The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1851-01-28 00:00:00

&HOME OF A MAGISTRATE.—On Thursday afternoon,
the inhabitants of Boston, Lincolnshire, were startled by
a report that John Brown, Esq., M.D., one of the ma-
gistrates of the borough, had committed suicide by taking
prussic acid. On proceeding to his house the report was
found to be too true. The wildest rumours were imme-
diately afloat as to the cause, as the unfortunate gentle-
man had appeared to all who knew him to be one of the
most unlikely persons in the world to commit such an act.
Pecuniary difficulties more imagined than real are said to
have been the cause.

On Tuesday William Bristol was convicted at the Mid-
dlesex sessions of having attempted to pick pockets.
Fisher, the detective officer, then stated that he had
known the prisoner for three years as a member of a gang
of daring thieves, and as the "deputy" or sub-landlord
of a notorious den in Fox-court, Gray's-inn-lane, which
was known as the " Thieves' Kitchen," and which was
the rendezvous of burglars, pick-pockets, prostitutes, and
pot stealers, ar.d where nightly could be seen thieves,
prostitutes, and beggars of all ages and both sexes, hud-
dled together indiscriminately, there being in some in-
stances eight or ten men, women, and children, all in one
bed together. Some short time ago he was on duty near
Fox-court, and on contriving to peep into the " Kitchen"
through a window, he saw the prisoner in the room with
a line tied across it, and from this line was suspended a
coat, in the pockets of which were placed pocket-hand-
kerchiefs. A dozen little boys surrounded the prisoner,
and each in turn tried his skill in removing a handker-
chief without moving the coat or shaking the line.
___

THE QUICKSILVER MINES OF CALiFORNIA.-We
understand that a leading house in London, connected
with the South American trade, received an order by the
New York steamer, to effect a running insurance for
1300,000, to cover quicksilver to be exported from Mr.
Forbes's mine (the New Almaden) in California, along
the Pacific coast. The shipment of this supply will pro-
bably take place during the ensuing twelve months; and,
as it will be absorbed in South America, and will give an
extraordinary impulse to the production of silver, it affords
a further commentary on the folly of those nations who
are now attempting by legislation to regulate their future

position with mreg;rd.to the precious metals.—TitneB.
The above quantity of quicksilver is quite sufficient to re-
duce the price at once ; and as we have every reason to
believe there is no scarcity of it, we may very soon see a
return of the prices of 1825-26, when perhaps twice as
much silver was extracted from the Mexican mines as at
the Present day. It wilrsoon be seen that gold and silver
are like other co:nmodities.

A SINGULAR CAPTURE wv'TIIE POLICE.—A gentleman'
who resides at Stratford, left home to spend the evening
with a party of friends a few days since, and returned
about midnight, and went into his greenhouse without
letting his family know of his arrival. A female domestic
hearing a noise at the part of the house told her mis-
tress. who immediately went to the window and sprang a
rattle, which soon brought several neighbours and the
police to the spot; the former stood at the front entrance,
and the latter went to the back of the premises and disco-
vered some one moving, and they then soon captured the
supposed thief, whom they handled not very tenderly. " I
am Mr. —," exclaimed the master of the premises; but
the police, not knowing him,doubted his veracity, and it
was not before his wife and domestic arrived that the po-
liee discovered their mistake. It seems the gentleman
alluded to, finding it was a• frosty night, went into his
greenhouse for the purpose-of lighting the fires, and, on
his exit from that place with a bar of inciters in his hand,
he was taken into custody for entering his own premises.
Cheibleford Chronicle.
DREADFUL MURDER.—On Monday evening a murder
was committed at Lawshall, near Bury St. Edmund's,
on Elizabeth Bainbridge, aged' 30, a woman separated
from her husband, and obtaining-a living as a dressmaker.
For some time past a labourer,. named George Carut, a
year ortwo younger, had been observed to be very atten-
tive to• her, to the annoyance of her friends, but whether
with or without direct encouragement does not appear.
On the afternoon in question she went out, and was seen
for the last time in his company crossing a fiEld. Not
returning. home she was searched for, and near a pond,
in which the body was found, were evidences of a struggle
having taken place, and of her having-been dragged some
distance. She was much bruised and` scratched ; round
her neck was discovered a watch and chain belonging to
Carut, and on taking him into custody a wedding ring
belonging to the deceased was found in his pocket. His
shoes were found to correspond with the footmarks round
the pond. near which were also found a hat and handker-
chief belonging to him. His clothes were also wet and
dirty, as if he had been in the pond. On being taken
into custedi, on the charge, he made no reply, nor showed

