West Briton & Cornwall Advertiser 28, November 1856 - transcribed by Lorena Loubsky . Local Intelligence . THE WESTERN CIRCUIT. - Now that Sir Alexander COCKBURN has accepted the office of Chief Justice of Common Pleas, there are not less than four out of the fifteen judges of the Superior Law Courts who were counsel who traveled the Western Circuit, and at the same time, namely, Chief Justice Cockburn, Mr. Justice COLERIDGE, Mr. Justice ERIE, and Mr. Justice CROWDER. . THE NEXT BISHOP. - It is confidently stated in well informed circles at Cambridge, that Lord Palmerston's choice of the new Bishop of Ripon lies between two Divinity Professors at that University - Mr. SELWYN, Lady Margaret's Professor, and Mr. Edward Harold BROWNE, Norrisian Professor, and Vicar of Kenwyn in this county. . TRURO TOWN COUNCIL. - A meeting of the Town Council was held on Monday last, when there were present the Mayor, Mr. E. MICHELL, and Messrs. STOKES, CHAPPEL, Job, ROUSE, PASCOE, S.T. WILLIAMS GATLEY, HEARD, HALL, JAMES, SOLOMON, UGLOW, CLYMA, SPRY, and Dr. BARHAM. . A letter was read from Captain KEMPE recommending the abolition of the policemen's fees, and in lieu thereof to increase their pay 3s. per week. It was stated that the policemen themselves were averse to the alteration. The letter was referred to the watch committee. . Reports were presented from the quay, public works, and market committees. The first, in reference to the repair of the sluice at Lemon-street bridge, was referred back to the committee to obtain estimates for the repair, or the cost of a new galvanized iron sluice. The report of the public works committee was adopted; and a portion of that of the market committee, recommending an improvement in the fireplaces in the market, and forbidding the cooking of meet within the market. The resignation of PRATER, one of the policemen, was put in, and an advertisement was ordered to be issued for his successor. Prater has been appointed a policeman at Falmouth. . [A long article regarding the political opinion of Senor Gavazzi was given, & has been omitted.] . LECTURE BY GAVAZZI - the Italian reformer, Gavazzi, delivered a lecture on Sunday afternoon last, in the Green Market, Truro, "On the Evangelisation of Italy." A very large assemblage, estimated at between two and three thousand, collected to hear the eloquent Italian, who addressed them on the subject of his lecture with exceeding earnestness and powerThe lecture was respectably attended, and a collection was made at the close to defray expenses. . MR. DAWSON'S DRAMATIC READINGS. - On Tuesday evening there were dramatic readings of the "Merchant of Venice" by Mr. and Mrs. Dawson, at the Assembly-room, Truro, when there was a respectable attendance and the readings of Shakespeare's admired drama were given with great propriety and effect. Part 2, comprising Collin's Ode on the Passions, were rendered in a very beautiful and striking manner, with the assistance of some of Mr. Dawson's family; and the whole entertainment gave much satisfaction. . TRURO INSTITUTION. - One of the most interesting and instructive lectures with which the members of this institution have been favoured, was that delivered on Friday evening last, by Mr. George SMITH, of Trevu, on the "Ruins of Ancient Empires, and their testimony to the truth of Sacred History." . Yet it was less a lecture, in the strict sense of the word, than an extemporaneous address. His mind richly stored with results of assiduous researches into the world's early history, he delighted his hearers by narration of facts and graphic description of scenes beyond the scope of fiction; his subjects being gathered from the monumental remains of Egypt, Persia, and Babylonia. . Remarking that almost the only sources of information regarding pro-Hellenic ages were those monumental remains and the Inspired Scriptures, he made it the main purpose of his argument to assert the correspondence of those remains, when rightly understood, with the records of Holy Writ, against the assertions and the reasonings of men of science who seek to establish an antagonism between those two sources of knowledge. For the purpose of his argument, he declined availing himself of the authority of scripture as divine revelation, and treated the writings of Moses as those merely of an uninspired historian having access to the best sources of information on the subject of his writings; and on this ground of comparison, he proved the superiority of the Mosaic records, in respect of credibility, to the translations from Manetho on which, it would seem, the scientific adversaries of divine truth chiefly base their reasonings. . Another course of argument taken by Mr. SMITH, from the remains of which he was treating, was in contradiction of the theory that the human race has