The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1850-07-23 00:00:00

some length of time it had been unoccupied, and was
recently, along with some adjoining property, purchased
by Mr. Love, a master smith, carrying on business at the
back of the Adelphi Hotel. The building, like those by
which it is and has been surrounded, was of comparative
antiquity, and many years ago belonged to Messrs. Crew
and Cockbain, plumbers and glaziers, in Lime-street.
At their death it was sold, and again recently, as already
stated, disposed of to Mr. Love. The construction of the
building, more particularly of the interior, is of peculiar
and awkward formation. It is entered by a flight of steps
from the street in front. At the top of these steps, to the
right, is a parlour, and another flight of steps leads to the
kitchen beneath, which is lighted by a large window from
the back. At the end of the kitchen is a step leading to
a flag stone, forming the landing to other steps, which
lead into a back yard. Beneath the flag, which had been
removed in making some alterations in the building, at
the depth of eighteen inches, the skelet6n was found, in
an entire state. On the discovery, intimation was given
to the police authorities, who called in thr,ie surgical gen-
tlemen to give their opinions relative to the remains. The
bones indicated that the deceased had been a full grown
muscular man, and, as they lay before an attempt being
made to remove them, extended to the length of five feet
nine inches. As not a vestment of garment, or the least
traces of animal mucus were discoverable, there can be
no doubt that the body must have been placed where
found a long series of years ago. The scalp had evidently
been injured, which leads to the supposition that the
deceased may have come to his death by foul means.
Independent of this circumstance, and the strange situation
in which the bones were discovered, there is nothing
reasonable to warrant such supposition, as the premises,
so far as our inquiries have enabled us to ascertain, were
never known to be occupied by persons of suspicious
character, or used for improper or immoral purposes. On
the point as to how the remains came there, as a matter
of course, conjecture is hard at work, and the gossip
already afloat is more than sufficient to furnish materials
for half a dozen horrible novels of the classic and romantic
school of Reynolds, or even Lloyd himself. On being
removed, the skeleton fell to pieces. The bones were
athered, placed in a box, and conveyed away in the
garish hearse, to await the coroner's inquiry. _ _

_
EXHUMATION OF A LIVING CHILD.-At an early hour
on Tuesday morning, a woman, named Ann Proudfoot,
was collecting fragment., of cnal in the vicinity of a fac-
tory on some waste ground off Vauxhall-road ; and near
Chisenhale-bridge she observed the toes of an infant's
foot projecting slightly from the surface of the earth.
She commenced turning up the rubbish (the place is a
depository for ashes), and soon brought to light the yet
breathing animate body of a newly-born female child.
Its preserver enfolded the innocent in her own garments,
and, under the escort of a police-officer, carried it to the
workhouse on Brownlow-hill, where it was received
shortly after nine o'clock. The child is going on favour-
ably. _ _

HOMICIDE.—On Friday an inquest was held on the
body of James Ellis, who died in the Borough Gaol, when
the following evidence was sworn to. It appears that while
police-officer 63, Patrick Walsh, was passing along Mary-
bone on Saturday evening he saw a large crowd gathered
round the deceased's house. He went to ascertain the
cause of the disturbance, and found the wife of the deceased
quite drunk. He then took her into custody for being
drunk and disorderly. While taking the woman to prison
the deceased, who was also drunk, ran after them, and
threw the officer down. The policeman then struck the
deceased with his stick on the head, and afterwards took
him to prison. Ellis was brought before Mr. Rushton on
Monday, and fined 10s. and costs for assaulting the police ;
in consequence of the fine not being paid, he was removed
to the Borough Gaol. While there the governor of the
gaol, Mr. Duke, seeing the prisoner was unwell, sent him
to the hospital connected with the prison ; a surgeon was
also brought from the Northern Hospital. Ellis, however,
died on Wednesday evening. The surgeon stated that
death had been caused by congestion of the brain, caused
by external violence. After an able summing up by the
coroner, the jury brought in a verdict of " excusable
homicide." _ _ _

