The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-05-06 00:00:00

Mr. EVANS thought they had better close the discussion, and proceed to business. Mr. LLOYD then shaped his amendment in nearly the fol lowing terms :—That the proceedings of the Finance Com mittee be confirmed, so far as authorising them to give such temporary assistance to the surveyor in his office as they may deem necessary, and that it be an intimation or instruction to them, to inquire as to the efficient performance of the duties of all the clerks there employed. This amendment was agreed to, and the proceedings were confirmed. WATCH COM MITTEI The proceedings of the Watch Committee having been read, Mr. JAMES LAWRENCE moved their confirmation. Mr. Alderman EARLE wished to know why a man of the name of Simmonds had been appointed to the police force? Ilis attention had been directed to a paragraph in one of the papers, in which certain statements had been made that led him to think the appointment of Simmonds a bad one. Mr. JOHN SMITH.—Read the paragraph. Mr. Alderman EARLE.—Sir, I'll do as I like. Mr. JAMES LAWRENCE asked whether he should answer the question? The MAYOR tho notice of paragraphs in the papers Mr. J. LAWRENCE said there matter, and that he was quite rea the question if the council desired, Mr. Alderman EARLE said it appear€ had taken an important part in the Manchester case of Hearne v. Stowell, which was about some poor, crazy crea. ght the council were not bound to take as nothing secret in the Ldv and preimred to answer I that Simmonds tore who had been found crawling in the streets. Aker the trial, Manchester became too warm for him, and he came over to Liverpool, where he made application to the police committee, but was unable to obtain an appointment in the force. He hail been originally in the Liverpool police force, but being remoustiated with by the chairman, or committee, for impropriety of conduct, he became extremely saucy. It was thereupon recommended that he should resign, in order that he might not be kicked out of the force, and he accordingly took the advice and resigned. He had been recently asked, in presence of the committee, how he had left his wife and family in Manchester, and what he allowed them to live upon, upon which he, who had been backed by a whole host of the clergy of the established church, said that he allowed them 2s. 6d. a-week. He was then cautioned as to his answer, because it appeared that the allowance was only 2s. a-week ; but he still persisted, and said at last that 2s. a-week was all that the magistrates had ordered him to pay. Here, then, was a man, with lSs.•a-week, who only al lowed his family 2s. a-week ! And was this the man to be appointed an officer in the police force of Liverpool? If these statements were not correct, some gentlemen, he dared say, would tell him so. Mr. PARKER.—They are not correct Mr.:EARLE.—I am glad to hear it, for information. because I only asked LAWRENCE.—Does the name of this individual occur in the proceedings which have been just read? Mr. J. LAWRENCE.—Yes; as making the application to be appointed. Mr. Alderman EARLE.—I think there ought not to be any screening of such conduct as this, because he was subse quently appointed to the force. There is an excellent reso lution of the Watch Committee, which says, that no man shall be appointed under them unless he has a recommenda tion from his last employer, or from some one who has a knowledge of his character; but, in the present case, this was dispensed with. Mr. J. LAWRENCE.—NO, no. Mr..EAßLt.—That's the only flat contradiction I have received. (Laughter.) Mr. PROCTER.—AS the man's name is not mentioned in the proceedings I beg to call Mr. Earle to order. Mr. EARLE (who read from a newspaper he held in his hand).—He comes recommended by the Rev, Hugh Stowell, the hey. Hugh M`Neile, the Rev. Fielding Ould, the Rev. William Falloon, the Rev. Dr. Tattershall, the Rev. Thomas Nolan, and a whole host of others. (Great laughter from the Radicals.) The MAyort.—As his name is not in the proceedings, we are only consuming time, because the subject is not before the council. Mr. EARLE.—I think I- have said enough to induce the council to inquire how this individual, who allows his family 2s. a-week and receive 18s., came into the police force ? Mr. J. LAWRENCE.--Arn I at liberty to reply ? The iVlA.vou.—l think you have no need to vindicate the conduct of the committee. Mr. EARLE.—My end is answered. I have brought the matter before the public. The MAYOR.—Yes, you have rim the gauntlet; but I should not have allowed you to do so if I had known your object. Mr. J. LNWRENCE.—The man is now discharging his duty very much to the satisfaction of the head constable, and his appointment has been a very credible one. (Hear, hear.) Mr. COPELAND.—The head constable fold me he was going on in a very satisfactory manner. (Hear, hear.) Mr. HODGSON.—The appointment was made after due consideration. Mr. EARLI laughter.) Mr. MELLOR.—As a member of the Watch Committee, I felt it my duty to oppose the appointment of this man. He was taken- —Oh, I am more than pleased. (Ironical Mr. A. SMITH, jun. contended, that as Mr. Alderman Earle had been stopped by the Mayor, Mr. Mellor should be stopped also. _ •_ _ _ _ _ _ Mr. PARKER said that if Mr. Mellor was heard he should claim the same right. The MAYOR said he was ignorant of the circumstances or he should not have allowed Mr. Earle to have gone on ; and having discovered what they were he should stop Mr. Mel lor. The time, however, would come when they could make such remarks as they might think fit. Mr. AlKlN.—When the proceedings of a committee are read, is it not competent for any member of the council to ask questions upon them? . . The MAvutt.—Yes, certainly. Mr. AtxrN.—Then Mr. Earle is asking a question upon them. Mr. PROCTER. - But the man's name, Simmonds, does not appear upon the committee's proceedings. Mr. Alderman EARLE. — WeII , I will bring the matter be fore the council in a regular way if it is necessary. The MAYOR.—Your proper course will be to bring the ap pointment before the committee, and if I had known the cir cumstances before I should have stopped you. Mr. Alderman EARLF..—I am glad yot enough to discover them before, Mr. Mayor a were not sharp Mr. ATKIN.—If an appointment is ma3e by the Watch Committee, is it not competent to bring it before the council ? Mr. BUSHELL —By special motion Mr. J. LAWILENCE:—It seems to be forgotten that the ap pointments made by the committee are final, and that the council have nothing to do with them. Mr. G. H. LAWUENCE.—I understand the committee have the power to appoint without any reference to the council. The Toi,vN-cf,ErtE.—The lA - ateli Committee is placed by the municipal corporations' act on a different footing from any other committee. The corporation act enacts that there shall be a Watch Committee, and for the council to fill up the members of that committee, and then it provides for the duties of the committee in the appointment of constables and other officers. it is different from the appointment of any other committee; for instance, it is different from the ap pointment of the Finance Committee, which is understood to be the highest committee we have. The Finance Com mittee is appointed under the 70th section, but the appoint ment of the Watch Committee is obligatory on the council. Their duties are provided for by the act, the consequence of which is. that the Watch Committee have the appointment of all officers under their charge, and the only control the council have over the Watch Committee is to refuse the sup plies if they think they are improperly required. Mr. A. SNI ITH .—I beg to move that we proceed to the consideration of the next subject on the paper. Mr. PA RK ER.—Mr. Earle has made a charge against the committee, and I rise to vindicate my own character as one of the members of that committee. The MAYOR.—You had better not mind him. Mr. M ELLOR.—I rise to say a few words. Mr. PA RKER.—I shall not sit down if Mr. Mellor is al lowed to proceed. Mr. 1111:LLon.—I think the mayor will admit that I have a right to make some remarks upon the proceedings of the watch committee. Mr. PARKER.—And he will admit also that I have a right to make some remarks, as I am a member of it. The MAYon.—Oh! certainly. Mr. PARKER.-1 merely rise— Mr. PROCTER.—Has the gentleman any amendment to propose? Mr. PARKER.—No ; I merely wish to vindicate myself as having had to do with the appointment of Simmonds. Mr. J. Saint.—Let the mayor decide at once whether Mr. Parker is in order. The MAYOR.—He may proceed. Mr. PARKER.-1 think that if Mr. Earle had come to the watch committee, which consists of five-and-twenty members, they would have given him every satisfaction, and that such a course would have been much more in order than to come here and put questions which it would take three hours to discuss properly. I maintain that the appointment of Sini monds was a good one ; that the recommendation he brought with him was high in the extreme ; and that he had a cha racter sufficiently high for any situation in the gift of the committee. I think the slur Mr, Earle has thrown on the ministers of the gospel was not at all in character with him as a member of the Church of England. (Hear, hear.) Mr. EARLE.—He allows his wife 2s. a week. Mr. PARKER.—And I understand it is more than she deserves. (Hear, hear.) Mr. MELLOR contended that the appointment was irregu lar. It was contrary to the standing orders passed in January last, and he requested that the Deputy Town-clerk might read the report of the sub-committee as to the mode of taking on men, which was passed on the lath of January. Mr. PARKER said, this would re-open the whole question. The MAYOR asked whether Mr. Mellor had reason to think that the standing orders had been departed from ? Mr. MELbOR replied in the affirmative. Mr. RADCLIFFE then read one of the standing orders, which was to the effect that no testimonial be admitted except from the last employer or some respectable individual having a personal knowledge of the applicant. Mr. J. LAWRENCE said that other testimonials respecting the man's character had been before the committee, inde pendently of the one signed by the clergy. Mr. MELLon. said, he had been one of the committee who had recommended the adoption of the rule just read. The reason of its adoption was to prevent testimonials from being signed by constituencies, which was a very improper thing. one would d eny t h at t h e ru l e was soun d i n p r i nc ipl e . Within a few months after the adoption of the rule, a memo rial, signed by not less than thirty individuals, was brought to the Watch Com m i ttee, and by that comm i ttee re f erre d to the daily board. He contended that no such memorial should have been received, and that it ought to have been declared irregular. He felt it necessary to state, however, that there were three or four separate testimonials from the parties who had signed the general one. It would have been perfectly regular to send the separate test i mon i a l s to t h e sub-committee; but it was eq ua ll y i rregular to send them the general memorial which had been signed by the ministers of the Church of England, because , a memorial so signed was calculated to influence men judgments, and to induce them to make an appointment which they would not have done in the absence Of such gen eral testimon y . Upon those grounds lie had moved in committee that the appointment be not con firmed ; and as Mr. Earle had now brought the matter before the council, he had no hesitation in repeating his s t a t ement before the Watch Committee, that the appointment of the man was irregular. Mr. J. LAWRENCE wished, after the speech whi c h h ad just been made, to leave the matter in the hands of the coun cil, Mr. Mellor having admitted that there were three memorials from single individuals. One of those , mem or i a l s was from the man's last employer. (Hear.) The princip a l parties who signed the general memorial had, moreover, an individual knowledge of him. One of them had wwrittena note to him (Mr. L.) saying that lie had known him tor a number of years, and that he bore a most excellent character. Mr. EARLE.