The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1843-08-22 00:00:00

EXTRAORDINARY CASE AT MANCHESTER.

On Wednesday a respectable looking man, named
Charles Knight, brother of Mr. James Knight, accountant,
Pall Mall, Manchester, was brought up at the Burough
Court, in that town, charged with forging his brother's
name to two checks, amounting together to the sum of
£285 ; and also with having, on Tuesday last, married a
woman named Mary Ann Wardle, lately a servant at the
Globe Medloch-street, Chorlton, he having at the
time another wi'e living.
Mr. Richard Beswick, chief superintendent •of police.
stated that on Monday morning, about ten o'clock, the
prisoner went to the bank of Messrs. Jones, Lloyd, and
Co. King-street, and presented a check signed "James
Knight," I r £135. Mr. Markland, one of the clerks in
the bank, knowing that the prisoner was brother to Mr.
James Knight, paid him the amount of the check ; but
the check having been examined by another clerk it was
discovered to be a forgery. It being ascertained that he
had a wife and child at Rock Ferry, Inspector M'Mullen
was sent to Liverpool in the hope of finding the prisoner,
and a watch was set on the Dubiin packets, as it was
known he had friends in Dublin. Nothing, however, was
seen of him till the following morning, when he was seen
to go aboard a vessel about to sail for the Isle of Man.
M'Mullen immediately arrested him, when a scuffle en-
sued, and the prisoner threatened to throw M Mullen
overboard. M'Mullen, however, succeeded in getting
him into a small boat..and while in that, on their way to
the shore, the prisoner was vi lent, and said that M'Mul-
len must either swim for his life or be drowned. With
some difficulty he was got ashore and brought to Man..
cheater. On searching hint £5l ls.'was found upon him,
and of that sum £45 had been identified as a portion of
the money which had been paid by Mr. Markland in dis-
counting the cheque. In company with the prisoner was
a woman named Mary Alin Wardle, and on her was
ound upwards of £4O. 17s. 6d. of which was part of the
money paid in discounting a forged cheque presented at
the same batik on the previous Thursday. for: the sum of
£l5O. This woman had been taken into custody as an
accomplice, but he (Mr. Beswick) applied for her dis-
charge, as he had reason to believe that she knew nothing
of the transaction, and further, he had ascertained that
she had been married to him on the previous day, at tit.
Mary's Church, Manchester, arid that he had a wife and
child living at the time. A gold watch and guard, value
about £2O, were found on the prisoner, and altoge, her he
accounted for about £260, of which some of the items
were for bride's cakes, dresses, &c. £5O for furnishing
a house. The whole sum he had expended and for which
he accounted was £l6B Bs., and the money found on him
and the female amounted to £9l I9s. 4d. When taken to
the Town Hall lockups he said after the usual caution,
that he forged the two cheques, and gave an account of
the manner in which he had spent •he money.

Mr. Markland was then sworn, arid deposed to having,
on Monday last. discounted the cheque produced for
£135. He also stated that he had discounted a cheque
on the previous Thursday fir the sum of £l5O, and he
believed that the prisoner presented that cheque also, but
he would not swear to that. He identified the notes.
Mr. James Knight, brother to the prisoner, was then
sworn, and deposed that the signatures to both cheqUes
were forgeries, and that he had not authorised either the
prisoner or any other person to attach his name to any
cheques. _ _

The deposit ions were then ordered to he taken

Mr. Beswick then stated that there was R further charge
of higatoy against the prisoner. and Mr. Knight, the pri-
soner's brother, was questioned as to his tit st marriage.
He believed that he had been married about nine years
ago, but be was not present himself at the marriage, nor
did he know where or when it had taken place.—Prisoner
(to his beadle') : Do you know how old I was when I was
metaled ? Mr. Knight : I do not.—Prisoner : Do you
know th,tt I was under age when I was married, and that
the license was obtained without consent of parents 1—
Mr. Mande (to the prisoner); I may just tell you. that if
that were the case, it would not at all invalidate the mar-
riage. Prisoner : Very well ; I have nothing more to say.
He was then remanded till Thursday.

The prisoner was again brought up on Thursday, at the
Manchester Borough Court, when his mar, iage with a
female of the name of Easton (still living), snout nine
years ago, at St. John's Church, Manchester, was clearly
proved. _

Maria Wardle said she was married to the prisoner on
Tuesday morning, at St. Mary's Church, Manchester.
She did not know that his wife was living ; he represented
himself to her as a single man.
He was committed for trial at the assizes.

