The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-10-29 00:00:00

AMPHITIIIIATAE.—Mr. Egerton takes hie benefit at this theatre on Monday night, when Mr. Hoskins will make his appearance "for that night only." A new nautical drama is in preparation, which has had a tremendous run at the Surrey Theatre, London. Conic TOWN COUNCIL.—At the municipal election for the city of Cork, on Monday last, fifty-eight radicals and only six conservatives were returned. This is the first election under the Irish Municipal Reform Bill, about which so much sensation was created at the time of its passing the houses of parliament. EXPLOSION OF Gas.—Yesterday morning, about six o'clock, an explosion of gas took place at the house of Mr. Piper's, 55, Windsor-street, Toxteth-park. It appears that Mrs. Piper was awoke by a strong smell of gas, and she in stantly got up and proceeded with a lighted candle to the room from which she imagined the smell proceeded, and sud denly an explosion took place, shattering the top room win dows, and forcing the lobby wall. The hinges of the back parlour door were wrenched away, and the house literally shook throughout. Fortunately, Mrs. Piper and all the fa mily escaped any serious injury, excepting the burning of her eyelashes, &c. The shock was heard in the neighbourhood for some distance. It is sunoosed that the gas had been in cautiously suffered to escape in the parlour all night, and ascending to the top rooms, the ignition took place there in• stantaneously. THE NEWS FROM AmmucA.—Though the anxiety about the trial of INl`Leod is considerably diminished since the in. telligence brought by the George Washington, much interest still exists about the probable effect of the result of the trial on the inhabitants, who are represented as being so extremely sensitive as to the acquittal or condemnation of toe prisoner. It was expected that the trial would continue about a week beyond the period brought by the last advices, which would assign the 11th or 12th instant as the day on which the case would terminate. This would afford ample time for the in telligence to reach Halifax prior to the leaving of the Acadia on the evening of the 18th instant. The Acadia may be ex pected this morning or by the evening's tide, having now been out about ten days and a half. We are quite prepared for a second edition if she makes her appearance before four o'clock. THE FRANKLIN PRINTING PRESS.—We are informed that, in consequence of the unfavourable state of the weather during the past week, the owner of this interesting relic has concluded to allow it to be seen during Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, of next week, from 12 a.m. till 9 p.m., during which hours the press will continue working; it will therefore be closed on Wednesday, Nov. 3rd, at 9 p.m., to prepare for a private exhibition to the mayor and a number of invited friends of the owner on Thursday, after which it is to be immediately repacked and despatched to America. The public will hereafter be admitted by applying at the door of the Medical Institution, Mount-pleasant ; and we hope that they will prove their gratification at seeing the old press, by liberal contributions to the Printers' Pension So ciety, for which object a box is deposited in the same room. MR. ROBINSON'S LECTURES.—Mr. Robinson commenced a course of lectures upon picturesque scenery, at the Portico, on Tuesday evening last. Mr. Robinson commenced by describing the shape of the earth, the origin of the tides, the appearance of the moon, and other matters connected there with ; he then drew the attention of the audience to numerous phenomena, and descanted upon the beauties of scenery in various countries. His remarks were extremely plain and matter of fact. He conveyed to his auditory in a very simple mode the great truths of nature, and he illustrated his lecture by very clever views, designs, &c., which appeared and dis appeared in a very singular manner. We can recommend our readers, and especially those who have the care of the adolescent, to attend Mr. Robinson's lectures ; they, as well as their young charges, will be edified, instructed, and enter tained. The next lecture takes place this evening. MECHANICS' INSTITUTION.—On Wednesday evening the theatre of this institution was crowded to excess to hear Mr. Sheridan Knowles lecture on the drama. It is very long since we have heard anything that has given us such pleasure ; and we are confident that all those who listened to the elo quent, enthusiastic, and admirable poet,. must have expe rienced the same delight in bearing him. He traced the origin of the drama from its very fountain head, 1:1 - .2 , 2 he tracked the course of the stream to the Greek and Latin poets. He commented upon the unities of time and place, and gave instances where they were violated by the ancients, although they have been so highly extolled for their adhe rence to them. Sheridan Knowles—for we cannot " Mister" a man so familiar to us—then recited in a fine and chaste style specimens of the ancient drama. He afterwards, in showing that an obedience to the unities would have marred our best dramas and crippled the imaginative poets, drew attention to the characters of Shakspeare, and pronounced a strong eulogium upon him. He painted the character of Juliet in terms that drew forth the most enthusiastic applause, While his pourtrayal of Macbeth's character was vivid in the e ttreme. He closed the lecture by reciting his own charming poem of the Smuggler. We were glad to see Mr. Knowles looking so well, and he appeared gratified by his most cordial reception. The next lecture takes place to-morrow, when, no doubt, there will be a still greater attendance ; and we can safely promise that those who will be present will have such a mental treat as they have not enjoyed for years. We Intended to have given this delightful lecture at length, but circumstances have prevented us. A BEGGING IMPOSTOR.—A man of rather decent ex terior, who had recently been tried, convicted, and im prisoned, under the name of M'lnlay ; but who now " hailed" as Charles Copeland, was yesterday placed at the bar of the Police -court, on a charge of begging by means of a forged letter. Mr. Jones, a gentleman whose testimony was heard from the bench, stated, that the prisoner had come to him with a letter, purporting to be written by Mr. Pilcherd, representing him as an individual of merit, and worthy of pecuniary assistance ; the prisoner's object being, as he suspected, to obtain money on false pretences, he gave him into custody. Mr. Pilcherd was sent for, and said that the letter was not written by him, and that he was not aware he had ever seen the prisoner before. Mr. Dowling pro duced a letter, found amongst others in the prisoner's pos session. It was couched in the mysterious slang phrase of the fraternity of those who live by their wits, and the reading of parts of it excited some curiosity. It appeared to have been intended for a brother chip in Kidderminster, named •` New," but had been intercepted by the apprehension of the writer. The following are some few extracts :—" I find that all the larkers have been equally unfortunate, so I have no reason to complain." Alluding to a person whom he calls " the Don," he says—" if he wanted my assistance I would readily go to the pawnshop to raise money for him. About negrohead tobacco I have inquired the price ; best cavendish rolls 4s. fid„ negro-head 4s. 3d. per lb. If you want any 4s. will do. I shall not be able to come to Kid derminster before February ; and Ned, when you see me, I think you will see me a slap-up crocus. What think you of it? I don't think but it is the best trade yet. lam in good condition at present, considering I have been in so long. I had a few pounds sent from home to me when I came out, so I was not so Ladly off as if I had nothing to do. lam getting a pound here in the square, and will leave for Man chester in ten or twelve days. if you want any tobacco write to me soon, and mention whether it is negro-head or cavendish—that is, round or flat." The letter was signed simply " Mac." The prisoner said the letter was not his. Mr. Rushton said he thought the prisoner would not so soon have forgotten his incarceration, and sentenced him to threw months' imprisonment. MR. ANDr.RSON'S STATUES.—These very clever works of patience, industry, and talent, are begining to attract at tention. Wattie and Meg, the first creations of the artist's skill, were formed out of a stone 21 tons, six years ago, and were executed in five months ; the block out of which old Clootie and his prize were cut weighed 8 tons, and was com pleted, three years ago, in six months; and the block out of which Tam, his horse, and the witch are cut weighed 16 tons, and was sculptured only last year. This last work took the artist fourteen months to accomplish, and he was offered for it when completed two hundred guineas. Of the admirable workmanship exhibited in these various groups it is difficult to speak in terms of sufficient praise. The grouping and the attitudes are admirable, the expression is exquisite, and even the working up of all the details, down to the pin in Meg's " jup," the pen of the exciseman, the sark of Paisley harp of witch Nanny, the nails in Tam's shoes, or in those of his mare, the fiddle, apparently hollow, of Clootie—all, all, are wrought up with such a finish, that no description can do them full justice. The supports of the figures are admirably contrived, so as to form part of the grouping. The cask of the exciseman, for example, forms the connecting link be ween the base and the figure of Clootie, while the excise man's hat, lost in the scuffle, serves to support one of his feet. The arch stones of the brig, and the legs of Nanny, serve as a support to Tam and his mare, and so on of other supports. Nothing is thus lost, but all shows the skill, ingenuity, and resource of the artist. Any attempt, in the brief space to which we must confine ourselves, to do justice to these beautiful figures, or to the artist who formed them, would fail, and we must let it suffice to recommend the reader to call and judge for himself by inspection. He will soon forget that the materials on which he gazes are of stone, and will think himself in the veritable presence of the parties, rendered so celebrated by the pen of the poet, and now em bodied in reality, ann furnished with a local habitation and a name, by the exquisite touch of the artist's chisel. We s trongly recommend a visit to these inimitable figures, in the firm belief that every spectator will admit, that he him self, especially when the smallness of entry money is con sidered, is infinitely a greater gainer by the visit than the unassuming artist. CHARGE OF STEALING A LARGE QUANTITY OF IRON. — At the police-court yesterday, James Conway, keeper of a marine store, Matthew Robinson, a night-watchman at a foundry, and Peter Morrison, day porter at the same place, were placed at the bar on a charge of being implicated in stealing a quantity of iron.