The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-01-30 00:00:00

THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

LOCAL NEWS.

LA UNCEL—On Tuesday, a fine barque called the Lau-
rina, and intended for the Wes, India trade, was launched
from the building yard of Mr. P. Cato, Brunswick Dock.
She will he placed under the command of Capt. Barr, is
about 200 tons burthen, 90 feet in length, 24 in breadth,
and 15 in depth.

CAUTION TO PARENTS.—On Saturday, at High Tran-
mere, a female child, named Coker, set herself on fire in
playing with Inciter matches in the absence of her mother.
She lingered till the next day, and then expired in great
agony. An inquest was held the following Monday, and
a verdict of accidental death returned.

OFFICE BROKEN OPEN.—On Monday night, the office
of Mr. Deakin. coal merchant, Leeds-street, was broken
open, and the brass work of a large clock stolen there-
from. Some of the works were afterwards found in the
cellar of Cecilia Connor, l-lodgson-street. John Morri-
son anti James linear were in the cellar at the time, and
said they found the articles. They were committed as the
thieves, and Connor as the receiver. Mr. Deakin said
the office was regularly broken open three times a year.
SAILOR'S WRONGS.—On Wednesday, at 'Change time,
from five to six hundred men assembled in the Exchange
Arena, to impress upon the merchants their desire, which
was expressed in a memorial, that their cause should be
sanctioned by employers generally, so that by resort to
an economical and honest registry the men would be
taken out of the hands of those who make exorbitant
charges for shipping them, for cashing their notes, sup-
plying them with clothing, &c. Their claims were listened
to with much attention.

PUBLIC-HOUSE ROBBERY.—Between the hours of four
and six p.m. on Tuesday last, the house of Mr. Halliday,
sign of " The Lett, rs," Fletcher-street, Toxteth-park,
was entered by thieves, and the sum of £7O in cash ab-
stracted from the bed-room. The following articles were
also taken :—A sea-green coloured cornelian stone, a sold
brooch, set with white stone, a gold brooch, hair taken
out, a virgin gold ring, set with crystals, a mourning ring,
a pair black ear-rings, two or three foreign coins, and
two crooked sixpences.

INGRATITUDE.—On Thursday week, Mr. Jos. Dunn,
warehouseman, Fleet•street, whilst in the house of Mr.
Williams, Robert-street North, met with a person named
Thomas Evans, who said he knew many of his friends.
After some conversation, Mr. Williams invited him to his
house, and gave him a night's lodging, with parties sleep-
ing in the same bed. In the morning Evans departed,
taking with him the watch of his companion, who, being
unwell, was unable to quit his room. On Wednesday,
Williams met Evans in the street, when he seized him,
and handed him over to the police. On Thursday he was
committed for trial.

