The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1848-12-26 00:00:00

41 orai

-~-

On Wednesday Wm. Clarke, a seaman, was going on
board his vessel, lying in the King's Dock, when he fell
into the dock and was drowned.

On Tuesday se'nnight Alexander Thompson fell from
the mast-head of a ship lying in one of the north docks,
and received such injuries as to cause his death about a
week afterwards.

BIRKENHEAD HOTEL AND FERRY.—On Thursday this
property was offered by auction to be let for a term of 14
years from March next. £lOO a-year was bid, but there
being no advance the auction was withdrawn, Mr. Win-
stanley not stating what was the reserve bid.
Mr. Sergeant Ludlow, the bankruptcy commissioner,
sat for the last time here on Tuesday. His successor is
Mr. Stevenson, of Bristol, who is expected to commence
his duties here about the middle of January. Mr. Perry
will take the whole of the business at present.
On Tuesday the examination of the children of the
South Schools took place; and both boys and girls ac-
quitted themselves with great credit, and ;o the entire
satisfaction of the committee and visitors. They were
subsequently addressed in an affectionate and impressive
manner by Mr. J. A. Tobin and the Rev. C. W. Law-
rence, after which rewards for good conduct were distri-
buted.

A SHIP ON FIRE IN THE ALBERT DOCK.—OR Wed-
nesday a tire broke out in the ship Masconomo, lying in
the Albert Dock. The flames issued from the forecastle,
but the vessel being got out into the dock basin, and the
fire-engines brought into operation, the flames were ex
tinguished in a short time. Part of the forecastle and a
quantity of sailors' clothes were destroyed. During the
fire, two persons were seriously injured by falling down
near the dock bridge.
Captain Knight, commander of the New York packet-
ship New World, who. with his officers and crew, ren-
dered such essential service on the occasion of the loss of
the Ocean Monarch, has refused the gold medal which
was awarded to him by the committee of the Liverpool
Shipwreck and Humane Society, as he .had previously
done in Am. rica when offered a similar testimonial by
the Massachusetts Humane Society, feeling conscientious
objections to the reception of any testimonial involving
the outlay of funds of a charitable institution. The com-
mittee of the Liverpool Shipwreck and Humane Society
have resolved that the silver medal of the society should
be presented to Mr. W. E. Baahlam, third mate of the
New World, and senior officer in charge of the boats;
£5 to the boatswain ; and £3 each to seven of the eight.
men that manned the boats, the eighth man (Jerome)

haying been already rewarded by this 'society.
INQUESTS ON SATURDAY.—On the body of Isaac
Cunningham, a child three years of age, residing in a court

ho was sea

appliances, death was the consequence, on Saturday morn-
ing.—On view of the body of Thomas Hanley, a middle-
aged man, who died at the Infirmary on Saturday morn-
ing. Deceased fell from a coal cart in a coal yard in
Crown-street, on the previous day, and received mortal

injuries.—On the bodjof Joseph Jackson, aged 38, who
resided in Back Leeds-street. On Saturday night week,
decea.ed fell in the street, and was much injured. On
thee following Sunday and Monday he went to his work,
but died on Saturday.—On the body of a child named
Fairelough, whose clothes cought fire while he was reach-
ing an apple from a table, and was so much injured that
he died.

PATENT RAPID WATER PURIFIER.—We have on
several occasions prognosticated that the Patent Rapid
Water Purifier would be found in almost every house ;
and this prognostication is in a fair way to be realized :
for, notwithstanding the very recent date of its introduc-
tion into this town by Mr. James Foster, of South John-
street, some hundreds of them have already been fitted
up, with one universal result—general satisfaction ; in-
deed, we can speak from our own experience of their

great utility ; and, at this time, when we are threatened
with that most fearful of all disorders, the cholera, and
when it is a well-known fact, that nothing tends so soon
to disorder the bowels as impure water, we feel it our

duty to urge this admirable invention on the notice of our
readers, for the cost is so small, that there are few to
whom the expense could be any object. But as every one
is the best judge of their own requirements, we would.
advise a call at the office of the Proprietor, and parties
can examine into its merits for themselves.

" OBTUSENESS " OF MR. JAMES, THE BARRISTER.—
In the course of the mining case, tried by Mr. Justice Erie
on Wednesday, a number of old and not over brilliant
witnesses were examined to prove the extent and mode of
working the mine. The following dialogue took place
between one of them and Mr. James—the barrister en-
gaged by the prisoner :—Mr. James : " Now, you say
you worked at the mine ?"—Witness : " Ees, sir. '—Mr.
James : " How did you work ?"—Witness : " Why, it
wos woorked oop and down, you 'no,—this way, that
way, t'other way, foot-ridden way,—dang it, every way."
(Loud laughter.) Mr. James: -" I must confess I don't
understand you."—Witness : "I think I spoke plain
enuf." (Great laughter.) Mr. James : "No doubt you
did, but the stupidity is on my side, not on yours."
—Witness :—" That's it. You are quoit stupid. (Roars
of laughter.) You conna understand English !" (Con-
tinued laughter.) The Judge :—" It we had been in the
habit of working in mines, doubtless your language w:Juld
he perfectly intelligible, but, as it is, we cannot under-
stand you !"—Witness : " Well ! I canna' spake ony
plainer. Mum Ent if rvt r I nerd /melt at upid peuptc, cirlre
I left pit."—Some further attempts were made by the
learned counsel to obtain a more definite answer to the
question, but it was •` no go," and the witness was at
length told to leave the box, which he did apparently with
a still stronger conviction than before of the natural and
irremediable obtuseness of Judge, jury, counsel, and au-
ditory.

AURORA BOREALIS.—We have been favoured with the
following accurate description of this strange phenome-
non, as observed on Sunday night week. The aurora com-
menced about half-past seven o'clock, and continued until
midnight. Early in the night from the west, all round
northerly. to an opposite point in the eastern horizon, a
bank of clouds in separate masses covered the sky to a
height of about 20 degrees, from which the light pro-
ceeded upwards in fitful flashes. A cloud of smaller di-
mensions, at the western extremity of the illuminated
part of the hemisphere, and about 40 degrees above the
horizon, appeared to collect the electricity that passed
laterally from the other clouds to it,—and from whence
it flashed in waves of considerable intensity towards a
point nearly northwest—the waves of light often emerg-
ing from the upper margin of the cloud, and proceeding
upwards to the zenith about eight degrees or so, the
flashes then appeared as if suddenly arrested by an op-
posing force that turned the stream of light in a kind of
parbolic curve. The velocity of the waves, or pulsations
of light, were too rapid for the eye to follow. The pheno-
menon bore a close resemblance to what I have seen
during a snow storm in a mountainous district, where
clouds of drift are driven fiercely through a mountain
gorge, and are suddenly changed in their onward
career, at the flank of the mountain, by a more powerful
opposing current of wind ; but still hurrying them on
with increased impetuosity down he valley. The surface
of the sky under the arc and bank of clouds was filled up
with patches of aurora in short fleecy streams, but with
an occasional stream of light shooting upwards to the
zenith. Portions of the aurora were cf a reddish tinge.
The general surface of the sky, except where the aurora
appeared, was quite clear; and at a to 11 o'clock the
sight was beautiful. The wind was due south, and blew
pretty strong in gusts.