The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1851-01-14 00:00:00

Within

THE LIVERPOOL STANDAR&

LADY MORGAN AND DR. WISEMAN.

(From the Times.)

In Lady Morgan's " Italy" appears a story which it
seems she was told by the celebrated French savans Denon
and Champ°llion—that the chair which is preserved and
venerated at Rome as the seat of St. Peter was, during
the French invasion,, subjected to an inquisition and sa-
crilegious examination, and found to bear upon it the
somewhat untoward inscription, " There is hut one God,
and Mahomet is his Prophet." The evidence on which
the tale rests is weak enough—the relation at an evening
party by two young gentlemen, who probably did not feel
themselves bound to spoil a good story by superstitious
accuracy, especially at a time when the Pope was not
quite so high in favour with our volatile neighbours across
the Channel as he has been since he has become wholly
insufferable to his own subjects. We should have thought
that Cardinal Wiseman might have replied to this state-
ment, if his mind were so peculiarly constituted as to
think it worth replying to at all, with the temper of a man
of the world and the urbanity of a gentleman. But Atta
sedent muliebris vulnera dextrce. The terms, " unblush-
ing calumny," " foolish and wicked story," " truly pro-
fligate waste of human character," " assassinating of pri-
vate reputations," and so forth, are the mild and gentle
reproofs which this meek man of Westminster has bor-
rowed from those peculiar purlieus wherein, lie informs
us, he delights to dwell, for the castigation and conviction
of his female antagonist. Nor is his logic much superior
to his moderation. The most compendious course to re-
fute the calumny, he says, would be to give the attestation
to those who have been in the service of St. Peter's since
a period antecedent to the French invasion ; but the Car-
dinal naturally considers that. they would not be believed,
and therefore betakes himself to another method : he first
describes the chair as a Roman one, and then gives the
strong grounds for the tradition of its being St. Peter's,
though we do not find he keeps his word in this latter par-
ticular. These might be very good arguments if the chair
had been sold by Alexander VI., or destroyed by the
soldiers of the Roman Catholic Emperor Charles V., or
broken up for firewood by the troops of Napoleon. But,
as the "sacred relic" is still in rerum naturd, we avow so
much of an heretical predilection for the philosophy of
Galileo and Bacon as to prefer the simplest experiment to
the most refined and elaborate argume.A. The most
compendious way. as Lady Morgan truly remarks, would
be to remove the cover and show the chair ; but that is
not to be permitted ; the curious must be left to decide
between the antiquarian argument of the Cardinal and the
positive testimony of the lady. Pity the point was not
raised during the brief existence of the late Roman repub-
lic. The Triumvirs, we imagine, would have felt little
scruple in bringing to the test of experience this otherwise
insoluble question. Even now it is not too late; if the
thing is worth getting into a passion about, it is worth
clearing up, particularly as Cardinal Wiseman considers
the story would suffice, if proved, to blight for ever the
character of many respectable and dignified individuals, to
hold up to public abhorrence the hierarchy of a religion
professed by millions of Christians, and to record against
that religion itself a weighty charge of hypocrisy and im-
posture. We do not see how this results, but, if it does,
and we have Dr. Wisernan's word for it, surely it is better
to pull off the covering of a chair than to have one's cha-
racter blighted—to sweep away dust and cobwebs than to
be held up to abhorrence, and to expose the relic to the
blaze of day rather than lie under the charge of hypocrisy
and imposture. A little water clears us from this deed ;
how easy is it, then ! A few touches of the housemaid's
broom can sweep away, according to the Cardinal, these
grievous calumnies; and yet that broom is withheld.
How extraordinarily dear female labour must ne in Rome!

There is, however, another view of the subject which
this mighty controversy has suggested to our mind, and
which is, perhaps, quite as well worthy of consideration as
the existence of a few letters on an old chair. We are
told that this is the chair presented by the British Senator
Pudens to St. Peter when lie was. at Rome, and we are
tempted to ask what evidence have we that he ever was at
Rome at all? Supposing Cardinal Wiseman to be right
in attributing the chair to the age of Claudius, what evi-
dence is there that St. Peter ever sat in it ? Other things,
and those quite as important as the history of a piece of
wood, depend on the answer to this question, and yet we
apprehend it will be very difficult to prove its affirmation.
The legend is, that St. Peter visited Rome in the time
of Claudius, and again in that of Nero, and that he suf-
fered martyrdom on the latter occasion on the same day
as St. Paul. Apply to this narrative the principles of
criticism by which Niebuhr has renovated the history of
Rome, and Grote that of Greece. What is there that can
satisfy of its truth ? Scripture, the only contemporary
narrative, while it traces the history of St. Paul very
nearly up to the rime of his death at Rome, is utterly
silent as to the prez,ence of St. Peter in that capital.

