The Liverpool Standard, and General Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1854-07-11 00:00:00

THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD, AND GENERAL COI

TUESDAY, JULY 11,

LOCAL INTELLIG_ENCI

1854.

TIM STAR OF TAE EAST, forming one of Messrs. Babies
and Co.'s "Black Ball" line of packets, sailed from the
Mersey on Thursday, for Melbourne, with 930 passengers,
and a very full cargo of goods.
AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.—Tuesday being the anni-
versary of American independence, the ships belonging to
the United States were decked out in colours, and the day,
as usual with Americans, was observed in this port with
great rejoicings.
A NEw RAILWAY REFRESIIMENT Room.—Mr.
Morrish, of the Merchants' Dining-rooms, has fitted
uP another refreshment-room at the Tithebarn-street
Railway Station, on the slope leadinc, to the plat-
form. It is intended for the accommodation of second
and third class passengers, and no doubt will be well
patronised.

MUI7BETIRY-STREHT SCHOOL, AnEucnommt-SQRIBE
The two
were midsummer prizes for progress and proficienc3
awarded to Masters Norman Wylie, of 23, Peel
terrace, and Francis Conlon 18, Pembroke-place, as the
pupils Who had most distinguished themselves during the
session in mathematics, classics, and English. .

CA.IITION TO CAPTAIN S 07/ FERRY STEAMERS.-At the
POlice Court, on Thursday, several captains of steamers
PlYing on the river were summoned for neglecting to
Place one of the crew at the gangway while the passengers
Were being landed. The offenders were convicted in
Penalties of 2s. 6d. and costs, with an admonition from
the magistrate, that in all cases of a similar Ithnd the law

would be strictly enforced.
Thu NEW YORK STRAMERS.-There are indications
(says the New York Herald) of a terrible onslaught on
the ocean mail contractors. A report will be presented
in a few days, showing astounding frauds and swindling
from the beginning of the Pacific mail contracts to the
present time ; at least so said Mr. Mace, chairman of the

select committee appointed to investigate the subject. Mr.
Olds said it would be cheaper to buy up and sink the
steam-ships carrying the mails between New York and
Liverpool and San Francisco, than continue the present
contracts.

WEST DERBY GIIA.RDIANS.-At the meeting on
Rev. W. Badnall presided ; Mr. J. Hat
was vice-chairman ; and there were present M

Ledger, Smith, Alpa.6, Siddeley, Appleby, Walmsley, Lunt,
Morris, Medealf, Kirkus, M'Gee, and Abrahams. The
number of inmates in the Workhouse was reported to be
586, against 618, same week of last year ; in the hospital
39, against 76 last year. Proceedings were ordered to be
taken before the magistrates to recover contributions in
arrear from the townships of Great Crosby and Thornton.
PATENT Arrcuons.—ln the Court of Exchequer, last
week, in
was the action " Honiball v. Bloomer" the plaintiff
nonsaited by direction of Baron Martin. The ques-
ther an anchor patented by Messrs. Bloomer

•
bon wasovi

an an

rum town, was an infringemen _
that had been patented and established for
commonly called Porter's patent anchor, as the prix
upon which the anchors are constructed appeared _ _
very similar. For the defence, it was proved that
" Porter's patent" was not a new invention, and that an
anchor similar in principle had been manufactured by
Messrs. C. Logan and Co., of this town, twenty-eight
years since, or twelve years before Porter's patent was
taken out.

