The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-11-26 00:00:00

LARGE ACQUISITIVENESS.—On Wednesday, a poor
wretched haggard looking creature, named Ann Riley, was
brought up charted with stealing a few potatoes from the
quay of the King's Dock. Her half starved appearance
gained her the commiseration of the court and the spec-
tators; but this was entirely removed when the bridewell
keeper intimated that the prisoner had .£6 9s. 4d. in her
possession, and that she had before been convicted' of
stealing on the dock quays. Mr. Rushton ordered her to
be committed for seven days, and to pay for herown main-
tenance while in gaol.
IFSOLVENT DEBTORS' COURT. LANCASTER.—This
court opened on Monday morning last, before William
John Law, Esq., commissioner. The barristers present
were Messrs. Bateman, James Monk,and Joseph Pollock,
of Manchester ; and Stondford of London.. There were
64 applicants for relief : fi ty in gaol, and 14 out of cus-
tody. During Monday, there were discharged, by the
plaintiffs attorney, 6; by the plaintiff in person, 2; by
the Court of Bankruptcy, 1 ; by judge's order, 4 ; and by
the rule of court, 1 ; in all, 14. We understand, that at
Liverpool the commissioner has only eight cases, and only
one at Chester.
IMPORTANT ALTERATION IN THE WIGAN POST-
OFFICE.—An advantageous change has just been made in
the transmission of letters to Ashton-in-Mackerfield and
Newton, by which an extra bag is despatched, and arrives
to and from Manchester and Liverpool. The foot post to
the former places, instead of leaving at seven in the
morning, is to be despatched at twelve at noon : and is to
carry, io additiou to the Ashton and Newton bags, all
letters which may be posted up to half-past eleven, for
Manchester and Liverpool : he will thus meet the trains
passing Newton between two and three o'clock, and the
letters will be forwarded to their destination. He will
also bring return bags for Wigan. By this arrangement,
the inhabitants of Wigan and the neighbourhood will be
secured two deliveries per day in Manchester and Liver-
pool ; at present, although so near the two great towns,
there is only one delivery, and that early in the morning.
PAVING AND SEWERAGE COMMISSIONERS.—At the
meeting on Thursday, Mr. John Holmes presided. A
letter was read from the trustees of the Liverpool and
Preston turnpike road, stating that a sub-committee had
been appointed to arrange as to the terms upon which
permission would be given to the Cormnisioners to lay
down 923 yards of pipes in the township of West Derby,
for the purpose of bringing the water from the reservoir
into the town. The subject was referred to the Watch
Committee, who are to arrange on the best terms they
can. A letter was read from the Dock Committee, re-
questing permission to block up Regent-road, for the pur-
pose of erecting a bridge across the navigable cut com-
municating with the canal. A temporary road, twelve
feet wide, for the convenience of the public, will be made.
Granted.—A communication (referred to the Board by
the Council) from the Association for the Promotion of
Improved Paving, Cleansing, and Draining, was read,
and ordered to lie on the table for the information of the
commissioners.—Coats were ordered to be provided for
the night watchmen, and the board adjourned.
THE BRIDGEWATER TRUST.—The trustees of this
great canal property, created by the last Duke of Bridge-
water, and now possessed by Lord Francis Egerton, are
about to seek for powers to combine certain short lines of
railway with the Bridgewater Canal, which will greatly
facilitate its working. With this view, they are rendering
all the assistance in their power to the plan for construct-
ing a railway from Manchester to Altringham, in Cheshire,
close to which place the canal passes ; and are also about
to apply for powers to construct a railway from Preston-
brook to Runcorn, with the view of facilitating their
communication with Birmingham and the central counties.
They also expect to be able to connect the large collieries
on the Worsley estate with the Liverpool and Manchester
Railway, by means of a branch line from the village of
Worsley to join the line which the Liverpool and Man-
chester Company propose to form from Patricrott to the
Bolton and Bury line, which passes within a couple of
miles of Worsley, and traverses the Bridgewater estates
for a considerable distance.
INQUEST ON A Gresv.—A lengthened investigation
took place on Monday last, at Lower Walton, neer War-
rington, before William Caldwell, Esq., the coroner,
touching the death of Lucretia Smith, a gipsy, about 70
years of age, which occurred on Thursday, in a shippon.
The deceased, it appeared, had been apprehended in
Mongomeryshire, by a police-officer, named Ady, charted
with being one of a party of gipsies who had deluded a
Cheshire farmer out of £6O, under the pretence that they
would " rule his planets for him, and recover possession
of some stolen articles. She was taken to Shrewsbury,
and there dismissed, on account of the non-appearance of
the prosecutor. She was again apprAiended at Warring-
ton, brought before the magistrates on the 12th instant
and discharged, the simple farmer not being able to
identify her as one of the party. The old woman and her
daughter were on their way to join their friends, and had
reached Walton, where she fell ill, and died on Thursday
morning. The result of the inquiry was a verdict that
the deceased had died from natural causes, and that Ady
was free from all blame.
ST. PETER'S Scnoore—On Sunday last, the Rev. T.
Nolan, Incumbent of St. Barnabas' Church, Liverpool,
delivered two sermons in St Peter's Church, when collec-
tions were made for the purpose of providing books and
other requisites for opening this school, which is now
nearly completed. Owing to its having been the first
Sundaes after the interment of the late highly respected
R. R. Lingard, Esq. many gentlemen were necessarily
present at the parish church, in the morning, eh) would
otherw'se have been at St. Peter's, but we have seldom
seen that church so crowded as it was in the evening, par-
ticularly the galleries and free sittings. We have never
heard the reverend gentleman to more advantage than on
that occasion, and we beLeve we only express the general
opinion of the auditors, when we say that few discourses,
more earnest,':original, and impressive, have ever been
delivered in St. Peter's. The collections amounted
together to the sum of £3B, the congregation having
already contributed most liberally towards the erection of
the school in a private subscription. When the service
was concluCed, many of his old hearers crowded around
their old pastor, in the vestry, who, we are sure could
not fail to be highly gratified at this natural and touching
expression of their feelings towards him.—Stockport Ad-
vertiser.