CURIOUS SALVAGE CASE.—THE MARIA JANE.—This
case, which was tried in the Admiralty Court on Tuesday,
was a salvage suit of a very peculiar character. The Ma-
ria Jane was chartered by Mr. Lilly to proceed from
Liverpool to Africa for a cargo of palm oil, he engaging
to provide a sufficient crew, to provision the ship, and to
pay the owners a lump sum of £720. The vessel having
taken the cargo on board, in descending the river Rio
Bento struck upon the bar, and sustained some trifling
damage. Whilst in that situation services were rendered
by two vessels, the Rapid and the Mary, both of which
belonged to Mr. Lilly. By the adoption of various mea-
sures, extending from the 24th of July to the 24th of Au-
gust last year, the Maria Jane was got over the bar and
despatched for Liverpool, where she arrived in December.
During the time that she was in Africa she lost part of her
crew by death, and some hands from the Rapid were put
on board. To obtain a reward for these services the pre-
sent action was brought, and was resisted on the ground
that the Maria Jane was, pro hoc rice, the property of
Mr. Lilly. In the first instance the cargo was arrested,
but bail was afterwards taken for the ship only, the value
of which was estimated at £550. Dr. Lushington, after
remarking that it was a question novel in many respects,
reserved his judgment.
LENDING A. COUNTENANCE.—This expression, com-
mon among artists and their friends, to whom the sons of
genius are frequently obliged for the loan of a face,
recently received a singular illustration in the case of a
gentleman well known in Liverpool and Birkenhead for
the oriental cast of his features. Being lately in London,
he was strolling up and down the Strand, when he was
accosted by a gentleman, who, after apologising with the
utmost politeness for his familiarity, begged Mr. to
allow him to take a sketch of his face, as it wore the exact
expression which he wished to introduce in one of the cha-
racters of a grand historical picture. Our townsman, after
being a little pressed, consented, and accompanied the
artist to his house, where his visage was quickly traced on
canvas. A friend was subsequently anxious to know what
the grand painting was in which the gentleman was to ap-
pear so conspicuously. The lender of the countenance
called upon the painter and requested to be allowed to see
the picture. This the artist strongly objected to, alleging
that it was against etiquette to show a work of art unfi-
nished, &c. But all his attempts to put off Mr. were
unavailing. At length the artist consented, took him to
his studio, and there he saw himself figuring in a large
Scriptural piece as Judas Iscariot. This is strictly true.—
Liverpool Times.
THE LIVERPOOL WATERWORKS BILL.—On Monday,
an unexpected turn to the Pike agitation was given in the
House of Lords. The Earl of Eglinton called the atten-
tion of the house to a petition complaining of the mode
in which signatures had been obtained in Liverpool to peti-
tions against the bill introduced for the purpose of giving a
better supply of water to Liverpool. His lordship re-
ferred to the statements of several persons to show that a
great number of fictitious names had been added to these
petitions ; and that several individuals had been employed
to go about the town to procure signatures. His lord-
ship, after alluding to the serious nature of the proceed-
ing in question, moved that Mr. Joseph Byrne, Mr.
Joseph Hind, and Mr. Duncan M'Arthur should be
called before the bar of their lordships' house. Lord
Lansdowne thought the house was much indebted to the
noble lord for bringing the subject under its attention, as
there was no greater abuse of its privileges than that of
forging names to petitions ; and he should cordially
second the motion of the noble lord. After a few words
from Lord Monteagle and Lord Stanley, the motion was
agreed to, and the three parties mentioned above were
ordered to be brought to the bar on Friday. The orders
of the house were carried into effect. On Wednesday,
one of the deputy ushers appeared in Liverpool, and
served notices on Byrne, M'Arthur, and Hind to appear
at their lordships' bar on Friday night. On Friday, the
Earl of Egliton adjourned the inquiry until Monday
(last night.)
ALLEGED CHILD MURDER.—On Thursday, an inves-
tigation into circumstances involving the above charge
took place before the coroner at the Borough Gaol. It
appeared that a single woman, named Mary Harrison,
has for some time occupied a cellar under the house of
John Hall, who keeps a spirit vault in Nova Scotia. Six
months ago she told Hall's wife that she was in the family
way, and this latter person was also aware that Harrison
had made every necessary preparations for her accouche-
meat. On Saturday last she fell down the cellar steps,
and complained of having hurt her back. On Monday
Mrs. Hall's daughter went into the cellar, and found
Harrison kneeling on the floor with her arms on the seat
of a chair ; she heard a cry like that of a young child, and
ran to tell her mother, who, on proceeding to the cellar,
saw Harrison lying on the floor. Mrs. Hall lifted her up
to a chair, when she heard something fall, and Harrison
said, "Oh ! take care of the child." The next morning
it was put into a coffin, and was about being buried as a
still-born child. In the meantime, rumours having
reached the golice, Murphy, one of the detective force,
proceeded on Tuesday evening to Harrison's residence
just as the servant of Mrs. Hall was about removing the
body for interment. After making inquiries about the
matter he hal the body taken to the dead-house. On
Wednesday Mr. J. Wood, surgeon, made a post mortem
examination of the body, which he said was that of a full-
grown male child, and had been born alive. Its skull
had been fractured, and concussion of the brain, the
result of external violence, was the cause of death. He
also said that if the mother of the child had been sud-
denly seized with labour, and the child fell upon the
floor, such injuries might be produced. After conside-
rable deliberation on the nart of the jury, they resolved
that " death had been caused by violence, but by whom
inflicted there was no evidence to show." The coroner
observed that, as such was their decision, he should
forward the depositions of the witnesses to the Town-
hall for the consideration of the authorities as to whether
any ulterior steps should be taken in the affair.
THE MARLBOROUGH-STREET ESCAPE.—Under this
head a paragraph has appeared in several newspapers,
stating that a noted burglar, named Hackett, had escaped
from the above Police-office, in London, through opening
the Chubb's lock by which the door of his cell was se-
cured. It has, however, been ascertained that his escape
was effected by the connivance of other parties ; and
Messrs. Chubb and Son, of London, and 28, Lord-street,
Liverpool, have received the following letter from the
commissioners of police, placing the security of their
valuable locks beyond all doubt:—

"Metropolitan Police-office, 4, Whitehall-place.
June 29, 1850.
" GENTLEMEN,—The commissioners of police of the me-
tropolis have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the
24th instant, relative to the report you mention of the escape
of the two prisoners from the cells in Marlborough-street,
arising from the insecurity of ' Chubb's Lock,' and wishing
to have the commissioners opinion of the matter. The
commissioners beg to enclose a report from the superintendent
of ite division on the subject.-1 am, gentlemen, your obedient
servant,
"‘ PRICHARD MAINE.
"Messrs. hail) and Son." _ . .

"C Division, June 26, 1850.

" I have to report, in reference to the escape of the Prisoner
illacliett,' on the
.and of May, AVM the CCU At tbo