The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1854-01-03 00:00:00

POLK'ff COURT-V_ ESTREDAY.

STEALING. OvratEAL..—William Lee, an old - man,. %VW
charged with stealing a small quantity of oatmeal from.
the side of a ship, .unloading in the docks, on • Saturday
afternoon. The prisoner, who looked very- squalid and:
miserable, was Irolliarg,ed with an admonition:-
ROBBERY FROM, DThE PERSON.—HeIen Carron was.
charged with stealing a watch from a man, past- middle•
age named Edward,Brennau. It appeared from the evi-
dence of a policeman that, about two o'clock that morn-
big, he saw the prosecutor and prisoner come- out of an
eery, and, knowingher to be a bad character, he stopped
them, and asked prosecutor if he had lost anything. On
examination, prosecutor discovered that he had lost his.
watch, which was found concealed on the prisoner, and he
took her into custody. The prisoner said the prosecutor
gave her the watch; as he had no money, and ' wished
to. treat her. She wa&senteneed to be imprisoned forthree
mouths.

STEALING- FROM 8-Rm.—Thomas Johnston, charged.
with stealing a silk handkerchief from a coat pocket in the,
cabin of the ship Geraldine on Friday last, was sentenced
to two months' imprisonment.
STEALING FROM. WAFTING RAILWAY Sm. TION:—..
Patrick Hegan and. Martin Conway were charged with
stealing a quantity of fastic-wood. It appeared that a large.
camntity of fustic-w.ood had. been sent from Evan, Cox and
Sons to the railway station at the end of last week for
transmission to Kidderminster, and that nineteen pieces
had been abstracted from the number sent to the railway
station. The prisoners were found with a billet of fustic-
wood similar to that sent to the railway station on Satur-
day last, and near to the place. They gave Madding
accounts of how they became possessed of it, antl,weTo'
sentenced each to twenty-one days' imprisonment.
HotsEßnEAKina.---John Phillips and -- Datuallaii
were charged with haming,.on Saturday afternoon, entered.
the house of Mrs. Williams, in Back Salisbury-street, Ever-
ton, and stealing the sum. of 4s. in silver and some copper
money, while Mrs. Williams. was absent. When apprehended
by detectives Grisenthwaiteand Eaton, two purses and other
articles, supposed to have been stolen, and two skeleton
keys, together with .a picklock, were found in their. pos-
session. They were. remanded for seven days.
STEALING A WAZOTk—Catharine Smith was charged
with the theft of a watch, which she sent a woman, with•
to• pawn at the shop of Mr. Simons, who, suspecting the
property not to have‘been honestly come by, insisted on
having the owner brought to him. For this purpo,se he
sent an officer along-with the woman who brought it to
his shop, and, after-some inquiries, the officer took Smith
into custody. She. said. she found the watch- lying
on the pillow of her bed, where she considered it had
been left by some one -of her numerous lodgers on Friday
night, and being in want of money on Saturday. morning
she had sent the watch. to be pledged, as stated.. She was
discharged, but the watch was ordered to be kept
PASSING A COXINTERFEIT CROwN PlEcE.—James
Jackson was charged with attempting to pass a base
crown piece, yesterday afternoon, at the shop of Mr. Ces-
son, in Falkland-street,. offering it for two penny worth of
rusberry cordial... On. the cheat being detected, the pri-
soner endeavoured to repossess himself of the_coin and
make his escape.; he was, however, secured,, and given
into custody. In defence, he said he had been drinking
on Friday and Saturday, and was drunk when he offered
the coin, which,„ however, he said he did not remember
anything about. He was remanded for seven. days.
ILLEGALLY BawniaG.—Elizabeth Strang was charged
with illegally pawning a pair of trousers, belonging to a
man named Fatrbairn, who, along with his wife, occupied
an apartment in the house of the prisoner- She was also
charged withaaking a watch, belonging to a man named
Strang, on the 23rd December, and pawning at the shop
of Powell, inScotlaud-road. The prisoner; did, not deny
pawning the Articles, but said she meant to redeem them.
She was ordered to pay a fine of 205., with.costs, on each
of the articles, or to suffer imprisonment for one month.
The watch„was ordered to be restored to the owner.
Ax ExuzfsivE. GUzzLE.—James Mioughlin, a young
man with.the appearance of a " swell down. on his luck,"
was charged with assaulting and threatening an elderly
woman who sells oysters at the corner of Queen-square, on
Saturday night last. It appeared that the prisoner had
ordered.a.nd swallowed three dozen of oysters, for which
proseentrix charged him the very moderate sum of ls.,
instead of paying which he beaania very abusive,
and pushed the poor woman about ;_ after which he pulled
out a knife and threatened to stab, her if she did not de-
sist from demanding her money. In extenuation, he said
he hadbeen drinking, and had Lost his luggage, which
had by mistake been forwarded to. Belfast, and he did not
know what he was doing. He was ordered to pay 405.,
or suffer one month's imprisonment. He said he could
not pay the money, and was removed in custody.

