The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1833-01-22 00:00:00

LOCAL.

HIGH. SHERIFF.—We understand that Sir John Gerard,
Bart., of New Hall, near Warrington, has accepted the office
of High Sheriff of this county, for the ensuing year.
The Theatre Royal, Manchester, opened last evening under
the management of Mr Lewis; stage-manager, Mr. Clarke;
prompter, Mr. Lloyd. Sheridan Knowles's nt-wplay of the
Hunchback is to be performed, in which the authav_luniself
will enact the part of Master Walter. Mr. Vandenhoff, Mr
Maud, (late of the Yorkshire circuit,) Mr. Baker, and• Miss
Ellen Tree are engaged. It is rumoured, we know not with
what truth, that our Theatre Royal is to open shortly.

COACH ACCIDENT.—On Thursday morning, as the Bristol
and Liverpool mail was proceeding on its way to the former
city, after leaving Chepstow-bridge, in turning a corner, it up-
set ; but happily, notwithstanding there were many passengers
both inside and outside, no one was materially injured; one
gentleman only receiving a slight wound on his head.

HOUSE ROBBERY.—On Friday morning, at eleven o'clock,
at the house, No. 58, Devon-street, as the family were occupied
up stairs, making the beds, some thieves entered at the back of
the house, over the wall, the kitchen door being incautiously
Left open, and robbed the house of eight silver spoons, and
several articles of wearing apparel, &c. No clue has yet been
discovered of the perpetrators.
STURDY BEGGARS.—A few evenings ago, about six o'clock,
a gang of fellows, who styled themselves Hard-upst_ perambu-
lated the streets in the vicinity of the circus and 'Williamson-
square, knocking at the doors of several of the inhabitants, and
demanding a Christmas .box. Upon questioning their right to
such demand, they immediately commenced a volley of abuse,
and, in several instances, broke windows,, and threatened what
they would do on some future occasion. One of the ring-
leaders was a fellow who was lately in jeopardy on account of
killing a man in a pugilistic contest.
Dr. SQUIRES, we find, has retired from the contest for the
situation of physician to the Infirmary and Lunatic Asylum.
'The reason he assigns for withdrawing as a candidate are
creditable to his high sense of honour, and his conduct on this
occasion must raise his character, professionally as well as in-
dividually, in the public estimation. We perceive that Dr.
Squires was recently elected President of the Liverpool Medical
Society.
REFUGE FOR THE DESTITUTE.—On Tuesday last, the annual
meeting of the subscribers to this institution was held at the
Savings'-bank, Bold-street. Lord Stanley presided, and among
the movers and seconders of the various resolutions were the
Rev. J. J. Hornby, rector of Winwick, J. W. Patten, one of
the members for the county, and W. Hulton, Esq , of Hulton-
park. Lord Skelmersdale, the president, was, we understand,
unable to be present, from indisposition. The report read was
of the most gratifying kind. From it we learn that the num-
ber of females now under the care of the Refuge is twenty, all
of whom are very promising. Thirty-three have left since the
last meeting in January, 1831, of whom twenty have been dis-
charged with favourable characters to enter into service, or to
return to their friends. Since the establishment of the Refuge
in 1823, the number of admissions have been 174, of whom one-
half have been restored to a respectable footing in society.
l'rhe funds were stated to have much improved during the last
two years, although still inadequate to meet the expenditure.
One striking fact in proof of the utility of the institution, was
adduced in the report, namely, that the committee have now
in their possession a list of the names of ten females, formerly
inmates of the Refuge, who are now in respectable places in
this town, in which they have remained one, two, or more years,
to the satisfaction of their employers.
PARISH AFFAIRS.—A rate of 2s. 4d. in the pound, for the re-
lief of the poor and other purposes for the service of the year
1832, was allowed by the magistrates on Saturday, and was pub-
lished in the churches yesterday. The increase of the rate this
year, we are informed, is caused by the short produce of the
rate of the preceding year, owing, in some degree, to the pre-
valence of cholera, as well as to the extraordinary expenditure
consequent upon that awful visitation. We understand, that
the very unusual delay in laying this rate has arisen from the
desire of the Churchwardens and Select Vestry to include the
new valuation of all the property in the town, upon the equit-
able principle of the fair annual value, which has been some
time in progress, and was completed on Saturday, by Mr. John
Stewart. It is, we believe, the first time the parish has been
valued throughout upon one principle, which will remove the
inequalities and discrepancies so often complained of, and will
equalize the assessment upon the rate-payers. A rate of 2d. for
the churches and clergy was published at the same time. We
apprehend, that a number of persons who take an interest in
thtelective franchise were lately disappointed by forgetting the
payment of rates, which renders them inelligible to vote on pa-
rochial as well as on political occasions; we would, therefore,
recommend early attention to that indispensable and important
requisite.

