Current:

Leader (1850-1860), 24th September 1853, Edition Town of 2, Page 921, Untitled Article

Page 921
Page 9
9 of 24

On this page

  • Text (7)
  • Transcript

    • Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

      Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.

      Untitled Article

      point of departure . At an expenditure of upwards of a < marter of a million , the company have built and are equipping five screw steam ships , destined to run monthly from Australia vid New Zealand to Panama , and , connecting with the steam ships of the Royal West India Mail Steam Packet Company on this side , 'to main tain . & rapid and regular monthly steam service between Southampton and Australia . The steamers prepared specially for this enterprise are the Kangaroo , J $ mu , Black Swan , Dinorius , and Menura—each of about 1600 tons burden , supplied with auxiliary screw machinery of 300 horse power , and fitted with propellers

      September 24 , 1853 . ] THE LEADER . 921

      patented by Griffiths . These vessels are represented as combining in every degree the requisites of speed , either by wind or steam propulsion ; and possess all the improvements both of form and equipment yet introduced in the steam marine . To these five ships will be added a sixth , the Pelican , of 1100 tons , and 220 horse power , destined to run between Sydney and Port Phillip , in correspondence with the main line ships , and to be additionally available for any casualty that may occur on the trans-Pacific service . The Kangaroo and Emu are both launched , and are receiving their machinery ; the remainder are in a forward state . But for the strikes in the north , and the feverish state of the labour

      market in the Clyde , they would have been ready some months since . It is now , however , anticipated that the Kangaroo will be despatched from Southampton in November direct for Sydney , there to commence the regular service to Panama . The Kangaroo will be followed by the other ships in quick succession . The proposed route is from Sydney to Wellington , New Zealand , through Cook's Straits , keeping along the 40 th parallel of south latitude , until about the 100 th parallel of west longitude , thus taking advantage of the strong west winds generally prevailing in the Pacific—thence

      a northing to Panama will be made . The outward or return course is intended to be from Panama in nearly a direct line to the north of New Zealand , calling at Auckland . It is not at present contemplated to touch at Tahiti , although a coal dep 6 t is to be established there , to be available if required . A large supply of coals has already been sent forward to Panama and New Zealand , and the company fully expecb to effect the voyages through from Southampton to Sydney in 55 days , the steamers in the Pacific being calculated to perform their work at an average speed of nine knots an hour .

      Geographically , the Panama route to Australia is the best . It is the most direct and the shortest , and to this may be added the well-acknowledged fact that the navigation of the Pacific Ocean is the most favourable for auxiliary screw-steamers of any ocean in the world . A straight line may be drawn pn Mercator ' s Chart from Southampton to Sydney , which would very nearly intersect the American continent at the Isthmus of Darien , and this will be sufficient to show that the Panama

      route is the shortest means for approaching our Austra lian possessions . It is , in fact , the natural ocean high way from Europe to the South Pacific .

      Untitled Article

      ENGLISH INNS . The magnificent charges which an English host can make are still the subject of letters in the leading journal . One gentleman , writing from the Athenaeum Club , suggests si reformed hotel : — " The scale which I would suggest is somewhat of this kind .- —Largo beds for two , Is . ( id . ; uinglo persons , Is ., ^ vi'li (} tl . extra if tho parties only remain ono night , on account of tho waiting ; plain tea , Is . ( Oil . or 9 d . for a famil y ); breakfast , Is . ( id ., or Is . each if for a party , without meat , for which say Qd . extra ; plain dinner , 2 s . ( W . and 2 s . if for moro than ono ; alo , ( id . per quart ( and lioro let mo suggest tho importance of providing wholesome tablo-beer an well for children and those who

