The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1850-01-15 00:00:00

IBistrict petus,

EARLY LAMB.—On Tuesday last, an ewe belonging to
Mr. John Butler, of Poulton-le-Fylde, dropped a fine
lamb. This is very early for the season. .sd
CHAMPION BILLIARD MATCH.—This match in Mon'
chester, which has excited so much interest, came off on
Friday at the Theatre of the Athenaeum. The coniPe,'
titors were Mr. John Roberts, of Manchester, and 30'
Stark, an American gentleman. The game was the four
balls game, 1,000 to be up, Mr. Roberts giving his °PO",
nent 100. The game commenced at six o'clock and close,'
at 8 30, the numbers being—Mr. Roberts, 1,000; Mr'
Stark. 701. Mr. Roberts played with extraordinary,
skill, obtaining at one beak 110, and at another 119.
ANOTHER FATALITY FROM A GUN. —On Saturday,
two youths, about fourteen years old, named Massey Inic!
Gresty, were playing together near their dwellings at
Stockton Heath, near Warrington, when all at once
Massey thought he would have a little sport in the way of
shooting. The youth (Massey) having become possessed
as a gun, being unconscious of the piece being loaded at
the time, promeded to place a cap upon the nipple. when'
having got out of doors, he pointed the gun at Gresty,
who stood only a few yards from him ; the trigger wag
pulled, and Gresty fell, his head being literally shattered
to pieces, He expired almost instantly.

CHURCH REFORM MEETING AT MANCHESTER.-011
Friday, a public meeting of the parishioners was held ill
the Town-hall, for the purpose of considering the outline
of a bill to be brought before the Legislature in the en-
suing session, for effecting the subdivision of the parish,
and other important reforms in the ecclesiastical arrange-
ments thereof. Mr. Birley, one of the churchwardens,
occupied the chair, and the meeting was addressed by the
Rev. the Dean, Mr. Malcolm Ross, and others in favour
of the bill, and by the Rev. Canon Clifton and a few
Chartists in opposition. The meeting, which was a nu-
merous and influential one, ultimately decided in favour
of the bill by an overwhelming majority. It was stated
that the Lord Bishop of the diocese had evinced his
hearty concurrence in the objects of the bill.
MUSICAL PERFORMANCES IN PUBLIC-HOUSES ON
SUNDAYS.—In the borough of Salford there are six pub-
lic-houses and beer-houses in which musical performances
are made the chief attraction on Sunday evenings. A
short time since, the watch committee of the town council
requested the keepers of those houses to discontinue the
performance of music on Sunday evenings. Three of
them have already consented. It is expected that the
other three will follow their example, and thus the prac-
tice will be discontinued in Salford. At a meeting of the
watch committee, held a few days since, a resolution was
passed, thanking the publicans who had discontinued the
performance of music in their houses on Sundays, and
stating that, in the opinion of the committee, the practice
is very objectionable, being calculated to bring religion
into contempt, and to produce immorality amongst the
working classes. The willingness with which the wishes
of the committee have been met by the publicans is a
satisfactory circumstance.—(We recommend the conduct
of our Manchester neighbours for imitation nearer home.l
DEFALCATIONS AT THE ST. HELENS SAVINGS
BANK.—It becomes our unpleasant duty to announce
another instance of defalcation in the management of a
Bank for Savings. The defaulter, in .this instance, is a
person of the name of Johnson, who was the manager of
the St. Helens Bank, and who appears, like the Rochdale
defaulter, to have occupied a respectable position in so-
ciety. The amount of the deficiency is nothing like so
large as that exhibited by the Rochdale business, being
about £10,000; but the discovery of another such defal-
cation in so short a time shows the necessity of some
steps, of the nature which we recently suggested, being
taken by the government and the legislature, in order to
secure the poor depositors against loss. Nothing, indeed,
could be better than the system pursued so successfully at
the Savings' Bank of this town ' but additional guards
ought to be provided forthwith, by legislative enactment.
In the St. Helens case, we are happy to perceive that
there is every probability of the greater part, if not the -
whole, of the deficiency being made good out of the de-
faulter's estate.—The Wigan Times says, " From inqui-
ries made, we learn that the management of the bank has
been for some years in the hands of William Johnson,
Esq., a considerable coal pioprietor in the neighbourhood,
having been previously to that period under the control of
John Johnson, Esq., his brother, also a partner in the
firm of Johnson, Worthington, and Company, carrying on
business at Sankey-brook Colliery, near St. Helens."
CHURCH OF ENGLAND INSTRUCTION SOCIETY.—J.
Brindley, Esq., has delivered two lectures this week, at
the Music Hall, on the Physical, Mental, and Moral
Condition of Man. On Monday evening, the Vicar of
Lancaster took the chair, and we ooserved present S.-
Simpson, Esq., of the Greaves, the Rev. E. Pedder, the
Mayor of Lancaster, &c, The audience was very re-
spectable, and more numerous than we have ever before
observed at the lectures of this society. Mr. Brindley is
entirely master of his subject, and explained in a style so- '
simple that none could fail to comprehend it, the complex-
structure of the body, the organs of digestion, and the
wonderful manner in which from the food is extracted the
matter to form such very different portions of our frame,
as the blood, muscles, and fibres, nerves, bones, &c. He
described the beautiful formation of the eye, the only
self-adjusting optical instrument ; and the admirable me-
chanism of the larynx or voice-box, the glottis and epi-
glottis. These and other subjects were treated upon by
the lecturer in an exceedingly happy manner, which highly
gratified the audience. Some reference to phrenology
closed the lecture, when a person present announced his
intention to give lectures in defence of phrenology, which
had been attacked by Mr. Brindley. On Thursday eve-
ning the second lecture was delivered. The lecturer
pointed out the defects in the ancient systems of mental
philosophy, promulgated by the Stoics, Epicureans, &c.,
and showed that no system could possibly be true which
was opposed to revelation. The remainder of the lecture
was devoted to a searching examination of the phrenolo-
gical theories of George Combe and others. The ad-
dress was very discursive, and in the course of it the Uni-
tarians and the supporters of secular education came is
for some hard rubs. At the close of the lecture, which
was listened to most attentively, Mr. S. Simpson, in a
very complimentary speech, proposed the thanks of the
meeting to Mr. Brindley, which was given by acclama-
tion. Mr. Brindley briefly returned thanks and the
meeting broke up, having received an amount of informa-
tion, suggestive of future reflection, which none but a per--
son of the most distinguished ability could have con-
veyed in so limited a space of time. We only express the
general sentiment when we say that the society is deeply
indebted to Mr. Brindley."—Lancaster Gazette. [On
Friday evening, Dr. Brindley delivered a lecture, which
occupied three hours in the delivery, on the same subject,.
to a numerous and intelligent audience, at the Town
Hall, Ormskirk. James Culshaw, Esq., took the chair,
and amongst others the leading clergy and gentry were
present, including the Rev. Mr. Kershaw, Rev. Mr.
Battersby, &c. All present were extremely gratified with
the whole proceedings.]

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