progressed from a barbarous origin. In opposition to this opinion, he asserted that barbarism is a declension, and that this was clearly shown by the remains of sculpture and hieroglyphics in the countries of which he was speaking. The lecture, further, comprised several interesting statements of corroborations and elucidations of historic portions of the Bible, from the sculptured records brought to light through the ability and industry of the explorers of Babylonian ruins; and among these, Mr. Smith read a proclamation of Sennacherib concerning his [xxx] was with Hezekiah, King of Judah; the vaunting and untruthful style of which, he likened to the bulletins of Bonaparte. The lecture was, throughout, listened to with the utmost interest, and at its close, a unanimous vote of thanks was very cordially voted to the lecturer, on! the motion of Mr. Job, seconded by Dr. CARYLON. The next lecture was announced for Friday evening the 28th instant, by Mr. Alfred Lloyd FOX, of Falmouth, on "The Flowers of the Field." . HELSTON TURNPIKES - The gates on this trust were let by auction on Monday last, to Mr. PERCY, of Truro, for the ensuing year, at GBP 1930, after a spirited competition between Messrs. HARWOOD, SYMONS, LUGG, and others. . LONDON UNIVERSITY. - At the late examination at the University of London, we observe that Mr. Edwin ANDREW, son of Mr. B. Andrew, of St. Austell, took the degree of Bachelor of Medicine in the first class. . APOTHECARIES HALL, LONDON. - In the list of Medical Students who passed the preliminary examination in Classics and Mathematics, at the Hall on the 17th and 19th instant, we observe the same of Mr. Edward SHARP, of Truro; and on the 13th instant, Mr. John LANGDON DOWN, of Torpoint, passed his examination, and received certificate to practice. . THE LAW. – Mr. James Austin MEREDITH, son of Mr. J.H. Meredith, of Fowey, has passed his examination, and been admitted to practise as an attorney. . MARRIAGE LICENSES. - The Rev. T. H. BRITTON, Dean Rural of Pyder, has been appointed a surrogate for granting marriage license. . GOOD WRITING. - Any person passing Prince's-street Truro, will be struck with some specimens of penmanship; amongst them a Bank of England note, executed with the pen, almost equal to an engraving. To those who wish to write a good hand, a visit to the teacher is recommended. . WEST CORNWALL RAILWAY. - CHARGE AGAINST A STATION MASTER. - At a Petty Sessions for East Kerrier, held at the Town Hall, Penryn, on Wednesday last, Mr. ENYS in the chair, George ROWE, late station master at the Scorrier Station of the West Cornwall Railway, and Richard MANN, late porter at the same station, were charged on separate summonses with having, on the 6th of November neglected their duty, whereby the passage of a train on the line was impeded. The information was laid under the 5th and 6th Victoria, e. 55, sec. 17, which makes such an offence summarily punishable by fine or imprisonment. . Mr. CORNISH, of the firm of RODD, DARKE, and Cornish, the solicitors of the company, appeared on behalf of the prosecution; the parties were undefended. . It appeared from the evidence that on the day in question, a luggage truck had been dropped at Scorrier by the up afternoon train, and that the station master and porter had, in pursuance of their duty, shunted it into the siding on the south side of the line, known as the sand siding; a small tramroad raised on pillars, and built for the purpose of taking luggage trucks, but not calculated, nor ever intended to bear the weight of an engine. After doing this, the porter (whose duty it primarily was,) had neglected to close the points, and had left the station on other business. The next train due was the down evening train, which on its passage would have closed the points without assistance, and would have rendered everything secure. But it happened that the next train which actually arrived was a ballast train from Redruth on its way to Calenick. . On hearing its whistle, the stationmaster, ROWE, came from his station house and gave the "all right" signal, without looking at the points. The train consequently came on and went off on the siding. The men on the train, about fourteen, all jumped off with the exception of the engine driver, Christopher HENDER, who stayed by his engine, reversed it, and brought it to a stand just as, having knocked three trucks already on the viaduct over the end of it, it came itself to the stop block. At this moment the outer pier gave way, and the engine fell with it into an inclined position, which brought its fore wheels down on the sand and rubbish of the pier, and left its hind wheels on the viaduct. . On this, Hender, having taken every precaution to avoid damage by the bursting of the engine, leaped from it into the yard a height of about twenty