The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1838-11-16 00:00:00

RADICAL DEMONSTRATION AT OLDHAM.

( From the Manchester Guardian.)
The ultra-radicals of Oldham met on Thursday evening
last, on the vacant land called Curzon Ground, in, the liar of
the Albion. Inn, High-street, by torch light, for the purpose
(according to the announcement of some individuals styling
themselves "the borough political council") of adopting.
" the people's charter, the Birmingham national petition,
and to elect a delegate for Oldham, to attend the national.
Convention." At eight o'clock, the hour fixed for the meet-
ing, about a score of people were on the ground, and two
carts had been procured for the speakers. Shortly after-
wards, a number of young fellows, approaching with burning
torches, crowds of boys and young- women from the factories'
were drawn to the'spot. A few bands of music, followed by
political union and electioneering flags, formed additional
sources of attraction to the juveniles. The'audience did not
exceed, at any period of- the proceedings, 25000 or 3000. A
working man from- Royton, named William Taylor, was
called to the chair.

• The first resolution, approving of the people's charter, was
moved liy Air. William Fitton, surgeon, or Roytoo; and se-
-cOnded by Mr. Alexander Taylor, provision dealer, of Old-
ham, whose speech chiefly rela:ed to men whom he called
land sharks, who bad made enormous profits by the lato high
prices of flour: a most appropriate subject of comment fur a
flour dealer.

'Mr. H. B. Cobbett made a great parade as to .the numbers
assembled, declaring it to be the largest local sleeting that
had beet► helti.on the subject.
Mr. James liollady, millwright of Oldbam, proposed the
adoption of the Birmingham national petition, in an address
respecting the evils 'of capital, whe❑ applied to, diminish the
Nalte of labour. .
. .

. ,
Mr..l. L. Quarmby, schoolmaster, seconded the motion,
in a wild philippic against tories and whigs.
Mr. B. J. Richardson, of Manchester, trusted, that if they
did nut obtai❑ their objects i❑ twelve -mouths, they would tell
the-tyrants, with some different kind of weapon than torches,
that they-would be free. . .

A boisterous shout served to intimate the approach of those
favourites of the physical force radical, O'Connor and Ste-
phens.

Al r. O'Connor gave nearly a repetition of his speech. at
Rochdale, announcing they would not wait much more than
a year for universal suffrage; and spoke of annihilation, de-
struction, suns, &C.

Mr. Stephens acquitted himself in his usual style, address-
ing his hearers as the men of a. hundred hamlets. The fol-
lowing are specimens of some-of his language ;—". Our ene-
mies say it is the divine will that men should be miserable ;
if so, the labouring classes have had a sufficient . period of
misery; and it is time the other side have their share of .mi--
servots it is the will of God that all classes be uliserable.
You must go to work, then, and make the poor-law commis-
sioners, the landlords, and the mill owners miserable ; snd
how are they to be made so? Why, by burning down, their
mills, blowing out their brains; pulling down.the hostiles. I
things;never but the new lights, :as Cob-
dd st'ittreunti:i
have
dees re:
declared it to be God's will that men
be miserable,-and it is therefore your duty. in attending to
the divine injo netion, to render them so. , Take
"our torcheS front this meeting, and carry therawhere ?
why, to the mills—to• the Royal George's—to the weaving
cellars—to the cut chambers--•-to the counting-houses—aye,
to the mill owners themselves, and show them that you are
really an enlightened people—(laughter)—detcrunned to
throw light on the subject of your rights." The mass of the
meeting did not appear to approve of Stephen's violent ex-
pressions.
Mr. James Taylor, of Rochdale. delivered .a- few 'wards,
observing, that the whigs said their scheme of -a_ nalionat
convention was visionar.v ; but they would find it otherwise.
As far as related to.himselc. it would be something More than
nonsence.

..._....._..... .
A man of the name of Degan, from Sta!eybridge, uttered
an incirement•to arm 4, and spoke of destruction to tyrants,
and death to those whom he termed enemies of the neople. '
'File crowd separated ai!out.eleven o'clock, alter i'ving,a
round of cheers for Mr. Ftelden, M.l), g
. .

