150 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (15th - 21st NOVEMER 1871)
This week's stories include the Sunday evening burglars in Robins Lane, a new Chamber of Commerce for St Helens is created, the sending back to prison of a ticket-of-leave man, the drunken passenger at Newton Bridge who almost died and the temperance man who accused Queen Victoria of being a drunk.
We begin on the 15th with a report in the Liverpool Mercury that a Chamber of Commerce was being created in St Helens. A meeting had been held at the Raven Hotel chaired by Alderman John Marsh, the new mayor of St Helens. A membership fee of £1 was agreed "for all persons interested in the trade of the borough, or district of St. Helen's" who wished to join the new body. A committee was also formed to draw up a constitution, laws and by-laws and Col. David Gamble was appointed secretary of the Chamber.
The artists performing this week at the Theatre Royal Concert Hall in St Helens – on the corner of Milk Street and Waterloo Street – were again centred on black minstrel acts, the so-called serio-comics and multi-skilled entertainers. They included Mr Waters Morion described as "America's unrivalled negro delineator, in his inimitable songs, dances, &c., the most truthful representative of the Southern darkie".
"Darkie", is of course, a highly offensive term now but somewhat mild in comparison with the "N-word", which was then regularly used in newspaper descriptions of black acts. Also appearing were: Mr and Mrs Con ("Ireland's greatest and most humorous duettists, dancers &c., nightly received with roars of laughter and thunders of applause"); Miss Lottie Bateson ("Serio-comic and most accomplished characteristic vocalist on the British stage") and Mr Pat Folloy ("A smart Irish comedian").
At Wigan County Police Court on the 17th, a miner called Peter Aspinall was summoned for leaving his work without notice. The man had worked for the Wigan Coal and Iron Company's mine at Crawford Village and his bosses wanted £1 compensation for him quitting his job. However, Aspinall told the court that he had no intention of giving up his employment and his absence had simply been because of illness. An order was made for him to pay the £1 compensation, along with the court courts, and Aspinall promised to return to work. Well, he'd have to, to pay off the fine!
In March 1869 Edward Rigby had been so annoyed by the manner of the eviction of a Sutton pub landlord's family, that he chose to intervene. The provisions shop owner lived next door to the Bowling Green in Robins Lane and he punched one evictor and then in the ensuing struggle, had two of his own teeth knocked out. The furious shopkeeper then went home for his gun, which frightened off the unofficial bailiffs, who bolted through a window. "Human nature caused me to act as I did", Rigby told a judge in court. During the 19th, Edward Rigby's house in Robins Lane in Sutton was burgled, as the St Helens Newspaper described:
"On Sunday night, between seven and ten o’clock, while the family were out, the house of Mr. Edward Rigby, of Robin's-lane, Sutton, near St.Helens, was forcibly entered. The drawers and cupboards were completely ransacked, and a quantity of wearing apparel and other articles were stolen. The police have been round the town under instructions from the superintendent, to warn householders against wholly deserting their habitations on Sunday evenings. We have been favoured, for some weeks, with the presence of a gang of burglars from Liverpool, who watch families [go] to church on Sunday evenings, and then commit the most impudent robberies. The worst of the matter is that no effort of the authorities has yet been successful in bringing any of the rascals to justice."
Around the same time that robbers were in Robins Lane, a drunk got out of the Liverpool train at Newton Bridge station. Not an unusual occurrence, of course, but this man was seriously drunk and a danger to himself. Fortunately, a fellow passenger called Spence observed the man stagger up a narrow path leading to the level above the railway; fall down and then roll back down the path onto the line. The Wigan Observer wrote:
"The occurrence was not observed by any one else, and fearing an accident, Mr. Spence got out and went to the place where the inebriate man was moaning as though in pain. He found him lying close to the metals, and in such a position that had he not died from cold – for the night was one of the coldest of the season – he would inevitably have been killed by the first passing train. The man, who had sustained no material injury, was taken to a place of safety."
Patrick Kirby was a "ticket-of-leave" man and on the 20th appeared in St Helens Petty Sessions. The term ticket-of-leave was given to those allowed to leave prison before the completion of their sentence – what we would call "on licence". Such individuals had to carry their permit with them and fulfil the following conditions:
"1. The Holder shall preserve his Licence and produce it when called upon to do so by a Magistrate or Police Officer. 2. He shall abstain from any Violation of the Law. 3. He shall not habitually associate with notorious bad Characters, such as reputed Thieves and Prostitutes. 4. He shall not lead an idle and dissolute Life without visible means of obtaining an honest Livelihood.
