The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-09-21 00:00:00

" Bribery ! Bribery ! Bribery !!!

" It is true, and can be proved, that £25 has been offered
in favour of Lord Howick. It is equally true that this party
have offered to support Williams or Binns as Chartist can-
didates, on any future occasion, if the Chartists will at the
present contest give their votes to Howick. The offer to
bribe charged upon Mr. Attwood 's friends, if ever offered,
has been offered by an enemy to injure Mr. Attwood, not by
a friend to serve his cause."
Lady Williamson, Lady Howick, Mrs. Bell, and others,
have distinguished themselves by their zeal in going about
the town into every hole and corner to canvass for " their
noble friend," and some very singular and laughable inci-
dents are reported to have occurred during their visits to
some neighbourhoods not very aristocratic nor respectable.
The influence of the Lambton family has been exercised with
more than usual perseverance, and the hon. baronet aione is
said to have ordered upwards of 200 to vote for the Yellow
candidate. Had Mr. Attwood descended to the use of some
of the means employed by the agents of his opponents there
is little doubt that he would have been in a very different
position. He has this consolation, however, that the votes
recorded in his favour are those of honest and independent
electors. The hourly accounts of the state of the poll put
forth by the committee of the respective candidates were so
contradictory, that it was difficult to know positively how
the election was going. It appeared, indeed, that from the
defective arrangements made by both parties at the polling-
booths, eight in number, they themselves seemed ignorant of
the exact state of affairs.
The poll having closed at four o'clock, the Yellow com-
mittee published the following numbers:—
CLOSE OF THE POLL.

Attwood
Howick . ..... . .
Thus giving a majority to Lord Howick of

453
700
-247

COURT ANECDOTE.—It has lately been remarked that Sir
I. L. Goldsmid is the first gentleman of the Jewish persua-
sion thrit was ever made a baronet. Perhaps it is not gene-
rally known that an honour not much inferior had once very
nearly fallen to the lot of an ex-brother Israelite. At one of
those festive meetings at Carlton-house, in which his late
gracious Majesty George IV. sometimes allowed a few of
his more favoured subjects to participate, Mr. Braham was
introduced to sing his then newly-composed song "A
Goblet of Burgundy," when the gratified monarch, rising
from his chair, was with difficulty restrained from conferring
immediate knighthood on the flattered musician.
The old and highly-respectable banking-house of Messrs.
Hobhouse and Co., at Bath, has stopped payment. The
total amount of the liabilities is not known, but it has been
ascertained that they were creditors of Messrs. Coopers, of
Bradford, for between £15,000 and £50,000. This latter
house, some time since, suspended payment, but has not
appeared in the Gazette, and it is the same concern which
materially contributed to .the late failure of Messrs. Golls,
Thompson, and CO.
VALUABLE DISCOVERY IN THE WORKING COAL
MINES.—We have been furnished by an esteemed corre-
spondent with the following interesting account of a recent
discovery, highly valuable to those engaged in mining pur-
suits :—There is in Pemberton colliery a pair of wire flat
ropes, the invention of Mr. Smith, of. London. It exceeds
all anticipation in the practice of winding and raising of
cals. The wires, which are in a lineal direction, (extending
tmone and of the rope to the other without ever piecing)
are
and 8 plaeed
alongside each other, 35 of which form a strand,
„strands compose the rope, which is estimated to carry
tons. The strands are woven together with a hempen
webbing. It is
as elastic, and wraps on the block like a
strap ;and promises
mines
to be one of the finest inventions for
working deep
eyer yms us the heat of late in Kentucky
et discovered.
Our correspondent
state has been of
intensenfor a nature that a young lady in
consequence becoming in
slipped through her own highly melting mood actually
fiiagbearnsk
beforey timely
maai
yd cnooutl di be
procured. In this season of
properly be styled a novel mode of liquidating one's affairs.

. .
e.xecuted a large order for similar goods. A publican in
Denmark-street was found to be possessed of such exquisite
schidam—downright genuine—real sort—and it was also of
the publican's own importation from Holland, so that the
flavour was chalks beyond any gin the Knight had ever
tasted ; and he, as the reader will see hereafter, had preten-
sions to be considered a judge. A baker supplied them with
biscuits and bread—others with butter—others with meat.
A shoe shop on St. Augustine's-back was also honoured by
an order for a pair of the best cordovan Wellingtons, in the
last and newest fashion. A superb silk mercery and haber-
dashery establishment in the Green was an object of Sir
William and Lady Philips's attention—the display of temp-
tations through such an expanse of crown glass was altogether
irresistible, and a tolerable package found its way to Trinity-
house. . .