—Two shillings a-week. (A laug" Mr. J. LAWRENCE.—If you had been in the same situa tionl perhaps you would have thought 2s. a-week a g reat deal too much. (Hear.) Mr. Lawrence then proceeded to con tend that the appointment was one which the comm ittee had been quite justified in making. Mr. THORNHILL contended that the Watch Committee ought not to have made the appointment. Mr. GLADSTONE said, that it appeared to him the whole charge brought against this individual was that he had taken a conspicuous part in the trial of " Hearne v. Stowell, but surely as long as a man did his duty and had no stain on his character, neither the Watch Committee nor the Council were justified in making such an enquiry as that now before them. But if they were to go into what might be termed political services, he thought the Council should give to some of them advice as to how they were to act, for if they only took a retrospective view of past proceedings, he should be glad to learn where that individual was who had not, in the first instance, discharged the full measure of his political ser vice before he gained an appointment ? He (Mr. Gladstone) did not complain of that—he did not think it was unfair ;if the man was competent it was quite correct; but if they (the conservatives) were to be found fault with for such things, let the Council go boldly into the subject and examine into past appointments. Mr. PROCTOR said he would state one circumstance con nected with the appointment of Simmonds, which he thought would have some weight with the council. It was the fact that he had been employed at one of the public institutions of the town, namely, the Northern Hospital, since the trial of " Hearne v. Stowell," where no political feeling was allowed, and he bore a highly respectable character there. Mr. Alderman EARLE.—The public will judge. The proceedings were then confirmed. THE MARKETS' COMMITTEE. The proceedings of the Markets' Committee were next read and confirmed. TOWN-HALL ESTABLISHMENT COMMITTEE. The proceedi ngs o f th e T own -b a ll E sta bli s h men t Coin mittee, comprising the appointment of Edward Smith, as porter at the Sessions'-house, in lieu of J. Napier, dismissed, were also read and confirmed. EDUCATION COMMITTEE The proceedings of - the Education Committee were ne::t read. They stated that Miss Ellis, one of the mistresses of the South School, had been reprimanded for having been guilty of insubordination, and allowed to remain in the school on trial; and that Charles Taafe, the second master of the North School, had been dismissed for having been also guilty of insubordination. The number in the schools at present was stated to be as follows :—North, 444 ; South, 467. Mr. SANDBACH, in the absence of the chairman of the Education Committee, moved the confirmation of the pro ceedings, Mr. YATES moved, as an amendment, that Mr. Taafe be not dismissed and, in support of his motion, read a memo rial which he had been requested by Mr. Taafe to present to the council. It stated that Mr. Taafe had been six years in the school, and that he had been dismissed for refusing to carry into effect certain orders of Mr. Stone, which he be lieved had never emanated from the committee, and for having answered certain questions put to him by Mr. Yates. It further stated that the orders of Mr. Stone were to order all the boys to learn the Church Catechism, and to go to church on Sundays, and to drive the apprentices who refused to teach the Church Catechism out of the school by force and violence. In the memorial a copy of the in formation given by Mr. Taafe to Mr. Yates was enclosed. It stated that Mr. Stone had denied that he wanted the Ito ' man Catholic children to be taught the Church Catechism, but that he simply wished them to be present in the class when it was taught. All the rest he tacitly admitted to be correct. Mr. Taafe was of opinion that he would have been guilty of an assault if he had turned out the apprentices by •force, and that Mr. Yates had a perfect right to go to the school and to make inquiries on the subject of the education afforded. He, therefore, humbly hoped that the council would take his case into consideration and reverse the de cision of the committee. In another letter to Mr. Yates, Mr. Taafe informed him that Mr. Stone's first visit to the school was only on the 23d of February, although his appoint ment had taken place in January or early in February. Mr. Yates, after halting read these several documents, which were of some length, and included a testimonial from Mr. Nelson, the late master, as to Mr. Taafe's good conduct, said that the subject was a most important one. Mr. Taafe had been turned away on two grounds—first, because he refused to turn the apprentices out of the school as well as refused to compel them to teach the Church Catechism or to learn it; and, secondly, because he had given him (Mr. Yates) the information he had submitted to a previous council, but which the council did not hear upon that occasion. lie maintained that Mr. Taafe had done nothing but what he was bound to do as a man of integrity and a servant of the corporation—that he had simply answered the questions put to him, and that the " head and front of his offence" was, that he had written a letter to him (Mr. Yates) giving him the required information. Mr. HODGSON begged that Mr. Yates would state the Questions which he had put to Mr. Taafe. Mr. YATES said that he would endeavour to recollect them, as they had never been reduced to writing. A letter from Mr. Stone, dated the 10th of March. had been submitted to the council ; and he referred to this letter on the present oc casion in order to show that he felt bound to go to the school, and to make the inquiries. He thought it was the duty of the Education Committee to make the inquiries themselves. On the 10th of March Mr. Stone stated that the schools could not be properly conducted so long as the apprentices were permitted to absent themselves during the time of religious instruction : and on the 25th of March there was a statement brought before the public in the Liverpool Mercury, showing that the Roman Catholic apprentices had been ordered by Mr. Stone to teach the Protestant Catechism and to go to church. These things ought to have led the Education Com mittee to make the inquiries. On the 6th of April the same statement had been repeated in the council ; and thus there were three occasions upon which a direct variation of the rules of the council had been charged on Mr. Stone. The Education Committee ought not to have lost an hour in making inquiries which were so important ; but as they had not done so, he (Mr. Yates) had made the inquiries himself. He went to the North and South Schools. At the North School he was met by Mr. Taafe. He told that individual his name, and that he had come to make inquiries from him, and he said—" I think it is your duty to answer those inquiries as I am a member of the council." Mr. Taafe then answered all the inquiries, as it seemed to him, very candidly. He asked whether Mr. Stone had or dered the Roman Catholic apprentices to teach the Church of England Catechism and to go to church on Sundays ; and another was with respect to the attendance of Mr. Stone at the North School. Mr. Taafe stated, in reply, that Mr. Stone came regularly to the school on Monday, the day the commit tee met there, but that in general he did not come above a quarter of an hour for each day during the rest of the week. He (Mr. Yates) thought this was information which ought to be submitted to the council, and accordingly he brought Mr. Taafe's letter on the Bth of April. He thought he should hardly be credited when he said that there was not a single minute brought before the council as to any inquiry insti tuted on the subject of Mr. Stone's conduct, up to the pre sent moment, by the committee. He maintained that it was the duty of the Education Committee to have Investigated most narrowly into charges which affected so deeply the reli gious liberties of the apprentices who have been bound to the corporation. He now called upon the committee to in vestigate fully into the charges brought against Mr. Stone. If they refused so to do, he should move for a committee upon the subject. He had sent a letter to the Education Committee, in which he suggested the propriety of their examining the five apprentices and three of their parents, whose names he had given them. He now asked the committee whether they had asked anybody as to the conduct of Mr. Stone — conduct which, he maintained, was in direct contradiction to the rules of the council? He entreated the council to direct their attention to a subject so important. He asked them to say whether Mr. Taafe could have acted otherwise than he had done ? and he put the question with the more concern because he (Mr. Yates) had been the innocent cause of the man's dismissal. Mr. HODGSON.—No. Mr. YATES.—The words set forth in the proceedings are, that he has been guilty of insubordination, " particularly in consequence of sending the letter to Mr. Yates." Mr: HODGSON.—No. Mr. YATES.—Let the passage be read. Mr. RADCLIFFE having read the paragraph, Mr. YATES continued to say that there was great vague ness in the charge of insubordination. He never would be content, and the public never would be content, when char ges were brought against a man so vaguely and dismissal followed ; and he thought the council would not confirm the proceedings under such circumstances. Since 1829, Mr. Taafe bad supported his mother and four of his brothers and sisters, and he was at present supporting his mother, a sister, and a brother, the latter of whom was dangerously ill of consumption. The case was one, therefore,of peculiar hard ship, against a man of exemplary diligence, irreproachable conduct, good manners, and great ability as a teacher. If there was one man more than another who deserved the sym pathy of the council it was the man who dared to be just, although he thereby brought down upon himself the frowns of his superiors. He thought if ever there was a case which called for their sympathy the present was that one, and lie appealed to the sense of justice and humanity upon the Part of the council to act uplightly in the matter. Mr. EARLE said he had great pleasure in rising to second the amendment proposed by Mr. Yates, but would not make any observations at that stage of the discussion, as he had been informed by the Town-clerk that he might reserve him self until after other gentlemen had spoken. Mr. lloycsoN.—l appeal to the Mayor whether you can speak again upon the question. Mr. EARLE.—I'II do so when I choose. (A laugh.) The TOWN-CLERK said the Mayor must determine this point. According to the rule of the House of Commons, a member seconding a motion might reserve to himself the power of making his observations at a later period. Mr. Alderman EARLE.—And it has been acted upon here. Mr. Alderman TuaNEß.