STATE OF THE LABOURING POPULATION.—John Fenton,
E9.' M.P., and John Fielden, Esq., M.P., are canvassing the
parish of Rochdale, in crder to ascertain how many of the poor
inhabitants are living on 2s. per week.
CAUTION TO OWNERS OF WAREHOUSES AND OTHERS.—On
Thursday last,- a Coroner's jury returned a verdict of " Man-
slaughtei." against Mr. Stocks, a very extensive merchant, in
Back George-street, Manchester, and, a porter in his service,
named Blackshaw, in consequence of a respectable female,
named Alice Tatton, having lost her life by the falling of a pack
from the teagle of Mr. Stocks, on the sth instant. Mr. Stocks
was not present when the accident occurred; but it was proved
that he had been repeatedly told of the danger to be appre-
hended from his teagle.

ASSESSED TAxEs---Not content with rating, hundreds of ten-
pounders to the inhabited house duty, from which they have hi-
therto been exempt, the servants of our liberal ministry have, in
innumerable instances, been raising the assessments of houses
both in Manchester and Salford. The publicans, we are told,
have been especially marked out as victims to this stroke of li-
beral policy, in some instances an advanoe of 50 per cent. hav-
ing been made on the last year's assessment. The appeal days
are fixed, and we have no doubt the commissioners will have
ample employment in reconciling the appellants to this new
state of things,—Manchester Courier.
COTTON WEAVERS' MEMORIAL.—At a meeting of the weav-
ers' committee, held at the Queen Anne Assembly Room,
Bolton, on Wednesday evenin„,,, last, it was moved by Walter
OTarroll and John Ashton, that a memorial be presented by
the members of the borough of Bolton, to the President, Vice-
President, and Commissioners of his Majesty's Board of Trade,
stating that, in the session of 1831, the weavers sent a petition,
signed by 10,670 individuals, to the House of Commons, pray-
ing for the tax upon the raw material of cotton goods to be ta-
ken off, and a ditty imposed in its stead, upon yarns for expor-
tation. The present memorial is of a similar tendency, and,
amongst other matters, it states, that the average nett earnings
of the weavers, men, women, and children, does not exceed 2s.
Sid. per week, and the average wages of the men do not exceed
4s. per week. The memorial concludes by praying, that, in the
contemplated changes of the commercial policy, the board will
keep in mind the principle of fostering and encouraging the
productive industry of this country, which object,-in the opinion
of the memorialists, can be best effected by abolishing all taxes
upob raw material, and as far as may be upon food, and in lieu
thereof, by adding to the taxes upon all articles of luxury and
foreign. manufacture. We understand that most of .the gentle-
men connected with trade in this town, and, especially, the sup-
porters of Mr. Bolling and Colonel Torrens, coincide in opi-
nion with the memorialists.--Manchester Courier.
A WOMAN KILLED BY tIER HUSBAND.—An Irishman, named
William Dugan, was committed to Lancaster Castle, on Satur-
day last, to await his trial at the next assizes, on a charge of
killing his wife. At the inquest, which was held on Saturday
last, before W. S. Rutter, coroner, the following facts were
stated. Dugan and his wife lodged in a house in Portugal-
street, and have for some tine lived very uncomfortably toge-
the!. About twelve o'clock in the night of the Ist instant, he
returned home in a state, bf intoxication, and not finding a
light in his room, he sent ,the deceased out to get a candle. She
went away for that purpute, and, on her return, she found that
he had thiown his trowsers on the fire in order to make a light.
When she saw this she cried' out, "Oh, you villain, are you
burning your trowBers t" "Yes," replied he, "and I'll never
give you an opportunity of pawning another pair." The people
in the house then heard him make a rush, as though he was
laying hold of her, anti directly afterwards she either fell or was
thrown from the, top to the bottom of the stairs. The landlady
of th 'house, without paying aily attention to the female, imme-
diat y ran into the room, and told Dugan that he had murdered
th woman, but the only answer she received was a blow on the
face. Another of the lodgers, named Terence Murphy, then
attempted to secure him, but the infuriated wretch seized
an iron "bakestone,'! which was in the room, and threw it at
Murphy, with such violence as almost to break his nose. The
fellow was at length secured by two watchmen, and taken to
the lockups. When the landlady v ent down stairs, she found
the unfortunate woman sitting on a chair, and complaining
that she was very much hurt. She was admitted as an out-
patient of the hifirmary, and died on the 10th instant. The
body was examined. by Mr. 011ier,_who stated to the jury that
three of her ribs were broken, and that one of them had pene-
trated the lungs, which caused her death. The jury returned
a verdict of " manslaughter."—Manchester Courier. ...,

WAREHOUSES.—We understand, that Messrs. Williams and
Edwards, jun., of Rumford-street, have invented a method of
building warehouses, at a trifling additional cost, so as to pre-
vent their total destruction by fire, as recently witnessed in
Liverpool. By their plan, the necessity of taking down the
walls would be avoided, and, consequently, much time and ex-
pense saved; in clearing the ground, cleaning the materials,
&c.: nothing more would be required after a Are than to refit
the interior. Their method may be well worth the attention of
persons about to build warehouses.