly
embedded in the rocks. As the tide receded it became
apparent to those on board that there was every chance of
escape ; but little was done till daybreak, when boats
came alongside from the shore, and assisted in landing the
passengers, first on a rock, and thence to the shore. A
good deal of luggage was also landed on the rocks ; but
it is feared that little of the cargo will be saved, while
the vessel is likely to go to pieces. When she begins to
break up, however, a good deal of the cargo may be
floated ashore. _ _

THE BURNED Snir VICTORIA.—The burning of the
American ship Victoria, last Friday, furnishes a lamentable
illustration of the incompleteness of the machinery that
exists for the management of the Clyde. This fine vessel
left the Broomielaw well and apparently safe—so much so,
that the captain did not think it necessary to accompany
her down the river—and in an hour afterwards she was on
fire, thrown adrift by the tug•that had taken her three
miles from the quay, and left to her fate—there being no
one to assist the mate and second mate excepting the crew,
who were composed of men of all nations, and many of
them not speaking our language. Had there been a proper
official belonging to the Trust empowered to take charge
of a vessel under such circumstances, he might have had
her towed back to a spot opposite Stobcross, betwixt the
two slips, where there is nothing that she could have done
harm to, and there she might have had the water engines
-belonging to the several insurance companies to play upon
her, and by such means have been so far saved. The fire, up
till six o'clock, was confined to her after part, and the
wind being east, this could have been accomplished with
the greatest ease. As it was, with no one to give a few
orders, she was allowed to perishr and with her some
thousand pounds' worth of value, belonging to our cousins
across the water. But this is not all ; after being burned,
it seems there is even no one authorised by the Trust to
take any cognisance of her as she now lies at Whiteinch,
and she is, in consequence, still to be seen lying with part
of her masts and rigging floating around her, and part
lying in the fields near her. In the position, however, in
which she is now placed, nothing could be easier than to
get all the pig iron and machinery taken out of her, and
the navigation cleared ; but there is no one to do this in
the shape of a Trust official. The consequence is, that
More than likely her sides will fall away, and the iron
cargo slipping into the channel of the river, the navigation
will be obstructed. To clear this, it will then require
hundreds, where tens of pounds might suffice, and this
expense, we presume, must be borne by the Trust.—Paisley
Advertiser.