The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-10-08 00:00:00

CHESTER AND BIRKENHEAD RAILWAY. The half-yearly general meeting of the proprietors in the Chester and Birkenhead Railway Company was held yester day, in the Clarendon-rooms, South John-street. The chair man of the directors, WILLIAM DIXON, Esq., presided. There was a full attendance of proprietors. The CHAIRMAN having opened the meeting, Mr. MALLABY, law-clerk, read the report of the directors for the past year,_of which the following is a copy_— REPORT of the Directors of the Chester auilßirkenhead Railway Company, to the General Half-yearly Meet ing of the Shareholders, on 7th October, 1841. • Since the last meeting of the proprietors, many circum stances have arisen which render it imperative on the part of the directors, to lay before the proprietors on the present occasion, an ample statement of their proceedings, and more detailed accounts of the company's transactions than have hitherto been either practicable or expedient. In the arrangement of the accounts, they have adopted the 30th day of June, and the 31st day of December, in each year, as the periods to which the accounts of the company will, in future, be made up, as being better calculated to equalize the results of each half-year's working of the line, than any other division of the year that could be fixed upon. The accounts to be laid before this meeting commence with the opening of the line on the 23d September, 1840, and close with the 30th June, 1841, a period - of rather more than nine months. The various items of which they consist will be read to the meeting in detail. The following abstract will shear the gross receipts, expenditure, and nett proceed 4 during that period. The total amount received for the carriage of 191,402 pas. sengers, and for the carriage of parcels and a small quantity of merchandise, from 23d September, 1840, to 30th June, 1841, is For casual passengers, per Monks' Ferry £15,209 0 5 Expended during the same period in the working of the line and Monks' Ferry . £9,180 17 11 Interest on loans .. £2876 8 4 Deduct interest ref:eived 30 0 0 _ 133 5 6 15,342 5 11 2,846 8 4 12,027 6 3 Surplus on traffic account to 30th June £3,314 19 8 As three months have elapsed since the period to which the preceding statement refers, and as the proprietors may be desirous of knowing the actual state of the funds of the company at a later period, the directors have caused an ad ditional statement to be prepared ? and laid before the meeting, which will shew the entire receipts and expenditure of the company, from the 30th June, to the 30th September last. The amount received for the carriage of 111,811 passengers, and for the carriage of parcels, &c., from the 30th of June to the 30th September is £9oBl 6 5 • . . The amount expended, and paid in the same space of time is ...... 3314 19 8 The amount expended, but not yet paid, less materials &c. on hand is 107 .15 0 3122 14 8 Leaving a surplus, on three months, of £5658 11 9 The expenditure, though great in proportion to the receipts, does not arise from an extravagant expenditure in the work ing, of the line, but from a variety of causes which the direc tors will endeavour to explain. The following comparison between the expense incurred in working this line and that of other railways, which has been prepared and laid before the directors by the company's chief engineer, Mr. John Dixon, proves that many lines of railway.whose expenditure in proportion to their gross receipts appear much less per cent., is actually greater if viewed in the light of a charge for the actual performance of work. Mr. Dixon states that " the average rate of fare received by the London and Birminghamßailway, as appears from their last half-year's report, is 20. per passenger per mile. " The Birmingham and Gloucester is stated to be 2id. " The York and North Midland, as far as I can ascertain from their report, about 3d: " The Manchester, Bolton, and Bury, about 2d. " I cannot obtain the necessary information respecting the . Liverpool and Manchester, nor the Grand J unction, railways, but it is a matter of public notoriety that their fares are (if a little) not much lower than those lines before mentioned, therefore, if instead of carrying passengers on our line during - . . . the last twelve months at an average rate of tare not exceeding 11d. per passenger per mile, we had obtained the same re: muneration as the - London and Birmingham Railway, viz., 24th per passenger per mile, our receipts (provided we had had the same traffic that we have had) would have increased £15,906, making our gross income £39,769, without being obliged to incur any additional expense, as it costs nearly the same sum to convey a passenger along a railway, whether he pays ld., or 2.1 d. per mile." It thus appears that one cause of the excessive expenditure, in proportion to the receipts on the Chester and Birken head line, arises from the extreme lowness of the fares. Under present circumstances nothing inure can be done to obviate this evil than what the directors have already accomplished. There is one heavy item of expenditure to which the Chester and Birkenhead railway is at present liable, which no other - . line its England is subject to, that is the expense incurred in carrying the passengers from Liverpool to the terminus in Grange-lane, and from thence to Liverpool. Besides the interest of money expended in the purchase of Monk's Ferry, which ferry is devoted almost exclusively to the conveyance of railway passengers, and the cost and dete- . rioration of the boats, the enormous sum of £2BOO per annum has been paid for wages, coal, and other expenses in working the ferry and in the hire of omnibuses. The directors wish to draw the attention of the proprietors to this matter, be cause they consider it a subject for grave consideration, whe ther such an incubus upon the income of the railway (borne down us it is by low fares) should be suffered to exist. The directors had indulged a hope that a portion of this evil would have been obviated by the construction of a tun nel from the station at Grange-lane to the Monks' Ferry, and they were induced to believe that the commissioners of Birkenhead would readily give the company their permission to break the surface of - one of their streets, for the purpose of commenciog - the tunnel, the directors therefore purchased the land necessary for this purpose, and opened a negotiation with the commissioners of Birkenhead on the subject, never doubting but that their proposal would be acceded to ; but, to their surprise and regret, their propositions, which were fair and liberal in the extreme, and calculated to have provo.i . . beneficial to all parties, were met on the part of the cam missioners, by demands of so irrelevant and extraordinary a nature, as compelled the directors to abandon the negociation they had commenced, and, with it, their hopes of being able to construct a tunnel, until a time should arrive when a more rational view of the matter would be taken by the Birken head commissioners, and when the funds of the company would be in a state more equal to so great an undertaking than they are at the present moment. The maintenance of the railway, which hitherto has been borne by the contractors in performance of their several con tracts is now about to fall upon the funds of the company. The directors have therefore caused a survey to be made of the whole line by their engineer, and they have also availed themselves of the opinion and great practical experience of George Stephenson, Esq., relative to the present state of the line, and from the high character given of the complete order and stability of all parts of the works, the directors hope they will be able to contract for the maintenance of the way on favourable terms. It is not the intention of the directors to propose a dividend out of the surplus on the traffic account at present. They are aware that, should the proprietors insist upon it, the act of incorporation gives them a right to enforce the division of that surplus, but the directors feel assured that a careful in spection of the accounts will convince each proprietor of the inexpediency of any dividend being made until the time of next meeting, when the present surplus along with the pro fits which may accrue during the present half year will be available. The directors hope that the trifling delay will be the last sacrifice the proprietors will be called upon to make towards the future well being of the undertaking. The strong opinion expressed by the proprietors at the last meeting, relative to the management of their ferry pro perty, together with the large capital which the company has invested in the ferries, and the hitherto unprofitable nature of that investment, have made them a subject of deep interest to the directors : they have carried into effect the wishes of the proprietors by placing the management of them in the hands of members selected from the board of directors to the exclusion of all parties not elected by, and therefore not re sponsible to, the proprietors, and having found that the rate charged to persons contracting for ferryage by the year was so low that it would not pay the expenditure which it caused ; that the system of contracts opened a wide door to fraud, and deprived the board of all check upon the management of the funds derived from the ferries, the directors resolved to decline entering into any further contracts with the public, and to put up check gates, each person passing through to pay his ferry fare, which being only two pence ought not to be complained of. • This altera tion, although it has proved obnoxious to a few respectable individuals, will not affect the great mass of the passengers ; and it appears to the directors the only effectual mode they could adopt that would enable them to discharge their duty to the public, with a due regard to the interests of the pro- prietors. .The directors have obtained from Mr. Price a renewal of his previous offer of the sale of his ferry right in perpetuity, and which offer they have formally accepted. It has there fore become necessary to make application to parliament for permission to make such addition to the capital of the com pany as will enable the company to pay Mr. Price, and dis charge other liabilities which press upon the establishment. The directors have instructed the law clerk to take the usual steps for having this matter effected, in the mode agreed upon at the last meeting of the proprietors. The directors have devoted a large portion of their attention to the details of the several departments of the establishment, with a view to the effecting a diminution in the expenditure wherever that could be done, without prejudice to the efficient working of the line—the savings yet made are trifling; a propo sal has, however, been made to the board by one of the sub committees for permission to place the whole responsibility of the establishment (under the directors) upon the chiefengineer Mr. Dixon, and to dispense with the services of a paid trea surer. It was urged that, by the adoption of this plan, a more vigorous, efficient, and economical system of manage ment would be introduced, a considerable expense avoided, and the evils attending a divided responsibility got rid of. This p i- n position was th e su bj ect of discussion at several meetings of the board ordinary and special ; the considera tion of the subject was postponed