The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-03-11 00:00:00

ADJOURNED COUNCIL MEETING. The adjourned meeting of the Town Council for the de gpatch of business remaining undispos.Tl of from the last meeting was held on Wednesday, in the Town-hall. The MAYon presided. GARDENS COMMITTEE. The proceedings of this committee were read and con firmed without eliciting any remarks. CHURCH EXPENDITURE COMMITTEE. The proceedings of the Church Expenditure Committee having been read, their confirmation was moved and se- condea vv Mr. BIRKETT said, that from the lowness of the windows on the north side of St. Thomas's Church, they were con stantly getting broken. In order to prevent this, which was a source of sorle expense, he begged to move that the Church Expenditure Committee be empowered to procure wire guards for those windows. . . . The TOWN.CLERK said Mr. Birkett's remarks might be considered as it suggestion to the committee, but they need not be the subj ect of an express motion. By the act of par liament the council were bound to keep the church in repair, and that duty Inust be executed by the Church Expenditure Committee. Mr. BIRKETT.—I am satisfied with that explanation. The MAYOR.—There is no reason why you should not be. The proceedings of the committee were then confirmed; and, on the motion of Mr. BIRKETT, seconded by Mr. PAR KER, the appointment of Mr. W. C. Ashlin, as organist to St. Martin's Church, was confirmed. COURT OF REQUESTS COMMITTEE. The appointment of Christopher Smith to the vacant situa tion of execution officer, along with the other proceedings of this committee, were confirmed. OBSERVATORY AND HEALTH OF TOWN COMMITTEES. The proceedings and resolutions of these two committees were confirmed. EDUCATIONAL PROCEEDINGS. Mr. Alderman BARCLAY said it would be in the minds of the council that towards the conclusion of the debate on the school question at the last meeting, his friend Mr. Sands made some remarks with reference to the conduct of the late Education Committee, and said he should like to have an opportunity of putting some questions to Mr. Barclay upon that subject. He had asked Mr. Sands to put his questions • then ; and from a report in the newspapers, it would appear that to his (Mr. Alderman Barclay's) question, Mr. Sands replied that he had something to say, but at that late hour in the evening he begged to postpone it. He (Mr. Alderman Barclay) would be very glad to know now, for his own sake and for the sake of those gentlemen who had served with bitn on the school committee, whether Mr. Sands had any thing to say upun that subject or not ? Mr. SANDS. in reply, said it would be recollected that at the last council he did in the heat of the moment make a re mark relating to the last Education Committee, and that see ing Mr. Alderman Barclay opposite he mentioned his name. Ile had an impression upon his mind at the time, of a cir cumstance which came to his knowledge at the time he was appointed a member of the Education Committee. He be lieved there were one or two children i❑ the South School which were not only allowed to be there free of all charge, but that their parents were allowed something weekly as an inducement to send them. He had that circumstance in his mind at the time, but he should not have mentioned it if it had not been elicited by some rather warm remarks from gentlemen opposite. Ile had also in his mind the mode in which deference was paid to the Roman Catholic clergy at the time Mr. Alderman Barclay's party came into power, and the sending out of Protestant children from the schools Mr. Alderman EARLE.—Sending out ? Mr. SANDS.—Yes, sending out, in the same sense that the gentlemen opposite said that the present Education Commit tee had sent out Catholic children. Of course he much preferred that all these matters were buried in oblivion, rather than anything should be said on either side to irritate the feelings of any one. He had no wish to give offence to Mr. Barclay or any one else ; he had stated what lie believed to be correct, and if he were wrong, he should be obliged by Mr. Barclay setting him right. Mr. Alderman BARCLAY said, that with regard to the fact of children having been admitted into the schools with out paying, or any particular allowance having been made to parents for sending . their children there, he not only knew of nothing of the kind, but he would say further that he did not believe it was the fact. If Mr. Sands could produce any instance of the kind, lie (Mr. Alderman Barclay) would at tempt to answer it, but at present he did not believe in the existence of either one or the other. If any children had gone to the schools and not paid their pence, of course he could not help it. Had Mr Sands withdrawn his expressions of the exclusion of children from the schools or not? He understood Mr. Sands to mean that he had no serious charge to bring against the late Education Committee, as to any at tempts made to induce children to come to the schools. Mr. SANDS : I have nothing further to say than what I have said. (" Hear, hear," from Mr. Alderman Earle.) Mr. Alderman BARCLAY : Very well. Mr. Alderman EARLE : I hope the reporters have taken that down And the speech of Mr. Earle Mr. HENRY LAWRENCI too. (Laughter.) The conversation on this subject then terminated DOCK COMMITTEE. The proceedings of the Dock Committee having been read. their confirmation was moved by Mr. SANDS, and seconded by Mr. HENRY HOLMES. Mr. GLADSTONE said it was not his intention to raise any opposition to the confirmation of the proceedings of the Dock Committee; but it certainly did appear to him, that the members of the council, and especially those of their body who were not members of the Dock Commit tee, out to be put in possession of the reports which had been made by Messrs. Walker and Cubitt, the engineers, relative to the plans for the new docks, before they were called upon to form an opinion of what, in the absence of those reports, they must be necessarily ignorant. There was no one who felt more strongly than he did, or more desirous to abide by the understanding arrived at in the sub-committee of which he had the pleasure to be chairman, that all opposition on our part should cease against the dock warehouse scheme, on the settlement that was then agreed to, being concluded than he did ; and to that arrangement he was prepared to adhere. But this was so important a question that he thought the council would be of opinion with him that every member ought to be put in full posses sion of all the details. From the little he had seen of the dock plans, he must say that he leaned very strongly to the form of dock adopted by Mr. Gaze ; for he bad, from practi cal experience been long acquainted with the extreme incon venience of the shape of the present docks ; indeed, the very fact that in getting a single ship out of her berth it was neces sary to move seven or eight others to do so, was a circum stance that, in itself, was sufficient to call for serious atten tion. What he wished was,—and he had no desire to make a motion to that effect unless he was forced to do so,—that the reports of the engineers should be printed, and a copy sent to each member of the council, and that the plans should be left in the council-room for their inspection. He believed he might say in answer to what would probably be urged to day, that this was another attempt on the part of the ware house owners to throw obstacles in the way of the dock ware house scheme, that they were entirely unconnected with it, and, in fact, as a body, were disposed to prefer the plan of Mr. Hartley, as decided on by the Dock Committee in pre ference to that of Mr. Gage. With these views, and with these remarks, he should be glad to find that no objection was urged to these reports being furnished, as in the absence of them, the council were positively called upon to determine on matters, of which information was withheld, and they, there fore, necesssarily ignorant of. The council held a responsible situation : they were the trustees of the docks, and were now required to decide on a question involving a very large sum of money ; surely, therefore, it was both right and necessary that they should be made aware of the details connected with tnese dock plans before they gave that decision. He looked upon this question, not alone as one to be viewed as that of corporation property, but as a question in which every ship owner in the kingdom, who might send his vessel to this port, was interested. Though he wished to urge these remarks on the council, it was not his intention to oppose the confirma tion of the proceedings of the Dock Committee, trusting, that what he had proposed, would be complied with. Mr. Alderman Nicol., as a member of the Dock Com mittee, would cordially second Mr. Gladstone's request, if it were to have the reports and plans laid upon the table. The objection to printing the reports arose from their being so voluminous. Occupying, as they did, with the evidence attached to them, he scarcely knew how many pages, he ap prelrendeci the expense of printing them would be very con siderable indeed. That was the strongest objection which he felt to Mr. Gladstone's request. At the same time, he believed the Chairman of the Dock Committee was prepared to state generally that there was not the slightest objection to lay the reports and plans upon the table. Mr. SANDS inquired whether he was to understand that Mr. Gladstone simply asked for the reports of Mr. Walker and Mr. Cubitt? Mr. GLADSTONE, in reply, said he wished that they should be printed and circulated among the members of the council. Mr. SANDS, in continuation, said, if he could conceive that any good would come from it, he would be the last man in the world to oppose Mr. Gladstone's motion, but it would be incurring a very serious expense without the slightest good. In fact, he doubted whether the council had power to order the reports to be printed— Mr. GLADSTONE.—It requires two-thirds. Mr. SANDS certainly would not take advantage of that ; but, if lie thought the council were disposed to order the plans to be printed, he should feel it his duty to go into de tails which he believed would induce them not to interfere at all in the matter. When the Dock Committee were in parliament some two years ago for an act to make the dock upon which they were now at work, Mr. Gage then submit ted some plans to them, and those plans received the most serious attention and consideration from the Dock Commit tee. A special sub-committee was appointed to examine those plans and to report upon them, and one member of that-sub-committee, he believed, was his friend Mr. Chap man, who was always disposed to look favourably upon what Mr. Gage did ; but that committee reported that Mr. Gage's plans were impracticable. He did not know, indeed, whe ther Mr. Gladstone himself was not the chairman of that sub-committee. Mr. GLADSTONE said he was not, and that the committee be had alluded to was the committee which was appointed to arrange the warehouse question. Mr. SANDS said, however that might be, that sub-com mittee reported that Mr. Gage's plans were impracticable. Just at the time the dock committee were commencing their present works for the new dock, Mr. Gage got all the asso ciated bodies together, and they expressed an opinion that the committee were not going to make the new dock so as to get as much accommodation as possible. They sent that communication to the dock committee, and he (Mr. Sands), as the chairman of the committee, said he would be happy to see those gentlemen, and to hear anything that they had to say to induce the committee to reconsider their plan, and they would willingly adopt such plans as would afford the greatest possible amount of accommodation to the s hipping interest of the port. They waited upon the dock committee, and the dock committee heard all they had to sa y. The deputation from the East India Association, Mr. Turner, said, " As far as the merchants connected with the East Indies are concerned, they feel, and always have felt, that the great difficulty experienced in the port of Liverpool has been the want of warehouses round the docks, as respects their trade. So long as you can secure warehouses that can be efficiently