West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser. Friday 1st August, 1851. NOTICE - All Persons who have any Claims or Demands on the Estate of WILLIAM NICHOLLS, deceased, of Middle Taphouse, in the parish of Broadoak, in the county of Cornwall, are requested forthwith to send the same to W. DONY, Auctioneer, Liskeard, in order to their discharge; and all those who are Indebted to the Estate of the said WILLIAM NICHOLLS, deceased, are desired to pay the same forthwith to the said W. Dony, on behalf of Mr. ROBERT NICHOLLS, the Executor, under the Will of the said William Nicholls. Dated July 29, 1851. INCREASED SPEED!! NINE MILES AN HOUR!!! - From Plymouth to Southampton in twelve hours. Gosport and Portsmouth in thirteen hours. The Coronet Four-Horse Coach leaves the New London Inn, Exeter, daily, (Sundays excepted) at 9.45 a.m., on the arrival of the 6.50 train from Plymouth via Honiton, Axminster, Lyme Regis, Charmouth, and Bridport, arriving at Dorchester at 4 p.m. in time for the 4.50 train, reaching Southampton at 6.50, Gosport 8.0, Portsmouth 8.15, London 9.20. The Coronet arrives at Weymouth at 5 p.m. The Cornet leaves the Royal Hotel, Weymouth, daily, at 9 a.m.; King's Arms, Dorchester, at 10, and reaches Exeter at 5 in time for the 6 p.m. train, arriving at Plymouth at 8.45. The Royal Four-Horse Mail leaves the New London Inn, daily, at 1.45 p.m., on the arrival of the 10.20 a.m. train from Plymouth via Honiton, Axminster, Lyme Regis, Charmouth, and Bridport, arriving at Dorchester in time for the Mail Train to Southampton, Gosport, Portsmouth, and London. Also for Coaches to Weymouth. The Royal Mail leaves the King's Arms, Dorchester, daily, morning at 4, reaching Exeter at 11 a.m. in time for the Express Train to Plymouth, and Coaches to Bideford and Barnstaple. Fares from Plymouth to Southampton 27s. The Emerald leaves the Royal Hotel, Plymouth, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, at 8.30 a.m. via Tavistock, Okehampton, Torrington, Bideford, and arrives at Barnstaple at 7.30 p.m. The Emerald leaves Barnstaple at 8 a.m. and arrives at Plymouth at 8.30 p.m. PENFOUND & SON, PRIDHAM & LAKE, Proprietors. Exeter, July 30, 1851. PILCHARD CATCHING ON THE CORNISH COAST (From Rambles beyond Railways.) - The first sight from the cliffs of a shoal of pilchards advancing towards the land is not a little interesting. They produce on the sea the appearance of the shadow of a dark cloud. This shadow comes on, and on, until you can see the fish leaping and playing on the surface by hundreds at a time, all huddled close together, and all approaching so near the shores that they can be always caught in some fifty or sixty feet of water. Indeed, on certain occasions, when the shoals are of considerable magnitude, the fish behind have been known to force the fish before, literally up to the beach, so that they could be taken in buckets, or even in the hand with the greatest ease. It is said that they are thus impelled to approach the land by precisely the same necessity which impels the fishermen to catch them as they appear, the necessity of getting food. With the discovery of the first shoal the active duties of the "look-out" on the cliffs begin. Each fishing village places one or more of these men on the watch all round the coast. They are called "huers," a word said to be derived from the old French verb huer, to call out, to give an alarm. On the vigilance and skill of the huer much depends. He is, therefore, not only paid his guinea a week while he is on the watch, but receives, besides, a perquisite in the shape of a percentage on the produce of all the fish taken under his auspices. He is placed at the post, where he can command an uninterrupted view of the sea, some days before the pilchards are expected to appear; and, at the same time, boats, nets, and men are all ready for action at a moment's notice. The principal boat used is at least fifteen tons in burthen, and carries a large net, called the "seine," which measures a hundred and ninety fathoms in length, and costs a hundred and seventy pounds, sometimes more. It is simply one long strip, from eleven to thirteen fathoms in breadth, composed of very small meshes, and furnished, all along its length, with lead at one side and corks at the other. The men who cast this net are called the "shooters," and receive eleven shillings and sixpence a week, and a perquisite of one basket of fish each out of every haul. As soon as the huer discerns the first appearance of a shoal he waves his bush. The signal is conveyed to the beach immediately by men and boys watching near him. The seine boat (accompanied by another small boat to assist in casting the net) is rowed out where he can see it. Then there is a pause, a hush of great expectation on all sides. Meanwhile the devoted pilchards press on, a compact mass of thousands on thousands of fish swimming to meet their doom. All eyes are fixed on the huer. He stands watchful and still, until the shoal is thoroughly embayed, in water which he knows to be within the depth of seine net. Then, as the fish begin to pause in their progress, and gradually crowd closer and closer together, he gives the signal. The boats come up, and the seine net is cast, or, in the technical phrase, "shot" overboard. The grand object is now to inclose