The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1848-08-15 00:00:00

August 15, 1845.

SOUTHPORT•—The opening of the railway has, notvith-
sanding the unfavourable state of the weather, proved a
great inducement to visitors to resort to this delightful
sea-side residence. Upwards of three thousand passengers
traversed the line the first week of opening; and last week
the number was increased, the receipts being £273 4s.
We understand that the cost of working the line, including
five per cent. interest on the whole outlay, is calulated at
£l2O per week, therefore, although called the " shrimp
line," the dividend is likely to be a whale-ing one.
THE RECENT BOILER EXPLOSION AT PRESTON.-02
Monday a numerously and respectably attended meeting
was held in the Town Hall, Preston, the Mayor in the
chair, to consider the propriety of endeavouring to obtain
a further investigation into the causes and circumstances
of the recent fatal boiler explosion. Speeches were made
and resolutions passed condemning the inquiry before the
coroner as most imperfect and unsatisfactory ;: and it was
determined that the Mayor should write to Sir G. Grey a
letter requesting that he will order a further investigation.
DARING ATTEMPT AT SUICIDE.—On Thursday, as the
Ormskirk and Preston coach was returning from the for-
mer town, and crossing the canal bridge at Burscougb,
one of the passengers, named Thomas Birkett, of this
town, deliberately leaped from the roof of the coach, over
the highest part of the embattlement, and into the canal,
the descent being upwords of 25 feet. The coach was
immediately stopped, and the poor fellow was rescued
without serious injury. It appears. that he was at the time
in an unsettled state of mind, and had for some days pre-
vious been contemplating some desperate act.—Prestotr
Guardian.

ROMAN CATHOLIC CATHEDRAL.—On Wednesday, the'
new Roman Catholic Cathedral, which has just been
finished in Manchester, was opened for public worship.
The admission was by tickets at 215., Ws. 6d., 7s. 6d., ss.
and 2s. 6d. One of Beethoven's solemn mass in C was
performed on the occasion. The ceremony was, as usual,
gorgeous in the extreme, and in the chancel of the church
and on the altar there were 150 priests and seven bishops.
Every available seat in the immense building was filled.
Amongst the company present we observed the Earl and
Countess of Arundel and Surrey, and Sir Thomas de.
Trafford's family.

GRATIFYINGPRESENT.—The parishioners of Croston,
near Rufford, presented on Thursday to their venerable
rector a beautiful and massive silver kettle, with spirit-
lamp and stand. The articles are valued at £5O, and
were manufactured by Mr. Wordley, of this town, in his
usual chaste and elegant style. The following inscription
was engraved upon them —" Presented to the Rev.
Streynsham Masters, M.A., on the completion of his
fiftieth year as Rector of Croston, by his parishioners,
in grateful remembrance of the uniform Christian kind-
ness and benevolence which have marked his prolonged
labours among them. August, 1848." This presentation
is peculiarly gratifying, and equally honourable to both
parties. The rev. gentleman is well deserving the esteem
and gratitude of his flock, who are not in a position to
make so valuable an offering without the practice of no
little self-denial.
IRISH AND ENGLISH Poor AT MANCHESTER.—At a
meeting held at Manchester a few days ago, in order tcr
adopt a memorial to Sir George Grey, the Secretary of
State for the Home Department, we find that one of the-
speakers (Mr. Hibbert)
Showed the amount of the money expended by the township •
(not the union, let it be remarked) of Manchester for the sup-
port of the casual English and Irish poor. In 1847 the amount
so expended was .t'5,1393 ; this year, up to June, 1848, the an-
nual amount was £15,560, for the English casual poor. For
the Irish it was in 1847, £8,740; foe the year, up to June, 1848.
it was increased to the enormous-sum of .e 21,170. Th.. total
amount in these two years was—English casual poor, £21,405;
Irish casual poor, £29,900. The ratepayers of the township of
Manchester had thus paid £8,495 more in these two years to
the Irish than they had to the English poor. (Loud cries of
"Shame, shame.') These poorpeople ought to be fed, but the
thing ought not to drive them all to pauperism. While they
fed the Irish, it ought to be on the principle of justice. Lord
John Russell anticipated the repayment of the sum lent to re-
lieve Irish pauperism (.W8,000,000), and why should Manchester
not receive back this money which they had spent in the relief
of Irish distress. The memorial recounted all the facts stated
above, and demanded repayment- of the money so expended.
COTTON FROM INDIA.—The cargo of cotton, ex Argyra,
from India, was on Tuesday last submitted to the inspec-
tion of the trade, and sales have since been effected in
small lots, as it has been determined that the same system
of disposing of cargoes of cotton from India, should be
pursued in this, as in former instances. The cotton grown
from New Orleans seed is of an exceedingly good descrip-
tion. The first lot of 16 bales realised 4d. per lb. The
quality of the single bale of the early-grown cotton has
quite borne out the predictions of. the Manchester Com-
mercial Association, as to what might be effected in the
improvement of the cotton crop, by sowing in the latter
end of May. It is decidedly the finest sample of cotton
yet received from India; its colour and cleanliness ate un-
exceptionable, and its staple is very little inkrior to the
New Orleans cotton received from America. 41d. per lb.
has been offered for it by several spinners ; but this has
been declined, as it is valued by the broker at sd. per lb.
Some samples of cotton have been received by the asso-
ciation, grown in the Belgaum district; they consist of
cotton grown from the seeds of Sea Island, Georgian,
Bourbon, and Nurmah cotton. Of these, the Sea Island
and Georgian are fair cottons, but still not exactly the de-
scription of cotton required in this country. The Nurmah
cotton has neither strength' nor length of staple, and is
quite unfit for the purpose of spinning. These facts tend
to show that of all the cotton received from India, that
from New Orleans seed is the only sort fitted to compel
with the great staple production of America, in the general
English market.—Manchester Guardian.
AFFRAY BETWEEN THE MILITARY. AND POLICE.—On
Wednesday evening last,shortly before seven o'clock, when
the last race a' Preston Races was about to come off, a se-
rious fracas arose upon the race-course. it appears that
a fight occurred between two townsmen in one of the
booths, when a crowd gathered round, among whom were
some soldiers of the 39th Regiment (Irish), now quartered
at the Preston Barracks. The police, in endeavouring to
obtain admittance to the disturbed booth, felt or fancied
themselves obstructed by some of the military, and one of
the latter was at once taken into custody. A rescue was
immediately effected by a number of the comrades, and
the police then had recourse to their staves. This was 5
signal for a general struggle. The soldiers, who, at first,
had no other weapons, took off their belts, and struck right
and left at the police, and at the fire brigade, who had been
sent to the ground to assist the force in preserving order.
The townsmen, who maintain with more than ordinary
unanimity that the police were the aggressors, pressed
upon and impeded the latter, and at last tore up and handed
to the soldiers a number of the stakes used to keep the
ground for the racing, when blood began to flow in all di-
rections. The police, after a somewhat courageous con-
test, were compelled to retreat precipitately—several of
them having received severe injuries. One had some of
his ribs broken; others had ugly cuts over the face and
head ; and a large number were greatly bruised about the
body and hurt by being trampled on. Six or eight of the
soldiers were similarly injured in the fray, which grew at
last to the magnitude of a riot, and called for the exertions
of all the magistrates that could be mustered in the town,
and the influence of all the military officers, to quell it.
Peace and order were not effectually restored till past ten
o'clock at night. On Thursday, the second day of the
races, the military were not permitted to quit their bar-
racks, lest the quarrel should be renewed.