The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1850-06-11 00:00:00

Till 'LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

DREADFUL LOSS OF LIFE.-13y a coincidence which,
but for the lamentable:frequency of such Accidents in this
district, would, seem very remarkable, just at the moment
whilst a petition for government inspectors was being
extensively signed at Newcastle, an explosion, attended
with loss of life to thirteen individuals, and probably fatal
injuries to several others, took place at Ushwortb Col-
liery, about five or six miles to the south east of Gates-
head, on Wednesday last. There was at the time the ac-
cident took place, nearly sixty miners down the shaft.
THE ENCUMBERED ESTATES.—Thirty-four additional

petitions for sales have been lodged in the court this
week, making a gross total since October of no less than
876—a large proportion out of the whole body of Irish
landlords, and a very visible symptom, whether for better
or worse, of a not distant change in the proprietary of
the soil. The name of the Earl of Glengall appears in
the last list, the petitioners in the matter being the Right
Rev. Dr. Foran, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Water-
ford, and another.
BRITISH LABOUR SUPERSEDED BY THE FOREIGN
MANUFACTURE OF FLOUR.—In 1849 there were taken
for consumption of American flour 1,935,339 barrels. If
this had been ground in Great Britain it would have pro-
duced 1,355,000 sacks, and would have required (say)
500,000 linen sacks to contain it (supposing they had
been returned empty about three times in the year.) The
quantity of wheat required to produce it would be
1.404,902 quarters, which at 3s. per quarter for grinding
(this includes cartage, &c.) would have left for labour,

,
profit, &c., in this country,, £210,738, and 500,000 linen
sacks, at ls. 2d. each, would have been £43,750, total,

•£254,488, •
CAPTAIN For SYTH'S ARCTIC BRANCH EXPEDITION.
—The Prince Albert sailed out of the bay on Wednesday
evening, and in a few hours would be out of sight of
Aberdeen. She has a fine crew of young men : they were
all sober, and passed muster well and in high spirits.
This gallant little band of adventurous seamen, who have
gone in search of her Majesty's ships Erebus and Terror,
and their ice•imprisoned crews, one and all solicited Capt.
Forsyth to attend the clergyman the evening before sail-
ing, to offer up prayers for a successful voyage—a request
which, of course, was cheerfully complied with. There
is now no part of the Arctic Seas, where Franklin is likely
to be found, left unprovided for in the search—the only
gap—and a most important one—having been filled up,
by the untiring energies of Lady Franklin.
MATRIMONY MADE EASY.—Under the foregoing 11 ead
with the additional luring one How to win a Lover, some
individual with the title of professor, advertises in several
country papers that he will send to any direction, on re.
ceipt of thirteen uncut postage stamps, " plain directions
to enable any lady or gentleman to win the devoted
affections of as many of the opposite sex as their hearts
may desire. The process," says he, "is so simple, but
so captivating and enthralling that all may be married,
irrespective of age, appearance, or posit;on ; while the
most fickle or cold-hearted will readily bow to its attrac-
tion. Young and old, peer and peeress, as well as the
peasant, are alike subject to its influence ; and last,
though not least, it can be arranged with such ease and •
delicacy that detection is impossible."
A MAN SUMMONED FOR NOT MAINTAINING A WIFE
AND SIX CHILDREN ON 7S. A WEEK.—A poor man, with
the appropriate name of Bones, was summoned for allow-
ing the guardians of the Wormingford union to maintain
three children of his wife by a former husband. In de-
fence, the man said that his earnings were only 7s. a week,
and he found it impossible to maintain eight people on
that sum. He had been nearly starved in the attempt,
and at last took three of the children to the union and left
them there. The workhouse had been offered to himself
and family, but he declined to go into it. The Rev. J. R.
Smythies said that the parishioners of Wormingford ought
to pay better wages than those of any other parish because
the land in it was so superior. The fact of the man hav-
ing a dislike to go into the union was a proof to him (Mr.
S.) that he was an honest and industrious man; as to his
supporting eight people on 7i. a week, it could not be
done, and he would never sign the man's conviction ex-
cept upon mandamus. The case was then dismissed.—
Essex Herald.