A FALSE ALARM.—On Wednesday evening last, a fe:
male, well known to the police, was found in the streets,
conducting herself in a disorderly manner. She was taken
into custody, and after reaching the bridewell, complained
that the pains of labour were coming upon her. Her per-
sonal appearance, as well as her behaviour, convinced the
officers that she would soon gi re birth to another sublect
of her majesty, and of course a surgeon was immediately
sent for. When the medical gentleman arrived, the fe-
male burst into a fit of laughter, and during the paroxysm
was safely delivered of a quantity of cotton wool, &c.,
which she had concealed under her clothes for the pur-
pose of making her appear to be enciente.
THE CONVICT ROBERTS.—In noticing the execution of
this unfortunate man, the Liverpool limes says, "That
he died justly cannot be denied, for he had been the
means of hurrying into eternity a man who had done him
no injury, and who at the time he was killed was doing
nothing more than his duty to his employers." We are
glad to find that there is at least one even among the or-
gans of the Liberals that is not afraid to say that it is just
to take away life in punishment of murder. We are
happy to have such a corroboration of our own views,
and such a testimony against the sickly effeminacy of
those tender souls who think society cannot even spare
its murderers.
APPREHENSION OF SUPPOSED BURGLARS.—On Wed-
nesday evening, in consequence of information received,
officers M'Comb and Ainsworth proceeded to the house
of Philip Maxwell, in Russell-street, where they found
concealed in a box twenty-six skeleton keys, a crow bar,
and other implements used by burglars. Maxwell, his
brother Henry, Joseph Haglian, and Joseph Ashton, who
were known to associate together, were found at a disor-
derly house next door, and taken into custody. Philip
Maxwell was sent to gaol for three months, for having
possession of the articles. Henry, who was identified as
being one of the party who made an attempt with George
Baker arid " Nottingham Charlie" to rob the premises of
a poor woman in Copperas-hill, was also committed for
three months. The other two were remanded, on suspi-
cion of being engaged in robbing the house of Mr. Halli-
day, Fletcher-street.
THE MAHOGANY TRADE.—Since our last quotations
the periodical sale of Messrs. Chaloner and Fleming and
Messrs Duncan and Ewing have been held. The amount
of business transacted has been extensive, upwards of
172.000 feet of St. Domingo, 120,880 feet of Honduras,
with two parcels of Cuba Mahogany having been sold,
leaving the stock in first hands comparatively small. The
quotations, this week, are as follow :—Of 120.880 feet of
Honduras offered the whole was sold at from 54-d. to 2s.
or 7.+d. per foot average. Of three parcels of St. Do-
mingo offered 74,690 feet were sold, at from Sid. to ss.
or ls. 31d. per foot average; 73,000 feet at from 61d. to
Bs. 9d., or Is. 2d. per foot average ; and 24,400 teet at
from Bd. to Is. 112 d. or Is. 10. per foot average. Of
two parcels of Cuba offered one was sold at from 7d. to
101 d. per foot, the other from 6:1-d. to Is. 7d. per foot.
Of three parcels of lancewood spars offered, 1,550 were
sold at from 9i. 9d. to 12s. each ; 450 at from 3s. to 4s. 6d.
each; and 196 at from 7s. to 7s. 6d. each. The results
of these sales clearly prove that Liverpool still maintains
the position she has long held of being the first market
in Europe for the best assortments of rich cabinet- mak-
ing, machine-making, coach-building, and other fancy
woods.

ROBBERY AT WINSTANLEY'S AUCTION-ROOMS.—Retween the hours of three and four o'clock on Sunday
morning last, the officer on duty in the neighbourhood of
Church-street discovered, on going his rounds through
Brookes'-alley, the back-door leading into Messrs. Thos.
Winstanley and Co.'s auction-room wide open, which, a
short time before, had been perfectly secure. He im-
mediately raised an alarm, and, on procuring assistance,
discovered that thieves had been on the premises, and
that they had succeeded in effecting their escape. It ap-
peared,
efmrrioous trhoebsbteartye ihnawd hbiceleinthceoymehmadplaleteftd
,thaendpltaiciaet,
havet g
be r
e secretedit w as
closed them-
selvesfor the night, and that when they found all quiet they
It further
in s
oamp pee
partar appeared than a
the
commenced to break open every desk which they sup-
htehe byuirdain s
posed contained money. They had evidently m_de several
offyeecdt ual
oneatt
locke m
ipntse
nt
do e
asmashi
nag; largeto pickir o
it,n safe;
but
tthey resisted
sinede-
trall their efforts. The only money they were able to find
was the small sum of 2s. 11d. in coppers, and that they
took with them. They broke open three doors in order
to get into Brookes'-alley, and no
tidings of them have
since been discovered. It is said that had t .ey succeeded
in smashing the safe, they would have found a consider-
able sum.

