The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-03-27 00:00:00

POLICE Ii\r_TI,LIO.EN..GT.--TUESDAY.

JOHN HODGSON r. THE BOLD-STREET CLUB.
Mr. Richard Shaw, secretary to the Liverpool Friendly
Society; established in the:year 1811, eonimonly called the
Bold-street Club, of which the Rectors of this town are, with
Mr. Ripley, joint-trusteesi appeared before Messrs. Rushton
and Booth, on behalf of the above society, to answer the com-
plaint of John Hodgson, one, of the members, who alleged
that he had been improperly excluded, and that certain ar-
rears of an allowance which he had claimed during confine-
ment, in consequence of an accident, had not been paid to

Mr. Shaw, when called upon by the magistrates' clerk,
produced the rules ..o.C.the society, and directed attention to
the 17th and 30th articles.. Mr. Shaw, further, admitted the
former membership of the claimant, and the accident.
Mr. John Hodgson stated, that, on the 20th day of Feb.
last, he was employed in taking in a lot of oil for Mr. Max-
well, *hen, by.sonie means or other, he lost his hold of the
package which he was directing, and fell upon the parapet.
He was taken up and carried home, (as we understood,) and
placed in the kitchen. He was hurt about the knee. Upon
taking up his trowsers to examine the extent of the injury, he
saw a :wound, into which he could have laid his two fingers.
He became insensible, and his wife, while. he was in that
state, ran for Mr. Evan Thomas, the bone-setter, who visited
him immediately, and did what he considered necessary to
the injured limb. lie had . been put to bed, and when he
came properly to himself he considered it best to send for the
club doctor. Accordingly Mr. Lockwood was sent for. When
he arrived he said, " Well, Hodgson, what has happened
now ?" --Witness told him how the accident had occurred.
Mr. Lockwood turned down the bed-clothes, and, upon see-
ing the bandaged limb, he said,—Who has done this ?—who
put these splints on ? Witness told him that Evan Thomas,
the bone-setter, had been sent for; upon which Mr. Lock-
wood turned round, and appeared to be going away. He
(Hodson) said,—l hope, Doctor, you are not offended that
Mr. Evan Thomas has been here. Mr. Lockwood said,—
Yes, he was greatly offended that a quack should have been
called in. Witness replied, that he was a very clever quack.
Upon which Mr. Lockwood replied,—lt may be so, but you
have, in consequence, lost your club money. Mr. Lockwood'
had refused to sign his weekly note, and, in consequence of
his (witness's) representations, a board had since been sum-
moned, but the board refused to admit his witnesses. All
his applications had been useless, and at length he (witness)
had thought it best to apply to the magistrates to decide the
point.

Mr. Hodgson called up his witnesses, when Mr. Shuttle-
worth observed, that all that they could prove had been ad.
mitted.

