The Liverpool Standard, and General Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1854-10-17 00:00:00

THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD, AND GENERAL COMMERCIAL ADVERTISER.

GENERAL INTELLIGENCE.

A HOWITZER.—One of. the finest ever cast, weighing
six tons and a quarter, is now in progress of being mounted
at the Royal Arsenal, on a solid bed, for service on board a
war steamer. It has a bore of ten inches, and an eleva-
tion which will give it a. very long range. The spherical
solid' shot fired from it will be upwards of 1001bs. in
weight.
A MUMBLE DWELLING.—On Wednesday, a bottle-
maker, named Bagot, died on Academy-hill, South Shields,
of cholera, and next day his wife died of the same disease.
They were attacked with the malady on Monday, and, on
the relieving officer visiting the room where they were
lying, he found it denuded of every article of furniture
except a chair and a miserable " shakedown" in a corner,
where the unhappy couple were. Bagot was a skilled
workman, and had not made less than £2 18s-a week
during the past twelve months. He drew that amount of
wages last week, but he and his wife were drunkards—the
woman the worse of the two—and wages, clothing, and
furniture had been sacrificed to this fearful passion.
MELANCHOLY SUICIDE.—An inquest was held on
Tuesday, before the coroner for East Surrey, on the body
of 'William Barley, aged 19, a clerk in the employment of
a colonial merchant. The father of the deceased said his
son came home as usual on Thursday, but shortly after-
wards left the house, and nothing further was heard of
him until his body was found on Saturday, in the river at
Lambeth. The father said his wife neglected her house
and made away with her son's clothes, and his (witness's)
furniture, to procure drink; in fact, she parted with
everything to indulge her propensity. He had endea-
voured to prevent her from drinking by becoming a total
abstainer, but without effect, and his son was a young
man of sober and steady habits. On Thursday night,
when deceased came home, his mother was intoxicated, at
which he was so deeply affected that he ran out of the
house, saying he could bear it no longer, and he was never
seen again alive. The jury returned a verdict of "Tem-
porary insanity."
TEACHING YOUNG LADIES TO SWIM.—On Tuesday, at
the Ramsgate Petty Sessions, Paulin Haggett Pearce was
charged with having bathed within 50 yards of a bathing
machine occupied by females, contrary to the bye-laws
having reference to such offences. On Sunday morning
week, the defendant was in the water, on the sands of
Ramsgate harbour, surrounded by several females, whom
he appeared to be teaching how to swim. The defendant
had on his lower garments, his arms and breast being
naked, and the females were attired in bathing dresses.
One lady was on her back, and she appeared to be receiving
lessons in the art of floating, for, as she came towards the
defendant, he gave her a posh by the feet. Several wit-
nesses stated that complaints had been made about such
exhibitions as those charged against the defendant. Pearce
said he had been a teacher of swimming for 24 years ; he
had saved the lives of many persons from drowning; and
he had been requested to teach the ladies to swim. He
had always conducted himself with propriety. A gentle.
man said that, as the father of one and grandfather of
another of the young ladies, he was convinced of the
propriety of Pearce's conduct; and, if it was no in-
fringement of the law, he would allow his children to go
into the water again. The bench were of opinion that the
case did not come under the bye-laws for the prevention
of indecencies; they were not called upon to express an
opinion of the propriety of what had been described, and •
dismissed the case.

