The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1843-07-11 00:00:00

THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD

that injustice, if perpetrated at all, has been perpe-
trated upon the public at large—upon the dock-rate
payers ; and that such injustice consists in the fact
' that power has been given to the dock trustees—or,
rather, as we have before stated, to the " Committee
of Works"—to lavish the funds of the estate in the
erection of buildings, of which they do not even
seem to know the cost, and against which nine out
of ten in the community are already exclaiming as
most injudiciously planned, and likely to be almost
ruinously inoperative. Before listening to any
prayer, either of the Council, the Dock Committee,
the warehouse owners, or the party " o t of doors"
who are agitating this question,—before giving to
the Dock Committee those increased powers which
two sessions ago they refused,—Parliament might
be disposed to inquire into the mode in which the
existing powers of that body had been used ; and
would undoubtedly receive, as no light evidence of
its injurious nature, the declaration of the mercan-
tile associations to which we last week referred.
But we p oceed with Mr. Evans's remarks :
" He (Mr. E.) should be very loth to be the person to
accompany any eminent stranger to look at the Albert
Dock, when completed under the present restriction, and
to tell him, when he asked the reason of the desolation
of half the ground. that, though allowed to build the
foundations and saults, they were not allowed to build
the warehouses. (Hear, hear.)"

So should we be loth to be the persons to accom-
pany any stranger, illustrious or otherwise, to look
at erections, and foundations of erections, and to
have to tell him that already it was a subject of
public debate whether those erections would have
to be moved back, and those foundations, completed
at an enormous expense, be rendered wholly use-
less !

" He should blush to tell the stranger that Liverpool
was under the control of a private interest that oppressed
her commerce and her trade; that, whilst every one of
these men was at perfect liberty to build any kind of
trashy warehouses he liked, on hill or dale, or wherever
he would, the public were inhibited from building the
best of warehouses on the most eligible site. (Hear, hear.)
Men must be under the most degrading influence in the
world, to suppose that the commerce of Liverpool was to
be checked, interrupted, and curtailed by a few men,
whose interests were, after all, comparatively unimpor-
tant ; and there could be no doubt that the corporation
ought to be released from such a degrading position as
this. The memorial alluded to a new circumstance—the
vast number of warehouses that had been burnt. When
these were to be replaced, would they deny the public the
application of the principle which they had already con-
ceded, by allowing half of the proposed dock warehouses
to be erected ? He did believe that if the warehouse in-
terest had effected the conquest of Liverpool just as an-
other William the Conqueror might have done, they could
hardly have imposed more destructive and more degrading
conditions on the town than they did by the late Dock
Act. He did hope that, under all the circumstances,
and considering the evident want of warehouses, the
warehouse interest would withdraw their opposition, and
allow warehouses to be built, which would be a model to
the world."

We, too, should blush ; but it would be to be
found talking such empty trash as this, and to be
so palpably displaying to the world how totally our
judgment and common sense we e obscured by the
absorbing influence of a pet crotchet I
Mr. Alderman Evans must know, or he ought to
know, that any application to Parliament to permit
the engrafting of a clause, so vitally important and
so extensive in its operation as the clause proposed
to he engrafted upon the Fire Prevention Bill, could
only tend to prevent the passing of that bill itself.
We have the distinct declaration of the Town Clerk
that such would be the effect of the application in
question; and really, when we see a gentleman, in
defiance of such an opinion, persevere in an obsti-
nate attempt to hurry the Council to the adoption
of a course so suicidal, we may almost be justified
in the suspicion that he cares less for the Fire Pre-
vention Bill—less for the providing of a remedy
which will contribute to arrest the frequent confla-
grations occurring in the town—than for the tri-
umph, by the aid of a temporary ferment in the
public mind, of that hobby with which he has so
sedulously endeavoured to ride roughshod over the
will and the properties of a large portion of the in-
habitants of the town.