—Before the discussion proceeds I should like to be informed whether every member of the council has not a right to attend either of the schools, and to ask any questions they may think proper; —because, if they have that power, the resolution of the Education Committee is an infringement of that right. How can we attempt to discharge our duty, _if a resolution of the kind is to be put upon the books, and we are told, in direct terms, that we have no right so to do ? Air. G. H. LAWRENCE.—You have every right, certainly, to attend them. Mr. BOLTON.—Perhaps the Town-clerk will declare it authoritatively. The TOWN-CLERK.—In answer to that question—whether every member of the council, not a member of the Education Committee, has a right to he a visitor of the schools—l must only give the answer I gave on a former occasion, according to the best of my recollection, in the case of Mr. Isaac Holmes. I then declared that a member of the council, who was not a member of the Education Committee, had no right to visit the schools. (Hear, hear.) Mr. BOLTON.—Has he not a right i to ask questions:for his information and guidance? The TOWN-CLERIC — My opinion is that he has no other right than that which belongs to any gentleman in the town. (Hear, hear.) Mr. Alderman EARLE.—Then, how are we to judge if these gentlemen have reported nothing as to the investiga tion going forward respecting Mr. Stone? • The TOWN-CLERK. — I know not that I am bound to answer that question, but you know that every committee of the council is subject to the control and correction of the council in every respect. Mr. BRIGHT. — The Town-clerk labours under a misap prehension with regard to Mr. Holmes, who wanted to be present io the committee, and not to go to the schools. The TOWN-CLERK. — It was so with respect to the Watch Committee ; not with respect to the Education Committee. Mr. EARLE.—Has a burgess a right to go to the schools and ask those questions? The TOWN-CLERK.—Certainly not. (Hear.) Mr. EARLE.—Then we are kept in glorious ignorance. (A laugh.) Mr. PLATT was of opinion that Mr. Taafe had been un justly dismissed. Mr. BOLTON did not rise to speak on the question, but to protest against the opinion just given by the Town-clerk. He maintained it was the right of every councillor to visit the schools, and he thought it the duty of the masters to give such information to the councillors going there as might be asked for in a civil manner. He certainly would bring the question fully before the council on an early day. Mr. HODGSON said he was of opinion they might dispose of the present question without a great deal of discussion. Mr. Yates had entered into it with much good feeling ; but it should be recollected that the management of the schools had been entrusted to a committee, who were responsible for the carrying of them forward in a proper manner. The pre sent was not a question of feeling, with regard to whether Mr. Taafe took care of his mother or his sister, neither was it a question of moral conduct, though moral conduct might be involved in cases of the kind; but it was a question of fit ness,t'orwhich the committee were to be responsible. Mr. Yates h a d attempted to damage the character o f M r. Stone, by bringin g forward vague reports against him. He had at tempted to cast a slur upon the conduct of the head master who had been appointed by the council, and who had been make a ag ke approved emgeonot do; and hs f i , lis so ca far as be had gone, by the committee of ma nagement bthyoturgalheil t i lN l l ig r. o l u r t at o e f s h h is a w d a b y e , e a n nd tr b y y ingt mak ing an attack upon an individual whose conduct was not be fore ar t d h t e o council. afe ( ea Tr , clear.) ) repeatedly What was toldthem fact with ton he would obey his master s , b ut that be would not obey him ! Could discipline be carried on under these circumstances? (Hear, hear.) He said that he should see the orders of the committee; but a most essential part of the instructions of the committee was, to teach the children obedience to their superiors, because if subordination were not to be established, nothing in the shape of benefit could be inculcated. He next refused to carryout the orders o f th e comm i ttee w i t h regard to the apprenti ces, from fear, as he said, of commit ting an assault ; but this was a fiction of his own. It was an attempt to put a colouring on that which was not fair nor honest, and could not be allowed to have any weight with a man who was to teach, not merely obedience, but truth in every respect. He (Mr. Hodgson) alleged that Mr. Taafe had thus shown himself unfit for his situation. In the firstplace, he refused to turn out the refractory apprentices who would neither teach as they had been directed, nor transfer their in dentures. Then, with respect to Mr. Taafe giving a account to Mr. Yates of the attendance of Mr. Stone at the school, did Mr. Yates so little understand the proper discipline to be observed that he should go to the second master in the school and ask him to become a spy upon his superior. (Laughter.) Was that Mr. Yates's discipline? He thought if Mr. Yates happened to be upon the committee, they would teach him that they held different views upon the subject. (Renewed laughter and chee rs .) M r : Y a t es h a d next spo k en o f th e violence offered with respect to the teachers in religious in struction, and he had said that it had been deemed contrary to the orders of the council, and that it had been attempted to enforce on the Roman Catholics the going to church. But he had failed to draw a distinction between teachers in the school and the taught. (Hear.) The committee never held that they would have as teachers in the school, people who would refuse to give instruction in the Church Catechism. The teachers must teach that which had been appointed to be taught, because there was no way of enforcing the plan on which the schools were to be conducted, except by making the teachers teach the Church Catechism. The teachers were, however, told that if. they could not comply with those re quisitions their indentures would be cancelled ; but they stood in the anomalous position of being nobodies in the schools, when they were told that unless they adopted the plan pointed out they could not be there at all. There was no question contrary to common sense in saying th a t th e council could not expect to go on with people under them in such a situation, and so refractory as the apprentices seemed to be. He would not say anything with regard to Mr. Taafe's moral character. He would not do what Mr. Yates had, impugn theconductof men perfectly unimpeachable on the committee, but he would say that Mr. Taafe's mode of going to Mr. Yates, arid reforming his letter and breakfasting with him, and giving him private information, rendered him unfit to hold any situation in the schools as a teacher, although it might be no breach of what Mr. Yates would consider " moral conduct." (Laughter and cheers.) He should like to know how Mr. Yates would himself act under similar cir cumstances ? If the gentleman were going to choose a servant would he be likely to engage an eavesdropper, who wotild tell privately what had been passing in his house ?—(hear, hear) —or, rather, would he not say to such a servant, " If you find anything wrong you had better come to myself and tell it ?" (Hear, hear.) Why had not Mr. Taafe done this Why did he not come to the committee and tell what he considered to be wrong ? (Hear.) But, no ; he went and reduced his private information to writing; and whether Mr. Yates wrote a letter for him to copy , or not it was difficult to say, but, at all events, Mr. Taafe had made but a sorry figure at composition, and had rendered himself totally unfit for the situation by his conduct. The committee were deter mined to subdue any spirit of similar insubordination which might evince itself in either of the schools; and, notwith standing all the spirit of faction abroad, and all the attempts made to ex 7ite discontent, he was happy to say that the schools were increasing from day to day. (Cheers.) They were taking in more and more children every week. Both the schools would be filled much sooner than he had expected, and in a short time, he trusted they would be an example worthy to be followed by the country at large. But mean while he called upon the council to give their cordial support to put down the spirit of trifling and vexation which was being constantly evinced, and taking up the time of the council. He called upon the council to give their support to the schools for only a short time longer, when the progress of improvement would, he was satisfied, be such as to render entire satisfaction. He believed Mr. Yates to be acting in accordance with the feelings of his party, and he admitted his candour, but he dissented from his judgment in tote on the present occasion. He hoped the proceedings of the com mittee would be confirmed by such a majority as would show the gentlemen opposite that although they might amuse them selves by bringing statements of this kind forward, such state ments were altogether out of place. (Hear, hear.) When the radicals had been in power in the council, it was well known that they had used their power. The conservatives had certainly protested against their proceedings on the sub ject of education, but what had been the conduct of the con servatives at that time? They said they dissented, but then they never became disturbers of the common peace. (Hear, hear.) And all he would now say was this—the conservatives have got the power—that power they will exercise ; and the radicals may enjoy the vox et prceterea nihil, as all that belongs to them in their fallen position. (Hear, hear.) Mr. PRIESTLEY contended that Mr. Taafe had not done wrong in answering Mr. Yates' questions, because he was under the impression Mr. Yates had a right to ask them, as one of the councillors. Mr. A. SMITH said there existed some misconception as to the cause of the dismissal of Mr. Taafe. Mr. Yates seemed to think it was because he had written a letter to him ; but this was not the fact. (Hear.) He had been dismissed for insubordination, in havinc , brought charges against Mr. Stone, which were not founded on fact. (Hear, hear.) The committee had investigated these charges, and found that every one was incorrect. In the first place, the Roman Catholic children had not been compelled to learn the church catechism, or to go to church. In the next, the ap prentices had refused to do what Mr. Stone had ordered them, and Mr. Taafe refused to turn them out when Mr. Stone had desired him to do so. Then Mr. Stone had been accused of not having attended the North School when first appointed, but the fact was that he had been compelled to pass the greater part of his time at the South School, there being no other master there, and of course he was unable to be in two places at the same time. In short, every charge against him had undergone investigation, and was found to be incorrect. (Hear, hear.) Mr. YATES asked Mr. Smith if he would be so good as to say whether the committee had examined the five appren tices or the three fathers whom he had named ? Mr. Alderman EVANS expressed a hope that Mr. Glad stone would fulfil the engagement he had given some few weeks ago, and inquire whether the Roman Catholic child ren, who had been in the school heretofore, had returned. There were only twenty-five who could be called Catholics at the South School; and when they heard of the schools being filled again, he would ask Mr. Gladstone to pursue his inquiry, and to ask what had become of the Catholic child ren, and whether other schools had been denuded of their scholars to fill up the void in the corporation schools? Mr. PLATT said the number of Roman Catholic children at the North School amounted to fifty-four. Mr. Alderman EVANS.