NAPOLEON'S CHARGER, " SUPERBE,” (AGED 38,)
NOW AT THE ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE.—This noble
animal was captured by General Orloff, in 1813, in the
disastrous retreat from Moscow. He was a great favour-
ite with the emperor, and the companion of many of his
most successful campaigns. He remained in the pos-
session of Orloff, at St. I'etersburgh, till 1834, when he
was presented to the father of M. 'Tourniaire .(now here),
then director of the I mpe ial Circus, and much esteemed
for his professional abilities, as well as respected for his
devotion to the memory of the late emperer. Orloff, in
presenting him, literally said,—" Jaques Tourniaire, you
were greatly attached to the late Emperor of France, and
your attachment honours you. You are known to be a
friend to horses ; and, satisfied of the care he will receive
at your hands, to you I confide this my greatest favourite.
Superbe is too slight for my use—l have grown too heavy
for him. To sell him to a strange master is a fate I can-
not think of subjecting him to. To you, therefore, I
entrust him ; and, as you loved him to whom he first be-
longed, you will, I am sure, cherish Superbe for the
memory of the owner, as well as for his own sake." This
trust was discharged with exemplary devotion by the
elder Tourniaire, who, on his death in 1839, left him to
his present owner—Mons. Tourniaire, whose tenderness
towards him is but evidenced by his advanced age. He
has frequently refused large sums for him. Superbe is a
white, or rather very light gray, Arabian, and is sixteen
hands high. He is now incapable of much exertion, and
little is assigned to him.in the piece now being performed ;
but it is interesting to see him introduced on the stage
with one who is the very resemblance of his once imperial
but long deceased master ; and affecting to witness him--
his ear still quick to the martial tone of the war-horn—
join, riderless, in the mimic funeral procession of that ex-
traordinary man, with whom he was a great favourite.
PARISH EXPENDITURE.—The poor law commission-
ers, having perceived great discrepancies in the annual
expenses of this parish, called upon the Select Vestry to
furnish them with a return of the expenditure of the pa-
rish. This document having been prpared, we have, been
enabled to obtain a copy of it, and now proceed to lay an
abstract of it before our readers --In 1840, the ordinary
exenditure amounted to £48,443 13s. 31d., exclusive of
extra payments, amounting to £2,919 9s. Od. In 1841,
the ordinary expenditure, exclusive of £1,230 Ils. lid.
paid for extras, amounted to £50,387 10s. Od. Of this
sum, £11,492 13s. 10d. was for in-door maintainance,
and £20,451 12s. 7d, for our-door relief. The establish-
ment charges were £7,999 3s. 7d., and the sum of
£10,443 19s. 11d. appears under the head " other char-
ges." In 1812, the ordinary expenditure reached £51,822
Os. 3d., whilst the extra expenditure, including £1,023
ss. Bd. expended in parliamentary expenses, amounted
to £9,312 Os. 6d. Of the ordinary. expenditure, £10,494
Bs. 7d. were for in-door maintainance, and £22,455 14s.
7d. for out-door relief. The establishment charges reached
£8,335 3s. 9d., whilst under the head " other charges "
is an item of £10,496 13s. 7d. From the above state-
ment, it will be seen that, in 1841, the sum paid for the
maintainance of the poor was £31,994 6s. 5d., whilst the
expenses of management, &c., amounted to the enormous
sum of £18,443 3s. 7d., to say nothing of the extra pay-
ments, amounting to £1,230 lls. lid ; and that in 1842,
whilst the expense of the poor was £33,050 2s. lid., the
expenses of management, &c., were £18.831 17s. 2d, and
the parish was burdened with an expenditure of £9,312
Os. 3d. The contracts in 1841 only reached the sum of
£2,513 18s. 9d., and in 1812 they were £2,581 17s. Od.
In 1811, the law expenses, exclusive of £lOO annually
paid to Mr. Wainewright, of London, were £853 13s. 61d;
and in 1812, exclusive of £1,023 ss. Bd, for parliament-
ary expenses, and £lOO to Mr. Wainewright, they were
£915 7s. 2d.

