150 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (20th - 26th FEBRUARY 1873)
This week's many stories include the big increase in the sending of Valentine cards, the pitiful woman sent to prison for a month for attempting a sixpenny fraud, the St Helens mayor is slated by the Newspaper and the Pilks' bonus scheme for its management staff – but not its workers.
We begin on the 21st when the body of a man named Henry Bridge was found floating in the canal in St Helens opposite Tinker's soap works. It appeared to be a very sad case with the 60-year-old having recently been in the infirmary at Whiston Workhouse suffering from a bad leg. From the time of his discharge a fortnight earlier, Henry had been going about the town begging. A woman who spoke to him said he was in a depressed state of mind and Henry had not been seen again until his body was found.
The editor and owner of the St Helens Newspaper was Bernard Dromgoole. From his offices in Hardshaw Street, Dromgoole pulled no punches in his editorials and consequently was no stranger to the libel courts. This week the decision to appoint the first St Helens Medical Officer of Health at a salary of £100 a year was in his sights. Dromgoole was not against such a position being created but was aghast that it might go to a local man and not prove meaningful. This was what he wrote:
"For some months past the state of the town, from nuisances, has been really abominable. The most filthy and noxious vapours have been poured, literally poured, upon the town from the chemical works, and yet not the least action has been taken, either by the Health Committee or its officers. If – as the course the discussion took at the Health Committee the other day – we are to be left to the tender mercies, or lazy incompetency, of the parties who have hitherto been supposed to have the care of these matters, then we can only come to the conclusion that the appointment of a local medical officer will be a JOB, and we more than regret that the Mayor should have been induced to lend his name and influence to such an arrangement."
Job or jobbery referred to the conducting of official business for private gain and Dromgoole then went on to criticise the creation of token jobs or sinecures: "If jobbery of this kind is to become chronic with us …the people themselves will have to take such action as may teach medical officers and corporate officials that a regard for the health of the inhabitants is a higher duty than the finding of sinecures for truckling adherents."
Bonuses for workers were so rare in the 19th century that the term doesn't seem to have then been in use. When the Newspaper on the 22nd reported on some rare financial benevolence from Pilkingtons (shown above in the 1870s), it was referred to as a "voluntary, goodwill gift". This is how their piece began:
"It is our pleasing duty to record an act of generosity performed by one of our local firms, which deserves the commendation of every man in the community. Last Friday, Messrs. Pilkington, glass manufacturers, distributed between £200 and £230 between their clerks, foremen, and managers."
I'm not sure that Pilks' workers – who were not receiving a penny extra for their labours – would have given their commendation to the gifts that other men in the firm received. Some of those had been on a lengthy strike in 1871 after their wages had been slashed. Pilks refused to talk to the men and eventually desperation forced them to return to work. It appeared that Pilks' bosses had long memories.
However, the workers did have their annual soirée in the Volunteer Hall to enjoy, as the Newspaper described: "Upwards of 900 persons, composed of employes of the firm, with their wives or sweethearts, attended. The walls were decorated with colossal mottoes, bearing such inscriptions, as ‘Continued success to the Pilkington Family,’ and ‘May the Crown Glassworks always prosper.’ The excellent feeling which subsists between the employers and the employed in the vast concerns presided over and directed by the Messrs. Pilkington, found expression in the sentiments contained in these several legends." Unlike Pilkingtons' bosses, the Newspaper appeared to have a short memory!
The paper also wrote: "The festival of St. Valentine has come and gone as festivals come and go from year to year, and tender lovers or satirical friends have made their annual contributions to the general celebration." It had been another record year for the sending of Valentine cards in St Helens, with many residents sending comic Valentines, as the "satirical friends" comment above suggests.
The Post Office reckoned that just under 8,000 cards had been either delivered in the town or forwarded on. However, that number was dwarfed by Liverpool lovers, with the Mercury newspaper reporting that 150,000 Valentine cards had been sent; almost double the number from two years ago:
"Notwithstanding the increased number of these delicate – in some cases, no doubt, indelicate – missives, the delivery, thanks to the excellent management of Mr. Banning, the postmaster, and his subordinates, and the energy of the postmen, was accomplished in far less time than in previous years, and the inconvenience of the unsentimental section of the public who devote their attention to matters of commerce rather than to the vapourings of affection consequently reduced in proportion.