—A police-officer stated that about tight o'clock on Wednesday morning he observed the pri soner Conway go up to a loaded cart in Crompton-street, nearly oppositethe gate of the Waterloo Dock. He (prisoner) spoke to the man who drove it, and went with it to the weigh ing machine in Bath-street. Witness afterwards ascertained that the cart contained iron, weighing 48 cwt. 3 qrs. net. The owner . of the cart stated he had b een ca ll e d on , on th e previous night, by a man whom he did not k now , ( no t one of the prisoners so fur as he could recognise,) an d w h o was accompanied by Mrs. Conway, the wife of the prisoner of that name, but who said nothi ng . Th e man engage d a car t t o ta ke some iron from the Liver Foundry, in Crompton-street, to Lauticelot s-hey next morning, (Wednesday,) as early as convenient, and he sent the cart accordingly soon after six o'clock. — Th e cart er who drove it said, that the prisoner Robinson opened the gate to admit the cart, and also shut it after he had taken his load. Two or three men assisting him to load the cart, with iron-bolts and screws, and scrap iron. This was about seven o'clock in the morning. The prisoner Robinson, on being told that the cart had come for some iron for the Mersey Forge, said it was in the shed, and ordered the men to load it. The prisoner Conway went with the cart down Crompton-street, and along Waterloo-road. Con way then told him t o g o and g et it weighed at the Bath street weighing machine. —The weighing-h ouse k eeper sa id that the carter and Conway had ,. the cart and its contents weighed. The gross weight was e 8 cwt. 1 qr. They did not nay for the weighing, saying they . would return with the cart to get it tared, and would then give the name s o f t h e part i es from whom it was receive d, and going to, so that the ticket might be filled up. They did not, however, return. Th e cart was driven to Launcelot's-hey, and kecked opp os i te to the prisoner's (Conway's) store. —The policeman followed it and saw the iron ; but as no one offered to take it away, he went up and took Conway into custody. Mr. John Finch and Mr. Duncan Littlejohn stated that they were trustees of the es tate of Messrs. Marsden, Rodgers and Co., to which the iron belonged. It had been sold to the Mersey F . it, Forge Company, and an order had been made out for its delivery. The pri soner Morrison was authorised to deliver but not the pri soner Robinson. The former had charge of the yard in the day, and ought to have been there at six in the morning the latter had no authority to deliver it. —As no evidence appeared against Morrison, he was discharged. Robinson stated, in his defence, that he was perfectly innocent ; that he thought the cart had come from the Mersey Forge Com pany ; that Morrison was f requen tly late in coming to the foundry in the morning, sometimes so late as eight or nine o'clock in the morning, and that in his absence he had fre quently delivered . articles in Ibis name. It afterwards.ap reared, by some further evide n ce, that Robinson had after wards (on the same day) called on the weighing-machin e keeper, and asked him if lie had weighed a load of iron, ad ding, in replying to a question p u t t o hi m , th a t he feared • there was something wrong. An order was also produced for the delivery of the iron ; but this, it was again contended, Morrison alone ought to have attended to. Under the cir cumstances, Mr. Rushton committed both the parties for trial ; but having strong doubts as regarded any guilty con nivance on the part of Robinson,ob he w as a ll owei l t o b e libe rated on bail, himself in £3O, and two others in £l5 each. The prisoner appeared, from his dress and demeanour, to be much above the usual class of per s o ns employed in his line of life . —The prisoner Conway applied to be also a d m itted to bail, but this Mr. Rushton peremptorily refused. CORONER FOR CHESTER DIVISION OF CHESHIRE.—We draw the attention of the electors to Mr. Massey's address, which appears elsewhere. Mr. Massey is highly recom mended by Mr. Faithful Thomas, the present coroner. THE SOIREES FOR THE SEASON.—It gives us great plea sure to learn that those delightful meetings, the Royal Insti tution Soirees, which have for several seasons contributed so much to the instruction and gratification of the elite of the town, are to be continued, and that there will be four during the ensuing winter. The committee, we are informed, are making strenuous exertions to secure the services of eminent lecturers, and to adopt such measures as will add considera bly to the interest of the meetings. DEATH BY BURNING.—CAUTION TO PARENTS.—On Wednesday, a boy of four years of age, residing with his parents, at No. 3, Standish-street, was left in the house, yesterday week, by himself a short time by his mother. During her absence his clothes caught fire, and on her return she found him in flames, which were soon extinguished, and he was carried to the North Dispensary, where he was at tended to, but he was so much burnt that he died on Wed nesday last. The inquest was held this day. ROBBING A CHlLD.—Yesterday a girl named Mary Kelly was placed at the bar of the Police-court, on a charge of having taken the shoes from the feet of an interesting female child, who was produced. A female stated that she had seen the prisoner with the child in an entry in Chesterfield street, and heard the former say, " My dear, I'll take you to our door." She suspected something wrong, and followed, when she found th e c hild without hr shoes, and saw the prisoner run off. She pursued, crying, "Stop, thief!" A young man came up, but as the prisoner also cried, " Stop, thief," he was puzzled at first which of the two to seize. He, however saw the prisoner throw something over a rail ing in Rathbone-street, and secured her. The shoes were afterwards found on the ground behind the spot. It ap peared the prisoner had before been committed for stealing a necklace from a child in a similar way. She was committed to gaol for three months. AN ALLEGED DESERTER.—At the police-court yesterday, a tall, stout, and rather good-looking man, named Edward Riley, was placed at the bar on a charge of having acknow ledged himself to be a deserter. Three privates of the Rifle corps appeared, and stated that they had gone into a public house to get a glass of beer, and there met the prisoner, who stated to them that he was a deserter from the 4th Dragoons. The prisoner, who treated his accusers with great apparent nonchallance, denied the charge in toto. "Is it likely," he said, " if I were a deserter, that I would tell it to such chaps as these,—that I would throw myself into the hands of my worst enemies? I never wore the cloth for a day or an hour, and never shall. They have missed the fish this time any - how. They have:made a bad job of it." (Laughter.) The ••ourt, however, were not quite satisfied with this disclaimer, and ordered that he should be examined. Mr. Dowling ac cordingly procured the " Hue and Cry," and the prisoner was put down, and his dimensions, complexion, &c., &c., ac curately scrutinised, with a view to prove him to be one of the numerous military runaways in that periodical, but it ap peared that he could not be identified, though Mr. Dowling ex pressed his conviction that he had been a soldier. He was accordingly dismissed, Mr. Rushton remarking that he would probably, after what had happened, not again represent him self as a deserter. The prisoner left the bar, muttering nothing complimentary to his accusers, who had certainly " missed the fish" they expected they had hooked. DOCK COMMITTEE MEETING YESTERDAY.—Members p►:esent :—Messrs. Benn, Horsfall, Barclay, Holmes, Evans, T. Holt, Sands, Booth, Bulley, Tobin, Chapman, Middle ton, G. Holt, and Aikin. The Sub-committee of Works recommended that a gas lamp should be placed at the head of the Clarence Graving Dock, for the better protection of property during night. The Dock Surveyor reported that he intended finally to close the entrance to the Canning Dock on the 4th November, which would, of course, block up the Salthouse Dock and the Canning Graving Docks, notice of which had been given to the Corporation. A letter was read from Captain Murdoch, of the sloop Pilot, complaining that the master of the George's Dock had allowed a vessel just come in from sea to go into a berth before the Pilot, although the latter had been waiting three or four days ; and, accord ing to the captain's statement, there was room in the dock at the time he was prevented from going into a berth. The par ties were called in, and a long examination took place, the master of the dock justifying himself by saying, that there was not room for the Pilot, but the other vessel being a smaller one, he was enabled to let her go into a berth sooner. The captain also stated that the dock master did not use proper respectful language towards him. The parties were then ordered to withdraw, and after the committee duly considering the case, they resolved to admonish the Dock Master, and to inform him to afford coasting vessels every facility ; and also to endeavour to keep his temper. Mr. Evans said they ought to discourage direct appeals to the Committee, for all of them ought to be made, in the first place, to the Harbour Master of the respective district, and afterwards there was an appeal there. They had been occu pied nearly an hour, with all the disadvantages of distance and time, and want of all the circumstances which the Har bour Master would have had at the instant presented to him. This proposition being approved of, the Dock Master was called in, and the Chairman said to him, that during the ex istence of the present press for room, all the Dock Masters had been directed to give to all vessels every accommodation, and the Committee had even dispensed with the standing rules in some cases with a view to accommodate, and the Committee thought that Captain Murdoch was not treated with the civility and attention he was entitled to. There appeared to have been room for this vessel, and the reason why he was refused was not stated to him. In point of fact, they both lost their tempars, but the Com mittee thought that the matter ought to have been stated to the Harbour Master, and whenever a complaint was made, he must give the Harbour Master an opportunity of inves tigating it, who would give a report of the case to the Com mittee ; that would exonerate him from much blame, and save the committee much trouble. He must also endeavour to keep his temper, for that was not the first time they had had him up before them on a similar occasion. The Marine Surveyor submitted a general report of his department, and of its state of efficiency, which was read. A letter was read from Messrs Rankin and Gilmore, requesting the return of dock charges paid on the Lady Falconer, which vessel had been unable to get into dock, and had proceeded to the Clyde. The Committee were not satisfied that they had the power, and the matter was referred to the Solicitor. The request of J. and A. Walker to be allowed to dedicate a chart of the coast from Liverpool to Holyhead to the Dock Committee was granted. The reply of the South Harbour-master to a letter sent to him by Mr. Mason, the Secretary, by direction of the Sub-committee, was not considered a sufficient answer, and he was directed to give the subjects in the letter his con sideration, and report thereon. His remarks about " gaol delivery" and putting up with the inconvenience complained of, were considered by the committee very improper. Sundry other matters of minor import were disposed of, and the committee adjourned. CAPTAIN TAYLER'S BREAKWATER In another column will be found an advertisement for .t 1 ormation of a company for the purpose of bringing in more prominent notice the breakwater invented by Capta Tayler. As we have not an opportunity of judging of the merits of the invention for ourselves, we copy the following article on the subject from the Times of yesterday. On Wednesday an opportunity was afforded us of examin ing a model of the new wooden breakwater invented by Cap tain Tayler. It was about two feet long, and represented a perfect prism. Through the centre runs a very strong beam or keel, smaller beams cross and recross this in an almost endless series, secured by bolts at both ends. These connect it with the beams which form the sides of the prism, and those again at the ends which form the angles are secured by means of transverse pieces of timber. No correct idea, how ever, can be formed of the strength and beautiful arehitec tore which this model conveys to the mind of the invention, without the assistance of a series of diagrams, we shall not therefore attempt a laboured description, but proceed to men tion the manner in which it is proposed to be employed for the security of harbours, and the method of mooring it. The breakwater may be of any length, but it is divided into sections of 60 feet. The timber employed is red pine, so arranged that three-fourths of the breakwater will be immersed. It will be always 18 feet below the level of the immersion, and 6 feet out of the water. As the pre sent iron mooring chains. if of required strength, would not only increase the weight but the expense of the breakwater, without adding anything to its usefulness, the difficulty is overcome by forming them of straight-grained timber—it being admitted that this material will bear a much greater strain than an equal weight of iron. The timber employed for this purpose is red fir, larch, or American ash, in lengths of 12 feet. Three of these form a section of the mooring. The centre-piece is nine inches deep and 41 inches thick, and those on either side 9 inches deep and 21 inches thick, making the whole 9 inches square. These are bound together with flat iron hoops put on red hot, in order that the contraction of the metal when