The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1848-02-08 00:00:00

THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

I was present at Hickey's execution, which followed six
weeks after. There was no doubt about his guilt, nor did
he himself question the justice of his sentence. His master
supplicated that his life should be spared ; but under the
circumstances of the country, it was impossible that his
prayer could be granted, although he proffered it in per-
son at the castle of Dublin. The unhappy culprit was
hanged in a field, on the opposite side of the road
from that where he committed his crime ; as it was con-
sidered that cases of peculiar atrocity should be avenged
in their own immediate neighbourhood. There a scaffold
was erected ; and so apprehensive were the authorities of
an attempt to rescue the prisoner, that two full regiments
were drawn up around the gallows. He died firmly, and
with penitence, asserting his happiness in the ill-success
of his attempted deed of blood. With his dying breath
he warned the bystanders against the secret system, which
had brought himself to that disgraceful end. He loved
his master, he said, and would have died for him ; but
having, through cowardice, permitted himself to be initi.
ated into the agrarian league, he had taken their oath of
fellowship and obedience. When it bad been decided that
Mr. Norton should be assassinated, the lot to shoot him
had, either justly or unjustly, fallen to him, and accor-
dingly he had made the attempt. But he declared that
the only drop of sweetness in his cup was the reflection
on the failure of his enterprise. He was innocent in act,
though not in intention, and so far was reconciled to his
doom.

The scene of the outrage is by the side of one of the
chief entrances to Doneraile ; and the passing tourist is
yet pointed out a wide-spread lawn of meadow-land over-
hanging the Awbeg, which is now known among the
peasantry by no other name than that of The Croppy's
Fingers.

THE FISHERMAN'S BOY.
(From Hogg's Weekly Instructor.)
On the south bank of the river Esk, at its confluence
with the German Ocean, and immediately opposite to the
picturesque and thriving town of Montrose, stands the
fishing village of Ferryden. Some seventy years ago.
there dwelt in one of its little huts a young fisherman and
his wife, remarkable alike for their sober and industrious
habits and indomitable spirit of perseverance. They be-
gan the world with no capital, and roughed its thorny
path with few friends ; but, as their cares multiplied,
new fields were opened up for the employment of their
industrial skill, and new sources were successfully culti-

vated, under circumstances of the most remarkable and
encouraging kind.
In those days, few of the fishermen on the east coast of
Scotland would venture beyond what was technically
called " the rock fit,"—in other words, the seashore,—
for fishing ; but our hero of the oar, in the present case,
was ill at ease under such limitation. He had frequently
met with a number of Dutch fishermen, who used to take
shelter with their " busses," or fishing craft, in the har-
bour of Stonehaven, and from these he learned that, about
ten or fifteen miles off, lay the " Dutch " as well as the
" Dogger Bank,"—a mountain in the deep, stretching
from the Orkney Islands to the harbour, where there was
an abundant supply of all kinds of fish, from the tiny
sprat to the bottle-nosed whale. Animated by a strong
desire to explore this mine, and having now saved a few
pounds, the reward of industry and economy, a half-
decked boat was purchased, rigged out after the smack
fashion, and fitted with all the appointments of the deep-
sea fishery. In this enterprise he was joined by a few
more daring spirits, and, taking with him one of his boys,
set out on the evening of a fine summer day to try the
adventure. The effort succeeded. Fish of a larger size,
of greater variety, and finer quality, were thenceforth
landed in Ferryden, and the market returns in money and
provisions (fish being then sold by barter) were of the
most profitable character. But he was not satisfied with
the results of this experiment. The risks were great, and
the returns, though good, not equivalent to the tear and
wear of the service. By accident, the attention of the
young fisherman was called to the cod and ling fisheries
on the banks of Newfoundland, and he felt a strong de-
sire to draw something from the treasures of that wintry
deep. This project necessarily involved considerable ad-
ditional expense. But " where there 's a will there 's a
way," and so it was in the present case ; for, in a few
months, a fine sloop was got ready, an experienced crew
of fishers engaged, and, in less than six months from the
time the project was formed, the most sanguine expecta-
tions of its promoters were realised. By and by, our
fisherman became a sailor, and the sailor became an
owner, until he both owned and commanded, in the
coasting trade, one of the smartest and tidiest little craft
that sailed from the port of Montrose.
In all these adventures, the boy Joseph was engaged.
He toiled with his father at the oar of the fishing-boat
and the helm of his sailing vessel. He was a willing boy,
and inherited all the spirit and perseverance of his pa-
rents. But it was not the wish of his parents that Joseph
should continue at the sea, and, having now removed
from Ferryden to Montrose, he was sent to school, to
learn at least the elements of a common education.
While at school, Joseph discovered a remarkable genius
for the mathematics, an aptitude for languages, and was
always characterised by an indomitable spirit of perseve-
rance and self-will. Near to the residence of his parents,
who lived in a plain but substantial and comfortably fur-
nished old-fashioned house in Murray-street, a worthy
burgess carried on business under the sign of the " pestle
and mortar," to whom Joseph was apprenticed as a drug-
gist, somewhat, we understand, against his will. While
engaged in the faithful discharge of the duties and the
drudgery of this apprenticeship, he conceived the idea of
becoming some day or other a great man ; and then it
was that he gave himself up to study, choosing for his
sanctum the attic room of his father's house, and for his
motto " Derseverance" F.rly hn tnitc,l nt hio
books, and, in a few years, was one of the best informed
and most devoted disciples of Esculapius of which the
north of Scotland could boast,

