The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-06-28 00:00:00

GENERAL NEWS.

Lord FRANKFORT has been liberated from CoMath-
fields Prison, by order of Lord Palmerston.

JOSEPII EVAN SAVAGE, a soldier found guilty, at the
Middlesex sessions, of being concerned in a robbery upon
a person in the street at night, has been sentenced to ten
years' imprisonment.

SHERIFF SKENE, an astute Scotchman, has decided,
in the Small Debt Court, at Glasgow, that the vc!ue of a
cat is one guinea ! and that, if a boy murders a cat which
is killing his pigeons, his parents are responsible, and
must pay the value of the feline wretch !
THE THIRTY-THIRD.—Her Majesty has commanded
that the 33rd Regiment of Foot shall, henceforward, bear
the name of "The 33rd, or the Duke of Wellington's
Regiment," which honourable distinction will be inscribed
on the colours of the regiment.
FOUR FEMALES, in the course of a fortnight, have com-
mitted suicide from the Old Gravel-lane bridge of the
London docks. There is quite a mania among the women
of the neighbourhood for suicide. Two or three attempts
have been made nightly by the females of Ratcliffe High-
way during the last month.
A POPISH DODGE EXPOSED.—We are authorised to
give the most explicit and emphatic contradiction to a
statement which appeared in the popish Free Press of
Saturday last, to the effect that the Duchess of Hamilton
had been converted to the Romish Church. The state-
ment is totally devoid of foundation.—Glasgow Consti-
tutional.

UNDER the title of "The progress of Folly," a New
York paper mentions that an impudent little girl, named
Phebe Ann Tarn, who professes to be a " medium," has
written, offering for sale the copyright of a book which
she has penned at the dictation of the " spirits." She
thinks it is worth ,el,OOO, and can afford it for no less!
Spank her and send her to bed, says the ungallant editor.