—What has become of the others ? Mr. GLADSTONE, in reply to what Mr. Alderman Evans had said, would remark that he was not aware of having given any pledge. He had asked a question, and he would ask the question again, when the system had been tried, but the system was not yet matured. (Hear, hear.) He had asked what had become of the catholic children, formerly in the corporation schools ; and he had since had the pleasure of seeing a small sprinkling of them return. Whether the number would increase, of course it was impossible for him to pronounce an opinion ; but be adhered to the opinion he then expressed that, if the schools were not made available for all classes, he for one, would propose some change in them, but he would not say what the change would be. Mr. PLATT, in answer to a question, said the number of Catholic children at the South School was 25. Mr. BUSHELL was only afraid that the expectation of the gentlemen opposite, of a change in the views of a most influ ential member of his (Mr. Bushell' ) side of the house, would operate rather as an inducement to continue the agi tation of this question than to allay jr, That was his fear, however benevolent the motive bmpted such an opi nion, or which dictated conduct bas, . :upon such opinion. It might, he greatly feared, operate as a premium upon agi tation instead of a check' to it. There seemed to be some misapprehension with regard to the record of the committee's proceedings : the committee merely referred to Mr. Taafe's letter as evidence to bear out the fact of insubordination, and it was the very best evidence that could be given, inas much as it proceeded from Mr. Taafe himself. The letter, proceeding from himself, was evidence of his insubordina tion ; and he (Mr. Bushell) would ask the committee how discipline could be preserved in a large body, such as the army for instance, if every man insisted upon receiving his orders and instructions directly from the commander-in-chief? Each officer was there responsible to the one above him, and he was merely the machine to put his orders in execution. When Mr. Taafe said he would not obey Mr. Stone, insubordina tion commenced, and it might have descended through the whole system if it were not stopped. The committee, there fore, could do nothing else than what they had ; and, how ever he (Mr. Bushell) might sympathise with Mr. Taafe on the situation in which he was placed, the committee, he contended, could not have acted otherwise towards him. He thought the wonder was, not that there was not a large body of Roman Catholics in the schools, but that there was one Roman Catholic in them. That there should have been so many as twenty-five in one school was matter of surprise. In conclusion, he thought that none of the present attacks ought to receive any sanction from the council until the sys tem had first received a fair trial. Mr. AIKIN asked when the time was to arrive when the system would be considered to have had a fair triW He cared not about the military law of the last speaker or the uncivil law of the town-clerk ; but he thought the common sense law was, that the council should make particular and personal inquiry into the mode of conducting the schools. He was satisfied that no man could lay his band on his heart and say that Mr. Taafe had been properly and honestly dis missed. Mr. B!RKETT thought that the private affairs of individuals would soon go to wreck if the conduct of Taafe, which seemed to have been approved of by Mr. Aikin, were gener ally adopted. He maintained that the man had been guilty of gross insubordination. He had refused to do what Mr. Stone told him, and he had made statements wholly untrue of the head master ; he had put them into the hands of Mr. Yates ; those statements had gone to the public ; and was it likely, under those circumstances, that Mr. Stone and Mr. Taafe could ever draw together? Was it likely that the children could learn obedience from such insubordinate conduct on the part of one of their masters? (Hear, hear.) That had happened to Mr. Taafe now which he (Mr. B.) told some of the parties who lent themselves to the present factions op position would assuredly happen. He called it " factious opposition," because the council had to go over the same subject every day they assembled. (Hear, hear.) It was the case of a small mi nor it y aga i ns t a l arge ma j or i ty, and that majority carrying out the wishes of the inhabitants. (Hear, hear.) The radicals stood as 13 to 35 in the council. After alluding to the large majority by which Mr. Brassey had been returned for St. Anne's Ward, on this very ques tion, Mr. Birkett concluded by again denouncing the con duct of the minority. Mr. PARKER expressed his belief that Mr. Aikin would be the first to stand up for order, decorum, and subordination in every department with which he stood connected. If any of his servants showed anything like the insubordination evinced by Mr. Taaffe, or if any of the officers under the Dock Committee were to be guilty of it, the consequence would be instant dismissal. (Hear, hear.) In the hope of putting a stop to the present system of opposition, he moved, as a second amendment, a vote of confidence in the Education Committee. _ Mr. fouLTAIN seconded the amendment. Mr. BULLET believed the proceedings of the committee were as illegal as they were unjust and unrighteous, and en tered his protest against them. Mr. BOLTON contended that when the party with which he stood connected were in power, they invariably acted upon the principle of " do unto others as you would wish others to do unto you." He referred to the late debate in the House of Commons, and said that the government were going to send out Catholic clergy to give instruction to the Catholic soldiers in India. He wished to contrast the liberal conduct of the government in this respect with the puny, and petty conduct of a few tyrannical bigots in Liverpool. He was strongly reminded of a period in history,— Mr. GLADSTONE.---1 rise to order, Mr. Mayor. I, for one, will not submit to be call e d a tyrannical bigot by any man. If that language is addressed to m e as a member of the Education Committee, I ask the mayor whether it is, or is not, to be retracted? Am I to be called a tyrannical bigot because, as a member of the Education Committee, I do what I conscientiously believe to be right? (Hear, hear.) Is that language to be applied to me? I shall not ask the question again. Mr. BOLTON.—I did not apply it to individuals, but to the committee as a body. (Cries of " Oh !") Mr. HonosoN.—lf that language is not immediately retracted, I shall move a vote of censure. (Great applause.) Mr. BOLTON.—It .is my opinion that the conduct pursued by the committee in those schools is tyrannical and unju s t.- (Great uproar.) Mr. GLADSTONE.—That is not the question. Mr. BOLTON.—I_ repeat that it is tyrannical and unj us t. _ The MAyon.—You mean, of course, with respect to the dismissal of Mr. Taafe ? Mr. BOLTON.—I am speaking of the rules by which the schools are regulated •, they are tyrannical and unjust, in asmuch as they exclude the Catholics. (Much uproar.) The MAYOR.—But that is not the question before the council now. Mr. BOLTON.—I say the conduct of the committee in the management of these schools reminds me of a period of his tory, in the year 1780, when some fanatical spirit— (Im mense uproar and continued cries of " Order." The MAYOR.—But Mr. Bolton, that is not the question. Mr. LLOYD.—Does the passage of history refer to Mr. Taafe ? If it does not, Mr. Bolton is not in order. (Great laughter.) Mr. BOLTON.—It is the same feeling of bigotry and in tolerance that led you to expel the Catholics. (C r i es o f Order.") Mr. BIRKETT.—If we sit here as bigots the town is of our way of thinking. (Cheers.) Mr. BOLTON.—if lam not allowed to go on— The MAYOR.—Go on as to the dismissal. Mr. BOLTON. — Exactly. I shall not proceed with the passage from history if I am not allowed. I canot help thinking that Mr. Taafe's offence was a very venial one, and that he ought only to have been reprimanded, and his mistake in the rules of the schools pointed out to him. I think the committee have acted in that respect extremely harsh ; and I call on the council not to confirm proceedings which, in my opinion, are very arbitrary and unjust. Mr. GLADSTONE.—I am sorry to bring myself again be fore the notice of the council ; but I am by no means satis fied. When I found fault with Mr. Bolton's remarks, which he afterwards seemed to retract, and called me a" ty rannical bigot, he made use of a most unwarrantableexpres sion, for he told me " I might sit down" " under it." lam not of a quarrelsome disposition ; I wish to live in peace with all men, but that is an expression I will not permit any man to use towards me. (Cheers.) I will be insulted by no man. (renewed cheers - ) I have a character to protect ;it is at tacked in this instance; and I will not allow Mr. Bolton or any other man to make use of expressions which are not to be tolerated. (Great Cheering.) Mr. BOLTON.—I retracted what I said in the firstinstance, and I regret having made use of such expressions as Mr. Gladstone complains of ; but, I repeat, I was speaking of the conduct of the committee ; and I cannot help thinking still that the committee have not acted according to the strict prin ciples of justice and impartiality ; nor do I think the rules which they have adopted, in conformity with the rules that ought to have actuated their conduct. Mr. TOULMIN.— I think we ought to have an unqualified retractation ; but that is not an unqualified one. Mr. JonnAN.--It is quite enough. (Oh.) Mr. Aldrn. BARCLAY.—What is the offensive expression ? The MAYOR.—A tyrannical bigot. Mr. Alderman BARCLAY.—I do not yet exactly understand what Mr. Bolton is accused of. As to the act done by the committee, I do myself consider it to be a very tyrannical act. Mr. Alderman EARLE—Hear, hear, And very unjust. Mr. Alderman BA RCLAY.—That is my opinion, and I shall be prepared to maintain it upon another occasion. Mr. MELLoR.—I did not understand the words spoken to be personally offensive to Mr. Gladstone. I understand Mr. Bolton to be speaking of the systam. (" No, no.") The MAYOR.—It was decidedly against either the com mittee or Mr. Gladstone. Mr: MELLOR.—I understood Mr. Bolton to say that the ssstem was tyrannical, unjust, and bigotted. (Renewed cries of " No, no.") That was the meaning of it. The MAYoR.—It was decidedly, in my opinion, against the committee or Mr. Gladstone. Mr. MELLOR.—I beg to add that I confirm Mr. Bolton's opinion with respect to the system. I think the system The MAYOR.—You may explain what fell from Mr. Bolton, but you are not at liberty to go into the general question. Mr. sat next to Mr. Bolton, and after he had made use of the expression, I heard him say that he did not intend it to apply to any member of the committee, but to their acts. He said he did not mean to apply it offensively to any member. G. H. LAWRENCE.—Mr. Gladstone is satisfied with respect to the withdrawal of the charge of " bigotry and intolerance," but he complains that when he said—" I will not put up with language such as that," M r . B o lt on sa id , " If you won't put up, you may sit down under it." • Mr. GLADSTONE.-1 es, Mr. Bolton said I might sit dovan under it. I should like to know whether that language is not personal? (Hear, hear.) Mr. BOLTON.:—I afterwards said that what I said referred to the system. __ Mr. LLOYD.—The first impression among the members near me was, that Mr. Bolton was referring to individuals ; but he says he applied it to the committee generally. He shoved it from the persons, and then spoke of it in relation to the system. Mr. JORDAN.