IMPORTANT DECISION TO THE TEA TRADE.—A case
very interesting to the tea trade, was commenced at the
Dublin Court of Common Pleas on Saturday week. Tia
Plaintiffs were Messrs. Crosfield and Harrison, of thii town, and the defendant was Mr. James Lynch, of George's
street, Dublin. In December' last, the defendant ptu, chased four hundred and fifty chests of tea from Messrs.
Wright, the Dublin agents of the plaintiffs, at ls. Bd. per
subsequently
whole amounting to £3,462 Os. 6d. Defendant
returned the tea, alleging that it was not
equthis al to sample, and the plaintiffs sold it by public auction
town, on the 4th of April last, but as the market
had tyn fallen, it only brought £2,534 Bs. sd. The
plaintiffs now Soughtbetween to recover £627 1..95. 13., the differ-
ant. Thecas teheaxtt:um and the invoice price to the defend-
a verdict for the nded over Monday, when the jury gave
full amount of costs.
DOCK BRAN
t
CH OP THE LANCASHIRE AND YORKSHIRE
LWA
the LanY—OnTuesda Mr. Stuart, deputy chairman of
cashire and Yoyrkshire Railway, laid the founds-
gon-stone of a new branch from Sandhills to the North Docks, intended for the accommodation of the goods
traffic, and particularly that in coal. The line will com-
mence at the first bridge below the canal at Sandhills,
and run on the low level to Stanley Dock. Near the
Victoria-road, however, a branch on the high level is to
be formed to the Nelson, Wellington, and other north
docks, this high level portion being intended mainly for
the development of the coal traffic, for which Liverpool
presents such peculiar facilities, and which, by proper
appliances, may be increased to an enormous extent.
From the point of junction, at the Victoria-road, the low
level will be widened into four lines of way, so as to afford
all the accommodation required near a terminus. The
works connected with the new line, which have been pro-
jected from the plans of Mr. Meek, the principal engineer,
will be carried out under the immediate superintendence
of Mr. Pennie, the resident engineer of the district. The
'contractors for the work are Messrs. George Thomson and
CO. About 500 men will be at once placed upon the
ground, and it is anticipated that the new lines will be
opened on the Ist of April next year. The
which there will be a considerable number
of 30 feet span and 7 feet rise. The pal
are to be crossed by wrought-iron girder
completion of this branch it is expect
traffic of this railway, already amount
weekly, will be at least doubled ; and
-developed, the coal traffic alone will, it
to 1,000,000 tons annually.
_ SALARIES OF CORPORATION OFFICALS.---netUrnS have
been recently printed by order of the Liverpool town
council, showing the names, occupations, dates of appoint.
ment, salaries. &c., of all the officials employed by the
corporation at present and for the last ten years. The
following is a list of the officers who are in receipt of
salaries of £3OO a-year and upwards :—Judicial depart-
In Cut : Gilbert Henderson, Esq., recorder, £525, and £5O
• 111 addition for every intermediate sessions ; Peter Wright,
q•, clerk of the peace, £800; Edward James, Esq.,
assessor of the • borough court, £4OO ; J. S. Mansfield,
Esq., stipendiary magistrate, £l,OOO. Town-clerk's de-
partment William Shuttleworth, town-clerk, £2,500 ;
Robert Topping, chief clerk, £500; Linton" Hughes,
second ditto, £400; Francis Venn, deputy registrar of
borough court, common law clerk, and sergeant at mace,
£5OO ; Henry Walter, clerk for prosecutions, £3OO • W.
T. M`Gowen, first clerk in town-clerk's department,
Corn-
wallis-street, £3OO. Treasurer's department : John Wy-
,bergh, treasurer, £7OO ; Archibald Tweedie, clerk to ditto,
£3OO. Surveyor's department : John Weightman, sur-
-veyor, £l,OOO. Sundry officers : John H. Bally, auditor,
£3OO. Town-dues department.: Nathan Litherland,
receiver, £6OO. Observatory : John Hartnnp, astronomer,
£3OO, with house, &c. Constabulary force : Captain J. J.
Greig, head constable, £5OO, with house. Magistrates
'clerk's department: John Wybergh, jun., clerk to magis-
trates, £700; P. F. Garnett, ditto, £5OO. Borough gaol:
William Jameson, governor, £450, with house, &c.; Rev.
Thomas Carter, chaplain, £350, with £5O for rent of
house. Public offices, Cornwallis-street : Capes Ashlin,
treasurer, £7OO. Borough engineer's department : James
Newlands, borough engineer, £1,000; Cornelius Davies,
assistant engineer, £350. District building surveyor's
department : William Rishton, surveyor of buildings,
£3OO. Water department : Thomas Duncan, engineer,
£600; John Rodgers, secretary, £3OO.

8,600 t

is believed, extend

CORSECRA.TION Or ST. MARY'S CHURCH, GRASSEV-
DALE.—The ceremony'of consecrating the recently erected
edifice took place on Tuesday, by the Lord Bishop of the
Diocese, who was attended by the clergy and the parochial
authorities. After the ceremony his lordship delivered
the usual inaugural sermon, and subsequently a collection,
amounting to £loolss. 6d.; was made. The consecration
of the burial-ground closed the proceedings of the day.
The church, which is built in the decorated style, is
situated at the junction of the Aigburth and Garston roads,
and forms a very pleasing object in the landscape. The
l)uilding is cruciform on the ground plan, having nave,
transepts, and chancel. The tower is at the north side,
Z4ll a corresponding porch on the south, a spacious aisle
sZineetiltg the two. The church is divided into two side
larg, with a centre aisle up each transept; there is a
tinge, °Pen space left opposite the chancel arch ; and sit-
withir, shoed in moveable benches for the old and infirm
The D-e„,"„aLert, distance of the pulpit and reading-desk.
with largeand spacious. Te chancel is octagonal
the east end, anda is fitted up proper benches for
the choir. Great care seems to have been given to this
part of the edifice; the floor is laid with fine specimens of
Minton's encaustic tiles, the roof painted in ultramarine,
with gold stars. There are three stained windows, by
Messrs. Pilkington, of St. Helens. The centre (three.
alight) presented by Mr. John Job, contains a painting of
the Ascension ; the side windows (two lights) are the gift
of Mr. John Grant Thorns, and contain medallion subjects
of New Testament history. The other windows are filled
with glass which admits a subdued light into the body of
the church. The organ is to be placed in a recess on the
south side, and a novelty about the instrument is that
the player will sit with his back to it, the action, by an in-
genious contrivance, passing under his feet. The pulpit
and reading desk of Bath stone, are so designed as to allow
an uninterrupted view of the communion table on entering
the church. A massive brass coronal, with about fifty
`banners and brass standards, of elastic desipi, in various
Parts of the church, secure a sufficiency of light for even-
'ink service. A font of Bath stone, highly enriched and
Innulded, has been presented by Mr. Cox, of Grassendale-
park ; and Mr. Alfred Castellain has presented a valuable
Zrf,ie of communion plate. Every arrangement is perfect
/4.a3` the ventilation and warming of the building, a patent
Peal ofv:ixallering the latter purpose. The church has a
traLoi.
chanced.:"(c+ OP TIMI3EU AT LIVERPOOL.—The en-
-consurnlue of money has very seriously curtailed. the
High freights °E wood, and of fir timber in particular.
the „..,
—O, have checked the exportation ; and as in
,1‘ Year, th.
' -Lough the active demand, the cost of import
t7elt then little relation with prices ruling here, so higher
in 11,,ialld Prices abroad hardly now influence prices here
su ~egree that some had expected, for the coming
too plies will arrive to a drooping market. Unfortunately,
r..t! the esident. timber-merchants have their
ships At one extreme end of the port, while the larger
113 a diBeharge theircargoes at the other extreme. The
water
being two feet deeper at the north docks will induce
et ver7
large ship a least to unload out of the timber mar-
k sa„
four miles off; not to mention the desire many
-'"wners ha to enter on their next out vo
Without in theve least thinking of the convenienceward of an a
imge-
,
Porter beyond his legal claims ; and thus, though entirely
e market, a cargo is legally tendered at 2i per
to its prejudice, as things are just now being
man to
in Liverpool : and
_weed railwaysusand tons, and
imsit, theand sb;--