the entire shoal. The leads sink one end of the net perpendicularly to the ground; the corks buoy up the other to the surface of the water. When it has been taken all round the fish, the two extremities are made fast, and the shoal is then imprisoned within an oblong barrier of network surrounding it on all sides. The great art is to let as few of the pilchards escape as possible, while this process is being completed. Whenever the huer observes from above that they are startled, and are separating at any particular point, to that point he waves his bush, thither the boat is steered, and there the next is "shot" at once. In whatever direction the fish attempt to get out to sea again, they are thus immediately met and thwarted with extraordinary readiness and skill. This labour completed, the silence of intense expectation that has hitherto prevailed among the spectators on the cliff, is broken. There is a great shout of joy on all sides; the shoal is secured! The seine is now regarded as a great reservoir of fish. It may remain in the water a week or more. To secure it against being moved from its position in case a gale should come on, it is warped by two or three ropes to points of land in the cliff, and is, at the same time, contracted in circuit, by its opposite ends being brought together and fastened tight over a length of several feet. While these operations are in course of performance, another boat, another set of men, and another net, different in form from the seine, are approaching the scene of action. This new net is called the "tuck"; it is smaller than the seine, inside which is now to be let down for the purpose of bringing the fish closely collected to the surface. The men who manage this net are termed "regular seiners." They receive ten shillings a week, and the same perquisite as the shooters. Their boat is first of all rowed inside the seine-net, and laid close to the seine-boat, which remains stationary outside, and to the bows of which one rope, at the end of the tuck-net, is fastened. The tuck-boat then slowly makes the inner circuit of the seine, the smaller net being dropped overboard as she goes, and attached at intervals to the larger. To prevent the fish from getting between the two nets during this operation, they are frightened into the middle of the enclosure by beating the water, at proper places, with oars, and heavy stone fastened to ropes. When the tuck-net has at length travelled round the whole circle of the seine and is securely fastened to the seine-boat at the end, as it was at the beginning, everything is ready for the great event of the day, the hauling of the fish to the surface. Now the scene on shore and sea rises to a prodigious pitch of excitement. The merchants, to whom the boats and nets belong, and by whom the men are employed, join the huer on the cliff; all their friends follow them; boys shout, dogs bark madly, every little boat in the place puts off, crammed with idle spectators; old men and women hobble down to the beach to wait for the news. The noise, the bustle, the agitation increases every moment. Soon the shrill cheering of the boys is joined by the deep voices of the seiners. There they stand, six or eight stalwart, sunburnt fellows, ranged in a row in the seine-boat, hauling with all their might at the tuck-net, and roaring the regular nautical "Yo-heave-ho!" in chorus. Higher and higher rises the net, louder and louder shout the boys and the idlers. The merchant forgets his dignity, and joins them; the huer, so calm and collected hitherto, loses his self-possession, and waves his cap triumphantly. Even you and I, reader, uninitiated spectators though we are, catch the infection, and cheer away with the rest, as if our bread depended on the events of the next few minutes, "Hooray, hooray! Ya-hoy, hoy, hoy! Pull away, boys! Up she comes! Here they are! Here they are!" The water boils and eddies, the tuck-net rises to the surface, and one teeming, convulsed mass of shining, glancing, silver scales, one compact crowd of thousands of fish, each one of which is madly endeavouring to escape, appears in an instant. The noise before was as nothing compared with the noise now. Boats, as large as barges, are pulled up in hot haste, all round the net; baskets are produced by dozens; the fish are dipped up in them, and shot out, like coals out of a sack, into the boats. Ere long the men are up to their ancles in pilchards; they jump upon the rowing benches and work on, until the boats are filled with fish as full as they can hold, and the gunwales are within two or three inches of the water. Even yet, the shoal is not exhausted; the tuck-net must be let down again, and left ready for a fresh haul, while the boats are slowly propelled to the shore, where we must join them without delay. As soon as the fish are brought to land, one set of men, bearing capacious wooden shovels, jump in among them, and another set bring hand-barrows close to the side of the boat, into which the pilchards are thrown with great rapidity. This operation proceeds without ceasing for a moment. As soon as one barrow is ready to be carried to the salting-house, another is waiting to be filled. When this labour is performed by night, which is often the case, the scene becomes doubly picturesque. The men with the shovels, standing