—And he had a right to do so. In the House of Commons every member has a right to explain. The MAYOR.—I consider that Mr. Bolton has retracted the charge against the committee and Mr. Gladstone. Mr. BOLTON.—I spoke of the system. The MAYOR.—Not in the first instance. (Hear, hear.) Mr. BOLTON.—I was speaking of the system, which I con sidered unjust and bad. The MAYOR.—Your remarks were applicable either to Mr. Gladstone or to the committee. Mr. BOLTON.—I did not mean to apply them personally to Mr. Gladstone. Mr. TOULMIN.—He has only withdrawn the expression so far as Mr. Gladstone personally is concerned. The MAYOR.—I understand it to be withdrawn with re spect to the committee also. Mr. BUSIIELL.—I think he has withdrawn it as fully as he could. Mr. Alderman EARLE.—It is great presumption on the part of any gentleman present to make any further observa tion after the mayor has decided that it has been retracted. Mr. GLADSTONE.—I understood the first charge to be withdrawn. After Mr. Bolton had explained the first charge, the second which he made was personal to myself, for di recting himself to me and looking at me, he said —" You may sit down under it." That was an attack upon me. I un derstood that was to be withdrawn, and I now must know whether it is so or not. Mr. BOLTON.—It was merely a little pettish .)bserration of my own, brought on by the petulant manne r o f Mr. Glad stone himself. Mr. GLADSTONE..—PetuIant ! What do you expect us to be made of? (Hear, hear.) Mr. Alderman EvAss.—lt would be more in accordance with the charity, which we hope ought to exist in Mr. Hodg_ son's mind, if he would facilitate the arrangement. The MAyort.—lt is now terminated. Mr. EVANS.-With regard to what fell from Mr. Bolton, I am not surprised that gentlemen took offence at it; but when withdrawn and apologised for quite sufficiently, I am surprised that Mr. Hodgson should endeavour to prolong the subject. I conceive it is amply and honourably adjusted. Mr. HODGSON.—If Mr. Gladstone is satisfied, I shall not pr2ceed with the vote of censure. Mr. GLADSTONE.—I am satisfied if I am right in thinking that it has been entirely withdrawn. Mr. BUSHELL.—I don't see how the withdrawal can be more effectual. (Hear.) Mr. ROBINSON said he should oppose the confirmation of the proceedings in consequence of what Mr. Yates had said with respect to Mr. Taafe considering himself at liberty to give information to a member of council. Mr. EARLE said his party had always been attacked when they introduced the present very " factious opposition ;" but he hoped so long as injustice prevailed, that there would be plenty in the council to raise their voices against it. At all events, so long as he was in the council he would apply as strong a blister as it was in his power to do. (Hear, hear, and a laugh.) There was the utmost honour, candour, and religion about Mr. Hodgson,and yet his sting was generally of the severest kind. He (Mr. Earle) was not speaking then of what had taken place in the council, but of what had oc curred in a building close by a short time since. (Oh !) Mr. HODGSON.—I appeal to the mayor whether this ought to be allowed. The MATOR.—I think Mr. Earle ought not to proceed. Mr, EARLS.—I am sorry for it, sir; but it's out. (Great laughter.) He agreed with what Mr. Evans had said in re ference to what had fallen from Mr. Bolton, but when one wit nessed injustice, it was enough to make the blood and bile rise in him, and it was excusable if a little slip were made, though it might not be in accordance with the rules of po lished society. The reason Mr. Taafe had been dismissed was, because he was a superior man to Mr. Stone, and be cause they wanted to bring all the masters down to the level of the latter. This was the whole secret ; and more tyran nical, bigotted,,and unjust conduct he had never heard of in his life. It was such a system of religious bigotry as had never been known in the land before. Mr. GLADSTONE said that some reference had been made in the course of the debate to the page of history. Now, if those who succeeded them should ever be tempted to ex amine the records of their proceedings in the council, h e thought that the conduct of Mr. Aldrman Earle since he entered the council, would produce some risibility, if not something mot-e. Everybody would recollect what had taken place when he (Mr. Alderman Earle) attempted to criticise Mr. Stone's letter. That circumstance reminded him (Mr. Gladstone), of a preacher who was accused of reading other persons' sermons. By reading them wretchedly, he made them his own ; and Mr. Earle would have the council infer from that circumstance that Mr. Stone was incompetent for the duties of a master of the schools. To-day the council had heard of Mr. Taafe. Mr. Earle had referred to what he (Mr. Gladstone) said at the last council of Mr. Taafe : and whatever grounds he might have for forming an opinion of Mr. Taafe, he had refrained from saying more on the occasion Mr. Earle referred to because he had no wish to do what might be injurious to Mr. Taafe. That was his feeling when he heard Mr. Taafe' s fi tness f or a master st. hi g hly eulo g ised. His own opinion of Mr. Taafewas that he had been in that school six years too long, and that in some respects he was incompetent for the duty. If any gentleman doubted it, as Mr. Alderman Earle seemed to do, Mr. Alderman EARLE.—Very much indeed. Mr. GLADSTONE.—Then he would refer them to docu ments in possession of the Education Committee, from which Mr. Yates must have seen that Mr. Taafe was no great adept at composition or spelling either. (Hear, hear.) He (Mr. Gladstone) did not make this charge without having ascertained something to justify it. (Hear, hear.) He had been accused, because it was only natural to feel strongly where there were two great contending parties, of having in that council made contemptuous remarks. He had heard many people attack him in contemptuous terms, and angry ones he might have made in reply, but nothing more ; he had made none of a contemptuous character. He contended that the proceedings of the Education Committee, with re gard to Mr. Taafe, could not have been otherwise than they had been. How was it possible for Mr. Stone and Mr. Taafe to work together? (Hear, hear.) It would have been much better for Mr. Taafe to have gone away with a good grace, rather than have been the means of causing all this ferment and turmoil. Mr. MELLOR thought the motion of Mr. Yates deserving of every consideration, and expressed a hope that Mr. Glad stone would bring the present turmoil to a conclusion by pro posing some plan for the management of the schools which would allay unpleasant feelings. Mr. SANDBACH replied. He was very sorry for Mr. Taafe because he did not believe that his insubordination originated with himself. Mr. PATES said lie would have to vi n di cate M r. T aa f e ' s conduct if M r . S an db ac h continued these observations. Mr. SANDBACII said it was the conduct of Mr. Yates him self he was impugning more than that of Mr. Taafe. In the course of the investigation before the committee, Mr. Taafe was asked why he had not made some communication to the committee if he thought matters wrong, and his reply was that Mr. Yates told him it was un necessary for him to make any communicati on t o the:committee. (Hear hear.) Mr. YATEs denied that he had told him anything of the kind. Mr. SANDBACII said that Taafe's words had been taken down at the moment. Whether Mr. Yates had acted in the matter as a councillor ought to have done. he would leave the members to judge. He (Mr. S.) thou g ht h e h a d no t. (Hear.) He did no t lik e to characterize Mr. Yates's conduct in the manner which he thought it deserved. He had his own opinion of it; and so distinct was that opinion that he should be sorry to have acted in the manner in which Mr. Yates had. (Hear.) Mr. YATES armin denied that he had e xpresse d to T aa f e the words attributed to him by that individual. The council then divided upon the amendment proposed by Mr. Yates, when there appeared : Forit.... ...................... 20 Against it ..... . ................ 32 The amendment was consequently lost. The following members voted in the division : For the amendment—Messrs. ThornhEl, Preston, Holmes, Mellor, Bolton, Aikin, Bright, Priestley, Yates, Robinson, Jordan, Platt, Mather, Holt, Bulley, Freine, Evans, Barclay, Earle, and Moon, Against it—Messrs. Shaw, Shand, Hodson Houghton, Sandbach, Copeland, Edwards, Barton, Blundell, Sands, Toulmin, J. Lawrence, Cooper, Wood, Birkett, Gladstone, Bushell, Procter, Lloyd, Rigby, Kilshaw, Parker, Brassey, G. H. Lawrence, Trotman, A. Smith, jun., Harbord, Nicol, Chilton, Bramley-Moore, and the Mayor. Mr. Parker's amendment was not pressed to a division, and the proceedings were confirmed. The leases were then read and confirmed, after which the council adjourned to Friday, for the despatch of the remain ing business. MEETING OF THE DOCK COMMITTEE The following members were present at the Dock Com mittee Meeting yesterday :—Messrs. Sands (chairman), Horsfall, Barclay, Holt, Holmes, Middleton, Sandbach. Nicol, Aikin, Mellor, Bulley, Evans, Tobin, Shand, Martin, Smith, and Ripley. A large pile of English oak, taken up from the excavation for the new dock, was laid in the com mittee-room for the inspection of the members. Mr. RIPLEY, looking at it, said he was glad to find that it had a piece of iron at the end of it, which iron was in a state of perfect preservation, although he supposed it had been down for 150 or 200 years. This was a strong argu ment in favour of the iron light-ship. (Laughter.) Mr. TOBIN thought these was no argument at all in the matter. (Continued laughter.) The light-house at Hoylake was ordered to be repainted and whitewashed inside and out; and, on the recommendation of the Sub-committee for the Department of the Marine Sur veyor, it was ordered that the new iron light-ship now build ing by Mr. Laird should be fitted up with the improved lanterns, reflectors, and lamps. Mr. HOLT said that Mr. Horsfall could not have failed to observe, from his country residence, the superiority of the improved lanterns over those of the old construction. Mr. HORSFALL replied that any improvement in the mode of lighting the entrances to the port ought certainly to be adopted. Mr. SANDBACH asked what would be the cost of the im proved apparatus ? Mr. HOLT, in reply, said it would be manufactured by their own Surveyor. There would be three lamps, and each lamp would cost £416, so that the cost of the three lights would be somewhere about £1,400. Mr. RIPLEY wished that gentlemen of the commitee would inquire into the cost of manufacturing this kind of apparatus. If they would, they would find that their Surveyor manu factured it much cheaper, in their own yard, than regular makers themselves. As Mr. Hartley had sometimes been charged with extravagance, it was only fair that this circum stance should be known. Mr. TOBIN.—The difference is that in one case the maker charges no profit, whilst in the other he puts one on of 30 per cent. A resolution was then adopted, authorising the Surveyor to make the necessary lanterns for the iron light-ship upon the most improved principles. WRITING LETTERS IN THE NEWSPAPERS.