feet. The engine was afterwards brought back on the line with but trifling damage. . The magistrates, after hearing the evidence of Mr. C.P. CHARLTON, the company's superintendent (as to the relative duties of the accused), of Mr. SHERIFF the company's engineer, and of several other witnesses, and after having considered a testimonial of good character signed by several highly influential and respectable gentlemen, convicted the accused, and sentenced them to a fine of GBP 1 each, including the expenses, or in default of payment to one week's imprisonment. . They accompanied their decision with the remark that they considered that the relative duties of a station master and porter were not defined with sufficient clearness, and recommending a revision of the company's rules in this respect, a recommendation which the company's solicitor promised should be duly attended to. . The fines were paid. Both Rowe and Mann are discharged from the employ of the company. . SACRILIEGE AND ROBBERY. - On the night of the 13th instant, an entrance was effected into the Roman Catholic chapel, situate within a short distance of the house at Trelawny, and the most valuable portion of the communion service and the contents of the poor's box were carried off by the thieves. It is supposed to have been perpetrated by a gang of gypsies, who had been encamped in the neighbourhood, but struck their tents early the next morning, and had gone off before the robbery was discovered. On the following day another robbery was committed at a lodge at Trenant Park, the seat of W. PEEL, Esq. The house was broken open, and a sum of money, amounting to several pounds, carried off. . ROBBERY. - William COOKMAN, alias HOWARD, a shoemaker, of Penzance, was charged before Mr. T. S. BOLITHO, on Tuesday last, with having stolen a sheet and shirt from Minny Cottage, on Monday evening, the property of Mrs. SOWDEN. Mrs. Sowden saw her clothes safe on the line at half-past five. A little after six, Cookman was in the garden, under rather suspicious circumstances, and at ten was apprehended with the wet sheet round his body, the damp shirt in his pocket. He was committed to Bodmin to take his trial. . FIRE. - On Thursday last, a fire broke out on the premises of Mr. William RULE, at Talvadan, in the part of Illogan, by which the stable and other outbuildings were destroyed, together with a rick of corn. Fortunately, the wind was favourable or the dwelling-house would have shared the same fate. . ACCIDENT. - An old woman called HARRY, seventy-seven years of age, met with a serious accident in Pydar Street, Truro, on Wednesday evening last, between seven and eight o'clock. She was crossing from one side of the street to the other, when Mr. LANYON, farmer, of St. Allen, was coming up, driving a gig. The gig came in contact with the poor old woman, and completely knocked her off the ground; Mr. Lanyon going on his way without rendering assistance. Some neighbours picked her up in an insensible state, when it was found that one arm was dreadfully smashed, the bone protruding through the skin. The sufferer was taken to the house of her daughter, Mrs. RANDALL, Pydar Street, and Mr. Truran, surgeon was sent for, and on arriving obtained further assistance. The surgeons extracted portions of the bone, and the patient is now in a very dangerous state. . FATAL ACCIDENT. - On Wednesday the 19th instant, an accident occurred at Portreath, by'which a man named John CURNOW lost his life. It appears that Curnow in company with another man, left the Hotel about seven o’clock to see if his (Curnow's) boat was secured for the night, but owing to the darkness of the night, it is supposed, that he missed his way and fell headlong over the quay. He was immediately taken up and medical assistance obtained, but from the dock being dry at the time, the fall produced concussion of the brain, and he died the following day. . CORONER'S INQUESTS. - The following inquest has been held before Mr. JOHN CARLYON, county coroner: - On Monday, the 25th instant, at Goonvrea, in the parish of St. Agnes, on the body of Susan MURRISH, aged 47 years. Deceased was a single woman, and resided alone in a house in which she sold groceries. From the evidence given at the inquest, it appeared that she was in her usual health on Sunday, but on the following morning some neighbours, seeing the blind down later than usual, fancied something must be the matter and requested Mr. John BARRETT who lived under the same roof but in a separate house, to ascertain how matters stood. He consequently forced an entrance, and found the deceased in bed quite dead. There were no marks of violence on the body; and Dr. WHITWORTH was clearly of the opinion that she died by the visitation of God from natural causes, either apoplexy, or the rupture of a vessel