SWALLOWS.—As a proof of the valuable services ren-
dered by swallows, it is estimated that one of these, birds
will destroy, at a low calculation, 900 insects per day ;
and, when it is considered that some insects produce as
many as nine generations in a summer, the state of the
air but for these birds may be readily conceived. One
kind of insect alone might produce 560,970,489,000,000,000
of its race in a single year.
THE FRIGATE CARLO ALBERTO.—The Carlo Alberto
Sardinian auxiliary screw frigate, launched at Newcastle,
about a month ago, has been safely brought to Shields, in
tow of seven powerful tug steamers. She will, it is an-
ticipated, be fitted out by October. Since she ran on a
sand bank, while launching, the greatest anxiety has been
felt for her safety in coming round the sharp points and
over the shoal parts of the river between Newcastle and
Shields. She was trimmed to an even keel and buoyed at
the stern, giving her a uniform depth of about 15 feet 9
inches, and was brought down, without the slightest
accident. She is a noble specimen of naval architecture,
and is valued at between £BO,OOO and £90,000.
SUDDEN DEATH IN PRISON.—The Rev. John Mayor,
8.D., of Lincoln College, Oxford, and son of the cele-
brated Dr. Mayor, author of the Spelling-book, and
many other popular works, was found dead, on Monday
afternoon, in his cell on the debtors' side of the Oxford
County Gaol, where he had been confined upwards of
nine years. He had refused to receive the gaol allowance
of food, and subsisted entirely on the bounty of his
friends. For a long time he had been unwell, but re-
fused to see the medical attendant at the gaol, and had
occasionally refused to touch any food for two or three
days together. The deceased's former living in Essex,
worth about £350 per annum, was sequestered about ten
years ago to pay his debts ; but had he lived until October
next it would have been cleared and restored to him.
A JUDGE BEFORE A MAGISTRATE.—At the Marl-
borough-street Police-office, London, on Saturday, Baron
Alderson was summoned for refusing to pay a cab-driver's
demand of eightpence, for having been called off the rank.
The learned baron, who was his own lawyer, cross-ex-
amined the complainant, to show that he had sent some
one to the house to receive the eightpence. This, how.
ever, was denied. The baron mentioned to the magis-
trate that the eightpence had been paid to some cabman
who had called at his house. He was not in town at the
time, and the cab was not fetched on his account. He
did not make that an objection to the summons, but he
attended to answer it in order to stop the demands on
him. If he did not take some such step, he should have
the whole cab rank coming to his house for the eight-
pence. The magistrate decided that the learned baron
should pay the eightpence, and the cost of the summons ;
but he would not allow anything for loss of time, in con-
sequence of the complainant's indiscreet conduct in
having talked about the affair amongst his fellow-cabmen,
and thus induced the fraud.
THE BOOMERANG PROPELLER.—A trial of Sir Thos
Mitchell's Boomerang Propeller took place on board
H.M.S. Conflict, in Stoke's Bay, on Saturday week :
After a run of eight times along the measured distance,
the results were, on an average, 9'125 knots, with average
revolutions of 631. This was somewhat surpassing in
speed the result of the last trial with the common screw,
with eight revolutions less, and a saving of one-eighth of
the coal, and Sir Thos. Mitchell appeared to entertain no
doubt that, had the pitch of the Boomerang screw been
the same as the pitch of the common screw, a higher
speed would have been the result. The reduction of the
vibration ordinarily experienced on board either screw or
paddle-steamers, and frequently a distressing annoyance,
was noticed approvingly by all on board the Conflict.
This comparative absence of vibration is one of the com-
fortable characteristics of the Boomerang, saving at once
the wear and tear of the ship and the passengers' rest.
MAILS FOR AUSTRALIA.—The Government have again
invited tenders for the conveyance of mails to Australia.
the periods fixed in the present instance being the 4th of
August, the 4th of October, and the 3d of December.
They are to be delivered at Adelaide, Sydney, and Mel.
bourne, and it is contemplated to repeat the singular ar-
rangement of sending the whole in one ship, paying a
bounty of £l,OOO, instead of distributing this sum among
vessels to the separate ports, which would net only insure
the greatest individual dispatch, but also increase the
stimulus of competition. The tenders, as in the former
case, may be for either steam or sailing ships, the owners
having the option of London, Liverpool, Plymouth. or
Southampton as the port of departure • and preference
will be given to that which specifies the shortest time for
the service. A penalty of £5O is to be incurred for every
day's delay in leaving, and of £3O for every day occupied
in the passage beyond the time named in the tender ;
these penalties, however, in no case to exced £1,250,
that is to say, £250 beyond the amount granted. It
appears that any route may be selected for the passage.
A SCOTCH ACT,EON.—A pretty village on the neigh.
bouring coast, frequented by summer visitors, was lately
the scene of rather an amusing incident. Taking advan-
tage of a lovely summer day, two young ladies betook
themselves to a sheltered spot a little way up the coast,
where they hoped to indulge in an unmolested bathe.
After the usual preliminary proceedings, they had just ac-
complished a few dips, when, to their consternation and
disgust, they observed a young gentleman of an inquiring
turn of mind seated on a neighbouring rock, and intensely
enjoying the scene. The impertinence was aggravated by
the fact, that a powerful opera-glass was made the instru-
ment of a more minute inspection of their aquatic evolu-
tions. The blushing but indignant maidens remained in
the water as long as was consistent with comfort and se-
curity, in the hope that the stranger would withdraw, and
leave them to, at least, their necessary toilet, when, to
their horror, he was observed to descend calmly from his
elevation, divest himself of his apparel, and proceed to
bathe in close proximity. But he had strangely miscalcu-
lated the results, for the spirit of the maidens was at last
aroused, and they secretly determined on a bold revenge.
With an appearance of insulted modesty, they timidly
withdrew from the sea, and, concealing themselves
behind a convenient rock, proceeded to dress ;
then, folding up their bathing gowns, they rushed
upon the garments of the gentleman, and bore
them off in triumph. The unfortunate man in-
stantly comprehended his position. A succession of
shouts and supplications followed the ladies in their flight,
growing fainter and fainter as the distance increased ;
while the " gentleman," with considerable modesty, re-
mained in the water, evincing great agitation, and implor-
ing restitution, at first with stentorian lungs, and subse-
quently in animated and appropriate gestures ; but in vain,
—the insulted maidens were inexorable. As the spot was
very secluded, some hours elapsed before he could make
his situation known. At length a grinning rustic made
his appearance, and informed him that the " twa leddies
had left his cla'es wi' a wench at the green, a mile awe',
what wadna gi'e them back without he paid a pun' for
taking care o' them, forby being a penalty for affront-
ing the leddies dookin'." The penalty was paid on the
restitution of the garments, ant: the unlucky wight quietly
left the village, where the joke was already known, and
the conduct of the damsels publicly approved of. The
offender is now suffering from a severe attack of rheuma-
tism.—Edinbuegh Guardian.