NOMINATION. 9p,.SHERIFF-S. • • ,
•
On Monday, according to.
ancient c,ustorn;a council:was,
held in the Court of Exchequer, fur the' iNtoSe Otiioinina-
ting sheriffs for the ensu iug .y.ear. -There :Were ofe•senti the
Chancellor of the. Exchequer., the Marqufs of LansdoWne,
Lord holland, the Lord, Chancellor, Lord Denman, Lord
Abinger, the Lord Chief Justice Tindal, and the judges ,of
all lie courts of laW. The following gentlemen, amongst
others, were nominated for sheriffs:— •
CHESHInE.—Thowas Ilebbert, of. Buttes, Esq,.; Charles
Lawton; of Lawton,. Esq.; and John Tollemache, T.iistons
Lodge, Esq.
DEntrysninE.—Bronghton Benjamin Steade Pegg :Burl'
nell, of Beauchier Abbey, Esq.; -Edward Degee SidyBell, of
Stainsby,,Esq.; and Wiliianw John Bagshawi of the Oaks;
Esq.

SiiROPSHIRE.-Sir Andrew Vincent Corbet, of Acton
Itc}nottl. Bait. ; ThomiksEyton,,Of ES.ton, Esq.; and
iixougbtou, of Tunstall, Esq. .‘

y
STAFFORDSHME.—WiIIiam Moore. Wychdon Lodge,
Esq. ; Edmund Wigan, of Ltiple ,
EEq.;..thd Henry Johti
Yee; of Clifton Esq. . •

,
Yirom -- im.--:Charies Tempest, Of B E
roughtqn,, sq.
Robert Miloos, of liawtrey, Esq.; and. Sir cbfford Gortsia
We, or. Barten•Gonstable, Esq. ,

YANKLE
tjekronly insinuation," as the lady said
(From..the Daily 5,
" We must live and learn," as the old gentleman said yen
to‘;:eliC,:era,nyeunnghee9a'sked her how old she vos.
be was told that the world was coming to an end.
" Yon fill me with feelings of the most profound astonish-
ment," as the editor said to the letter, ven he opened it, and
found enclosed the money for von year's subscription to his
paper in advance.

Flow. To CATCH A PICKPOCKET.—Theynab pickpoetkspttrsing•
m
Boston by taking an:.epty pocket-book, passing i string
round it, and fastening one end to the pocket, and allowing;
the rogues to nibble. They soon make a desperate plunge,
and are regularly caught.—New York Mirror.
FALL OF ARCHES ON THE, MANCHESTER AND LEEDS
RAILWAY, AT Thursday morning, an
accident, attended with loss of life, happened at Kirkgate, in
Wakefield. As a waggon, loaded with rubbish, was passing
ovet the line of brick arches adjoining the western end of the
viaduct, two of theta gave way with an instantaneous and
tremendous crash. Nine men, and a boy (who was driving
the horse attached to the waggon) fell with the.ruins, and
one ratan, James Williams, was so seriously crushed as to.
leave but faint hopes of his recovery. Another man was much
-injured,. but there are strung hopes of his speedy recovery.
Most of the others were more or less bruised ; the boy escaped
unhurt. The horse had its back broken, and it was found
necessary to kill it. It is apparent that the adjoining arches
have sustained such a shake as to render the utmost caution
. necessary in approaching them. We have heard more than
one opinion given as to the cause of the accident, but refrain
from giving them publicity until after the coroner's inqui-
sition, before n hich, aka matter of course, the best scientific
evidence will be produced.--Leeds Mercury. •
AL3IoN D.—The medicinal properties of the bitter
almond are, considerable; but it should be administered by
professional persons only, being a powerful poison when taken
in too large a dose.
.The kernels of the sweet almond are of
considerable use in the arts; the oil obtained front them is
used by the draughtsmen in tracing drawings on common
letter paper.
.It. may be interesting to some of our fair'
readers to be informed, that Macassar oil is merely oil of
almonds, coloured red with alkanet root; and the nit -less'
celebrated Itussia oil is the same, rendered milky by a small
quantity of ammonia or potash, and *scented with oil of roses.
Gowlard's Lotion, tldk of Roses, Caledonian Cream, Katy-
dor, &c., are nothing but a solution of oxymunate of ,mercury
in almond, emulsion, with a proportion of sugar of lead, or
white oxide of bismuth. Perhaps the• inventors of. these
Ropular.and fashionable cosmetics are indebted to Pliny for.
the first idea, as he states that a decoot ion of the roots of the
bitter almond tree suPples the skin, prevOols wrinkles, and
gives a fresh, cheerful colour to the countenance. Another
very important virtue is ascribed to the flvit of the bitter
almond, namely, to prevent or relieve intoxication. ;Plutarch '
relatts that Drusus' physician, Whriteaiati.elgreatest Baccha-
nalian of his age, took at -evey'.Cup,fliiebitter
allay the heat and fumes of the wide, owingsto-Witich he never
became iutoxiegeo,—no Or chord, by Q, Argekintas4. . .