TIME OF PARLIAMENT CONSUMED IN THE
DISCUSSION OF IRISH AFFAlRS.—Referring to
the complaint of Mr. W. S. O'Brien, that Ireland
is neglected by the British Parliament, the London
Times on Thursday remarks—
" What proportion of time do our readers suppose has
been actually occupied in the two Houses of Parliament
by exclusively Irish subjects? The time we cannot pro-
fess to guess at, but the matter spoken, even as abridged
of some of its most superfluous trash by the judgment of
our reporters, has occupied in our paper, since the Easter
recess only, no less than one hundred and four columns
and three-quarters, and seems but too unlikely to stop
even there. This at least, if not a disproof of, may be
taken by Mr. O'Brien as at least some revenge for the
neglect of the Legislature."

If to this be added the time consumed by the
British press and the British public, in recording
and perusing the ruffianism of O'Connell's repeal
gatherings, it cannot with any degree of reason be
urged that the alleged evils, or the sayings and
doings of the Irish people, do not occupy a full
share of the attention of the world.

A RADICAL GRIEVANCE !—ln the Manchester
Guardian of Wednesday last, we find the following
somewhat amusing paragraph :
" DISGRACEFUL USE OF A COURT OF JUSTICE.—The
sessions-room or moot-hall of the borough of Wigan, on
Monday last, was set apart for the accommodation of the
Orange lodges, who had a grand gala day in that town,
and were honoured' with the company of several of the
more distinguished members of the order. A band, en-
gaged by the body, was playing during the whole of the
day in the neighbour hood of the hall, and an adjacent
public-house, where one of the lodges is held ; and the
Orangemen dressed in full uniform, paraded the streets
to and from the building, the door of which was kept by
one of the fraternity. In addition to the above, several
banners bearing the arms of the order, and inscriptions,
Church and state,' Loyal Orange Society,' &c., were
hung from the windows of the grand jury room, outside
the hall, and the members were in deliberation during a
great part of the day, with closed doors. What the go-
vernment will say to this gross perversion of the use of a
public court of justice, if represented to them, remains
to be seen : it certainly reflects the highest discredit on
the authorities of the borough."

A shocking thing, truly, that the " sessions-room,
or moot .hall," of the borough of Wigan, should be
occupied—whether they paid or not for the accom-
modation—by a body of men who, in addition to
their other enormities, their " closed doors," &c.,
could haVe the assurance to exhibit from its win-
dows banners bearing inscriptions so offensive to
the eye of liberalism as " Church and State,"
" Loyal Orange Society," &c. ! A repeal meeting
might have been held in this same " moot-hall;"
and, we venture to say, we should not have had any
great outcry against it from the Manchester Guar-
dian. A dissenting gathering would have been
quite fitting and proper within its walls. But a
meeting of loyalists, whose motto is " Church and
State"—" what will the government say" to such an
enormity ? A place of worship may be desecrated
by anti-corn-law meetings; town councils and ves-
tries may be turned into normal schools of agita-
tion ; but a meeting in a court of justice, of men
devoted to the support of the Church and the in-
stitutions of their country, is an enormity which
the Guardian thinks ought to be put down by the
hand of the executive! Oh, the consummate im-
pudence of " liberalism" !

A RUNNING COMMENTARY UPON CONTEM-
PORARY JOURNALISM.—A contemporary of Tues-
day last, in an article of stupendous wisdom, enti-
tled " State of Trade," has perpetrated a collection
of dicta, upon which we propose to present to our
readers a " running commentary." Indeed, this
form of criticism is the only one in which we have
found ourselves able, after many fruitless trials, to
do anything like justice to the production in ques-
tion. We begin ; and now—loquitur the Liverpool
7 imes

" STATE OF TRADE.
" The quantity of cotton purchased in Liverpool, by
the manufacturers, in the first half year of 1843, is
648,740 bags, against 568,570 bags purchased in the cor-
responding period of 1842. This gives an increase of
upwards of 80,000 bags in the quantity bought for con-
gumption in the half year just ended, on comparison with
the first half year of 1842, and a still greater increase in
comparison with the consumption of 1841."