till the 23d October. Since this decision took place the resignation of the treasurer has forced the matter again on the directors, who will give it their serious consideration. Since the last meeting of the proprietors, the postmaster general has ordered the London mail for Dublin to be for warded by the Crewe and Birkenhead railways to the packet station off Birkenhead; this arrangement, though likely to be an unprofit a ble one to the company, aas Proved a boon to those who travel between London than it rre andDubeloinu,ldthheajvoeubrneeeny having been more rapidly p done by any other route, and with much less inconvenience to the travelle:. The directors have made it a point to ar range the arrivals and departures of their several trains. so as to harmonize with the a rrangements made by the Grand Junction Company on the C hester and Crewe line, and be lieving as they do that it is the interest ot• both companies to act in perfect harmony with each other, they will at all times endeavour to co-operate with the Grand Junction Company as far as in their power. It is with feelings of gratitude and thankfulness that the di rectors are enabled to inform the proprietors that, alth ou gh the passenger traffic has increased, till it has on the average of the last three months reached to 1,240 persons per day, no accident has occurred either to passengers, contractors, or workmen on the line, nor has there been any injury sus tained by the engines or carriages from any collision, although many of the persons employed as assistants were inexperi enced. hands, the arrangements in many instances imperfect, and the rate of travelling on the line equal on the average to any line in the kingdom. In conclusion, the directors consider that they are justifi able even in the midst of the many difficulties which still ex ist, in congratulating the proprietors that so much has been accomplished. and that the prospects for the future are so en couraging. They feel the most.perfect assurance that the ele ments of prosperity exist abundantly in this undertaking , and that firmness and zeal in the management, coupled with the support and confidence of the pr o p r i e t ors , w ill e re long enable them to surmount all difficulties, and bring the affairs of the company to a prosperous issue. • WILLIAM DIXON. Mr. MALLABY then said he was prepared to make a com munication at the request of the directors, which was that negociations had to a certain extent been resumed upon the subject of the ferries ; but they took place at so late a hour yesterday, that they could n ot properly b e i ncorporated i n the report just read. They were, however, still under the cots sideration of the directors. (Rear, hear.) The accounts were then read by Mr. Mallaby. The first was the general statement of the receipts and disbursements of the company up to the 31st August ' • another was a state ment of accounts fro m th e 23d Septem ber, 1840, to the 30th June, 1841 ; and the third a statement of accounts from the 30th June to the 30th September inclusive, the leading fea tures of which arc detailed in the directors' report. • Mr. JAMES MULLENEUX said he rose to express his satisfaction at the report just read, and his entire approval of all the measures addopted by the directors; as far as that re port had put the proprietorsin possession of them, carrying out, as he conceived they had, the views and intentions of the last special meeting. He begged to congratulate the chair man and the meeting upon the improved prospects now held out, that, by attention, the Chester and Birkenhead Railway would yield something like a fair remuneration for the capi tal invested in it ; but to obtain that object would require no ordinary degree of judgment and decision in their future operations, and he trusted that that meeting, and the pro prietors generally, would accede to them their decided sup port. It appeared to him that upon the two points alluded to in that report would depend the prosperity of the concern —he meant the management of terries, and the abandonment of the system of conveying passengers from the ferry to Grange-lane. With regard to the ferries he was aware that much unpleasant feeling was created in the minds of many interested parties; but he did not hesitate to say, even though it might draw upon him a part of the odium which attached to this measure, that he trusted the directors would not allow any consideration of abuse or cajolery to cause them to de viate from the equitable principle they had adopted of making every individual pay the same for his passage across the water. This appeared to him only just and equitable; to those who objected and found fault with it, he would say " we have purchased a property, and the change we are about to make is to give us a reasonable remuneration for the capi tal we have expended." (Hear, hear.) What right had the proprietors of land or houses in Birkenhead to call up.oi the company to make a sacrifice for the sake of promoting their interest ? (Hear.) He thought it quite unreasonable. If the company must consent to it as a boon to one part of the community, let them not give it to the opulent owners of land or magnificent mansions, but to the squalid inhabitants of courts and cellars. Let them have a passpge across the river at least upon equal terms with the rich. Besides, it appeared from the statements made, that there were between 9,000 and 10,000 inhabitants at Birkenhead and Woodside, whilst there were only 800 who contracted. So, these 800 were to be on a very different footing to those who could not, he supposed, afford to pay a large account at once! Therefore they gave an advantage to the rich which the poor were deprived of. With these observations he begged to move the adoption of the report, and the statement of ac counts. r. GERARD seconded the motion. Mr. H UDSON complained that the average charge per mile for carrying passengers on the York and North Midland line, stated in the report, ou the authority of the engineer, at 3d. was fallacious. Mr. DIXON, the engineer, explained the mode by which he had arrived at that result ; and a long. conversation of no interest ensued upon the subject. A motion was made by Mr. HUDSON, and seconded by Mr. JONES, that the passage be expunged altogether, but on a division it was lost. The report was then confirmed, and ordered to be printed. A resolution was next passed, on the motion of Mr. HUDSON, seconded by Mr. JONES, requesting the directors hereafter to have the report and a 'statement of the accounts printed and ready for delivery at the offices of the company one day before the general meeting. Another resolution was passed, on the motion of Mr. HEALING, seconded by Mr. LAW, to the effect that when directors were to be appointed a list of those shareholders, who were eligible for the office, should accompany the circu lar convening the meeting. Mr. MALLS BY, in answer to a question from Mr. MAR TINDALE, said there had been a report prepared by the Woodside Ferry directors, to the board of directors, but it was not now in the room ; but, if it were the wish of the meeting, it could be printed along with the report. The ac counts, however, were in his hands, and they could, of course, be read.—He then read the accounts for the year ending the sth of August, from which it appeared there was a balance of profit, in the year, of .0,539 19s. Id. Sir J. WALMSLEY said this statement should not ha al lowed to - go before the public without some observation. The statement spewed so much profit, whilst there was a considera ble loss by the working of the ferry. In that account there was no notice taken of the interest upon £25,000 the purchase money, nor was there any account taken of the depreciation of stock, which had bten very considerable, for when taken it was valued at £26,000, and, according to a valuation made yesterday, it was worthy only £12,000. These and several other items would reduce the £2,500 profit to £m. This he considered was sufficient to justify the directors in no longer contracting to ferry passengers over the water. Mr. SOWERBY said he had a few questions to ask the di rectors concerning this Woodside Ferry. The first was, when were the directors of the Chester and Birkenhead ailway Company authorized to purchase the lease of the ferry ? Mr. MALLABY read a resolution of the directors on this subject, which was moved by the Rev. Mr. Folliott, and se conded by Mr. James Marshall, and the proprietors were in formed of it on. the 10th of April, 1839. Mr. LAWRENCE said Mr. Sandars spoke strongly in fa vour of the proposition at the time, and he himself opposed it as strongly. Mr. So wER111( enquired what amount the directors had in vested in the concern? Mr. MALLABY said £24,850. The arrangement was that one railway share of £5O should be given for two £25 shares in the ferry company, which were to be taken at par. There were 1,000 shares in the ferry company, all of which were taken except six, and the 994 came to £24,850. Mr. SOWERBY asked whether the Woodside company were not in debt very largely at the time of that transaction ? Mr. MALLABY replied that they were, but he did not know the amount. Mr. SOWERBY said the concern was insolvent, and he asked•the treasurer (Mr. James) if he knew how much they owed? Mr. JAMES was understood to reply in the negative. Mr. MALLABY said the purchase of the ferry by this com pany was made exactly as it stood, giving the proprietors the amount of their shares at par, which was £25. What ever debts the ferry company had, of course the railway company purchased them. Mr. SOWERBY had always thought as much. Mr. MAy said the statement of debts ought to have been furnished to the proprietors at the time of purchase Mr: LAWRENCE said it was most desirable the proprie tors should know the amount of debt, otherwise they could not tell what they had actually paid for - the concern. Mr. M AY said that at a meeting subsequent to that which confirmed the purchase of this property, Mr. Maffei)) , eulo gised.it. To eulogise it, and be instrumental in the pur chase, without having a statement of all the liabilities of the concern, was most extraordinary and strange. Mr. MALLABY called upon the meeting to hear him. Every proprietor at all conversant with the proceedings of that day, would know he had abstained from every thing that was not legitimately his duty as clerk. Mr. MAY said he alluded to an occasion subsequent to the purchase, when Mr. Mallaby was better acquainted with all the circumstances. Mr. May then quoted a passage from a speech of Mr. Mallaby, in which he spoke of the purchase of this ferry being likely to yield a handsome per centage of profit. Mr. MALLABY said if that were language of his, he main tained it was correct, as he understood the matter ; and lie maintained, at this hour, that the purchase was likely to be most beneficial to the railway. That was what he said then, and now repeated. Sir J. WALMSLEY said that, in consequence of the recent proceedings of the directors in doing away with the contracts, or of something else which he knew not, the directors last night, at four o'clock, received an oiler from a gentleman now present, who informed the directors that he was prepared to carry it out, by himself and others, to purchase the Wood side Ferry—to give to the company the whole amount of their purchase money of the ferry £25,000,.4:6090 for their boats, which would make £31,000, and £42,000 the whole amount to Mr. Price for the