Availing himself of the advantages which the medical
school of Edinburgh afforded, he spent some time in that
city qualifying for the degree of " surgeon," and having
at length obtained his diploma, the patronage of a gentle-
man in the country, of great influence in high quarters,
was promised in his behalf. Time passed on, and Joseph
had to realise the truth that " hope deferred maketh the
heart sick ;" but, at last, throwing himself entirely on his
own resources, he pushed his way forward, and got an
appointment, or rather a footing, in the medical staff of
the East India Company. When in India, Joseph's ta-
lents as a linguist soon attracted observation, and, in the
course of a few years, he found the office of " interpreter"
far more lucrative, and much more safe and comfortable,
than that of administering medicine or splicing broken
bones. From one thing to another, in his intercourse
with the merchant-princes of the East, he plodded up-
wards and onwards, now making a trading visit to Eng-
land and anon returning to Bombay, until he gained a
handsome competency, on which, at the close of the war,
he retired from the active commerce of desultory life.
But Joseph could not live in the quiet seclusion of his
family. His temperament would not let him rest, and,
having an earnest desire to benefit society, he sought a
field wherein he could bring his talents and experience to
bear in furtherance of the common good. Sincerely
deploring the corruption which he saw prevalent in the
administration of public affairs, he seized a favourable
opportunity of presenting himself to a Scotch constitu-
ency, and was returned as their representative in parlia-
ment. For twenty-nine years has the fisherman's boy
enjoyed this honourable position, and he now sits in St.
Stephen's, as he did at first and for many years, the re-
presentative of Montrose, his native town.
Such is a brief outline of the rise, progress, and present
position of JOSEPH HUME.

[ @nun! lirlfsrellanv.

There.are no fewer than 12,000 unewployod operatives
in Glasgow.
Lord Falkland has been appointed Governor of Bar-
badoes.

The report of the death of E. W. Pendarves is contra-
dicted.

On Thursday night the printing-office of the Ipswich
Express was accidentally burnt to the ground.
A respectable but eccentric maiden lady at Hereford
has left £5,000 towards paying off the national debt.
The brig Endeavour, of Maldon, has been wrecked off
Scotland. The crew, consisting of six, werp all lost.
Mr. Macdonald, of Newcastle, has set up a steam-
engine to manufacture candy and comfits !
The increase in the customs at the port of Bristol in the
last year was £90,000 on that of the preceding year.
Owing to the breaking up of the ice on the Clyde, nearly
the whole length of the new quay above Glasgow Bridge
was washed away on Thursday.
The brig Phoenix, from Bahia for Greenock, was wrecked
off Cove on Friday. The vessel, cargo, and crew are all
reported as lost.

By the recent deaths, rapidly succeeding each other, of
Generals 'Maitland, Vincent, and Maclane, the com-
mander-in-chief has three regiments at his disposal.
It is a remarkable circumstance, that, at the present
time, the price of oranges is little more than the price of
potatoes.
A prisoner in Coldbath Fields House of Correction has
lost his life by swallowing two shillings, in order to hide
them.

There was another discussion in the case of the late
Rajah of Sattara, at the India House, on Wednesday.
The motion for further inquiry was negatived by 63 to 26.
The London common council has appointed a commit-
tee to consider the propriety of petitioning for the aboli-
tion of grand juries in criminal cases.
The farming premises of Mr. Edwards at Spittle, near
Abergavenny have been destroyed by fire, and nine horses
(each worth £4O), were burnt to death.