-CAUTION TO THE SERVANTS OF THE DOCK ESTATE. Mr. RIPLEY said that he had seen a letter in the LIVER POOL STANDARD of Tuesday, purporting to be signed by the signed by Mr. Askew, the South Harbour-master ; and he should like to know from Mr. Askew himself whether he was the author of that letter. Mr. IlintsFALL suggested that the letter be read. The SECRETARY then read the following letter, which ap peared in the lastnumber of the STANDARD:— " THE NEW LIGHT-SHIP. TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD " SlR,—The Dock Conimittee having determined on an iron light-ship, I hope they may be not more disappointed than they have been in the last N.W. ship, built under the snperintendence of the Marine Surveyor. I cannot afford time to discuss the relative qualities between wind, cork, and wood, with " Proselyte " or any other jack-in-the-box. " May 2, 1842. " JOHN ASKEW." Mr. liorr said that Mr. Askew suspected that the Marine Surveyor was the author of a previous letter, signed " Proselyte," which appeared in another paper ( The Albion), but without making any enquiry upon the subject from Mr. Lord himself, he had printed the very improper letter in the STANDARD to offend him. Mr. HORSFALL said he was not aware before that any such letters had appeared. Mr. HOLT added that it was not the present Marine Sur veyor who had had any thing to do with the light-ship : it was Captain Denham. Mr. Alderman EVANS said he did not mind the imperti nence of theilletter so much as its being calculated to create dissension among the officers of the dock estate. Mr. HORSFALL suggested that the committee had better ascertain whether the letter was of Mr. Askew's writing be fore they took any steps upon it. Mr. Alderman Evaxs.—Has he not signed ? Mr. Alderman BARCLAY.—It is signed with his name, but it may be an assumed signature. Mr. Alderman EVANS.—There can be little doubt whose it is. Atxus: asked whether the subject was worth the serious notice of the committee? If one man was in favour of wood and another of iron, it might lead to a controversy between them i n th e p a p e rs , but was it worth while for the committee to notice it ? Mr. AldermanivAN . s.—l do not think that any officer of the dock estate ought to write to the public papers upon sub jects connected with the estate. Mr. HORSFALL.—To say the least, it is unbecoming and improper; but I think it would be only right, if you are all of that opiniou, that Mr. Askew should be called in, and made acquainted with it. Mr. TOBIN asked whether Mr. Askew referred to the last light-ship built under the direction of the marine surveyor? Mr. HOLT.—To that of Captain .Denham, I believe. Mr. TOBlN. — There have been two or three light-ships built since then. Mr. HOLT.—He says the north-west light-ship. Mr. RIPLE4 would ask what business had Mr. Askew with that ? He could not reflect upon the marine surveyor without reflecting upon the committee ; and, therefore, his letter was exceedingly improper, and, at least, he deserved a reprimand. Mr. MELLOR asked Mr. Ripley whether he had read the previous letter of " Proselyte,' which had called forth Mr. Askew's reply? Mr. lILEY said he had not, but that was a matter of no consequence in this question. The Dock Committee had nothing to do with any correspondence in the newspapers ; but he understood that Mr. Askew had written a former letter to the STANDARD, and he should like to see that let ter. Mr. Alderman BULLET.—Is it worth while going on with this? • Mr. Rul,Er.—l think it is. Mr. TOBIN said Mr. Askew's opinion vas correct, but he should not have written the letter. _ _ Mr. Alderman :Mum recommended that Mr. Askew be called in, before any further discussion, in order to ascertain whether he was the writer of the letter in the STANDARD. Mr. RIPLI;Y.—That is precisely the course I recommend. Mr. Alderman NtcoL.—And he might retire after he bad answered the question. Mr. Alderman EVANS.—He certainly had no right to bring the business of the dock estate before the public ; be sides, there is also a sneer at the Dock Committee in that letter. Mr. Rll'LEY.—Precisely, and by our own servant. Mr. Alderman EVANS.—We dismissed Captain Denham for something worse than that, certainly, but net altogether unlike it. Let him answer newspaper correspondents if he likes, but he has certainly no right to do anything of the kind in a case like this ; he has no right to bring the b usiness of the Dock Committee before the public so long as he is a ser vant of the estate. The CllAlßMAN. — Certainly not. The SECRETARY was then desired to fetch Mr. Askew in before the committee. In a few soconds he returned and reported that Mr. Askew was not in. the building, but that a messenger had been despatched for him. Mr. Alderman EVANS.—The letter is his, I have not the slightest doubt. The CHAIRMAN.—No doubt of it. Mr. Alderman EvaNs was understood, by the reporters, to say that it was sufficient ground for dismissal for a servant of the estate to have written to the public papers impugning a decision of the committee. Mr. HORSFALL said, .he would leave the matter in the hands of the chairman, who should inform Mr. Askew that the committee disapproved of his conduct in writing the letter. Mr. RIPLEY should be very sorry if such a matter as this was likely to lead to the dismissal of so valuable a servant as Mr. Askew : he did not think the offence deserved such a punishment; but he did think that the least thing the com mittee could do would be to reprimand him for having writ ten the letter. Mr. AIKIN thought, if any resolution at all were passed against writing letters in the newspapers, it should apply to all the officers of the establishment. Mr. Alderman EvANs asked whether the committee were to be afraid of their servants? They had not been afraid of " the great captain," and why should they be afraid in this case ? Mr. ToniN.—Who do you mean by " the great captain ?" Mr. Alderman EVANS.—There never was but one " great captain" in our service. Mr. At KIN would not be afraid of any one in their service; but at the same time, he would pass a resolution that no servant of the estate should write letters to the papers. He did not think there was any thing in Mr. Askcw's letter to call forth all these proceedings. _ Mr. MELLoit was of the same opinion. Mr. Alderman EVANS.—He had a good . right to address the r u b i t u llf s !cr AL a L n y thoughtl rsu b t j h c e se than t subjectt hl /la . d now received sufficient notice. It was then agreed that the Chairman should reprimand Mr. Askew for having written the letter. The committee next proceeded to the consideration of some financial affairs, and shortly afterwards separated, RANDOM THOUGHTS ON WEDNESDAY'S COUNCIL. I think great praise is due to Mr. Councillor Lloyd, for the manner in which lie opposed the motion to grant addi tional assistance in the surveyor's office, on the ground that the town has not the entire and undivided services of those already employed in his office; and I think it was very silly of Mr. G. H. Lawrence to say we ought to connive at this. I think that Mr. Councillor Yates has clearly proved that he advised and " edged on" Mr. Taaffe to quarrel with his bread and butter, and then, conscience-stricken at his own moral liability to support Mr. Taaffe, he makes a magnilo quent appeal to the humanity and justice (! !) of the council to reinstate him in his situation, after being dismissed for insubordination, clearly proved by one of his own letters, concocted and written at the " Hall of Science," in the Dingle ! I think every "fact" stated by Mr. Yates was proved to have no other existence than in "his own fertile imagination." I think the Member for Castle-street Ward, commonly denominated " the lumber in Sunday clothes," must have a great superabundance of gastric juice, to eat and digest, with such wonderful facility, his own hard words, when forced down his throat (without even the ceremony of mastication) by Mr. Robertson Gladstone. We heard a wag say, " Two to one on Bolton against any ostrich in the Zoological Gardens." I think Mr. Alderman Earle outdid by "chalks," in grace ful attitudes, Dr. Braid's somnambulist young lady, which have been so very deservedly admired. I was once firmly under the impression, when the alderman turned up his eyes, and his " eyelids quivered," that he was in a state of catalepsy. To be perfectly serious ; when Mr•. Earle lifted up his stick, and said to Mr. Toulmin, " this is a thing," and " you are a person," the painful reflection flashed across my mind of what the late John Barber said he was alone fit for, viz., " A sign for the Crooked Billet'." I think Mr. BirkettiftMr. Councillor Mellor rather hard when he reminded him of what he said in committe e , on the the testimonial s o f an i n di v idual being signed by about a dozen clergymen, " that a recommendation signed by so many parsons was enough to damnany man !" Exchange Ward, hear that ! write it on the tablet of your memories ! Write it on your banners next first of Novem ber,--" THE RECOMMENDATION 01,, T WELVE PARSONS' IS ENOUGH TO DAMN ANY MAN ! !!, B. P.S.—I forgot to say the Town-clerk gave a volunteer, which I think made Mr. Alderman Barclay open both his eyes : " Good wine cures the gout, the choke, and the thysic, 0 ! And it is to every man the very best of phy s i c , 0 !" which was loudly encored. CHESTER RACES. TUESDAY A PRODUCE SWEEPSTAKES of 50 sovs each, h ft, colts Bst 41b, fillies Bst ; two miles. Mr. F. R. Price's gr f Valentine, by Speculator Sir R. Bulkeley's ch f Wide-awake, by Physician THE TRADESMAN'S PLATE of 200 sovs in specie, added to a Handicap Sweepstakes of 25 sovs each. Mr. Plummer's br f Alice Hawthorn, 4 yrs .... Mr. Kirby's hr h Lanercost, aged A SWEEPSTAKES of 5 says, with 50 sovs added by the Pro prietors of the Grand Stand. Mr. Meiklam's b c by Physician Mr Walter's b c Wilton Brown.. Mr. Collett's br c Heads or Tails 3 3 d WEDNESDAY. THE DEE STAND STAKES of 10 sovs each, p p, with 50sovs added by the Dee Stand Proprietors. Mr. Kirby's br h Lanercost vraed over. A SWEEPSTAKES of 25 sovs each, for two-year-old colts. Lord Westminster's b f Mary Day, by Physician Mr. Griffith's b c Newcourt, by Sir Hercules THE DEE STAKES of 50 sovs each, with 200 says added. Mr. Copeland's b c Cornbermere, by Bran 1 Lord Westminster's ch c William de Fortibus, by Plenipo 2 Sim GUINEAS, (clear,) the gift of the Members for the City. Mr. Jones's gr c Portrait, 4 yrs ..... Mr. Meiklorn's b c Physician, 3 yrs .... Mr. Owsley's b c Happy-go-lucky, 3 yrs _ _ THURSDAY. 1 1 0 2 2 d HER MAJESTY'S PRATE Of 100 gs. Mr. Orde's b m Bee's Wing, aged THE MARQUIS OF WESTMINSTER'S PLATE, value 100 soya. in specie, added to a Handicap Sweepstake s o f 2 0 sovs. . each, h ft for all ages (two years old excepted.) Mr. Heseltine's br m The Shadow, 6 yrs ... . ... 