      'iro not strong enough for alo ); wino , 5 a ^ per ( full bottlea , six to tho gallon—not innkeeper ' s ninos ) . I drink oxcollent port and sherry hero ( tho Athcntoum ) for 4 s . P < -r bottlo . Lot tho innkeeper furnish the same at 5 s ., which gives him , if ho buys it ; tho day before , 25 por cont . profit , without risk or Iohh of interest . Sitting-room , if r"quin «<] , 2 . s . por day ; moro for largo room ; / iro , <>(/ . ; (; i » ndlen in sitting-room , ( id . each , and not chargod for "tf'iiu till burnt out ; " and , above nil , let thoro bo a good "o tlf . -a . niauf / er as well an drawing-room , in which thoso who like it , ladies as woll as gentlemen , can sit and tako thejr hh'hIm without tho expense of private sitting-rooms ( l 'i < l all i ( lH abominations . " Of all tho instanccM of extortion rapidly done , tho '" 'lowing , at '' Leamington , is tho most audaciou . s : —

      H > o BllIn t , ota \ for throo of us wub upwards of 4 , 0 s . for '"' d , breakfast , and luncheon of bread and uhceBe , with two "" iitll jugH of beer . Tho bods wore J 5 . v . ; apartment , ( ire , "' Ml lights , r > s . ; luncheon , 4 « . Oil . ; beer , 2 tt . ; and uttond""• 'o , Us . Wo arrived late in the evening of Saturday , ¦ 'nrm . iry 22 nd last , and left at . ' { p . m . on Sunday . It was ll . or a vigorous romonstmueo on our part that tho waiter wlorrod the bill to some unseen manager or proprietor , wiu > conftMHod tho grows imposition attempted to be prac-¦ lH » d on us by deducting 10 s . from the amount , accompanied "y the remark of tho waiter , that tho Clarendon " jiota " IU lft odifiod would do no oucrftiiury .

      Untitled Article

      THE WORKING CLASSES . The " strikes" are increasing in importance . At Wigan , 5000 colliers refuse to work unless at an advance of twopence in the shilling ; and nearly all the coal-pits in the district lie idle . The cardroom hands at Wigan are also on strike , for an advance of 2 s . and Is . per week , according to classes . At Preston , the weavers , aided with money from tho men at work , still demand 10 por cent . { but the masters threaten , in revenge , to " lock up" the mills . At Manchester there aro two strikes—that of the weavers , whose funds are getting low , and of the fustian dyers , who now , at tho end of eleven weeks idle , seem firm , and are very bitter in spirit . They have committed some assaults . The Birmingham nailers ask an advance of 10 per cent . Tho Wolverhampton carpenters demand 6 d . per day addition to their present wages . The London carpenters demand 6 d . a day advance ; and other workmen in London have joined the general movomont towards a rise . The bricklayers aro " striking" at the masters , ono by one , and thus compelling concessions . Tho seamstresses and slopworkers have adopted tho novel course of Inking to tho hills of Kent and Suhhox , ami there getting better pay lor picking hops than in tow n for making shirts . Tho bakers and baskctnmker . s aro also " on tho move . "

      Untitled Article

      THE STRAND ACCIDENT . Moke facts about the Strand Iiouho winch fell and lulled four persons hnvo como out on inquiry . On the cliiy before the accident Mr . Stundford , an architect , ob-Horvcd tho Iiouho , and considered tho excavation dangerous " There , wore no shores about tho lower part ; of tho wall . " Ho " would novor " lmvo exeavnted in that ; form ; would have secured tlio walls before ho excavated . Ho should have curried a pier to tho bottom or footing

      of tho wall without removing tho earth , uml then he should continue to remove small porUonn tvt n time , nnd curry the foundations from ( rout to back in that iriannor . " This gentleman told these things to tho surveyor ' n dork on tho day before the accident ,. ThouutH Tatum , a dealer in building materials , said— " If tho house had been properly shored from tho inside , and tho three raking nhoro . 4 were carried higher up , tho building would bo standing now . " Georgo Covo , a dork living

      in the Strand , gave similar evidence . The district surveyor was examined . The act requires that he should have got notice of the operations , but such notice was not given of the works in the Strand . Had he known of the works having been commenced he would have visited them without having received notice ; but , said the surveyor , "I think the district purveyor has not any jurisdiction as to the taking down of houses or digging out of the ground . "