cold, shall more firmly embrace and clasp together the three members of the section. At each end of the centre-piece are three saw-cuts, about 2 feet long, and into the centre cut an oak wedge is driven, which spreads the timbers about 4 inches, thus forming a dove-tail. Before driving these wedges in, the iron hoops, as well as:the staples for connecting them with other sections of the mooring, must be put on and made tight by the wedges. The specific gravity of these moorings, exclusive of the connecting links, we were informed, will not exceed by 20 per cent. that of the water. The breakwater will be moored obliquely to the waves, and will admit the sea to pass under, over, and through it, thus breaking and dispersing the waves, and converting all within its barrier into smooth water. The inefficiency of stone breaks for the purposes intended was noticed in The Times a few weeks back, and consequently a mere allusion to the fact will be sufficient ; but we do not think that any notice was taken of the circumstance that air more than water is the enemy of stone breakwaters. This was proved some time since at Plymouth, where the stones were dovetailed, and a hole having been made by a breach in the wall, the air was driven with such force into the cavity, that it actually forced out one of the stones from the very centre of the work ! The consequence was that the admiral, fearing a repetition of the accident which happened some time ago— namely, a direct rupture of the breakwater, no longer sanctions the dovetailin g . It is stated that upwards of 15,000 English vessels, 3,150 American and French, 1,000 Danes and Swedes, 1.000 Prussian, Norwegian, Dutch, and Russian, and 500 Spanish, Portuguese, and other vessels, pass the Mount's Bay annually, amounting in the aggregate to 20,650 vessels, and with the average crew of 10 men to each ve: sel, the entire number of seamen will be 206,500. The a nnua loss of lives and the value of the ships and merchandise de stroyed is immense ; and to prevent this it is said a break water in the harbour of Penzance, costing only £52,400 would suffice. Under such circumstances, and suppos in the calculations correct, and the invention all it is re p r sented to be, it would appear that at no distant date suc h desideratum will be supplied. On 'Wednesday, two labourers madly attempted to cro s the line of the Great Western Railway before an approaching engine ; both were knocked down, and one was killed on the spot. The two " Church of England" clergy said to have been at the Manchester Conference, are entered as " Bostock H. Establishment, Aylesbury ;" and " Sencer Thomas, Establishment, Hinton, near Bath." To name these two Rev. Gentlemen is only due to the rest of the clergy.—Here ford Herald. • • - STRAWBERRIES. — On Wednesday morning last, a gentle man from the country brought to our office a small bunch of strawberries, which had been grown in the open air, and not withstanding the extraordinary severity of the weather, had grown perfectly ripe, possessing the customary flavour of that delicious fruit.—Hull Rockingham. SCYLLA AND CHARYBDIS OF THE DANUBE. — After pass ing Grein, we approach " the most extraordinary scene on the Long Danube, from its source in the Black Forest, to its mouth in the Bl ac k S ea . A s soon as a bend of the river has shut out the view of Grein and its chateau, a mass of rock and castle, scarcely distinguishable from each other, appears to rise in the middle of the stream before you. The flood roars and rushes round each side of it ; and, ere you can per ceive which way the boat will take, it dashes down a slight fall to the left, struggles awhile with the waves, and then sweeps round between two crags on which are the fragments of old square towers, with crucifixes planted before them. It has scarcely righted itself fro m this first shock, whpn it is borne rapidly forward towards an immense block of stone, on which stands a third to wer , t ill now hidd en b y th e others, and having its .at foot a dangerous eddy. The boat flashes like lightning through the tossing wave?, within a few feet of the vortex, and comes immediately into still water, leaving the passenger who beholds the s cene f or th e fi rs t ti m e mute with wonder and admiration. These are the Scylla and Cha rybdis of the Danube, the celebrated Strudel and Wirbel."— Penny Magazine. PITT-STREET WARD MEETING On Wednesday, at seven o'clock in the evening, a numer ous and highly respectable meeting of the Conservative burgesses of this ward was held at the Nag's Head Hotel, Park-lane. The chair was taken by WATKIN WILLiAms, Esq., who, in opening the proceedings, spoke in high eulogistic terms of the candidate, and called upon the electors to render him every support. Mr. Councillor TouLMIN proposed the first resolution. The several resolutions will be found in our advertising columns. Mr. BUXTON seconded the first resolution, and it was car ried unanimously. Mr. Councillor BIRIZETT, in moving the second resolution said, that although he could not, like the chairman, speak with a thirty-four years' knowledge of Mr. Aspinall, he could with confidence testify to his able and upright conduct in public affairs for the last seven years. He had, indeed, served an apprenticeship with Mr. Aspinall at the different local boards, and, therefore, he had ample opportunities of seeing what he had done in behalf of the town. He had had the good fortune to be associated with that gentleman upon several deputations to London, for the purpose of defending the interests of the rate-payers against the attacks upon them by the government in general lgislation, and also (he was sorry to say,) against attacks made upon more than on one occasion by the Town-council. (Hear, hear.) He was not aware of any one occasion upon which the radical Town council had stood up against the large encroachments at tempted on their interests by the late council; because the government had made some of them magistrates , and given other offices, they would not interfere. He had never seen Mr. Aspinall do a single act, and he had been closely associ ated with him, which would militate against the best inter ests of the town. To him we were mainly indebted for the overthrow of that clause in the local act which would have been most injurious and unjust to the publicans of the town. (Cheers.) Holding the position which he (Mr. Birkett) did, of one of the wardens, and he a churchman, he would be the last man in the town to be, for the sake of popularity, a party to injure the public morals. (Hear, bear.) But the worthy candidate and future representative, and himself thought it was neither fair nor right to make a law for the protection of one trader to the injury of another; and it was because they felt the clause would not put a stop to the immorality and vice which too often prevailed upon the sabbath day, that they took the part they did. He begged to assure any pub lican who might be in the room, that he was mainly indebted to Mr. Aspinall for throwing out the clause. (Cheers.) After some further remarks upon Mr. Aspinall's public con duct, Mr. Birkett concluded amidst loud cheers by moving the resolution. Mr. PERCEVAL seconded the resolution proposed by Mr. lirkett. Mr. ISAAC HUTPHINSON proposed and Mr. ARTHUR [ENDERSON seconded the third resolution. Mr. ASPINALL here rose, amid loud and protracted cheer ing, and spoke nearly as follows :—Brother electors and gentlemen, I assure you that I never felt greater embarrass ment in my life than I do on the present occasion in offering myself to your notice. In the first instance, I present my self before you as one of the rejected of Pitt-street Ward. In the second place, I present myself, to meet your wishes, against a gentlemen, a friend of my own, and I am proud to say, and proud to confess wherever I meet that gentleman, that I do not consider there is a more honourable or a more respectable merchant in her majesty's dominions than my opponent. (Hear, hear.) And it is with great embrrass meat that I, having been beaten by another gentleman presume to stand against him whom I look upon as one of the most respectable members of the town-council ; but it is not against Mr. Hornby I stand—it is against his principles. I am an uncompromising and an unflinching opponent to those principles which he has professed; and therefore I hope you will receive this as my apology for presenting myself to your notice this evening. (Hear.) lam sorry to say it has been the custom at meetings like the present to resort to the practice of that abuse and scurrility which is so degrading to the character of both the man and the gentleman. The cause which wants scurrility for its support must be very weak indeed ; and nothing shall ever escape my lips—what ever my opinion may be of the men who make use of such language—which will warrant them in saying that I have disgraced myself either as a man of honour or a gentleman. (Cheers.) When a person presents himself before us as a public man, I say his public acts are before us also, and that they have a right to be criticised ; and as one of the repre sentatives of your ward has taken occasion at the meeting in North Toxteth Ward to make a speech, I certainly wish to offer a few comments on that speech. It is the speech of Mr. Richard Vaughan Yates, the representative of this ward. (Hear.) I complain of it because it is a misrepresentation, put forth to delude the people and tciinflame their minds on things which are not facts. (Hear, hear.) lam sorry to say ; but I shall read a paragraph or two from the speech, as reported in the Liverpool Journal, a paper belonging to the opposite party, and leave you to judge for yourselves. Mr. Yates begins by asking " what was the states of the crops ? He might illustrate it, in some degree, by a single fact. A gentleman had lately told him that a farmer near Speke had declared. pointing to a particular field, ' I expected £lOO from this field of potatoes, and I shall not get one penny.' And although some of the potatoes which were being consumed at the present time were sound, yet many of the same crop, now sound, must, as the winter advanced, become decayed." Perfectly true, gentlemen ; all farmers will tell you the same. (Hear.) He next goes on to say : " What, then, must be the condition of the poor in the months of January and February, when work would proba bly be even more scarce than at the present time, when pro visions, too, would be more scarce, and their price of course enhanced in a considerable degree ?" That, I dare say, is very true, gentlemen; but then see to what this philosopher attributes the rottenness of potatoes ! Not, as you would suppose, to the bad weather we have had for the last few months ; but observe to what he attributes the cause. He thus speaks :—" And this, be it remembered, was not a na tural or necessary state of things, but had been brought about by those who appeared to him to he the tyrannical oppressors of the country." (Ironical laughter and cheers.) So, then, it appears that it was the tyrannical oppressors of the country who made all the potatoes rotten. (Continued laughter and cheers.) I confess I cannot understand this language, but I leave it to Mr. Richard Vaughan Yates to solve the difficulty when next he comes before you as a can didate. (Hear.) I complain of this misrepresentation going before the public, calculated as it is to inflame the minds of the people, and to cause them to commit excesses ; but, as Mr. Yates is reported to have thus expressed himself, I shall ask whether, if the poor are in want, himself and the other radicals of the town are the only people to come forward to give them food ? (Hear, hear, and cheers.) It is preposte rous. I say they have no right to ground their arguments on such premises, and that it is abominable on their parts to cast that upon the tories which the tories have never done, and which they are not likely to begin to do now. There is another thing of which I have to complain. (Hear.) I did hope that a certain gentleman had lived-1 believe he is about seventy at present—to years of more discretion than to have put the placard on the walls of the ward, which is signed by Mr. Fawcett, and headed " Hornby and our Rights." I want to know what " our rights' mean? Have not the conservatives as good rights and as great stakes in the country as Mr. Fawcett and the radicals? if they mean the " peo ple's rights " I shall submit a case to you, and I shall then leave you to judge whether Mr. Fawcett was warranted in putting such a placard on the walls and in calling himself a defender of the people's rights. I have a little document in my pocket, and I shall tell you an anecdote about it. There was an elector in Rodney-street Ward who worked in Mr. Fawcett's foundry. His name was James Melling. He was canvassed by Mr. Fawcett, or his men, and he refused to vote for Mr. Charles Holland, the radical candidate, at the last election. I have the story from his own mouth. (Hear.) He was sent with a note, at nine o'clock in the morning, to Mr. Holland's office, and he remained there until two, but was unable to see him, as Mr: Holland was absent the whole time. At last he met him and told him that he could not conscientiously vote for him because he (Holland) was a dis senter and he (Melling) was a member of the Church of England. (Cheers.) What was the consequence? He voted for Mr. Birkett ; and the first pay night afterwards he received .