The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1843-09-05 00:00:00

REPEAL INTIMIDATION IN DA ELAND.

The public has never, perhaps, been furnished with a
stronger evidence of the awful state of popular feeling in
Ireland, and of the gross dishonesty of the means adopted
to further the cause and swell the funds of the repeal agi-
tation in that country than in the following brief narrative
which has just been furnished to us by a witness of the
whole proceedings.
The principal party in our history is a man named
James Cockayne, the owner of a travelling exhicution con-
taining a giant, a dwarf, and other similar objects of curi-
osity. As our great dramatists occasionally visit America,
when their native country is weary of them, or they of it,
Mr. Cockayne, with his caravan, recently determined to
visit the Emerald Isle; and in the course of his travels
arrived at Carrickmacross. Before exhibiting at the fair
here, however, he was authoritatively questioned by the
assembled mobocra.;y whether he was a repealer. His
reply was that he was not, and that he had no idea that a
simple showman, and a stranger, was required to meddle
with politics at all. He was assured, however, that he
must "join the repale," or not a visitor would he have in
his booth ; and so it was. For two or three days he
trumpeted and beat his drum, and shouted his ordinary
" walk up ! walk up !" in vain. Not a paddy would look
at his giant, or his dwarf, or his learned pig, or any thing
else, for love or money; and he was at length compelled
to enrol himself, his helpers, the giant, dwarf, pig and all,
as repealers, and to pay down six shillings to the repeal
fund for the cards, without which he would not be per-
mitted to exhibit in any fair in Ireland!
His next step was to Monaghan; and there he was all
right, so far as repeal went. But an unfortunate piece of
showman's wit, uttered by one of his assistants, undid him
there ! He had with him a little house, which he exhi-
bited in front, containing an automatan figure, or some-
thing of the sort; and on being asked by some gaping
rustic the name of the little being, his assistant most in-
judiciously informed the querist that he was Father Ma-
thew. An ebulition was the immediate consequence.
" What ? d'ye mane to insult the peat apostle of temper-
ance?" assailed him on one side. " Smash his booth—
break his windows" assailed him on the other. And with
much damage to his humble paraphernalia. and no small
danger to the lives and limbs of his whole company, he
was compelled to evacuate Monaghan He went on to
Cavan : but there his unhappy fame followed him. He had
committed the unpardonable sin of treating with levity
the saintly name of Father Mathew ; and from fair to fair
throughout Ireland, the wrath of the disciples of that
great man would follow him ! he was eventually compelled
to retrace his course, and to return to England, where he
arrived last week, somewhat poorer, of course, for his
speculation amongst a people so ferocious and besotted in
their passionate hatred of every thing and every body
English !

THE CUSTOM-HOUSE.—The following notice has been
issued by order of the Commissioners of Stamps and
Taxes, and put up in the long-room :—" The Commis-
sioners of Stamps and Taxes, having received informa-
tion that it is a frequent practice with agents and others,
in the shipment of goods, to include in one bond the
goods of distinct persons, deem it right to give this notice,
that a penalty of £5O is imposed on so doing by the act of
6 Geo. IV., and that the commissioners are determined
to enforce the penalty in all cases of such an evasion."
THEFTS.—A porter of the name of Peter Hagan was,
on Wednesday last, charged, at the police-court, with
stealing a ham. It appeared he had been employed for
some days at the warehouse of Mr. Cummings, Charlotte-
place, Salthouse Dock, and that on Tuesday he was found
in the cellar R here he had no business. On being accosted
he said he had come for his cap, which was in a room
above. A ham, weighing 20 lbs., was at the same time
found concealed in a hamper, also a quantity of butter.
Both the articles had been removed from the room above,
and no one but the prisoner was seen in the cellar. He
was committed for trial.—Same day, a woman, named
Mary Newmatch, was charged with robbing James Da-
vison, a seaman, of seventeen sovereigns. The parties
had gone together in a coach, and on leaving it complain-
ant missed his money. Ten sovereigns of it were found
in coach under the cushion, and four upon the pri-
so the rest had disappeared. She was committed for
trial:

NEW AND IMPROVED IRON ROOF.—There is now in
progress of completion, at the works of Messrs. Garstang,
Turner, and North, cotton manufacturers, a shed for the
stowage of cotton, the whole of the roof of which, with
the exception of the slates, is of cast and wrought iron,
of a construction combining great strength and security
with extraordinary elegance of design and lightness of ap-
pearance. The whole is from the foundry of Mr. John
Clayton, Soho Foundry, Preston, and the work is super-
intended by his foreman, Mr. John Beveridge, who has
politely explained to us the manner in which it is put to-
gether. The building is 160 feet long and 64 feet wide,
and, as there are no central pillars or other support, the
span of the principals is equal to the latter. These are
each in four castings, handsomely perforated and moulded,
forming a flattish eliptic arch below, and carrying out the
usual straight pitch of roof above, so that goods may be
stowed almost to the slates without interruption, from one
end of the building to the other. The castings are so
made as to lock into each other with nuts and screws, and
each set (forming one principal) weighs about 3i tons.
No stay-bolts, posts, tension-rods, or the like, are re-
quired, these being supplied by the divisions or arms of
the castings, which form a succession of arches, capable,
from the bulk of the metal being on edge, of sustaining a
great weight. The lower extremities of each principal,
which are nearly perpendicular, up to the spring of the
arch, are placed on brick pillars, about 12 feet high,
tapped with ctnnp, and running down each Fide, the walls,
of which they form part. It w ./3 apprehe. d d. that with
a great pressure above, these would be thrown somewhat
outward from their position, in the absence of abutments ;
but on an experiment being made upon one of them,
though it was but slightly stayed to keep it upright, it was
found that it bore, per se, four tons, without giv'ng way
on either side in the smallest perceptible degree ; and when
the whole roof is secured together there can be no doubt
but one of them would bear half as much more. The same
principle of roofing might, we should think, be applied to
churches, or other public buildings, even with a span of
100 feet, without any central pillars or support from be-
low. The appearance of the castings from the interior is
also highly ornamental, and if painted or otherwise deco-
rated they would be still more so. The spars, ribs, and
laths are comparatively light, and are so secured on edge
as to bear the required weight of covering, whether of
iron, slate, or other material. We have seen, in fine, iron
roofs of various kinds, but none so compact and hand-
some as this; and those especially who are building fire-
proof warehouses, would do well to inspect it before they
aodfo pt th.
oseltiseyrawtiiolln
adiescoi u pwe t
toi
ino
k, whatwor
tkhiyn d
of otfh
or 0000 f
otsllde
en-
gaged in the construction of our new Assize Courts. We
have ourselves no acquaintance whatever with Mr. Clay-
ton, and no interest in the matter beyond a desire to bring
before the public an improvement that may be found ad-
vantageous in many of our larger buildings. The cost
(owing, probably, to the present low price of iron) is, we
learn, comparatively moderate.