FATAL ACCIDENT ON THE LIVERPOOL AND
MANCHESTER RAILWAY.

NV ISTON, TUESDA Y 1110RNING.—The luggage train which
left Liverpool for Manchester last evening, met with an acci-
dent which terminated fatally to the engineer and fireman,
ascending the inclined phine at this place. The train con-
sisted of forty-three waggons, and was propelled by four en-
gines, two in front and two behind. The rise of the road is
about 1 in 90, and the train at a few minuts past eight o'clock
was seen advancing slowly up time hill at a steady pace, when
all of a sudden, the Patentee, the first engine, exploded, with
a noise resembling the firing of a cannon, the report being
heard at Present and other places more than a mile distance.
The engine broke away from the rest of the train, and pro-
ceeded at a flyin,r; pace for 300 or 400 yards along the line : it
was sadly shattered, and the tubes destroy-ed. A search was
made alter • the engineer and fireman immediately on the
train stopping. They had been blown into the fields on both
sides attic road, full 40 yards distant. Chat les Warburton,
the engineer, was found in a field on the right side of the
line, his right leg was broken, and his head dreadfully.
crushed. Samuel Jones, the fireman, a lad of 17 years of
age, was blown in a quite contrary direction
At three o'clock this afternoon, a jury met at the sign of
the Engine, public-house, to inquire touching the death of
the deceased men. John Heyes, Esq., of Prescot, presiding
as Coroner.

William Thomas deposed, that he was a watchman in the
employ of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway Company.
Last night he went on duty rather before his time, and while
sitting in his box he heard au explosion, and, running out of
his box; saw the engine flying past him. He had heard the
train regularly beating up the hill just before the explosion.
On going out, he ran after the engine. It was the Patentee,
and had run about 150 yards front the place where the explo-
sion took place. He found the engine detached from the
tender. There were no firemen with it, and the back of the
engine (the fire part) was blown away, and one of the tubes
hanging out. The tender was attached to the Fury, the se-
cond engine in the train. The other fireman asked if witness
had seen the firemen belonging to the Patentee, and they all
went in search of them. The explosion took place just as
the Prestot bells were ringing eight o'clock, and it strongly
resembled a lire in a coal-pit, or the explosion of a cannon.
Witness did not perceive that the roof of the boiler was in-
jured. The carriage on which it ran was on tire, and the
tire was still burning in the engine. Witness had frequently
seen the engineers attach weights to the engine, and hold on
the lever attached to the valves, so as to preserve their steam
up the iodine. He believed the directors of the company do
nut permit them to do so, and that they are not aware of the
practice. The deceased men were picked up afterwards, one
being blown on either side of the railway. Witness had fre-
quently seen men "weighting" the safety-valve. The Pa-
tentee engine had been running about two years. Two other
engines followed the train. It was dark at the time the ex-
plosion took place.
Mr. Melling, engineer to the company, deposed, that he
had seen the Patentee engine since the accident. The end
was 6:own out. Witness could not account for the accident.
If there had been a scarcity of water, the leaden plug would
have melted, and the fire would have been put out. A burst
tube would have caused the same effect. The company
strongly prohibit the engineers from weighting" the en-
gines, and would discharge any fireman detected in the act
of doing so. They have no right to press on the levers.
'Witness could not state positively whether the Patentee has
a safety-valve placed out of the contmol of the engineers.
Some of the engines have three safety-valves. The Patentee
has run Live years: it belongs to the Manchester end. The
boiler was about a quarter of an inch thick, and was calcu-
lated to bear a pressure of 50Ibs. to the inch. No injury was
done to the tender, except the breaking of the drag•link,•
which attached it to the engine. It the. deceased men had
the steam up at too great a pressure, and then applied pres-
sure to the. safety-valves, an explosion might be the conse-
quence. It is more dangerous to apply pressure on the
boiler when the engines ascend an inclined plane than on
level ground; the steam in the latter case escaping much
faster..

Joseph Greenall, the road engineer to the back engine,
deposed, that they last night had the assistance of the Lion,
a new engine, and consequently they agreed to take forty-
three waggons up the incline at once,as they had.four engines.
The Hercules had previously, by herself, taken up seventeen
waggons, and Patentee sixteen. The two hindmost engines
had scarcely felt the incline, when the explosion took place.
The clothes of the deceased men were torn to pieces, and the
trowsers and shoes of one of them separated from the body.
Jones lived at Manchester—he was about 18 years of age;
and Warburton, who was married, lived there also. Witness
had occasionally seen engineers apply weights to the engines,
and thinks that there is scarcely an engineer on the line but
does so at a pinch. Warburton wished to go up the line
with thirty-three waggons only,but the firemen agreeing with
witness on the probability of getting the whole train up the
incline, they started with forty-three.

