The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-07-30 00:00:00

HOUSE OF COMMONS.-FRIDAY.

The Savings Banks Bill was passed through committee.
Considerable discussion took place on the third read-
ing of the Poor Law Amendment Bill, which was admitted
by Mr. Wakley and other hon. members to be a great
improvement upon the existing law, and Sir J. Graham
received great praise for the conciliatory manner in which
he had carried the bill through the house.
Sir J. GttArlAat in return admitted that the opponents
of the poor law had diFcussed the provisions of the bill in
a fair and temperate spirit.
The bill was then passed.
A great number of bills were passed through one stage
respectively, after which the house adjourned.

FOREIGN AND COLONIAL.

AMERICA.

The British and North American royal mail se t m-ship
Britannia, Captain Hewitt, arrived here Saturdayona at
midnight. She left Boston on the 19th and Halifax on the
18th instant, and has, therefore, made the passage from
the former port, including the usual detention at Halifax, I
in little more than twelve days. She brought a large
number of passengers, a list of whom we give below.
The Brtiannia has now completed four passages across
the Atlantic since the fourth of May this year. In the
course of eighty-six days, fifty-two only of which were
actually occupied in steaming, she has traversed a distance
exceeding 12.000 miles.
The steam-ship Great Western arrived at New York
on the ith instant.
The riots in Philadelphia had been renewed. It appears,
that, on the 6th instant, a report prevailed that a number
of muskets had been conveyed by the Irish catholics to
the church of St. Philip de Neri, in Queen-street, South-
wark, Philadelphia. The report caused much excitement,
the street was soon crowded with citizens, the sheriff and
two aldermen were sent for, the building was entered, end
ten or a dozen muskets were found. A committee of the
citizens was subsequently appointed, and, after much con-
sultation, the church was again entered to search for more
arms. It is solemnly averred, in a document signed by
the committee and an alderman, that they were met at
the church door by two Irishmen with loaded muskets and
fixed bayonets. These were immediately disarmed. The
party entered a room and found twenty-seven muskets.
The priest was found officiating at the altar. He was seized,
and asked if he had any arms or ammunition. He replied
in the negative. They subsequently found a quantity of
arms, bullets, cartridges, gunpowder, and percussion
caps. The excitement increased greatly after this, and
matters appeared to be so threatening that troops were
poured in from all the surrounding districts. Crowds
filled the streets, and threatenings were heard in every
quarter against the Irish party, respecting whose inten-
tions the most absurd rumours prevailed. On Saturday
the state of affairs before the church was so threatening
that the military were marched to the spot. The crowd
made a rush upon them and forced them back. At
length the soldiers were assailed by missiles of all descrip-
tions which, having been borne patiently some time, the
word was given to fire. The soldiers were, however,
unable to obey, because of the position of the sheriff's
posse of police, who would have been exposed to dan.
ger. A Mr. Naylor, an ex-member of the Congress
stepped forward and exclaimed, they would fire on their
follow-citizens they had better commence with him. He
was instantly arrested and locked in a part of the church
placed under guard. This exasperated the mob greatly,
and they would have demolished the church had not some
of the more prudent of them restrained their fellows.
After twelve o'clock•the crowd gradually, and slowly, di-
minished in numbers, until about nine o'clock on Sunday
morning, when they began to increase, and threats, loud
and deep, were proclaimed, that, unless Mr. Naylor was
released, the walls of the church should be battered down.
The demand was resisted for some time, until, at length,
two pieces of cannon were brought up near the church,
one of which had been taken from the ship Venice, moored
near the navy-yard, and the other from a wharf in the
vicinity of the vessel. A second demand was made for his
release, accompanied with a threat, that, if they did not
give him up by twelve o'clock, the church would be fired
upon.
. During all this time the military bad possession of the