The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1854-05-09 00:00:00

Tnrilbn BARON PARKE has purchased the Lees Hill
estate, near Brampton, the property of John, Gill, Esq., of
Cumrew.. _ _

IT has been officially announced that an arrangement
for the transportation of the mails between, the United
States and Australia has been made, whith.ernbraces the
entire ocean postal reform. It fixes the rate•of letters be-
tween these distant countries at two cents, or•one penny.
Ma. HOBBS has failed to open one of.'ll,l2n.Cotterill's
Patent Detector • Climax Locks, which was:subtnitted to
him by a committee of Manchester gentlemen;. appointed
for the purpose of witnessing the experiment; Mr. Hobbs
has withdrawn his former depreciatory opiniOn of the
lock, and has declared it to be• a, good commercial lock
now that it has been improved..
A BILL CASE.—In the Court of Eichequer, om Tuesday,
a " bill case" was brought up for adjudication. The
action was brought by an attorney named Sherwood, to
recover £lOO on a bill of exchange which had been drawn
by Mr. Robert Elliott, late a wine-merchant in• Liverpool,
on Mr. Meiklam, a sporting gentleman, and negotiated
by an attorney's clerk named Newcombe: Certain " con-
siderations" had formed the basis of the transaction ; but
it was proved that the defendant, Keiklam, had never
received value for having signed his name. Baron Alder-
son, the presiding judge, severely reprehended the prac-
tices incidental to "doing bills," and expressed a hope
that parliament would pass a bill making such transactions
felonious. The jury concurred with his lordship; and,
doubtless out of respect to the court, the.case was with-
drawn.

DEATH IN THE STREET.—On Thursday, opposite St.
Matthew's Church, City-road, London, a respectably-
dressed man, in the prime of life, was suddenly seized
with a violent fit of coughing and expectorating large
quantities of clotted blood. He was assisted for a short
distance along the street, but grew worse, and died on
the pavement in about a quarter of an hour. After some
delay, the body was conveyed in charge of a constable to
St. Luke's workhouse. The following address was found
written in the deceased's hat :—" William Gregory, No. 4,
Smithfield-bars."

EXTENSIVE ROBBERY OF JEWELLERY.—On Wednes-
day, a young man, as dark as Creole, who gave the name
of Thomas Koope, managed to steal an immense quantity
of jewellery from the establishment of Messrs. Stockton
and Co., of Birmingham, while pretending to select a
stock suitable for export. Before the robbery was dis-
covered, he had escaped to Manchester. A telegraphic
despatch was transmitted to that city, where the thief,
with about £6OO of jewellery in his possession, was taken
into custody. He was conveyed back to Birmingham,
and Messrs. Stockton and Co. identified £3OO worth of the
jewellery as their property. It is supposed that the pri-
soner and his associates have extensive and valuable
packages on board the Great Britain steamer, now lying
in the Mersey, and that the police are actively engaged in
ferreting out the gang and the booty.

STEAM COMMUNICATION BETWEEN GLASGOW AND
NEW YORK.—A new company having some time since
been organised for conducting a line of steam navigation
between Glasgow and New York, their first ship, the
"Clyde," made her trial trip on Tuesday last, from Greenock
to Cumbrae-head. She is an iron-built screw steamer,
from the building-yard of Messrs. Scott and Sons, of
Greenock, and behaved admirably on the trip, making
occasionally a speed of 12 knots an hour, during which no
tremulousness nor unpleasant motion was observed by
any one on board. She will be on the berth at Glasgow
for passengers and cargo in a short time, and is expected
to be followed by another steam ship belonging to the
same company in about two months.
NOVEL FORM OF SYNOD.—The Placer Times gives the
following account of a novel kind of Synod held by the
Mormons :—A picnic was given for the benefit of the
ladies of the corps dramatittue of the Deseret Dramatic As-
sociation on the sth of December. All the great men of
the place were present, and Governor Young favoured the
company by singing, " Come, come, ye saints, no toil or
labour fear," which gave great pleasure. On the 31st of
January a public meeting was held on the subject of the
contemplated national railroad from the Missouri River to
the shores of the Pacific. His Excellency Governor Young
was in the chair. After prayer, by presiding Bishop
Edward Hunter, Mr. Hyde read a poem, prepared for the
occasion by Miss Eliza R. Snow, after a notice of two
hours only, and sung by Mr. John Kay. The meeting
then proceeded to consider a memorial to Congress on the
subject of the best route to be selected.
STEAM-BOAT COLLISION.—A case of considerable im-
portance to the whole travelling public was tried at Cupar
last week before Sheriff Monteith. Samuel Barker, cap-
tain of the Express steamer, plying between Burnt-island
and Granton, in connection with the Edinburgh, Perth,
and Dundee Railway, and 'John McMillan or McLellan,
mate of the same vessel, were charged with culpable and
reckless breach of duty, inasmuch as on the evening of
the 31st December, 1853, when the Express steamer was
on her passage from Burnt-island to Granton, Captain
Barker had gone below to his cabin, without intimating
to the mate his having done so ; and the mate, during the
time Captain Barker was below, instead of being on the
gangway or paddle-boxes, was at the bow of the vessel
among the other men, and no proper look-out was kept,
in consequence of which the Express came into collision
with the Leviathan luggage boat, sailing from Granton to
Burnt-island, and thereby serious injuries were sustained
by some of the passengers, and the whole of them were
exposed to danger. The jury found them both guilty, and
after a suitable admonition by the sheriff, Barker was
sentenced to imprisonment for three calendar months, and
McMillan to imprisonment for two calendar months.
With reference to the selling of whiskey on board these
ferry steamers, a practice which it appears has always
prevailed, Sheriff Monteith stated he had requested the
clerk of the court to forward notes of the evidence taken
in the above trial to the manager of the Edinburgh, Perth,
and Dundee Railway, in the hope that such a practice
would henceforth be discountenaneed by the company.—
Greenock Advertiser.
• TILE HOUSE or LORDS IN DARKNESS.—WhiIe Lord
Redesdale was speaking, on Tuesday, the gaslights sud-
denly went out, leaving the house in darkness. Never-
theless, he continued his remarks as if nothing had hap-
pened ; but of course it was impossible for the reporters
to take notes, and their inability to do so was not much
lessened when a few candles were placed on the table.
After the lapse of a few minutes the gaslights flared up
as suddenly as they had gone out, but it was only a mo-
mentary gleam, for in an instant the house was again
plunged in that state of darkness visible which was pro-
duced by the candles on the table. The noble lord,
nothing disconcerted, proceeded with his- statement,
addressing his observations to the lord chancellor, whose
snowy wig was just visible in the gloom, and was remark-
ing that the effect of his resolution would be to expedite
the public business, shorten the duration of the session,
and enable their lordships to give more discussion to bills
sent up from the other house than they had hitherto done,
when the gas was again turned ou, burning with i steady
blaze till the house rose.