worke d b y an y new plan, they h ave nothing to say in opposition to such alteration of the plans ; but they do feel that any alteration involving decreased warehouse space, or that impairs their efficiency—scarcely no oth er a d van tage will compensate for t hat loss. ' Mr. George Hall Lawrence, from the West India Association, said he was quite willing to leave the matter in the hands of the dock committee, and Mr. Parker, his colleague, said be coincided with what Mr. Lawrence had stated. He (Mr. Sands) was now stating the opinions of the different associ.sted bodies in the town, to show it was not the opinion of the associations generally that Mr. Gage's plans were the best, but just the reverse. Mr. Todd said that "the principle ot w arehouses upon th e d uc k quays has been acknowledged by the American Chamber of Commerce, and I am sure I speak the sense of that chamber when I say that any variation of plan, which would remove that which has so great advantages, would be poorly com pensated for by other advantages.. The Mediterranean and Levant Association expressed a similar opinion through Mr. Filcher and Mr. Paul; but, notwithstanding these, there was the Shipowners' Association, and perhaps Theyone or two others, that expressed an opposite oPinimiroc were much in favour of Mr. Gages plan ; and the .com mittee therefore decided upon calling in the very best o infor mation which they could possibly obta in upon the subject down They wrote to Mr. Walker and Mr. Cubitt, wh came After and heard all that the associated bodie s had got to say. some time those gentlemen sent the Dock Committee their reports and plans, but before that the Dock Committee had shewn the plans of Mr. Hartley and Mr. Gage to all the doca ck and harbour masters; they took their op inions as practil men, and to a man every individual who had been examined preferred the plans for which the set of parliament had been obtained, those of Mr. Hartley, to those of Mr. Gage. Who, then, was to decide ? Were the Dock Committee to call in the associated bodies again after having already heard their opinions? Were they to appeal to the town, or who was to decide the question ? The Dock Committee after having given the greatest possible consideration to the subject thought they were the parties to decide, and they did decide; they decided that the plans for which they had an act of parliament should be the plans upon which they would pro ceed. Then the question arose whether the reports of Mr. Walker and Mr. Cubitt should be shewn to the public, and the Dock Committee said they should lie upon the table for their inspection. Mr. Gage called upon him (Mr. Sands) to know whether he might read them ; he replied, " certainly, do what you like," and he further gave instructions to Mr. Mason, the secretary, to allow Mr. Gage to make extracts if he chose,—in fact to do what he thought fit. Now, he wanted to know what good could now come from their being printed. The Dock Committee had already incurred an expense of seven hundred or eight hundred guineas by what had hitherto been done, and it would cost at least two hundred guineas more to print the reports and the evidence. Besides, they were not going to act upon those reports if they were printed. He therefore could see no good in printing them, or he should be very happy to agree to Mr. Gladstone's wishes ; but the reports might lie upon the council-table for the next three months, or for six months if they chose, for the Dock Com mittee had no objection to that. This was Mr. Walker's opinion upon the plan of Mr. Hartley :—" Had no act been passed nor any restrictions imposed, I should still say that, all things considered, it is decidedly the best plan for the purpose of a dock with bonded warehouses. The act makes it the only one that can be proceeded with at present." Mr. Cubitt's opinion was :—" Upon the whole, after the most careful consideration of the subject, I have no hesitation in stating, as my decided opinion, that the best and most de sirable plan, under all the circumstances, is to construct the dock with warehouses round, upon the plan as settled by Mr. Hartley." After this, he thought Mr. Gladstone would be satisfied that the plan upon which the Dock Committee were now acting, and with which they had already made considerable progress, was the best. Mr. Alderman EVANS would not detain the council many minutes. Some one had questioned whether the council had or had not the right to call for these documents ; now he should be very sorry if the council had not the right to call for or look at any documents belonging to the Dock Commit tee. It ought to be recollected that the council were the trustees of the docks, and therefore, if they desired any docu ments belonging to that body, he considered they had a perfect right to ask for them ; but be was also equally certain that upon the present occasion, the council would have the good sense not to ask the exercise of a right that, would be abso lutely worse than useless. He conceived that the ridiculous notion of interference with the committee out of doors ought to cease now. They had done everything that it was possible to do, not only to satisfy but to gratify every body out of doors, without examining nicely with regard to what right they had to require so much from the committee. He had to observe before now that after all the lengthened investiga tion that the Dock Committee had made of persons, and of everything material in the management of the docks, for they had consulted engineers and professional men of all de scriptions, and all the very highest of their class , t hat if there was real knowledge i existing upon the subject of dock ma nagement and dock construction anywhere it was in the dock committee. He hoped that the council and the public at large would rest satisfied that everything had been done which was for the best. Mr. GLADSTONE felt himself rather at a loss how to deal with the subject in the absence of the reports for which he had now called. In the first place he admitted the force of the remarks which had fallen from Mr. Sands, but he did not see in them any justifiable excuse for the members of the council not being made acquainted with the particulars of the engineers' reports. They were now dealing with an im mense sum of money, upon the right and proper appropria tion of which every member of the council was competent to form an opinion. He considered the reports of the engi neers very valuable in themselves ; but a man who walked about the docks, who was a shipowner, and accustomed to the management of ships, who knew what loading and dis charging was, was, to a certain extent, as competent to form an opinion, and, in some respects, more so, than even Mr. Walker and Mr. Cubitt. With regard to their reports, he certainly *should be glad to have them, but he did not see (but he spoke off-hand) any use in having the evidence that had been taken—in short, the reports would be sufficient without the evidence. With regard to such evidence as that of the dock masters and others which bad been taken, he was quite ready to admit the force of it, but at the same time he should not fail to take into consideration that however good and efficient the dock masters and other servants of the trust might be, they were not men who could speak from the prac tical experience of having worked such docks as those on the plans of Mr. Gage. He should like to have the evidence of a man who bad worked such docks, who bad practical information to give concerning them, because every thing else must to a great extent be matter of theory. With the very little he knew, he was not prepared to say that Mr. Gage's plan was better than Mr. Hartley's ; he did not know that it was, but from what he had seen he believed there were parts of Mr. Gage's plan superior to some of Mr. Hartley's. What Mr. Sands had stated as the opinions of the associated bodies went rather to prove that the convenience of ship owners was to be sacrificed to the warehousing of goods. Mr. Sands said that the associated bodies had all spoken in fa vour of Mr. Hartley's plan with the exception of the ship owners, and one or two other associations. There were a great many associations, who had given an opinion in favour of Mr. Hartley's plan, he admitted ; but the shipowners, who were a body of practical men, were opposed to it. Mr. Sands had asked who was to decide the question after the Dock Committee had taken all the evidence. Why, he (Mr. Gladstone) said that council was to decide the question ; the council was the body to decide, and how could they decide without knowing what they were to decide upon? He ad mitted the force of Mr. Sands' arguments, and he regretted that circumstances should exist that the present act would not admit of an alteration such as Mr. Gage's plan proposed. However, as he ha stated in the fist nstance though he felt a deep interest in the question, r he i , had no desire, nor would he, to thwart the proceedings of the Dock Committee in carrying out their plans ; but, at the sametime, be thought that the council having, in the case of the present bill before parliament, gone to the expense of printing and circulating it, a copy of which he held in his hand, and which contained quite as much matter as the engineers' reports without the evidence, they ought also to print these reports for circula tion among the members of the council. Mr. AMIN agreed with many of the remarks which had been made by Mr. Gladstone, such, for instance, as that wherein he declared that individual shipowners and practical men were quite as able to judge of, and to direct, plans for the good working of the docks, as any engineer in the king dom, and perhaps better. But he begged to recall to the re collection of the council that practical men had been appointed from the council and the town for the express purpose of superintending those arrangements, and that a great many of them were extensive shipowners. For instance, there was himself : his welfare depended entirely on his shipping. He supposed that no man could have a greater interest in the subject, because his all, in fact, entirely depended on it. Mr. Tobin was also an extensive shipowner, and one who was continually about the docks, and who understood the work ing of them, and could not be surpassed in that respect by any gentleman, except Mr. Horsfall, who had been a member of the committee for a great many years, and had rendered great services to the estate, more, he believed, than any man in the town. They were practical men, and it happened most fortunately that there were such men to superintend and manage the dock estat.. (Loud cries of " hear, hear.) And what were the council now asked to do? They were asked to publish a very voluminous report, which, when published, would never be read except by a few who took an active interest in the matter ; and lie ventured to suggest, that any individual, who did feel an active interest in the mat ter, should go down to the dock committee, and examine the reports, where he would have the advantage of seeing the whole plans laid down upon an extensive scale, and thereby be much better enabled to judge of their respective merits, than he could by any mere publication. If Mr. Gladstone, or any other trustee of that great estate, would only be kind enough to go down and examine the plans and reports, he (Mr. Aikin) would venture to say that he would come to the ' conclusion which bad been arrived at by every individual sent there expressly by the ratepayers to oppose the plan adopted. But, luckily for the interest of the estate, and greatly to his own credit also, the individual who had last been sent there was the very party to move that the plan suggested by Mr. Hartley should be proceeded with. (Hear, hear.) Mr. Bold had come to the conclusion,. which every reasonable man must arrive at, that the plans adopted were decidedly the best ; and he (Mr. Bold) had made a motion for their adoption, and that motion had been seconded by Mr. Moly neux. He hoped the remarks, which had been so well made by Mr. Sands, would induce many to go and examine for themselves, in which case he was sure they would come to a similar conclusion. The West Indian, the American, the Mediterranean, the Baltic, and