THE PANTOMIMES continue: their deserved attractions,
and, during the week have afforded much pleasure to
numerous hosts of youthful. pleasure-seekers, and also to
those of graver years, who, forgetting the irksomeness and
cares of business, sought to. while away an hour in inno-
cent mirth. At the Theatre-Royal, the introduction to
the pantomime
and
nhAsemaautnifyalatseetracnetriyousan,d ibneicnigdefun the comicrnts,ishedwith
much artistic
y smartlyamodtoeldofperactenslizcal hits
aidiationrshoTtbierEstcoef.
tarant thsefoprmee
time
out of mild allowed to- be legitimate. The scenery is in
many instances beautiful, and the concluding one is
many
enday
gorgeous in the highest degree. It opens with the review of
the British fleet at Spithead, is gradually changed to a
statue of Britannia,, with her accompanying emblems, at
the back of which is a brilliant star of the Order of the
Garter, which, opening up, unfolds a splendidly attired
living statue of her Majesty. This is a scene of great
brilliancy and, beauty. At the Royal Park Theatre,
the talents of the artist and machinist are also employed,
with admirable effect in seconding the efforts of
Columbine and Harlequin in producing a running com-
mentary on life's frivolities and laborious foibles.
In the Adelphi we also found a warm rivalry of the more
pretending houses, and in all greet a hearty desire to pro-
duce something worthy of the festive season.

ACCIDENT TO Ma. HEA.DI,I3I, M.P.—A painful acci-
dent occurred on Christmas-day to Mr. Headlam, M.P. for
Newcastle-upon-Tyne, who is staying with his father,
Archdeacon Headlam, at Wycliffe Rectory. The hon.
gentleman was going down stairs when his foot caught
some obstruction and he lost his balance ; in straggling to
recover it, he snapped the tendons of the knee-caps of
both legs. Surgical assistance was promptly obtained,
and it is expected that no permanent bad effects will ensue,
though he will probably be confined to his room for several
weeks.

COLLISION ON LUDGITE-HILL.--On Monday night, rg
collision of a frightful character happened at the foot of
Ludgate-hill. As a cab was proceeding past St. Paul's,
the horse took fright, and dashed down the hill at a terrific
pace. The cabman managed to keep the affrighted
animal clear of passing vehicles, till it came to the foot of
the hill, where the horse drove against the back of another
cab proceeding in the same direction, and the driver of
the foremost cab was thrown from his seat, and pitched
upon his head. It is feared that his injuries will term
urinate fatally. His cab was likewise greatly broken, and
and the teeth of the other horse stuck into the back;
panelling, making an indentation of at least an inch deep,
The horse in the hindermost cab was so much injured
that it was left lying at the corner of Farringdon-street
to be killed. The driver of this vehicle only saved 1315,.
life by clinging to the Royal Society's fire-escape,
the corner of New Bridge-street, Blackfriars ; and
worth, the conductor of the machine, having the presence
of mind to scotch the wheel of the cal)? no fqrther n2WI
chief took plaeo,

TUESDAY, SANUARY 3, 1854,

SHIPPING AND lIERC.A.NTILS

MISCELLANY.

