The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-01-06 00:00:00

On Saturday last an inquest was held at St. Helen's,
on the body of John Cunliffe, who came to his death
under the following appalling circumstances :—The de-
ceased was a shoemaker, about thirty years of age, in the
employ of Mr. Sims, and was a cripple wearing a wooden
leg. Thomas Wilkinson, a man in the same employ, de-
posed that on Thursday last, about half-past one o'clock,
John Fairclough (the prisoner present) went to Mr.
Sims' shop and asked the deceased if he had three half-
pence to give or lend him ; he said he had not ; the prisoner
then asked deceased, " dost thou remember the time
when I had to pay ss. for thee ?" deceased replied, " aye,
and if thou does not mind thine eye I will make thee
pay another 55." After that witness heard a blow struck,
and on looking round both men were on the floor, the
prisoner uppermost; the deceased had the prisoner's
thumb in his mouth : Mr. Sims' brother, who was pre-
sent. took up a piece of wood, and threatened to strike
the deceased unless he let go the prisoner's thumb ; he
did let go the thumb. 'Witness then went into the house
adjoining to inform the master. On his return in a few
seconds he met the deceased staggering across the yard ;
on asking him what was the matter, deceased replied that
he was stabbed ; witness went after the prisoner and had
him apprehended. Mr. Samuel Sims corroborated the
evidence of the last witness, and stated that after the
prisoner and deceased got up witness left them both stand-
ing in the shop, and went into the house to tell his brother.
He immediately returned, and saw the prisoner come out
of the shop and walk down the passage; the deceased fol-
lowed, crying out, " oh, I'm stabbed;" he staggered and
fell down ; blood was coming from his mouth ; both wit-
ness and his brother ran for a surgeon, and Mr. Gas-
kell's son was in attendance in about half a minute. The
other witness, Wilkinson, came shortly afterwards with a
police-officer, and on searching witness found the knife
(which he produced) under the seat where the deceased
had sat ; it was witness' own knife, which he left on his
seat on going into the house ; it was bloody, and the edge
snipt ; the knife was perfectly smooth not five minutes
before, when witness used it ; witness' seat was ab iut
three yards from the place where he found the knife. Mr.
Gaskell, surgeon, deposed that he found the deceased
bleeding profusely from a large wound in the back. be-
tween the left shoulder blade and the backbone. Witness
probed the wound, and found that it had passed into the
cavity of the chest, between the seventh and eighth ribs ;
witness bandaged the wound, but the deceased never
spoke ; shortly after he became nearly pulseless, and was
gradually sinking until half-past eleven o'clock the same
night, when he died. Witness made a post mortem exa-
mination, and on opening the chest found a wound in the
inferior lobe of the left lung ; there was also between
thirty and forty ounces of blood in the cavity of the chest,
which had flowed from the wound in the lung; this was
the cause of death ; the wound was about Live inches in
depth and two inches in breadth externally ; no human
aid could have saved the deceased. Mr. Storey, super-
intendent of police, stated that on Friday morning the
prisoner was informed that Cunliffe was dead, when he
began to make a statement, but was cautioned ; the
prisoner, however, persisted in making it, and he said he
went with the intention of buying a last at Sims' shop,
although he did not mention it there; he asked Samuel
Sims to lend him three half-pence, who said he bad got no
money ; a strange man was in the shop at the time whom
he did not know; he then asked Cunliffe to lend him three
half-pence ; that they bad some angry words, and Can-
life and he got to quarreling ; that Cunliffe struck him
(the prisoner) and they both went down together; at that
time Sims and the other man went out of the shop ; that
they then both stood up in the attitude of fighting, and
the deceased struck at him with a knife, which prisoner
afterward took from him ; that Cunliffe bit his thumb
when they were both down together, and after he had
taken the knife from Cunliffe he was stooping down for
something else to strike prisoner with, when he struck
the deceased on the back with the knife which he had pre-
viously taken from deceased ; that he threw the knife away
but did not know where ; the prisoner also stated that the
deceased threatened to kill him, The jury returned a ver-
dict of wilful murder, and the prisoner was committed to
take his trial at the assizes.

