The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1854-03-28 00:00:00

GMTE.RAL Th7ELLIGENCE.

HIE ROYAL RIGHNESE3 Prince Albert has placed the
sum of £2OO at the disposal of the committee for the pur-
pose of furthering the extension of the electric telegraph
to Aberdeen.
INDIRECT TRADE WITH Russia.—A line of steamers
has been announced to run between Hull and the Prussian
porte of Pillau in the Baltic, taking goods for Memel, &c.,
for the purpose of carrying on trade between England and
Russia.

Tan TAMES EMBANKMENT.—On Wednesday, her
Majesty's Commissioners of Public Works commenced the
first portion of the embankment of the Thames on the
north or Middlesex shore at Chelsea, and the construction
of the approaches thereto and to the suspension bridge to
cross the Thames to the new park at Battersea.
THE Bois DE BOULOGNE is assuming a new aspect.
The intended lake is fast progressing, and the rock is
rising rapidly into vast proportions. It will not rival
Mont Blanc, but it will be sufficiently large to give general
effect, and a fall for a beautiful cascade which is to flow
down its side.

MUCH AMUSEMENT was created at Maidstone Assizes,
last week, by Mr. Baron Alderson, in a case in which
some dispute arose as to the length of a piece of ribbon,
marking a yard's length on his desk, and proceeding to
measure the ribbon himself in most draper-like fashion.

KEEPING RECEIPTS.—The importance of keeping re-
ceipts was shown in the case of an unfortunate house-
holder in Clerkenwell, named Mr. Proctor, who, returning
home one day last week, found " a man in possession" for
Queen's taxes, though he knew he had paid them all. On
application to the sheriff he learnt that the collector had
run away with the taxes due for 1852, and, however
unpleasant it might be, orders were imperative from
Somerset-house to enforce a second demand on all tax
payers coming under the same liability, unless they could
produce their receipts. Mr. Proctor, unfortunately, had
mislaid his receipts for that year, but had those of the
preceding twelvemonth, a clear proof, he contended, that
he had paid those for 1852. On Monday, he applied to
the magistrate of the disttict for advice, who could give
him nothing but condolence.
THE DEVON BREAD RIOTS.—At the Exeter Assizes,
on Saturday, twenty-six of the Exminster rioters were
brought up for trial. They included girls and boys of
thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen years old; and not one of
them was more than twenty. Mr. Trood, the farmer
whose house was the principal object of attack, appeared
as a witness. The defence of the prisoners was that they
were merely idle spectators. The jury found all guilty.
One who appeared to be the ringleader, Charles Tuckett,
aged nineteen, was sentenced by Mr. Baron Martin to be
imprisoned for nine months with hard labour ; five others,
all aged eighteen, were sentenced to six months' impri-
sonment ; and the boys and girls were respited till the
next assizes, with a promise that if they behaved well
they should hear no more about it.
MADAME IDS PPEIPPER.—From a letter addressed to
Mr. Petermann by Madame Ida Pfeiffer, and dated Lima,
January the 26th, 1854, it appears that this indefatigable
tourist had somewhat deviated in the route she proposed
to take from California. Instead of reaching the United
States by way of Mexico and the West Indies, she was
under that date in the capital of Peru. This place she
describes as possessing few attractions for travellers, and
the country around uninviting for excursions, it being of
a barren character, with scenery alike through all seasons
in consequence of the absence of rain. The houses of
Lima are similar to those in the East, plain, and without
taste. Madame Pfeiffer intended to cross the Andes, and
explore the Amazon River, or go to Cuzco. But if pre-
vented by the expense of realising these projects, she
would next direct her steps to Guayaquil, Quito, and
Panama.—Athenceum.
WOMEN'S RIGHTS AND INFIDELITY.—The promoters
and advocates of the so-called " women's rights," in
America, finding that the Bible teaches doctrines different
to theirs, denounce it as a bad book, as upholding igno-
rance, degradation, and vice, as preventing the elevation
and development of man, and as producing all the evils ,
that afflict the human race. At a recent meeting of the
Women's Rights Convention, at Albany, Mrs. Rose,
the leading orator of the society, in the course of a long
and violent harangue, addressing her sisters, said, " The
Bible has enslaved you ; the churches have been built upon
your subjugated necks. Do you wish to be free ? Then
you must trample the Bible, the church, and the priests
under your feet." For the attainment of this object an
" Anti-Bible Convention" has been formed.
HAIRDRESSING IN MELBOURNE.—(Extract from the
letter of a new chum.) " Your friend S— would make
a fortune here, as there is not a good hairdresser in the
whole place. They are mostly blacks and Americans,who
cut away without the least regard. The charge for a com-
mon clip ls. 6d., if champooed ss. It is laughable to go
into one of these shops (the contents of which are usually
three or four high chairs, with backs to lounge against,
and a high foot rester to put your legs on), to witness the
proceedings. The operator places a large cloth under the
chin of a digger, perhaps with lots of hair, and commences
slashing away, then calls the boy for a basin of hot water
and soap, and lathers his head all over when cleansed
from the soap he sprinkles on a little perfume, and charges
for the operation ss. The floor of one of these establish-
ments is thickly covered with sawdust, to answer the pur-
pose of a large spittoon, the boy occasionally sifting fresh
sawdust over it. All the customers have short pipes or
cigars, and the barber smokes his also, and is invariably
the greatest bounce amongst them."
RAILWAY LOCOMOTIVES.—An experiment was made at
the Salford engine-shed of the Lancashire and Yorkshire
Railway, on Wednesday, to test an apparatus invented by
Messrs. E. and J. Rowland, of Manchester, for cleansing
the copper tubes of railway locomotive boilers. The ap-
paratus consists of a valve attached to the steam-chamber
of the locomotive at the top of the boiler in front, from
which a flexible pipe or tube projects. The smoke-box
door in front of the engine being opened, the ends of the
copper tubes of the boiler are exposed to view, and, a conical
jet at the loose end of the flexible pipe being applied to each
tube in succession, a quantity of steam is injected. In
the locomotive on which the experiment was tried there
were 220 parallel horizontal inch-and-a-half copper tubes,
perfectly cleansed of white ashes, incrustations, cinders,
&c., with which all tubes in locomotives become more or
less choked when in use. The operation was 'performed
in 10 minutes. The mode of cleansing hitherto in use has
been with a long iron ramrod of half an inch in diameter,
wrapped with tow at one end ; and the time of cleansing
220 tubes with this would be fully three-quarters of an
hour. In addition to a saving of time by this method, it
is expected there will be much less wear and tear of the
copper tubes than by the ordinary process.
A DurE.—A case of extraordinary credulity lately came
before the Court of Bankruptcy. Chas. Raymond Smith,
statuary, of the New-road, London, came before the court
with £2,764 liabilities, contracted without consideration.
The bankrupt had been, once upon a time, introduced to
a certain Count Dunin, who kept a magnificently-furnished
house in Westbourne-terrace, with six carriages and twelve
horses ; he was appointed statuary to the count. Now,
the count was at work upon a certain invention of his
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" accommodates" the count with his name to various bills,
which were neter paid, and became bankrupt. He would
sometimes ask the count to pay the bills, and then the
count would say, " Don't be in such a fidget," and, pre-
tending to get into a passion, would thrust pieces of paper
into the fire, which witness at the time believed were the
bills. Mr. Commissioner Goulburn blamed the bankrupt
for his credulity in being thus duped by a swindler, but
exonerated him from all stain upon his character, and
granted a second-class certificate.