"If his Licence is forfeited or revoked in consequence of a Conviction for any Offence, he will be liable to undergo a Term of Penal Servitude equal to the portion of his Term of Seven Years which remained unexpired when his Licence was granted viz.: the Term of Ten months."
The above is copied from Patrick Kirby's own licence, with clause 3 suggesting that it would be OK for him to go with prostitutes every now and then – but he was not to make a habit of it! Ticket-of-leave men – and presumably women – also needed to keep their local police station informed of their current address. That's where Kirby had gone wrong and the magistrates at St Helens sent the man back to prison to serve the remaining 10 months of his term.
On the 21st as the eight o’clock train from Widnes was approaching Sutton, a young man called James Orrell jumped from the train while it was in motion. He became entangled in the wheels causing both of his legs to be cut off and he died almost immediately. James was an engine cleaner at the Sutton Sheds and according to the 1871 census was only 14. The boy lived at Swifts Moss Lane near Moss Nook in Sutton and appeared to have jumped off the train to take a short cut home.
The movement to limit the working day to nine hours and the working week to 54 hours was gaining ground. This week the Atlas Iron Works in Pocket Nook agreed to adopt the scheme. The campaign was also encouraging some trades to protest about their own long hours and poor pay. During the evening of the 19th, a well-attended meeting of the colliery winders of St Helens and district took place. These individuals had the important task of taking men and materials down coalmines and safely returning them to the surface. Several winders delivered speeches in which they described their long hours and low pay, as reported by the Liverpool Mercury:
"They have to work twelve hours a day, attending to the engines which drive the winding gear, and during the whole of that period the faculties of the winder are upon the strain, in as much as the negligence of a moment might cost several lives and do immense damage to property. Their meals have to be eaten virtually as they work. For these services, and the tremendous responsibility attaching to them, the average remuneration is 3s. 8d. per day. It was pointed out that the engine man required to be intelligent, in the prime of life, and perfectly sober, and it was argued from these facts that their pay should be somewhat better than it is."
Some time ago when the coal miners of the district had their pay reduced because trade was bad, the engine winders' wages were also cut. However, the recent 10% increase in pay awarded to the miners had excluded the winders. The meeting decided that their goal should be a pay scale of 5 shillings for an eight-hour day. Concluding its report the Mercury said: "Resolutions, pledging the winders to bring the matter before the employers immediately, were passed with acclamation."
And finally, these two short reports were in the Liverpool Mercury this week. The first concerned a terrible famine that was taking place in Iran – or Persia, as the country was then called:
"The Bombay papers continue to publish very sad accounts respecting the famine in Persia. At the beginning of September the inhabitants of Ispahan were, it is said, dying of starvation, and it is feared that matters will in all probability grow worse till June next. At Meschid, the capital of the province of Khorassan, and a town of 120,000 inhabitants, 80,000 people are said, up to August 7, to have died from starvation, 20,000 have fled the city, and those who remained have for the most part been seized and carried away into slavery by Afghan hordes.
"The Shah of Persia is said to be becoming very unpopular. On the news of his return to his capital from a recent hunting excursion, thousands of people covered themselves with dust and ashes and raised seditious cries before his palace. These proceedings so alarmed the Shah that for the time being he would not venture into his capital but afterwards he committed several atrocities. Letters from Yezd state that famine, want of employment, cholera, and lawlessness, induced by desperation, continue. In Bushire about 4000 paupers receive daily relief from the British residency."
Back in Britain criticism of Queen Victoria did occur in the 1870s – but would often result in a backlash. That is shown in this second article that bore the headline "Slandering The Queen" and concerned the monarch being accused of being a drunkard:
"Yesterday morning, Mr. Dart, clerk to the Brixham magistrates, applied at Torquay petty sessions for a warrant to apprehend Mr. Gribble, secretary of a teetotal society, on a charge of treason, for having stated at a public meeting “that the lady who wears the crown of this great country is addicted to intemperance.” The magistrates, however, did not think the words were absolutely treasonable, and a warrant was not granted."
