The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-09-14 00:00:00

be repaid by the counties. The whole is, I learn, to be ex-
pended in five years. A considerable sum has already been
paid in compensation and purchase of land, providing steam
dredging vessels, and other requisites preparatory to the com-
mencement of the principal works. Steps have also been
taken. in which the proprietors of the neighbouring lands
have co-operated with the commissioners, to preserve the
va:uable eel and salmon fisheries in the river, and to remove
obstructions to the navigation. A new wooden bridge, to re-
place the old one at Portumna, is also in progress of comple-
tion. The sum of £20,000 was allotted for the work. The
toll for a foot passenger on the old bridge was, until the Dublin
Steam Company became of late years the lessees, three-half-
pence, or about half a day's wages of a labouring man in these
districts. The company, however, reduced it nearly one-
half, which was a great boon to the peasantry, and the new
bridge will be toll free. Several new and large piers are to
be built, one of them at-Tarbert, on the Lower Shannon, and
another, or an addition to the present incommodious one, at
Kilrush. At the former place__the Dublin Steam Company
erected a pier some years ago, partly of wood, but it was last
year nearly demolished by the effects of a severe storm, and,
in anticipation of the new one, has not been repaired.
Private enterprise has meantime chalked out to a consi-
derable extent the course open to the government, by open-
ing out—at great expense, and to the infinite gain of the
public—an advantageous traffic by steam and canal boats on
several long lengths of the river. On the Lower Shannon,
the Dublin Steam Company (who opened the navigation by
steam some years ago) run two fine steam-ships, the Erin
and the Garryowen, each upwards of 300 tons, between Li-
merick and Kilrush, touching at Tarbert (the most direct
route to Killarney) and at other stations on the river, each
nine miles apart. They have also canal-boats on the Upper
Shannon to Killaloe ; thence to Portumna they navigate
Lough Dearg in the Lansdowne steamer of 100 horse power,
and the Shannon thence to Shannon harbour and the Dublin
canal in the Avenmore, a steamer of 32-horse power, pecu-
liarly constructed to pass the narrows and locks where por-
tions of canal are cut to avoid the falls. From Shanno n
harbour another of their steamers proceeds up the river as
far as Athlone, in the heart of Ireland ; and when the navi-
gation is opened out, steamers will doubtless be put on, pro-
ceeding to the source of the river in Lough Allen, and even-
tually, in all probability, to one or more of the seaports in
the north of the island.
Such is an outline of the Shannon, which, though brief
and consequently imperfect, may yet serve to draw favoura-
ble attention to that noble river. Considering, however, its
great extent, and the costliness of the improvements required
to bring its superior advantages into full play, proportionately
with those of many of our minor English rivers, I am not so
sanguine as to assume that the grant recently made (barely
equal to the expenditure in the formation of the 32 miles of
railway between Liverpool and Manchester) will be suffi-
cient; but it is to be hoped the judicious outlay will so far
develope the advantages and profits of the undertaking, as
will place out of difficulty the raising of any additional capi-
tal that may be requisite to the attainment of that grand de-
sideratum.
I may here remark, as a circumstance which I consider
highly creditable to the government, of whatever political
opinions the administration that counselled it may have been,
that a general survey of the whole island of Ireland has been
going on for some years, and is now approaching to com-
pletion. So imperfect were all our former maps and plans,
in the subdivisions, geological structure, quality, and precise
boundaries of the land, that it might be said the monarch
had but an imperfect idea of the realm subject to his (or her)
sway. About 700 competent individual have been employed
in the work simultaneously in three or four counties, under the
superintendence of distinguished officers. Clare, Limerick,
Kerry, and another county, alone remained to be completed,
including the Lower Shannon. The land, to low water mark,
is surveyed by the Royal Engineers, under Captain R. J.
Stothard, of that corps ; "the bed of the river, banks, &c., by
the Sappers and Miners, under Lieutenants olff and
Beechy, R.N. I was politely shown the map of the Lower
Shannon and its banks, by Captain Stsothard, who resides
temporarily in Limerick. It consists of no fewer than 26
large sheets, on .a scale of five feet to the mile, and is drawn
with great accuracy and beauty, the smallest cottage, and
even outhouse and tree being distinctly laid down. There is
also a fine plan of the city of Limerick, on a scale of six
inches to the mile, and so minutely defined, that every house
is distinguishable. These will all be finely engraved.
(Trip from Limerick to Kilrush, by the Shannon, in my
next sketch.)

