The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-04-06 00:00:00

LOCAL NEWS,

BIRKENHEAD GAS AND WATER WORKS BILL.—Mr.
Brotherton, on Thursday evening, postponed the third
reading of this bill until the 27th April, and Mr. Sheil took
the opportunity of stating that it was the intention of the de-
partment to which he belonged to require that in future the
profits of all gas and water companies should be limited to
10 per cent., and that the profits above that sum should be
applied to the diminution of rates. This, we believe, is all
the opponents of the measure seek to obtain.
DEATH OF A CHILD, IN A TIMBER YARD.—An inquest
was held yesterday, before Mr. Curry, on view of the body of
John Webster, a child of eight years old. It appeared that
on Saturday afternoon last, about three o'clock, the deceased
and two other little boys were playing in a timber yard, in
Upper Mann-street. The balks were placed four high. The
balk that was at the top was placed crossways on the others,
and one end of it was resting on the ground, and the other
end was a good height from the ground. The deceased went
and sat upon the high end of the balk, and so soon as he had
done so, the balk, with his weight, went down, and turned
round, and the other end slipped off the balk underneath,
and it fell, and the deceased along with it, and the balk rolled
over his head. He was able to speak, and was taken home
directly to his parents' house, in Upper Mann-street. A
surgeon was immediately procured, but on undressing him
he was found to be dead. The ribs on the left side were
crushed in. The timber yard is railed round, but there are
several holes through which children are in the habit of going
through to play. The jury returned a verdict of " Acciden-
tal death."

It will be remembered by some of our readers that an in-
quest was held in Warrington in January last, on the body of
an infant whose death appeared to have been produced by
laudanum administered in mistake for Godfrey's Cordial,
when the jury found a verdict of manslaughter against Mr.
William Barton, a most respectable chemist and druggist,
who subsequently gave hail to answer the charge at the as-
sizes. We believe that several of the oldest and most re-
spectable medical practitioners in Warrington volunteered to
go to Liverpool and give evidence in Mr. Barton's behalf if
it had been necessary, but the grand jury came to the conclu-
sion that the circumstances of the case afforded no ground
for placing Mr. Barton in the painful and annoying position
of standing upon his trial for manslaughter, and accordingly
ignored the bill.

BURGLARY.—WiIIiam Wigham was placed at the bar of the
police-court, on Saturday last, charged with having broken
into a public-house kept by James Wilson, in Dawson-street.
Mr. Wilson's servant locked up the house at two o'clock on
Saturday morning, and arose again at twenty minutes-before
seven, when she found the bar door and a door leading into
the ale cellar open. She informed her mistress, who, on
going down stairs, missed a decanter of brandy and a bottle
of rum from a shelf. Information was given to police-officer
Tuck, who went to a cellar in Williamson-street, where he
found the prisoner and the decanter, with a little brandy in
it, and a bottle of rum. A man, named Dougherty, entered
the cellar, upon which Wigham exclaimed, " Don't take
Dougherty : I did it myself.', The prisoner had nothing to
say in his defence, and was committed for trial:
MYSTERIOUS CASE OF POISONING.—On Sunday week
James Scott, an Irishman, who had come over to Eng-
land to purchase " fents" in the Manchester market, was
found dead in his bed, at Callaghan's lodging-house, in the
Angel Yard, Warrington, and from no money being found
in his clothes, and a large sum in Irish notes, sovereigns, and
silver, being discovered in the bed in which he and Peter
O'Meeley, his comrade, slept, it was suspected that he had
not came fairly by his death. O'Meeley and a woman named
Toole, who had accompanied them from Liverpool, were
consequently taken into custody, and kept in Bridewell, to
await the result of the coroner's inquest, which was held be-
fore John Heyes, Esq., county coroner, at the Higher Angel
Inn, at ten o'clock on Wednesday morning. After the evi-
dence was taken, the jury returned a verdict to the effect,
that the deceased had been found dead in bed, that his death
was occasioned by having corrosive poison administered to
him, but whether administered by himself or any other per-
son or persons there was no evidence to show.
- • • •

DEATH IN THE BRlDEWELL.—Yesterday an inquisition
was taken before Mr. Curry, on view of the body of Robert
Welsh. It appeared that the deceased, who was 21 years of
age, was on Sunday morning, about a quarter past one
o'clock, found by the police lying on the ground in Lime
Kiln-lane, in a state of intoxication and insensibility. He
was conveyed to the Rose-hill station. He came round a
little after he had been there a short time. A little before
five o'clock he was taken with the other prisoners in the van
to the main Bridewell. He walked to the van and appeared
to be as well as the other prisoners. He was locked up for
being drunk and for safety. He was in drink at the time, but
quite sensible. He was removed into a cell with the other
prisoners, and did not appear to be ill, nor did he complain
of anything being the matter with him. He was attended by
one of the turnkeys and another officer. A little before ten
o'clock he was seen lying at full length on the form, ap-
parently asleep. An endeavour was made to rouse him, and
as he appeared to be very weak, he was placed on a mattrass
and covered with blankets, and bottles of hot water were
placed at his feet. As he was then thought to be ill a sur-
geon was sent for, who remained with him three hours and
then went away. He afterwards appeared to be getting
worse, and the surgeon was sent for a second time, but be-
fore he arrived the deceased was dead. Mr. Archibald
Arnott, surgeon, said that he was called to the deceased in
the Bridewell, as stated, and found him in a state of insen-
sibility. He used such means as he considered proper to re-
vive him, and partially aroused him. He had since made a
post mortem examination, and was of opinion that he died of
apoplexy, brought on by excessive drinking. The jury re-
turned a verdict accordingly. The deceased was apprentice
to Mr. Porter, painter, &C., Mersey-street, by whom his
father is employed.