GALLANT CONDUCT IN THE SAVING OF LlFE.—Se-
veral instances of the fearless conduct of an individual in
humble life in saving parties from being drowned have
come to our knowledge, and are, we think, worthy of no-
tice, more especially as the man himself is of too modest
a character to proclaim his own merits to the community.
His name is Joseph Gurnell, and he is, and has for some
years, been yard-keeper at the coal-wharf, (Coburg Dock)
of Messrs. Clarke and Frankland, by whom he is much
esteemed as a faithful servant. On the 25th December,
1838, at seven o'clock at night, a man named Davies, then
and still a moulder at Messrs. Fawcett and Preston's iron
works, fell from the Coburg Pier-Lead on to the bank
below—a height of about 25 feet. Gurnell and his wife,
who live underneath the coal office, a short distance from
the spot, heard his cries, and taking a rope which he kept
ready for such occasions, he found the sufferer, and with
the assistance of another man whom he called in, suc-
ceeded in passing a noose over his head, and hoisting him
safely up. The man had been misled by the darkness of
the night, and the lights on the Cheshire shore. The tide
was down at the time, but was fast rising, so that but for
this timely aid he would soon have been swept away, as
he was much hurt by the fall.—On the 27th of July, 1811,
Gurnell, in a most praiseworthy manner, plunged into the
Union Dock, to save the life of John Mackrell, a painter,
who fell into the water from the Neptune, and would in
all probability have perished but for the timely exertions
of that individual.—About two years ago, while the qua-
rantine hulk Newcastle (which had drifted from her moor-
ings) was lying in the Coburg Dock, Mrs. Smith, the wife
of the captain, on going on board, accidentally trod upon
her gown, and fell overboard, Gurnell, who happened to
be at band, immediately went in to rescue her, with a rope
round him, and getting hold of her before she sank, got
her on shore, and had her conveyed (she being insensible)
to the receiving house, where he and others, by rubbing
and other means, endeavoured to restore her, but silo
being a very lusty person, and therefore 1,-
;ire liable to
suffocation, entirely without effr,•.c,. On this occasion
Gurnell lost his hat in, roe dock.—On another occasion, a
fine youth, 18 or 19 years of age, an apprentice on board
the ship Pollock, belonging to Messrs. Pollock and Gil-
mour, and lying in the Coburg Dock, fell overboard in the
dead of the night, and endeavoured, to save himself by
swimming across the dock. Gurdell ran up, found him
in an exhausted state, and, at much personal risk, res-
cued him from an untimely death. The sufferer was so
far gone that he conveyed
him to his own house for more
immediate attendance. placed him before the fire, and
used every means t Q restore him, but he was unable to
speak for some ',tours, and could not be safely removed
until the aft,fooon of the next day, when he was taken
away in a 'ear by his captain. He afterwards recovered.--
On the 4th of fast month a boat containing 12 men was
run down by a river steamer off the Coburg Dock, and the
vfnole party were immersed in the water. They endea-
voured to -save themselves by swimming, and two boats
went to their assistance, and brought 10 of them on shore.
Another of them, named Griffiths, was rescued by Gur- '
nell, who (as we stated at the time) " resolutely jumped
off the pier-head, and seized him as he was sinking."—
The only rewards Gurnell ever received for so much ser-
vice in the cause of humanity were £2 (on the representa-
tion of a few friends) from the Shipwreck and Humane
Society for saving Mackrell, and 2s. 6d. from, another
quarter for rescuing Davies. Surely he is worthy of some-
thing Much more substantial than this; indePendently of
the respect due to hint for-his disinterested exertions;
and we heartily recommend him to the societies within
whose province the consideration of such matters falls.
as well ',.as to others whumay be disposed to contribute
for his liehoof. The number of accidents constantly oc-
curring in our river and docks renders such a token of
approbation desirable, not only 'in justice to the man him-
self, but in good policy with reference to the community
at large, as an encouragement to a noble 'emulation in
others for the piggervation of life in the hour of danger. i

EXTRAORDINARY AND AFFECTING CASE OF
THE SEDUCTION AND ROBBERY OF A
RESPECTABLE YOUNG FEMALE.

On Monday evening last, while a commercial gentle-
man, Mr. S., was conversing with a person who was ac.
companied by a lady, of prepossessing appearance, in the
travellers' room of the Menai-bridge Inn (Mrs. Dixon's),
near St. George's Church, in this town,—he thought he
perceived something in the manner of the gentleman not
quite accordant with his notions of the character he
assumed. On further observation, Mr. S. conceived.
from the conduct of the man, that he and the lady were
not married. This suspicion was communicated to a
person belonging to the house; but no further notice was
taken of the matter that evening, as there appeared to be
a possibility of mistake, and the strangers slept in the
house.

On the following morning the lady and the gentleman
(who had called himself her husband) appeared at the
breakfast table, and many endearing expressions were
passed upon the former by her companion ; but it became
evident to those by whom they were surrounded, that, in
the first place, he was not a " gentleman ;" and, in the
second, that he was not the husband of the lady. In the
course of the day, this couple were visited by two men
whose external appearance and manners induced the in-
mates of the house to infer that there was "something
rotten in the state of Denmark."