fee simple of the ferry. paying back to the proprietors of the railway the whole amount they had ex pended, including the sum to be paid to Mr. Price, and giv ing them the Monks' Ferry right in perpetuity, to carry rail way passengers only to and from Liverpool. Going a step further, they said that, if necessary, they would carry the whole of the railway passengers across the river at a rate to be agreed upon, which rate he (Sir J. Wahusley) believed would be a very moderate one, and make the condition of the purchase dependent entirely upon their power to make the tunnel, which was requisite to make the railway perfect, and complete it to the water's edge. This offer was not now in a' very formal state ; but Mr. Jackson, one of the directors, had made it to the directors, and it would be for consideration of the direetors,and then of t he proprietors,whether they would sanction such a sale of their property. Some of the directors objected to the sale on this ground, and he did so too, that they would riot obtain the right of perpetuity of carrying all passengers, whether railway or otherwise, by Monk's Ferry. This, then, was the present bone of contention. If the proprietors thought fit to accept the offer, and to sanction the sale, it would give them full and entire means either of carrying railway passengers themselves, or to have them carried at a low price, and it would ensure to them a tunnel, and a proper terminus to the railway. These considerations would obviate some of the difficulties raised by Mr. Sowerby, inasmuch as it would show there were other objects and views in purchasing these ferries than at the moment met the eye of those unacquainted with the details. If this offer was carried out fully, then the proprietors would have all they could desire. Mr. JAcKsost took the credit, if any there was, and also the blame, if any there was, for having been the originator and the suggestor to his co-directors of the propriety of pun.' chasing first of all the lease of Woodside ferry, and secondly, the fee simple from Mr. Price. The first time the measure was brought before the proprietors, he stated, very fully, the n ecessity of having in their own hands full power and con trol over a ferry, otherwise they would he just as subject to the caprice of a body of owners as the inhabitants of Birken head had, withinthe last three weeks, been subject to theirs. He had proved, and he was borne out by the facts, that the cost of transporting their passengers and merchandize from Liverpool to the railway arid back, taking them at 1100 a day, would be as much as the receipts of the ferry ; and lie stated that unless they could get a better communication, the ailway was not complete. To attain that object was his desire. The directors entertained these views; they purchased the lease of Woodside Ferry Company, and afterwards agreed with Mr. Price for the fee simple, without which Monk's Ferry could not be used, as the whole right of ferry between Birkenhead and Woodside was vested in Mr. Price. He felt proud in having accomplished all that the railway required. A great deal of suspicion had been cast upon him because he was interested in property at Birkenhead; but he hoped and trusted that time would shew he had done his duty to the proprietors in this company. (Hear, hear.) He was prepared to offer, and would stand to the offer even if deserted by those who had undertaken to assist him, to put the company in the same position as if they had never bought the ferry, with one exception, that they should have besides the consent of the commissioners of Birkenhead to give them the tunnel, and for ever have. the right of carrying passengers of their own as they liked and when they likd. (Hear, hear.) This, if they accepted it, would prevent the necessity of their going to parliament ; and the money they would re ceive would enable them to discharge all their debts and make the tunnel. He would ask them whether it was not better to limit their capital, whether they were railway pro prietors or ferry proprietors ? His meaning was, that Monks' Ferry should be used for the express purposes of the railway, but not as a competing ferry with Woodside for passengers. This offer he was prepared to carry out. A long conversation followed upon the several points in. vulved iu this offer, at the end of which Mr. HUDSON moved, and Mr. H A.RDMAN seconded, a resolution to the effect that the directors be authorised to treat with Mr. Jackson and others for the sale of the Woodside Ferry, sub ject to the confirmation of their proceedings by a special general meeting of the proprietors. A. vote of thanks to the chairman and directors WAS then passed, on the motion of 111 r. HUDSON, and the meeting separated. It is said that the Bishop of London intends to bring in a bill in the ensuing session to prevent any further interments in the city of London. A noN VIVANT. —AN APPROPRIATE MONUMENT.—A old 's death, w hil e more melancholy, was equally re ul ar kable with that of A nacreon himself, having been k i ll er by the explosion of a priv a t e st i ll, whither he ha d gone I A friend purchase some kegs of " mountain dew." lie was at hi own request interred by the side of the public road, and ove his grave were piled, in a lofty pyramid, the Countless bottle, which had been emptied at his hospitable board—a fittini monument to raise above his generous and thirsty clay !- Nimrod. REVISION COURT. On Wednesday morning the court proceeded to call over the list for Great George Ward the second time, when a few parties who did not appear were cut off. Soon after the commencement of the proceedings, an ob jection was taken by the reformers to a notice, on the ground that it had been put under the claimant's shop door after eleven o'clock at night. This was proved to have been the fact, and it was contended that such service was not good. Mr. Yates declared his opinion that such service was in sufficient. Mr. Wilkins said it appeared to.him that such a decision was inconsistent with a forner ruling, where it had been known that a notice was put under an outside door which was common to several warehouses. On that occasion one of the assessors tortured his imagination to prove that it was a good notice. • Mr. Yates, •who took Mr:Wilkins's remarks as levelled at himself, observed that he would not tolerate the insolence of a hired blackguard. Mr. Wilkins a aid his (Mr. Yates's) temporary elevation had made him giddy, and that he did not know how to bear a dignity so new to him: - His (Mr. Yates's) position in so ciety gave him the privilege of being insolent to his superiors with impunity, and that out of court he would not be allowed to associate with his (Mr. Wilkin) servants. If his (Mr. - Yates's) remarks were repeated out of court, he (Mr. Wil kins) would kick him from one end of the street to the other. The .mayor immediately adjourned the court fora short time. Nothing further worthy of note occurred in the course of the day. About three o'clock the wards of North and South Toxteth stood next iu order for revisal. The Mayor asked it any arrangement had been come to for withdrawing a certain number of objections in this ward. Such an arrangement was exceedingly desirable, and he hoped it might, by a little discussion, conducted in an amicable spirit, become to without any disadvantage to either party. A gentle►nan observed that there had been some deliber ation, and there was a paper before Mr. Shuttleworth which showed the result thereof. Mr. Shuttlewortla said the paper alluded to only showed that there was no result at all. (Laughter.) The parties had not been able to come to any agreement. Mr. Berry said the reformers had proposed to withdraw, so as to reduce the objections to eighty on each side for South Toxteth, and sixty ou each side for North Toxteth. Mr. Pennington said the conservatives proposed to with draw, so as to reduce the objections to sixty on each side in both wards. M r. Finch, jun., said the reformers could not accede to this Mr. Harbord said the conservatives could not agree to the proposal of the other party. The Mayor said the difference . - was now so very slight that he thought each party ought to give way a little. Suppose they said seventy for South Toxteth and sixty for North Toxteth. Mr. Finch would not agree to that. Mr. liarbord would agree if they would say seventy for South Toxteth and fifty fur North Toxteth. Mr. M`Kee said he would recommend that they should agree to the Mayor's proposal. Mr. Wilkins and Mr. Penington recommended the con servative party to agree to the Mayor's proposal. After some little hesitation it was agreed to. Mr. Wilkins requested the Mayor to adjourn the court till the following morning. Mr. Finch hoped the Mayor would not adjourn till next morning, as they had a great number of men present who had already lost their day's work. lie hoped his worship would not adjourn longer than one hour. Mr. Penington said he was not prepared with the names of those whom he should withdraw from the lists of objec tions ; he could not, therefore, procceed in accordance with the arrangement which had just been entered into. The Mayor hoped each party was authorised and prepared to fulfil the agreement. He would suggest that it be put in writing, and that each person should sign it. That done, he would adjourn till the following morning, and the parties could exchange lists_ateight o'clock that evening. Mr. Peniniton said he was fully authorised to enter into whatever arrangements he thought proper. Mr. Snowball hoped he was similarly_authorised.. . - The Mayor said it would be great reflection on the chair man of any ward if he refused to enter into any such amicable arrangement The following agreement was drawn up by Mr. Shuttle worth, signed by the two solicitors, and lodged with the Mayor. " It is agreed between us that the number of objections made to persons as being entitled to remain on the Burgess Lists of this Borough, shall be reduced to seventy on each side in South Toxteth Ward, and to sixty on each side in North Toxteth Ward, and that the lists of the objections withdrawn on each side shall be exchanged between the chair men of the ward committees respectively, at eight o'clock this evening. " Dated 04s Gth day of October, 1841. JJNO PENINGTON Signed, 1 J. E . SNOWBALL. YESTERDAY The court resumed at the usual hour, and in the first in stance went through with the North Toxteth Ward with drawals of objections, proceeding afterwards with the objec tions in South Toxteth. The business was general y devoid of public interest, if we except a decision of the court affect ing a considerable number of cases, and a mutual explanatory apology between Mr. Yates, one of the assessors, and Mr. Wilkins, 'barrister for the conservatives. We give a brief notice of these in the order of their occurrence.. Several cases were brought forward in which individuals becoming tenants of premises after the commencement of the parochial year had paid rates for the period only during which they were actually in possession. Henry Brown, who was rated for a house in Park-road, proved that he went into it in July, 1840, and that he had previously occupied a house in Essex-street for six years. The Overseer of Toxteth-park was then asked if he was rated in the November rate, on the rate laid in November for that street. The Overseer said :—No. He claimed to be rated in the place of Robert S. Cummings, the previous tenant. The whole of the rate of that year was