"As in former years, the “valentines” included some objectionable substances; but the knowledge that everything of this kind, as well as anything bearing external signs of gross abuse or obscenity, are confiscated by the authorities, has operated as a considerable check upon those who seize the occasion to pour their abuse upon some begrudged neighbour."
Night soil was the euphemism for human faeces and was so called because a collector normally removed it at night from the privies, pits and pail closets that people then used as toilets. The Newspaper described how the town now had a new night soil depot, with the borough's surveyor reporting to a council committee meeting that the road approaching the depot had now been fenced.
He had also been to Liverpool to find out how much it would cost to timber the whole depot and found wood obtained from the breaking up of old boats that could be bought for about £10. It was also revealed that the Corporation's recent sale of night soil had brought in a net profit of £57. As they say, where there's muck there's brass! One committee member called for some measure to be taken to prevent the rain from washing away what he called "the very best part" of the night soil and the surveyor said a trench would be cut to prevent overflows.
There were a number of very harsh sentences handed down at the St Helens Petty Sessions this week. The Newspaper described Ann Reilly as a "poor looking woman" and said she had been caught "ringing the changes" at the Liverpool Inn. The landlord of the Liverpool Road hostelry said the woman had pretended not to have received the sixpence change when buying some drink. The Newspaper wrote: "Prisoner made a pitiful appeal". However, her words to the magistrates fell on deaf ears as she was sent to prison for a month – all for a tanner.
Also on the receiving end of tough justice this week was John Johnson who was charged with stealing a 2-shilling piece from Elizabeth Fry. The latter lived in St Thomas Street in St Helens (near the church) and gave evidence that Johnson had asked her for a loan of twopence. But she only had a florin on her at the time and as she knew John she had let him take the coin.
However, that had been strictly on the promise of him getting the two bob changed but he never returned and so she had him arrested. Johnson told the court that he had been tempted to spend the money and as this had been his second offence for larceny, he was sent to prison to serve a month's hard labour.
At St Helens Petty Sessions on the 22nd Jane Cornwall, described as an old offender, was sent to prison for 28 days for being drunk and very disorderly in the streets. Then in court on the 24th, Peter Dolan was charged with stealing timber from the premises of the Bridgewater Chemical Works. The boy appeared to be only nine and living in Parr Street and was ordered to be sent to prison for three weeks and then on to a reformatory for five years.
On the 26th the Liverpool Daily Post described the death of William Pendlebury at the age of 88: "For twenty years he was coachman to the late Dr. Rutter, of this town, [Liverpool], who on his death left him a legacy of £100. Pendlebury then retired to Rainford, and in the year 1857 built a chapel in Alder-lane, which, with a plot of ground, he subsequently presented to the Wesleyan body.
"Twelve years ago he entered the workshop of an old friend, a cabinetmaker of St. Helens, and requested him to make his last suit, meaning his coffin. The order was executed, and since then the coffin, in which he is this day to be interred, has laid under his bed. The deceased was much respected in St. Helens and the surrounding country."
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next week's stories will include the lunatic on the railway at Moss Bank, some shocking St Helens death stats, the Sutton sweeping brush squabble, the horse that was backed into a Cowley Hill pit and the gold ring scam in Raglan Street.
We begin on the 21st when the body of a man named Henry Bridge was found floating in the canal in St Helens opposite Tinker's soap works. It appeared to be a very sad case with the 60-year-old having recently been in the infirmary at Whiston Workhouse suffering from a bad leg. From the time of his discharge a fortnight earlier, Henry had been going about the town begging. A woman who spoke to him said he was in a depressed state of mind and Henry had not been seen again until his body was found.