£1 4s. 2d., and the note I hold in my hand— " James Melling, you are discharged this night, by order of Mr. Fawcett. " M. FOWLER." (Hear, hear, and cries of " Oh! oh !!") Here, continued Mr. Aspinall, is the document. It was put into my hands by the unfortunate man himself, and I leave you to judge what he was discharged from the foundry for. (Hear, hear.) Has Mr. Fawcett any justification tor talking about the people's rights after this? (Cheers.) But it appears that Mr. Fawcett's foundry is a regular refuge for the desti tute ; for I hold in my hand another document which is equally beautiful, and which fully accords with the last. It s dated the 2lth of December, 1840 ; it is addressed to Wm. R.athbone, Esq., and it is signed Thomas Bury. The follow ng is a copy " Liverpool, Dec. 24, 1841 " Dear Sir,—The bearer, —, is a regular steady protector, and thinks a line from me would procure him em ployment at Messrs. Fawcett and Co's works. " You will see that he holds a certificate of good character from his late employers. " Being myself a protector, I shall feel obliged if you can help a deserving brother. " I am, dear sir, yours, faithfully, " THOMAS BURY. " William Rathbone, Esq." This is freedom of election ! (Hear.) These are the peo ple's rights ! (Hear, hear.) Ah ! shame ! shame ! before I should be guilty of such tricks I would rather lose my right hand. (Cheers.) I stand before you now without any pro fessions. My character is in your hands. The victory is yours if you choose to use your rights and to exert yourselves on the first of November next. (Continued cheering.) I have been defeated once, but not by my opponents. lam sorry to say it was by my own friends. (Hear, hear) I came to the poll then quite as certain of victory as l feel on the present occasion. Mr. Rathbone did not poll by two men as much as I gave him; but there were twenty-seven conservatives who promised me their- votes, and who never voted at all, and left me in the lurch. I reluctantly come forward now becose I was thrown over by my own friends at that time ; but I do come forward, nevertheless, and place myself in your hands. (Cheers.) If you think me worthy of your choice, I shall, to the utmost of ray ability, devote myself to the interests of the town, and to the interests also of this ward. And, if lam rejected, I can go into private life, satisfied that humble ambition can still be made available to the welfare of the town in another sphere, to the promo tion of the public good and to the advancement of the chari ties. I have had the honour of being the Mayor of Liver pool. 1 do not aspire to higher honours than I did on that occasion. But lam now before you, and I tell you candidly that Ido not like to be beaten again. (Cheers, and cries of " You shan't.") If you come only to the poll on the morning of Monday next, at nine o'clock, the victory will be yours, not mine, for I shall then be the humble instrument in your hands to promote your interests, and to carry out your good wishes for the welfare of the "good old town." Mr. Aspi nall resumed his seat amid deafening cheers from all sides. Mr. INGRAM, chairman of Great George Ward, next ad dressed the meeting, after which Mr. ASPIN ALL proposed a vote of thanks to their venera ble and venerated chairman. _.„ Mr. JOHN FORMBY seconded the motion, and it was car ried by acclamation. The CHAIRMAN returned thanks, and the meeting separated at nine o'clock. The trial of Blakesley for the murder in Eastcheap wil take place to-day (Friday). MEETING OF FEARGUS O'CONNOR AND THE REV. Mit. BREWSTER.—Three or four thousand pe o pl e assem bled in Paisley on Saturday, to witness the gladiatorial exhi bition betwixt the Rev. Mr. Brewster and Mr. Feargus O'Connor. Both gentlemen spoke at great length in support of their respective creeds as chartists, and both claimed the majority when the vote was taken. It was then proposed that the field should be divided, and Mr. O'Connor, waving his hat, called upon all his friends to follow him. This was immediately done, and Mr. O'Connor climbed a tree, and made it his rostrum. It was now evident that Mr. Brewster had an overwhelming majority. The whole affair must have been supremely ridiculous.—Scottish Guardian. AIDS TO CONTENTMENT.—A great deal of discomfort arises from over sensitiveness about what people may say of you, or your actions. This requires to be blunted. Con sider whether anything that you can do will have much connection with what they will say. And besides, it may be doubted whether they will say anything at all about you. Many unhappy persons seem to imagine that they are always in an amphitheatre, with the assembled world as spectators ; whereas, all the while they are playing to empty benches. They fancy, too, they form the particular theme of every passer-by. If, however, they must listen to imaginary con versations about themselves, they might at any rate defy the proverb, and insist upon hearing themselves well spoken of. MIDLAND COUNTIES' RAILWAY Yesterday, a meeting of the Liverpool proprietors in the Midland Counties' Railway Company, was held in the Cla rendon Rooms, South John -street, for the purpose of con sidering the propriety of acceding to the proposition involved in the following circular : _ _ " Leicester. 22nd October, 1841. SIR,—" I am directed to inform you that a Special General Meeting of the Proprietors of the Midland Counties Railway Company will be held at the Railway Station, Derby, on Friday, the sth of November nest, at one o'clock, for the purpose of considering and determining on the expediency of authorising the directors, in concurrence with the other rail way companies interested in the completion of the line of railway between London and Newcastle, to adopt measures for forwarding an application to parliament in the next ses- sion for an act to make a junction railway between the Great North of England Railway at Darlington, and the Durham Junction Railway, for which the requisite notices have been given, either by guranteeing to the subscribers to such under taking a certain amount of profit, or by such other means as may be calculated to effect the desired object. " Shareholders who do not attend the general meeting in person may vote by proxy, each of such proxies being a pro- prietor of one or more share or shares ;, and each ~roiy Must be transmitted to the secretary of the company five days at . . least before the holding of the meeting at which such proxy is intended to be used " I am, Sir, yours faithfully, J. F. BELL, Secretary." J. CROPPER, Esq. was called to the chair; and he com menced the proceedings by reading the_ advertisement con- vening the meeting, after which he read the above circular, issued by the directors of the Midland Counties'. The cir cular, the chairman added, contained the following explana- tions of the scheme "The projected Junction Railway to which the above notice relates will commence at the present terminus of the Great North of England Railway at Darlington, and will for the first fifteen miles (as far as Sincliff) adopt a line for making which powers have already been granted by Parlia- Ment, in the Great North of England Railway Act. From Sincliff a new line will be taken, which partially adopting the Durham Junction Railway, will join the Branding Junction Railway at a point nearly equidistant from Newcastle, South Shields, and Sunderland, to each of which towns the Braild- ind Junction already affords adequate means of railway com munication. At Newcastle a union will be effected with the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway, and thus the only link will also he furnished which is now wanting to complete the chain of railway between Carlisle and the South of England.. " The cost of the projected railway, according to an esti _ _ mate very carefully made by Mr. kobert Stephenson, will not exceed £500,000. The necessary plans have already been lodged, and the requisite notices given. It is proposed to raise the capital in 20,000 shares of X 25 each, and in order to induce capitalists to come forward at once to take the shares without delay, a dividend will be guaranteed to the shareholders at the rate of 6 per cent. per annum for the first 10 years from the opening of the railway, up to which time interest at the fame rate on the capital ad vanced will be paid out of the Capital._ In giving this guaran- tee the York and North Midland, the North - Midland, the Manchester and Leeds, the Great North of England, the Newcastle and Carlisle, the Durham Junction, and the Branding Junction Railway Companies propose to join with the Midland Counties in certain specified proportions, and the share of the guarantee for which it is proposed that the Midland Counties Railway Company shall be responsible is 1-10th of the whole." The chairman then observed, that no statement was here made of the length of the proposed junction. Could any gentleman supply the information ? Mr. MILLER said it would be twenty-two miles, and that the expense would be £22,000 a mile. The CHAIRMAN believed the object of the meeting was to consider the propriety of the directors, generally, whether it would be desirable for the Midland Counties' Railway pro prietors to take an interest in a railway far north, in the mode proposed, not in shares, but in guaranteeing an income to those who would, so as to induce persons to take it up, as the railway itself would not produce anything equal to the capital invested in it. Mr. JONES said the projectors thought otherwise. They had no doubt it would pay, but they thought that in the pre sent state of the money market capitalists would not be in duced to take it up. The CHAIRMAN asked whether there was any gentleman who could tell the amount to be raised by subscription? Mr. MILLER said, it would be £30,000 per annum, one tenth of which would be £3,000, and that amount it was proposed the Midland Counties should subscribe. A. PROPRIETOR.