The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1847-05-04 00:00:00

WESTERN AUSTRALIA.

The Swan River News, published in London on Satur-
day last, gives an official notice from the Governor of
Western Australia of the discovery of coal in that colony.
The bed is described as " large and open," and his
Excellency adds, that the fact of extensive tracts of coun-
try lying in the vicinity (Champion Bay), well suited for
pastoral and agricultural purposes. has also been ascer-
tained by a party of discovery, and that a bay immediately
adjoins, possessing several advantages adapted for the
loading and unloading of small vessels. A company
denominated the " Western Australian Mining Com-
pany" has been formed, the capital to be £20,000, in
10,000 shares of £2 each. In the Murray district, a seam
of superior coal, and a vein of metal, supposed to by zinc,
have been discovered, and the specimens of copper found
are described as being extremely good. The News
quotes an extract from Mr, Browning's evidence on the
Navigation Laws. Mr. 8., who was a native of West
Aastralia, deposes, that in the Swan River they have a
very superior wood for shipbuilding, the Jarrah wood.
No marine insect, he says, will touch it, and the trees
grow quite to the water's edge. Orders had been sent to
India for four camels, for the purpose of breeding that
useful animal, and their arrival wa3 expected daily. The
whaling season was concluded, and the total produce is
estimated at 116 tons, valued at' £6,130 in addition to
£7OO or £BOO for bone. Several parties are entering into
the sandal wood trade
.between Fremantle and Singapore.
and the first ship was on the eve of sailing from Adelaide,
The value of sandal wood at Canton is stated at £3O per
ton.

FOOD ImPonTs.7---The arrivals at Cove, during the last
two days (says the Exanziner), have been large, amount-
ing to 22 vessels, which, as their register tonnage amounts
to about 5,000, brings to our shores in actual burden, the
immense quantity of about 60,000 barrels of bread stuffs.
The arrivals for the week were 59 vessels. _ _

DREADFUL ACCIDENT.—A fearful accident happened
on Friday week, at the Madeleine Church, Bruges. One
of the priests, while performing mass, was suddenly struck
to the ground, by the falling on his forehead of the marble
head of an infant Jesus, which had become detached from
its body. Fracture of the skull, and a severe wound, were
the consequence to the unhappy clergyman, who, after
lingering in great agony, died on Thursday.
A HIT AT THE OPPONENTS OF EDUCATION BY THE
STATE.—We extract the following instance of extraor-
dinary stupidity from a Nottingham paper :—" On Friday
last, two labouring Men were at work in a field at Bunny,
seven miles from Nottingham, when a son of John Woot-
ton, footman to Lord Rancliffe, accidentally slipped into a
pool at the end of the field. The water is not deep,• and
the lad might have been got out in a minute, but instead
of attempting to save him, these thickheaded fellows ran
three-quarters of a mile to the village to fetch the con-
stable. On being asked why they had let the boy drown,
they replied they made ` no attempt to get him out of the
water, as they thought it was not according to the laws of
our country, and that there should be some other witnesses
to seeing him in the water.' " Voluntary efforts to edu-
cate the people have left the poor stupids here referred to
sadly in the lurch.
.ROBBERY OF FLOUR.—On Friday, as a boat laden with
flour, on her way from Clomnel to Waterford, arrived
near Ballydine, a large mob of persons bad assembled on
the banks 'of the river, about one hundred in number,
several of whom were armed with guns and brass blunder-
busses. The boat was ordered to stop by one man, who
had his gun presented, several of the party also present-
ing at the time. The persons managing the boat being
placed in terror of their lives through the threats of the
attacking party, brought the boat to the bank, when the
mob compelled to go into the cabin, and commenced the
plunder. They had "a yawl" in their possession at this
time, which was also laden with flour, and they took from
the two boats no less than fifty sacks of flour; saying,
at the same time, " the devil's cure to those who would
eat yellow meal, when they could get good flour." One
of the women in the-mob had her apron full of fire arms,
which she laid on a fence for the purpose of terrifying the
boatmen ! This was a most alarming attack, and furnishes
another forcible instance of the great danger to be ap-
prehended from the indiscriminate armament of the
peasantry.—Tipperary paper.
TtIE DISTRESS.—The same gloomy monotony pervades
all the accounts from the county of Cork. Mortality
seems to be increasing rather than diminishing. It appears
that, from the 27th of December, 1846, to the end of last
week—a period of less than four months-2,130 persons
have perished in the city union workhouse alone. The
Cork Examiner of Friday contains the following shocking
statement :—" We this day witnessed a most horrifying
and appalling spectacle, at the Shannon guard-house, at
the foot of Mallow-lane. Under the sheds attached to
that building lay some 38 human beings—old and young
men, women, children and infants of the tenderest age—
all huddled together, like so many pigs or dogs, on the
ground, without any other covering but the rags on their
persons, and these in the last stage of filth and hideousness.
There they lay—some dying—some dead—all gaunt and
yellow, and hideous with famine and disease. We have
seen many sights of horror within the last month, but
never anything equal to this congregated mass of human
debasement. The smell that came from the unfortunates
waS offensive in the extreme, and was sufficieut of itself to
propagate disease. Two of these wretched people died
this morning—a man and a child. How many will follow
them before the evening to their home of eternal peace,
we may not calculate. Several dead bodies—principally
of children—were found this morning in various parts of
the'city. Hundreds of wretched objects lie about under
sheds, without food or covering."
WOOD'S VENTILATING HATS.—The construction of
these hats (though not patented) is certainly in efficacy
equal to, if it does not surpass, any of the projects for
ventilating hats that have been made public ; and what is
more important, it does not impair the bodies. A glance
at one of them will at once prove their excellence.
PHOTOGRAPHIC PORTRAITS.—AII parties visiting Lon-
don will have an excellent opportunity of procuring the
most striking likenesses at Mr. Claude's daguerrotype
portrait establishment. Mr. C. has greatly improved
this process, and has mnch improved the pictorial effect
of the miniatures by the introduction of back-grounds.
The portraits no longer present the death-like appearance
which has been .long urged as a great defect, but are at
once accurate, and pleasing to look at.