The Birkenhead Commissioners met on Tuesday last,
but in consequence of the subject for the consideration of
which they had adjourned not being matured, no business
was transacted.

THE PRESTON GUILD ROBBERY.--The trial of John
Anderson, at the present assizes, will be one of consider-
able interest, as we understand that, since his committal,
four of the £lOO notes stolen from Mr. Mai-finis have been
paced to his possession. We understand the trial is fixed
for to-day.

IMPORTANT TO SOLICITORS.—It may be of some in-
terest to the legal proiession to he informed that an
amended scale of costs, approved by the lord chancellor,
has been received by the commissioners of the several
district bankruptcy courts, in which there is a very con-
siderable augmentation in the amounts of the items.
ANOTHER TRICK UPON EIOUSEKEEPERS.—A man
and woman are at present going round the town and off,r-
ing prices higher than can generally be obtained for old
bottles. After a large number of them have been looked
out, the woman fills her apron with the best of them, and
the man takes a few in his hand.. Both then leave the
house under the pretext of going fora basket to carry away
the remainder, and bring the money for the lot. We need
scarcely remark, that neither man nor woman is ever heard
of again.

PETITIONTNO.—In the House of Lords on Thursday.
Lord Brougham stated that lie had received the signatures
of 15.800 persons at Liverpool, without the petition to
which they were intended to be attached. Earl Stanhope
observed that here there were only the names without any
heading, tint he could state as a feet, that there was a
petition to the other houve against the Factory Bill, the
lop of which was cut off and replaced by a petition against
the corn laws; and this way done by the contrivance of
the .Anti-Corn-Lazo League.
SHIPS' WINDLASSE.—Before his Honour the Vice-
Chancellor of England, at Lincoln's-inn, on Tuesday last,
Mr. Chandless rose to move for an injunction. ex parte,
to restrain the defendant, a founder, in Liverpool, from
mannfacturing and fitting ships' windlasses on the
Tyzack,prine
principle
Dofobainpasotzt
apnisces,s).e,dwbriotlaierepleaxintetniffssiv,eMmeassnrus..
lecturers at North Shields. His Honour minutely ex-
amined the models produced. and having heard the
allegations of Mr. Chandless, expressed himself satisfied
of the pit acy, and made an order for the injunction as
prayed.—Newcastle Journal.

COURAGEOUS ACT.—On Saturday a young boy, seven
or OVA years of age, whilst observing another older than
himself fishing from the steps at the Trafalgar Dock Pa-
rade, overbalanced himself and fell into the river. Some
short time elapsed before the life-buoys could he brought
to the spot, when the youth was too far spent to avail
himself of them. Immedidtely this generous sailor per-
ceived the exhausted state of the hoy he leaped from the
pierhead without hesitation, although risking his own life,
for he was unable to swim, and providentially succeeded
in sustaining the boy until a boat received them both.

SCRIPTURE IIEADERS.—As persons are now calling
upon churchmen to subscribe for the maintenance of
scripture readers in connexion with the Liverpool Town
Mission. it should be generally known that there are
scripture readers connected with the following churches
under the superintendence, and supported by the minis-
ters of these churches :—St. Jude's, St. George's, (Ever-
ton,) St. Barnabas, St. Thomas's-in-the-Fields, St. Si-
mon's, All Saints, and Christ Church. There will he one
at St. John's, and the Rev. Mr. Baylee supports a leader
to visit the Irish Romanists in Liverpool, and speak to
them in their own language.

TESTIMONTAL.—On Tuesday last, the congregation
of the Scotch Church, Rodney-street, presented the Rev.
John Park, their late minister, with several articles of
plate, of the value of £250, for, as the inscription stated,
" the zealous and faithful discharge of his ministerial
duties during a pastoral care of twelve years." The plate'
consisted of a very richly-chased two-handled twenty-live
inch oblong silver waiter, and two le,•ser ones to suit, a
pair of massive and elegant candelabras, with two side
candlesticks to match, besides a neatly engraved coffee-
pot, and other useful articles; also a very beautiful and
most costly-finished gold watch, and handsome gold guard
attached to it.

CAUT/ON TO PAVVNIMUKERS."—On Saturday last,
Messrs. Healing and Lyon, pawnbrokers, Atherton-street,
were summoned before Mr. Rushton, by Thomas Burns,
for the recovery of a bugle which he had pawned with
them on the Ist of September, 1842. In reply, one of
the defendants stated that it was their custom at the com-
mencement of the year to examine all the stock. They
did so this year, and at that time the bugle was there.
He thought it must have been stolen. Mr. Rushton,
having heard all the evidence, was of opinion that the
pawnbrokers were liable, and they must pay £2 10s., the
value of the bugle, less six shillings, the sum for which
it was pawned and the interest.