not paid by Brown. He paid a part of it, and Cummings paid the other part. Mr. Pcnington contended that the incoming tenant ought to have paid the whole of the rate laid in November, whereas be had paid only a portion of it, and had not therefore ful filed the requirements Of the act. The Town-clerk said, that since the question had come be fore the court he had only had an opportunity of perusing cursorily a case laid before the Attorney and Solicitor-Gene rals. It the court would wait a short time he would peruse it, and give his opinion. It was, however, afterwards shown that one month of the rates was still unpaid, and the vote was therefore adjudged to be bad. A case afterwards came on bearing on the same point—the apportioning of rates to tenants during this actual occupancy, —and _ . The Town-clerk said—l have perused the case which was submitted to the Attorney-General and the Solicitor-Gene ral, and the reply of the court, who concurred with him, was —We think the overseers are right in apportioning the rate between an outgoing and incoming occupier, in the manner they had done. Following this authority, my opinion is, that when a rate is laid on a house on the 13th November, 1841, and a person comes into occupation on the 25th Sep tember, 1841, and the outgoing tenant has paid the rates from the 25th March to the 25th June-6 months, and the incom ing tenant has paid from the 25th June to the 25th March— e) months,—the parochial year being from the 25th March to the 25th March—this is a good payment, and entitles the last tenant to be placed on the register. The same holds good even if the rate were laid on any other day between the 25th March and the 25th March following. lie then cited the act, authorising this apportionment of the rates, viz., 17th Goo. 11., cap. 38, sec. 12. The decision thus given was made applicable to a conside rable number of cases, but Mr. Wilkins took a general ex ceptior. to all of them to which it was applied. Previously to the usual rising of the court at five o'clodk— for refreshments against the evening sitting, The Mayor stated that he had to call the attention of the court to the circumstance that in the heat of debate of a case on the previous day some hasty words had passed between one of the assessors and a professional gentleman; and he was happy to say that the parties had a desire to offer a mutual explanation, which he was sure would be received with gratification by all who heard them. Mr. Yates then rose and said in effect, that be felt great gratifleation in having an opportunity of offering an ex planation in reference to the circumstances alluded to, not only in justification of his own character, but as regarded the gentleman to whom he had been opposed, and the court of which he formed a member. Since he had been appointed as an assessor of that court he had held no communication with any individual with it; he was influenced by none; he was in no respect a partisan, but relied on his own unbiased judgment. He considered it fortunate for this part of his plea that his colleague, Mr. Grocott, who he believeddiffered from him 'in every point which he (Mr. Yates) considered essential in politics, had agreed with him in his decisions in that court. He did conceive, however, that Mr. Wilkins had wade pointed remarks regarding him, during his in vestigation, that were not consistent with the courtesy due to his station in that court ; that tended to disparage him in the eyes of the public, and to draw down unmerited ridicule upon him. When under this impression, and goaded by some further remarks on the part of Mr. Wilkins, he had made use of an expression on Monday last which he could not now justify, and which had led to a further misuoderstanding. He had since been informed that he was labouring under a gross misreprcSentationof the purport of Mr. Wilk - ins's observation ; and he now withdrew an expression he felt was not only derogatory of his own character but of the dignity of the court. He concluded by saying that he trusted his sentiments, expressed as they were with candour, would be accepted in a similar spirit of good will and sincerity. (Cheers in the court.) Mr. WILKINs said that the acknowledgement made was a matter of some congratulation to him, not only as regarded the court, but as regarded Mr. Yates and himself.. " Bis vincit qui bene vincit; " and no feelitig in his situation was so truly honourable to men as manfully to admit; when they be came aware of the fact that they had been in error. For himself he would at once say that he was as much deceived in the demeanour of Mr. Yates, as he (Mr. Y.) was in his. He assured the court that he had no intention whatever to disparage the conduct or character of that gentleman, or to hold him up to ridicule ; but in the heat of the investigation in which both had been engaged; in the annoyance of strangers, and he might almost say, the very persecution of his own friends, he could not on all occasions maintain that temper and equanimity which became those who were en gaged in a serious and deliberative inquiry. He willingly admitted that he himself had no right in addressing the bench to make use of the particular expression which had given so much pain to Mr. Y. on a former day. He now felt that it ought not to have been made. And he must add, thatall he had afterwards said was equally the result of the goading impulse of the moment. lie could not too much admire the good feeling shown by Mr. Yates this day. He was to him a total stranger when he first entered that court. He did not even know his name until he learned it on inquiry of Mr. Penington. Mr. Y. had uttered the sentiments of a gentleman, and a man of honour and education ; and he trusted that following up the same feeling, he would hereafter allow him to call him his " friend." (Loud cheers.) This amiable explanation (of which the above is but a brief outline), appeared to give universal gratification to a very crowded auditory. The court then adjourned. The business was resumed at a quarter past six, and continued until nine o'clock, but nothing material occurred. PARLIAMENTARY REVISION The following is the result of the late parliamentary rev i vision : Objections to Conservatives Allowed Maintained . •• • 156 21 135 Objections to Radicals 947 Allowed and withdrawn Maintained 526 Radicals struck off ..... Conservatives struck off Balance in favour of the Conservatives N.B. Of those withdrawn by the Conservatives, upward: of 40 are men who were Radicals, but have lately changei their principles. CHARGES AGAINST THE REV. It S. BARTON, RECTOR OF HEYSHAM. On Tuesday, the 29th ult.. the investigation into the charges against the Rev. R. 8. Barton, of profane and lewd conversation, intemperance, and intoxication, was resumed at the Royal Oak Inn, Market-place, Lancaster. Mr. Knowlys and Mr. Buck attended in support of the complain ant; Mr. Brandt and Mr. Shuttleworth for Mr. Barton. Mr. MACKIIETII, the first commissioner, said they had not yet decided the point as to the date of the commencement of this suit or proceeding. The commissioners would receive the evidence which had been tendered the day before, but they would not at present, give any opinion whether it would be considered admissible or not, when they came to make up their report. _ _ Mr. BUCK said, that as the oommis loners proposed to receive the evidence conditionally only, he would close the case now, on the part of the complainant. • Mr. BRANDT then addressed the commissioners on the part of Mr. Barton, in a long and ingenious speech. He contended that Mr. Knowlys, in bringing these charges had put himself in a false position... He felt, from the nature of the evidence itself, that it was not of that character which he should have expected a . member of the church, who was anxious for the well being of the church, to have brought forward. He expected the case would have been established by evidence very different from that which had been adduced. What sort of an inquiry were they embarked into? Not any allegation of specific facts upon particular days, of which no tice had been given, but a general inquiry into that portion of Mr. Barton's life which was limited by the act of parliament to two years. That enquiry was to be 'conducted as the pro secutor might think fit, and to be supported by such evidence as he could adduce; and he should have thought that no friend of the church would have launched such a case as this unless upon testimony of the most satisfactory and unobjec tionable character. From first to last, the evidence was most unsatisfactory, both from the character of the witnesses and the nature of the facts they deposed to : and in bringing them forward, Mr. Knowlys had not exercised a sound dis cr•etion. The learned gentleman then said he should produce testimony which would totally contradict the case for the complainant. Forty-one witnesses were then called, some of whom deposed to facts, but most of thetri to character. It is, of course, quite impossible to give even an outline of their evidence. The commissioners then called Anthony Hewetson, a sawyer, who deposed, that one evening during the time of tl►e strike of the sawyers in Lancaster, he saw Mr. Barton coining out of the late Mr. Hargreaves' house, at Spring field, i►► a state of intoxicatio►►. Mr. BRANDT replied upon this evidence. On Thursday morning Mr. KNOWLYS proceeded to reply upon the case for Mr. Barton. He said, this situation in which he stood was one by no means pleasant to his feelings, and he should not have undertaken it, had the act of parlia ment provided any officer for that purpose. The inquiry was doubly painful to him, inasmuch as it related to the con duct of the rector of his own parish, but standing in the si tuation, he did, having heard scandalous and evil reports respecting Mr. Barton, he felt it was his duty to give him an opportunity of vindicating his character before the world. Mr. Brandt observed that this was an important case, and he (Mr. Knowlys) confessed it was so ; it was certainly important to the rector, but at the same time it was equally important to his parishioners that the character of their spi ritual instructor should be set right before them. Mr. Knowlys then proceeded to point out a variety of contradic tions and improbabilities in the evidence produced by Mr. Brandt. In conclusion he offered, in order to show that he had no feeling of animosity against Mr. Barton, to be bound by the operation of the sixth clause of the act, (church disci pline act,) provided Mr. Barton would be likewise bound by it. Whatever might be the result, whether the commission ers reported that there was a prima facie case or otherwise, he begged to assure them he should be perfectly satisfied with their decision. The Commissioners then adjourned till six o'clock, for the purpose of agreeing upou their report. . _ _ At six o'clock the court again assembled, when Mr. MACK RETH read the following :—" The time has now arrived when the Commissioners in this case have to declare their opinion; and it now becomes my duty, as one of those commissioners, to declare openly and publicly, in the terms of the act of par liament, the opinion they have formed upon the evidence ad duced before them, which is that there is not sufficient prima fade ground for instituting further proceedings." . . . The court then dissolved. The decision was received with some marks of applause by a group of Mr. Barton's friends, who had assembled to hear it. NOTICE OF EXHIBITION OF PAINTINGS (CONTINUED.) 