SHIPMENT OF CIGARS TO THE ISLE OF MAN.—A di-
versity of practice having prevailed at the ports of London
and Liverpool, in regard to cigars allowed to be shipped
under license to the Isle of Man, the officers at the port
of London requiring that the shipment he made in pack-
ages of not less than 3001 b. weight each, whereas at Li-
verpoolwei g h
t;
and
shipmentsas
cigarsare may
nowpermitted
bin e
legallypack ag es
importedunder thatand
exported in packages of not less than 1001 b. weight net,
the Board of Customs have issued directions that cigars
be in future alloyed to he exported to the Isle of Man
under license in packages of 100 lb. net weight and up-
wards, and that the terms of the license be altered ac-
cordingly.— Globe.
PRESERVATION OF LIFE FROM SHIPWRECK. —We
have seen and carefully inspected several of Messrs. SIMP-
SON, ALEXANDER, and Co.'s Pneumatic Life-Preservers,
invented by Mr. F. Wilkins, an engineer, and registered
by act of parliament. This life-preserver may
be pro-
cured of any size, either to buoy up two or three individu-
als, or as many hundreds. It is made of sheet India rub-
ber of great strength, covered and protected on both sides
by strong twilled cloth ; and it appeared to us to be supe-
rior to all inflating apparatus previously before the public,
first, from its simplicity, and the ease and readiness with
which it may be brought into operation ; secondly, from
its being so peculiarly portable that one of the largest kind
may be stowed away in a sea-chest, while its total weight
would not exceed 84 lbs. ; and, thirdly, from its being of
triangular form, so that it cannot be overturned in a sea-
way. These preservers are covered all over with strong
netting for hand hold, and being, however, stiffly inflated
as soft and elastic as a bladder filled with air, a child in
the water would receive no injury by being struck on the
head by one of the largest of them, thrown overboard. In
this latter respect they are greatly superior to cork life-
buoys, and infinitely so to anything of the tub kind, as
they inflict no blow or injury to the party seizing or using
them. They are, moreover, so manufactured, and put to-
gether in compartments by a strongly adhesive prepara-
tion of caoutchuc, forming a marine or water-proof glue,
without sewing, (which more or less weakens the cloth by
numerous perforations,) that they are not liable to be
damaged by coming in contact with a piece of wreck, or
other hard body ; or, indeed, to become, in any way, de-
ranged or out of order. They are usually half black and half
white, so that they may be more readily seen in a sea-way,
or during the night. They have been well tested both on
the Humber and the Thames, and are highly approved by
the officers of the admiralty, from whom Mr. Wilkins has
brought letters of introduction to nautical gentlemen in
Liverpool. He has also brought letters from members of
parliament, and other persons of high standing, to some
of the first individuals in the town. Numerous instances
may be cited weekly, and often daily, in which vessels
pha;rvie been
shed ;
whereas,lost, td
had
dt theirhis
vcarlenwasb,lei npart o
apparatus
r been
n w
:
vide& either by owners or the parties themselves, they
would have been saved from a watery grave. Those who
go to sea, whether as passengers, or as mariners, and who
are of course exposed to the possibility of shipwreck,
foundering, or accidentally falling or being washed over-
board, would do well to give their best and early attention
to this important invention. The price of the article is,
we may add, comparatively low, and it may be seen, of
various sizes, at Mr. Tuff's, 19, South John-street.
ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE.—The historical and military
drama entitled " NAPOLEON BUONAPARTE," has been
performed every evening during the past week, and pro-
mises to have a run of a fortnight or three weeks longer.
The enthusiastic reception it has met with is as creditable
to the public taste as the gorgeous and perfect manner in
which it is got up, is to the talent and liberality of the ma-
nagement. The circumstances under which it is produced
invest it with an additional and peculiar interest, which
could not be attained by any other equestrian company in
the world. In the first place, it was written by Mons.
Caravello, who himself sustains a prominent character in
the piece; and after being played many nights, with un-
bounded applause, in all the principal towns on the con-
tinent, where it was acknowledged to convey a faithful
portraiture of the character and peculiarities of the great
military idol of France, is presented for the first time in
this country, under his superintendence. Secondly, Na-
poleon is personated by Mons. Benoit Tourniaire, an ar-
dent admirer of the departed hero, whose memory be che-
rishes with a devotion which a Frenchman alone can duly
appreciate, and who introduces one of the identical horses
' (now 38 years old) which bore his prototype in many a
battle field. Thirdly, the dialogue is maintained in French
by the Emperor's adherents, and in English by his oppo-
nents. Fourthly, the double company, French and Eng-
lish, in strong numbers and in ability ; the identical
dresses worn by the French generals are put in requisi-
tion; the stud of horses also numerous and beautiful, and
lastly, the scenery and machinery new and most effective,
and the stage accommodation of such extent as to show
off the professional and military movements to the best
advantage. The drama embraces, in a series of tableaux,
the principal exploits in the eventful life of the great cap-
tain of France—from 1790 to his defeat at Waterloo in
1815, together with his illness and death at St. Helena, sub-
sequent to the funeral procession in Paris, and finally the
" apothesis." M. Tourniaire, who, so like the Emperor
in figure and face, that even those who have seen the best
authenticated portraits of the deceased cannot help being
struck by the resemblance he appears to have caught of
the very essence of the character. It bas been the fault
I of all the performers we have hitherto seen in it, to exag-
gerate and prolong peculiarities—as, to wit, the rapid
taking of snuff, and the folding of the hands behind the
back in every case of motion or emergency—as remote
from nature as the general accounts of the individual.