—That is, supposing the railway to be made for £500,000. Mr. MILLER produced a statement of the amounts agreed to be contributed by the different companies named, pub lished in the Norfolk Herald, as we understood. The CHAIRMAN read this statement, from which it ap peared that it was intended that the companies agreeing should take the proposed line on a ten years' lease. This, he continued, was rather more than was stated in the proposition. Mr. PARSONS said, the companies combining rendering themselves liable to the several payments would be partners in the intended line; and if ally portion of the partnership failed in paying, their quota must bear the additional burden. He disapproved of the idea of a partnership. Mr. GILFILLAN said, if the proprietors consented to this proposition, they might be called up to aid in making a line still further north, on the ground that it would be requisite, in order to secure the prosperity of this. Mr. PARSONS said, it would be most unadvisable to agree to this project, when it was considered that the shares of this company were at a discount, and it was intended to make an attempt to raise money to carry it out still further. They could not limit their responsibility if they once entered upon this undertaking. Mr. Stephenson's estimate for making the line was £500,000, but it was well known how fallacious engineers' estimates were,—that there was scarcely one line in the country which had not cost nearly double the amount estimated; and lie should be much surprised if this was completed under a million and a half. He thought Mr. John Ripley's plan was the best if the proprietors were to engage in the undertaking at all—namely, to limit the lia bility of the Midland Counties' Railway to £3,000 a year, to commence after the line was made, and to ho contingent upon the other companies coming forward. ;nevertheless he thought it would be better to oppose the plan in limine. Mr. Woons explained that Mr. Stephenson had allowed for the interest on the capital sum in his estimates. The CHAIRMAN expressed an opinion that the most im portant question was whether £500,000 would be enough to complete the line. He feared not. Mr. PARSONS said there was something very suspicious as to this point. The circular said, in the first instance, that the estimated cost would not exceed £500,000 ; but in the closing clause of the proposition these words were carefully introduced :—" The share of the guarantee for which it is proposed that the Midland Counties Railway Company shall be liable is one-tenth of the whole." Mr. WOODS read a letter from Mr. Theodore Rathbone and Mr. Cropper, two Liverpool directors of the Midland Counties Railway, who were unable to attend, to the effect that they thought it would be better not to come under such engagements as those proposed if the other companies had taken a similar view. As it was, they greatly doubted, now that the other companies had determined to join in the gua rantee, whether it would be wise and prudent for the Mid land Counties' Company to be the only exception. The CHAIRMAN said it was quite clear from this letter, that the judgment of the Liverpool directors was against the plan. Mr. PARSONS repeated, at considerable length, his objec tions to the plan : at the same time complaining that so little time had been given by the directors for the consideration of the subject. Mr. JONES thought the proprietors ought to have more information before they decided. Mr. HEALEY explained that the proposed arrangements would not involve a partnership, as the line would be let on lease, and the parties would only be severally bound. Some further discussion took place, at the close of which Mr. PARSONS moved the following resolution : " That this meeting having taken into consideration the proposition that the Midland Counties Railway proprietors become parties to a lease of a proposed railway, to be con structed between Darlington and Newcastle, resolved, that they recommend the proprietors of this railway not to accede to such proposal." Mr. JAMES HEYWORTH seconded the motion. Mr. RIPLEY moved an amendment to the effect that the Midland Counties Railway proprietors become parties to paying the sum of £3OOO a year to the guarantee fund from the time the line is completed, but be no parties in going for an act, or in making a line or working it. The amendment was not seconded. Mr. HEALEY thought the Midland Counties line would not yield an additional traffic to compensate far the outlay of £3OOO a year. After some debate, the C HAIRMAN pu t th e ques tion, when Mr. Parson's motion was carried with only one dissentient. A vote of thanks was then presented to Mr. Cropper for his conduct in the chair, and the meeting separated. It will be necessary for those proprietors in Liverpool who intend to vote on this question, at the special meeting, to be held at Derby, on the sth of November, to send their proxies not later than this evening, (Friday,) as each proxy must be in the hands of the secretary five days previous to the meeting. Notwithstanding the lateness of the season three vessels are advertised to sail shortly from London to New Zealand. '• Satan" Montgomery has written, and means to publish a new poem called " Luther." The expected military brevet, it is asserted, will include captains of 1835. WHAT'S IN A NAME?—In a street leading from the Whitechapel-road are to be found eight shopkeepers who rejoice in the following names :—Slaughter, Death, Angel, Demon, Black, White, Green, and Gray. A mountain flood carried away several houses in the neigh- bourhood of Doonbeg, County Clare, on Sunday last. Two men, named Corcoran and Nl`Mahon, lost their lives in en deavouring to save some cattle, and an immense quantity of corn and hay was destroyed. POST HASTE IN THE OLDEN TIME.—ID a letter written by the Earl of Essex, about the year 1595, to the Lord High Admiral of Plymouth, which is still preserved, there are added to the words " Hast, bast, hast for lyfe !" the expressive symbol of a gallows prepared with a halter, which could not be well misunderstood by the most illiterate of Mercuries. About a fortnight ago Mr. George Bates, publican, Ponte land, vomited up an asp, between two and three inches long, which he supposed be must either have swallowed, or some of the spawn, while drinking water out of a ditch.—Tyne Mercury. The friends of Alderman Harmer are about to p res e n t hi m with a token of respect on his retirement from the functions of a magistrate. It will be remembered that this gentleman has attained an unenviable notoriety as proprietor of the Weekly Dispatch.. RUSSIA DIAPERS.—It may not be generally known that this useful article of manufacture, an enormous quantity of which is annually introduced into this country, is not fabri cated in regular manufacturing establishments, but is exclu sively the work of the peasantry, many of them of the poorest class. It is woven by hand-labour in families scattered over the empire, principally in the winter season, when there must be cessation of out-door employment. Some families manu facture but one or two pieces in a season, others twenty or thirty. The quality does not materially differ. They are carried;to the nearest populous town, and sold to a trader, who packs them up in bales, and transports them to St. Petersburg or some other seaport, where they are again sold for exportation. THE CHINESE TAILOR. —Among the many whimsical anecdotes told of the peculiar habits of the Chinese, perhaps few will be considered more characteristic of their love of imitation than the following:—Towards the close of the last century an officer of the Pitt, East Indiamen, when that ship lay off Canton, sent ashore to a native an order for a dozen pair of trousers, to be made of the nankeen for which China has been so long famed. The Chinese artisan required a pattern ; he could not make anything without a pattern. So a pair of trousers were sent at his request, which pair had been mended with a path and needlework on the knee. I❑ due time the dozen . pairs were sent on board, of a fabric of exceeding beauty for fineness and quality, but every pair bearing, like an h e raldic badge, the obnoxi ous p a t c h on the knee, exactly cop ied stitch for stitch, in a style that reflected the highest credit on the mechanical skill of the workman, and for the difficult execution of which an extra charge was made upon the purse of the exasperated owner, who had no alternative but to bring home his bargain as a quali&ation for the Travellers' Club i for certainly among no kindred or people living between this and China could a s i m il a r achive meat have been performed. CORRESPONDENCE. CHURCH RATES AND SACRAMENTAL WINE TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD. ,kt a vestry meeting held at Prescot some time since, it was moved that counsel's opinion should be taken as to the legality of supplying any but the parish church with the sacramental wine out of the church rate, with the hope, it would seem, of withdrawing that supply from three other churches in the parish that did receive it. Dr. Lushington was accordingly consulted on the subject, Ind he has transmitted his opinion to the committee, which is, that all episcopal churches or chapels in the parish are entitled to the wine for sacramental use out of the church rates. The disappointment of the " liberals " may well be con ceived at this important decision, as there are three or four other churches in the parish that will now be entitled to the benefit of the wine, which before had to be found out of the pew-rents ; at the same time they were paying their portion of the rate, from which they derived no benefit. It is to be hoped that all parishes similarly situated will take advantage of this information, and claim the benefit to which they are justly entitled.—l am, sir, your obedient servant, St. Helens, 23d October, 1941 A CHURCHMAN MUNICIPAL ELECTION TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD, SlR,—The time has arrived for looking fairly in the face whatever difficulties there may be in the way of that success which every well-wishing conservative must desire to see crowning those great efforts that have been made for the past few years in our registration courts. That those difficulties are neither few nor unimportant, will not be denied by any one who has watched the progress, the too successful progress of the enemy, in his endeavour to place a pauper constituency on the registry ; and it behoves us now, while it is called to-day, to bestir ourselves to cir cumvent the villany of a party who could fling patriotism to the winds, and sacrifice the well-being of the town by legiti matising a spurious Irish Roman Catholic community of the lowest grade, the most uneducated cast, and the worst mo rals, to claim relief equally with our own well-regulated and honest, but poor and hard-working fellow-townsmen. There is something so profligate and abandoned in that diabolical act of the faction, as to call for the reprobation of every right-thinking man. It proves at once that there is no act too base for them to practise. The morals of the town—nay the very existence of the borough—would be sa crificed if found opposing the selfish wish or the aggrandise ment of a party styling itself, par excellence, " liberal," and boasting of the ardency of its desire for the liberty and the happiness of the people, when the whole scope of its inten tions and the tenor of its acts are to brutalise and enslave. We shall very shortly be called on to feel and acknowledge the effects of this crowning unprincipled act of theirs, in the shape of overwhelming poor-rates—rates that must be con tinued through a series of years, while the advantage to the party for whom all this must be borne, is ephemeral only. Surely this will rouse the town to a sense of duty : this surely will excite even whigs to a rebellious reprobation of an act worthy of strangers who had domiciled among us for the declared purpose of ruin and demoralisation. I call, therefore, on every individual who has at heart the welfare of the town and the prosperity of its institutions, to come forth as one man, and, in unity of purpose, smite the faction to the earth on Monday next, that it become pros trate for ever. To accomplish this, it is indispensable that an adequate and persevering canvass be at once, if it has not already been, entered upon—that every voter be called on, and each one made acquainted with the unprincipled act that has swindled a pauper constituency of the worst class to swamp our own legitimate home one, to frustrate its will, and finally to consummate the degradation and the injury by picking our pockets through the legal channel of a poor rate. I would not have the enemy despised, nor the danger un heeded. This is not the way to meet a difficulty. But let each of us devote the little remaining time to a serious de termination to work out a foil to the adversary ; and if he have increased his chances of success by two thousand Irish Roman Catholics distributed through the sixteen wards, let it produce increased energies on our part, that not a solitary conservative be overlooked nor unpolled. To carry the mayor would be no Herculean task, seeing the number of conservative members going out this, and the number of wards carried by us the last, election. It may be done, but not without effort ; and if it be not done, a charge of apathetic feeling will rest somewhere. A new general government ought to be the harbinger of a new local state of things among us; but if each relies on that circumstance, favourable though it be, to work out and carry the necessary nformation into our council-room without setting his own shoulder to the wheel, the die is cast, and repentance will become the concluding act of Monday next, instead of mu tual congratulations and a joyous Peal upon the merry bells. To our posts, then, every man of us ! remembering, that the ensuing will be the most important election that has