NEWSPAPERS addressed to the British possessions of
Accra, on the West Coast of Africa, will be forwarded by
the contract mail packet free of postage, provided they
are posted in conformity with the general regulations
applicable to newspapers sent through the post to British
colonies and countries beyond sea. Upon each newspaper
addressed to Dutch Accra, a rate of 2d. must be paid in
advance.
THE At TRADE.—The quantity of freight
OH offer in London for the Australian colonies continues
very large ; and, as the brokers experience some difficulty
in obtaining a sufficient supply of tonnage to meet the
demand, the rates of freight have in consequence again
advanced, and there is the prospect of their going still
higher. The present weather prevents many vessels in the
Baltic, &c., from leaving, and the amount of available ton-
nage is consequently reduced.
SHIPBUILDING AT QUEBEC.—Twenty-four shipbuilders
have upon the stocks 28 ships, the smallest of which is
650 tons. Three of them are 1,750 tons, and only seven
are under 1,100. There is also a ship of 1,300 tons build-
ing at Point-aux-Trembles, and one of 650 at Kingston
IoW.). All are under the special superintendence of
yd's surveyor, Thomas Menzies, Esq., and most of them
are intended for the highest classification of colonial ships.
The aggregate tonnage of these vessels is about 35,000.—
Boston Advertiser.
FOREIGN GOODS UNDER BOND.—AD important con-
cession has been made by the commissioners of customs,
which will be a material convenience to the holders and
removers of foreign goods under bond to a considerable
extent, by the issue of an order dispensing with a separate
bond on the occasion of every individual removal of foreign
goods of any kind in bond from one port of the kingdom
to another, and allowing a general bond to be entered into
for the purpose, which is to cover all subsequent transac-
tions of this nature, under certain regulations specially
arranged and approved for the purpose.
DISCOVERY OF A NEW ISLAND OR Rocx.—From a letter
addressed by the commander of the American barque
Isabelita Hyne, to Messrs. S. B. Were and Co., Lloyd's
agents, we learn that he considers he has discovered an
island or rock, which is not laid down on the chart. He
says :—lt lies in lat. 26 42 N., long. 110 15 E., and is about
200 feet high and 100 feet base. I ran within three miles
of the rock, and no bottom. It looks black, having the
appearance of a bottle. I had good observance both for
chronometer and latitude and my chronometer I found
to be correct on -my arrival at Port Philip (New South
Wales). I will name it " Black Rock." This :rock I con-
sider very dangerous, if a vessel should strike it in a dark
night, as there is but little chance of getting on the rock,
and, if gained, there is not a vestige of anything of vege-
tation on it'; and the chance of getting off—no one would
ever think of a man being there, even should it be seen.
The nearest island to it lays N. 52 miles, called Ponofidin,
or St. Peter's, by J. S. Bubb's chart of 1850, and additions
to 1851.—Melbourne Argus, July 26.
A BRAZILIAN TARlFF.—Considerable changes in
the Brazilian tariff of customs datieshave for two or three
months past been anticipated,. the chambers having in
their 'last session passed a law .ronferrinfr power on the
imperial government to alter those duties ; and, though
the Commercial policy of the empire has from its first exist-
ence as an independent state been that of free trade, some
apprehension existed in our manufacturing districts that
the alterations thus authoriseli might, to some extent, be
.6f a restrictive or protective Tharacter. The last mail.
ihows the groundlessness of -such fears. A draft of the
'new tariff' has been publiiked, and so far from raising, it
'materially reduces, the duties on the principal articles of
'mportation from England,'in many cases as much as from
:25 to 30 per cent. The proposed alterations were, indeed,
•of so satisfactory a charaaer that one of the last acts eif
the English charge d'affaires, Mr. Jerningham, bcfbre
leaving Rio de Janeiro, was to press the Brazilian cabinet
at once to legalise the draft it had prepared, and Which
public opinion had fulirs%Auctioned. This ability to redace
duties arises from the flourishing state of the imperial
finances, and the continued existence of a considerable sur-
plus beyond the expenditure.