Here there is no attempt at inordinate display or over-
ruling eccentricity. if there be aught, indeed, which we
should wish to see amended, it is the subdued tone of
voice and acting in the earlier scenes, and we certainly
think (though this may be construed into a matter of
taste) that the infusion of greater degree of energy and
animation into the part would convey an impression more
accordant with the taste and general perception of a Bri-
tish audience. Happily the day has gone by when the
reminiscences of Napoleon's career can excite amongst us
feelings of respect, much less of animosity. It was our
glory to conquer him in the end, and any detraction from
his merits, whether as a soldier or a man, would but rob
us of our laurels. The enthusiasm of the French soldiery,
on the return of the Emperor from Elba, is very touch-
ingly represented the dying scene at St. Helena is one
chastely and beautifully delineated, and the fun.eral pro-
cession at Paris (the landy, conveyed in a classically de-
signed car, drawn by eight horses and followed by the
veritable old Arabian charger, while numerous mourners
move in the foreground, and the French army, in scenic
illusion, is drawn up behind) forms an imposing sight,
true, we believe, to the facts. The other principal per-
formers sustained their characters with much credit to
themselves, showing to the last their undying devotion to
their monarch, and their deep regret of his fate. The
horsemanship in the circle still continues to be nightly
varied and interesting. The riding of Madame Klatt,
Madlle. Louise, M. Ferdinand, and Messrs. Tourniaire,
&c. is at once bold and graceful, and the two clowns are
extremely amusing. An amusing afterpiece closes each
evening's performance.
THE THEATRE ROYAL.—During the past week there
has been little of actual novelty to notice at this our
highest place of dramatic amusement, inasmuch as the
popular services of Mr. Buckstone and Mrs. Fitzwilliam
were again secured, and the two principal pieces in which
they were eminently successful, " The Little Devil" and
"Josephine," were one or both of them repeated nightly,
and both, no doubt, partially known to our readers, as
they had been previously performed this season. The
first of these pieces is adapted for the British stage, from
a French operatic drama, by the talented lessee of the
theatre, Mr. Webster. The plot is amusing, though
scarcely belonging to the legitimate order of the drama.
The character of Nicolo, a Neapolitan youth and minstrel,
who in vindication of his (or rather her) sister's honour,
represents himself to a young rakish Spaniard, Vicentio,
(Mr. Buckstone,) as Astnodeus, (or, in other words,
" The Little Devil,") leading him into several strange ad-
ventures and predicaments in pursuance of his object ;
getting him again safely out of them ; and, in furtherance
of a previously extorted compact, demanding " halves" in
all his gains, even, finally, to half of his wife. A good
deal of fun is the result, intrigues at the court of Madrid
are carried on, and both the principal characters are placed
in jeopardy, through " the holy inquisition," for practis-
ing " the black art ;'' but the denouement is happy, the
lovers being united. Mrs. Fitzwilliam showed that her
assumed appellation was not misplaced. The music, by
Auber, is very fine. The other piece, " Josephine," is
even more to our liking. The heroine (Mrs. Fitzwilliam)
is found, when an infant, in the field of battle, is adopted
and nurtured by one of Napoleon's corps, and becomes
" la fine du regiment," who become her " fathers," she
sharing their perils in many an encounter, assisting them
as vivandiere. When arrived at womanhood, her life is
saved by' a peasant, whom she repays by her love ; but
having made a vow never to marry but to one of the 21st,
he (personated by Buckstone) enlists. About the same
moment, however, she is discovered to be a wealthy
heiress, is taken to her paternal chateau, arrayed in fine
garments, the incumbrance of which is next to intolerant,
is to be given in marriage to an ugly little duke, to sup-
port the family pride of her widowed mother ; goes through
a drilling in fashionable courtship, but breaks down, or
rather out, in her lesson at the critical interview with her
ill-favoured intended, abruptly proclaiming him unfit
" even for a drummer." After a lapse of two years, " the
regiment" returns to that part of the country, and the
sound of their music recalls all her affection to her thou-
sand fathers ; all the perils she has encountered with
them ; and she bolts out of the window, rejoins them, and
returns with them in her own regimental habiliments.
Her lover, by his prowess, or rather by chance, has ob-
tained official promotion equal to the rank of her old
father, and her mother, after a strong exhibition of filial
obedience in her child, in consenting to marry the duke,
though at the expense of a broken heart, gives way in her
aristocratic notions, and gives her to the arms of her lover.
Buckstone in this piece, as well as the other, mistakes, we
think, the characters respectfully assigned to him, and
greatly mars both by a disagreeable cockney, or, more
properly, Yankee dialect, and noisy " inspiration" in
drawing breath. Mrs. Fitzwilliam was clever and ener-
getic throughout ; she appeared to great advantage in both
characters, and sustained nearly the whole weight of each.
In " Josephine" she played, sang, beat the drum, &c.,
yet though in partly masculine attire, threw into the part
a feminine grace, gentleness. and simplicity truly capti-
vating. Her bye-play was also excellent. Mr. Compton
enacted the old serjeant in a most creditable manner. In
the first piece Miss Coveney, a rapidly-rising and pretty
young actress, sang delightfully in Several solos, and in
duets with Mrs. Fitzwilliam. We have but room to add,
that the scenery, dresses, and agpointments at this theatre
(which is splendidly decorated) are all that could be
wished. Last night, Professor Risley and his infant son,
(called " Le petit Mercure,") were introduced to a Liver-
pool audience, and were enthusiastically received. They
are engaged for a short period. Our old favourites, Mr.
and Miss Vandenhoff, are also engaged for this week.
They appeared last night in a new play, called " Love's
Sacrifice," which was received with great applause.

