The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-06-25 00:00:00

CHANGE FROM A DEEP SLEEP INTO DEEP WATER.-

On Sunday. night, about eleven o'clock, a dock gateman,
on duty at George's Dock Basin heard some heavy sub-
stance fall into the water, and on looking to ascertain
what it was, found a poor flatman, named Wakefield,
struegling for bis life. He immediately threw in one of
the life-buoys kept at the bridge for the purpose, which
the poor fellow seized and held fast till lifted out by the
rest of the crew on board. It appears he was keeping
the tide watch, had fallen asleep, and in that state rolled
from the dock into the water.

THE ATLANTIC STEAMERS.—The royal mail steam-
ship Britannia, Captain J. Hewitt, sailed fur Halifax and
Boston on Wednesday, with the mails and her full com-
plement of passengers. She had then been in port but
five days. The Hibernia is undergoing repairs. She
sails on the 4th of July, and has already a large propor-
tion of her berths engaged. The Great Western, ta
Matthews. sailed, on Saturday. for New York. anciptooT
out thirty-five passengers, and a large quantity of fine
goods. The smallness of the number is to be attributed
to the uncertainty which prevailed until a few days pre-
vious to her departure whether she would sail at all for that
city. The steam-ship Caledonia, Captain Lott, which would
leave Boston and Halifax on the 16th and 18th ult., may
be expected to arrive here early on Saturday morning.
IRON STEAM-SHIP BUILDING.—The progress of build-
ing steam-ships of iron is making way in the most influen-
tial quarters. The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Corn-
pany have resolved in laying down a series of iron steam-
ers of the first class for their Mediterranean service. We
trust Liverpool will have her share of this expenditure.
Hitherto that company have confined themselves to tim-
ber-built ships, and it is highly creditable to our old tows
that their best vessels are of Liverpool build, viz., the
Oriental, the Hindostan, the Great Liverpool, and the
Bentiuck. The town and its trade owe much in this re-
spect to the father of steam navigation on the high seas—
Mr. C. W. Will•ams, the managing director of the Dub-
lin Company, and to Mr. Carleton, formerly a director of
that company, and now one of the directors of the Penin-
sular Company.
PUBLICANS AND BEERSELLERS FlNEn.—Huntington,
publican, Standish-street, 605., Phillips, Key-street,
publican, 605., Quayle, Mersey-street' publican, 80s.,
Wright. New Quay, publican, 605., Sumner, Crown-
street, publican, 605., Watson, Gilbert-street, publican,
£5„ Dickinson, Jackson-street, publican, 50s. Barton,
Crump-street, publican, £5, Mitchell, Circus-street,
beerseller. 80s. Scott, Litnekiin-lane, beerseller, £5.,
Owens, Dale-street, Windsor, beerseller, 405., Fazakerly,
Carruthers-street, beerseller, 405., Connor, Downe-street,
beerseller, £5., Chadwick, Carpenters-row, beerseller,
505., Skane, Waterloo-road, publican, 405., Aspinall,
Lower Harrington, publican, 40a., Seger, Scotland-read,
publican, acquitted ; James Thompson, Denison-street,
publican, acquitted. The fines imposed amounted in the
whole to £53, exclusive of the costs, which are 4s 6d in
each case.

GREAT WESTERN STEAM-SHIP.—On the application
of the Great Western Stearn Co. the injunction which had
been obtained at the instance of the Peninsular and
Oriental Steam Co. against the sailing of the ship, the
" Great Western," for New York, has been dissolved.
The Vice-Chancellor observed, that he did not see how
he could continue the injunction, as, on looking into the
terms of the contract for the sale of the ship, he found
great uncertainty and contradiction. He did not, there-
fore, see how he could frame a decree which could recon-
cile such discrepancies. He could not, therefore, avoid
dissolving the injunction. On the question of costs, the
Vice-Chancellor observed, that as the suggestions ap-
peared merely to be made by the ingenuity of counsel,
and seeing that there was so much pinching and scraping,
he must refuse to allow them. The Great Western sailed
from this port on Saturday.
CAUTION TO OMNIBUS-DRIVERS.—On Saturday, the
driver of Lawrence's omnibus to Aigburth appeared be-
fore Mr. Rushton, to answer two complaints lodged
aaainst him by officer 231, for having, on the 13th and
16th instant, in going to and returning from Liverpool,
been on the wrong side of the road. The defence was,
that the driver had no recollection of having infringed the
rules on the first day mentioned, and that he was obliged
to cross to the wrong side on the second occasion, in order
to let down Mr. Kearsley, a passenger. Mr. Rushton
said that complaints against omnibus drivers were of every
day occurrence, and that, with their lumbering machines
and reckless driving, they were constantly upsetting gigs
and other light vehicles in the streets. He thought a bye-
law would have to be passed with the view of meeting
such an intolerable nuisance. He then ordered the de-
fendant to pay a fine of 10s. and costs for each offence;
and said that, if complaints continued to be made, the
fine would be increased to 40s.