Next week's stories will include a rabies death in Newton, the husband who attacked his wife for serving him breakfast in a pub, a drunken Haydock miner's canal death, the man who fell down a hole and there's another wearing apparel theft.
We begin on the 15th with a report in the Liverpool Mercury that a Chamber of Commerce was being created in St Helens. A meeting had been held at the Raven Hotel chaired by Alderman John Marsh, the new mayor of St Helens. A membership fee of £1 was agreed "for all persons interested in the trade of the borough, or district of St. Helen's" who wished to join the new body. A committee was also formed to draw up a constitution, laws and by-laws and Col. David Gamble was appointed secretary of the Chamber.
The artists performing this week at the Theatre Royal Concert Hall in St Helens – on the corner of Milk Street and Waterloo Street – were again centred on black minstrel acts, the so-called serio-comics and multi-skilled entertainers. They included Mr Waters Morion described as "America's unrivalled negro delineator, in his inimitable songs, dances, &c., the most truthful representative of the Southern darkie".
"Darkie", is of course, a highly offensive term now but somewhat mild in comparison with the "N-word", which was then regularly used in newspaper descriptions of black acts. Also appearing were: Mr and Mrs Con ("Ireland's greatest and most humorous duettists, dancers &c., nightly received with roars of laughter and thunders of applause"); Miss Lottie Bateson ("Serio-comic and most accomplished characteristic vocalist on the British stage") and Mr Pat Folloy ("A smart Irish comedian").
At Wigan County Police Court on the 17th, a miner called Peter Aspinall was summoned for leaving his work without notice. The man had worked for the Wigan Coal and Iron Company's mine at Crawford Village and his bosses wanted £1 compensation for him quitting his job. However, Aspinall told the court that he had no intention of giving up his employment and his absence had simply been because of illness. An order was made for him to pay the £1 compensation, along with the court courts, and Aspinall promised to return to work. Well, he'd have to, to pay off the fine!
In March 1869 Edward Rigby had been so annoyed by the manner of the eviction of a Sutton pub landlord's family, that he chose to intervene. The provisions shop owner lived next door to the Bowling Green in Robins Lane and he punched one evictor and then in the ensuing struggle, had two of his own teeth knocked out. The furious shopkeeper then went home for his gun, which frightened off the unofficial bailiffs, who bolted through a window. "Human nature caused me to act as I did", Rigby told a judge in court. During the 19th, Edward Rigby's house in Robins Lane in Sutton was burgled, as the St Helens Newspaper described:
"On Sunday night, between seven and ten o’clock, while the family were out, the house of Mr. Edward Rigby, of Robin's-lane, Sutton, near St.Helens, was forcibly entered. The drawers and cupboards were completely ransacked, and a quantity of wearing apparel and other articles were stolen. The police have been round the town under instructions from the superintendent, to warn householders against wholly deserting their habitations on Sunday evenings. We have been favoured, for some weeks, with the presence of a gang of burglars from Liverpool, who watch families [go] to church on Sunday evenings, and then commit the most impudent robberies. The worst of the matter is that no effort of the authorities has yet been successful in bringing any of the rascals to justice."
Around the same time that robbers were in Robins Lane, a drunk got out of the Liverpool train at Newton Bridge station. Not an unusual occurrence, of course, but this man was seriously drunk and a danger to himself. Fortunately, a fellow passenger called Spence observed the man stagger up a narrow path leading to the level above the railway; fall down and then roll back down the path onto the line. The Wigan Observer wrote:
"The occurrence was not observed by any one else, and fearing an accident, Mr. Spence got out and went to the place where the inebriate man was moaning as though in pain. He found him lying close to the metals, and in such a position that had he not died from cold – for the night was one of the coldest of the season – he would inevitably have been killed by the first passing train. The man, who had sustained no material injury, was taken to a place of safety."
Patrick Kirby was a "ticket-of-leave" man and on the 20th appeared in St Helens Petty Sessions. The term ticket-of-leave was given to those allowed to leave prison before the completion of their sentence – what we would call "on licence". Such individuals had to carry their permit with them and fulfil the following conditions:
"1. The Holder shall preserve his Licence and produce it when called upon to do so by a Magistrate or Police Officer. 2. He shall abstain from any Violation of the Law. 3. He shall not habitually associate with notorious bad Characters, such as reputed Thieves and Prostitutes. 4. He shall not lead an idle and dissolute Life without visible means of obtaining an honest Livelihood.