A paragraph appeared in several of the London papers,
on Friday and Saturday last, to the effect that Sir Robert
Peel had met with a very serious accident whilst hunting
at Fazeley, on Thursday. We have made inquiries rela-
tive to the occurrence, and are happy to state that the
accident which gave rise to the unfavourable report was
of a trifling nature, and unaccompanied with any serious
consequences. - .

Mr. R. Woodhouse, son of an English merchant at
Oporto, has behaved with gallantry on the occasion of a
wreck off Matoyinhhas. He dashed into the boisterous
sea and saved one man, and made a desperate attempt to
save another, but was foiled by a blow from a log of wood.
A fisherman's wife plunged into the surf, and was carried
out of her depth : she clung to Mr. Woodhouse's neck,
and he brought her safely to shore.
. _

On Monday, the Cambridgeshire hounds had a fine run,
the length of which, added to the:rotten and slippery state
of the banks, occasioned many mishaps and innumerable
" purls," and it is our misfortune to have to record the
death of " Foreclosure," (in the forthcoming Liverpool
Steeple Chase), who, in flying a fence with a ditch on the
" off" side fell, burst his girths, precipitated his rider,
Mr. Bevill, together with his saddle, to a considerable
distance, and rolling into the ditch broke his back.
The first steamer of the Cape line, the Bosphorus,
which left Plymouth on the 18th of December, at 8 a.m.,
arrived at Funchal Bay, Madeira, whence letters have
been received from her, on the 24th of December, at half-
past two. She had encountered two days of adverse
wind, but had nevertheless accomplished this, the least
certain, part of her passage in rather less than her con-
tract time. After landing her passengers for Madeira, she
resumed her course at 5 p.m., on the 24th of December.
MUNIFICENT BEQUEST.—Edward Corden, Esq., of
Clifton, Ashbourn, who died at an early hour on Sunday
morning week, has munificently bequeathed. the sum of
£5700, invested in the funds, to the following charitable
purposes :—To the tenants of eighteen almshouses in
Ashbourn, 2s. per week for ever ; to those of four clergy-
men's widows' almshouses, £l2 per annum each ; and
the residue to the national school at Ashbourn, and the
parish sc':.ool at Ipstones, Staffordshire.
On Thursday Charles, son of Captain Rutherford, of
Bedford, took up a pistol belonging to his brother Tho-
mas, off the dressing-table, to amuse his brother George,
who sometimes came into his room to play, by letting off
a few caps ; but the pistol unfortunately being loaded, the
ball passed under George's left ear and came out at the
right temple. The youth died immediately. Thomas
told his brother Charles the overnight that the pistol was
loaded, but in the morning Charles forgot the warning.
The other day a poor woman was robbed in London of
the bag of clothes which formed her sole worldly posses-
sions, of an admission-ticket to the Lying-in Hospital, and
of her marriage certificate, which alone entitled her to the
situation required. On Wednesday last a Jew was charged
in London with picking a poor creature's pocket of 13d.,
which she had just raised by pawning her husband's waist-
coat to get food for her children, and evidence was ten-
dered to show that the prisoner had selected this particu-
lar line of knavery as his special vocation.

A RASCAL or A FATHER.—At the Central Criminal
Court, London, on Tuesday, William Weaver, aged 55,
and his two children, William, aced 16, and Emma. aged
10, were found guilty, the two latter of stealing, and the
former of receiving a cloak, victorine, and other articles.
It was proved that the tvio younger prisoners had been
trained by their father as thieves, and the robbery in this
case had been committed upon the two children of a respec-
table tradesman. The father was sentenced to twelve
months' imprisonment, and the children to two months'
each.