TUE POLITECHNIC SUCIE!Y

ON- ECCLESIASTICAL ARCIIITECTUR.E.

(Conclusion of the Address of JonN R SSON, Est,., aS

the last Meeting.)
The lodge of Freemasons who construeed the beautiful
Cathedral of Strasburg such high reputation that
the German lodges established ied in Russia, Swabia, Bavaria,
Franconia, Savoy, &c. acknowledged it as their head by a
solemn act passed at on, itdi.l4sB. which was con-
firmed forty years afterwards by a diploma granted by the
Emperor Maximilian. The German Freemasons, the
builders of his noble temple, and that stupendous one,
the Cathedral of Cologne, rose to the highest point of
architectural fame. That excellent said the
speaker, the King of Prussia, the headmoVitP'rotestant
h Ilrieh
religion in Germany, had done himself the ghest honour
by munificently subscribing immense sums, in conjunction
with the Emperor of Austria, and other German sovereign
princes, to complete that astonishing effort of human ge-
nius, the CATHEDRAL OF COLOGNE, appropriately called
by the late Mr. Hope, " the realization
of
romantic vision ;" and it was delightful to see wholea
na-
tions, at this moment, Prussians, Austrians, Bavarians,
vying with each other to realize this day-dream of the
illustrious body who designed it, by the completion of the
noblest effort of constructive art, in the pointed style, the
world ever beheld. The efforts now making in Germany,
where we saw Catholic and Protestant in t.lie laudable and
truly christian struggle, which should do most to honour
and complete the glorious monuments of the piety of their
ancestors, had excited the admiration of every generous
mind throughout Europe. Amongst the German princes
who had subscribed, none so thoroughly deserved the
name of the " Mactenas of the age," as the patriotic King
of Bavaria. His wonderful improvements, making his
capital the Athens of Germany, excited the admiration of
every patriotic traveller. Before that excellent and ac-
complished prince had ascended the throne of his ances-
tors, he had actually expended twelve hundred thousand
Pounds sterling in works of art, and in expensive missions
to procure them. With reference to Cologne Cathedral,
we, as Englishmen, might refer with pleasure to a similar
simultaneous effort of all sects and parties in nobly con-
tributing to repair the damage done to York Minster a
few years ago by a fanatical incendiary. He might here
state that Sir Edward Vavasour, Bart.. a Roman Catholic,
on hearing of the calamity caused by Martin, wrote to the
Dean of York, offering stone from his quarry, gratis, to
repair the damage, the same quarry out of which his an-
cestors, centuries previous, had given the materials to
erect it.

