The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-03-04 00:00:00

UNITED STATES

The New York Packet Ship, United States, Captain Brit-
ton, which sailed on the afternoon of the 14th ult. arrived at
this port on Wednesday having made one of the quickest
passages on record. She made the run from port to port in
fifteen days. The- money market has undergone but little
alteration. There had been a fair demand for bills on Lon-
don. The rate of Exchange on this country was Bto 81,
and on France from 5, 281, to 5, 271. Bills on London 107
to 108. Treasury notes were selling at per cent. discount.
There had been some heavy and destructive freshets at the
south. Flour was selling at 6 dlrs. 371 cts., the market
steady. Pot ashes at 6 dirs. 50 cts., but all remaining were
held by one house at 7 ; pearls were offered at 5 dlrs. 75 cts.,
but no sales. Cotton was firm and active, particularly for
the good qualities: Upland and Florida 6-1 to 0, Mobile 7 to
10, New Orleans 7to 10, and Texas (short price) 8. Freights
dull—Cotton to Liverpool 5-16 d. to 3-Bd. sterling per lb.
The schooner Mokina, from Cape de Verds, reported that
the stern boat and some water casks belonging to the Presi-
dent had been picked up by a vessel and carried into St.
Nicholas. The Mokina also reported the loss, on the Hart-
well Reef, of a British brig, with a valuable cargo for the
River Plate : all hands saved and half the cargo. The fight
alluded to in the last advices, between the Monte Videau
and Buenos Ayrean fleets, had resulted in the capture of one
of the Monte Videan brigs. The advices are up to the 22nd
December from Monte Video, up to which period the re-
mainder of the squadron had not been heard of. Cathagena
papers to December 22, had been received at New York.
The siege and blockade of Cathagena had been raised, and
the rebellion appears in a good measure suppressed. The
provinces of Veragua and Panama were re-united to the
republic of Grenada.

We were unable to find room in our last for the following
additional particulars of intelligence brought by the George
Washington. At the trial of Mr. Jaudon, the following
account of the great cotton speculation of Messrs. Biddle and
Jaudon was elicited :
" Ashbel Green Jaudon, a brother of the accused, testifies
before the Judge, that N. Biddle and Samuel Jaudon entered
into an agreement or partnership in the transaction referred
to, and furnished the witness, A. G. Jaudon, with funds of
the bank to carry on the business as their agent. Under
this arrangement the witness obtained, at different times,
about 2,0041,000 dols. from the bank, with which he purchased
cotton and tobacco at New Orleans. He was allowed 2 per
cent. commission on these purchases, and stated that this
charge was added to the original cost of the merchandise.
The goods were then shipped by him to the most eligible
European markets, and sold. Besides the commission al-
lowed him for purchasing the cotton and tobacco, which
~mounted to about 40,000 dols., the witness said he received
a bonification commission' on the return or proceeds of
sales, which amounted to upwards of 20,000 dols. more—
making his compensation as agent rising 60,000 dols. The
money was obtained from the bank by credits passed to the
witness's account, on tickets or orders signed by Mr. Cow.
perthwaite, cashier. The profits arising to the principals in
this transaction amounted to about 50,000 dols.' which was
equally divided between them. The witness said he paid the
25,000 dols. due to Mr. Biddle himself ; the remainder was
passed to his credit, he being then in London. It also ap-
peared in evidence before the Judge, that this business was
conducted through the Committee on Foreign Exchanges,
and apparently with their knowledge and consent; but two
of the gentlemen who were members of that committee at the
time, testified that they were wholly ignorant of the nature
of the transaction, and would not have permitted its progress
had they known it."
The accounts of the state of credit of the United States
government contained in the New York papers are of the
most formidable description. lu the first place there was the
deficit of 600,000 dols. on the Ist of January, and it appears
that since that period all claims upon the government have
been dishonoured. The army and navy are stated to be with-
out pay, and the outstanding treasury notes being at a dis-
count, are almost the only means of payment into the public
treasury, the payments by these being nearly 9-10ths of the
total receipts. Such a state of things, of course, causes a
general alarm ; besides which an anxiety was felt aseto the
effect to be produced by the bankrupt law, which was to come
into operation on the Ist inst. Even the soundest banks are
said to have participated in the uneasiness, and to be, there-
fore, exceedingly cautious in all their movements. Nume-
rous obligations, it is expected, will be swept away, and as
they only served to embarrass the parties on whom they lay,
this effect of the law is looked upon as rather beneficial than
otherwise, though at the same time it is expected that little
or nothing will be realised by creditors. That it does not
apply to corporations seems to be a subject of general regret,
as this is considered to be the only way by which the rotten
banks could be swept off. At New York there was a report
that on the 28th ult. the assets lately assigned by the
" United States Bank" to trustees, and placed under the
charge of Mr. Frazer, were seized at New Orleans by the
marshal of the -United States for damages obtained under the
judgment on the French bill. In Ohio there seems to be
' some real progress towards resumption, as the state legisla-
' ture has passed a law that specie payments shall commence
on the 4th of March.

