The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-01-30 00:00:00

LATEST FROM AM ERICA.—ARRIVAL OF
THE ASHBURTON.
By the arrival of the Ohio, from New York,
which sailed on the 7th instant, and the packet-ship
Ashburton, which left on the 9th, we have late and
important information, the most interesting of which
to our readers will be that which relates to the
movements in the cotton market. The George
Washington had arrived out on the sth, giving, of
course, the feeling here up to the day of her sailing,
the result of which was a further advance on all
descriptions of cotton, and a large business done.
Up to the 6th it was calculated that prices must
rise in England, from their rate at the departure of
the George Washington, fully per lb. to be
remunerative. The New York Morning Herald of
the 9th, brought by the Ashburton, informs us that
" the same good feeling continues ; the news from
Europe has given a fresh impetus to operations, and
about 8 to 10,000 bales have changed hands, with
an improvement of one-eighth of a cent on sales
after three o'clock, on the prices at which the market t
closed on Saturday," the 6th. The sanguine anti-
cipate an advance here of fully 3d. per lb. from the
rates of about six weeks past. It is remarked as a
fact worthy of observation, that cotton is not the
only article of American production which has ad-
vanced in price, although that advance has, in part,
been caused by short crop. The advance is in all
articles, and in cotton is uniform throughout the
States. This feature is attributed mainly to an im-
proved state of the currency in America, and to the
abundance of capital, which can only be profitably
invested in the staple productions of the country.
The crop of cotton is estimated to produce at the
utmost 1,700,000 bales ; and should it even exceed
that, the ruling opinion in the New York market is,
that prices must be high, as holders on both sides
of the Channel are prepared to stand firm.
The advices from Washington are to the 6th inst.
The most important proceeding since the last arri-
vals was a motion in the House of Representatives,
on the 3rd instant, to instruct the Committee of
Ways and Means to report a bill reducing the duties
immediately on all importations which, by the pre-
sent tariff, exceed 30 per cent. to 30 percent., and,
within two years, on all articles, to 20 per cent., and
providing that such duties shall be levied solely for
revenue. The house refused to adopt the resolution
by a vote of 57 to 112. There was also another
proposition submitted, that the same committee re-
vise the present tariff and report a bill based entirely
upon the principle of revenue, which was lost by a
vote of 83 to 84. On the following day a notice,
by Mr.Tibbatts, for re-considering the vote by which
the house refused to adopt the resolution, was again
lost. Other efforts wre made, during the day, to
accomplish the same object by resolutions of various
forms, but which, however, were all voted down.
Mr. Hughes, of Mo., introduced a bill, which was
read and ordered to be printed, providing for the
establishment of a territorial government over the
territory of Oregon. In the Senate, on the sth, a
very spirited debate arose on the adoption of the
resolutions calling upon the President of the United
States to report to the Senate copies of any corre-
spondence which may have been given by the Exe-
cutive to the American Minister to this country, on
the sabject of the title to the Oregon territory, since
the 4th of March, 1841, and copies of any corre-
spondence which passed between the Government
of the United States and ours in relation to the
same subject. The resolution was postponed until
the Bth instant.
In the message which Governor Porter sent to
the Pennsylvanian legislature, he takes strong ground
in favour of immediate and decisivive measures for
paying the whole debt of the state. It appears, from
the message of the Governor of Kentucky, that the
affairs of the state have greatly improved. The ag-
gregate amount of the debt has, however, increased
61,717 dollars.
In the Stock-market some fluctuations had taken
place. Generally the feeling was better. There
was a fair demand for foreign exchequer. The rate
upon London was 109 to 1091.

