The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1847-12-28 00:00:00

bee. 28, 1841.

CHANGE OF FORTITNE.:--Mr. M‘Donald, lateen officer
in the British army, now in Montreal, has been declared
heir to the dukedom of Tarentum, and the propertY
attached thereto. The dukedom is situated in Italy, and
was created by Napoleon in favour of Marshal M'Donald.
Mr. M'Donald's good fortune was announced to him br
his Excellency Lord Elgin.
CONVERSION OF PROTESTANT DISSENTERS TO ROMAN"
Ism.—ln the list of recent converts to the Church of Roelof
published in the Reman Catholic Directory, for 1848, atr
the names of " the Rev. S. S. Wilson, pastor of an Index
pendent congregation ;" " the Rev. J. Bell, a Presbyterian
minister ;" and "J. M. Gibson, Esq., a member of the
Society of Friends."
At Marlborough-street Police-court, on Tuesday,. a
nobleman, Lord William Vane Poulett, was charg
having stolen from a shoemaker's shop two embroidered
slippers, one red, and the other yellow. He had put thou
in his pocket when the foreman was up stairs, but it ap:
peared that he had only taken them to try them on, sea
his lordship was discharged.
CARPENTERS' STRIKE.—AImost the whole of the ship-
carpenters in Greenock have been out on strike for two
weeks past, and at present there is no appearance of any
arrangement. The difference has arisen upon a proposal
for reducing the wages from 4s. to 3s. 6d. per day. Th.
men are willing to accept 3s. 9d., but this the mast
decline. es! with

GOOSEBERRIES IN DECEMBER.--Mr. G. Lord, Of
Booth, near Newchurch-in Rossendale, has, now in hill
vossession a gooseberry tree which is fifty years old,
stands in the open air and quite bereft of its leaves, anti
positively now bearing fruit—the sizes of some of which
are that of a pea, and others less. From twenty/to thirty
have been produced.

The Edi;?burgh Post relates that, on Monday week, at
the Dean Cemetery, the wind overthrew a fine old trees,
which was saved from total prostration by falling against
a neighbouring tree. On the following Thursday, the
wind blew hard from an opposite quarter, and replaced
the fallen tree in azi upright position, which it seesur
likely to retain.

A New York paper mentions that three children, age.s
three, five and seven years, were lately found in the ship
Liverpool, and no one could divine how they came there,
until it was ascertained that their mother, who resides io
Ireland, had smuggled them on board in barrels, and had
entrusted them to the charity of the steerage passenger%
until they could rejoin their *father, who is living at Near
York.

TEST OF GIRDER-BRIDGE TENSION-BARS, &C. gir
HYDRAULIC POWER.-Mr. Cubitt, of Thames Bank, be-
sides important experiments on the strength of bricks,
Caen stone, &c., has recently instituted a series of experi•
ments on the usefulness, or otherwise, of wrought-iron
tension bars, employed in the manner in which they fre-
quently are, to assist wood and east-iron bums. The re.
suit shews their worthlessness.—The Builder.

At Bath, on Monday, a gentleman named E. Buche•
nan was charged at. the police-court with stealing a toilet-
bottle from the shop of a fancy warehouseman in that
city. The prisoner was represented as a person of consi-
derable property, and his defence was that the bottle
dropped into his pocket whilst he was intoxicated. This,
however, was denied, and the prisoner was committed for
trial. He had 4t sovereigns and some silver inhis pocket.
A deranged person named H. Watson. was on Saturday
taken up in Westminster for threatening to•shoot Lord
George Bentinck. He is the same person, who uttered a
similar threat against Sir Robert Peel about' tato yeart
ago. Ho remains in custody. Singularly enough, the
man's enmity towards Lord George arose out of his
having " opposed Lord John's measures," whereas his
lordship has been "assisting" the Premier in the only
really serious business of the session, the admission of the
Jews to, parliament.

On Aonday, Capt. Charretie was found guilty of haves
ing corruptly received the money for the sale of ail
cadetship ; and Sir W. Young, an East India director,
was convicted of a conspiracy. The short facts of the
case are, that three years ago a solicitor residing in Ediß;
burgh paid £l,OBO into the hands of a lady to be employes
in the purchase of a military commission for his son, that
a cadetship in the Madras Presidency was the result of
the bargain, and that, in consequence of some suspicionli
attending the appointment, inquiries were instituted,
which eventually led to the trial before us.

HORRIBLE MURDER.—MT. Copeman, jun. son of Mr-
Copeman, farmer, of Blyborough, Lincolnshire, sial
found on Sunday morning, on the road leading from
Kirton to Blyborougb, quite dead. His throat was cut,
and the body was afterwards dreadfully mangled ; a piece
of flesh was knocked or cut off his face, and was lying Oil
the ground near the body. The young man had a dog
with him, which had also been very much cut and bruised:
but it was not quite killed. Mr. Copeman left the Re?
Lion Inn, Kirton, about 12 o'clock on Saturday night,
to go home to Blyborough, and it appears that he had no
gone far before he met ith his assassins.
ESCAPE OF SEVEN PRISONERS.—On the night of Wed-
nesday week, seven male prisoners effected their escape
from the gaol at Huntingdon. They were all locked
the cells at the usual time, in one of the most secure ward'
of the gaol. Nearly all the locks of the cells had bees
forcibly opened, the straw beds emptied on the floor, and
the bedcases applied as a roe,
pe being securely attached 0
to each other by a " sailor's knot," and by which the!
scaled the boundary wall, having first, with great force
broken asunder a solid iron bar in the fence of the ward'
inches square, and ten feet long, passing through et;
area, where a most powerfel and fierce watch-dog ranged
the interior of the prison.
wasG rdeoa damage tood tohne
Ssshippingn
iignh
tS uwnedeekrl. a n
sd
hhi
pa
sr balcri
other craft below the bridge were torn from their mooring!:
cast adrift, and hurled before the fury of the_wAters in- 4"
cliirctionz tnc trantr was nrcatilitl, ar aas the waters were
rushing irresistibly to the mouth of the river, the ships
were driven against each other, and caused the most
serious damage. It is said more than twenty vessels ars
complete wrecks, and that about thirty more are greatly'
damaged. Four vessels are sunk near the pier, and one
was driven to sea and went on shore near the north pier,
the crew of which was taken out by means of the rocket
apparatus. _