other associations, had all been in favour of the plan adopted. And who had opposed them ? The Shipmasters' Association had opposed them for sooth ; and a very young gentleman had come and made an excellent speech on a subject about which he was preciously ignorant. Besides that, there was a gentleman of the North American timber trade. He (Mr. A.) was present when that gentleman was putting his questions, and he said to him, " I believe you approve of the means provided at the south-end for discharging timber ?" " Yes, was his reply. " Can anything be constructed better than that dock for the pur poses of that special trade ?" was the next question ; and his reply was "No, none can be better." So far as regarded the individual trade of this gentleman, the arrangement of the docks could not be surpassed; and the Dock Committee thought he ought to be well satisfied. With regard to the Shipowners' Association he could only say, that for a length of time he used to go to that association : Mr. Brook Yates was the chairman ; be, and some two others used to consti tute the committee, and upon one or two occasions those two or three appointed delegations of five for particular purposes, to represent themselves and the association elsewhere ' but it was eventually broken up, because it was made a West India or a mercantile association rather than an association of ship owners. Another had been lately established, but it was one in which Mr. Chapman, himself, and some others finding they had adopted proceedings deserving rather the character of a warehouse owners association, made their bow and re tired. He (Mr. Aikin) happened to be retained upon the committee in despite of itself, but although he regularly re ceived notes he never attended its meetings. Mr. Brockle bank was not a member of the association, and he could not conceive that a more false fancy could get into the minds of the council than to suppose that " the Shipowners' Associa tion" presented a fair view of the opinions of the shipowners of the town. It did nothing of the kind. Mr. Henderson, the chairman of that body, had sent resolutions down to the Dock-trust, which if laid before the council would be con sidered little short of extremely impertinent, and not de• serving of attention. He hoped however, and he believed, from what had taken place, that Mr. Gladstone would now rely upon the management of the docks, seeing the various members who had been appointed since be was there, and re collecting as he must do, that there never was a body of men more devoted to their duty than the present committee, and that they had only committed one error, and that was in listening for one moment to the suggestions of interested parties out of doors, thereby incurring great expense to the estate, and running the risk of having the trade of the port injured by the delay that might have arisen. Mr. PROCTER briefly supported the views of Mr. Glad- stone. The TOWN-CLERK said there were some legal consider ations in this case which it was his duty to lay before the council. In the first place, although every thing like publi cation for the use of the public, must originate with the Dock Committee, and not in the council, yet it was for the council either to confirm or reject the proceedings of the Dock Committee. But he did not think that the proceed ings of the Dock Committee were well laid before the council for confirmation. The confirmation was of no value at all unless the reports, evidence, and plans were laid upon the the table of the council. After a short conversation further, Mr. SANDS said he would immediately send a note to the secretary of the Dock Committee for the plans, evidence, and reports. In about an hour afterwards they were laid upon the table, when Mr. SANDS renewed his motion, and the proceed ings were unanimously confirmed. THE RIVER MERSEY. The MAYOR acknowledged the receipt of a communication from Mr. Gage, with a chart inclosed, which, he said, would enable_ th e counc il to see t h a t w h a t was now called the New Channel was known to exist 150 years ago. The letter was a very long one, and entered into some details connected with the state of the river. iwy s o a ß m e said t hin tlo g a . t Mr. Okill had a plan in his office a few years old er t h an that sent b y M r . Gage, which s p ewe d exactly The A the Mr. SANDS moved that Mr. G.'e letter do lie upon the table. Mr. Alderman EARLE : No, send it to the Dock Committee. Mr. Alderman EVANs said the letter contained no material information of any description, therefore it could answer no end to refer it to any committee. With regard to " harrow ing " the channels he had never been an advocate for it: it never promoted the efficiency of the channels, and it had long since been left off. The letter was then ordered to lie upon the table. Mr. H. LAWRENCE suggested that it would be only courte ous towards Mr. Gage to thank him for the communication. Mr. Alderman EVAN S. —W hy should we lavish our thanks upon every intruder ? We have had quite enough already from that quarter. I certainly would not thank him. I would thank him, however, to leave off annoying us. (Laughter.) GAOL COMMIITEE. The proceedings of the Gaol Committee, comprising the appointment of Mrs. Shaw, the task mistress, as matron, in lieu of Mrs. Corduroy, resigned, were read and confirmed. THE NORTHERN HOSPITAL. The MAYOR acknowledged the receipt of a communication from Mr. Robert B. Anderson, the chairman of the Northern . Hospital, in which he returned thanks on the part of the committee of that institution for the liberality and benevo lence of the council in granting them a piece of land. THE IMPROVEMENT BILL. The MAYOR acknowledged the receipt of a memorial signed by Mr. Case on the subject of the improvement bill. It stated that at a meeting held at Messrs. Clay and Swift's office, to take clauses 123 to 128 of the improvement bill into consideration, it was resolved that the meeting viewed with surprise the passing of clauses which would be injurious to the manufactures generally, that the existing law for the sup pression of nuisances arising from smoke was sufficient, that the meeting would oppose the enactment of such clauses, and that they had appointed a committee for carrying their reso lutions into effect. Mr. BIRKETT moved that the memorial be referred to the Finance Committee. Mr. GLADSTONE said he had seen one or two of the gen tlemen who were present at the meeting where the memorial was adopted. He understood their objection to the clauses to be this—that they were extremely arbitrary in their na ture. (Hear, hear.) So much so that a common blacksmith could not work his chimney without coming under them. The TOWN-CLERK entered into some explanation of the clauses, and said he thought it would be desirable to have the memorial referred to the Finance Committee to see whe ther any clauses could be framed which would not he oppres sive, and which at the same time would relieve the town from the nuisances complained of: Mr. 11. LAWRENCE suggested that in addition to the power of appeal to the recorder given to parties by this bill there should be a similar power to the assizes. Mr. PARKER expressed a hope that the memorial would have due weight with the council. Mr. EARLE believed that steam-engines could be made to consume their own smoke. He was interested in a very large steam-engine himself; and, if it were practicable, he hoped they would be made to consume their own smoke. - Mr. SANDS thought the council ought to be careful not to do anything to interfere with the commerce of the town, or with large manufactories. Mr. YATES said the council appeared to be all agreed that the clauses of the bill as drawn in London were objectiona ble, and that no injury should be done to the manufacturers of Liverpool. He thought a committee should be appointed to modify the clauses so as to meet the wishes of the manu facturers. The Liverpool and Harrington Company and the Railway Company, with a laudable attention to the public, had remedied the evil nuisance arising from the smoke of their steam-engines—so that it appeared manifest that smoke could be consumed so far as steam-engines were concerned. (Hear.) The memorial was referred to the Finance Committee. PLEASANT-STREET SCHOOL. The MAYOR acknowledged the receipt of a letter signed Francis Shuttleworth, in reference to the school established in Pleasant-street. It stated that, according to the strict terms of the lease, the committee were prevented from intro ducing any children but those of Irish parents, with a view to increasing its efficiency, they hoped the council would ex tend the terms so as to enable them to introduce others, not of Irish extraction. Referred to the Finance Committee. The MAYOR stated that he had received a memorial from certain parties, inhabitants of Great George's Ward, in which they expressed their regret at the late decision of the council on the education question, and their surprise that the council should have adopted a decision so much at variance with the enlightened principles of the day. They concluded by pray ing the council to reconsider their decision. The Mayor said it was numerously and respectably signed, and asked whether he should read over the names. Mr. I3ouroN said it would be sufficient to have three or four of them read. The M Avon. then read the names of Langton, Johnson, Boller, Bryden, Knight, Rogers, Murphy, Bruce, &c. Mr. BOLTON said that, as an inhabitant of Great George's Ward, he had been requested to support the views of the memorialists, which he did with the greatest sincerity. He moved that the memorial be referred to the Education Com mittee, with an instruction that the rules for conducting the schools might be so modified that children of all denomina tions might partake of the advantages to which all were enti tled. He was induced to make this motion because the chairman of the Dock Committee (Mr. Sands) had predicted that the Catholic children would not leave the schools. As this prediction had not been fulfilled, there was good ground at present for reconsidering the question, and the memorial afforded a fair opportunity for so doing. Mr. SANDS denied that he had uttered any prediction of the kind. He had, indeed, expressed a sincere hope and de sire that they would not leave ; and they would not have left if the Roman Catholic clergy had not gone to the schools and insisted on their withdrawing themselves. Mr. HENRY LAWRENCE suggested that the word " in struction" in the motion should he varied, as it was against the standing orders to receive it in its present shape. He had a strong wish that the schools should be so conducted as to enable all parties to partake of their benefits. Mr. JOHN SIMI II suggested that the memorial should be referred to the committee. The TOWN-CLERK was of opinion that no instruction could be moved without notice being given. Mr. BOLTON consented to withdraw the word " instruc tion," and to move simply that the memorial be referred to the education committee. Mr. AIKIN seconded the motion. Mr. BIRKETT moved, as an amendment, that it be laid on the table. Mr. PARKER seconded the amendment, which was shortly after withdrawn. Mr. ROBINSON said lie should support the motion, think ing it but courtesy towards the petitioners to have their me morial referred. Mr. Alderman EVANS supported the motion. He thought it was the duty of the Catholic clergy to have interfered ; that their interference ought to have been foreseen by the council; and that it ought not now to be mentioned as an act of im propriety on their parts, inasmuch as they had given notice before-hand on the subject. Mr. EARLE asked what the clergy of the established church had done when the schools were originally established by the reform council ? _ . . . The MAYOR thought it was not desirable to enter upon such a discussion at present. Mr. LLOYD had no objection to the memorial being refer red to the committee, as it did not pledge them to alter the rules. Mr. MoLs - NEux could have no objection to the memorial being sent to the committee if any benefit were to be derived from such a proceeding. He did not see the use of sending it before the committee. (Hear.) It was, moreover, pre mature to say anything with regard to the