Much time and research bad, he continued, been
wasted in discussing the comparative claims of cer-
tain countries, and of England in particular, to the in-
vention of pointed architecture. He might here state,
that the name, " Gothic architecture," originated in the
dislike of the Italians to that style of building. They
called it " Gothic architecture," alias " barbarous,"
though the Goths had nothing in common with the style.
The celebrated Dr. Milner, in his " History of Winches-
ter," sustained the claims of England. Mr. Hope, in his
" Posthumous Essays," ably controverts that opinion.
From all that he, the lecturer, had read in England and
on the continent, as well as from conversations with
eminent antiquaries, it seemed to him that neither Eng-
land, nor any other country in particular, had a right to
say that she first fostered or invented the style ; but that
it arose out of the studies and practice of a succes-
sion of ages, cultivated by vast pecuniary means,
and all the learning, science, and practical skill, in art, of
those days. The men who protected the art were collected
from every part of the civilized world, Persians, Greeks,
Italians, French, Flanderkins, English, and even Hindoos,
all bound by oath to conceal from the vulgar the know-
ledge of their craft. This would account for the surprise
of that amiable prelate, Dr. Heber, Bishop of Calcutta,
while journeying in Upper India. He was astonished to
discover, said the speaker, 1 think, near the Himalaya
Mountains, a castle, in the possession of a petty prince, of
the form of and superior in magnificence and extent to
that of our sovereign at Windsor. The bishop was puz-
zled to account for such an erection in so remote a region,
and by a potentate whose civil list would not (he conceived)
yield a million sterling annually. Had I (said Mr. R.)
accompanied the worthy prelate I should have expressed
no surprise at the discovery, because I should have seen
in it a fresh proof of the extended circulation of the know-
ledge possessed by the learned body under review. On
the dissolution of the order, the Hindoo and Persian
members of the brotherhood would naturally betake
themselves to their own countries, fraught with practical
as well as theoretic knowledge ; with their portfolios full
of designs and working drawings of the finest civil as
well as ecclesiastical buildings in Europe, they would be
naturally employed by wealthy princes to construct build-
ings modified in form by their own peculiar religious
creeds, habits, and customs. The Freemasons were an
embodyment, or personification, of all the information the
world, at that time, contained ; and, therefore, no one
nation could claim the honour that evidently belonged to
all. If any nation could claim it, Germany must stand
first on the list, for she had erected the most perfect spe-
cimens of the style.
In referring to Germany, it would be gratifying to the
society to hear that some of the working drawings of the
illustrious architects who erected the Cathedral of Co-
logne. had been discovered amongst the archives of a
German prince, whose name his (the lecturer's) corre-
spondent had not given, probably a descendant of the
Elector Conrad of Hochstedlin, who began the noble
work in the year 1248. This, if such be the fact, will be
a great treasure, and would have delighted Sir Christopher
Wren, though that great man had not (judging from the
specimens we had of his attempts in that style) any feeling
or perception of the beauties of pointed architecture.
This is proved by his towers that still disfigure Westmin-
ster Abbey, which it was to be hoped would one day be
carried to their proper height, arid made to harmonise with
the rest of the majestic fabric, by the genius of his (the
lecturer's) distinguished friend, Charles Barry. In recently
walking in the Abbey he was forcibly struck by observing
the fine position of a statue, showing an admirable know-
ledge of architectural perspective in the artist who had
there placed it.
In urging upon the society and the community at large
the benefits of devoting their attention to the advance of
science and the arts, Mr. R. quoted a passage from Lord
Kaims, in which the writer exhorts a wealthy people, who
have risen to importance, to the cultivation of the fine arts,
as calculated to check debasing and sensual indulgences,
and to elevate and ennoble the mind. The late Mr. Roscoe
had also spoken, in that very room, of the benefits deriva-
ble from their pursuit, even in a commercial point of view,
and referred to the late Benjamin 'West, who by his skill,
and a few weeks industry, made a piece of canvas, which
cost a few shillings, sell for three thousand guineas !
In the course of his incidental remarks, as he proceeded
with his address, the speaker stated, that amongst the ca-
lamities attending the civil war between the unfortunate
Prince Charles the First and his parliament, was the loss
of the finest collection of pictures in Europe, out of Italy.
After the death of the King, the ignorant possessors of
these works of art sold for next to nothing the whole
works of Raffaelle and other great artists, which the King
had collected with the greatest difficulty, and at an enor-
mous cost. It was by mere accident, he related, that
Cromwell was induced to retain the cartoons. The young
monarch, Louis the Fourteenth, commissioned his am-
bassador to treat for them. The diplomatist, a skilful
negociator, during an interview with the Protector, over-
acted his part, and incautiously observed, that " it would
be a glorious thing for his royal master to be the possessor
of them." Cromwell, nettled at the remark, said, " Then,
Mr. Ambassador, it would be an infamous thing in me to
part with them ! They shall not leave England !"
The speaker, in referring to these cartoons, digressed
for a moment to congratulate his countrymen on the sud-
den formation of a new school of art in England. The
glorious exhibition recently opened in Westminster Hall,
of cartoons representing events taken from British his.
tory and British poetry, had already apprized England
that a new school of first-rate artists, and those young and
previously unknown to fame, had risen in her bosom.
" Glory to the young aspirants !" Tire British school of
historical painting, at last, rested upon a rock. He had
always said, that the day would come when foreigners
would acknowledge the existence of British genius on
canvas ; and the new Houses of Parliament would be
adorned with works of painting, sculpture, carvings, and
enamelling on glass, worthy of the best days of the middle
ages, when the great society, referred to that night, flou-
rished, aided by the learning, science, and resources of so
many powerful kingdoms.
He concluded by stating, that these observations, some-
what desultory, were intended merely as introductory to
two more papers which he should have the honour of
reading to the society. In the next paper he should en-
deavour to show that pointed architecture was best suited
to the christian worship of all sects, and the accommoda-
tion of congregations, whether large or small ; that it
could be exhibited in the most simple and inexpensive, as ,
well as in the ornate and florid form ; and what was most
important, that it was adapted to our northern climate.
The third paper would contain strictures on the eccle-
siastical architecture of Liverpool.
A short discussion ensued ,in which some valuable facts
relative to the subject were elicited, and the thanks of the
meeting were given to Mr. Rosson for his able paper.