"For some months past the state of the town, from nuisances, has been really abominable. The most filthy and noxious vapours have been poured, literally poured, upon the town from the chemical works, and yet not the least action has been taken, either by the Health Committee or its officers. If – as the course the discussion took at the Health Committee the other day – we are to be left to the tender mercies, or lazy incompetency, of the parties who have hitherto been supposed to have the care of these matters, then we can only come to the conclusion that the appointment of a local medical officer will be a JOB, and we more than regret that the Mayor should have been induced to lend his name and influence to such an arrangement."
Job or jobbery referred to the conducting of official business for private gain and Dromgoole then went on to criticise the creation of token jobs or sinecures: "If jobbery of this kind is to become chronic with us …the people themselves will have to take such action as may teach medical officers and corporate officials that a regard for the health of the inhabitants is a higher duty than the finding of sinecures for truckling adherents."
"It is our pleasing duty to record an act of generosity performed by one of our local firms, which deserves the commendation of every man in the community. Last Friday, Messrs. Pilkington, glass manufacturers, distributed between £200 and £230 between their clerks, foremen, and managers."
I'm not sure that Pilks' workers – who were not receiving a penny extra for their labours – would have given their commendation to the gifts that other men in the firm received. Some of those had been on a lengthy strike in 1871 after their wages had been slashed. Pilks refused to talk to the men and eventually desperation forced them to return to work. It appeared that Pilks' bosses had long memories.
However, the workers did have their annual soirée in the Volunteer Hall to enjoy, as the Newspaper described: "Upwards of 900 persons, composed of employes of the firm, with their wives or sweethearts, attended. The walls were decorated with colossal mottoes, bearing such inscriptions, as ‘Continued success to the Pilkington Family,’ and ‘May the Crown Glassworks always prosper.’ The excellent feeling which subsists between the employers and the employed in the vast concerns presided over and directed by the Messrs. Pilkington, found expression in the sentiments contained in these several legends." Unlike Pilkingtons' bosses, the Newspaper appeared to have a short memory!
The paper also wrote: "The festival of St. Valentine has come and gone as festivals come and go from year to year, and tender lovers or satirical friends have made their annual contributions to the general celebration." It had been another record year for the sending of Valentine cards in St Helens, with many residents sending comic Valentines, as the "satirical friends" comment above suggests.
The Post Office reckoned that just under 8,000 cards had been either delivered in the town or forwarded on. However, that number was dwarfed by Liverpool lovers, with the Mercury newspaper reporting that 150,000 Valentine cards had been sent; almost double the number from two years ago:
"Notwithstanding the increased number of these delicate – in some cases, no doubt, indelicate – missives, the delivery, thanks to the excellent management of Mr. Banning, the postmaster, and his subordinates, and the energy of the postmen, was accomplished in far less time than in previous years, and the inconvenience of the unsentimental section of the public who devote their attention to matters of commerce rather than to the vapourings of affection consequently reduced in proportion.
"As in former years, the “valentines” included some objectionable substances; but the knowledge that everything of this kind, as well as anything bearing external signs of gross abuse or obscenity, are confiscated by the authorities, has operated as a considerable check upon those who seize the occasion to pour their abuse upon some begrudged neighbour."
Night soil was the euphemism for human faeces and was so called because a collector normally removed it at night from the privies, pits and pail closets that people then used as toilets. The Newspaper described how the town now had a new night soil depot, with the borough's surveyor reporting to a council committee meeting that the road approaching the depot had now been fenced.
He had also been to Liverpool to find out how much it would cost to timber the whole depot and found wood obtained from the breaking up of old boats that could be bought for about £10. It was also revealed that the Corporation's recent sale of night soil had brought in a net profit of £57. As they say, where there's muck there's brass! One committee member called for some measure to be taken to prevent the rain from washing away what he called "the very best part" of the night soil and the surveyor said a trench would be cut to prevent overflows.
There were a number of very harsh sentences handed down at the St Helens Petty Sessions this week. The Newspaper described Ann Reilly as a "poor looking woman" and said she had been caught "ringing the changes" at the Liverpool Inn. The landlord of the Liverpool Road hostelry said the woman had pretended not to have received the sixpence change when buying some drink. The Newspaper wrote: "Prisoner made a pitiful appeal". However, her words to the magistrates fell on deaf ears as she was sent to prison for a month – all for a tanner.