proceedings in the schools, as the committee had scarcely commenced working them as yet. (Hear, hear.) Mr. GLADSTONE said that he meant to oppose the motion that the memorial be referred to the Education Committee, not from any want of respect towards the memorialists, but his reason was that the schools were scarcely yet in the posi tion in which they were intended to be with regard to the system of instruction. The Education Committee had only just got their new masters, and at the present moment they were utterly unable to speak confidently of how the system might work. Under these circumstances, it appeared to him that the council really were not in a position to deal with the question. He had become a member of the Education Committee most reluctantly, because he felt the great re sponsibility which it involved, and becausei ts duties re quired time and attention which he could scarcely give, al though, with few exceptions, he had attended every meeting of the committee. His own feeling with regard to this sub ject was this,—that if the system which it was proposed to establish should not meet the objects intended—if it should not prove to he a comprehensive system—if they really found that they had obstacles to deal with much more formidable than in the first instance they were led to suppose, and which prevented their carrying out that system—he, for one, as a member of the Education Committee, should, at the proper time, be ready to come before the council and say so ; but, until that system had been fully and fairly tried, which he was free to state had not yet been done, nor was it likely to be so until three or six months from its commencement at least should have expired, it did appear to him premature for any body of men to suggest a new course, and to attempt to urge it on the Education Committee. As he had stated, he had gone into the committee reluctantly ; but, as he had gone there, his intention was to discharge his duty in the best way he could ; and if he found the system was not as comprehensive as it should be—if the schools were princi pally filled with children from schools attached to churches which before were supported by the congregations of those churches, that would not meet his views. To a certain ex tent he should wish to know where those children were who were before in the corporation schools. This was the view that he took ; and if he could not see at least a portion of those children instructed there, he should come to the con clusion that the schools, whatever his own private opinion might be, were not the schools which the municipal law authorised. With the expression of this opinion, he felt that it was scarcely fair towards the Education Com• mittee, and perhaps scarcely right, to force on them a course different to that which they were pursuing. Let them see first what the plan really was which they were en deavouring to establish. If that plan should fail then the time would have come for them to make a change, and it would be the duty of the Education Committee to come boldly before the council and say so, because what they de sired to effect was not what required to be concealed. The more it could be seen, the more it was enquired into, the better was the plan of education to be established likely to be ; but whilst he made these remarks with regard to the schools attached to churches, one or two of which he believed were about to be given up, it was only fair to state that, although he conceived the corporation schools so filled would not meet the object intended, yet there was this fact, that some of these schools were formed at the period when the council com menced the late system, therefore, to a certain extent, the corporation were the natural schools for those children to go to. But he said this—if they were only to take the children of schools which before had been supported by individual subscription, that that was not the object of the corporation schools ; therefore, let the Education Committee try the sys tem which they had now in hand. He would say to the council, " Let us carry it out for a certain period, long enough to give us an opportunity of judging how far the sys tem will succeed." Having stated these reasons, he should feel it his duty, without meaning any disrespect towards those who had signed it, to oppose the memorial being re ferred to the Education Committee, because he wished to be left free and unfettered to do what was right without the dic tation of any set of men. If he could not carry that out he would come before the council and say so. Mr. Aims in support of the motion said he had not as yet heard a word in the way of objection to the motion. On the contrary, Mr. Gladstone acknowledged that the thing up to the present moment had not met his expectations, and that if the same system went on, he would be at liberty to enter tain the question. Mr. BIRKETT expressed his regret for having withdrawn his amendment, and said he would not do so again. Mr. Sm au said Mr. Mr Birkett would be a good boy the next time. In the mean time Mr. Gladstone's amendment had not been seconded. Mr. CHILTON then seconded it. Mr. PARKER regretted very much that Mr. Gladstone had expressed the sentiments he had on the present occasion. (Hear, bear.) He could but admire the tact of Mr. Aikin in availing himself of the mode in which Mr. Gladstone had expressed himself. But, as conservatives and as protestants, they had one course to pursue. (Hear, hear.) Their faith was straightforward. Their duty was not to mark the result s of the measure at present , because it was premature; but sent to the council as they ha d been by the constituency of Liverpool, their duty was to c arry out the wishes of that cons tituency upon the education q uestion. Before the sy s t em was allowed to have a fair tri al, representations were made out side doors, and a hold was taken of a memorial, which had been worded in a way different from what it ought to have been worded. It called on the council to rescind what they had been contending for on principle—namely, a sound scrip., tural education for the poor of the town. It was preposter ous that any memorial of the sort should be received by the council. He maintained that the conservative party were acting on sound, constitutional, and protestant principles in supporting the present system ; it was a question upon which he would ever take his stand; and he hoped the memorial would be ordered to lie on the table. (Hear, hear.) Mr. SANDS denied that Mr. Gladstone ever stated that his expectations had not been realised. Mr. GLADSTONE explained. His meaning was this—At present the Education Committee were not able to say what would be the success of the system. That was what he in tended to say. Of its propriety his own opinion was un shaken, but how far it would succeed, so as to secure the benefits of these Corporation Schools to all classes, as they were intended, it was, of course, impossible for the Education Committee to say. He certainly meant that if these schools were not fully attended—if there were only a hundred scho lars in one school, and a hundred in the other, it would then become the duty of the Education Committee to attempt some change that would make them so. It would not be worth while to keep up such au establishment, and to pay the expenses of masters, mistresses, monitors, and apprentices for so small an object. The Education Committee wanted to establish education upon a broad scale, and, as he had said before, what he intended to state was, that as they had only just got their new masters, it was impossible to form an opinion what the success of thei system would be. Mr. Alderman EVANS said he had never heard a speech in the council the commencement of which gave him greater satisfaction than the one he heard from Mr. Gladstone, who had stated principles in a graphic manner. The crisis re ferred to by Mr. Gladstone had, however, arrived already, for the catholic children were gone ; and who in the world say that they would ever come back ? Mr. BRIGHT said the sentiments expressed by Mr. Glad stone had done him very great honour. He thought the Education Committee ought now to adopt a system that would conciliate the catholics. Mr. LLOYD thought the council would not be doing their duty to the Education Committee if they interfered with the system which was now in course of operation, by referring the memorial. Mr. SnANn contended that it was quite unnecessary to re fer the memorial to the committee, as they were already alive to the question. Mr. BOLTON then replied, after which the council divided, when there appeared— , For the amendment...................... 23 Against it Majority ..... : : ...... —3 The amendment was consequently carried. The following members voted in the division : For it—Messrs. Shand, Copeland, Barton, Blundell, Sands, Rae, Aspinall, Toulmin, Wcod, Birkett, Gladstone, Proctor, Lloyd, Kilshaw, Parker, Jones. jun., A. Smith, jun., Houghton, Nicol, Chilton, Molyneux, Crook, and the Mayor. Against it—Messrs. Thornhill, Preston, H. Holmes, Mellor, Bolton, Aikin, Bright, Yates, Robinson, H. Law rence, J. Smith, Jordan, Mather, Buller, Freme, Evans, Barclay, Earle, Moon, and Turner. ADDRESSES TO THE QUERN, PRINCE ALBERT, AND TER DUCUESS OF KENT. Mr. LLOYD moved the adoption of the following congra tulatory addresses to the Queen, Prince Albert, and the Duchess of Kent, on the birth of an heir apparent to the throne of these realms : _ _ . " To Her Most Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria. " The dutiful and loyal address of the Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the borough of Liverpool. " May it please your Majesty,—We, the mayor, aldermen, and burgesses approach, with feelings of the most loyal at tachment to your Majesty's person, to offer our heartfelt congratulations on the great and joyful event of the birth of a prince, the heir apparent to the throne of this realm. " We pray the Almighty Ruler of Princes to preserve the health of his royal highness, and to bestow on your Majesty and your illustrious consort a long life of happiness and prosperity ; and that He may enable your Majesty and your royal consort to direct the education of the heir apparent, and to witness matured in his mind those sound principles which will make his reign a blessing to a free and loyal people. " And we pray that the present distress, which presses heavily upon many of our fellow-subjects, may be of tempo rary duration ; and that Divine Providence may continue to watch over your Majesty's subjects, and that they may grate fully appreciate the many blessings this most favoured coun try enjoys ; and that we may remain a dutiful and loyal peo ple, justly proud of the virtues which grace your Majesty s person and government. " Give❑ under the common seal, the 9th of March,lB42.” " To His Royal Highness Prince Albert, Duke of Saxe oburg and Gotha " The dutiful address of the Mayor, Aldermen,and Burgesses of the borough of Liverpool. " May it please your Royal Higness,—We, the mayor, aldermen, and burgesses, beg to offer to your royal highness our sincere congratulations on the great and happy event of the birth of a son, heir apparent to the throne of this realm, which has still more endeared your royal highness to a dutiful and loyal people. " We pray for the blessing of God on our infant prince, and that it may please the Almighty to grant to her Majesty and to your royal highness a long, prosperous, and happy life, and that both may see, in full maturity, the virtues of his parents implanted in the heart of the heir apparent.—Give❑ under the common seal, the 9th of March, 1812." " To Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent. " The respectful address of the Mayor, Aldermen, and Bur gesses of the borough of Liverpool. " May it please your Royal Highness,—we, the mayor, aldermen, and burgesses, beg to be allowed to approach your royal highness with the warmest and most heartfelt congra tulations on the joyful event of a birth of a prince, heir ap- parent to her Majesty's throne. we pray that the Almighty protection may be extended to the royal infant, and that he may grow up in health and strength, the comfort and delight of your royal highness ; that the lives of your daughter, our most gracious Majesty, and her illustrious consort, may be spared for many years to bless a loyal and dutiful people ; and that when it shall please the Almighty to call their son to the anx ious cares of govern ment, the virtues of his royal parents may be found in him adorning 'a reign of honour and prosperity, as the monarch of this great empire.