"If his Licence is forfeited or revoked in consequence of a Conviction for any Offence, he will be liable to undergo a Term of Penal Servitude equal to the portion of his Term of Seven Years which remained unexpired when his Licence was granted viz.: the Term of Ten months."
The above is copied from Patrick Kirby's own licence, with clause 3 suggesting that it would be OK for him to go with prostitutes every now and then – but he was not to make a habit of it! Ticket-of-leave men – and presumably women – also needed to keep their local police station informed of their current address. That's where Kirby had gone wrong and the magistrates at St Helens sent the man back to prison to serve the remaining 10 months of his term.
On the 21st as the eight o’clock train from Widnes was approaching Sutton, a young man called James Orrell jumped from the train while it was in motion. He became entangled in the wheels causing both of his legs to be cut off and he died almost immediately. James was an engine cleaner at the Sutton Sheds and according to the 1871 census was only 14. The boy lived at Swifts Moss Lane near Moss Nook in Sutton and appeared to have jumped off the train to take a short cut home.
"They have to work twelve hours a day, attending to the engines which drive the winding gear, and during the whole of that period the faculties of the winder are upon the strain, in as much as the negligence of a moment might cost several lives and do immense damage to property. Their meals have to be eaten virtually as they work. For these services, and the tremendous responsibility attaching to them, the average remuneration is 3s. 8d. per day. It was pointed out that the engine man required to be intelligent, in the prime of life, and perfectly sober, and it was argued from these facts that their pay should be somewhat better than it is."
Some time ago when the coal miners of the district had their pay reduced because trade was bad, the engine winders' wages were also cut. However, the recent 10% increase in pay awarded to the miners had excluded the winders. The meeting decided that their goal should be a pay scale of 5 shillings for an eight-hour day. Concluding its report the Mercury said: "Resolutions, pledging the winders to bring the matter before the employers immediately, were passed with acclamation."
And finally, these two short reports were in the Liverpool Mercury this week. The first concerned a terrible famine that was taking place in Iran – or Persia, as the country was then called:
"The Bombay papers continue to publish very sad accounts respecting the famine in Persia. At the beginning of September the inhabitants of Ispahan were, it is said, dying of starvation, and it is feared that matters will in all probability grow worse till June next. At Meschid, the capital of the province of Khorassan, and a town of 120,000 inhabitants, 80,000 people are said, up to August 7, to have died from starvation, 20,000 have fled the city, and those who remained have for the most part been seized and carried away into slavery by Afghan hordes.
"The Shah of Persia is said to be becoming very unpopular. On the news of his return to his capital from a recent hunting excursion, thousands of people covered themselves with dust and ashes and raised seditious cries before his palace. These proceedings so alarmed the Shah that for the time being he would not venture into his capital but afterwards he committed several atrocities. Letters from Yezd state that famine, want of employment, cholera, and lawlessness, induced by desperation, continue. In Bushire about 4000 paupers receive daily relief from the British residency."
Back in Britain criticism of Queen Victoria did occur in the 1870s – but would often result in a backlash. That is shown in this second article that bore the headline "Slandering The Queen" and concerned the monarch being accused of being a drunkard:
"Yesterday morning, Mr. Dart, clerk to the Brixham magistrates, applied at Torquay petty sessions for a warrant to apprehend Mr. Gribble, secretary of a teetotal society, on a charge of treason, for having stated at a public meeting “that the lady who wears the crown of this great country is addicted to intemperance.” The magistrates, however, did not think the words were absolutely treasonable, and a warrant was not granted."
Next week's stories will include a rabies death in Newton, the husband who attacked his wife for serving him breakfast in a pub, a drunken Haydock miner's canal death, the man who fell down a hole and there's another wearing apparel theft.
This week's stories include the Sunday evening burglars in Robins Lane, a new Chamber of Commerce for St Helens is created, the sending back to prison of a ticket-of-leave man, the drunken passenger at Newton Bridge who almost died and the temperance man who accused Queen Victoria of being a drunk.