SHIPWRECK.-011 the. 25th May last, the Hero of
Malown, belonging to Liverpool, was totally lost off
Crelen. This ship, which was 480 tons burthen, was
built at Calcutta in the year 1820. She was at anchor io
the harbour, and was to have sailed on the next or suc-
ceeding day, when one of the most violent gales came on
that bad been experienced in that quarter for many years.
The ship was forced to sea soon after the gale burst forth,
but the crew were unable subsequently to keep her off the
coast. At length she struck, within thirty yards of the
shore and about twenty-five miles below Crelen, and in
six hours afterwards went to pieces, not a particle of her
having been found. The captain and crew, with the ex-
ception of one man, were saved.

Friday, William Barry from Bolton, was charged by
A FAMILY OF BloAailsrs.—At the Police-court, on
Sarah Taylor, a good looking young woman, with having
torn her cap and crushed her bonnet. The prisoner, in
d
his defence, said that the complainant had h. .1- d:hil.
dren by him, and was constantly annoying him. She had
come to this town as a witness on a bigamy case Oc'w
pending at the assizes, and her brotherap dsister bad both
mr.
been guilty of the same offence.
Rushton asked
what was known of the prisoner, and
w
had not long ago left Kirk dale gaol,
where told that he
ed imprisonment for bigamy, and that
the prisoner's
wife was to be tried at the present as-,*
a7..ie had suffer-
offence. The prisoner had married
wife two husbands. Mr. Rushte two wives, and hit
marriages and intermarriages • tzes for the same
.an through the whole
to beia3PrisQued.
family. He ordered the prison ' ,n said it seemed the,
.er to pay 9s. and costs, or

HEALTH OF THE TOWN.—Dr. Lyon Playfa:r fo..ived
in Liverpool last week, for the purpose corotneocw! unit
inquiries into the causes of the high ra,,e of nom, ~iy in
Liverpool. He has already st nt to numen•us parties lists
of questions which he wishes to have answeretf.

ATTEMPTED SUICIDE.--tlannali Watson, who had
been placed in Bridewell on the preceding evehihg, in a
state of intoxication, appeared before the magistrates on
Friday. A scream was beard to issue frciss the place
where she vas, and on entering, the prisoner was, disco-
vered attempting to strangle her-ell wi!, • garter., She
was ordered to be discharged.
INQUEST.--An inquest was held ye-t 'tefore Mr
Curry, on view of the body of Hem y Nloo
aged 26 years. It appeared that the r d was at
work, on Friday week last, on a vessel in the Canning
Graving Dock, on a stage with same othei . tie sad oc-
casion to go from one part of the stage ts, .aother, and in
doing so took hold of the top of a pole that rested on the
stage, but did not form any support or part of it; and
whilst in the act of striding over it, the .)eel of it slipped
in the dock and fell, and he fell along with it against the
side of the dock. Deceased tell untie, the pole, which
struck him on the head ; and lie after.vards fell down to
the bottom of the dock, where he was taken up insensi-
ble, and bleeding from both ears. Flt, was conveyed to
the Southern Hospital, where he died on the Friths), fol-
lowing, from the injuries he had received in the head and
elsewhere.—Verdict, " Accidental death."

CASE OF STABBING.—A.I adjourned Ease, in .tit a
well•dressed young man named" Williams. was charged
with cutting and stabbing a roan of the same name, was
Yesterday disposed in the l'uliee Court. It appeared (as
stated in our last), that the prisoner had on Sunday night,
the 13th instant, stabbed with a el sr, knife, and sevt.rely
injured his namesake, without. it is s dd any pr,ivneation.
Some further evidence was yesterday limught forwaru, to
the effect that he had knocked off Williams's hat, and
afterwards stabbed him. The sur:.eun who had attended
the wounded man, said that be had t .end four incised
wounds ; and that the patient had suffered much hum
effusion of blood, but was not in a dangerous state. The
prisoner declined to say anything in hi, detente. and was
committed for trial at the present, assizes—the winesses
being bound over in £lOO each. The prisi,m-r hail before
stated, in his defence, that the man had that attacked
him.