The average price of wheat, were the new duties noir
in operation, would make the duty ss. per quarter ;
as there is a possibility the duty may reach Ios., import
will be checked, as there is no doubt the sliding scale
will come into operation in March. It will now be sees
what stocks we have. It is to be feared, however, tha"
from the great misery prevailing, consumption has de-
creased. It should however, be remembered that red!!!
or Indian corn, is not included in that scale, but is sub-
ject by the law of 1846 only to a permanent registration
duty of one shilling per quarter, and Indian meal to 4101.
per cwt., and these will therefore continue the same after
March. 1848.

On Wednesday a meeting of the Ayrshire Iron Colo°l
was held in Glasgow, when it was authoritatively stated
to the shareholders that the liabilities of the concern were
£236,719, whilst the assets were only £155,872, leaving a
deficiency of upwards of £BO,OOO. The difficulties of the
company appear mainly to have been occasioned by the
purchase of the stock of the Blair Iron Company, absurdlf
valued at £200,000, to liquidate which; iron had been
purchased on credit, sold for cash, and the proceeds pald.
to the Blair Company. The Ayrshire has claims againo_
the latter for over-payment, which are to be demanded of
its solvent partners. The Ayrshire is to make a pay men!
of 10s. per pound on 15th January, to meet which goat
£lOO,OOO has been raised by subscription.
parliament,formallythe
METROPOLITAN SEWAGE MANURE COMPANY.—The
consent of the commissioners of sewers, as required by the
works of the company, which will be commenced forth-
with, with every prospect of their being so far completed
act
tthof
the course
f n e hasxt summer been
as
to permit
given to
of th the
proposed
applica-
tion of the sewage to the immediate neighbourhood of tio,
station at Stanley Bridge. It is calculated that calls of
less than half of the shares already taken will be sufficient
to complete this portion of the works, and give the gres6
experiment a trial. The Earl of Ellesmere, having wit'
nessed the advantages of the application of sewage water
to portions of his own estates, has joined the Metropolitan
Sewage Manure Company, by becoming a shareholder•
Four or five provincial towns are about to apply to parlia-
ment this session for acts having similar objects with thig
company.
INTRAMURAL INTERMENTS.—A short time since, S
deputation from the metropolitan clergy waited upon
Lord Morpeth, as chief commissioner of the Health 0
Towns Commission, with reference to intramural inter;
ments. In consequence of this interview, a variety of
meetings of the reverend gentlemen interested in eccle•
siastical property have been held, the Dean of Manchester
in the chair; the result of which is, that an application
will be made to parliament for-a loan of money sufficient
to enable the united body of the metropolitan clergy to
purchase a quantity of land in the environs of the metro..
polis, for the purpose of forming catacombs and cemete•
ries for the reception of the dead. From a point of which
St. Paul's is to be the centre, divisions are to be struck
to the outer line of a circle embracing all the parishes, te.
which burial-grounds will be attached. Another portion:
of the plan in contemplation is to purchase the interest
of existing companies and the repayment of the loan, go'
be made within a given term, upon the security of all

various livings.
THE NATIONAL DEFENCES.—In all the preparations 0.!
the minister, on the coast, noticed by the Standard, 1"
does not appear that any plan, in our land force,
contemplation for a well-disciplined militia of no,ow„
'bayonets, available in a few hours' notice. The history n`
the world will prove that Adam Smith was right:when 10
said that " soldiers must be soldiers—and weavers /03
weavers." We admit all that could be required,by the
enthusiast, as to the impatient national spirit that would
be called forth in an invasion ; but unless that spirit be
made subsidiary to the method and efficiency of a power'
ful embodied military force, that would have nothing to (10
but shoulder their firelocks and muster, popular action
would be only a billowy movement of convulsive power.
without direction or cohesion, that would break, like the
monster wave upon the rock, against the practised stee'
legions of France. The practice of war is unfortunatelf
necessary, in a
powers. France is by the force of . habitude and expel!:
great degree, to the- developement of itn.
ence, naturally, as it were; the most military land porf
in the world ; as England is the ascendant naval pawl'
The battle a Waterloo teaches us nothing, if it do nod
prove to us how necessary it is for us to have something
like a regular equal force against a regular French aria:
The narrowness of the Channel that divides—the exterr
of the opposite coasts—the length of winter nights—Wlk
withal, the powers of steam,, _ _ _

That ask no aid of wind or tide—
will give a new feature, as well as. new element!, 'to
next war with France—relative advantages and disadvs:,
tages, that can be appreciated, as well as provided for, 4
our military and naval chiefs—if ministers will listerSo
them. Our fears are more for the Cab'Lnet than ttbe
country. The old cumbrous machinery,, by which .4
militia was levied, must be done away_ NO: altogether, 64.,
something more of the " conscription"
lative geographical position with France will, for 1.,
future, test both nations in a di'lyereut struggle to
which they have ever yet ellegUrAterd. adopted. Our:ZA