We begin on the 15th with a report in the Liverpool Mercury that a Chamber of Commerce was being created in St Helens.
A meeting had been held at the Raven Hotel chaired by Alderman John Marsh, the new mayor of St Helens.
A membership fee of £1 was agreed "for all persons interested in the trade of the borough, or district of St. Helen's" who wished to join the new body.
A committee was also formed to draw up a constitution, laws and by-laws and Col. David Gamble was appointed secretary of the Chamber.
The artists performing this week at the Theatre Royal Concert Hall in St Helens – on the corner of Milk Street and Waterloo Street – were again centred on black minstrel acts, the so-called serio-comics and multi-skilled entertainers.
They included Mr and Mrs Con ("Ireland's greatest and most humorous duettists, dancers &c., nightly received with roars of laughter and thunders of applause"); Mr Waters Morion ("America's unrivalled negro delineator, in his inimitable songs, dances, &c., the most truthful representative of the Southern darkie”); Miss Lottie Bateson ("Serio-comic and most accomplished characteristic vocalist on the British stage") and Mr Pat Folloy ("A smart Irish comedian").
"Darkie", is of course, a highly offensive term now but somewhat mild in comparison with the "N-word", which was then regularly used in newspaper descriptions of black acts.
At Wigan County Police Court on the 17th, a miner called Peter Aspinall was summoned for leaving his work without notice.
The man had worked for the Wigan Coal and Iron Company's mine at Crawford Village and his bosses wanted £1 compensation for him quitting his job.
However, Aspinall told the court that he had no intention of giving up his employment and his absence had simply been because of illness.
An order was made for him to pay the £1 compensation, along with the court courts, and Aspinall promised to return to work. Well he'd have to, to pay off the fine!
In March 1869 Edward Rigby had been so annoyed by the manner of the eviction of a Sutton pub landlord's family, that he chose to intervene.
The provisions shop owner lived next door to the Bowling Green in Robins Lane and he punched one evictor and then in the ensuing struggle, had two of his own teeth knocked out.
The furious shopkeeper then went home for his gun, which frightened off the unofficial bailiffs, who bolted through a window. "Human nature caused me to act as I did", Rigby told a judge in court.
During the 19th, Edward Rigby's house in Robins Lane in Sutton was burgled, as the St Helens Newspaper described:
"On Sunday night, between seven and ten o’clock, while the family were out, the house of Mr. Edward Rigby, of Robin's-lane, Sutton, near St.Helens, was forcibly entered.
"The drawers and cupboards were completely ransacked, and a quantity of wearing apparel and other articles were stolen.
"The police have been round the town under instructions from the superintendent, to warn householders against wholly deserting their habitations on Sunday evenings.
"We have been favoured, for some weeks, with the presence of a gang of burglars from Liverpool, who watch families [go] to church on Sunday evenings, and then commit the most impudent robberies.
"The worst of the matter is that no effort of the authorities has yet been successful in bringing any of the rascals to justice."
Around the same time that robbers were in Robins Lane, a drunk got out of the Liverpool train at Newton Bridge station.
Not an unusual occurrence, of course, but this man was seriously drunk and a danger to himself.
Fortunately, a fellow passenger called Spence observed the man stagger up a narrow path leading to the level above the railway; fall down and then roll back down the path onto the line. The Wigan Observer wrote:
"The occurrence was not observed by any one else, and fearing an accident, Mr. Spence got out and went to the place where the inebriate man was moaning as though in pain.
"He found him lying close to the metals, and in such a position that had he not died from cold – for the night was one of the coldest of the season – he would inevitably have been killed by the first passing train.
"The man, who had sustained no material injury, was taken to a place of safety."
Patrick Kirby was a "ticket-of-leave" man and on the 20th appeared in St Helens Petty Sessions.
The term ticket-of-leave was given to those allowed to leave prison before the completion of their sentence – what we would call "on licence".
Such individuals had to carry their permit with them and fulfil the following conditions:
"1. The Holder shall preserve his Licence and produce it when called upon to do so by a Magistrate or Police Officer.
"2. He shall abstain from any Violation of the Law.
"3. He shall not habitually associate with notorious bad Characters, such as reputed Thieves and Prostitutes.
"4. He shall not lead an idle and dissolute Life without visible means of obtaining an honest Livelihood.
