The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — 1844-01-09 (Liverpool, Merseyside, England)

SHOCKING M URDER.—On Sabbath last, tho dead body of an old man, named John Geddes, a labourer, residing in a cottage by himself, on the farm of Longford, ate- tit three miles from the village of West Calder, was found in a shockingly mangled state on the floor of his own dwelling. He had been missing for several days, but as he was in the frequ nt habit of working at a distance from home, no alarm was excited among the neighbours till Saturday night. On Sabbath, therefore, it was resolved to break open the house to see whether he might not be lying ill, when the neighbours sere horrified to find his murdered body stretched on the floor in a state almost indescribable. On removing an old shirt which was thrown over the body, they found a deep fracture in the ,kull, the left eye knocked into the head, the bone of the eye-brow broken, the nose all but torn off, the jawbone and collar-bone and collar-bone and all his ribs but two broken ! A more horrible sight has seldom been seen. A pair of tongs covered with blood were found at the fireside, with which the wounds had evidently been inflicted. The deceased, though a labourer, had the reputation of some wealth, and probably the possession of that might have been the object of the murderer.— Glasgow paper. LONDON Docks.—On Tuesday the half-yearly general meeting of the proprietors of this company was held. Mr. J. D. Fowles read the report, and the statement of accounts for the half year ending the 30th of November last. The number of loaded ships which entered the docks from foreign parts, during that period, was 570, of 136,026 tons, and in the same time of 1842, 676, of 149.452 tons. There was an increase in the income, or earnings, of £14.513 lls. 4d., viz., to £197,168 15s. 7d., although a decrease had occurred in the tonnage, the corn-laden ships which entered having fallen off, in the six months to November 30th last, to 8,436 tons, or a decrease of 25,446 tons, as compared with the same period of 1841. The general business was better. The directors recommended the construction of new warehouses, in order to meet the increased wants expected to arise from the extension of the China trade, and recommended that a dividend of 2 per cent. should be declared for the halfyear ending the 31st of December last. After a discussion of some length, the report and dividend were agreed to, thanks were voted to the chairman and directors, and the meeting adjourned.  ARE THE PEOPLE THE SOURCE OF POWER?—A contemporary writer says, " a claim to dominion, wherever it is lodged, must be ultimately referred back to the explicit or implied consent of the people." This, of course, is but a fair inference from the favourite maxim that the people is the only source of legitimate power. But opposed as we are to oppression, under whatever pretence it may exist, we are unable to subscribe to the truth of this maxim. Power, we believe, has a much higher source than what is here ascribed to it. We would say, in the language of the Divine founder of Christianity, " Shew us a penny." " Whose image is this, and what is that superscription ? "—" Victoria Regina Dei Gratia." Does Dei Gralia signify, by permission of the people.? No: it refers to a higher power ; that power " by whom kings reign and princes decree justice.' We are no advocates for the divine right of kings to govern wrong. That is a totally different affair. The principles of Magna Charta provide against any such abuse of the royal prerogative ; but at the same time we would caution the advocates of popular rights against the use of arguments which can have no force whatever with those who are attached to the ancient and well-tried principles of the British constitution. Newcastle Adv,rtiser, (Whig paper.)