°„tlt °f the

omici.
1j tJ
of Liverpogrol ought to,
?lieut., impart the compara..
railway lines connected herewiL,..
tiers to bring wood from the east coast t'
this side of Warrington, for the like rate exacted on carry
ing wood from Liverpool to Manchester ; but these
account in some degree for spruce deals (the form
in whie
fir i chiefly imported) ruling just now in Liverpool a tll.s ss. per standard, against £l5. 10s. per staudard Irondon.—From Chaloner's Circular_

interior
.ge and

stant from the b
The enori

'e value of

skilful

the d

!h wat

the Fa.
Qlad tc

3nrse
I has

'for Ramsey

. John Laird
,r place, to b.

than

wno would be
,ast vessel as the Fairy, to
no objection. Should
Fairy will be with-
the end of September,
winter months, and Mr.

whom her draught of water is
the proposition_ be accepted,` the

ILaird
April

m the station
engaged for

ae the new boat ready for sea by the Ist of

AT A TANNEUY.—On Friday morning, a fire broke
out in a building in Eccles-street, Vauxhall-road, occupied
by Messrs. Smyth, Brothers, tanners. The fire-brigade
were quickly on the spot, and six or seven reels of hose
were brought to bear upon the building ; but such was
the progress of the flames, that by two o'clock the roof had
fallen in, and the tannery was completely gutted. The
West of England engine rendered great assistance in sub-
duing the flames. The stock is insured in the Scottish
Union Fire Office, for £3,500, and the buildings and
machinery in the Royal.
ST. GEORGE'S-HALL.—The operations necessary to com-
pleting this edifice are still being pushed forward with
prompt despatch. In the course of last week, Mr. Cooke-
rell was engaged in a thorough inspection of the various
id among other matters has been directing
4o the construction and appearance of model
- the eastern platform, and to
ntal finials for granite gate-

operations,

aposition of orna
Fo

GENERAL INTELLIGENCE.

YACIITING.—There will be scarcely any yachting this
year at Cowes, in the Isle of Wight, owing to the great
demand for sailors.
Ng FUGITIVE SLAVES were recently arrested in Cin-
cinnati and surrendered to their owners. There was no
disturbance.

THE LANCE.—A letter from Bucharest, of, the 24th:
states that a number of Russian hussar regiments are im-
mediately to be armed with lances. A smith of that town
is making 6,000 lance-heads for the Russian general.
REPRESENTATION OF CAALBRIDGE.—Lord Maidstone
has issued an address to the electors of Cambridge, offer-
ing himself as a candidate for the representation of their
borough as soon as the writs are issued.
HEALTH OF THE BALTIC FLEET.—There have been
two cases of cholera in the Duke of Wellington. Two
died in the hospital-ship, one recovered on board the Duke,
and one is recovering in the hospital-ship.—Medical
Times and Gazette.

THE REINFORCEMENTE to our army in Turkey will
amount, in new regiments, drafts, and detachments, to
nearly 10,000 more troops. They are to be sent as soon
as possible to the seat of war. When they have all
reached, there will be more than 40,000 British soldiers
in Turkey.