"If his Licence is forfeited or revoked in consequence of a Conviction for any Offence, he will be liable to undergo a Term of Penal Servitude equal to the portion of his Term of Seven Years which remained unexpired when his Licence was granted viz.: the Term of Ten months."
The above is copied from Patrick Kirby's own licence, with clause 3 suggesting that it would be OK for him to go with prostitutes every now and then – but he was not to make a habit of it!
Ticket-of-leave men – and presumably women – also needed to keep their local police station informed of their current address.
That's where Kirby had gone wrong and the magistrates at St Helens sent the man back to prison to serve the remaining 10 months of his term.
On the 21st as the eight o’clock train from Widnes was approaching Sutton, a young man called James Orrell jumped from the train while it was in motion.
He became entangled in the wheels causing both of his legs to be cut off and he died almost immediately.
James was an engine cleaner at the Sutton Sheds and according to the 1871 census was only 14.
The boy lived at Swifts Moss Lane near Moss Nook in Sutton and appeared to have jumped off the train to take a short cut home.
The movement to limit the working day to nine hours and the working week to 54 hours was gaining ground. This week the Atlas Iron Works in Pocket Nook agreed to adopt the scheme.
The campaign was also encouraging some trades to protest about their own long hours and poor pay.
During the evening of the 19th, a well-attended meeting of the colliery winders of St Helens and district took place.
These individuals had the important task of taking men and materials down coalmines and safely returning them to the surface.
Several winders delivered speeches in which they described their long hours and low pay, as reported by the Liverpool Mercury:
"They have to work twelve hours a day, attending to the engines which drive the winding gear, and during the whole of that period the faculties of the winder are upon the strain, in as much as the negligence of a moment might cost several lives and do immense damage to property.
"Their meals have to be eaten virtually as they work. For these services, and the tremendous responsibility attaching to them, the average remuneration is 3s. 8d. per day.
"It was pointed out that the engine man required to be intelligent, in the prime of life, and perfectly sober, and it was argued from these facts that their pay should be somewhat better than it is."
Some time ago when the coal miners of the district had their pay reduced because trade was bad, the engine winders' wages were also cut.
However, the recent 10% increase in pay awarded to the miners had excluded the winders.
The meeting decided that their goal should be a pay scale of 5 shillings for an eight-hour day.
Concluding its report the Mercury said: "Resolutions, pledging the winders to bring the matter before the employers immediately, were passed with acclamation."
And finally, these two short reports were in the Liverpool Mercury this week. The first concerned a terrible famine that was taking place in Iran – or Persia, as the country was then called:
"The Bombay papers continue to publish very sad accounts respecting the famine in Persia.
"At the beginning of September the inhabitants of Ispahan were, it is said, dying of starvation, and it is feared that matters will in all probability grow worse till June next.
"At Meschid, the capital of the province of Khorassan, and a town of 120,000 inhabitants, 80,000 people are said, up to August 7, to have died from starvation, 20,000 have fled the city, and those who remained have for the most part been seized and carried away into slavery by Afghan hordes.
"The Shah of Persia is said to be becoming very unpopular. On the news of his return to his capital from a recent hunting excursion, thousands of people covered themselves with dust and ashes and raised seditious cries before his palace.
"These proceedings so alarmed the Shah that for the time being he would not venture into his capital but afterwards he committed several atrocities.
"Letters from Yezd state that famine, want of employment, cholera, and lawlessness, induced by desperation, continue.
"In Bushire about 4000 paupers receive daily relief from the British residency."
Back in Britain criticism of Queen Victoria did occur in the 1870s – but would often result in a backlash.
That is shown in this second article that bore the headline "Slandering The Queen" and concerned the monarch being accused of being a drunkard:
"Yesterday morning, Mr. Dart, clerk to the Brixham magistrates, applied at Torquay petty sessions for a warrant to apprehend Mr. Gribble, secretary of a teetotal society, on a charge of treason, for having stated at a public meeting “that the lady who wears the crown of this great country is addicted to intemperance.”
"The magistrates, however, did not think the words were absolutely treasonable, and a warrant was not granted."
Next week's stories will include a rabies death in Newton, the husband who attacked his wife for serving him breakfast in a pub, a drunken Haydock miner's canal death, the man who fell down a hole and there's another wearing apparel theft.