COOL TMPUDENCE.—Ratber more than seven years a

o
a light-fingered Irishman, named Sweeney, was convictegd
of stealing a box of tin plates from a ship in one of the
Liverpool docks. On his conviction be was sentenced to
seven years' transportation, which punishment was duly
inflicted. A few days ago he again made his appearance
in this town, and one of the first places that be visited was
the office of the firm to whom the tin plates bad belonged.
Neither of the principals were within, but be at once pro-
ceeded, in the coolest manner, to introduce himself as
Mr. Sweeney, the gentleman who had suffered for appro-
priating the tin plates. He said that his vis:t to Australia
had not been either disagreeable nor unprofitable ; that be
had soon obtained a good conduct ticket, and a good place
as a gardener, in which he had saved money. Having
now fulfilled all his obligations to the law, he had returned
home, and determined to claim his tights, among which
was the box of tin plates for which he bad been sent to
Botany Bay ! This he considered clearly his own, and
begged that it might be given up to him. We need
scarcely say that Mr. Sweeney's story and his request
threw the whole office into a roar. The clerks, not feeling
themselves competent to decide on so curious a claim in
the absence of their employers, begged that the gentleman
would call again, which he promised to do, though he has
not yet fulfilled his promise.

MEETING OF PARISHIONERS.—On Thursday, at twelve
o'clock, a meeting of the inhabitants, assessed and con-
tributing to the relief of the poor, was held in the Crown
Court, for the purpose of choosing commissioners under
the Paving and Sewerage Acts, to fill up the annual va-
cancies. John Holmes, Esq. was called to the chair. Mr.
Deane, the law-clerk, read a summary of the accounts,
from which it appeared that the balance in hand last year
was £3792 2s. 9d. ; the receipts for the year ending 30th
September; 1844, on account of flagging and paving, have
been £28,679 Bs. 2d.; on account of sewerage, £6526
in
cluding
the Id. ; and on account of the water works,
the corporation moiety of £250, and a sum of £9545 18s.
Bd. from the bank, £12,234 19s. 5d.; making the grand
total of receipts 451,233 58. sd. The amount paid during
the same period has been, for paving, flagging, &c.,
£21,588 16s. 4d. ; for watering the streets, £lB2B 13s 4d ;
salaries, £1398 16s. ; sewerage, (including incidental ex-
penses,) .C 12,898 19s. Bd. ; water works £10,343 16s. Bd.,
leaving a balance in the bank, on the paving and sewerage
account, of £3194 Ils. 4d., and in the hands of the trea-
surer £7 12s. Id. The law charges for the year, in-
cluding parliamentary expenses, amount to the sum of
£2142 15s. 6d. The meeting then proceeded to fill up
the vacancies amongst the commissioners, and the names
of the gentlemen ,appointed will be found in the adver-
tisement of the proceedings.
A GHOST IN A QUANDARY.—A little incident occurred
at the Theatre on Friday, during Miss Barnes's clever
perFormance of " Hamlet," which, though a matter of
considerable annoyance to the party immediately con-
cerned, was highly amusing to that small to.tion of the
audience who witnessed and understood it. The circum-
stance to which we refer took place in the scene between
Hamlet and the Queen, where the Ghost (Mr. B. Hen-
derson) having entered at one door, passed slowlyaacross
the stage to exit at the other, Hamlet exclaiming,
"Why look you there ! look how it steals away !"
The Ghost, which had been very well represented by Mr.
Henderson, had passed the foot-lights with solemn tread,
and most cadaverous visage, to within a yard or two of
the door by which he was silently to have disappeared,
when,

"Angels and ministers of grace defend us !"
there was no one prepared ready to open the same ; and
the thought suddenly flashed through his mind that it was
fastened! Here was a quandary for a live ghost to be in.
To vanish through the key-hole was not to be accom-
plished by so substantial a reality. To sink through the
stage, though much to be desired in such a strait, was
equally impossible. To halt, and taking a turn to the
left, exit a little further back, as any other piece of hu-
manity might have decided, would have been truly un-
ghostly and ridiculous. "Alas! poor ghost !" what's to
be done ? _ _ _

"O'er his pale face there came a roseate hue,"
and his ghostship exhibited unmistakeable signs of being in
a mortal rage. He approached nearer and nearer to the
fatal door, and still no signs of its moving. He was
within a couple of feet, and in very bitterness of spirit
groaned forth, " Open that cursed door." The door was
as fast as ever,—the scene was an exciting one, and of
course every body was looking,--so, gathering up his
strength and his right leg at the same time, the ghost
threw his " canonized bones," body and all, against the
wooden partition that was supposed to separate him from
the shades below. Away flew bolts and bars, and with a
horrid crash, exit this truly " troubled spirit ; " if not in
a "flash of fire," as the song says, certainly with a rapi-
dity and effect that made " the people to very much ad-
mire." Seriously, if the fastenings of the door had been
a little stronger, Mr. Henderson might have received a
evere injury.—Blackburn Standard.