Mr. Rushton read aloud the 17th rule as follows: " That
no person shall be entitled to any relief from the society till
he shall have been a member, &c., nor shall any member be
entitled to any relief who refused to have his case examined
by any physician or surgeon appointed by the directors, &c."
Mr. Rushton said, it did not appear that Hodgsof had re-
fused to have his case examined. He took the evidence to
be, that Evan Thomas had been sent for, that he dressed
the wound, and that when the regular surgeon was sent for,
the limb was offered to his inspection, and that he would not
examine it. At least that was the state of the evidence at
present ; he was ready to hear the testimony of the surgeon
if he were in court.
Mr. Lockwood, surgeon, was sworn.—Mr. Lockwood
stated, that on the day in question Hodgson's wife .called
upon him about a quarter to three o'clock. He was with
Hodgson before a quarter past three. He asked him what
was the matter with him, and he said his knee was dislocated.
He (witness) turned over the bed clothes, and on seeing
the bandages, he asked Hodgson who had been called in.
He replied that Evan Thomas had been sent for. He (Mr.
Lockwood) told that he could not act with him, and that it
would be necessary for him to give up Evan Thomas, or give
up him (Mr. Lockwood.) Hodgson replied, that he would
not give up Evan Thomas. Mr. Lockwood upon that told
him that he would forfeit his club-money.
Hodgson handed in the following certificate from Mr.
Evan Thomas : " This is to certify that Mr. John Hodgson
is under my care in consequence of broken cup of his knee
since the 20th of February, and that he is unable to follow
his usual application. March 24, 1840, Liverpool.
(Signed) EVAN Tnomas, Bone-setter."
Mr. Rushton said, there had been a point of professional
etiquette in the case, which he knew to be usual. It did not, a
however, appear before them that Evan Thomas had not
diploma. That point did not appear to him at present to
have anything whatever to do with the case. The knee had
been submitted to the inspection of the surgeon, and there
was no evidence to show that Hodgson had refused to allow
the surgeon of the society to examine the case.
Mr. Shaw referred the magistrates to the 30th rule, a por-
tion of which Mr. Rushton read. The parts which bore on
the case were as follows .--` There shall be as many snrgeons
appointed to the society as the board shall think fit, &c. No
gentleman shall he eligible to be a medical attendant or sur-
geon of this society who does not possess a diploma as sur-
geon, or who is not licensed to practice according to the
Apothecaries' Act. The medical officers shall attend the
sick members of the society in their respective districts as
assigned by the board. Those who are incapable of attend-
ing, from sickness or lameness, at the surgeon's house, shall
be visited at their houses as soon as possible, (either
by himself or some sufficient assistant,) after the delivery of
the note to visit, and as often after as the case may require ;
and all such members who shall not be visited within three
hours after the delivery of the note, or, in case of sudden sick-
ness in the night time, without a note,.shall be at liberty to
employ any other medical man at the charge of the surgeon.
The medical officers shall furnish the sick members with
good and proper medicines, when prescribed by themselves
or their assistants, sign the sick members' weekly notes prior
to their being presented for payment, whether attended by
themselves or any other physician or surgeon, &c."
Mr. Rushton said, it was certainly mentioned that no per-
son was eligible but one who had a diploma. He did not
know whether Evan Thomas had a diploma or not.
Mr. Shaw—Evan Thomas has not any diploma.
Mr. Rushton—How do you know? cannot take that as
evidence. This is a question involving the rights of this
member, and the rights of all the members. (To Hodgson)
—You showed the surgeon your knee ?
Mr. Hodgson—l sent for the doctor, and showed him my
knee, and he looked at it himself, and then said I had lost
my club-money for employing Evan Thomas.
Mr. Rushton---That is no refusal. I do not say how the
case would stand if Mr. Lockwood averred that the case had
been improperly treated—or if the man had been longer on
the club, in consequence of the treatment, than he ought to
have been. But this has not been shown.
Mr. Shaw—Mr. Lockwood is appointed by the directors.
When the case was brought before the board, as he (Hodg-
son) has mentioned, the board told him that his payments
should commence from that day if he would conform to the
rules, and give up Evan Thomas, but he refused.
Mr. Lockwood—And 1 could not possibly act with Evan
Thomas. He has no diploma to practice at all; therefore.,
professional etiquette prevents me from acting with him.
are bound by oath to put down quackery of everst; kind.
and in will stand up for the profession in every way,
deter-
mined not to give way one inch. I cannot do it..f
be pointed out by the profession as a black sheep
bean
I sdid.hou d
Mr. Rushton—This is a poieuttobte
o
complainant, and I cannot se
because he sent for this man, and— ceex excluded
dt eh de
I say, that he should be
:°ll:eleshimouplodrt
Mr. Rushton—lt does not appear,ntor, and because he chose
Mr. Hodgson—He was sent for while I was insensible.
excluded because
not refuse to let the regular Burg
serious injury,. particularly as it
to remain under hTishtormeaatsmwenast sent
afterwards,
attend
mlo,raigndasseheetdhiadt
it was really a case of.
not improperly treated. (To Hodgson)
te well ?
you—qul
—How are
atroe have been.
Mr. Hodgson"-Very nearly quite well. I never had any-.
thing that got well as soon. 1 don't wish to stop on the club
any longer. I shall attend to my business. I am inertly

seeking to recover the arrears of the allowance which ought
to have been paid to me while I was in bed.
Mr. Rushton--This is a question which involves some
grave points touching the rights of members. In the first
place, there is the professional etiquette, respecting which
proressional gentlemen are, I know, extremely delicate ; but
it cannot be left*out of view, that the patient bad nothing to
do with that etiquette, ,and perhaps knew nothing of its
existence.