204. "Portrait of Mademoiselle Celeste." N. J. CROWLEY, London.—A capital likeness, and this is the only merit in the picture. 216. " Basket of Flowers." Miss Hum', Liverpool.—The flowers are well painted. The rake spoils the picture. 217. " Stacking Hay." W. F. WITH ERINGTON, R.A„ Loudon.—There is no poetry in a hay stack, and no painting can make it picturesque. The figures are good, and the expression and intention of each well worked up. This pic ture has much merit. 220. " The Rescue of Kenmont Willie." H. BERRAUD, London.—A. very good picture—the figures are admirably drawn, and well painted. If this picture had been hung in the place of 184, its merits would have been better appre ciated. 228. " Scene near Calais." W. DIDD.—A good picture, with much warmth in the colouring. 232. " The old Sailor steering the best course." JOHN BISHOP, Liverpool.—A clever little picture. The moral excellent. 234. " Interior, with Portraits." G. T , —ANCE, London. — A family party making themselves comfortable; interesting, no doubt, to those whose portraits arc pourtrayed, but by no means so to the casual spectator. 235. " Snowden from Capel Curig." A. VICKERS.—One of the best pictures this artist has in the exhibition. 237. " Gulnare." T. ELLERBY, London.—A picture of some merit ' • the fleshings good. 238. "It Figurista Italiana." Madame SOYER, London. —A very cleverly conceived, drawn, and palmed picture. The attitude of the lad very natural and easy. 211. " Powers Court Waterfall." D. WILLIAMSON, Li verpool.—Painted in this artists usual tea board style. 242. "View of the Porte Vecchia." F.. 1 A M Ls; London. —A clever picture ; warmly coloured ; the lights well distri buted. _ _ _ 244. "The Letter." C. MARTIN, London.—The young lady with her hand upon her mouth, seems as if she had the tooth-ache, or wished to smother her laughter. 246. " The Will of Mrs. Margaret Bertram." S. CLATER, Chelsea.—A very capital picture, full of interest and variety. The varied expressions of feeling on the countenances of the groupe are well managed. 259. " Destruction of Chinese War Junks." E. DUNCAN, London.—A spirited picture, and curious in the subject as well as interesting. John Chinaman seems to be in " a tix," if the painter has depicted truly. In the room the following are also good pictures ;-37, 41, 49, 48, 58, 70, 73, 97, 105, 107, 119, 139, 140, and 179. Mr. Van Hoist raising of J a irus Daughter, (131) we shall notice presently. SECOND 1100N1 266. " A Study." J. Morn, Liverpool.—A good picture, with an evident display of talent and true artistic feeling. This work, we accidently heard,is by a young artist. Looking at the works by the rising painters of Liverpool, it is quite evident that they are taking " the shine" out of the older hands. __ 272. " Zingarella." J. INSKtPP.—A bold, spirited painting. 278. The Rising of the Pleiades." H. How Ann, R.A, London.—A fanciful and graceful work. 290. Caleb Balderstone." W. J. Bisuor, Liverpool.- Clever, well conceived, and excellently worked out. • THE ALBION AND LORD SANDON TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD, DEAR SIR t —I have just had my attention called to an article in Monday's Albion, amongst what that paper terms its leaders, but I designate as misleaders, attacking Lord Sandon, and endeavouring to insinuate that a coolness exists between him and Sir Robert Peel, arising from " the morti fication experienced by Lord Sandon at not being included in Sir Robert Peel's arrangements ; the welt-informed writer also affirming, as a fact, that " the baronet tendered the Woods and Forests, and the lord demanded the Board of Trade—not the Presidency, but the Vice" ; adding, We "—mark the absolute we-" can appreciate the cha grin with which our noble representative, after the use that had been made of him, found that his claims were to be postponed to those of Mr. William Ewart Gladstone, his junior in years, his inferior in rank, and, until then, of less note and station in the country and the house. We can feel, too, for Liverpool: her representative is slighted, and New ark is preferred ; the interests of her commerce must be held second and subservient to the favour of his grace who does what he likes with his own." Now what will your honest readers—the majority of the constituency, as the last election has amply proved—think of the above statement, when I inform you that not one syl lable of truth exists in the whole composition, but that it is altogether malignant as absurd. I know that such a report wrs made previous to Monday last, and forwarded to Lord Sandon ; and that his lordship immediately addressed a let ter (which I have myself seen) to an influential member of his constituents, denying the whole matter, and stating that he had never solicited or required any offer of office—that as a minister he might have to support measures which would s eem to, or possibly might, militate against the interests of this borough—and adding, to his infinite honour, that he preferred solely to represent the interests of Liverpool, to the acceptance of any office whatever. Now, sir, atter this, what becomes of the boasted veracity of the most learned scribe of the Albion.' I leave your readers to judge. So much for the unblushing impudence of his interference on a subject of which he knows and evidently understands nothing. The pretended feeling of the Albion for Liverpool, in the paragraph I have quoted, is mere insult. Liverpool can protect its own dignity and commerce, independent of the immense wealth and extraordinary talent of theA/bion news- paper. The sapient author goes on to say, th a t hi s l or d s hip' s irri tation has been softened by his nomination by the Speaker as one of " the six chairmen of the Election Committees ; and again wy. of the Albion . insinuate, that, in the offic e of a judge on controverted elections, lordship will play the partisan, " to gratify a party . predilection, or i n d u l ge a mo mentary spleen " ; that he will " denounce by name consti tuencies and members as having bee n gu il ty o f b r ib ery "— " prejudge questions which himself may be called upon to try"—" convict without evidence, and con d emn un h ear d, any one or all of the place s which may yet appear at his bar. It," adds Absolute Wisdom (I mean the Albion scribe), " such an incident as this is to typify the legislation and the judges of conservative creation, we pity unhappy suitors, and would supplicate consideration tor them." What wretched, what, disgusting twaddle ! Is the mail foul The well-known integrity and honour of Lord Sandon is at once an answer to the miserable imput a ti on u p on hi s lordship's high and distinguished character. Does the piti ful writer forget wilfully or ignorantly that Lord Sandon is only one of six chairmen, and that the remainder of his col leagues are, I apprehend, not entirely of his political princi ples ? Am I, therefore, to assume . that all a re corru pt ? The argument of the " second Daniel " of the Albi on i s us potent to prove this, as Instirstattempted position against 1 his lordship. Thus it ever is with the hopeless and disap pointed liberals—freedom on the tongue, but falsehood and tyranny in their hearts and actions. I pity the unhappy scribe. The conservative party can well afford to laugh at the empty barkings of such ' a common cry of curs." l recommend the Albion to beware of such idle and contemp tible party spleen : it will only excite the derision and score of all honest men, of both parties. As Hajji l3 a b a sa y s , the Albion will have " to cat its own dirt, spit oil its own beard, and defile the tomb of its f athers. " — Ever yours, Liverpool, Oct. 6th, 1541 J. S. C TEE ANTI-SOCIALIST GAZETTE AND CHRISTIAN AD VOCATE.—This is the title of a new monthly publication which Mr. Brindley, the indefatigable and eloquent vindicator of Christian truth, against the infidel and immoral principles of socialism, commenced on the Ist instant. proceeding from his energetic inind, we anticip a t e d i n th i s journa l th e same vigorous and resistless power which has distinguished his personal opposition to what we may call " the foul fiend." The socialists have not a man among them capable of con tending with Mr. Brindley, either with tongue or peu,—a fact which has long been demonstrated. We therefore strongly recommend this publication to our friends and the public. It is very cheap, well got up, and we trust it will have a urge sale. THE " ARISTOCRACY" OF WiIIGGERY! Alas for the aristocracy of whiggery in Liverpool! Little did we ever expect to witness the day when it should be so utterly prostrate, so thoroughly contemptible, so hopelessly debased ; where a Rathbone would be seen " playing second fiddle" to a Jones or a Kelly, and the " broad cloth" of a once respectable party glorify itself in being permitted to provide the stage and the preliminary " swipes," upon which cellarocracy commends itself to the admiration of the world. We could positively weep, were it not that our natural pro pensity to laugh gets the better of us ; and we would moralize if the acting of our sides would permit. " A great man strug gling with adversity is a sight worthy of the gods ;" but a great party—a conglomeration of great men—paratlin fall and luxuriating in their degradation is a sight which, m copying tie neutral ground which exists between the sublime and the ridiculous, is enough to upset the philosophy of or dinary mortals, and would shake the gravity of Olympus itself. " Moved by Robert Jones"—we beg his pardon—Mr. Robert Jones, and "seconded by Lawrence Heyworth, Esq." " Moved by Mr. Richard Kelly, seconded by William Rath bone, Esq." And this too at " A meeting of the inhabi tants of Liverpool"—a " town's meeting"—convened by his worshipful the Mayor ! Truly, misery makes us acquainted with strange bedfellows. Ten years ago William Rathbone scarcely dreamt that his demure beaver would be hung upon a lower peg than the greasy felt of Mr. Richard Kelly, or that his aristocratic name would be ushered into the presence of royalty in so close a juxta-position with that of his plebian acquaintance. Ten years ago it was scarcely thought that the opinions of " the merchants and traders" of this great community could be gathered only from the lips of these tap room illuminati. We had, then, a great whit' party who could hold meetings without the necessity of a previous bugle call through the odoriferous localities of Bant,stre-street or Brick-street, Vauxhall-road or Marybone ; and who were not compelled to hunt up their materials from amongst the taverns and markets on a Saturday night. But now are the mighty fallen !"