STEALING CORN FROM A WAREHOUSE..—An Old man.
named Peter Duffy. was: ve•terdaJ etoirged at the Police-
court with breaking into a warehouse, and stealing a
quantity of wheat. John Wain% right, a cooper. stated
that he was in the service of his father, who let off ware-
houses in Charlotte-street. At nine o'clock on Satur-
day morning he found the lock of the warehouse, No. 4,
broken, and got it immediately repaired and repldced.
He gave information, and the police-otlicer Eaton re-
mained on the look out, and about one o'clock saw the
prisoner leave the wareh,use with a small hag, and
stopped him. The bag contained wheat, and some of the
sauce kind of grain was also t, Mr' in hi; hat and pockets
—in all about 15th. It was lon 'l,lt the lock had been
in the interim a second time 1, d, and a chisel utts
found whiCh Corresponded s ith the marks on the wood-
work. The wheat belonged to Mr. Wm. Lowe, corn-
merchant, and 'about dime bushels, of a quantity similar
to `that found on the prisoner, were missing. tle was
committed for trial.

Goon FonTutae.—Many of our readers will, probably,
recollect the following paragraph which apt. turd in toe
local papers a short time back :----.GOOD NEWS FOR SUMS
BODY.—It may be important to some worthy faniiiy in
Ireland, to learn that Mr. Michaei Rice, an Irishman,
aged fifty or sixty, lately died in his city, worth BJ,OOO
&liars. He has no relative in the United States, though
he made his fortune here; it is said that he has a sister in
Ireland, who is vor."—(Pi ladelphia Co. i espoodent of
the Morning Chroaiele.)—Vte hi.v • since ascertained that
Mr. Forsyth, one of the biidewell keepers at the south
dock station, in this town, happened to take home one of
the papers in which this paragraph appeared ; arid that his
wife, on reading the news, saw the iodination, and felt no
doubt that the gen'leman named was tar brother. As
soon as the disco, ery was elide, torsos were at once
adopted for obtaining posession of the property. A mer-
chant in this town has taken the matter in hand, and no
doubt the heir-at-law will soon be in possession of the
effects of her deceast d brother.
LECTURES AT THE COLLEGIATE INSTITUTION.-011
Tuest.ary last Dr. Brett detivered his third lecture "on
Heat and Combustion," commencing with some observa-
tions (in c.intinuation) on latent heat,—showing that when
liquids dissolve into vapours, more heat is absorbed that
in the case of solids becoming, liquified. He demonstrated,
by an experiment, that sulphate of magnesia in a liquid
state, when mixed with spirits of wine, became solid.
Ether passed rapidly into vapour, and was, therefore, me-
dically applied to produce a sensation of cold. If •the
finger were plunged into boiling water, the immediate ap-
plication of spirits of wine would allay the pain. He
made several experiments, showing the effect of ether in
vaporization in reducing the temperature. When a vapour
became liquid considerable heat was evolved. Thus, 1 lb.
of steam, atv temperature of 212 degrees, would pass into
8 lb. of water of a heat of 87 degrees. lie then explained
the principles of ebulition in vacuo, the 'toiling point in
liquids, the condition of high and low pressure steam as
regarded latent heat. &c. The elacticity of vapours in-
creased with their temperature, and the latent heat of
steam increased at low, and decreased at hig:i, trinpera-
tures. He next al uded to tho analogy between gasses and
vapours; the luau faction of tae former; their law of diffu-
sion, which was in proportion to their relative lightness,
&c., illustrating this branch of the subject by some expe-
ri-nents. Professiond men differed in opinion as to the
laws of heat; some assuming that it had material pro-
perties; others that it had not, but depended.on the mo-
tion of matter, and others that, like light, it was produced
by the undulation of a suhtile ether,—to which last view
. . . .

of the subject he was himself favou'ratde.With-Thishe
concluded the subject of heat, ar.d should, in his next lec-
ture, proceed to consider the laws of combustion.—On
Friday evening Dr. Brett ably commenced the second lee-

