The Liverpool Standard, and General Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1854-08-29 00:00:00

architectural merit, and is an attempt to adopt the geo-
metric decorated style of the middle ages to domestic pur-
poses, retaining the necessarily compulsory essentials of a
street frontage. The site, which is in many respects
peculiar, and the area being confined, it presented unusual
difficulties of arrangement, and caused much trouble in
obtaining a sufficient quantity of light. The principal
front presents several windows, filled with geometric
tracery of a light and tasteful character; the principal
staircase is surmounted by a tower whose upper stage is
pierced with similar tracery. The tower is covered by a
pyramidal roof of high pitch, which imparts character to
the whole design. The upper portion of tke tower is in-
tended to be used in aiding ventilation.
The school buildings consist of three floors, the infant
school occupying the ground floor ; the boys' school will
be on the first, and the girls' school on the second or
upper storey. Each of the schoolrooms has an area of
1,600 square feet, and will accommodate 200 children.
Adjoining each school is a classroom and entrance-lobby,
a portion of the latter being devoted to the reception of
caps, bonnets, &c. The height of each of the two lower
schools is 14 feet from floor to ceiling; the girls' school to
have an open timbered roof, which is 11 feet high to the
eaves. Access is obtained from Roscoe-street to each of
the schools, so that the children will be kept out of the
narrow side street almost entirely. An airing yard is
provided for each school.
Adjoining the schools is a residence for the master, to
consist of three bedrooms, parlour, kitchen, scullery, &c.,
with a separate yard.
The buildings are to be constructed of gray brick, with
quoins, dressings, and wrought stonework of the local red
sandstone. The architect for the edifices is Mr. T. D.
Barry, of this town, and of Lincoln's Inn-fields, London.
The contract for the building has been taken by Mr.
Thomas Hughes, Brownlow-street, and the cost is esti-
mated at £2,200.

LIVERPOOL BOROUGH SESSIONS,

(Before GILBERT HENDERSON, Esquire, Recorder.)

YESTERDAY, the intermediate sessions for 'the borough
were opened in the criminal court, at the old Sessions
House, Chapel-street. The calendar was unusually light,
there being only 26 cases, and 38 prisoners, of whom 16
could neither read nor write ; 4 could only read ; 23 could
read and write imperfectly; and '1 could read and write
well. Two of the prisoners (one a servant girl) were
under 16 years 'of age ; eleven were older than 16 and
younger than 21; and the remainder were of various ages
up to 53.
The following gentlemen were sworn upon the
GILLED :ray
Mr. Thos. Brittain Forwood, broker, foreman.
Mr. Joseph Armstrong, jun., merchant. •
Mr. James Henry Butter, merchant.
Mr. Thomas Boyd, merchant.
Mr. Francis lioult, merchant.
Mr. John Carmichael, merchant.
Mr. William Carson, merchant,
Mr. Richard Derbyshire, merchant.
Mr. Henry Glynn, broker.
Mr. Robert Girvin. merchant. • r
Mr. Michael Harnett, corn-broker.
Mr. James Howell, broker.
Mr. John Herd, corn merchant.
Mr. Charlton Robert Hall, wine broker.
Mr. Edward Hatton, anchor-smith.
Mr. Charles Melhuishi, merchant.
Mr. Richard Andrew Mould, wine merchant.
Mr. John Blayds Molyneux, broker.
Mr. John George Woodhouse, wine merchant.
The proclamation against vice and immorality having
been read, the Recorder proceeded to deliver the charge :
Gentlemen of the Grand Jury, said he, when parliament
rises, the attention of the General Quarter Session is natu-
rally called to those enactments by which its labours are
to be guided in the administration of justice. In looking
at the recent acts, I find one for the suppression of gaming
houses, but I am happy to believe that the habits of this
community render the operation of such an act of little
consequence here. I think it is only at particular times,
during the races, that such practices prevail to any extent
in this town. With the assistance of this, statute the
magistrates will be enabled to put down auy at-
tempt of that description. There is, also, an Act to
extend, beyond the district of the metropolitan police, the
,provision against the use of dogs for drawing trucks or
carts. Here, again, it is to the credit of the' people of
Liverpool, that such practices have not prevailed in this
town. There is, further, an Act which has in view the
extension of the benefits which hare arisen from abridging
the hours for selling distilled and fermented liquors on Sun-
days. It has been consideredthat this had a beneficial effect,
and that further restriction will.prove useful. I hope it may
be so. Of course it ought to be the duty of the magistrates
to enforce this law ; and the penalties are extremely rigo-
rous, because for each separate infringement of, its provi-
sions the beerhouse-keeper is liable to a penalty of £5.
Undoubtedly, anything that could lesson the amount of
drunkenness is particularly desirable in this town. I find
that in the course of last year 5,250 persons were appre-
hended in Liverpool. as 'being drunk and disorderly, and
4,185, as being drunk and incapable of taking care of
themselves. Now, this is quite sufficient to show how
greatly the offence of drunkenness prevails in this town ;
and here I take the opportunity of saying how much I
think the public are indebted to the discretion with which
the magistrates have recently exercised their powers of
licensing fresh public-houses. There was a time in the
history of this town when, as it seems to me, too great a
latitude was used in that department, and the consequence
was that a greater number of public-houses beyond what
was usual were licensed ; and to this circumstance may be
attributed a considerable portion of the drunkenness
which prevails iu the town. The magistrates, however,
have of late been more sparing in the exercise of their
licensing powers. Last year, only fifteen new public-
houses were licensed, and, as seven were forfeited,
the increased number of additional licenses was in
reality only eight. Now, of .course lam quite aware that
it is not to the enactment of any law, so much as to an
improvement in the moral feeling and intelligence and
habits of the people, that we must look for amendment
in this respect. But still the law may assist; and Ido
not think that efforts are to be neglected with reference
to the discreet exercise of the licensing power. Therefore,
I fully admit that we cannot make people sober by act of
parliament. Yet, I still think that the provisions of the
enactment may be exercised with beneficial effect in pre-
venting drunkenness. I hope, therefore, that the same
course will be persevered in, and that, though the magis-
trates may think fit to grant some licenses to districts
which an increasing population may require, they
will still recollect that public-houses are already far
too numerous in the older districts, and that nothing
more will be done than the necessities of the public war-
rant. Gentlemen, there is also an act recently passed for