A DAiIGEROUS ANIMAL.—A labourer named David
Goodall has been fearfully gored by a bull which was
unexpectedly loose in a farm-yard of Mr. Thorpe, at Whit-
ley, in Berkshire. Goodall met the animal's rush with a
dung-fork, but was knocked down, and two of his ribs
broken by the creature before it could be driven away.
He is expected, however, to recover.
FATAL FOLLY.—MISS Jane Bellingham, a passenger by
an excursion train to the South-western Railway, finding
it did not stop at Cosham, near to which some of her
friends resided, jumped out from the carriage while the
train was going at about twenty miles an hour. She
broke her ankle and received such severe injuries as have
caused her death.

A MISSIONARY co Roma.—The Western Christian
Advocate (U.S.) states that the brethren of the Union
Chapel, Cincinnati, have determined to support a mis-
sionary to the Eternal City. He is to go as an American
citizen and a Protestant missionary, claiming to exercise
the proper functions of his ministerial office. They have
selected their man, and await the action of the Missionary
Society and the Bishop.
DEPLORABLE ACCIDENT.—On Tuesday, two houses on
Saffron-hill, London, fell one after another, burying 5 men
who were pulling them down under the debris. The first
discovered, Cornelius Hart, had his skull fractured, and
there is little hope of his recovery. A quarter of an hour
after W. Burnett and Philip Long were dug out, and a
young man named English, and three-quarters of an hour
after the fall of the buildings, another man was found,
Edward Conway, injured least of all. The houses were
built, some of them, in 1660, and were being pulled down
for improvements by, the Corporation.
A VIPER.—The little daughter of a hawker, named
Maria Scamp, at Adisham, a village near Margate, was
last week carrying a small bundle of wood, which she had
picked up, and, seeing a viper on the ground, took it into
her hand, when the reptile bit her in the thumb and cheek.
Terrific swelling ensued, and the girl was conveyed to
the Kent and Canterbury Hospital, where every stimulant
that could be devised was applied ; and though she has
been in a state of stupor, there are hopes of her system
mastering the poison. One eye is closed through the
swelling, and her arm is in a greatly inflamed state.
TRIAL BY JURY.—A prisoner was recently tried at the
Cambridge sessions, for stealing a copper kettle, and
acquitted. He was then tried for stealing a cloth cap,
and again the verdict was "Not guilty" The court,
being of opinion that the verdict was in both cases against
the evidence, now dismissed the jury, and summoned a
new one to try him on the third charge, which was one of
stealing some tallow. The prisoner, however, by advice
of his counsel " peremptorily challenged " every new jury-
man produced, till the list ofjurymen was exhausted. In
the end he was sent back to prison till the next assizes.
REPEAL OF THE USURY LAWS.—Mr. Gladstone's bill to
repeal the usury laws has been printed. It repeals all the
acts against usury, down to and including the renowned
" Statute of Anne," and also the act of the 13th and
14th of Victoria (now unnecessary) for continuing the
exemption of bills of exchange from the usury laws, and
so much of the act of 1835 as protected usurious securities
in the hands of innocent parties. The bill has two other
clauses—one providing that it shall not affect existing
rights or liabilities ; the other, that where interest is now
payable under any contract whereby the legal or current
rate of interest is to be paid, or where interest is now pay-
able by any rule of law, the same rate shall be recoverable
as if this bill had not passed.
MYSTERIOUS DEATH.—Two women, mother and
daughter, were recently found in their apartment in
Castlehill, Scotland, the one sitting in a chair, the other
lying on the bed, corpses. No trace of violence was visible
on the bodies, and the idea of suffocation is out of the
question, as the apartment was well ventilated. Indica-
tions of poison were also wanting, and nothing in the
house gave colour to the supposition that they had com-
mitted suicide. That they had not died of want is also
satisfactorily proved, from the remains of bread, porter,
&c., found on searching the apartment. A post mortem
examination of the bodies took place, but it resulted in
nothing which could lead to any conjecture as to the
cause of death.

A NIGHT ScaNn.—A few nights ago a man and his
wife, residing in the hamlet of Brancas, near Sevres, were
awoke by a noise in their bedroom, which the husband
said must proceed froth the rats, but in order to satisfy
his wife he got out of bed and lighted a candle, when, to
his surprise, he saw the legs of a man, who was concealed
under his bed. He said nothing, but quietly took his
musket, and levelling it at the intruder, told his wife to
jump out of bed and call the guard. The man under the
bed begged for mercy, but the other told him that on the
slightest, movement he would fire. They remained in their
respective positions until the wife had brought the guard,
and the fellow, who was afterwards recognized as a liberated
convict, was then marched off to prison.
NECESSITY OF SHOOTING SCHOOLMA STERS.—The
(American) Richmond Examiner, in connexion with the
recent trial of Ward, of Kentucky, has the following
theory on the extinction of schoolmasters in general :
" The South has for years been overrun with hordes of
illiterate unprincipled graduates of Yankee free schools
(those hotbeds of self-conceit and ignorance), who have
by dint of unblushing impudence, established themselves
as schoolmasters in our midst. So odious are some of these
' itinerant ignoramuses' to the people of the South—so full
of abolitionism and concealed incendiarism are many of
this class—so full of guile, fraud, and deceit—that the
deliberate shooting one of them down, in the act of
poisoning the minds of our slaves of our children, we think,
if regarded as homicide at all, should always be deemed
perfectly justifiable; and we imagine that the propriety of
shooting an abolition schoolmaster, when caught tamper-
ing with our slaves, has never been questioned by any in-
telligent Southern man."