The jury-returned a verdict of "accidental death," with a
deodand of 20s. on the engine.—Flom a Correspondent of the
Courier.

WESLEYA N METH OD IsT MEETINGS IN
MANCHESTER.
UNPRECEDENTED LONTRICUTIONS.

The commencement of a general movement in this large
and zealous body has been made in this town during the pre-
sent week, with a view to commemorate the centenary of
Methodism. • We believe that the establishment of what is
termed " itineraneN. iu the preaching of the society, was
made in 1739, and that it is intended at the conference next
year (July, 1839): •t:+ celebrate the centenary by the founding.
of several institutions. and the total liquidation of certain
debts on various chapels connected with the society. A con-.
siderable number of the preachers and influential laymen of
the body, from various parts of the kingdom, came to this
town ou the occasion of these oieetings. Amongst the preach-
ers were Dr. Bunting, 1)r. Hannah, the Rev. Robert New-
ton, &C. • On.Wednesdav and Thursday, at the meetings in
Oldham-street Chapel, alter prayer, cud some statements
connected with the proposed intention to celebrate the cen-
tenary of Methodism in a way worthy of it (.regress, a num-
. t er of gentlemen cattle forward, and announced donations of
huge amounts; for the- carrying' out :of.;the objects proposed.
We have been diSappoihted in mak expectation of receiving
a full list of names and amounts, and therefore we are only
able to mention a feW of- the Most prominent.—Mr. James
Wood offered, as his contribution, a thousand guineas; Mr.
G. R. Chappell, .a thousand guineas; Mrs. Bealey,- of Rad-
cliff,', a thousand guineaS; and her sons, Mr Adam Bealey,
and Mr. John Bealey, five hundred guineas each ; Mr. James
• Heald, of Stockport, a
.thousand guineas; Miss Heald (his
sister), a thousand guineas; and another sister, five hundred
guineas; Mr: Sands, of Liverpool. a thousand guineas; Mr.
Farmer, of London (treasurer, we believe, to the Wesleyan
Methodist Missionary Association); a thousand guineas; Mr.
Irving, of Bristol,' a tbuusand guineas ; Mr John Fernley,
:five hundred guineas; Mr. James Garstang, five hundred
guineas; with many other names for equal as well as for
smaller amounts. On Thuraday night, we believe, the ag-
gregate amount of the contributions was something like
twenty-seven thousand three hundred pounds. Yesterday
morning it was increased to upwards of £28.000; and at an-
other meeting held last evening, further amounts were an-
nounced; so that it is very probable that, before the termi•
nation of these meetings, not less than £30,000 will be con-
tributed towards the objects named in this town alone. It
was originally proposed, that, in the whole Wesleyan tom-
triunity in the united kingdom, the sum of £BO,OOO should be
raised, and it was then intensted that that amount should be
apportioneidfor various objects, as billows :—For building an
edifice for a theological institution, furniture, &e., £35,000;
to the chapel loan fund, in order to liquidate dents which
have long pressed on some of the chapels, £20,000; for the
erection and establishment of a new mission-house in Lon-
dun, £l5 000; in aid of the two schools connected with the
body, at Kingswood and Woodhouse-grove, £5000; to•ptir-
chase a vessel for islands in the South Seas, £3000; leaving
£2OOO for some other purposes connected with the extension
of the preaching of the gospel at bonne or abroad. We have
said that this was the original intention; but we understand
that, sinze the 'manifestation which has characterised the
commencementof this revival, many of the leading preachers
and others in the society say they would not limit the sum
to £BO,OOO, but determine on raising not less than £100,000;
and, of course, if this, intention be fulfilled, tine distribution
of the vast funds must be made in a somewhat different man-
ner. The disposal and apportionment of the centenary fund
will, of course, be.eonfided to conference.—Manchcsior Guar-
dian of Saturday. •

