The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1848-05-09 00:00:00

miff LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

COURT OF BANKRUPTCY .-YESTERDAY.

IN RE H. HOLLIS.
(Before Mr. Commissioner Perry.)
The bankrupt in this case, formerly a tea dealer in this
town, appeared before the court on his adjourned last exa-
mination.—Mr. Peacock, solicitor, opposed the bankrupt
on behalf of Messrs. Steains, Rowley and Co., tea mer-
chants, and Mr. Duckworth, coffee merchant ; Mr. Daven-
port. solicitor, appeared for the bankrupt. The hearing
of the case had been adjourned from the 28th of April, in
order that the bankrupt might account for the heavy losses
which he appeared to have sustained in his trade. In the
balance sheet, the debts of the bankrupt were set down
at £5,000, and his assets at £1,300. His losses from Oc-
tober 1845 to 1848 he set down at £1,700. The bank-
rupt represented that the gross profits upon his trade were
ten per cent., and estimated them by that per centage at
£5,400, from October 1845 to 1848. The ground of oppo-
sition against the bankrupt was, that the profits in the
tea trade were from 20 to 30 per cent., and that he ought,
therefore, to have accounted for upwards of £ll,OOO in-
stead of Zs,ooo.—The bankrupt underwent a very length-
ened examination by Mr. Peacock in reference to his
affairs, in the course of which he stated that be was un-
able to give any more explanatory statement than what
was put forward in his balance sheet.—Mr. Peacock then
very ably addressed the court, and asked the court to re-
fuse the bankrupt's passing his examination.—His Honor
agreed with Mr. Peacock, that the statement by the bank-
rupt was very unsatisfactory. The profits in the trade
were clearly more than 10 per cent., and he ought to have
accounted for more. He should adjourn the case sine die.
—Mr. Davenport applied to the court not to adjourn the
hearing of the case sine die, but to name a day for a fur-
ther hearing.—His Honor declined to do so. The exa-
mination had been adjourned to give the bankrupt an op-
portunity of giving a more satisfactory explanation of his
affairs. In the examination just concluded, he had not
given such explanation, and he must therefore adjourn the
examination sine die.—The Court gave the bankrupt his
protection for one month.

MR. SPENCER AND THE WATER QUESTION.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD,

SIR,—I noticed the extracts of a letter from Mr. Thos.
Spencer published in last week's STANDARD, on the
quality of our Liverpool water.
Mr. Spencer, in his attempt to excite groundless alarm
in the public mind, states that our water is contaminated,
in its passage through the earth, by the solution of certain
chemical ingredients used for agricultural purposes, the
principal part of which he has enumerated being trate
of soda, sulphate of ammonia, phosphate of lime, and
guano. Mr. Spencer, in theorising on this subject, seems
to have lost sight of the fact, that farmers only use these
substances as food for the growing crops, and that as they
are expensive, they take good care to economise them as
much as possible, by applying them to the land only at
such times as the plants are ready to consume them; so
that but a very small quantity is carried away by the water
when it sinks into the rock. If he refers to Dr. Playfair's
analysis of our water, he will find this view completely
borne out by the entire absence of all the above-named
substances.

Mr. Spencer likewise imagines that the drainage water
of dwellings contaminates our supply, and he therefore
lays great stress upon the pernicious quality of the organic
impurities usually present in water of that description.
These he characterises as very difficult to detect, in the
ordinary mode of chemical analysis. Here Mr. Spencer
is in error ; for though the nature of the impurities can-
not readily be ascertained by the chemist, yet the presence
of them is easily detected. If, therefore, we find, as is
the case, that neither organic matter, nor the accompany-
ing ammoniacal salts usually present in drainage water,
are to be found in our water, the fair conclusion is that
our present supply receives no contamination from this
source : indeed, it is difficult to understand how it should,
seeing that water of this description is in general carefully
conveyed away to the sea by sewers in the towns, and in
the country by ditches, brooks, and rivers.
Mr. Spencer, in trying to magnify the obnoxious nature
of organic impurities, states that, " compared with these,
mineral impurities are but trifling." The inhabitants of
this town, I am sure, will feel much obliged to Mr. Spen-
cer for informinc, them of this fact, as it goes to show
how excellent the water is with which we are at present
supplied, when compared with the proposed soft water
from Rivington Pike and Bolton Moors. This water,
before it can be collected, must inevitably wash the sur-
face of a large tract of country, which, having scattered
over it plenty of decomposing vegetable matter, the excre-
ments of birds and beasts, the defunct bodies of reptiles,
and myriads of insects, will, by the time it reaches this
town, hold ir, solution a pretty fair proportion of " subtle"
and " dangerous" organic impurities.
Mr. Spencer has a tolerable clear idea respecting the
porosity of the sandstone. He, therefore, indulges him-
self in a strain of sarcastic imagery, at the expense of
those who are not equally enlightened. He is very happy
in his reference to the " schoolmaster abroad," and the
cleverness of the " boys" at our institutions.
Mr. Spencer, however, in stating that common salt is
one of the " main ingredients" which cause hardness in
water, has shown that he himself is not groundedly learned
in chemistry. I must, therefore, request that he will
immediately see after the "schoolmaster," or some of the
" boys" referred to, and that he will ask them whether
chloride of sodium, being an alkaline salt, cannot harden
water ? It appears that he has yet to learn that the ge-
neral cause of hardness in water arises from the presence
of salts of lime and magnesia. I am, sir, your obedient
servant, 1-iEMICUS.
Liverpool, Gth May, 1848.