taken place since the first under the New Municipal Act. TO MR. MICHAEL ASHCROFT, FARMER, BANK HALL, AND CANDIDATE FOR EVERTON AND KIRKDALE WARD. DEAR was going to begin my epistle by com paring you to Cincinnatus, but then I thought that, in the first place, I should occupy too much time and space in attempting to instruct you as to who the said Cincinnatus was ; and, secondly, that after all my instructions, you would remain as ignorant as ever, and that you would be able to see no more semblance of similarity between you and the Roman than there is between a donkey and a horse, or be tween a parsnip and a potatoe! Well, then, I shall endea vour, by the use of plain terms, to let you and " all whom it may concern" know what I would be at in thus publicly addressing one who has publicly announced himself a candi date for one of the public honours of our town. And first as to your address, which is evidently the work manship of some crafty mechanic, though whether a ship wright or a cartwright, I leave others more knowing than myself to determine : suffice it to know and broadly to state .he fact, it is not yours ; but that is nothing as compared to he other more disgraceful fact that it is evidently and de signedly written with a view to deceive electors less knowing n. tn.yself You 'address no particular class of the electors, whether whig, radical, or tory : you have not even the boldness of manliness to state what your principles are, and thereby you expect, I presume, to catch the votes of some who take you, . . . as I lately did, to be a stanch conservative. You will laugh at this, and, seein:; how common an at tendant you are, and how openly you express your opinions at all the public places of Kirkdale, you will sneeringly ask me how I came to he deceived by you. I will tell you. Some time ago, while attending the same parish church with you, hearing you profess at vestry dinners, and indeed on all occasions, the warmest attachment both to Church and State, and seeing you twice appointed to the really-conserva tive office of churchwarden, (for the proper discharge of which a strictly-conservative oath was required of you,) I could not possibly regard you but as a constutionally-con servative member of the State. Such—as I have lived long enough to know—you certainly are not; for, let any man be throw - n, as business has sometimes led me, into your com pany at your public places of resort, and he will hear you, night after night, eruct the most noisy denunciations against the Church and her ministers, as well as against all the time honoured and well-ordered institutions of our land ! These denunciations are generally so violent and rabid, that I have been often led to wonder at your friends not looking after you; am now only astonished at their not sending you to a safer place of keeping than to the Council Chamber. Yes, dear Michael! trust me, such friends as these would be friends indeed ; while those who are now pushing you I:r;;;;;;lbefOrethe 7 pnbliC are but like those blackguards, in a street, who, professing to help along a drunken man, are only attracting a greater crowd to gaze at him, and are only caus ing him thereby to fall the more frequently, for their vulgar merriment. In like manner, the vulgar radicals of Kirkdale (there are a few such in Everton) are only making you their catspaw, for certain purposes of their own, and you will both know and rue it betimes. They are perfectly aware that you do not possess one single qualification of any sort or descrip tion for the office of councillor; they openly declare behind your back that—beyond the mere practical ability of growing hay and turnips for their cattle, and of cultivating a few acres of land for your own advantage—you are just as well acquaint ed with what is needful for the good or advantage of the ward as one of your hinds, and that during the greater part of each week you are so deeply immersed in the barley trade as not to know, and less to care, whether their roads are in or out of repair, whether their policemen do or neglect their duty, or whether their lamps are dark or illumined ! Such being their opinion of you, and such your identification with the motley crew, let them by all means send so worthy a repre sentative of their interests to the Common Council ; let them honour you with so distinguished a mark of their confidencc ; and, confiding in you, let them reap the fruitful consequences of your most wise, and skilful, and appropriate councillor- ship! But here let me offer you a word of advice, my quondam friend and fellow tory ; instead of quoting, for your benefit, the Latin proverb about the cobler and his last—the con struction of which would prove as great a stumbling block to your understanding as would the science of municipallegis lation—l will just say, stick to your plough, and, while you attend to the growth of turnips and the breeding of cattle, leave to others who are better qualified the more difficult task of rightly cultivating the growth and prosperity of the town, and of properly watching her important interests and increasing population. Tell me not of some of those now in the Council with whose pretensions and qualifications your own will at least (and well you may say it) stand a comparison. No, no, Mi chael! all such tares, mushroom, and rubbish are now to be cast out and excluded from the present bear garden of the Town Council; and as you are " but a worm", totally unfit to be tolerated in the elysium of unanimity and respectability, which the united voice of the conservative electors will soon render the Council Chamber, I would seriously advise you to call your own little council together to-morrow evening, and say to them, as I now say to yo 4, VALE, VALE! Kirkdale, October, 1841. P.S.—The polling booth, it appears, is to be opened in Kirkdale, instead of Everton. This decision of the Mayor is altogether founded on the charitable principle that if, per adventure, Michael should not be able to go (or walk) to the poll, the poll had better be brought to Michael ! MUNICIPAL ELECTION, " Coming events cast their shadows before."—SHASKPEARE TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD. have been rather amused of late, on reading the various " liberal " papers and their remarks respecting the approaching " municipal election" : indeed I perceive that, as usual, there is not a few illnatured " sayings" as well as " doings" on the part of the " radicals" and their aspiring yet "reluctant " candidates, who since their " palmy days" nevertheless appear somewhat crestfallen, if not doubtful as to the result of their chance in the final " game" for " mu nicipal " honours. It is said, indeed, that straws thrown up showeth " how the wind blows" ; and methinks, from ' the apparent movements or change in a few " respectable wards" by known " spirited" individuals, it would almost seem that already a " change has come over the spirit of their dreams." For instance, there is that " indefatigable" and always useful, although it is said " ill-used" gent, Mr. John Holmes — with his " slender " yet modest " tail," re tiring " Quayle "—deserting their admiring friends in the " aristocratic " Everton Ward, and seeking refuge in quar ters perhaps more suitable, if not more congenial, to their refined, " spirited," and " independent" FEELINGS; al though whether the intended successor of the great" Joshua" will be allowed his long-wished-for elevation in the council, or continue to wear the " knight's" recent " blushing ho nours," depends not, it is said, upon "friendly "puffing, or on the prophet " figs," but on the " withering GLANCE" of the dignified condescension of an " eloquent" personage, whose great " talent s " ( a t the "Angel") and other peen liar merits consist principally in his being rejected by the much-abused "people," and afterwards introduced into the " council chamber " as one of the "pitchforked " aldermen ; but, alas ! notwithstanding this patriotic " ingenious device," it will not " come to good." Again, how poor Quayle, whose sudden return from his much-loved " Isle of Man" " retirement," or "fine" -al retreat—from his " Kirkdale " friends—will succeed in " Scotland Ward," I leave that not to sober Thornhill's " market toadies," but to the " gods" and the manly unflinching IsAAc to prove on th e " I s t Nov. '41." However, methinks it was " too bad" for the quail ing " committee" to " earnestly PRESS " the valuable ser vices of the sagacious and talented Ashcroft, who " acceded reluctantly" to cover their retreat, if not anticipated " de feat"; knowing that " Michael's " cards will not be found " trumps" on the day of election, notwithstanding his libe ral " worship's " final act of PARTISANSHIP. In conclusion, I must not forget the apparent mode taken to induce even RESPECTABLE reformers to " come out" to prop the " radicals' . " sinking " cause." It is true that the unprincipied tories " do not change their places ; although that nearly thrice-beaten mild " patriot" Rathbone " is everywhere by turns," nay, has again returned from his " obscurity to aid the " tottering faction" by shel tering himself under the unbought " suffrages" and influ ence of the " Protectors" of New Bird-street, and doubtless wilt be returned for " St. George Ward" with the same or similar eclat that the once respected, yet now neglected " Tinsel Atkinson" our " lion of North Toxteth," witnessed and experienced on the 19th Nov. last. Still, how are the " mighty fallen!" Yet, 'tis consolation to know in these " piping times" of Reform,—,that Every dog has his day ; Brougham had his, also Grey. Finally, notwithstanding Yates's" potatoe" philosophy the other day in the " North Toxteth Ward," or the cruel "liberality" of the York-street " Veteran Reformer," 1 do hope that the Committee will not sleep at their post. The day of retribution is at hand—the cr'sis is come—be up any doing, and convince the " base whigs" that after the Ist of November, their " tyrant majority" may commence chaunt iug " farewell, a long farewell to all Whig greatness." Wait ing your attention, I am, &c , ARGUS." Toxteth Park, Thursday evening, Oct. 28, 1841. OUR PORTFOLIO—No. VII. MACHINERY AND MANUFACTURES In spite of the Penny Cyclopcedia and all the labours of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, we do perceive, now and then, that the question about Machinery is not so perfectly well settled as the illuminati, the authors of these productions, would certainly have it to be. We doubt, notwithstanding all they have said, and all the light we have derived from experience, that there is any one class of operatives, even those of the most intelligent order, to whom it would convey any pleasure to bear that a machine had been invented which would supersede the necessity of their labours ; and, with regard to the more philosophical, or less interested portion of mankind, we do find that there is by no means that universal consent among them which might have been expected. Thus, in a recent number, we observe the Morning Post holding forth as follows : " The invention of machines as substitutes for human labour—except in a country of which the population is inade quate to the work to be done—is clearly against the interest of the labouring class. To use the language of the econo mists, the power to do labouring work is the capital' of the labourers ; and, if you introduce machines which possess this power to an enormous degree, you add enormously to the amount of this labouring capital. And as the exchange able value of every thing is affected by its scarcity or abun dance, the exchangeable value of this labouring capital is, by the introduction of this machine power, exceedingly reduced." * * * " Thus it is that free-trade' men and machinery men really work against the interest of the labourer, while contributing to the advantage of those who have wealth." This is a direct lunge at the machinery party, and bids open defiance to all their boasted and much.confided-in im- provements. Here is another slashing cut at the body, though not so direct, from the Herald: _ _ "The successive governments of this country have, during the last twenty years, been afraid of looking the manu facturing system fully in the face : alarmed at the inherent difficulties of the subject, they have neglected the great questions growing out of that system ; they have legislated on all other subjects but the evils of manufacturing opera tion; they have allowed those