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Newspaper
Bristol Phenix
Location
Bristol, Rhode Island, United States of America
Date
May 26, 1855
Page
2
A 1853 Bristol sermon cautions that luxury drains national strength. It links indulgence to moral decay, cites slavery and consumer excess, and warns that if extravagance prevails, the nation loses its vitality and Christian heritage.
A large crowd in Faneuil Hall Boston gathered Monday evening to denounce the liquor law and oppose the legislature that passed it. Rev. Lovejoy spoke against the measure calling it an atrocity and an assault on the character and rights of honorable citizens.
Public notice invites attention to the advertisement of James G. Hovey, an experienced pyrotechnist. His works are well and favorably known and merit notice.
The Metropolis of the Falls River line, two hours out from New York on Tuesday evening, had a screw valve break and operated partly by hand the rest of the trip. Passengers reached Boston at noon Wednesday. Meanwhile the steamboat Commonwealth is laid up in New York for piston-rod repairs and the Connecticut is in dock after breaking a walking beam last week.
The June issue of Goner's Lady's Book arrives with a superb fashion plate and refined embroideries. It includes the Embellish septs Reverie Fashion Plate A vase of Prayer Book Children s Dresses and related pieces noted for exquisite style.
The General Assembly will convene at Newport tomorrow for a longer session than usual. Expect consideration of revenue measures and repeal petitions against the current railroad law as pending matters.
The May term of the Court of Common Pleas for this county will begin in town on Tuesday morning. Officials report a heavy docket and substantial business to be heard.
The past week brought cool damp conditions with frequent rain and a northeast wind. A heavy thunderstorm Thursday evening produced vivid lightning, followed by somewhat warmer Friday morning as the weather gradually improved.
A prisoner named Simeon Burroughs escaped from the town jail on Thursday last. He was sent from Providence under a six month sentence for store breaking.
The railroad from this town to Providence nears completion with rails to be laid to the depot. A locomotive was expected to run to Warren yesterday. A smallpox death occurred, with a lone infant survivor. Town precautions likely halted spread. The Affine sloop Teazen, built by Joseph Thompson and owned by Captain Samuel Thompson, launched for pleasure and freighting, 28 feet long and 19 tons, will transport passengers to Election on Tuesday morning next.
The note thanks the Hon. Philip Allen of the U.S. Senate for sending a collection of public documents to the publication.
The Gas Company advertises gas fixtures in all styles at low prices and warrants them tight. Their store at the corner of State and Thames streets shows a splendid selection, with gas expected to be introduced early in July and customers urged to prepare.
Advertisement notes the steamship Canonchet under Captain Allen will call here on its voyage to Newport on Tuesday morning at a quarter before the hour.
An advertisement by Messrs Sanderson and Lonergan Pyrotechnists to the City of Boston notes they can supply elaborate fireworks in any design or quantity. Massachusetts Legislature adjourned after 139 days with 488 acts signed 89 resolves, two vetoes, one overridden. Per diem pay rose from 2 to 3 dollars, boosting session costs from $125,685 to $179,103.
Horace Waters of 333 Broadway New York offers four pieces by mail postpaid for two dollars. Includes Starting Pouga a pretty Polka by Baxer Lilly Warts Schottisch from Lilly White Song by Bellak Tis Ove Cutting Heaven by I A Woodbury Our Boys a song of Genuine Young America Words by C D Stuart and music by Thomas Baker Both words and melody praised as charming and expressive.
Kansas reports warn that those who carried or overthrew the last election plan to force a slave state via violent means. The Legislature election in districts where Gov. Reeder did not acknowledge returns was set for the prior Tuesday.
Editorial prose from Providence May 22 1855 argues young men should marry when able to support a family. It warns against delaying marriage for wealth, praises industrious wives, and urges choosing a companion aware of household duties while avoiding reliance on parents for support.
Halifax May 24 The Royal Mail steamer America capt Leitch from Liverpool on the 12th arrived this morning and will reach Boston Friday night. News from Sebastopol is sparse with no major events. war prospects remain protracted and Austria appears unlikely to aid. Cotton trade shows activity with over 100000 bales traded and prices advancing slightly. Provisions and breadstuffs remain steady and Vienna notes hint at future political shifts if refugees are used near Austria.
New Orleanians report a revolt on the Rio Grande with 1500 men crossing the river led by Col Carvajal and others. The developing event centers on Mexican border action and potential regional impact.
Dr Isaac Draper Jr an American surgeon employed in the Russian service died at Sebastopol on March 20 from typhus after four weeks illness. The funeral received official honors. He was 32, son of Isaac Draper Esq of South Attleborough Mass and Brown University 1844 graduate.