THE GUANO TRADE.—From the annual circular of
Messrs. Connell and Company, of Glasgow, we find that
the stock of this valuable fertilizer, in the ports of Scot-
land, at the close of the year, was as follows, viz. :
Peruvian. 337 tons; lchaboe, 41,171 tons; other sorts,
13,437 tons; total, 57,173 tons. The stock in Liverpool
is, Peruvian, 14,000 tons ; Ichaboe, 48,068 ; other sorts,
18,105 ; total, 80,173. The exhaustion of the stock at
Ichaboe, and the small chance which there appears to ex-
ist of any further valuable deposits in the African seas,
have given an upward impulse to the market : and prices
are now, for Peruvian, £lO ' • best Ichaboe, £7 15 ; and
for the inferior qualities of Saldanah Bay, Ac., £4 10 to
£6 per ton. _

CHESTER CATHEDRAL—This venerable structure,
which has for a considerable period been undergoing an
almost complete renovation, will be re-opened for divine
worship this day. The alterations and repairs have been
made under the superintendence of Messrs. Furniss and
Kilpin, of this town, to whom the Dock Committee ren-
dered much assistance by allowing the use of some of their
largest stoves for the steaming of their heavy timber. The
re-opening will be marked by many circumstances of
interest. Most of the leading families in Cheshire will be
present. The choir will perform a full service, and the
Lord Bish )p of the diocese will preach. His lordship, we
understand, has requested all the canons of the cathedral
to be present on the occasion ; and, indeed, all the officers,
clerical and lay, of this venerable foundation will give
their attendance. We ought to add that a considerable
portion of the funds have been contributed by subscription.
LAX:s7CII OF THE " BIRKENHEAD" FRIGATE.—This
splendid vessel, of which an original description was
given in the STANDARD last week, was launched from
Mr. Laird's yard, in the presence of an immense assem-
blage of spectators, of the most distinguished rank,
amongst whom were Marquis and Marchioness of West-
minster, Lord Gilbert Grosvenor, Lady Grosvenor, Earl
of Sefton. Earl of Wilton, Lord Delamere, Lord Gordon,
Hon. E. J. Stanley, Sir W. M. Stanley, Hon Mr. Chol-
mondely, Hon. C. Forrester, Sir P. Egerton, M.P., W.
Tattoo Egerton, Esq., M.P., Lady Grey Egerton. Lady
Charlotte Egerton, Sir E Cust, Lady Cust, John Stan-
ley, Esq., and lady. J. R. Shaw, of Arrowe ; R. Leicester,
Esq., of Tott : J. Dixon, Esq., of Arthe ; W. Mainwar-
ing, Esq., Mrs. Davenport, of Caperthorne, Master
C. ,venport, James Loch, Esq., M.P.: Lord Francis
Egerton's sons, and J. Ireland Blackburn, Esq., M.P.
Shortly after eleven o'clock the Marchioness of West-
minster having christened the vessel the " Birkenhead"
with a battle of vine, the noble craft slowly glided, in
the most majestic manner, into the water, amid the cheers
of the assembled thousands, the band playing " Rule
Britannia." The distinguished party afterwards ad-
journed to one of the work-rooms, neatly fitted up, where
a sumptuous repast, prepared by Mr. Millar, of the
Monks' Ferry Hotel, was laid out, after partaking of
which, the Chairman (John Laird, Esq..) proposed the
health of the Queen, which having been duly honoured,
the chairman proposed the health of the noble lady who
had christened the ship, and alluded to the fact of the ap-
pointment of her son to a distinguished post in the yes-
el. The Marquis of Westminster, in returning thanks,
rejoiced that the Admiralty had thought it right to pay
the compliment so justly due to the rising enterprise of
the town of Birkenhead, by giving to their vessel the
same name ; and, he was sure, all around him would con-
cur in the hope that that vessel, now first swimming 03
the waters, would, hereafter, be, in all her voyages, suc-
cessful in peace and prosperous in war. His lordship then
proposed the health of Mr. Laird, for which that gentle-
man returned thanks in feeling terms.