1 Lord Eglington's b m Bellona, aged THE SELLING STAKES of 5 sovs each, with 20 sovs added from the Racing Fund. Mr. Price's ch h Prince Albert, 5 yrs .. Mr. T. Walter's b f Miss Winney, 4 yrs 2 A FREE HANDICAP STAKES of 20 sovs each, 10 sovs ft, with 50 sovs added by the Grand Stand Proprietors. Mr. Plumer's br f Alice Hawthorn, 4 yrs Mr. Ferguson's br h Humming Bird, 5 yrs CORRESPONDENCE. THE SHIP WALLACE FOR PORT PHILLIP For the satisfaction of the friends of those who went out in her, we publish the following letter, addressed by one of the passengers in the ship Wallace, from this port to Port Phillip, to the editor of the Port Phillip Patriot newspaper : Siß,—The ship Wallace left Liverpool on the 18th of August, bound for Poi•t Phillip, and arrived in Hobson's Bay on the 26th day of November, after a very pleasant and short passage of 100 days. She brings eight cabin, and three steerage passengers, and three hundred and twenty-eight free emigrants, of whom there are sixty-seven married couples, fifty-one single men, and thirty-nine single women, and one hundred and four children from one to fourteen years of age. She has two surgeons on board, Mr. J. Greenwood, the superintendent, and Mr. W. W. Burnell, the assistant surgeon. She had a rough passage down the Channel, and was baffled by variable winds about Madeira and the Equator, otherwise her passage would have been one of the quickest on record, for after crossing the line on the 20th of Sept., she distanced every ship which came in her course, running the distance from the line to Port Phillip in 58 days. The haziness of the morning of the 25th instant prevented Cape Otway being discerned - until very near land, and in conse quence the captain preferred dodging about during the after noon and night to venturing to the entrance of the bay in the evening. The commodiousness of the ship, her swift sailing, and the vigilance and firmness of her commander in preserv ing order, and cleanliness especially, recommend her as an emigrant ship. She was abundantly supplied with excellent provisions by the shipping agents, Messrs. W. Smith and Sons, Liverpool. There were but two deaths on the passage, viz., Mary Mercer, an emigrant from Ashton-under-Lyne, who died in consequence of a premature delivery of a child which lived but two hours, and James Walker, a seaman, of Liverpool, who was dragged overboard by a rope in a squall and drowned, notwithstanding great efforts were made to save him. Three hundred and twenty-three emigrants are prepared to land in good health as soon as the usual formalites have been gone through. The subjoined testimonial was presented to Captain Main for his considerate attention to the passengers and emigrants. " We, the undersigned pas sengers on board the Wallace, respectfully present you with this memorial conveying our approbation of your great ex perience in command, of your firmness in maintaining dis cipline and good order, and of your vigilance in preserving cleanliness throughout the vessel, which not only ministers to comfort, but is likewise indispensable to health. We also wish particularly to express the gratitude of those who have been afflicted by illness, for your endeavours to mitigate their sufferings, and to restore th em to health ; also for your kindness in suggesting amusements to relieve all from the weariness of a sea voyage. Our wish, sir, is, that all your future voyages may be prosperous, that you may attain a green old age, comforted by the reflection of a well-spent life, and the assurance of securing a happy immortality." Yours, &e. ! A PASSENGER, TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD SIR,—It is fortunate for you that the STANDARD is in its course accompanied with two excellent contemporaries in the Albion and the Mercury. In common with the remain. der of the world, you cannot fail, I imagine, to receive a stream of perpetual light from two such suns ; and you must, long before this, have recognised an almost special providence in the circumstance of the two luminaries irradiating our otherwise dark hemisphere at different ends of the week. For this mercy the inhabitants of " the good old town," of every clime and nation and creed, cannot be too thankful ; because, had their risings been coincident, few indeed could have stood against the united brilliancy of the combined orbs. There was a time when these magnificent planets were in opposition to each other—in opposition to such a degree, that many began to think that either one or the other would, by the attraction of repulsion added to its own gravity, lose its place in the solar system of the broadsheet. lam not quite sure that there is any remarkable cohesion in them vet, except perhaps under occasional circumstances of mutual danger from the singeing of some fiery comet. One element, however, there is, besides the apprehension of common danger,,which, with magic influence, has, for the moment, sapped ancient animosities, and engendered an amiable concord between these most valorous champions. Being of a pacific temperament myself, I have watched over this promise of peace with no common interest ; and I now congratulate my fellow-townsmen upon the gratifying fact, that harmony and reconciliation have superseded quarrelling and contention. We are thus spared from collision upon a most vital subject—a collision the bare contemplation of which is very nearly as horrible as treading upon the interior surface of a discharging volcano to an hypochondriac who fancies himself a lump of the lard described in Monday's Albion. And what do the most enlightened people of Liverpool think is this wondrous element, which thus presents pheno mena vastly more surprising than those of the Mesmerists, or the Homeopathists, or even of Mr. Claridge's Hydropa thists ? The venerable " Crito " (to whom I shall address myself at a future time upon his favourite topic) may, and for aught I know to the contrary does, rejoice in the disco very of an agency, which has apparently had the happy power of exchanging feud for friendship. What, then, is this invi sible and mysterious power ? Why, it is no other than a wholesome species of nervous irritability, somewhat similar to that of which Sir Giles Overreach might be supposed to be the victim, were he to have sinned only with reference to his stomach. It is, in short, no other than the circumstance that the retiring disposition of our present chief magistrate, whose aversion to display of any kind is next to his unques tionable integrity, his. chief characteristic, has not led him into the practice of giving a dinner every month or six weeks to some sixty or hundred of his townsmen—to men who ought never to want, and who never do want, but who are as hungry as paupers when the prospect of a civic feast sti mulates the appetite. Really a tremendous catastrophe has befallen the " classic " Albion and the " venerable Mer cury; a common misfortune has, by their own admissions, overtaken them, and their =Rings are only to be consoled by that judicious clause in the Municipal Corporations Act. which, probably in relation to this very case, enacts that all mayors must be elected annually. It requires no skill in divination (but if any divination at all be made, it must be by the ancient mode of the entrails and stomach) to foretel that the re-election of the present mayor will be opposed by the unanimous pens of these voracious complainants. Without doubt, however, there are a tolerably large class who are by no means satisfied with the conduct of Mr. John Shaw Leigh, in his capacity as mayor, with regard to the lamentable lack of dinners. In the eyes, or rather in the mouths, of these gentlemen, the dining-room of the Town hall should be immediately converted into a gratuitous ordi nary, the mayor into a Boniface, the town-clerk into a wine drawer, and the surveyor into the superintendent waiter— , an office wherein he might exhibit his skill in design, for why should not his works be as clever on a table as in a town ? On the principle of the greater comprehending the less, what might not the gourmand expect from his tabulated inge nuity ? As to the aldermen and town-councillors, they might be distributed in the establishment as cooks and scul lions. Thus, then, is the outline of an eating-house on a magnificent scale immediately drawn, and the details can be filled up_ by the grumbling gentlemen of whom the Albion and the Mercury are the o - rg - ans. Well, but for their information I will mention that the Town-hall Establishment Committee have just ordered the kitchen-range in the Town-hall to be repaired, at an expense of seventy pounds of the corporation money. This looks promising. Dinners will not always be at a discount. They may be had for going for shortly; and the doctors may speedily anticipate a prolific season of dyspepsia. But, in the meantime, whilst the kitchen -range is mending, some steps must be taken to bring the mayor to a sense of his duty—to make him try whether the corporation tinker has not made more holes than he has soldered up in the various pots and pans and kettles which form part of the civic culinary garniture. It certainly will be incumbent on him to risk an experiment ; but if the mayor should be so shockingly obstinate, so deaf to the cries of the ravens, as to persist in not making the Town-hall into a turtle-soup shop, then there will be but one mode open for redressing this grievous wrong. This mode of redress, happily, has the merit of being as easy as it will be successful. It is, that a special meeting of the council be summoned instantly upon the discovery of the mayor's refractoriness, at which the persuasive eloquence of Mr. Alderman Earle should be exerted in support of a mo tion by Mr. Alderman Evans, for the appointment of a com 7 mission, after the approved liberal fashion, to inquire into the intolerable abuse of his office by the mayor, and report thereon to the council. The motion for a commission should embrace two specific points—first the number of dinners the mayor has hitherto given, and next the number he ought to have given; besides which, it might be so wisely framed as to imply Porter's tables (not lie of the board of trade) to be the corporation catechism for the instruction of succeeding occupants of the chair. A single commissioner would per haps be capable of conducting the investigation ; and as the town-clerk must not be supposed to have any bias on this, no more than on other matters, probably the council would nominate him to the office. Indeed, if his own doctrine— that, because his office is mentioned in the charter, he has a right equally with the aldermen and councillors to debate and discuss the several motions propounded before them— be correct, I expect to hear him claiming the appointment of commissioner as his legal privilege. And as he evidently is not a man to lose what is his own for want of asking for, I would confer this office upon him on both grounds : first, that it is his by ancient right, and so gratify his weakness in antiquity ; and secondly, because he is eminently capable of conducting such an inquiry, and so obtain, after the tempe rate manner of a lawyer, the benefit of enlarged individual experience. The evidence ought to be taken down in short hand, and printed along with the learned commissioner's report, for the information of the council and the edification of their constituents. By the way, although the mayor's dinners ought on all occasions to display high celery, I think the commissioner's salary might be paid in invitation carcisci and this for an economi c al reason — name l y , th a t, like g" bills, they would readily be accepted. Giving your shining contemporaries all the advantage they can make of these valuable hints, I remain, sir, your obedient ser... -- nt , Tv' QUOQUE. Great George-street, Wednesday menus' The Irish whiskey duty in 1839 was £1,510,092 ; in 1840, £1,032,582; and in 1841, £964,711. SECOND EDITION. Standard-qffice, Eleven o'clock DESTRUCTIVE FIRE THIS MORNING, AT THE LIVER STEAM MILLS We regret to announce that about three o'clock this morn ing a most destructive fire broke out in the extensive works of Messrs. Edward Holme and Son, millers, on the west side of the Canal-bank. The flames, we understand, burst out very suddenly. An alarm was immediately given, and messengers were despatched for the fire-engines at the dock stations and the station in Temple-court. Five powerful engines from the latter place were instantly on their wa to the scene of conflagration, and in about twenty minute afterwards no less than ten engines were on the spot. Ali were playing upon the flames at once, but without effect. No effort could save the building, and at this moment it is a heap of ruins. We are sorry to add that four men were very severely injured in their efforts to extinguish the flames. One of them was a miller in Messrs. ilolme's service, and the other three were men belonging to the fire brigade. They are now in considerable danger. We have not heard any probable