the purpose of bringing into more extensive use the
reformatory schools for youthful offenders. It is impos-
sible to touch this topic without a pasting tribute to the
excellent magistrate who was the first to move in the
subject; and without stating that the petition of the
Liverpool justices, drawn up by him, has from the first to
the last been one of the most important grounds on which
this measure has been founded. The scheme of this act
is that schools should be established for young offenders
by voluntary subscription ; that every such school: should
be visited and examined by an inspector of prisons, whose
proxince it should be to report upon its condition and
regulations ; that the Home Secretary should then cer-
tify -the school as useful and efficient ; and that a
magistrate or judge of any court may, on conviction of
any offender under sixteen years old, order him or her to be
sent to such a reformatory school for a period of from two
to five ygars ; and the: Treasury mavarrange the expenses
for such maintenance and education. But the school
must be .named under the direction of the magistrate or
the court; and it must he ascertained beforehand that
the directors are willing to receive the offender. Now,
you will ,observe that this act is rather preparatory, than
instance,
is it can best once acted upon. This court, for
is in no condition to act upon this statute : there is no
school established; and there is no school of which the
Home Secretary has approved, and to which the directors
have empowered me to send persons committed here. It
is, therefore, clear that much must be done by voluntary
efforts before this system can be carried into more general
elect. For my part, I think it would supply a want that
is very deeply felt; but at the same time, I do think
that such provisions must be very carefully exercised ;
and that no eneouragesnent should be given to children,
to take them from that natural support which they should
find in their parents. However, gentlemen, I mention
the state of the law to show that, although the legislature
has declared its willingness to act upon such a system, we
still require the voluntary efforts of humane persons to
obtain power for carrying this design into effect. The
only case, gentlemen, to come before you, that requires any
special direction from me, is one of housebreaking. In
this particular case entry into the house was effected by
lifting up the grid of the coal-cella.r, There was a fasten-
ing to the grid, but it was out of order, and so it was only
necessary to lift up the grid, for a person to make his
entry into the house. But I should tell you that in
a similar case that occurred, the judges were equally
divided in the opinion whether an entry so effected
was a breaking into the house or not. But the
case, in this instance, does not' stop here ; because
you will find that, having so got into the house, the
offender broke into a room in the house. Yoa will find
that the staple to the lock was forced out of the door,
which had been secured, and so opened ; and if you find
this to have been so, you may properly find a verdict for
housebreaking, because it is not essential that it should
be the outside-door—the breaking of any inside-door is
sufficient to constitute the offence as defined by the law.
Therefore, if you find that the inside-door in this house
was broken, you may safely find a bill for housebreaking.
The number of the cases in the caledar is but small-44,--
small even for the length of period since last sessions ;
but nevertheless I am by no means sure that that is a clear
ndication that the town is in a healthy state in respect to
crime. I might be led into a great mistake by taking the
state of the calendar as a guide, for, though I don't find a
single case of pocket picking, I do not suppose the offence
has ceased to operate here; and, though I do not find a
single case of stealing from ships and from the docks, I
cannot, therefore, conclude that such an offence has ceased to
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