—Given under the common seal, 9th of March, - 1842." The addresses were adopted. P RIVATE BILLS. The TOWN-CLERK reported on the private bill s of th e council with the view of obtaining any directions thereon be fore going into committee of the Commons. He said he bad been advised that morning that their bills had all passed the standing orders committee ; but up to the termination of the Easter holidays the bills would be in the power of the council for any amendments which might be considered advisable. With reference to the clause regarding marine store dealers, he proposed to add, that " nothing in the act should apply to ship-chandlers and rope-makers." Mr. PARKER asked what was the proposed fee with regard to marine store dealers taking out licenses? The TOWN-CLERK said it was any sum not exceeding 20s. He thought the 20s. might be reduced to 108., and that 2s. 6d. would probably be sufficient. Mr. BIRKETT called attention to clauses respecting lorries, and the building of houses with beams. The TOWN-CLERK promised to consider the subjects with Mr. Birkett. Mr. LLOYD called attention to some clauses which refer to the powers of the corporation as to the taking of property. The TOWN-CLERK said it would be for the Finance Com mittee to alter the clauses in question if considered unjust. The town-clerk then called attention to some alterations which had been made in the interment clauses with i the con sent of Rector Brooks, and ent er ed at some length nto a de scription of the alterations which had been made in the clauses. Mr. GLADSTONE said it was right that the public should know that the alterations had been made with the consent of Mr. Rector Brooks. Mr. LLOYD in allusion to the Borough Court Bill, said it was much to be regretted that the clause bad been withdrawn which gave a power to this borough to arrest absconding debtors. That part of the bill would have been an immense boon to the country. When it was considered that this port was the great outlet to America, and the facilities for escape afforded by steam communication were so great, the council ought to use every means to give the borough court the same Power in this respect that the superior courts had. Two cases of this description had come within his own knowledge within the last fortnight. The parties had to send their affi davits to London, then to go before a judge, and then when process was issued, strangely enough it had to go to Preston (this being a county palatine) before it came to Liverpool, consequently two or three days were lost whilst the debtor could come by railway from Manchester just an hour or two before the steamer sailed. He regretted this, and he should be sorry if the price they were to pay for the bill, should he to lose one half of the advantage that was to be got by the certiorari clause. But Liverpool when going to such liberal expense in providing accommodations for the Judges and the professional gentlemen who attended the assizes here, ought not to be treated exactly in the manner in which it was by the officers of the court at Preston. They had not yet had the condescension to bring any of their offices here, al though they took them to Lancaster, and at the foot of the circular announcing the assizes it was always stated, " the business of the public offices will be transacted at Preston during the assizes." He named this to put the council in possession of the fact, that although they might go to great expence in building assize courts, after they had done so, most of the business might be taken to Manchester or to the , office at Preston. _ . . . The Tows; CLERK also pointed out the inconveniences and annoyances of the present system, and recommended that petitions be presented for an amendment. It would be better if the law for the detection of absconding debtors were applicable to all seaports. Mr. Alderman EvaNa would avail himself of this oppor tunity of expressing the satisfaction with which he had heard Mr. Lloyd. He had to-day heard him put forward claims for this town which he (Mr. Evans) had often, but in a more feeble way, endeavoured to enforce. It was clear that in this port we ought to have the most ample local jurisdiction. With regard to the reason of our not having it, he believed it arose from an unwarran table timidity which had ever ex isted here. We heard, "if you attempt this you will have the bar, and the bench, and everything against you ;" but it had fallen within his experience in parliament, which, on account of council and dock business was not small, to know quite well the great influence which Liverpool had when Li verpool was represented in London by enlightened and ener getic deputations. It was quite notorious in both houses of parliament that a Liverpool object, and above all a Liverpool opposition, was one of the most formidable that ever came before them. We had great weight and influence, and great power if we had only the courage to exercise it. He recol lected going up with another gentleman as a deputation to government to endeavour to preserve the patronage of the council in. the officers of the jail, which the home department were very kindly going to take away from th e counc il w h o paid all the expense of it; and he believed that at that time even the Town-clerk himself was under the influence of ap prehensions that they would get into a quarrel with the Home Office. Why, the Home Office would have gone on with it had it not been for the energetic efforts that were made, and the deputation found all their requests yielded when they applied all the requisite force. With regard to absconding debtors he would mention a case of his own. A man was indebted to him here, and he received a hint from another quarter that he was going to leave, he did not k now when. When he asked his attorney about it, " Oh," said he, " You cannot meddle with him without you get a judge's order." " And how long will that take ?" " Ten days" was the reply. Why, the man might have been half over Europe in that time. This port was the outlet and inlet for the greatest number of that description of people who were likely to com mit fraud upon others, and therefore we ought to possess in ourselves all the powers necessary to get summary redress. He hoped that Liverpool hereafter would assume a tone, and follow it up, which be had no question would result in success in having her rights and consequence admitted. It was then understood that application should be made to extend the power of arresting absconding debtors to all sea ports IIEALTH COMMITTEE Mr. BingETT moved that Mr. Councillor John Holmes be added to the Health Committee. Mr. AsptNALL seconded the motion, which was passed unanimously. MOTION FOR A REPORT. Mr. BOLTON moved that the report of the matron of the North School, which was in the possession of the chairman of the Education Committee in December last, be now read. Mr. MOLYNILVX said he had no objection to produce the report in question, and after some discussion it was read as follows : " SIR,—We have no apprentices at present in our school, but we have monitresses who assist in teaching, and who are themselves taught the same as apprentices. " The religious instruction is conducted as follows : " The protestant girls are divided into three bible classes —one class reading the New Testament, one class of younger ones who can only read the easy part of the Psalms, and one class who cannot read and they are read tn, by one of the monitresses, from some of our scripture pieces whith we have hanging against the wall of our school-room. Some times, as a reward for good behaviour, they are taught hymns. " On Tuesdays and Thursdays the church children and the dissenters are in separate rooms, because the former are taught the Church Catechism, and the latter, Dr. Watt's Catechism. The Roman catholics are engaged at this time as the report will show. " At a quarter past four o'clock the bell is rung, and the children in all the rooms prepare for prayer. I read the ac companying prayer to all the protestants (teachers, moni tresses, and children,) assembled in one of our class-rooms, reading a sentence at a time, and the children repeating after me ; concluding with the Lord's Prayer and the Grace. " PRAYER. " 0 most merciful God and Father, we humbly beseech Thee to receive these our prayers and thanksgivings, which we offer unto Thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord. " ' Be pleased to direct our actions by Thy Holy Spirit, and by Thy gracious assistance prosper them, that in all our works, begun, continued, and ended in Thee, we may glorify Thy holy name. May Thy blessing rest upon us, and upon these schools, and grant that we, and all who receive the be nefits of education here, may be brought up in Thy ways ; never failing to ascribe, as it is most justly due, all praise, honour, and glory to Thy most holy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour, in whose words we sutra up our imperfect petitions, saying—Our Father,' &c., &c. " The Roman Catholics are at the same time engaged in prayer in the other room. Their prayers, I believe, consist only of the Lord's Prayer, the Creed, or Belief, and some little prayer in the form of a blessing, in conclusion. The children then assemble in the large room to sing a hymn all together. They are then dismissed, singing, as they move on, " God save the Queen," &c. They also sing a hymn as soon as they assemble in the morning, previous to the " Ex tracts" being read to them, and they sing another hymn at noon, before they leave to go to their dinners. "If the Education Committee thought proper, we might have the protestants separated from the eatholics at nine o'clock for prayers in the morning, the same as they are in the evening. " Our school-books are the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth reading-books ; one copy of each will accompany this report. A list also of our library books I will place on the table for your inspection. " I believe this is all that you have requested me to report. Should I have omitted anything I hope to be pardoned, and upon being applied to for any more information respecting the school I shall be most happy to supply my present defi ciencies. Our ladies' committee not having met lately, lam deprived of their kind 'commands and assistance to guide me in making this report. lam therefore compelled to make it upon my own responsibility without their cognizance. " I trust I shall be forgiven for making herea few remarks upon the state of the school. From the observations I have been enabled to make, I am surprised at the fund of scriptu ral knowledge our poor girls have, considering they are left almost entirely to the care of female teachers. " Not one protestant clergyman has examined the girls since I have been matron here, and the Roman catholic priest only comes once a week, and not that sometimes, and he only stays from five to ten minutes. Little instruction can be given or received in that short time. " Another remark I wish to make with respect to my girls alone is, that the most amicable and kindly feelings seem to subsist amongst them—not one dispute relative to religion ever having arisen since I have been here. I believe it my duty to report the school such as I find it, trusting I shall be exonerated from blame by the committee as well as by your self, for thus thrusting my opinions before you unasked for. I am myself (as my testimonials can fully prove) a Church of England Protestant, and as such would wish every child in the school, and their parents, too, were so also ; but as such a state of affairs is not probable, I am anxious to do the best I can for every one of these dear children, over whose welfare and education it has pleased the Almighty to place me to watch and guard. " Hoping to be pardoned for my present intrusion, I re main, Sir, most respectfully, yours very obediently, "JANE WELCH, " Matron to the North