      Untitled Article

      CURIOSITIES OP JUSTICE . " Four years of penal servitude , " a sample of tho new style of punishment , has been allotted to Samuel Elian , forger of a Bank Post Bill endorsement . The drunken man who got into the break-van of the carriages of the Blaekwall Railway , and put on the break to the danger of the train , has been sentenced to " a month in Newgate . " The Company ' s servants who allowed a stranger to act thus have been punished—not at all .

      Untitled Article

      A DUBLIN TRAGEDY . A STRANGER in Dublin has acted most mysteriously . Fanny Steuart , proprietress of , a house in French-street , has made a statement . The stranger came to her bouse late on the night of the 30 th of August , the day after the arrival of the Queen ; he was shabbily dressed , and seemed to have been some time under' the rain which fell during the night ; he asked for something to eat , and went down to the kitchen , where lie saw' a gentleman sitting at the fire , to whom , lie said— "I suppose you are on the spree to-night ; if you want money I can give you some , as I have a hundred sovereigns . " Miss Steuart did not think this statement was correct , as she only saw eight or nine sovereigns in his purse when he drew it out . He attached himself to Emma Fawcett , and remained until five o ' clock in the morning , when he went out , but returned in about five or ten minutes , and said he would not go , as be thought

      he was late for the train . He lived with the same girl ever since , seldom going out at first , and latterly not at all , and whenever he did it was in a covered car . On the 31 st of August he went to the King ' s-bridge terminus for some portmanteaus he had left there , and in two or three days after he brought in more luggage , including a large trunk , which he never opened in the house , and which is still corded , and so great is its weight that two men can scarcely carry it ; he appeared to have a considerable sum of money —all in gold—which he spent in the most lavish manner , purchasing for the femak-s in the bouse , and particularly for Emma Fawcett , various and costly articles of dress . He was frequently questioned as to where he came from , and who he was , but his replies were often evasive , always unsatisfactory and contradictory . The night of his arrival he said he was a veterinary surgeon attached to tho Queen ' s establishment , and subsequently he stated that he bad been some time in Australia . The name

      he gave was Webster , which , if not bis real name , was one ho appears to have travelled under , for on the railway labels pasted on his luggage is " Daniel H . Webster , passenger to Dublin . " Miss Steuart stated , in reply to the inspector , that she never saw the deceased drunk , nor did she ever know him to have any quarrel with Emma Fawcett ; that , on tho contrary , he seemed very much attached to her . He bought her several dresses , and , amongst other articles , an accordion , upon , which ho was teaching her to play . Emma Fawcett , the girl referred to , now takes up tho story . On Sunday evening she left the stranger sitting in the bedroom to go down to the drawing-room , and bad been , absent but a short time when she heard him calling

      her on tho stairs . Sbo went out , and saw him on tho landing besido tho lobby-window , looking towards tho drawing-room door . She was going up to him , and bad ascended some three or four stops , when ho stepped forward with a pistol in bis right hand , and instantly fired at her , tho charge , which appears to havo boon of small shot , striking her in a slanting direction downwards . She immediately turned and rushed buck into the drawing-vooin , exclaiming , " Ob , I am shot , " and then became unconscious . Tho peoplo in tho houso screamed ; a second shot was heard , and tho constable wont up stairs , and , on entering tho room , was horrified at seeing tho body of n man stretched at full length on tho floor , and bleeding slightly from a bullet wound in the left breast . Life was extinct .

