The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1843-08-01 00:00:00

FELONIES.

James Alexander, 34, who stated he was a miniature
painter, was brought up for sentence for stealing a poor
woman's aprons, towels, &-., on the 10th July.
The RECORDER commented on the disgrace of a man
who, it appeared, had received a good education, commit-
ting so mean an act, and sentenced him to be imprisoned
and kept to hard labour for six months.

James Grzifiths, 18, who had previously been twice Im-
prisoned, and latterly confined four months for felony,
and who, immediately after his release, had On June last)
stolen a cheese, was brought up for sentence, which was
that, being incorrigible, he should be transported for
seven years. . _ _

This closed the business of the sessions, which con-
cluded at half-past one o'clock.

We understand that three members of the house of
Israel will b.?. publicly baptized in All Saints' Church,
Grosvenor-street, this evening, when a lecture will be
delivered on God's dealings with the Jews as well as with
the Gentiles under this dispensation, by the Rev. James
Kelly, M.A., rector of Stillorgan. We trust that so af-
fecting a ceremony will attract a large attendance.
Su IP LAUNCH.—On Saturday last there was launched
from the building-yard of Messrs. Robert Clarke and son,
iEtna-street, a fine new ship, called the Jaeger. Shortly
after twelve o'clock the supports were knocked away and
she was set in motion, and, amid the acclamations of the
assembed multitude, she glided slowly from the stocks
into the river, Mr. Watford Shand, at the same time,
naming her, and breaking a bottle of wine across her
bows. After the launch the company retired into the
model-room, where a cold collation had been provided by
Messrs. Clarke. The following are the dimensions of
the vessel :—New tonnage, 5041 21-100; old ditto, 433
10-94 ; measurement, length 115 feet : breadth 28 feet 101
inches.

COMPLAINT AGAINST A POLICE-OFFICER, AND MIS-
CONDUCT OF A BAILIFF.—On Thursday, at the Police-
court, an elderly man and his daughter, whose names did
not transpire, preferred a complaint against Police-officer
No. 544, to the effect that he had accompanied a distrain-
ing officer, named Kelly, and two others, to the daugh-
ter's house, in Lumber-street, and stood by while they
carried off a quantity of household goods, without any
legal authority. They stated that they repeatedly asked
Kelly and the others to produce their authority, which
they said they had from Mr. Rushton, but without suc-
cess, and that they as often asked the officer to demand it,
but that he refused to do so ; stood by while the goods
were being removed, and even threatened to put the
female in handcuffs if she resisted the removal of the pro-
perty. Several witnesses spoke to the same effect.—The
officer said he had been called in to keep the peace, and
that he did not further interfere. Mr. Rushton said he
did not think the officer, who had no right to ask for the
warrant, was to blame, but he had no doubt but that the
bailiffs had acted without legal authority, and had been
guilty, as too many of their class were, of a serious
offence. The parties had two modes of redress if they

thought fit. They might proceed by action ; or, if they
thought a felony had been committed, they might give the
aggressors into charge.—On the principal bailiff leaving
the court he was given in charge by the complainants
"for stealing household furniture," and taken to Bride-
well. The case would have been heard against him the
same day, but before the witnesses again appeared, Mr.
Rushton had left the court, the close of the business of
the day having been announced by the clerks, who were
not then aware that the man was in custody.—On Friday
the prisoner.was placed at the bar. The charge of felony
was not sustained, but a summons was directed to be
issued against him for the restitution of the goods.
XTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCE.—On Tuesday af-
ternoon last, about four o'clock, as a carter was discharg-
ing'some puncheons of whisky from a lorry, opposite Mr.
Dawson's spirit cellars, near the top of Harrington-street,
and was in the act of lowering one of them into the street,
it by some accident slipped over from the ladder or slide,
on which it was placed sideways, and fell into the street
with such force that the cask, not being apparently one of
the-best, was knocked to pieces, and the whole of the con-
tents (perhaps sixty gallons) rolled into the channel, which,
Tor some moments, was in several parts nearly ancle deep,
as it rushed on to North John-street. The accident was
seen by a few persons, and the spirits being of great
strength, its strong smell soon attracted many others,
until the street became crowded by young and old, some
of Whom did not long remain passive spectators, particu-
larly those of thelower classes, who from smelling soon rook
to tasting with their fingers, and finally to drinking. In a
very short time spoons, pieces of card, saucers, cups, small
tins, &c. were put into requisition with great activity, and
bottles and jugs were filled with the liquor, from dimples
in the street and little pools in the channel, where it lodged
more or less clear and free from dirt. Some of the lower
classes, men and boys, more greedy than nice, were after-
wards also seen on their bellies, drinking it even from the
dirtier puddles. Its potent effects soon became visible
upon some of them, and had the Bacchanalian stream con-
tinued a short time longer, not a few of them would have
fallen in the street, and might possibly have died, in spite
even of the stomach pump. One little girl, without shoes
or stockings, had either herself taken and drunk, or had
had heedlessly given to her, such a quantity that she
could neither stand nor speak, and her fruitless attempts
to walk away with her little sister excited much merriment
amongst the mass of the unthinking, if not unfeeling by-
standers. A police-officer was dragging her rudely to her
home, as if he thought she had the power to walk ; but on
a gentleman belonging to our establishment advising him
to take her immediately to a surgeon's, as her life was
probably in danger, he took her away in his arms for that
purpose. The scene on the whole was highly disgraceful
to many if the tortes, as showing their avidity for intoxi-
cating drinks; aiid hail it i een w,ti,e-snit liv Filth( r Ma-
thew, would have gone far to blight ail his hopes of t freet
int! a teinperanec reformation amongst some of the
orders in this locality.