Corporation School. " E. Molyneux, Esq., Chairman to the Education Committtee, North Corporation School. " Tuesday Evening, Dec. 14, 1841." A lengthened discussion ensued, in which the Chairman of the Education Committee was pressed by Mr. Bolton, Mr. Evans, Mr. Earle, and Mr. Aikin, to state why he had not produced the report before. Mr. Molyneux said he believed it to be a private document addressed to himself. PURCHASE OF LAND• Mr. BOLTON, in the absence of the chairman and deputy chairman of the Finance Committee, who were in London opposing the Birkenhead improvement bill, moved that the negociation for the purchase from the Earl of Derby, of 1,000 lineal yards of strand, extending northwardly from Beacon's gutter, at a sum not exceeding £17,500, be con- firmed. Mr. ASPINALL seconded the motion, and it was unani mously carried. lIOURS OF LICENSED VICTUALLERS. Mr. ASPINALL said he had been requested to present a memorial on the part of the licensed victuallers of this borough, praying the council to rescind the resolution which was agreed to at the last meeting for the introduction of a clause in the Improvement Bill for closing their houses on certain hours between Saturday night and Sunday. He was not desirous of re-opening a discussion on this subject, but he was apprehensive that if the clause were continued, it would lead to a very powerful opposition to the bill now be fore parliament. Several members of parliament were de. cidedly of opinion that it was a hardship upon the publicans to insert a clause of this kind in any bill purely local, and that if there were to be any legislation at all upon the subject it should be of general operation. The licensed victuallers of Liverpool bad no objection to the Improvement Bill itself, but they had a most decided repugnance to being placed in a situation different to that of any other licensed victuallers in the kingdom. He begged to move that the memorial be read and adopted. Mr. TOULMIN seconded the motion. The TOWN-CLERK then read the memorial, which was signed on behalf of the association of licensed victuallers by Thomas Jackson. Mr. Alderman EVANS said it had certainly surprised him to hear a proposition of this sort come from the quarter it had, from the brother of the rector of Liverpool, from one of the church, from one of the Sabbath-day observers, from a late mayor of the town and a magistrate—from one who must be well acquainted with the destructive evils of allow ing the Sabbath-day to be desecrated in public-houses. It was said that the publicans were not unwilling to have a ge neral measure. By that it seemed there was an admission of the evils arising out of the want of it, but was it the duty of this council to compromise with vice, or for one moment to refuse to contemplate an enactment that would suppress that vice? When he found a measure like this originating in a quarter where it was least expected, be was led to reflect upon what could be the motive. He did not mean to say what those motives were, but he could not help saying, that the only motive which suggested itself to his mind, upon this question, was this—that morality was to give way to private interest among the publicans, and all, as it seemed to him, to get political influence. He could discover no other good motive whatever. Mr. BinicETT supported the motion, and contended that Mr. Alderman Evans had no right whatever to inquire into Mr. Aspinall's motives. lie (Mr. Birkett) would support the motion on the like grounds that Mr. Aspinall had urged, but at the same time he should have no objection to a mea sure extending for seven miles round the borough. He should move a resolution to that effect. Mr. AIKIN and Mr. EARLE, and Mr. A. SMITH, jun. opposed the motion, and it was supported by Mr. PROCTER and Mr. PARKER. . Mr. ASFINALL r ose t o r eply, and spoke with much anima ti. on. He was very sorry, he said, that be was compelled to rise in order to answer some observations that bad fallen from Mr. Alderman Evans and Mr. Aikin, because, when he presented the memorial he had no intention of entering into the subject. He stood there not as a spirit merchant, not as a brewer ; be was not connected, directly or indirectly, with any public-house in the town; and he begged leave to tell those gentlemen (Messrs. Evans and Aikin) that he stood in his place in that council in order to give as indepen dent an opinion upon this subject as either of them. (H ear, hear.) Ile was very sorry that Mr, Evans should have thought proper to allude to him as the brother of the Rector of Liverpool, and that, because he happened to stand in that relation to the reverend gentleman, he should have affected surprise at his bringing forward this motion. (Hear, hear.) He (Mr. Aspinall) had brought forward what he conceived to be a just cause, a cause which he should have expected that those gentlemen who were such great advocates for the liberty of the subject, and for the equal rights of Englishmen, would have supported, for he would venture to ask them on what ground could it be contended that one Englishman was entitled to a greater privilege than another? (Hear, hear.) He was really surprised at those gentlemen having talked in the way they had, for they, too, were magistrates and belonged to the bench which had generated the curse of this town by granting licences to so many beer-shops without discretion. (Applause.) He could put his hand on his heart and say, that the fifteen months he had the honour of being the mayor of this borough he had not granted one single licence ; on the contrary, he had felt it his duty to take three or four away. (Cries of " bear, hear.") He took that step conscientiously, because he thought it would tend to suppress vice and immorality ; but what had been done since that by the adverse party? (Hear, hear.) Why hundreds of beer houses, of the lowest description, bad been licensed by them as public houses ; they therefore had themselves created what was the curse of the town, and now they were actually seek ing for a bill to put it down. (Hear, hear.) He was sorry to be compelled by what had been said to make these obser vations. He stood in his place in that council to give a con scientious and independent opinion, and be would yield to no man in doing so ; therefore, as an honest man, he would say he conscientiously believed that the clause was an unjust one if it formed part cf a local bill, and was to extend to this town only. (Hear, hear.) But if there was a public bill for that purpose, no man would be more anxious than himself to do all in his power to carry its provisions into effect, for no man was more desirous for the suppression of viceand drunk enness. (Hear, hear.) In making these observations he did not think it was a just thing to put one man upon a different footing than another ; and upon that account he felt it was his duty to object to such a principle. But what would be the consequence if it were acted upon ? The eating houses would be full of drunkards ; they would go across the river into Cheshire; and one man upon one side of the street might be selling beer and brandy with impunity, whilst another man upon the other side had not the power. (Hear.) Now that was not just; it was not honest; for one Englishman ought not to have a greater right to do so than another. That, then, was his principal reason for having brought this matter forward ; in the first instance he thought the principle unjust, and in the second he did not think the clause would answer the purpose which was intended. The council divided, when there appeared — For the motion l3 Against it .. The motion was consequently lost. The following mem bers voted in the division : For it—Messrs. Preston, Copeland, Barton, Aspinall, Toulmin, Wood, Birkett, Procter, Kilshaw, Parker, Jones, jun., J. Smith, and Crook. Against it—Messrs. Shand, Thornhill, Mellor, Bolton, Aikin, Bright, Yates, Robinson, Gladstone, Lloyd, Jordan, A. Smith, jun., Mather, Harbord, Bulley, Freme, Evans, Barclay, Earle, Molyneux, Moon, Nicol, Turner, and the Mayor. Mr. BIRKETT wished to move an amendment, to the effect that any enactment of the kind should include eight miles round the borough; but The TOWN-CLERK intimated that such a motion could only be received at the next adjourned meeting. It was there fore dropped for the present. VACANCY IN ST. ANNE'S WARD. The TOWN-CLERK said that a special meeting of the coun cil should be held on an early day, for the purpose of declar ing a vacancy in St. Anne's ward, and that Mr. Dixon and Mr. Hardman, the n ewly-elected assessors, were not duly qualified. Twelve o'clock on Monday next was fixed for the purpose, and the council adjourned at a quarter past four o'clock. The Rev. B. W. Noel has written a letter to a L on i on paper , disclaiming any intent ion "of applying th ose p assages of the word of G od planed in the title-page of his pamphlet, to those who advocate the maintenance of the corn-laws." THE POLYTECHNIC SOCIETY. The monthly meeting of this society took place last night, at the Royal Institution, and was numerously attended, the subject announced for the evening being an address from the President of the Institution, John Grantham, Esq. " On iron as a material for ship-building ; including a d escr i p ti on of the ' Great Britain, of Bristol," &c. Amongst those pre sent were his worship the Mayor, Mr. Sands (chairman of the Dock Committee), Mr. Charles Parker, Mr. Shaw (of the Dublin Steam-packet Company), Mr. M`lver (of the British and North American Royal Mail Steam Company), Dr. Brandreth, Mr. Daniel Mason, Mr. Schuyler (the Ame rican Consul at this port), Mr. John Walker, Mr. Daniel Mather, Mr. Bolton, jun., and others. Mr. HENRY DAWSON (the President, Mr. Grantham, having opened the business of the evening) was called to the chair. Mr. GRANTHAM commenced by stating that the object of the present communication was to institute an inquiry into the advantages to be derived from employing iron, as a ma terial for building ships, and to compare such vessels with those constructed of timber. After a few introductory remarks he said, some explanation might be expected as to the opportunities he had had of forming an opinion on the subject. His attention was first directed to it in consequence of his father having, in 1824, procured a small iron vessel to be built to navigate the Shannon, and the canals connected with it, from which time his mind had been constantly directed towards it, and he bad had the most favourable opportunities of examining both wooden and iron vessels of all descrip tions, having been engaged in building several of the latter, some of which were on a large scale. He had also been assisted by his professional experience as a mechanical en gineer and boiler-maker—affording him a knowledge of the capabilities of iron, the mode of working it, and the requi site proportions to obtain any desired result. In proot of his sincerity in behalf of iron for ship-building, he had de termined, three years ago, with other gentlemen, to engage seriously in the business of building iron vessels, and they had erected new premises on a suitable site. He would not enter upon the subject of naval architecture, or discuss the merits of peculiar models of vessels, further than with refe rence to iron being more or less suitable to carry out prin ciples known to be favourable for peculiar desirable qualities in steam or sailing vessels. He concluded his exordium by expressing his thanks to several friends for the information they had so readily afforded him, and expressed the pleasure he should have in receiving, any facts, additional to those he had already collected, with which he might hereafter be favoured. It was a common error to suppose that vessels had only recently been constructed of iron, and that iron workers were alone advocates and promoters of the principle. The value of iron for such a purpose had long been known, and had for many years been making a sure, though slow, progress towards its present improved state. Iron vessels were first built for the canals of this country, as far back as 40 years since, and some of these, he had reason to believe, were still in existence. Several facts had also transpired at the meet ing of the British Association in Glasgow on the