      Tho girl Fawcett was examined , and it was found that she was not wounded dangerously . She now lies at the hospital . The mystery which shrouded the stranger still remains . Tho police found on tho dressing-tablo several pistols , and bcHido them a bag of bullets , together with a quantity of powder . Tho pistols are quite new , and of a very superior description ; the maker ' s name is " Richardson , Lord-street , Liverpool . " A considerable quantity of wearing apparel , of the best style and quality , was lyinfl nbout . The stranger was of the middle size ; , . slightly made , and of would

      a sallow complexion ; his face was much worn , and indicate a lift ) of hardship or dissipation ; he might , lmvo been about thirty-five years of age , but looked sonie _ \ vhat older , from having lost some of his teeth , and wearing a wig ; his hair , which was dark brown , was slightly grown , having boon recently shaved , which lie accounted for <<> Faweott by stating that it had been done in hospital , where ho was treated for an attack of glanders , winch ho took , from contact with a diseased horse . A miniature of linnnelf , enclosed in a handsome morocco leather case , which he presented to the girl Faweotl , is a faithful hkonoHH .

      Untitled Article

      C It I M I N A li K K C O It D . Tino maid servant at Mr . (/' ohon ' s , watchmaker in Sheffield , inadvertently left the window-shutter of a parlour on tho ground-floor ( an outside shutter ) unfastened . Homo burglars removed two panes of glaw , and cut away tho vertical bar of wood that hud divided them . The aperture thus formed w / ih only )> 4 inches from top to bottom , and 13 inches wide , but it was largo onough to

      Untitled Article

      THE HIGHLAND COTTIERS . The following story of a Highland eviction is very simple but very touching : Many poor crofters or cottier tenants lived on the estate of Knoydart , in Glengarry , owned by Mrs . Macdonnell . For a long while the crofters for the most part have been unable to pay their rents , and many of them were in heavy arrears . " To clear the-way for ^ more profitable class of tenantry the proprietress resolved to clear the estate ; but in order that the crofters might be placed in circumstances which , in her judgment , would be for their benefit , she offered them a choice of emigration to America or Australia , undertaking to engage a vessel at her own expense , to provide them with suitable clothing , to let them sell

      their little stock , and forgive them all arrears of rent . The proposal appeared to be accepted by the crofters generally , and they preferred Canada to Australia , a colony of Glengarry men having been established there for half a century . A vessel was then engaged and sent to the Isle of Ornsey in Skye , where the emigrants Were to be shipped , but when the hour of trial came about sixty persons who had agreed to the terms of removal refused to leave their crofts , and the vessel had to sail without them , taking out two hundred and eighty emigrants in all . In these circumstances summons of removal were served on the refractory crofters and cottars , but they were unheeded . Notices to quit in forty-eight hours were then given , and these also failing : in effect , the legal officers were instructed to eiect

      the people . They met with no forcible resistance . First , the little furniture the crofters had was taken out . The officers , with their assistants , nest proceeded to unroof the cottages , and then to pull down the mud walls . The scene now was truly a painful one . So long as there was a hope of being left with a covering over their heads the cottars were comparatively quiet , but now that they were homeless many of them became frantic with grief , and were driven to seek shelter in some of the neighbouring quarries , where some are now living , and others among the caves of the rocks with which this wild district of the Highlands abounds . The crofters who were on the poor roll were allowed to remain , but the others are all

      scattered . The weather has been fine since their ejection , and thus far they have been supported by the benevolence of their poor neighbours , and what little they can do . at fishing ; but unless something is done for them before longthere can be little doubt but starvation will ensue ; the wives and children are most to be pitied . They all admit that their proprietress was liberal in fulfilling her engage- ment ; and they seem conscious that they are legally in * the wrong ; but they cling to the home of their fathers with desperate tenacity , and , judging from their conduct in preferring ejection to emigration , and the strong feeling ¦ which they show , it is clear that they look on their case as one of expatriation . "

      It is said as an excuse for Mrs . Macdonnell and others who act like her , that sheep-walks and shooting grounds arc more profitable than farms' with peasants , but it is a mean policy that refuses to improve men and strives only to increase cattle .

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 24, 1853, page 921, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2005/page/9/