The wine passed freely round, and whether from the
novelty of the liquor or the goodness of Mrs. Dixon's
port, we know not, but from some cause the three men of
the party commenced quarrelling, and exhibited their true
colours—as arrant blackguards. At this crisis, Mr. Lyon,
who is stopping at Mrs. Dixon's, interposed; called in
the police to restore quiet ; and taxed the lady with having
left her home unknown to her friends. This she thea
denied, and stated that she and the " gentleman" were
married. This did not satisfy Mr. Lyon, and he com-
municated his suspicions to Mr. Brown and Mr. Gittins,
who were in the house, and who had also entertained
opinions of the matter almost equally strong. The parties
were not, however, taken into custody, as no particular
charge could be substantiated against them.
On the following morning, Mr.. Lyon kindly re-ques-
tioned the lady, and she exhibitectsynaptorns of sorrow,
and gave indications of a desire to open her mind. Mr.
Brown (before-mentioned), who had also observed her
sufferings, drew from her some expressions which con-
firmed his previous suspicions. Her so-called husband
made his appearance after a short absence. He requested
her to accompany him into the town, and she assented.
On her appearing at the bar of Mrs. Dixon's house, her
companion asked her to deposit her money in his pocket,
observing, that she might otherwise lose it, or be robbed
of it. She complied, and the fellow, add' essing .himself
to Mrs. Dixon, said, in a laughing manner. " Now, Mrs.
Dixon, she has put her money into my pocket, and I have
not taken it." This observation did not particularly at-
tract Mrs. Dixon's notice at the time, as she, no doubt,
thought it was some badinage between them.
They left the house together, and the pretended hus-
band took the lady into Dale-street ; when they had
walked some distance he paused and requested her to stop
there, and that so soon as he had made some purchases in
a druggist's shop, he would return to her. He did not
return ; and the poor girl was left without a shilling and
without a friend in the streets of this town. After walk-
ing about in a frenzied state of mind for two or three
hours, she returned to Mrs. Dixon's, and told to her, her
tale of misery, being then convinced that she had been
grossly and unmanfully deceived. Mrs. Dixon, Mr.
Lyon, Mr. Brown, and Mr. Gittins happened to be all
present, and, indeed, all in the house, seeing her extreme
distress of mind, deeply sympathised with her, and of-
fered her every consolation. Mrs. D., indeed, acted the
part of a mother, and deeply lamenting her misfortune,
offered her an asylum in her house. At her request Mr.
Lyon undertook to accompany her back to that home she
had so rashly left. This offer the lady refused, declaring,
in the most impassioned manner, that rather than return
home she would commit some act which would terminate
her existence.

A consultation was then held between the gentlemen
named, and it was agreed that Mr. Gittins should ad-
dress a letter (unknown to the lady) to her father, and
request his attendance at the house. In the meantime
the young woman, who was quite d'sconsulate, expressed
her extreme gratitude to her benefactors, and tendered
with almost childish simplicity to serve Mrs. Dixon in the
most menial capacity, or to work as an operative at Mr.
S.'s, who is a manufacturer at Manchester, expressing at
the same time great contrition for her abandonment of
her home, and a fearful apprehension -of meeting her
parents.

The father of the unfortunate young woman arrived on
Friday at Mrs. Dixon's, while she was conversing in the
ccmmercial room with the gentleman who had shown her
so much sympathy. The meeting of the father (a fine
old man) and his unhappy child is represented on all
hands as one of the most affecting that ever was witnessed.
The aged man unable to restrain his paternal feelings
rushed up to her sobbing and took her in his arms—and
she hung on his neck and poured forth the story at once
of her wrongs and her folly—acknowledging her offence
without a plea of justification. The warm manifestation
of forgiveness in the father was not delayed, and the fer-
vent prayer that she might be restored, and the blessings
he called down upon those who had protected her as
speedily followed. There was not indeed a dry eye
amongst the whole assemblage.
Something further may now be stated of the young
woman, who is of considerable personal attractions, and
not yet 21 years of age. She is the daughter of a respect-
able tradesman in a small town not twenty miles from
Chester; and it appears from her own statement and that
of ber father, that she became acquainted with the villain
who seduced her from her home, at Tarporley Wakes.
The fellow introduced himself to the family as a master
of a company of licensed dealer,.in woollen cloth, and a
person of property. In a few days-ne of
marriage, dis-
couraged.
loweve
however,
here )rztrrye
point, his but
which
D e te Determined, mentioned
ed
prevailed upon her to leave her home, and meet him in
Chester, where, he said, he would marry her. She went
to that city, and was there met by the intended husband,
who introduced her to the two other individuals who
afterwards (as stated) went to Mrs. Dixon's. One of
them represented himself to be a Roman Catholic priest,
and (the whole of the three ruffians being together, and
favouring the delusion) arrayed himself in a black gown,
and went through what he called the marriage ceremony,
After
took
ihvfeteer:p
thelaa cse married"byienoftoi egswt
pairao privatetneli
d:
f,nth
on Monday
the pretended bridegroom stating that he was a Catholic,
house.
ni Chestero Int Immediately
aondyrai
oiae‘:eseetrlrirodatolfllte,ye
and that Ilea! was the Catholic ceremonial. This, it appears,
andr
,ww ean
era
akdni
y
that had been practised upon her, she slept with Mrs.
Dixon (whose conduct was most praiseworthy through-
out), and declared that she would not a2ain meet him.
Immediately after she left her borne, her i rents came to
Liverpool in search of her, but could not fi:id her ; and it
appears, that, before she left home, she bed received £l2
from a friend, which was drawn from her in the artful
manner described, at Mrs. Dixon's bar—leaving her des-
titute.

