The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1849-08-21 00:00:00

Otncral filtsaltinv).

Sir James Duke, Lord Mayor of London, has been
presented with the freedom of the city of Edinburgh.
The issue of the new florin coinage took place on
Thursday.
Rebecca Smith, who was sentenced to death, at the
Wiltshire Assizes, for the murder of her child, has con-
fessed that she had previously murdered seven others.
She was an orderly and decent woman, and the only
motive for committing the deed was lest they. should come
to want, her husband being a dissipated man.
A VILLAGE ENCAMPED.—THE CriOLEMA AT MEGA-
VENY.—On application to the authorities by the Board of
Health, the Ordnance department have ordered tents to
be supplied to the inhabitants of Megaveny, Cornwall, for
them to live under whilst their village is being cleaned.
Her Majesty's lighter Rochester sailed from Devonport,
with the tents, on Tuesday last.
POTATO DISEASE.—A plan has been practised, most
succesfully, by an extensive potato-grower in Holland,
and by some leading farmers in this country, to arrest the
disease, by cutting the haum with a vergsharp knife close
to the ground, and covering :the stumps left with two
inches of soil. The potato grows to its full size, and
ripens well for keeping.
The turn out of colliers in South Staffordshire extends,
and promises to be all but universal. About 500 of the
.thick coalmen in the neighbourhood of Netherton and
Brierly-hill ceased work on Friday. Instead of quietly sub-
mitting to a reduction of 6d. per day as proposed by the
masters, the men now require an advance of 6d. on their
previous wages.
Maria Lindsey, 22 years of age, unmarried, mother of
a child seven months old, and snapected to be again en-
ciente, drowned her infant on. Tuesday, in the Surrey
Canal at Peckham, and then threw herself in. Slighted
by the father of the child, though promised marriage by
another party, she was observed often to weep, and had
more than once threatened to destroy herself. _ _

Two cashiers, David M'Culloch and Joseph Goodsir, in,
the British Linen Company's Bank in Glasgow, who were
some time ago discovered to have appropriated the money
of the bank to the extent of X 31,161, for the purposes of
speculation, have been sentenced, M'Culloch to twenty-
one years transportation, and Goodsir to outlawry for not
appearing in court.
HORRID MUTILATION OF A CHILD.—An inquest was
held on Friday at a farm-house near White Hall, St. Gilee's,
Colchester, on the body of a full-grown male child, which
was found in the water-closet of White Hall. The body
had literally been cut limb from limb. Jane Simonds,
the cook of the mansion, bad recently been delivered of a
child. Medical evidence proved the infant to have been
still-born. Simond's, on her recovery, will be taken be-
fore the magistrates for concealing the birth.
ACCIDENT AT THE BRITANNIA-BRIDOE WORKS.—A
dreadful accident occurred at the Britannia-bridge works
on Friday, by which it is too probable a man has lost his
life. Between eleven and twelve the operation of taking
a six foot " lift" with the large single hydraulic press on
the Anglesey tower, commenced and proceeded well until
the cro'Ss head had risen about three feet, when suddenly
the bottom of the cast-iron cylinder of the press was
forced out by the pressure of the water within, and fell on
to the top of the tube below it. By the sudden falling
down of the run anti cross head some of the minor parts
of the press were broken, and some of the scaffolding
boards dislodged, and either by their fall or by that of
the bottom of the cylinder or minor parts of the press, a
rope ladder underneath was struck, and a man ;one of
the sailors) who was on it at the time precipitated on to
the top of the tube. His thigh and arm were fractured ;
and in addition to other less serious injuries he sustained
a concussion of the brain. Not the slightest hopes are
entertained of his recovery. Various causes may be as-
signed for the accident, but the true eee appears te have
been some defect in the casting,

THE AWFUL Cf:/MEM' ACCIDENT AT ABERDARE.—
There were 114 men employed at this colliery; 43 were
brought up dead ; 10 alive, but died subsequently ; 15
were insensible from the effects of " choke damp," but
recovered ; 35 were unhurt ; and 12 were not down when
the accident occurred. It has been discovered where the
fire originated, but the cause yEt remains unascertained.
A SIGN OF TUE TIMES.—It is understood that the lease
of one of Lord Grey's finest and largest farms, in that
part of North Durham adjoining the banks of the Tweed,
and which has been occupied for the last few years by a
tenant second to none in the district for his wealth, intel-
ligence, and respectability, has just now been thrown
upon his lordship's hands.
LOOK HIGHER.—A lady applied to an eminent philan-
thropist of Bristol, Richard Reynolds, on behalf of a little
orphan boy. After he had given liberally, she said,
" When he is old enough I will teach him to name and
thank his benefactor." " Stop," said the good man,
" thou art mistaken. We do not thank the clouds for
rain. Teach him to look higher, and thank Him who
giveth both the clouds and the rain."—Christian Trea-
sury. . _