Also on the receiving end of tough justice this week was John Johnson who was charged with stealing a 2-shilling piece from Elizabeth Fry. The latter lived in St Thomas Street in St Helens (near the church) and gave evidence that Johnson had asked her for a loan of twopence. But she only had a florin on her at the time and as she knew John she had let him take the coin.
However, that had been strictly on the promise of him getting the two bob changed but he never returned and so she had him arrested. Johnson told the court that he had been tempted to spend the money and as this had been his second offence for larceny, he was sent to prison to serve a month's hard labour.
At St Helens Petty Sessions on the 22nd Jane Cornwall, described as an old offender, was sent to prison for 28 days for being drunk and very disorderly in the streets. Then in court on the 24th, Peter Dolan was charged with stealing timber from the premises of the Bridgewater Chemical Works. The boy appeared to be only nine and living in Parr Street and was ordered to be sent to prison for three weeks and then on to a reformatory for five years.
On the 26th the Liverpool Daily Post described the death of William Pendlebury at the age of 88: "For twenty years he was coachman to the late Dr. Rutter, of this town, [Liverpool], who on his death left him a legacy of £100. Pendlebury then retired to Rainford, and in the year 1857 built a chapel in Alder-lane, which, with a plot of ground, he subsequently presented to the Wesleyan body.
"Twelve years ago he entered the workshop of an old friend, a cabinetmaker of St. Helens, and requested him to make his last suit, meaning his coffin. The order was executed, and since then the coffin, in which he is this day to be interred, has laid under his bed. The deceased was much respected in St. Helens and the surrounding country."
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next week's stories will include the lunatic on the railway at Moss Bank, some shocking St Helens death stats, the Sutton sweeping brush squabble, the horse that was backed into a Cowley Hill pit and the gold ring scam in Raglan Street.
This week's many stories include the big increase in the sending of Valentine cards, the pitiful woman sent to prison for a month for attempting a sixpenny fraud, the St Helens mayor is slated by the Newspaper and the Pilks' bonus scheme for its management staff – but not its workers.
We begin on the 21st when the body of a man named Henry Bridge was found floating in the canal in St Helens opposite Tinker's soap works.
It appeared to be a very sad case with the 60-year-old having recently been in the infirmary at Whiston Workhouse suffering from a bad leg.
From the time of his discharge a fortnight earlier, Henry had been going about the town begging.
A woman who spoke to him said he was in a depressed state of mind and Henry had not been seen again until his body was found.
The editor and owner of the St Helens Newspaper was Bernard Dromgoole. From his offices in Hardshaw Street, Dromgoole pulled no punches in his editorials and consequently was no stranger to the libel courts.
This week the decision to appoint the first St Helens Medical Officer of Health at a salary of £100 a year was in his sights.
Dromgoole was not against such a position being created but was aghast that it might go to a local man and not prove meaningful. This was what he wrote:
"For some months past the state of the town, from nuisances, has been really abominable. The most filthy and noxious vapours have been poured, literally poured, upon the town from the chemical works, and yet not the least action has been taken, either by the Health Committee or its officers.
"If – as the course the discussion took at the Health Committee the other day – we are to be left to the tender mercies, or lazy incompetency, of the parties who have hitherto been supposed to have the care of these matters, then we can only come to the conclusion that the appointment of a local medical officer will be a JOB, and we more than regret that the Mayor should have been induced to lend his name and influence to such an arrangement."
Job or jobbery referred to the conducting of official business for private gain and Dromgoole then went on to criticise the creation of token jobs or sinecures:
"If jobbery of this kind is to become chronic with us …the people themselves will have to take such action as may teach medical officers and corporate officials that a regard for the health of the inhabitants is a higher duty than the finding of sinecures for truckling adherents."
Bonuses for workers were so rare in the 19th century that the term doesn't seem to have then been in use.
When the Newspaper on the 22nd reported on some rare financial benevolence from Pilkingtons (shown above in the 1870s), it was referred to as a "voluntary, goodwill gift". This is how their piece began:
"It is our pleasing duty to record an act of generosity performed by one of our local firms, which deserves the commendation of every man in the community. Last Friday, Messrs. Pilkington, glass manufacturers, distributed between £200 and £230 between their clerks, foremen, and managers."