CASE OF STABBING.—On Thursday, Friday, and
again on Saturday, a foreign sailor, of the name of Ed-
mund Tell, was brought up on a charge of having severely
assaulted and stabbed one of his companions, named
Thornton. It appeared, that a number of men, amongst
whom were the prosecutor and prisoner, were drinking at
the Queen's Head, near Brunswick Dock, and that, a
scuffle having arisen among the carousers, the prisoner
followed Thornton out and stabbed him with a knife,
which, upon being shown in court, was asserted, by the
surgeon, to be incapable of giving the severe wounds his
patient had received. A host of witnesses were examined
in corroboration of the charge ; and eventually the pri-
soner was remanded until Monday.—Yesterday, in con-
sequence of the absence, from indisposition, of Mr.
Rushton, who had previously heard the evidence, the
reading of the depositions was postponed until this day
or to-morrow, when it is hoped that magistrate may be
enabled to resume his official duties.
ATTEMPT TO PoisoN.—On Thursday last John Mur-
phy, an old man, was comun'tted by one of the magis-
trates of Salford, to take his trial at the next assizes in
this town, on a charge of having attempted to poison his
daughter-in-law. It appeared, from the evidence, that
the prisoner's son had recently brought home a young
wife, at which the old man was much displeased, as, being
dependant on his son, he feared be should be turned out.
He quarrelled with the young woman, and more than once
threatened her with vengeance. The son, a short time
since, placed some oxalic acid, which he uses in his busi-
ness, in a cupboard. On Thursday morning the young
woman, after a temporary absence, discovered an extra-
ordinary appearance in the teapot, from which she was
about to take her breakfast. The contents of the pot were
examined, when the discovery was made that a large quan-
tity of oxalic acid had been mixed with the tea. As no
person had entered the house save the prisoner from the
time when the tea was put in till the discovery that ano-
ther ingredient had been mingled therewith, the circum-
stances were deemed sufficiently strong to warrant his
committal.

Loss OF THE MANCHESTER, STEAM VESSEL.--A
communication from Hamburgh, via Hull, dated Tuesday,
the 18th instant, reached Liverpool on Saturday afternoon
which left little doubt that the Manchester, steam-vessel,
with all hands and passengers on board had been lost at
the mouth of the Elbe. She was a regular trader between
Hull and Hamburgh, and left Hull on Friday week. She
had six or seven nassengers on board. On Saturday and
Sunday there was an awful storm : a vessel from Cadiz
perished near the mouth of the Elbe, and it was believed
in Hamburgh that the Manchester shared the same fate
at the same time. Nothing had been heard of her except
that property said to have belonged to her had been washed
ashore. This, however, might have been from off the
deck ; but the letter from Hambrugh gives no hopes of
her safety. It was generally believed that she had gone
down. The Manchester had been in Liverpool, a short
time since, getting in her engines, manufactured by
Messrs. Fawcett and Co. The following is stated to be
a correct list of the passengers :—Mr. Phillips, of Bir-
mingham ; Mr. Richmond, of Paisley ; Mr. Rothery, of
Leeds; Mrs. Smith, her daughter, Miss Emily Smith,
21 years of age, and Mr. St. George Smith, her son, 27
years of age. This family came from Drogheda, in Ire-
, land, and were going to Graaffenburg, in Silesia, for the
benefit of their health.

WARRINGTON BOARD OF GUARDIANS.—The usual
weekly meeting of the board took place on Wednesday
last, i❑ the Boardroom at the Workhouse. There were
five guardians present, and Mr. West was called upon to
preside. From the returns it appears that the total num-
ber of cases relieved throughout the union during the
previous week was 921, and the total expense incurred
£B7 15s. 4d. The number of cases relieved by Mr.
Cruikshank in the house was 453, and the amount ex-
pended £4l lis. 7d, ; of this sum £25 10s. ids. was in
money, and £l6 7s. in kind. In the corresponding week
last year, the number of cases relieved was four hundred
and fifty-eight, and the amount expended, £l9 Ss. 2d.
In the rural districts, the number of cases relieved was
468, and the amount expended, £45 17s. 9d. ; of this sum
£.lO 17s. 9d. was in money, and the balance in kind.
The number of inmates in the workhouse at Warrington
was 78, and in the one at Newton, 84 ; total in both 162.
Balance in the treasurer's bands, due to the union,
£219 4s. 10d. The clerk called the attention of the meet-
ing to the subject of the appointment of a superintendent
of pauper labour, in conformity with the orders of the
poor-law commissioners, but no steps were taken ; two or
three cases which came before the board for relief, it was
agreed, should be forwarded to the commissioners for
their instructions, there being many of a similar nature in
this district. No other business of importance was
transated.

INCENDIARY FIRES AT BIRKENITEAD.—Two fires
broke out at Birkenhead on Monday night week, both of
which are supposed to be the work of an incendiary.
About eleven o'clock the first alarm was given, and it was
soon ascertained that flames were issuing from the win-
dows of some new houses, which are being erected by Mr.
Michael Raynes, near the finger-post, in Grange-lane.
Owing to the prompt exertions of two of the neighbours,
Mr. Boydell and Mr. Walker, the burning materials were
thrown out of the premises and the buildings saved. The
damage, which was trifling in amount, was principally
confined to some loose timber. Theree h
There atsteroinngclusmirieeisl
of turpentine about the place : and,
since made, it is supposed that a joiners bench and some
of the wood-work must have been previously covered with
turpentine, the better to accomplish the wicked designs
of the incendiary. In about an hour after the fire was
subdued, the inhabitants
.were again roused from their
slumbers by the renewed ringing of the fire-bell. Flames
were then found to issue from the sheds and saw-pits be-
longing to Mr. James Taylor, timber merchant, which
are connected with a range of new houses in course of
erection by that gentleman, at the back of Grange Farm.
The engine belonging to the township was speedily on the
spot ; but it was found impossible to extinguish the
flames, and the consequence was, that the whole of the
intended wood-work for the new range of houses, con-
sisting of doors, window-frames, and other property of a
considerable amount in value, was destroyed. There is
every reason to believe that this was the work of the same
incendiary who had previously fired Mr. Rayner's pre-
mises, the two concerns being not more than ten minutes'
walk from each road.
other, and on the same line of A
roan of suspicious character, who was found lurking near
the second fire, was taken into custody.