tore Of hes subject—" Combustion." some of the early
opinions civet-tamed on which were remarkable, not to say
ridiculous theories. S, me chemists in former times thought
that combustion was pro laced by particles being thrown
into a state of vibrat on or agitation, and that in conse-
quence light and heat iv, re developed. It was sup-
posed by others, tl,at v. hen a substance—such, for
instaner, as metal—Lec ane in .a state of combustion,
it parted with some principle or element constituting,
in its new l orm, light and heat'. But it was found,
on the contrary, that such substances, in place of
losing weight by the action of conabastiol, actually gained
an aceebbi.in of it. Others, therefore, sup ,osed that the
metal imbibed a certain principle of the atmosphere;
and
this was in reality a shadoowing forth of the fact, as had
been proved by the experiments of Boyle, who found that
as the atmosphere decreased from a vessel in whirl. com-
bustion was going on, the burning or combustion propor-
tionately decreased and finally ceased. A remarkable
theory was entertained by a foreign chemistO(Stabl), who
supposed that combustible matter consisted of a cubstauce
of a phosphoric nature, called phlogiston. TL.is, when
phosphorus was burnt, it left a body supposed to be de--
prived of its phlogiston. It might have been supposed,
from what had been discovered by Hook, that this theory
wou.d not have held its ground, which, however, it did
fur a long time. It was found tnat substances burnt

brighter in oxygen than Mother mediums; anti this prin-
ciple existed not only in the avnosphere, but was con-
tained in nitre and some other bodies. Lavoisier went
further, and found that certain substances in a state of
combustion took up a part of the atmosphere, and when
it ceased to be supplied the combustion ceased. Oxygen
was necessary fur combustion ; but when it was going on
there were many grades of heat,—some, indeed, o light
that we had not instruments sufficiently delicate to detect
it, and others intense and accompanied by light. Some
substances were supporters of combustion, others were
non-conductors of it. In ordinary cases, oxygen was its
chief supporter, but it did not follow that in all cases a
development of heat arid light should be dependent on
the presence of oxygen. Ile showed by experiment that
a taper put into a jar of oxygen gas burned much brighter,
and that when immersed in nitrogen it was extinguished.
Combustion might be very slow, in flammable substances
such as phosphorus, when exposed to the atmospheric
air. whilst the chemical change of spirits of wine in
making it into vinegar was a simple process of com-
bustion. Every one was acquainted with the rust of
iron, but few would conjecture that iron in its progress
to oxydation was actually in a slow state of combustion.
If the temperature of iron be greatly raised it burns ; but
metals, though really combustible. did not burn rapidly as
wood. Charcoal was decidedly combustible, but a more
energetic substance, us regarded combustion when exposed
to oxxygen, was to be found in phosphorus. This be
showed by heating a piece of charcoal to a dull red heat at
a lamp. When put into a jar of oxygen it burned much
more brightly but a small piece of phosphorus plunged
into the same jar produced combustion so perfect that it
filled the jar with light so intense that on its being extia-
guisliedrthe theatre appeared fora few moments compara-
tively dark. Chlorine gas, as well as oxygen, was a sup-
porter of combustion. This he showed by putting a bit of
paper, dipped in spirits of turpentine, int'o that gas, when
it caught fire and was instantly burned, filling the jar with
a quantity of black smoke—the carbon and the hydrogen
of the turpentine haying so much energy in this gas as to
cause combustion. If a portion of sulphur and copper, in
a luminated state, were placed, as he showed, in a glass
vessel, and the glass were exposed to the heat of a lamp,
the two substances would so act upon each other as to be-
come red hot. Potassium and iodine, mixed. and subjected
to a slight heat, emitted flame as they combined. He
then took a piece of iron wire, with a small piece of com-
bustible at its extremity, which he lighted, and put into a
jar of oxygen. When the combustible was consumed, the
wire also took fire, and blazed and burned to the top.
This experiment excited much applause. Substances sub-
jected to combustion were not annihilated, but merely
underwent a chemical change. On the subject of flame
he stated that all substances that emitted it combined in
them more or less of hydrogen. Common coal contained
carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and generally a small quantity
of sulphur. He explained its combustion in a common
grate, but when bound in a close chamber or retort, its
products were different—it evolved a great number of
gasses, &c. in distillation. He next noticed olefiant gas.
and its properties, and exhibited it in combustion, also
qualities of burning. The le9-
Sepxiprliatsinoefdwaisnreeapnrddestthheerir, Naptha and eamphor were also
of flame"
tcuornecri,u
in his nest lecture.
wsihono7thaastfhtaisbeonutildy
rleosuudnilyeatphpelasuudb observed,jeett. in

So alarmed have the Durham supporters and the Anti-
Corn-Law League become at the petition recently pre-
sented against Mr. Bright's return, that by way of fright-
ening the petitioners out of its prosecution, they have
caused Lord Dungannon's agents at the election prece-
ding the last to be served with writs to recover penalties
for the bribery then practised. They will, however, be
disappointed, as the petitioners nave not the smallest
connection with those agents.