EXPLOSION OF A FIREWORKS MANUFACTORY,

One of the most appalling and fatally-calamitous explo-
sions that has occurred in or near the metropolis, took place
on Monday. at Mr. D'Ernst's fireworks manufactory, Lam-
beth-butts,
by which the premises have been destroyed, and
four lives have been sacrificed.
The following is an accurate statement of the facts col-
lected on the spot, up to a late hour in the evening ,—At
twenty minutes to twelve o'clock, the inhabitants of Lam-
beth, Kennington, Vauxhall, and the surrounding neighbour-
hood, were alarmed by a loud report such as is usually pro-
duced by the ignition of gunpowder in large quantities, or
perhaps resembling more strictly the explosion of gas. This
was rapidly followed by reports of less violence of sound, but
sufficiently loud to create serious apprehension even to per-
sons residing some hundred yards distant. The first im-
pression was that the Vauxhall Gas-works had exploded, and
that the successive discharges were created by the bursting
of the retorts. In a very few minutes, however, the nature
of the calamity and its situation were made manifest by a
dense body of smoke which ascended above the hcuses on the
north side of Lambeth-walk, behind which the factory had
been erected some few years back by Mr. D'Ernst, when he
was engaged as pyrotechnist at Vauxhall-gardens. It was a
detached building, situate in a piece of waste ground, but for
which circumstance it is impossible to speculate on the havoc
that must have ensued.
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An abundant- supply of water was speedily obtained from
the main pipes, and seven or eight large engines were brought
to bear on the south-west angle of the building, which was
easiest of access, there being at the other extremity enclosed
ground, attached to some small cottages, the inmates of
which fled out in the most pitiable consternation, conceiving
that the whole place must be blown up. In less than half
an hour the factory itself was reduced to complete ruin, and
the dwelling-house in front, a slight building, two stories
high, shared the same fate soon after. The discharge of fire-
works having created sufficient apertures, the firemen directed
all their attention to the cellarage, with the view of prevent-
ing the expected explosion of gunpowder, it having been
ascertained, beyond all doubt, that there were on the premi-
ses at least six barrels of that terrible combustible. By great
exertion they were enabled to throw in some thousan-d tons
of water directly over the cellars, so that the ground was
covered to the depth of two inches.

The fire was got under in less than an hour, and about four
o'clock, after considerable exertion on the part of the police
and firemen on duty, the bodies of all the unfortunate persons
who lost their lives by this melancholy catastrophe were ex-
tricated from the ruins ; their names and ages (as nearly as
could be ascertained in the confusion which prevailed) were
as follows :—Mr. D' Ernst, aged 45 years, the owner of the
manufactory; Mrs. Hampshire, his sister-in-law, about the
age ; John Whiting, aged 32, who worked on the pre.
misessae ; and an errand-boy, aged about 18.

CLACKMANNAN AND KINROSSSITIRES.—GeneraI Mori-
son wag elected member of parliament for three united coun-
ties on Friday last, in the place of Colonel Abercromby,
resigned.