FIRE DEALING.—Michael Guilfoile, a cooper, has been
convicted at the Thurles (county of Tipperary) Quarter
Sessions for having a pike in his possession, intended for
sale. The weapon was made with two prongs, according
to the instructions lately printed in the United Irishman.
The prisoner was sentenced to twelve months' imprison-
ment, with hard labour.
FRATERNIZATION.—The black eyes and broken ribs,
and pistol shots of Limerick, have ended in a declaration
of fraternity, put forth on Saturday with great parade in
all the Repeal journals, except the United Irishman.
The address is signed by, amongst others, Dr. Miley, Dr.
Gray, W. S. O'Brien, J. O'Connell, C. G. Duffy, T. F.
Meagher, and T. M. Ray, and exhorts the repeaters to
peace and forbearance.
LODGERS DAMAGING FURNITURE, &C.—At the Police-
court, yesterday, Joseph Rawson and his wife Jane, were
charged by Mr. Benjamin Cartledge, of the Nottingham
Arms Inn, Salthouse-dock, with having wantonly da-
maged the furniture, paintings, and wall paper of the
apartments in which they lodged, the amount of such da-
mage being estimated at £3 12s. The prisoners, it ap-
peared, had been staying at the prosecutor's house for six
weeks, and upon his preventing their removal of their
luggage to evade payment of his claim, the damage com-
plaine of was committed. Mr. Rushton ordered a sepa-
rate conviction to be made out agrinst the prisoners,
dividing the fine between them, but rendering each liable
to the costs.
On Friday, Mr. J. W. Davidson, of this town, was ad-
mitted a member of the Royal College of Surgeons.
COMPARATIVE COST OF INQUESTS IN LONDON AND
LIVERPOOL.—It appears from official documents that in
London, from the Ist January to the 10th of March of the
present year, the inquests were as follows :
By Mr. Wakley, 225 cases,—at a cost of £676 17 0
„ Mr. Baker, 236 ~ ft 796 4 4
„ Mr. Bedford, 52 „ lf 159 19 2

513 cases £1,633 0 6
A fraction above £3 in each case, and this does not in-
clude the fees of the respective coroners.—ln Liverpool
under the old system, which is now superseded, there
were during the whole of the last year (1847) 678 cases,
at a cost, including the coroner's fees of £1 6s. Bd. in
each case, of £2,419.
CABIN PASSENGERS PER THE PACKET-SHIP YORK-
SHIRE, CAPT. D. G. BAILEY.—From New York to Li-
verpool ;—Abraham Bell, from New York • Miss Mary
C. Bell, ditto ; Wm, Bell, ditto ; Miss A. Rankin. Brook-
lyn. New York • Miss A. Rankin, ditto ; Mr. Clement
Heerdts, New York ; Mr. Heerdts, ditto ; W. H. Good-
rich, from Newhaven ; Rev. Edward Strang, Newhaven ;
S. Penniman Luds, New York ; Rusch, New York ; L.
B. Hanks, Hartford ; Mr. Strahlheim, New York ; Mr.
Mutzcnbeken, Mr. Amsmck, Hamburg ; Mr. M'Colly,
Lancaster, Pennsylvania • Mr. H. B. Waddilow, Liver-
pool ; Mr. Inman, New York I • Mr. John Morton, Belfast.
Simon Finelly, St. Louis ; W. S. McCammon, Cir.cinati,
Ohio ; Mrs. M. A. Mullen, ditto ; Mr. M. Widele, New
York ; G. C. Talimadge, ditto ; James Stuart, ditto.
Spoke ship, Gaster, in lat. 50, and long. 10, bound to
Bremen, on the evening of sth. Spoke ship, Oriental,
on the evening of the 7th, bound to Liverpool. The
Yorkshire left New York on the 17th ult., and arrived
here yesterday morning, after a passage of 20 days.
EFFECTS OF THE " GAGGING" ACT.—The publication
of the Dublin Nation and United Irishman of Saturday
supplies very satisfactory evidence of the working qualities
of the Crown and Government Security Act. Instead of
the ordinary:measure of substantial treason, there is but a
beggarly account of " sound and fury, signifying nothing,"
in both one and the other of these patriotic prints. The
United Irishman, indeed, appears with only half its usual
number of pages, owing to the refusal of proprietors of
large printing machines to mix themselves in the concerns
of Mr. Mitchell. This circumstance must, however, have
been felt as a relief by that gentleman, as he has been ma-
nifestly sore pressed to fill even half of space with mat-
ter that should have somewhat of the sound of sedition,
and yet none of its felonious reality. In the leading arti-
cle it is announced, not as heretofore, that either Lord
Clarendon or John Mitchell must succumb, but with a
lamentable attempt at irony, that John Mitchell is
waiting for Lord Clarendon to begin the rebellion, and
when lie does, J. M. will be at him with great fury.
This is very washy stuff coming after the brave
words of that day fortnight ; but even this weak
infusion of sedition is too strong for the stomachs of
Mr. Mitchell's colleagues, if we may judge from the
tone of a letter which Mr. Mitchell addresses to "the
Committee of the Irish Confederation," and in which lie
expresses his wish that his name may be taken from the
books of the Confederation. He then says,—" Into the
reasons which have induced me to take this step, I will
not enter further than to say, that the differences on some
important questions of national policy which, you are
aware, have long existed between Mr. Smith O'Brien and
myself have, at length, come to that point which makes
it necessary, in Mr. O'Brien's opinion, that one or the
other of us should leave the Irish Confederation." He
states that he will give his warm support to all the active
measures projected by the Council, and adds,—" For the
National Council I mean speedily to offer myself, as a can-
didate, and on the roll of the National Guard mine is the
third name." Nor is the Nation less cautious than the
United Irishman—now, as it would seem a corporation
sole. The number of this day contains not a word about
pikes, or vitriol, or driving the Saxon into the sea , but,
instead, has columns of lamentation over the catastrophe
of Mr. William Smith O'Brien.