The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1854-04-18 00:00:00

THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD, AND GENERAL COMMERCIAL ADVERTISER.

A NOISELESS RAILWAY.—An American• paper states
that india-rubber sleepers have been laididown on part of
the New Jersey Central Railroad, and the• result is that
the carriages pass alone with a springy. elastic motion,
without noise or jolting.
TRADE IN SNAILS,—A curious branch of commerce is
acquiring considerable importance in Paris;_ namely the
trade in white snails. The principal sources of supply are
Champagne and Burgundy, in both of which provinces
there are several extensive snaileries, admirably arranged.
RAILWAY AcTs.—By a parliamentary, paper, just
printed, it appears that during the last session of parlia-
ment 106 railway acts were. passed, which, occasioned an
increase of mileage of 803 miles five chains, and an increase
of capital of £12,793,896.
OUR FLOCKS AND HERDS.—Might not an attempt be
made, with some promise of success, to acclimatise a few
breeds of useful animals, at present strange to England
and her neighbours ? The kangaroo, we have heard, is
excellent eating, if nothing else ; but there is another
animal, the lama, which not only excels the-kangaroo in
this respect, but is, besides, useful as a beast of draught
or burden, gives good milk, and possesses a hide and wool
of great value. The lama has already been introduced
into France ; and the idlers of the Bois de Boulogne are
occasionally entertained with the spectacle of a pair of
these animals, driven in harness by a quiet-looking middle-
aged gentleman. The lamas keep good pace at both walk
and trot, and seem easy to manage.
TELEGRAPHIC REPORTS.--A letter from Constantinople
says :—" We generally have a battle at Kalafat or a sortie
from Sebastopol every Wednesday, which is sufficiently
explained by the fact that Wednesday is the principal day
at the Bourse. The battle of Kalafat is usually supposed
to be brought across the country by a Tartar, who, covered
with dust and sinking with fatigue, rides up to the Porte;
while the operations in the Black Sea have been com-
municated by the master of a merchantman, who, strangely
enough, has just again weighed anchor from the Bospho-
rus. The captain of one vessel here has seen so many
Russian fleets as to have incurred the reprimands of his
superiors, since which time his range of vision has been
limited."

ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL.—The Tines points out the
desirability of procuring a really fine view of St. Paul's
Cathedral, which has been obtained by the construction of
New Cannon-street, in which we cordially join :—" Let as
many of our readers as may have the opportunity go down
to the city end of New Cannon-street, and judge for them-
selves. St. Paul's is at last to be seen, and certainly it is
one of the greatest sights that has been offered to Lon-
doners since the days of Wren. It would require but very
little more to open out the cathedral from one side in as
complete a manner.as the most enthusiastic lover of archi-
tecture could desire. New Cannon-street will then be
,one of the finest thoroughfares in any capital city-of
Europe, and may vie with the new street now in course of
construction in Paris. It is a shame that England should
lag behind in such a race, and that the more when we
possess the cathedral, and all that is wanted is to remove
the hoarding. This word exactly describes the office and
effect of the houses in St. Paul's Churchyard. More am-
bitious thoughts are cherished, in common, we believe,
with many others, but the erection of those Manchester
warehouses within a few yards of the cathedral has taken
away this hope, unless some providential fire or other for-
tunate accident should come to our assistance. Better
things we cannot accomplish, but at least let us have the
space which has just been opened free and unencumbered,
so that the old cathedral may at length disclose some por-
tion of its stately magnificence. Let the city improvers
pause, we implore them; until the verdict of the country
has been taken in the matter.—Builder.