ANECDOTE OF SANTA ANNA.--Extract from a private
letter :—"Mexico,May3o.—l will tell you a story. A
certain great man in this country went to wage war against
another man who had opposed him, and
got most unmerci-
fully beaten. But so happy were the people that the
great man's courage and skill had enabled him to save his
own life and liberty for them, though at the expense of all
else, that on his return they received him with shouts of
joy, bonfires, and triumphal arches. A man said, in a
paper of which he is the editor, that the triumphal arches
were not nearly high enough for the laurels which the
immortal chief had gained in the war. For this assertion
the poor man was duly condemned to pay a fine of $4OO,
or in default of them to six months' imprisonment. Now
it appears that the phrase objected to, far from being a
sneer, was perfectly sincere, at least the supposed
offender
succeeded so well in persuading the great man of this,
when an interview was granted him, that the fine was
remitted, the sentence annulled, and ha.dismissed-with an
embrace, after receiving an invitation to dinner, and an
admission to the great man's box at the Lucrezia Borgia.

Tis a fact."
A GENTLEMAN WHO WANTS A WIFE.—The Saunders'
News Letter contains a most pathetic appeal to the fair sex
by a gentleman—the very paragon of animals—a widower,
48 years of age, of domestic habits and sweet temper.
We give the rest in his own words —" He was never tipsy
in his life; not addicted to smoking or gambling; his
propensity, the society of genteel accomplished ladies,
music, singing, and dancing ; his property about £7,000,
in different ways, and a large farm in possession, yielding
profit about £3OO a year on an average ;is a liberal Pro-
testant—never a party man of any kind. He takes advan-
tage of the public press to mention that he wishes for a
suitable companion; can give reference to high dignitaries
of the Church of every creed, and also noblemen. In jus-
tice to himself he may mention that he is considered a per-
-feet gentleman either in or out of society, with rather an
agreeable appearance, and in prime good health. He
keeps at present his carriage, and has done so for the last
20 years, together with phaeton, gig, and car. He flatters
himself that any lady who allows the honour of an inter-
view will be highly pleased."
RUSSIAN POLITENESS.—About the close of last July a
very loquacious and corpulent German lady, resident in
St. Petersburg, having quarrelled with her servants (Rus-
sians), the latter gave intimation to the Prefecture of
Police that the former had spoken of the Russian Govern-
ment in terms of reproach and disrespect. The lady re-
ceived a summons to appear before the prefect, to whom
she repaired accordingly, vowing revenge on the whole tribe
of servants. On her arrival at the office the prefect most
politely received her, and ushering her into a small box-
looking apartment, commenced reading over sundry
charges against her, which he had scarcely finished when
dow n sunk the corpulent lady through a trap in the
treacherous floor, above which nothing was to be seen of
her portly figure but her head, arms, and crumpled habila- •
ments, and, shocking to relate, 30 blows from an unseen
hand were administered,where,however,they were unlikely
to cause permanent injury, except to the feelings of the
sufferer. On the completion of the sentence the stout
lady's person reappeared again above ground, almost
as suddenly as it had disappeared, and the prefect in
the most polite manner, bowed her out of the office.
TILE CANADIAN STEAMER CIIARITY.—The delay in the
last arrival of the steamer Charity of Quebec (we quote
the Quebec Chronicle) was owing principally to her de-
tention in the ice, which caused her to run short of fuel,
and also by her inability to procure coal at any port on
the Lower St. Lawrence. The following resolution,
adopted at a meeting of the first-class passengers, shows
their appreciation of the conduct of Captain Walter Paton
under very trying circumstances :—" That we, the first-
class passengers on hoard the steamship Charity, on her
voyage from Liverpool to Quebec, wish to convey to Cap-
tain Walter Paton, our due appreciation of the watchful
vigilance which has characterized his command through-
out the whole voyage, and more especially the great dis-
cretion he manifested amidst the perils of the ice and fogs
in the Straits of Belleisle and the Coast of Newfoundland,
and to state to him that whilst the many successive
anxious days and sleepless nights which found him at his
post on the bowsprit, at the masthead, and on the bridge
in the most inclement weather, secured our entire confi-
dence in him as our captain, at the same time we all
derived much pleasure and often real comfort from his
kind manner and cheerful spirits, whenever his duties
permitted his presence amongst us. (Signed) Captain
Gill. R.A., J. A. Wilkins, J. A. Dampier, M. J. Gill, I.
Lewine, William McDonald, John C. Henderson, J. E.
Henderson, C. Ashworth, Edward Kersickn, J. L. Ash-
worth, M. Gill, E. Kerston, J. Drine, J. Ewing, J.
M'Donald, R. S. Dismore, and Andow Heyes,secratary,

LORD PILMERSTOE'S PRECEPT, in the matter pen-
manship, is said to be better than:ails example, for a more
miserable scrawl than his own is searcely to be found.
IMPORTANT TO RAILWAY TRAVELLERS.—The Court of
Queen's Bench has decided that railway companies are
responsible for any luggage given in charge to a porter at
a railway station.