The arithmetical question here given is correctly
enough solved. If the conauniption of cotton in

the first half year of 1843 was 648,740 bags, and
that of the same period in 1842 was 568,570 bags,
the fact that there has been an increased consump-
tion of upwards of 80,000 bags is one of those
truths " which nobody can deny "—nobody, at
least, who has studied Cocker. Again, the Times
loquitur

" So great an increase as this proves (what indeed is
generally admitted) that the last half year has been one of
activity and prosperity to the cotton manufacturers, and
though business is at present rather duller in the cotton
districts than it has been for some time, yet it will be
seen from the extracts from one of the monthly circulars
just published at Manchester, which we give in another
column, that there is even now no reason for complaint."
Increased consumption of cotton proves the existence
of increased " activity" of manufacturing. The
conclusion is most logical and undeniable, and
worthy of our philosophic contemporary. We
rather apprehend, however, that increased con-
sumption does not always " prove " increased
" prosperity" to the manufacturer. This question,
however, we leave our contemporary to discuss with
his free-trade friends. The fact may be true; the
proof is not so apparent. We leave out some twad-
dle, and proceed :
" The accounts from Canada, brought by the Acadia,
prove, beyond doubt, that there can be no importation to
any extent either of American or Canadian grain or flour
into this country, except when prices are much higher
than they are at present in England."
Very old news this ; and we rather imagine that,
even with prices " much higher than they are at
present in England," we shall have, under a system
of free trade, as little American or Canadian impor-
tation as may be. The free-trade friends of the
Liverpool Times will again thank him for cutting
from beneath their feet their favourite argument—
the extent of the importations to be derived from
the United States ! Go on again with our most
candid contemporary :
" Owing to the dull state of the timber trade, and the
large arrivals of shipping in the St. Lawrence, flour can
now be brought to this country at half the usual cost of
freight, that is about 2s. 6d. a barrel, and yet scarcely any
is coming, the price at Montreal being such as to render
the shipping of it unprofitable even at that unexampled
rate of carriage. And this, it must be remembered, is
not the result rffailing crops either in A merica or Canada,
for the wheat crops have been quite as good in both these
countries during the last two years as they ever are." (!)
Good again I When, we ask, are we to have our
extensive imports from the United States, which
are so materially to benefit our export trade to that
country ? What becomes of all the trash-upon-
stilts which we have had spouted about the " fertile
plains of the West," &c.. &c. ? Messrs. Thornely,
Ewart, Rathbone—tell us what ! Ye have told us
that America could supply our millions with corn
cheaper than any other of the nations of the earth;
but hear what says your candid philosopher, the
Liverpool Times :
" The truth is, that the general range of prices in
America is much higher than is usually supposed, (!)
high wages there adding nearly as much to the cost of
production as high rents and taxes do here, and though
farming produce is occasionally sold at wonderfully low
prices in remote districts, that proves no more as to the
general rate of prices than the equally wonderful cheap-
ness of the remoter districts of Scotland, and Wales,
and Ireland." (!)

Excellent blunderer ! You have as fairly cut your
throat, or your reputation, as a free-trade authority,
as any philosopher within our remembrance ! But
the gem of the production is to come. Hear it, all
the wiseacres of the Anti-Monopoly Association,
and at your next sitting award the cap and bells to
its erudite author !

" It is quite certain that, without an exceedingly low
rate of duty, or entire freedom, THERE CAN NEVER BE
ANY CORN TRADE OF IMPORTANCE EITHER WITH
CANADA OR THE UNITED STATES, except when prices
are high in England." 0
The freight of American or Canadian flour from
Montreal is only 2s. 6d. per barrel. The differen-
tial duty now payable is an absolute protection, and
a large one, against the cheap corn of Europe.
And yet, with these advantages, the flour of the
St. Lawrence cannot be profitably imported into
Great Britain, " except when prices are high in
England," unless under " an exceedingly low rate
of duty or entire freedom"—unless, in fact, you
WITHDRAW THE ADVANTAGE WHICH THE DIF-
FERENTIAL DUTY AFFORDS ! Excellent logician !
Tell us how "a low rate of duty" (which they have
at present), or " entire freedom," will better enable
the countries on the banks of the St. Lawrence to
supply the British market, when that " low rate"
or that " entire freedom" are enjoyed by their con-
tinental competitors
We recommend this production of the Liverpool
Times to the consideration of the Anti-Monopoly
Association at its next sitting.