—.
EXTRAORDINARY SCENE IN AN—
INDIANA (UNITED
STATES) COURT.—The Richmond Palladium gives the
following account of a very singular scene which occurred
on the opening of the court in Newcastle, Henry County,
Indiana :—At Newcastle we found quite an excitement
existing in regard to the presiding judge of this circuit,
the Hon. Judge Anthony. The court met on Monday
morning, but before proceeding to business a member of
the Henry County bar presented a petition, signed by
every member of the bar in that court, asking, in most
respectful terms, his Honour to resign his seat upon the
bench. The gentleman who presented the petition stated,
however, that in case he would not resign, the petitioners
had agreed among themselves that they would not do any
business in the court so long as he presided. Another
gentleman addressed the court, re-asserting the determi-
nation they had agreed to, and urged in very plain terms
the necessity of a resignation. Another followed, ex-
pressing the high personal respect he entertained for the
judge as a gentleman and a tavern-keeper, but justice
required him to say that he regarded the present incum-
bent of the bench as utterly unqualified for the place he
occupied, and he hoped he would resign. He was followed
by another, and he by another, and by another, until
every member had expressed his opinion as to his inca-
pacity, &c. With a nonchalance peculiar to his Honour,
he told the gentlemen of the bar that he would think of
the matter, and in the meantime would proceed to busi-
ness. ' He called the cases upon the docket, and every case
which had not been compromised was continued until the
next term of the court. Court was adjourned for dinner,
and in the afternoon a petition, signed by the jury, was
presented to the judge, asking him to resign. His Honour
asked time to consider, when the lawyers proposed to
him that, if he would agree in writing never to come to
that county again for the purpose of holding court, and
would send some one in his place, they would be content
to drop the matter, so far as they were concerned. The
judge again took the matter under advisement, and, we
aro told, finally promised never to come to that county
again for the purpose of holding court until he should be
sent for, and would either send some other judge to hold
the court or permit the judge of the Court of Common
Pleas to hold court in his stead. So ended the matter for
the present.
TURRET AS A LAND FOR EMIGRITION.—CIoseIy
connected with this subject is one which has, we believe,
received some attention at home. We are every year
sending to, the extremities of the globe bands of emigrants,
the outcasts of our crowded shores, or the hopeful pioneers
of a new state. But why should they expatriate themselves
to regions so distant that a letter only gives the intelli-
gence of what is long past, and to revisit their country
seems an idle dream ? Here, within a moderate distance
of their place of birth, is a land blessed with all that can
afford the means of wealth and happiness. Here the
emigrant does not find the blazing sun and sandy plains
of Australia, nor is he exposed for months to the insuffer-
able cold of a Canadian winter. He comes to a portion of
the earth, the geography and productions of which are
known; he establishes himself in the neighbourhood of
civilised nations, on the banks of the great sea which is
the historical centre of the earth; he is on the highway
between east and west ; by his exertions another genera-
tion may see the commerce of the Old World, from Cadiz
to Canton, take route of the Euphrates and the Persian
Gulf ; and he advances the interests of the mother country
by linking more closely to her those Indian dependencies
with which her greatness is bound up. Vast tracts of
country in the neighbourhood of the noblest harbours,
and watered by navigable streams, only want the hand of
the cultivator to yield an abundant harvest. The corn of
Rissia, the wool of Australia, and the wines of France
might be rivalled by the productions of Anatolia and
Syria, and the deserted cities of antiquity once more raise
their heads in the centre of a new race and a more durable
civilisation. _ _