TICE FIRE AT MENEL.—Thg following is an extract
from a private letter dated Memel, Oct. 6 :—" Last night
a fire broke out at Mr. Muttray's warehouse and timber.
yard, and it has positively destroyed the whole town, with
the exception of a few isolated streets. It has burnt all
night and is still burning (1.30 p.m.), and I fear will do
further mischief. The establishments and warehouses of
Meyer and Co., Tank, J. Wilson and Co., Muray, Haefl-
man, Patrick Mason, S. Schultz and Co., Fowler Plaw,
and indeed everything, excepting J. Mason's places, which
lie on the outskirts of the town, have been destroyed. The
whole stock of hemp and flax in the place, with a trifling
exception, is burnt ; but, curiously enough, though the
fire crossed the river, the shipping and lighters have
escaped. But the fire is not by any means over yet—as a
place of business for the present it is annihilated. The
Custom-house is burnt, the bank, and all the warehouses
in the town. I never saw such a miserable attempt made
to save anything before. Had any system or effort been
made at the beginning, the fire could have been put down ;
but the men stood gaping at it, and saw it come on until
the whole town has been devoured. It commenced on the
west edge of the town, and, a gale of wind blowing, it
came steadily across to the water, and then crossed it.
The whole mass of the town is burnt down, the three
churches included. The post-office, fortunately, is left,
but as it may be burnt at any time, I am anxious to get
my letter off. The poor people have nearly all lost their
houses ; thousands are houseless and lying out in the open
fields, and what will become of them I cannot say."

LIFE AT THE ANTIPODES.—Whether we manage public
affairs better than our forefathers is a question upon
which much may be said, and has been said on both
sides. But that we conduct them more rapidly, be it for
good or evil, it would require some hardihood to deny.
Striking as are the proofs of this before our eyes on every
side, the annals of our colonisation bear still more forcible
testimony of its truth. We are writing with some num-
bers of the Lyttelton Times before us—a journal now far
advanced in its fourth volume, printed and published, as
our readers probably are aware, in the principal town of
the Canterbury Settlement in New Zealand. If we turn
to the last volume of a popular Cyclopmdia published, with
the latest discoveries, little more than twelve years ago,
we can find, with respect to the greater part of this
province, as the colonists now call it, no more than that
the country has not been visited. Of the district now
containing the town of Lyttelton, we only read that a few
natives are to be found in that neighbourhood. If we look
at the best official map then published, we cannot meet
with one of the names made familiar to us by letters from
subsequent settlers ; vague indications of " high land,"
or "a bold shore," with an occasional whaler's station, or
an unpronounceable native name, represent the whole
amount of geographical knowledge then attainable by an
English student. We picture to ourselves, as we close
our books of reference, a mysterious land still clothed
with its aboriginal fern or forest, where our childish
romances of adventure might be realised, and the
scenes of a "family Robinson Crusoe " be acted to the life.
Sad disappointment to our day-dreams, when we look
at the columns of our Antipodman contemporary ! The
mere fact that a newspaper is published every week on the
spot where seals may have been basking six or seven
years ago, is suggestive of the change that has taken place.
But the study of its advertising department brings before
us details which we scarcely know how to harmonise with
our geographical studies. We make no remark on the
announcements of plumbers, glaziers, and chimney-
sweepers ; their services are perhaps implied in the ex-
istence of houses and firesides. Nor, ought we to wonder
at the tempting proposals of milliners and trouser-makers,
although our ignorant prepossessions would have been in
favour of an advertisement from artists whose decorative
skill had displayed itself in the tattooing department.
But the refinement of Lyttelton has reached a loftier
height; its ladies have their crochet-cotton and their
knitting-pins ; its gentlemen may select their perfumery
from an extensive stock. Rival confectioners print their
emulating descriptions of patties and ornamented Savoy
cakes, or bid against one another for the honour of sup-
plying bride-cakes for fashionable weddings. Then there
are cricket-clubs and excursion trips, ladies' seminaries,
and choral societies—a variety of attractions which make
us feel at once that an'English country town must be
dull indeed compared with Lyttleton life. Nor is gaiety
the sole thought of its population; a gentleman offers a
reward for a volume of Prescott's Mexico, lost between
an hotel and his residence, as if elegant hotels, standard
books, and comfortable villas, were matters of course on
the other side of the world.— Guardian.