—Now we can only say that all thi glory was " fuitnus Trues : fuit Ilium et gloria magna Troiae"— and that, like the gloss from our last new coat, it has de parted. Alas for the aristocracy of whiggery ! It has fallen into the sere and yellow leaf; is decayed, and is fast be- • coining vile. But it will rise again—we think we hear some flattering prophet say—the respectability and the influence of whiggery in Liverpool will recover itself and flourish once more. New alliances will be formed ; the legality of the operations of the Protector Society has been established ; the municipal con stituencies can now be inundated with the hordes of Popery ; and whiggery, like a scum, will once more float upon the surface, when those dirty ingredients have been thrown in sufficient quantity into the cauldron. But wait one moment, gentlemen, we reply, and tell us whether it is not quite pos sible that you may be foiled even at this game. Two may play at it, you know, as well as one ; and perhaps conserva tism has quite as many weapons within its reach as whiggery, even with the aid of Popery. Conservatism, moreover, will not have to stoop quite so low in search of its allies as the " rump" of whiggery must do to wake itself numerically respectable. We shall not be called upon to enfranchise paupers for the sake of their venal votes ; we are not com pelled to dive amongst the stews and cellars of back streets and courts for support ; but, on the contrary, we have ready at our hand, eager to enrol itself under our banners, a sound Protestant democracy, sufficiently numerous to beat down every attempt of the crawling, abject thing which calls itself whiggery, and to keep it down. The whig party never can rise again —never shall rise again—in Liverpool at least. The thing whiggery is at this moment dead. Its vitality has long ago ceased ; and it now moves only as its limbs are worked and distorted by the evil spirit of Popery, which has entered in and taken possession of the dead carcase. Superficial observers may fancy, indeed, that it still lives and moves, as many, we doubt not, have imagined that the William Rathbone who on Saturday night played a shrieking accompaniment to the performance of Mr. Richard Kelly, the " working man," was the same In dividual who not many years ago was mayor of Liverpool; but we can assure them that they were never more egre griously mistaken. The aristocratic whig, William Rath bone, is dead long ago ; and what we see daily is only his galvanised corpus—his wardrobe animated by a fallen spirit, which is bringing into melancholy disrepute the name of him who once owned it. Alas, we say again, for the aristocracy of whiggery ! OUR PORTFOLIO.—No. IV Miss Sedgwick describes the mingled feelings of Lunge and disappointment—(two rather disagreeable sensations) — with all the nice touches of one who had very acutely expe rienced them. The scene lies in Germany, on the Rhine, and she and her fellow-travellers, who are of the softer sex, have gotten them a goodly appetite. " Now that the feast t our eyes and imaginations was over ," she writes, began to feel the cravings of our grosser natures. The Niederwald, the Noble, the Rosbel, all were forgotten in the vision of the pleasantest of all repasts (7)—a dinner on the deck of a Rhine steamer. We'll not have a seat near her,' I whispered to the girls, as with some difficulty we doubled the end of the table. No ; farthest from her is best,' said K ; so we proceeded to the other extremity of the table, when we were met by the head waiter. Places for four, if you please,' said I. He bowed civilly, was very sorry, but there was no room.' Surely you can make room ?" Impossible, madame !' A moment's reflection convinced me that a Ger man would not risk the comfort of one guest by crowding in another, so I said, Well, give us a table to ourselves.' I cannot ;it is impossible !' What !* exclaimed the girls, does he say we cannot have places ? Do order a lunch then ; lam starved.' And so am I.' And I.' My next demand showed how narrowed were our prospects. Then," said I, I'll ask for nothing more if you will give me some bread and butter, and a bottle of wine.' Afterward, afterward, ma dame,' lie replied, his German patience showing some symp toms of diminution ; afterward lunch, dinner, or what you please ; but now it is impossible.' Here then lay the miser)] ; we can easily suppose the rest. By and by the seats are all taken—the company are ranged, and the soup makes its ap- Next came the bouilli, with its three satellites, potatoes, a la nulitre . d' hotel, cucumbers, and a fat com pound called gravy' ; then appeared the entremets—sausazes, tongue, cauliflower, macaroni, and other messes, to the tune of twenty plates exchanged. If they would only give us a bit of tongue !' said K., ' or a croquet,' said M., one sausage,' said L. But tongue, croquet, and sausage vanished within the all-devouring jaws, and again the emptied dishes were swept off, and on carne salmon, tench, pike, and trout, and the delicious puddings. Now came my trial. The puddings, so wholesome, with their sweet innocent fruit sauces, are always my post restante at a German dinner. But' what was Ito Hecuba, or Hecuba to me ?"1 1 1te pud ding in its turn, was all eaten, and our fat friend, wiping his mouth after the last morsel, turned round and laughed—yes, actually laughed ; and we being at that point of nervousness when you must either cry or laugh, laughed too, rather hys terically." pearance or just The scene is drawn out to a length that is almost tiresome; but the upshot of the matter is, that the Germans played away,' wholly regardless of the American authoress and her companions ; and that the one party continued to stuff, and the other to starve, with every possible advantages for the full enjoyment, or endurance of each of those two opposite states of being, until they arrived at Bieberich, which was the end of their journey. We cannot help feeling acutely for the ladies under such an noying circumstances, and particularly as they seemed to have borne their trial, and moralised upon it, with a very tolerable share of philosophy ; but with regard to the company and the waiters, churlish and unfeeling as their conduct would seem to have been, we cannot concur in thinking that it was alto gether so savage as one of our hebdomadal critics ; in com menting upon the passage, would have us consider it. "We fear," says he, "that the Germans are only polite within the range of their own methodic routine of manners and du ties ; at any rate, we say that such gross selfishness and ill breeding as are described in this narrative, could not have taken place in any part of England —no, not among the rudest of the people." We applaud the sentiment from which this strength of observation proceeds ; but we are not so sure of the impossibility of which the writer speaks. We think, in short, that such a scene might have occurred in England. There were Englishmen on board the steamer, who, it seems, never thought of offering their places to Miss Sedgwick, or of tendering her their services in any other way ; and the lady herself does not charge upon our country men, or upon the Germans, all that barbarity which our critic, in the warmth of his gallantry, so freely bestows upon them. There is a most material difference, however, in point of situation, between the people of the steamer and the reviewer of Miss Sedgwick's book ; for the one party has now the advantage—if we may call it so—of knowing all about the fair traveller, and the extremitY of her sufferings, whereas the other knew nothing at all on the subject. This is our plea for the engrossed selfishness of their behaviour, and their apparent indifference to so poignant a case of distress ; it was quite out of the course of business, and they perceived it not. BaCoarity of this sort is, paradoxical as it may seem, a result of civilization. Steam-boats, and railroads, and regu lated travelling of all sorts, are producing it. The cliemin de fer has an evident tendency to make the cceur de fer—de fir at least for all such distresses, however acute they may in reality be, as occur, like those of the fair American voyayeuse, from " not attending to the regulations", or not studying them, or being just a wee bit too late. What should we think of a sentimental journey, by railway, from Liverpool to Birmingham, or from Birmingham to London? What hasty traveller stopping to dine on the road would think of charging himself with the care of stranger parties — albeit of the weaker sex—and renouncing his place to them on a mere conjecture that through ignorance of the rules, or tar diness in their movements, they had secured no place for themselves ? Alas ! the age of such chivalry is gone ; for ever, Nve fear, at an end. Lose the train, and however vexa tious th:e circumstance may be to yourself, you need not ex pect ro pity from others ; wander about seeing lighis, when von should profit by the short half hour allowed for taking dinner ; or be guilty of any other neglect, or violation f the known rules of the way, and you have no sympathy to expect, no remedy to hope fur, among the preoccupied crowds that you see around. What is this then but an effect and consequence of civilization, or what the world is in the habit of calling such ? There is no causation which neces sarily produces benevolence in a highly-civilized state of society—civilized, we mean, without the element of chris tianity : the tendency of such a state is rather in the opposite direction. Hospitality, we have heard it often remarked, is the virtue of " imperfect civilization"; but to " use hospi tality one to another, without grudging", is certainly a chris- tian virtue also. Civilization—if by dial naine we are to call improvements in science and the arts—may leave this virtue hest as it mat• Christianity itself. Ci ~ilization brings n s of human being; together in crowded cities, crowded factories, crowded steam-boats, crowded railway trains, and crop tied everything. Now the mere tendency of such crowding—apart from other considerations— is not to benevolence, but rather, as we have suggested, to Selfishness. The mind of man, among a multitude, is more driven in upon itself, and instead of thinking more of °diets, from the distracting crowd which he sees around, he takes refuge inward, and only thinks the more of himself. We all know what the solitude of a great city is ; at first, perhaps, it casts us into a dull, forlorn, melancholy habit of soul but after a little while, the mainspring of action re covers its tone, and the solitary sets . about his own business with a resolution and intenseness rather in creased than diminished by the general indifference with which his movements are regarded. The tendency of civili sation is to lessen the outward manifestations of mutual de pendence—and to remove the occasions of exercise to the benevolent affections a little more out of sight ; but of nei ther does it destroy the reality. The poor congregate in narrow lanes and dark corners, or are eventually put out of the way in receptacles provided for them by the state ; deep tragedies are in course of performance at every side of us, of which we are too busy to take any notice—and the most pro found emotions may agitate the bosom of our next neighbour in the train, of which we never know anything — sudden crash comes, and separates not only the company, but. heads and trunks, and legs and arms, of the same indivi- Atital; then pockets are searched to ascertain identities, and we learn with much regret that our late unfortunate fellow traveller was a newly-made husband hastening to return to the eagerly expected welcome of his bride ; an only son after a long absence to his mother—or a fond father to his happy home. Civilisation7puts a smooth surface on the way of life ; and by making less moving calls on the affections, has a ten dency to dry them up, or, to change my metaphor, let them grow rusty for the want of exercise. We do not say that these affections are incompatible with the existence of civili sation ; nay far from it ; but we do say that civilisation does not of itself favour their growth. There is a vast difference between civilisation and Christianisation ; and it is most de sirable that they should move together. With