any emotion

r.
VALUE OF PROPERTY IN GREAT BRITAIN.—In illus-
tration of the great and rapid accumulation of capital that
has been going on, we may adduce the increase in the
amount of personal property which has been shown to
have taken place at the interval from 1314 to 1841. At
the former period the amount was estimated at
£1,200,000:000, at the latter period at £2,000,000,000.
Again, it has been shown that the capital subject to
legacy-duty in Great Britain, on the average of the forty-
five years between 1797 and 1841, was nearly £26,000,000,
while in the single year 1840 it was nearly £40,500,000.
As the average for the whole period is evidently much
higher than the amount for any single year at the begin-
ning of the century, it is clear that a very great increase
of properly subject to the legacy-duty must have taken
place in the first half of the present century. One more
illustration of the same class, and we leave this part of
our subject. In the year 1798, the value of real prop' rty
in Great Britain was estimated at £995,000,000, while Sir
Robert Peel. in bringing forward his proposal for an
income-tax in 1842, stated it at £l,B2o,ooo,ooo.—Fraser.
PITMEN' AND MATHEMATICS.—A paragraph has ap-
peared in the papers, stating the fact that the booksellers
of Newcastle had observed that most of the standard ma-
thematical works were purchased by pitmen. The follow-
ing anecdote is in point. Some years since, a gentleman,
on his passage from Newcastle to Shields in a steam-boat,
went into the engine-room, and found one of the books
mentioned—namely, " Emerson's Pluxions"—lying on
the table rather black and smutty, evidently much reaci.
He asked the young engineman who read the book ? He
answered that he did when he had time. Rather surprised
at the fact, and presupposing that he was a young man of
superior talent, he questioned him upon the subject,
stating that himself had studied these matters at the
University—had passed, he believed, a fair examination—
and obtained a creditable degree. With this prelude they
entered freely into conversation;, and from that time the
stranger used all his influence to bring the studious en-
gineman into notice. The engineman is now a distin-
guished mathematician, and the author of many of the
very works alluded to. He had, a short time previous to
this interview, " risen from a bank-trapper to a breaks-
man" in a Newcastle coal-pit, as stated in evidence before
the Lords' committee last session ; and is now—Professor
Hann, of King's College !—Gateshead Observer.
LOVE AND ATTEMPTED SUICIDE.—A FAITHLESS
SWAIN.—On Friday, Eliza Harvey, a young woman only
eighteen years of age, was charged at Lambeth with
attempting to commit suicide by throwing herself into the
Surrey Canal. From the prisoner's own admission, it
appeared that she became enamoured of a young police-
man ; that she had made up her mind to write to him
and " confess her love ;" but unfortunately her young
mistress, who was of rather a prying habit, happened to
get sight of the letter while the prisoner was in the act of
folding it up, and insisted on reading it. The young woman
assured her it was only a note to her mother; but all
would not do, the young lady's curiosity must be satisfied;
and having peremptorily insisted on seeing the letter, she,
after reading it, handed it to her mother, and from the
mother it found its way to her father. The consequence
was, that in consultation, the family considered the
young woman's mind was too romantic for her calling,
and a notice to quit was given. The prisoner, rather
than face the rebukes and frowns of her parents—and her
lover, finding that she was about to lose her place, became
less zealous in her affections—made up her mind to throw
herself icto the Surrey Canal. The prisoner was ulti-
mately remanded for the attendance of her parents.
THE ARCTIC EXPEDITIONS.—Despatches have been
received at the Admiralty from Captain Kellett, C. 8., of
her Majesty's ship Herald, dated at sea, the 14th of Oc-
tober, 1850, on his return from Behring Straits. The
Herald had communicated with ber Majesty's ship Plover,
on the 10th of July, at Chamisso Island, where the Plover
had passed the preceding winter. The two ships pro-
ceeded to the northward until they sighted the pack ice,
when the Herald returned to Cape Lisburne, in quest of
Captain Collinson's expedition, and on' the 31st fell in
with her Majesty's ship Investigator, which had made a
surprisingly short passage of 26 days from the Sandwich
Islands. The Herald remained cruising off Cape Lis-
burne. and again fell in with the Plover on the 13th of
August, on her return from Point Barrow, Commander
Moore having coasted in his boats, and minutely ex-
amined the several inlets as far as Icy Cape, without gain-
ing any intelligence of the missing expedition. Com.
Moore and his boat's crew had suffered severely from ex-
posure to cold. Captain Kellett. having fully victualled
the Plover, ordered her to winter in Grantley Harbour,
(her former anchorage at Chanaisso Island not being con-
sidered safe), and returned to the southward, on his way
to England. Despatches have also been received from
Captain Collinson, C. 8., of her Majesty's ship Enter-
prise, and Commander 3.l'Clure of her Majesty's ship
Investigator.
THE SHOE-BLACK SOCIETY.—An interesting meeting
of the friends of a society, instituted in anticipation of the
requirements expected to originate from the influx of
foreigners during the great exhibition, was held on Wed-
nesday evening at the Field-lane Ragged Schools, London,
Captain Trotter, R.N., in the chair. The object of the
proposed association, as implied in its name, is to afford
to visitors, whilst in this country, a convenience to which
they are accustomed in their own, and whilst accommo-
dating our continentai neighbours, to provide employment
for deserving boys from the Ragged Schools of the
metropolis. It was explained by the various speakers,
that with a comparatively trifling outlay youths might
be supplied as well with a distinctive costume as with the
materials necessary for their occupation ; and it was
argued that this would, in the end, be not only the means
of providing funds for the individuals employed, but
would also, by attracting attention to the institutions with
which they were connected, benefit the Ragged Schools
themselves. In illustration of the alleged facility and
cheapness with which boys could be set up as members
of the " polishing brigade" a youth was exhibited,
having all the required apparatus constructed after the
French fashion, being himself attired in the proposed
distinctive costume of his order, and it was stated that
his who's outfit would not cost more than £l. It appears
that the police authorities have consented to co-operate
with the committee in carrying out the design, and that
it lacks nothing but sufficient funds to ensure is comple-
tion ; £25 have been already subscribed. Various sug-
gestions were offered by different gentlemen. and it
appeared that the six months or so during which boys
would be thus employed' would be considered a term of
probation ; after which they would, according to circum-
stances, and with. due regard to their behaviour, be pro-
vided for by emigration. or otherwise.