Trts :NEW Pursuelv ANBAsssmon.—Count Bernstor
has left Berlin to assume his functions- as Prussian
Minister at the court of St. James's.
TIeE KING OF PORTUGAL.—It is• rumoured, and it is
said on credible authority, that the young, King.is not un-
likely to offer his hand to the Princess Charlotte of Bel-

✓ AN ARRANGEMENT is said to be• on. foot amongst the
friends of Temperance, offended by the sale of wine and
other•liquors at Sydenham, to purchase•the Surrey Zoolo-
gical Gardens and to erect a large buildinc, of glass. It
is proposed to raise £lOO,OOO, in one-pound shares, and
the gardens have been provisionally purchased f0r£25,000.
THE ACCESSION of Sweden to the alliance of the West-
ern powers will, it is said, shortly take• place under certain
conditions, by which its actual possessions are to be
guaranteed.

THE CHELTENHAM EXHIBITION has produced £1,700,
and the projectors expect to receive 22000 before it closes.
This little rival of the Crystal Palace boasts a " largest at-
tendance "of 4000 persons. The exhibition will close on
Wednesday next, the admission on the last three days being
reduced to sixpence.
THE ET:LIVER LYTTON UNIVERSITY GOLD MEDAL.—
Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton, Bart., has followed up his
brilliant address of last winter to the Edinburgh students
'by the intimation of a University prize. The Senatus
Academicus of the University have just offered, in Sir
Edward's name, a gold medal for the best essay " On the
influence exerted by the mind over the body in production
and removal of morbid and anomalous conditions of the
animal economy. The 'competition is open to all students
matriculated at the University of Edinburgh during ses-
sion 1853-54.—Edinburgh Courant.
COMPOSITION OF A MONSTER.—The Iguanadon at the
Crystal Palace consists of four iron columns 9 feet long
by 7 inches diameter, 600 bricks, 650 5-inch half-round
drain tiles, 900 plain tiles, 38 casks of cement, 90 casks
of broken stone, making a total of 640 bushels of artificial
stone, with one hundred feet of iron hoopiug, and 20 feet
of cube inch bar.

LOSS OF AN ENGLISH SHIP IN THE ATLA.NTIC.—
Captain Bradish of the Ashburton, which arrived here
last week from New York, reports that on the 23rd ult.,
at four p.m., in lat, 43. 21 N, long. 37 W, while standing
to the SE (wind NE) saw a sail to SSW, with signals of
distress at the mast head. He immediately bore down to
the distressed vessel, which proved to be the Susan, of
Newcastle, from Cadiz to Halifax. She was at the time
in a sinking condition, and the crew, who were worn out
at the pumps, were about to abandon her. Captain
Bradish immediately sent his first officer on board, who
succeeded in taking the captain (Venus) and 12 of the
crew off the wreck. At 9.30 p.m., all hands being
removed, he set fire to the ship, to remove her from
causing damage to ships sailing in that direction, and left
her at one a.m., on the 24th, burnt to the water's edge.
SERIOUS FRAUDS.—At the Central Crimnal Court,
London, on Wednesday, Samuel Peters, a bankrupt draper
of Southampton, Moses Hart, a broker, and James Simeon,
an Australian merchant, were indicted on a charge of
committing a series of frauds upon wholesale drapers. It
was alleged that Peters had obtained on credit a large
stock of drapery three mouths before he was declared
bankrupt, and had so disposed of them to Hart and
Simeon that his schedule showed that there had been a
positive loss of £5,000 through the articles having been
sold as "job lots," at a reduction of 75 per cent. on the
cost price, but that they had been shipped off to Australia
with large prices marked on them. As the trial proceded,
it was apparent that no charge of conspiracy could be sub-
stantiated against Hart and Simeon, as they appeared
merely to have bought in a cheap market to sell in a dear
market : but evidence of fraud being considered conclusive
against Peters, the jury returned a verdict of guilty, and
Baron Martin sentenced him to fifteen months' imprison-
ment with hard labour, if health permitted.

INCOME-TAX.--The income-tax for the year ending
April 5, 1853, produced £5,747,256,
.and was raised in
the following proportions :—Schedule A (landowners),
£2,701,554 ; schedule B (occupiers), £295,593 ; schedule C
(fundholders), £749,209 ; schedule D (trades and profes-
sions), £1,671,957 ; schedule E (public offices), £328,943.
The following table, an analysis of schedule D, shows the
amount received in the year on the various classes of in-
come from trades and professions

Income on Number of Amount of
which the Persons Tax charged
duty in upon
is charged. each class. each class.

