Swansea and Glamorgan Herald, and South Wales Free Press. — 1849-05-16 (Swansea, West Glamorgan, Wales)

OOO. ' It will be very hard if dear excellent Mateo picks up nothing. We hope to hear of his arrival the beginning of April. Steamers are already on their way to ply between San Francisco and Panama, meeting our steamers at the latter place; the first which reached Valparaiso on the 20th Dec., on her way out, would not take a single passenger, being engaged to take up at Panama her full complement, who took that shorter route out from New York. This is a year of great changes on this Coast; from every considerable part numbers are flocking to this El Dorado; frame houses are being carried, as there are no conveniences, and they have mostly to bivouac. Carpenters will not work at their vocation in and about San Francisco for E 5 and £6 per week; they get so much more by washing. Several counting-houses in Valparaiso have not one clerk left ; all gone to California. This whaler brought the news that flour was retailed at the washings at a rate which would give £2O the sack of 200 lbs.—costing hereabouts, 165.; e 5 lbs. here equal to lib. there in price; but everything is being shipped there in such abundance now, that necessaries will thud their natural level. The first goers have reaped the golden harvest in trade."  ATTEMPTED MURDER OF A WOMAN BY HER tiVSBAND.-At Banbury, on Monday week, a desperate attempt was made by a man, named James Layton, to murder his wife by shooting her, and afterwards cutting her throat. The parties are both natives of Banbury, though for some time past resident at Leamington, where the husband was a builder, and had accumulated some property, being the owner of nine or ten houses in that place. They have a family of six or seven children ; and a son of the wife, born previous to her marriage with Layton, resided with them. There apprars to have been some dispute recently about this property, and Layton accused his wife, her son, and one of her brothers, at Neithrop, Banbury, with conspiring to defraud him of it. On Monday he net off with his wife to walk to Banbury. They were seen togethir upon the road six or seven miles from Banbury. One min who saw them thought they were " sweethearting," as Layton had his arm over his wife's shoulder. IN lien they reached the spot above referred to, Layton put a pistol close to his wife's forehead, the poor woman says he put it quite under her bonnet, and fired it. An oblong piece of lead with which it was loaded struck her on the forehead, and the powder burnt her face; he then took out a large table knife, with which he cut her throat, and also wounded her hands. She screamed, and several persons being within bearing they ran to her assistance, and several of them went in pursuit of Layton, who ran into the fields, lie was captured, and on tile following day one of the county magistrates took the deposition of the injured woman. The man was examined b.loie the magistrates and remanded.  A very shocking accident occurred in the Bristol river on Wednesday to a gentleman named Hunter. a partner in the firm of Hunter and Co., sail-makers. He hail accompanied a friend on boaqi of the " Pomona " as far as the Holmes, and was returning by the steam-tug. He was sitting on the hatchway of the engine-house, smoking a cigar, when he accidentally ov.rh-lanced himself, and Inc fell among tfte machinery and was crushed to pieces. The deceased, who was about 30 years of age, was highly respected, and has left a widow, but no family.  •  Messrs. R. and L. PERRY and Co. beg to inform their Patients, and parties desirous of consulting them, that in consequence of repeated solicitations, they find it impracticable to adhere to the Public Notice which they recently osave of not visiting the Provinces, hut that Patients may giot on future occasions be deceived by parties illegally using their names, they beg to state that no announcement gf any intended visits will be nenuine unless signed by a fac simile of their band writing, to mitate which is felony.