CHRONICLE. 



145 



try dogs, and both got off safe. 

 It was not a very gratifying spec- 

 taclcj but certainly a very curious 

 one. 



A most unfortunate occurrence 

 took place on the evening of Sa- 

 turday se'nnightj near Hoylake, 

 Cheshire. A coachman of the 

 name of Richard Fern, for many 

 years in the employment of Mr. 

 Jackson, of the Royal Hotel, 

 Chester, proceeded on the above 

 day, accompanied by another of 

 Mr. Jackson's coachmen, with 

 some company from the hotel, 

 for Hoylake. About eight o'clock 

 the same evening,", the two coach- 

 men left the latter place with the 

 intention of returning home, each 

 having a pair of horses under his 

 care, but no cliaise. They in- 

 tended to return home on the 

 regular road, but on crossing the 

 green, a short distance from the 

 hotel at Hoylake, Fern, who took 

 the lead, missed the path, and 

 directed his steps, imder a mis- 

 taken notion that he was going 

 right, towards the Sands ; his 

 companion, aware of the danger 

 Fern was e.\posing himself to, 

 entreated him to retrace liis steps, 

 but all in vain : he pursued his 

 wny until, it is supposed, he 

 reached the river's edge, and be- 

 ing there overwhelmed with the 

 tide, was drowned. One of the 

 horses has since been found dead 

 on the beach. A Coroner's In- 

 quest was held on the body, which 

 was found on Sunday in the river 

 Dee, between West Kirby and 

 the former place, on Monday, be- 

 fore Mr. Thomas Francis, one of 

 the City Coroners. Verdict — 

 Accidentally drowned. 



2S. Silver Currency. — As the 

 period for the issue of the new 



Vol. LVIII. 



coin approached, the fears of the 

 retail dealers became general, lest 

 the plain English shillings and 

 sixpences should be confounded 

 with the French ones, and the 

 whole refused. It was at Hull, 

 the week before last, where the 

 tradespeople first refused to re- 

 ceive at their nominal value all 

 plain shillings, or, in other words, 

 all not appearing to be clearly 

 of our own legal currency. In 

 the metropolis, it was at Billings- 

 gate-market, on Friday morning 

 last, where plain shillings and 

 sixpences were first indiscrimi- 

 nately refused ; from thence the 

 refusal of them spread through 

 the Borough, and in the evening 

 became general throughout the 

 metropolis. A great stagnation 

 in all letail trades suddenly and 

 naturally ensued, and the lower 

 orders were disposed to commit 

 disturbances in almost every 

 market. This embarrassing and 

 dangeious state of things being 

 made known to the Lord Mayor, 

 his lordship took immediate mea- 

 sures to preserve the peace of the 

 city, not by means of force, but 

 by promptly communicating to 

 the public, from the Mansion- 

 house, a notice, of which the fol- 

 lowing is a copy : — 



Silver Coin. — Take notice. — 

 The Bank of England do not re- 

 fuse any shillings or sixpences on 

 accoimt of their being plain, pro- 

 vided they are English. 



By order of the Lord Mayor, 



Francis Hoblek. 

 Saturday Morning. 



In consequence of the above no 

 tice, people assembled in crowds 

 to take their silver to the Bank, 

 for which they received Bank of 

 England notes and tokens. The 



L Bank 