UNUSUAL CIRCUMSTANCE.—It is a Curious fact that
there are at the present moment two boroughs in England,
both seats for which are vacated in consequence of the ex-
members having accepted office under the new government
of Sir H. Peel. These are—l. The borough of Huntingdon,
whose late members, Sir F. Pollock and Col. J. Peel, have
respectively been appointed attorney-general and surveyor-
general of the ordnance. The other borough is Marlborough,
the late members for which, Lord Ernest Bruce and the
Hon. H. B. Baring, have respectively been made vice-
chamberlain and a lord of the treasury. Marlborough and
Huntingdon are therefore, for a brief interval, virtually
placed in schedule A.
SINGULAR •INTRUSION.—EarIy on Friday morning, a lad
was exercising a grey horse in the Crescent-mews, Minories,
when the animal became restive, and the boy was making an
effort to quiet the horse, when it suddenly turned its head in
the direction of a staircase leading to rooms over a stable
occupied by a gentleman's coachman and family. The door
was open, and the horse sprung up the stairs with the boy on
his back, and entered the sleeping-room of the coachman,
whose wife was in bed. She was greatly alarmed at the
entrance of the strange visitors, and called aloud for assit-
ance. A number of persons entered the building, but the
horse would not retreat by the stairs, and after some time it
was led through a door-way into a hayloft adjoining. With
some difficulty the animal was secured by ropes and brought
down a plank without any injury.—Morning Herald.
An accident of a distressing nature occurred on the 28th
ult., in Sturminster Marshall, by which two respectable
families have been plunged into'great distress. It appears
that Frederick Joseph Belcher, Esq., a fine young man, 20
years of age, an ensign of her Majesty' GOth regiment of
foot, who was staying for a short time on a visit at the house
of his uncle, Charles Parke, Esq., of Lower Henbury, was
induced, by the fineness of the weather, on the day above
mentioned, to bathe, in company with Frederick Fane, Esq.,
a relative of the late General Fane, in the river Stour. After
being in the water some time, he was observed to sink. No
assistance could be immediately rendered him, and consider-
able time elapsed before the body was taken out of the water,
when, notwithstanding every exertion was made by the
medical gentlemen of Wimborne, who were quickly on the
spot, life was found to be quite extinct.— Sherbo-ine Jonrnal.

LIVERPOOL AND MA:,

WIIESTER RAILWAY

FROM L'POOL TO 7.IANCIIESTER. FROM MANCHESTER TO 1.91.00 L.
First Class Second Class First Class Second Class •
Morning.. 7 0 Morning - Morning.. 730 Morning
945 „ 9 0 „ ..10 0 „
11 45 „ 11 15 ~ ..11 45 „
a 30 Aftern. 2 0 Aftern. .. *2 45 Aftern.

8 45
1 0 „
12 0 Aftern
4 45 5 30 PP 5 0 .. 5 30 „
71 15 Evening .. 7 15 Mixed l I 7 15 Evening .. 7 15 Mixed
Stop only at Newton & Prkside J Stop only at Newton & Prkside I
* Except on Saturdays, When this Train does not start till Three
ON SUNDAYS.
First Class Second Class I First Class Second Class
8 0 Morning.. 7 0 Morning I 8 0 Morning.. 7 0 Mornin
4 45 Aftern. .. 5 so Aftern. 5 0 Aftern. .. 5 30 Aftern.
7 15 Evening.. 7 15 Mixed 7 15 Evening .. 7 15 Mixed
Stop only at Newton & Prksidc I Stop only at Newton & Prkside
TO PRESTON AND WIGAN.
PROM LIVERPOOL. PROM MANCHESTER.
8 45 Morning.. Mixed 9 0 Morning.. Mixed
11 0 „ First Class 11 15 First Class
2 30 Aftern. .. Second Class 2 45 Aftern. .. Second Class
445 „ .. Mixed I 5 0 „ .. Mixed
7ls „ .. First Class I 7 15 „ First Class

7 0 Morning.
5 0 Afternoon
First Class. I 715 Evening..
TO LANCASTER.
YKOM MANCHESTER
9 0 Morning.... Mixed,
11 15 „ .... First Class,
2 45 Afternoon.. Second Cla:
5 0 „ .... Mixed.
TO BOLTON.

First Class

FROM MANCHERTER.
9 0 Morning.... First Class.
11 15 ~ • •
2 45 Afternoon .. Second Clas
5 30 • • • • Pt

Second Class