Classes

~..
Under .€l5O a-year .. 2,478,416 33,138
72,287
X 1506: under.€2oo .. 6,346,590 40,473 183,108
260 ~ 300 •. 6,644,375 30,142 193,794
300 ~ 400 .. 4,676,365 14,679 136,393
400 ~ 500 • • 2,997,636 7,189 87,431
500 ~ 600 •• 2,701,499 5,260 78,793
600 ~ 700 .. 1,836,825 3,021 I 54,157
700 ~ 800 .. 1,453.637 2,004 42,397
800 ~ 900 .. 1,40i,655 1,709 40,852
900 ~ 1,0x1.. 755,971 815 22,019
1,000 „ 2,000.. 6,244,246 4,843 182,123
2,000 „ 3,000 .. 3,361,053 1,456 98,030

3;000 ~ 4,000 2,252,638 I

633 I 65;702

4,000 ~ 5,000 .. 1,646,549
5,000 ~ 10,000 4,505,742

380 ! 48,024
664' 131,417

10,000 , 50,000 .. 6,487,663 373 I 189,223
50,000 and urmards 2,803,780 33 81,776
146,882

SUBSTITUTE FOR POTATOES.—For the last four years
considerable attention has been paid at the Museum of
Natural History, in Paris, to the cultivation of a plant
coming from China, and known under the name of Dios-
corea Japonica. This plant, says the writer of a paper
sent to the Central Agricultural Society, may, by its size,
weight, and hardy character, become exceedingly valuable
in France, as it will serve as a substitute for the potato.
Its tubercles, like those of the Jerusalem artichoke, resist
in the open air the severest winter without sustaining any
injury. Several specimens of these roots, of very large
size, were presented in 1852 to the society, one of which,
of a cylindrical form, was three feet in length ; another
tubercle, presented in 1853, weighed three pounds, the
former having been in the earth twenty months, and the
latter sixteen. The flavour of this vegetable is more deli-
cate than that of the potato.—Galignani.
Ma. FEARGITS O'Cormon's SISTER.—After the disposal
of the night charges, at Marylebone, on Tuesday, a gentle-
man, whose name did not transpire, introduced to the
notice of the sitting magistrate,
Mr. Broughton, a middle-
aged, respectably attired woman, of forlorn appearance,
whom he stated to be the sister of Mr. Feargus O'Connor.
The lady, under feelings of much emotion, said, that
she was residing at Bayswater, and was at the present
period in extreme distress ; her name was Harriet Bernard
Brown O'Connor. Her brother, upon whom a commission
de lunatico inquirendo had been held, was confined in a
house in Chiswick, and in consequence of his being im-
properly detained there, as he was in his proper senses,
and as `quiet as a lamb," she was reduced to the lowest
state of poverty, inasmuch as she was thereby kept out of
property to which she was entitled. She was willing to
release her brother, and have him under her care, and, but
for the trickery and chicanery of certain lawyers in the
matter, her object would, no doubt, ere this, have been
attained, and she would have been in such a position as to
have rendered it unnecessary to come forward, as she had
unfortunately been compelled to do, with a tale of dis-
tress.—Mr. Broughton, to whom numerous letters—one
of them from the Rev. Baptist Noel—were handed by Miss
O'Connor, had some conversation with her in the clerk's
office, and the reporter understood that the worthy magis-
trate afforded to the lady some pecuniary aid, which he
felt satisfied she much needed. She then quitted the
court, thanking the magistrate for the kindness which he
had extended towards her.
COMPANY, MANNERS' AND AMUSEMENTS.—But as to
the rational parties that are in truth so irrational, when
all talk up to an assumed character, instead of showing
themselves what they really are, and so extending each
other's knowledge of the infinite and beautiful capacities
of human nature—whenever I see the grave, sedate faces,
with their good but anxious expression, I remember how
I was once, long ago, at a party like this ; every one had
brought out his or her wisdom, and aired it for the good
of the company ; one or two had, from a sense of duty,
and without any special living interest in the matter, im-
proved us by telling us of some new scientific discovery,
the details of which were all and each of them wrong, as I
learnt afterwards; if they had been right, we should not
have been any the wiser ;—and just at the pitch when any
more useful information might have brought on congestion
of the brain, a stranger to the town, a beautiful, audacious,
but most feminine romp, proposed a game, and such a
game, for us wise men of Gotham ! But she (now long
still and quiet after her bright life, so full of pretty
pranks) was a creature whom all who looked on loved ;
and with grave hesitating astonishment we knelt round a
circular table at her word of command. She made one of
the circle, and producing a feather, out of some sofa pillow,
she told us she should blow it up into the air, and which-
ever of us it floated near, must puff away to keep it from fall-
ing on the table. I suspect we all looked like Keeley in the
Camp at Chobham, and were surprised at our own obedience
to this ridiculous, senseless mandate, given with a graceful
imperiousness, as if it were too royal to be disputed. We
knelt on, puffing away with the utmost intentness, looking
like a set of . elderly " Fools !" No ! my dear sir. I
was going to say elderly cherubim. But making fools of
ourselves, was better than making owls, as we had been
doing. I will mention another party where a game of
some kind would have been a blessing. It was at a very
respectable tradesman's house. We went at half-past four,
and found a well-warmed handsome sitting-room, with
block upon block of unburnt coal behind the fire ; on the
table there was a tray with wine and cake, oranges and
almonds and raisins, of which we were urged to partake.
In half-an-hour came tea; none of your flimsy meals, with
wafer bread and butter, and three buscnits and a half.
This was a grave and serious proceeding ; tea, coffee,
bread of all kinds, cold fowl, tongue, ham, potted meats
I don't know what. Tea lasted about an hour, and then
cake and wine tray was restord to its former place. The
stock of subjects of common interest was getting low, and,
in spite of our good-will, long stretches of silence occurred,
producing a stillness which made our host nervously attack
the fire, and stir it up to a
yet greater glow of intense
heat ; and the hostess invariably rose at such times, and
urged us to " eat another maccaroon." The first I revelled
in, the second I enjoyed, the third I got through, the
fourth I sighed over, the fifth reminded me uncomfortably
of that part of Sterne's Sentimental Journey, where he
feeds a donkey with maccaroons,—and when, at the sight
of the sixth, I rose to come away, a burst of imploring in-
dignant surprise, greeted me You are surely never go-
ing before supper !" I stopped. I ate that supper. Hot
jugged hare, hot roast turkey, hot boiled ham, hot apple
tart, hot toasted cheese. No wonder lam old before my
time. Now these good people were really striving, and
taking pains, and laying out money, to make the evening
pass agreeably, but the only way they could think of to
amuse their guests, was, giving them plenty to eat, If
they had asked one of their children they could doubtless
have suggested half-a-dozen games, which we could all
have played at when our subjects of common interest
failed, and which would have carried us over the evening
quietly and simply, if not brilliantly. But in many a
small assemblage of people, where the persons collected are
incongruous, where talking cannot go on through so many
hours, without becoming flat or laboured, why have we
not oftener recourse to games of some kind,—.l-/ouse49/d
Wo