LOCAL NEWS.

During the thunder-storm, on Wednesday, a hay-stack
was set on fire at Lark-hilt, West Derby, but some men
being in the neighbourhood, the fire was soon extinguished.
Two old women, at Prescot, were condemned for
drunkenness to sit in the stocks, last week, during the
market day, and performed the penance accordingly.
Such an occurrence has never taken place before in Pres-
cot in the memory of the oldest inhabitants.

TESTIMONIAL TO A CLERGYMAN.-It gives us much
pleasure to hear that the ladies of the Rev. W. Badnall',
congregation, at \Vavertree, have lately presented him
with a handsome suit of canonicals, as a token of respect.
which is another proof of their esteem for him, and, doubt-
less, very gratifying to his feelings.

We understand that Mr. Edward Dalton, secretary to
the Protestant Association of London, has just been or-
dained by the Bishop of Cashel, and that the future
scene of his labours will be in Ireland. From his untiring
and indefatigable exertions in the cause of Protestant
truth, we feel assured that the rev. gentleman will, by the
biessing of Almighty God, become a most useful and
laborious minister of our beloved church.

SMUGGLING.--Joseph Hayes, Wm. Brown, and Joseph
Hampson, three boatmen, were yesterday brought before
Mr. Rushton, at the Police-court, charged with attempt-
ing to smuggle 112 lb. weight of foreign-manufactured
tobacco. The evidence against Hampson and Brown was
decisive, but rather slender against Mayes. They were
all remanded until Thursday next, to know the decision
of the Board of Customs.—A respectably-dressed youth
was committed for seven days, for smuggling two quarts
f brandy, from the Isle of Man steamer Queen of the
Isle.

COMMITMENTS.—A boy named Charles Sumners was,
on Saturday, committed for trial, charged with stealing
about 21b. of coffee from a bag which he had cut open at
Mr. Hollis warehouse in Ironmonger-lane.—A woman
named Mary M`Noltes was also committed for trial at
the ensuing sessions, charged with stealing a basket of
clothes from a public-house in Hurst-street.—William
Kelley for one month, for stealing a barrel from on board
a ship.—Joseph Lythgoe for the same time, for robbing a
till; and several women, for stealing articles of wearing
apparel, for times varying from one to three months.
SHIPPING DISPATCH.—The superiority of Liverpool
over other ports, in her facilities and accommodations for
shipping, has, we think, been fully proved in the case of
the Phoenix' Captain W. R. Greaves, from Antigua, be-
longing to Messrs. C. W. and F. Shand ; which vessel,
with a cargo consisting of 464 hhds. sugar and 221 puns.
molasses, besides a number of smaller packages, hauled
into dock on Thursday last, discharged and took on board
100 tons ballast and 150 tons goods, and sailed again for
Antigua on Saturday, having been only the short space of
sixty hours in dock ! We believe this exceeds anything
of the kind ever accomplished in Liverpool before.
CAsa ow STABBING.—On Tuesday last, as two men,
named Daniel Holland and William Sickle, were return-
ing to St. Helen's from Prescot, they met a man of the
name of William Dowdell, a porter, residing in this town.
Holland and Sickle asked Dowdell to treat them to a
quart of ale. Some altercation took place between the
parties, and Dowdell pulled out a broad bladed dagger,
and stabbed Holland above the left eye, and Sickle on the
right side of the forehead and eyebrow; the police was
immediately in attendance, and took the instrument from
Dowdell, whom they placed in the station-house. On the
following morning the case was gone into by Mr. Earle,
when Dowdell was committed to take his trial at the
assizes.