TUE Dint Exurnrrrox.—Until we received a large
handbill and a circular from Springfield yesterday, setting
forth in detail the particulars of the Baby Show which
is to " come off" in that town on the sth of October,
we supposed the report of the exhibition of "yearling"
and " two years' old" babies was a pleasantry, got up by
some witty old bachelor or good-natured old maid—on the
principle that it is happiness to enjoy in fancy that
which they never can in reality ; but we have been mis-
taken. The baby exhibition is a fixed fact, and is in the
actual programme of the fair, and it is expected that quite
a large number of entries will be made. We learn that
three complete silver tea sets, each consisting of a coffee
urn, two teapots, a sugarbowl, a cup and slopbowl, are to
be distributed as prizes. The babies are to be native-
born and of true Caucasian blood, and a gentleman is in
the East purchasing the tea-pots and things. The first
grand sweepstakes premium will be given to the finest
baby not exceeding two years of age ; the second to the
finest over one and not over two years old ; the third to
the finest baby not over one year old. We have received
from the managers the list. of the awarding committee,
which is as follows :-- General 0. W. Butler, Ky. ;
Honourable 0. S. Fowler, N. Y.; Brutus J. Clay, Ky. :
Horace Mann, 0. ; Gov. Wood, 0. ; Hon. Jesse Phillips, 0.;
Dr. Joshua Martin, O. ; J. D. Phillips, 0. ; Rev. I. N.
Walters, 0. ; Dr. T. 0. Edwards, 0. ; Mrs. Lucretia Mott,
Phil. ; Mrs. Jane Swisshelm, Pitsburgh ; Fanny Fern,
N.Y.;• Mrs. J. J. Crittenden, Ky. ; A. de Graff, Dayton ;
Mrs. A. Hiveling, Xenia. • Mrs. Major Hunt, 0.; Mrs.
H. Griswold, 0. ; Mrs. C. Robbins, O.; Mrs. W. Vance, 0.
We also learn that an eminent American lady has been
invited, and is expected to read an essay upon the mental
and physical training of children. Such are the sub-
stantial facts iu regard to the baby show, and, having been
widely diffused, we have no doubt that many an anxious
mother has put her precious little darling in training for
the first prize. We are at a loss to know the exact points
which will govern the committee in making the awards—
whether it will be the colour of their eyes, ringlets, or
straight hair, the phrenological formation of the head, or
the physical development of the body, the number and
size of the teeth, the colour of the complexion, the tone of
the voice, or the genera appearance of the cherubs. We
do not believe all or even a majority of the committee will
agree readily upon an award. There is such a variety of
opinion in regard to baby beauty; aud, then, it is a well-
known fact that handsome babies generally make homely
men and women. Now, our friend, the editor of the
Inquirer, who is acknowledged to be one of the hand-
somest men in Cincinnati, was we have been told, quite
an ordinary looking baby; while, on the other hand,
the editor of the Times was quite a prodigy of infan-
tile loveliness ; and we have no doubt that the editor
of the Louisville Journal, who has often spoken of the
personal ugliness of some of the Louisville editors, will,
if he should pursue his inquiries back to the time when
his contemporaries were "mewling and puking in their
nurses' arms," find that they were considered little cupids,
barring the bow and arrows and the wings. We cannot,
however, see what practical good will result from this
baby exhibition in the future. Is it presumed the show
will be a means of improving the breed, as they do Short-
horns, Berkshires, and Morgans ? If so, how is the thing
to be done ? Are all the babies to be fatted and slicked
up for country fairs in the autumn until their skins shine
like varnish, and their legs are so plump that you cannot
see the knee joints ? Are they all to have double chins ?
But we shall pursue these inquiries no further. The show
undoubtedly will attract great attention, thousands will
attend to witness so much combined beauty and innocence.
We hope no one will be disappointed, and that the pre-
, mium babies will grow up to be worthy men and women,
:
and that the teapot, sugarbowl, and slopbasin, will ever
remind them of their babyhood, without causing them to
forget theold adage, in mature life, that " handsome is as
handsome does: Cincinnati Gazette.