operations to be increased in a geometrical progression, whilst the demand for manufac tures has only been augmented in an arithmetical ratio. The condition of our manufactures at present is simply this : The power of production greatly exceeds the power of con sumption, and whilst the former power has been unchecked, the latter has been limited and contracted by the encroach ments of rivals. Our power of production is a very differ ent power from that of other countries; it is a mechanical and therefore a non-consuming power, whilst theirs is a human and consequently a consuming power." But the machinists are amply supplied with defenders Manchester has many " guardians" beside the one which rejoices especially in the title ; we shall give one specimen, however, from that local organ of the cotton metropolis : " Those who have paid attention to the course recently taken by tory writers and speakers, in reference to manufac tures, will have no doubt about the motives which lead to the promulgation, at such a time, in such a quarter, of opinions like these. The object is to divert the attention of the work ing classes from the corn-laws to machinery; and to rouse hostility against the latter, at the risk of bringing about a re newal of the practices of luddism and 100m -breaking which disgraced the country in former years. This, as it strikes us, is a very desperate game to play; and it may probably be turnedto the great disadvantage of the landowners, who seem so ready to commence it. The labouring classes of the ma nufacturing districts have this broad and undeniable fact be fore them, that the rapid extension of machinery in those districts has increased instead of diminishing employment. Where, indeed, have there been the greatest extension of, and the most striking improvements in, those contrivances by which, in the first instance, labour is economized? Why, in Lancashire. And have those improvements diminished the population of Lancashire ? Have they lessened the num ber of people employed in the manufactures of the county ? On the contrary, population has advanced with more rapid strides than in any other part of the kingdom ; and this ad vance commenced with the introduction, and has kept even pace with the improvement, of machinery. The increase of employment has not only met the natural increase of the population, but has provided for many thousands who flocked into the county from other quarters. So stands the dispute—and it is a very pretty quarrel in whatever light we regard it. We thought, indeed, that it had been long since argued and settled, and that no man who takes up a spade to dig, would now be permitted to call in question the use and advantages of machinery. The sum of the matter we take to be this, that too little has been made of the evils attendant upon it ; and now one party seeks to hide them, or actually denies their existence ; the other magnifies them beyond their true dimensions. These evils belong to two stages of the history, namely, the first introduction of a new machine which dispenses with a large amount of manual labour; and, secondly, the ad vanced Period, or that in which large masses of people are raised and brought together, who are quite dependent upon machinery, and there are the alternate seasons of over-pro duction, or of unnatural stimulus. These evils, we think, have not been sufficiently attended to, and the denial of the first is revolting to the common sense of mankind. A ti , ty of men, fit for no other employment but that to which thee have been trained from early youth, are suddenly turned irift by some mechanical cinCrivance which renders thvir services :innecessary ; they suffer loss ; they complain, and you tell them not to be mal-content or dejected, for that the invention is quite a wonderful thing in itself, and must be of the greatest service to the public at large. Here the griev ance is particular, and the remedy general ; the complaint specific, and the answer vague and diffuse, and therefore, we think, impertinent. How happens it that our parliament, or perhaps we should say our House of Commons, which con descends to such a multifarious multiplicity of inquiries, has never introduced any law or regulation on this point? The inventor of a new machine obtains a patent to prevent all otl - ,er persons from availing themselves of the precious pro dnct of his ingenuity ; would it be deemed very obstructive, or too great a cheek upon the spirit of the age, to put, in cer tain cases, some restraint upon the use of the machine even by the inventor himself? We think not; but having given what we conceive to be a very valuable hint, we shall leave this matter in other hands. We come to the other head, which is not the transition state, but the full-blown machine, disappointing and per plexing its owners, not by failing to effect its purposes, but by doing too much. With regard to the intermediate stage, we are obliged to confess that we are amongst those who have rather a respect. for the advantages of spinning jennies, power-looms, mules, and all the other paraphernalia of fac tory operations. We are in .the habit of asking ourselves, what would Lancashire be without them ? If the question be, machinery, or no machinery ?—we are decidedly for ma chinery. Not that it is all good, and no harm—all sunshine and no shower, either ; for where is unalloyed happiness to be found at this side of creation ? But, under due regulation, machinery we regard as quite a superlative aid to man, whom sin has doomed in this life to earn his bread by the sweat of his brow We have no right to argue from the abuse of anything Machinery, if properly used, is a help, and an ease to toil — doomed mortality—and, therefore, in itself a valuable gift and blessing. Machinery will not of itself bring happiness ; that depends in conformity to the laws of Christianity. A. people might be exceedingly miserable with the most power ful, the most splendid machinery; and very tolerably com fortable without any. The weapon itself is not affected by such opposite states in the condition of those who have, or those who have it not : we are only concerned to know that it is in itself a good ; and that it is so, we feel that it would be quite superfluous to offer any proofs. One or two, how ever, we shall refer to from a volume which happens to lay before us—Mr. Baines' very clever and interesting History of the Cotton Manufacture in Great Britain : " Of the,fifteen hundred thousand individuals whom the cotton manufacture now supports," says our author, " the greater number are in the county of Lancaster. In the year 1700, Lancashire numbered only 166,200, (about the present population of one of its seaports, and less than that of its manufacturing metropolis,) in 1801, it had grown to 672,565, and in 1831, to 1,336,851, being an increase of more than eight fold in 130 years. At the beginning of the reign of George 111. (in 1760) probably not more than forty thousand persons were sup ported by the whole cotton manufacture; machines have been invented which enable one man to produce as much yarn as two hundred and fifty or three hundred men could have produced then,—which enable one man and one boy to print as many goods as a hundred men and a hundred boys could have printed formerly ; and the effect has been, that now the manufacture supports fifteen hundred thousand per sons, or upwards of thirty-seven times as many as at the former period !" In another place he says— " It may assist to form a conception of the British cotton manufacturer, when it is stated that the yarn spun in this country in a year would, in a single thread, pass round the globe's circumference 203,775 times; it would reach 51 times from the earth to the sun ; and it would encircle the earth's orbit eight and a half times. " The wrought fabrics of cotton exported in one year would form a girdle for the globe, passing eleven times round the equator. " This manufacture furnishes nearly one-half of the ex ports of British produce and manufactures ; it supports more than one-eleventh part of the population of Great Britain; and it supplies almost every nation of the world with some portion of its clothing. " None of the kingdoms of Hanover, Wirteinberg, or Saxony, has a population exceeding that engaged in the ma nufacture of cotton in this island. " The receipts of our manufacturers and merchants for this one production of the national industry, are equal to two-thirds of the whole public revenue of the kingdom." With regard to the character and quality of factory labour, he says— " That there have been instances of abuse and cruelty in some of the manufacturing establishments is doubtless true ; that the labour is not so healthful as labour h husbandry, must be at once admitted ; and some children have unques tionably suffered from working beyond their strength. But abuse is the exception, not the rule. Factory labour is far less injurious than many of the most common and necessary employments of civilized life. It is much less irksome than that of the weaver, less arduous than that of the smith, less prejudicial to the lungs, the spine, and the limbs, than those of the shoemaker and the tailor. Colliers, miners, forgemen, cutlers, machine-makers, masons, bakers, corn-millers, pain ters, plumbers, letter-press printers, potters, and many other classes of artisans and labourers, have employments which, in one way or another, are inure inimical to health and lon gevity than the labour of cotton-mills. Some classes of pro fessional men, students, clerks in counting-houses, s h op _ keepers, milliners, &c., are subject to m toa ld s great, and, h itnaui the cases, to much greater , confinement mill operatives.' We might quote many more interesting passages from the same work, to show the vast extent of this manufacture, and its importance to all classes ; but these may suffice for the present. With regard to some of the evils connected with a highly artificial and advanced state of the manufacturing system — over-production and its remedies—they form a subject well worthy the attention of the statesman ; but they supply no satisfactory argument against the system itself. To another opportunity, however, we must defer a few observations which have occurred to us on the subject. „qj 0- r . • 1 , ..11.4,1 . 7.9 aft, THE ABORIGINES OF WESTERN 414.7+ Mx* - ••••• (From the Perth Gazette, of March I . 41( N.', 0 MURDER OF MR. JOHN LAYMAN. It is our painful duty to record the murder of one of our settlers in the Vasse District, by one of the Aborigines. The unhappy sufferer, with his wife and family, by means of his assiduity, and application to the life a settler, was rapidly accumulating an independence, when, alas ! their hopes have been thus untimely blighted. The father of a family is murdered by a savage, in the act of protecting his own property, and insisting upon the equal distribution of a por tion of damper, or bread, given in consideration of services performed by another native. We are depending in a great measure upon mere report for the present account, but we have every reliance it will be found substantially correct. The native had stolen some flour from Layman during the day, and subsequently robbed one of his companions of a damper. The unfortunate deceased remonstrated with the savage, and confiding in that security which we are all too ready to believe we hold, took him by the beard and shook him According to their usage and habits, no greater viola tion of the person can be inflicted ; the man instantly called for a spear, arid pearsed it through his body. The sufferer had scarcely turned round and called for his gun, when he 1 I fell lifeless. The deed was considered so atrocious that the military sta tioned at the Vasse were called out, and, accompanied by the government resident, J. Molloy, Esq., and Mr. Bussell, they followed the tracks of the offending party. They came upon their resting place at night, and Mr. Bussell, who is well acquainted with their language, distinctly heard them exulting over this barbarous outrage, arid threatening, that as this was the first blow which had been struck for some time, it should be followed up by the extermination of the very parties who were listening to their boasted assurance. A conviction that the murderer was one of the number of those who were planning the diabolical acts to be committed, and hearing the imitation of the dying man's gurgle in his throat. it was instantly