ANOTHER CASE OF STABBING.---On Saturday, fat the
police-court, a rough-looking elderly man, named James
Lunt, was charged with stabbing a coal-heaver named
Cornelius Walker. From the evidence it appeared that
some dispute had existed between the prisoner and
Walker, and that they met on Friday in a coal-yard at the
top of Old Hall-street, when, after some words, the pri-
soner took out his knife and stabbed Walker in the breast
arid stomach. Little hopes are entertained of his recovery.
The prisoner was remanded.
LATEST NEWS FROM THE UNITED STATES.--By
the arrival of the England, line of packet-ship, we have
New York papers to the 19th June. The only event of
importance of which they bring us intelligence, is the ce-
lebration, by a public procession in the city of Boston, of
the completion of the monument erected on Bunker's-
hill, of which the foundation-stone was laid eighteen
years ago. It is calculated that there were about 300,000
people assembled in the streets of Boston, and 200,(100
more upon platforms, balconies, and the roofs of houses,
amongst whom were the President of the United States,
Mr. Webster, and 108 soldiers of the Revolution, who
were eigaged in the action, most of them, of course, ap-
proaching the age of 90, and one we perceive nearly 100
years old. Much attention was excited towards this
veteran band. After marching in procession through the
town, Mr. Webster addressed the vast assemblage, from
a platform erected for the occasion, in an oration of great
power and beauty, but entirely American in interest.
The Columbia arrived at Boston on the morning of the
18th.

THREE CASES OF STARRING.—At the police-court
yesterday, Antonio Lewis, an Austrian, was committed to
the ensuing assizes for stabbing, on Saturday, a sailor of
the name of Joseph Carter, who, it appeared, was quar-
relling with a foreigner, when the prisoner, to whom he
had not previously spoken, stabbed him in the thigh.
The wound was about two inches long and an inch deep.—
William Bown was also committed to the assizes for stab-
bing a young man of the name of Leesome, near St. John's
Market. The case was clearly proved. The complain-
ant, who was severely wounded on the arm, was taken to
the dispensary.—The third case is one in which the pri-
soner was remanded, there being no evidence but that of
the wounded man, who is lying in a dangerous state at the
Northern Hospital. Both parties in this case are sailors.
DEATH FROM LIGHTNING.—On Thursday last, an in-
quest was held before Mr. Reyes, at Melling, in this
county, on view of the body of William Currie. a child
between four and five years of age, whose death was oc-
casioned by lightning. Between five and six o'clock the
evening previously, the father and mother of deceased,
with their six children, were sitting in the house when the
thunder-storm, which visited many places on that evin-
ing, seemed to concentrate itself with fearful violence in
the neighbourhood of Melling. The lightning struck
their cottage, breaking the windows of the kitchen, and
making a hole through one of the shelves ; it then passed
through the ceiling, and cut its way through the mantle-
piece, making a passage through the back of the chimney
into the next house, where it seems to have ended its very
eccentric career by cutting a flitch of bacon to pieces.
As soon as Currie and his wife recovered from the mo-
mentary shock which the explosion occasioned, they found
three of the six children who were with them struck to
to the ground; the youngest was quite dead, but the two
others recovered after being about an hour in a state of
insensibility. The deceased had several wounds on his
body—most of them appearing as if they had been
scorched. The eldest of the children who were struck,
is a girl about eight years old, had a slight wound on her
back, and the back of her head was slightly scorched.
The jury returned a verdict of died by the visitation of
God.