BUNNING DOWN THE BELL Bror.

RESPONSIBILITY OF PILOTS AND CAPTAINS.

AT the County Court, on Tuesday last, an ifetion was
brought by the Liverpool Dock Trustees aaninst Mr.
James Brown, of the firm of Messrs. Brown, Shipley, and
Co., and one of the owners of the United States-royal mail
steamer Baltic, for compensation for damages',occosioned
by that vessel haiing run down the Bell Buovßeacon, at
the mouth of the Channel, on the 14th of Apitflast. The
damages werelai'd at £3lO. 18s.; and, although the juris-
diction proper oTCounty Courts is confined to sums under
£5O, it appears' that suits for a still larger amount may be
brought in a certain form, with the mutual eonsent of the
litigants. Mr. Blair and Mr. Simon appeared for the
plaintiffs, and Mr. Aspinall and Mr. Raffles forthe defendant.
Mr. Agpinall applied for a postponemeuta the trial, on
the ground that a material witness, Alexarrikr WlCenzie,
the man on the look-out at the time of the accident, was
absent in America.

The application was resisted by Mr• Blair, who urged
that there had already been three postponements, and that
the plaintiffs might be prejudiced by further delay, as an
action was pending against them, to be tiled at the next
assizes, for injury alleged to have been trasioned to the
steamer Nimrod, by coming into •cdflision with the
sunken buoy.

The triai.Was ordered to proceed; but, -after some time,
it was discovered that the pilot, necessarily a material
witness, was also absent. His Honour, under these
circumstances, urged a postponement, *tiiuh counsel for
the plaintiffs-were evidently reluctant to accept. It even-
tually transpired that the pilot hail - made a written
statement oftlie facts, and the case proceeded, with the
understanding that this should ha read, and taken for
what it was,worth.

From the statement of the pilot, (John James Ellison,)
it appearid that on Wednesday, the 14th ,of April, about
seven minutos past two a.m., he was 'bringing the Baltic
into porton-A, after he thought he "had passed the Bell
Buoy,"he oiaered the helm to port a liftie, so as to keep
the fairwaY into the channel. Soon afterwards they came
into rtilliSim,with the buoy. After disengs.ging the ship,
she was put-round, and, on passing -theimoy, it was left
in the same -position as usually seen :; littiTne did not hear
the bill.

Mr. Blair,-•in addressing the court on'•the facts of the
case, said-that the Bell Buoy was of impottance, as lying
precisely ht tare line of two lights, which mike the fairway
up that Channel, and he should show Vat it was usual
for vessels to 'stop, when nearing it,tiil they caught the
bearings of those lights, and also to'tike soundings.
Therefore, to-glow the vessel was only a-common practice.
He contericlell that the buoy could eaSiVhsve been made
out, and that the captain had been gidlty of reckless
negligence in-not slowing the engines, nerd 'taking sound-
ings, instead•sf proceeding before it 'had-been made. He
maintained that the captain must haveArnewn that the
speed at IN.-Milt they were going, twelve mines an hour,
was a dangerous one, and that was a matter more within
the contr6l-of the captain than the pilot. 'He called wit-
nesses.

