The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1851-04-01 00:00:00

reversed

was found that he had sustained no injury. It seems that
he is somewhat insane, and this is not the first time that
he has attempted to commit suicide.
A NOVEL STAG HUNT.—The Bath stag bounds met at
Lansdowne on Tuesday last, and, after a short circuit,
the stag ran through the village of Weston, along the
Weston road, to Bath, where, going up the back of St.
James's-square, he threaded Rivers-street, down Russell-
street, Lansdowne-street, and, astonishing the inhabi-
tants of Broad-street, was eventually taken close under
the Abbey Church ! The latter part of the run was truly
laughable, and elderly ladies and gentlemen were staring
from doors and windows as the clatter passed on—while
housemaids, frighted from their propriety, gazed, open-
mouthed, at the unwonted sight. The wondering spec-
tators all agreed that it shewed great discrimination in
the stag, so near the close of the season, to afford the
non-hunting subscribers to the pack so near a view of the
sport. _ _ _ _

•
NOVELTIES IN PAPER.—A novel kind of paper is-stated
to have been produced at the mills of Mr. Thomas 11.
Saunders, of Darenth, in Kent. It contains a water-
mark portrait of the Queen, contrived, not as the ordi-
nary water-mark in mere outline hitherto used in bank-
note and other paper, but so as to give the gradation of
light and shade of an Indian-ink drawing, such as is seen
in the porcelain pictures introduced from Germany. It
is the invention of Mr. Oldham, the engineer of the
Bank of England, and as its production involves many
difficulties, an opinion is entertained that it may form a
valuable addition to bank-note paper for the prevention
of forgery. The portrait is surrounded by an appropriate
wreath in water of the ordinary character, but executed
in a superior style, which is also the result of a novel
mode of producing transparent patterns in paper of greater
diversity and delicacy of design than has yet been
attained. _ _

BEGINNING OF THE END.—There is a farm in the
parish of Hitcham, Suffolk, which has never been touched
since last Michaelmas, and which is offered in vain for 10s.
an acre. No tenant can be found, and the landis,uncal-
tivated—and, of course, now the crops for the year.are all
lost. In the same parish, another farm has been just kept
upon its legs by the landlord, because he could not find a
tenant at 12s. per acre. We may be told that these are
extreme cases, and that the land is heavy and wet and can-
not be cultivated without much expense. Very true.. The
outlay on most lands not of the very best quality must,
under the present state of things, be greater than the re-
turns, and, consequently, such land is in reality worth
nothing. And such in fact is the present condition of
more than half the land of once happy and prosperous
England. What is-to become of the labourers hitherto
employed on these lands ? 'What is to become of the
owners and tenants—and of all the interests dependent
upon the soil ?

EXTRAORDINARY DUEL AT LINCOLN.—Prior to the
commencement of M. Jullien's concert, on Tuesday last,
an incident which might have been attended with tragic
consequences. took place. It appears that Herr Sommers,
the saxophonist, and M. Grillen, one of the French 'drum-
mers, had an altercation respecting some pecuniary obliga-
tion existing between them. 'High words ensued, and a
duel was decided on to settle the dispute, which might
have " settled" the disputants as well, had fortune willed
it so. Pistols were procured, and the seconds, Messrs.
Winterbottom, Cioffi, 'Franks, and Viset, quickly mea-
sured off twenty paces, in one of the passages of the As-
sembly-rooms ; the combatants took their respective posi-
tions, and, on a preconcerted signal, both fired. The bul-
let from one missed its mark. but the other passed close
by the neck of his antagonist. carrying away a portion of
his coat collar, which was shot through, and striking the
wall some paces distant,-deeply indented the brickwork.
The seconds now interfered, and each party deeming he
had obtained sufficient " satisfaction," as is prescribed by
the code of honour, shook 'hands, and then went into the
concert room to take their respective parts in the evening's
entertainment with the greatest nonchalance. The audi-
ence were entirely ignorant of what had happened.

BREACH OF PROMISE ow MARRIAGE.—BODILLY
THOMAS.—This was an action to recover compensation
for a breach of promise of marriage, tried at Bodmin, on
Thursday. Mr. Collier and Mr. Paul were counsel for
the plaintiff, and Mr. Crowder for the defendant. From
the statement of the learned counsel for the plaintiff, it
appeared that she was the daughter of a glazier at Pen-
z3nce. 'The defendant was the son of a person who had
been a Wesleyan missionary, and who had the good
fortune to marry a lady of property in India. When he
returned to England, he became the editor of the West
Briton newspaper, and he placed his son with a grocer at
Penzance, and there he first became acquainted with the
plaintiff at a pic-nic party, when he handed her over
stiles, carried parasols, and paid all those little attentions
which were usual and very delightful at pic-nic parties.
In a short time he proposed marriage to her. There were
obstacles to an immediate marriage, and the parties
corresponded for seven years, more than 300 letters having
passed between them. At length the defendant became
cool, and in 1847 broke off the match, and afterwards
married another lady. A number of the letters of the
defendant were now put in. They were of a most ardent
character, and many of them were interspersed with
metrical poetry. Whilst it was admitted for the defence
that the match was broken off, it was contended that the
object of the action was to annoy the defendant's family,
the match having been broken off in 1847, and the action
not having been brought till 1850. Verdict for the
plaintiff—damages, £l3O.
TRONMA-STBRS' QUARTERLY MEETINGS.--The usual
preliminary private meeting of the ironmasters of the
South Staffordshire district, previous to the regular quar-
terly ones, was held on Thursday last at Dudley, and was
numerously attended. The prevailing opinion was that
present prices may be maintained, and some masters are
even eangnine enough to look forward for increased prices
at no distant day. The general facts, however, warrant
only mach more moderate expectations ; for, although
the trade just now may be considered in a healthy state,
makers fairly off for orders, and stocks, upon the whole,
not unusually large, there is really nothing whatever to
justify any hope of an advance in prices. From the great
competition of the South Staffordshire and Shropshire
houses with the Welsh and Scotch makers, an immense
accumulation of the latter pigs is taking place, and a stop
to production must come at last. There is one most gra-
tifying circumstance, that, notwithstanding the unprofi-
table price for the last 18 months, and the necessity of
conforming to the tenure of leases, there has not in
South Staffordshire been a single failure or an embarrass-
' ment worthy of notice—a proof of great cautipn and
ability among the ironmasters in this part of the country.
After considerable discussion, it was decided that as ad-
vance was out of the question ; and the maintenance of
better prices, or even a reduction, appeared the only alter-
native. The adherence to present prices was determined
on, although from the unequal manner in which orders
are distributed, and the entire absence of all speculation,
many of ,the makers will, doubtless, undersell. Those
most competent from experience, and a knowledge of the
present state of the trade to form a sound opinion, give
no hopes of ig3provummit Pie spring or summer
month,.