SERIOUS CHARGE.—At the Police-court, on Saturday,
James Malley, Christopher Malley, and Thomas Malley,
three brothers, carrying on business as master ropers, in
Lodge-lane, were charged with receiving three bundles of
rope-yarns which had been stolen on the previous even-
ing from the works of Mr. Moore, which adjoin the pri-
soners'.—Mr. Davenport appeared for the prisoners.—
From the evidence of Mr. Moore it appeared that in
consequence of property having been missed from his
premises for the last three weeks, he had kept a watch
during the night, and on the previous evening two parties
were observed to try to break open the door of a store-
room where the yarn is kept, but not being able to effect
it they went away, and shortly after returned with a key.
After having opened the door they lit a candle, and picked
out three bundles of yarn, weighing from two to three
cwts., which they took and dropped into the prisoners'
walk. He also stated that he knew the parties who had
entered the premises, one of whom had served his ap-
prenticeship with him. Inspector Stone stated that he
had received information of the robbery, and saw the
three bundles of yarn as deposited in !galley's walk. He
advised the parties to watch it, which they did, and he
afterwards found the yarns in a loft on the prisoners'
premises, and took the prisoners into custody.—Mr.
Moore being re-called, said, the entrance to Malley's-
walk was through an archway in his premises. It was
usual for them to come before six o'clock. The gate was
open when they came, and he saw them pass. The case
excited a great deal of interest. The prisoners were re-
manded until Tuesday, (this day.)
PRESERVATION OF DOCUMENTS FROM FIRE.—It will
be remembered that, in January last, Mr. Saml. Woods,
jun., with a view to ascertain the respective powers of
resistance to fire of several of the most approved patent
fire-resisting safes and boxes before the public, procured
three boxes of equal dimensions, which he experimentally
subjected to the test of strong fires, in a field in the out-
skirts, before a number of our intelligent and scientific
townsmen ; and that the result was highly favourable to
the plan of Messrs. Milner and Son, of School-lane,
whose safes, in this instance, as well as on trials of others
of different sizes, forms, and additional media of resis-
tance, were found to be greatly superior in preventing
documents, and even more ignitable substances, depo-
sited in them, from being destroyed or injured, even
when kept for hours in brisk fires. For the benefit of
the public, he afterwards laid before the Polytechnic So-
ciety the details of these experiments, which have since
excited so much general interest, that he has been in-
duced to publish, in a neat pamphlet, the substance of the
paper he then read, together with a great number of tes-
timonials from individuals in this town, highly recom-
mendatory of the pi inciple of fire-resistance discovered
and applied by Messrs. Milner, whose description, in
their prospectus, they fully bear out,—namely, that these
boxes, " for the preservation of gunpowder, ledgers,
deeds, cash, plate, jewels, and other valuables, are war-
ranted to bear more heat, without injury to their con-
tents, than any other arrangement within equal dimen-
sions, and, if of not less than one cubic foot of inside
measurement, to preserve their contents under the ordi-
nary circumstances of casual fires." As we noticed the
principle at some length at the time of the experiments,
we need not here revert to it, but refer to the book itself,
which supplies all requisite information (with illustrative
drawings) on a subject which, from the lamentable fre-
quency of fires in the town, has recently become one of
more and more importance to mercantile men and the
community at large. Copies may be had at the pub-
lisher's, Mr. Marples, at a small price; the proceeds of
sale to be given to the Blue Coat School.

THUNDER STORM.—During the afternoon of Wednes-
day last several districts near this town, as well as a num-
ber of other places were visited by a thunder storm of
unusual severity. The lightning in this neighbourhood
was very vivid, and the rain fell most copiously. At
Hilbre Island hailstones fell measuring four inches in cir-
cumference, and an inch and a quarter in diameter. At
Manchester the storm does not appear to have been felt,
whilst at Huddersfield a poor man was struck by the elec-
tric fluid, and died instantly. Mr. Leech's new mill at
Ashton-under-Lyne was struck, and several panes of glass
were broke, and portions of three iron pillars which sup-
ported one of the principals of the roof were forced out in
a very singular manner. Several trees were torn up by
the roots at the village of Armley, near Leeds, and one of
them was carried a considerable distance in the air, and
alighting upon a cow, killed her on the spot. One large
tree was twisted in two in the centre of the trunk, and the
fibres of the wood at the point of separation appeared
twisted together like the strands of a rope. The corn was
very much battered down in the neighbourhood of Barns-
ley, and upwards of £5O worth of damage was done to the
vinery of the Rev. H. B. Cooke, near that town. At
Wombwell, near the latter town, the destruction was very
great. Not a whole square of glass remained. At Leeds
much damage was done in the way of windows and glass,
and at Sheffield a hundred squares in the old church were
destroyed, and the dial in the illuminated clock was de-
molished. At Derby the electric fluid struck the chim-
ney of a house in Brook Walk, and descended first into a
bedroom, partially forcing the window frame from its
place, thence into a lower room from which it escaped by
forcing a sash window completely out. The chimney was
shattered and broke the roof in its fall, but fortunately no
one was injured. The effects of the storm were also felt
with more or less severity at Doncaster, Selby, Whitby,
Nottingham, Chesterfield, Bradford, Wakefield, Newcas-
tle-on-Tyne, and other places. The centre of the storm
appears to have been Sheffield, where its fury was exces-
sive. At Rangworthy, near Gloucester, a man was killed
by the lightning ; his wife was also struck to the ground,
but shortly recovered. We have received a letter from a
correspondent at Holywell, from which we learn that
pieces of ice measuring two and a half inches in diameter
fell. About fifty panes of glass were broken in the paper
mill of Mr. J. R. Jones, Afonwen. Cucumber glasses
were broken to pieces, and gooseberries were stripped
from the trees.