Lieutenant-Lord, surveyor of the port, thought that the
Baltic should have been going at that p6int Will diminished
speed--say for ten minutes before, at hi if-speed—and the
lead should have been kept going, at night time more es-
pecially. It would be the duty of master of the vessel
to keep the lead going, and he thought it should have
been kept going till the vessel passed the bar.
By the Judge--Witness should suppose,lrom the pilot's
statement,:that, %when the vessel's course was altered, she
was about half a mile from the Bell Buoy. The fact was
the pilot thought that he had passed the Bell'Buoy, while
he was not abreast of it. The mistake arose from an error
of judgment °irate part of the pilot.
Mr. John Jones, RN , assistant surveyor if 'Liverpool,
Charles F. Fox,,water-bailiff, Captain Evans, WIZ, acting
conservator of the navy, Mr. Thomas Hodgson, harbour-
master, and Capt. William Williams, gave corroborative
evidence.

Mr. Aspinall, lot -the defence, contended that there was
no case which could be sent to a jury. The 'defendant,
having a pilot onboard, was exempt, unless it WAS proved
that fault had •attathed to some of the crew or servants of
the defendant. He maintained that there was nothing
whatever to show that there was any such fault. The other
party seemed to-have wsumed that the &Ay of a pilot was
diminished, when a-commander like Captain Comstock was
acquainted with the-entrance to the port ; but he ,main-
tamed that the pilot's responsibility continued just the
same as if the captain 445 S a perfect stranger, and'the ves-
sel had never been hevebefore.

His Honour thought the responsibility of a captain
varied according to the 'amount of knowledge. The •real
question in the cause which would most probably come to
be decided was this--was the vessel coming in that
channel, on that night,. at that time of night, coming at
a reasonable speed when she approached the Belt Buoy., or
was she coming at such a speed that a person of reason-
able capacity in such affairs would have known that the
pilot was doing manifestly.wrtaig, or was guilty of mani-
fest incapacity in what he did ? He was not prepared to
say that the steamer was going manifestly wrong ; but
-the captain should have remonstrated, even if too late to
..,be effectual. For instance, Captain Comstock might have
said "You are near the. Bell Buoy; you had better
slow." Had he done so, could The answer of the pilot
have been that they were past the Bell Buoy ? then, per-
haps, Captain Comstock might eve relieved the owners
of-their liability.
Mr. Aspinall believed that such .was the case, and said
thatto prove what occurred, he shogld put Captain Com-
stock-into the box.
Captain Comstock stated that he knew about the time
they were approaching the Bell Buoy, that he asked the
r'jlat why he had altered the course, andte replied that he
had passed the buoy. Soon afterwards she came in colli-
sion with it. In reply to Mr. Blair, to further stated
that it was the usual practice to run the steamer into port
at full speed, unless they had fogy weather.
His Honour intimated that in a ease of se much im-
portance to the owners of steam-vessels, le should like,
before deciding, to have time to consider the evidence and
read the eases which had been quoted ; he sheath(, there-
fore, postpone his judgment till Monday next,

THE NEW YEAR.
0, happy may the New Year be—to each bring Joy and bliss;
Throughout that year 'may all our friends know r.ought hut
happiness.
And still, as comes to each ;the thought of what was done last

year,
The Coats must needs recur to mind which those good friends
bought here.
And now, when on the wintry breeze come cold, and frost

snd worm,
When, chilling from the icy blast, shrinks back the shitering
form,
'Tis now the Tailor's matchless skill becomes a thing of note;
Those friends in quick succession come to buy an Overcoat.
And many, too, o'er frozen ponds in freedom schoolboys play,
And(
Bass in clothes' destructive games their Christmas holy-
y.
To JOSEPH EA RP'S their parents come those garments to
renew,
Whose style can better be than his, whose cut can be more
true ?
ThAn_d. d
far away to distant climes, the Emigrants will speed—
" ell may the Emigrants, their ships, their captains, toe, ;tic-
cee—
But, ere they leave old Liverpool. to J. EARP'S Mart they hie
What Mart, to suit their many wants, can better goods supply?
A blythe New Year for one and all ! Whate‘er fate they see,
If J. EA RP'S wishes are fulfilled, their lot will happy be;
And oft he trusts his many friends in future years to meet,
444 sell t4nr4 many another coat, at Ng CJIIJAPJ-smENT