up to their knees in pilchards, working energetically; the crowd stretching down from the salting-house across the beach, and hemming in the boat all round; the uninterrupted succession of men hurrying backwards and forwards with their barrows through a narrow way, kept clear for them in the throng. The glare of lanterns giving light to the workmen, and throwing red flashes on the fish as they fly incessantly from the shovels over the side of the boat, all combine together to produce such a series of striking contrasts, such a moving picture of bustle and animation, as no attentive spectator can ever forget. MOUNT'S BAY FISHERY - On Tuesday evening last, four seines were shot in the bay, enclosing about three hundred and fifty hogsheads of pilchards. The fish taken are understood to belong to Messrs. BOLITHO in part, and partly to Messrs. R. V. and H. DAVY. EAST PENWITH PETTY SESSIONS - A petty sessions for this division was held at Camborne, on Tuesday last. MARY REECE, of Copperhouse, obtained an order of two shillings per week, against JOHN JONES, of the same place, towards the maintenance of two illegitimate children, of which he was the putative father. The defendant was also ordered to pay all expenses, and the Justices remarked that the conduct of the defendant in the matter was most disgraceful. Mr. PASCOE, appeared for the complainant. ANDREW v. ADAMS - This was a charge of assault. The complainant stated, that on Friday last, she happened to be at the house of her landlord in Redruth, when the defendant came in and putting his arm round her waist, remarked she was a "pretty little woman." After hearing the advocate for the defendant the magistrates dismissed the case. CHARGE OF ASSAULT - On Monday the 21st ult., a notorious character named HENRY PRISKE, well known in the borough of Liskeard for his drunken habits, and hair-breath escapes from the hands of justice, was summoned before the bench, at the Guildhall, for an assault, and for threatening to take the life of Miss MARY ANN BUTLER on the 12th instant. It appears that Priske is a recipient of out-door relief-from the Liskeard Union, and that owing to his drunken and spend-thrift habits, the Board of Guardians has recently ordered his relief to be given him wholly in kind, for the sake of his suffering children. Priske, finding his drinking supplies cut off, and suspecting (though it appears wrongly) Miss Butler to be the informant, has singled her out as the object of his rage; and living in the same court with her, dastardly selected a late hour of the night, when Miss Butler, who is a dress-maker, was shutting her shop, as the time for his attack. On being called upon by the Bench, the fellow was not to be found, and it was discovered on inquiry, that he had left the same morning by van for St. Hilary, his native parish. The case is therefore unsettled. COMMITTALS - On Thursday the 24th ult., Elizabeth Rundle was committed to Bodmin goal for one month by Mr. COODE, jun., for running away from the St. Austell Union, and stealing the Union dress and other articles. On Saturday last, WILLIAM McGILL and his wife FANNY McGILL, and SARAH ANN, daughter of the above, were brought before Mr. T. HEXT, and Mr. E. COODE, jun., charged by policeman SAMBEL with beating a man named SHAW, and otherwise disturbing the neighbourhood. They were bound over to keep the peace, and for want of bail were committed for three weeks. J. CHADWICK was committed for seven days for refusing to be sworn in evidence against them. On Tuesday last, a labourer named STEPHEN JOHNS was taken before Mr. HORNDON, at Callington, and committed to Bodmin charged with stealing corn from Mr. SAMUEL WENMOUTH, of Cadson Bury, in the parish of St. Ive. FIRE - At Towednack, on Friday last, the house of a miner named JOHN BERRIMAN, was burnt to the ground and all the furniture consumed. The father was absent from home at the time, and the house was left in charge of his daughter, about eight years of age. How the fire originated is not know. ACCIDENTS - On Thursday night, the 24th ult., as Mr. BILKEY, farmer, of Paul, was returning from Penzance, and crossing on horseback the narrow part of the road near the entrance to Paul Hill, the animal came in contact with and knocked down an old woman eighty-one years of age, who was severely injured, and is not likely to recover. On Friday last, at Ding Dong mine, a hole which had been bored, and to which the proper materials have been applied, "hung fire," and a young man named JAMES BOLITHO having incautiously approached it for the purpose of removing the charge, the hole exploded and injured the poor fellow dreadfully. On Saturday last, a woman named TERREL, aged about seventy, when walking down the street at Falmouth, struck her foot against an iron pin fixed by the persons laying the pavement. She fell on her breast on a curb stone, and on being raised it was found she had broken her left arm, cut her leg, and it is feared sustained internal injury. PUBLICATION OF BANNS - A few weeks since, not ten miles from Liskeard, a man having his banns published in the church when his name was mentioned, stood up and held up his hand, and bawl'd out, "here I am." STATISTICS OF CORNWALL - (No 32). To the Editor of the West Briton. Sir, - I come next to the parish of Morva. Chywoon Cromlech stands