NEW WOOD PAVEMENT.—Our town readers will be
aware that during the assizes the streets round the Court
House have hitherto been laid with bark, to deaden the
noise in that busy commercial locality. This plan was
not found to be very effectual, particularly in wet weather,
tabrruti idicl tdwei dne
Company for the laying of the four streets round the
itghlattlhetheLroeftoidraeathmatetthroepaaluittlainorikvieosoldiavpeacvointig-
her of this company's men have accordingly been for some
garwweith their approved wooden pavement. A num-
clays engaged, and the process—which is here somewhat
new—has excited considerable interest and curiosity. The
first
operationleve a isna
itioe
s. removeThe
bedthe at groundthe
bottom
t o the
ia depththeonf
about
levelled and smoothed, leaving a gentle rise in the mid-
dle, forming a segment of a large circle across the road.
On this is placed a layer of concrete of the lime from
Halkin mountain, in Wales, (used in the mason-work of
the new docks,) coarse gravel and sand, and a considera-
ble proportion of what is called metallic sand, a dark-co-
loured powdery substance, from, we believe, the copper
mines. This is laid down to the depth of five inches,
and, while in a wet state, accurately levelled to the seg-
ment and gradient of the street. In comparatively a few
minutes it sets, so that it may be trodden upon without
receiving the impression of the foot; and shortly after-
wards becomes as hard and compact as stone. The next
and final operation is the laying upon this of the wooden
blocks. These are, in this instance, of tough Scotch fir,
from Inverness, in Scotland. They are six inches deep,
in perpendicular measurement, when laid ; but being cut
at top and bottom on a parallel level, giving them an in
clination or angle of 30 odd degrees, their lateral surfaces
crossing the street are about 6 inches, which is conse-
quently also the length of the fibre or grain in each. The
top and bottom surfaces of each is generally 5 by 51
inches ; and they run lengthways across the street, form-
ing as viewed laterally parallelograms, in perpendicular
rows, each of which alternately inclines one way and then
the other. These blocks are not laid down separately as
in ordinary pavement, but in conjoint " slabs," or oblong
squares of about a yard in area across the street longitu-
dinally. In this state they have been brought from Scot-
land, and being of equal width, and close together, they
are readily placed so as to span the street, like a tight
piece of arch-work between blocks of granite or other
stone at each side, which form the abutments. Each
block in these slabs is dowelled with two pins to the next
sideways, and the outer ones are united and held together
with simple clamps of thick iron wire, countersunk so
that the next row fits up to them. In this manner all the
blocks fit close together, without any intervening sub-
stance. The corners of each block are sawn or cut off all
round, so as to give a hold for the horses feet, and an an-
gular groove is also run through the centre of the surface
of each of them, for the same purpose. Grooves are thus
formed across the street about half an inch deep, and two
and a half inches apart, as well as grooves between their
upper end surfaces parallel with the street, which will
probably give the horses a good footing in dragging heavy
weights. This pavement is also comparatively smooth
and pleasant for the pedestrian ; and if it be found equally
safe during frost, (which exrerier ez alone can show,) will
be all that can be desired.