regard to the American authoress and the German ordinary, we have only to repeat our charitable construction of the apparent unkindness with which the lady was treated, to state our conjecture that the people who dined so very comfortably had no notion how very hungry she was ; and to add our hope that the next time she travels that way she will use the precaution to bespeak a dinner ticket—in time, or to take " bread and butter and a bottle of wine" in her pocket. —unless some THE LEAGUE IN DANGER There is war—fierce and bitter—just now, amongst the members of this pure and patriotic body. Mr. Joseph Sturge has returned from a tour through the United States, with the impression fixed beneath the rim of his puritanical hat that his" dear " friend Richard Cobden,—the alpha and omega of the anti-corn-law agitation—is little better than a political cheat. The worthy Joseph has, it seems, subscribed some two hundred pounds of good sterling gold to advance the objects of the league ; and has bargained 'in return for —what does the reader imagine? For sincerity and straight forward dealing on the part of the " motley crew who compose the league in question. For honesty in devoting those " monies" to the purpose for which they were sub scribed—viz., the agitation of total repeal of the corn laws, irrespective of the maintenance in power of the Melbourne *O'Connell ministry. This sincerity and honesty, he is of opinion, has not been evinced ; and he has therefore. set about pummelling, " dear Cobden " in a most unfriendly style and vows most lustily that he will give the next " mo nies " due, to to some charitable institution,—which we sup pose he considers as the next best thing to throwing it into the sea. As a matter of course the Stockport philosopher has put in a rejoinder, which, however, is not one, we think, which will satisfy Mr. Joseph Sturge. Mr. Cobden is of opinion that the league was justified in supporting an Bs. duty as an in stalment of their full demand for total repeal ; but the corn dealing Joseph is of opinion that the present system even is better than an Bs. duty, in, which we fully agree with him. He is of opinion, moreover, that the question between the ►manufacturers and the agricultural interest ought to be fought in fair stand-up fashion ; that there should be no skulking ; no hoisting false colours; no jesuitry ; in short Mr. Joseph Sturge thinks it not only morally just but politically prudent in the Anti-Corn-Law League to place their ultimate object— the ruin of the agriculture of Great Britain—conspicuously and intelligibly before the people, in which opinion we need scarcely say that he will not find many of the tricksters with whom he is " leagued " ready to coincide. We ourselves, the reader will scarcely doubt, arc quite of Mr. Sturge's way of thinking in this last particular too. Men really ought not only to keep a fixed object in their own view, but in that of others as well; and they ordinarily do this when the object in question is an honest one. But when the contrary is the case, they resort, as the advocates of a fixed duty upon corn have done, to falsehood and fraudulent concealment. We are glad, therefore, that Mr. Sturge has so seasonably brought before our notice, and that of the public, the fact that it is not in reality a fixed duty upon corn against which we have to contend ; that the question which is now at issue between the two great parties in the state is not one as to the degree of protection to be afforded to the agricultural interests, or the moue in which it is to be afford ed ; but that it is one of " protection or no protection"— that it is, in fact, whether or not we are to lay prostrate our whole agricultural interests before the wheels of the manu facturing juggernaut. Upon such a question—thus plainly placed before us—need we hesitate now to decide ? DISTRIBUTION OF WATER-COLOUR DRAWINGS, The distribution of the collection of original water-colour drawings and paintings, which have been engraved in the works of Messrs. linden, took place yesterday, under the management of Mr. Grundy, in the Lecture Theatre of the Royal Victoria Gallery, Exchange-street. The theatre was crowded with ladies and gentlemen, (subscribers.) curious to witness the decision, which was on the plan pursued in the Arts Union. There being 120 prizes, —viz., four principal (consisting each of several drawings) and 116 single pictures or drawings—the subscription was limited to 1,200 shares, at a guinea each. The 1,080 subscribers who failed to obtain one of the 120 prizes, became entitled to a print of Sir Thomas Lawrence's " Lovely Sisters ;" the holders of two shares had the choice of a tinted proof, or two plain impres sions ; and subscribers for upwards of two shares had the choice of proofs before letters of Sir T. Lawrence's "Three Daughters of Lord Maryborough." or his " Little Red Riding Hood ;" or tinted or plain proofs of Chalon's " Ma ternal Affection." The four principal prizes were the following :-Ist, (valued at 150 guineas,) twelve drawings, by Stephanoff and Corhould, framed in one tableau • 2d, (valued at 100 guineas,) tableau of four drawings , by Nash ; 3d, two drawings, by Herbert ; , Ith, tableau of four draw ings, by Stephanoff. All the drawings were framed and glazed. Mr. Thomas Fleming consented to take the chair, and Mr. Grundy read the terms of the subscription and raw ing, and stated, that, to ensure accuracy, the cards to be drawn had all been examined by Mr. S. E. Cottam, account. ant, who was present. 1,200 cards, containing the names of the subscribers, were then put into one wheel ; and 120, containing the numbers of the prizes, into the other wheel, the latter having been previously compared with the cata logue by Mr. Cottam. Part of the conditions were, that two persons appointed by the majority of the company present were to draw the cards ; and the company decided that two of Mr. Grundy's boys should draw the cards from the wheels. In giving the list of successful subscribers, the numbers refer to the drawings as described in the published catalogue. By the mode adopted, there were 120 drawings, a card being simultaneously drawn from each wheel, till the whole of the prizes had thus been allotted, and the remain ing 1,080 cards in the one wheel being regarded as blanks. Where no place is mentioned, the subscriber resides at Manchester, or the immediate neighbourhood. The first prize drawn was the fourth of the principal prizes, No. 21 in the catalogue. It was taken by Mr. P. R. Arrowsmith ' Bolton. The drawings then continued as fol lows :—No. 91 (in catalogue), Mr. James Smith, Liverpool; 59, P. M`Laren ; 110, Joshua F. Lace, Liverpool; 61, John Marriott, Liverpool; 60, Samuel Bury, Salford; 20, Grego ry S. Lay, Ardwick ; 74, John Allen, King-street; 70, Miss _ . Thomason, Broughton ; 7, William Banning, Liverpool ; 111, P. R. Arrowsmith, Bolton ; 14, William Pritchard ; 98, 11. H. Grounds • 40, J. H. Hawes ; 77, John Hick, 13olton ; • 29, William Robinson, Liverpool ; 41, Thomas Burton, Preston ' 10, Thomas Bradshaw ; 116, John Laurie ; 26, George Simms ; 87, Richard Nicholson, Liverpool ; 91, David Kidd, Loodon ; 85, Mrs. Lock wood ; 47, Jonathan Atkinson, Liverpool; 73, F. P. Rickards ;. 118, John Edge ; 17, Hon. R. Bootle Wilbraham, M. P. ; 45, William Winn, Liverpool ; 16, Hugh Unthank ; 95, H. M. Orrnerod ; 42, John Brooks, jun. Sunnysile ; 113, M. Browne, Greenlies•s; 1, George Marchanton ; 22, Joseph Ridgway, Wallsuch6 ; 54, Miss Elizabeth Clarke, Strangeways ; 96, Henry Ford; 83, Cephas Howard, Stockport • 79, John Lomas ; 2 4 , With Clegg ; 46, It. Bradley ; 65, H. C. Campbell ; 71, William Ovens ; 112, A. M. Brown ; 27, Eustace Ralli ; 103, Mrs. H. L. Becker, Denton • 4, H. Cruse, London • 93, Richard Broadhurst ; 119, E. Corbett ; 72. John Samuels ; 11, Robt. Neild, Leigh •, 9, A. and P. Lascaridi ; 120, John Doming, Liverpool; 51, Thos. Fairbairn, Polygon ; 2, Josh. Hickiti; 69, J. Hindle; 39, Jas. Gilbert, Sheffield ; 52, Jas. Massey, jun. Gaythorn ; 43, W. H. Grattan; 5, Win. Birtles, Stuck port; 107, H. W. Collier ; 38, Sir Thos. Joseph Trafford ; 25, Henry J. Houghton ; 48, G. Schott ; 106, Alfred Orrell ; 104, Henr M`Laren . ; 86, Geo. Barge; 18, J. Marriott, Liver y4j,akositeepr pool ; 75, John Curtis, jun. Cheethain ; 109 4 , Salford ; 58, Joseph Ridgway, Wallsuches ; head; 63, Joseph Johnson, Liverpool; 92, Mrs. La4vs, Broughton ; 67 Rev. G. Dugard ; 31, James Parr • 82, Jahn Carver, jun. ; ' B9, John Paton ; 19, P. R. Gordon,' 7sth Highlanders ; 105, Mrs. Davies, Broughton ; 15, Jose,lph Rid g way, Wallsuehes ; SO, Jatnes O' Leary ; 6, John Pibr point ; 62, W. 11. lticbardsrn; 35, T W. Phillips, ArdwiCk ; 84, J. Luky. London ; 57, John Chadwick, Ashton ; $B, Peter Martin, Bolton ? 12, W. H. Long, Knutsford ; 55, M . K. Wagner ; 81, Thomas Bradshaw ; 37, Matthew Ken nedy, Ancoats ; 97, William Balshaw jun., Bolton ; 30, Benjamin Hainpson ; 32 , Mrs. Robert Bennett, Gorton ; 49, the first prize, Thomas- Archer, Manchester; 50. Salutel Holland, Halifax ; 3, Thomas Smith, Stockport ; 101, John Stones, Cheatham ; 68, G. M. Robinson, Bank House, Bolton ; 117, Silas Leigh, Swinton • 64, Alexander Whyte Mrs. Edward Toot a l ; 13, A. P. Halliday, Cornbr,,,k 102, Mrs. Thomas Baron, Colton ; 33, George Greaves ; 78, Sidney Graves, London.; 53,-Mrs. J. Itansome; 108, R. K. Shanlain, Chester; 36, Itkliard Greenhalgh ; 36, 'Josiah Leicester; 115, John Davidson; 100, Charles Garnett; 23, John Thompson, Broughton ' • 114, John Clow, Liverpo o l ; 8, W. F. Scholefield 76, the second prize, Miss Emily Hick, Bolton ; 99, the third prize, Mrs. George Kenworthy, St. John-street, Manchester; 90, William Cathrall ; 66, Henry Brock liollitishead, Blackburn ; 34, Barton Wood. It will be seen that 11 prizes out of the 120 come to Li verpool; eight to Bolton ; four to London ; three to Stock port; and three were won by Joseph itidway, Esq., of Wall suches. My. P. IL Arrowsrnith. of Bolton. Mr. Thomas Bradshaw, of-Manchester, and Mr. John Marriott, of Liver pool, each took two prizes. It is rather remarkable, that the first prize drawn should be a principal one; that the next principal prize (the grand prize) should not appear till the 95th drawing; and that the other two should be drawn con secutively—being the 116th and 117th drawings out of 120— and that then• should both be won by ladies. The drawing occupied about an hour and a half. When all the cards but one had been drawn, the boy groped in the wheel in vain for that, and after te❑ minutes' groping and peeping into the wheel, its side was forced open, and the card found. The drawing being over, Mr. S. E. Cottam was called to the chair, and the thanks of the company were passed by accla mation to Mr. Fleming for presiding. Mr. Grundy an nounced, that parties not having won prizes might make choice of their prints at any time. The assembly then sepa rated. The plan adopted by Mr. Grundy for the disposal of these pictures reflects great credit upon him ; indeed the arrange ment throughout was most admirable. ST. SILAS'S CHURCH This handsome place of worship, the erection of which has excited great interest amongst the public generally, was opened for divine service this day week, under the most fa vourable auspices ; and we should have noticed so valuable an addition to the ecclesiastical edifices of our revered Esta blishment in our last publication, had our columns not been almost wholly occupied by our long report of the great meet ing of the