Retail figures show general merchandise value reaching $2,325,277 in the past week, a slight gain over the same period last year. Dry goods account for part of the rise, though overall 1854 sales still show a small decline.
A bottle recovered at Sandy Hook contains a letter said to be from John Edmondson, supercargo of the British brig Edwin, reporting capture by a piratical schooner named Shamrock on March 13. He claims all hands except himself were murdered and the vessel burned and rifled. The letter bears Shamrock’s on board date at sea coordinates.
Elijah Williams a wealthy Barnesville plan ter arrived with eight enslaved people including his wife and children and his mother in law. He intended to manumit them and settle them in Ohio. He collapsed and died as he stepped from the steamboat into a carriage. The enslaved group is now free under Ohio law and Williams had willed his entire estate to them.
A March 4 private letter from Shanghae recounts the Imperialist capture of Shanghai with brutal reprisals on rebels, mass decapitations, and walls pockmarked by cannon fire. It notes French bombardment, burned districts, and tactical defenses as the city fell.
A Newport woman at her window dodged bullets from a blundering sportsman aiming at a robin. Some shot went through the window but she was unharmed. The incident is treated as likely accidental and calls for scrutiny of such hunters.
Miss Elizabeth Farr's Maryland death left five enslaved people to Catholic priest Rev. James Moore. His heirs contested the bequest and a court ruled it void under the 33th article of the bill of rights which annuls gifts to gospel members. Curling arrives in New York with 578 Mormons bound for Salt Lake City all in good health.
The Detroit Tribune opines that the state’s sale of intoxicating liquors with legal sanction may end, expressing relief as the Maine Law era returns and hopes for restored peace in homes long troubled by alcohol. The piece notes renewed promise of happiness as restrictions resume.
A man named Greene Whitford, described as very temperate, was found dead near a barn on Noose Neck Hill after leaving work on Thursday to visit a drinking place. It is believed he died that day, but his body was not discovered until the following Saturday.
On the Baltic's arrival in New York Friday evening a suspicious man was arrested on the wharf. He held a dressing case containing about $3,000 worth of diamonds stolen from a passenger.
New York on May 23 reports C C Eyer chief mate of the ship Mercury arrived from Havre was arrested this morning charged with attempting murder by shooting a speculator who boarded at Staten Island. The man is expected to live.
Judge Edmonds delivers a lengthy opinion on the state’s recent prohibition act. He finds the legislature may prohibit domestic traffic in intoxicating liquors, the act is constitutional and covers imported liquors, the enforcement provisions are valid, and duties extend to all officers tasked with enforcing state crime laws.
The city moves to enforce the new liquor law starting at 2 PM after the governor's signing. Dealers seek to comply or suspend sales, with grocers selling off stocks. The mayor warns police to enforce the law uniformly and discharge any officer failing to act.
A charcoal dealer Henry Allen was shot on High street when a boy produced a pistol and fired. The ball lodged near the shoulder and was extracted by Dr Cobb. The assailant remains at large and Allen resides in Burrisville.
A drover named Woods traveling between Rome and Utica New York was robbed Tuesday night of six thousand dollars. The money was in an inside pocket of his vest sewn shut, and he had the package when leaving Utica around ten o clock.
The Kentish Artillery under Col Westcott displayed a fine infantry parade yesterday afternoon marking their first infantry appearance. One of the oldest local companies, chartered nearly 60 years ago, recently upgraded at a cost of $2,000 with new uniforms from Greene & Downey. The unit is praised as a splendid, saber-ready group.
In Woonsocket on May 20 Michael Moore of Waterford was found dead under the railroad bridge by the Carrington Mill with a fractured skull. He had last been seen in the village with two men who carried a trunk and left it at a local house before Moore disappeared. A coroner's jury investigates while the two companions are questioned.
Across the North West and Middle States reports speak of abundant crops and large breadstuffs for the country. If the season remains as favorable as it has been, prices should fall as croakers’ mouths are silenced. Detroit Daily Advertiser notes the expectation.
The excerpt notes a substantial influx of Chinese into New York within a few years, estimating 1000 to 1500 residents, with only two females among them. It mentions socially questionable habits and crowded living conditions, with most employed in menial labor.
The report recalls a sermon by the ailing Dean Kirwan at St Peter's Dublin. While suffering from a cold he preached to the crowded church for orphans in the parish school, delivering the text and pointing to orphan children in the aisle. The unraveling moment and collection are noted as astonishing.
The steamship Ariel commanded by Capt Lefevre departed today from the harbor on its maiden voyage to Havre carrying 191 passengers. It also transported 196,328 dollars and 50 cents in specie, including a California note valued at 40,000 dollars intended for the Paris exhibition. A bag of letters addressed to the United States Consul in Paris was seized and sent to the State Department in Washington for review.
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