MERCIAL ADVERTISER.

NOTES, NOTICES, AND OPINIONS

BY JOHANNES RIISTICUS.

XXVI.—TnE CHURCII IN THE Docns.—The pitiful
display of impotent hostility to the Church made by Mr.
Bif.cliam and Mr. Robertson Gladstone, in the Council
Chamber, on Wednesday last, in reference to the grant
of fifty pounds to the Rev. G. Dover, just serves to show
Churchmen what they are to expect, if ever such rampant
Radicalism as that exhibited by those two gentlemen
should attain such a height as to possess the chief power'
in these realms. Then should we- again see it enacted
(as in the days of the regicide Cromwell) that it should
be deemed a felony for a pious daughter to read the
prayers of the Church at the bedside-of a dying parent—
again-behold nine-tenths (Mr. Gladstone's own proportion)
of her devoted clergy driven from their pulpits and their
homes to starve in exile—and again see heresy and rebel-
lion riding roughshod over Church and State. But matters
are not come to this pass yet. If Mr. Gladstone persists
in
the statement that " the Church, as contrasted with every
other sect, is numerically the Church of the minority,"
let him recollect that the Church of Liverpool (as repre-
sented.in the Council Chamber) is as twenty-six to fifteen
against all other sects put together ! There can be no
question that the real offence of the Dock Committee was,
not the voting of £5O for a purpose not specified in the
act of Parliament, because it was shown that they are
constantly doing the like, in a variety of ways, but the
voting such a sum to a Church purpose. Had it been
given to a Papist or a Socinian, we may rest assured that
neither Mr. Gladstone nor Mr. Bigham would have raised
the slightest scruple about its legality. The argument
that, if a sum were voted to the Church, every dissenting
sect was equally entitled to a grant, was doubtless ex-
ceedingly "liberal," but it was surely very absurd and
illogical. The Church of England has been recognised
by the laws of England for three hundred years as an
authorised teacher of pure Christianity ; no dissenting
sect has been so recognised ; and that foreign apostacy
which Mr. R. Gladstone and his liberal confreres so espe-
cially delight to honour—Romanism—has been especially
disclaimed and denounced by thestatutes of ten successive
generations. Admitting, then, for a moment, that the
grant may be illegal, the difference between what the
Dock Committee has done, and what Messrs. Gladstone,
Bigham, and Hodgson would do, is just this—the former
has made an illegal grant to a legal and constitutional
institution, the latter would make an illegal grant to an
illegal and unconstitutional institution.
XXVIL—TiE CONFESSIONAL.—The Cincinnati papers
give the particulars of a disgusting attempt on the part
of a Romish priest to violate a young girl of fourteen,
who had gone to him to confession. The most noteworthy
part of the case, however, and what makes it of impor-
tance: to the whole Protestant world, is the fact that
another priest, who was in the church were the atrocious
attempt was made, boldly swore that nothing of the
kind occurred—that no door was locked—no screams
heard ! The girl's statement was, however, so fully cor-
roborated by other witnesses, that the judge had no hesi-
tation in binding over the accused to take his trial at the
next term of the criminal court. What if this had occur-
red in Rome, in Spain, in Tuscany, in Florence, instead
of the United States ? Can any one doubt what would
have been the fate of Katherine Myers ?