FATAL ACCIDENT AT A THEATRE.—On Sunday, Feb.
26, during the performance at the French Theatre, New
Orleans, two galleries, which were set apart for persons of
colour, fell, owing to the iron rods by which these galleries
were suspended from the roof giving way. The suspend-
ing rods had been substituted for iron columns, support-
ing the galleries, owing to the columns obstructing the
view of the stage from the dress circle ! There were only
84 persons in the two galleries, and, as the fall was a
gradual one, most persons in the dress circle had time to
escape. The iron rods broke near the roof, and the gal-
leries then sank some three feet ; but, as there was an
additional support to these galleries from iron bars fromthe
wall, it prevented the destruction of hundreds-of lives.
Many of the negroes were precipitated into the pit, and all
the chairs from the galleries were showered down upon
the people in the parquett, yet the loss of life was very
small, and there were but few persons injured, and most
of them very slightly. Florian Mains, a clerk in a
notary's-office, was instantly killed by being struck on the
head by one of the iron bars, and Fergus Toledano, a
youth 14 years of age, was. also killed. There were no
negroes killed. As all our places of amusement are
crowded on a Sunday night, and the Orleans Theatre has
always a good share of the multitude, it is truly sur-
prising how so many escaped with their lives.—New
Orleans paper.
ATTEMPT TO MURDER.—At the Leicester assizes, last
week, James Bull, aged 19,was charged with having, on the
13th of August last, at Misterton, attempted to strangle
Ann Clarke, with attempt to murder her. The prosecu-
trix, a comely-looking person, who was housekeeper to a
farmer at Misterton, deposed that, on the evening of the
day in question, she was alone in the house with the pri-
soner, who was also in the same service. On this occa-
sion, he pertinaciously repeated proposals of marriage,
which he had previously made her, and which she had
rejected. There was a great disparity of age between her
and him, as she was nearly forty years old. She had laid
by some little amount of property. He urged, in support
of his offer, the general opinion of the neighbourhood, and
stated that "everybody said he was to marry the house-
keeper." She, however, was deaf to all his entreaties, and,
after reading some hymns and prayers with the prisoner,
retired to bed at about ten o'clock. Some little time after
she had been in bed, the prisoner came to her bedside
naked. He repeated his offers, which she again refused.
He had a rope with him, which he proceeded to put round
her neck, endeavouring to fasten one end of it to the bed-
rail. She struggled with him for some time, and at length,
agitated and confused, consented to accept him. Ile then
desisted, proposing at the same time to come into her bed.
She refused to allow him to do so, assigning as an excuse
that she felt unwell, and wanted some tea, but promised
to come down and sit with the prisoner. He went down
stairs and lighted a fire. The prosecutrix followed, and
made and partook of tea. She sat with him until four
o'clock in the morning, going up stairs on various pre-
texts. On one of her absences up stairs she went into the
prisoner's bedroom, and found the rope, which was pro-
duced in court. During the greater part of the time that
she was sitting with the prisoner, they were engaged in
reading the Bible and prayers and hymns. At about four
o'clock in the morning, she contrived to make her escape
from the house, and aroused some labourers who were
sleeping in a building near, to whom she communicated
her perilous situation. The prisoner was secured. During
her struggle she had inflicted some scratches upon his lip
and face, which bled for some time after the prisoner was
taken to the lock-up. The jury returned a verdict of
guilty. The chief-justice, in passing sentence, told the
prisoner that there could be but little doubt as to the
intent by which he was actuated, even if his purpose did
not extend beyond that charged in the indictment. It
seemed as if he intended not only to cause the death of
the prosecutrix, but to blacken her memory after death.
Had death been the result of his crime, the fixing of the
rope to the bed-rail was calculated to. throw a suspicion of
suicide on the victim. The et justice then sentenced
the prisoner to fifteen years: transportation.
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