The Patriot says that Mr. Todhunter, the senior
wrangler of Cambridge, is she son of a Dissenting minister,
and is understood to be himself a Dissenter.

Some baskets of early hothouse potatoes have been im-
ported into Glasgow from France, and have been offered

for sale at the rate of 2s. a basket.

The sentence of death passed on Michael M`Cabe, as
being an accomplice in the murder of Mr. and Mrs.
Wraith and their servant at Mirfield, has been commuted
into one of transportation for life.
At Leeds, a few days ago, the assistant of a druggist sold
a quantity of morphia to a female, instead of worm
powders, and two children of the woman were killed in
consequence of taking it.
CHILDREN BURNT TO DEATH.—On Tuesday, four in-
quests were held at the London Hospital on the bodies of
children who had died in the above institution from in-

juries they hadreceived by their clothes catching fire.
On the 17th December a burglary was committed near
Bradford by four men who so seriously injured the old
man who occupied the house, that he died on Sunday
week.

PRICE OF WHEAT.—The average price of wheat for
each of the last six years has been as follows :-1842,
575. 3d. ; 1843, 50s. Id. ; 1844, 51s. 3d. ; 1845. 50s. 10d.;
1846, 545. ld. ; 1847, 695. 9d.
Mr. Edwin Landseer, the painter, is said to have rea-
lized £7OOO for his " Stag at Bay" and three other works.
The copyright of the " Stag" brought him £BOO in addi-
tion, with a share of the profits.
At the Marylebone (London) Police-court, on Monday,
a man was fined 10s., or fourteen days imprisonment, for
riding a greater distance on the North Western Railway
than that for which fare had been paid.
The foundation-stone of the new docks at Sunderland
was laid, on Friday, by George Hudson, Esq., M.P. for
the borough, amidst extraordinary rejoicings in the town.
The Duke of Cleveland, the Countess of Essex, and Sir
Hedworth Williamsonwere amongst the company present.
A few days since, two men imprudently descended into
a large ale vat, in a brewery at Bow, near London, and
about an hour afterwards, when their absence was re-

marked, they were found dead in the vat, where they had
been stifled by carbonic acid gas.
At a public meeting. held in the Town-hall, Birming-
ham, on Friday, a petition against any increase of army
or navy—against any enrolment of the militia—and against
any addition to the present coast fortifications, was una-

nirnously adopted.
On Thursday four foreigners were found guilty of for-
gery on the Imperial Bank of Russia. One was sen-
tenced to eighteen months' imprisonment, another to
transportation for ten years, and the sentences, on the
others were deferred. _ _

THE INUNDATED COAL MINES.—The progress of
pumping is going on satisfactorily, and many of the pro-

prietors are making preparations to commence working
their upper mines. At the Patricroft Colliery they have
reduced the water to within about two yards of the ' four
feet mine."

An obelisk, sixty-four feet high, has been erected as a
monument to Newton, by the Rev. Charles Tumor, in
the park of Stoke Rochford, Lincolnshire, near the ham-
let of Woolsthorpe, where the philosopher was born, and
in the parish where he learned the rudiments of education
at a small day school.
The inquest on the bodies of the two men who were
killed some weeks ago by the fall of a building at the
Euston-square station, was brought to a close on Thurs-
day; when the jury returned a verdict of Accidental
Death, accompanied with the expression of their opinion
that due caution had not been i--1 "- 4,
aj d latel g
Yu aor a ;rye. •
e ave the particulars of the murder of an ille-
gitimate child at Bath, by its mother, a respectable young
woman, named Strickland, who, having delivered herself,
threw her offspring out of a window, thereby causing its
death. She has since been committed to prison, charged
with wilful murder. It is rumoured that the child was
the offspring of a son of a nobleman at present staying at
Bath.

A tall young man hired a horse and phaeton, on Wed-
nesday, at Mr. Tucker's livery stable, London. Mr. T.'s
servant accompanied the man, who drove down the Essex-
road instead of the direction mentioned, and on reaching
Upton-lane, Rumford, sent the latter across the road up-
on a trumped-up message, and then made off with the
horse and phaeton with all possible speed, and has not
since been heard of.