resolved to capture the whole party. The attempt, however, being forcibly resisted, in the scuffle five natives were shot, and the real offender escaped. It is to be hoped that he will be brought to justice before long. This summary proceeding will, no doubt, bring down upon the recriminating party the cry of unjustifiable homicide. Be it so. Bring any one of the cream-faced objectionists in the same position, and see would they not do the tame thing were they in the same place. There cannot be a question that the salutary chastisement thus inflicted will be the means of saving much bloodshed; and that the supre macy of power must be upheld is equally indisputable. Coupled, therefore, as our conduct has been with acts of kindness and consideration for their situation, as contrasted with us of civilised life—the benefits we have conferred upon them for outweighing any loss they may have experienced from our occupation of their lands—and the uniform dispo sition of the whole population to administer to their com forts; these acts combined should at least secure to the distant settler au immunity from unprovoked outrage and security of property. But with the savages of this country, no moral obligation is binding upon them; we state this advisedly, knowing that the greatest acts of kindness— of relief in the hour of necessity—of protection from assail ants of a neighbouring tribe—even support in the hour of death, is thought as lightly of by them as though they were conferred from a sense of obligation, or undeserving the sim ple return of common gratitude. The members of public societies, and meetings at home, may rant, fume, and speechify to their hearts' content, but all this will not avail to unite the link between the savage and the man of civilised habits—this must be wrought by time. We have no reason to commend or disparage the acts of those who have found it necessary to follow up the offending parties in this outrage, but, from lengthened experience in the colony, we are fully satisfied that prompt measures are required, in such instances, not alone to avert future injury, but in mercy to the race of blacks, who will, if unrestrained, carry their lawless violence to such . excesses as may lead to a fearful loss of life to repel their aggressions. VARIETIES MILDNESS.—Be always as mild as you can; a spoonful of honey attracts more flies than a barrel of vinegar. If you must fall into any extreme, let it be on the side of gentleness. The human mind is so constructed that it resists rigour and yields to softness. A mild word quenches anger, as water quenches the raging of fire, and by benignity any soil may , be rendered fruitful.—Truth, uttered with courtesy, is heap ing coals of fire on the head ; or, rather throwing roses in the face. How can we resist a foe whose weapons are pearls and diamonds ! SPLENDID IGNORANCE.—A poor woman. whose son en listed as a soldier in the regiment, who were shortly afterwards engaged in the continental war, and she having seen several regiments return to where she resided, made enquiry after her son John: she at last met with a wag who said, whose John %hy, our John. Oh !he is gone to eternity. Gone to eternity ! where is that ? I don's know, but perhans the parson can tell you. Upon receiving this, to her, welCome news, off she went to her better half, rejoicing and clapping her hands, shouting, oh ! I have heard of our John. What of our John! said he ; where is he? Oh ! he 's gone to eternity. Well, he said, I'm glad he is alive yet ! though there is no telling where he is ! The above is similar to the story of the poor woman, whose son was at sea, and who, upon hearing of his return, in a ship called the North Pole, ran about almost frantic, exclaiming, my son has returned with the North Pole, and our fortunes will be made ! Either of these can be matched by the follow ing incident, which took place not a thousand miles from Douglas. Upon entering a house, I saw a man busily en gaged reading a newspaper ; I asked what news ? but his rib, who like many others, had generally too much to say, and before he had time to reply, said, Oh ! they have been burning Father Mathew ! Indeed, said I, where ? In Ire land. Nonsense, woman, said the husband, he has been only burned in effigy. Oh ! that 's not in Ireland then ? DEATH OF CLARINDA.--It is not without emotions of a painful and melancholy kind that we have this day to record the death of Mrs. Macklehose, who was well known to a large circle as the Clarinda of Robert Burns. In early life she was remarkable for her personal beauty, and, being highly accomplished, it need excite no surprise that Burns, having tasted the pleasures of her society, became deeply enamoured of her. In fact, she was for a season the goddess of his idolatry, and, as she discovered somewhat of a kindred taste for poetry, it naturally followed that the bard should address some of his effusions to her. The lady was not in sensible to the devotion of such a wan as Burns ; indeed, she was so far carried away by this feeling as to enter into an epistolary correspondence with the poet, who, in the series of letters addressed to her under the name of Clarinda, poured out some of his•most brilliant ideas and sentiment* dashed off in the heat of composition without much regard to the strict proprieties of style. These letters were not intended to meet the punlic eye, but having been incautiously lent to some roguish publisher, an imperfect'copy was given to the world, calculated to prejudice in some respects the fair fame of Mrs. Macklehose. Those who know her best, however, soine.of whom had perused the whole correspondence—the lady's letters as well as the poet's—were fully convinced of the gross injustice of such imputations. But, although often urged to publish the letters alluded to, Mrs. Macklehose, from regard to the feelings of a near relation who died some years ago, would not consent to give them to the world. All obstacle to that course being now removed, it is highly pro bable that the interesting correspondence will speedily appear in a complete and authentic form. Clarinda, for by that name she will be best known, died full of years; we believe she was considerably above eighty. To the very last she retained traces of the personal beauty for which_ she was remarkable in early life, and which we have often heard alluded to in enthusiastic terms by a contemporary, himself not an undistinguished friend of Burns, who knew her when both were in the hey-dey of existence. She preserved her faculties in surprising perfection ; and we have often enjoyed the exquisite pleasure of hearing her sing with great accuracy the songs of Burns, her to which the bard himself had often listened, with what feelings may be now only imagined.— Edinburgh Standard. MENAI BRIDGE.—The Menai Straits are about twenty miles long, and the public are accommodated by ferries at different points, the widest of which is that from Beaumaris to Aber. It was the first time I had been at the Menai since it became enriched with those peculiar attributes upon which my eye at this moment rested. Before me rose that majestic bridge, the wonder of the world, and the triumph of human art, which has attracted men of all climes to look upon its enchantment. Through its broad arch and open piers. the clear blue stream marked the undulating line of the Carnarvonshire coast, fringed and wooded to the water's edge, followed in all its evolutions by the gracefully corre sponding lines of the Isle of Anglesea. Passengers on foot or horseback, with carriages of every description, were per petually crossing the bridge, and from their elevation ap peared very much like the diminutive mimic figures in a mechanical theatre ; and, indeed, bore an amusing resem blance to them in their attitudes and paces. The first stone of the bridge was laid in 1820 ; one of the main chains was carried over in 1823, and it was opened in 1826. The dis tance from centre to centre of the pyramids of masonry which suspend the bridge, is five hundred and eighty feet ; rather more than the width of the straits at low water, but considerably less than the width when the tide is up. It appears considerably more than one thousand feet in length. The under side of the roadway is about one hundred feet above high-water mark, so as to admit the passage of the largest vessels which usually navigate the straits. The view from the bridge northward, commands the course of the straits reaching to Beaumaris Bay, and far be yond, till the prospect is lost in the misty distance. Every where within the sphere of vision, the bright stream appear ed covered with craft of all sizes ; some skimming the water with their white sails set, like birds upon the wing, —others gliding gently along, impelled by the rowers, whose dripping oars, sparkling in sunshine, seemed like the outstretched fins of some of the tribes of the deep. Looking from toe same point in the opposite direction, the eye rests upon a beautiful mansion, with the lawn sweeping nearly to the water's brink on the left. Within the stream is seen the Swelly Rocks, a dangerous place at high water for the mariner ;land further on, occupying the centere of the straits, the famous fishing island of Ynys Vadog ; still further are seen the grounds of Plas \ewydd, among the plantations on the island border, with the pillar crowning the Nights, erected to commemorate Lord Anglesea's participation in the glory of the day of Waterloo. All beyond and around is the sweep of richly variegated groves and plantations, covering the base and climbing the slopes of the bordering hills—villas, spires, and towers here and there enlivening the prospect, with the giant bridge clasping the opposing banks, appearing together more like the work of some great magician than the result of man'sskill and industry. — From RoscoesNortlilVales; new edition. THE BEAUTY IN' D IS TRESS.—M. Augustin Reinier, a fashionable young spark from the department of La Mal-tale, recently arrived in Paris to see all the wonderful thin g s of the French capital . The other eveni ng he had ust come out o rue ,ii. desmakinglist aß s n o do n in : ls e g pur chases, a and a i s h o ß d o g y o a t l , not wherefu rther had than b theeen En fans, still a dark and sombre street, notwithstanding progress of the " new lights," when suddenly a well-dressed seizing him by the arm, young lady ran out of a house, and ., exclaimed, " Oh, for heave a n s ' k s e s . al-e, monsi e ur, save me ! '' " 'What is the matter ? : but l By the aid of a " j " who would harm you 7 ' " ele d :itdd th en e astonished stranger cannot stop to explain,'' re plied the terrified girl ; o i n u g t s d h e o l i ii , y , t ! h ' e ' Augustin perceived that the "helpless strided away with her, g ie az fr f o r m om th a is t p i l e a i c g e hb w: , i n tl r i: happy one " was a girl of great beauty, and tucking her under his satisfaction at the fair charge m w a n h i i f c c h s t fortunein iit) little had thrownprid pride and i n his way. lie twirled his cane with all that chilvalrous plea sure which a smart y oung f e ll ow f r om one of the provinc es c hec ircumstances supposed to experience under such so Sol might on after his arrival in the capital. They had scarcel y g ot to the end of th e s t ree t, w h en the fair one declared that her strength would support her no longer, and asked her " good angel "to call a coach. To call the coach he ran with the swiftness of a lover, while she supported her feeble frame against the nearest door. Back he comes with the coach, not a moment was lost. But the feeble frame has removed from the door. She has disappeared ; she is gone—nobody knows where. All is a mystery to the ingenuous stranger. He is about to pay the coachman half a fare for disappoint ing him of a whole One. But new light breaks in where all was dark before. He has been duped ; he has been robbed his purse, his watch, his chain, his gold eye glass—everv. thing portable (except his stick) h a s bee n st o l en w hile he has been sympathising with and admiring his beauty in dis tress. Not a sixpence left even to pay the coachman, with whom he is obliged to leave his silver-headed cane ! Our unfortunate hero complains to the police of the jolie femme ' but t he police reply, there are so many joliesfemmes in Paris that it is useless to look for her , and the dandy .N Torma s ndis o bliged to submit to paying the price of his initiation.—Paris paper. ~r /~~~~ w ~