internally. The jury returned a verdict to that effect. . The following inquests have been held before Mr. JAGOE, county coroner: - On Tuesday the 13th inst., at St. Erney, by Landrake, on the body of Peter STRIKE, who was seriously injured a week since by a quantity of rubbish falling on him whilst at work on the Cornwall Railway. - Verdict, "accidental death." On the 20th instant, on the body of Cornelius QUILLER, who was drowned during the previous night in the Liskeard and Looe Canal, near Lamellion Bridge. On Wednesday afternoon he attended a sale of timber at the Commercial Inn, Moorswater. At about eleven o'clock at night he left the Inn in company with Thomas CHUDLEIGH. They walked a short distance together, when Chudleigh left him, and the deceased proceeded towards his home along the bank of the canal. It is supposed that before he got to the bridge he accidentally fell into the canal and was drowned. The jury returned a verdict of"found drowned." . ST. AUSTELL MATTERS. . To the EDITOR of the WEST BRITON. SIR, - Some time since the attention of the church-wardens of St. Austell, was invited to the subject of lightning conductors, and the dangers of attending the non-completion of the one on the tower; and again I should wish to call particular attention to the fact, that it has continued in that state from that time to the present period, to the danger of the inhabitants and to the blame of the churchwardens, and doubly so, when it must be remembered that some years since one of the pinnacles was during a thunder storm, struck by the electric fluid and precipitated into the house adjoining, where two persons narrowly escaped from being sent into eternity, the pinnacle from the tower passing direct through the bed from which they had just arisen. . One would be led to suppose, that after such an occurrence, the tower would not be left one day, much less nine months without such a security, and it is hoped that the attention of the churchwardens to this, will lead them to consider the imminent peril they put thousand of lives to at this period of the year. . Another matter to which I call attention is the following: The town of St. Austell supports two policemen to prevent all disturbances & c. in the town, but the one great fault is, that they can never be found when wanted, except at some petty quarrel, a public house, or after all the disturbance is over. . The attention of the public has already been drawn to the circumstance on the 5th of November, and the reason, it appears, why the police did not interfere with the tar barrels that were being burnt, was that the promoters, or rather burners of them, being young sparks of the town who have always plenty of money to spend in brandy and water, they could not conscientiously interfere. . It is hoped that in a short period an Inspector will be had at St. Austell, when they will be kept to their duty better than at present. . A third subject I should wish to call attention to is, the inconvenience to which the town has been put for want of a town clock. The present one appears to be altogether worn out, as it did not strike from Friday the 14th to Monday the 17th of November, a serious inconvenience to all the business houses in the town. It is also hoped that the proper authorities will inquire into this matter, and thereby confer a great boon on the inhabitants of St. Austell and the writer, who is, Sir, Yours respectfully, PRO BONO PUBLICO. St. Austell, November 18th, 1856 . There was a Special Report, covering at least 4 full columns of the last page, covering the Special Deferred meeting of the Quarter Sessions, which met to consider the new Police Act, and how the police should be formed in the county. . [As the report seems to have not survived our effort to post it, hope this summary is acceptable] . [There was much discussion regarding the “chief constable”, and the number of superintendents, as well as the person he might assign as his "deputy". Much discussion involved precise terminology; should the superintendents merely superintend, or investigate matters, take charge of evidence, and be responsible for the officers under him. It was also recommended that he have "superior education". Rate of pay for the superintendents and the chief constable greatly concerned the magistrates; the number of superintendents that had been recommended by the Committee was reduced, so that pay could be increased. The superintendent intended to act as "deputy" was thought to need at least GBP 20 more pay than the others, to adequately differentiate him from the others. One person proposed 3 "ranks" of superintendents - the deputy, two others who would be "first class", and 4 others, Another person suggested only 5 superintendents, with only one receiving a "first-class" pay rate, And ! so on.]