The French government has accorded to Mr. Jacob
Brett the authorisation to establish on the coast of France
a submarine electric telegraph between Calais and Bou-
logne, which, crossing the Channel, will go to Dover on
the coast of England. The treaty entered into with Mr.
Brett guarantees certain advantages to the French govern-
ment, and leaves all the expense at the charge of Mr.
Brett, assuring him, however, a privilege for ten years in
case the experiment should succeed. The works must be
terminated by the Ist of September, 1850, at the latest ;
but it is probable they will be finished sooner.
MR. CHARLES BErrhEft.—We insert in other column
an advertisement relative to the very lamentable case of
this gentleman, and earnestly do we hope his appeal to the
national feelings will produce beneficial effects ; for cer-
tainly the trials to which he had been so severely sub-
jected, well deserve the most grave consideration of the
wealthy, the liberal, and the just among our fellow-coun-
trymen. Few indeed could have borne up against the
overwhelming tempest as be has done, with mental
heroism, we believe, altogether unexampled. We trust
the present appeal will secure him the sincere sympathy
of all good men.
THE GRACELESS COINAGE.—" A straw thrown up into
the air, shows which way the wind blows ;" so does the
new coinage recently issued from the Royal Mint. All
coins hitherto circulated in this country have borne the
stamp of the principles on which the Sovereign of these
realms wears the Crown and wields the Sceptre. The
royal effigy has ever been surrounded by an -inscription
setting forth the name of the kingdom, " Britanniarunt
Regina," the title on which the kingdom is held ; "Dei
Gratia," and the religious character of the kingly office,
" Fidei Defensatrix." Why, then, are all these omitted
on the " florin" pieces just put into circulation ? Why
have we there a bare "Regina" substituted for the proper
constitutional title of our Sovereign ? Is it not enough
that we should have a novel kind of money, with an out-
landish name, inflicted upon us ; must we have the foreign
notions of the regal authority foisted upon us at the same
time ?

BREACH OF PROMISE OF MARRIAGE.—At Croydon
Assizes, on Tuesday, Miss Martha Browne, daughter of a
respectable tradesman at Wandsworth, brought an action
of this kind against Mr. Dellow, a man of property in
London and a common councilman. The plaintiff was 25,
and the defendant a widower, aged 36. The defendant
was received as the accepted suitor of the plaintiff, and
wrote several letters of a very common-place description,
but clearly establishing the fact of the promise of mar-
riage. A day was fixed for the celebration of the mar-
riage. At length, without any quarrel, or cause being as.
signed, the defendant appeared to have all at once relin-
quished his intention of marrying the plaintiff, and an-
nounced that determination to her in the following letter:

" November 25th, 1843.
" Dear Martha,—Whatever may be our future lot in life, or
whatever may be the change in our circumstances, of this be
assured, in me you will ever find a steadfast friend, and one al-
ways ready to protect
.your interest. I hope I shall not hurt
your feelings by informing you that I do not intend to pay my
addresses to you any longer. I hope, however, that this will
not destroy our friendship. Give my very kind love to your
father and mother. " RICHARD DELLOW."
The defendant suffered judgment to go by default, and the
jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff, damages £l2O.
SEMI-GRAVITATING STEAM ENGINE.—There wrs
exhibited on Friday week, before a large party of gentle-
men, in Greenock, a novel 6-horse high-pressure steam
engine, constructed to drive a thrashing mill in the island
of Islay. The cylinder receives the steam only at the
bottom; it is 12 inches diameter; the piston is solid, 12
inches in depth, and metallic packing ; the connecting rod
is inserted half into the solid piston and held by a pin ;
the upper end is connected to the crank in the ordinary
way; that, with the eccentric wheel and strap and fly
wheel, are all the trappings on the engine. The connect-
ing rod and piston weigh three cwt., and the fly wheel 10
cwt. ; one half of its circumference is hollowed out with
cores in the inside of the rim—the other is entirely s lid.
This engine will perform the work of any 6-horse power
engine, with much less fuel than is commonly used : at
the present prices of coal 11d, per hour will suffice to keep
up the necessary supply of steam in the boiler. The
engine stands on a small space, and is constructed at one-
third less price than the ordinary cost of engines, and so
sims,le that any labourer or peasant may easily attend to it.
EMIGRATION.—The annual report of the Colonial Land
and Emigration Commissioners has just been published.
From this it appears that while the average emigration
from the United Kingdom during the ten years ending
in 1846 Nas about 84,000 persons, (74,000 to America,
and 10,000 to the Australian colonies,) the number who
left in 1847 was 258,270, and in 1848, 248,029. In the
latter year, the total to North America was 219,591 ; but
of these 188,233 proceeded to the Unitei States, and
only 31,064, to the British colonies. About eighty-five
per cent. were Irish, and it has been stated that they
were this year generally of a better class than those of
former years, and that the whole body carried with them
considerable capital. With regard to the Australian
colonies and the Cape of Good Hope, it appears that
since November. 1847, when the renewed emigration was
commenced to New South Wales, the total emigration
has been 28,158, of whom the number despatched in
1148 was 18,611. Of the entire amount, 9;656 went to
Sydney, 9,076 to Port Philip, 8,631 to Adelaide, and 795
to the Cape of Good Hope.