subject. His partner, Mr. Page, had been engaged in building iron canal boats upwards of thirty years ago ; and he had him self seen some in Staffordshire of such an age that he could not ascertain the date of their construction. A friend of his in that county had also written to him, that he was then cutting up some iron vessels that had been at work 28 years, a strong evidence of the durability of the material. The first iron vessel that put to sea was built by the Horse ley Iron Company, for the Seine, and called the Aaron Man by, after the nano: of the projector. He had last month received a letter from Mr. Manby on the subject, from which it appeared the vessel was constructed under a patent taken out in France, in 1820, where he and his friend Captain, now Admiral, Sir Charles Napier formed a society. The boat was completed in the following year, was sent to London in parts, and there put together. She took in a heavy cargo, and Captain Napier navigated her himself from London to Havre, and thence to Paris, without unloading any part of the cargo, being the first and only vessel of any description that ever made the voyage direct to Paris. Mr. Manby afterwards built three other iron steam-boats (two of them in France) for the navigation of the Seine, and they continued to work prosperously till 1830, when, owing to particular circum stances, they were sold to another society, but still continue at work—the Aaron Manby (which never required repairs from 1822 to 1830) being now employed as a tug. The next iron vessel with which he was acquainted was that built by the Horseley Company, under his father's su perintendence. She was commenced in 1822, and put to gether at this port. She crossed the channel in the winter of 1824, and proceeded to her destination—Lough Derg, oii the Shannon—since which she has been constantly at work, and is now in good condition and daily employed. This vessel was the origin of the extensive and spirited company which now occupies that splendid river. The first iron vessels built in this town were by Messrs. Fawcett and Co., in their boiler yard, Oil-street, then under the superintendence of Mr. Page. Amongst these was one called the Alburka, which went on Lander's unfortunate expedition to Africa. Shortly after, Mr. John Laird commenced building them , on a large scale, and had since been extensively engaged in this pursuit. The lecturer then proceeded to describe the ordinary method of constructing iron vessels, which he very happily illustrated by diagrams and models. The iron employed con sisted of the best rolled plates and angle bars, the supply at Liverpool being generally obtained from Shropshire or Stat . - , fordshire. It was of importance that they should be tough and not liable to crack, so that should a vessel be wrecked, or receive a severe blow, the plates might dinge but not break. He entered into an elaborate and highly interesting account of the several modes adopted in building iron vessels, from the keel upwards, and pointed out those which he considered the best, which was listened to with marked attention. The scope afforded for increasing the strength of iron vessels was almost unlimited , by evident means but the question as to the last disposition and proportionate strength of the plates involved so many difficult enquiries, that experience alone could decide the question. Plates united by a flush joint would sustain the greatest strain from force applied to their edge; while with lapped joints the whole of the strain arising from a weight applied to the edge of the plates was thrown on the rivets, excepting in so far as such strain was counteracted by the frames at short in tervals crossing them. In a vessel taking the ground or in a heavy sea, the strain on the bottom arose from an up ward pressure, and on the sides two forces operated, one given out in a vertical direction, and the other (when afloat only) from the inward pressure of the water. From these two forces arose the compound actions which caused the strains and wrenching to which vessels were exposed. When a ship laboured in a heavy sea the strains were continually varying, and it was impossible to establish any rule of entire counteraction, the only safe course being to apply the strength which experience had shown to be necessary, and of which the materials used were susceptible. After explaining the greater resistance of plates formed into a ship's side as one plate, to vertical pressure, than the power to resist strains arising from inward pressure, he stated that he was decidedly favourable to the lapped joint, or clencher build, in preference to the flush joint. He showed that in the lapped joint the plates were not so much weak ened by the rivet holes as was generally imagined, as about two-thirds of the original strength of the plate was still left, where a double row of rivets was used, and more than half where a single row is used. The double rivetting added much to the strength of the joints, which he illustrated by diagram. Assuming the strength of a solid plate - to resist tension to be 100—a double rivetted joint would be 70, and a single one GO. He then instituted various comparative ad vantages of the lapped joint as compared with the flush joint in other respects, and then described the building of iron vessels generally in every part, for the information of those not already acquainted with the subject. He next instituted further comparisons between iron and timber vessels, and claimed for the former the following qua lifications :-1. Strength combined with lightness.-2. Great stonnage.-3. Safety.-1. Speed.-5. Durability.-6. Light ness of repairs.-7. Cheapness.-8. Draft of water. He proceeded to state that iron vessels, in all these essen tial points, would be found to be superior to timber vessels. Iron was as applicable to large as to small vessels, while, in the application of timber, the difficulty of obtaining suitable materials increased in proportion to the size of the vessel. He next instituted an inquiry into the relative properties of iron and wood, as to tension, resistance to Compression, &e. He next shewed that the hull of an iron vessel, if the shell was originally made sufficiently thick, might be stiffened to an unlimited degree. Additional strength might be given to the frame at any time, an instance of which was exemplified in the large iron ship John Garrow, now undergoing altera tions at the works of himself and partners. He then shewed the peculiar adaptation of iron as a material for very large vessels, such as ships of the line, large steamers, &c. requir ing intermediate decks and bulkheads , which , by dividing the shell into small sections, would give powerful support to the whole. He next stated that a comparison of the fastenings was equally in favour of iron, and after enlarging on the other points for which he claimed a superiority for iron over wood :numerated above), concluded by saying that an iron shi when condemned and broken up, was more valuable than a wooden ship under the same circumstances. Mr. GRANTHAM, who had repeatedly stated his inability to do justice to the several branches of his subject within the time usually allotted for the sitting of the meeting, and who also announced his intention of publishing the whole of the facts he had collected, as well as such observations as he had proposed to make, and which he had necessarily omitted, — was listened to with marked attention throughout, and sat down amidst applause, the research and personal experience in the construction of iron vessels having made a marked impression on the audience. Mr. SHAW, marine manager to the City of Dublin Steam packet Company, said that the body which he had the honour of representing, had both iron and wood vessels in their service, and on that account be had listened to Mr. Gran tham's lecture with a very great degree of interest and satisfaction. For the sake of ',belting discussion he would read a letter from Mr. Mizell, the surveyor for Lloyd's, upon the Clyde, who had been sent once to report on the Iron Duke, which bail been wrecked upon the Irish coast. Mr. Shaw then narrated the substance of Mr. Dalzell's report, which comprised objections to the iron vessel one of which was that the compass would not act, but, on the other hand, he bore testimony to the amazing strength of the vessel, and expressed a confident expectation that when the objections which he urged were overcome (of which he had no doubt) the use of iron vessels would become general. Mr. GRANTHAM, in reply, pointed out the defects in the construction of the Iron Duke. The captain had from time to time removed the magnets, and the consequence was that the compass would not act. Mr. SHAW then suggested a variety of other questions, such as the adoption of iron steamers for war purposes. Mr. GRANTHAM said that be had no doubt that iron ves sels of war would speedily attain a superiority over wooden vessels. Mr. CHARLES WYE Wl',Limas, after a few well deserved compliments upon the interest with which the talented lecturer had investigated the subject, moved a vote of thanks to Mr. Grantham. Mr. SAMUEL HOLME seconded the motion. The MAYOR, and the CHAIRMAN of the Dock Committee each described the gratification with which they had heard the lecture, and cordially thanked Mr. Grantham for the in formation he had communicated. Mr. GRANTHAM briefly returned thanks, and the proceed ings terminated. THE FUNDS.--WEDNESDAY EVENING.--The deplorable news from India received more in detail by the overland mail as published in the Herald to-day, could not fail to act upon the Funds, and accordingly Consols again declined, although, considering the cause, but in a slight degree. The closing prices were 89 to 1- for money, and 89+ toe for account. Ex chequer Bills were also lower, the last prices being 30s to 32s premium. The Foreign Market was altogether neglected, and the quotations on the decline. Dutch Two-and-a-Half per Cents were 51+ to 21, the Five per Cents 1021 to 3. Bel gian 103 to 4. Spanish Active with the Coupons 241 to 1. Portuguese Five per Cents 33} to 4, the Three per Cents 191 to 20+. Brazilian 66 to 7. Mexican 371 to k. Colombian 241 to I. SWIFTNESS IN TRAVEL.—As a proof of the wonders now accomplished by steam and railroads, we may observe, that through our noble packets running between Glasgow and Liverpool, and Halifax and Boston, and the completion. ofa the railway from the latter to the upper provinces (to wi th ' some twenty miles of the spot), it is quite possible . to .. pro ceed from London to the Falls of Niagara in afortsVg ra l an " DID YOU EVERS ?"—Did you ever knows young t: hnrch, who was too weak to stand np during prayer tior d t all ? who could not dance all night witho ut . bemg Did you ever know a man with a s hockm ectabl g had hat, a long beard, and a ragged coat , who co uld find a respe hotel that was not full. " What is man's chief end ?" asked a clergyman of a. lad. " His head," was the ready reply. THE PREDICTED EARTHQUAKE. A correspondent of the Morning Herald gives the follow ing ludicrous description of, what is going on in Windsor and the neighbourhood, through the superstitious fears of those who affect to believe the predictions of Dr. Dee, as to the approaching calamitous earthquake :—" The predicted ' swal lowing down' of ' London's rich and famous town,' by hungry earth,' has already had its effect on the good town of Windsor. Several families who have left town to plant themselves beyond the vortex of hungry earth' have, within the last few days, domiciled themselves in this neighbour hood, under the flattering notion that here they will be safe : but of this some doubts may be entertained, for I have just inquiries before (but I h ave no t ti me t o ma ke the necessary before I despatch this letter) that the Round Tower was seen to rock to and fro by an old woman, this morning, as she was proceeding across the park from Datchet, and that the flan-staff is rather ' out of its perpendicular.' The Bonifaces of Windsor are in high glee—(horrid wretches !)