SHOCKING CHILD MURDER.-011 Tuesday, Mr. H.
Wakley held an inquest at the Lord Hill, Paddington, on
the body of a child, about eighteen months old, who was
so horribly mutilated that its sex could not be discovered.
On the 29th of October, 1848, a deal box which had the
direction on it, " Mr. Watson, passenger, Exeter," was
found on the platform of the Slough station by one of the
porters. As no one applied for it, it was brought to Lon-
don, and placed in the lost property department. It was
there till Saturday, the Ist of June, when the superin-
tendent opened the box and discovered the body, which
was carefully folded up in a piece of calico. A cambric
handkerchief, edged with lace, was tied tightly round its
throat. The sexual structure was entirely_ removed, as if
by some sharp instrument. There were cuts about the
arms and legs, showing that there had been attempts to
sever the limbs from the body. Mr. Thorn, surgeon, said
he had no doubt but that death was the result of strangu-
lation.

ALLEGED MURDER.—The magistrates of Aberystwith,
South Wales, have been engaged in instituting inquiries
into the death of Mr. Edward Edwards, a respectable
farmer occupying lands at Roscellan, near that town, and
who is supposed to have been murdered on or about the
15th of last month. On the 14th a large fair, known as
the May Fair, was held at Aberystwith, and Mr. Edwards
left his home with the avowed intention of doing business
at it with some of the neighbouring farmers whom he had
appointed to meet him. He was at the fair, and at night,
having partaken too freely of spirits, he went to a house
of ill fame. During the night a quarrel took place between
him and some men, axd it is understood that about three
o'clock on the morning of the 15th a violent conflict
ensued. After this time nothing was seen of the deceased,
whose absence from home excited much alarm, and led to
most diligent inquiries throughout the district. Nothing
however could be learned respecting him until his body
was found by some labouring men in the river, at about
fifty or sixty feet from the new pier, Aberystwith.

AFFECTING OCCURRENCE.—About nine o'clock yester-
day evening week a respectably-attired female accosted
one of the Dover watermen, and requested that he would
row her out about a mile from the shore, which he agreed
to do, (not at the time suspecting that the lady meditated
self destruction';) but when about a mile from the shore,
she suddenly sprang from her seat, and throwing her
purse into his lap jumped head-foremost into the sea.
The man was for a moment paralyzed, but had time and
presence of mind enough to catch hold of the lady's dress
before she sank, at the same time shouting loudly for
assistance. A Deal boat being happily within hail, im-
mediately came to his help, when the poor lady was got
into the boat. It appears that she is a Belgian by birth,
and about forty-five years of age. She had arrived in
Dover by the last Calais packet from Paris, where her
husband lately died, and finding life insupportable since
his death, she resolved to destroy herself. A miniature
of her deceased husband was found upon her person, and
a small sum of money in French coin, a lock of hair, six
silver tea spoons, a gold chain, and a metal watch. The
active superintendent of the Dover police had the unfor-
tunate lady carefully attended to.