NON-PAYMENT OF POOR-RATES.—The assistant-over-
seer of a parish in West Gloucestershire attended a petty
sessions, near Chepstow, the other day, with a list of
defaulters to the poor-rate, for the purpose of making out
his "excused list," and having it confirmed. The list,
which was assisted by some quaint marginal references,
among which " 0.P." was very conspicuous, was duly
handed to the presiding justice, when the magistrate
inquired, " Mr. -, what does this ' O.P.' mean ?"
The worthy parish official, with polite deference, rejoined,
On't pay. please your honour." _ _

. .
PHILLIPS'S PATENT FIRE ANNIHILATOR.-011 Tues-
day, a public demonstration took place near the Thames
Police-station, at Poplar, of the powers of this invention
in extinguishing fires in ships. The hull of an old vessel,
150 tons burden, filled with sugar hogsheads, tar, tur-
pentine, saltpetre bags, and other combustible materials,
was ignited, and the whole blazed up with extraordinary
violence, when the annihilator was brought into action,
and the vapour poured forth, and in not more than a few
seconds the blaze was almost entirely subdued, and in a
minute or two after the fire was completely put out.
_

A SOLICITOR CONVICTED OF FRAUD.—Jonathan
Whitley Cooper, a solicitor practising at Norwich, was
tried at the Norwich sessions on Tuesday, on a charge of
obtaining unlawfully, and by false pretences, the sum of
£5 6s. from a Mr. Richard Mills Burrell, hair manufac-
turer, of that town. The false pretence alleged was, that
the traverser had been filing certain pleadings in an action
at the suit of the prosecutor. for the expenses of which he
had received the sum in question, which pleadings had not,
in point of fact, been filed. The case having been dis.
tinctly proved, the jury found a verdict of guilty, and the
prisoner was sentenced to be imprisoned and kept to hard
labour for twelve calendar months.

THE IRON TRADE.—On Thursday the thief of the
quarterly meeting:, of the ironmasters of South Stafford-
shire was held in Birmingham. There was an average
attendance, and amongst those present largely interested
in the iron trade were many influential makers and mer-
chants from South Wales, London, Liverpool, Bristol,
and other parts of the kingdom. The iron market was
universally admitted to be improved in present condition
and future prospects, but the old firms of the districts—
the manufacturers of the best first-class iron—announced
to stand by the prices as fixed at the quarterly meeting in
October. There is a better demand for iron generally,
whether legitimately or speculatively. Some houses have
orders which they cannot execute.
ASSAULT IN A PUSEYITE CHURCH.—An Irishman,
named Thomas Doyle, was brought before Mr. Broderip,
at the Westminster police-court, for assaulting a Mr.
E. Simms, a timber merchant, residing in Gillingham-
street, Pimlico. The defendant was beadle at Charlotte-
street chapel, where Mr.. Simms repaired on the evening
of the 29th of December, and was requested by defend-
ant to take a seat. This he declined to do, lest he might
disturb the congregation by going up the aisle ; thereupon
the defendant shoved him into the street. On the part
of the defendant, it was alleged that persons had previ-
ously stood in the aisle of the chapel distributing tracts
and otherwise disturbing the congregation, and that he
had orders to remove every person who might be found
standing in the aisle. The case, at the request of the
solicitor for the defence, was sent to the sessions.
A WIFR ACCIDENTAULY SHOT BY TIER HUSBAND.—
On Thursday an accident of a very melancholy nature
took place in Holliday-street, Birmingham, resulting in
the death of a woman named Crook, by the hand of her
own husband. They had only been married about three
weeks, and, like too many Birmingham women at the
commencement of wedded life, she still continued at the
employment in which she was engaged before her mar-
riage. She and tier husband returned home about seven
o'clock, and while she was toasting a round of bread for
his tea, he took up a gun that was standing in a corner of
the room, which, as it afterwards appeared, had been
placed there shortly before by the person with whom he
lodged, who had been out bird-shooting. Crook took it
towards the light to examine it, but as he raised it, down
went the hammer, and the charge was lodged in the head
of his wife. She fell back instantly, and expired without
even a groan.