—at the anticipated influx of the alarmed visitors from London. Beds ar e l oo ki ng u p, an d arm chairs (espe cially easy ones) will be at a premium. As the knowing ones he re are p re tty cer t a i n th e earthquake will not extend beyond seven or eight miles round St. Paul's (which appears to have sunk, some say a yard and a half), several parties have already been made up to proceed to Hounslow from hence, where th e y an ti c ip a t e a goo d v iew of the " moving accident," within t wo or th ree m il es of the margin of the catastrophe, and completely out of harm's way. The 16th instant is the day •' named" by Dr. Dee for the event to come off ; and there are many persons, I know, who are greatly astonished that her Majesty should have flown in the teeth of Dr. Dee, and have commanded a levee to be held at St. James's Palace (in the very heart of danger and destruction) on " The day, the great, the eventful day, Big with the fate or— " London's rich and famous town.: People, hoe ever, are not aware, or, in the anxiety which pervades the minds of the alarmists, they have forgotten it, that Dr. Dee's prediction, in 1598, was according to the " old style," then in vogue. Her Majesty, therefore, at the levee at St. James's Palace, on the 16th (new style), will be safe ; and also the great captain of the age, Sir Hobert Peel, and the rest of her Majesty's ministers. So the whole of the ,whigs, who i n t en d e d to have gone out o f town on t h at d ay, will be disappointed. You understand me. The 16th of March (old style) of 1598, will be the 28th of March (new style) of 1842. It is understood to be the intention of government to have the Marsha!sea Prison pulled down, and to consolidate the Queen's Bench, the Fleet, and Marshalsea, into one. THE WAAXHALL BURGLARY.--At the Salisbury Assizes, on Tuesday, five men were transported for life for being concerned in this outrage. The father of the brave Sir William AVNaughten, so bru tally assassinated at India, is still living, and is in his 79th year. Lord Alfred Hervey, son of the Marquis of Bristol, is the conservative candidate for Brighton. The failure of the Brighton Bank is owing to a speculation by the partners in a shawl and merino manufactory in Glas gow. On Friday last, at sea, a dreadful collision took place be tween the Penelope, from Newcastle-on-Tyne, and the Astley, of North Shields. The catastrophe happened on the Suffolk coast, and so terrible was the collision that the Pene lope went down head foremost almost immediately, carrying with her one of the crew, who unfortunately perished. " So, Captai❑ Silk has just arrived at Versailles, I find," said a lady. " Heavens! what a name for a soldier." " The best name in the world," said Horace Smith (who was standing by her at the time), " for silk you know can newr be worsted." MORECAMBE BAY.—The Fleetwood Company intend, during the present session, to apply to parliament for an act to improve the navigation of Morecambe Bay, including Pile Harbour, &c. The people of Ulverston will no doubt re joice at this step, as the navigation of the bay has long been in a neglected state.—Kendal Mercury. On Monday last information was received of the wreck of the City of Edinburgh steamer, which sailed between London and Ostend. During a hurricane on the previous Thursday she drifted from the pier at Ostend, and the steam not being up, she ran ashore about three quarters of a mile from the harbour. Her fittings and cargo were saved, but the hull is a complete wreck. IsoNnArroNT OF .rnm SEVERN.—In consequence of the heavy fall of rain which occurred in Montgomeryshire on Wednesday last, the Severn overflowed its banks, and paid its unwelcome visit to many of the small houses situated in the lower suburbs of Shrewsbury. We regret to state that Mr. S. Matthews, of the Isle Park, had 40 of his sheep carried away by the current, 38 of which were in lamb. Tisa MINING CAUSE.—At the Worcester assizes the great mining cause between the Marquis of Anglesea and Lord Hatherton, as to whether the right to certain minerals in the manor of Cannock, in the county of Stafford, was vested in the plaintiff as Lord of the Manor, or in the copy holders, of whom Lord Hatherton is one, after occupying the Court two days, was terminated on Wednesday last by a verdict for the plaintiff. Tau BA:vasty r LAws.—The Lord Chancellor gave no tice, on Monday night, that on Friday he should bring for ward a measure respecting the bankrupt laws, which subject was adverted to at the opening of Parliament in her Majesty's speech. It is understood that the bill will relate to the ap pointment of official assignees in country districts, and that " inspectors" will be appointed over all official assignees, to whom they are all periodically - to account for all moneys. It is said that the Government will not interfere with the Insolvent Debtors' Court, as it was anticipated from a bill laid before the House of Lords last session by Lord Cotten ham, who promised again to bring it forward. Mr. George Thompson has sent us a circular letter, re questing us to contradict the allegation that he is " the paid agent of the Anti-Corn-law League, or any other anti-corn law association in the kingdom." We are not aware that we have given currency to this report, unless it has been in our parliamentary reports; although we certainly have un derstood, in common with the public generally, that Mr. Thompson was a professional orator, but whether employed by an association, as he was when in the service of the Anti- Slavery Society, or by individuals only connected with the Anti-Corn-law League, we were not informed. We are not surprised that even sir. Geo. Thompson should be desirous of disclaiming a connexion with that fallen and factious body. —London Record. TILE PROFFIESIED EARTHQUAKX.—The alarm which many foolish persons at present entertain of an approaching earthquake, which it is feared will swallow up the metropolis, is founded on the following ancient prophecies —one profes sing to be pronounced in the year 1203, the other by Dr. Dee, the astrologer, in 1598. There i s no thi ng par ti cu l a rly alarming in the coincidence of the assigned period of the earthquake, for the knowledge of the preceding prophecy would, of course, form the foundation of the second : In eighteen hundred and forty-two, Four things the sun shall view, London's rich and famous town Hungry Earth shall swallow down ; Storm and rain in France shall be, Till every river runs a sea; Spain shall be rent in twain, And famine waste the land again ; So say I, the Monk of Dree, In the twelve hundreth year and three. Harleian Colleclion, (British Museum,) 8006, folio 319. The Lord have mercy on you all, Prepare yourselves for dreadful fall Of house and land and human soul— The measure of your sins ars full ; In the year one eight and forty-two Of the year that is so new ; In the third month, of that sixteen, It may be a day or two between. Perhaps you'll soon be stiff and cold; Dear Christian, be not stout and bold : The mighty kingly proud will see This comes to pass, as my name's Dee. 1508. MS. in the British Museum. John Forrester, the officer, having been employed by the assignees of the London bankrupt broker, Cassidy, to go in search of that fugative, who has been cutting so distinguished a figure elsewhere, left London for the purpose on the 9th inst. Upon the arrival of Forrester at Paris, he found that the bankrupt, who had an immense number of bills in his possession, had been lately liberated, and had departed from the capital. The officer took with him an active assistant, named Bryon, from thence, in pursuit of the bankrupt to Brussels, where he received the most prompt assistance from the police and other authorities. He .traced Cassidy from Brussels to Aix-la-Chapelle, where he arrived on Sunday morning last, and ascertained that the bankrupt was safe in the town. Forrester soon foiled the hotel at which Cassidy resided, and laid his plans accordingly ; having been intro duced to and received every necessary aid from the president of the regency, the procureur-general, and the perfect of the police on the occasion. The bill upon which it was intended Cassidy should be arrested was made over to a banker, to whom Forrester was recommended by a person at Brussels, who has rendered very great services in similar cases. On Monday he took possession of the bankrupt's tin box, con taining between £13,000 and £14,000 in bills, and also the bankrupt's papers. As Cassidy was absent, the door of his room was broken open by the authorities and Forrester, who soon learned that the bankrupt had entrusted his tin box to the care of the landlord. The landlord, upon hearing that his customer was a bankrupt, gave up the box to the autho rites. It is believed that the bankrupt has little or no money, and it is also thought that be will come to some ex planation. The police have stopped his pasport. The above intelligence was all that was known yesterday in the city ; but we expect further information shortly.—Morning paper. —[This person is the individual concerned in the " scandal case" at Paris, under the designation of C—.] COLONIAL PASSENGERS BILL.—The bill, brought into parliament for the regulation of vessels conveying passengers to the American and other colonies, contains a great number of very stringent regulations, designed to secure emigrants from fraud and ill treatment, some of them very good, but others requiring careful consideration before they are passed into a law. The most important t f them are as follow : After the passing of this act, no one is to be allowed to carry on the b6siness of a passenger broker, so far as emigrants to the United States and British America are concerned, with out taking out a license signed by two magistrates, and without giving ten, days' notice to the colonial, land, and emigration commissioners, of th e i ntent i on to ta k e i t out , an d no vessel. is to be allowed to go t o sea w i t h more t h an fifty eass e o l pg: on board, until " the owner, or charterer, or master laid ship, with one g ood and sufficient wa "shall base given a joint b on d o f one th ousan d pou nds to the collector or shi _ other chief offi cer o f cus t oms , t o the effect that , t w n s . „ P as _ seaworthy, that the engagements entered into with p u ' t. v F s sengers shall be properly performed according the o ons of this act, and that all fines incurred under it shall be paid. The principal provisions of the act thus which are to be enforced by penaltiesovta2cre pas sengers at the jog referred to, t a i r f i t d y tons ; not less pounds, are as follow :—No vessel is t rate of more than one person registeredtwoo on the lower deck to than ten superficial feet are to be . allowednot between the tropics, nor each passenger, when the voYage ? t o be allowed to take less than fifteen when it is; whichv has not a proper lower more than fifty passengershalf o inch in thickness ;or which feet between the upper and deck ha s n o o f t a a t I p e a a c s e t o o f n ea leastnd pounds of water per day, and seven in g lowerhe berths; every ; e vessel v n e o ry ger with three quartsorother " bread stuffs," per week, indepen dent have bound e taken by the passengers rovisionsthemselves ; all withsufficient esose tot to be supplied bread and water to last to North Am_erica or the West Indies ' - in t - i t:ay and week mentioned bread, vdeesnsteiosft po biscuit, b_ if . p a roc_eeding to South or Central America, above for ten it the quantum pc ; for fifteen weeks if pro cee ding Cape v o nt e 'yes coast itvtGePowr:eodecfekleAsie,pe or the Falkland Islands or . to the ; for eighteen rf - p r iocee din g to the Mauritius ; for twenty weeks if proceed ingy t o Western Australia; ; for twenty-t wo if procee di ng to an of the other Australian colonies and for twenty-four if proceeding to New Zealand. Every emigrant vessel of 250 tons to have two boats, every vessel above 250 and not above 500 tons to have three, and every vessel above 500 tons to have four. Eve ry weeks vessel taking out 50 passengers on a voyage of twel ve duration or upwards, or 100 passen gers for a sh or t er voyage, to take out some person duly au ' thorised to ac t as physician, s u rg eon, or apothecary • lists of passengers to be d rawn out, and cop i es l e f t w ith the collector or ether chief officer of the customs; written receipts to be given fo r a ll money paid. and a copy of tbis sot to be loft oit board every Nasettger.ship for refer•ocw.