ANOTHER REMARKABLE DREAM.—A short time hack
an elderly gentleman, named Walker, was residing at
Aberstwith. Mr. W. had formerly been an extensive agri-
culturist, and in his walks the hedge-side labourer and the
sower of wheat were both sure to draw forth a remark ; the
conversation being generally wound up by the worthy gen-
tleman's giving his auditors a douceur for their courtesy.
During one of his rambles he fell into conversation with
a wayside labourer, the winding-up being a gift as usual.
He had in his pocket an unusually large sum of money,
principally in notes, and a few days after he found himself
minus £75 in notes. Search was made in every direction,
but to no purpose. This was in January last :in April
he dreamt that he lost his money in a certain spot,
about a mile from the town. A man was engaged to ex-
plore fully the spot dreamed about, and had not gone far
before something was seen resembling the missing pro-
perty : it was immediately seized, and actually proved to
be the long-sought treasure. The only explanation Mr.
W. could give was his talking to a man working at the
hedge side, and giving him a trifle of money, when no
doubt at the same time the notes fell, and were uncon-
sciously covered by the earth the old man was shovelling.
—Shrewsbury Chronicle.
A very pretty illustration of the "blessings" which free
trade has conferred upon the'working classes of the com-
munity may be gathered out of the report of a meeting of
journeymen tailors, which was holden at Cambridge last
Wednesday evening. Many of our readers are aware that
.there has been great commotion at St. Ives amongst that
very useful body of men who make our garments, in con-
sequence of the reduction of wages by a large employer in
that town, and a " conspiracy " on the part of the men to
resist it. On Wednesday evening, the men appealed to
the sympathy of their fellow workmen in Cambridge, and
stated their case by the mouth of one Mr. Muff. It seems
from this man's statement that the St. Ives employer was
a rampant free-trader, who used to spout the usual non-
sense in support of that beautiful vision with more than
the usual energy. His favourite theme was the " incal-
culable benefit to the working classes" which would flow
from the adoption of the popular theory; and upon this
theme we dare say he spoke with eloquence and fervour
such as never tailor spoke with before. Well, he has got
free trade ; but where are the " incalculable benefits ?"
Let Mr. Muff tell us : he (the employer) " had been the
man to propose the reduction of their wages from 15 to 50
per cent., and to assign as the reason thatfive trade had
so crippled the farmers that they could not pay so much
for their garments as they had been in the habit of doing."
And so one of the " blessings of free trade" is, that we
have a body of men compelled to " strike" against a re-
duction of wages, and to answer an indictment for "con-
spiracy" at the next assizes.
NAPOLEON BONAPARTE.—His fate furnishes a remark-
able instance of the instability of human greatness, and
there is no doubt that his dislike to.medicine remotely
caused his early dissolution ; for rather than take some
simple remedy, he allowed disease to gain the ascendancy
over his constitution, axiddeath was the result. Thus it
is that persons cannot' be too watchful of their state of
health, anis% be' always provided with a safe and efficient
medicine as Frampton's rill of Health), enjoy the
two area est blessings of this world—health and long life.
THE HUMAN HAIR.—The peculiar structure of this
integument of the head. its singular mode of growth and
elongation, and the various conditions of delicacy and
decay connected with its existence and its preservation,
render it an object requiring paramount care and atten-
tion. As a specific for its health and well-being, Row-
lands' Macassar Oil cannot be too highly commended.
Its effects, either in preserving the hair in its original
strength and beauty, or restoring- it when lost, are in
Many cases all but miraculous, and are recorded by testi-
monials most numerous- m themselves, and certified by
the highest authorities. It has obtained the exclusive
patronage of Royalty, not only as regards our own Court,
but those the whole of Europe. From its exquisite
purity esisacy it is admirably adapted for the hair of
children', even of the most tender age, sand is constantly
in use in the nursery of Royalty, and by the families of
the aQbility And itrigt9Crary,-,-)Fee advertisement.

gigriculturat anb 30orttrultural

COLUMN,

We find that our critique upon the last Exhibition gave
some offence to those whose judgment it impugned :
this was no more than could have been expected, and of
course we were prepared for it, but we would rather the
complaints had appeared in this column, in which the
comments were publisLed, than that they should have
been unsuccessfully sent to a contemporary. We
give our opinion honestly, and to the best of our abilities,
and we are neither afraid nor ashamed to publish any fair
contradiction to our assertions. We endeavour to do
justice, and avoid partiality in our remarks upon the
Flower Shows, and we'e are not so bigoted to our own
opinions as to believe them ;nfallible, or fear to be told of
an error that can be proved ; on the contrary, we chal-
lenge argument upon the critiques that we publish.
The question which appears to have given offence is our
' opinion upon the specimen plants exhibited at the last
Liverpool Exhibition, and we believe no unprejudiced
person can deny the fairness of that opinion : it appeared
to us that a misapprehension existed in the minds of the
judges as to what really constitutes a specimen plant, at
all events the judgment given was very much at variance
with any established standard. What constitutes a speci-
men plant ? Not size certainly, for then only fast grow-
ing plants would be exhibited ; whereas those plants which
require most time and patience to develop them are
usually selected; and in the careful training of their
stiff branches to elegant forms : a Heath might be
made to grow to a large size by the application of a warm
atmosphere, but it would not bloom, neither would its
shape be at all improved by it, but the same plant treated
according to the rules of the art would produce short
sturdy branches, each so nicely in its place, that the whole
would form an almost globular bush, every shoot of which,
in proper season, is terminated with flowers. Such a
specimen was shown at the Corn Exchange last month,
and was barely noti.7ed, whilst one of large size, but almost
devoid of leaves, was one in the successful lot that took
the first prize. A specimen plant can only be defined as
"a plant upon which much art has been expended, and
which has been brought to a state of extreme perfection,
surpassing what it would attain under ordinary culture."
As a specimen for exhibition it is necessary that it should
be in full flower "such are the features which are uni-
versally recognised as the true characteristics of the speci-
men plant, and judged by this rule the decisions of the
Corn Exchange would have been very different: another
rule was entirely lost sight of, and that is—a collection of
plants with one indifferent one is not entitled to a prize,
because the number is incomplete, and five good and one
bad specimen can never make a set of six specimens.
We think the gardeners would do well to meet all through
the country, and form some kind of resolution which will
bring the art of judging to the simple and excellent rules
usually adopted at the great metropolitan exhibitions,
and which, in fact, amount to fixed rules.