Mr. Shaw put in certain records of cases, in which persons
had been excluded when they had persisted in employing in-
dividuals with whom the regular surgeons could not co-ope-
rate. It appeared that Mr. Hodgson had been served with.
one or more copies of these records.
Mr. Rushton said, if Hodgson, knowing of these cases.
had refused to dismiss Thomas, it might'alter the aspect of
the case. It was another point for consideration, however,
that he had not refused to submit his wound to the exawina-
tion of Mr. Lockwood, but had tendered it for such exami-
nation. The case was not quite clear, and he would take till
the following 'day to consider it. He had an impression,
knowing the rules on the subject, that it might appear that
the refusal to dismiss the person who was first called in, was.
in reality tantamount to .a refusal to have the case examined
by the regular surgeon. There was not, however, any direct
act of refusal on the part of the man, and' he was not prepar-
ed to say that Evan Thomas was not a very good bone-setter.
Mr. Lockwood knem that there were in this country some
irregularly educated persona, who were very famous for their
skill in that department, and that some persons had treat
confidence in their mode of treatment. This individual, for
aught he knew, might be a very good one.
Mr. Lockwood said he knew that such was the case, but
he should, under similar circumstances, act again in the same
way. _ _

Mr. Rushton promised to give his decision on the case on
Wednesday.

On Wednesday, accordingly, Mr. Rushton gave his deci-
sion. He said, that having considered the case, he was of
opinion that Hodgson was entitled to the allowance ; but he
wished it to be distinctly understood that this decision was
not given on the general principle, but from the peculiar cir-
cumstances of the case only.