ARBITRATION BILL.— Lord Brougham's Arbitration
Law Amendment Bill, now before the House of Lords,
contains various provisions for facilitating references to
arbitration. It proposes that any agreement to refer may
be made a rule of Court (with power to enforce the award
by process of attachment),,that it may be pleaded in bar
to any action or suit respecting the matter referred, and
that it shall not be revocable by one party without the
consent of the other, unless by leave of the Court. Wit-
nesses
may be ordered to attend before an arbitrator to be
examined; and he may proceed in the absence of a party
to the arbitration who neglects to attend. An arbitrator
may, and shall if required, state a matter of law in his
award, for the opinion of one of the superior courts.
Several technical defects in the law are to be remedied;
and the bill contains the three following important provi-
sions : —l. Any persons may by memorandum of reference
in writing under their hands, or the hands of their autho-
rized agents, refer any matter in difference between them
to the arbitration of the judge of any County Court, and
such judge shall hear and determine the matter. Pro-
visions are added for enabling the judge to hear the case
as he now hears an action or plaint, and his award is to
have the effect of a judgment on a plaint ; and if his
award direct a person to do any act or thing other than
the payment of money, and he refuse to do it, he may be
committed to the common gaol for a period not exceeding
forty days, such imprisonment not to operate as a satis-
faction or discharge from the obligation of performing the
award. 2. Either party in any cause may call on the
other party to show cause before the Court, or a judge,
why the matter in dispute should not be referred to arbi-
tration, and if it appears to the Court or judge that the
matter consists wholly or in part of matters of account,
such Court or judge may order a reference to an officer of
the court, a judge of a County Court, or an arbitrator,
agreed on by the parties. 3. At the trial of a cause, the
judge may order that any question relating to matter of
account be so referred.
IMMIGRATION TO TUE UNITED STATES.—The annual
report- from the State Department, which his been re-
cently communicated to Congress, contains a large amount
of valuable statistics, among which are the subjoined :
Arrivals in 1853: First quarter, 46,924; second ditto,
135,559 ; third ditto, 106,303 ; fourth ditto, 111,991.
Males, 236,596 ; females, 164,481—t0ta1, 400,777. Citizens
of the United States who have been abroad and returned :
Males, 28,572 ; females, 3,562—t0ta1, 32,134. Total of
arrivals : Aliens, 400,777 ; citizens, 32,134—excess of
aliens, 368,642. From Ireland : Males, 86,232 ; females,
76,249—t0ta1, 162,489. From Germany : Males, 83,510 ;
females, 57,125—t0ta1, 140,635. From England : Males,
16,908 ; females, 13,445—t0ta1, 30,353. Arrived at New
York, 294,818 ; at New Orleans, 43,028 ; at Boston, 25,929 ;
at Philadelphia, 19,211. Largest number second quarter,
-
135,559. In 1852: Total of arrivals 398,470, including
citizens. From Ireland, 158,462
Germany, 142,549. In
1851: Total of arrivals : Aliens, 379,828; citizens, 29,367—
total, 408,828. From Great Britain, 276,640 ; Germany,
72,602. 1853: Under five years of age, 29,858; under 20
years of age, 142,030. Merchants, 12,802; mechanics,
17,397 ; farmers, 48,432; labourers, 43,006,—Washington
Star.

CBONSTADT.—The following description of Cronstadt,
given in a Berlin journal, although incomplete, may not
be uninteresting at the present moment :—" Cronstadt is
situated on the island of Kosline, at the eastern corner of
the Finland Gulf. The island, about English miles
long, and proportionately narrow, is close to the mouth of
the Neva, and may be regarded as the port of St. Peters-
burg, whence it is, distant about 18 miles (English). The
town, which owes its foundation to Peter the Great, con-
ta ns about 30,000 inhabitants, and is intersected by the
Peter and Catherina Canals. On the northern side of the
island stand the powerful Alexander ramparts, constructed
of solid granite blocks and armed with the heaviest guns.
On the southern flank of this is the harbour, the channel
to which is defended by the citadel, erected on a rocky
foundation, and on the opposite side by the Kronslot for-
tress. Properly speaking, there exist three harbours for
ships of war within the island, with docks, arsenals,
build-
ing yards, and so forth. A fourth and smaller harbour
for mercantile vessels likewise exists within the defences.
The old Menschikoff palace has long been converted into
a foundry, arsenal, and school for pilots. The Marine
Hospital is arranged for 2,600 patients. In order to
diminish dangers that may occur. from fire, all wooden
constructions have be 1)11114 down and all superfluous
stores TQUIQTed:',