FORBIDDING THE BANNS BY A REJECTED SUITOR.—
The congregation of St. Peter's Church, Marlborough,
was disturbed on Sunday by the banns of marriage be-
tween William Mabbet, a policeman, of this town, and
Sarah Farmer, being forbidden by a rejected lover of
Sarah. It appears this person had been engaged to the
girl several years, and had taken and furnished a house
in London, where he was following the trade of a jour-
neyman harness maker. Having been absent some time,
an attachment was found to exist between Mabbet and
the girl, and in the course of a short time, arrangements
were made for their marriage. The banns had been twice
published, and the harness maker thought to stop their
further progress ; but, alas ! without effect. Faithless
as Sarah Farmer had been to him, it formed "no just
cause or impediment" to her being pined to the police•
man ; and on the following day she was made Mrs. Mab-
bet.—Bristol Journal.

FATAL POACHING AFFRAY.—On Friday about noon,
three men named Darley, Chew, and Rennison, were ob-
served to be engaged in poaching on an estate at Ganton
Wok], near Scarborough. The gamekeeper having pro-
cured the assistance of six other men, went in pursuit and
came up with the poachers upo❑ land in the Lordship of
Foxholes. Chew, who held a gun in his hand, presented
it at the keeper, desiring him to stand off, or he would fire
The other however, not daunted seized hold of the weapon,
and endeavoured to wrest it from the poacher, an attempt
in which he was seconded by his assistants. Darley then
came forward with a large and sharp knife, and while he
caught hold of the muzzle of the gun with his left hand,
attempted to cut the men's hands so as to force them to
relinquish their grasp. He was, however pinioned from
behind by another of the keeper's assistants, and just at
this moment the gun went off, lodging its contents in the
lower part of Darley's body. The unhappy man instantly
fell back mortally wounded, exclaiming, "D--thee,
thou hast done for me now !" He expired in a few mo-
ments afterwards.
DOWNWARD PROGRESS OF BRITISH SHIPPING.—
The shipping returns of the board of trade for the month
ending the sth of December present the following results
—Entered inwards—

TONNAGE FOR THE MONTH ENDING DEC. 5.
1848. 1849. 1850.
371,400 464,443 383,762
77,908 23,521 33,512
81,287 109,107 114,512

British vessels
United States' vessels
Other countries

530,595 597,071 531,786

The clearances outward were-:-

1848. 1849. 1850.
British vessels
United States' vessels 44,613 28,717 53,743
Other count' ies 90,489 83,980 111,135

382,798 390,552 430,750
With regard to the coasting trade, the tonnage entered
inwards was 1,016,069 in the month ending December 5,
1848, 957,620 in 1849, and 1,045,518 in 1850. The clear-
ances outwards were 1,046,605 in December, 1848,
1,093.78 i in 1849, and 1,146,534 in 1850.
DARADFUL WOUNDS IN A LEG, BUT SOUNDLY CURED
BY HOLLOWAY'S OINTMENT AND PILLS.-Mr. Henry
Gray, typographer, residing at No. 6, Temple-lane, City,
states that he suffered for a considerable-time the most
excruciating pains from two deepvertinds in his leg, occa-
sioned by an accident which,he unfortunately met with ;
and although he tried various lotions and ointments, yet
all were found entirely useless. He was then recom-
mended by a friend to use some of Holloway's Ointment
and Pills, vilii6l he did, and in six hours he was greatly
relieved„dd in about eight days the wounds were soundly
healed.

The saying that " one-half of London does not know
how the other half lives," has been singularly verified by
a discovery made on Sunday morning last by the police,
in consequence of information giv en to them by the
mother of a poor boy who had been seduced into habits
of vagrancy. It appears that a band of young robbers,
called, on account of its numerical strength, "the Twenty
Thieves," had established a regular robbers' cave, a la
Gil Blas, underneath the station of the South-Western
Railway terminus, in the Waterloo-road. Five of the
part; were caught in their den, the access to which was a
small hole in one of the arches, scarcely sufficient to
admit a man.