I'm not sure that Pilks' workers – who were not receiving a penny extra for their labours – would have given their commendation to the gifts that other men in the firm received.
Some of those had been on a lengthy strike in 1871 after their wages had been slashed. Pilks refused to talk to the men and eventually desperation forced them to return to work. It appeared that Pilks' bosses had long memories.
However, the workers did have their annual soirée in the Volunteer Hall to enjoy, as the Newspaper described:
"Upwards of 900 persons, composed of employes of the firm, with their wives or sweethearts, attended.
"The walls were decorated with colossal mottoes, bearing such inscriptions, as ‘Continued success to the Pilkington Family,’ and ‘May the Crown Glassworks always prosper.’
"The excellent feeling which subsists between the employers and the employed in the vast concerns presided over and directed by the Messrs. Pilkington, found expression in the sentiments contained in these several legends."
Unlike Pilkingtons' bosses, the Newspaper appeared to have a short memory!
The paper also wrote: "The festival of St. Valentine has come and gone as festivals come and go from year to year, and tender lovers or satirical friends have made their annual contributions to the general celebration."
It had been another record year for the sending of Valentine cards in St Helens, with many residents sending comic Valentines, as the "satirical friends" comment above suggests.
The Post Office reckoned that just under 8,000 cards had been either delivered in the town or forwarded on.
However, that number was dwarfed by Liverpool lovers, with the Mercury newspaper reporting that 150,000 Valentine cards had been sent; almost double the number from two years ago:
"Notwithstanding the increased number of these delicate – in some cases, no doubt, indelicate – missives, the delivery, thanks to the excellent management of Mr. Banning, the postmaster, and his subordinates, and the energy of the postmen, was accomplished in far less time than in previous years, and the inconvenience of the unsentimental section of the public who devote their attention to matters of commerce rather than to the vapourings of affection consequently reduced in proportion.
"As in former years, the “valentines” included some objectionable substances; but the knowledge that everything of this kind, as well as anything bearing external signs of gross abuse or obscenity, are confiscated by the authorities, has operated as a considerable check upon those who seize the occasion to pour their abuse upon some begrudged neighbour."
Night soil was the euphemism for human faeces and was so called because a collector normally removed it at night from the privies, pits and pail closets that people then used as toilets.
The Newspaper described how the town now had a new night soil depot, with the borough's surveyor reporting to a council committee meeting that the road approaching the depot had now been fenced.
He had also been to Liverpool to find out how much it would cost to timber the whole depot and found wood obtained from the breaking up of old boats that could be bought for about £10.
It was also revealed that the Corporation's recent sale of night soil had brought in a net profit of £57. As they say, where there's muck there's brass!
One committee member called for some measure to be taken to prevent the rain from washing away what he called "the very best part" of the night soil and the surveyor said a trench would be cut to prevent overflows.
There were a number of very harsh sentences handed down at the St Helens Petty Sessions this week.
The Newspaper described Ann Reilly as a "poor looking woman" and said she had been caught "ringing the changes" at the Liverpool Inn.
The landlord of the Liverpool Road hostelry said the woman had pretended not to have received the sixpence change when buying some drink.
The Newspaper wrote: "Prisoner made a pitiful appeal". However, her words to the magistrates fell on deaf ears as she was sent to prison for a month – all for a tanner.
Also on the receiving end of tough justice this week was John Johnson who was charged with stealing a 2-shilling piece from Elizabeth Fry.
The latter lived in St Thomas Street in St Helens (near the church) and gave evidence that Johnson had asked her for a loan of twopence.
But she only had a florin on her at the time and as she knew John she had let him take the coin.
However, that had been strictly on the promise of him getting the two bob changed but he never returned and so she had him arrested.
Johnson told the court that he had been tempted to spend the money and as this had been his second offence for larceny, he was sent to prison to serve a month's hard labour.
At St Helens Petty Sessions on the 22nd Jane Cornwall, described as an old offender, was sent to prison for 28 days for being drunk and very disorderly in the streets.