A bookseller in the Green, and another in Broad-street,
partook of the Knight's favourable consideration. He was
a bibliotnanist too, and to him a Caxton or an Elziver were
alike a temptation beyond forbearance. Neither did he en-
tirely neglect the moderns, provided only that it was the best
edition and in splendid binding. In a word, various shops
of all descriptions partook of his favours.
In one expedition to the city, after swallowing an ice cream
in Wine-street, a superb perigord pie arrested his attention,
and was ultimately dispatched across the Drawbridge. In
fact it looked, and no doubt was so delicious a piece of pa-
tissiery, that it would have beeti a degradation to it to have
fallen a sacrifice between the mumbling grinders of a ple-
beian.

But this couple had another source of income quite inde-
pendent of their depredations upon tradespeople. The fa-
mily of " my lady" resided some years at a few miles only
from this city, and of course she was well acquainted with
several of its inhabitants and persons in its neighbourhood.
Of this she took advantage, and unshipping pro tempore her
title, wrote letters to several requesting relief. One the wri-
ter has seen, and it is evidently the production of an educa-
ted, clever gentlewoman. It reminded the lady to whom it
was sent of " auld Tang syne," and gave a graphic delineation
of domestic destitution and privation—a perfect picture of
human privation in the last stage of misery, and would have
" drawn blood from a stone." She signed it with her real
name—Cracknell. Soon after the receipt of this, comes the
husband, who is well known at Weymouth. He wore green
spectacles ; had the manners, dress, and address of a gentle-
man ; was well spoken, and backed the letter of his rib very
modestly and adroitly. He prayed relief to save his amiable
wife and himself from absolute starvation. Touched with
this pitiable tale for an associate of her youth, the lady's im-
pression was to send her five pounds, but on examining her
purse, found that she had only one sovereign, and that was
given. The husband was all gratitude and retired. It oc-
curred, however, afterwards to the lady, that the applicant's
family ought to be made acquainted with the wretched state
in which she was, and not knowing their present residence,
sent her servant to obtain it in Trinity-street. By this time
about three hours had elapsed, and the messenger was
stricken with dismay and astonishment to seethe pennyless,
distressed, and starving Mr. Cracknell, with a black bottle
and glass before him in a state of the most beastly intoxica-
tion ! His wife was not there, and he was totally incapable
of a rational answer. The messenger then learnt from the
servant of the house that he consumed regularly a quart of
gin during the day, and at night drank until he could scarcely
stand. The mortification and chagrin which this intelligence
gave to the benevolent lady, who had furnished him with the
means for the debauch, may be readily conceived.
Let us now leave plain Mr. Cracknell, and return to Sir
William. In a day or two the tradesmen's bills .began to
pour in, and there was reason to fear that there was:" some-
thing rotten in the state of Denmark." The applications
were fought off with dexterity, but they were soon pouring
in thick and threefqld from all quarters. A stable keeper
pressed for £12., and a fly owner for £3. ; but the " one
thing needful" was not to be had. Some, however, fared
better than others. _ _ _

-Miss —, in the Green, becoming alarmed, instead of
sending home the satin mantua, thought it better to look
after the shawl. in fact she so effectually alarmed the par-
ties by the threat of going to the Station-house for an officer,
that they sent a messenger with a duplicate, took the shawl
out of pawn, and quietly gave it up.
The son of St. Crispin too became wide awake : Crispin
went to speak to the knight—saw his Wellingtons upon the
floor—hooked a finger into the strap of each—called the
worthy Sir William a rascal and a swindler, and marched off
in triumph.
The reader will perhaps feel an interest in the fate of that
noble piece of pastry—the Perigord. Know then that it had
a narrow escape, but it did escape ; for the boy who brought
it, finding a number of persons clamorous for money, wisely
guessed that his master would be served up with the same
sauce, and therefore refused to leave it. The scoundrel not
only bilked both his lodgings, but had the meanness to bor-
row about 20s. at different times from the servant girls.
One other exploit must be mentioned. Sir William
waited upon a first-rate artist for the purpose of having his
portrait dawn ;my lady was with him. The gentleman
made a rough sketch of him upon canvass, and he was to
call again- in about three weeks, when he had taken possession
of his estates in Wales.

Now we all know that sitting for one's picture is somewhat
dry work, and therefore it is not wonderful that the knight
should be thirsty, and ask, very politely, for something to
drink. A jorum of cider and a glass were brought, and he
speedily saw the bottom of both. "Ah ! it was excellent,
good, sound, rough Devonshire ! he had never drank bet-
ter." Before his departure, however. he cast an eye of busi-
ness over his green goggles, and fell desperately in love with
a copy (by the artist's sonl of a large full-sized painting of an
Italian abbot, with his mitre and crosier. "He was ex-
tremely fond of paintings—that was exquisite—could it be
purchased ? he wished exceedingly to possess it." But by
this time the artist began to think there was something queer
about his customer, and got rid of him. He no doubt now
thinks himself let off easy at the expense of an hour's la-
bour and a jug of his " excellent rough Devonshire " !
The parties are fled, and it is thought that they will now
commence operations against the good people of Bath. If
therefore, the editors of the several newspapers there should
read this, perhaps they would " do the state some service ",
by putting the tradesmen and others on their guard against
these accomplished swindlers.