WEDNESDAY.
EXCISE INFORMATIONS.
A number of officers in the Excise appeared to prefer
several informations against parties for breaches of the Ex-
cise laws.
John Robert Jones was fined in the mitigated penalty of
£5 for selling ale without a licence. An excise officer had
gone into the hou'se of Jones and purchased there a glass of
ale, for which be paid lid.
An information was laid against John and Margaret Regan,
who keep a public house, for having in their possession
smuggled whiskey. On the 14th of November, an officer
went to the house of the defendants to examine the stock.
. On going into the bar, he saw Mrs. Regan doing something
which excited his suspicion e he. found that she was attempt-
ing to hide something beneath her petticoats, and that " some-
thing " turned out to be on examination, three stone bot-
tles containing whiskey. She declared that her husband
knew nothing of them, and that they had been left there by
a woman in order that he might see the whiskey, and if he
chose, make a purchase: The stock was below permit
amount. Mr. Rowlands, the officer who made the seizure,
said that Regan was a poor and honest man. John Regan
was acquitted,- his wife was convicted, but her penalty was
mitigated to the lowest point in the power of the magistrate,
namely, £25.
Henry Child appeared to answer an information, charging
him with having continued to sell beer after the expiry of
the license granted to him. An excise officer, on the 25th of
November, went into the house of the defendant, and pur-
chased a pint of beer, for which he paid 3d. The license
whice had been granted to Child expired in November, 1838.
The defendant said that he had not the least knowledge that
he had been doing wrong. The officers came to his house
every day, and if he had been doing wrong, it was 'their
duty to have told him. The magistrate pointed out to him
that his license expressly mentioned that his power to sell
expired on the day mentioned. He was convicted and or-
dered to pay the penalty of £5.
An information was laid against Petrick Fearon, a fireman
on board one of the Irish steamers; for having in his poses-
sion smuggled whiskey. An officer stated, teat for reasons
which it was unnecessary to mention, he believed that
Fearon was in the habit of bringing over whiskey from Ire-
land, illegally, and unshipping it. .He accordingly went to
Fearon, on tile 11th of the present month, told him of his
suspicion, and of his intention to search his (Fearon's)
house, and asked the defendant. to accompany him (the
officer) thither. Fearon did so, and in the room occupied by
him the officer found jars and bottles containing two and a
half gallons of whiskey, the greater part of which was con-
cealed under the bed. He had previously acknowledged to
another officer that he bad in his posessimetwo bottles. The
defendant was convicted in the penalty of £25.
Michael Murphey appeared to answer two informations,
charging him with having a still for illicit distillation, and
with having attempted to frustrate the objects of the excise
officers by breaking a bottle containing whiskey. On the
21st of December last two officers went to the house of Mur-
phy, and searched it. In the cellar he found a still, thirty-
six gallons of wash, a quart of low wine, nine tubs, and a
worm. The house had been let by Mr. Jones, the agent of
the landlord, to Murphy. When the officers went into the
house, Murphy took up a bottle, which he broke by per-
mitting it to fall on the hearth stone, and then said, " There,
that will save a bit of fine; I am an old hand, you see."
An officer tasted the fluid which had been contained in the
bottle, and found it to be whiskey. The magistrate informed
the cunning Irishman that instead of having " saved a bit of
a fine," he had made his case much worse. By breaking the
bottle, to attempt to avoid detection, he had forfeited to the
queen £2OO, in addition to the fine of .1:200 for having a still
for illicit distillation. The defendant endeavoured to snake
the magistrate believe that he had broken the Dottie by acci-
dent, and that the cellar was not in his occupation, but in
that of his brother-in-law. He, however, brought• no wit.
nesses, and the magistrate told him that he disbelieved his
story, and was of opinion, as the defendant himself had
said, that "he was an old hand" in the trade. •He (Mr.
Rushton) strongly advised the defendant to seek out a more
honest calling, or the probability was that he would spend a
large portion of his life in gaol.—Convicted, and ordered to
pay the mitigated penalty of £5O on each iuformetion.
YESTERDAY.
The proceedings at the Police Court yesterday were of a
very trivial nature, no case of any public -iiiiportance having
been brought before the magistrate, and the court closed at
an unusually early hour. On this day, and generally, :for
some time back, the cases of drunken and disorderly conduct
have materially decreased. The systemgenerallv adopted by
Mr. Rushton, of ordering those votaries of IfacchUs, who
abuse his bounties, to be imprisoned on their non-payment of
the fine inflicted, and, in some cases, where the culprits have
been repeatedly brought before him, of committing theM for
from seven days to one_ month, has had a very salutary effect.
The cases of petty 'pilfering, about the decks especially,
do not diminish. Daily are prisoners brought before Mr,
Rushton charged with stealing pieeeseof iron, cop Per, &c.,
of very trifling value. It is to be feared that sufficient cau-
tion to prevent these offences is not used by the parties con-
cerned. The advice given by Mr. Rushton a few days back,
that property should be better watched, is very vainable,
and ought to he mote closely attended to than it is. • The
number of loiterers about the docks is ifnmense—meny of
them poor men and boys in' search Of employment ; and it
amounts to little less than an encouragewerit of. crime to
leave property, however small its value, in the way. ofneedy
individuals, to lure them into error. It is to be hoped this
piece of advice will in 'future be better attended to.
One case which occurred reminded Its, *without disparage-
ment of the worthy magistrate, of some Of Sancho Palau s
decisions ; two boys having possession of a pigeon, of which
they could give no satisfactory account, were ordered to be
discharged,• no one appearing to claim the bird, or give evi
deuce against them. The pigeon was also discharged, not,
however; in the custody of its quondam guardians, but into
its native element, to seek its master.