We begin on the 15th with a report in the Liverpool Mercury that a Chamber of Commerce was being created in St Helens.
A meeting had been held at the Raven Hotel chaired by Alderman John Marsh, the new mayor of St Helens.
A membership fee of £1 was agreed "for all persons interested in the trade of the borough, or district of St. Helen's" who wished to join the new body.
A committee was also formed to draw up a constitution, laws and by-laws and Col. David Gamble was appointed secretary of the Chamber.
The artists performing this week at the Theatre Royal Concert Hall in St Helens – on the corner of Milk Street and Waterloo Street – were again centred on black minstrel acts, the so-called serio-comics and multi-skilled entertainers.
They included Mr and Mrs Con ("Ireland's greatest and most humorous duettists, dancers &c., nightly received with roars of laughter and thunders of applause"); Mr Waters Morion ("America's unrivalled negro delineator, in his inimitable songs, dances, &c., the most truthful representative of the Southern darkie”); Miss Lottie Bateson ("Serio-comic and most accomplished characteristic vocalist on the British stage") and Mr Pat Folloy ("A smart Irish comedian").
"Darkie", is of course, a highly offensive term now but somewhat mild in comparison with the "N-word", which was then regularly used in newspaper descriptions of black acts.
At Wigan County Police Court on the 17th, a miner called Peter Aspinall was summoned for leaving his work without notice.
The man had worked for the Wigan Coal and Iron Company's mine at Crawford Village and his bosses wanted £1 compensation for him quitting his job.
However, Aspinall told the court that he had no intention of giving up his employment and his absence had simply been because of illness.
An order was made for him to pay the £1 compensation, along with the court courts, and Aspinall promised to return to work. Well he'd have to, to pay off the fine!
In March 1869 Edward Rigby had been so annoyed by the manner of the eviction of a Sutton pub landlord's family, that he chose to intervene.
The provisions shop owner lived next door to the Bowling Green in Robins Lane and he punched one evictor and then in the ensuing struggle, had two of his own teeth knocked out.
The furious shopkeeper then went home for his gun, which frightened off the unofficial bailiffs, who bolted through a window. "Human nature caused me to act as I did", Rigby told a judge in court.
During the 19th, Edward Rigby's house in Robins Lane in Sutton was burgled, as the St Helens Newspaper described:
"On Sunday night, between seven and ten o’clock, while the family were out, the house of Mr. Edward Rigby, of Robin's-lane, Sutton, near St.Helens, was forcibly entered.
"The drawers and cupboards were completely ransacked, and a quantity of wearing apparel and other articles were stolen.
"The police have been round the town under instructions from the superintendent, to warn householders against wholly deserting their habitations on Sunday evenings.
"We have been favoured, for some weeks, with the presence of a gang of burglars from Liverpool, who watch families [go] to church on Sunday evenings, and then commit the most impudent robberies.
"The worst of the matter is that no effort of the authorities has yet been successful in bringing any of the rascals to justice."
Around the same time that robbers were in Robins Lane, a drunk got out of the Liverpool train at Newton Bridge station.
Not an unusual occurrence, of course, but this man was seriously drunk and a danger to himself.
Fortunately, a fellow passenger called Spence observed the man stagger up a narrow path leading to the level above the railway; fall down and then roll back down the path onto the line. The Wigan Observer wrote:
"The occurrence was not observed by any one else, and fearing an accident, Mr. Spence got out and went to the place where the inebriate man was moaning as though in pain.
"He found him lying close to the metals, and in such a position that had he not died from cold – for the night was one of the coldest of the season – he would inevitably have been killed by the first passing train.
"The man, who had sustained no material injury, was taken to a place of safety."
Patrick Kirby was a "ticket-of-leave" man and on the 20th appeared in St Helens Petty Sessions.
The term ticket-of-leave was given to those allowed to leave prison before the completion of their sentence – what we would call "on licence".
Such individuals had to carry their permit with them and fulfil the following conditions:
"1. The Holder shall preserve his Licence and produce it when called upon to do so by a Magistrate or Police Officer.
"2. He shall abstain from any Violation of the Law.
"3. He shall not habitually associate with notorious bad Characters, such as reputed Thieves and Prostitutes.