DESTRUCTION OF TWENTY HOUSES.—One of the most
alarming fires which have been known in the neighbour-
hood since 1785, occurred a few days since at Ashburton,
in Devonshire. During the afternoon an alarm was given
that a thatched house in a back street, known as Cad-
lane, was on fire, and a large number of persons were
quickly assembled. There was some delay, however, in
getting the parish engine in readiness for use, and the
fire in the meantime spread with alarming rapidity. The
inhabitants, seeing the extent of the conflagration, became
almost terror-stricken. The firebell was out of repair, but
the church bells were rung, and messengers were des-
patched in the greatest haste for the fire-engines of the
neighbourhood. Every moment's delay added to the
destruction of property. The wind blew hard from the
north-east, and the burning flakes of reeds were scattered
about in all directions, igniting every roof on which they
alighted. The inhabitants rendered every assistance in
their power, and the scene is described as being most
heartrending. The dwellings which were destroyed were
principally those of the poorer classes: At length the
engines from the neighbouring towns arrived, and, a
plentiful supply of water having been obtained, the flames
were subdued, but not until twenty dwellings had been
demolished.

EXTRAORDINARY ESCAPE.—The people of Lyons, and
indeed of France, have for the last 19 days been kept in
a state of constant excitement regarding two men who
had literally been buried alive by the falling in of a well
at which they had been working. One died, while the
other, with the body of his dead comrade pressing on him,
held on with extraordinary fortitude, supported by provi-
sions which were let down to him at all times through
gaps formed by the tranverse beams, which fell in such a
manner as to form a screen over his head. From the
nature of the soil, great fears were formed that all efforts
would fail. We find the following details in the Lyons
journals of the 3rd :—" A considerable fall of earth again
took place two days ago in the well of Boule, and it was
for a moment feared that the adit was completely filled
up. Thanks, however, to the indefatigable zeal of the
workmen, and the skilful management of Captain Robi-
net, the mischief was promptly repaired. It is hoped
that the prisoner will be released on Thursday. On
Saturday he received a visit from Marshal de Castellane,
who, in addition to words of encouragement, brought him
a bottle of Madeira, which he appeared to receive with as
much gratitude as satisfaction. On Sunday evening
Giraud made a substantial meal, composed of a cutlet and
some glasses of Malaga. This regimen is quite to his
taste, and contributes not a little to make him bear his
sad captivity with patience. We need not mention that
his diet is regulated by the military surgeon, who visits
him several times a day, and will not allow anything to be
given that can injure his health. Although familiarised
with the presence of the dead body, Giraud does not the
less suffer from it. The body, which lies on an inclined
plane, is sliding under him, and every day incommodes
him more and more. On Sunday the Procureur Imperial
visited Ecully, in order to obtain information from Giraud
relative to the circumstances attendant on the catastrophe,
as it is thought that such an event could not occur without
raising serious questions of responsibility. The declara-
tions of the victim necessary for the examination of the
affair were received by Captain Robinet, who, having
descended some yards into the well, transmitted the ques-
tions to Giraud, and received his replies. This kind of
interrogatory continued about a quarter of an hour. The
poor prisoner appears to have made up his mind to all the
I consequences of his situation. He will scarcely allow any
one to speak to him of the hopes entertained, or to point
out the probable day of his deliverance. He says that he
is aware that every exertion is making for his release, and
on which he has such firm reliance, that so long as he
maintains his strength and courage, a day more or less is
of little consequence. The end of the adit is not, it is
considered, more than 90 centimetres from the place where
Giraud stands. His voice can be distinctly heard, and he
replies to the questions put to him. The interstice, through
which the wire of the bell passes, and through which his
food is conveyed to him, is not more than about 7 inches
in diameter. The decomposed body of Giraud's compa-
nion having begun to attract the flies, it has been found
necessary to close the opening with something which shall
prevent their entrance, without intercepting
or the air and
light which reach the prisoner through that ifice." The
Presse thus announces the final success of the efforts
made for the delivery of the hero of this extraordinary
event :—We hasten to communicate to our readers a gra-
tifying piece of news which reached- us just as we were
going to press. The drama of Ecully is at an end. Giraud
was' delivered from his subterranean prison at 8 o'clock
yesterday. evening in a most satisfactory state." As the
well fell in on the 14th ult., Giraud had been in his dread-
ful place of confinement 19. days. So great was the inte-
rest excited in high-places, that the Empress received._ by
order, a telegraphic desVatteh every day.,