The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-05-19 00:00:00

POLIC.E INTEL LIGENCE.-FRIDAY.

JUVENILE DELINQUENCY.
Two little boys, whose heads could scarce be seen as they
stood in the dock, were charged by a shopkeeper living in
Great Homer-street, with having stolen two bottles of ginger
beer from his counter. The complainant stated that the
boys on Thursday, along with others. came into the shop
under some pretext or 'other, and he detected the prisoners
carrying away a bottle of ginger beer each. lie had them
taken into custody. After a reprimand, the children were
given into the charge of their friends.

ROBBERY By A SERVANT.
Mr. Thomas Henry Hoey, charged a young female named
Jane Griffiths, who lived with him as house servant, with
having robbed him of various articles. Suspicion had rested
upon the prisoner for some time, in consequenceof which her
bed-room was searched, and a number of articles missing
found. Mr. Hoey prayed the leniency of the bench on be-
half of the unfortunate girl. The prisoner was remanded.

A BAD CHARACTER.
A rough-looking young fellow, named George Howell, was
placed at the bar for having been found stealthily ascending
the stairs in the dwelling-house of a lady who gave her name
Mrs. Fairer. The complainant stated that she observed the
prisoner going up stairs, and called out to him, whereupon
he turned round and knocked her down, and made his way
out of the house; she called assistance, and the prisoner was
followed and captured. The officer who took the prisoner
into custody said, in apprehending him he (the prisoner) be-
haved in a most violent manner, and drew a clasp-knife upon
him. Mr. Parkinson, the bridewell keeper, stated that the
prisoner was a most desperate character, and had been ten
times committed and six charged ; lie was a most dangerous
man, for when any opposition was offered him he invariably
used a knife or some other deadly weapon. The prisoner
was sent for three months to Kirkdale.

SATUKDAY.
A DISHONEST BELL-HANGER.
Mr. Walthew, a gentleman who resides in the country,
charged a mechanic with the following improper behaviour.
The prisoner was sent to Mr. Walthew's house by an iron-
monger, and his duty was to put the bells in order. While
there, Mr. Walthew directed him to repair a lock. When
he had departed, Mr. Walthew found that someone had been
at his cupboard, and that some of his wine was missing.
Next day the prisoner returned to the house, and, after he
had finished his job, he gave the girl a key, which he told her
would open Mr. Walthew's closet, so that she might go to it
whenever she liked. The girl refused the offer, and askel
the prisoner what he had taken. He replied, " A bottle of
porter." She did not tell her master of this, but as he missed
some other articles from the closet, he went to her, and
threatened to turn her away, if she did not inform him bow
he had been robbed. She then told him what she had de-
tailed to the magistrates. He had used his utmost endea-
vours to induce her to come forward as a witness, but he
could not persuade her, as she said she should not like to
'hurt the man. The prisoner first asked whether the servant
were still living with Mr. Walthew; but, receiving no an-
swer, he was proceeding to tell that he had procured the key
in Mr. Walthew's house, and what had passed between him
and the servant, when he was stopped.by the magistrate, who
ordered him to be remanded.

CAUTION TO CIGAR SMOKERS.
Several persons, dressed as sailors, have lately been in cus-
tody for defrauding smokers in the manner.which will be elu-
cidated in the following case. A young, ham:some man
named Richard Malone, was placed at the bar on Saturday.. A youthful excise-officer stated, that he was passing along
Dale-street, on Friday evening, when the prisoner stopped
him and whispered in a low tone " Can you keep a secret ?"
" I can," was the reply. " Then," said the pretended
sailor, " 1 have been regularly in the trade between New Or-
leans and Havana, and I have brought to England some prime
cigars, which, as they are smuggled, I can sell cheap." The
exciseman professed his willingness to become a purchaser.
Ti; prisoner said he bad four boxes which th.. other might
have for three pounds. He also showed a shawl which he
had hidden within his breast, which he said was of foreign
manafacture. The exciseman introduced the prisoner to a
Brother-officer and they purchased one box In reply to
their frequent and pretendedly anxious inquiries, the prisoner
protested that the cigars were" real genuine Havana, and no
mistake." " And are they so ? " asked Mr. Harvey. " No,"
replied,the officers in a breath, " they are not foreign at all."
Such being the case, the magistrates had no power of pro-
ceeding but- byinformation. • The excise-officers seized four
boxes. The case, with one or two others of a similar nature,
was directed to be put into the hands of Lieut. Walker, of
the customs. The prisoners, in these cases, denied that they
had been guilty of any offence, us they had bought the cigars
honestly, and paid for them, and also had permits with them.
They are, however, liable to penalties for hawking, and to
very heavy fines for offering British roods as foreign, and for
offering any goods as smuggled. The prisoners were dis-
charged, in order that they may be regularly proceeded
against.

WITCHCRAFT.—At the petty sessions held at Devynnock,
on Tuesday, an application was made to the magistrates for
a warrant against a person for threatening to burn the com-
plainant (a man 74 years of age), for bewitching a mare of
the defendant's, and that his (complainant's) Wife frequently
appeared in the form of a hare !—Silttriart.
A MILKOMETER.—In the Italian states a small instru-
ment is used in the dairies, something like that in use by
brewers to ascertain the saccharine quality of their wort, by
which they discover if any water has been mixed with the
milk. 'What an useful instrument would this be in our little
island ?
PROTESTANT CHALLENGE —The Rev. T. Billington,
Roman Catholic Priest at York, having put forth some ob-
servations on the late visit of the Rev. Mr. M'Ghee to that
city, together with contradictory remarks on his statements
before the Protestant Association, the latter gentleman, in a
letter which appears in the York Gazette, challenges the for-
mer to a disputation in the following extract :—" Now, if
yoit be an honest man, and think I have made a false state-
ment in York, 'hereby invite you to meet me on the platform
in the Festival Concert Room, in this city. You shall havr
the tickets of admission—say 500 .fir Roman Catholics;
let the Protestant Association hare 500 more, and let the
assembly be distinctly separated, so that it will be easy to
pass from one side to another if it is necessary to ascertain
the votes of the meeting on any question." Mr. M'Gliee
further says, " I demand that you produce your. ritual, and
whatever system of moral theology you will pretend to set
forward as the guide of yourself and your fraternity in the
confessional. I will produce whatever books I please, and
especially those which I have purchased at York, and which
I see you put into the hands of the Roman Catholic females
of that city, and which are the same wherever priests are to
be found. And, then, sir, I will put to a meeting of 1000
men, or any other number assembled in the Concert-room,
this resolution That on comparing the ritual of the priests,
and the code of moral theology, produced by Mr. Billingtou,
according to which priests are to direct the tribunal of con-
fession, with the books produced by Mr. M'Ghee; and those
sold in the shops for the use of females, in York, it is the
opinion of this meeting that the system by which the Romish
priests examine their female penitents in the confessional is
cruel, tyrannical, immoral—not only totally unauthorised kry
the word of God, hut in plain opposition to it ; that it is such
a system as no father, husband, or brother ought to
the Pope,
to for his daughter, wife, or sister • that the bulls of ttlhistPtohpeeN.,
and the secret statutes of Popish bishops, prove
know how their priests abuse their power
licentiousnesstotr)unao „
and vice, while they impose this
lasholy the
mpeionpelet;o
Itnhisf.utuulereettino‘:coduettee.srs-
atenadchthtahtetihr
their sins to the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our great hi4l3
the Roman
aaondCdaathoogpictesrisn
priest, the hope and .refuge oftiouluuriess eoulvs4fat:odsoto a r
that, theyopl
of allow the females of tam f
ri‘% aitziu•'