"4. He shall not lead an idle and dissolute Life without visible means of obtaining an honest Livelihood.
"If his Licence is forfeited or revoked in consequence of a Conviction for any Offence, he will be liable to undergo a Term of Penal Servitude equal to the portion of his Term of Seven Years which remained unexpired when his Licence was granted viz.: the Term of Ten months."
The above is copied from Patrick Kirby's own licence, with clause 3 suggesting that it would be OK for him to go with prostitutes every now and then – but he was not to make a habit of it!
Ticket-of-leave men – and presumably women – also needed to keep their local police station informed of their current address.
That's where Kirby had gone wrong and the magistrates at St Helens sent the man back to prison to serve the remaining 10 months of his term.
On the 21st as the eight o’clock train from Widnes was approaching Sutton, a young man called James Orrell jumped from the train while it was in motion.
He became entangled in the wheels causing both of his legs to be cut off and he died almost immediately.
James was an engine cleaner at the Sutton Sheds and according to the 1871 census was only 14.
The boy lived at Swifts Moss Lane near Moss Nook in Sutton and appeared to have jumped off the train to take a short cut home.
The movement to limit the working day to nine hours and the working week to 54 hours was gaining ground. This week the Atlas Iron Works in Pocket Nook agreed to adopt the scheme.
The campaign was also encouraging some trades to protest about their own long hours and poor pay.
During the evening of the 19th, a well-attended meeting of the colliery winders of St Helens and district took place.
These individuals had the important task of taking men and materials down coalmines and safely returning them to the surface.
"They have to work twelve hours a day, attending to the engines which drive the winding gear, and during the whole of that period the faculties of the winder are upon the strain, in as much as the negligence of a moment might cost several lives and do immense damage to property.
"Their meals have to be eaten virtually as they work. For these services, and the tremendous responsibility attaching to them, the average remuneration is 3s. 8d. per day.
"It was pointed out that the engine man required to be intelligent, in the prime of life, and perfectly sober, and it was argued from these facts that their pay should be somewhat better than it is."
Some time ago when the coal miners of the district had their pay reduced because trade was bad, the engine winders' wages were also cut.
However, the recent 10% increase in pay awarded to the miners had excluded the winders.
The meeting decided that their goal should be a pay scale of 5 shillings for an eight-hour day.
Concluding its report the Mercury said: "Resolutions, pledging the winders to bring the matter before the employers immediately, were passed with acclamation."
And finally, these two short reports were in the Liverpool Mercury this week. The first concerned a terrible famine that was taking place in Iran – or Persia, as the country was then called:
"The Bombay papers continue to publish very sad accounts respecting the famine in Persia.
"At the beginning of September the inhabitants of Ispahan were, it is said, dying of starvation, and it is feared that matters will in all probability grow worse till June next.
"At Meschid, the capital of the province of Khorassan, and a town of 120,000 inhabitants, 80,000 people are said, up to August 7, to have died from starvation, 20,000 have fled the city, and those who remained have for the most part been seized and carried away into slavery by Afghan hordes.
"The Shah of Persia is said to be becoming very unpopular. On the news of his return to his capital from a recent hunting excursion, thousands of people covered themselves with dust and ashes and raised seditious cries before his palace.
"These proceedings so alarmed the Shah that for the time being he would not venture into his capital but afterwards he committed several atrocities.
"Letters from Yezd state that famine, want of employment, cholera, and lawlessness, induced by desperation, continue.
"In Bushire about 4000 paupers receive daily relief from the British residency."
Back in Britain criticism of Queen Victoria did occur in the 1870s – but would often result in a backlash.
That is shown in this second article that bore the headline "Slandering The Queen" and concerned the monarch being accused of being a drunkard:
"Yesterday morning, Mr. Dart, clerk to the Brixham magistrates, applied at Torquay petty sessions for a warrant to apprehend Mr. Gribble, secretary of a teetotal society, on a charge of treason, for having stated at a public meeting “that the lady who wears the crown of this great country is addicted to intemperance.”
"The magistrates, however, did not think the words were absolutely treasonable, and a warrant was not granted."
Next week's stories will include a rabies death in Newton, the husband who attacked his wife for serving him breakfast in a pub, a drunken Haydock miner's canal death, the man who fell down a hole and there's another wearing apparel theft.