SEVERE GALE AT BRISTOL, AND IN THE BRISTOL
CHANNEL.—OB Wednesday afternoon a very heavy gale,
which veered from S.W. to-W.N.W., was experienced in
the Bristol Channel, as well as in the city of Bristol and
the surrounding neighbourhood. A good deal of damage
was done to shipping as well as to house property, when
situated upon elevated points. The barque Berbice, for
Aberdeen, drove and went ashore near the mouth of the
river. The crew took to the rigging, where they remained
till the tide receded, when they left her. A boat in at-
tempting to go to them was overset, but the hands swam
ashore. The trow Dolphin, laden with coal from Sydney,
another trow, name unknown, and the sloop William,
from Bullo Pill to Cardiff, with iron ore, foundered in the
river's mouth, but their crews were happily saved. At
Clifton a house near Portland-place was stripped of its
tiles, &c., and a quantity of furniture was forced by the
gale out of a window and fell upon a hackney fly, which it
greatly damaged, but fortunately without injury to fare
or driver. At Mr. Itnuch's timber yard, near the sea
banks, a large shed, 50 feet long by 20 feet deep, was
thrown down and scattered over the yard. A recently
erected brick wall near the Limekiln Dock, llotwells, was
levelled with the ground, and roofs were stripped of their
tiles at more than one point of the city.
THE EXHIBITION BUILDING.—During the present
week rapid strides towards completion have been taken
in every branch of the works of the crystal palace, and it
may be stated generally that the progress made and the
results obtained are most satisfactory to the executive
committee. A large number of men are employed at
present in laying down the ground and gallery flooring
and, looking to 'he extent of the space covered within the
last few days, the advance of this important portion of
the building will be strikingly illustrative of the magical
rapidity of construction which hitherto has challenged
the admiration of visitors. The face boarding of the
lower part of the building has been also pushed forward
energetically. The painting executed has been confined
almost exclusively to the roof and the sash bars. The
final and decorative part of this branch of the works,
it is needless to state must await a complete absence of
dust, and a condition of repose within the structure,
which are not obtainable at present. The glazing of the
transept progresses steadily, and it is hoped will be
finished before the close of next week. Some portions of
the gallery railings have been fixed in their places. They
are light and graceful, and when completed will form
a very important item in the catalogue of internal
ornamentation.

SEARCITINO FOR MRS. SLOANE.—The addition of £3O
by the government to the reward originally offered by the
guardians, has stirred up the activity of the police. On
Tuesday evening last, information was received at the
station where the warrant is deposited, that Mrs. Sloane
was to be found residing in the neighbourhood of Chelsea.
Accordingly two detective officers of the city police force
were despatchedrin company with a clerk from the Tem-
ple, who brought the information, and they proceeded
direct to Ranelagh-street, Chelsea. On arriving there the
clerk pointed out the house in which he believed Mrs.
Sloane was concealed, and the officers stepped forward
and knocked boldly at the front door. It was opened,
and they were immediately after ushered into the drawing-
room, where they found a lady apparently about 45 years
of age, and exactly answering, in every particular, the
description of Mrs. Sloane, as set forth in the placards
offering the reward for her apprehension. The clerk from
the Temple felt perfectly satisfied that she was the right
party. The lady protested that the officers were misteken,
and was indignant at the insult offered to her. It became
necessary to send for Jane Wilbred, who set all doubts at
rest, and satisfied even the Templar that he had made a
blunder. Apologies followed, and the officers left, it is
understood, upon good terms with the molested lady, who,
it is stated, was once before so unfortunate as to be mis-
taken for Mrs. Manning.
EXTENSIVE ROBBERY OF GOLD AND SILVER.—The
week before last Joseph Hartman, a German, arrived in
Liverpool from the gold regions of California, with about
5,000 dollars' worth of coin, the produce of his labours at
the diggings. He proceeded by railway to London, ac-
companied by his sister, both being on their way to Ger-
many. In the train he met a man who had been a fellow-
passenger from New York. At London this man pre-
tended great kindness to him, recommended him to an
hotel, and desired him, as he was a stranger, and could
not speak English, to be on his guard. This frier.d in-
troduced him to another man, who, he said, was proceed-
ing to Dover, and would he a companion for him. At
Dover Hartman placed the carpet bag, which contained
his money, with a box, on the platform, and left them in
charge of his sister whsle he went to obtain the rest of
his luggage. On his return, the companion who had been
introduced to him in London, and the carpet bag con-
taining the treasure, were both missing. Information
was given to the police, and instant search was made for
the thief,,but without success. The carpet bag was found
empty, about four hours after the robbery, on the pier.
The money consisted principally of gold, American dollar
pieces (all dated 1850), French 20-franc pieces, 10-dollar
pieces, and the remainder in about 225 German guilders,
in silver. A reward of £l5O has been offered for the
discovery of the robbers. The " friend" who accompa-
nied Hartman from Liverpool has been apprehended in
London.