The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1843-11-07 00:00:00

—Birminaham Advertiser.

PORTER'S PATENT ANCHORS.—The great loss of pro-
perty and life by the late gales on the coast has directed
attention to the consideration of the various means and
appliances which may be rendered more efficient than
they have hitherto been to prevent or mitigate such cala-
mities. Amongst other matters, it has been observed,
many of the wrecks that have occurred on the coast arose
from the efficiency of the ground tackle upon a lee shore,
which naturally leads to the inquiry how it happens that
so large a proportion of our mercantile navy still continue
to be defectively found by their owners in this rerpect,
when the means of improvement is now well understood,
and can be applied with scarcely any increase of expense.
On reverting to the accounts of the disasters which have
been reported since the gale of last Wednesday week, it
will be seen that, in the great majority of instances where
vessels were driven ashore, the catastrophe might have been
prevented if they had been properly found with anchors and
cables on the most improved plan in proportion to tonnage.
In order that some idea may be formed of the relative
strength of the new and old anchors, we shall give the re-
sult of some of the testing experiments made at the dock-
yard at Woolwich, from March, 1841, to February of the
Present year :—Patent anchor. 5 cwt., Admiralty proof
8} tons, sustained 21i tons ; 91 cwt., Admiralty proof ll
tons, sustained 42 tons; 28 cwt., Admiralty proof 27-k
tons, sustained COI tons. The test was applied by Bra-
mah's hydraulic press, and in every case was performed
in the presence of a number of naval officers and engi-
neers, whose characters placed them above all suspicion
of having any undue bias. These experimente, however,
furnish only the idea of a small part of the advanta;es
possessed by the new anclior.

A SCENE Is HIGH LIFE.—Lord Melbourne, who is
spending the autumn in comparative privacy at Melbourne
Hall, Derbyshire, has latterly given a ball on several even-
ings each week, for the entertainments of his servants,
and such of their acquaintance as they thought proper to
invite, On a recent occasion of the kind, some of the
principal servants, conceiving that it was inconsistent
with the dignity conferred upon them by the elevated si-
tuations which they held to mix with the coachmen,
housemaids, and other inferior dependants of the esta-
blishment, resolved to "divide the house," and thus pre-
serve their dignity and " caste." For carrying this reso-
lution into effect, they laid claim to the musicians engaged
for the occasion, and consequently left the others without
a piper to dance to. This circumstance led to a regular
fracas, in which the relative positions of the parties were
changed in double quick time, the " upper" servants be-
coming the " lower," and vice versa. At this moment
the affair assumed a very serious aspect, and but for the
timely appearance of the steward of the household, who
drove the whole party out of the room, it is impossible to
conceive what might have been the consequences.-mil ot-
gingham Review.

TRANSPORTATION.—}t will be- recollected that about
a year ago the Rev. Stephen, Aldhouse, M.A., lecturer of
St. Allhallows, Lombard-street, London, was convicted'of
bigamy, at the Central Criminal Court, and sentenced to
seven years' transportation,- After his removal from
Newgate he was placed on board a transport moored of
Sheerness, and was there employed as tutor to the chil-
dren of one of the officers. He had not filled his post
long before an order arrived from the Home-office for the
shipment of seven year convicts for the penal colony of
Van Dieman's Land, and Mr. Aldhouse. was drafted
among them. During the past week a friend received a
letter from him, in which he depicts the miseries of trans-
portation in forcible language, the convicts being dread-
fully coerced, irrespective of their previous station in
life, or the offence' of which they were convicted. He
states that he is set to break stones, and is to continue at
that employ for two years before any portion of his earnings
will be applied for his own use. He expresses- a hope
that his communication will have the effect of convincing
his countrymen that transportation is nst the light punish-
ment which many of them imagine it to be.