MURDEROUS STRUGGLE WITH CONVICTS.—On Thurs-
day evening week, the mail-coach running from Montrose
to Aberdeen, contained six convicts who had been re-
moved from Dumfries prison, in order to make some
repairs therein. They had not been long on the coach
before they began to exhibit symptoms of misohief. Their
malicious exertions were chiefly directed towards the
driver, whom they attempted to force from his seat. At
Bervie the convicts got outrageously violent, and leaped
from the coach, when it was discovered that they were
armed with deadly weapons. One of them had a razor
blade. sharpened at the point, and mounted on a strong
handle, with which he made thrusts in every, direction;
other three had strong pieces of wood about 14 inches
long, and loaded with lumps of lead, from one pound to
two pounds in weight, strongly and carefully fastened on
with screw nails, and another had a hatchet !' They were
handcuffed together, but the outside hands being free, and
the whole of them acting in concert, there was at one
time every probability that they would succeed in making
their escape. At this crisis a Mr. Leys came to the
assistance of the constables ; and being a strong man he
felled severatof the villains to the ground. The teeth of
one of them were entirely knocked out by one of his
blows, while several others he temporarily disabled and
after a fearful struggle they were again all secured, and
replaced on the top of the coach, when the superintendent
took up his position in front of them, with a loaded pistol
in each hand, which he warned them would be fired into
the bodies of any of them who might attempt to move.
In this style the coach drove on, and the prisoners were
safely lodged in the West Prison, Aberdeen.
THE CROPS AND STOCKS OF RAIN.—The Gardener's
Chronicle,, gives reports from practical men in all parts of
the country, which show that the crops of the present
year, taken altogether, promise an abundance of food for
man and beast which has rarely been exceeded. Taking
the wheat crop as the most important, we find that out of
269 reports in which its condition is stated, 70 represent
it as an average crop, and 21 as below an average ; whilst
no less than 178 describe it as " good," " very good,"
" excellent," or iqdicate, by the employment of some simi-
lar term, that more than anaverage produce of this most
important crop may be expected. The reports as to bar-
ley and oats though not so extensively favourable as those
of the wheas crop, still present a preponderance of satis-
factory results ; and there is every reason for believing
that the crops will exceed an average. With respect to
the remaining crops, there is, as regards beans, peas,
potatoes, and the green crops, about the same balance of
favourable testimony as that relating to wheat ; and the
only crop which is generally described as deficient, is that
of hay, which is generally described as " light." It has,
however, been got in in such excellent condition, as to
render it probably equal in nutritive power to an average
crop. Together with the details respecting the growing
crops, the report gives a statement of the stocks of old
wheat in the hands of the farmers. which appear to be
light beyond all precedent. Out of 194 returns, in which
the stocks are stated, 19 describe it as an " average," 5 as
over an average, and 170 as below an average ; a very
large proportion of these, in fact, stating that there is
either " very little" or " none." Considering the low
prices that have recently prevailed, this absence of stock
is somewhat remarkable.

FEARFUL MORTALITY.—For some days past consider-
able alarm has existed among the inhabitants of that part
of the Wandsworth-road comprised within the parish of
Clapham, in consequence of the cholera having appeared
in the most malignant form, and occasioned a mortality
unexampled, even in the most squalid and ill-drained por-
tions of the metropolis. Albion-terrace, a row of second-
class houses on the north side of the road, has been more
particularly the scene of the calamity, and in ten of the
houses during the course of eleven days there were seven-
teen deaths from Asiatic cholera. In one house no less
than six persons died of cholera. This house was in the
occupation of the Rev: T. Harrison, a Dissenting minister,
with whom an aged lady, named Roscoe, and a Mrs.
Edwards, relatives, were staying, preparatory to a depar-
ture of the whole of the family to Brighton. Mrs. Roscoe
was first seized, and died on the 4th instant. Mrs.
Edwards, who had attended upon her relative, was next
seized, and on Mr. Harrison returning from the funeral
of Mrs. Roscoe (his aunt) on Tuesday last, he found his
wife attacked with the same disease, and that lady expired
early next morning. It appeared that Mr. Harrison,
overwhelmed with grief, fled the house soon after his wife's
death in company with a lodger in the next house, and
nothing more was heard respecting him until information
was received of his death having taken place at Jack
Straw's Castle, on Hampstead Heath. On the same
morning that Mr. Harrison left his house Mrs. Edwards
died, and the cook was taken ill and died the same even-
ing. On the following day (Thursday) the three bodies
were taken to Mrs. Roscoe's grave in Kensall-green, and
on the return of the mourners the nurse who had attended
Mrs. Udwards was found dead.