It is rumoured that the seducer is a married man, with
five children, residing in Manchester; and the whole ap-
pears to have been a plot, laid by the three scoundrels, to
seduce the girl from her home, and possess themselves of
her money, which they probably thought would be greater
in amount. We have heard that her father is a man of
considerable property ; that .5 he herself has also a mode-
rate amount in her own right ; and that the money of
which she was dispossessed was her own.

We coul3 furnish some information respecting the per-
sonal appearance and dress of the three men, but are in-
duced to suppress it, lest it might defeat the ends of public
justice.

Much praise is due to Mrs. Dixon and to the gentlemen
named who were in her house.

EXTRAORDINARY ESCAPE.—On Wednesday morning,
a man, named Patrick Dotty, a milkman, 86 years old,
went down to George's Pier-head with hie two milk cans,
and had just obtained his supply (for retail) from a steam-
boat, when, probably from imperfect vision, in place of
going on his way, to the astonishment and alarm of the
bystanders, he deliberately walked over the sea-wall into
the river! Luckily, there was only about two to three
feet of water at the wall at the time, and though he mnst
have fallen about twenty feet to its surface, he was but
slightly bruised. Had the tide been at low ebb, lie would,
in all probability, have been killed; and had it been flood,
he would as likely have been drowned.

ODDFET,i3OWS' ANNIVERSARY AND PRESENTATION'S
—On Wednesday evening last; the Loyal Adelphi Lodge
of Independent Oddfellows, No. 2212,, celebrated their
anniversary by dining together at the lodge-house, Mrs.
Hill's, Nook Tavern, Brownlow-hill, The dinner was
served up in the most sumptuous manner, with every
delicacy of the season. After the cloth was removed,
several loyal and patriotic toasts were given from the
chair) which was ably filled by N.G. Hay, supported on
his right by P.G. Ricbd. Holmes, on his left by P.G. T.
Higgins ; the vice-chair was occupied by V.G. T. Black-
burn. In the course of the evening the lodge took occa-
sion, through the medium of their chairman, to present to
P.G. Richd. Holmes, of the Adelphi Lodge, and host of
the Prince of Wales Inn, Fleet-street, a most splendid
gold watch-guard, attached with a neat ancient gold shield.
with the following inscription :—" Presented to P.G. Rd.
Holmes, by the officers and brethren of tl-e Loyal Allelphi
Lodge, 2212, as a token of their estimation for services
rendered as Secretary, V.G., and N.G.—Aug. 30, 1843."
ROBBERY OF CARGO FROM A VESSEL.—On Thurs-
day last, Isaac Herriman, second mate of the packet-ship
cHooutrtii,nognuear, broughtcwhaasrgeof
s before
tealin Mrg a quantity . Rushton
o fa
cotton,t the P
of the cargo of that vessel. A seaman belonging to the
vessel, which is lying in the Waterloo Dock, said that
one day last week, while he and others were scraping be-
tween decks, he saw the prisoner amongst the cargo
taking out cotton from the bales, which he put into two
casks in the lower hold. The prisoner filled both casks,
and let them remain till thg cargo was all out, when he
got three men on board, who put the cotton into two
bags, which they took away from between decks. One
bag was as much as a man could carry. Another seaman
corroborated this testimony, adding ,that he saw the pri-
soner talking with the three men, and pointing to the
bags, which they carried off. A. third s,aman said he
saw, one of the men give the prisoner a piece of gold, and
prisoner said, "There is the cotton—take it." It was
then in the steerage: William Story, warehouseman to
Fiehinw, consignees of the liottinguer, said the
vessel commenced discharginv, on the 10th August, and
completed on the 19th. Thrre were 317 baLs of cotton
an board. Witness• received some information, and went
to the vessel and had the prisoner taken into custody.
The prisoner declined saying anythiug, aud was committed
for trial.