The Lord Mayor of London has declined to allow a
procession of twenty thousand persons, connected with
British shipping, through the city of London to Bucking-
ham Palace, for the purpose of petitioning the Queen not
to consent o the repeal of our Navigation Laws, but in
pursuance of his lordship's recommendation, the memo-
rialists will proceed from Shadwell to Westminster in a
large steamer.
The windows of Messrs. Smith, Payne, and Smith's
banking house, and of Messrs. Mullens, Marshall, and
Co., in Lombard-street, London, have been wilfully
smashed during the last few days by women, who commit
this outrage for the purpose of being committed to prison,
the damage done amounting at least at £3O. The object
the offenders have is, we are sorry to say, in this inclement
weather to gain imprisonment.
Slebech new church, Pembrokeshire, was consecrated
on Thursday last by the Bishop of St. David's, in the pre-
sence of a very numerous assembly of the clergy and
gentry of the neighbourhood. The Baron de Rutzen has
expended £lO,OOO in the.erection of this church, in addi-
tion to the amount raised by the parish, and it may be
considered to be one of the finest edifices in the princi-
pality.
THE NORTH BRITISH MAIL.—A meeting of the credi-
tors of Mr. Alexander Allen, proprietor of the North
British Mail, (a journal recently established in Edin-
burgh,) and also an iron master and director of the Ayr-
shire Iron Company, took place on Monday, at Glasgow.
The liabilities of the bankrupt were estimated at £BO,OOO,
and the assets at £12,000. The loss upon the newspaper,
&c. was estimated at £51,000 ; upon iron, £6400 ; bad
debts, £21,300.
On the night of Sunday week, great alarm was excited
at Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, by a cry of " Fire,"
and the appearance, at some distance, of a strong red
light, which appeared to proceed from a building in flames.
The firemen were instantly aroused, and horses were har-
nessed to the engine, which was on the point of starting
for the scene of the supposed conflagration, when it was
discovered that the apparent flames were caused by the
light of a brilliant aurora borealis.
Among the patents which have lately been obtained, is
one for a vapour engine, which is said instantaneously to
extinguish flame. The attention of the inventor of this
engine was drawn to the subject by observing that
the vapour which was emitted from a volcano during an
eruntion extinguished flume as soon ,as it came into con-
tact with it, and he was induced to examine the chemical
composition of this vapour, with such success, that he
ultimately devised his novel fire engine.
MURDER BY A YOUNG LADY.—On Friday an inquest
was concluded at Widcombe-hill, Bath, upon the body of
a newly-born female child, the offspring of Miss Julia
Stickland, the daughter of Mr. Stickland, formerly land-
lord of the New Inn, but now living retired in Church-
street, in the neighbourhood. The mother admitted that
the infant was her's, and that she had thrown it out of
the window, but that it never moved. A verdict of wil-
ful murder has been returned against her.
A verdict of wilful murder has been returned against
Mary Howells, and James Price, her servant, for poison-
ing William Howells, husband of the former. The de-
ceased was an elderly man, and a farmer in the parish of
Llanellen, Monmouthshire. Evidence was given of an
improper connexion between the widow and servant, that
Howells died suddenly in the night, after much sickness,
and partaking of apple dumplings sugared by the widow,
who had bought a pennyworth of arsenic the same day.
_Various expressions of the prisoners also added to the
overwhelming proof of their undoubted guilt.
DEPLORABLE ACCIDENT.—A melancholy occiwrence
took place on Wednesday off Cullercoats, on tha coast of
Northumberland. A vessel having been observed in the
offing, making for Shields harbour, a party of seven pilots
put off from Cullercoats to board her. The sea was rough,
and the weather squally, when the boat unfortunately
capsized, and all hands perished. Five of the party were
related to each other. The accident was witnessed from
the vessel, but the boat was at such a distance, and such
was the state of the weather, that no assistance could be
rendered.
DEATH ON THE ICE.—A nephew of the Rev. R. Drum-
mond, of Peering vicarage, about 15 years of age, who
was spending his holidays with his uncle, had. been sliding
upon a pond in the garden, on Friday, and after luncheon
went down to it again. But not long after the gardener
observed that the ice was broken in the middle of the
pond, and a cap was floating on the surface of the water.
He immediately gave an alarm, when the body of Mr.
Drummond's nephew, who had been absent only about
half an hour, was found. Deceased was the only son of
Capt. A. A. Drummond, now in India, and was the only
male heir in the Drummond family. His grandfather,
under whose care he was placed, and by whom, he was
seat to school in England, resides in Scotland.,-13ri$101
Journal.