THE LIVERPOOL OPHTHALMIC INFIRMARY.—TiIe re-
port of. this deserving institution for the past year `is now
before the public. The number of cases cured or relieved
during the year has been 2,230 ; . since the formation of the
establishment, in 1820, upwards of 29,000 persons have par-
ticipated in the benefits which it is daily administering to the
poor. We regret to see that the annual expenditure still
falls short of the income. The public benevolence could not
be exerted in a better cause ; and assistance at the present
moment would be peculiarly valuable, in order to enable the
committee to effect a very desirable alteration without inter-
fering with the funds of the charity. .
ACCIDENT.—An accident happened an Tuesday which
might have been attended with the most unfortunate results.
The horse in a gentleman's carriage took fright in Bold-
street, and, after throwing the servant who was driving him,
(and who appeared to behave remarkably well under the
circumstances,) galloped off at a frightful pace down the
street. When opposite the Music-hall, it came in contact
with the Park omnibus, the horses of which also became
unmanageable, and ran off at great speed after the carriage.
The omnibus was brought up in Church-street by the fall of
one of the horses, which was much injured, and the passen-
gers got out without any other inconvenience than the alarm
occasioned them ; the pole was broken by the shock. The
driver conducted himself with extraordinary coolness. The
carriage was stopped in Lord-street, the pole and splinter-
bar both broken, but fortunately no other damage was sus-
tained.
DEATH OF JAMES MAURY, ESQ.--A venerable and good
man has sunk to rest. The aged James Maury, after a pure,
simple, and blameless life, extended to the 95th year, sleeps
with his fathers. Mr. Maury was a Virginian, and, as is well
known to most of our readers, was appointed by Gen. Wash-
ington, the first American consul at Liverpool.' Ile held that
office for nearly half a century, doing its duties fait afully,
and without possible offence to any human being. He was
superseded by General Jackson, and soon after returned to
his native country, to which he was warn ly welcomed by
thousands whom he had the opportunity of serving abroad,
and by the commercial community at large, whose interests
he had vigilantly guarded. A public dinner was given to him
here, which was most numerously attended ; and in Vir-
ginia he was received as a patriarch, returning after long ab-
sence, among his people. Subsequently, he took up his tesi-
deuce in the city, with his sons and an only daughter; and
his life wore peaceably away, exempt from suffering, until its
tranquil close. Mr. Maury was a man of education and in-
telligence, a gentleman of the old school, and, withal, a sin-
cere and steady Christian.—New York American, of Feb. 24.
MERSEY AND IRwELL COMPANY'S DOCKS.—These docks
are situated at the entrance of the Mersey and Irwell navi-
gation, about 16 miles above Liverpool, on the course of the
Mersey towards Manchester, and afford great advantages to
the Irish, Scotch, Welsh, and coasting traders gencrally. On
Wednesday last they were made the scene of great attrac-
tion to the inhabitants of Runcorn, by the largest vesseli that
ever entered this rising seaport coming up the ricer to
et:cm.
A beautiful new brig called the Thomas Tattersall, aft • her
proprietor, amidst a gay display of flags and-banners, and as-
sembled crowds along the piers, brought her first cargo into
Runcorn from Drogheda, to be transhipped into the lighters
of the Old Quay company, for Manchester. She is registered
for a greater tonnage than any vessel that ever cattle so far
up the river before, nearly three hundred tons l'eing her car-
go at a draught of 14 feet of water. Thanks to the application
of steam for propelling vessels of this burthen, and rendering
the navigation of the Mersey safe, delightful, and expeditious.
We hope that improvements in the river will proceed until no
transhipment becomes necessary at Runcorn, and vessels of
equal dimensions to the Thomas Tattersall, come direct
up
to Manchester.-2tfanchester Courier.
NEW STEAM-SHIP "ADMIRAL.' --We have been favoured
by a gentleman, who accompanied this fine vessel on her trial
trip down the Firth on Friday last, with the particulars
thereof. The Admiral, having been loaded with as many
coals as will generally be required to take her from Glasgow
to Liverpool, and back again, and with as much pig iron as
represents the weight of a full cargo of, goods. left the
Broomielaw at twelve o'clock ; she steamed the length of
Greenock in one hour and fifty minutes, which, although
pretty good work, formed of course no criterion to judge by
of her capabilities, in consequence of so much slowing, and
other obstructions in the river ; but having fairly got into
deep water, she performed a distance of sixteen miles in one
hour and six and a half minutes, which is five minutes less
time than it was ever done in by any other vessel; and our
informant thereby calculates that she will perform the voyage
from Greenock to Live, pool in sixteen hours, with her steatn
power alone. The Admiral has cylinders of severity inches
diameter, by six and a half feet stroke, made by Mr. Napier
of the Vulcan Foundry ; her cabins are not yet finished,
but when they are so, they will not be second in taste and
comfort to anything that has yet been done in Clyde. The
arrangements in the fore-part of the vessel, iti.i,-trticuleir,
have been much improved on, it being divided into spacious
and airy state-rooms of only two berths each. We under.'
stand that, when finished, she will be laid opsn to the in.
opection of the public.—SgotiO Guardian.