Then in court on the 24th, Peter Dolan was charged with stealing timber from the premises of the Bridgewater Chemical Works.
The boy appeared to be only nine and living in Parr Street and was ordered to be sent to prison for three weeks and then on to a reformatory for five years.
On the 26th the Liverpool Daily Post described the death of William Pendlebury at the age of 88:
"For twenty years he was coachman to the late Dr. Rutter, of this town, [Liverpool], who on his death left him a legacy of £100.
"Pendlebury then retired to Rainford, and in the year 1857 built a chapel in Alder-lane, which, with a plot of ground, he subsequently presented to the Wesleyan body.
"Twelve years ago he entered the workshop of an old friend, a cabinetmaker of St. Helens, and requested him to make his last suit, meaning his coffin.
"The order was executed, and since then the coffin, in which he is this day to be interred, has laid under his bed. The deceased was much respected in St. Helens and the surrounding country."
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next week's stories will include the lunatic on the railway at Moss Bank, some shocking St Helens death stats, the Sutton sweeping brush squabble, the horse that was backed into a Cowley Hill pit and the gold ring scam in Raglan Street.
We begin on the 21st when the body of a man named Henry Bridge was found floating in the canal in St Helens opposite Tinker's soap works.
It appeared to be a very sad case with the 60-year-old having recently been in the infirmary at Whiston Workhouse suffering from a bad leg.
From the time of his discharge a fortnight earlier, Henry had been going about the town begging.
A woman who spoke to him said he was in a depressed state of mind and Henry had not been seen again until his body was found.
This week the decision to appoint the first St Helens Medical Officer of Health at a salary of £100 a year was in his sights.
Dromgoole was not against such a position being created but was aghast that it might go to a local man and not prove meaningful. This was what he wrote:
"For some months past the state of the town, from nuisances, has been really abominable. The most filthy and noxious vapours have been poured, literally poured, upon the town from the chemical works, and yet not the least action has been taken, either by the Health Committee or its officers.
"If – as the course the discussion took at the Health Committee the other day – we are to be left to the tender mercies, or lazy incompetency, of the parties who have hitherto been supposed to have the care of these matters, then we can only come to the conclusion that the appointment of a local medical officer will be a JOB, and we more than regret that the Mayor should have been induced to lend his name and influence to such an arrangement."
Job or jobbery referred to the conducting of official business for private gain and Dromgoole then went on to criticise the creation of token jobs or sinecures:
"If jobbery of this kind is to become chronic with us …the people themselves will have to take such action as may teach medical officers and corporate officials that a regard for the health of the inhabitants is a higher duty than the finding of sinecures for truckling adherents."
When the Newspaper on the 22nd reported on some rare financial benevolence from Pilkingtons (shown above in the 1870s), it was referred to as a "voluntary, goodwill gift". This is how their piece began:
"It is our pleasing duty to record an act of generosity performed by one of our local firms, which deserves the commendation of every man in the community. Last Friday, Messrs. Pilkington, glass manufacturers, distributed between £200 and £230 between their clerks, foremen, and managers."
I'm not sure that Pilks' workers – who were not receiving a penny extra for their labours – would have given their commendation to the gifts that other men in the firm received.
Some of those had been on a lengthy strike in 1871 after their wages had been slashed. Pilks refused to talk to the men and eventually desperation forced them to return to work. It appeared that Pilks' bosses had long memories.
However, the workers did have their annual soirée in the Volunteer Hall to enjoy, as the Newspaper described:
"Upwards of 900 persons, composed of employes of the firm, with their wives or sweethearts, attended.
"The walls were decorated with colossal mottoes, bearing such inscriptions, as ‘Continued success to the Pilkington Family,’ and ‘May the Crown Glassworks always prosper.’
"The excellent feeling which subsists between the employers and the employed in the vast concerns presided over and directed by the Messrs. Pilkington, found expression in the sentiments contained in these several legends."
Unlike Pilkingtons' bosses, the Newspaper appeared to have a short memory!