INQUESTS.—On Tuesday, and the day previous, four
inquests were held before toe borough coroner. The first
was to inquire into the circumstances touching the death
of William Davies, a mariner, 35 years of age, who was
a passenger on board the steamer Rover, on her voyage
from Sligo to Liverpool. It appeared that the deceased,
who was a married man, and whose wife lives at Swansea,
left Sligo on Friday afternoon, and that, after having eaten
a hearty breakfast on Saturday morning, he complained
of a pain in his chest, and soon after, as the vessel was
passing the Mull of G +Noway, fell dead upon the floor.
The jury found a verdict to the effect, that he died of
pulmonary apoplexy.—The second was on the body of a
female, 25 years of age, named Isabella Ar Williams, who
lived at No. 3, Clay-street, and who, for the last six
months, had been troubled vvith a cough and complaint of
the chest. After having taken a drink on Friday evening
tast, she fell asleep, and died about four o'clock the next
Woods, surgeon,
morning. Mr. Georgewas of opinion
that she died of bronchitis. Verdict accordingly.—The
third was on the body.of Ellen Bell, a child three weeks
old, who was found lying dead in a bed in South-street,
Kirkdale, with her father sleeping on one side of her,
and her mother on the other. Alr. Chalmers, surgeon,
was of opinion that her death had been caused by suffo-
cation in consequence of her having been overlain by one
of her parents. j erdict accordingly.—The fourth and
last inquest was on the body of a woman, unknown, who
was found drowned in the new dock, just opposite the
Coburgh Dock. No money was upon her. She was
dressed in a light cotton gown, brown cotton petticoat,
and a black and whitestraw-bonnet, trimmed with black
ribbon. She was inclined to corpulency, and appears to
be between forty and fifty years of age. A verdict of
found drowned was returned.