ANSDELL'S PAINTING OF "THE COUNTRY MEETING
OF THE ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF ENG-
LAND."—The public of Liverpool are about to have an
opportunity of inspecting this splendid production of a
native artist—Mr. Ansdell— already celebrated as the
painter of the Waterloo Coursing Meeting. This present
work contains faithful likenesses of upwards of a hundred
of the leading agriculturists of England, the whole of
whom have favoured him with sittings for the purpose.
The painting is to be placed in the hands of S. A. Reynolds,
Esq., to be engraved in the first style of art, under the
management, as publisher, of Mr. Agnew, of Manchester.
SPLENDID NATIONAL PICTURE.—The splendid paint-
ing of Prince Charles Edward asleep in one of his hiding
places after the battle of Culloden. is now on private view
at Mr. Lacey's rooms, Bold-street. The subject is a
splendid one; and the painter, Thomas Duncan, Esq.,
A.R.A., R.S.A., has certainly done the greatest justice
to his conception. The colouring is rich and glowing,
and the lights and shades are so beautifully intermingled
as to produce a harmony that is at once pleasing and ef-
fective. The various features of the outlawed Highland-
ers—and the soft and delicate countenance of the beauti-
ful Flora M 'Donald, who is watching with anxiety over her
revered prince—are most beautifully depicted. This
painting is now being engraved by the celebrated Mr.
Ryall of London ; and from its being so beautifully
adapted to an engra'ing, from its peculiarly effective
style, as well as forming a companion print to the
entry of Prince Charles into Edinburgh, it will, no
doubt, meet with a ready sale. In the mean time con-
noisseurs should loose no time in seeing the original.
INTERESTING TO INSURERS AND UNDERWRITERS.
—Much interest has been excited at Liverpool in a trial
just concluded in Edinburgh, and which had reference to
a vessel brought there some considerable time since,
almost in a sinking state, but which by extraordinary good
luck, as it was thought, or management on the part of the
people having charge of her, was enabled to get into port,
although in such a shattered state as to be probably use-
less ; indeed, she was a complete wreck, and it was to the
astonishment of all nautical men that she did reach the
port. The name of the vessel is the Laura, bound from
North America to Liverpool. She has been lying at Li-
verpool for nearly twelve months, and it seems she was
insured for £6500, but was valued at £7500, leaving the
owners their own insurers to the extent of about £l5OO.
After three days trial it was decided that the Laura,
which had got such serious damage at sea by running on
board an iceberg, and afterwards strained on a bank at
Liverpool, must be considered as a total loss, and that the
underwriters are responsible to the amount of their insur-
ance. The amount of the decision is, that the ship would
be abandoned by the owners to the underwriters, and the
the full value of the ship, £7500, claimed for. The plea
set up by the opposing parties, who belong to marine in-
surance offices in Scotland, was that the ship could be re-
paired. Her bows were completely beaten in, and yet
they said that they could repair her and make her every-
thing to be desired ! Probably the depreciation in the
value of shipping between the date of the insurance and
the time of the accident occurring was the reason of the
underwriters' refusal to pay the loss. The grand point is,
that the owners have recovered the whole amount of their
insurance, the same as though the ship had been entirely
lost at sea. Some thirty or forty witnesses were subpcened
from Liverpool on the trial, in addition to those from other
places. _ _

A SCIENTIFIC Con-tit.—On Thursday week superin-
tendent M'Donald, of the police of this town, appre-
hended a man named Morton, at Swansea, on a charge of
coining. The prisoner is a welt-educated man and had
always moved in respectable rank in life. Latterly he
carried on business as a wool stapler in Dublin, and being
here at the Talbot Inn, Vernon-street, about two months
ago, he inquired of a casual visitor in the bar if he knew
of any one capable of constructing a peculiar machine
from drawings. The stranger told him that he knew a
gentleman who did such things for his amusement, and
named Mr. M'Donsld, on whom Morton called, showed
his drawings and offered £25 for the instrument when
completed. M`Donald divined his object, closed with
him, and received £5 in hand. Having taken precautions
against being cheated, he communicated with Mr. Powell
of the mint, who, he found had suspected Morton and
had kept him .in sight for nearly seven years. Three years
ago he traced him to Birmingham, where he had ordered
dies worth £lOO, and a machine called a punching press,
worth £6O. The makers and die sinkers suspecting his
object, had caused inquiry to be made, and the result was
that Morton, although he had paid part of the money.
never appeared to claim the ordered articles. Since then
111 had resided principally in Dublin, as a.wool stapler,
but still persevering to make coin in so perfect a manner
as to appear genuine. M`Donald continued to mature
the machine, and Morton who came occasionally to see
it, said he wanted it to coin medals, and as it drew near
completion, insinuated that he wanted dies struck. Sud-
denly he disappeared, and Mr. Powell traced him to
Swansea, where M`Donald apprehended him in private
lodgings. He was taken to Birmingham, and committed
to Warwick. The account in the Journal (from which this
is condensed) states, that " although he had never coined
a single shilling, the machine and dies, and the metal
preparations, on trial, had been so skilfully executed, that
they produced silver which no ordinary eye could distin-
guish from good ones. They had the genuine ring, &c."
[There is something very strange in this account. A su-
perintendent of police agrees to make, and makes a per-
fect machine for coining, receiving £5 on account and
security for the balance! The machine, is also stated,
produced " silver," which is still stranger; and the pri-
soner "had never coined a single shilling," so that he
has done no harm to the public. It is not positively
stated either that any dies were found in his possession
for the making of shillings or other coin of the realm.
It is certainly a novel and somewhat questionable way of
detecting a coiner for a police officer to make the coining
machine for him. If this principle of prevention be car-
ried out, perhaps we shall have police officers (in disguise)
employed in making false keys, " Jacks in the box," and
selling them to burglars!—EDlT. STANDARD.