The paper also wrote: "The festival of St. Valentine has come and gone as festivals come and go from year to year, and tender lovers or satirical friends have made their annual contributions to the general celebration."
It had been another record year for the sending of Valentine cards in St Helens, with many residents sending comic Valentines, as the "satirical friends" comment above suggests.
The Post Office reckoned that just under 8,000 cards had been either delivered in the town or forwarded on.
However, that number was dwarfed by Liverpool lovers, with the Mercury newspaper reporting that 150,000 Valentine cards had been sent; almost double the number from two years ago:
"Notwithstanding the increased number of these delicate – in some cases, no doubt, indelicate – missives, the delivery, thanks to the excellent management of Mr. Banning, the postmaster, and his subordinates, and the energy of the postmen, was accomplished in far less time than in previous years, and the inconvenience of the unsentimental section of the public who devote their attention to matters of commerce rather than to the vapourings of affection consequently reduced in proportion.
"As in former years, the “valentines” included some objectionable substances; but the knowledge that everything of this kind, as well as anything bearing external signs of gross abuse or obscenity, are confiscated by the authorities, has operated as a considerable check upon those who seize the occasion to pour their abuse upon some begrudged neighbour."
Night soil was the euphemism for human faeces and was so called because a collector normally removed it at night from the privies, pits and pail closets that people then used as toilets.
The Newspaper described how the town now had a new night soil depot, with the borough's surveyor reporting to a council committee meeting that the road approaching the depot had now been fenced.
He had also been to Liverpool to find out how much it would cost to timber the whole depot and found wood obtained from the breaking up of old boats that could be bought for about £10.
It was also revealed that the Corporation's recent sale of night soil had brought in a net profit of £57. As they say, where there's muck there's brass!
One committee member called for some measure to be taken to prevent the rain from washing away what he called "the very best part" of the night soil and the surveyor said a trench would be cut to prevent overflows.
There were a number of very harsh sentences handed down at the St Helens Petty Sessions this week.
The Newspaper described Ann Reilly as a "poor looking woman" and said she had been caught "ringing the changes" at the Liverpool Inn.
The landlord of the Liverpool Road hostelry said the woman had pretended not to have received the sixpence change when buying some drink.
The Newspaper wrote: "Prisoner made a pitiful appeal". However, her words to the magistrates fell on deaf ears as she was sent to prison for a month – all for a tanner.
Also on the receiving end of tough justice this week was John Johnson who was charged with stealing a 2-shilling piece from Elizabeth Fry.
The latter lived in St Thomas Street in St Helens (near the church) and gave evidence that Johnson had asked her for a loan of twopence.
But she only had a florin on her at the time and as she knew John she had let him take the coin.
However, that had been strictly on the promise of him getting the two bob changed but he never returned and so she had him arrested.
Johnson told the court that he had been tempted to spend the money and as this had been his second offence for larceny, he was sent to prison to serve a month's hard labour.
At St Helens Petty Sessions on the 22nd Jane Cornwall, described as an old offender, was sent to prison for 28 days for being drunk and very disorderly in the streets.
Then in court on the 24th, Peter Dolan was charged with stealing timber from the premises of the Bridgewater Chemical Works.
The boy appeared to be only nine and living in Parr Street and was ordered to be sent to prison for three weeks and then on to a reformatory for five years.
On the 26th the Liverpool Daily Post described the death of William Pendlebury at the age of 88:
"For twenty years he was coachman to the late Dr. Rutter, of this town, [Liverpool], who on his death left him a legacy of £100.
"Pendlebury then retired to Rainford, and in the year 1857 built a chapel in Alder-lane, which, with a plot of ground, he subsequently presented to the Wesleyan body.
"Twelve years ago he entered the workshop of an old friend, a cabinetmaker of St. Helens, and requested him to make his last suit, meaning his coffin.
"The order was executed, and since then the coffin, in which he is this day to be interred, has laid under his bed. The deceased was much respected in St. Helens and the surrounding country."
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next week's stories will include the lunatic on the railway at Moss Bank, some shocking St Helens death stats, the Sutton sweeping brush squabble, the horse that was backed into a Cowley Hill pit and the gold ring scam in Raglan Street.