The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1843-08-29 00:00:00

LITERARY NOTICES.

A Letter to Dr. Lyon Playfair, by Henry Laxton, Ar-
chitect and Civil Engineer. Liverpool: Williner and
Smith.

We have looked through this letter upon the important
subject of the sanitory condition of the town, and find
many of the suggestions characterised by practical good.
Novelty, upon a subject so much mooted of late is
scarcely to be looked for; but one remedial measure
suggested by the writer has not hitherto, that we are
aware of, been noticed. It is well known how materially
conducive to health is cleanliness; and a great cause of
the want of this virtue, is no doubt the deficiency
amongst the lower class of dwellings, not of water
so much as of the necessary vessels for keeping
a plentiful supply, to be at all times available. To re-
medy this evil, Mr. Clayton proposes that public pumps
or reservoirs should be sunk in convenient places, through.
out the town, to which the poorer classes should have
free access, free of cost. We can see no objection,
which even the water companies can with any decency
maintain, to such a measure.

THE SYSTEM OF LATE HOURS IN BUSINESS. By Ar-
thur J. King. Aylott, Chancery-lane; W. Whyte and
Co., Edinburgh. 1843.—This little pamphlet is very
creditable to the writer, and contains much valuable argu-
ment upon the question to which it refers. We believe,
with him, that it is only by constant appeals to the public
that the system of late hours of shopkeeping can be put
down. So long as people will persist in deferring to the
last possible moment their purchases, and running the
chance of buying at hours when they can neither discern
quality
nor c010,4r, there will always be shopkeepers ready
to grasp at the chance of supplying them.

THE ROYAL LIVER. THEATRE.—We have much plea-
sure in stating that Mr. Malone Raymond, so long known
as one of the successful managers of the Liver The tre,
will shortly re-open that neat and popular place of amuse-
ment, under the new act which empowers the magistrates
of the borough to grant licenses fur the legitimate and
other branches of the drama. Mr. Raymond has already
made extensive arrangements, in London and Paris, both
as regards performers of eminence and novelty in subjects;
and we doubt not—from the judgment he evinced even
when restrained by the former law affecting theatricals—
but he will, by his exertions, infuse an improved and ex-
alted taste for dramatic entertainments amongst the in-
habitants of " the good old town," the crest of which the
house so happily and appropriately bears.
BRUTAL SPORTS, AND COMMITMENT FOR PERJURY.
—On Saturday last, John Shannon, publican, of Norfolk -
street, was charged before Mr. Rushton. at the police-
court, with aiding and abetting others in the brutal sport
of having cats worried by dogs, in the cell,.- of his house.
Several cases arising out of the same disgraceful affair
have already been before the public, and it will be re-
membered that Shannon was fined £5 for entertaining
such ruffians in his house. Mr. Harden appeared for tl,e
defendant. Inspector Savage stated that on the 14th
instant he received instructions to go to the house in
question, where a worrying match was to take place. lie
went there, and found in the cellar about thirty persons.
There was a pit, or trap, about six feet square and four
feet high, covered with a net, on the floor, and he saw a
dog in it worrying a cat. Three cats were killed, and
seven were alive in reserve for a like fate. He saw Shan-
non take an active part in the sport—" howling the dog
on." Two police-officers, 237 and 135, said they went
there by orders from their superintendent,—one disguised
as a sailor, and the other as an hostler. They corroborated
the last witness. Neither of then. assisted in the " sport,"
and Inspector Savage afterwards came and apprehended
some of the parties, two of whom escaped. Mr. Harden
complained of the officers, after they had received in-
formation of what was to take place, not going and pre-
venting it, and asked Mr. Whitty whether he did not
think prevention better than detection ? Mr. Whitty
said he did not think so in an offence of this kind. Wit-
nesses were then called for the defence.—Letitia Shan-
non, niece of the defendant, said he had returned home
late that night from his work as a stevedore; was wet
with the rain, and had to change his dress, which one of
the police-officers assisted him in doing. She and Mrs.
Shannon heard there was to be a killing of rats by the
dogs, but not cats. Had they known that it was cats
they would not have permitted it. She saw policeman
135 (Povey) assist in carrying both a bag and a cage into
the lobby, but did not see what was in the cage, as it was
covered with a cloth.—Thomas Langley said he was
present. He and three others went and borrowed a rat
pit from one Turner, a rat-catcher, and officer 135 as-
sisted in carrying it and the cage into the cellar. Shan-
non said it was a match to kill rats, and witness did not
see him in the cellar at all.—James Rathbone, a carver
and gilder, said he was present, and that officer 135 took
an active part in the sport—inviting the people to see it.
The officer also asked Shannon to go; but before the
latter got down stairs, there was a cry of police, and the
lights were put out.—Doran, a waiter at the house, heard
of a rat-match, but nothing of cats. In reply to Mr.
Harden, who told him not to mention names, he said
there was a person present more respectable than the
rest—a gentleman—and shortly afterwards inadvertently
mentioned his name as a Mr. Wharton. There was a cry
of police, and he soon after saw the " respectable gentle.
man " in custody of Inspector Savage. He saw W Marton
put his hand in his pocket and give the inspector some-
thing, which lie took to be money, and he was then
released, as well as Pigott, a man who had hold of his
coat-tail, and wished to escape with him. The stairs, lie
said, were narrow, with a door at the top having a holt
so that the inspector might easily have detained all the
parties below.—Alexander Pigott deposed to the same
effect, adding that Wharton pulled out some gold and
silver, and handed Savage a sovereign, when he was
allowed to go, as was witness. The witness swore that
the police-officer carried the cage in first, and then the
bag; whereas, a previous witness had stated that the bag
was first carried in.—Hugh Batty, a labourer, gave similar
evidence—swearing that the inspector received money
from Wharton. Mr. Rushton cross-questioned these
witnesses with great warmth, and sent for Mr. Wharton,
whom he told to answer the questions put to him without
hesitation, as no proceedings would be taken against him,
should it appear that he had something to do with the
affair of the cats.—Mr. Wharton, in reply to questions,
positively denied that he offered or gave the inspector any
thing whatever. He was himself knocked down, but got
up again, and was too glad to escape.—Mr. Rushton said,
on this, that the defence was a most scandalous con-
spiracy to ruin the inspector, and he should prosecute the
three last witnesses for wilful perjury.He ordered them
to find bail each in £5O, and two sureties in £25 each, to
answer the charge, and fined the defendant forty shillings
and costs.