account of the origin of the fire, nor whether the property was insured. DISASTROUS FINANCIAL CONDITION OF INDIA The Morning Herald of yesterday, in a leading article upon the news brought from India by the overland mailhust received, observes that— " Sir Robert Peel has not, it would appear, been at all pre mature in his fears as to Indian finances. Monetary em barrassments are accumulating throughout the three presi - dencies; the whole country suffers from the drains of specie caused by the Affghan war; the currency is becoming so contracted that the ryot is unable to find silver to pay his land-tax ; trade is oppressed and stagnant ; the demand for our goods rapidly decreasing ; the wealthy natives are be coming distrustful ; the new loan is not tilling up ; credit is languishing, and prices are falling. These results of our Indian wars will add to commercial distress at home, and selfishness may at last induce us to make that demand which justice and right ought to have begotten, that the Afghan war be brought to a speedy conclusion, and trans-Indan con quest and subjugation be at once stopped." - - - This disastrous state of things there are few, except the thoughtless admirers of whig policy, whether abroad or at home, who must not long ago have foreseen ; and when it is borne in mind that the rash occupation of Aflghanistan has already cost, independent of 13,000 valuable lives, the enor mous amount of nineteen »zillions sterling, even these peo ple, we imagine, will confess that its occurrence is not very surprizing. Let those excellent politicians who but a few months ago attributed every evil under which the foreign commerce of Great Britain laboured to the effect of " mono poly" at home, tell us whether it is not quite possible that the mismanagement of our foreign affairs, by that sublime of foreign ministers Lord Palmerston, may not have had quite as much to do with the matter ! By the bye, may we not enquire into what bole bas the sublime statesman in question crept from observation of late ? We thought he was to have led the opposition, in the House of Commons; to Sir Robert Peel's government; but it is gratifying to find that the rouged cheeks of the venerable dandy are not imper vious to the blush of shame. THE DISC-ENGINE AND CAPTAIN CARPENTER'S PROPELLERS (From the Railway Magazine.) We have had the pleasure to witness some experimental trials of the above apparatus, made in the presence of Sir Edward Parry, comptroller of her Majesty's steam marine Messrs. Ewart and Lloyd, the government engineers, several gentlemen connected with the Admiralty, and a number of eminent engineers who attended on the occasion. The apparatus was fitted in the pinnace of H. M. steam vessel, Geyser, which is under orders to sail for China. The boat is 30 feet in length, 9 feet in width, and is capable of carrying 8 tons. The engine is of the peculiar kind called the " Disc-Engine, " which appears to b e we ll a d apte d to marine purposes. Its nominal power is equal to five horses, but it was estimated to be performing considerably more during the trial. _ _ The engine itself occupied a space of 3 feet by 1 foot 6 inches, and its total weight, exclusive of the boiler, is 5 cwt. The propelling apparatus is the invention of Capt. Carpen ter, the commander of the Geyser. It consists of two hori zontal shafts passing through the stern of the boat, (the joint made tight by a stuffing box,) one on each side of the keel, carrying two arms placed at right angles to the shaft, at the ends of which arms are two lozenge-shaped propellers, the angle of which with the horizontal shaft may be varied at pleasure. These propellers are caused to make about 300 revolutions a minute, and judging from their effect they appear to be well adapted for the intended purpose. - The boat made numerous trips up and down the river, and the facility with which the motion could be reversed, and the perfect command obtained in steering, called forth the com mendation of the gentlemen present. On making use of Massey's log it was ascertained that the speed of the boat, when the engine was making 100 revolutions per minute, was equal to seven miles per hour. The form of the boat is very unfavourable to obtaining velocity, and it was observed that in consequence of the bluffness of the bows a wave of considerable height was carried before the boat. We understand it is intended to employ this boat as an assistant to the steam-frigate, and that it will be employed for the purpose of towing other boats into creeks and shallow rivers where it may be desirable to conduct an armed force. It appears to us - that not only for purposes of warfare, but also for the more peaceful operations of commerce, the com bined apparatus we have inspected presents great advantages, as, from its extreme simplicity, it is perfectly manageable by ordinary workmen, and the small space it occupies, and its small weight, do not prevent the boat taking a full comple ment of men; and it will frequently happen that the assist ance in towing afforded by a boat of this kind would enable a vessel to make considerable way even in a perfect calm. We are not a little surprised and pleased to learn from Captain Carpenter, that the whole apparatus was so arranged that the engine and boiler could be taken out of the boat and replaced in it ready for operation in less than ten minutes. This simple fact is the best illustration of the Suitability of the disc-engine for such an application. The duration of the trials was not such as to enable us to determine the consumption of fuel ; but, as far as we could judge, this appeared to be remarkably small. The engine employed was only 15 inches diameter, and the steam pressure estimated at 381hs. to the inch. The mean number of revolutions of the disc per minute was 160, and on repeated trials we observed that the full number was al most immediately got upon starting. The above experiments were attended by Mr. Herapath. Another trial, we understand, was made on Saturday. The pinnace sailed from Woolwich against a strong tide and powerful head wind, and made such way as surprised the party on board. Afterwards they took in tow a man-of war's launch, having on board fifty men, with their arms and ammunition, and two cannons with their equipments, and made good way also against tide and wind. It does not ap pear that any log was on board, or any account of the steam pressure or consumption of fuel, but the experiments were confined to what may be called ocular inspection of general deeds. CATARACT REMOVED BY GALVANISM.—Prof. Pirogoff and Dr. Crussell, St. Petersburg, the operators. The con vex capsule was opened by a cruc i a l i nc i s i on, an d t h en a weak galvanic current was introduced into the eye for about a minute. The pupil became almost instantaneously black over a large portion of its circumference, and immediately the patients saw the objects that were presented to them. The reabsorption of the cataract takes place soon after the operation. On Monday a serious fire broke out in the printing-office of Mr. Lee, at Lewes, which was not extinguished before the whole of the establishment was destroyed. Nothing is known of the origin of the fire, but it is conjectured that it was oc casioned by the accidental falling of a spark from a candle during Sunday evening, and its smouldering till past mid night, and then bursting into flames. The damage is esti mated at about £1,600. The premises were insured, but not to the full value. TIMBER DUTIES.—MEETING OF THE BELFAST CHAM BER OF COMMERCE.—On Saturday, pursuant to an adver tisement that appeared in the papers, a public meeting of the members of the Chamber of Commerce was held at twelve o'clock, for the purpose of considering the propriety of send ing a memorial to government to allow the proposed duties on timber to have an immediate operation, when it was re solved unanimously, that a petition be forwarded from the Chamber to her Majesty's government, praying them to pass the proposed measure, and to let it come into operation with as little delay as possible. - - Low PRICE OF BUTTER.—Fresh butter, of excellent quality, sold in our market on Saturday for 9d. per pound: at an earlier hour it fetched Is., but much rentainitp, undis posed of, a reduction was submitt e d to, and at the i lower price above stated a great deal remained unsold. It is possi ble that apprehensions among the dairy farmers, excited by the cautious arrangements with them on the part of the Lon don factors, have led to this eager supply. The latter may not improbably be alarmed at the probable effects of the tariff when it comes into operation. Whatever may have been the occasion, it is certain that so large a stock of dairy produce at this early season has not occurred for many years past.—Taunton Courier. The extreme drought of the past two or three weeks ii, been suddenly terminated by a mild, and for several hour. copious, rain, which commenced yesterday, though we its extent was but limited. The appearance of the country in and about this neighbourhood, and in the adjoining county of Hereford, is truly luxuriant as regards all kind of crops, but rain is much wanted, especially for the grasses an s d oi lp o , . toes ;we therefore hope that a continuation of sea :::. showers will now come to the aid of the cultivator. T h e harvest of chards present a beautiful tint, and rich will be the fear cider and perry if no untoward change occur; _tomological is springing up with much vigour, but that fell en winds, has devourer—the fly, wafted - b . y the late easter ly ,on tof these plant, pretty generally attacked it ; and t he locus s, c voracious tribes, like their cousins-gen - nan o — well known i , convert " the paradise into a desert," ". is (-ct anything sati the disps l the history of hops, that we cannot yetePrielope, will, in a fe factory of the crop. The weather, the . hop l . t weeks, give a favourable turn to Journal. ' o 1 - At n ear one o cl c . ,‘, v e getation. — lf r oreest A COURTLY ADVENTURE.—A t „., w as pinning d en rap-tap at the dressing- Queen's hair, there was a sud se, morning, while the wardrobe-wo man looked at the Quee t , room door. Extremely surp e ri did not speak. I had see what should be done ; h ratch used, instead of tap'. sefor at the royal doors th, and the Queen called t alwaysheard such a r a t i s e o u u l a n rd kindb e fo , r ,e_ c f :: i n , _ liberty as to come to the Queen I beard it, hm , ere,F , was g rea lly startled, not conceiving n " What is that?' i i g V a nnouneing of a page ; and no page, w ould make such a noise. Again the sound evil at nand, either regarding the I was very sure , w couldasapartment : e takep_ withoutso A d more smartly. Igrew • eate., an .. .• quite alarmed, imagining scgn of the princesses. The etrssenri 0 u s Queen, however, bid king or s° l-h me door. I did ; b ut w , we open --- e • . Ghat was my surprise to see there a . large man, in an immense greatcoat, buttoned up rou nd his chin, so that Ile was almost hid b e t ween cape an d hat . I stood quite motionless for a moment ; but he, as if so surprised, drew back ; I felt quite sick with sudden terror --I really thought some rill - flan had broke into the house, or a madman. " Who is it veered,"' cried the Queen. "I do not. know, ma'am," I ans ll 1 l d • and ien, taking g• his " hat, entered the Prince of Wales. The Queen laughed very much ; so did I too, happy in this unexpected expl anation. He told her eagerly, he merely came to inform her there were the most beautiful northern lights to be seen that could possibly be imagined, and begged her to come to 'tl u • d - ie gallery-windows.-- Diary ery-win ows. Diary qf Madame D' Arblay.