THIRTY CHILDREN IZEARLY POISONED IN EDIN-
ISURGR.—On Monday forenoon, a number of children in
the neighbourhood of Jamaica-etreet, Edinburgh, made a
very narrow escape from being poisoned, by an occurrence
which arose from a very simple inadverteacy. A shop-
keeper had ordered a large quantity of a species of foreign
cut (not unlike the gall-nut of the Scottish oak, which is
used for making ink,) to be thrown out on the street,
having no use for them. The nuts unfortunately tempted
the children playing about the street, and a general scram-
ble took place for the poisonous substance. They had
all partaken more or less of them : some of them, indeed,
stating since that they had eaten as many as twenty. The
injurious consequences were soon manifested, one child
aftel, another being seized with fits of vomiting and retch-
ing, palpitation at the heart, coldness at the extremities,
and other symptoms of having swallowed poison. Luckily,
medical assistance was speedily on the spot, else the con-
sequences must have been frightful. Im one building nine
children were ill, and in some families two, and even three,
had to be attended to. It is undentood that about hirty
in all had partaken of the nuts ; but it is gratifying to
state, that however violent the symptoms were at an earlier
period of the day, they were all in the evening in the way
of recovery. The nut is described as of a very bitter taste,
which makes it the more wonderful that the children
snouni have bt, . ;ad's...ad Sr. narfala of it.

DARING BumaLAßY.—About two o'clock on Saturday
morning the residence of the Rev. Robert Meek, rector
of St. Michael's, Sutton Bonnington, was burglariously
entered by five men clad in smock frocks, whose faces
were masked with black crape or cloth, and who stole
therefrom two dozen large silver forks, four sauce ladles,
four silver butter knives, a gold watch, a silver one, and a
very large quantity of other plate, together with £6 in
money. The burglars effected an entrance by breaking
open the front door by a crow bar. Mr. Meek was,
awakened by the noise, and having discovered that the
thieves had effected an entrance he slipped down a flight
of back stairs to obtain assistance from the village, which
is near the rectory, but he had only proceeded about 120
yards when he was attacked by two men, who inflicted
several dangerous wounds upon him, and then dragged
him back to the house. The thieves broke open the
drawers, and ransacked every place in search of money,
but only found the sum we have mentioned, though in
the course of the previous day Mr. Meek had received
from his tenants nearly £l2O, which was placed in a desk
which stood upon the drawers the thieves ransacked in the
bedroom, but fortunately a large Bible was placed in front
of the desk, which concealed it from sight, and the money
escaped discovery. The gang remained in the house above
an hour and then went off together. Three of them have
been apprehended, but remanded until Mr. Meek is able
to attend their examination.—Nottingham Review.

MELANCHOLY ACCIDENT.—On Sunday week a vessel
laden with flour and potash, from Canada, got aground
near Blackpool. The wind blowing heavily at the time,
one of the small boats was got out, when the mate jumped
in, and was followed by Major Sparke.of the 3th regiment
of infantry, who had distinguished himself in China, for
which (as appeared by his papers) ho had been promoted;
a young lady, named Leach, who had been paying a visit
to her brother, a clergyman, in Canada, next got in, and
was followed by a sailor, but they had not proceeded far
when the boat was upset. The Major clung to an oar,
which sustained him for some time, but was afterwards
washed off, and sank to rise no more. The lady clung to
the leg of the mate, who swam a. short distance with her,
but, becoming exhausted, was obliged to extricate himself
from her grasp, when she also. sank, within a short dis-
tance of the shore. The highestpraise is due to the mate,
who, before the lady clung to his leg, had supported her,
with his arm round her neck, entil his strength failed him.
When the poor fellow was picked up, he was so exhausted
that doabts were entertained of his recovery. The sailor
got upon the boat, which was floating bottom upwards,
and was washed ashore. The captain and the rest of the
crew (about eight in number) remained on the vessel, and
landed safely when the tide was out. The name of the
vessel is the Aristocrat. Every endeavour was made by
tho persons on shore to render them assistance, but the
sea raged so furiously that all their efforts were in vain.
The Major was on his way to his friends, at Woolwich,
and the lady to hers, at Berwick. The body of the Major
was picked up the following night.