Protestant Association on the previous day. The conviction, however, that we were doing our best for the furtherance of the Protestant Church, by furnishing the full est possible record of the addresses of many of her ablest supporters, at a time when unhappily their advocacy is se immediately valuable, precludes our regretting a postpone ment which will enable us to supply some details, of which we could not before have availed ourselves, of an event only secondary in local interest to that to which we felt ourselves bound to give priority. St.,Silas's, situated on an airy and convenient site in Pem broke-place, is in the neat unasuming English Gothic style of architecture, that wont to delight our forefathers, and which the poet contemplated when he feeling depicted "the decent church that topped the neighbouring bill ; ' but it is richer in exterior embellishment, and greatly superior in in terior convenience and comfort. The body of the church is of substantial brick-work, with buttresses, mouldings, of red free -stone, The front—to the south—as well as the steeple which is surmounted by a spire, are also of stone; and the tower being partly inserted in the front which projects on either side in resemblance of trancepts or wings, it may be said to be crusiform in design. There arc three entrances, the principal one in the centre of the tower, and one at the end of each wing, forming pointed arches. The windows of the tower are ornamented by handsome cast-iron mullions. %lt is cheerfully lighted by six tail lancet windows at each side between the buttresses, rising to nearly the full ele vation of the building. The chancel, owing to the area of the ground, is in but slight projection; but the whole has a very neat appearance, and ; the workmanship is of a faithful description. The interior is tastefully fitted up, with a peculiar regard to comfort and convenience, and much praise is due to Messrs. Hand and Sons, of Bold-street, for the execution of their department of the work. The gallery is supported by slender clustered Gothic pillars of cast iron, thrown back about a yard from the front, an evident improvement. The wood-work round it is empanelled in Gothic pointed arches. The reof is finished in the olden style of this description of crchitecture, the carpentry of the. principals being left ex posed, and enriched by diagonal arch-work, and the whole divided into longitudional compartments—those in the ceu. tre having foliated ornaments in relief, serving as veutillators. The seats are admirably constructed and roomy, the backs being sloped, and covered, as well as the desks, with watered morine. The pulpit, reading-desk, and altar, are all designed and executed with much taste. The whole of the wood-work is painted in oak, or is of " heart of oak," and, though plain, is appropriate. On each side of the space allotted for the organ is a gallery in a Gothic arched recess, for the accomodation of the school children. The church, we are informed, will accommodate about 1200 individuals. On the opening day, the Rev. H. M`Neile, the highly re puted Pastor of St. Jude's, officiated in the forenoon ; and the Rev. Mr. Cordeaux, incumbent of the church, in the evening. The throng was excessive—many parties being un able to obtain seats. The sermon of the former rev. gentlenu.n, at the opening of the church, was a noble effort, worthy of the man. He took his text from. St. Paul's epistle to Timothy—" Holding forth the word of life ;" and after detailing the circumstances which led to the building of the church, the particulars of which we have before given, he went on to show how God had honoured " means," and that even his greatest as well as his lesser (if he might so speak) works were accomplished by the use of means, even redemption itself being only a means to an ending, the glory of God. The evening sermon was preached by the incumbent, Rev. Mr. Cordeaux, from the book of Revelations, the address to the Laodeceau church, and, considering the position he occupied, sufficient to unnerve the boldest man. He delivered himself remark- ably well ; his doctrine was sound ; his arguments convin cing, and his delivery free and pleasant. The collection, after the two services, amounted to £62145. 3d. We, know ing that much painstaking had been used with reference to the appointment of an incumbent to the church, determined to attend agai❑ on Sunday morning, which we did both morning and evening, and without entering into detail, we will only remark, that though we are not insensible to the talents and merits of other candidates, yet we cannot help congratulating the trustees of St. Silas that their choice has fallen upon so suitable a person in every respect; his talents for preaching are of the first order—fluent, mild, and per suasive ; evidently feeling the power of the truth heendea yours to inculcate, and his appeals to the consciences of his hearers were very searching, and were listened to with breath less suspense. We recommend our readers to go and judge for themselves; our only wish is that his services may be duly appreciated, as, indeed, they appear already to have been, for, upon inquiry, we learn that two-thirds of the seats are already taken up. FRIVOLOUS CHARGE AGAINST A lIIISPECTABLE YOUNG WOMAN. - At the Police-court yesterday, a respectable looking young woman, named Charlotte Atkinson, was placed at the bar of the Police-court, to answer a charge preferred against her by a well-dressed individual, named Stanley. The complainant said that the prisoner had been his servant, but had left him about three weeks ago, and, he found, had pawned some articles, his property, before she left. It turned out in evidence, that an old towel and a cot ton pocket handkerchief had been pledged by request of de fendant, for her mistress, the wife of the complainant, by a girl who was in court, and that the sum of fivepence (!) had been obtained upon them ; but as the complainant ad mitted that articles had frequently been so pledged by di rection of his wife, and there was no proof whatever of a felonious act or intent on the part of the prisoner, the sit ting magistrates, Mr. Birch and Mr. Rathbone, immediately discharged the accused. [There are some rather extraordi nary circumstances connected with this case, to which we may probably advert hereafter.] One of those brutal and inhuman exhibitions, an up-and down-tight, took place at the village of Norbury, near Stock port, on Thursday night last, which resulted us the death of one of the combatants; and a verdict of manslaughter azainst live individuals, one of them being( brother to the unfortunate man who lost his life. The particulars of this affair are of such a disgusting nature as scarcely to be cre dited. The victim to this barbarous practice, Samuel Perry, a young man aged 22, was a labourer in the employ of Mr. Locke', farmer, of Handforth-cum-Bosden. The person who caused his death is named John Hadfield, about the same age, by trade a collier, employed at the Worth Colliery. An investigation into the circumstances of the case took place before C. Hudson, Esq. coroner, and a respectable jury, at the Grapes public-house, Norbury, on Saturday last. _ . . . . . . A meeting of the Repeal Association took place in Dublin last week, when Mr. O'Connell said the motto of the society, was, that " Everything coming from England should be burnt, except coals." No oue should be admitted to its meetings who was not dressed altogether in Irish manufac tures. DEATH OF Mu.. FRAStill.—The publisher of Fraser's Magazine died on Saturday last, after a protracted illness, brought on, as it is supposed, by the attack of Mr. G. Berkeley. Literature has thus lost an earnest supporter, literary men a generous patron, and a large circle or friends one beloved as a very brother. It is often true that an inti mate acquaintance, by unveiling defects of character, weak ens the reverence, respect, and esteem first felt. This did not apply to Mr. Frazer. One learned slowly but surely to love him, and they who knew him best loved him most. His fine taste, his ardent attachment to literary pursuits, and his sacrifices in the service he loved, endeared him to the most distinguished literati of the age. His unfeigned faith, humility, and true Christian conduct, exemplified in public life, and yet more truly developed on a death-bed, showed that the loss of many' is indeed the gain of one. - - • ..--- BANKRUPTCY. — From a return to the House of Lords, recently made, we extract the following " Number of Fiats issued Year. Town. Country. Total. 1832 756 914 l7OO 1833 .518 765 ..1283 1834.. 1835 1836 483 721 1837 1838 306...... 781 lOB7 1839 1840.. The above period comprises the entire fiats issued under the Bankrupt Act, 1 and 2W.4, c. 56. The bankruptcies have increased, it appears, nearly 80 per cent. during the last three years. They stand thus in Manchester alone :—ln 1838. 82 i in 1839, 199 ; in 1810. 204. The average rate of country bankruptcy, it appears, has been 955 ; and the average rate of town bankruptcies 518 per annum, during the above years. The great increase, therefore, in bankruptcies, has been in the country. London is decidedly the most prosperous place in the kingdom, owing, in no small degree, to its being the terminus of nearly all th e railways, and also owing to its being the abode of so large a portion of fixed annuitants and lauded proprietors.—Facts and Figures, No. I. Dn. SumNER, BISHOP OF CHESTER.-" If all ministers were like the Bishop of Chester," he once exclaimed, " there would be some grounds for the theory of apostolical succes.. s i on ." And in a letter to one of his congregation—to one, as he himself says, " whom I have numbered with my little flock "—he mentions his lordship in the following words : " We have lately rejoiced to have our excellent bishop at Lancaster. Re is one of the right kind—taught of God, and , influenced by the love of Christ. I had much conversation with him. Ile preaches, and he feels, that •Itis a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus cane into the world to save sinners.' This is the inexhaustible theme of the gospel ministry, and the prominent subject of the meditations of those who arc running successfully the race that is set before them."—Life of the Rev. R. Hous man. Tlll, CENSUS.—A general return of the population of the kingdom has been . presented to parliament y the Registrar- General of Bit tlis and Deaths, which the House of Commons .. has ordered to be printed. while the pekoe Sir Stratford Canning is appointed ambassador to Constan. tinople, having declined the embassy to Vienna. Admiral Sir Edward Owen has pit the naval command in dated Sept. ' the Mediterranean, in place of Sir R. Stopford. letter of the senior SINGULAR COINCIDENCE. —A few days ago, Messrs. Thorbur.u, were unpacking a chest of orange tea, imported in one of the late arrivals from China, they a C g o o fc:lo co n n ia t ) a i i 3 ni f n e g rc a ury, discovered between the lead lining and bottom of the box - a clo7 p oli y , o ( f ex th a e ct f y ri 4 i s nb y tr e r a - g r / s t Mr. Thorburn,.the venerable partner of the fir/n, regarding packed the tea trade of that period. The chest wa s m il es a bove Canton , where the newspaper , A,500 el lent preserv ation, must have bee n put in , which is in e x cel. ; i s given to remove the mystery how • and no explanation It has been preserved and transmitted back nearly half i ion.—Caledonian Mercury. a century after its publics-