• • CrIVRNT GARDEN THEATRE.—The gross amount of rent
last year .was-£5,890, and the- rent which the proprietors had
agi'eed-to, pay, to the Duke of
.Bedford was £2,085. The
taxes amounted to £791, and the salaries. fur .collecting the
'rent to £250. The watch and firemen cost £7O, and repairs
£37. The theatre was- not insured, as the lowest rate at
which the insurance eould be effected would be four guineas
:•per cent, amounting-to 1;6,000, or more than the proprietors
received. Mr. George Robins thought that the landlord
would be a lucky man if he could get £lOOO a•vear for the,
bare walls.- As a methodist chapel, he thought £2OOO might
he secured; that twin, the more Popular speculation. • Mr.
Robins; to show how theatrical property bad been depreciated,
-stated, that he had been endeavouring in vain to find a tenant
for. Mr. Rrahani's theatre,
.the St. James's, 4t £2OOO a-year.
Ile remembered the time when •Drury Lane was let to Mr.
Elliston. for .-E11,20.0.e,-year, while at-..present-he did not be-
lieve it realised wore than £lO-00. He thought the rent
which Mr. Macready. paid fur Covent Garden (MUST)) too
much.• He a:tributed the depreciation of theatrical property
to the existence •of seventeen theatres in London, when four
would be sufficient. It was proved. that £2202 had been paid
last year for repairs of scenery, wardrobe, and decorations.
The machinist and decorator of the theatre established the
value of-the :properties under his charge at from £84,100 to.
£10,000; and the carpenter valued the rest of the heavy
scepeu. at from £15,000 to £20,000. He said the ropes in
'the:theatre: wero more than sufficient for a first-rate man-of-
war, and they required to be renewed every day. The mas-
ter of the waidroUe proved that the value of the wardrobe,
,
-the arninryi'irtitir the shoe department, was between £9OOO and
£10,00(). Alt the performers, male rind female, with the ex-.
ception of Mr. Mameady, were supplied froth-the wardrobe
of the theatre.

'FH E Rai r:ttOan MoNopoLY.—We have been assured from
a quarter *here we repose confidence, that negociations have
been going on, 'on the part of the London and Birmingham
Railway, for the purpose of buying up theonly two or three
-remaining coaches now running between London and Bir-
mingham, that-an exclusive monopoly in the conveyance of
passengers, parcels. &c., may be iu the hands of the railway
company. If the British public be so lost to itself as not to
sustain a successful competition.as-a -practical and necessary
check to conduct so unwarrantable in a free state, it will truly
deserve to be railway-ridden at the mercy of the dictators of
this mode of conveyance. We understand it is in the con-
templation of sortie ~spirited individuals to put two of Mr.
Stafford's- suspension safety coaches on the road. If this
should be the case,' the dictators of our pocket interests,- and
of the mode in which we shall travel in our own native coun-
• try, may find out. their mistake to their own" ultimate loss.
We are constantly hearing of the delays and inconveniences
to which passengers are subjected, with their persons and
luggage, and of the insolence of the underlings, and of the
various company's " gendarmie," uninformed as policemen,
on any remonstrance for such 'conduct ! —Worcester Journal.
—[This is one of a long series of similar absurd paragraphs
which some of the midland newspapers have latterly been
publishing—possibly, because the directors of the London
purl Birmingham Railway have not done so much as they
Could wish in the way of "buying up" thent—in other words,
have not given them so many advertisements as could have
desired. It is as discreditable, however, to the press to invent
such absurd statements as it is to any part of the public to
believe them. Since the opening of the railway, it is noto-
rious that the coaches have been running for very little more
than half the fare they were previously in the habit of
charging. Either, therefore, they had a most lucrative 'trade
before, or they must be reduced to a very losing' one now.
The latter is the true state of the case; the coach-owners at
first attempted to compete with the railway in point of price—
a little experience toll them that this was as futile an effort
as to match them in point of speed; and one by one the
stages have discontinued running, until, we understand, there
are now only two left. These travel to London by a route
very different from that traversed by the railway; 'and we are
told, are almost entirely maintained by intermediate passen-
gers, whom the railway. would not accommodate. The pro-
prietors of, these stages, we presume, will keep them on the
road so long as they can make them pay : and certainly, the
directors of the railway. wilt never attempt to prevent them
doing so. As t
0 the intention of " some spirited individuals"
.
to -start fresh coaches, there cannot be the least objection:
We venture to pledge ousSelves, that the railway directors
will never seek to "buy them up"—whether they may not
very speedily run them dawn is another matter. "IP this
"should be the case, the dictators of our pocket interests, and
"of the.motte in which we shalltravel in our-ria'ive Country,
"may And .out their iiistake, th-eir owt ultimate
Mandietto atfard4M!