on or near the boundary, between this parish and St. Just. The flat top stone is about twelve feet by nine, and stands on four upright stones, which are about four feet high. Chywoon Castle is a little eastward of the Cromlech, and is formed by two concentric circular stone walls, now ruinous, with an entrance about eight feet wide, facing westward, defended by flanks retiring inwards from the inner wall. The diameter of the inner wall is about two hundred feet, and of the outer wall about two hundred and ninety feet. The whole is about an acre and three quarters, and the interior area is about three quarters of an acre. This is one among the very few ancient forts surrounded by stone walls. This fort was much more perfect when BORLASE described it. He says, that the ditch between the two walls was thirty feet wide, the outer ditch about twenty feet wide, the inner wall eight feet thick, and the outer wall five feet thick; the entrance through the outer wall not opposite to that through the inner wall, but at a little distance, so as to be defended from the inner wall. The interior area had in it a line of stone work, about three feet high, concentric to the wall at about thirty feet within it, and divided into compartments by other lines of such stone work extending from the said concentric line of stone work to the inner wall. There is a well in one of the divisions in the south-west part, with steps to go down to the water. By the ruins he judged the inner wall to have been fifteen feet high, and the outer wall ten feet high, "both well perfected." Gulval - about half a mile north-west of Boskednan, is a circle of stones, called the "Nine Maids." It appears to be one of the ancient circles, formed by nineteen stones, fixed upright, of which twelve now remain, some upright and some fallen down. Borlase has a drawing of this, showing all the nineteen stones, six of which were lying down. On the southern side of the circle and contiguous to it is a barrow, formed of earth and stones, diameter thirty feet. North-westward from the circle about twenty fathoms, is an upright stone fixed, which has been broken; further about sixty-five fathoms is a barrow of stones, diameter thirty-two feet; and still further, about twenty fathoms, is a larger barrow, formed also of stones, diameter sixty feet, in which appears a circular ring of large stone fixed upright; near the outer edge and surrounding the centre of the barrow. A little eastward of the circle is a barrow of earth and stones, diameter sixty-five feet. These are about half a mile eastward of the stone called "Mennaskriffis," mentioned in Madron. Ludgvan - Castle Andinas, on the top of a well known hill is a circular entrenchment, occupying altogether about four acres; the interior area within the inner bank being about three quarters of an acre. The remains of the interior bank are of stone, outside of which is a dry stone wall about twelve feet thick, well put together, showing a perpendicular exterior face; and surrounding this is a bank of earth, diameter of which is about four hundred feet. These works complete the lines of defence where they face the steep part of the hill; but facing the more accessible part, the fort is further protected by two ditches, with a bank between them. Borlase, in describing this place, says, that within the walls are many little enclosures of circular form, about seven yards diameter, with little walls round them of two or three feet high, which appear to have been so many huts for shelter of the garrison. A quarter of a mile south-west of the village of Ludgvan Lease, is an entrenchment, called the "Giant's Grave." The ditch and bank are nearly straight, about a quarter of a mile in length. This may have been part of an intended encampment, which probably was never completed. A little south-west of Rosengrouse, on the north-west side of the road to Penzance, are the ruins of an ancient chapel. The site is a small parallelogram. The granite font was lately, and probably still remains among the ruins. Zennor, Towednack, and St. Ives, have not been examined by me. Lelant - On Trecrobben Hill, are the remains of a fort, of irregular form, corresponding with the shape of the summit of the hill, occupying about two and a quarter acres. From the rampart to the slope of the hill, all around is steep, and constitutes the strength of the position. There are three entrances to the area, one on the north, one on the east, and another on the western side. St. Erth - At Carnabeggas, about half a mile east of the church, are the remains of a circular entrenchment, about an acre and a quarter. St. Hilary and Perranuthnoe, I have not examined. I am, Sir, Your obedient servant, RICHARD THOMAS. Falmouth, July 25, 1851. INQUEST - On Saturday last, an inquest was held at Trewidland, in the parish of Liskeard, on the body of Mr. SAMUEL GRIGG, a farmer of that place, aged 63 years, who while cutting a few brambles from a hedge, contiguous to his dwelling house, suddenly ruptured a blood vessel, and the discharge of blood was so great that he died in a few minutes. Deceased had been affected with a violent cough for some time, and under a hope of its growing better, had resisted the entreaties of his friends to have medical advice on the subject. Verdict, "died by the visitation of God".