SHOCKING SUICIDE.--The village of Calver, in Derby-
shire, was on Saturday night, about nine o'clock, thrown
into a state of the greatest alarm by the report that a
young female, about 20 to 21 years of age, had committed
suicide, by cutting her throat with a razor, in the most.
determined manner. The parents of the wretched gni
are in respectable circumstances, occupying a farm under
the Earl of Newburgh, and they also carry on the grocery
business in a small way. The subject of this melancholy
oceurrence was named Anne Gregory. About 16 months
since she had an illegitimate child, which died, by a young
man living in the same village. He gained her affections
—effected her ruin—then deserted her. The same unfor-
tunate female was, on Tuesday evening week, delivered
of another illegitimate child. A woman was sent for to
act as midwife, who, when sho came, refused to do her
the office until made acquainted with the name of the
father of the child ; upon which she said a younger bro-
ther of her former swain was the father. The parents
were naturally much distressed and angry at their daugh-
ter's misconduct. On Saturday morning the child was
found dead in bed by its mother, who, it appears, was
unconscious of its fate. During the absence of Mr. and
Mrs. Gregory at Chesterfield market, the constable of
Calver went to their house, and ordered that the child
should not be interred without a coroner's inquest being
held on the body. The unfortunate girl was much affected
on this being made known to her. She said the world
would cast reflections on her concerning its death, and
her mind was wrought up to the desperate consolation of
committing suicide. About half-past eight she was down
stairs, and making herself gruel. She then went up stairs,
telling a sister to fetch the candle when she knocked at
the floor. Her parents soon afterwards heard her scream,
and immediately proceeded to her room, and discovered
that she had cut her throat. She had thrown a sheet over
otire.
Fenton) act of sewingt
o read, up ther, and the sad act was found out by the blood streaming
from the bed on the floor. She lived three hours after the
perpetration of the horrid deed, and died while the surgeon
was in h
hwehwoo‘uvansd.mAuclehttaeffrewcatesdlowuinthd
under her pillow, which was given to her medical atten-
dantthe distressing recital. An inquest wt.s held on Monday,
and verdicts returned to the effect that the child died from
natural causes, and that its mother destroyed herself du-
ring a fit of temporary insanity. The coroner severely
censured Richard Wilde, the person who the wretched
girl stated was the father of her last child, for his heart,
less conduct,—Derbyshire Courier,

THREH THOUSAND POUNDS SToLEx.—One of the
most daring and extensive robberies whieh has occurred
in Yorkshire for many years was on Thursday last com-
mitted in the piece-room in Bradford, belonging to Messrs.
Birchall and Sons, merchants, of Leeds. It appears that
Messrs. Birchall brought with them on Thursday's market
upwards of £3OOO, wrapped up in a parcel, which one of
the partners locked up in a drawer until he went to his
dinner, leaving a young man in the room. The man im-
mediately after went to his own dinner, leaving the key
in the door, in the expectation of the cart arriving in the
meantime with some pieces. Mr. Birchall himself re-
turned in a short time, and found that the lock of the
drawer had been picked, and the money taken away. The
warehouseman was taken into custody on suspicion, but
no case was made out against him, and he was discharged
on bail. He is the son of a poor, but honest labourer at
Wibsey. It is a matter of surprise that so large a sum of
money should have been left by Mr. Birchall, under such
circumstances.

ALARMING FIRE AND Loss OF LIFE.—On the even-
ing of Monday last, about six o'clock, two boys were sent
to draw a flagon of naptha from a cask on the ground
floor of the weaving shop adjoining the Union Mills,
near Douglas, Isle of Man. By some mischance the spi-
rit caught fire, and the boys having given the alarm, the
three partners, Mr. William Dalrymple, Mr. Thomas
Maltby, and Mr. James Kelly, hastened to the spot, and
every attempt, without effect, was made to extinguish the
flames. Ultimately the cask exploded, at the same time
forcibly closing the door, and confining the whole of the
parties engaged in the attempt to extinguish the flames
within the room. Fortunately the door was forced open,
and all the parties, with two exceptions, escaped. Mr.
Dalrymple and Mr. Kelly were severely, though not dan-
gems'y injured. We regret, however, to state that two
of the parties, Mr. Thomas Nlaltby, and Thomas Quayle,
the foreman, perished in the flames. Their bodies were
not found till next morning, and then they could only be
identified by part of a watch being found beside the re-
mains of Mr. Maltby, and part of a wooden-soled clog be-
side those of Mr. Quayle. The whole of the weaving shop
was burnt to the ground.